The details emerging out of Pakistan are still somewhat sketchy but some facts are clear; more than 30 people are dead and over 115 injured. The Chief Justice of Pakistan was unable to address the Sindh Bar Association and was forced to go back to Islamabad and the private television station Aaj TV, which has been in the forefront of covering pro-judiciary and anti-Musharraf protests, was attacked by armed gunmen. This is indeed another dark day in the checkered political history of Pakistan.
It is now well past time for the Musharraf regime to go. This government has now lost the last shreds of moral authority required to govern. I salute the men and women of the civil society of Pakistan and the courageous independent media who are leading this struggle for the supremacy of the law and freedom of expression at grave risk to their life and limb.
As tragic and sad as events in Karachi are, this political moment is of historic import for the people of Pakistan and even on this day of darkness I see some hope for a better future. Since the sacking of the CJP on March 9th, the heroic struggle of the lawyers has germinated greater democratic desire and decisively strengthened Pakistan’s civil society and its beleagured independent media.
In the face of relentless governmental coercion there have been heartwarming displays of peaceful resistance, none more evident than in the historic journey of Justice Chaudhry through the heart of Punjab. Those in Pakistan and abroad who desire an eventual constitutional democratic polity rooted in a rule of law have to be encouraged by these developments. The conclusion of this episode, however, remains highly uncertain because no political sagacity can be expected from those who have brought us to this pass.
This grassroots peoples’ movement has also forced the politicians of all hues to make a choice; they either stand on the side of the rule of law or for the perpetuation of a dangerously unstable, one-man military banana republic. Mainstream politicians (despite all their historical shortcomings) clearly seem to grasp the national mood and the King’s men who are standing up for the present dispensation to save their personal fiefdoms will hopefully pay a steep price whenever they face the electorate in a fair election.
MQM more clearly exposed itself today than it ever has in its sordid history (thanks to private TV channels). The party that started with great hopes, rooted in the educated middle classes has over the years just become a collection of vicious thugs. It is wielding its fascistic tactics on behalf of people who seem to believe they have a divine right to perpetual power and who originally nurtured this party as a counterweight to PPP. MQM has shown itself the mirror image of the worst of MMA; both groups want people to acquiesce to their ideologies by force. Neither believes in nor has any fundamental respect for a constitutional rule of law.
Pakistan stands at a critical juncture as it has so many times in its unfortunate 60 year independent history. I would urge all Pakistanis and their well wishers to lend thier support to the struggle of Pakistan’s revitalized civil society. Let’s hope that the forces of peaceful democratic activism led by the country’s courageous lawyers ultimately emerge victorious and we can close this latest chapter of the military’s recurring era of authoritarian and unconstitutional misrule without further human suffering.
Fawad is a California-based literati-at-large and writes the blog ‘Moments of Tranquility,’ where a version of this was first posted.
AZ,,,,,,,don’t forget that the conduction of rally by the MQM at the behest of the Govt. was a ‘criminally provocative” act in view of the fact that the CJ’s programme was announced first in time. It goes without saying that any ‘criminally provocative” action is liable to incite others to react.
What if CJ would like to address any rally? Is it not his right as a citizen? Why overlook the maltreatment meted out to him by the govt? Is this the way honorable nations treat their judicial heads? Why did MQM fear CJ addressing a rally? Was the MQM and govt justified in their confrontation policy and the policy of retaliation through force? How weak are the memories of citizens that they forget the ‘history’ of
the MQM and how it has perpetrated fear and terror in Karachi? The prices of property had fallen as low as 50 % of their value during the carnage they levied upon Karachi in the past? Don’t you remember how they exterminated the Haqiqi group of their dissident brethren? Without dount the MQM has become synonymous with terrorism in Karachi and other parts of urban sindh.As an ally of the present regime the atrocites of the MQM have crossed all bounds. It has now exposed itself to the nation and this is why now people are gaining strenght to voice their feelings against them at all levels. Diplomacy by our leaders against speaking out honestly about the MQM is sheer dishonesty and hypocrisy. Let’s call a spade a spade and stop blaming CJ for any untoward incidence on 12 th May 2007!
An open letter to AAJ
I admire your boldness in the present crisis and the way you are handling it. However, I regret to say that your today’s programme was so ‘nauseous ” that I regretted watching it. Particularly, the MQM guy had no point to make. The other who represented the government also appeared disgustingly ’sycophantic” . The programme was a mere waste of national time and money.
Under the circumstances , I may like to suggest that you (AS WELL AS THE MEDIA) stop calling MQM stooges on your TV and stop fooling the people. I am living in Karachi for the last 58 years and I verily know who is doing what and what is happening here at all levels. MQM is a scourge and a curse on Pakistan. It has destroyed the peace and prosperity of Karachi and would do more harm than good to Pakistan as a whole. The MQM reminds me of Mafia and KKK ,,,,,,,it should be got rid of it. I mean it’s leadership,,,,, it’s fooling its followers who are mostly illiterate and ignorant. The little cleverer among them have forced their leadership on them and are leading them to a path of destruction through tempting slogans and false assurances.
@Omar Q,
I will write one last time in hopes that you are actually trying to understand. Rather than hit the “send” button repeatedly without thinking through your arguments it would be appreciated if you could actually address the points people are making rather than indulge in ad hominem attacks or knocking down straw men of arguments nobody is making.
Everybody has generally praised the press and not a single person has called the press a sell-off but you are tilting full force against imaginary windmills. Your comments suggest that you are either obtuse or simply not willing to see anybody else’s argument. I am now more concerned that intemperate people like you are in responsible positions of journalism than anything else.
You suggest that in your editorial tenure there has never been a call from any government official. Lucky you because clearly that is not the case with other media institutions. Look at the Dawn’s website and the documentation of Hameed Haroon’s experience with the authorities. You will pardon me if I put greater stock in Hameed Haroon’s experience and credibility and my own observations of attacks on Geo and Aaj TV than your half-baked and rude attempts at intimidation rather than argument. Compared to even your “large” English newspaper the electronic media reaches a far broader audience and has much greater impact.
On the issue of influence the point you make about english press is also true for online media which is not only growing steadily but reaches a more affluent, educated and opinion-leading demographic. The point about the mob outside the house actually undermines your point because it implies that online media is a great compliment to mainstream media as it is less easy to intimidate because of a lack of central physical infrastructure. Its very strength is that it is so highly distributed.
I encourage you to think calmly and introspectively about your own industry and open-mindedly participate in sharing ideas and learning from others rather than grinding a personal ax that serves nobody.
Omar R Qureshi,
You say,
[quote]”let me clarify i didn’t call you an idiot sabahat, i called your remarks idiotic â€â€?”[quote]
Actually, what you said was
[quote]”… only an idiot like you would think that a journalist like me would actually be threatened by the alternate media…” [/quote]
Mr. Qureshi, you are beginning to sound like Wasi Zafar trying to extricate himself but getting deeper into the muck. Remember him?
sabahat wrote: “. If I had been a young graduate begging for a job outside your office I may have been forced to stand such language from you but you know what….”
what gives sabahat — do you suffer from some severe complex or what — i am not the one who launched in a personal attack for no reason here — stop insinuating about my professional work ethic, or lack thereof, please —
the problem with people like you is that they see everything in black or white — you thrive on generalisations — the media is all bad — everything they say is a lie — good grief! you need to get out of your protected blog-existence
fawad — welcome to living in a dream world as well — let me clarify i didnt call you an idiot sabahat, i called your remarks idiotic — the number of people who read english newspapers is far more than the number of people who read blogs — and the audience of the english press is quite different from the urdu press — smaller but far more influential as well —
and for the record, open your eyes ‘ms’ sabahat — i never said anywhere that the print media is high and mighty but yes do say that those who think that it is not doing its duty are telling lies themselves — and on this i proved it by posting several links from my own newspaper to refute two other interactors — i think people can say a lot in blogs because the medium and anonymity allows it — if you have a mob outside your house which is there to seek revenge after finding out you are writing against them on a blog then I will see your reaction — or i will ask you to be a reporter in a newspaper and see your reaction to threats — till then your posts are immature and idiotic — you have heard of the phrase ‘put up or shut up’ i hope
fawad — open your eyes and learn to read — no one is denying the limitations but there is a difference between saying that the media works under a lot of censorship and tries to do its job and saying that it is a sell-out (because of the govt pressure)
– i edit the editorial pages of one of the country’s largest english newspapers and have yet to receive any call from any minister or govt official or the publisher for that matter telling me what to do — like i said you guys have no idea of what you are talking about or of how journalists go about carrying out their duties in real life
@Sabahat,
I couldn’t agree more with you overall point that Mr. Quraishi is either willfully distorting the argument or doesn’t have the basic intelligence to understand the point. He doth protest too much. He is not even clear himself on what exactly he is defending other than ranting and raving about the virtuous print media and his own supposedly courageous op-ed piece. Again I want to emphasize what I have written before. The Pakistani press deserves praise for its courage under extreme duress but not acknowledging the limitations it works under or being able to see the value of the incredible and growing contribution of online media in opening up the dialog takes a peculiar personality and a head firmly lodged in sand.
Mr. Quraishi: I think it may be a case of weak comprehension skills on your part, your ‘professional’ linguistic ability and ethic you have already revealed by the tone and content of your comment. You can protest against a State Minister resorting to abuse against a journalist but feel free to do the same yourself without batting an eyelid. You have unmasked your ‘professionalism’ right there. If I had been a young graduate begging for a job outside your office I may have been forced to stand such language from you but you know what Blogging has done? It has given me a voice that does not require putting up with a high handed authoritarian attitude, so I am afraid it is beginning to be a LITTLE hard to cow down the everyday man/woman’s opinion by declaring it asinine and throwing it across the table. This is a democracy that you just cannot do anything about, however much you may rant and rave.
also even when aaj tv was attacked they did not name the party either � and for your information no print media organisation has
Proves my point. It is only bloggers who can come out with the naked truth without any fears of losing a job or a license
I too said that blogging is very limited at the moment but in the future it will gain greater currency as blogs with cult following like ATP have shown. If you are talking about percentages, then how many people in Pakistan read an English daily in relation to the country’s total population? I assure you even less are bothered about your editorial piece hidden between reams of other assorted truths and half-truths.
The ‘alternative’ spaces within mainstream media are also controlled, it is only blogging that allows complete freedom and ownership to the individual and that is what I was talking about.
If you had actually read my comment (or understood it) you would have realized that I end it by talking about the alternative media working in tandem with the mainstream one, not pitting it against each other as most of your comments here seem to do. Each medium has its own limitations and its own strengths and they can work together to fill in where the other lacks.