Amir Mateen

ISLAMABAD: All Pakistani dictators have bequeathed a team or individuals who defined their character and class. Ayub Khan’s legacy, which included Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, continues even after 40 years. Men of that era may have been anything but they were not corrupt. Zia’s leftovers continue to dominate the entire conservative wing of Pakistani politics. They now resent their dictatorial roots and are trying to, exceptions apart, mould themselves to democratic politics.

Dictator Musharraf’s legacy stands exposed within months. One really has to think hard to name even one great political or otherwise that the nine years of Musharaffian regime may have produced to symbolize his rule. One of his prime ministers left behind a trail of scandalous deals. Another one always claimed to be – the loyal servant to Boss Musharraf.

The rest were mostly a strange mix of cronies, wheeler-dealers, turncoats who may have already faded into a haze of oblivion. Some in the Senate like Tariq Azeem, Mohammad Ali Durrani, Gulshan Saeed, Khalid Ranjha and Jahangir Ashraf Qazi are seemingly ordained to die out once their tenures end. The politics of a whole bandwagon of their counterparts in the National Assembly started with Musharraf and is likely to finish with him. Easy come, easy go.

The myth of Musharraf’s honesty needs to be scrutinized by a much larger forum, perhaps a judicial and parliamentary forum which should provide declassify record of those years for journalists and the public to investigate. For all we know that there was a powerful friend of family and friends that controlled everything. At the top of the power ladder were military man Hamid Javed and civilian Tariq Javed.

A known politician was recently requested by Musharraf to join his party. The politician asked the general that why he did not ask the two gentlemen, Tariq and Hamid, who exercised the maximum power to carry his torch. Musharraf, he said, took a deep breath and responded that they had become reclusive and were not interested. The politician told him that it was quite a convenient time to be reclusive.

The reclusiveness of Hamid Javed, chief of protocol to Musharraf, seems true. The burly general was smart to use power while keeping himself in the background. The only time he got clubbed with Tariq Aziz in a controversy was when both of them showed interest in the regularization of Islamabad’s zone four. MNA Faisal Saleh Hayat confirms that he lost his job as Interior Minister because he refused to budge before Tariq Aziz’s pressure to oblige.

Tariq Aziz is anything but reclusive. He continues to relish official accommodation with all the perks that he enjoyed under Musharraf. He remains on the panel of Asif Zardari’s advisers, thanks for brokering NRO, and has gladly passed on his whole gang of, among other assets, wheeler-dealers to the presidency.

There is no parallel to one person, Tariq Aziz, enjoying so much power in any government, dictatorships or otherwise. He flaunted arrogantly the extent of his power by which he could make or break Ministers, party presidents, ministers, governors, bureaucrats, you name it. And he did make and break many on his whim. He made the Chaudhrys the supreme family of this country and then put them in the doldrums when he developed a liking for Hamayun Akhtar. This made the Chaudhry cry out about his being their one time manager. Stories of his pomp and shenanigans were known widely but no one dared to publish because there was a goon club to manage his media. He remains the President of Lahore Race Club where under him even the names of national heroes, the awardees of Nishan-i-Haider, were tarnished as trophies for what was more gambling than racing.

A brief mention of Musharraf’s Cabinet stars who were dearer than others is merited. Sher Afgan Niazi was the first one stand up on the first day of the 2002 National Assembly to say that he would die but not take oath under a constitution which has the dictator’s name. It took only a few months for the ‘darvesh’ to become the biggest supporter of the general – for a small crumb of a ministry.

There was nobody more arrogant than Sheikh Rashid while he was in power. Once known as the hero of the people behaved as if he was the son of Donald Trump. Raza Hiraj made his first entry into politics as a lota and one may never know where he will turn his coat next time – may be Nawaz Sharif. Khurshid Kasuri, Aftab Sherpao, Hamayun Akhtar–all cut a sorry figure in the dictator’s hall of shame.

Musharraf’s media team was one the most vocal. Rashid Qureshi and Mohammad Durrani had a simple rule: they would deny first and deal with things later. Former bureaucrat Anwer Mahmood enjoyed more power than any information minister ever did. He relished banning TV channels like Geo; destroyed the careers of some of our finest journalists. Yet he always maintains good relations on the surface. The finesse with which a singled out the cream of journalist to be pressured, defamed or exiled deserves credit.

There was a whole gang of Musharraf’s family and friends who were known to be the keys to power. Deals for leases, exemptions, quotas, ministries and top jobs were struck in the drawing rooms of a selected few. Former ADBP president Istaqbal Mehdi was powerful because his wife Maryam got adopted by the dictator’s mother. Wasim Haqqi, who was made Board of Investment chairman, posed as if he decided the menu for Musharraf’s dinner. The report on the role of Musharraf’s samdhi about the award of Royal Palm Golf Club is soon to be furnished before the parliament. The list of those who could ‘get things done’ from Musharraf includes his friend Ehsanul Haq, relative Adnan Asad topped by his so-called mentor Brigadier Niaz.

Finally, my favourite Nasim Ashraf. I did a story on him identifying a pattern where in five cases he would create hype about a project followed by financial irregularities and then dumping of the project leaving behind a trail of mess. He got a fake report published in my name and made sure that I was out of job for two years. Two more projects have been added in series since then. Similar pattern was followed in the case of National Commission for Human Development and Pakistan Cricket Board. About this, a new series some other time. Concluded.

The News

April 6, 2010