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Who will we be defending ourselves from on THIS September 6th?
Sunday, August 24, 2008
By
Zakintosh
For many years Pakistanis have observed September 6th as the National Defense Day (also dubbed Army Day), albeit with decreasing fervour. The decline in excitement, other than one that any joyous escape from school a holiday brings, has been caused, partially, from the passage of time from the 1965 war: most of the readers of this blog had not even been born then, while others now have a better understanding of the misadventure. Another factor, however, is also the growing disenchantment with, and opposition to, the political role of the Army.
This September 6th, again, if the Presidential Election takes place, the Army may be on many minds – or at least in the warped minds of those who continue to look upon it as the only possible political saviour. Let us hope, however, that politics is not on the Army’s mind – an oxymoron, some would argue – and General Kiyani (despite the warning bells that the letter quoted Ardeshir’s column today echoes) will continue to depoliticize the Army.
But, hey, there is such a thing as pushing someone too far! And we may be leaning too hard on him already.
President Zardari? asks the headline in today’s Dawn, announcing the acceptance of the proposal (to contest the presidential election) by arguably the most controversial figure Pakistan’s politics has ever seen.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) on Saturday formally named its Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari as its candidate for the office of the president.
“Being the party’s deputy secretary-general, I am pleased to announce that PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari has accepted the will of the party to become Pakistan’s next president,” said the Leader of the House in the Senate, Mian Raza Rabbani, while announcing the decision of naming Zardari as the candidate for the office of the president.
The News, another national newspaper, featured a story yesterday, spelling out why many are afraid of such a possibility. Here’s how it ends:
Zardari’s nomination has generated a stir among the political, social, bureaucratic, and security circles of the capital. It would be for the first time that a single person would run the state, the government and all its organs, as well as the country’s biggest political party.
If elected, president Asif Ali Zardari will also be Chairman National Security Council, who will be armed with the authority to appoint the Chairman Joint Chief of Staff Committee, Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Air Staff, Chief of Naval Staff, provincial governors, Chief Election Commissioner, Attorney General, and the powers to dissolve the National Assembly and Provincial Assemblies under Article 58-2(b).
Compared to Musharraf, Zardari as president will be much more powerful as he will also control Pakistan’s biggest political party bequeathed to him by Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto along with all her political and monetary assets.
After having a hand-picked, “yes” prime minister, compliant judiciary, presidential powers under 17th Amendment and the biggest political party which would wait for his nod for any action, Zardari is set to become more powerful than Musharraf or any politician in Pakistan would ever have dreamt of.
[Aside: Does no one at The News know that a preposition is not something you end a sentence with?]
Dawn’s headline proved really disturbing for a dear friend, Tony Afzal, living in the USA. He was horrified enough to write a letter to the newspaper’s editor, suggesting things I wouldn’t suggest. I cannot quote it in full, since it has not yet been published – though he did send me a copy. This is what he asks all of us: As a people, have we now come to this? Are we all collectively deranged?
My short answer: Yes! (Based on my conviction that the majority is always wrong. After all, when everyone thinks the same, no one really thinks. And those that try to do so, loudly, get shafted!)
Source: http://www.kidvai.com/windmills/2008/08/who-will-we-be-defending-ourselves.html
The Fall of Musharraf
Rasul Bakhsh Rais
President Pervez Musharraf has departed, having resigned to escape the humiliation of impeachment. Yet another painful chapter of Pakistan’s political history has been closed, ending the political uncertainty the country has been facing for the past five months.
Why painful? It may be considered a polite expression for an era when the General-President overthrew an elected government to save his position as the Chief of Army Staff. At least in previous military interventions there was a political crisis and some kind of government breakdown. That was not the case on October 12, 1999.
The ruling party had a comfortable two-thirds majority in the National Assembly and all political parties with remarkable consensus had passed the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. Pakistan was on the road to democratic recovery but with the usual traits of autocracy that are embedded in the country’s political culture.
Musharraf came to power and ruled the country only as COAS, like his three predecessors. His uniform was his first line of defence and the army an instrument of self-empowerment and control. The day he doffed his uniform, he was no longer the master of his or the country’s fate.
Musharraf exits the Pakistani stage as storm clouds gather
By
Rich Bowdenon August 20, 2008 7:40 AM
Pakistan’s former leader Pervez Musharraf resigned yesterday in an emotional address to the nation ahead of impeachment proceedings brought by the country’s newly-resurgent Parliament. Musharraf dominated Pakistani politics for almost a decade and strode the world stage as one of the U.S.’s chief regional allies in the war against terrorism. However the euphoria expressed at the ousting of the one time strongman was tempered with the knowledge that Islamabad is likely to face a protracted power struggle to fill the vacuum.
Musharraf’s ascendancy was the catalyst that brought together the two main parties; the Pakistan Peoples Party and Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), though the two have traditionally been rivals throughout the country’s history. With the chief reason for the parties’ awkward and fragile coalition now gone, the country could face an uncertain, if not violent, political future.
The record of the two parties coalition since obtaining office in February is mixed and there have been squabbles over key issues such as immunity for Musharraf and the vexing question of whether to reinstate the judges ousted by Musharraf, an act which proved to be the tipping point for Musharraf in the eyes of the Pakistani public.
The Destabilization of Pakistan
The debate is heating up between those who favor and oppose sending more troops to Afghanistan. Put me in the latter camp – I cannot support escalation without first hearing a clear explanation of the strategic changes that would accompany the escalation, along with an explanation of how we’ll address issues of government and development sector corruption. In other words, I think that pumping in more troops without addressing the structural flaws of our approach will yield no results.And since we’re a long way away from solving those problems, I think we should hold off on troop increases.
Building an argument for or against more troops involves answering a number of questions. I’m only going to deal with one sub-point here,but it’s an important one: we need to define more carefully what political and social consequences escalation in Afghanistan might have for Pakistan.
One point that everyone on all sides of the debate loves to make is that x, y, or z maneuver by the US might ‘destabilize Pakistan.’ I think we’re reaching a point where we can talk more precisely about what that means. It’s easy to talk about ‘destabilization’ – it’s a nice buzzword that makes you sound authoritative, and an intimidating prospect to scare your audience or your opponents with. It’s a bogeyman. I myself have used it that way in the past. Admittedly,’destabilization‘ can be shorthand for a range of phenomena that are understood by the parties involved in a debate, but I think in this case we need to bring our use of the word back to more concrete details. The debate about Afghanistan/Pakistan needs to be accessible to as many Americans as possible.
Pakistan Politics on the Brink Again:
By Shuja Nawaz
August 19th, 2008
As Pakistan lurches into another paroxysm of power politics with the threatened impeachment and expected resignation of President Pervez Musharraf, the post-Musharraf picture is not as clear or rosy as the authors of this move may want it to be. The unelected leaders of the coalition government of the Pakistan Peoples’ Party and the Pakistan Muslim League (N), Messrs. Asif Ali Zardari and M. Nawaz Sharif respectively may yet find themselves facing a political mess even after Musharraf is gone. There is much that may yet split their on-again, off-again alliance and bring the country to the edge of a new political crisis. In the meantime, the country is sliding into economic chaos and there is no sign that the government has a credible strategy to cope with the impending disaster.
After two weeks of travel and conversations with citizens, civil leaders, military officials, and journalists in Pakistan, a complex picture emerges: a country beset by serious economic woes, a growing insurgency, and a fractured polity. In the shadows sits the powerful Pakistan army, the historical arbiter of Pakistani politics, headed by a publicly inscrutable but privately engaged and engaging new chief, General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani.
Welcome To CIA-Sponsored Democracy
President Musharraf leaves office alone, besieged and abandoned. He is not leaving the country into strong hands. In fact, in the hands of the most the corrupt, unscrupulous and dangerous criminals this country ever produced. The regime-change game which CIA had initiated about one year ago finally succeeds. Musharraf’s removal is only a milestone in the larger CIA game of taking over Pakistan’s premier intelligence service, the ISI. Now another battle will begin for the control of power centers in Islamabad. Judges will not be restored and governance will not improve. Fasten your seat belts for some very bumpy ride in the coming days. The present leadership is not just incompetent; they are outright dangerous for the country. Now they cannot blame Musharraf for their failures and treasons and army would be watching their moves carefully.
By ZAID HAMID
Monday, 18 August 2008.
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan—President Musharraf finally resigns; ill advised, surrounded and abandoned; he chose to take the path of least resistance. He tried to be dignified in defeat and recounted his victories and achievements but the sorry state is that his legacy is Zardari, NRO and a corrupt weak government in Islamabad with a country literally gone to dogs!
He is not leaving the country into strong hands, in fact in the hands of most corrupt, unscrupulous and dangerous criminals this country has ever produced. The regime change game which CIA had initiated about one year ago finally succeeds though his resignation remains only a milestone in the larger CIA game of taking over Pakistan’s premier intelligence service ISI.
The CIA sponsored, PPP executed, U.S. backed attempted coup against ISI had begun to unfold a few weeks back with a new ruthless cut throat political strategy and a new target designation. This plan has the following landmarks to be achieved in rapid succession:
- Removal of President Musharraf.
- Appointment of Mr. Zardari or his man as President.
- Bringing ISI again under Ministry of Interior.
- Complete take over of Pakistan’s security establishment by CIA.
There is no doubt that both U.S. and Britain are closely monitoring the moves of the army as the Army Chief is also a major hurdle in U.S. plans to bring ISI under MoI. With all the political parties in U.S. pocket, the army and the ISI are the next targets once the President has been annihilated.
Mr. Musharraf could have done better when he had decided to leave. He could have restored the judges to make life miserable for Zardari. He could have revoked the NRO to prevent Zardari from becoming the most powerful man in the country. He did neither and now Zardari is ecstatic and already planning to place his man, women or himself in the President house.
It is scavenging to the core by the political vultures and hyenas and now another battle will begin for the control of power centers in Islamabad. Judges will not be restored and governance will not improve. Fasten your seat belts for some very bumpy ride in the coming days. The present leadership is not just incompetent; they are outright dangerous for the country. Now they cannot blame Musharraf for their failures and treasons and army would be watching their moves carefully.
Welcome to CIA sponsored democracy.
This column is extracted from a situation report released by BRASSTACKS, a security and defense analysis think tank based in Islamabad. Mr. Zaid Hamid is its Founding Consultant. He can be reached at info@brasstacks.biz
What Everybody Has Done With Pakistan
Quaid-E-Azam :
Islamic Republic Of Pakistan
Ayob Khan:
Army Republic Of Pakistan
Bhutto :
Peoples Party Of Pakistan
Yahya Khan:
What So Ever Divided By 2 Pakistan
Zia-Ul-Haq:
Jihad Republic Of Pakistan
Ghulam Ishaq Khan:
ISI Republic Of Pakistan
Moeen Qureshi :
Taxation Republic Of Pakistan
Benazir Bhutto :
Zardari Republic Of Pakistan
Nawaz Sharif:
Abba Jee & Sons Republic Of Pakistan
Gen. Pervez Musharraf :
Pakistan (Pvt). Ltd.
People of Pakistan :
Immigration From Pakistan
A Bangladeshi’s visit to Pakistan shatters her paradigms
Posted on July 27, 2008 by Moin Ansari
A Bangladeshi respecting Pakistanis, that’s something you won’t find very often from someone from Bangladesh. But the Bangladeshi visitor, Fariha, went to Pakistan and met the regular people, and her perception of Pakistan changed from the traditional anti-Paki views, which was imprinted to us in Bangladesh, to an open minded view. Read the article below thoroughly and you’ll realize us Bengalis are not that different from our fellow Pakistanis.
Fariha wrote:
“ Apko kia pata, ke humara dil apke liye kitna rota hai. Jab aap logo ko koi taklif hota hai to humain lagta hain k taklif humain ho raha hai. Bohot pyar karte hai hum aap se. alag ho gaye to kya hua. Bhai to bhai hota hai. Bangladeshi to humare bhai hai.” Rafe, 60-something, Bus-driver, Lahore
I’ve met people from different parts of the world and traveled to a few places myself. But never, not once, in any of my interactions or travels, have I ever come across a race of people who have made me feel so proud of my nationality: Bangladeshi. But then, I visited Pakistan. I was born in an independent Bangladesh. I’ve never had to struggle to get my voice heard, I was allowed to vote (till quite recently) and I’m allowed to speak my mind. Until my trip to Pakistan, I had never realized how precious all these things are. I had always regarded Pakistan, a distant country, as a bitter chapter in our history. But only after meeting the people did I realize how close we could be and how much my heritage means to them. Never before have I received so much respect for just being Bangladeshi.
Till quite recently, I had never visited Pakistan. Neither had my parents. Since the only Pakistanis I’d met belonged to the educated bourgeoisie class, I had assumed that it was only this select lot who were aware of the atrocities committed in 1971. I had always believed that most Pakistanis believed that Bangladeshis were Kafirs who had let India take them over and regarded us with disdain. Don’t ask me why I thought all of this or what explanation I have for my notions. My notions had stemmed from the prevalent attitude of our pro-liberation buddhijibis, who have, through their own glorifications of our War of Liberation, somehow equated patriotism as anti-Pakistani feeling and instilled that in some of us. In fact, I still know people who think that to be a true patriot you would have to hate Pakistan, with all its institutions and people. Our elders in Bangladesh, somehow always let us think that Pakistanis don’t care about Bangladesh. I’m not blaming them for my ill-conceived ideas. I was partly to blame for judging a whole race simply on the basis of the half-truths I had heard. I am not proud of what I thought. But my recent trip to Pakistan has made me feel proud of who I am and I am proud of my newly acquired views. Though I think that I now face the threat of being termed a ‘paki-lover’ or ‘Rajakar’, I am writing this because I think that our generation needs to know the other side of the story.
Moakhza
Table Talk
Ousting Zardari
July 16th, 2008 · Shaan Akbar
Insider Brief sources report that Pakistani intelligence officials have recently been engaged in a spate of closed-door meetings. The topic of discussion? The ouster of Asif Ali Zardari and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) from power and the engineered return of Nawaz Sharif.
The Why
The news in and of itself should not be surprising, and for multiple reasons. First, the Pakistani military/intelligence establishment has always distrusted and disliked the PPP. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Benazir’s father, recognized this and established the Federal Security Force in an attempt to offset the influence of the ISI. The FSF was promptly disbanded after Gen. Zia-ul-Huq’s 1979 coup. On the other hand, Nawaz Sharif is a child of the establishment, promoted and sponsored by Gen. Zia himself.
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