IT is rather hard to comprehend why Prime Minister Gilani should have chosen not to give any credit to the political parties in compelling General Musharraf to take off his uniform and give the credit to the US and Vice President-elect Joe Biden for putting an end to this undemocratic practice. A look back at the situation created by the former President's fateful attempt to force Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry to resign, the CJ's bold stand to resist this unconstitutional pressure and the massive public support he received would conclusively rebut Mr Gilani's claim. The imposition of emergency and the masses' protests virtually decided the issue. There was hardly a political party worth the candle that did not join the movement, which the country's legal fraternity had launched to get Justice Chaudhry reinstated. Benazir's visit to his house and statement that he was the CJ reflected PPP's commitment to the cause. The public sentiment evident from the huge street demonstrations, despite the regime's repressive approach at times in the form of arrests and brutal crackdowns, was so strong against Musharraf's move that it would, in fact, have been suicidal for any political party to stay away. As the future of democracy was at stake, all democratic forces had joined hands with the lawyers. It was only after the people in the length and breadth of Pakistan had shown their defiance of Musharraf's illegal ways that American politicians, and last of all the Bush administration, had woken up to the reality that backing the undemocratic regime against the tidal wave of popular sentiment would not serve their country's interests in the long run. They had the example of Iran in front of them where support for the unpopular Shah had brought disgrace to the US. Joe Biden, no doubt, became an outspoken instrument in the restoration of democracy in Pakistan, but had the lawyers, who were fully backed by the people and political parties, not reacted in the manner they did, he might have gone along with the Bush administration that continued to side with Musharraf till very late in the day. Mr Gilani, who was inaugurating the first small tanker-cum-utility ship built by the Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works, also commented on the adverse impact of drone attacks on the tribal region. In that he was clearly right. Instead of scoring any gains for the war on terror, the civilian deaths these aerial raids caused were garnering sympathy for the militants and, indeed, swelling their ranks. It is time the strategists in Washington realised this reality.