Military takeover
* Pakistan Troops took over key buildings in the capital, Islamabad, in the evening of October 12th, several hours after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif announced the dismissal of General Mussaraf. The Prime Minister and his brother were taken into "protective custody". Farooq Tariq (General Secretary of the Labour Party of Pakistan sends this report. In his first nation wide address, Army chief General Pervaiz Musharf did not mention martial law or announce any interim arrangements.
He said that everyone was aware of the kind of turmoil and uncertainty that the country had gone through in recent
97 times. "Not only have all the institubeen played around with, and systematically destroyed, the economy my advice, they tried to interfere with the armed forces, the last remaining viable institution in which all of you takes so much pride and look up to, at all times, for the stability, unity and integrity of our beloved country"
This is the usual demagogy of any military ruler. But General Musharf has not yet announced martial law.
The military coup was apparently provoked by the announcement of the dismissal of the General. Only one week earlier, the Nawaz Government had promoted the General to Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff Committee. The General had immediately purged some senior military officers who were known as Nawaz Sharif supporters. In retaliation, the Prime Minister tried to dismiss the general.
This was the immediate excuse for the military take-over. But the main reasons are deeply rooted in the present economic crisis and its political effects. The coup is part of the aftermath of the Kargil dispute with India over Kashmir. The Nawaz Government blamed army chiefs for Pakistan's defeat.
In a move to reschedule the country's IMF loans, the Nawaz Sharif Government recently blamed the Taliban Government in Afghanistan for "terrorist activities inside Pakistan." This is a surprising U-turn. Pakistan is the only country in the world, which had formally recognized the Taliban Government of Afghanistan. It has actively supported the Talibans to take over Kabul and other parts of Afghanistan. Sharif's sudden hostility to the Taliban was not appreciated by the various religious currents within the army.
The economy is in absolute shatters.
LPP Declaration Army out of politics! [Lahore, 13 October] The Labour Party of Pakistan (LPP) strongly opposes the army coup, and demands that the army go back to the barracks. The LPP further demands the creation of a workers interim government to hold fresh elections for a new legislative assembly.
The army coup mirrors the deep-rooted economic crisis that has exposed the internal contradictions and infighting of the Pakistan ruling class.
Nawaz Sharif, ex Prime Minister, wanted to strengthen his dictatorial power by forcing the retirement of General Pervaiz Mussaraf. But this coup proves that the army is the real ruler of the country. Nawaz's attempt at grabbing power was deplorable. But the army coup is absolutely unacceptable.
The new government —even if it is a civilian set up—will be a puppet in the army's hands. Whether we have a military or civilian regime now depends on 8 International Viewpoint #316 November 1999 the generals negotiations with the IMF and the World Bank. The coup was against the plans of US imperialism, but the US will find a compromise with Pakistan's military strongmen.
The new government will use accountability as a pretext, but this will be an illusion. The new government will not be able to recover loans from defaulters. In fact, the masses will be taxed even more heavily, in a futile bid to overcome the economic crisis.
The lack of protest against the coup proves the utter impopularity of the Nawaz regime, because of its economic policies. The new regime will have to carry out the same economic policies. So it too will be increasingly unpopular.
The army coup will sharpen the national question in the three smaller provinces, particularly if the army resorts to dictatorial methods.
For the moment, the masses might feel some relief, because the army coup has replaced the Nawaz regime. But they will soon be disillusioned. The trade union movement, working class peasants, free press and political parties will suffer the loss of democratic rights.
The class struggle will be even more difficult. The working class will have to fight for democratic rights, in addition to their genuine rights and demands.
The Labour Party of Pakistan (LPP) demands that the army return to barracks immediately. An interim workers peasant's government should be set up to hold the ruling class account-
This workers peasant interim government elections for a new legislative assembly. Democratic rights should be restored immediately. No ban should be imposed on meetings, demonstrations, and processions.
The LPP vows to mobilize the working class and peasants to press for these demands. It will launch a campaign for the restoration of democratic rights and it will not accept any attempt by the military to impose martial law. *
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The Government's attempt to introduce a general sales tax was successfully opposed by the small traders association, which organized a nationwide strike on 4th September. In the face of this protest, the government ignored IMF instructions, withdrew the GST and introduced a new tax.
In another development, cotton massive international competitive rate. The energy multinationals bribed the Benazir government to accept this deal. Nawaz's clique hadn't shared in these kickbacks, so was rather hostile to the deal. In the end, the World Bank intervened, urging Nawaz to seek a compromise with the power companies.
The Nawaz government also tested a nuclear bomb despite the hypocritical with India, and lost. This isolated the Nawaz Government from its religious constituency and its international backers.
The government had high hopes that it could compensate by an ambitious trade relationship with the Daewo group. But that Korean multinational is in deep crisis, and is not ready to expand its Pakistan operations.