High Noon in New York

The Forum, New York

October 5, 2005

By Fawzia Naqvi

You go General!

Go get em' all just like you threatened to get anyone who exposed Pakistan's ills. Not those, mind you, who commit crimes of rape and torture, but those who dare to expose these crimes and these criminals.

Why indeed should Pakistan be singled out for gang rape against its women? Because surely there must be plenty more heads of state, and their entire cabinet taking such great pains to cover up crimes against women, discredit the victims and protect the perpetrators of rape. What an affront, what a shock that Pakistan should be singled out for blatantly misogynist practices.

But you sure showed em' in New York didn't you General? Out shouted them all- who indeed is the greatest and the most useful dictator since, well, the last one Pakistan had? You are the man my man.

How dare some woman question you on the very doorsteps of your benefactors? Especially when you were in New York carpet bagging a whole new product line labeled "Enlightened Moderation." See unlike what you all were peddling in the 1980's; i.e.; 'Jihad in a Sachet', all the rage in the Reagan White House, this enlightenment thing also comes with catchy slogans like 'my way or the highway' or 'if you are against my policies you are against Pakistan.' How cool is that?

Why should anyone get huffy about the conduct unbecoming of a military dictator? Let me tell you, it is highly distressing to be questioned publicly and to be made to feel accountable. That stuff is for democratically elected sissies, not manly men strongmen who send others to their deaths.

Now what was that silly woman smoking? Perhaps she had not heard that the General has been bestowed with the highest of accolades from all and sundry. Crowned W's other best friend. Sprinkled with magical 'you can't touch me' powder by Condi. Of course those who oppose him are enemies of Pakistan. Makes perfect sense in the General's delusional and can't keep his lies lined up kind of mind.

Goodness. The stress of being challenged by the weaker sex appeared way too much for this battle hardened commando, this fighter.

So what did the General's sycophantic handlers/aides have to say about the General's duel with hapless members of the audience? We can sort of guess what General Karamat was thinking. But apparently one of Musharaf's minions thinks the General needs a vacation. After all, most leaders in the West go off to their vacation homes to get refreshed; look at Bush, Blair but not our leader he lamented. He just keeps going and going and going...you know, like that Energizer Bunny.

But what a splendid idea! How about a vacation General? How about you take a nice long sabbatical and chill out somewhere nice? Perhaps a retreat where one must take a temporary vow of silence. What the heck take the wife, kids, grandkids and mom too. And please do us all a favor take Nilofer Bakhtiyar and Sheikh Rashid along for the ride. Juggling, if not scripting all your lies must be taking a heavy toll on them.

Go on General, take a load off. Pakistan will be just fine without you. I promise. We'll just try on our own to hobble along toward genuine civilian democracy. Warts and all. Pretty much like our neighbors India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and yes even Afghanistan.

And while you're gone, maybe we'll take a crack at doing away with the medieval Hudood Ordinance which continues to hang over our women like a Sword of Damocles. Or we might really go crazy in your absence and do away with that nasty piece of law you couldn't seem to find the heart, the will or the spine to give up. You know the Blasphemy Law which has made thousands of innocent religious minorities grist for its mill. Gosh if you did away with both what on earth would Amnesty International do with its overcrowded Pakistan web page?

But you shouldn't sweat the small stuff General; after all you are the man who has transformed and saved Pakistan. According to Ms. Bakhtiyar you are a gift sent to us by the Almighty. Man, we owe you.

Minutiae such as the Hudood Ordinance or Blasphemy Laws shouldn't get in the way of your peddling enlightened moderation far and wide, especially to the American Jewish Congress. Did you enlighten them to the probable consequences of anyone actually admitting to be a Pakistani Jew? How do you think they would feel about the state mandated "religion column" in Pakistani passports, an issue on which you capitulated to the mullahs?

Who knows, my information could be dated. Jews in General Musharaf's Pakistan might fare better than those still admitting they are Shias, Ahmedis, Hindus or for that matter Christian.

General Musharraf's ignoble and downright juvenile behavior at the conference of Pakistani-American women in New York was an international display of Pakistan's Neanderthal, retrogressive politics, over which the General presides.

Much like his military predecessors, General Musharraf's ignominy became public with the coup'd etat he orchestrated, foisting himself forcibly upon Pakistan and committing treason against its people. It just never got better from there.

Way back in 2000 a journalist friend of mine who had just interviewed the General told me about his creativeness with the truth. She was confounded by what she had witnessed and finally summed it up quite crisply by classifying him as a "congenital liar." I think she may have been on to something.

God only knows when this congenital fibbing first started for the General; perhaps his mother could shed some light on that. As for the rest of us we can only judge the man by what he says, and then says he didn't say or what he does and then says he never did. His condition only seems to be worsening and his repertoire now seems to include frightening delusions of grandeur. This time around even when faced with irrefutable evidence of lying, the General was simply unable to stop himself from plowing ahead and lying.

This shame will dog the General for years to come.