AS one watched Gen Pervez Musharraf being whisked away from an Islamabad court by his highly skilled close protection officers live on television, memories of another day were revived.

It was late afternoon on March 9, 2007 and in my then Dawn office the TV set was tuned to DawnNews (test transmission of course as the formal launch of the channel was still three months away) when breaking news started to flash across the screen: `CJ suspended`.

One failed to understand why. For, till this news broke, the chief justice and the president-army chief had worked in complete harmony. After all, he had been on the bench that endorsed Gen Musharraf`s takeover earlier, given him the right to change the Constitution and ample time to hold the elections.

From being a member of that bench to being elevated to the highest judicial office in the country, there was never a hint of any friction between the two. In fact, their cordial relations extended to their families. It was reported that the chief justice and his spouse would also visit the president and the first lady at Army House.

Politicians such as Javed Hashmi, who`d been imprisoned on a totally flimsy and ludicrous charge by the general, had failed to find relief from the superior judiciary for five long years. There were other instances too of opposition politicians being denied review or relief.

Perhaps, the only judgement which could be seen as inconsonant with this history was that a chief justice-led bench had overturned the privatisation of the state-owned juggernaut, Pakistan Steel Mills, to the favourite bidder of the then prime minister Shaukat Aziz.

Aziz was said to have beenmiffed at this and may also have complained to his boss. But surely on its own this couldn`t have been cause enough to rupture relations which had been built up over several years and which were widely seen as happy and harmonious.

Therefore, the sus-pension news brought considerable excitement to an otherwise routine day. But one had no idea how much excitement was to follow over the months, even years, rooted in that one act. Reckless it was as it would decidedly weaken the military strongman who`d appeared infallible till then.

Later, when the Dawn story from Islamabad landed in Karachi, the magnitude of the falling out was becoming clearer. The report said the chief justice wanted to head to the Supreme Court on his return from that long meeting with Musharraf and his services intelligence chiefs. But his convoy was intercepted on the way, his driver replaced by a senior security official, and the chief justice`s protestations notwithstanding, he was driven home instead. And more or less confined there.

The paper`s banner headlines the next day read: `CJ suspended, escorted home`.

This, to my mind, set the tone for things to come. The anger at how arrogantly the military chief and his intel chiefs had tried to stamp out what was a rare and perhaps solitary act of defiance by the chief justice brought together a `rainbow` coalitionagainst Musharraf.

The bulk of his brother judges stood by him, the lawyers rallied behind him as one, opposition parties such as the PPP and PML-N saw an opportunity to damage the strongman and made full use of it. Before long, the entire edifice painstakingly erected by Musharraf over several years started to crumble.

One only need see how comfortably ensconced he was in power from October 1999, and particularly following 9/11, to March 2007 and how he accelerated to his exit from centre stage after that.

His recent return to Pakistan and the events of the past few days have been equally dramatic.

Some observers have termed his recent travails as a triumph of democracy, of the rule of law. Others have said that whether or not the former general is tried and jailed for treason ie for subverting the Constitution, his current troubles will be enough of a damper on the ambitions of another like him.

This may or may not be true. But aren`t there far more fundamental issues still unresolved? Perhaps, another general may not be so foolhardy as to step in blatantly and take over. Simply because the royal mess at home, the state of the economy and the international environment may leave little room for it.

But let there be no mistaking the fact that civilian supremacy remains an elusive dream. What`s the most vital challenge facing Pakistan today? Terrorism, intolerance, bigotry. Corruption is an equally serious issue but not the only one as some would like you to believe.

And who holds the key to the security policy? Are those who take decisions answerable to parliament or even to the judiciary when elements of their national security policy come into conflict with the fundamental rights of the citizenry? I don`t think so.When faceless decisionmakers, sitting in inaccessible basements, accountabilityproof bunkers, decide which brand of Islam best motivates what they see as the second line of defence, the militant, the so-called non-state actor to deliver us our national security goals, do we really need to be `ruled` by a general? When the country is being torn apart and many of us have hit the depths of despair, some still mindlessly pursue strategic depth as a goal no matter what current nomenclature is the fad, are we really in charge of our destiny? Has the rule of law triumphed? Yes, Musharraf should face the music for having broken the law, for having acted against the Constitution and for illegally detaining the judges. Make an example of him if you wish and more significantly if you can.

But to me change would be meaningful when national security policy (with its internal fallout) moves from the backroom boys to parliament.

Hand on heart tell me how close we are to that. • The writer is a former editor of Dawn.

abbas.nasir@hotmail.com