Opinion

No country for old men

George Fulton May 18, 2010

It sounds like the latest Rambo film. An ageing military man decides to return to the country he loves for one last battle. But for us this is no movie. It’s all too real. Yes, El Presidente, El Generalissimo, the soldier sahib himself, Pervez Musharraf is all set to return to Pakistan. According to news reports 50 people, including close aides to the former president, are meeting at his London residence to plan a future strategy for their new party. The political party — the oh-so-very originally named All Pakistan Muslim League —has submitted documents to the Electoral Commission for registration. Musharraf, perhaps galvanised by his popularity on Facebook (200,000 plus fans), is preparing to step once again into the line of fire. Memo to Mush: Please don’t.

I am no foaming Musharraf hater. He astutely negotiated the tricky tightrope of post-9/11 diplomacy with great aplomb. His initial government of technocrats was one of the most capable that Pakistan has seen. He managed to liberalise Pakistan’s media and telecom industry and created thousands of jobs in the process. He and his family have no whiff of corruption to their name — a significant achievement for a Pakistani political leader. Having met him a couple of times, he seemed pleasant, courteous and, yes, funny. Nor do I doubt his sincerity or love for his country. A combination of huge ego and a genuine desire to fix his country will be driving him to return.

But return he mustn’t. Through his contempt for democracy, the rule of law, and the independence of the judiciary he has forfeited the right to seek a democratic mandate from the electorate. The Balochistan operation, the missing persons, the sacking of the chief justice, the imposition of emergency — this is not the work of someone who believes in democratic institutions. And it is these institutions that Pakistan needs to strengthen for us to progress as a functioning state. Musharraf has proven not to be the man for that job.

I also have a more visceral reason against Musharraf’s return. Pakistan politics is stuck in a groundhog day — an endless repetition of the same characters facing the same accusations. Today’s three main political leaders are 54, 60, 56 respectively. Asif Ali Zardari has been at the epicentre of PPP politics since his marriage to Benazir Bhutto in 1987. Nawaz Sharif came to prominence on the political scene in 1985 as the chief minister of the Punjab. Altaf Hussain formed the MQM in 1984 out of the remnants of APMSO, a group he launched in 1979 — a time when David Cameron and Nick Clegg were still in short trousers. It just proves how stagnant and dormant Pakistani politics remains.

Three-quarters of the population are less than 30 years old, and half the population is under 20; we need leaders who can tackle and represent the most pressing problems facing Pakistan and its youth. Our current crop of baby boomer leaders have failed spectacularly. Theirs is a generation that squandered Jinnah’s inheritance. They are a generation that has a reductive, old-fashioned worldview, especially towards India, that our youth living in a globalised and competitive world no longer shares.

Musharraf’s return would be a continuation of this elaborate unchanging game of political musical chairs. At 66, an army man brought up on a diet of anti-Indian propaganda, his time has passed. He was in power for nine years; a good innings in which he did what he thought was his patriotic duty for his country. But now he should retire. There is a need for a liberal, secular party that appeals to the urban, educated population. Such a polarising, tainted and divisive figure would only cause more damage and division to an already fragmented society. We need new leaders. There should be a sign at the airport that reads, Pakistan: No country for old men.

Published in the Express Tribune, May 19th, 2010.

COMMENTS (11)

Farooq Soomro | 14 years ago | Reply Agreed. But it remains his constitutional right to appear in the elections. Democracy after all is a painful process of filtering.

zunnoon | 14 years ago | Reply Dear George in the end your conclusion is we need new leader no country for old man but dear you forgot we dont have new leader in our country yes if u talk about Imran Khan he is big time confused politician so no chance for him after looking at everyone we Pakistani have to choose better leader mayb not best, nobody is perfect so i think Musharraf is better than other 'family politician' and from your own words he is patriotic and nobody is patriotic and we need patriotic leader like Pervez Musharraf -off the topic- we need an institute to produce new leaders, we tired of family politics

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Raheel | 14 years ago | Reply

There is a need for a liberal, secular party that appeals to the urban, educated population.

That is the problem with our pseudo-intellectuals. Wake-up, even most of the urban population isn't even aware, forget the education. It is not appeal to certain class, it is more about integrity towards the work. Can we start thinking beyond ourselves please?

Meekal Ahmed | 14 years ago | Reply Er....who were the best team of technocrats? Could someone name them and tell me their qualifications -- academic or otherwise? His regime coincided with the third episode of aid-fueled growth (the first being Ayub Khan and the second, Zia) so it was not surprising that there was growth. Some good things were done on the economic side if the numbers are to be believed. He and his technocrats claim that poverty was cut by a half in a short span of 7 years -- something I called "a fantastic fabrication" somewhere. He left the economy racing towards the abyss driven by speculative bubbles in consumption, real estate, the stock market and commodities. Inflation, always a good measure of how well and prudently an economy is being handled, reached heights never seen before (and I hope someone here is not going to tell me it was all because of the global price of oil and commodities). It was a chimera and an illusion of growth and prosperity that was bound to self-destruct and it did.

Shahid | 14 years ago | Reply Its not about leaders man! Its about state-structures. Without genuinely and sincerely accepting that Pakistan is a multi-national country, and without putting in place a real federal constitution which provides for all the nationalities to rule the federation in turns or in concet like in Switzerland, no leader in the world can reverse the chaos that is Pakistan. ESSENTIALS FOR A SUCCESSFUL PAKISTAN: 1- Secularism 2- Federalism 3- Democracy

qasim | 14 years ago | Reply I agree with the author of this article completely. This country need new leaders. We need to try new people instead of investing again and again on the older lot without any profit. "Unlimited power is apt to corrupt the minds of those who possess it". It happened with Musharraf and now Zardari is on the same path. Unless and until new, dynamic lot does not come forward, we will remain in the same mess.

Mahreen | 14 years ago | Reply Dear George, I remember the time we met Gen. Musharraf and what excitement he generated amongst the audience that time. With his best team of technocrats that he had assemled, we thought that he really would deliver democracy through a completely different angle or way or whatever you want to call it. There was hope. And then his oh - so - memorable breakfast meeting with the indian journalists in dehli during his first visit was just proving that this man was not your regular run of the mill types general...sigh and that handshake with Atal Bhihar Vajpayee...and how he promoted privitisation and speedy intilations and restructuring of the media and the telecom sector. The electricity that was generated. But then acording to one senior head of editorial that we worked with at the time...stopped in his tracks and saw our excitement and sat us down to remind us that it was 'a general's rule after all' and it was going to turn ugly and he would do such blunders that it would leave us having to pay another very heavy price. Ten years down the road I remember that lecture given to us by Ghazi sahab, and Lal Masjid was the turning point in my support for Gen. Musharraf. How could a man so powerful...sitting at the healm of absolute power...not notice what was brewing in the presidencies own backyard. Thus, no matter how sincere his intentios might be...i feel his military set mind will probably always get the best of his always. I so agree with you.

Mussarat Ahmedzeb Swat | 14 years ago | Reply George you mentioned baluchistan an the missing people,plz let,s not for get Swat WHO created monsters there or should we start blamming other countries.

Mark Shah | 14 years ago | Reply Well written George. But we shouldn't just hold age against the guy....censoring the media, sacking the chief justice, wiping out Lal Masjid, being an American lackey...those are the reason for a honorable exist. [Remember how sad and pathetic it was to see Muhammed Ali well past his prime...deja vu] Mush is on a suicide mission, what a way to go for a commando, the ultimo machismo. Sitting around playing bridge day after day, going out to dinner cum ghazal parties must just become too boring. And the demons in the back of your head saying "Coward, 3rd world dictator, living in exile...." I feel sorry for his wife and kids. The endless line of sycophants and feedback fans probably keeps his hopes alive for one last gunfight....tragic end to spaghetti western. General your day is gone, have the decency to live off respectably.

qamar | 14 years ago | Reply irks me almost every time, come on george make a two man party, pakstan a place for partys or parties

Nadir El Edroos | 14 years ago | Reply Given that in the coming decade we are yet to witness the blossoming of the next generation of young Bhutto's and Sharif's dynastic political leaders are going to be a thorn in Musharaf's backside. However, given his long list of faults people still perceive him as the lesser of two evils. I would go further than ask for a new crop of leaders; yes we need new leaders, but we don't necessarily need personalities and ego's that are larger than the parties they serve. Political parties and ideals cannot be hostage to the a personality and their last name. The APML starts off on the back foot. It does not appeal to people on any ideological basis, the party seems to be about Musharaf and without him the logic of a new party falls apart. Political parties must be more democratic and egalitarian within themselves. Indeed as George comments, our politics is at a standstill. Our political parties seem to have run out of ideas and self-confidence. No PPP rally can take place without ZA Bhutto in the background for example. The Tories have tried to reinvent themselves by ditching any association with Thatcher. The Republicans are trying to move ahead from the disastrous Bush years. So much so that during the 2008 election he hardly campaigned for the party that he was heading. Hopefully, our next generation of leaders will represent the best of a party and what it has to offer, rather than being the product on offer themselves.

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