What Apology?
By Dr I. Kamal
Dublin, CA
It is a sad commentary on the state of affairs in Pakistan that, out of the two most truthful, patriotic and inspiring interviews which Pakistanis have heard since former President Parvez Musharraf's voice was silenced, with the playing of the national anthem in the background at the conclusion of Mubashir Luqman's program giving one goose bumps on the arms, some journalists looking at them with jaundiced eyes saw it fit to headline and highlight only Musharraf's so-called apology.
What Musharraf had said was that whatever he had done was based on putting Pakistan first, to the best of his ability and judgment. If in this process some people had misunderstood his intentions, then he would like to apologize to them. Readers of the Pakistan Link who may have missed these interviews broadcast on December 19, 2013, hosted by Rana Mubashir ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-6PxM-MTMg ) and Mubashir Luqman ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_gbESDs19Q ) can watch them on youtube, and judge for themselves.
It is another sad commentary on the state of affairs that there are no protests from the public, no outrage at the harassment being visited upon Parvez Musharraf, a decent, honest, individual who had brought economic prosperity to Pakistan, broken the IMF begging bowl, given power to the people through the Nazim System for the first time in the country’s history, granted full press freedom and opened up the electronic media, and had always met all the requirements of the laws prevailing at the time. Unfortunately, the colonial feudal system is so ingrained upon the masses in Pakistan that they are willing to adore, adulate and even shed blood only for their glamorous, billionaire feudal lords, whose henchmen excel in slogan-raising and rabble-rousing.
After failing in their attempts to sentence him on three baseless cases, the powers that be are now trying him for passing a Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO) on November 3, 2007, which held certain articles of the constitution in abeyance , an act not unlawful until a later amendment was passed in 2009. The main reasons for the promulgation of the PCO, which lasted only 41 days and met all the legal and constitutional requirements in effect at that time, were clearly stated in the opening few paragraphs of its preamble in the following words:
“WHEREAS there is visible ascendancy in the activities of extremists and incidents of terrorist attacks, including suicide bombings, IED explosions, rocket firing and bomb explosions and the banding together of some militant groups have taken such activities to an unprecedented level of violent intensity posing a grave threat to the life and property of the citizens of Pakistan;
"WHEREAS there has also been a spate of attacks on state infrastructure and on law-enforcement agencies;
"WHEREAS some members of the judiciary are working at cross purposes with the executive and legislature in the fight against terrorism and extremism, thereby weakening the government and the nation’s resolve and diluting the efficacy of its actions to control this menace;
"WHEREAS there has been increasing interference by some members of the judiciary in government policy, adversely affecting economic growth, in particular;
"WHEREAS constant interference in executive functions, including but not limited to the control of terrorist activity, economic policy, price controls, downsizing of corporations and urban planning, has weakened the writ of the government; the police force has been completely demoralized and is fast losing its efficacy to fight terrorism and intelligence agencies have been thwarted in their activities and prevented from pursuing terrorists;
"WHEREAS some hard-core militants, extremists, terrorists and suicide bombers, who were arrested and being investigated, were ordered to be released. The persons so released have subsequently been involved in heinous terrorist activities, resulting in loss of human life and property. Militants across the country have, thus, been encouraged while law-enforcement agencies subdued;………”
Six years down the road, the conditions described in the PCO’s preamble are still prevailing in Pakistan, in a more intense form. More than 50,000 Pakistani civilians are reported to have been killed at the hands of the terrorists. Very few, if any, have been definitively sentenced. There have been charges of terrorist links amongst some of the judicial appointments under the retiring Chief Justice (statement by Fouad Choudhry, spokesperson for the PPP, on Eleventh Hour hosted by Waeem Badami, ARY News TV dated December 12, 2013).
In Musharraf’s latest ordeal, eight very cogent reasons, challenging the validity of the special court set up to try him, have been summarily dismissed by the Islamabad High Court. His chances of getting a fair trial under the present setup are bleak. The launching of four successive cases, one after the other, itself shows a determined effort to get him, on something or the other. As Moulvi Ismail Meeruthi had said many years back, “Jaatee hai jab zaalim kee neeyat bigar, naheen kaam aati dalail aur hujjat” (when the intention of the prosecutor is to persecute, logic and arguments do not help). Perhaps Musharraf can only be saved by an act of God Almighty, such as the one in 1999 when he was about to be sent to a fiery death along with 200 plus fellow passengers including women and children.
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