One must save his kinsmen, at all costs, in all times, against all odds
The statement comes precisely at a time when the dust storm created back in March had settled and in our heart of hearts we heaved a sigh of relief that the one who got away, went away for the greater good of all quarters involved
Mush isn’t back with a bang. He is still at large, certainly out of harm’s way and distance coupled with live video link encouraged him to conduct a stupendous ‘surgical strike’ on his foes. What does a former army chief-cum-president saying that another former chief saved him from the throes of enemy and parceled him abroad tell us? Yes, it tells us that nothing comes before or after the life and limb of a kinsman.
‘I’ve been his boss and I’ve been the army chief before him. He helped out because the cases are politicised,’ said our dear former President Mush.
The statement comes precisely at a time when the dust storm created back in March had settled and in our heart of hearts we heaved a sigh of relief that the one who got away, went away for the greater good of all quarters involved.
All things Panama being consigned to garbage dump of future hearings, Model Town case completely wiped out from mainstream blame game with few mentions peppered here and there. Dawngate withering away each passing day and running out of steam.
Amidst all this, it is heartening to see that in a dog-eat-dog world we scrape a living in, there are good, honest, old-fashioned khaki brothers-in-arms who still put in extra effort to save their seniors, predecessors and big brothers.
Shakespeare, the grand weaver of tales, remarkably equaled our world to a stage, our lives to those of characters in a play. Mush played multiple roles: He donned a soldier’s uniform, enjoyed a commander’s position, held a general’s baton, and ruled the roost unrivaled.
Now, when it was time to play the role of a sober, silent elder whose best days were behind him, he deemed it fit to settle scores with old adversaries with his guns and canons firmly placed on the shoulders of Pakistan’s most loved, most revered general.
The truth-loving commando must have thought that since his repute had been soiled, why should he care who gets martyred in the line of truth? Well done, dear sire for coming out of the closet and spilling the beans. Many believed they knew the man who made things easy for you, thanks for erasing doubts of the remaining few.
‘And therefore, since I cannot prove a lover, to entertain these fair well-spoken days, I am determined to prove a villain,’ says the conniving, crippled Duke of Gloucester in Shakespeare’s play Richard III.
The revelation came from a former army chief citing helping hand lent by another former army chief when a new army chief is yet to warm his seat and in process of consolidating power. The thing with army is once you are former, you become out-of-bounds and will be protected at all times, against all onslaughts.
In our beloved fatherland, an individual, as it turns out, is shackled to the exigencies of the group he belongs to, be it tribe, caste, ethnicity, or institution. His loyalty is to preserve, protect and safeguard his mates and predecessors. Mighty words like accountability, equality before law, fair trial, supremacy of law long ago were relegated to textbooks and used to vent our spleen while denouncing ‘things that suck’.
Our ideal of justice can be summed out thus. Let justice be done, while keeping ‘apple-cart’ intact.
Cent percent of the time, when brothers-in-arms are pitted against politicos-at-odds, it is the former who emerge victorious. The sins of politicians are collective, while the transgressions of generals are individual. They are free to spill the beans, open as many Pandora Boxes they please and uncork all the cans of worms, why? Because, truth needs to be out, dearest sirs and ma’ams.
When a secretary is caught stashing tons of cash. Arrest him, investigate the matter, make recoveries and then offer him aplea-bargain. But, plea-bargain is for bureaucrats (read henchmen of politicians)
When a secretary is caught stashing tons of cash. Arrest him, investigate the matter, make recoveries and then offer him aplea-bargain. But, plea-bargain is for bureaucrats (read henchmen of politicians). For four star former khakis, in-service generals have to plug the influence politicos have over judges, and they’ll deliver justice though heaven may or may not fall.
Recently, I heard a surreal line of argument. I hope you must have either came across one or offered a similar one as our ultimate predicament. ‘It was due to the fault of civilian governments that military took over in the past,’ says the politician-basher. Well, dearest sire, dare I ask a simple question, then why the past encroachers vied to seek sanction from other disgruntled civvies by promising ‘true’ democracy and delivering it in shape of ‘basic democracy’, elections on non-party basis, and local bodies. Alas, how a bunch of itinerant dictators tried to mould themselves into creatures they abhorred the most.
While we were busy thanking General Raheel Sharif for making our lives safe and secure past year. Amidst the deafening noises offering gratitude, there was one that inaudibly mumbled ‘Shukriya, dear brother-in-arms’. Did you hear it? I certainly didn’t, but now I hear it loud and clear. So, Shukriya, Raheel Sharif for being true to your kinsmen, at all costs, in all times and against all odd.
