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Pakistan & Democracy: A Brave Woman’s Voice…

January 29th, 2008
By SWARAAJ CHAUHAN, International Columnist

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Ayesha_Siddiqa.jpg

Challenges to return of democracy in Pakistan have multiplied after the assassination of Mrs Benazir Bhutto, a former prime minister. For an independent woman, especially if she has a mind of her own, it still remains a herculean task to be heard in many countries of the world. In some countries it can become a matter of life and death.

However, there are brave-hearts who never give up. My attention has been drawn to a recent interview with Dr (Mrs) Ayesha Siddiqa Agha in a Pakistani blog. Mrs Agha, a former senior civil servant, is described as ‘Pride of Pakistan’. An author and a visiting scholar at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, she does not mince words when it comes to addressing the ticklish questions relating to her country.

Sample this from her interview —-

Question: When President Musharraf says that Pakistan cannot have a democracy and human rights like West, do you agree with him?

Mrs Siddiqa Agha’s Answer: This is absolute nonsense. The ordinary people of Pakistan can decide as intelligently about their political future as an average American or people from developed countries. Our problem lies at the top. Our elite is highly predatory and suicidal. They have evolved a system of patronage and are holding ordinary people hostage to it. General Musharraf is part of that elite. It is ridiculous to hear people say that illiterate Pakistanis cannot chose their leaders. We are not less intelligent than the Indians. It is our tragedy that governments have always been voted in but booted out. Once that changes, we will also become a strong democracy.

Question: What Pakistan should do with its nuclear arsenal? Should we freeze it, or it roll-back, or improve it, or just hand it over to IAEA?

Answer: This is a political decision. Any answers must be sought by looking at how a certain technology serves the ordinary people. We have millions who do not have access to clean drinking water, basic health, education and dignity. I wouldn’t have a problem with nuclear weapons as long as the other needs are being met. But if any new technology is used to hold people hostage and make fools out of them, then whats the use.

For full interview in Pakspectator please click here…

Mrs Siddiqa Agha, who did her doctorate from King’s College London, is a scholar of Pakistan’s military and security affairs. She has worked on issues varying from military technology, defense decision-making, nuclear deterrence, arms procurement, arms production to civil-military relations in South Asia.


Her books include… Pakistan’s Arms Procurement and Military Buildup, 1979-99: In Search of a Policy (Palgrave Press, 2001). Her recent book, Military Inc.: Inside Pakistan’s Military Economy , was released in April 2007. She has also written commissioned papers on small arms and light weapons proliferation, problems of governance and India-Pakistan relations. More here…

When she felt threatened after the release of her book, the academic community stood solidly behind her. See here…

Mrs Siddiqa Agha, in a magazine article, wrote “the kind of religious extremism one hears about in the modern day Pakistan is a phenomenon deliberately imposed on the society. Such state-sponsored ideological extremism gets reflected in changing attitudes and beliefs of the entire society. If one has to find answers related to the birth of fundamentalism, it would be necessary to review the political development of the state and society since 1947.

“Despite the fact that Pakistan is an Islamic country created to be a homeland for the Muslims of the Indian Subcontinent, there is no hard evidence to suggest that it was meant to be a theocratic state or a land espousing religious extremism. The liberation movement that led to the creation of a separate homeland for the Muslims in 1947 represented the frustration of an ethnic/religious minority with another ethnic/religious majority. Nonetheless, the lack of clarity regarding which direction the new nation had to take, especially in the formative years, resulted in chaos and frustration.”

(Photo courtesy Pakistan’s The Dawn newspaper)



This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 29th, 2008 at 9:10 am and is filed under Military Affairs, Political Islam, Moderate Muslims, Arms, Women, Civil Liberties, Military, Islam, Pakistan, Muslims, Books. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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