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!
@social mistri
loot and plunder of 65 billion dollar in less than 8 years by the army, this translates into 2.7 million dollar a day. And you think pakistan is making progress economically, Israel is getting much less than this and look at their economic progress. The argument of any economic progress during the army rule is absolutely flawed. Army is ruling the country right now to plunder the cash flowing into Pakistan (recently they have agreed to share it with Mohatrama.. but I think she is not going to get a lot), as soon as the cash stops flowing into Pakistan , army will go back to baracks (remember 1988).
it is sad and ironic how rather than applauding the fact that for the first time in “PAKISTAN’S” storied history a 5 year term has been completed by a parliament no matter if you like MUSHARAF or not, but instead lot of comments made on this particular forum which are totally disconnected from the reality of “PAKISTAN”, if any body has any answers for the following questions plz be free to answer rather than taking cheap shots
a)what is the history of democracy in pakistan going as far back as 1950s??
b)name a single “CIVIL” institution which has had any credibility or input in PAKISTAN’s political scene??
c)if given that PAKISTAN some how becomes a BEACON of democracy , how would that better the situation??
d) why is it that b4 MUSHARAF no one dared criticizing the “PAK” army, when there were individuals like ZIA & AYUB at the helm, the former being the worst?
e)where were all the so called “FREEDOM” loving LAWYERS when NAWAZ SHARIFS’s cronies ransacked the APEX COURT???
f) does any one truly believes that if either NAWAZ or BB were premiers of pakistan, that they would have allowed the media outlets to operate freely let alone exist & plz donot give bogus analogy usually presented by “MEDIA-TYPES” that global trends would have forced the hands of “powers to be”.
g) plz point out substantive problems facing pakistan do not present false and bogus claims, i will more than happily rebut !
I liken forced Musharraf’s recent victory at gunpoint to the 1953 coup in Iran that brought Shah back to power. This event set the stage for a bloody revolution 26 years later.
Pakistan is headed for it’s own French revolution. I hope it does not take 26 years though.
The picture taken from Daily Times is a clear depiction of Pakistan’s lack of ability to introduce new faces into politics. These are same old bloodsuckers that have been around for ages and refuse to leave the scene. They are what Pakistan has come to be – a dormant, stale and an undynamic country, frozen in time and refusing to move forward. The people, on the other hand, are perhaps the best minds and the most actively talented one can the find in the entire world. It
There is just too much negativity in this thread. And only because that’s what being focused on, not because that’s the only thing happening. I came across this:
http://techlahore.wordpress.com/2007/09/29/pakista n-beats-out-india-and-china-as-a-better-place-to-d o-business/
earlier today. Take a look at this article and the site in general. That’s the kind of stuff happening in Pakistan as well… smart people making inroads, earning foreign exchange for the country with innovative products and services. Improving employment, improving the per capita income, making a better name for Pakistan, one customer at a time.
There’s another very inspiring post about a Pakistani animation company, here:
http://techlahore.wordpress.com/2007/10/06/pakista ns-commander-safeguard-huge-hit-in-mexico-beats-li ving-daylights-out-of-sponge-bob/