IT was the global community that came to the rescue of Mr Musharraf, and rightfully so. Critics always seek some reason to criticise.

They have criticised all his military actions in the north, accusing him of killing Pakistanis but it was Pakistanis themselves who were the enemy all the time — Baitullah, Meshud, Qasab, and the list of villains goes on and on.

Mr Musharraf could at least keep them at bay by pounding their hideouts without second thoughts, but politicians just had to brainwash the public saying that he's following some foreign agenda and so the military option was stalled.

They criticised the Lal Masjid action, but now we know that it's the same extremists who've been converting young children into bomb squads.

Critics even criticised his disrespect for law, but it's the same law that's been bought over by political factions, has freed suspect terrorists, made preferential judgments and brought the black coats on to the streets.

Critics have overlooked his economic reforms and now we're back in the acidic hands of entities like the IMF and international donors, global recession notwithstanding.

Pakistan's economic decline began the very moment the new government swooped in through sympathetic victory, sympathy not for the party.

HASAN AMIN
Karachi