THE date, Aug 25, 1977; the place, General Headquarters, Rawalpindi; the man in the high chair, President Gen Ziaul Haq, jet black hair heavily pomaded, mascara surrounding his eyes, moustache bristling, confidence oozing from every pore.

Sitting on the opposite side of the table, next to me, was the soft-spoken mild-mannered and ever faithful Gen K.M. Arif, taking notes, gathering up each pearl of wisdom as it gently dropped from the all-powerful lips.

“Mr Kovasji,” as was his interpretation of my name, “what can you do for the ports of Pakistan and its shipping in 70 days?” he asked. “General,” I replied, “what is so sacrosanct about the figure 70? After all, it took Phineas Fogg 80 days to circumnavigate the earth in a balloon. Why only 70?”

Came the answer, pat, convincing, “I have promised the people that I will march back to my barracks in 90 days, 20 days have since passed, so that leaves 70.” I countered, “No, General, you will do nothing of the sort. You will stay on, and on, for as long as you can.” Far from being annoyed, he laughed, “And on what do you base this premise of yours?”

History, was my answer and I asked him if he had ever read Captain Sir Basil Henry Liddell Hart`s brief but exceedingly wise book Why Don`t We Learn from History? (first published in 1944). One chapter that I particularly recommended to him is entitled `Pattern of Dictatorship`. Zia made a note of the book`s title, I subsequently sent him a copy, and he had it reprinted by the Services Book Club (later, in 1986, his editors chopped and chipped — but it did not change history).

Now, a quote from the relevant chapter “We learn from history that self-made despotic rulers follow a standard pattern... They claim they want absolute power for only a short time (but `find` subsequently that the time to relinquish it never comes)...

“On gaining power They soon begin to rid themselves of their chief helpers, `discovering` that those who brought about the new order have suddenly become traitors to it. They suppress criticism on one pretext or another and punish anyone who mentions facts which, however true, are unfavourable to their policy. They enlist religion on their side, if possible, or, if its leaders are not compliant, foster a new kind of religion subservient to their ends. They spend public money lavishly on material works... They manipulate the currency to make the economic position of the state appear better than it is in reality...” and so it goes, to the perfect pattern.

Now, we fast-forward to the 21st century where we have President Gen (recently retired) Pervez Musharraf ruling the roost as he has done for the past eight and a quarter years. The wily Americans, their supporters the British, the shopkeepers of this world, and many other world powers who pow-wow under the Big Top (and I, for that matter) consider him to be the best of a bad lot able to rule and try to regulate this country — their need of him outreaches his need of them.

Banner headlines in this newspaper on Jan 22 announced “Musharraf decries West`s `obsession` with democracy,” followed up by an editorial the next day accusing the general of `Belittling democracy` and bemoaning the absence in our midst of that elusive state of well-being.

As for Musharraf, he has clearly stated to all those who sit and listen to him that he is the sole arbiter of his fate and of his country`s fate. It is he who will decide how long he will stay at the top. He has stated more than once that he will go if the people want no more of him, but it is he who will decide that the time has come when the people wish him to step aside and go. He could not have been more straightforward on this point.

What are the alternatives? What choice do the Americans, the `policemen` of the world, and their allies have? Who sleeps in the wings? The die-hard Pipians are not enamoured by their world famous self-acclaimed notoriously corrupt leader who has thrust himself upon them. The newfound turncoats and lads and lasses have seen the light and have distanced themselves. The diehards are in disarray with the spokespeople desperately trying to keep things together with sporadic squeaks in the media.

There is Mian Nawaz Sharif and his younger brother, both now in the limelight and making what they think are the right noises. Nawaz is the prime minister who in 1997 wanted to arrest the Chief Justice of Pakistan merely because he wasn`t toeing the line, and he would have done so had sense not been hammered into him. He is the prime minister who ordered the physical assault upon the Supreme Court of Pakistan in Nov 1997. Now, Mian Sahib is the champion of an `independent` judiciary and is calling for the restoration of the honour of the removed judges.

He is as corrupt as they come and as are all who make up our political leadership, as are Musharraf`s favourite brand of Chaudhrys who still endeavour to have their loans written off.

What can now only be recommended is that we fasten our seat belts, economise and try to survive. If the human beings we are blessed with do not manage to finish us off, Mother Nature may well do so. Just who is worried about the climate change, about global warming, about the melting snows and glaciers, and the rising seas?

There is little left for us other than to keep encouraging each other by proclaiming `nil desperandum.` Winston Churchill`s guiding motto should be ours. Re-reading Churchill reminds me of how one can think of irrelevant and amusing matters when one sees no silver-lining.

Churchill was most impressed by the knowledge and perspicacity of his friend Professor Frederick Lindermann, one of his constant companions, who later in the Second World War was given the title Lord Cherwell. Lindermann was Churchill`s scientific adviser from 1939-1945. It was with him that Churchill examined Britain`s defence policy and it was to him that he entrusted the secrets of Britain`s nuclear policy both in his war time and peace time premierships.

One day, in the early 1940s, when the war was not going too well and, in short, all hell had broken loose, whilst presiding over a cabinet meeting assessing the bombing damage, Churchill closed his eyes and paused. Silence prevailed. After a few moments, he opened his eyes, looked at Lindemann and said to him, “You know how much brandy I drink in a day. How many rail wagonfulls have I already consumed? Lindemann produced his slide rule, made a quick calculation, and responded. Pathetic, it would not even fill half a wagon.

“Hmmmmm,” muttered the disappointed prime minister, “so much to do and such little time left. Oh dear; well, on with the bombing statistics.”

arfc@cyber.net.pk