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!
Viqar bhai, revolution mein saaro’n ka baira gharak ho ga. If you want a revolution in Pakistan, please see the short cinematic preview by looking for youtube videos on what happened in Lahore (mall road) when the danish cartoon incident happened. There is mindless and pointless violence that leads to no benefit for no one. Kyou’n ghareebo’n ko sheh detay hein.
Also, both Viqar saab and PatExpat bhaijan belittle the personal account I shared with them as if I am the only one who got a home loan in the last 5 years, who is working at a company that’s doing well, who is benefitting from the economic progress in the country. If NO ONE OTHER THAN ME IS BENEFITING FROM THESE THINGS, then where are the 10s of thousands of new cars coming from? Deewan Farooq ki income statement dekhain pichlay saal ki. Look at the ramp up in production. Are the super duper elite buying Santros? Who is buying 100,000 sub 1.5 ton ACs in Pakistan every year? PML-Q parliamentarians only? The Chaudhry family only? I don’t like the Chaudhries either, but package deal is a package deal. Musharraf is worth it. Look at how quickly new buildings are being occupied by SMALL BUSINESSES. Go visit the new Auriga center that was finished hardly a year ago. It is almost all occupied now with small shops. What isn’t occupied has been sold already.
Thora sa balance laien apnay criticism mein. I am not saying everything is perfect, but I am fedup of people being extremely negative, sitting abroad and watching TV, comfortably getting news from websites and then talking about what true democracy is and how there should be a revolution and blah blah. Saieen aap chahtay kya hein? Overnight the mess that we’ve been in for 5,000 years (YES, 5,000 years!!!), should suddenly go away? Itna to Allah mian kay nabi bhi nahien kar paatay. Instant fix hour kithay ja kay labbo, Rab aithay naien denda instant fix.
Since the day Pakistan has been created, people have been complaining how there are no viable white collar jobs for any graduate… so why study? only to get frustrated? Well, here I am a graduate with a good job. I am not alone. There are tens of thousands out there like me just employed in the IT industry, hundreds thousands more in the Telecom sector. These numbers were close to ZERO prior to the the Musharraf government. Please don’t belittle the facts that I have to share with you. You may want a Ganja Paapi Amir-ul-momineen type “democrat”, sanoo’n saadi naukri tay saada genrail ee changa!
It’s a long road to freedom,
D A7
A winding steep and high,
D
But if you walk in love
G
With the wind on your wing,
D
And cover the earth
G
With the songs you sing
D G D
The miles fly by
D G D
I walked one morning by the sea,
G A7 D
And all the waves reached out to me,
G A7 D
I took their tears, then let them be.
I walked one morning at the dawn,
When bits of night still lingered on,
I sought my star, but it was gone.
I walked one morning with a friend,
And prayed the day would never end,
The years have flown, so why pretend.
I walked one morning with my King,
And all my winters turned to spring,
YET EVERY MOMENT HELD ITS STING
Social Mistri,
On the face of it, your reasoning sounds quite persuasive. I do have two questions, though.
What you are enjoying in Lahore, in spite of not being Musharraf’s bhateeja, is that also being experienced by the common man in most other other cities in Pakistan? Say, Peshawar, Nawabshah, Larkana, Jacobadbad, Quetta, even Karachi? Or, do you beleive that Lahore, Faisalabad, Sialkot, and Pindi/Islamabad represent the entirety of Pakistan?
Also, does your reasoning not imply that a huge amount of good can be – in fact should be – done through all kinds of questionable means? What message does it send to the ordinary citizens of Pakistan who don’t make in a month what you can make in an hour?
Please don’t say to us:”trust me “you” do not want a revolution”. Say instead: :”trust me “I” do not want a revolution”.
Sleep well …
Mr. Mistri,
I am happy for your well being. And hope the rest of the country also feels the same way.
However, it does not. The gap between rich and poor has increased. Number of people below poverty line has increased. Though your foreign exchange reserves are at $16 BIllion, your current account deficit is $8 billion. Of the $16 Billion, significant portion has come from selling the family silver at throwaway prices (privatization) and remittances. The remaining is composed of US Aid for fighting war against terrorism. Exports constitute minute part of it. As such, the situation is critical if you could ever comprehend the statements of SBP where such issues are highlighted between the lines.
KSE has never been a representative of the general economy going up and down at its on will. I am sure things were not that bad in April 2005 when KSE crashed with Shortcut Aziz and the remaining making billions at the cost of small investor. My advice: Becareful of KSE. They say “Yeh beti ka ghar hai. Aadmi yahan day kar hi jata hay. Kuch lay kar nahin jata”
Congratulations on owning a plot. You are one of the few who have realized their dream. While the rest of the nation is grappling where to come up with down payment for the ever increasing real estate prices to own a plot.
The savings rate is almost zilch. The credit culture has been promoted where everybody is owning foreign manufactured cars, ACs, bikes, etc without having the necessary infrastructure of energy nor roads etc. Credit helps when it develops demands for local produced good resulting in increase industrialization. Here credit has helped in increasing imports of luxuries.
We still export the same raw textiles. Bumper wheat crop and we end up importing it. In the last 8 years, no indiginous manufacturing facility has been established. We still import every thing starting from safety pin.
Just because you have it good does not mean everybody has it good as well. There are signs out there if you are willing to see them. Anyway, Aagay Aagay dekhyay hota hai kia
Kishikajo ji, thank you for telling me what the “rest of us” think (i.e. rest of us by your definition is Population of Pakistan minus Social Mistri)
Contrary to your statement about my nocturnal affairs, I am very much awake and absolutely happy with – not the person of Musharraf – but what his continuing in office means for our country. It means there will be stability and continuity of policy. That is more important for Pakistan than anything else right now.
What have slogans ever given this nation? I am interested only in the REAL opportunity that has been created in the past 8-10 years. I have personally benefited from it NOT BECAUSE I AM MUSHARRAF’s bhateeja, but because I could invest (albeit a small amount!) in the KSE, and I could put up the 20% upfront on a small plot in Lahore… The banks DID give me loans even though I had no sifarish. I DID find a job at a tech company where my salary has increased an average of 50% year over year for the last 4 years. The company I work for HAS frown its business at almost 80% a year, all from US and European customers. THIS IS WHAT MUSHARRAF HAS GIVEN ME, WITHOUT EVEN KNOWING ME. And I am thankful to him for it. None of us had this when the Ganja Paapi of Jeddah was ruling us.
Allah ka bara shukar hay! I hope the next 10 years do for the economy what the last ten have done.