Musharraf and Me

Guest Post by Amer Nazir

I have written many articles on chowk.com and teeth.com.pk – many of them satires aimed at Pervez Musharraf, making fun of him, despising him, humiliating him, hating him – and today, reading Cowasjee’s column in the Dawn (17 Aug)… I almost feel guilty!

But then the emphasis is on almost… One thing is confirmed though that Musharraf and me are today the most misunderstood men in the world… at least from my perspective…!

We both meant well… we both have been humiliated… I wonder what is wrong with this world… the world is cold, harsh and ungrateful… even, when both of us, I mean Musharraf and me, tend to cry out from roof tops that we are innocent….

I, a small man, achieved milestones in the Pakistani IT industry, made small contributions which though still remain unparalleled even today although six years have passed… but on the behest of my business partners, the rich fund belonging to 600 serving captains of PIA, I was accused of embezzling funds from my own group, and me and my family were persecuted for years and when after losing all that we had in terms of worldly gains, often hungry and desolate, I was allowed to leave Pakistan, finally my name was taken off the Exit Control List and I reached UK and was awarded humanitarian protection by the British government…. and now Musharraf is being accused of embezzlement as well… the British government is there for him also at this precise moment… but then Musharraf will not have to stand in a queue at the British Home Office to seek asylum…

Army officers love their tea breaks paid by American money – but once they are senior they don’t go to tea breaks – the generals ring the bell and ask for the ‘tea break’ to be brought to them – so asylum is also being brought to Musharraf neatly bound and packaged… unlike me…
One thing is confirmed though that Musharraf and me are today the most misunderstood men in the world
There are other ways that we differ as well, I mean Musharraf and me, I think there are chances that Musharraf may never be taken to a court of law on embezzlement charges while in my case I had begged and pleaded to be taken to a court of law for embezzlement charges but NAB would not hear of it…

I remember, back in the days of my persecution, I was sitting at the house of a friend one evening, a DIG of police, and I kept on talking about my innocence, just as Musharraf is talking today, and the DIG got fed up with my tirade… turning to me, taking a huge sip of black label, he said enough was enough, ‘What is the matter with you,’ he said, ‘why do you keep on pleading your innocence all the time? Do you think anyone cares, and by the way what right do you have to try to impose your morality on others with this continuous lectures on innocence and ethics and so on… is it our fault that you did not reap the harvest when the sun was shinning…?’

Cant you see,’ he said, ‘that a wave is coming to sweep you away and all you do is cry from the rooftop that you are innocent – do you think that will help, do you think being innocent will save you…?’

And today, Cowasjee writes that his friend Musharraf did mean well, that his wife and mother should not be harmed in the process and he even goes on to suggest that there has been irresponsibility on the part of the electronic media in particular to harm Musharraf…

And I recalled, back in my days of persecution, I wrote to Cowasjee and begged him to write about me – his reply, which I still have was… ‘Sorry to know about the plight of your family and yourself, all I can say is better luck next time…’

Perhaps, Cowasjee does not think that small men like me – worse, all those hundreds who are missing, of course all in the name of corruption and patriotism… also have wives, mothers and daughters…

Well, all I can say is, when it is my turn… Musharraf welcome to the club – a club of the innocent, of the exiled…

But then, as of today, we don’t know what will happen, whether Musharraf will fight or surrender – in either case there should have been his own personal ego and personal benefits that should have formed the basis of his decision – such as the accessibility to a golf course – but then a known trait of mediocrity is the inability to draw a line unless someone else or circumstances does it for you…

There are also chances that he will be my neighbour. I live in Kingston upon Thames, a town in surrey… and next to us is Richmond where Musharraf’s mentor lives, who has been purchasing a lot of property and stables and horses recently… Maybe, I will play a round of golf with Musharraf one day…who knows…!

But then there are other aspects as well… being an extremely mediocre man, a fact which has been hidden by his charm, authority and his utility thanks to 9/11. Musharraf is simply someone promoted beyond his competence level, a person who can be easily led in any direction by whoever has his ear at the moment… to me, what is important now, is to see who has his ear at this precise time… a friend or a foe…more so, since his personal intellect does not allow him to distinguish between the two… as it is, Musharraf can even be channelled into taking a stand for truth and justice – and which means nothing… as my DIG friend has taught me…

Personally, I don’t agree that Musharraf has to fear Nawaz Sharif or Zardari… I think it is Kiyani that he should fear… Amongst Musharraf’s crimes the most paramount is the fact that he has brought more disrepute to the army than the combination of 61 years of lost wars and misrule… and this is most critical, all this is quite inconvenient for the economic interest of the rich generals…past, present and future.

I did write earlier in one of my articles that the only way for the army to take the pressures off from their own selves and win back the sympathy vote for operational and tactical reasons is to have a scapegoat, to settle for a well deserved collateral damage… it will be good in terms of the vote factor… the army may now have no choice but to respond to the Zulfiquar Ali Bhutto legacy trump card.

And as I have written earlier, if there is ever any chance of a general being hung in Pakistan then it is now – when even retired generals are urging for this… and Musharraf, a mediocre man who on the advice of his friends had at one time gone as far as to tell the world that democracy was low life – can easily be coaxed into writing his own death warrant…

But then on the other hand again, the only consideration that may save him is that impeachment and a trial may disclose the role of the army in nuclear proliferation…

In any case, at the ripe age of 65, Musharraf will learn for the first time that Truth is the most elusive thing in the world – and innocence the hardest to prove when the onus is on the innocent to prove his innocence and not the other way around… the way things are done in Pakistan – a system he strengthened instead of changing.

NAB, out of court justice, disregard of the rule of law, the writ of the government, corruption, incompetence, unity of command, all Musharraf’s favourite uttering’s, are now staring him in the face…

Previous Posts by Amer Nazir

• The NAB Diaries Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | The Aftermath
• Open Letter to ‘Maj-Gen’ ‘Retd’ Rashid Quraishi – NAB Diaries
• ‘l’etat, c’est moi’ – the state is me.
• The nation will not forgive…