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Dear Readers,

Mian Nawaz Sharif and family have been flown into royal exile in Saudi Arabia. While many explanations have been given, suffice to say that the man who was affected the most, Gen Pervez Musharraf, could not have had an easy time letting a man, who could become his nemesis in the future, out of his hands. Give Pervez Musharraf credit for rising above his personal safety. Obviously the country's interest remained supreme in letting the Sharifs go and that is all that there is to it. However, Pakistan has become a hotbed of wild rumours, some of them defeating imagination. This has unnecessarily put the military hierarchy under pressure when they do not need the additional burden of fighting off such rumours. While one cannot doubt the military's sincere intentions, or for that matter their integrity, their choosing of civilians for day-to-day governance has been a disaster. These On-The-Job (OJT) types are just getting their CVs brushed up at Pakistan's expense for technocrat jobs in the future in world institution. While we are ready to give the benefit of the doubt to the CE and his associates, he should reciprocate by getting human quality par excellence on his team, people of some consequence, people who may not entirely agree with him but will serve the greater cause he represents, Pakistan. Pakistan cannot be served by technocrats, only people with entrepreneurial talent, dedicated to the country and the ability to speak bluntly, can deliver. As for the publication of the "Hamoodur Rahman, Commission Report", one hopes that the Indian media will now reciprocate by asking for similar Commissions on Kashmir, Khalistan, Nagaland, Bodoland, Meghalaya, Gorkhaland, Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, etc besides what they have been upto in Hyderabad, Junagadh, Daman and Diu, Sri Lanka, Sikkim, Bhutan, etc. It should be interesting to see how "saintly" a fashion the Indian Army has behaved over the past 50 years in putting down bloody insurrections which never seem to end. My first article for the new millennium in THE NATION was entitled "A DIFFICULT ROAD AHEAD", I am taking the liberty of re-producing this.

All military governments seek legitimacy on coming to power. Given that no Constitution in the world allows any form of military rule except under the aegis of elected authority, martial laws can be legal in the moral but not in the technical sense. Contriving a patchwork of legal niceties to legitimize martial law has no morality and is, therefore, an exercise in futility, why subvert the sanctity of our superior judiciary by making them a party to legal subterfuge? However, a situation may well arise without alternative, the Armed Forces either impose martial law to preserve the integrity of the country or go the road to destruction (into history) holding the constitution aloft, that would be very moral but very stupid. The integrity and sovereignty of the nation must always come first in this Hobson's Choice. Those who have taken an oath to defend the country even to the peril of their lives can have only one clear mission, the country above anything else, including the Constitution if it comes to that. Soldiers opting for "the doctrine of necessity" will be protected by the sincerity of their actions while in power. There is no need to get bogged down by legal shenanigans, they will be protected by the final arbiters of the destiny of any country, the will of the people.

Oct 12, 1999 was one such watershed in the life of Pakistan. The threat of civil war loomed very high, one shot could have ignited a conflagration. With the economy in shambles, the rule of law being flouted at will in the name of the Constitution by those elected under the Constitution, and conditions of anarchy ripe in the body politic, the Army had no choice once thrust by Mian Nawaz Sharif into power but to seek redress of the grievances of the people. The legality of any military rule has virtual relevance in their commitment to carrying out transparent accountability, setting in motion reforms and behaving responsibly in the day-to-day governance of the country. The acid test comes after the soldier relinquishes power, viz (1) whether the prime threat to the country's existence justified his actions and (2) the manner of his governance whilst in power. And if a court of law decides the soldier is guilty and should be punished, being ready to give his life for his country the soldier should be ready to accept his fate. What is the risk if the person is confident that he is right and will remain correct?

Starting virtually from scratch, the military regime has quite successfully conducted accountability. They have, for the first time in this country, brought people to justice, fully 82% of them being politicians and bureaucrats, only 18% businessmen and others. However, the concept of plea-bargaining setting people scot-free is not correct. Anyone guilty of fraud, bribery, etc must get all his/her assets frozen. Why should the guilty be allowed to buy their way out of jail by using the very same money they have robbed in the first place? Setting the guilty free has done incalculable damage to the fabric of our society, the mass psyche is beginning to accept illegality has only a monetary punishment tag if caught. NAB should at least ensure that on a scale of 10, white-collar rogues registering 7 and above should stay in jail. One can understand however, when friendly States get involved, the "doctrine of necessity" takes over e.g. the Sharif family exile. As such we have to accept that at times NAB's hands are tied because of the national interest. However, the Army must cleanse itself! While agreeing that because of national security reasons and the morale factor every incident cannot be made public, categories like viz (1) looting money from retired ex-servicemen under the co-op pyramid scheme (2) taking huge commissions on defence deals in foreign exchange and not declaring them and (3) not paying due taxes on the amounts secreted abroad, should be prosecuted. The perception that some "special people" are being protected must be removed from public mind. For the sake of a few individuals the military regime's credibility has taken a hit. The same standards must apply for friend and/or foe alike, the application of laws should not be "enemy-specific".

The various Task Forces for reforms have drawn generally good reviews but putting the cart before the horse by first devising a solution and then seeking debate on it rather than the other way around is wrong. As is the modus operandi in any "military appreciation", before coming to a plan one first consider the factors, arrive at deductions that give the elements of options available for a plan and then finalize a plan on merit. Devolution of power is correct but to what extent given our racial, ethnic, sectarian and other differences? The on-going exercise for phased Local Bodies elections should be an eye-opener, most of the old guard of politicians are back, by themselves or by proxy. We are actually going to make super-dictators out of feudal lords in each District, "legitimately" having the power of life and death of every citizen in the "fiefdoms" where they have been "ruling" illegitimately for countless years. Power must be given at the grassroots level to the people but homogeneity denying feudal supremacy requires that more than one rural district be clubbed together. Governance below the Province should be at the Divisional level rather than the District. The disintegration of Yugoslavia is a living nightmare. Lacking in street smart pragmatism, Naqvi and Party have been misled by their theoretical evaluations, a failure of experience and pragmatism rather than of sincerity.

The only real failing of this military regime is in the choosing of civilian technocrats for day-to-day governance. The civilian cabinet should have comprised entrepreneurs and politicians. Those who never risk their careers for what they believe in should never be allowed near the portals of government. Entrepreneurs are risk-takers as well as competent managers, they are able to evaluate the real implications of policy initiatives and make pragmatic changes as necessary. Politicians not only get a correct feed-back from the people but get the message of the regime across to the people in the language they understand. Gen Pervez Musharraf said he would not stand on his ego if he made a mistake, unfortunately he is blindsiding this constant advice. He should sack this bunch of classified pen-pushers, more interested in their own personal agendas than in the country. The regime has to get back to the basics of mission orientation, change to a positive system of governance in keeping with the genius of the people while ensuring a strict system of accountability. Instead of putting serving professional soldiers into every walk of life, it would have been better to draw into the vast reservoir of ex-servicemen and ex-bureaucrats and place composite Task Forces, headed by serving major generals in every Ministry as a Monitoring Team, particularly the Ministries of Finance and Commerce, to monitor day-to-day routine and public grievances thereof, rather than run the Ministries. One of the first things one learns in the Army is the concept of "vital ground", you hold it (or capture it) at all costs. There is nothing more vital than shortage of revenues. When all of Pakistan's economic problems stem from this shortfall, why has no soldier (or ex-soldier) ever darkened the doorstep of the Ministries of Commerce and Finance (or the Central Board of Revenue) in any of the four martial laws? What is more important than our perennial deficits?

The Chief Executive (CE) has got his heart in the right place, he has now to apply himself in exclusion of everything else to accountability and reform. He does not have to venture on journeys anywhere, attend any receptions, cut any ribbons, kiss any babies and/or give out any degrees and diplomas, etc. The CE has repeatedly stated he is not running for office, his primary raison d'etre is to make the system efficient and public-friendly in the short time available to him. He should move lock, stock and barrel into the CE's Secretariat, journeying maybe only two days a week outside Islamabad and that too only to the Provincial capitals. Same should apply to his Provincial set ups, go only one down unless absolutely necessary. Decisions of importance are necessary on an emergency basis, virtually around the clock. The CE has to put body, mind and soul to the many problems be-devilling the country, and stay focussed on the primary aim by giving necessary decisions in supercession of everything else. People expect the military regime to perform miracles, that may be expecting too much but some miracles are achievable with absolute commitment to the mission statement in word as well as in deed. The new millennium really started on Jan 1, 2001, can the Army maintain the national aim in exclusion to the extraneous distractions of public office?