The Ides of August

August, one of the longest months of the dog days of summer finally comes to an end. This month of has been hot, has seen lot of political heat in Indian Subcontinent - especially on the flashpoint of Kashmir. The sudden decision of the Modi led BJP to scrap article 370 caught everyone unaware, including India's bette noire Pakistan. 

Its ex-Cricketer and Prime Minister Imran Khan and its puppeteer all powerful Army were caught off guard my Modi's decision. The otherwise confident Alpha male Prime minister who has guided his nation to many remarkable victories in cricket, bedded a number of lasses, fathered at least one known bastard, is behaving confused like a Fox facing headlight and running like a headless chicken. It is apparent from his blabbermouth churning out one nonsense after another on daily basis - the same way I churn out my blogs.

August can be a disturbing month for our Western frontier neighbor. Imran Khan's coronation as Prime Minister coincided with the 30th Anniversary of the death of another all powerful Army man and ex President of Pakistan who once successfully persuaded the charismatic, cricket captain to reverse his decision to retire from cricket. Imran's comeback resulted in him leading Pakistan to win the Cricket world cup only time in history. The President was General Zia Ul Haq.

For the country it would be the case of "The Ides Of August". It reminds me of one muggy day in August many monsoons ago when inside my hostel room in NIT, Rourkela BBC radio broke the news (No Breaking News, the concept was absent then). It was the death of Pakistani President General Zia Ul Haq in a plane crash. 

Zia was a diminutive soldier and a shrewd sstrategist. His regime would shape the politics of the subcontinent for a long time to come. He set the stepping stone to keep its rival India in check by getting his country nuclear and bleeding India in Kashmir and Punjab. He once reportedly said referring to his support to Sikh terrorism - "Keep the water boiling just enough to the right temperature, so that it doesn't spill over but simmers enough to give our enemy, aka India hard time". Hard time he did gave us - so much so that he emboldened ISI enough to subsequently stage spectacular attack after attack inside India successfully protraying India over time as a clueless weak state.

Born in India, studied in St. Stephens College, Delhi he migrated to Pakistan where he rose his way up in the Army. He was frail man with a short height, but a master strategist. He was lucky to be recruited by the British Indian Army as Officers were is shortage towards the end of World War II.

Promotions were hard to come by. But fortune favored him after Bhutto became the PM of Pakistan. He trusted Zia whom he thought as harmless and malleable, as the later was obsequious to the Prime minister. Bhutto promoted him over others by making him the Army Chief superseding others Senior to Zia.

Bhutto used to poke fun at Zia by calling him our "Monkey General" in front of the foreign dignitaries, alluding to the later's short stature and long protruding teeth. Zia would always respond with his inscrutable smile. But these innocuous teeth would later become fangs with a vengeance, delivering a venomous bite to Bhutto as the monkey general had his last laugh by dislodging the PM in a military coup and hanging him in less than couple of years.

It's said that Zia was a champion conversationalist. He would call his contemporary Indian Prime minister Morarjee Desai and flatter him by asking the formers view on benefits of drinking urine (Desai used to drink his own urine first thing in morning). Soon our first PM from Gujarat was conferred "Nishan-e- Pakistan", their highest civilian award. God knows what transpired between them but I am sure the cunning Zia didn't give Pakistan's highest award to the Prime Minister of their sworn enemy for the Desai's sermon on Urine therapy.

An alumni of St. Stephens College Delhi he once invited a delegation of its ex-students, fed them well and gave them free luxury rides across the scenic and historic sites of Pakistan. The entire team, a member of which was K Natwar Singh would heap paeans of praise about Zia's hospitality. At the same time he pushed terrorists into Punjab and Kashmir. This Pakistani general proved himself a master Jekyll and Hyde personality.

The General was a staunch Mullah who permanently veered Pakistan towards fundamentalism. In the movie CHARLIE WILSON's WAR based on the Soviets involvement in Afghanistan actor Tom Hanks who plays the role of the Texan Congressman arrives in Pakistan and immediately proceeds to meet Zia. After meeting he asks for "Rye Bourbon on the Rocks", eager to unwind a long travel from United States. 

He was bluntly told that alcohol is not served in the Presidential palace and he has to shift to a hotel to have his desire fulfilled. In another scene when the Congressman asks Zia (played by Om Puri) if any legislative approval is needed to supply weapons to the Mujahideens Zia retorted "I am the Constitution and my words are the Law of the land". He sure was. Had he survived assassination he could have hung all of Pakistan military 's top brass if he suspected them of involvement.

He allowed Pakistan as a conduit for the Americans to supply shoulder fired missiles (ironically one of the experts in firing them was Osama Bin Laden). Those weapons each costing $50000 brought down Soviet military air crafts which cost millions. The financial loss was devastating on the Soviets already toiling under a bad drought and down spiraling economy. The mighty USSR was brought to its knees so much so that during Breznev's funeral they approached Zia for a face saver exit. But the shrewd Zia knew on which side the tide was and kept quite. Rest we know is history.

Nothing lasts forever. The all powerful Zia's more than a decade of power came to an abrupt end as he died in a mysterious plane crash. It's rumores that KGB took him out as a revenge on him for openly siding with America in their Afghanistan imbroglio, bringing the Soviets to their knees. The truth only Allah knows. Imran should learn something from the Ides of August as he steers through these turbulent times - his nation facing bankruptcy and hardly anyone in the world interested to dance to his Kashmir tune.