ROOTS OF THE CRISIS IN PAKISTAN by Karamat Ali (Nov 1999)

ROOTS OF THE CRISIS IN PAKISTAN

by Karamat Ali *

[Nov. 7, 1999]

It is Pakistan’s tragedy that it shall begin the 21st century under military rule. It shall be one of the few societies anywhere to be so afflicted. For this we can blame the callousness, corruption, mismanagement and total disregard for democratic norms and values that characterise Pakistan’s economic, political and official elite.

It is fast becoming a commonplace belief that the majority of the people, obviously working people, welcomed the coup. There is even a sense of rejoicing among some sections of the intelligentsia as well as the establishment, over this apparent indifference, even hostility, towards democracy among the people. Even if such assertions are valid, this should be a cause for concern and introspection rather than smug celebration. The people’s silence, which should not be interpreted as active consent, shows only how successful previous governments have been in demeaning ordinary citizens and eroding their sense of participation in managing their society. No one with a belief in human dignity, equality and justice can feel happy about such a sad state of affairs, since democracy and freedom are the soul of an independent nation, and the Constitution is the very basis of democratic governance.

No one concerned, in particular, about the working people of this country can welcome the coup and what it portends. The fact is that working people of Pakistan face circumstances not much better than those they confronted a hundred years ago. They were subject to arbitrary rule, lacked fundamental human rights, and struggled to survive under the exploitation and oppression by the colonizers. However the colonial rulers, confronted by the struggle for dignity and independence, had reluctantly initiated gradual reforms in the 1920’s and 30’s. This process led to the recognition and institutionalization of some basic rights through laws such as the 1926 Trade Union Act, the 1934 Factories Act, and the 1935 India Act. Even though there were no constitutional guarantees, these legal provisions were quite substantial in scope and amenable to implementation. They ensured working people had a fair level of organisation and protection at the workplace, and some, though limited, level of participation in the affairs of governance through representation in the legislative assemblies.

The post-independence period has seen a marked reversal of these few hard won gains. The working people of Pakistan today have fewer rights and protections than they enjoyed in 1947. Governments, both civilian and military, despite the many differences in their nature, style and priorities, have demonstrated a remarkable consensus in dealing with the rights of the working people-they have all tended to curtail and minimize them. But there is no doubt that workers have suffered their gravest setbacks under military rule.

So what does the new dispensation have in store for the people? The seven point agenda announced by the Chief Executive has been widely acclaimed. It is however full of abstract notions such as “rebuilding of national confidence and morale’, “restoration of national cohesion” etc., and does not contain any direct reference to any of the problems faced by the working people of Pakistan. It fails also to point out the causes of the problems referred to in his agenda, as well as identify who bears responsibility for bringing the country to such a pass. Like other leaders before him, he merely points a finger at the dismissed regime.

The CE has assured the international community of his commitment to honor all international treaties. From his public statements it seems safe to assume he was referring to various agreements with Pakistan’s aid donors and the international lending agencies. Notably, the first item on his agenda was restoring investor confidence. There seems no recognition of the fact that Pakistan is a signatory to a number of international Conventions, Covenants and Treaties, such the UN Declaration of Human Rights, the International Labour Organisation Conventions, and the Convention to Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, which guarantee working people their fundamental rights, including the right to life with dignity. Even our own Constitution, now in abeyance, whose substantive parts relating to the rights of the working people have always remained in abeyance, obligates the state to ensure these rights.

The CE has stated that “Pakistan has experienced in the recent years merely a label of democracy and not the essence of it”. Very true, but only partially. The fact is that for the working people of Pakistan democracy has been a sham for the past 52 years. One need look no further than the fact that even now less than five percent of Pakistan’s labour force enjoys the fundamental right of association, and even that is not an unconditional right. It is no democracy wherein workers (in all sectors including agriculture) who had a legal right to form organisations of their own choice, freely and independently, under the 1926 Trade Union Act, end up being governed by a post-independence law–the 1969 Industrial Relations Ordinance–which disenfranchises upto 75% of them, especially the agricultural workers, and severely curtails the right for the rest!

Agricultural workers in most areas of Pakistan are in virtual serfdom, completely bereft of all human rights. This has taken deliberate government policy. Pakistan inherited the ratification of the ILO Convention 11 which relates to the rights of agricultural workers and was passed in 1921. Article 1 of the Convention commits each state to “secure to all those engaged in agriculture the same rights of association and combination as to industrial workers, and to repeal any statutory or other provisions restricting such rights in the case of those engaged in agriculture”. There has been no effort to implement this. To make matters worse, in 1959 a military regime repealed the 1926 Trade Union Act, which guaranteed the right of association to all.

We need to remember that the military regimes introduced a curious doctrine to the industrial relations framework. They ordained that worker’s rights were incompatible with the demands of “national security and defence”. Thus workers employed in undertakings engaged in defence production, such as the Pakistan Ordnance Factory, could not unionise. This was later exteded to cover any establishment, even in the private sector, that was even incidentally connected with defence production. On this pretext, factories providing commodities such as water coolers to the army, were exempted from the application of basic labour laws! In the early 1980’s, the military regime of Zia ul Haq, ordered all provincial labour ministries not to undertake inspections without prior notice to and consent of the owners. This order virtually put an end to the work of inspectorates. As a result, in addition to being high on the list of the most corrupt countries in the world, Pakistan today also ranks very high among the list of countries with maximum level of fatal industrial accidents and occupational hazards. The infamous “contract labour system” was introduced at an extensive level, with the active support and encouragement of this regime, throughout the 1980’s. In 1992, the Ministry of Defence declared almost every railway line in the country as the Ministry of Defence (MOD) line, and the unions of the workers employed on those railway lines were banned!

In January 1999 when the dismissed government of Nawaz Sharif asked the army to take over the administration of WAPDA, the union was immediately suspended and later de-registered. The army chief himself admitted, while addressing the officers of WAPDA, that this was the precondition for intervention! Soon after that, the dismissed regime of Nawaz Sharif in its draft labour policy of January 7 proposed to extend the right of association to agricultural sector. However, this was qualified with the proviso “wherev er convenient”. With regard to other workers, the policy announced the government’s intention to bring the laws relating to the right of association in full conformity with the ILO Conventions 87 and 98. Again the actual enjoyment of these fundamental rights was to be dependent on the discretion of the “Chief Executive of the “company”–the company here seems to be a substitute for the country (it is notable that Mr. Sharif harbored the desire to become our Chief Executive!). The present Chief Executive has reportedly remarked that his attempted dismissal was wrong since “you have to follow set rules while removing even a peon from his job.” Could these rules then be applied to to cover every employed person in Pakistan, including the employees of WAPDA, KESC and millions of contract workers and tenants-at-will?

If after 52 years of post-colonial existence the rights of the majority of the citizens remain contingent upon the whims of the rulers, what is the true nature of the state? It is certainly not possible in an independent, democratic state where sovereignty lies with the citizens. That brings us to the roots of the perennial crisis faced by our country. Pakistan’s elite was largely created and shaped by its collaboration with the colonial state. It has faithfully maintained the colonial structures of the state, the economy, the society and politics and continues to retain all the attributes of the colonial era: their outward appearance, their modes of thought and functioning, their mindset, rules of business, and above all their attitude toward their fellow country men. It is these which need to be undone and dismantled.

This task however cannot be managed by a mere “depoliticisation of state institutions” as proclaimed by the CE. It requires a complete de-colonization and democratization of them. Any “path towards democracy “ will have to be charted through full and unconditional recognition of the sovereign rights of the citizens. Over 90 per cent of our people have to become part of the “Nation”, before we can talk of “National Integration”.The Federation will become stronger and viable only through an informed and organized participation of the people inhabiting the federating units, and not by alternately bribing and cajoling into submission feudal and tribal elites. Accountability, whether across the board or a limited one, cannot be done without empowering the common people who have been the direct victims of the lack of it.

Is the current regime likely to prove equal to these gigantic tasks? Is it likely to attempt Comprehensive Structural Change instead of Structural Adjustments? The record of past military regimes suggest not. The current structural adjustment program was, after all, also thrust upon Pakistan in November 1988, by the then caretaker regime under direct control of Mirza Aslam Beg. It will certainly require a fundamental change of heart and mind at the top. Is such a change likely? Considering the attitude towards worker’s rights displayed by the current military leadership when it took over WAPDA and the KESC, the answer is most likely an emphatic NO.

But hope springs eternal, and the struggle for a genuine and comprehensive democratization of Pakistan must be waged regardless. There are things which must be demanded, argued for, and fought for. Some basic ones are:

Immediate and unconditional restoration of the right to organize and bargain collectively for all working people.
A realistic revision of the existing minimum wage to be applicable to all workers.
A serious attempt at establishing a comprehensive Contributory SocialSecurity System, including unemployment benefits. A substantial part of money recovered from defaulters and scaling down wasteful military and other state expenditures should be allocated as seed money for such an undertaking.
Establishing a comprehensive program of apprenticeship for the youth, especially the educated unemployed.
Plan for comprehensive Agrarian reforms with active involvement and participation of rural workers.
Freedom from state control for radio and television, and access to them for common citizens and their organisations to debate national issues, including over the issue of a new Constitution genuinely based on the principles of Federalism, Democracy, Justice and Peace.
Transparency of all economic activities of various para-statal organisations including those owned and operated by the armed services.

* (Secretary Education and Research PWC)

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