THE news of the passing away of Gen Pervez Musharraf was received in Pakistan with grief by a vast but silent majority. Back in 1999 when he had taken over the seat of power in a bloodless military coup, the expression of sentiments was much more widespread. He did a lot in his capacity as the chief executive, focussing on turning loss-making state organisations into profit-earning ones. Helped by the renewed American interest in the region in the wake of the infamous 9/11 incident, he steered the country out of troubled waters.

Always keeping ‘Pakistan first’, he opted for reconciliation in national politics, which resulted in free and fair general elections. It was easy for him to get the results of his choice to ensure a vote of confidence, but he followed the due path and resigned as army chief when he was pressed hard by the elected represen-tatives. Belonging to a highly educated and cultured family, the general was disgraced in front of the media by the fraternity of lawyers.

When prime minister Liaquat Ali Khan was martyred, nobody demanded justice. When the government of Khwaja Nazimuddin was dismissed by the governor-general, the action was validated by the judiciary. No murmurs were heard when Ayub Khan abrogated the Constitution twice. The same happened in the case of Ziaul Haq. But Musharraf was charged with high treason later in life.

The period of Musharraf’s rule was one of the most difficult and challenging ones, but he steered Pakistan tactfully ashore. We will better leave it for the future historians to sit in judgment over the gains made and losses suffered during that period of our national life.

Aamir Aqil
Lahore

Published in Dawn, February 19th, 2023