The pen is indeed mightier…

ISLAMABAD: Many years back in my early school days, I read that the pen was mightier than the sword. As a child, I often used to laugh at this and never actually believed that an inanimate object, such as a pen could ever yield more power than a sword. Later in life, my experiences as a litigation lawyer in Pakistan further fortified my childhood belief.

Then came January 2, 2014. The day when former military dictator General (retd) Pervez Musharraf was told in the most categorical terms to appear in the special court trying him for treason  under Article 6 of the Constitution by 11.30am or face arrest. As per media reports, General (retd) Musharraf left his palatial farmhouse to appear in the court, but could not bear the pressure and instead of facing justice, rushed to the hospital.

I could not help but wonder whether this was the same General (retd) Musharraf, who in 1999, trampled all over the Constitution; whether it was the same General (retd) Musharraf, who used to say all the time when he was the president that the era of Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif was over and that they would never come back to this country. The same general, who with all his might destroyed the Constitution, is now attempting to find protection from the same document and is asking that his fundamental rights be respected.

The self-proclaimed popular leader of this country, who carved a political party for himself by way of arm-twisting, coercion and intimidation, is now so helpless and politically orphaned that he is constrained to seek the support of his former brothers-in-arms. No matter what the fate of the trial, I believe that its fundamental purpose under Article 6 has been achieved. The general, with all his might, could not succumb to the pressure of the pen of a judge.

Barrister Masroor Shah

Published in The Express Tribune, January 20^th, 2014.

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