Musharraf's Troubles in Pakistan

In reading the mainstream media reports and analysis on the political crisis in Pakistan, I am surprised that I haven’t seen or read more about the earthquake, one of the most significant and traumatic events in Pakistani history, and Jammat e Islami, a powerful Islamic organization that came to the rescue of so many thousands of people after the earthquake.

I covered the aftermath of the earthquake for Current roughly two years ago. The disaster devastated Pakistan’s mountainous Kashmir region, which contains some of the most inhospitable, unreachable, frigid regions on earth. Tens of thousands of people were instantly killed, wounded, or made homeless on what was supposed to be a normal Saturday morning. Comfortable people instantly became poverty stricken. Moderately poor people instantly became extremely poor. Children were seen stumbling on top of the rubble, looking and calling for their siblings and parents, only to find lifeless piles of twisted metal and concrete.

Filming these people was the most heart wrenching experience of my life. On numerous occasions I had to put my camera down to compose myself, to escape into my thoughts, or to cry. Yet, despite the incredible hardships these people suddenly faced, I was filled with an incredible sense of hope after seeing the resilience and strength of the survivors.

The earthquake also taught me some valuable lessons about the politics of suffering. Through the prism of this national catastrophe, I could see the political fault lines cracking in Pakistan. After an act of God, it is the job of mankind to pick up the pieces. It would take a massive logistical campaign to feed the victims, keep them warm, and begin the process of rebuilding. Much like in the US with Hurricane Katrina, the Pakistani people logically expected their government to step in and provide the financial, managerial, and logistical support necessary to help in the wake of the earthquake. And just like President George W. Bush and FEMA in the US, according to most of the Pakistani people I spoke to, the federal government led by General Pervez Musharraf, did not do enough to help the earthquake survivors.

While countless foreign aid organizations and foreign armies swooped in immediately and delivered food, resources, and aid to the Pakistani people, domestically it was Jammat e Islami who got credit for providing support the most quickly and efficiently. I remember one evening strolling through the ruins of Muzzafarbad, Kashmir’s capital city and the unfortunate epicenter of the quake. I was led to a makeshift survivor camp built by Jammat e Islami, which had thousands of tents lined up in rows and was feeding thousands of people lentil soup in giant steel vats. The line to get the food seemed endless but everyone got served. I was amazed at this organization’s ability to pull off this giant logistical feat. Clearly, Jammat e Islami understands the old adage that the fastest way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.

It turns out Jammat e Islami is bigger than I thought. They are the oldest and largest religious organization in Pakistan. They have a flashy website at www.jamaat.org/, a women’s wing, and their own theoretical Islamic Constitution for Pakistan. They are politicized. They recently unified all Islamic parties under one platform, winning 53 out of 272 seats in the 2002 Pakistani legislative elections. In Bangladesh, they have also gone from winning only 3 seats in 1996, to 18 in 2001. (By the way, they were also instrumental in supporting Bangladeshis after the recent floods) They are international; with affiliates in India and Sri Lanka, and, according to the US state department, have ties to Hizbul Mujahideenm, the Muslim militia in Kashmir, as well as Al-Qaeda operatives in Afghanistan.

If Islamic law is ever imposed on Pakistan, Jammat e Islami will be the ones to do it. The situation in Pakistan today is uncanny in its similarity to the Shah’s Iran or even Fatah’s Gaza Strip, before they were both deposed by grassroots Muslim organizations. You have a rich, secular, undemocratic, US-backed leadership, utterly disconnected from the people and worst of all, perceived as corrupt. That’s why the Ayatollah and Hamas came to power in Iran and Gaza, not because of Islam, but because of a lack of alternatives. People are much more likely to accept Islamic law if they think it will put more food on the table.

There is a basic civics lesson every seventh grader should know. The primary reason governments were created is to serve the people. Perhaps if General Musharraf had used more of the 5.6 billion dollars he received in military aid from the US to help the Pakistani earthquake victims, he would not find himself in such a prickly situation. Likewise perhaps President Bush would not find himself surrounded by a Democrat controlled House and Senate. The failure of these two leaders to be there when it counts reminds me of another analogy from seventh grade: Earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, and other natural disasters are kind of like getting your butt kicked real bad by the school bully. You’re lying face down in the dirt wondering what the hell happened. Yet you instantly know who your real friends are. They are the ones picking you up from the ground.






Check out my video from the Kashmir Earthquake: