What Pakistanis Owe to Musharraf
By Perwaiz Ahmad
CA
I take strong exception to the views expressed by Mr. J. S Bedi under the caption "What Pakistanis owe to Musharraf" in your Opinion Section, August 28, 2008 issue. It seems as if wrong and right acts do not matter any more; one can justify anything and everything depending on which side he chooses to be.
Shotgun policies, trampling upon the constitution through PCOs, getting endorsements by sellout judges and NROs to solidify the status quo had been a way of life during every military dictatorship. Mr. Bedi and his like-minded friends - I run into them all the time - should remember that India has weathered all kinds of insurgencies without any military intervention for as long as Pakistan has been in existence, whereas Pakistan has gone through Democracy 101 every ten years at an enormous price.
It's a shame that General Musharraf like his predecessors, Ayub, Yahya, Zia, could not see the writing on the wall, after five years as head of the state, that his days were numbered once he tried to solidify his position by taking his marching orders from Washington, getting himself elected by an outgoing National Assembly, and using judges(barring a few most are sell-outs. Instead, he started using Band-Aids and innuendos against his opponents to cover up the shady dealings of his cronies and cohorts, who, as in the past 60 years, insulated their boss from the real world.
He did not become a General in the Army through nepotism, he earned his high rank through hard work and dedication to his country but once in power he lost sight of the fact that like other generals he too was not indispensable. He should have shed his army uniform when his popularity was sky high and contested the election like any other Pakistani citizen and I am sure he would have had his detractors hiding their faces. He could have earned another term in the office of the Presidency. Instead he chose to decimate the Constitution and hold on to power at any and all cost while the country's economy took a downturn for the worst and Pakistan got weaker and weaker with insurgency knocking at the door.
Anyone, who in this day and age cannot comprehend what a great catastrophe a nation has to endure, year after year because of a one-man rule, be it military or civilian, has his head buried in the sand hoping that everything is hunky–dory when the truth is that the nation gets weaker and weaker and the law and order becomes a joke. Time and again in the history of our country as well as that of close and distant neighbors, we have seen the fate of Iskander Mirza, Ayub Khan, Gen Zia, Yahya Khan, Shah of Iran, Sukarno of Indonesia (Founder of the Nation), Marcos of Philippines, Idi Amin of Uganda etc. who were ousted by their own people because of horrendous corruption, lack of social justice and impropriety at all levels. No lesson was taken from history. Based on his narration of events that led to his military coup against Nawaz Sharrif, Gen Musharraf's name would have been written in golden letters in history had he not lost sight of the fact as to why and for how long he must stay in power.
It is unfortunate that the bleeding hearts cannot see the forest from the trees no matter how desperate the situation becomes. If someone robs a widow of her estate and turns into a philanthropist by donating a fraction of his loot to charitable organizations, he becomes a hero and all his sins are washed away or forgotten even though he does not repent a bit. Gen Musharraf had more than ample time to resolve serious matters of corruption (NAB became a joke); instead he tried to solidify his position and Army rule through PCOs and NROs , which is sad, extremely sad.
My hats off to General Kayani for keeping his vision clear as far as the objectives of the Army are concerned and not yielding to the pressures of a few officials (Army and civilians ) who have amassed wealth at the expense of the poor and the downtrodden. We still have a long way to go to have a stable system of democracy. Churchill once said that both one-man rule and democracy are evil in one way or another but democracy is decidedly better than one-man rule. Independent judiciary and rule of law is the only way to weed out corrupt officials with feudal outlook.
Surprisingly, the same attitude prevailed in the USA when President Carter refused to take corrective measures in the post-Watergate era and President Clinton followed suit in the post-Iran-Contra period; laws were broken during the Reagan-Bush presidency but was swept under the carpet and ignored.
I suggest to Mr. Bedi to read the book by Mr. Shuja Nawaz, brother of the late Gen Asif Nawaz, Chief of Army Staff, entitled "Crossed Swords, Its Army…." in which the author holds both the Army and the civilian rulers responsible for the sad state of affairs Pakistan is going through. His conclusion was that the Army has tarnished its image severely time and again in Kashmir, E. Pakistan, and Kargil and should refrain from meddling in the civilian rule, just like India and most other countries that are doing better by keeping the two entities separate.
Let's work with open minds to keep the dream of Quaid-i- Azam alive and ensure that Muslims (all Firqas), Hindus, Sikhs and Christians live side by side in Pakistan in harminy as guaranteed by our Constitution and strongly supported by our religion.
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