The "Second Coup"

Is it really a "Second Coup"?
When the General had taken over in October 1999, THAT can rightfully be termed as a coup. This time, however, he was the one in power when Emergency was imposed.
Thus, imposition of Emergency cannot really be termed as a "coup", for it was him, who was at the helm of affairs and did not overturn a head of the government.

But in another sense, a coup HAS taken place; the overturning of the rule of law.

It was noxious, almost painful, to see the highhandedness in the manner in which the General literally took over the Supreme Court and swiftly appointed a Chief Justice, who was quick enough to dismiss the cases in which the General's candidature as President was in question. It is evident, that the "coup" really happened because the General was expecting an almost unanimous verdict against him on Tuesday, the 6th of November, 2007.

One thing which has stood out in all of this, is the sense of righteousness, courage, fearlessness and the sense of of duty demonstrated by the Higher Judiciary in Pakistan. Out of the 17 Judges in the Supreme Court, 13 refused to hear regular cases, protesting against the dismissal of Chowdhary,J and the proclamation of Emergency (which was, on the very day of its imposition declared null and void by the Supreme Court).

The legal fraternity in particular, has stood out in recent times for being at loggerheads with the General. The lawyers relentlessly demostrated, protesting against the ousting of Justice Chowdhary. Even after the Emergency was imposed, the President of the Bar Association came out strongly against the General and was arrested. And if newspaper reports are to be believed, the lawyers are now spearheading the demonstrations.

It is strange how perceptions can be so different; the General seems to be popular in Pakistan, if you're sitting in India. It is a perception that has been created by the media. The ground reality is somewhat different.

I want to be, just for a second, (i really mean "just for a second!"), in the shoes of the General. To see what it’s like being him. Imagine his plight...

Your country is next to Afghanistan, from where elements of the Al Qaeda are pouring in, and spreading their tentacles in your country. Fundamentalism seems to be on the rise. You wait and watch with nervousness, and decide that something has to be done to stop this. Your troops are fighting the insurgents in the Northwestern part of the country, but with limited success. While you're looking at the Northwest, there's a bomb ticking away in your interior. Clerics have started declaring themselves as above the law and even policemen are being taken over as hostage by them. You decide: Enough is enough... the Mosque must get stormed and the fundamentalists neutralised. The writ of the law must be followed. You do neutalise the fundamentalists, but at the cost of lives of civilians.
On the other hand, Uncle Sam wants you to take more concrete steps in the War against Terror. You assure them, cite the Mosque incident as an example, of your commitment to fighting terrorism.

At the same time, you are also being asked to hold elections; which, if fairly conducted, would in all probability, bring back the man to power, from whom you took over and deported from the country. Worried about your survival, you decide to send the plane back and try and strike a deal with the head of the other major party. You declare that elections WILL be held, but not with the last lawfully elected Prime Minister in contention.

You manage to win the Presidential polls, but while you were contesting, you also held the position of the Chief of Army staff (This you do, because, in the event of you losing the polls, at least you have an option to fall back upon). All's well? NO! A petition is filed, challenging that because you held the post of Chief of Army Staff during the Presidential polls, such election stands null and void in the eyes of the law. You try your best and convince the Judges to hold in your favour, assuring them that you would give up the post of Chief of Army Staff to Gen. Kiyani.

An upright Judiciary, knowing fully well, that the World's eyes are cast upon them, is not inclined to let you off the hook and is surely going to decide against you.

You, in a desperate attempt to survive, declare Emergency and suspend the "leader of the pack" and install a puppet CJ. But just then, the civil society looks at you in disapproval and the world insists you bring democracy back...

Phew!
Certainly, that's one man's shoes I wouldn't want to be in!
I don't know whether I, or any of the readers of this blog would have done things differently, had I/we been in his place.

But one thing is for sure, there are very few roads (if any) left for the General to take, in order to get out of this situation.

Perhaps we should judge his future actions by looking at the world from his lens. In that process, however, we must also not forget that at the end of the day, he is not a democratically elected head of state. And additionally, if he is not popular among the people, he has no right to continue. We must not forget, that he is indeed responsible for the "second coup".
I wish Pakistanis a long awaited return to a stable democracy. A stable South Asia is instrumental in ensuring World peace.