Published on October 24, 2007
in Politics.
By Imran Khan, The Telegraph
I’m sorry to say this, but the bombing of Benazir Bhutto’s cavalcade as she paraded through Karachi on Thursday night was a tragedy almost waiting to happen. You could argue it was inevitable.
Everyone here knew there was going to be a huge crowd turning up to see her return after eight years in self-imposed exile. Everyone also knows that there has been a spate of suicide bombings in Pakistan lately, especially in the frontier region where I am campaigning at the moment.
How was it ever going to be possible to monitor such a large crowd and guarantee that no suicide bombers would infiltrate it?
This may sound equally harsh, but she has only herself to blame. Continue reading ‘Benazir Bhutto has only herself to blame - Imran Khan’
Published on October 23, 2007
in People.
By JEMIMA KHAN
She’s back. Hurrah! She’s a woman. She’s brave. She’s a moderate. She speaks good English. She’s Oxford-educated, no less. And she’s not bad looking either.
I admit I’m biased. I don’t like Benazir Bhutto. She called me names during her election campaign in 1996 and it left a bitter taste. Petty personal grievances aside, I still find jubilant reports of her return to Pakistan depressing. Let’s be clear about this before she’s turned into a martyr. Continue reading ‘The Kleptocrat in an Hermes Headscarf’
Published on October 22, 2007
in Politics.
Guest Post By Adil Akbar
So, is this where the mortal struggle for the nation begins ? Now that two former Prime Ministers have flown back to Pakistan (one sent back promptly from whence he came and another being greeted by the all-too-familiar death and destruction of suicide bombs), floodgates of opinion have opened and the great debate can now begin.
Does the layman Pakistani citizen side with the exiled ‘messiahs’ and herald a new beginning in the history of Pakistan, or do they maintain unspoken but wavering allegiance to the tyranny of military rule ?
Continue reading ‘Dictocracy’
Please find below Mr Haqqani’s criticism of the article written by Ardeshir Cowasjee.
Today, Benazir Bhutto is returning to Pakistan. There is a huge amount of excitement amongst her supporters and they are all at the airport to receive her. So far no numbers have been quoted on news channels as to the number of people that are there to receive her, but it is sure to be a big one.
The by-product of all this is that most of the people have not gone to work today and even the ones that have will be going back home by around 1 or 2 in the afternoon. The latest I heard was that Shahrah-e-Faisal was being closed at 10 in the morning. Even though newspapers did show her route yesterday there has been no notice given by the authorities as to when they plan to shut the different parts of Shahrah-e-Faisal or, in fact, other roads. It would have made it much easier for people to plan their day. I hope BB’s reception takes place without a hitch and that there is no untoward incident.
Dear [Sir],
Mr. Cowasjee writes “Vincent Fournier, one of the three judges, has confirmed his office is about to pass on the case to the prosecutor.” Then he goes on to say, “Crystal clear is it not? The couple stand convicted of corruption.”
If they are convicted of corruption, what is it that needs to be sent to the prosecutor?
Continue reading ‘Husain Haqqani’s criticism of the Cowasjee article’
Published on October 17, 2007
in Politics.
Mr Cowasjee presents his case against Benazir Bhutto and her corruption. He makes a very good point about the fact that foreign courts have found her to be guilty of money-laundering. If they think she is guilty of money-laundering and corruption, then on what basis can our President declare them innocent without them ever standing trial in our country?
(Below is a picture of the bullet-proof BBmobile that will take Benazir Bhutto around the city. It looks more like a container on top of a truck. I hope it’s of some use.)
THE New York Times, August 6, 2003: ‘Bhutto Sentenced in Switzerland — A Swiss magistrate has found former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and her husband guilty of money laundering. They were given six-month suspended jail terms, fined $50,000 each and were ordered to pay US$11m to the Pakistani government. The six-year-long case alleged that Ms Bhutto, who lives in exile in London and Dubai, and her husband, Asif Zardari, deposited in Swiss accounts $0m given them by a Swiss company in exchange for a contract in Pakistan. The couple said they would appeal.’
Continue reading ‘With Disgust by Ardeshir Cowasjee’
Written by Hamir Mir, this article appeared on the Indian website rediff.com. If there is any truth in it then it seems like Musharraf is not willing to learn. If the aim is to stay in power regardless of what the will of the people is then he should go ahead. I have a question though. If these politlicians are in fact innocent and nothing can be found implicating them in these corruptions cases then even if the SC declares the NRO ineffective, what difference does it make to these politicians? It would only make a difference if they know that they are guilty and, more importantly, the government or the ISI has enough evidence to prove that.
Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf is planning to attack Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry again with the active support of Benazir Bhutto and covert support of the United States. High level meetings are going on in Islamabad in the last two days to chalk out a new strategy against Justice Chaudhry who is becoming a real threat to the Musharraf-Benazir understanding by puncturing the highly-publicised presidential ordinance through which leaders of the Pakistan People’s Party got amnesty from corruption cases.
Continue reading ‘Musharraf may move against Pakistan CJ again’
Published on October 14, 2007
in Sports.
By Patrick Kidd, The Times
Inzamam-ul-Haq’s magnificent Test career ended in a rush of blood only two balls into his final innings yesterday when he charged down the wicket at Paul Harris, the South Africa left-arm spinner, was beaten by the flight and stumped.
Inzamam had walked out to a standing ovation in Lahore, needing six runs to become Pakistan’s highest run-scorer in Tests. He shuffled down the wicket, had a word with Mohammad Yousuf, waved a bear-like paw at the sightscreen attendants and took guard before immediately getting off the mark, driving Jacques Kallis for three through mid-wicket.
Yet it proved the briefest of cameos because Inzamam misjudged the next ball he faced. Perhaps, having sat with his pads on for 35 overs as Yousuf and Younus Khan built a partnership, he was impatient to breach Javed Miandad’s record. Perhaps, with Pakistan needing 185 in 32 overs to win the Test and draw the series, he wanted to push the score along. By making only 17 runs in the match, his career average fell below 50 for the first time in two years.
Continue reading ‘Inzy’s in good company…’
Published on October 11, 2007
in Politics.
Well argued, though it feels like the author tries to get into the mind of Ms Bhutto and claim that her deal was only to further the cause of democracy and nothing more. No doubt, it would make sense at this point in time to follow the Turkish example and transition into democracy, but let us not muddy the waters by claiming that Ms Bhutto only wants the corruption cases to be dropped because they hold no weight. Ideally she should have been allowed to come, to fight the elections and to rule if she won. But if any cases were proven against her then appropriate legal action should have been taken.
By Husain Haqqani
Unless the Supreme Court of Pakistan rules otherwise, General Pervez Musharraf has been “elected” to a five-year term as Pakistan’s president. There was nothing normal about the presidential “election” of October 6. Legal challenges, street protests, political deals and international manoeuvres preceded the vote and will most likely continue as Musharraf tries desperately to legitimise his power. The only hope for normality returning to Pakistan lies in national reconciliation, which Musharraf has promised and some of Pakistan’s major international backers appear to have guaranteed. Continue reading ‘The NRO (National Reconciliation Ordinance) and Verbal Violence’
Published on October 10, 2007
in Pakistan.
This is highly encouraging piece that appeared in The Times newspaper. We should all be very proud of the way our country has handled this situation and remember that a lot more still needs to be done.
As the helicopter weaved between the craggy peaks of Pakistani Kashmir the sunlight glinted off countless steel roofs where a year ago there was little but rubble.
Landing in a remote mountain village near the disputed border with India, General Ahmed Nadeem stepped from the cockpit with obvious pride. Two years ago on Monday this area was devastated by a huge earthquake, measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale, which killed 74,500 people and left 3 million homeless.
On the first anniversary 2 million were still in temporary shelters, including 40,000 in tents, as the harsh Himalayan winter approached.
Today, however, the story is refreshingly upbeat. More than 150,000 houses have been rebuilt, 200,000 more are under construction and all of the planned 600,000 will be finished by the middle of next year, according to officials from Pakistan and the UN. They describe this as one of the world’s most successful reconstruction operations — outstripping the efforts after the 2004 tsunami — and a model for the response to future disasters.
Continue reading ‘Kashmir rises from ruins of earthquake’
Published on October 8, 2007
in People.
The Kashmir Earthquake occurred two years ago on this day. It doesn’t seem like it has already been two years. It feels as if it wasn’t too long ago when people in my university in London were collecting money for those affected and vigils were subsequently held in the city to maintain the media interest in this great human tragedy. At the time many vowed that they would not forget the plight of those affected. I had plans of helping out as much as possible in my own little way. To be honest I have failed in fulfilling any of that. However, scores of others from all over the world have dedicated a great amount of time and effort to help out those that lost their homes, limbs, assets and families of those who lost their lives. Out of such tragedies spring up moving stories of human compassion and willpower.
We have all heard the story of how a 45 year old woman survived after being buried in the rubble for 60 plus days. There are many others that been told and are nothing short of miracles. Many people survived against all odds. I also have a story to tell. Maybe not as remarkable as the others, but it truly signifies the human desire to live, fight and, eventually, win.
Continue reading ‘Kashmir Earthquake: Two years on…’
