On Savage Seas

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By Anwaar Hussain

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This piece is neither an attempt at defamatory lampoon nor a noxious ridicule of General Musharraf’s actions. It is with a heavy heart indeed that one pens these lines. With heavy heart because one is a personal witness to the qualities of head and heart of the esteemed general. For those qualities to have degenerated to the extent that today, as a direct result of his decisions, Pakistan is adrift on choppy seas like never before is some fall for the man once known to the scribe.

One would, therefore, be guilty of extreme intellectual dishonesty if one was to allow certain successes of the general as an excuse to gloss over his recent excesses. If to nothing else, one owes it to the common Pakistanis’ collective conscience that seems to be alive and kicking against his overkills of the late. It is but plain to see that if the tidal wave of Pakistani opinion does not alter the course of the nation, inter alia, ‘providence’ of our ‘chosen gods’ will, sooner than later, interfere in the game he is playing. This is no idle omen.

He cited two grounds for his Marshal Law Lite.

1. Judicial activism of Supreme Court Chief Justice

2. Upsurge of Islamic fundamentalism

Which, if any, of the two is the real reason? Let us put these grounds to test.

Reason number one can be rejected out of hand because it simply does not pass the test. For if that was the case there was no need for summarily dismissing and then detaining some 44 other judges of Supreme and High Courts. The kill of the Chief Justice should have sated the blood lust. It did not.

Reason number two fails even more miserably and not just because no newer powers are granted to the government under Emergency to deal with religious fundamentalism. There are laws galore to deal with that. But because even if it did, a localized Emergency in the effected areas should have been sufficient. There was no need to take away the fundamental rights of the entire nation. In any case, while Pakistani jails are crammed with thousands of liberal activists and politicians, barely a handful of militants have been dispatched to kingdom come since the proclamation of Martial Law Lite on November 3.

Furthermore, our liberal media, a continuous thorn in the sides of the foaming-at-the-mouths radicals for persistently showing the world how handsome Pakistani men and women folks were, has been gagged shut. Almost all the liberal/secular minded flag bearers of human rights and women’s rights are either detained or are behind the bars. Another moderate pillar of Pakistani society is the lawyer’s body. At one time after November 3, close to 3500 lawyers languished in prisons, thousands have been beaten and wounded in their peaceful protests resulting in Lahore alone, according to a Pakistani American lawyer, about 1,600 of these notaries being treated for wounds and fractures as a result of the general’s brutal onslaught. The atrocity goes on. That is some fall, some fall.

Who should know it more than the general, a student of military strategy as he is, that one judges better certain facts and principles when one sees them outside of the framework in which they usually exist. The scribe does that exercise for him and the change in point of view is as terrifying to the eyes as is chilling to the soul. One feels compelled responding to the call of conscience.

In his latest moves, none will credit him for the vision that he claims to have for Pakistan. The vision thing, one might humbly suggest, may be thrown safely out of the nearest window. It is of selfish motives that he stands accused instead. For power matters not to visionaries, since vision never dies. One knows of no condition more tolerable to a visionary who had eight long years to launch his ideas from the pinnacle of power than to be free of the cares and worries of governance, to watch from a distance the sprouting of the seeds he had sown, to follow with an involved detachment the changes in his homeland, its culture, politics, art and industry and to be able to frolic happily with his grand children all this while.

One is not taken in by the general’s claim because his absence from power could never break all the bonds which attach him to Pakistan if he truly loved his country. Posterity still speaks of those who, like him supposedly, have embossed great movements upon the human soul. Why contrive a continued stay in power through overt and covert manipulations and, by default, draw upon himself the scorn of a majority of his countrymen who now see him as an oppressive autocrat?

Common Pakistanis are not as gullible as the general may be thinking. To their credit, some of them, having perused Machiavelli’s wisdom, know that his opponents too are no angels. They know, as Machiavelli puts it that, “all men seek power, and there is none who would not be an oppressor if he could; all, or nearly all, are ready to sacrifice the rights of others to their own interests.” The irony, however, is that it is the general’s good self right now that Machiavelli speaks of, him being enthroned on the seat of power in Pakistan today. Perceptions, his staff officers once learnt from him, are deadlier than reality.

Eight years of continuous ‘saving’ of Pakistan by the ‘saviors’ and look where we are today. At home and abroad, almost all stand aghast and marvel at the lunacy of the general’s words and actions. One only hopes that he realizes sooner that he has landed Pakistan, wandering aimless on churning seas as it already was, bang in the midst of most bizarre times of its tumultuous history. So brazen is the divide between governmental words and actions this time that the ground reality and the sham being poured out in its name has thrown Pakistani ‘newspeak’ to altogether newer heights. What else would one make of the general’s statement of ‘taking away of basic rights to facilitate return to democracy’? If that be true then war is peace, freedom is slavery and Hail Orwell !

By proclaiming, even if remotely seriously, that people can exercise better their right of vote when their basic rights are ceased, the general embraces fallacious theories spawned in hell. For if that indeed is the case then Pakistan, in storm or weather fair, is doomed to walk the trackless course of time till its shelf life is over beyond extension. Its citizens, with ruffled dreams and crumbled hopes, will one day be tiptoeing ghostlike as third rate citizens in alien lands, ridden with fear and shame, shorn of all pride.

One hates to be the bringer of dreadful omens but, unless the lead actors decide to pull back from the brink, we are nearer the grand crescendo than many might grant. If ever Pakistan needed prayers, it is now.

O lord who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name, have mercy on us.

Copyrights : Anwaar Hussain



Comments

11 Responses to “On Savage Seas”

  1. T.L.Vice on November 19th, 2007 8:03 pm

    Once again, a stellar fantastic piece Anwaar.

  2. Masroor ul Hassan on November 19th, 2007 8:42 pm

    Anwaar Hussain,

    Judging by the very last line of your burning article,”If ever Pakistan needed prayers, it is now. O lord who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name, have mercy on us.”, those who know you, can tell the agony of your soul.

    You have skillfully analyzed the state of mind of the great savior General. He cannot even imagine letting go the power he usurped from those who had been given the mandate for it by the people of Pakistan.

    Always an optimist, your upright posture hitherto kept your head straight up. But here, in this latest post, I see a little hopelessness. Or do I? The very realization of this fact sent cold shivers up my spine.

    Anwaar, keep your head up for the last thing your ‘Fatherland’ can afford is your state of depression and possible resultant inaction. Keep the sword of your pen lashing and you have friends like us with you.

    Our task becomes uphill because there are conscienceless toddies who sell themselves and jump on the ’savior’ band wagon for petty material gains. National interest in none of their priorities. I shall soon share my feeling in a separate article.

    May Allah reward you and others who are waging intellectual war for the betterment of ‘Fatherland”

    Best regards,

    Masroor

  3. Michelle on November 19th, 2007 9:03 pm

    Anwaar,

    This is your best piece EVER! I know how hard it was for you to write and I understand why you’ve been silent until recently. It was very brave of you to write this, brave on a deeply personal level.

    Bravo, scribe…you have my utmost respect.

    Michelle

    And this one because I read oh so much….maybe too much:

    Captain Ahab:

    What a traditional tragic scene the sea is….a universe without any certainties whatsoever! Is not the sea the world as given to you?…Not a world you arbitrarily imagine; one of tragic incongruities in God, nature, and man. Ahab/Anwaar, you suffer so from the human condition while you strive to comprehend it!

    If I’ve seen arrogance at times and contradicted you, it is because I’ve also seen how enormous your agony is. One day you may come to ‘appreciate’ how I’ve watched over your voyage across your own personal sea, in search of the great white truth. Until then, may you find that final faith and peace deserving of any tragic hero……

    Yours in Service,

    Ishmael

  4. Allen L Roland on November 19th, 2007 10:17 pm

    Good article, Anwaar ~ unfortunately, Musharraf is just another world leader who has been infected by the cancerous Cheney/Bush global agenda and will soon suffer the fate of the others ~ Tony Blair, John Howard in next weekend’s Australian elections and eventually many others who sacrificed their moral integrity and principles for power .

    Allen L Roland

  5. Highlander on November 19th, 2007 10:21 pm

    It is a pleasure to read your thoughts, beaded in a prose of such pristine beauty.

    May the angels keep smiling on you Anwaar.

    Salutes to your courage Amigo.

    Highlander

  6. the olive ream on November 19th, 2007 11:22 pm

    Impeccable piece - as always! What makes one angry is that majority of Pakistanis actually supported him when he took power. He did a 180 degree turn and now will be remembered with the likes of the late General Zia Ul Haq.

    I join you (as do millions of other Pakistanis) in your prayer for Pakistan.

  7. Anwaar on November 20th, 2007 7:24 am

    Thank you all for commenting. This just in;

    Court dismisses challenges to Musharraf,

    The Guardian

    President Pervez Musharraf’s handpicked supreme court dismissed a string of legal challenges yesterday, clearing the way for his resignation as chief of army staff by the end of this week.

    The court, which was packed with Musharraf loyalists, swiftly dismissed five petitions to his controversial October 6 re-election, in which the military ruler won 98% of votes cast.

    Ensuring victory in yesterday’s court cases was at the heart of Musharraf’s decision to impose emergency rule just over two weeks ago. To ensure the decision went his way Musharraf suspended the constitution and fired the chief justice, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.

    Yesterday Chaudhry and seven other independent-minded judges remained under house arrest, and the replacement bench clearly signalled its loyalties. In little more than an hour five anti-Musharraf petitions were quashed and lawyers for his opponents given hostile treatment.

    Source http://tinyurl.com/ywfgx5

  8. Jonathan Stephenson on November 20th, 2007 9:05 am

    I believe a little differently than you on this Anwaar, for I believe the general has been bought and neutered by the Bush/Cheney Junta, and I’m not to sure he has much of an option in what he does. Say for instance the general decides to open up the political process to all parties, which of course would include some more radical parties, do you believe that Bush/Cheney wouldn’t intervene if it looked as a party they disapproved of might end up winning or sharing power, and that they might decide then that they needed to take out Pakistans nukes just in case. If this was a situation he was facing, would you still judge his actions now to be as disturbing as they appear? Once he allowed the US Military to get involved actively in Pakistan is it not now possible that he himself actually only has limited control of his own nation, and any attempt by him to alter this situation could lead to a massive attack on Pakistans military and nuclear weapons sites? I’ve read in the papers here how the US Military has helped Pakistan secure her weapons, that sounds awefully fishey to me. Sincerely, Jon

  9. Anwaar on November 21st, 2007 11:05 am

    Thank you Jon. It is always good to hear from you.

    However, I do not see how we differ in our opnions. This is precisely what I had in mind when I wrote;

    “It is but plain to see that if the tidal wave of Pakistani opinion does not alter the course of the nation, inter alia, ‘providence’ of our ‘chosen gods’ will, sooner than later, interfere in the game he is playing. This is no idle omen.”

    Concentrate on the quotes Jon. I think we are saying the same thing.

  10. rowan on November 22nd, 2007 8:42 am

    Thank you for the excellent article, and for the collection of exceptional information and analysis on the situation in Pakistan. This is the first place I come to try to decipher the dynamics of what is happening there.

  11. Anwaar on November 22nd, 2007 2:08 pm

    Pakistan court clears way for Musharraf

    Associated Press

    ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - A Supreme Court stacked with judges loyal to President Gen. Pervez Musharraf cleared the way for him to rule as a civilian president, ruling Thursday against a final challenge blocking ratification of his election last month.

    The decision, which was widely expected, means that Pakistan’s Election Commission can put a stamp of approval on the vote. Musharraf has said he would then step down as army chief and take the oath as president.

    The rest : http://tinyurl.com/yulr5h

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Anwaar’s articles appear simultaneously here at Truth Spring and at Soul Vibes in The Pakistan Tribune.


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