Pervez Musharraf

The resignation of President Musharraf was met by loud cheers from all the people of Pakistan â€" as is our wont. There were very few to mourn his going, for he had helped the rich and the powerful. There were no poor on his help list. Even the earthquake relief funds were siphoned off by unscrupulous cronies.

The sight of the poor mother falling at his feet while he addressed a public meeting showed him unmoved. Her plight was her missing son who had vanished into the darkness of the ‘agency’, a word that strikes terror into the hearts of most Pakistanis. It has taken on the feel of the evil empire, and he was Darth Vader.

This reputation is undeserved for his main failing was his weakness, as can be evidenced by his allowing his subordinates to do their wish, without check or caution.

The removal of Musharraf will not make all well, for his cronies helped themselves to amass fortunes, both monetary and political. The House is full of his nominees who would not have made it to those hallowed positions without his patronage. These were often men of known incompetence, but high in sycophancy and eventually succeed in bringing him down.