Daily Times

General (retd) Pervez Musharraf is an audacious man. After all, even in a country as prone to Praetorian takeovers as Pakistan, successfully executing a military coup is a moderately risky business — success can mean almost unchallenged power, but there is always the possibility of failure and ignominy. General Musharraf, though, was one of those who succeeded. He ruled for the better part of a decade before he was out-maneuvered into leaving office. He then went on to prove that the consequences of losing power as a Pakistani dictator in uniform are not so very serious. Sure enough, there is the odd inconvenience or two, but on the whole the powers that be lined up quite predictably behind him. Enjoying such protection, he has been able to avoid any serious accountability for his time spent in total power. Moreover, he has been able to launch both a political and a media career. And all of this from the comfort of distant shores — far from the problems, perils and daily jostling of life in Pakistan.

Overall, Musharraf’s audacity has been well rewarded. Now on top of all this, with his career as a media personality proceeding at full steam, he has a platform to provide all sorts of analysis and commentary — eagerly lapped up by an electronic media hostile to democratic values and eager for drama.

And so, the general has developed the habit of making provocative pronouncements from abroad. He does so in the full knowledge that his statements are read in the light of the Panama investigations and the disqualification of Nawaz Sharif. Moreover, he knows equally well that his own fate is compared to that of the latter or other elected civilian politicians.

In such a context, the general’s highly-publicised statements can only be described as pouring salt on the wounds of Pakistani democracy and its supporters.

Earlier, Musharraf had remarked that the ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had to be prevented from leaving the country, by being put on the Exit Control List (ECL). This caused some significant uproar in those circles which hope for democracy and stability in Pakistan — given the general’s own relatively easy and unhindered departure from the country while facing ongoing court cases that are far more serious than any of the allegations brought against Nawaz Sharif and his family.

Seeing that this form of dark humour was hitting its mark, the general decided to subject Pakistanis to yet more of the same. His recent remarks have been to the effect that the military as an institution has the responsibility to keep Pakistan ‘on track’ and that in this context, it was perfectly fine to disregard the Constitution. That a man facing multiple charges can say this is testament to the fact that all Pakistanis are aware of and that Musharraf is only too keen to drive home. And that fact is simple: accountability in Pakistan is a matter reserved for elected civilian politicians.

Regardless of the unfortunate barriers in holding the general responsible for his stint in power, surely we can all agree that his assessment of the matter is entirely incorrect? Pakistani history has taught us, from bitter experience, that saviours in uniform only leave the country more divided and more unstable than when they seized power. There is no legal or ethical case for giving self-appointed saviours any responsibility to “save” the country. All institutions — and the men and women who serve them — simply must stay within the ambit of their constitutional roles. The Quaid-e-Azam, Mr Muhammad Ali Jinnah, tried to emphasise much the same during the birth of Pakistan.

It can be argued that men such as Musharraf, and their continued audacity in trampling the sovereign rights of the Pakistani people, are the main reason why we have still not fully taken the Quaid’s lesson to heart.*

Published in Daily Times, August 5^th 2017.