It’s uncommon to see someone expressing regret over the recent state of affairs that have led Mr. Pervez Musharraf to resign from the presidency amid mounting pressure from the ruling coalition in the form of impeachment calls.
I have a lot of respect for this man, he doesn’t hail from a large family abundant with wealth and a legacy recognized by it’s last name. He represents the core population of Pakistan, he’s not overtly wealthy, and has spent his entire life being educated in, and fighting for, Pakistan. By now, I’m sure everyone recognizes the circumstances that brought him to power initially. ‘Coup d’etat’ as he refers to it, a counter-coup against Mr. Nawaz Sharif who had ordered that his Chief of Army Staff not be allowed to land in Pakistan and instead land in India. Under him, Pakistan received international acclaim as a rising power in the world.
Mr Nawaz Sharif, I don’t doubt this man’s sincerity to himself one bit, he is a self glorifying and power hungry incompetent little punjabi. I don’t usually believe in ethnic strife, but I have to say, that this man is the very epitome of it. During his rule, there was very little development if any in Sindh, Balochistan and NWFP. It was purely Punjab, and even then it was a half-assed job. He built one motorway, and provided farmers with land to grow crops on. He did nothing to increase sustainable growth in the economy, he was the sole reason that Pakistan plunged further into economic shambles in the form of Sanctions imposed by our glorious leaders in the USA. Yet, while all this was happening, he was busy storming pillars of state and passing constitutional amendments to further allow for his absolute rule, while his ministers and party workers reaped the benefits in the form of corruption proceeds. His only reason for being elected into power was his staunch opposition to Musharraf, which was a personal vendetta and nothing else.
Asif Ali Zardari, the smartest politician to ever exist in the Pakistan Arena. He is the only man, to be branded synonymously with corruption and spend years in jail for it and then display his (corrupted) wealth in the forms of private buildings in the Emirates and palaces in Europe. YET, he has managed to convince the common man, that he is just like them, and is fighting for the same rights. The biggest difference between him and Nawaz Sharif is that (I believe) he’s quite capable of leading the nation to prosperity, and to enforce strict reforms that will allow the population of Pakistan to reap from. He’s great with words and is able to hold his own while being attacked by the media all over the world. I’m confident in his skills to take the country and rape it for all it’s worth before making a glorified exit.
We have other personalities such as Asfyandar Wali and Fazl-ur-Rehman in the coalition, but i’m going to ignore them as they are but mere pimples in the coalition.
The question remains, in the last nine years was there really that much destruction? I think the turning point of Musharraf’s fortunes was the NRO and the second emergency. In my view, he had extremely lousy political advisers, although one may argue that the choice was his in the end. Before then, it was all smooth sailing, he was never more popular, and the country was seeing economic growth. Yes, it’s really only economic growth that he can claim as his legacy, he didn’t do much to reform the educational system, nor did he do much to counter the unprecedented growth that would surely result in unchecked inflation and a high demand for internal structure (electricity and the such).
There was considerable infrastructure development during his rule, roads and telecommunication being the major contenders. His local government system was genius, unfortunately, it’s benefits have really only been seen in Karachi under the watch of the MQM. He promoted the growth of an independent media, and was available to anyone through his (now scrapped after his resignation) website which provided regular updates on the occurrences in the presidency via his spokesman.
He was a visionary, and a moderate. This is something that is rare in the corridors of power, and may not be seen. I firmly believe that it was the sole responsibility of Musharraf to cultivate and nurture a political scenario that is conducive to state affairs. He should have taken young minds under his wing, and should have instilled in them the importance of honesty and hard work. Very much the foundation of Musharraf’s work ethic.
Alas, all of this has come to an end, and he will surely be missed, if not now then in a few years, if not then, surely in a few decades. When we are all bombed back to the stone age by NATO infiltration under the guise of increasing extremism, and are left in a ‘state of Iraq’ (I own the rights to using Iraq as an adjective). When Pakistan’s titties been sucked dry by the calves known as Zardari and Nawaz Sharif. When the army has been called and turned into a defunct political power that obeys the whim of any state with money. That’s when we’ll remember his resignation as the day we started falling from prosperity.