Within an hour of launching his Movement titled "Tehreek-e-Ittehad" at a local hotel in Rawalpindi by General Hameed Gul, the response to his call reached 2 lac 80 thousand approvals. Had the news been accessible to the teeming millions not enjoying the internet facility in the country, the referendum would have established how profoundly people of Pakistan were wedded to their faith and to those who stood to safeguard it. It is unfortunate though, that some write-ups after the great man's departure have sought to belittle his stature and contributions to his homeland created in the name of Islam as a symbol of Muslim brotherhood embracing all revealed religions. I, therefore, disagree with assertions such as "divergent views, reflecting division and fissures in deeply polarised Pakistan," or that "the General pursued the path of those who used religion for political ends." General Gul never indulged in politics and such negative write-ups only represent a miniscule secular mindset which hardly reflects the views of the man in the street.
His detractors admit though, that the mercurial General never minced his words and had the courage to accept responsibility for whatever he did to secure the social construct and identity of Pakistan. Does it not speak volumes of his charisma that even though he took charge as ISI Chief when the Afghan war against Russian invasion was almost concluded, he was held in great esteem by the Afghans, and invited to their National Day Parade as Chief Guest after Mulla Umer took over as the Emir of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Mulla Umer's accession had sent a strong message across the world about the bounties of pursuing the path of the faithful by creating an unprecedented security environment across the war-battered country.
"Every gun and barrel at this parade is loaded; it is a Live Ammunition Parade," quipped his host to General Hameed Gul who was pleasantly surprised and got enamoured to the personality of the Emir for the unflinching faith and confidence in his people. Reciprocating the sentiment, Mulla Umar's Shura was so overawed by the General's personal humility that after the parade they preferred to squat on the floor insisting that the General sat on a raised pedestal amid them as they considered him their father figure. Who would not dream of such a serene dispensation in a world mired in insecurity, exploitation, injustice, hegemony, deceit, corruption and personal aggrandisement.
Alas! Within months and years of the Allied invasion forcibly occupying Afghanistan, Islamic identity of the country was deliberately sought to be tarnished as jeans-clad naval-revealing young girls posed with the Allied installed Puppet Hamid Karzai, signalling women's emancipation a la western style, in the same manner as Musharraf posed with puppies tucked under his arms in his bid to create a so-called enlightened moderate image of Pakistan. Poppy growth in Afghanistan was back in full gear with the Allied force in silent acquiescence, also reaping the fruits of the heroin-producing crop.
Yes! He was loved and loathed at the same time for being what he was. General Gul was unequivocal and categorical in his views not just because they were his own, but those reflecting the ethos of the silent majority of Pakistanis. The fact that he continues to be discussed and written about all over the globe, bespeaks of the stature of the man whose coffin wrapped in the National flag was lent a shoulder by General Raheel Sharif at his funeral; a unique honour bestowed upon the departed Comrade-in-Arms by Pakistan's Army Chief.
As the Former Spy Chief with unblemished personal reputation, General Hameed Gul was entitled to views and inferences, which some writers and anchors of sorts are not qualified to question. On account of his knowledge and skills, he rightly raised alarm bells about the International web of deceit and ingress being woven around Pakistan. There is evidence galore now that he was absolutely right. The General believed in peace but with dignity. It is a matter of shame and consternation that Pakistan's political and diplomatic corps has of late, been found miserably wanting and lacking conviction and failing to look the enemy, in the eye.
Hameed Gul was gravely concerned and disillusioned with the sham democracy being practised ever since inception of the country, and rightly recommended that we put our heads together and demand presidential form of government, which was closer to Islamic system of consultative governance. He was against monarchies, which followed hereditary lineage rather than merit, and against multi-party system, which thrived on expediency, despite being close to religious parties particularly Jamaat-e-Islami, he did not join any political party under a Parliamentary system, which had proven to be woefully unsuitable to the genius of Islamic polities like Pakistan.
In requiring to adopt Shariah as the source of law and to dispense with the colonial system of justice, he reflects the cries of teeming millions unable to get justice in decades and in most cases unable to pay for it. "Scrap such a man-made constitution that delivers only to the ruling elite and crushes the common man", he often said. Is it not a shame that we are today, craving to preserve and protect a man-made constitution in preference to the Divine constitution; the Holy Qura'n presenting a complete code of life and conduct for the entire mankind? Despite being a 68 year old Nation State carved for the Muslims of the sub-continent, some of us still have the cheek to try inventing "new narratives" for the State, and daring to interpret the purport, meaning, and the edicts of the Holy Book as it suits them; an invitation to the wrath of the Providence.
The General believed in change through what he called a "Soft Revolution" by imprinting the Divine Message in the hearts and minds of the future generations by exemplary leadership and not through force, as he was a man of peace. He made distinction between the Afghan Taliban who were fighting to vacate foreign aggression from their homeland, and the so-called Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, which was eventually hijacked and infiltrated by India to stage a proxy war and subversion in Pakistan, of which today there is abundant proof now reverberating the power corridors and the opposition alike.
While the ghost of Hameed Gul a conscientious man, will continue to haunt the enemy, former Senator Tariq Choudhry, a rare commodity of yester-year politicians aptly sums up his person when he says, "The dignified warrior, was humble, respectful, hospitable and unbiased, but an undeterred, brave and outspoken man of conviction, who with his honesty and humility stirred the imagination and transformed the lives of millions within and outside Pakistan". Indeed the legacy of the great General Hameed Gul will live on.
(The writer is a veteran media professional, analyst of political, social, cultural, Television and film industrial issues. He can be reached . email: [email protected]). (The views expressed in this article are not necessarily these of the newspaper)
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