Adil Najam
UPDATE: The picture on the left, published in Daily Times, comes with the caption:
“Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri, PML-Q President Shujaat Hussain and MNAs react to an announcement by the Election Commissioner (unseen), at Parliament on Saturday. President Pervez Musharraf won a landslide victory in the election but the official results will be declared after the Supreme Court verdict on his eligibility.“
Maybe our readers can suggest what some of the people here are thinking as they clap. Suggestively, some, you will note, are making too much of an effort to clap, and others too little! The picture is also a good compliment to an earlier one we had posted here.
ORIGINAL POST: It is neither a surprise nor really news that Gen. Musharraf just got himself elected. It was always clear that he would get himself elected by hook or crook; eventually it took a bit of both. The way it had to be done is sad - pathetic really - and no one has come out of this mess looking good. Gen. Musharraf got the votes he needed, but neither he nor anyone else is a winner.
Gen. Musharraf lost whatever little credibility he might have had as someone interested in Pakistan’s development or people’s aspirations. He also lost the ability to make the claim that he was any different or any less p
ower-hungry than his political predecessors. He is now, clearly, one of them and has lost the one thing that had given him a support base. Benazir Bhutto lost the principles her party and father might once have stood for. PML(Q) had little to loose and yet lost big, they may even loose the government. Nawaz Sharif had already lost out some weeks ago. Maulana Fazlur Rehman had already lost all credibility but now they can’t even pretend to have any left. The Supreme Court lost at least some of the public goodwill they had gained as an institution with last minute shenanigans. America lost too because instead of backing one bad bet (Musharraf) they are now backing two (Musharraf + Benazir Bhutto).
But the biggest loser here may be the people of Pakistan who - once again - lost big time. But, then, I guess we are used to it.
Frankly, there is little need or point in commenting on the sham elections today. This was not a news event, this was a scripted stage drama. The real question remains what will happen next. There, it seems, that all of the losers - including Gen. Musharraf - may be confronted with some unexpected turn of events. There, one continues to hope, the people of Pakistan may yet emerge as winners eventually. Whenever ‘eventually’ comes!
Mr. Mistri,
I am happy for your well being. And hope the rest of the country also feels the same way.
However, it does not. The gap between rich and poor has increased. Number of people below poverty line has increased. Though your foreign exchange reserves are at $16 BIllion, your current account deficit is $8 billion. Of the $16 Billion, significant portion has come from selling the family silver at throwaway prices (privatization) and remittances. The remaining is composed of US Aid for fighting war against terrorism. Exports constitute minute part of it. As such, the situation is critical if you could ever comprehend the statements of SBP where such issues are highlighted between the lines.
KSE has never been a representative of the general economy going up and down at its on will. I am sure things were not that bad in April 2005 when KSE crashed with Shortcut Aziz and the remaining making billions at the cost of small investor. My advice: Becareful of KSE. They say “Yeh beti ka ghar hai. Aadmi yahan day kar hi jata hay. Kuch lay kar nahin jata”
Congratulations on owning a plot. You are one of the few who have realized their dream. While the rest of the nation is grappling where to come up with down payment for the ever increasing real estate prices to own a plot.
The savings rate is almost zilch. The credit culture has been promoted where everybody is owning foreign manufactured cars, ACs, bikes, etc without having the necessary infrastructure of energy nor roads etc. Credit helps when it develops demands for local produced good resulting in increase industrialization. Here credit has helped in increasing imports of luxuries.
We still export the same raw textiles. Bumper wheat crop and we end up importing it. In the last 8 years, no indiginous manufacturing facility has been established. We still import every thing starting from safety pin.
Just because you have it good does not mean everybody has it good as well. There are signs out there if you are willing to see them. Anyway, Aagay Aagay dekhyay hota hai kia
Kishikajo ji, thank you for telling me what the “rest of us” think (i.e. rest of us by your definition is Population of Pakistan minus Social Mistri)
Contrary to your statement about my nocturnal affairs, I am very much awake and absolutely happy with - not the person of Musharraf - but what his continuing in office means for our country. It means there will be stability and continuity of policy. That is more important for Pakistan than anything else right now.
What have slogans ever given this nation? I am interested only in the REAL opportunity that has been created in the past 8-10 years. I have personally benefited from it NOT BECAUSE I AM MUSHARRAF’s bhateeja, but because I could invest (albeit a small amount!) in the KSE, and I could put up the 20% upfront on a small plot in Lahore… The banks DID give me loans even though I had no sifarish. I DID find a job at a tech company where my salary has increased an average of 50% year over year for the last 4 years. The company I work for HAS frown its business at almost 80% a year, all from US and European customers. THIS IS WHAT MUSHARRAF HAS GIVEN ME, WITHOUT EVEN KNOWING ME. And I am thankful to him for it. None of us had this when the Ganja Paapi of Jeddah was ruling us.
Allah ka bara shukar hay! I hope the next 10 years do for the economy what the last ten have done.
Razia,
No one has doubt about Mussharaf’s very
little achievements, significant or not, not at all, to please
the world’s agenda. All the achievements are due to the
serious Pakistanis citizens cooperation and patriotism, not
the group of ninkumpoops around him.
The opposition boycotted as a token of protest against
corruption, nepotism, dishonesty, hanky panky, and cheap
arguments. I hail the attitude of the opposition.
Quranic indication,
When people become corrupt and bad, we impose on them,
Hakims, who are even worst than them.
Now we don’t say other than, Musharaf is patriotic, not
corrupt, straight forward, hardworking etc. what I am worried about him is his potential Islamophbic secularism.
Not good for National Identity, moral corruption will be a disastor for entire generation of today.
He must get rid now of the lotas, commun thugs turned
politicians and colonial zurriats.
O Ahsan Bhaijan, Allah ka wasta hay revolution apnay paas hi rakhien. Anparh mulk mein revolution say aap ko kya milay ga. Let’s ensure that we first get to a stage where when we execute on a revolution, we know what we’re looking for! Abhi to khirkia’n tootein gi and Danish-Cartoon-Multiplied-By-1000 wala kaam ho jaey ga. You don’t really want a revolution. Trust me. What you want is for the KSE to be at 20,000. And when I say “you”, I really mean, “me” :-) OGDC, Bank Alfalah zindabad!!!
And in terms of the inquilab, as I said 13 or so years ago…yaa tho iss qaum ko aqal aajay ya ghairath aaja’ey; iss say pehlay kay in koe ghussa aa’ey. Otherwise we do get what we got in Iran, the Soviet revolution…
I am also with Kruman. But who will bell the cat?
I am somewhere between Adil, Social Mistri, Umar Shah, Roshan, and Beej Kumar. I want to be optimistic; but I find it hard to be so in the short-to-medium term. Iss hammam main sub nangay hain; all 5,6,7 parties are imperfect: Mush, BB, MQM, PML N, PML, Q, the Justices, … and not least We, The People.
And in terms of having a real impact on the ground (as opposed to the media) or having a solution to the problem, Imran Khan and the TI are but a footnote. Notwithstanding his own “honesty” and, more importantly in my book, the sincerity and passion of a lot of the people who support him. And for the sake of these last, I wish it weren’t true, but that’s the fact from where I sit.
And the funny thing is, on the positive side, each of those “parties” (and I mean party to the situation, not political party) also have at least one very solid principled point to make…
Do we need a revolution ?
http://express.com.pk/epaper/PoPupwindow.aspx?news ID=1100275839&Issue=NP_LHE&Date=20071007
“There, one continues to hope, the people of Pakistan may yet emerge as winners eventually. Whenever ‘eventually’ comes!”
To win or lose, one has to participate in the match. The people of Pakistan are OUT of the RULING game. That is why, they have never lost and will never win. The ruling establishment has always kept the people out of the playing game. They had been only employed to catch the balls as in a tenis game. In such a situation the “eventuality” will never come.
Only solution is that of “French Revolution”.