Leading From the Front
Most Pakistanis have been aware since Agra that Pervez Musharraf’s boots were meant for walking on the world stage. The man who leads the country and the moment have come together seamlessly in a crisis, comfortable with his destiny and having the inherent ability to seize opportunity whenever and in whichever form it comes. Given Hobson’s Choice, damned if he will, damned if he won’t, the Pakistani leader went with his gut instinct, proving the description of leader who appears once in a blue moon, to quote Lord Wavell’s, “ having the unerring tenth instinct, like a kingfisher flashing across the surface of a pond”. Pervez Musharraf, General of the Army, President by default, but on merit Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (JCSC), did not vacillate, did not drag his feet as he followed Richard Nixon’s advice in not “debating a point to death”. With the country facing its gravest crisis since 1971, Musharraf took the hard but unpopular road in doing what is morally right. The recent terrorist attack in the US cannot be justified by any civilized society. Anybody who does so qualifies for being stark, raving mad.
The sound of a bullet is a great equalizer, it separates the men from the boys. The crisis of the magnitude that Pakistan is facing is the acid test of the character of our leadership. Faced with the rank injustices of the Radcliffe Award in 1947, the lawyer within our Quaid urged a legal battle, Choosing the race against time (now or never!) he went against the thrust of his personality and training to accept a “truncated, moth-eaten Pakistan” rather than no Pakistan at all. Musharraf put at stake his person, his reputation and credibility rather than put the nation to unlimited risk. The media propaganda has been so intense, any indecision or delay would have had long term adverse consequences for our very existence as a nation, (very quickly) Musharraf decided that notwithstanding the emotional display in the streets, overwhelming logic demanded that Pakistan came first. Going against terrorism is contrary to vocal public perception, not only in the streets but in some of the drawing rooms of the elite and educated (who should know better), Musharraf has taken a calculated risk with raw courage. An uncompromising fighter against the Russian occupation of Afghanistan, wealthy Osama bin Laden may have captivated the public imagination but what manner of man is ready to bring misery to millions so that he himself can survive? Even now hundreds of thousands of apprehensive Afghans, mainly women and children, are walking in many columns towards safety in Pakistan.
