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So then, his denials notwithstanding, H.E. Mark Lyall Grant was in Islamabad the Beautiful to 'build bridges between Asif Zardari, Nawaz Sharif and Ashfaq Kayani' in a bid to avert a 'crisis' over Gen Musharraf's possible trial under Article 6.

Well, well, well what the devil does the British government have to do with whether the former military ruler is tried under the laws of Pakistan or not? Far more than that, were the remains of Master Cromwell not dug out of his grave and hanged for treason even though he had been well and truly dead for at least three years?

Let me say, here and now, that whilst I stand against the death penalty in every case, it is extremely critical that a general of an army whose brass hats consider Pakistan their inherited fiefdom, is tried, and hopefully convicted for rebellion against an elected government, and sentenced to a term in prison like any other person who has violated the law.

What is so special about an army general anyway, that Musharraf's trial will cause a 'crisis'? Let us immediately recall the tribulations of an elected president and prime minister by the name of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who was treated most shabbily and most disgracefully not only in jail, but also during his appearances in the court of Maulvi Mushtaq who was avowedly Bhutto's enemy for being passed over for promotion. Let us not forget that when Bhutto one day complained that he did not have confidence in Maulvi Mushtaq, he shouted at him to 'Stand up, and keep standing!' When Bhutto protested, Maulvi Mushtaq again roared 'Remove his chair' and added words to the effect 'You are no longer president or prime minister; if you do not shut up I have the authority to have you whipped in jail!' Let us remember that Bhutto was made to stand throughout the proceedings of that day. So, why should we care that Musharraf is a former COAS, and how the army (always read 'high command' or 'brass hats' whenever I invoke the name of the army for what do the junior ranks have to do with their crimes?) will take it. Let the generals take it as they will, for they must learn once and for all that they are merely sub-department heads of yet another department of the government.

My advice to the Commando will be to come back to the country and face the music like a man. He has badmouthed ZAB much, and far too frequently when he ruled the roost, once going to the extent of calling him 'the worst thing to have happened to Pakistan'! Well, let us see if he is half the man that Bhutto was.

Let's not forget the tribulations of another elected prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, who was thrown out of office by the army acting at the behest of the Commando and his rufaqaa and then, quite disgracefully, locked up in Attock Fort before being taken in shackles and chains to Karachi to stand trial for that so-called hijacking which many today say was a fraud played out by the 'agencies' to provide grounds for the removal of a constitutional government.

Let us also not forget that when Nawaz Sharif attempted to come back to Pakistan after being expressly allowed by the Supreme Court, he was treated most shamefully and was sent back to Saudi Arabia in disgraceful fashion. If the establishment, handmaiden to the generals and the 'agencies,' can behave so with democratically elected leaders why should the Commando be let off the hook?

Let us not forget too, that even the families of elected leaders were not spared by army dictators. A photograph of blood streaming down Begum Nusrat Bhutto's forehead comes immediately to my anguished mind when she and Benazir were beaten out of a cricket match at the Gaddafi stadium because the crowd raised slogans in their honour. Was this the way to treat a former first lady and the then leader of Pakistan's largest political party and her daughter?

There is another image too of a car lifted aloft by a large fork-lifter for hours on end. In the car was another former elected prime minister's wife, Begum Kulsoom Nawaz, who was leading a protest against her husband's removal from office by the general.

So get off it, you Bonapartes and Rommels and Guderians, and learn to live like the rest of us very ordinary citizens of Pakistan. However, if you cannot, then consider taking over this country one more time. Given its state after nine years of the Commando's ministrations, and using a crude colloquialism 'we will then see how much water you are in!'

Now that Musharraf is in deep trouble, there is increasing talk about truth and reconciliation 'so that the country can move ahead.' Whilst many of us have asked both in the written word and in TV appearances for just this for many years now, our suggestion was derisively dismissed by the Commando and his toadies because they were then in unbridled power. However, I am quite willing to lend my support to it, even now.

South Africa showed us how beautifully truth and reconciliation can happen, but it wasn't easy. In atonement, white Afrikaaners, big beefy men, knelt and washed the feet of the mothers of their black victims. There are films of tens of people, black and white, wailing with grief at these reconciliation sessions, with Bishop Tutu, the head of the commission, weeping with them too.

Can we visualise similar scenes in this land of ours in the pursuit of truth and reconciliation? Probably not, for truth and reconciliation are for men, not second-rate bullies.

Enough of pussy-footing; try the man (and his collaborators) and let the dice fall where they may. This country must go to a better place.

kshafi1@yahoo.co.uk