So finally, General Pervez Musharraf would become Mr. Pervez Musharraf on Thursday when he will be sworned in as a civilian president at the Aiwan-i-Sadr, Islamabad (13th president of Pakistan). Gen. Musharraf will retire after occupying Chief of the Army Staff post for more than nine years. Given a choice, I am sure he would have loved to continue for another 5-10 years and beat the record set by late Gen. Zia. But anyways, Musharraf paid farewell visits to Joint Staff, Air and Naval headquarters today where he met senior military officials one last time as COAS. Former DG ISI, Gen. Ashfaq Pervez Kayani will take over as new Chief of the Army Staff from Thursday. ATP readers who wish to know more about Gen. Kayani may find this bbc article very interesting.
Musharraf is taking his uniform off at a time when he has become highly unpopular, country is under unnecessary Martial Law, judiciary has been completely destroyed, lawyers and civil society are on the streets protesting against him, media is under severe curbs and he hardly has any friends left anywhere. It would be interesting to see how Gen. Musharraf survives in future as a civilian president.
He would require endorsement of PCO and all his actions since November 3 from newly elected assembly, if elections are held, which will be an uphill task and I really don’t see HOW it will happen unless Q-League wins again.
But then again, anything is possible in Pakistan. Who knows, Q-League wins with a heavy mandate this time after brilliant performance of 5 years in power.
According to Daily Times:
President General Pervez Musharraf would take oath as civilian president at 11am on Thursday, but before this he would relinquish charge of chief of army staff (COAS) to start his second term as president of Pakistan.
“Yes, he is going to take oath at 11am on Thursday,†Musharraf’s spokesman Maj Gen (r) Rashid Qureshi told Daily Times on Monday. He also confirmed that the Ministry of Defence had issued a notification of his retirement as army chief after being in office for nine years.
Farewell: Defence Ministry sources said Musharraf would start holding farewell meetings today (Tuesday) – a clear indication that he had decided to call it a day. “Musharraf will meet top military commanders, principal staff officers and senior colleagues,†defence sources said. The formal handing over of charge to his successor is also part of the farewell proceedings, they added. The sources said Musharraf was fulfilling the promise he made to the nation and the Supreme Court of vacating the army post before taking oath as president. Preparations for the ceremony to mark the change of army command are underway, and a formal ceremony will take place at General Headquarters in Rawalpindi, defence sources said.
After the completion of the ceremony, the Defence Ministry will announce the appointment of the new chief of army staff, sources said. A special meeting of corps commanders is expected before the handing over ceremony, they added.
Born in 1943 in New Delhi, Musharraf enrolled in the Kakul Military Academy in 1961. He was commissioned in the Artillery Regiment in 1964. Former premier Nawaz Sharif appointed him as the country’s 13th army chief on October 8, 1998. On October 12, 1999, he ousted Sharif in a bloodless coup and bundled him off to Saudi Arabia on December 10, 2000. On October 7, 2001, Musharraf extended his military term, which is supposed to be a three-year tenure post, for an unspecified period. After the late General Ziaul Haq, who was army chief for more than 12 years from April 1, 1976 to August 17, 1988, Musharraf’s tenure as army chief has been the longest. Last week, the new SC judges validated Musharraf’s victory in an October 6 presidential election, clearing the way for him to serve a further five years in office.
Army security, staff to stay: Sources said President Musharraf’s security would remain entrusted to the army, even after taking oath as a civilian president. A special contingent of Pakistan Army’s Special Services Group, headed by a brigadier, has been tasked with ensuring Musharraf’s security. General Musharraf has also decided to retain his current military staff after resigning as army chief, it was learnt. This includes a full time military secretary, deputy military secretary and deputy chief of staff.
It is too early and premature to say what legacy Gen. Musharraf is leaving as COAS and how he will be remembered. Only time will tell. After all, he is still going to rule us for another 5 years (atleast he thinks that way). So what if he is wearing a suit this time. But lets just hope that Gen. Kayani stays away from politics and takes serious steps to improve the deteriorating image of Pakistan Army.
America’s failed war on terror have destroyed Iraq and Afghanistan, trying to steal oil in name of terror has backfired, it is wake up call not only for Pakistan but rest of the region, Americans bring no good news to this part of the world.
Now, they are setting their eyes on us, and singing same old song of fear and terror, but they will fail, make no mistake, but at the end they leave these countries in a huge mess, just look next door to Iraq/Afghanistan, we must not let them or their agents into our land.
Mush having been made to take off his uniform reminds me of Hamid Khan’s comment in his May 26 address to the lawyers a few days after Mush’s second skin comment:
here
“uss kee vardi kee baat abhee kartay hain, fiqar na karain
kyoonkeh uss kee vardi aap hee utarain gay insha Allah tala
bama uss kee khaal kay”
Ali Ahmed Kurd’s fiery speech at the same gathering is
here
OK Musharaf is now gone….What next?
Same old corrupt politicians who plundered and raped the country? Is there any hope outside the band of usual suspects? Or will millions in the country continue to suffer at the hands of the few power hungry. The masses need to know what went wrong for them and their country …wronged at the hands of politicians, the military, the bureaucrats and the judiciary.
One of the popular slogans raised nowadays in the frequent and ubiquitous protest meetings in Pakistan goes like this:
Zor say bolo
Azadi!
Hum cheen kay layn gay
Azadi!
And now they have added one more line to it. I heard it the other day when I stumbled on one such gathering in Islamabad. It is:
Tera baap bhi de ga
Azadi!
I thought it was funny, but after seeing the video posted by Aqil Sajjad (above) now I know why this line resonated so much with the crowd.
Mushy Quagmire> Actually, it seems as if Pakistanis are no friends of Pakistan.
Stop blaming everyone else. Pakistan should be so strong that no outside influences should be able to affect it. That is not true though. All paki rulers have stabbed Pakistan in the back