Adil Najam
Since yesterday the “I” word – impeachment – has begun to be thrown around a lot.
Some quarters seem to think that it just happen this time. Others suggest that it is more talk than action and the numbers needed to pull this are still not there.
Coming out of the “critical” Nawaz Sharif-Asif Zardari meetings one keeps wondering how much of this is an effort to keep the coalition going and how much is a real push to change the essential political equations of Pakistan. There are reports that Gen. Musharraf is taking this move seriously enough to cancel his trip to China (to attend the Olympics opening ceremony). On the other hand some of Gen. Musharraf’s supporters are claiming that no such cancellation has happened. We do know, however, that he is taking this challenge seriously and lining up his supporters.
All in all, there is too much noise to say what is happening. But something is clearly happening. Does the PPP-PML(N) have the numbers they need to go ahead? Does the President have the numbers he needs to stop it? And what of all the external actors and where they may lean, why and for what?
Interestingly, we had run a ATP Poll back in June asking you what you thought would have happened to Gen. Musharraf by October 2008? The majority (38%) had thought that he would be impeached by then. A significant number (31%) thought that by October 2008 we woudl be still muddling through as we are now.
We do not intend to open the Poll again, but it does seem that either of those two answers could turn out to be true again. Indeed, even our earlier Poll on the subject, from October 2007, may still be relevant in its results!
So, since we can’t make full sense of exactly what all of this adds up to, we thought we woudl ask our best source: You. What do you think? What is happening? What might happen? And why?
I wish, all politicians should be charged with treason. Their assets should be frozen and eventually used by the government (Which would end up a pretty huge amount). It’s the tax WE pay that they’ve looted anyway.
Then they should be made to stand in a line and executed by firing squad.
This would atleast let the younger and more educated generation (With real degrees and no family history of beaurucracy) to come up and stand for elections. Atleast they would have live consciouses and little experience of looting money.
We need a new start. It’s always the same old corrupt people who win elections. And when they die, members of their immediate families (Like husbands and sons) take their places. This is a wheel which just goes round and round and round! And we expect to come out of this. Blind hope I say unless the wheel is broken.
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Ahmed Shadid:
So now you move away from your lies about Lal Masjid. Good. Regarding May 12 in Karachi, it was not Musharraf who gave the orders, and the crossfire that resulted between ANP and MQM was both their fault.
Regarding action in Baluchistan and elsewhere, once again it is the job of the government to target criminals and terrorists and to either capture or kill them. The current government is doing the same.
NZs seems to be really disgusted. Somethings wrong somewhere. These two must be blackmailing each.
Its like deja vu except that its not May and the PM belongs to the opposition party (??).
Anyone recall a China visit by a PM and whe he returned he was told he was heading a corrutp government and the ‘ONLY’ righteous man has took it over again.