Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf apparently never anticipated that his decision to suspend Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on March 9 would trigger bloody nationwide protests and could even endanger his position. The political upheaval in Pakistan has put the military-ruled system under the international microscope again.
The chief justice's suspension has united opposition parties in their efforts to unseat the army general who has led Pakistan since 1999. Learning from what has happened so far, it is not impossible that the government and the opposition will use every possible means, including violence, to fight for their respective causes.
As always, people have fallen victim to the conflict. On Saturday, 40 lives were lost in violent protests in the port city of Karachi. International news agencies reported the unrest turned deadly when pro-government activists stopped a rally for Chaudhry, resulting in gunfights.
The killing of Supreme Court deputy registrar Syed Hamad Raza on Monday increased the tension.
The people will have to pay for the cost of the elites fighting. The costs include serious economic and security expenses if Chaudhry and his supporters on one side and Musharraf in another side only pursue their short-term interests.
Musharraf insisted that he removed Chaudhry as chief justice over allegations of misconduct, including accusations that he abused his power to promote his son to the top police job. Chaudhry and his supporters firmly believed the justice was ousted because Musharraf was concerned the judge could block his efforts to maintain his powerful position as the army chief and receive another five-year term as president.
One year after replacing army chief Gen. Jehangir Karamat, Musharraf toppled then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in a bloodless coup in October 1999. In 2001 Musharraf took office. He continues to hold his military post because without it his presidency would be very fragile.
After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the United States turned to him, and he became one of the U.S.'s most important allies in the war on terrorism and helped to oust the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.
Each sovereign nation has the right to choose its own system. No country can claim its system is the best or is better than others. However, amid rapid global changes, there are more and more people who want to stick to the principles of civilian supremacy. Military-led governments tend to get less support under the current globalization trend.
Indonesia experienced military rule for 32 years under Soeharto, when the Army played a dominant role in nearly every aspect of life -- even the family planning program. After Soeharto's fall in 1998, democracy grew rapidly.
Now Indonesia is recognized as the world's third largest democracy after India and the United States. But democracy will remain fragile if the current civilian supremacy system fails to improve people's welfare. In this context, based on their own experiences, many Indonesians can understand the current situation in Pakistan.
We call on all concerned parties in Pakistan to prove their statesmanship in resolving the conflict, by sticking to peaceful, civilized and democratic principles. The country's steady economic growth and people's well-being are at stake, while security disturbances and violence continue to escalate.
Let people, the holders of supreme power, express their final say about the future of the nation. The best forum for this purpose is a free, democratic and fair general election.
