President Musharraf has declared a state of emergency in Pakistan, enacted martial law and suspended the nation’s constitution. This controversial move was made because of a potential terrorist threat in Pakistan. While it seems necessary, it probably will not help.
Enacting martial law and suspending the nation’s constitution, which gives citizens their necessary rights, might seem like a good security idea when the possibility of attacks happens to be rather high. In the end though, by denying these rights and enacting military law, the government has suppressed the voice of the people they are supposed to protect.
There are many ways that this can go. The elections in Pakistan, which were scheduled for January, can either be canceled or postponed, effectively killing democracy in the nation or making it temporarily comatose. Pakistan can continue on with the state of emergency, which will allow an increased amount of military involvement in law and order, and the rights of the people given through the constitution, will remain stripped. The government of Pakistan can also do away with the state of emergency, putting law and order back in the hands of the police and restoring the constitution. President Bush, and parts of his cabinet, have already voiced their disapproval of two of the three options mentioned above.
The problem with suspending the constitution and enacting martial law is it gives the illusion of necessary action. If it is to protect a nation from terrorists, and terrorists truly want to strike, it’s a bit of an obstacle, yes. However, they can still pull something off, even with the military acting as law. If anything, it could be even more damaging because if an attack does get through, with all these necessary measures put in place to stop them, the morale of the people and their faith in their government could fail.
Since America has already voiced their disapproval, it’s time to look at our facts. We’re already stretched thin in Iraq and Afghanistan. Pakistan happens to be one of the biggest supporters for our actions in Afghanistan as well. It’s a dangerous place for America; if we act in a rash way, we lose a supporter and potentially force ourselves into yet another conflict that we really don’t need.
Our economy, while showing signs of improvement, is still in a fragile state of recovery, yet we are pumping millions of dollars into Pakistan to keep their support. Our purported mission is to spread democracy and freedom to other nations, but Pakistan’s move is in direct contradiction to this. If we don’t act accordingly, it’s a lose-lose situation.