Pakistan:Sharif versus Sharif

The Express Tribune

By Saroop Ijaz

The statement from “Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Napoleon” was to become, perhaps, Karl Marx’s most quoted one; history repeats itself first time as a tragedy and second time as a farce. Analysis of Mian Sahib’s third term might have stumped the great German himself. Mian Nawaz Sharif and the Pakistan Army show a firm resolves not to learn or more accurately unlearn.

The case for why General Musharraf is to be tried is unchallenging and easy. He abrogated the Constitution and this falls squarely within the parameters of Article 6 of the Constitution of Pakistan. All the talk, most of it legitimate, of aiders and abettors being tried and starting from the original sin of October 1999 does not obscure the fact that he abrogated the Constitution and whereas the time period covered in the trial can be extended, accomplices tried, how does any of this exonerate the Commando for November 3, 2007? It does not, the rest is mostly obfuscation. Kudos to Mian Sahib for attempting to try an ex-dictator. However, Mian Sahib and his enthusiastic cabinet members keep the tradition of going way past their mark. Exhibit A is the generally, eminently reasonable Khawaja Asif. Khawaja Sahib has maybe lost the memo. Newsflash: Khawaja Sahib you, sir, are in power, the tyrant is gone. It was hard to tell hearing snippets from the defence minister’s speech, one could mistake him for addressing a sitting dictator. Musharraf’s trial will be judged on how it ends and not what is said and however forcefully during pendency. If the Commando goes, for which there are reasonable betting odds, it will make a mockery of a lot mighty talk. General Musharraf should be tried, and tried in court — the media circus needs to end. The General should be extended the due process that he denied others.

The “Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Napoleon” has another piercingly relevant insight; those who seek to learn a new language, out of habit, translate it back into the language they already know. The Pakistan Army has great command over one language, the language of force, the language of power. The army chief has responded to criticism with a thinly veiled threat. The morale of the soldiers should not dip; the army will defend its integrity, etc., etc. The 90s are gone (however, Mian Sahib is hard at work to bring them back). General Sharif, we are told is a “professional” soldier and is apolitical. Great news and confidence inspiring, with a minor caveat, the exact same phrase is used to describe every army chief in the recent history of Pakistan.

Side note: Why does the ISPR even exist? Why don’t the police or the district management group have PR wings? Shouldn’t the army route public statements through the ministry of defence? (Admittedly, bit of a problem, when the target of the army’s rage is the defence minister himself) Well, we are far away from seriously asking these questions and even farther from receiving real answers. As Sharif versus Sharif is on the brink of unfolding, the state erodes one “non-combatant” at a time. Mian Nawaz Sharif’s stated position is that the trial of Musharraf is nothing personal and is being done due to the reverence and obedience the Sharif government has towards the Court. In these desperate times, one wants to believe the prime minister. However, one cannot reasonably believe him. It is the same federal government which has unilaterally decided to release TTP captives kept in prisons, we are not told the names or offences of the lovely gentleman from the TTP who now breathe the fresh air. Respect for judiciary and legal system 101 for the federal government: anyone legally arrested and sent to prison or under trial can only be released through the courts, and not on the whims of the interior minister, certainly in the absence of presidential pardons. There lies the problem. There is a fundamental hypocrisy in the posturing regarding Musharraf’s trial. Mian Sahib does not care about respect for judiciary and all that jazz. Mian Sahib has a history of taking things personally and so does the army. The morale of the army will not or, at least, should not be shaken by the trial of General Musharraf, however, the unconditional and secret release of those who claim to have killed 50,000 of our civilians and soldiers will lower the spirits of the army and We, the people. The counterterrorism policy of the government cannot be to extrajudicially release prisoners and beg “our estranged brothers” for mercy. The army as the primary counterterrorism force has to be taken on board. On the flip side, the army has to stop threatening the elected government and channel the use of force or perhaps the threat of it, where it rightly belongs, against the militants.

Sharif versus Sharif is a zero-sum game and all of us lose in the end. Postscript: The latest talk on the media is that former DG ISI General Pasha apologised to former president Zardari on Memogate and took the defence plea that he did it on the orders of General Kayani. (Sohail Warraich, in his television show, recently claimed former president Zardari had told him this). If this is true, public apologies and embarrassments and more are in order. Generals Kayani and Pasha will probably have something to say on it very soon. One not-so-glorious undemocratic moment during the previous government’s tenure was Mian Nawaz Sharif donning a black suit and patriotically marching to the Supreme Court as a petitioner in the Memo case. Mian Sahib was trying to score “patriotic” points and maybe re-establishing his reliability credentials to the army. Well, so much for all that. If this is proved, one would expect Mian Sahib to publicly and unconditionally apologise for being part (even if inadvertently) of the charade. My Lords will not be thrilled either. One recalls the embarrassing ordeal of three of My Lords waiting for the clownish Mansur Ejaz to show up, who did not find it worth his time. Again, if this is true, this is enough to sufficiently lower the morale and dent integrity all around.