Lately no news coming out of Pakistan seem to be good news. This afternoon I started writing about Benazir’s return in lighter words focusing on hilarious statements coming out of our politicians on her return and then this horrific news of scores of people dead started coming in. My lighter mood vanished totally and now I am left wihout words and more questions like, Why? Who? what now? etc.
The headline news on CNN reads as follows right now:
An explosion near the motorcade of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto killed at least 110 people and injured 200 more, officials say. Bhutto, returning after years in exile, reportedly was unhurt.
While we are glad that she remained safe, our sincere prayers are with those innocents who lost their lives.
zabt laazim hai magar dukh hai qayamat ka
zalim ab ke bhi na roay ga to mar jaaye ga
WHEN, Oh my God, when will these educated people get over theit hatred of a popular Pakistani politician and recognize that their strongly held views are not a substitute for the backing of the people of Pakistan.
Please, O Lord, make these self righteous and irrationally angry Pakistani bloggers realize how their stupid comments –such as wishing death on the woman who has just escaped death afetr being warmly welocmed by millions –do not serve Pakistan. After all Pakistan is those millions, not these losers though they are part of it.
God! Please educate these proudly educated Pakistani bloggers in good manners and basic decency. make them realize that if they believe someone to be corrupt they should go and persuade the people of Pakistan not to vote for them instead of wishing death upon them in reckless postings on this blog.
Lord! Have mercy on Pakistan and save it from the arrogance of its elite, which is unprepared to concede that the people have a wisdom, too, and by turning out in their millions for Benazir Bhutto perhaps they are manifesting that wisdom.
“A believer is not bitten twice from the same hole!”
Mullahs have been able to fool “the believers” for sixty years, even more - since the days of Pakistan movement. Every time there is a religiously motivated movement against a government, the nation end ups with even worst government and Mullahs jump right in with that government leaving all promises of nizam-e-mustafa behind.
I guess they don’t make these believers as they used to. Can we return these believers and get our money back?
Salamalikum
Seems like BB had this little speech she gave during the press conference all prepared before she got here….the facts, groups’ names and all the “intel” just flowed out of her. Bari dour ki kori laieey hain. Start out with magarmuch kay aasoon when coming out of the airport, get “targetted”, blame it on rogue miliarity ex-officers of the ’70s and ’80s, which shows how much support she needs and how brave she is, cry foul and make marry with all the sympathy and support. Also, seems like she wants to take revenge of her father’s death more than anything else.
She says she has to come for Pakistan’s sake and for democracy even after getting threats, blah, blah…then, what the heck was she doing the last eight years. What did she drink that gave her instant courage.
As I said before, this is all drama and farce. It’s surprising some people think she is really here for democary and was “attacked”. No, only her poor supporters were attacked. Because when you really attack a politician in Pakistan, due to lack of any security and abundance of sell-outs/ghadaars, you die: Liaqat Ali Khan, Ziaul Haq, other lesser known politicians.
Still, I admit it is likely that these targets can escape, like Mush twice, Aziz and now her. But, why is it that their core supporters also escape but a bodyguard or two always die or get severely injured. If the attack was so real and so close that bodyguards died, I would think in all these attacks at least one high level politican accompanying Mush, Aziz, BB, et el. would have also perished, no? Not only BB escapes, but Nisar Khoro, et el. (or whoever was there) also escaped, but viola! a “body guard” got severely injured.
BB and rest: Stopping making fools out of us. A believer is not bitten twice from the same hole! (Or for those who get offended with any religious tone: Fool me once shame on you; fool me twice shame on me). BB mohtarma, not everyone is a hari from Larkana/Dadoo in Pakistan.
A comment on Karachi Metroblog:
I am not Pakistani. I am not even aware of pakistani political subtility. My knowledge of Bhutto do not go further wikipedia. By luck, I got this blog to read about the incident. What a surprise to read the comments. I feel that there is such a rift between our two culture. I wonder by what I read here if a “rapprochement” is even plausible.
I am simply astonished. Even if I am an educated person that knows that a minority do not reflect the position of a majority, I am not certain i’ll feel secure if I ever have a pakistani neighbour. If you are happy with this attack, please by all mean stay in Pakistan, DO NOT come to Canada!
The incident is simply a tragedy and some responses were simply way outside what I would consider conceivable. I am scared.
Simon, Montreal
BB outdid herself again in using a tragedy to gain political mileage. She knows that blaming Taliban does not take her too far in gaining votes in the land of the pure but blaming the “agencies” is a sure shot method of revitalizing her vote bank since the idealogical vote of PPP is based on “anti-establishment” and “anti-army” emotions.
I would like to ask BB what did she think about the evil “agencies” when she was negotiating her pardon with the heads of the same agencies just a few weeks ago. As for Zardari, someone needs to set him straight. If agencies wanted this man out of the picture, he would be long gone by now.
after the blast, ive joined the growing club of pakistani cynics: http://atifshaikh.blogspot.com/2007/10/bb-ride-of- re-animator-karachi-redux.html
its a full fledged civil war! pakistani’s need to wake up to the new reality.
After being disappointed by BB for over 2 weeks, I am again optimistic. I was amazed to listen to her press conference and how eloquently she described the conspiracy. Here is what she said.
“It was an attack not just against one political leader, it was an attack on all the political leaders of Pakistan. It was a message to all the political parties, on all those who believe in democracy that you can not go out and compaign because if you do a public meeting and go on compaign we will kill you , we will bomb you , we will kill your supporters so don’t go out, don’t exercise your fundamental human rights, don’t exercise your right of freedom of political expression.” It was an attack by a militant minority (read army) that does not enjoy the support of the people of Pakistan……….in a military dictatorship whether it is the dictatorship of 70’s , whether AlBadar and ALShamas gangs…or whether it is the militants (read agencies) of this era”
She summed up the whole conspiracy in this.
Pakistan needs democracy, we need “Corrupt” political leaders behind whom people come out in millions to show their support, these people, as Lal Salaam put it correctly, are not rent-a-crowd, they come on streets because they believe in their right to rule. Let Nawaz Sharif come and you will see similar people coming on the streets as well. Even the illeterates understand what it means by “Raj Karay Gee Khalq-i-Khuda” or “Right to rule by the people”. They come on streets when they have no fear, military dictator and his cronies for eight years kept saying that people don’t come on street they are not with the opposition in every talk show their only argument was that people don’t come on street. People don’t come on street when they have fear of their life, that’s why they will not come to get NS on the airport, they will not come in Karachi when CJ visited their. BB ensured with the help of US that the General and his cronies can not terrorise people by tear gas and bullets. And that made General and his cronies sleepless , recall his last message to BB almost like “please don’t come”. And unfortunately heartless agencies had to kill 138 people to ensure they never come out on streets again.