01 October 2001

Pakistan, Democracy, and Bhutto

A few days ago, I was somewhat surprised to see the Wall Street Journal editorial page (now headed by Paul Gigot, whom I hold in very high regard) to run an editorial from Benazir Bhutto, former prime minister of Pakistan, advocating a swift return to democracy for Pakistan. It was not the message of the editorial that was surprising (that's a topic I have addressed previously) but the messenger! For those who haven't studied Pakistan (most people actually, not that it stops them from opining about the nation), it may come as a surprise to hear that the previous two elected governments of Pakistan -- Benazir Bhutto's and then Nuwaz Sharif's -- were notoriously corrupt. Indeed, they were perceived as so corrupt that when General Musharraf led a coup that toppled the Sharif government, it was largely viewed as an act of popular will, and with the hope that the military, one of the few institutions of government perceived as professional rather than corrupt, might be able to effect positive change. Musharaff's coup, though not what most enlightened democrats would hope for, was not in total disregard of popular sovereignty.

For those reasons, I did not blog Bhutto's op-ed (no, I didn't miss it), since her own government did not exactly represent the democratic ideal she seemed to be celebrating. Unfortunately, OpinionJournal does not post letters from the WSJ editorial page, or I could have blogged (in part) the following response from one Rohit Dubey in the 1 October edition:

Unfortunately for the people of Pakistan Ms. Bhutto's governments were even more corrupt than their predecessors. Her inner circle was enriching itself while choking economic growth in Pakistan. Asif Ali Zardari, Ms. Bhutto's husband, was known as Mr. Ten Percent in Pakistani business circles. He had earned the sobriquet by demanding 10% of any project's budget in return for government approval.

Apparently Ms. Bhutto's Western education did not teach her that democracies tolerate freedom of expression, religion, and free association. Closing schools and universities, no matter how parochial, is not acceptable in democracies. With oppressive ruling elites like Ms. Bhutto, is it surprising that Islamic fundamentalism has popular support in the Muslim world?

As a defender of natural right and the principles of the American founding, I certainly am no fan of military rule versus democracy, broadly conceived. But those who would pressure Musharraf in order prematurely to reestablish "democracy" in Pakistan seem not to understand what led to Musharraf's rule in the first place, or the fragility of the regime there today. A Pakistan -- check that, a nuclear Pakistan -- that could potentially devolve into warlordism is ultimately not in the best interest of democracy or U.S. foreign policy.

[Posted @ 09:36 PM CST]