Adil Najam
Since yesterday the “I” word - impeachment - has begun to be thrown around a lot.
Some quarters seem to think that it just happen this time. Others suggest that it is more talk than action and the numbers needed to pull this are still not there.
Coming out of the “critical” Nawaz Sharif-Asif Zardari meetings one keeps wondering how much of this is an effort to keep the coalition going and how much is a real push to change the essential political equations of Pakistan. There are reports that Gen. Musharraf is taking this move seriously enough to cancel his trip to China (to attend the Olympics opening ceremony). On the other hand some of Gen. Musharraf’s supporters are claiming that no such cancellation has happened. We do know, however, that he is taking this challenge seriously and lining up his supporters.
All in all, there is too much noise to say what is happening. But something is clearly happening. Does the PPP-PML(N) have the numbers they need to go ahead? Does the President have the numbers he needs to stop it? And what of all the external actors and where they may lean, why and for what?
Interestingly, we had run a ATP Poll back in June asking you what you thought would have happened to Gen. Musharraf by October 2008? The majority (38%) had thought that he would be impeached by then. A significant number (31%) thought that by October 2008 we woudl be still muddling through as we are now.
We do not intend to open the Poll again, but it does seem that either of those two answers could turn out to be true again. Indeed, even our earlier Poll on the subject, from October 2007, may still be relevant in its results!
So, since we can’t make full sense of exactly what all of this adds up to, we thought we woudl ask our best source: You. What do you think? What is happening? What might happen? And why?
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Just because someone doesn’t agree with your view point you you tell them they should stop giving lectures on “patriotism” and the “love of the country”. Brilliant
Actually the army is a better reflection of us than the 2%politicians. Atleast it includes people from all walks of life and not just the upper class. Atleast there was General who was a son of a subedar can you imagine a prime minister or president from a poor family. There is a saying if you are cruel then the ones who will rule you will be much worse in cruelty. At the end of the day it is us who have change.
And just another note, please don’t criticise the Army that much, even i have done it in the past but not everyone within the Army is at fault. People don’t join the army to put their lives on the lines so that in 30 odd years they will become a General or President, they do it for the Love of their country and to protect us citizens. They do much more than the so called Politicians who only loot the nation.
And if it wasn’t for the army Pakistan would be eaten up, if you are following all the external events out neighbours are sharpening their knives and what is our government doing? Some has to take control if not the Army then who?
Chemical weapons or no chemical weapons, wasn’t Musharraf mainly responsible for all the deaths? For sure not, as believed by the supporters of Musharraf who think human life means nothing. No wonder Mushy raised his hands in Islamabad and said that his supporters had shown their muscle when more than 50 people were killed in Karachi on May 12. But the Mushy supporters would never blame Musharraf for that since only their own lives matter to them not of ordinary people. Musharraf must be hanged for all those killings but only after he has been tortured ad-infinitum. And it has nothing to do with NS and AZ. If they have committed crimes they should be punished but Mushy should not be spared just because few of his “jiyalas” love him so much.
And we can blame the army as well, but the real blame is still with the politians.
These so called politicians have been given a golden oppurtunity to do some good, some thing to make Pakistan move in the right direction, and what are they doing? messing things up further, and making life more miserable. It’s because they are not a force for good. That includes the clowns of the last government as well. And all those who are sitting on the fence that includes Mr Ahsan as well. They need to stand up for all that is wrong and speak against there own party.
And nothing will change until we as a nation don’t change. Our leaders are a reflection of us as a society because they are from amongst us. We all need to do our own accountability first, only then will things change. We need to start doing some good rather than sit on our backsides and criticise. That includes me.
All the politicians are animals, If they want to impeach Musharaf and put him on trial then what about the crooks who are trying to impeach him. All of them are just scum bags, they don’t care about Pakistan or Pakistanis. All they care about is Power because with that come $$ that’s the bottom line. All this about the awam and justice, what the hell were they doing for the last 9 years.
You don’t need to be in power to do something good, have they done any wellfare work, NO they have lived it up, at the expense of this Poor country.
And about Musharaf, when they do try him please add the following to the list of crimes as well. Why did he not put AZ ,NS, Altaf and the rest of these clowns away for good?
As long as Punjab can vote for someone like Nawaz Sharif and that too in such huge numbers things will remain depressing and desperate.
Musharraf should not only be impeached but tried and punished for all the crimes he and his hand-picked cronies committed. He should go through all that he has made the people suffer for. His near and dear ones should be made missing; his assets seized by NAB; he sent to Guantanamo Bay without any charges against him and tortured there for what he didn’t do; pushed into a mosque with chemical weapons used from outside; left in the heat and tortured by police and so on and so forth.