Pakistan's dictators

They say that cats have nine lives. It seems that this feline privilege also applies to the Pakistani military rulers, who do appear to be a very lucky lot. Each of them seems to be presented with a lifeline just when their days seem numbered and these dictators seem to have an uncanny ability to know which side of their bread is buttered.

Ayub Khan was the luckiest compared to the other Pakistani dictators. During those heady days of the cold war, Ayub did not have to do a lot to retain his 'favorite boy' status with his allies in NATO, CENTO and SEATO. Unfortunately the American governments in general seem to have an obsession to support dictatorships in the third world. They poured in money, weapons, food and consumer goods. The rich and influential Pakistanis had a field day -- they drove the best cars, ate delicious imported delicacies and trotted the globe and tried their best to maintain the Ayub rule.

General Yahya Khan who followed had a short tenure and was finished along with East Pakistan. The next dictator, Zia-ul- Haque, came to power in relatively difficult times. The cold war had gone too cold and after Zia's execution of prime minister ZA Bhutto, things became too hot with Western democracies clamoring for a return to civilian rule.

When he seemed to be on the way out, the lady luck intervened in the form of Russians' march into Afghanistan. Americans had no choice but to prop up this unworthy dictator and extend the length of his regime. It took a despot to finish Zia when the plane he was traveling on was blown out of the sky. Unfortunately the American ambassador to Pakistan was also on board.

The next dictator, General Musharraf, who is currently ruling Pakistan, has already turned it into a pariah state. He is living on borrowed time with Pakistan's economy in shambles.

But then the lady luck seems to have intervened again. The dastardly terrorist attack of the WTC Twin Towers and the Pentagon has affected all nations. It has suddenly turned Osama bin Laden into a 'most wanted' suspect. Americans want him at any cost, thus presenting Gen. Musharraf the chance to revamp his falling fortunes by agreeing to help them in every way.

Everything in his story seems to have followed the set pattern until this point. The issue is whether the Americans have learned their lesson in the meantime. Will history repeat itself with Musharraf enjoying their generosity for a few more years? Didn't Osama bin Laden fight against the Russians on the American side in the previous war but later parted ways to become what he is today?

K.B. KALE

Pune, India