Pakistan has stepped back from imposing emergency rule, after mounting speculation that President Pervez Musharraf was considering the move.
A spokesman said there was pressure on Gen Musharraf to declare an emergency but that he had decided not to because he was “committed to democracy”.
Continue reading ‘Musharraf rejects emergency rule, BBC’
This appeared in today’s (August 2nd) DAWN as a letter to the editor. I found the observations to be quite interesting, specially 1, 2 and 4, which I thought were things only an outsider would notice. The others are more known and visible to ordinary Pakistanis. Either way, feel free to add your own interesting observations.
AS someone born and raised abroad I would like to share with you some observations made following a recent visit to Pakistan. To some they may be obvious but nevertheless a different perspective is sometimes refreshing.
1. Many of the road signs are written in English in a largely illiterate country where people can barely read Urdu, let alone English. This is simply foolish.
2. In every house there is a self - proclaimed doctor. Access to medicines without a prescription is astounding. God only knows how much drug resistance has developed.
Continue reading ‘Comfortably Numb by Yousuf Ali’
Mr Nayyer Ali’s observations are quite accurate. Even though I would like to add that it was not only the political parties that took part in this anti-Musharraf movement, but the lawyers (or politically motivated lawyers) also chanted anti-Musharraf slogans and turned it into an anti-Musharraf movement.
The rhetoric after the verdict has been interesting and slightly confusing even if we only consider the CJ’s core legal team. Aitzaz Ahsan joined the CJ at his residence to congratulate him and said that it was a big blow to the dictatorship while Munir A Malik said that he would have no contact with the CJ since he was now the CJ and not his client. However, Ali Ahmed Kurd said that he would have no contact with the CJ as lawyers and the judiciary were to maintain a professional relationship, but also said that they would continue the struggle to bring Musharraf down.
Different people had different reasons to join in this movement, but as Mr Ali rightly points out most Pakistanis were in this so as to see the judiciary establish its independence and to see a military ruler bow down in front of the rule of law for the first time. Once that was done they started celebrating, not as if a battle had been won, but rather as if a war had ended.
It took 4 months and 11 days for Pakistan’s top judges to decide on the reference filed by President Musharraf. There is no doubt that it is a ‘landmark verdict’ and happens to be the first verdict against a military ruler. People in Pakistan are celebrating and rightly so. There are images of people and in particular lawyers distributing mithai (sweets) to mark this momentous occasion.
Many have hailed it as a victory for democracy and for those who believe in democracy, justice and rule of law. I am not sure of its legal significance as the ‘short order’ gives away very little details. In any event, the public had given its verdict a few months ago and if the decision had been unfavourable it would have been regarded as a rigged decision. The SC’s decision basically reaffirms what the people wanted to hear. The real question that comes to my mind is: are we better off today than we were a few days ago? The answer is ‘yes’ and ‘no’.
Continue reading ‘4 months and 11 days later: A time to reflect’
Islamabad had recently seen a bloodbath of sorts. But with the rather unfortunate end to the Lal Masjid crisis, it seemed that things would slowly proceed back to normal in the normally tranquil and almost deathly silent capital.
However, all such notions were rudely repulsed by the horrific bomb blast at the reception set for the Chief Justice. The stage and the surrounding area were completely destroyed by this explosion. Aitzaz Ahsan claimed it to be a time-bomb; but he was rudely snubbed on live tv as eye witness reports came in of yet another suicide attack.
Continue reading ‘Bomb-Blast at CJ Reception in Islamabad’
As the nation slowly starts to recover from the events of the past month, we are once again faced with strife and unrest within the country…a fatal attack in Swat a sure reminder.
Its hard to comprehend what has happened…it is no doubt a great tragedy. Though the implementation of the Lal Masjid operators was absolutely wrong, it has opened the eyes of a number of people. They realize that there is no reason for brothels, liqour stores, and other such instituions to exist in an Islamic society. And if they do, they should only be open to non-muslims and not to the liberal extremists of this country.
Continue reading ‘Picking up the Pieces…’
Update: At about 4 a.m. today the army advanced into the Lal Masjid and according to some reports has taken control of 70% of the mosque. DG ISPR has said that 40 militants have been killed in the operation with no known women or children killed whilst Maulana Ghazi has stated that his mother was killed by the army. Meanwhile, the Poly Clinic in Islamabad has been made a ‘no-go’ area for journalists and ARY has gone so far as to say that there is a ‘shoot-to-kill’ order given to the security personnel inside the medical center incase a journalist breaches the order.
Continue reading ‘Lal Masjid’s Operation Silence & the forgotten lives’
Aitzaz Ahsan was a somewhat well-known PPP member and a not so well-known lawyer. As his party’s popularity, and subsequently his own, was gradually declining in the eyes of the public, he decided to try his hand at a different occupation.
This new hobby has resulted in a complete reversal of fortune for Aitzaz! He is appearing on at least one news channel everyday in either a political discussion, a government roast, a legal debate, a cross-dresser’s drawing room, and even in sappy “Good Morning-lets meet the family” talk shows. We can safely say that he is now a well-known face in Pakistan. The following article neatly and rather amusingly captures the U-turn his popularity has taken (pun intended!).
Continue reading ‘Driven!’
“I have been given the authority over you, although I am not the best of you. If I do well, help me; and if I do wrong, set me right. Truth consists in loyalty and disregard for truth is treachery. The weak among you shall be strong in my eyes until I have secured his rights, if God wills it: and the strong among you shall be weak with me until I have wrested from him the rights of others, if God wills it. Obey me for so long as I obey God and His Messenger. But if I disobey God and His Messenger, you owe me no obedience. Arise from your prayer, God have mercy upon you!”
More news that just confirms how bad the situation is…
LAHORE: Pakistan has been ranked the 12th most unstable country in the world – worse even than North Korea at 13th – in the 2007 Failed State Index issued on Monday by Foreign Policy magazine and the Fund for Peace. For the second year in a row, Sudan tops the index, largely because of the humanitarian catastrophe in Darfur. Iraq now ranks as the second most unstable country and Afghanistan the eighth. The other seven countries in the top 10 are all in Africa. They include Somalia, Zimbabwe, the Ivory Coast and Congo. The index of 177 countries gives each country points out of 10 for 12 “social indicators of instability”, with higher scores indicating greater instability. Pakistan’s highest scores were for ‘security apparatus’ (9.5), ‘factionalised elites’ (9.5) and ‘group grievance’ (9.0). Its best score was for the economy (5.8). Iraq fell from fourth place last year to second. “The report tells us that Iraq is sinking fast,” said Fund for Peace President Pauline Baker, according to the Washington Post. “We believe it’s reached the point of no return. We have recommended—based on studies done every six months since the US invasion—that the administration face up to the reality that the only choices for Iraq are how and how violently it will break up.” In a parallel series of reports, the Fund for Peace, a research and advocacy group, suggests a policy of managed partition for Iraq. The experiences of Iraq, as well as Afghanistan, show that billions of dollars in aid may be futile unless accompanied by a functioning government.
