True that people have voted against Musharraf, as widely seen during the chief justice’s cross-country marathons. Yet, it’s America and the general who insist on his re-election. Bully for them. The two versus the rest of the initiated are programmed for a collision course. Mind you, the big bang can be untidily noisy. Let’s then first rip through the uniform theory to reach a judgment.
**And the short order is… it’s not the uniform stupid, it’s the man!
Everyone and his uncle wants Musharraf to take off his uniform. And all, (uncles included) will live happily thereafter. Such is the fluff of fairy tales, not real life. Musharraf apart, none seem to understand that the 64-year-old general without his uniform is just another Fazal Illahi Chaudhry. He will get frozen out. Who wants a lame duck that too frosted, as their president? More importantly, why should we have Pervez Musharraf if we can choose someone else? Does his repertoire of talents make him a president nonpareil? Is he brilliant? Is he magnificent? Is he indispensable?
None of the above.
Suppose Benazir Bhutto was our next prime minister. What will she do with this man holed up in the presidency atop the hill? Let’s try thinking outside the Army House. Musharraf without his uniform is just another retired general who at best can head some organisation, become an ambassador, live in the general’s colony in Rawalpindi, play golf and reminiscence of his glorious past if he can manage to get someone to listen to him, otherwise mother and Mrs are always handy to lend a friendly shoulder and a sympathetic ear.
**
While President Bush does his damndest to get Musharraf and Benazir to patch up and become an ‘item’ as they call a couple in America, the rest of Pakistan is up in arms against the artificial political farming. Bush can never become their surrogate father. Yet Richard Boucher (innocently pronounced ‘butcher’ on Pakistani TV channels) is adamant on bulldozing his way and thrusting the unwilling couple on us. Is that fair?
Tomorrow, if the Supreme Court elects to declare Musharraf ineligible, Boucher will traipse to Nawaz Sharif flagging the exile’s good deeds and guaranteeing him American support. He’ll try to unload the Sharif clan on us, never mind the cases of corruption that the shameless namby-pamby National Accounting Bureau (it should have been killed ages ago) has reopened. It’s a joke on justice and a mockery to the 160 million Pakistanis to be treated like idiots by the ruling elite who should have years ago taken Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto to the cleaners. That didn’t happen. Instead Musharraf got blank cheques from the two exiled leaders to be cashed by him on a rainy day. So, when the rainy day arrived sinking his fortunes, Musharraf went grovelling to Ms Bhutto for help. Finding her a hardnosed negotiator, he then shifted his sights to the Sharif camp. The strategy he employed was twisted: he first unleashed his hounds at NAB on them hoping they’d come crawling to him and say that they accept his re-election. The Sharifs have yet to respond. Lest we forget Musharraf still holds the two blank cheques as he swims against the tide.
**Meanwhile, the president has taken his road show to the south of Punjab. Guess who’s footing the bill for this circus? The taxpayers, who else? The general is a rich man. He’s made a lot of money. Why doesn’t he spend from his personal funds to lobby for votes?
**
Musharraf moves around with a megaphone warning us that he must remain the president for the sake of the security of Pakistan. Without him, he wags his finger and raises his fist, Pakistan will descend into disaster! It’s your call. I mean the voters. But there’s something called common sense: why don’t we use it and try to analyse if the fear-mongering general is a genuine commodity or a fake. Vice President Dick Cheney, better known as ‘Tricky Dick’ used the same tack at Bush’s and Cheney’s re-elections. Americans fell for Cheney’s line and voted the incompetent pair for the second time, despite the Iraq fiasco. Now they curse the day they did that.
The 25-member citizens group on electoral process at PILDAT – Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency – consisting of lawyers, academics, media and civil society have compiled a policy paper on “Presidential Election 2007 and Constitutional, Political and Ethical Aspects for General Pervez Musharraf Seeking Election for Another Term”. Their initial verdict: Musharraf can be disqualified if he stands for re-election!
Who then must Musharraf hew for advice to tame the Supreme Court if challenged? Why, who else than the retired judge of the Lahore High Court Malik Mohammad Qayyum. He’s affixed in the public domain. Please Google him under ‘Justice Malik Qayyum.’ The first thing to pop up on the Google search is a letter by a whistle-blower named A Rahim. He is a deputy director in the Intelligence Bureau. Dated January 29, 2001, the letter titled “Sheer abuse of power/Abuse of judiciary” is addressed to the then president Rafiq Tarar and copied to Chief Executive General Musharraf, the Chief Justice of Pakistan, DG Intelligence Bureau and joint DG Intelligence Bureau. The Sunday Times, a British newspaper managed to get hold of a copy and carried the text in full three days later! Titled “Pakistan intelligence officer reports corruption,” the signed affidavit and the letter of Rahim exposes and reveals the role of Malik Qayyum: “The Honourable Judge (Malik Qayyum) ultimately succumbed to the pressure (Sharif government) and announced pre-written judgement against Ms Benazir Bhutto and her husband by violating all norms of justice, provisions of the Constitution of Pakistan and fair-play.”
Fast forward to March 9, 2007. President Musharraf hires Malik Qayyum (yes, the same guy) to argue his case against the CJ in the Supreme Court. The ‘judge genius’ fights the case armed with ‘immutable’ evidence against the CJ and his brother judges. The whole thing backfires! Justice Qayyum apologises. He lisps, thrusts his face out, lowers his guilty gaze and with a shifty look admits before the court that he did not examine the scurrilous papers before putting them up to the bench. The judges accept Qayyum’s apology and slap the government with a fine! The first in history.
As the chief architect of the infamous evidence and dubious affidavits that lacerated the president and his aides’ reputation forever, Malik Qayyum has now been rewarded and elevated to the attorney generalship of Pakistan!
Perhaps Musharraf still thinks that his ‘judge genius’ can yet corral legal cowboys who can fight the Supreme Court when objections to Musharraf’s re-election flare up. Texas is a good place to start the search, I suggest. Bush would gladly outsource some of his failed legal and political disasters that have since shuffled off into the sunset. Karl Rove being the latest Bush dropout? Rove the rogue can pass on a few crafty tips to our attorney general. After all, Rove managed to get nine top federal prosecutors fired who refused to play ball with Bush administration. Earlier this month, US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales admitted that Justice Department officials attended political briefings at the White House, led by Rove, in clear violation of federal rules.
But aren’t rules meant to be broken, going by the adage, howsoever cliched? When Bush and Musharraf appoint attorney generals like Gonzales and Qayyum, can one expect the rule of law to be followed strictly? If anyone expects that to happen then we’re being plain naive!
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