Revenge of the weak

Published August 21, 2015
The writer is Dawn’s resident editor in Lahore.
The writer is Dawn’s resident editor in Lahore.

THE boy returned home from the Lawrence Gardens thrilled. It was still the 1980s and the feeling of revenge was as yet young. The boy, in his teens, was excited — as if he had accomplished a task he had long expected to, something which had been put on hold because of lack of opportunity.

“Just a few minutes ago, I turned down the chief minister at the cricket ground. He was knocking the ball around during a practice session. And he hit one in my direction, calling out ‘ball please’. This was what I had been waiting for all these years. I shook my head and let him know that I for one wasn’t going to throw it back into play for him. This is what he gets for going hand in hand with Gen Ziaul Haq for so long.”

A few years later, a more grown-up gentleman refused an invitation to meet a general in the infamous Zia coterie. The general was rumoured to have been among the last visitors to Z.A. Bhutto in his death cell. He was obviously not someone who could be allowed the privilege of hosting those he had wronged so cruelly, with little remorse afterwards.


Hamid Gul’s death has led to yet another round of familiar, predictable reactions that have in turn drawn comment from many.


There is a whole series of such small, harmlessly vengeful acts that come to mind as ‘wronged’ Pakistanis speak their farewell messages to retired Lt Gen Hamid Gul. He was not only credited with a pivotal role in the ‘jihad’ and jihadi politics involving Pakistan for long, he also chose to proudly own up to what he was accused of. The greater the condemnation of his act, the more credit his admirers give him. They have reason to claim that they were the winners yesterday and are winning today’s battle.

Mr Gul’s death has brought about yet another round of familiar, predictable reactions that have in turn drawn comment from many. Leading the way once again is the modern-day journalist who, like you and me, is free from too binding an ideology and who must flaunt his connections with the living and — more so — dead luminaries of his time.

This type is not too keen on critically analysing the legacy of Mr Gul who made his exit without any show of remorse. This journalist, like a true professional in the modern, ideologically unyielding era, is in the habit of patting himself on the back for his perceived objectivity. He takes great pride in having been able to tap sources of information left, right and centre, without discrimination and without any fear of being clubbed with a school of thought.

He is not alone in his approach to the memory of the famous man who has just passed away. There are so many others who are able to separate the individual from his mission and be content with recalling a tight-frame personal profile.

In these accounts, Mr Gul appears a humble, down-to-earth soldier committed to principles of simplicity and an overriding love for the country. He is the celebrated commander who achieved so much during his career, and in quick time. He is shown to be the army major who led officers of ranks higher than his. He is a patriot not only desirous but capable of inventing methods to run operations. And finally — ultimately — he does emerge as the warmhearted elder willing to help budding newspaper hacks break stories.

All to the chagrin of the contrasting group. The death of a jihadi leader is a god-sent opportunity for them to vent emotions pent up because of a long, involuntary exercise in suppression. To their mind, there’s nothing more preposterous than adherence to the old etiquette of observing silence when a legacy is there to be taken apart. The appointed moment has come for some cold evaluation of a life lived at the cost of a million others ruined.

The futility of it all is brought home by the fact that this has barely gone beyond the taunting of the dead — on the part of those who claim to be the heirs to the most refined legacy and civilisation. The attempts at exorcising the ghosts of Mr Gul, and before him of others including Gen Ziaul Haq, have meant little. These have had little or no effect on the proceedings. The traditions of Mr Gul are well and truly entrenched in the absence of a spirited challenge and because of the ‘other’ Pakistanis’ inability to come up with an alternative that fulfils the popular criteria of hard work and, what’s important, of honesty and austerity.

There is this story about a Pakistani biscuit manufacturer who was compelled to pit one brand against another one of its own because of lack of outside competition. This was good marketing and paid dividends. The example is comparable with Imran Khan taking on Nawaz Sharif in recent times. Mr Gul must have looked on with the pride of an old trainer as the two men he had invested so much of ideology and time in grappled with each other. He might have had his own favourite, and maybe he was irritated by some of the moves that his most recent protégé tried unsuccessfully. Yet he had every reason to be satisfied that his basic argument was undefeated; it was not even challenged sufficiently.

People not only listened to Mr Gul’s justification of creating the Islami Jamhoori Ittehad all those years back, a large number — a majority most likely — actually appear to agree that he was in the right. The point of debate often is the damage the Benazir Bhutto government could have caused to the country, if it had not so ably been contained by Mr Gul and his associates. The debate is seldom about what progress Ms Bhutto could have led Pakistan to, had she been allowed a free hand. There is room only for small revenge, room only for the revenge of the weak and the permanently sidelined.

The writer is Dawn’s resident editor in Lahore.

Published in Dawn, August 21st, 2015

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