The lust of the chair

The lust of the chair

In Pakistan the tradition of leaving office voluntarily is missing. The troubling reality is that in recent history, our heads of state have been invariably forced out of office. In fact, over the last 40 years, we don’t find a
single instance of the de-facto head of state leaving on his own accord. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was hanged, Zia died in a plane crash, Benazir and Nawaz Sharif twice each had their terms cut short and Musharraf was forced to resign under the threat of impeachment.
Undeterred, the lucky ones who leave with their lives intact immediately begin weaving webs to plot their return.

To the unsuspecting eye, the sure-footedness that ties Pakistani rulers to their seats of power is an open-and-shut case of self-serving greed and lust for power. After all, such behaviour pervades the society at large and if it
exhibits itself in the corridors of power, it should not raise eye brows. However, there is more to that than what meets the eye.

It seems that our rulers have seen the end that met their predecessors and internalised it. They have resigned themselves to the fact that exile, incarceration or death is the fait accompli inextricably tied to their jobs. To avoid
that fate, in their estimation, they must keep their jobs. It’s as if the hanging of Bhutto hangs like a noose over their heads. Given the bloody history of power politics in Pakistan, who would blame them.

Such a conclusion may also explain the lack of restraint our leaders have shown in committing what we refer to as “high crimes” in common parlance, such as subverting the constitution or breaking the oath of office. The punishment
for these crimes should be enough to deter a prospective offender, but for someone who sees his own survival at stake and is already resigned to an unceremonious exit, no deterrent is enough. Survival is the most basic of human instincts, and if one sees it
threatened, respect for law is the first thing that goes out the window.

Another feature of our heads of state’s behaviour has been the “messiah complex” they seem to carry. While it is hard to pin down the root cause of this complex, it seems a by-product of sycophantic advisers and the desire to attach
a higher purpose to their actions. This reinforces their power-lust and primal fears, and we have a full-blown case of “powerophilia” on our hands. It suffices to say that taking power from them is a tad tougher than taking a candy from a kid.

While our rulers may have deluded themselves into believing that their fate is sealed if they are ousted from power, the reality is that their actions have made this a self-fulfilling prophesy. If for once, they listened to the
call of their conscience and abided by the constitution they vowed to uphold in letter and spirit, they will find that the people and history itself is very forgiving.

The winds of change are blowing once more and the rulers, secure in their house of cards, seem oblivious to it. Their exit, in due course, is written all over the walls – Only they cannot see it. It would be foolish to assume that
they will voluntarily cede power and listen to the voice of the people. The NRO, which ushered them into power, is there no more. If ever there was a regime that needed to be in the corridors of power to be safe, it is this one.

One can only hope that when it is time for them to leave the seat of power, they quietly pack up their bags and head to the seemingly safe shores of exile. While it is true that justice is the best deterrent and one would love
to see it in action, anyone who has studied our recent power-transitions knows that is a dream too far.

The dream of seeing a smooth, seamless succession of power is even farther.

Views expressed here are the writer’s own and in no way represent newspakistan.pk’s official editorial policy!

(Courtesy Irfan Waheed )

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=5154

Posted by Momina Khan on Nov 30 2011. Filed under Opinion, Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry