Musharraf's capacity to bear indignities

Musharraf's capacity to bear indignities

Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

President Musharraf's capacity to bear indignities, provided he is allowed to retain his office, seems to be unlimited. While he has repeatedly said he is willing to work with the new government, he continues to be conveyed through unambiguous gestures that he is not acceptable to the newcomers.

On Monday he administered oath to federal ministers, nine of whom wore black armbands to indicate they would rather see his back than face. They told the protocol officer they would not stand up on the arrival of the president to slight him. It took the ceremony to be over in seven minutes after which they walked out without shaking hands with him. Earlier on March 24, at the election of the new prime minister, the National Assembly had resounded with slogans of "Go Musharraf, Go" and at Mr Gillani's oath taking ceremony, attended by military top brass command and foreign diplomatic corps, there were again slogans that made Musharraf squirm.

On Tuesday there was another embarrassment waiting for him. None of the newly appointed cabinet members turned up at 13th Comstech General Assembly, the first international function attended by diplomats from the Islamic countries after take over by the new government to be addressed by Musharraf. As invitations had been duly dispatched to all the ministers this amounted to a calculated boycott. The unmistakable message was, well, we have other important things to do.

As if to give a lie to Rashid Qureshi's claim that everyone other than Mian Nawaz Sharif was dying to work with Musharraf, all top leaders of the four party alliance boycotted the two oath taking ceremonies. And if this was not enough, he has reportedly been told by Dr Fehmida Mirza that the speaker's chamber in the parliament under Musharraf's use since 2005, would no more be available to him.

For full five years Musharraf refused to address the previous National Assembly despite its having been turned into a rubber stamp. He called it ill-mannered because the opposition which was being constantly steam-rollered occasionally resorted to anti-Musharraf slogans. He felt at home in the meetings of a pliant ruling party that he frequently co-chaired. He wielded the COAS baton like the magician's wand to remove and install prime ministers at will. This is all a dream now. Used to playing with lapdogs Musharraf will have to live with pit bulls.

Majority of those who were administered oath on Monday have been unjustly targeted by Musharraf in the past. The idea had been to change their loyalties through pressure. The prime minister spent five years in jail on false accusations and was honourably acquitted by the court. Navid Qamar spent over a year behind the bars, Ahmad Mukhtar a year and half. Senior Minister Nisar Ali Khan was kept under detention for a year and a half, Ishaq Dar for a similar period, Khwaja Asif for over a year and Shahid Khaqan Abbasi for seventeen months. How can Musharraf build up rapport with his victims who have returned to power against his wishes on the basis of a historic verdict?

February elections have brought a seismic change in Pakistan's politics. Prime Minister Gillani says his relations with the president would be strictly in accordance with the constitution. In other words, the new prime minister would not allow him to make intrusions into his turf as he has been doing in the past. Henceforth the prime minister would deal with Bush, Gordon Brown, Manmohan Singh, Hamid Karzai, Wen Jiabao and others. It is he rather than the president who would address the UN sessions, Davos moots and attend summits. Gone are the foreign junkets and visits abroad to play bridge with friends that cost the national exchequer heavily. The voluntary reduction of expenses of the Prime Minister House by 40 percent is a signal that the presidency too is going to be required to follow suit.

The lawyers have vowed to converge on the Army House after the thirty-day countdown to evict him for being an unauthorised occupant, accusing him of using the premises for conspiracies against the elected government. Their leaders have already accused Musharraf of indulging in games to sabotage the Murree Accord. An unquenchable thirst for power has led Musharraf pocket one insult after another. It remains to be seen if his capacity to take indignities has any limits.

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Comments:

General (r) Musharraf promised in an interview that: I can exit anytime if I want to. If I feel that nation does not want me and I have become unpopular, nation does not require me, I'll be the first person to exit.

Polls, Surveys and even General Elections in Pakistan won't make him leave his seat. How shameless can he be?