MISTAKES ARE MADE BUT THE LESSONS AREN’T LEARNT – I

By Sohail Parwaz

Renowned Philosopher and thinker Confucius once said and I quote, “To be wronged is nothing, unless you continue to remember it.” Usually a person invariably watches his next step soon after putting a wrong one and that’s the human psyche but again then there is no dearth of those who deliberately move the next step identical to the last one. The classic example is of GEO’s nonprofessional, unethical and malicious campaign against the armed forces, where the government, which should have been right behind his frontline security echelons, was found instead in the foe’s camp. This could be termed as the classic reenactment of Julius Caesar’s murder at the hands of his most trust worthy aide Decimus Junius Brutus whom dying general paid a tri-word compliment, “Et tu, Brute?” means “And you Brutus?” (aka you too, Brutus). The comedy of errors is having nightmares while slumbering in cozy and comfy beds and that the present government is frequently having without any rhyme or reason.

Unfortunately Mian Nawaz Sharif has a unfortunate track record of locking-on horns with the institutions

without realizing their sensitivity, sanctity or time. He would always be out of time and out of place. What he is failed to understand is the swerving difference between the soldiering and the soldering. The military system has its own way for running the affairs. Command ability is the essence of running the show successfully while having immense amount of pressure from higher tiers and

certainly from the under commands. Obeying seniors and convincing juniors for your actions and orders is an art. Any commander is considered a success who developes that camaraderie with his under commands, and he is the one whose orders will be obeyed blindly. Question is that how come any commander, may he be the Chief of the Army Staff, is going to dance to the tunes of any power seeker at the cost of his comradeship? What former does not comprehend is that the decisions surely communicated down but the feedback; a vital aspect of successful command always travels up and first. What he needs to appreciate is that even if any of his own family member is asked to take over the army, the next very day he is also going to dishearten Nawaz Sharif with his current expectations.

Nawaz Sharif entered the power corridors in mid-eighties, when after winning the general elections of 1985, he sworn-in as Chief Minister of Punjab and then within next five years he was knocking at the door of premiership when in 1990 Benazir Bhutto was dismissed by President Ghulam Ishaq Khan on corruption charges. A businessman’s psyche is to consider his employees as his domain; hence Nawaz Sharif was no exception. While lacking the basic spirit of politics, he considered the trust conferred upon him by the people as power and authority and that has remained an all along dilemma that he always won as a politician but tried to rule the setup as a corporate head.

Nawaz Sharif has not been able to overcome his two main glaring weaknesses; holding grudge and bringing the armed forces under his thumb. Ironically he is living on with the former, nevertheless, unable to fulfill his latter desire. Those who closely observe him know that while holding grudge against anyone, he would keenly observe the opponent’s level of sorrow to ascertain his own level of hurt, without realizing that two rarely meet. He is probably the only politician of Pakistan’s history who would never make any slightest effort to change his behavior and psyche. Everyone knows the level of enmity that PPP carried along for Zia ul Haq and his mates but then we all saw that both school of thoughts forgot  that hate and hatred, at least apparently and Benazir Bhutto and Ijaz ul Haq, both were living at one time in Islamabad.

As far as Nawaz Sharif is concerned, if we look back at his political career, it is all arraigning, annoying and antagonistic. Attaining a

two-third majority by any political party in the parliament is considered a blessing and that provides the ruling elite to implement their election manifesto without any hurdles or hindrance but here the case is altogether different. It’s fine to forgiven Nawaz Sharif for his first term, considering it a maiden experience but during second tenure he had no justification to wrap up the affairs so abruptly. Unfortunately he lacks the ability to settle his priorities, hence has to pay through nose, every time. During his first term as the Prime Minister he developed abrupt rifts with three successive army chiefs; with general Aslam Beg on Gulf issue, with General Asif Nawaz Janjua on Sindh Clean-up Operation and with General Waheed Kakar on former’s public bout with the President Ghulam Ishaq. Eventually both had to leave their offices

for making a mockery of Pakistan the world over.

During his second and heavy mandate fame tenure in the office Nawaz Sharif saw the finest, professional, harmless and noble General Jahangir Karamat in the office. Unfortunately he had nurtured the grudge against the institution by now hence fell out with him too. This time he bumped into the parliament with roaring two-third majority and had

no excuses not to perform well, but again as he would have long for the non-issues, he wasted his energies to reign the institutions, merely to satisfy his ego. As a matter of fact he should have developed rapport and working relationship with new president Farooq Leghari, instead, he abused his majority in the assembly to show Leghari the door and bring his favourite Rafiq Tarar in. There was no full-stop, and the next thing in Sharif’s satchel was the passing of Thirteen Amendment which he did within no time but never took a sigh of relief despite clipping the Presidency’s wings. The following on his hit list was General Jahangir Karamat whom he sacked in the most unethical and illegal way. Like any powerful dictator he couldn’t tolerate the general’s idea of a national security council and considered it a conspiracy against him hence packed the general’s luggage just few months before his genuine retirement. His next choice was Pervez Musharraf whom he obliged to wear two hats; COAS and the Chairman JCSC, despite Musharraf’s lack of seniority to Admiral Bokhari. As a protest, Admiral Fasih Bokhari resigned from the post of Chief of Naval Staff. Bokhari lodged a loud protest against Nawaz Sharif by visiting Prime Minister Secretariat .