Pervez Musharraf turns into comic relief for Pakistan

‘The Kargil warrior is now Islamabad’s absconder. Bhag Musharraf bhag. What’s the difference between Musharraf and Himmatwala? The latter never ran. The commando proves his training.

Usain Bolt beware, Pak to send Musharraf as star athlete to Olympics.’ That’s just some of the barbs social media users from India/Pakistan came up with on the spectacle of Musharraf making a dash out of the court after his arrest was ordered.

Indeed, the ironies here are pretty rich and the situation, till last reports, piquant enough to veer on the absurd. Being disqualified from every parliamentary seat he filed papers for, having legged it home, and the act of running away from court itself declared illegal, the General turned into a fugitive — with the police duly landing up to try and arrest him.

Of the wondrous firsts Pakistan has come up with, the arrest of a former army ruler is one that may not sadden every heart, but it is truly a case of a tough-talker comically turning into a dodger.

Reports from ‘inside’, however, said Musharraf was in ‘a fine mood, smoking a cigar with his coffee’. His ambition to ‘save Pakistan’ mightn’t resonate, but the scoot from court did make for massive publicity, at least on Twitter for much of Thursday. Maybe the General has found his place. Maybe he should recalibrate his ambitions too.