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!
“No military ruler has agreed to doff his uniform in our history and this time COAS might actually become a civilian President.”
Raza Rumi:
Didn’t Ayub Khan take off his uniform a couple of years before contesting the 1964 elections against Fatima Jinnah? I think this is the first time in our history that a sitting COAS has contested an election, and, of course, he had to win. I think he has set a very bad precedence.
Adil yaar, your and this blogs inherent optimism seems to be rubbing off even when you seem ready to give up on it
Some of the recent comments here, although totally wrong, are heartening because they suggest that we WANT To be happy, even in the face of the darkest of clouds people are searching for the silver lining. Good luck to them.
I don’t believe in revolutions either but nor do I believe in blind optimism, especially when it is used as a strategy to distract ones own attention from serious problems. Psychologists have a name for this.
Social Mistri ji and others. Qurban jaoon aap ki saadgi par.
The political nievete (or is it deception here is exactly the same that Musharrf-opponents were showing here a few weeks ago). Remember, there was a threat about extremism in society. Well a lot of anti-Musharaf folks were saying, ‘just take out Musharraf and the Army and all will be well.’ They are wrong. No it won’t. There are many things wrong in Pakistan as Adil Najam points out that are wrong BECAUSE OF Gen. Mushrraf, especially things wrong about governance. But not everything wrong in Pakistan is because of him. So, I am with you in that much.
However, similarly, not everything going right is because of him either. Many of the things going right are going right despite him. The stock market that the economy-for-the-rich are one of them. This is a global phenomenon in mid-level countries because of the globalization spillover. It has nothing to do with Musharraf or Shaukat Aziz. Also nothing to do with them is the increasing rich-poor divide that is also the ugly side of globalization which you can also see elsewhere, such as India. So, please lets keep things in perspective. Lets not blame him for things he did not do but lets also not reward him for things he had no hand in. (my son recently did extremely well in his exams in Islamabad, but I am sure that Musharraf had nothing to do wit this just as he has nothing to do with the KSE’s rise!!!!)
Your line of argument is very much like those Nawaz Sharif supporters who used to speak out the roads he had built, or Ayub Khan and the dams he built. Maybe we should be looking for contractors (thakeydars) rather than presidents and prime ministers. The point simply is that in the job of governance and democracy, Gen. Musharraf has failed miserably and most so on Saturday.
What I have always liked about this website is that it makes a clear distinction between Pakistan and the govt. of Pakistan. People on both sides of the extreme who start bad-mouthing Pakistan because they don’t like the current govt or those who see good things in Pakistan and consider it all because of govt seem just to want to confuse the issue. Lets not do that.
Adil bhai:
Agreed that the events preceding and surrounding the election were extra-ordinary but why such gloom and doom. A larger bench allowed the election to take place, a major party played along and the oppostion (not the lawyers who continue to stick to their principled stand) could not even mobilise hundreds of workers - so what is the fuss all about?? Politics is about bargaining, co-existence and finding a way towards transition - and it is apparent that such a transition might happen without an air-crash, a blood-bath or a PNA style movement. Our track record of post-agitation politics is most depressing and I just hope that we don’t get another ’saviour’ in the bargain.
No military ruler has agreed to doff his uniform in our history and this time COAS might actually become a civilian President. Of course, this is no favour of Musharraf on the nation, but the politics and popular mood has forced him to do this. A large section of Pakistani middle classes led by lawyers and backed by the media have been able to achieve this. OF course, it is partial victory but it is a success nevertheless. I see this by itself as a deviation from our unfortunate historic trends.. So let us not be all too negative.
I am most heartened by Social Mistri’s inputs on this thread - it is a breath of fresh air.
Shabaz Khan sahib, with your kind permission, may I please refer to him as “Jaali balo’n wali bala”?
Mr. Mistri has made very valid points here and I find myself in agreement with most of his points. But I beg to differ with him on one issue. After the successful implantation of hunky hair on his shiny scalp, NS should no longer be referred to as “Ganja Paapi”. I think “Hairy Paapi” would be a better alternative.
Naveed Saieen, inhi konay gosho’n mein bathaktay rehtay hein.
Good luck with business in Pakistan! Ignore the rumour mongering and the rabble rousing, and you’ll do just fine. People have been talking about qiamat hitting Pakistan for 60 years, and yet no one ever lost money on a real estate investment in the country. Damn the negativity and full speed ahead!!
Visit a blog with a slightly more “positive” audience and you’ll at all the great innovation happening in Pakistan: techlahore.wordpress.com is one, ittazee.com is another.
Dear Social Mistri, pray tell me where you have been all these years
I loved your initial response. Common man on the street as to whether he is doing better under Musharaf or not, it is too complex a question for us to answer.
My company is bullish on Pakistan and we have seen new multinational businesses setting up shop in Pakistan over the last 5 years. Yes, the business has been impacted recently in anticipation of elections but if there is less confrontation and political differences can be resolved through back-channel dialogue, the country can come out stronger through any challenge whether internal or external