| September 07, 2008 | Sunday | Ramazan 06, 1429 |
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Bully-boys, they say, are cowards
TIMES being what they are, trepidation being as it is amongst many of those with experience or knowledge, and the leading characters on the national political stage being who and what they are, it was not completely out of the blue that a letter written by a former proud air marshal of the Pakistan Air Force landed on my table last week.
It opened up: “The attached letter sent to you is only for your information. I handed it over to General Ahsan Hayat, Commander 5 Corps, in the third week of August 2004 in his office. Generals Ali Kuli Khan and Moinuddin Haider, Admirals Iqtidar and Khalid Mir, and Air Marshal Daudpota knew of this letter.
“Military/dictatorial governments serve only vested interest (people and organisations) and these groups keep promoting such dispensations, always at the altar of the public and sometimes at their own expense. Mr Jam Sadiq Ali and Mr Adil Siddiqui and the likes of them are creations of non-representative governments and more may dawn if we continue to inspire for such dispensation. You may argue that Mr Modi (CM Gujarat) and Mr Laloo Prasad made their way to power through the ballot box. Yes, such exceptions will always be there but that does not mean that the democratic system is bad or not suited to subcontinental genes.”
The attached letter referred to was addressed to President General Pervez Musharraf: “I hope this finds you in good health and spirits and with a little time to read this letter. Through it, I would like to bring to your notice the attached column in Dawn of Aug 15, 2004 [‘At our own risk and peril’ available on the Internet]. This information may already be in your knowledge, so I will briefly state its contents and background.
“Ardeshir Cowasjee, who has been exposing scams in all our governments, has alleged that he has been threatened with dire consequences by a sitting minister, Mr Adil Siddiqui of the Sindh government, for writing about the irregularities in balloting of SITE plots in Karachi. The threat was conveyed to him through Mr Nazim Haji (ex-president of the CPLC Karachi) who has not denied conveying the message. The threat and the method of conveying the message reflects very poorly on the government and shows the fascistic mentality of some of its ministers.
“Such incidents are on the rise in the province of Sindh generally and in its urban cities in particular. Unless checked, today’s fight against religious extremism may tomorrow have to be waged against fascism. Recognising the political situation in the province, I request you to take whatever measures you deem fit.” The general apparently acted; the bully receded.
Fair enough. What happened in 2004 was under a democratic government installed at the command of a military ruler. The point now is, we do have a democratic government given to us by the ballot box, but the elections of Feb 18 were ordained by Washington, by dubious spooks, and by Army House and GHQ, Rawalpindi. Modis are said to be not in short supply. Further and pertinent is the fact that in the province of Sindh the political party concerned remains in power, in coalition with a party whose reputation for conveying threats and even carrying them out is equally shining. The vested interests they both share, naturally different, are well known — if not renowned.
Asif Zardari’s candidature for president of the republic was backed solidly by the Pir of London Town and also, interestingly, by the Tehrik-i-Taliban-i-Pakistan. What a fascinating combination. The tactics of the party of the Pir of London are well known and bear no repetition. Neither do the tactics of the ruling party in coalition. Both have been experienced by the people of Sindh for two decades — yes, two whole decades.
A report in The Guardian (London) on Sept 5, a profile of Asif Ali Zardari, quotes “friends and allies” of Zardari who have spoken to the writer Jason Burke. One such person “described him as an arrogant, uncultivated and often impatient man ruthless with his enemies. Some accuse Zardari of frequent personal abuse of subordinates”. And then the punch line: “An ally who preferred to remain anonymous said: ‘He is not a man you want to be on the wrong side of’.”
The problem is that as past experience has shown, the final sentence has also applied to far too many of Asif’s close cronies — the phrase is too close to the truth for comfort. However, there is always hope, and the hope is for the nation at large and, as always, in the greater national interest, that not only have the passing years mellowed Asif but that the gravity of office and national and international commitments will prevail. For all our sakes — and in particular in the interests of the continuing freedom of the press — we must also hope that the benefit of the doubt can be given to all our politicians of no matter which party, and that being on the right or wrong side of any individual will have no bearing upon their conduct towards the citizens of their country.
Having said that, and on reflection, it has to be admitted that certain signs are ominous. There is far too much talk of ‘revenge’. We firstly had young Bilawal-renamed Bhutto-Zardari made to say on the third day after his mother’s murder that she had once said that, taking into account the sufferings and ‘sacrifices’ made by the party of the people, “democracy is the best revenge”. Now, democracy brooks no revenge; it preaches no revenge; it is a consensual system in which the majority prevails. If we are to have a majority bent upon revenge of any sort, may the Good Lord come quickly to our aid.
A message to my compatriots: you cannot fear fear. Thirty-one years ago, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto boasted, “Humari kursi mazboot hai.” Five days later he fell upon Mother Earth, deposed.
If his heirs, including Zardari, have revenge in mind, then the game is lost before it is begun.
arfc@cyber.net.pk
