HE entered. Glamorous, intelligent looking, well-groomed, despite grey hair, handsome in his own right, a known kingmaker who had decided to be the king himself this time. One of the hottest contenders to run away with the elections of February eight. He was conducted to the seat next to me.
I said to him, “I am a soldier and you are a politician. We soldiers do not know politics. Sometimes, we think we do. That is where we go wrong.” No, he said. “At times, intervention by the military becomes inevitable.” Alas, my age-old contention was once again being proved right. Politicians willingly surrender space when selfishness blinds them, greed devours good sense and arrogance sees other humans as mere pigmies — they flout the law. The chaos creates a vacuum. In the power matrix, there is no concept of vacuum. It must be filled. The military is sucked in to do that. At that juncture, the military is genuinely concerned as a persistent political impasse can seriously threaten the country’s stability, economy and security. The result is a lesson of history: regret.
I was disappointed. I did not expect a man of his background to publicly condone the violation of the fundamental democratic notion of freedom and self-respect. Slowly, the kingmaker-cum the would-be king in him began to think aloud. With a patronizing pat on my shoulder (a man twenty years his senior), he kept murmuring the same lines from his self-assumed high pedestal, “Don’t you worry, Sir. A good governess will turn everything alright.” His condescending attitude lacked conviction.
“I’m sorry. Despite good governance and an improved economy, nothing will be all right unless we ensure the rule of law.” He was not impressed. Meanwhile, the caretaker prime minister arrived. The gentleman hurried across to be on his side lest someone faster could occupy that coveted place. The election outcome was a disaster. The kingmaker lost badly, immediately resigned from his party’s leadership and politics and has not been heard since. Had my contention of the rule of law prevailed, he might have still lost but could have saved a lot of grace.
Whenever my heart aches at the prevailing political and economic dilemmas and the poverty crushing the majority, my mind goes to Allama Muhammad Iqbal. He cried, “Back to the Quran, back to Muhammad (PBUH).” He (PBUH) is the light of our lives, the model of an ideal leader and the perfect guide in all temporal and celestial matters. He (PBUH) had established his reputation as the most truthful and trustworthy person in the community before he was entrusted with the responsibility of a judge among the Makkans to decide the famous issue of the Black Stone. “There goes the truthful and the trustworthy,” they said when he walked. (Sadiq and Amin). Truth and honesty are the keys to establishing the rule of law. The Quran ordains, “Condemned are the liars.” Or “Woe to the falsehood-mongers.” (51:10).
In Pakistan, everyone important is a compulsive liar. They invent stories, twist the facts, or tell white lies without demureness. This includes those supporting respectable beards, the religious bigwigs, the lawmakers, custodians of justice, everyone with governmental clout and all and sundry with a few honourable exceptions. There is no hope for the rule of law in this utter moral degradation. The malaise is rampant in nearly the entire Muslim Ummah, if there is one.
When in power, we Muslims detest rules, regulations and dissent. We are ruler worshippers from faulty genetic understanding imbibed by almost fourteen centuries of brainwashing by our respectable religious scholars. A ruler is the “Prince,” Tusi called, to be given unconditional and total obedience as the representative of God on earth. Though the old mistaken memory is withering away in today’s global village, the rulers still demand it.
Our rulers are a hybrid breed — lions at home and sheep abroad. In the power-humans equation, Pakistan is suffering-rich and remorse-poor. Our real politicking is based on lying, deceit, falsehood-mongering, broken promises and downright corruption. We easily condone corruption, lust and greed as natural human traits (Pakistani Socrates). Our whisky overnight turns into honey. We consider it normal to visit a female colleague at midnight to discuss party organization as a ‘Mr. Nobody’ in the party. We can get drunk and run over anyone on the road because we are rich and pay the compensation.
We frame person-specific rules, amend the Constitution at will, make a mockery of it, put and enforce ridiculous conditionalities on the opposition and conveniently kill and wound several hundred peaceful protestors with a ‘how dare you’ attitude. This mindset defies God, ignores the Prophet (PBUH) and ridicules saints and wisdom alike. The leaders are thieves and the thieves are leaders. As the poor subjects, we get cheated every day. We have seen that happen repeatedly and learned and done nothing. Our historical impassiveness allows all tyrants to make hey. Impoverishment is our fate, while the privileges of the elite remain eternal.
The rulers can rule strictly by the law emanating from the Constitution or by the stick, which has failed us many times. When God bestows power on someone, it is His sheer bounty. When that lucky person, instead of often being grateful to Him, tries to transgress his limits, he defies God and invites His wrath. The length of His rope should not mislead us but should open our eyes to the horrible end. Musharraf’s end sends shivers down my spine. Let us not tempt fate too often. The people’s utter frustration is inherently ominous and can be disastrous.
— The writer, a retired Maj Gen, is a Rawalpindi-based freelance columnist and author of book, “Pakistan in search of a Mesiah.
