Unbearable: The Future of a Retired General by Nadeem Arif Najmi

The retired General should be a happy man. Parvez Musharraf, has after all completed his much wished for third phase in his illusory ‘transition to democracy’ and suddenly metamorphed into an ‘elected’ civilian President.  Yet oddly, as Musharraf passed the all-powerful baton to his hand-picked and ostensibly loyal successor Gen. Kiyani he seemed devastated and broken, pathetically choking back tears as he bid adieu to an army career of 46 years. It is of course to be expected that an army officer who has served for so long is bound to be somewhat emotional about retiring. But Musharraf’s crunched up body posture, grim expression and deflated appearance gave a clear indication that the outgoing General has not relinquished the baton willingly. Rather a fatal combination of his own follies and the force of the valiant struggle against him led by the legal fraternity and civil society have meant that the baton has been taken forcefully from him whilst he still hoped to wield it for a while longer- maybe a bit longer than that even.

Today as Musharraf looks to the future he might actually be waking up to the new realities that his arrogance and incompetence have shaped for him. He no longer has the armed forces of Pakistan or its associated intelligent agencies genuflecting before his every whim and fancy. The United States of America has finally started showing signs that it is looking beyond Musharraf and while it still carries a flame for the civilian Musharraf he is no longer an attractive prospect for them as a hopelessly unpopular civilian President rather than as an all-powerful military dictator. Pakistan’s two most popular politicians  Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto are back in Pakistan and the next elections (even if not boycotted by the major parties) would have to be rigged on a industrial scale to produce a two third majority for Musharraf that could provide him with indemnity for his most recent act of treason. If he doesn’t rig it, the battle for political legitimacy could take a horrific turn for Musharraf and he could find himself in the Supreme Court of Chief Justice Iftikhar Choudhary and his detained and maligned brother judges answering to the charge of having subjugated the constitution by force and being liable to death by firing squad.

If rig it he does, BB (who has held back from compounding Musharraf’s woes for fear of a restored Supreme Court cancelling the immunity given her under the National Reconciliation Ordinance) will have no option to take to the streets along with the lawyers and a united opposition, to demand Musharraf’s resignation and a fair and free election, this time with the honourable judges restored. The USA will have to end its flirtation with its old ‘bit on the side’ for once and for all, and cosy up exclusively to its new partner in the battle against ‘extremism’ in the shape of BB’s PPP. It is not hard to envisage a terrified Musharraf fleeing Pakistan for the sunny shores of his beloved Turkey. No wonder we heard the ‘I am invincible’ former army chief express frailty for the first time a few days ago when he said he might consider leaving if the situation becomes ‘unbearable’.

It is likely to becoming increasingly so for the dictator who started digging his own grave in March when he launched his war against the constitution by illegally removing and detaining the independent minded saviour of Pakistan’s downtrodden CJ Iftikhar Choudhary. The final battle commenced on November 3rd when as the Chief of Army staff he launched a full throttle assault on the judiciary, the media and human rights activists and suspended the fundamental rights of 160 million people in order to save his illegitimate and unconstitutional rule and to silence his dissenters. This cruel act promises to be the final nail in the coffin (maybe even literally) of the man who once bestrode the stage of Pakistani politics like a colossus and seemed utterly unbeatable.

Yet while Musharraf is overcome by sympathy for himself, the families of thousands picked up, detained, tortured and ‘disappeared’ with no charges against them have been facing an ‘unbearable’ situation for years for which Musharraf is responsible. Those innocent people in Swat and who are facing indiscriminate bombardment and who have begged the army to take notice of issues as soon as they arise, not let them spiral out of control until a full-military assault becomes necessary, are also facing a unbearable situation of Musharraf’s making. Courageous lawyers like Munir A Malik and Justice (retired) Tariq Mahmood who are bravely fighting severe illness caused by illegal detention in inhumane conditions are also in ‘unbearable’ situation, and its author is one General (retired) Pervez Musharraf.

If Musharraf wants to salvage any kind of legacy for himself and be remembered for anything good that he may have done, he should walk while he still has the chance and hand over the country to a unity government that would restore the deposed judges, reconstitute the election commission and hold fair and free elections. Otherwise Pakistani politics could come full circle and an Army chief one day might meet his death in the same brutal manner meted out by his iniquitous predecessor to Pakistan’s first and greatest elected Prime Minister. If Musharraf wants to avoid this ‘unbearable scenario’, the time to leave is …..NOW!

Nadeem Arif Najmi is a poet, a thinker, and above all a proud Pakistani. Please send feedback on the post to wasim@otherpakistan.org

- 30th November 2007