Archive for January, 2008

Honorable Chief Justice of Pakistan Responds to the Allegations

Published on January 30, 2008 in Judiciary and People. 1 Comment

[What a brilliant rejoinder from the Chief Justice! The President really hasn’t been doing himself any favours by maligning the Chief Justice all over the world. This is a very well written letter and, more importantly, the Chief Justice has carried it off with integrity. ]

AN OPEN LETTER TO:

His Excellency
The President of the European Parliament,
Brussels.

His Excellency
The President of France,
Paris.

His Excellency
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom,
London.

Her Excellency
Ms. Condaleeza Rice,
Secretary of State,
United States of America,
Washington D.C.

Professor Klaus Schwab,
World Economic Forum,
Geneva.

All through their respective Ambassodors, High Commissioners and representatives.

Excellency,

I am the Chief Justice of Pakistan presently detained in my residence since November 3, 2007 pursuant to some verbal, and unspecified, order passed by General Musharraf.

I have found it necessary to write to you, and others, because during his recent visits to Brussels, Paris, Davos and London General Musharraf has slandered me, and my colleagues, with impunity in press conferences and other addresses and meetings. Continue reading ‘Honorable Chief Justice of Pakistan Responds to the Allegations’

That time hasn’t come, has it? (Business Recorder)

Published on January 29, 2008 in Politics. 0 Comments

KARACHI (January 29 2008): The following is an unconfirmed and unverified account of a person who wishes to remain anonymous. The account is the narration of experiences of a senior foreign ministry official who, according to the writer, was privy to ZA Bhutto-Henry Kissinger talk and later witness to General Ziaul Haq’s outburst of anger against US in front of its ambassador.

The question of veracity of this write-up remains unanswered and the identity and whereabouts of the official and the author of this story are yet to be ascertained, it makes for interesting reading, nevertheless:

It was the year 1976 and the US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger was on a visit to Pakistan, to meet the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Zulkiqar Ali Bhutto. The Americans wanted Pakistan to give up their nuclear project, and Henry Kissinger was on a mission to deliver the US President’s message to Bhutto. Mr Bhutto listened to Kissinger very patiently and then addressed him, “you are my friend, please advise me what I should do.” Kissinger smiled a bit, and said softly, “Mr Prime Minister! In the game of diplomacy and power, nobody is any one else’s friend. I am only a messenger at this time. You should consult one of your own advisors”. Bhutto smiled and replied in a beautiful tone, “I still consider you my friend despite that and so request your advice.” Henry Kissinger laughed heartily, and looking at Bhutto, said, “you are really a chess master.” Bhutto stared at him silently. Continue reading ‘That time hasn’t come, has it? (Business Recorder)’

Junta versus Janata by Shekhar Gupta, The Indian Express

Published on January 21, 2008 in Pakistan. 0 Comments

The Indian politician bumbles, the Pakistani general strides purposefully in his natty suits. Guess who keeps his country stable. Pakistanis surely coin more colourful political slogan than us. They are also less subtle. So, the next time you see visuals of a PPP protest rally on your TV screens following Benazir’s assassination, strain your ears a bit to catch a most telling slogan: Amreeka ne kutta paala, vardi waala, vardi waala. It would lose much flavour in transliteration, but the meaning would not be lost on even a non-Hindi speaker. Now when was the last time you had the army called a dog, and that too an American poodle, on Pakistan’s streets? And this is a Pakistan under an almighty (lately, former) general who has the power to declare and suspend emergency in televised speeches, the power to make 36 (or thereabouts) amendments in his “constitution” at a press conference, and whose ability to take the biggest decisions on the spot is the envy, often, of the Indian politician, and has been a cause for admiration among India’s chattering classes.

How many times, since he came on his first visit for the Agra summit, have we heard fellow Indians, including serious, knowledgeable people, talk of him with a sense of awe? Continue reading ‘Junta versus Janata by Shekhar Gupta, The Indian Express’

Beyond Benazir by Husain Haqqani

Published on January 18, 2008 in Politics. 1 Comment

The Pakistan Peoples Party is right to keep her family in charge.

By Husain Haqqani
Los Angeles Times, January 16, 2008

The Pakistan Peoples Party’s decision to elect Benazir Bhutto’s 19-year-old son, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, and her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, as co-chairs of the party in the aftermath of her assassination is being criticized as representing dynastic politics that do not promote democracy.

But a distinction needs to be made between dynastic politics and the politics of family legacy. And the context of such family-based leadership needs to be understood. Continue reading ‘Beyond Benazir by Husain Haqqani’

Lawyers’ continued struggle for democracy

Published on January 16, 2008 in Judiciary and Law. 1 Comment

Friday, January 11, 2008
Dr Tariq Hassan

The present superior judiciary of Pakistan is a military-established judiciary handpicked to serve the interest of the establishment generally and to preserve and protect General (r) Pervez Musharraf specifically. The present judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts of Pakistan have assumed office by taking oath under the Provisional Constitutional Order dated 3 November 2007 promulgated by Genera Pervez Musharraf (as he then was) in his capacity as the Chief of Army Staff. Their appointment is, therefore, in clear violation of the constitution, contrary to all legal norms and practices of the civilized world and void ab initio. Consequently, there is presently no legitimate or credible higher judiciary in the country to provide relief to members of the public.

Notwithstanding the recent revival of the constitution, the judiciary has been grossly desecrated and its integrity and independence greatly undermined by the suspension of the constitution and proclamation of emergency on 3 November 2007 and the Provisional Constitutional Order made there under. The judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts of Pakistan who did not take oath under the said Provisional Constitutional Order have been unconstitutionally and unlawfully declared to have “ceased to hold office” thus creating an unprecedented judicial vacuum.  Continue reading ‘Lawyers’ continued struggle for democracy’

Benazir: no hidden stooge of the government

Published on January 9, 2008 in People and Politics. 0 Comments

Tuesday, January 08, 2008
Amber Darr

On Dec 27, Benazir Bhutto was brutally and tragically murdered. Her death is a national loss, not because of what she may have delivered as a politician but for what she represented. Her image was that of a highly educated and sufficiently westernised and liberal leader who had the potential to free Pakistan from the yoke of military rule and lead it into democracy. Her image was also that of an eastern woman who despite her fragility had the courage to stand up to military dictators and despite her strength had the gentleness to nurture a family. For a country that is fast becoming synonymous with gun-wielding terrorists, her image was important. Continue reading ‘Benazir: no hidden stooge of the government’

Of the same genetic sequence, yet…..

Published on January 8, 2008 in Pakistan. 3 Comments

[This one was forwarded to me by email. The name of the writer is unknown.]

Here’s what is happening in India :

The two Ambani brothers can buy 100 percent of every company listed on the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) and would still be left with $30 billion to spare. The four richest Indians can buy up all goods and services produced over a year by 169 million Pakistanis and still be left with $60 billion to spare. The four richest Indians are now richer than the forty richest Chinese.

In November, Bombay Stock Exchange’s benchmark Sensex flirted with 20,000 points. As a consequence, Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries became a $100 billion company (the entire KSE is capitalized at $65 billion). Mukesh owns 48 percent of Reliance. Continue reading ‘Of the same genetic sequence, yet…..’

Bhutto Assassination by Gwynne Dyer

Published on January 2, 2008 in People and Politics. 1 Comment

Benazir Bhutto did five years of hard time in prison, much of it in solitary confinement, after her father, Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, was overthrown and hanged by the worst of Pakistan’s military dictators, General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq. But she was a woman who liked her privileges and her luxuries, and she was never a very effective politician.

I got to know Benazir Bhutto a bit in the mid-1970s, when she had finished her degree at Harvard and was doing graduate work at Oxford University. She actually spent much of her time in London, in a grand flat she kept just off Hyde Park.

If you knew a lot of people in town who took an interest in Middle Eastern and subcontinental affairs (I had been studying at the School of Oriental and African Studies), and you weren’t too old or too boring, you were likely to end up at her flat once in a while, at what some would call a salon but I would call a party.

A fairly decorous party as those things went in 70s London, to be sure, with everybody showing off their sophisticated knowledge of the region’s politics and nobody getting out of hand, but definitely a party. The hostess was well informed and quite clever, and she obviously had money coming out of her ears. We knew her dad had been prime minister of Pakistan before Zia overthrew him, of course, but she was neither a serious scholar nor a budding politician. Continue reading ‘Bhutto Assassination by Gwynne Dyer’

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari: From freshers’ week to the political front line

Published on January 1, 2008 in People. 11 Comments

Here’s an article on Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and what is visible about him from his facebook profile.

Rachel Williams
Tuesday January 1, 2008
The Guardian

To his friends at Oxford in the autumn, he was Bilawal Lawalib, just another ordinary teenage student enjoying the social whirl of his first term at the university. To the rest of the world he is the shy-looking 19-year-old contending with a future as the head of Pakistan’s greatest political dynasty. Continue reading ‘Bilawal Bhutto Zardari: From freshers’ week to the political front line’