Khalid Latif Mughal History is the record of man's positive steps and errors. It shows us that the positive steps have been slow and slight, the errors quick and numerous. It provides us the opportunity to profit by the mistakes of our forerunners. History charters its own course, which is determined by a combination of circumstances prevailing at a given time. A positive set of circumstances produces positive historical occurrences and a negative combination of circumstances gives rise to adverse historical events. We Pakistanis must learn from history. For instance, we should objectively study the past events that created circumstances for various dictators to grab power at different junctures in our history. At each of these junctures - be it 1958, 1969, 1977, or 1999 - there was a set of circumstances leading to unconstitutional take over of power; and judiciary, which could have prevented this, succumbed to pressures and failed to perform its supreme function of safeguarding the constitution. We must think of ways and means to prevent the recurrence of such events in future. The Charter of Democracy is perhaps one plan, which, if followed with sincerity, could achieve this purpose. The break-up of Pakistan in 1971 was a great tragedy in our history. We should study the chain of events, which led to that tragedy. One clear lesson from that sad chapter of our history is that when the population of a region or a province turns against the central authority, waging a war against that section of the populace cannot redress the situation. Necessary steps should be taken in time to avert such a situation. History is witness to the fact that no army has ever won a war against its own people. In the context of the current situation in FATA, Swat and Balochistan, there is need to study the circumstances that led to Pakistan's unwarranted involvement in the West's war against terrorism, which is now being fought in our region to our detriment. We cannot mitigate its ill effects by calling it 'our war'. It is not our war. It is a war that has been thrust upon us. It is a disastrous war. There is need to carry out a review of the situation as well as of our strategy. There is still time to avert a complete disaster. History tells us that rulers play a predominant role in shaping events that affect the course of history of nations. Wise and patriotic rulers, from their knowledge of history, know how to lead their nations on to the path of security, progress and prosperity. The prime responsibility of a ruler is to ensure security of his country against external and internal threats, safeguard its sovereignty, win trust and confidence of the people and provide them with justice, fair play, good governance and basic necessities of life. Good rulers are able to achieve these objectives. Bad rulers are not able to do so. The latter suffer from the delusion that history is a phenomenon of the past and has no relevance with the present. They are generally myopic people because their focus usually remains on the immediate personal power or advantage. Therefore, they lack prudence, wisdom and commitment necessary to lead their nations to the above mentioned cherished goals. World-renowned writers and thinkers agree that dictatorial rulers do the maximum damage to their countries. They are bad rulers. They can be either generals who come to power through coup detat, or even civilians who violate or circumvent the constitution of the country. Both fall in the category of usurpers. B H Liddle Hart writes in his book, Why Don't We Learn From History, that the standard historical pattern of usurpers coming to power and then trying to perpetuate their rule, over the ages, has generally been the same, e.g: * After capturing power, they project themselves as saviours of the nation and condemn their predecessors as enemies of the state. * They soon begin to rid themselves of their chief helpers on one pretext or another. * They oppose and malign contemporary national leaders who enjoy relatively more popularity among the people. * They spend public money lavishly on enlisting support of other political groups or leaders who promise to follow their policies. They also enlist religion on their side if possible especially if its leaders are compliant. * They talk a lot about values, respect for law and justice, welfare of the people and good governance but do nothing practically to achieve these objectives. * They suppress criticism on one pretext or another, and punish anyone who mentions facts, which, however true, are unfavourable to their policy. * They manipulate the currency and juggle with figures to make the economic position of the State appear better than what it is in reality. They tell lies to the public without any qualms of conscience. * On taking over power, they tell the people that they are there only for a short time to put things right in the country, but that "short time" never comes to an end. No despotic ruler whether military or civilian - has ever left power either voluntarily or honourably. * History also tells us that the dictator's henchmen whom he breeds and builds for his own support, eventually play a major role in accelerating his downfall because they are usually opportunists who want to keep the dictator in power to achieve their personal ends but are otherwise devoid of any moral principles or even the ability to render correct advice to him. * Dictators are invariably gullible and credulous to the point of foolishness. Sycophants around them use this weakness for their own ulterior motives. The good people suffer and the sycophants flourish. It has become a fashion in Pakistan to say that the army grabs power whenever it gets a chance. This is a totally incorrect understanding of the problem. In our country whenever power was usurped, there was always an acquiescent judiciary that invoked the dubious 'doctrine of necessity' to support the usurper and to legitimise his usurpation of political power and which endorsed the constitutional amendments made by a PCO. This is also a lesson of history. The usurper had drawn his power and authority from his crime of violating the constitution and not from the support from the army as it is believed. A dozen or so cohorts of the usurper who supported him blindly were not the whole army. Since the judiciary condoned the usurper's crime, the army, which is an embodiment of discipline, could not challenge his authority. In any case, challenging the authority of an army chief by his army would amount to a rebellion, which would be a far bigger disaster. It would break up the army. Public memory is short but we can surely look back and recall that there were occasions when the army (whether it complied or not) was asked by politicians to take over power following political turmoil in the country - turmoil that was not created by the army. And who can forget those politicians, not long ago, who had vowed to keep an army chief 'in power for ten years' when the nation had desired his instant removal? When the nation did remove him, the army did not intervene to save him. There are also glorious examples in our history when, in spite of opportunities available, the army shunned wresting control of the country. In August 1988, when General Ziaul Haq was killed in a crash causing a leadership vacuum, the army did not move in to fill the vacuum. In fact, it was the new Army Chief, General Mirza Aslam Beg, who was instrumental in the smooth transfer of power in accordance with the constitution. Another example can be quoted from the recent history. In March 2009, a very grave crisis was created when some imprudent government officials had decided to use brute force to thwart a long march staged by the lawyers, the civil society and the opposition political parties for restoration of the judges. Even some of the friendly countries had described the situation in Pakistan, at that time, as extremely critical. Again, the Army Chief, General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, played a pivotal role in resolving a very complicated situation and saving the country from another catastrophe. Thus the army, in fact, played an admirable role in strengthening democracy in Pakistan. Therefore, the image of the army should not be tarnished unnecessarily. Innately, the army is always on the side of the people. Army is always aware of the fact that it is the defender of the homeland. Judiciary of a country bears huge responsibility towards establishment of rule of law and dispensation of justice. If progress and prosperity of a country are desired, there should be true social justice dispensed by honest and truthful judges who place the interest of the State above that of their own. Honest and upright judges are anathema to despotic rulers because their need is an acquiescent judiciary that can support their decisions even if these are unjust and wrong. History tells us that it is not possible to erode the power of judiciary unless judges themselves become tools in the hands of despotic rulers. It is the judges who prove that law is above politics. By their personal example, they convince the citizens that all are equal in the eyes of law and that all of them will receive justice before the bench. It is they who make the nation believe that judiciary is independent of the executive; and if it is not, they declare its independence by their rulings and judgements. In return, the nation gives them the respect that they deserve. Recently the people of Pakistan have acknowledged, as their hero, a honourable judge who, with a firm belief in the independence of judiciary and rule of law, had the courage to defy the unlawful demand of a dictator. He has suffered temporarily but history has vindicated him. The name of Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry will now, forever, adorn the pages of Pakistan's history. Names of those of his colleagues who followed his glorious example, and who too suffered, will also be mentioned in history, in golden letters. Those others who inflicted suffering upon them will also not be forgotten. History forgets no one. In the pages of history, the reader will clearly see the names that radiate light and those that lie in murky shadows. The writer is a retired lieutenant general E-mail: khalidmoghal@gmail.com