In a distinct deja vu sense, Bangladesh’s military backed interim president Fakhruddin Ahmed forcing former prime ministers Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina into exile is reminiscent of Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf having successfully exiled two former prime ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif to pave the way for a military dominated government.

Corruption ridden politics

With democracy not providing a direction to the nation’s economy, charges of corruption flew thick and fast when elections for new term of parliament were announced. Sheikh Hasina led Awami League’s unholy alliance with Islamist fundamentalists to retain power forced upon a neutral government in the country that was to hold a fair election. Instead, the deteriorating law and order situation was used to usurp emergency powers.

Arrest of both the leaders separately, Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina, came as a shock to the nation. Khaleda Zia and her sons today face corruption charges, while extortion and murder charges have been levelled against Shaikh Hasina. These powerful women of Bangladesh between themselves have ruled the country for over sixteen years.

Khaleda Zia was the first woman to become prime minister of Bangladesh in 1991 and remains one of the most powerful political figures of the country. She was also the Prime minister of the last elected government before the caretaker government took over in January 2007. Shiekh Hasina, the main political challenger to Zia, came to power in 1996, but lost power to Zia in the 2001 elections.

Any chance for free and fair elections!

The Bangladesh constitution decrees that general elections must be held within six months of the establishment of any caretaker government. However, the proposed elections have been postponed more than once and the Princeton educated caretaker President Fakhruddin Ahmed’s government is taking much time in updating voter records and reforming the election commission. Promising a democratic government, elections have vaguely been proposed ’sometime before 2008′.

Having succeeded in creating a political vacuum, it is being strongly felt that the military backed establishment of Bangladesh is only a stopgap arrangement and with time the power will effectively pass onto the military commanders. Once that transition takes place, chances of holding elections and putting a democratically elected government in power, appears bleak.

Is Bangladesh headed Pakistan’s way

Failed democracies create undemocratic power centers and Bangladesh has proved no different. Ever since the country was violently carved out in 1971, it has had a love hate relationship with democracy. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the country’s founding Prime Minister was assassinated in 1975 and for the next 15 years, the country passed under military rule. In the footstep of Pakistan’s military dictators, the military dictators of Bangladesh, Ziaur Rahman and Ershad floated political parties to legitimize their rule.

Absence of democracy and civil rights in Pakistan are out in the open for everyone to gauge upon, and its consequent crisis is apparent. Pakistan is a live example of a country facing an identity crisis. The fundamentalist forces that once it covertly supported are today threatening to dismember the nation and we hope that Bangladesh would learn from this experience. For neighboring countries, Bangladesh remains a concern. What is happening in Pakistan today should not be allowed to be replicated in Bangladesh.