A Meeting with the President of Pakistan
Mohammad Ashraf Chaudhry, Pittsburg, CAGloucester in King Lear says, “ O! Let me kiss that hand!” and Lear responds, “Let me wipe it first; it smells of mortality”. When my friend and once colleague, Mr. Irfan Siddiqui, Press Secretary to the President, asked me if I would like to meet the President in his office, I was simply surprised at the suggestion. Indeed, I was keen to shake that hand which in that capacity often does not smell mortal, and was curious to see that chair that had provided cushion to luminaries such as the arrogant Ghulam Ishaq Khan, the feudal Farooq Khan Leghari and the all-in-one General Zia ul Haque.
My perception about President Muhammad Rafiq Tarar was that he by choosing to stay in office after the October 12, 1999 Military take-over, had committed an act of ingratitude, and had betrayed his erstwhile benefactor and promoter, Mian Nawaz Sharif, and further like most Pakistanis I thought what Maulana Rumi in a situation such as this had aptly said, “ It has eaten from his hand nice fodder and good water...” And furthermore there were stories about the infamous briefcase and his journey to Quetta during the Sajjad Shah vs. Mian Nawaz Sharif tussle, etc. etc. Like any ordinary human being my keenness was more focused on seeing the President of Pakistan than the actual person in this role.
As I entered his office, I found in front of me standing a Sir Syedian image, an individual cool like a cucumber, serene like a sage, religious like a Sufi, and mortal like you and me. As I extended my hand to hold his, he surprisingly tugged me to hug like I were an intimate acquaintance of him. I felt comfortable for there was hardly any aura of mystique, or any trace of stiff-necked arrogance, which unfailingly accompanies this high office.
My mind drifted to another brand and class of rulers who once held the destiny of Pakistan before the 1958 Military take-over. No doubt, they all loved power and wielded it the way they did, and to preserve it exclusively to their own corridors, they played politics of intrigues, but they also took pains to treat the public exchequer as a sacred trust, and maintained an image that would paint them as humane and congenial as possible. Liaquat Ali Khan, the first PM, lived a very simple life. As reported by his personal servant, Mr. Sattar, his two sons, Akbar and Ashraf would often pick and clean their own plates. Once Liaquat Ali khan commanded Akbar to seek Sattar’s forgiveness for hurting him while playing with his BB gun; Khawaja Nazimuddin, would often eat with his servants by sitting on a jute mat;
Mohammad Ali Bogra would over-look Idris’ refusal to clean his table because it was not his duty to do so and yet could keep his job; Chaudhri Muhammad Ali would ask Mr. Kafil, the Superintendent engineer, to explain why he arranged to illumine his house on the wedding of his daughter when the street lights were enough to do the job. In later years and during the days of political campaign against President Ayub Khan, one day Col. Majid Malik, Director Urdu Board, would ask Chaudhri Sahib a poignant question, “ Once you let the Premiership of the country slip by so easily, and now you are leading the crowds to get it back, how do you explain this. Chaudhri Sahib without any tinge of hypocritical piety would explain, “ I came from a very poor family, but Allah Subhana-tala somehow chose to bestow upon me a high office in Pakistan. I have always lived scared of the Day of Judgment when Allah Subhanatala might ask me a question like this, “ Muhammad Ali, you were given a great place of honor, what did you do for
My people in Pakistan”. By participating in these campaigns, I am just trying to furnish myself with an answer for that eventuality that at least I tried”. I found President Muhammad Rafiq Tarar belonging to this brand of class who would openly acknowledge his humble background, and attribute his present place of honor to the Will of God, and to not to any merit of his. Coming to the question of ingratitude as perceived by most people, and President Tarar’s choice to stay in office, the President spoke more like a Judge and explained his position by stating that Article 41 of the Constitution of Pakistan says that there shall be a President of Pakistan who shall be the Head of State and shall represent the unity of the Republic. In Pakistan personal loyalties supersede loyalty to the Constitution and the country. On 12th October, 1999,it was not he who had chosen to stay in office, it was the Chief Executive who had requested him to do so. He stayed as President just to save the Constitution of Pakistan, which, as any one can see, has not been abrogated. President of Pakistan is the symbol of the unity of the Federation and is the tying string amongst all the provinces. President Tarar, said that it had been his singular honor that he was elected by the National Assembly and the Senate and by the four provincial assemblies with the highest percentage of votes, 85%, ever cast in favor of any previous incumbent of this office. It was not he who had coveted for this office, in fact, he had pointed out at the time when the proposal was made to elect him as President that he was too humble a person to be considered suitable for this office. After the 12th October, 1999 Military takeover, it was with certain conditions and constraints that he had condescended to stay in office, and which being, that martial law shall not be imposed; that Constitution of the country shall not be annulled; that the basic rights of people shall be restored at the earliest and shall be safeguarded; and that Democracy shall be restored in the shortest possible time.
Military take over would have been without a legal canopy, and the situation would have been chaotic, had there been no symbol of the unity of the Federation, which in this case is the office of the President. It was the Military that needed a legal cover to put forward their agenda, and not him, because, as for as he was concerned he believed, that if it were the time to leave, no human power on earth could help him stay there, not even a minute longer; and if it were the Will of Allah that he should stay there, no individual, no matter how strong, could maneuver to get him out, not even a minute earlier. I was impressed the way he emphasized this point of his absolute surrender and submission to the Will of God.
As the chance meeting progressed into an informative discourse, President Tarar asked the pageboy to bring some tea while he continued explaining the role of the office he was occupying. Presidency, as everybody knows, in recent past had become a hotbed of conspiracies and intrigues. Disgruntled politicians and fortune hunters would find congenial feedback, encouragement and due patronage in the President’s house. With the 8th Amendment in hand, the President would make the chess-moves and gloat over his infinite powers. What Ghulam Ishaq Khan, Farooq Leghari and even General Ziaul Haq engineered from this office to destabilize the elected governments is no secret.
It is by itself a remarkable achievement that since the time he assumed this office, not a single instance of any intrigue or plotting, neither against the former PM, nor against the present Military set-up has cropped up. Presidency has been totally sanitized of all such machinations and it is meticulously performing the role it is expected to as per the Constitution.
In fact, President Tarar’s personal life style, his love for austerity and simplicity; his humbleness and humility has cut the sumptuary expenses by 50%; has been instrumental in generating an atmosphere of ease and dignity in the Presidency as all officials, ranging from the Military Secretary to the Principal Secretary to the Press Secretary, work in complete unison and harmony, often rub their hands to reassure themselves that they are mortals. Mr. Irfan Siddiqui, quoted some personal examples, which deserve a mention.
As Senator, Mr. Muhammad Rafiq Tarar owed some money to a news hawker who used to deliver him the paper. On assuming the office of the President of Pakistan, he made sure through Mr. Siddiqui that the hawker was traced, was invited to the Presidency, and was not only paid for his services but was also personally thanked. Another instance of his humility and respect for the common, simple, otherwise uncouth people is worth mentioning. A delegation of the tribal people visited him in the President office. As they were offered tea and samosas, they sipped and ate in as free a style as they are accustomed to. Siddiqui suggested that a little bit of care in future in such situations would be perfectly in line with the decorum of the high office of the President. Mr. Tarar disagreed and emphasized that these simple people are the best people to invest your love and affection with. When treated with love and respect, they tirelessly mention the event all the time and everywhere. The so-called sophisticated, cultured and well-mannered people hardly ever remember such trivialities. People of Pakistan still remember how President Leghari visited America with the great pomp and show in order to attend the graduation ceremony of his son. President Tarar, performed his Hajj and made his family and his staff pay for the airfare. The image of the Presidency has arisen considerably, of course, due to the personal conduct of the President and his staff.
In another session, I met the President’s son and I found him equally simple, well informed and cultured. The present day Pakistan needs people like Mr. Tarar who are self-less, simple, honest and are conscious of their mortality all the time. In Islamabad, there has been some talk about an audit report done on the Judiciary, and it was given out that while most of the Judges owed something to somebody; President Rafiq Tarar was the only judge who was given a clean slip.
Honesty and simplicity in high offices have always been rarities in Pakistan. Over a period of time corruption and sins got so- well gold plated that even the strongest lances of justice and authority have failed to pierce them. The Government of General Pervez Musharraf is beginning to discover these realities. In the midst of shutdowns and shutter-downs, in the wake of drought and political uncertainties, the presence of such a fatherly, God-fearing, simple, quiet and practicing Muslim as that of President Muhammad Rafiq Tarar is like an oasis in a desert. When Mr. Tarar retires, and an option falls in my way as to whom would I love and prefer to have a cup of tea with, Mr. Farooqi Leghari, Mr. Ghulam Ashaq Khan, or Mr. Muhammad Rafiq Tarar. It would always be Mr. Rafiq Tarar.