Costly use of the whip

My first ambassadorial assignment was to the Kyrgyz Republic. Central Asians, including the Kyrgyz, did not have to wage any war to get independence. They had a very easy walk to freedom. Soviet Union’s President Gorbachev proved to be their unwitting liberator. His policies of glasnost and perestroika lead to the demise of communism and dismemberment of the Soviet Union. Unlike Pakistan, the Central Asian Republics do not have any ‘Fathers of the Nation’.

These countries already existed (as Soviet Socialist Republics) with full-fledged government structures, capitals, flags, etc. Independence descended upon them. At night the people slept as the subjects of Communist Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics, and woke up in the morning as citizens of independent, sovereign states, free from the shackles of communism and Russian over-lordship. Hardly anything changed on the ground. Yesterday’s communist Presidents became today’s democratic liberal leaders without having to relinquish their offices. The international community lost no time in recognizing the newly independent Republics and establishing diplomatic relations with them.

Kyrgyzstan became independent on August 31, 1991. A few months earlier, in February of that year, the name of the capital Frunze was changed to its old name Bishkek. Mr. Askar Akayev, a highly qualified academic (Ph.D in Laser Physics) heading the Academy of Sciences, who was elected President by the Kirghiz Supreme Soviet on 27 October 1990, continued as President of the independent Kyrgyz Republic. For their national hero the Kyrgyz decided to resurrect the memory of the legendary figure Manas, a personality of a thousand years ago who has by now assumed a mythical aura. In 1995, soon after I took up my post as Ambassador, Kyrgyzstan celebrated the Manas Millennium with the support and sponsorship of UNESCO.

The Kyrgyz, like other nations who became independent after the colonial era or the dismemberment of the Soviet Union changed the names of their cities and roads to the old historical indigenous ones. The Kyrgyz  their own now use their own Turkic language more and more in everyday social discourse, although Russian is still the official language. The Kyrgyz, when they were part of the USSR knew more about India and their country’s close relations with that country, however since gaining independence the people of this Muslim majority country have developed a soft corner for Pakistan as well.

One indicator of this close relationship during my tenure was visit of the Prime Minister of Pakistan in August 1995. Just over a year later President Sardar Farooq Ahmed Khan Leghari arrived in Bishkek (October 25 ,1996). The Kyrgyz President’s office informed me about the forthcoming state visit of our President before I was officially informed by my own Government. The hosts informed me in particular that during the visit the President would go hunting for Marco Polo sheep up in the Kyrgyz mountains. I was a bit surprised at our President agreeing to go hunting during an official state visit. I thought it would not go down well with the people and media back home. I called the Foreign Office to express my views and suggested that the hunting trip be not included in the official visit program. I was informed that the Kyrgyz President who knew about our President’s interest had specially invited him for Marco Polo sheep hunting. But they agreed that only essential staff and officials would accompany the President on this hunting trip and it would not be given any publicity.

Kyrgyzstan is one of the habitats of Marco Polo sheep, named after the 13^th century explorer who described them in his book. The habitat of these sheep, distinguished by their large size and spiraling horns is the mountainous region of Central Asia. They also inhabit the Wakhan corridor along the border of Afghanistan. The Kyrgyz were interested in publicizing the sheep hunting for the promotion of tourism in the country.

In the event the small group accompanying the two Presidents in the small Russian passenger plane included  Kyrgyz Ministers for hunting and Health, the two Chiefs of Protocol, President’s MS, the interpreter Dr Sohail and I, the Ambassador. From Bishkek we flew to Nayrn, a town on the mountains at an elevation of 6700 ft. In the plane Dr Sohail and I were sitting quite close to our President. Dr Sohail, a brilliant Foreign Service officer (he is now serving as  Ambassador himself) and a good friend, had travelled with the Prime Minister and President on so many official trips to the Russian speaking countries that by then he was quite familiar with their habits and preferences. Both, during Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto’s visit and the present one of President Leghari, he gave me useful tips. That day, on his suggestion, I was carrying a couple of detailed maps of Kyrgyzstan with me. Soon after take-off  President Leghari looked at his sophisticated wrist watch to check the plane’s height and outside temperature. He also wanted to see our position on the map which wasn’t available to us digitally. I was able to produce my maps with quite the flourish here. Then looking out of the window he saw the barren mountains which reminded him of the sea-buck thorn, the hardy plant that grows at high altitudes and dry valleys and suggested to the Kyrgyz President that they too should grow this plant on the barren mountains just as Pakistan should, particularly on the Margalla hills of Islamabad. Mr Leghari had a surprising amount of knowledge of flora and fauna. As he mentioned, sea-buckthorn, a berry bearing hardy bush has great potential for satisfying biochemical and nutritional requirements of even difficult climes. It is resistant to cold, drought, salt and alkali, and particularly useful for soil and water conservation and reforestation of eroded areas. It is easy to grow because its seeding can be done by aerial spraying.

[quote]The hosts invited President Leghari to hunt more but he was content with one[/quote]

We landed at the small non-descript airport of Naryn where we were served lunch including the delicacy drink ‘kumis’. Then we took off, by a dusty hill road to a flat clearing on the mountains where a shooting target was fixed for the hunters to practice their shooting skills. The 2-3 times that President Leghari tried with his state of the art gun, he hit the bull’s eye and drew much (sycophantic?) applause. From here the hunters had to go further up the mountain on foot to the sheep’s habitat but not much time was left for hunting. So the two Presidents and the Minister left by helicopter to hunt from the air. An hour or so later they were back with their hunting trophies – one sheep claimed by the Kyrgyz hosts and another by the President. The hosts invited President Leghari to hunt more but he was content with one. After having our snacks and taking pictures with the two Presidents standing with the sheep carcasses in front, we all returned to Naryn and then to Bishkek.

[quote]It did not strike me then that there was something the matter between the Prime Minister and the President[/quote]

Back in Bishkek we accompanied the President to his residence in Ala Archa guest house where I stayed till the President retired to his bedroom. After returning to my office in the city center some10-12 kilometers from Ala Archa, I received a call from Interior Minister Maj. Gen Naseerullah Khan Babar at a rather late hour of the night. He said that he was trying to reach the President but had failed. He asked me if I could get him through to him. I said that I would try. I called the President’s secretary and informed him about the call from Islamabad. He told me that the President was not feeling well, had retired to bed and did not want to be disturbed, and told me to covey the same to the Interior Minister. I informed Gen Babar accordingly who listened but did not say anything further. I remember wondering why the Secretary had conveyed the information through me instead of talking to the Minister directly. It did not strike me then that there was something the matter between the Prime Minister and the President, and that there was an imminent dissolution of the elected assembly on the cards.

The next day the engagements were followed according to the programme. The president’s health seemed alright. Official talks were held during which bilateral relations, the situation in Afghanistan and the region and other matters of mutual interest were discussed and agreements on bilateral trade and cooperation signed.

One essential part of the visit is the exchange of gifts. This is done in a restricted private ceremony. Originally it was scheduled to be held on the first day of arrival. But our President’s MS, who was in charge of the gifts, discovered that the expensive gun which the President had to present to President Akayev had got left behind in Pakistan. The President had to be informed. In order to save himself from the President’s ire the MS requested me to accept, in a convoluted way, the responsibility for the lapse. I could only laugh at his suggestion and told him I would tell the President the truth. But to iron matters out, nonetheless, I told him to hold on. I spoke with the Kyrgyz Chief of Protocol and President Akayev’s Advisor and was able to convince them that it would be more appropriate if the ceremony was held last thing before the guests’ departure from Kyrgyzstan. Having bought him the time I asked the MS to get the gift post haste. He had already made arrangements to get it by the first available flight from Islamabad.

[quote]"If you have no occasion to use the whip on a horse you could use it on your Ministers"[/quote]

When the exchange of gifts ceremony finally took place our President displayed the beautiful and expensive gun before presenting it to President Akayev; in their turn the Kyrgyz hosts gave a similar number of their typical gifts. Among other valuable items President Akayev displayed and presented a beautiful decorated leather whip for horse riding, a traditional Kyrgyz gift. While showing Mr. Leghari how to use the gift, President Akayav quipped, “If you have no occasion to use it on a horse you could use it on your Ministers.” The two Presidents laughed heartily at that – with President Leghari adding, “Yes, I sure will.’

The State visit ended successfully, but not ten days had passed when President Farooq Ahmed Khan Leghari used the ‘whip’ of Article 58-2(b) 0f the Constitution to dismiss Prime Minister Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto on November 5, 1996. Though the use of the whip also proved costly to the President himself. Article 58-2(b ) was thrown out and Mr. Leghari had to vacate the Presidency on December 2, 1997.  The rest, as they say, is history.