President buckles under powerful political punch

The relinquishing of power by General (retd) Pervez Musharraf seemingly appeared a remote possibility as the commando in him had created the myth of invincibility and a resolute 'Will' to defeat the impeachment and face all the charges and allegations to be made in the parliament, as 'concocted' attempts to malign him and tarnish his image. Far from being guilty of hundred and so charges framed, he was "innocent" to the core, dry-cleaned and of spotless disposition. His stubbornness to remain glued to power was therefore a typical manifestation of belief-system that insulates a dictator from the constraints of reality. He lives under a self-sealing system in which he sees himself doing no evil and committing no 'wrong'. All his deeds, essentially 'misdeeds', are in the supreme interest of the country. Therefore, all his crimes mostly expressive of greed and rapacity and lust to perpetuate himself as the wielder of absolute authority are camouflaged under 'oft repeated epithet ad nauseam - "country first".

It is actually a contrived cover to put the 'self' above everything else. Whatever he did during his nine-year rule, is an eloquent testimony to the syndrome that tyrants and dictators display-empty words and boastful claims besides crimes against humanity. Be it Hitler, Stalin, Pinochet, George Bush or our own breed like the infamous generals - Ayub Khan, Yahya Khan, Ziaul Haq and the last in the series was Pervez Musharraf, who stands out as the one who out-classed all the military dictators. He damaged every single institution that lends grace and dignity to a nation. He humiliated the chief justice in a manner that no civilised society could think of doing. Actually in disgracing the symbol of adal (justice), which is the hallmark of an Islamic polity, he has committed a cardinal sin. Just look at the way he got the judges of the Supreme Court put under detention along with their children and spouses. These are shameful episodes of his way of governance, totally devoid of propriety and decency.

Where in the world one would find sixty judges of the Superior Courts deposed by one stroke of pen, by one man? It was based just on a guilt ridden apprehension that some of the Supreme Court judges could disqualify the president to hold his august office, as his elections were contrived through the same assemblies twice, which is not in consonance with the tradition that new the assemblies should have elected him. The credibility of the old assemblies was dubious as it was "selected" and manipulated through shady devices. They were all Kings men - motivated mainly for personal gains and privileges. The worst possible legacy of the authoritarian leaders is that they promote a culture of sycophancy. A whole lot of darbaries thrive under dictatorial rule as 'flattery' takes precedence over competence, funds allotted for public welfare are squandered for attaining luxurious style of life, sort of over-compensation for the past deprivations and ancestral frugality.