The Politics of Vendetta
By Nadir Khan, PhD
Alta Loma,CA
What Pervez Musharrf did on October 12, 1999 was absolutely unconscionable. It was an act of treason. No one -- absolutely no one -- has the right to remove a democratically elected government, whatever the reasons may be. That set the stage for the present crisis.
Then a deal was worked out by which the Sharif family was sent into exile to Saudi Arabia. The details of that deal are still being debated. But the Sharifs, when they were in power, tried to storm the Supreme Court and framed charges against Benazir Bhutto and her Mr 10% husband and put him behind bars for eight years while she shuttled between Dubai and London.
When the Sharifs tried to return, twice they were sent back in a publicly humiliating manner. Finally, everybody came back. But Musharraf wanted to be president and so he got himself elected by an outgoing parliament which was controlled by his cronies who were soundly defeated in the February elections. But before he could be elected, he wanted to remove the Chief Justice and other (almost 60 of them) independent-minded judges.
Pakistan had become Musharraf’s personal fiefdom. It was not a country but a personal property and the people had no say in what was being done to their country. Politics in Pakistan has always had personal overtones. From the assassination of Liaquat Ali Khan to the emergency imposed in December 2007, no action was devoid of personal overtones.
In 2004, on a visit to South Africa, I had the opportunity to talk to a variety of professional and activist people about the peaceful and smooth transition to black majority rule from the much discredited and maligned Afrikaner rule in that beautiful country. Unanimously the credit was given to Nelson Mandela for his courage, magnanimity and farsightedness But for him, South Africa could have become another Bosnia or Zimbabwe. When he left prison, he had spent one-third of his life behind bars -- a total of twenty-seven years. He had the power to unleash a blood bath, the likes of which the world had never seen before. But he did not do that. He could have him elected president for life. But he did not do that. He left office and it can be said without any hesitation, that today he is the most venerable statesman in the world..
But why is Mandella liked and respected so much? Because he is a statesman and not some cheap, corrupt politician. He believed in two words which have never become part of the political lexicon in Pakistan, namely, NATIONAL INTEREST. Apart from the founding fathers, not a single politician in our national history has put national interest above their personal interest -- not a single one of them.
Musharraf removed the Chief Justice because he was afraid of an unfavorable decision. Zardari does not want the Chief Justice back because he is afraid that charges against him might be resurrected. Nawaz Sharif wants to impeach Musharraf because he overthrew him. It is a vicious cycle and the people of Pakistan are beneficiaries of their machinations. Truly speaking, all of them are guilty of harming and hurting our national interests. They all deserve to be punished. And their time will come. The old adage that what goes around comes around does not seem to register with these midget politicians, who have literally destroyed a beautiful country and its wonderful people.
Our national interests are bigger and more significant than any one of us. The late Walter Lippman once wrote that very few people use power with wisdom. Pakistani politicians are a prime example of this. A notoriously ignominious Pakistani leader (who shall remain nameless) once said, “Who lives if Pakistan dies, and who dies if Pakistan lives.” There is a lesson for all of us in these difficult times for our beloved country.
