In this blog I have decided to look at two different, but very similar countries - The Philippines and Pakistan. Although they have similar historic socio, cultural, economic structures they started going down different paths in the eighties.
Both are former colonies. Philippines was a colony of Spain and subsequently The United States of America. Pakistan together with Bangladesh and India was part of the British ruled Indian sub-continent.They have strong ties with the United States.
Pakistan and Philippines both have a large group of landed feudal aristocracy who protect their economic interests by participating in politics. The seats are dynastic in nature and remain within the family. It could be the Bhuttos, the Mehrs ,the Cojuangcos, or the Magapacals. Surprisingly in these male dominated societies, it is the feudal aristocracy which has produced female leaders who came from similar backgrounds. Corazino Aquino who was from the wealthy Cojuangco family from the Tarlac province, became the President of the Philippines when her husband Benigno “ Ninoy” Aquino was assassinated. Her son Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino is now the President. In Pakistan Benazir Bhutto whose family was from the Sindh state inherited the political leadership of the Peoples Party when her Father Zulfiqar Bhutto was hung by General Zia ul Haq. Benazir herself was subsequently assassinated in December 2007.
Religion, be it the church or the mosque, plays an important part in the lives of the majority of the population. In the Philippines, the Catholic Church is active in the education sector through schools and universities. While religion plays an important role in the schools the emphasis is on a well rounded education. In Pakistan the mosques run the madrassas. While most of them provide decent education, there are some institutions which try and influence the male students politically and encourage them on the jihadist track.
Corruption is an endemic problem in both the countries.Charges were frequently made against the former husband of President Gloria Magapacal's husband. Similarly allegations are made against President Zardari going back to the days when he was the First Husband.
The armed forces in both the countries play a very important role. It provides an alternative path to the top for individuals who do not belong to the land owning class or the business families. The armies have at various instances taken it upon themselves to take over the ruling of the country.
In both the countries you have a small group of business families who control a large portion of the GDP. They dabble in politics directly or indirectly by having the politicians in their pockets. In Pakistan the Sharif brothers who come from a business background are the leaders of the opposition party and effectively dominate the state of Punjab. They have a better relationship with the senior Army officers since a large number of them tend to be from the same state.
Because of the state of their economies both the countries are heavily dependent on their overseas workers for a sizable portion of the foreign exchange earnings. In Pakistan these tends to be predominantly male, whereas in the Philippines it tends to be of both sexes.
Regional insurgencies continue to be a thorn in the side for both countries. In the Philippines after the war , these included the HUK movement, the PKP and more recently the New Peoples Army. It also has the Muslim insurgents such the Moro faction and the Abu Sayyaf group. In Pakistan over the years there have been different groups, with the most recent being the militants in the Swat valley loyal to Mullah Fazlullah and the Baluchi movement lead by the disgruntled tribal chiefs among others.
However the countries went down different paths in the eighties. In both, the religious leaders played a major role or heavily influenced the politicians in the decision they made.
In the Philippines, the Church lead by Cardinal Sin lead the country in seeing off the dictator Ferdinand Marcos and down the path of democracy. The Church still plays an important role. No politician can afford to offend it if he wants to get elected Since then there have been a number of feeble attempts by the military to regain its role, but the civilian government has been dominant.
In Pakistan without a single religious leader being able to play a leading role, General Zia Ul Huq took it upon himself to take the country down the Islamic path. The civilian governments have been given a number of opportunities to run the country but inevitably the military has had to intervene. It continues to play a dominant role behind the scene and influences the decisions of the civilian government. It also decided to go down the nuclear path - to keep up with India.
The reason for the change in the role of the army in both the countries is perhaps because of their history and their geographic location and it also reflect on the spending on military. In the Philippines it accounts for 0.9% of the GDP and in Pakistan it officially accounts for over 3% of its GDP.
The Philippines is on friendly terms with all its neighbors, and the role of the army seems to be restricted to dealing with internal insurgencies. Over the years they seemed to have considerable success in this area.
Pakistan however has fought three wars with its giant neighbor. It has seen its country split with the creation of Bangladesh .It is concerned about further splits and its armed forces feel that if it lets its guard down it will be dominated by India. As a result it also developed nuclear capability.
Also Pakistan was used as a proxy by the United States in getting Russia out of Afghanistan without getting directly involved. This rag tag bunch of Pashtun guerrillas viewed this as an Islamic Jihad and are supported both physically and financially by the Islamic fundamentalists from the Middle East. After the ouster of the Russians, the guerrillas morphed into the Taliban and seized power in Afghanistan which became a safe haven for the Al-Qaeda while they wreaked havoc in various parts of the world.
The Army in turn directly and indirectly, has also been using this and its various splinter groups as an unofficial guerrilla arm, to disrupt and create havoc in India and as a vehicle to be able to control its other neighbor Afghanistan which they feel is in their back yard and which they should be able to dominate. Of recent, some of these splinter groups have begun to bring the war into their own homes by suicide bombers targeting not just other religious minorities, but other Muslim sects including Shias, Ahmadis, and even their own religious or political leaders who preach a path of tolerance. Their nuclear capability also acts as a deterrent for foreign interference and forces the Western powers to treat Pakistan with kid gloves. These Islamist unable to get the numbers during elections rely on terror tactics to get their way.
With the recent events in the Middle East and the movement towards democracy , it will be interesting to see from a long term perspective as to how it impacts Pakistan. These countries are beginning to look inwards and towards protecting their own regimes rather than supporting the overseas militants. In the meantime Philippines seems well entrenched on its democratic path and its new President Benigno Aquino appears to be determined to root out corruption.
.
No comments:
Post a Comment