Book Review: Frontline Pakistan

Events in Pakistan are moving at such a rapid rate that no one, not least the resident military junta, seems to have an idea what tomorrow might bring. A topical book runs the risk of being outdated before the printer's ink is dry.

But Frontline Pakistan by the veteran Pakistani journalist Zahid Hussain is a wonderful read that deserves to be read. It is the incredible story of Pakistan's war against its own created genie, Islamic jihadis. These forces were created as a convenient way to wage proxy war against much more powerful enemies. But as priorities changed and Pakistan realigned itself, the state found itself having to reluctantly confront and defeat its own creation. Written in a dramatic narrative style, the book combines the virtues of being a compulsive page turner with being informative.

The book opens with two anecdotes. The first, a graphic portrayal of the 2004 assasination attempt on President Musharraf and his narrowest of narrow escape. The attempt turns out to be by a cabal of disaffected army generals and jihadi elements. It was the fourth such attempt on his life in 2 years. The second anecdote shifts back in time to the moment when the US led coalition attack Afghanistan post 911. While the Pakistan government was officially ranged on the side of the US, Hussain personally witnesses the sight of thousands of armed Pakistanis streaming into Afghanistan to fight against the US led forces. The two narrations bring out contradictions and the fault lines within Pakistan. With this gripping prelude Hussain straps us into the time machine to visit Pakistan's post-independence history to help us understand how this situation came into being.

We begin the tour with the Pakistan state following independence from Britain, its first reinvention as an Islamic republic, the first military coup by Ayub Khan, followed by Yahya Khan, the 1971 war and the loss of East Pakistan, return to democracy with Bhutto and the first flirtings with radical Islam, the Zia ul Haq military coup, the full blown Islamization of Pakistan during his tenure, the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan and the Pakistani role in making this a jihad, the sudden end to the war and the recoil of the jihad movement, Zia's death, the grudging return to a military controlled democracy under Benazir, the Nawaz Sharif years, back to Benazir, back to Nawaz Sharif, the Kargil mis-adventure, Musharraf's coup, 911, Pakistan's new role of fighting the war on terror on the US side and the internal stresses created in society, and the military due to the war and the changed Pakistani role on all fronts.

A consistent theme one encounters is how for short term gain, Pakistan's rulers have time and again, weakened Pakistan's original secular democratic foundations and strengthened the military - radical Islamic axis. That axis created a monster. A violent, nihilistic, suicidal, regressive, intolerant monster that now not only threatens the fabric of Pakistan but all its neighbours, not least India. This has a momentum of its own and is in the control of no one person. Indeed, though the original patrons, the military and the ISI are now (at least nominally) ranged against this movement, it is flourishing.

From an Indian perspective this picture is deeply disturbing. Several components of this radical movement are frozen in an anti-India stance. Indeed, this hostile posture is their raison d' etre and it goes well beyond Kashmir. Hussain quotes outfits like the Lashkar e Toiba saying that their goal is not just Kashmir but the reclaiming of the entire Indian sub-continent for Islam. Terrorist incidents such as the Jaish e Mohammed owned attack on the Indian Parliament are pointers that these statements may not be empty rhetoric.


What struck me is that in the many twists and turns in Pakistan's history, the defining period that looms over the present is Zia ul Haq's 12 year reign. If ever a person can be said to have opened a Pandora's box, it was Zia. His reign coincided with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Zia's own fundamentalist tendencies aligned perfectly with the frontline role of Pakistan as the thin end of the Islamic wedge to drive the Soviets out. The unfortunate alignment was the tipping point that converted a moderate, largely secular state to one where society and government were polarized on religious grounds. The waging of war for religion was viewed as an end in itself. Moreover, since the war was marketed as a jihad, Islamic radicals around the world rallied to the cause and Pakistan became the base camp for this dangerous motley crew of modern Ronin. A secular constitution in shreds, a fundamentalist military, government and society, the emergence of an itinerant Islamic army, democratic institutions destroyed, the military as puppetmaster, ISI as rogue state within a state, the list of crimes at Zia's dead door is long.


Is there a way to combat the radical beast?


I suspect no one knows though a true democracy perhaps has the best shot. Irfan Husain reports in his column in The Dawn that Islamic parties have only ever won about 10-15% of the vote. Allowing the moderate majority a real voice and a chance to make a choice may open the doors to the Pakistan that perhaps the Quaid had originally conceived. It may allow the country for the first time to go beyond the usual rich cocktail of military, mullah and mujahideen. While this is an idyllic vision there are two factors that militate against this. The first is that the political leaders that have the ground strength to come to power are the same tired tarnished bunch of Bhutto and Sharif. Not exactly inspiring choices. The second is that the military is so used to being either in power or being puppetmaster that they may be unwilling to become just soliders. Indeed, there may also be a commercial motivation if the recent book Military Inc. by Ayesha Siddiqa is true.


And whither Musharraf? Since the book was written much has happened. Musharraf's summary removal of Chief Justice Iftikhar Choudhary in March, 07 on flimsy grounds has acted as the spur to the latent desire for democracy in Pakistan. While originally focussed on reinstatement of the chief justice it has snowballed into a popular movement asking for a non-military backed democracy. This movement poses the single biggest threat to Musharraf's seat since he captured power in 1999. And the surreal sight of Musharraf celebrating in Islamabad on May 12th well after it was public knowledge that pro-government MQM goondas had massacred 41 people in Karachi may be the tipping point in terms of public opinion. Pre-May 12th, a deal where Musharraf doffed his uniform and became a civilian President might have worked. Now the choices before him are less clear.


But if he does get the message and quits in 6 months time, Pakistan may, just may, remember him kindly as the most benevolent of its 4 military dictators. As one who combined political power, military authority and a secular outlook enabling the Pakistan state for the first time in 2 decades, to tackle the radical element within its own polity. 911 gave Musharraf the impetus, the financial carrot and the international support to turn the clock back to a pre-Zia Pakistan. He has not succeeded but may have got Pakistan to a point where a transition to democracy may complete this process.


A final note. One of the recent proposals on Kashmir has been to make it a state run jointly by Pakistan and India. While I don't know the details, it seemed an interesting way out of the current impasse and conjured a vision of Kashmiris, Indians and Pakistanis ambling happily around Srinagar and Gulmarg. But after reading Frontline Pakistan and the ethnic cleansing agenda of militant groups like LeT and JeM, I had this thought. Until and unless these groups are taken out, an open border policy will just be an invitation to cleanse the valley of Indians.