Tuesday September 06, 2011

Constitution, Rule of Law and Gen. Musharraf's Democracy

Within last 4 ½ years what Pakistan has witnessed it never endured during its 56 years of murky history. General Musharraf has taken deception, violation of constitution and rule of law to the last limits during his 4 ½ years of illegal rule.

It is embarrassing enough for the nation of 160 million people to have a general in uniform as head of state. On the top this general wants to play intellectual and lectures the world about democracy, enlightenment and moderation. Whenever and wherever he opens his mouth he insults the intelligence of his audience by talking about  his kind of ideas of democracy.

“There is more democracy in Pakistan Army,” he told his audience in Stockholm university appearance. He harps on these fallacious ideas because he knows no one is going to encounter him because of his VVIP position. One should ask the purblind general what does he mean from the phrase “There is more democracy in Pakistan Army.” Are armies supposed to have democracy? Which army in the world has democracy? What kind of democracy Pakistan Army has?

Pakistan army is the most messed-up institution in Pakistan. It is so messed-up by its “democracy loving generals” its mess is spilling over in every other institution in Pakistan. No institution is safe from their intrusion. These ‘democracy loving generals” have on purpose destroyed every effort in the history of Pakistan, which led to make Pakistan a constitutional state.

General Ayub, Yahya, Zia, and now general Musharraf, they all have been the enemy of constitutional form of government. They all, including general Musharraf, tried hard to let democracy not take roots in Pakistan.   They never respected the peoples’ right to govern Pakistan according to their social, cultural, religious and political ideals.

Within last 4 ½ years, general Musharraf has given shock after shock to the people of Pakistan through his deceptive, illegal, unauthorized and autocratic actions.

Unfortunately, the generations of Pakistanis grew-up reading the stories of general Ayub’s political, agricultural and industrial revolutions.  No wonder, they repeat the mantra of “President general Musharraf,” without hesitation or  guilty feeling, three times in a sentence. With perpetuated martial laws, the people of Pakistan have lost the ability to tell the right from wrong, constitutional from unconstitutional and legal from criminal.

Lately, the general has fooled the nation by nominating Shaukat Aziz as next prime minister of Pakistan. He has been telling the nation and the world at large how smoothly power has transferred in Pakistan. No one has bothered to question  him about his false claim of transfer of power? One should tell him, “General! You have all the powers,  you are still there staring in the face of Pakistani nation.” Who transferred power to whom? Who is general Musharraf kidding?

Shaukat Aziz’s nomination as Prime Minister and the method adopted to get him elected first as MNA and then as Prime Minister has made the mockery of the constitution and the rule of law in Pakistan. The general already had enough of feathers to his hat from October 12, 1999 coup d’etat and illegal referendum to illegal17^th amendment to the constitution to prove his commitment to democracy; he did not need to humiliate the nation by putting forward Shaukat Aziz’s candidature through such a dubious manner.

General! You have already done enough of damage to democracy, constitution and rule of law in Pakistan; at least, do not insult peoples’ intelligence by making such stinky statements about democracy around the globe.