I am disappointed our politicians, specially those in government now, have not learnt this basic lesson from history.
LAHORE: By virtue of their profession, the generals are mightier than the politicians in our country — a fact which Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is forgetting once again, although he was ousted and sent into a very long exile by the generals’ institution.
Before this, locking horns with the generals sent Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, another elected prime minister, to the gallows. I am disappointed that our politicians, specially the ones who are in the government now, have not learnt this basic lesson from history, which suggests that their power is no match to that of the generals. So, why must our weaker politicians confront the military? Why must Khawaja Asif give such remarks against Musharraf, claiming that the latter was ‘asking around for forgiveness?’
The fact that the minister suffered during Musharraf’s regime and went to Attock Jail does not give him enough power to make such statement against a retired general. What will actually make Khawaja Asif powerful are his efforts to resolve the country’s energy problem. Similarly, Khawaja Saad Rafique, instead of making provocative statements against General (retd) Pervez Musharraf, must continue to work hard for the Pakistan Railways in order to make it a viable institution. This hard work will make him more powerful than his ‘suffering’ at the hands of a General Musharraf.
Similarly, all our politicians must govern well in their respective domains and I am sure that they will become so much powerful after 15-20 years that there will be no confrontation between the civilians and the military that we are seeing these days.
Ejaz Ahmad Magoon
Published in The Express Tribune, April 15th, 2014.
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