Pakistan's press has begun to reflect the growing public criticism of the military regime that last month ousted the elected but unpopular government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The criticism appearing in the press is also notable in that it would have been unthinkable in the aftermath of the military takeovers in Pakistan in 1958, 1969 and 1977.

In one measure of the criticism appearing in the press, the Northwest Frontier correspondent of Dawn, the country's most-influential English-language daily, wrote a column recently calling for elections and a swift return to civilian rule.

"Let those in government offices be wary," the column read. "The people are in a hurry, [averse] to living on promises and no more prepared to keep on waiting."It added: "They say let the regime bury the euphoria … as they themselves left that euphoria behind. Surprisingly, this has happened in a matter of just four weeks, whereas in the past, such euphoria lasted for months and years. It was so because the politicians knew the rules of the game while the military rulers are denied that facility and knowledge.”

Gen. Pervez Musharraf seized power in a bloodless coup on Oct. , deposing Sharif. The former prime minister, who faces treason and other charges related to his actions the day he was toppled, has been in army custody since the takeover.
When Musharraf announced a plan to select 190 lieutenant colonels to monitor and assist civil administration at the district level, the English-language The News of Karachi said in an editorial that "the military itself ... suffers the most due to any prolonged or deep engagement in the daily affairs of civil administration.

"Instead of changing the system they are supposed to run or, in this case, monitor they invariably end up becoming a part of it, much to the detriment of the military's institutional interests. To calm such fears, the role of this new body must be explicitly [spelled] out with the involvement of large numbers of army personnel kept to as minimum and for as short a duration as possible.”
Musharraf and other members of his government repeatedly have promised not to inhibit the country's press, which early this year was ranked "partly free" in the annual ratings compiled by New York-based Freedom House.
"The promise of freedom of the press, for as long as it lasts, will be good for the regime, too," wrote Aziz Siddiqui in his column in Dawn after Musharraf made his promise to members of the All Pakistan Newspaper Society, which represents publishers. But Siddiqui noted that Musharraf also was quoted as saying at the APNS meeting, "If you get correct information, which may harm national interest, it should not be published." Siddiqui, referring to that comment, asked: "That does seem to shift the paradigm a bit, doesn't it?" He added: "It may have the effect of taking away with one hand at least half of what it gives with the other. Who will decide national interest? And how?”

In trying to promote a benign image, the military regime has made a point of noting that it has not imposed martial law or suspended the constitution. As a result, criticism as well as news reports that challenge military positions have crept into the press. A month after the military demanded that hundreds of business people repay by today an estimated $2 billion borrowed from government and private banks, The News reported on the front page that barely 1% of the money had been recovered.

The day after that report, The Nation, an English-language daily based in and long a supporter of the military, reported that "the recovery drive has picked up."(The Associated Press reported on Nov. 14 that Pakistan's army rulers published a list of more than 320 names of the country's largest loan defaulters, including family members of the deposed prime minister. The list appeared in national newspapers two days before the deadline to repay their outstanding debts to the country's banks.)

The Nation also has carried criticism about the military. Correspondent Rashid Ahmed wrote, "Over the years, the Army's grip and direction of foreign policy have contributed enormously to Pakistan's internal and foreign policy problems.

"Continued public support for the coup would depend on how much the army will be able to fulfil its own agenda." But it is obvious that no newspaper in the country serves as a mouthpiece for the new regime. The military has not yet developed an information policy, other than using the inexperienced and low-level Inter-Services Public Relations to distribute occasional statements. No senior officer is responsible for information policy. As a result, Pakistanis learned of the formal arrest of Sharif in an interview that the interior minister, a retired general, gave to CNN.

The author was the first Associated Press (AP) resident correspondent in He has reported on events and developments in the country since 1969. He is now director of the Freedom Forum Asian Center and Library in Hong Kong.

We are thankful to the Freedom House to authorise us to publish the article.