The US has been supporting
military dictators in pursuance of its strategic interests. The US also has a
history of playing a double game and ditching Pakistan at critical stages when
its support was needed the most. Yet our successive governments in the last 65
years have been clinging to the aprons of the US. Even now when the US has bared
its teeth and is hell-bent to denuclearize Pakistan and to make it a compliant
state of India, our rulers and the elite class remain infatuated to USA. Its
haughtiness and insulting attitude is ignored. Pakistanis have all along been
complaining about foreign involvement in our domestic affairs but their concerns
brought no change in our US centric policies.
Notwithstanding the deleterious role of USA and our rulers, it is indeed painful
to learn that even GHQ and ISI have remained involved in gerrymandering
elections to make the political party of choice win the contest. Mehrangate scam
in which Rupees 30 million were distributed among certain politicians in 1990
has exposed their role. Even though President Ghulam Ishaq Khan was the
decision-maker, the implementers of his immoral plan were the former COAS Gen
Mirza Aslam Beg and DG ISI Lt Gen Asad Durrani. They should have simply excused
themselves and refused to undertake this disgusting act which ran contrary to
the constitutional norms, rule of law and ethics.
Looking deeper into the case, none can deny that Benazir was prevented from
winning elections in October 1990, not because she was inept and corrupt but
because she was a security hazard. This label had not been given by the
President but by the security apparatus and reconfirmed by the Army Chief. The
ISI and MI had gathered information about her doings during her period of exile
in London. Like her brothers and mother; she too was extremely hurt and
desperately wanted to avenge the hanging of her beloved father at the hands of
Gen Zia. Al-Zulfiqar led by her two brothers Murtaza and Shahnawaz, and
patronized by Libya, Syria, Afghanistan, Russia and India had got linked with
KGB, KHAD and RAW and was actively involved in sabotage and subversion
throughout the Afghan Jihad against the Soviets till as late as return of
Murtaza Bhutto in 1994.
Benazir wanted to gain power to settle scores with all those who had played a
part in sending her father to gallows and also to resettle her brother Murtaza
in exile. This burning desire impelled her to gain contact with foreign agencies
as well as with high officials in USA and Britain. She also revived her
friendship with Rajiv Gandhi, her Oxford friend, who used to address her as
‘Pinkie’. Reportedly, the US helped her in returning to Pakistan in April 1986
and in arranging a historic reception at Lahore. Seemingly, the CIA had a hand
in mysterious air crash on 17 August 1988 in which Gen Zia and large number of
senior Army officers died. Washington prevailed upon Gen Beg not to declare
martial law and advised him to hold elections. The US played its part in
bolstering PPP campaign to win October 1988 elections. Besides her personal
agenda, Benazir was obligated to fulfill Washington’s agenda of rolling back
Pakistan’s nuclear program, cutting ISI to size, sidelining Kashmir issue and
befriending India.
During her first tenure, Benazir appointed retired Lt Gen Kallue as DG ISI
mainly to cut ISI’s long arm and bringing it under civilian control. Murtaza
Bhutto’s file was whisked out of ISI’s record. She released hundreds of hardened
criminals belonging to Al-Zulfiqar and rehabilitated 54 criminals who had been
sent in exile following PIA plane hijacking in March 1981. They were accorded
hero’s welcome in PM House and rewarded. Weapon licenses were issued to Jayalas
in Sindh liberally to keep growing influence of Urdu speaking Mohajirs in check.
MRD movement in interior Sindh in 1983 gave birth to Muhajir Qaumi Movement in
Karachi in 1984. In 1986, militant wing was added to it to overwhelm Karachi and
Hyderabad. It led to hideous practices of dead bodies wrapped in sacks,
extortion and target killings in urban areas and armed dacoities in rural Sindh.
When Rajiv visited Pakistan in 1989, Benazir got the sign board of Kashmir
removed from the gate of Punjab House in Islamabad. During a briefing at Kel in
Azad Kashmir, Benazir asked the brigade commander to display the same marked
operational map which she had seen earlier on. Gen Beg had to diplomatically
parry the awkward situation. In her bid to please Rajiv, she acquired list of
Sikh leaders waging Khalistan movement from Gen Kallue and sent it by hand to
Delhi through Ahtezaz Ahsan. She confirmed it in her interview to BBC in London
when in self-imposed exile. Nuclear program that was proceeding on a fast track
was put on hold, which amounted to rollback.
In this backdrop, security factor outweighed ineptness and corruption factors
which impelled President Ishaq to sack her government prematurely on 6 August
1990 and form a caretaker government under Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi to hold next
elections. However, when the assessment by military intelligence and IB
indicated that PPP is likely to win again, Mehrangate was conceived by the
troika. It was operationalised to safeguard the nuclear program that had become
an eyesore for India, Israel and USA.
Decision of the apex court in October 2012 on Asghar Khan’s petition which he
filed in 1996 has overjoyed the PPP currently under fire from all quarters owing
to poor governance, record breaking corruption and lackadaisical approach toward
state affairs. They are beating drums that victory had been snatched away from
PPP in 1990. Jayalas feel that had PPP formed a government at that time, Nawaz
Sharif would never have emerged as a national leader and no other party could
have beaten PPP. PML-N got embarrassed since their leader was accused of
accepting graft. Nawaz to some extent lost high moral ground but partially
recovered it after PML-N candidates won seven of the eight by-election seats
recently. The whole muck came on the Army and gave ready-made grist to anti-Army
propagandist mills, both at home and abroad to intensify their propaganda war,
particularly when NLC and railway scams involving Army generals have been making
headlines.
The judiciary is being questioned as to how come it decided the 1996 petition
lying in pending tray for sixteen years with such promptitude when no NRO
defaulter has been punished, no convict on death row has been hanged, no target
killer or terrorist caught by law enforcers has been indicted and convicted, and
no crony of higher ups involved in corruption and responsible for destroying
state institutions taken to task. None of the 300 parliamentarians with forged
degrees have been penalized. Parliamentarians holding dual nationality have
remained in power for long. Tax evaders roam about freely; only .03 % pays
taxes. Memogate accused Hussein Haqqani has been allowed to flee.
System of accountability for all practical purposes has been blunted and hand of
law falls upon the have-nots only. Rule of law and directions of SC are being
brazenly defied by the rulers but they are getting away with their wrongdoings.
The judges validating military takeovers four times and allowing each military
dictator to abrogate, or suspend or amend the constitution have not been brought
to justice. Nor the politicians who enticed the Army chiefs and welcomed them
when they booted out elected governments.
It is also being discussed as to why Lt Gen Hamid Gul, the architect of IJI, has
so far not been called by apex court despite the visionary General throwing a
gauntlet to summon him and listen to the secrets he carries in his heart. There
must be some strong reasons as to why the SC has not summoned him. Another
question being asked is as to why those who pocketed graft money have not been
implicated? Yet another query posed to the judiciary is as to why the two
Generals were indicted but not sentenced and why the discredited FIA been asked
to investigate? Moreover, why the verdict has been announced at a time when the
nation is looking forward for elections in March 2013? Had Asad Durrani not
committed the blunder of signing an affidavit, he and Mirza Beg could not have
been indicted. Has Rahman Malik been asked as to why he pressured Durrani to
sign the written affidavit in Jeddah when he was serving as ambassador?
Faced with grave external threats both from the west and the east, internal
threat posed by extremists in the northwest and separatists in the southwest,
Karachi dying an economic death due to extreme insecurity of life and property,
debt ridden national economy falling into an abyss and political situation in a
terrible mess, will it be desirable to ratchet up 1990 case in which the two
principal accused are in advanced stage of their lives and have neither pocketed
money nor caused harm to national security. Above all, why the image of Army as
an institution is being sullied under a calculated program?
Mehrangate scam
Asif Haroon Raja
The writer is a retired Brig and a defence analyst. Email: [email protected]