HOW are they remembered?

Mohammad Ali Jinnah: For achieving his ambition to found a state, which he hoped (vainly as it turned out) would be modern and democratic, a home for those in need of protection, their own country in which they could live and prosper.

For enunciating his creed whilst addressing the first session of the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan on August 11, 1947, in which he clearly set forth the direction he intended his country to take.

For doing good, for being fair, just and equitable, free of bigotry or hypocrisy, and for being scrupulously honest both morally and materially.

For stating in his speech broadcast on February 19, 1948:

"The great majority of us are Muslims. We follow the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad. We are members of the brotherhood of Islam in which we are equal in rights, dignity and self-respect. Consequently, we have a special and deep sense of unity. But make no mistake : Pakistan is not a theocracy or anything like it. Islam demands from us the tolerance of other creeds and we welcome in close association with us all those who, of whatever creed, are themselves willing and ready to play their part as true and loyal citizens of Pakistan."

Jinnah was the first governor-general of the Dominion of Pakistan and died as such on September 11, 1948. From that day onwards, his successors in office, the presidents and prime ministers that followed, have misgoverned. A few may have to their credit some little good they may mistakenly have done, but it is not that for which they are remembered. As pronounced WS, it is mostly a case of the evil living on and the good being firmly interred.

Khwaja Nazimuddin: Governor-general from September 14, 1948, to October 17, 1951, and prime minister from the latter date to April 17, 1953. A gentleman sportsman, he was never in tune with the politicians with whom he worked.

Malik Ghulam Mohammed: Jinnah chose him as his finance minister, in which position he remained until intrigue and convenience made him the third governor-general ( October 19, 1951, to October 15, 1955). He is remembered for setting the trend, for dissolving the first constituent assembly of Pakistan in October 1954 with its speaker Maulvi Tamizuddin Khan. Tamizuddin went to the Sindh Chief Court and his petition against dissolution was upheld by its Chief Justice Sir George Constantine. Ghulam Mohammad appealed against this decision to the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Mohammed Munir, and his appeal was accepted in April 1955.

From that moment it became an accepted fact that the law can be read and interpreted as the men in power desire.

Ghulam Mohammed fell ill, and was deposed in March 1956.

Major General Iskander Mirza: Born November 13, 1899, died November 13, 1969. A good career officer, a well-known political agent of Tank. After partition he served, inter alia, as our defence secretary, minister of the interior, and governor of East Pakistan. When Ghulam Mohammad was deposed, the politicians in power appointed him as their fourth governor-general, in which post he remained from October 16, 1955, to March 22, 1956, on which date he became the first president of Pakistan. On October 27, 1958, (a date that was to be known for some years as Revolution Day, a public holiday) he was deposed by his defence minister, General Mohammad Ayub Khan. He was exiled and sent to London, where he worked for his living and died an honourable man. He is remembered with muted respect as a man to whom injustice was done.

Mohammad Ayub Khan : The first martial law administrator of the Republic of Pakistan which he declared himself to be on October 7, 1958, adding to it the title of president on October 27 of that year. He is remembered for being the man under which this country, for his first few years in power, was seen to be truly a developing country - developing in the right direction, economy and industry booming. He is remembered for his innovative system of Basic Democracy, rather a flop, for his decade of development, a misnomer, and for his disastrous 1965 war with India and his speedy decline thereafter, until sick and tired, he handed over power to his army chief on March 25, 1969.

Agha Mohammad Yahya Khan : General Agha Mohammad Yahya Khan, 'Rangila Raja', a good soldier but a bad martial law administrator and head of state. He is remembered for having saved the library at the Staff College, Quetta, when an instructor at that institution. He is remembered for holding the only free and fair elections in this country in 1970. He is remembered for allowing himself to be manipulated by Bhutto, and, above all, he is remembered and blamed for having thrown away half the country. He died as he had lived, within his meagre means. An honest man, but exceedingly foolish.

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto : The first ever civilian martial law administrator holding conjointly the post of president of the Republic, which dual post he held from December 21, 1971, to August 14, 1973. Unforgettable. Remembered for all the wrong things, for the evil he did, and for being hanged to death. His elder son was murdered during the prime ministership of his elder daughter Benazir, and his younger son died in mysterious circumstances during the presidency of his successor and executor.

Chaudhry Fazal Elahi : Appointed August 14, 1973, on the day on which Zulfikar Ali Bhutto promulgated his constitution and converted himself to prime minister of the Republic. An unassuming man, who did nothing memorable, and who allowed himself to be kept a virtual prisoner throughout his presidency. On September 16, 1978, his resignation was accepted by Zulfikar's successor, deposer and executor. Remembered with derision and pity as the man on the walls of whose house was chalked 'Fazal Elahi ko reha karo .'

Mohammad Zia-ul-Haq : Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, always afraid of the army, to replace the retiring army chief Tikka Khan in February 1976 chose a junior general, sixth down the line, Zia-ul-Haq. Zia was selected for the subservience he had exhibited whilst a corps commander. The fact that his confidential report declared him to be ambitious and not to be trusted was ignored. In 1977, much to the delight of the people, he deposed Bhutto and took over the country as its third martial law administrator (July 5, 1977, to December 31, 1985), announcing immediately that he would march back to his barracks in 90 days time. In September 1978 he took over the presidency, remaining president of the Republic until blown into the skies on August 17, 1988. He, likewise, is remembered for much wrong, most importantly for the misuse and abuse of religion to keep him in power. His legacy haunts us.

Ghulam Ishaq Khan : He took over the presidency on August 17, 1988. He manoeuvred and manipulated elections and the goings and comings of prime ministers until on July 19, 1993 he was forced by his chief of army staff, General Waheed Kakar, to resign, taking with him his contentious prime minister Nawaz Sharif, largely responsible for his downfall. He is remembered for his own strict financial probity but for allowing his sons-in-law to run riot in the corruption field. He is also remembered for his intellectual dishonesty in bargaining with, and bowing to, politicians he himself had booted out and discredited, such as Benazir Bhutto and Asif Zardari, so that he could win for himself a second presidential term.

Sardar Farooq Ahmad Khan Leghari : Elected president on November 14, 1993, by his party chief Benazir Bhutto and her men. To the manor born, much was expected of him, his record as a civil servant and a minister being whistle-clean. He, as do all, succumbed to the heat from the seat of power and his good deeds faded into oblivion . He is now remembered for his notorious land deal with the doubly notorious Yunus Habib, for what is known as the Mehran Bank scam, for failing the nation's expectations that he would conduct a process of accountability and clean out the political sewers, and for bargaining with Nawaz Sharif, a man he disliked and distrusted, so that he too could gain a second term as president.

Rafiq Ahmad Tarar:Former judge of the Supreme Court, appointed by Nawaz Sharif to the Senate. Remembered for his clandestine trip to Quetta with a briefcase in hand, and for certain questionable judgments delivered during his time on the Bench. When his mentor and master Nawaz Sharif was given the boot on October 12, 1999, rather than putting in his resignation, he chose to remain in occupancy of the Aiwan-e-Sadar, on whose walls we expect any day a slogan to be chalked reading : Tarar ko reha karo.