No Principles, no Self - Respect
It’s been quite a feeling getting to know that the Daughter of the East has finally decided to sell the soul of her dead father. It had been rumours till now that the good Chairperson of the so – called Pakistan Peoples Party was having talks with the current military dispensation that rules Islamabad (rather, even that small city the rulers don’t seem to be having a good time ruling these days!). But it’s now all over the media.
The whole episode and the rest of Pakistan’s 60 – year history is ample proof of the insincerity of the politicians and the military leadership alike. It’s so evident that these people only smell their own skins. It was the same Musharraf who demonized both Benazir and Nawaz; who wouldn’t ever spare an opportunity to ridicule them; who disqualified them from further taking part in elections; who tried to break both the ex – premiers’ backs by trying to split their political parties and thus making up his own ‘king’s party’ – the ‘Q League’ – to help him in his designs on this country.
Now, in a way, it’s also such a historic moment that brilliantly displays how times change. The same Musharraf is now performing rumba for his expected partner, Benazir!! No doubt the changing times have been brought about with the blessings of both London and Washington for whom it’s ever more important now to have a tamed dog in Islamabad that must in no way have any problems in following his master’s commands, given the ever deteriorating condition of law and order in the tribal belt as well as in the rest of the country.
Musharraf’s aides must have been feeing him some real shit in the name of obsequiousness, which has till now prevented him from accepting that the public no more likes him and that his actions are only translating into hug political setbacks for himself. An inflated ego, therefore, leads him to become desperate for having another stint with the Presidency. What his eyes are truly missing is that in doing so, he’s only serving his own self (something really against the honour of a true soldier) rather than serving the nation.
It’s a fact that every dictator would always want to remain clinging to power to pump air into his ego, which again forces him to remain thirsty for power. So basically it’s a circle (vicious?) in which the guy finds himself in. The same is visible in Musharraf’s case that he’s now stooped so low as to strike deals with crooked and unprincipled politicians whom he ridiculed and who loathed him till the recent past. What does he wants? Another Presidential term? He’s already been in power for eight years; eight years in which he enjoyed absolute authority over each and every matter of this country. But what did he achieve? The results are all around us – increased blood and gore on the streets, the worst internal security situation, an ever strengthening financial security of the already deep – pocketed and a huge number of impoverished people.
Isn’t it time Musharraf is asked, as they say, the million dollar question – what good he intends to achieve for the country with another Presidential term, when he couldn’t do much in the last eight years?
