ISLAMABAD, May 25: The ambition of generals and myopia of the ruling elite were some of the chronic problems affecting our body politic, said minister for privatisation, Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, here on Wednesday. Speaking at the launching ceremony of Air Marshal Asghar Khan’s book “We have learnt nothing from history: Pakistan, Politics and Military Power,” the minister said the book gave a bird’s eye view of history and reflected the dilemmas of the country.

Questioning the Machiavellian policies of the rulers to remain in power, Dr Sheikh said it was questionable if ends justified the means. He said the verdict of history determined the success of a leader.

The minister said the destiny of the country would be different if the judges of Supreme Court, the inspector generals, the chief secretaries and the ministers were willing to put their jobs at stake by refusing to obey illegal orders and commands.

Speaking on the occasion, foreign minister Khurshid Kasuri paid tributes to the personal qualities of Air Marshal Asghar.

After recounting the memories of his association with the author, the minister briefly touched upon Pakistan-India relations and said there could be no peace with India until the Kashmir issue was resolved. He said historical track record showed that things could go wrong without much of a warning.

Mr Kasuri said Benazir Bhutto and leader of opposition Maulana Fazlur Rehman were supportive of the government policy vis a vis India. In fact, he said, Maulana Fazlur Rehman set the ball rolling (for peace) in a meeting with former Indian prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee before President Gen Musharraf’s meeting with the latter. He said the government wanted peace with India but one based on honour.

After paying tributes to the skills and personality of the author, adviser to Punjab chief minister, Syed Muahid Hussain, said the culture of sycophancy had permeated society and the fog of power allowed the sycophants to prosper. He said it was ironic how the rulers equated their interests with the interests of the state.

After a vote of thanks to the speakers, Air Marshal Asghar Khan bemoaned that mistakes of the past were being repeated through centralisation of power. He said successive rulers had made a farce of democracy.

Earlier, the Oxford University Press managing director, Ameena Saiyid, said Air Marshal Asghar Khan’s disapproval and criticism of the dictators, who grabbed power in Pakistan, was never muted and though he was associated with the armed forces, he advocated democracy and reduction in the expenditure of the military.