The Nixon Principle

The present political and public atmosphere in Pakistan reminds one of theatmosphere that prevailed in Washington DC in August, 1974, before the thenPresident Richard Nixon was persuaded with great difficulty by his friends andadvisers to resign as the President  instead of facing the ignominy ofimpeachment by the Congress on charges which derived from the enquiries into theWatergate scandal. The evidence against him was so strong that there was not aniota of doubt that the impeachment proceedings, if held, would have resulted inhis removal from office. 

Almost everyone was convinced of the need to initiate impeachment proceedingsagainst him. It would have been justified morally and legally. At the same time,even his worst critics  wanted to avoid the impeachment proceedings becausethey felt that it could turn out to be a traumatic experience for the nation and could result in the weakening of the office of the President of the US inthe eyes of its citizens. 

Ultimately, Nixon saw reason and resigned on August 8,1974. In a briefaddress to the nation  from his office, he said he was resigning in orderto set in motion a healing process in the nation. He said: "I have never beena quitter. To leave office before my term is completed is abhorrent to everyinstinct in my body. But as President, I must put the interest of America first.America needs a full-time President and a full-time Congress, particularly atthis time with problems we face at home and abroad. To continue to fight throughthe months ahead for my personal vindication would almost totally absorb thetime and attention of both the President and the Congress in a period when ourentire focus should be on the great issues of peace abroad and prosperitywithout inflation at home."

Gerald Ford, his Vice-President, who succeeded him, issued an order under hispowers as the President exempting Nixon from any legal proceedings relating tothe Watergate scandal. The high dignity of the office of the President of the USwas preserved, justice was served by forcing a wrong-doer to resign without thetraumatic spectacle of an impeachment and a leader, who had served the US welltill he got involved in the Watergate scandal, was spared  the humiliationof a trial by the Congress, which could have caused undesirable strains in therelations between the Executive and the Congress.   

Nixon and President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan, who is under tremendouspressure to resign or face impeachment proceedings, had certain traits incommon. As public leaders, both had positive qualities, but as individuals theywere perceived as men without scruples, who would be prepared to do anything toserve their personal interests  and to keep themselves in office. 

Even before Nixon was elected as the President in 1968, he used to bereferred to by his critics as Tricky Dick. In an article in June 2002 titled TrickyMush Intercepted I had stated as follows:

" It is said that you can fool some people for all time, all people forsome time, but not all people for all time. Gen. Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan,whom the late Gen. Asif Nawaz Janjua, the Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) duringthe first tenure of Nawaz Sharif as the Prime Minister, used to describe as"Tricky Mush",  had always believed that he could  fool allpeople for all time."   

His time of reckoning has come. It is also the time of reckoning forPakistan. The future of Pakistan and its fight for genuine democracy will bedetermined how Musharraf and the military and political leaders of Pakistanconduct themselves at this juncture. 

It is not in the interest of Musharraf himself or of Pakistan that hecontinues in office. His deviousness and repeated misuse of his powers havediscredited him beyond repair and damaged the cause of democracy in Pakistan. 

Unlike Nixon, Musharraf is not a popularly elected President. He is aself-appointed President, who manipulated the Constitutional process in order tohave himself appointed as the President. One does not, therefore, have to worryabout any negative impact on the public mind. 

But, he was also the Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) till the end of lastyear. His exit has to be brought about in a manner which would not be perceivedby large sections of the Armed Forces as a humiliation inflicted on their formerchief by the political class. Just as people in the US were worried about theimpact on the relations between the Executive and the Congress, in Pakistan,given the important role of the Army even in the political field, one will haveto worry about any impact on the relations between the Army and the politicalclass. 

It is incumbent on all those, who have remained loyal to him, to convince himthat he should take the lead in setting in motion a healing process by resigningas the President and keeping himself out of the country for some time till thepainful memories of his misrule have faded away. 

It is equally incumbent on the political class to take the initiative inhaving a resolution passed by both Houses of the Parliament exempting him fromall legal action arising from his constitutional and political misrule, if heresigned, and assuring all those who had let themselves be used by him forrepeatedly violating the Constitution and the laws that no action would be takenagainst them if he quits. 

A bane of democracy in Pakistan has always been the vindictive streak intheir people and leaders. It is time to rid themselves of this streak.

B. Raman is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. OfIndia, New Delhi, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies,Chennai.