'The Musharraf saga'

This is apropos a Business Recorder editorial "The Musharraf saga" carried by the newspaper on Saturday. It has argued, among other things, that "Should we be surprised at Musharraf's treason case ending up as a damp squib? After two and a half years of meandering through the courts, it has reached a not unexpected dead end. The support of the institution Musharraf headed may have been an important factor in this outcome, given that the military has not allowed any military coup maker in the past to be put into the dock either (General Yahya was declared a usurper by the court only after his death)."

That Musharraf too was an army dictator is a fact. That he came to power through a bloodless coup is also a fact. His record, however, in areas of governance and economy is far better than those of the rulers who have succeeded him so far. Field Marshal Ayub Khan too is fondly remembered by many for putting the country on the path of development in the 1960s. The civilian governments, unfortunately, have no better records to show. Pakistan People's Party, for example, has ruled Sindh for over three decades. Is there anybody to defend it insofar as lack of socio-economic development in the interior Sindh in particular is concerned? People would always condemn or despise, albeit reluctantly, a military ruler.