Politicians should understand there is a difference between personal interest for revenge and national interest.
KARACHI: Railway Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique recently said that the government did not want former president General (retd) Pervez Musharraf in jail for a lengthy term. They have told us this after insisting on the trial of Musharraf and after haggling with the army for nine months over this issue. One argument put forth was that if Musharraf was let go, it would result in a blow to justice in Pakistan.
Why should Musharraf not go to jail for his crimes? Regarding his case, only two options should be considered: either he is guilty and consequently has to serve whatever the term is for his crime; or, he is not guilty and can therefore be allowed to leave unscathed.
If the government was worried about the length of the term that the former president would have to serve, they should have struck a deal with the military and let him go. However, because they failed to do so, they subsequently endangered the relationship between the government and the army. As a consequence, Operation Zarb-e-Azb was launched late and coordination between the army and the government has been poor throughout.
Our politicians should understand that there is a difference between their personal interest for revenge and moneymaking and the national interest of the country. Sitting in the government obliges them to serve the latter and the latter only. But in order to be able to do that, they need to be able to differentiate between personal and national interests, which they, obviously, are unable to do.
Ali Ashraf Khan
Published in The Express Tribune, July 16th, 2014.
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