Pakistan snapshots
Abhishek Singhvi
Having visited Pakistan four times earlier over a period of 17 years, my recent visit did not have the ‘mystery of the unknown’ syndrome which permeates most ‘first timers’ visiting our neighbour. But there were several factors which struck me as novel qua my earlier visits.
Indian visitors are first awestruck by the grandeur of international airports in Lahore and Karachi. Not only the young Lahore airport, but also the much older one at Karachi would give a run for the money to any airport in the world. These airports outstrip every Indian one in every department: from size to services available, from cleanliness to efficiency, from gadgetry to grandeur, from charm and elegance to organisational discipline. Indian governments have clearly underestimated the psychological consequences of such efficiently organised utilities which are the first assault on visitors’ senses and their first interface with any host country.
**The second aspect is the support enjoyed by Pervez Musharraf cutting across a wide cross-section of the population. This stems from the perception that the general is not personally corrupt and that in his over four years rule, no major monetary scandal has occurred.That, by itself, is a rarity for most countries of the subcontinent and this general perception is slowly but surely creating the halo of a ‘platonic benevolent dictator’ around the general.
A third factor which reinforces this image are the many appointments made by the general of technocrats and professionals enjoying an unsullied reputation. Unfettered by the compulsions of electoral politics, Musharraf has eschewed crony capitalism and appointed achievers to key positions. Even the general’s critics and rivals commended the appointment of the young Cambridge educated Attorney General Makhdoom Alam as being purely merit-based.**
Incidentally, it was the AG’s last minute intervention which ensured timely issue of visas for a 50-strong Indian delegation visiting Karachi for the 10th Saarc Law Conference. Such meritorious appointments have been made to several other key positions.
Fourth, there is an opening up of Pakistani society and the permeation of a distinctly liberal ethic in the politico-military-religious establishment. One can see it in the clear absence of distrust on Indo-Pak issues. One can see it in Pakistan’s media that write and speak more freely against religious orthodoxy and a conservative status quo. I saw several TV programmes openly discussing marriage, morals and other issues hitherto considered out of bounds. There are repeated suo motu assertions of the negative impact of terrorism in general and how a global war on terrorism is necessary to rid Islam from the taint of ‘Islamic terrorism’. Reform of madrasas and the necessity to combat religious indoctrination distorting true religion are topics debated with an openness unthinkable a few years ago.
**Many first timers in our delegation were struck by the status of women in Lahore and Karachi. They wear the best clothes and pursue the latest fashions. They are as articulate and (almost) as visible at conferences, shopping malls, public places and in the media as their Indian counterparts.**They are ambitious and are entering the legal profession in large numbers, although women judges at the high court level are few and in the Supreme Court a rarity. The only reason Pakistan does not have a Miss Universe or Miss World is because it chooses not to participate in these contests.We were interviewed by lady journalists, interrogated by lady rapporteurs, surrounded by lady lawyers, escorted by lady organisers, and entertained by lady performers, all belonging to progressive and assertive Generation Next. Many stereotypes about women in Islamic Pakistan, harboured by Indian first timers, were thus shattered.
Sixth, more and more Pakistanis in open public conversation are the first to assert their admiration for Indian institutions of governance — like the judiciary, the Election Commission of India, the press — as true hallmarks of core democratic values. In comparison, Pakistani institutions have repeatedly suffered ravages at fledgling stages of their development. But there is genuine envy with which Pakistanis recognise this truth and great candour with which they express it. It is this yearning for openness and institutional continuity and this admiration for Indian institutions which bodes well for the future of Pakistani and for Indo-Pak relations.
Many of the old paradigms remain. Several articles of common consumption continue to be cheaper in Karachi than in India. All kinds of clothes and electronic equipment are significantly cheaper, sometimes by as much as 50 per cent. The rich in Karachi and Lahore continue to live more luxuriously than the rich in India (and that is saying something given the lavish lifestyles of the Indian rich)
Kashmir still remains taboo as a topic in Indo-Pak social intercourse and vegetarians like me continue to find it difficult to choose as far as cuisine is concerned.
Finally, the significance of NGOs like Saarc- Law in the building of bridges and people-to-people contact cannot be overemphasised. The warmth, affection and hospitality generated by SaarcLaw conferences over 13 years is palpable and unrivalled in comparison to any European or American meet of professionals. Each conference involves embarrassingly generous displays of hospitality and Indo-Pak peace rhetoric.
Bonhomie becomes so pronounced that other SaarcLaw delegates remind us that they are ‘Saarcarians’ and not bilaterals engaged in Indo-Pak dialogue. Serious initiatives like a legal framework for a Saarc Economic Union, Sapta and Safta, a Saarc mediation and arbitration centre, a SaarcLaw University and for the framing of model laws have been proposed. Though progress is slow, the enthusiasm for such proposals is truly humungous.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_585264,00120002.htm
Nice article. Even though Musharraf didnt have much to do with the airports and the evolution of the society in the larger context but his contributions for a free press has helped the society by no small means either. I hope he continues to meet success in his reforms.
