Pakistani politics is a funny game; Nawaz Sharif; who was was the main beneficiary of the unconstitutional dismissal of the Junejo government. Nawaz Sharif with “Abbaji’s” help were the main architects of the attack on Supreme Court of Pakistan in 1997 and subsequent removal of CJ Sajjad Ali Shah with the help Rafiq Tarrar and Justice Saeduzzaman Siddiqui; became champion of the CJ Ifitkhar Chaudhry. Now that a very pro CJ pronounced a judgment where he is implicated, he only wants to accept part of the decision.
Justice is always very subjective and depends upon the laws of the land whether good or bad. In the following article by Dr AQ Khan details some of reasons for considering BB a security risk. I can concede that this is the truth as he sees it (Remember 4 blind men trying to describe an elephant).
All I can say is that I had earlier heard about BB’ part in the elimination of Khalistan movement long before this. I leave it for the reader to decide whether national security overrides Constitution or not.
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Fact and fiction
Dr A Q Khan
Monday, November 05, 2012
Random thoughts
I have chosen the title for today’s column in response to the ongoing analyses by anchorpersons, journalists, etc. in the Asghar Khan case and the Supreme Court’s judgment. It took 18 years for the case to come this far. The successive governments of Benazir and Nawaz Sharif were not interested in pursuing it, as both had skeletons in their cupboards.
Musharraf, in turn, did not want to alienate any political friends. The Supreme Court has blamed the late president Ghulam Ishaq Khan, Gen Mirza Aslam Beg and Gen Asad Durrani for acting against the law and the constitution in bribing politicians to ensure the defeat of Benazir Bhutto and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) by the Islami Jamhoori Ittihad (IJI) in the general elections, following her government’s dismissal in August 1990 for corruption.
No sooner had the judgment been announced than saints and sinners alike went after those found guilty. Gen Durrani had given an affidavit containing the names of recipients and the amounts received. There is also an affidavit given by Gen Nasirullah Babar. The recipients naturally rejected the accusations. Who was Younus Habib to get such a central role in the distribution of hundreds of millions of rupees in public money? Why did Benazir Bhutto appoint Gen Durrani, one of the main players (and not one in her favour), as ambassador to Germany and Saudi Arabia? Is it not significant that Benazir Bhutto’s second government was dismissed for corruption by her own colleague and friend, President Farooq Laghari?
Mr Ghulam Ishaq Khan and Gen Nasirullah Babar are no longer with us. Nobody raised a finger against the former during his lifetime. He was indicted posthumously six years after his demise. Gen Babar left an affidavit but cannot now give evidence or be questioned about it. The grandson of Ghulam Ishaq Khan, Sen Osman Saifullah Khan, has complained of his illustrious grandfather receiving unfair blame. Gen Tahir Ali has given an excellent analysis of the case (The News, October 27) and there have been many more articles, talk shows, etc. Since I have been closely associated with both Mr Ghulam Ishaq Khan and Gen Aslam Beg, I venture to give my understanding of the affair.
After my offer to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto to help Pakistan become a nuclear power and my decision to remain in Pakistan in January 1976 at the specific request of Mr Bhutto, a coordination board was formed for the project with Mr A G N Kazi, Mr Ghulam Ishaq Khan and Mr Agha Shahi. At that time they were the country’s top bureaucrats (all secretary generals) and they were to supervise the nuclear programme. Since day one I was closely associated with these three officers, especially with Mr Ghulam Ishaq Khan. From then until 2000, he was like a father to me. We had frequent meetings, initially about our nuclear programme and later, after his retirement in 1993, about the Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute, as its project director.
When Gen Mirza Aslam Beg became chief of the general staff we started meeting regularly as KRL was producing important weapon systems (anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles, anti-tank munition, laser rangefinders, remote-controlled mines, mine-detonators, etc.) for the army. I found him to be well-read, knowledgeable, soft-spoken and intelligent. I had the pleasure of dining with the family a number of times. This close contact continued after he became VCOAS and COAS. With his strong support and understanding for national defence, I signed a contract with the Chinese for M-II missiles and a factory was established at Khanpur. Later, when Admiral Sirohey became chairman of JCSC, he nominated me as chief coordinator of the Surface-to-Surface Guided Missile Programme, which post I filled until Musharraf staged his coup in October 1999.
During my long and close association with Mr Ghulam Ishaq Khan, I never once found him indulging in politics and never heard him saying anything against any politician. I never met or saw any politician with his very competent military secretary, Brig Muhammed Ajaib, who efficiently and honestly served him for five years.
Concerning Gen Beg, I would like to narrate one incident here, which speaks for itself. I was in Gen Beg’s office just before the 1988 general elections when the chief election commissioner, Justice S A Nusrat, came to see him. During the talks Justice Nusrat said (probably to see what Gen Beg’s reaction would be) that Benazir Bhutto’s PPP was going to win the elections. Gen Beg’s immediate reaction was to say that if the lady wins, she will rule as per her constitutional right. Not then and not at any other time did I ever hear any adverse remarks about any politician from him.
The question arises: why was it necessary to sack Benazir Bhutto’s government and prevent her from winning the next elections? My understanding is that, as soon as she came to power, widespread and reliable reports surfaced about massive corruption by Mr Asif Ali Zardari and his cronies. All the intelligence agencies were sending reports to the president and the chief of the army staff. Then one of her closest associates, a federal minister, was reported to have handed over a list of all Sikh resistance leaders (Khalistan supporters) to India, which resulted in their arrests and elimination by the Indian government.
The Sikh insurgency had taken the pressure off Kashmir and the Pakistani army considered their handing over as an anti-Pakistan move. Furthermore, Benazir Bhutto had agreed to freeze the enrichment of uranium at five percent, in a move to please the Americans. In a meeting at the Presidency at which Gen Imtiaz (her military secretary) was also present, I was instructed accordingly. Nobody was happy with the decision, especially not the army and the ISI, and it was considered to be against national interests. Mr Bhutto, and later Gen Ziaul Haq, had never buckled under US and Western pressure and had kept the programme running at full speed.
Later, Gen Waheed Kakar took full control of the nuclear weapons programme. Probably all these factors together led to the dismissal of her government and the efforts to stop her from winning the elections. What is intriguing here is that, during her second tenure and later on, neither she nor Nawaz Sharif nor Musharraf pursued the Asghar Khan case, while Benazir Bhutto even appointed Gen Durrani as her ambassador to Germany and Saudi Arabia.
After all, Gen Durrani had played a prominent role against her government. Something doesn’t seem right. I cannot doubt the integrity, honesty and patriotism of Mr Ghulam Ishaq Khan and Gen Aslam Beg. I only knew Gen Durrani superficially, but many senior officers did not have much good to say about him. Only God knows the truth.
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dr.a.quadeer.khan@gmail.com
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