Re: ‘In The Line Of Fire’ (Merged)
**Musharraf’s Book Violates Pakistani laws, Rules **
Analysis of “a badly written autobiography, sans gravitas” by prominent Pakistani public servant
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By Roedad Khan
Presidential memoirs, written by military rulers, have become somewhat of a tradition ever since General Ayub Khan, the first military ruler of Pakistan, wrote “Friends not Masters”. In fairness to Ayub Khan, it must be said to his credit that he formally sought and obtained permission of the Government of Pakistan for making use of official documents. He duly recorded his obligations to the Government of Pakistan in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Cabinet Division in permitting him to make use of official documents. Ayub was aware of what he was doing.
“It is not customary”, Ayub Khan wrote, “for a man in office to write his life story. Apart form the limitations imposed by the consciousness of responsibility, there is always a danger that any suggestion of success would be interpreted as image - building”.
President Musharraf, following Ayub Khan’s example, decided to write his biography, while still in office, with painful candor. Why? His reply: “There has been intense curiosity about me and the country I lead! I want the world to learn the truth”, he wrote.
Truth, President Musharraf knows, is buried in secret and confidential documents stored in the archives of Cabinet Division, Foreign Office and GHQ, not accessible to ordinary mortals. It can, therefore, be assumed that General Musharraf consulted a great mass of official papers and record of his administration to revive and check his memory of events. Musharraf and his staff must have worked day and night, researching files, checking facts, and jogging memories. It is inconceivable that situations and conversations, long forgotten, have been resurrected and reconstructed from memory alone.
Many questions come to mind. Why was the Book published, in clear violation of the oath of Office of the President and provisions of the Official Secrets Act? Why was permission for the use of official material not obtained? Why is the use of official papers not even acknowledged as President Ayub had done? What was the irresistible compulsion to publish the Book now? All these questions demand straight answers.
The appearance of General Musharraf’s memoir, “In the Line of Fire” all the hype notwithstanding, has not been one of the most eagerly awaited publishing events in recent history. If there was any sense of anticipation; it has not been justified, as the book now shows. Is “In the Line of Fire” a memoir or an autobiography? It is common knowledge that memoir, while it inevitably reveals much of the tastes and character of the writer, is primarily focused on outward happenings and on other persons.
In autobiography, the focus is primarily on the self rather than on outward events. “In the Line of Fire” is basically a work intensely revealing of the mind and personality of its author. It is a highly egotistical, self-centered, self-serving, and self-righteous account. Most of the time, the author talks about himself, his perceived contribution to history and his place in history. It is also by no means a first - hand portrayal of the great world events the author witnessed or the high dignitaries and world personalities he came in contact with. No wonder, we see no riveting accounts of the great and critical historic events of President Musharraf’s seven long years in power. To call it a memoir is a misnomer. It is a badly written autobiography, sans gravitas, obviously written by the author himself, not ghost-written by a professional biographer.
Generals, they say, don’t read history. They make history. General Musharraf certainly made his contribution to the history of this sad country when he toppled an elected Prime Minister and derailed the political process in democratic Pakistan. He is now in the Line of Fire, fighting a proxy war on “terror” in his own country, getting American support to keep him in power in return.
“In the Line of Fire” is certainly a window into contemporary Pakistan - under army rule for the fourth time, ill-led, ill-governed, deeply divided, rudderless, adrift, lacking direction, at war with itself - and what is more important, President Musharraf’s role in shaping it. It is compulsory reading for anyone interested in this sordid chapter of our chequered history.
Anyone who wants to know what happens to a country when the army topples a civilian government and captures political power; when ambition flourishes without proper restraint, when absolute power enables the ruler to run the country arbitrarily and idiosyncratically, when none of the obstacles that restrain and thwart democratic rulers stand in his way, well, he must read General Musharraf’s “In the Line of Fire” for enlightenment. Whoever advised General Musharraf to write this book is no friend of his. He is certainly, no friend of Pakistan. It has opened a Pandora box and a can of worms - a process that will inevitably generate unmanageable problems for Pakistan with unpredictable consequences.
