Adil Najam
The Lawyer’s Long March from Lahore to Islamabad is literally hours away as I write this. Arrests of activists continue and a number have just been arrested in Lahore. As if things were not complicated enough, the unseating of the Shahbaz Sharif government in the Punjab and subsequent political developments have added new fuel of Pakistan’s many political fires.
The Zardari government, already losing some important allies from within its own ranks, has gone all out to make sure that the Long March does not succeed. The Lawyer’s movement and Nawaz Sharif (for rather different reasons) are going all out to make sure that it becomes a game changer. In the next many hours we will begin to get clues about which it will be.
Meanwhile, there can be no better commentary about where we have been and come from on this then these clips from now blocked GEO TV. It shows before and after ‘power’ comments from Farooq Niaq – until recently the PPP’s Law Minister and now Speaker of the Senate (and, therefore, next in line to the Presidency).
“Whole country paralyzed because NS lost his govt in Punjab. What a disgrace these politicians are. And poo on the people of Pakistan for always being ready for a new hungama and tor-phor.”
aamir ali. continue earning your dollar-denominated income.
and let us pakistanis be.
“poo on the people of Pakistan ” which includes the Pak Army… unless they come from Mars. They vote in the same elections, for the same politicians that every body else does. Pakistani politicians are corrupt and have little or no regard for the law. The military dictators we have had had no regard for the Constituion or their oath. The Corp Commanders had little difficulty in ditching their oaths, too, and their loyalty to the Consitution in favour of loyalty to the Chief. As for corruption, is it possible to even imagine accountability of the military? Even Gen Yahya Khan was burried with full military honour. On the other hand, ZAB had to face judicial murder. In the Mehran Bank case, despite a full admission by Gen Mirza in open court, about the ISI subverting the 1988 General elections, only a civilian ended up in prison. Gen Musharraf publicly admitted that his Nov 2, 2007 action was “extra-constitutional”. Yet, any number of politicians have spent time in prison, even Attock and Lahore forts, convicted or not. It’s the people of Pakistan rising that will put poo on the corrupt elite – be it political or military. For this change to remain right minded and democratic, it will have to be a slow, painful process. Cynics and pessimists are unlikely to make a useful contribution. Nor the intolerant. Their vitriol can only spur on those who take pride in being Pakistani and care about changing it for the better, through a determined, tolerant and constitutional (therefore slow) struggle.
Just noticed on your “2 YEARS AGO ON ATP” button in the column that two years ago today the headline was about Musharraf banning the Kamran Khan show. Some things never change!
“And poo on the people of Pakistan for always being ready for a new hungama and tor-phor.”
Pooh on you “Aamir Ali” for being such a hypocrite. You call yourself a “Pakistani” – you don’t know the meaning of the word.
“Thanks to NS and wukula for paralyzing the country for the sake of one individual and for making a mockery of democracy.”
sorry for the inconvenience guys!