Musharraf in the line of fire

The recent revelations made by Lt Gen Gulzar Kiyani (LGGK) and Dr A Q Khan (Dr AQK) in two separate TV interviews must have come as a bolt from the blue for the beleaguered President Pervez Musharraf (PPM). They must have also shocked his loyalists and the innocent people who had still carried faith in his veracity, sincerity and indispensability. No matter how hard PPM and his loyalists may now try, and try they will, to discredit LGGK and Dr AQK, their efforts are not likely to succeed because since March 9, 2007, PPM has almost totally lost his credibility with a large majority of the people of Pakistan. The arbitrary and unconstitutional acts of three other military rulers before him, President Ayub Khan, (PAK), President Yahya Khan (PYK), and President Ziaul Haq (PZUH), which also caused great damage to the country's economy, polity and institutions, were seen by the people as mere mistakes but for the sake of Pakistan's glory or security and not as acts to prolong their personal rule. PAK acted most arbitrarily during his ten year rule. He summarily dismissed many senior bureaucrats, took the country to a suicidal war with India, alienated East Pakistan by treating it as a colony rather than as an equal partner in the federation and sowed the seeds of the country's break-up, but most of his bad decisions were also seen by the people as in Pakistan's interest and not in his personal interest. GYK also summarily dismissed over three hundred senior bureaucrats, imprisoned many political leaders, ordered an untenable and brutal military operation in East Pakistan in March 1971 which turned out to be an unmitigated disaster, nevertheless his decisions still enjoyed widespread support in West Pakistan as they were seen by the people as an attempt to save the country and not as a vengeful act in his personal interest. In his turn PZUK also behaved exactly in the same arbitrary manner. But again the people saw his acts in the interest of Pakistan. So his military intervention on July 5, 1977 was seen as an act designed to end the ZAB-PNA imbroglio and prevent the "impending" civil war, then his decision not to hold the elections after 90 days was also seen in the same light and willingly accepted by a majority of the postpone. Next time when he postponed the elections it was in the name of Islamisation that was actually welcomed by the people. Then came the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and helped him consolidate his rule. But most of the illegal and unconstitutional acts of these rulers were seen as taken in Pakistan's interest rather than in their own personal interest. As against that, right from the beginning, PPM's many decisions are seen by the general public as motivated by self-interest. Even his support for the US military operations against Taliban and Al-Qaeda, who posed and still continue to pose a threat to Pakistan as well, did not help PPM as he was seen to have accepted the US dictate in the interest of the US and his own personal interest rather than in Pakistan's interest. PPM also failed to deliver on his tall promises of good governance and a corruption free administration. The referendum he held to get elected as president, the elections of 2002 and its results, which were both manipulated to form a King's party and favour done to MMA's candidates, by accepting their madrassah certificates as equal to bachelor's degrees, and many other similar acts of PPM were all seen as farce and an attempt to hold on to absolute power at any cost and not in the larger interest of the country. In this backdrop, the formation of Pakistan's largest cabinet, comprising over 90 ministers, including many who had been charged of corruption by him, the disgraceful removal and incarceration of the nation's hero Dr A Q Khan, his refusal to doff his uniform in 2004, as he had promised in a TV address to the nation, the 6 months long Red Mosque drama under his very nose, the cases of the missing Pakistanis, the attempted sale of the Pak. Steel Mill at a throw away price. Then his attempt to dismiss the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) on March 9, his second attempt to do the same after the CJP was restored by the full bench of the Supreme Court on July 20, 2007, the dismissal of 60 other senior judges simply because they also refused to take the new oath under the illegal PCO of November 3, 2008, followed by their five months long house arrest together with their families, the NRO which exonerated all the criminal doings of politicians, specifically named in his book In the line of fire, were all seen as acts taken in bad faith, to stay in power by hook or by crook and to perpetuate the army rule over the country. One day his luck had to run out and it did on March 9, 2009. And, even though he has managed to hang on to power all this time, first with the help of the King's party and now with the help of an accidental leader's inexplicable reasons, it is inevitable that very soon PPM would have to go, whether President Bush, the most unpopular and destructive of all the US presidents for his own country and for the whole world, continues his support for him or not. The statements of LGGK and Dr AQK have further tightened the noose around a beleaguered PPM's neck. He may, however, still act like a commando and decide to take the country down with him, aggravating the chaos and even causing bloodshed, rather than leave in peace and dignity. One can only hope that he will desist from such a disastrous course of action and spare the country and the people further trauma, pain and deprivation caused by inflation, shortages, load shedding and increasing crime, thanks to the bad governance of last 6 years. The writer is former ambassador E-mail: manalam@hotmail.com