CARE to know the foremost achievement of General Musharraf's October Revolution? What would have appeared impossible, perhaps inconceivable, ten months ago has come about with astonishing ease: the gradual rehabilitation in the public eye of the duo whose benign presence has defined Pakistani democracy these past fifteen years: Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif.

When the October tide ebbs - as in the fullness of time all mortal things must - the people of Pakistan will still be stuck with these twin symbols of Athenian democracy. All the world's lawyers could not have revived Ms Bhutto's plummeting fortunes. Nothing else could have preserved or rekindled the Raiwind clan's popular support. But if there has been any turnaround in public opinion, the Montgomerys and Mansteins of the army deserve all the credit for this happy outcome.

This makes Pakistan's future pretty clear: just as the October Revolution started from elementary school, the Pakistani nation, when this chapter in its colourful history draws to a close, will begin once again from where the Sharifs and the indispensable Ms Bhutto (now and forever Life Chairperson of the PPP) had left off. Talk of the curse of Sisyphus, lifting a stone to the top of a mountain and then, the stone rolling down, having to begin all over again. The Pakistani nation could teach Sisyphus a thing or two.

How has this miracle of revival occurred? The answer can be delivered in a single phrase: the confusion and maladroitness besetting the titanic steps of the October Revolution. Let's be honest. The people of Pakistan can be the greatest chumps on earth. With a complete sense of self-surrender they have suffered fools and impossible adventurers throughout their short history. They could have done so again provided they had got something, what the doctors call instant relief, during the last eleven months. But their plight has only worsened. That is why, getting over the euphoria excited by the advent of the October Revolution, they are committing the unthinkable: looking back nostalgically at the twosome who turned all notions of governance in Pakistan into a standing joke.

What hope are the Lilliputians in this landscape entertaining? The Tahirul Qadris and the Imran Khans? The people of Pakistan would have to be a lot more foolish than they are to fall for these heroes. Under what illusions are the so-called Chaudries of Gujrat, an appellation which makes me reach for my gun? In a king's party, singing to the tune of the October Revolution, they can figure big. That's what they and their family have done throughout their political lives: dine in style at the table of authoritarianism. But when the ongoing banquet whetting their appetite is over, they will be reduced to their proper level: the district of Gujrat.

How full of complaints the Chaudries are of the Sharifs? Of how they were denied the chief ministership of Punjab, as if Punjab is a kept woman waiting to be taken by every second-rate politico in the land. Where were these would-be conquerors of Punjab doing when the Sharifs were all powerful? No insult was too big for them to swallow then. No squeak escaped their wisdom-laden lips. The way Saifur Rehman made a mockery of Chaudry Shujaat's interior ministry, even a lesser man in his place would have thrown his resignation in Nawaz Sharif's face. But not Shujaat who was doing then what he and Pervez (a name of some account in the October Revolution) are doing now: protecting their investments.

Just consider Punjab's luck. First the Sharifs. Then Manzoor Wattoo. Now the Chaudries with their eyes on its future. In which other province could such raw talent have sprung? Lest I forget, even His Holiness the President, symbol and face of our puissant Republic, is from Punjab. And I say all this as a born-and-bred Punjabi - transfixed by the trophies hanging in Punjab's hall of fame. Think of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and of the two Lawrences who administered Punjabi affairs after the British annexation, then take Shujaat Hussain and Pervez Ellahi and you get an idea of what Punjab has come to in these promising times. It is the height of irony then for pseudo-nationalists from the other provinces to accuse Punjab of exploitation. Punjab has been ravished by its own. It deserves compassion not abuse.

After all this, what? Not the deluge. That would be something to look forward to. After this, back from where we started, back to the stone of Sisyphus. Back to the buffoons whose ghosts one might have been forgiven for thinking had well and truly been laid to rest.

This is what comes from interrupting the political process. The army, when it comes stamping into the political arena, always thinks it will construct a brave new world. It does nothing of the sort; only ends up blocking political evolution and adding to the sum of popular frustration. How many times are we fated to walk the same road?

What is the difference between us and western societies? We have been in thrall to despotism and arbitrary rule throughout our history - kings and emirs ruling by whim, subject to no checks and balances. Western societies over the last 500 years have evolved structures which in time have led to the death of arbitrary rule and the advent of personal freedoms and the rule of law. The milieu thus created has favoured learning and the spread of knowledge. If those societies have forged ahead and now rule the planet, it is because of superior know-how and no other magic.

If it was just a question of money, the Arab kingdoms and emirates would be in the forefront of the world's nations. But they are not because highways and tall buildings alone do not make for development. Knowledge does which (with apologies to Pakistan's Professor Oppenheimer, the publicity-crazy A. Q. Khan) we are without. Nigeria and Indonesia have plenty of oil. So does Venezuela. What have they done with it?

Strapped for cash, we are touching the IMF's feet for a pittance. But we were not strapped for cash during the Zia years. What did we do with the millions then flowing into our coffers? Not even a trace of that bonanza remains. A lot of it went into private hands, to finance the lifestyles of the rich, just as a lot of Nigerian and Indonesian and Arab wealth has gone the same way. We put all our skill and charm in international beggary. For institution-building, which is what counts in the long term, we have no talent at all.

In New York the Revolution's Guide, when asked whether he would become president said, "I have not decided anything about that yet. I haven't even thought of it." Which means that the decision to become president or not rests on nothing institutional: it is his to take. During the same press conference he also said, "I have no desire to stifle the press although some of what is printed in Pakistan would justify stifling it ten times over." Again note the forbearance on offer. If the press has not been stifled it is no thanks to any laws but because of the sweet will of the Chief Architect.

This is a page right out of Muslim history. Too much despotism and arbitrariness; too few checks and balances.

TAILPIECE: The heart of every Pakistani should swell with pride on seeing the newspaper pictures of the American ambassador presenting the keys of six Datsun double-cabin pickups to the Inspector General, Frontier Corps, a Major-General Tajul Haq. On this occasion the ambassador termed Pakistan's narcotics control programme a great success. A few weeks ago a smiling Ms Sisson from the American embassy was giving medals and cash awards to stern-looking members of the Anti-Narcotics Force. Now comes this king's ransom: six Datsun pickups. No one can accuse Pakistanis of being hard to please.