5/12: The
Decisions Not Taken
By Dr Adil Najam
US
It is all too evident now that General Musharraf
is tempting fate with actions that are politically
suicidal. Seeing him at his May 12 rally - holed
up behind an oversized bullet-proof dais (which
only highlighted a sense of besiegement) -- one
wondered if he actually believed what he was saying
about the 'tremendous support' he had from what
he saw as a 'sea of humanity' but which was much
more an assortment of uninterested spectators
who were making the best of their forced detention
by roaming about, chatting, and generally goofing
around even as the president and his coterie went
about their uninspiring and uninspired speeches.
The tragedy is that he actually seemed to believe
every word of what he said. No one else did; but
he seemed resolute and convinced. This was a sad
spectacle because instead of coming across as
a confident leader, he came across as someone
who was not only out of touch with the reality
around him, but in denial of it.
He may well have come to believe in his own inevitability
and 'good luck' a little too much. While having
luck on your side is a good thing, it can never
be a substitute for clear thinking, seeking wise
advice and a grounded moral compass that can differentiate
the obviously good from the obviously bad. While
General Musharraf might once have prided in having
all these, he seems to have now abandoned the
last three and is banking only on his much-hyped
(mostly by himself) good luck. Luck is a good
thing, but it never lasts forever. Never and for
no one.
Like most long-serving autocrats, General Musharraf
seems to have already eliminated all who could
possibly look him in the eye and tell him that
he needs to reconsider the path he is on. Instead,
his own actions encourage only the insecurity
and sycophancy of those around him who can only
cheerlead the dance of denial and delusion that
he seems to have set his heart upon.
This sense of disconnect was on grand display
throughout 5/12 as Karachi bled, burned, and cried
hoarse. The most shocking reality of the day was
not that the carnage that ensued was entirely
predictable, but that it was entirely avoidable.
What has left the nation aghast is that the simple
steps that could have been taken to avoid the
needless mayhem and death were not even considered.
What boggles the political analysts' mind is that
at least some of these steps would not only have
given Karachi some of its dignity back but would
have been good for the government.
Irrespective of what might or might not have been
done beforehand, there were at least three moments
during the day itself when General Musharraf could
have done things that could have dramatically
changed how the nation would remember this black
day and his role in it; both for the better.
The first of these moments came around noon on
5/12, just around the time when the Chief Justice's
airplane landed in Karachi. By this time at least
a few things were very clear to everyone: (a)
that the road blockages were so stringent that
the chief justice's team could possibly not get
to the Sindh High Court without the government's
permission; and (b) that a large scale massacre
was in the works and that this, rather than the
CJ's movements or the government's Islamabad extravaganza,
was going to define the day in history. At this
point, General Musharraf could have stepped in
to demonstrate real leadership, appealed for calm
in the city, instructed the Sindh government to
open the blockages, and made the case that no
judicial or political issue was worth the loss
of innocent Pakistani lives. He would have emerged
statesmanlike and magnanimous, he would have forced
the CJ's team to respond with similar sagacity,
and maybe -- just maybe -- at least a few lives
could have been saved.
The second opportunity came late in the afternoon
by which time much of the carnage and the MQM
rally had already happened and a high-level meeting
was held in Islamabad to consider what could be
done. The meeting decided to expel the CJ's lawyers
and later the Chief Justice of Pakistan himself
from the largest city of Pakistan (this last bit
is itself full of irony). The result was to once
again make the Chief Justice the 'story,' instead
of focusing on the 'ground realities' in Karachi.
An alternative option would have been to focus
instead of real steps to bring calm to the streets
of Karachi and saying to the CJ, "OK, go
and speak at the High Court if you want to."
By this time, whatever the CJ could or would have
said was predictable and would have mattered very
little in the larger scheme of things; especially
if the pictures from the streets of Karachi were
to change as a result of Islamabad's intervention.
General Musharraf could, for example, have gone
on air then and announced that he was going to
cancel the government's rally in Islamabad in
respect of those who had been killed that day.
In all likelihood, this would have forced the
Sindh High Court to do the same with their event.
The third, and final, opportunity to change the
tone of the day and the memories that will now
forever be associated with it came in Islamabad
that night when General Musharraf finally ascended
the makeshift stage made out of empty cargo containers.
His performance that night was no less empty.
With hired-hands beating drums and doing bhangras
(dance) in the background, the General entered
with his hands raised high and an air of false
bravado and triumphalism; much like a pehalwan
(wrestler) who has no chance of winning enters
the ring. He could -- even at that late stage
-- have restored some measure of dignity to the
day by acting differently. He could have respected
the somber events of the day. Instead of starting
his speech by taunting the opposition and the
lawyers about how the government could gather
more 'heads' than them, a different General Musharraf
might have entered more soberly and started his
speech by calling for a minute of silence and
saying fateha (prayer) for those who had been
needlessly killed in Karachi. In that one moment,
at least, a nation that was being torn apart by
rallies and murders could have stood united in
prayer.
History judges leaders not only on that which
they choose to do, but also on that which they
choose not to do. History will not judge kindly
the events of 5/12 or the decisions that General
Musharraf chose not to make that day.
(The writer teaches International Negotiation
and Diplomacy at The Fletcher School of Law and
Diplomacy, Tufts University, US. He is the founding
editor of Pakistaniat.com. Email: adil.najam@
tufts.edu. Courtesy The News)
