The nation will not forgive…

Guest Post by Amer Nazir

And why should it…

The present change has not been brought about by the politicians alone too many unsung heroes have lost their lives… they did not have a distinguished name or title, they just died on the streets… only to figure in a grand total, to add on to figures that we read in the newspapers but which we now do not give a second thought about…

Zardari and Nawaz Sharif stand redeemed today, whether they deserved the earlier treatment or the present notwithstanding the fact is that they stand redeemed today, their troubles are over in a personal sense and then revenge is a dish better served cold… but what about the nation… when will it be redeemed… what about those common people who have suffered irreparable loss… and what about those who worked and voted for the redemption of a nation…

How can they say that they will not impeach Musharaff not take him and his cronies to trial… that it is not a priority…

This change has come about because of the efforts of those who lost their lives in the process whether it is Benazir Bhutto or the hundreds of nameless, it has been brought about by those ordinary people who have and still are languishing in jails and in exile… by the brave lawyers, the judiciary, the politicians who refused to contest elections, by the media, the common man on the street who came out for demonstrations in different cities of the world and this change is the result of each and every one of us who has written may it be even a single word to protest… to let the world know of our plight and which has finally changed global perception…

This change has been brought about by the peoples resistance….

Many would even say that the politicians are the part of the problem – the reasons why the Nation has suffered as much as it has… that how can the politicians not take responsibility for not providing an uncontroversial leadership, educated and people-oriented manifestos, for not doing good for the masses in the past… for surely if at times there have been only feeble attempts to revive democracy in Pakistan it is because of an inappropriate debate between civilian and army rule… an unnecessary comparison for which the politicians are equally to be blamed along with the army. It would not have come to that had it not been for the behaviour of the politicians. And though Mr Zardari is technically correct when he says that the victorious political parties have the mandate of the people to take the right decisions on behalf of the nation… yet, is it not a mandate by default… could Mr Zardari ever have imagined himself in this position only a few months ago… can Mr Sharif forget the treatment meted out to him at the Lahore airport only a few months ago…. but they now stand redeemed, they have received their pound of flesh… but the ordinary victim has not…

The truth is that people primarily voted against Musharaff and several gained by default. Same as Musharaff himself, who remained unrecognized by the world community until 9/11 and then only, since the international vote bank against Osama Bin laden overloaded Musharaff gained by default…

How can Mr Zardari say that he will not enter into the politics of confrontation believe me, Mr Zardari is where he is today because of the confrontation by so many. If there was no confrontation, Musharaff would have still been ruling….there is a different language for different people… some of the ills of this nation can only be addressed through direct confrontation… it is perhaps now time to see the matter through once and for all no matter how unpleasant it may seem…

They are also saying that the priority is to first have a smooth transition to civilian rule but what a risk it seems… Everyone knows that a bad institution is more likely to permeate the good ones, a rotten apple can spoil the lot…

Already, it has only been few days since elections, but attempts have been made to revive cases against Mr Zardari, rightly or wrongly is again not the scope of this article, what is important is that these are attempts at manipulations. There have also been attempts to keep PML (N) out and to bring PML (Q) yet into the game through the offices of foreign powers are these not indications enough that the sedition from within will never seize… that there will remain a wounded animal in the midst who will do everything possible to yet impress on the world that he was right all along…

Is Musharraf not an extremely vindictive man who in spite of his high office stoops down to personal level… the CJ is not the CJ of Pakistan he is Ch Iftikhar, the only face of the media is Dr Shahid, Hamid Mir and Ziauddin who should be roughed up, in fact all of them should be roughed up… in his petty mind the only face of the lawyers is Aitazaz Ahsan who won a case against him, and do I still have to remind whom he calls corrupt in his interviews even after the elections…

And, in any case, are the above not the real heroes who have brought the politicians back into power and if so, then when will their redemption begin…

The fact is that Ch Iftikhar has been forced out of impartiality, the essential requirement of his job he is now a victim who has suffered an irreparable loss due to a personal vendetta… but he has to be brought back because we have to rise above personal capacities for a moment revive the dignity of the role of Chief Justice of Pakistan first and foremost. It is a different matter though that he may choose to resign after two weeks once he has been reinstated. Not only will the status of the Chief Justice be revived by then but with this gesture Ch Iftikhar as an individual will also take a place in our hearts forever…

And to avoid this confrontation would be wrong…

And neither should Musharaff and his friends and his courtiers be allowed to go scot free… who are responsible for so much misery and deaths and for so much wasted time in the life of a nation… they should be made into an example… they should be put on trial in the court of the common man and not only in the court of those who have finally got their personal pound of flesh and who would now not mind showing some compassion… for perhaps no other reason except that it may seem as noble…

The Americans will understand if Musharaff is impeached they may not understand if he is not impeached since this is what they would have done themselves in their own country irrespective of what they may say up front… The American people are not bad people. They are a great nation and have contributed towards the betterment of humanity through technological innovations and advancements in medicine to name a few and have also helped the deserving humanity around the world. Their government may seem as ruthless to other nations since its responsibility is focused towards its own people first and foremost and which should be understandable no matter how absurd this may seem to us considering our own experience… As such, the USA government policy is straight forward, it does not believe in remaining a long term ally if the relationship is of no good anymore and they can not be blamed for that… It is not their fault either if our own President and his courtiers have been brainwashing the Americans for years that the Pakistanis are extremist and corrupt in general and when no one else, no politician could reach a level to argue against this impression… in short, the Americans know that supporting Musharaff is against their own philosophy in every sense of the word and yet they still support him at least outwardly since they are still confused and concerned… and it will not help the situation if Musharaff, a small man with an overly inflated ego, is still kept in a position from where he can continue to poison the Americans further…

This election has been won by the people of Pakistan and no political party as such… Impeach the President, if you fail try to impeach him the next day and the day after and up till the time you do succeed.

And let the institutions take hold. Let the lawyers and the judiciary do their job, let the media do its own… it is these institutions that will bring Musharaff to justice, the new government only has to make sure that the rule of the law is followed without bringing into the equation any political expediencies…

But if you still keep Musharaff and he makes sure that he fails you, which is his wont, his nature, and you then subsequently try to pass the blame on to him then remember that this nation will not forgive…

Go forward with a clean slate, minus the extra baggage…