Adil Najam
The stream of disturbing images from Islamabad continues. It has left one dumbfounded. But one must never be silent in the face of injustice. Of the many disturbing reports and images that have been floating in, there is probably none more poignantly disturbing than this one from ARY:
Violence, of course, can only beget violence, and one saw this too in the manhandling of the State Minister for Information, Tariq Azeem. Yet more evidence that violence is replacing discourse as the mode of disagreement in Pakistani society.
This is not a question of which side you are on. Ultimately you have to be against violence. We have written about shameful violence and police brutality before - tearing down the shalwar of a young man in a ‘missing persons’ protest and then also against the lawyers during the CJ movement. But this is not just shameful; it is needless. Now there are also reports of muzzling the media; another tactic we have seen before. It demonstrates the government’s slipping grip on power, but it also demonstrates a society that is so torn that every issues - may it be religious, social or political - has to end in violence.
The government, after all, has already gotten the verdict it wanted. At least let the people vent out their anger. There is nothing to be gained from this violence. For a nation that has already lost so much, this is merely also losing whatever little dignity that might have remained. As I have written already in a comment elsewhere, history shall judge the merit of the decision that was given by the Supreme Court on the 28th of September, but the violence of the 29th of September was shameful and needless and will remain (yet another) blot of our national political psyche.
Well sometimes i think how easily we get carried away. Although I did nto read all the posts but all i see is Musharraf. Well again we are on the wrong track targetting just one man. He goes….. someone other may come in coming few years. Actually we must target the institution which backs such traiters as Musharraf, Ayub Khan and Yahya. Army as an institution has done more harm to Pakistan than any worst imaginable enemy. We simply created two classes. Army being the one and the rest of pakistan in the other. Somehow they are above the law(Almost legally). All they need is money. And btw by army i donot mean the jawans, I only mean the officers especially officers above the rank of colonel. Till we keep targeting persons, we might get rid of persons (when they have done enough damage). But the dictator making factory will keep producing more. TO end this, there is no easy solution. All the civil society should stand against them. Audit their accounts and take back the wealth they have sucked from the perople in the form of LANDS, AWT, FAUJI FOUNDATION, SHAHEEN FOUNDATION. If it means a CIVIL WAR, let it come but trust me it will be the last war of Pakistan’s final and eventual freedom.
Pl. read Omar’s posting again!
Any one really interested in finding why Musharraf and his partners want to retain power at every cost, must read OMAR ’s honest and jargon free posting once again in conjunction with the following:
Washington, Sep 26 (ANI): Ninety percent of the current US assistance of two billion dollars a year to Pakistan goes to the military, a report has said.
The report titled ‘Pakistan: A perilous course’, was unveiled at a meeting on Pakistan held at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
The panel of speakers was made up of Teresita Schaffer of the CSIS, Robert Oakley and Wendy Chamberlain, former US Ambassadors to Pakistan. Rick Barton, a former senior official of the Geneva-based UN High Commission, conducted the meeting for Refugees.
The US should support the democratic process in Pakistan, and not an individual, the Daily Times quoted Chamberlain, as saying.
Commenting on the current situation in Pakistan, Robert Oakley said that Musharraf threw open a Pandora’s box, which he couldn’t now close the lid on.
He said Musharraf had put the army in deadly confrontation with the extremists in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and it had lost many lives.
Teresita Schaffer said that the US should work “visibly” with “competing” leaders, and added that it must work for democracy, instead of latching on to one person.
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Has any one ever seen any accounting of billions, yes billions, ending in Musharraf & Company’ s hands, in our name?
While the protesting journalists of Islamabad are still nursing their wounds inflicted by the club wielding and stone throwing police of Islamabad, the grand vizier of Islamabad is busy congratulating his Commando President for the latter’s successive victories — off the battle field, of course.
The grand vizier, who is always dressed as if going for an Iftar party and who speaks showing as much animation on his face as a Buddhist preacher, in his latest message to his boss has congratulated him on the acceptance of the latter’s nomination papers by the Election Commission. Earlier he had congratulated him on the Supreme Court’s decision allowing him to contest elections in uniform. And before that, he had congratulated him on his “courageous” decision of voluntarily taking off the uniform if re-elected as president.
Meanwhile, before sending his next congratulatory message on how effectively the protesting journalists were handled, he has issued a warning to the protesting journalists and lawyers in the following words: “Those who tried to take the law into their own hands during the scrutiny of nomination papers for the presidential election would be dealt with according to the law.”
I think it would in order for the journalists of Islamabad to keep a barrel of black paint handy. They should make sure, though, that the paint is water-soluble and non-toxic.
MQ,
You are right, its a shambolic situation authored at GHQ. I am at a loss why Mush continues to bring about more blood and destruction when a peaceful way out has been available to him from day one. Please do remember I was once a supporter of him and so I am well qualified to make such a judgement, my open letter is worth a read as it was written as my bit of national service so as to avoid the blood we have had in the last few days, have a read at http://www.otherpakistan.org/archive.html
Feimanallah
Wasim
“The crackdown against protesters — represents the biggest political crisis … and comes at a sensitive time…”
This is how a major news story began in the Financial Times yesterday with an accompanying picture showing police beating the crowds and firing tear gas at them. As I read on, I realized the story was not about Islamabad. It was about Burma! Isn’t it a crying shame that Pakistan has increasingly begun to look like Burma?
MG Saab,
Firstly I vehemently disagree with your comments but I support your right to your view. I believe in this charged atmosphere, it will be useful for you and others on ATP and other forums to have a read of my open letter to President Musharraf which I sent to his website and his staff numerous times. Its title namely ‘Pakistan or Musharraf first’ is instructive of the mess we are in and it is here for your perusal http://www.otherpakistan.org/archive.html
Please have a read and reply to me here or via my website at http://www.otherpakistan.org/today2
Feimanallah
Wasim
This is pathetic to say the least, I personally am sick of these goofy Lawyers. Their shenanigans are absurd and I am glad they the so called “Sahfees” got a good wracking. What the heck are they protesting?..the two verdicts that were handed by the Supreme court against Musharaf were welcomed with open arms…And, they can’t live with the fact that you win some and loose some and struggle within the law…I am an independent and could care less for either of the two evils, but this constant fight for the so called “jamhorriat” is nonsense. Get a life people, you screwed-up this country by letting the mullah run wild and kicked out the Ahmadies and all that was left were the cartoons we see now on these channels. I would urge all to pray and rule with justice for all as it is the only way to move this country forward…
All this mayhem that we saw in Islamabad yesterday was just because one man wants to continue to hang on to power. His sidekicks had declared a few weeks ago that they will have Musharraf elected as president “at all costs”. Let’s see how much more the nation has to pay.