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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Javed Hashmi: Non-Rebel With a Personal Cause

Ghulam Mustafa |

Too much of it can go to your head and I am not talking about that amber liquid either. Acquiring or living up to a reputation, which isn’t really you, can also be quite challenging. The effort is known to have destabilized many. There has to be a term describing this affliction which relates to masquerading as a saint, don or a rebel, whereas actually one is nothing more than an ordinary person.

Negative characters in movies were the rage in sixties and seventies. We would resort to all sorts of antics to be recognized as rebels or those defying authority. Calling ourselves rebels was the easiest part. Living up to it was totally a different ball game. I don’t want to go into anymore details because as grandfathers, now we are the good guys. This role is equally difficult.

Calling ourselves rebels was the easier part. Living up to it was totally a different ball game.

I can sympathize with Mr. Javed Hashmi, I really can. I know firsthand that playing at”Baghee – Baghee” is a pretty tough. You are expected to show it every once in a while to stoke up your reputation. And it isn’t easy. One has to pick the right authorities to defy, attack or slander and, say all the right things to show your defiance. Thereafter one has to wait and hope that the concerned authorities take you seriously. It is pretty risky. For example, the target authorities could totally ignore you. Worse still, your real self could get exposed leaving you without the fig leaf covering which was your entire strength. There’s more to come. People could doubt your motives and consider you having someone else voice – the real master’s voice.

Judicial Martial Law

Now coming to the point; Mr. Javed Hashmi claiming that one or two serving generals were conspiring with the then Chief Justice of Supreme Court to facilitate imposition of “judicial martial law” in August 2014 at a time when PTI and PAT had combined to stage a sit in against alleged rigging in 2013 Elections and Model Town Massacre on 17 June 2014. This is a new one, I mean “Judicial Martial Law “.


One cannot fault Mr. Javed Hashmi for lack of imagination.

Purpose Behind Such Absurd Claim?

This fantastically illogical claim presupposes far too much.
First, it would be very interesting to know Mr. Javed Hashmi’s explanation of the manner in which this martial law were to come about?
Second, and more specifically, how could one or two serving generals do it all by themselves?
Third, how could they rope in Chief Justice of Supreme Court?
Fourth, how could one honorable judge, even if he is the Chief Justice, compel the entire superior judiciary to go along with a decision which is solely his own?
Fifth, was Imran Khan advised to claim planned rigging in Elections 2013 even before they were over to set the stage for things to come 17 months down the road? By whom? By the way, General Ashfaq Pervaiz Kiani was COAS at that time.

and sixth, was the Model Town Massacre an orchestrated event? So that PAT could join sit in which would then serve as jump off point for judicial martial law?

It gets more interesting from here on. What’s the motive behind this claim by such a senior and supposedly upright politician? Why now; after more than two years?

Is he just trying to live up to a perceived image? One could buy grudge element against army and judiciary which had combined to put Mr. Hashmi behind bars for over five years. Or against Imran Khan and PTI for obvious reasons. And, though reluctantly, one could also buy the idea of Mr. Hashmi trying to put things right in the land of pure.

Unfortunately, there are very few takers for these explanations; it is all in the timings, they say. Some have more serious reservations of personal nature but I don’t buy them for obvious reasons. He hasn’t lost it and it is part of the overall plot.

Win-Win for Hashmi

It is a political move, timed to suit Mian Nawaz Sharif with a view to getting a respectable entry back into PML-N for Elections 2018. As of now, Mr. Hashmi is nowhere on the scene. He has maligned the then CJ and Supreme Court of Pakistan at a time when it is about to hear Panama Leaks case against the PM and his family under a new CJ. Mind you, new CJ took oath at about the same time when Mr. Javed Hashmi was breaking this news afresh after a gap of more than two years. Roping in the army helps to expand the scope of this so called conspiracy in the hope of bringing it at par with Panama Leaks. It helps to keep Hashmi in sharp focus and is win-win either way.

It is a political move, timed to suit MNS in with a view to getting a respectable entry back into PMLN for Elections 2018.

Do we see it spilling over to the likely outcome of ongoing inquiry into DAWN Leaks? Is it a possible preemption to keep army on the back foot just to be on the safe side? Apparently, it also ties in nicely with the DAWN leaks and somewhat forgotten Rouge Army Advertisement in 1999? Indians and their backers would be doubling over with glee. Recent American decision to sanction seven Pakistani entities allegedly involved in our missile development program may or may not be linked to it but Mr. Hashmi is doing his very best to support the idea. He appears to be getting quite a bit of support from usual suspects; selective linkages in the print and electronic media are on display to support his theory in Goebbles’ style.

What happened to previous attempts of adventurism?

There is bit of issue here. The Pakistan army doesn’t allow for individual or even a group adventurism of this kind. All such attempts in the past were caught at a very early stage and the aspirants to fame punished swiftly. The army’s organizational structure and leadership keeps the focus on the job at hand. All attempts to politicize it or create clusters to suit various political preferences have failed so far. However, unscrupulous elements have not given up and continue to make efforts in this direction all the time.

Conspiracy galore; there is truly never a dull moment in Pakistan. John Le Carre could learn a thing or two from us in putting together classic spy thrillers in the Cold War mould. It would be quite amusing were it not hurting all that should be sacred. Even this move would be welcome were it true and meant to put things right.

Unfortunately, it is not so. Politically motivated or purely selfish, it serves only one purpose. It is not helping Pakistan or its institutions but playing right into the hands of our enemies. Who could stop them from calling us an irresponsible banana republic? Non- Rebel with a very narrow personal interest has exposed himself badly at a time when he could enjoy lot of respect as an elderly statesman.

Lieutenant General Ghulam Mustafa is a retired three-star general of the Pakistan Army. He is credited with raising the Army Strategic Forces Command.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Global Village Space’s editorial policy.