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!
By Ansar Abbasi in Today’s News. I would provide a link but this one needs posting here. Apologies to the moderators.
ISLAMABAD: The American interference in Pakistani politics is at an all time high, with Washington contacting different authorities in Islamabad, ignoring recognised diplomatic channels and bypassing the prime minister and his government to ensure smooth sailing for Benazir Bhutto.
A reliable source in the Presidency told this correspondent that during some recent discussions amongst senior authorities, it was revealed that influential American government leaders were directly contacting different Pakistani leaders and officials, ignoring the Foreign Office and even the prime minister, who is the chief executive of the country.
Although, this mounting American interference was not the issue being discussed in such high-level interactions, the source privy to such deliberations found it extremely upsetting. He revealed that the extent of American interference could be judged from the worrying fact that Washington had lately written a letter directly to a Pakistani spymaster to discuss the progress on Benazir-Musharraf dialogue issue.
How could the Americans do that? There is no explanation to this. Is it proper for intelligence agencies
Blah blah blah blah… elections won’t happen, musharraf won’t give up the uniform, nothing will ever work, the sky will fall, we’ll all die, famine will strike, oh no oh no, let’s never praise anything, never see any good in anything, let’s all crib and complain until we kill each other with our whining…
BLECH!
Aggay chal, ya aggo’n hutt!
As a writer you should see good in every bad situation. Don’t give up. Build other institutions in Pakistan. Don’t destroy the only institution which is Pak forces. News media, and lawyers are hope, if they work right and use brain. Normal people never can do anything.
pejamistri, i didn’t say he would shed his uniform back in 2004. it was pretty apparent that he was keeping his options open.
and i’m not getting personal. i’m just saying, you’re boldly proclaiming as a fact that he will NOT shed his uniform. i’m just saying, we’ll see…
musharraf has quite thoroughly won the political battle that began in march. the CJ, who everyone was thinking was some sort of a muchhar clark kent, has turned out to be thussss… jaali balo’n wali balaa (aka NS), who was supposed to be greeted by 1 million of his most loyal supporters, also found his lies exposed (in writing, i might add) and his political vespa completely punctured. i, for one, am super-duper glad.
kse at 14,484! uth kay baee! haey oay, sadkay jaava’n! etc.
No matter what the voter turnout, the results will be what suits Uncle Sam and the Pak establishment. That is, if the elections do happen at all. At th moment, the situation seems to being deliberately guided towards possible imposition of emergency.