A retired general, linked with Altaf Hussain, whom agencies have accused of links with RAW, has been allowed to leave
LAHORE: When former US general David Petraeus, head of the CIA till 2012, was forced to resign after an extramarital affair, the prestige, honour and credibility of his nation’s armed forces was restored in the eyes of its citizens. Pakistan’s armed forces, under the command of General Raheel Sharif, are currently fighting the jihadists who were given sanctuary by Ziaul Haq and who General (retd) Pervez Musharraf and others who followed him, failed to challenge effectively. Yet, the same Musharraf had no qualms when, on May 12, 2007, he raised his fists wearing a uniform in Islamabad proudly proclaiming his show of power on the streets of Karachi, where over 60 citizens of Pakistan were lynched and massacred, reportedly, by his political coalition partners.
America, during the past 200 years, has become the leading superpower of the world because the writ of its constitution and laws prevail within its boundaries. No citizen, eligible to hold a public office, can possess a foreign nationality or own assets that cannot be justified through his or her tax returns. No public officeholder in the USA and the rest of the developed world can receive gifts from foreign governments that they can retain, nor are they allowed to have any conflicts of interest. Individuals, whatever public office they hold, cannot be allowed to bend the law and make a mockery of the US Constitution.
Yet, in Pakistan, a retired general, having known political links with Altaf Hussain, whom this country’s intelligence and security services have accused of having links with RAW, has been allowed to leave the country. If this was in Musharraf’s knowledge, then he committed bigger tyranny than the imposition of martial law in 1999, by forming a coalition government that included a party having alleged links with RAW. Pakistan has provided opportunities, given honour, fame and loads of money to such people, but who lack morality and ethics, which are demanded of men who have held high offices and pledged an oath of loyalty to defend their country’s constitution.
Malik T. Ali
Published in The Express Tribune, March 21st, 2016.
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