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Limited Policy Options for Zia's Successors
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14893 |
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CURRENT ISSUES
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10 / 1988 |
895 Words |
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Khalid Duran
Khalid Duran, a Muslim of Moroccan-Spanish heritage, has
taught Islamic studies, sociology, and anthropology at
universities in Pakistan, Austria, Germany, Scandinavia, and
the United States. A profile of him, entitled "Religion
Bridger," appeared in the February 2002 issue of The World &
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After the suspected soviet backed Afghan assassination of Pakistani President Mohammad Zia ul-Haq, keeping Pakistan on its present pro-Western track will be a top priority.
For the time being, Zia's policies are almost sure to be largely maintained. This might even be a unique chance for U.S.-Pakistan relations because there are forces, both within the army and the bureaucracy which may be more genuinely pro-American than Zia was. However, improved relations would have to come at the expense of democracy. Free elections might bring Benazir Bhutto, former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's daughter, to power. For a while, she and the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) might attempt to pursue a neutralist course, one perhaps less pro-Soviet than she posed in the past, but surely less pro-American than she tries to appear at present.
In former years, Bhutto was virulently opposed to the Afghan refugees, whom she and her party branded as feudals, capitalists, and smugglers. In those days, PPP publications attacked the three million destitute Afghans more viciously than even the Soviet media. Bhutto demanded, time and again, that Islamabad immediately recognize the government in Kabul. She declared solemnly that after her party came to power the refugees would all be driven back across the border, and that Pakistan would entertain close and friendly relations with Soviet Union.
Later, it occurred to her that she might try to play in Pakistan the role of a Corazon Aquino. Accordingly, she began to mend fences with Washington, but her return to Pakistan from France in 1986 was badly timed. It was too early, allowing the generals to neutralize her efforts. Her new moderation, moreover, cost her the sympathies of many hard-line party workers. In order to regain her former popularity, she will have no choice but to revert to her anti-American and anti-mujahideen stance.
The Afghan refugees, however, now felt to be an unbearable burden, are not inclined to return to their ruined country, which will need years of work to be cleared of a million Soviet mines and booby traps. Bhutto does not seem to have the moral stamina to demand compassion and patience from her exasperated countrymen.
Mujahideen most hurt
Hence, the most drastic consequences of the change in Islamabad will be felt by the mujahideen. Ultimately, they might now sort out
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