According to our commentariat and chattering classes, the Army is very, very angry because of their ex-chief General Pervez Musharraf being pushed around by 'bloody civilians'. CoAS General Raheel Sharif has been under pressure from his men, we are told, to do something about the high treason trial of General Musharraf and save their collective honour. Which is where his much discussed comments delivered during a speech at the Ghazi Base, and duly reported by the ISPR, are supposed to have come from. Said he, "Pakistan Army upholds the sanctity of all institutions, and will resolutely preserve its own dignity and institutional pride."
It is not known what exactly offends them, or if at all they are as resentful of the Musharraf-related goings-on as it is being made out to be. The Pakistan Ex Servicemen Association (PESA) issued a statement on Monday, saying that holding of Musharraf's trial has been the Association's basic demand from "day one", and that there is no difference of opinion among its members over the issue. (Notably, PESA's top office bearers include Lieutenant General Ali Kuli Khan (Retd), Air Marshal Masood Akhtar (Retd) and several senior retired army officers). The statement suggests the serving officers hold the same opinion. Nonetheless, like some of the civilian supporters of the general - mostly beneficiaries of his rule - some of them may not like to see him held to account; and indeed are upset.
It is unclear though what exactly upsets them. Is it the trial? Or the chest thumping speeches made by the Prime Minister's two trusted cabinet colleagues? Or is it that the PM has reneged on a supposed settlement under which, according to rumour mills, Musharraf was to be allowed to leave the country if he appeared before the special court for indictment?
It may be recalled that when three retired generals working with the National Logistics Cell came under the scrutiny of Parliament's Public Accounts Committee for alleged involvement in a Rs 4 billion corruption scam, the Army jumped in to rescue them. Setting a novel precedent, the retired officers were re-inducted in the Army so regular laws could not be applied to them. They were to be tried by a military court of inquiry, but nothing much happened. Musharraf was the top general, and, by the same token, for some of his former comrades-in-arms, above civilian reproach for any acts of omission or commission. He could tell the Baloch nationalists in a televised challenge that it was not the '70s (reference to a previous insurgency) and that this time they would not even know what hit them. It matters little if the Baloch people now insist on knowing what hit their leader, Nawab Akbar Bugti. Others have no right to ask if he had anything to do with the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. Or to know what he precisely meant when while referring to the chilling May 12, 2007, massacre in Karachi, he had triumphantly declared at a public meeting in Islamabad shaking his fist that a show of strength was going on in Karachi.
No one can quarrel with the facts the two ministers highlighted in their public outbursts against Musharraf and the harm his fellow Bonapartist adventurers have done to this hapless nation's body politic. The trial is not about the dignity and pride of soldiers or politicians. It is about us, the people of this country, and our democratic aspirations. When Musharraf overthrew an elected government, put Nawaz Sharif behind bars, sent him into exile, or when his men bundled him onto a return flight to Jeddah, he did not insult Sharif as a person but the people of this country who had elected him as prime minister. To this day, the people have not forgotten the 1979 judicial murder of Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and jailing and lashing of thousands of political activists by General Ziaul Haq. Indignities and humiliation inflicted on elected leaders by military dictators are tantamount to humiliating the people of this country who voted for them. The power of the gun has repeatedly overwhelmed the will of the people. The people too deserve to be treated with dignity.
As regards the Musharraf case, the government had avoided doing anything that could smack of a revenge motive. The legal proceedings against him were started on the direction of the Supreme Court. At this point, the ministers did not need to ruffle any feathers. Predictably, the government's detractors have jumped at the opportunity to term the legal proceedings as a case of personal revenge rather than compliance with legal obligations. Revenge, an inherent human instinct, surely is not a civilised emotion. In any event, the two ministers' ranting and raving on behalf of their leader is based on valid issues and concerns.
As for dignity and pride, they come from conduct that matches public expectations. The Constitution embodies the wishes of the people, defining the roles of different entities within the State as well as procedures and punishments for those violating the agreed rules of behaviour and laws thereof. It is good to see all major political parties take a united stand vis-a-vis these roles and rules. The country surely has come a long way from the time politicians conspired and colluded with military adventurists to subvert the country's supreme law and oust democratically-elected governments. Strengthening democracy means safeguarding dignity and pride of all - ordinary people as well as state institutions and entities within them. Whatever the special court, set up under the relevant constitutional provision, decides should be acceptable to all.
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