Military takeover
Troops took over key buildings in the capital, Islamabad, in the evening of October 12th, several hours after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif announced the dismissal of General Mussaraf. The Prime Minister and his brother were taken into "protective custody". Farooq Tariq (General Secretary of the Labour Party of Pakistan) sends this report. In his first nation wide address, Army chief General Pervaiz Musharf did not mention martial law or announce any interim arrangements.
He said that everyone was aware of the kind of turmoil and uncertainty that the country had gone through in recent LPP Declaratior Army out of p
[Lahore, 13 October] The Labour
Party of Pakistan (LP) strongly opposes the army coup, and demands that the army go back to the barracks. The LP further demands the creation of a workers interim government to hold fresh elections for a new legislative assembly.
The army coup mirrors the deep-rooted economic crisis that has exposed the internal contradictions and infighting of the
Pakistan ruling class.
Nawaz Sharif, ex Prime
Minister, wanted to strengthen his dictatorial power by forcing the retirement of General
Pervaiz Mussaraf. But this coup proves that the army is the real ruler of the country. Nawaz's attempt at grabbing power was deplorable. But the army coup is absolutely unacceptable.
The new government -even if it is a civilian set up—will be a puppet in the army's hands.
Whether we have a military or civilian regime now depends on 8 International Viewpoint #316 November 1999 times. "Not only have all the institutions been played around with, and systematically destroyed, the economy too is in a state of collapse... Despite all my advice, they tried to interfere with the armed forces, the last remaining viable institution in which all of you takes so much pride and look up to, at all times, for the stability, unity and integrity of our beloved country"
This is the usual demagogy of any military ruler. But General Musharf has not yet announced martial law.
The military coup was apparently provoked by the announcement of the dismissal of the General. Only one week earlier, the Nawaz Government had promoted the General to Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff Committee. The General had immediately purged 1 olitics! the generals' negotiations with the IMF and the World Bank. The coup was against the plans of US imperialism, but the US will find a compromise with Pakistan's military strongmen.
The new government will use accountability as a pretext, but this will be an illusion. The new government will not be able to recover loans from defaulters. In fact, the masses will be taxed even more heavily, in a futile bid to overcome the economic crisis.
The lack of protest against the coup proves the utter impopularity of the Nawaz regime, because of its economic policies. The new regime will have to carry out the same economic policies. So it too will be increasingly unpopular.
The army coup will sharpen the national question in the three smaller provinces, particularly if the army resorts to dictatorial methods.
For the moment, the masses might feel some relief, because some senior military officers who were known as Nawaz Sharif supporters. In retaliation, the Prime Minister tried to dismiss the general.
This was the immediate excuse for the military take-over. But the main reasons are deeply rooted in the present economic crisis and its political effects. The coup is part of the aftermath of the Kargil dispute with India over Kashmir. The Nawaz Government blamed army chiefs for Pakistan's defeat.
In a move to reschedule the country's IMF loans, the Nawaz Sharif Government recently blamed the Taliban Government in Afghanistan for "terrorist activities inside Pakistan. This is a surprising U-turn. Pakistan is the only country in the world, which had formally recognized the Taliban Government of Afghanistan. It has actively supported the Talibans to take over Kabul and other parts of Afghanistan. Sharif's sudden hostility to the Taliban was not appreciated by the various religious currents within the army.
The economy is in absolute shatters. the army coup has replaced the Nawaz regime. But they will soon be disillusioned. The trade union movement, working class peasants, free press and political parties will suffer the loss of democratic rights.
The class struggle will be even more difficult. The working class will have to fight for democratic rights, in addition to their genuine rights and demands.
The Labour Party of Pakistan (LPP) demands that the army return to barracks immediately. An interim workers peasant's government should be set up to hold the ruling class accountable.
This workers peasant interim government should hold elections for a new legislative assembly. Democratic rights should be restored immediately. No ban should be imposed on meetings, demonstrations, and processions.
The LPP vows to mobilize the working class and peasants to press for these demands. It will launch a campaign for the restoration of democratic rights and it will not accept any attempt by the military to impose martial law. *
The Government's attempt to introduce a general sales tax was successfully opposed by the small traders association, which organized a nationwide strike on 4th September. In the face of this protest, the government ignored IMF instructions, withdrew the GST and introduced a new tax.
In another development, cotton growers were organizing massive demonstrations to demand an increase in guaranteed cotton prices. This increase was opposed by the powerful All Pakistan Textile Manufacturers Association APTMA. Cotton amounts for 70% of Pakistan's exports. The country produces 10% of the world's cotton. On 10th October, a nationwide protest of peasants and cotton growers blocked all the main roads of Pakistan for several hours.
All these developments exposed the extremely unpopular nature of the Nawaz Sharif government, and the dramatic decline in popular support for the Prime Minister. In early 1997, Nawaz won the general elections with 40% of the total vote, and 65% of seats in the national assembly. It used its •majority to remove constitutional guarantees of trade union rights, women's rights, and the protection minorities and small ethnic groups. The government tried to bring the bureaucracy under its absolute control, humiliating the civil service in public.
Nawaz Sharif wanted to rule like a Mughal emperor, with his words translated into actions within seconds. He introduced a telephone help line, where he would listen to any complaint and take immediate action. State television would follow the story, giving people the impression that justice has been done in seconds. But all without any proper investigation of the complaint...
The Nawaz Sharif government also had an obsession with highway construction. He wanted his roads to be built in days. Any obstacles had to be removed, without considering alternatives. Not surprisingly, many historical buildings were bulldozed, provoking widespread discontent among the urban population.
Despite his demagogy, Sharif was unable to implement the IMF agenda for quick privatization of the main public sector institutions like railway, telecommunication, and electricity.
He clashed with some of the international power companies which had signed contracts with the previous Benazir Bhutto government to build the power generation plants. These contracts allowed the power companies to sell this electricity at a price above the international competitive rate. The energy multinationals bribed the Benazir government to accept this deal. Nawaz's clique hadn't shared in these kickbacks, so was rather hostile to the deal. In the end, the World Bank intervened, urging Nawaz to seek a compromise with the power companies.