Adil Najam
The two videos attached below – one of a student speaking at a student convention presided over by Gen. Pervez Musharraf and the second of an MNA speaking in the National Assembly during the no-trust motion against Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz – have recently been floating around over email on Pakistani lists.
[Thanks to Eidee Man for alerting us to this new version of the first video which includes Gen. Musharraf’s Response to the student’s speech. Even if you have seen the student’s speech already, the response is worth listening to.]
While the remarks from Muslim League (N) MNA Khawaja Asif is less surprising (especially since it came right after Nawab Akbar Bugti’s death and during a no-confidence motion) the speech from the student (Syed Adnan Kakakhel) is much more of a surprise. Gen. Musharraf listens intently, takes notes, and seems engaged. Indeed, as you can now see from his response (later in the video) the speech certainly got to Gen. Musharraf. He responds at length – including on the military rule and Balochistan issues.
I should also add that this event was organized by the government itself and also note that Adnan Kakakhel was awarded the second prize in the speech contest and also that this was telecast over Pakistan Television.
Whether you are a government opponent (i.e., this shows the depth of people’s frustration with the current order), a cynic (i.e., such talk is tolerated because everyone knows it will make no difference), or a government supporter (i.e., this proves that this government has given people real democracy and freedom of speech), you should celebrate these videos for what they are: a demonstration that political thought is alive and well in Pakistan (irrespective of whether you believe its content to be righteous or misguided).
Coming from the bol ke lab aazad hain tairay school of democracy, to me the space for dissent is itself important to the democratic polity; for that reason alone I beleive that these are important articulations.
Answer to last sentence; None. This was needed by the mullahs who bitterly opposed the creation of Pakistan to get back in the saddle – so to speak. Funny the same mullahs who were no where to be seen in the Pakistan Movement – except in opposition – keep trying to tell us what is the meaning of Pakistan (Pakistan ka matalb kia…). Isn’t it time that those who were in favour of the movement define what Pakistan should be?
The very eloquent speaker from the Binori madrassah quoted the slogan ” Paksitan ka mutlab kya….La Ilaha Ilallah ! ” as being the founding credo for Pakistan. This was not challenged by General Musharaff when he went into his point by point rebuttal of the young student’s list of issues.
Can anyone who has studied the history of the Partition educate us us to which of the founding fathers of Pakistan subscribed to this slogan ? …and what percentage of the population of Pakistan at the time of partition believed in this slogan ?
Here is an idea for an Web Poll for ATP. What do people think is the likelihood of Benazir getting back and a Musharraf-Benazir alliance … cases against Benazir and Asif Z get dropped, Mush uniform stays, and we get one more alliance of the unscrupulous. Poor Nawaz sulks and wishes he could have gotten into the deal… which could have happened had it not been for the chaudhry…..
any takers?
Hassan,
Why is it sad? When I was studying in the west, it was taught in international oriented courses that different cultures have different styles.
Having lived in a few countries both east and west, I have seen a few styles of communications. The middle eastern would stand very close to you such that a westerner might think he is violating personal space. Italians and Spanish have a very animated communication style.
And Pakistanis brought up in Pakistan or Pakistani community in middle east are also known for emotionally charged communication style.
Hello,
I stumbled on this (first) video clip and unfortunately dont understand urdu, so i only understand the few english cues…
I think many people would be interested in a translation or subtitles or a short summary.
Concerning the judging on appearance: Musharraf wore a military uniform, the student had this mullah style. This tells us where they are coming from. This is not as important as what they say.
I didn’t like the fingerpointing of the student (literally spoken, because I couldn’t understand him). In western Europe this is considered a rather aggressive gesture or gives the impression of lecturing someone or preaching. Is this kind of body language in Pakistan perceived differently?
Lastly, you are probably right about Bush evading this kind of open discussions. But that is not true for american or european politicians in general.
soupchef