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!
AUK sahib, America has no love affair with BB. They are lending their support to her because of the lack of an alternative.
PPP and Muslim League are the only two parties capable to form a government in Pakistan with mullahs being a wild card. Muslim League is more of a group of individuals not a political party. Mullahs are just not acceptable to America for obvious reasons so you are left with just PPP.
Support from America is not a guarantee of success (ask Chavez). Pakistani people can still come out of their homes in droves to vote for someone other than PPP but I am willing to bet that the voter turnout would be less than 30% as usual.
I, for one, have no problem with getting progress and prosperity at the cost of these perceived notions of freedom and self-esteem. Japan seems to have done quite well in that regard as has Germany. It’s entirely selfish and short-sighted to deny your future generations of opportunity and prosperity because you cannot get past issues of honor and ego.
Harris Sahab, The issue is not that we need America or not, we do, and any government in Pakistan would be remiss if they said otherwise. The issue is that policies that America won’t prescribe for itself prescribes for us Pakistanis. Why doesn’t America let us make our own choices and our own decisions, instead of forcing them down our throats.
In America’s eyes democracy is synonymous with BB, which as we have seen twice, is a disastrous recipe for Pakistan. Don’t the Americans know that? Pakistanis know that, but may not have the freedom to decide, when the next elections’ results will be forced upon us. Can we for once given the choice to elect our leadership, instead of this “doctrine of necessity” being forced on us?
Yes, we all want progress and prosperity, but not at the cost of our freedom and our self-esteem (maybe some of us do, but I am not one of them).
After reading 96 or so posts, all I hear is the nagging and complaining about Musharraf’s policies and how he has failed to take care of the poor. Who has taken care of the poor in Pakistan? Name one political party on the horizon that has a solid plan to fight poverty. Better yet write your bright ideas how you would “eliminate” poverty. It will be an entertaining reading.
Say what you want but no one can deny the fact that Pakistan’s economy has grown by leaps and bounds in the past 8 years. Mistri brought up some good points. The home ownership is at the all time high, more cars are being imported and the motorcycle manufacturers are running at higher than full capacity. As for the poor, there will always be a sizable population below poverty line. Governments can only implement policies to create an environment for new opportunities and no government can ever eliminate the poverty line.
Have those of you fulfilling your national and religious duty of cursing America ever wondered that there maybe more than American Aid at stake here? We have a 6000 Mega watt shortage of power at the moment which will only increase in the coming years. We need multi billion dollar dams to counter it and as usual that money will come from IMF in the form of low interest loans. Can you get that money without American approval?
Face the fact guys, there is only one dominant civilization in the world at any given time, you either align with it or remain uncivilized. The only other option is to make your own civilization dominant, but with our people being lazy and corrupt by nature; I don’t see that happening anytime soon.
“million dollars for