President asserts again!

And so the drama ended and President wins once again in getting what he wanted. Perhaps not exactly, but he will be satisfied nevertheless. On the other hand, dreams were certainly shattered for Nawaz Sharif who might have been expecting a Khomeini-like homecoming yesterday.

In a display of power and some brutal dictator-style decision making, President Musharraf really cornered former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif by crashing all possiblities of exiting the airport. Arrested leaders, jammed cell phones/telephone lines, baton charges, tear gas, and presence of commandos are just some highlights from yesterday's saga at Islamabad Airport. It was certainly exciting for the viewers to watch it all unfold on tv as it were the script of an Ishtiaq Ahmed's novel.

Most likely, reporters would cite this "incident" un-democratic but I am curious to know what other options President Musharraf really had? I was certainly impressed by the preparations the government had made at the airport. It really showed that they have learned from past mistakes and hence, blocked all the possibilities of being humiliated on a short-term.

Preparations included a large number of paramilitary Rangers, Elite Force commandos, Punjab Police and intelligence agencies’ officials who were deployed at the airport, which had been put on red-alert since Sunday. Very impressive.

More importantly, not only the decision of the appointments of Vice Chief of Army Staff (VCOAS) and Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) is expected soon, but also the arrival of Daughter of the East, Muhtarma Benazir Bhutto plans to land soon annex another episode to the recently viewed saga. All in all, Pakistani politics definitely looks very exciting in the upcoming months.