Article 6 and Musharraf

Letter June 27, 2013
He chose to defy the Constitution and the writ of law by coming back and challenging the Constitution of Pakistan

LAHORE: Former military dictator General (retd) Pervez Musharraf would have done the military, this country and its elected government a favour, if he had listened to good advice not to come back to Pakistan. Unfortunately, he seemed to have been living in a fool’s paradise, for he thought that the people of Pakistan would welcome him back, not knowing that his illegitimate tenure was the worst of all military dictators. He chose to defy the Constitution and the writ of law by coming back and challenging the Constitution of Pakistan, a document by virtue of which, every institution of the state derives its moral and legal authority to wield power within the confines of the law.

The irrational antics of this man have led to an insurgency in Balochistan, following the unjustified, brutal murder of an aged Baloch leader, Nawab Akbar Bugti, who all his life supported the federation. Today, Pakistan suffers from a total breakdown of law and order, economic collapse, energy starvation and massive unrest because the state has become slave to the whims of individuals. Musharraf had a key role to play in perpetuating this culture.

Malik Tariq Ali

Published in The Express Tribune, June 28th, 2013.

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