There is a new political party ready to jump into the tumultuous political arena of Pakistan. It is nomenclatured “All Pakistan Muslim League” and is to be led by Pakistan’s former president Pervez Musharraf, now residing in London for a break. Dubai is the venue where off and on, he meets his supporters and fans who believe sincerely or wistfully that he is the one in the prevailing chaotic circumstances to act as a redeemer and a kind of reborn Messiah for the distressed people of Pakistan.
Aside, his heftily paid lectures that he delivers in various cities of the United States, and elsewhere, he is vigorously busy in finalizing the manifesto of his upcoming party that he intends to launch in the near future. In Dallas city of United States, he will launch his party’s chapter on October 15. The members from Quaid-e- Azam Muslim League party that he headed while he was the president, meet him in Dubai and in London for consultations and to show solidarity with him.
In Dallas, a group named “Friends of Pakistan-First” is frantically busy in finalizing arrangements in anticipation of Pervez Musharraf’s visit to Dallas. Already there is some kind of hectic canvassing going in the leading cities of America for raising membership and building sizeable support for former president’s party. Recently his close, diehard companion and confidant Dr. Nasim Ashraf chaired a meeting in Dallas to formally kick off the anticipatory interaction with Musharraf’s supporters and sympathizers. He seemed to be quite jubilant with his deliberations in this one of the leading metropolises of the United States.
A close source of the erstwhile president of Pakistan revealed that the party would be launched after the month of Ramadan perhaps with headquarters in London. He would be yet another Pakistani political leader besides MQM’s Altaf Hussain to steer his party from London. However, the difference between Altaf Hussain and Musharraf is that while the former has no plans to return to Pakistan so soon, the latter is throwing hints to be in Pakistan sometime next year.
According to reliable sources although Pervez Musharraf was eager to shuttle between London and Pakistan, yet he cannot venture going right now because of the formidable challenges and grave risks exposed to him. There is a lurking danger to his life from religious radical militants and from the Baluch avengers of Akbar Bugti’s assassination ascribed to Pervez Musharraf. Additionally he might be trapped into a maze of legal proceedings on issues such as storming of the Islamabad’s so-called Red Mosque in which scores of the resident female students were killed in the army action.
He might be tried for suspending constitution and imposing emergency in November 2007. As such, he has a plethora of threats to his life during his stay in Pakistan. Nevertheless, Dr Nasim Ashraf told Musharraf’s adherents in Dallas that his boss was firmly resolved to stage a comeback in Pakistan notwithstanding the impending pitfalls in his way and the possible dangers to his life and political career. He is determined to fight out the cases against him on moral and legal turfs and establish that whatever decisions he took as head of the state were in right earnest and in the best interests of Pakistan.
One such decision of far reaching import was to align Pakistan with America to wage war on the religious fanatics and the anti-American insurgents. In addition, he will have to justify for handing over high value suspects both Pakistanis and non -Pakistanis belonging to Al-Qaida to the United States for bounty money.
In case he lands in Pakistan the ruling PPP may still have some soft corner for him. However, Musharraf’s arch antagonist Nawaz Sharif and his party may not allow him having a smooth sailing in the turbulent waters of Pakistan. While there is a possibility that PPP may finally desire a coalition with APML (Musharraf) the Nawaz group may institute and pursue legal battle with him.
As such, the advent of Musharraf into Pakistani politics may not be as smooth as he and his party cadres might be expecting. Even Pervez Musharraf may himself be direly aware of the foreseen and unforeseen obstacles he may be facing, because politics is always unpredictable and a thorny course to embark upon. Had Musharraf been exiled or ousted because of a revolutionary movement, a la Imam Khomeini, he would have simply come and ridden over the crest of a popular wave. But he faces an entirely reverse situation and it might take him quite some time before he can feel secure to pursue his political ambitions.
No doubt in comparison a segment of population prefers Musharraf era over the ongoing democratic set up, as in the present times, the problems of people have not only compounded but the government has proven itself to be dysfunctional, incompetent or uncaring to address those problems. On one side, the people of Pakistan are steeped into a prolonged nightmare of countless soci civic problems, on the other, the government echelons from top to bottom are hell bent to prove themselves as corrupt and inefficient. They are stubbornly unconcerned of the degeneration, the country is drifting into. There is a wide gap of credibility between the rulers and the masses.
In the wake of such a frightening spectacle, a person like Musharraf can be looked upon as lesser evil or a person who did not allow his government to exceed limits as to be reaching a stage of virtual breakdown. His only sin was that he was placed into the throne of power by a mix of mysterious and sudden circumstantces that he could not even predict a day earlier. Ziaul Haq’s case was different. He came to power through a combined conspiracy of internal and external forces. Musharraf was the luckiest one that a calamity turned overnight into a blessing. Thereafter he followed the course that is typical to all dictators.
Although presently the manifesto of APML is being compiled, the principle thrust according to sources close to former president would be to unite all the factions of Muslim League under one banner. This would understandably preclude Nawaz faction. But as nothing is final in politics, maybe in the longer run, there is a change of hearts on both the sides and they join hands to merge as a strong monolithic entity. If such a development happens, it would facilitate the two party system, a healthy prelude to a genuine parliamentary system of government in Pakistan.
(The writer is a freelance journalist writing mostly on International Affairs with specific focus on Pakistan)
A few mails being shared. Mr Iftikhar:
ReplyDelete1-If Gen Musharraf was anything like the following two British rulers, as referred in the post, then he must return.
"Indictment" of Cromwell and George V
GEORGE V
He appeared hard working and became widely admired by the people of Britain and the Empire, as well as "The Establishment". Anti-intellectual and lacking the sophistication of his two royal predecessors, he nevertheless understood the British Empire better than most of his ministers; indeed he explained, "it has always been my dream to identify myself with the great idea of Empire." He used his exceptional memory for details and faces to good effect in small talk with commoners and officials. Historian David Cannadine portrays George V and Queen Mary as an "inseparably devoted couple" who did so much to uphold "character" and "family values." It was George V who established the modern norm of conduct for British royalty, reflecting the values and virtues of the upper middle-class rather than upper-class lifestyles or vices. He invariably wielded his influence as a force of neutrality and moderation, seeing his role as mediator rather than final decision maker. King George V was by temperament a cautious and conservative man who never fully appreciated or approved the revolutionary changes underway in British society. Nevertheless, everyone understood that he was earnestly devoted to Britain and the British Commonwealth.
continued.......
...continued...OLIVER CROMWELL
ReplyDeleteDuring the early nineteenth century, Cromwell began to be adopted by Romantic artists and poets. Thomas Carlyle continued this reassessment of Cromwell in the 1840s by presenting him as a hero in the battle between good and evil and a model for restoring morality to an age that Carlyle believed to have been dominated by timidity, meaningless rhetoric, and moral compromise. Cromwell's actions, including his campaigns in Ireland and his dissolution of the Long Parliament, according to Carlyle, had to be appreciated and praised as a whole.
By the late 19th century, Carlyle's portrayal of Cromwell, stressing the centrality of puritan morality and earnestness, had become assimilated into Whig and Liberal historiography. The Oxford civil war historian Samuel Rawson Gardiner concluded that "the man—it is ever so with the noblest—was greater than his work". Gardiner stressed Cromwell’s dynamic and mercurial character, and his role in dismantling absolute monarchy, while underestimating Cromwell’s religious conviction. Cromwell’s foreign policy also provided an attractive forerunner of Victorian imperial expansion, with Gardiner stressing his “constancy of effort to make England great by land and sea”.
Another:
ReplyDelete2-Mr Faisal:Musharraf,
violator of the oath and strangler of the Constitution;
arrests the chief justice of Pakistan,treats people's rights as a tissue paper.
masochists of this country deserve him.
A throwback to Cromwell days or George V which led to the declaration of Independance of the United States.read that indictment and compare it to M's rule.
I share a mail by the renowned Sipra:
ReplyDeleteAh ...allow the people to drown in the flood waters..fill the hallowed halls of law and parilamentary affairs with braggarts and charlatans... use an abuse the Constuition as if it was written in invisible ink...swagger thru the corridors of power and sell your soul and country to the devil ( if he will have it)...mouth trite and trumped up claims of good governance...keep deluding yurself that a sham "democracy" is better than a "bequeathed " democracy... allow the populace to groan under the heavy yoke of crushing poverty...endemic corruption that it is gnawing at the very core of the country... ignore the rampant inflation...let insidious forces hijack your young and indoctrinate them with misguided illusions of gaining entry to heaven...by killing ...maiming the weak -the unsuspecting and the innocent...let the bloody streets of Karachi become killing fields ...the whole country is going to hell in a hand basket and yu have the audacity to single out one individual for all that ails you...no regret - no blame- no anguish - on your present system of governance or the callous disregard for your fellowbeings...where is your humanity.?..where did yu leave your concience...? What happened to your sense of justice? You have a nation of a hundred and sixty million people and yu cannot find the moral courage to find a few good men and women -who will take destiny by the throat and still have a heart that pulsates to the rhythm of his or her nations hearbeat? Cry Pakistan!
After his that famous last punch that commando less of a military and more of a political scheming is now again eager to be a charmer on stands of polity fun fare. The same charming man who galloped on the saddle of unaccountable squares of power & prerogatives for over a decade. Throughout all those yrs he was made to understand by his the tahn set of chummy cronies that he was the one and only in the world who knew better than all how to grab, grub and seize power. The same charming man now about to dance with that last bullet in his pistol. The same charming man who is now in isolation and is actually haunted by his own loss of influence. He yet deprived himself of that unaccountable power and influence all by his own follies mainly because of ignoring the simple fact of life that what ever goes up must come down sooner or later. For almost a decade living happily and proudly within glorious moments of success one obviously gets indulged with a fallacy of sheer self confidence. Feeling of continued self success mainly because of sitting intact within a safety cabin of an armored sports vehicle or riding safely and joyfully on a mechanised and powered rocking horse is altogether different than riding on really a free wild and self powered horse on what now his new bunch of cahrming cronies are all trying to make him sit and ride.
ReplyDeleteThere was a day when in sheer self confidence on His driving skills and the manouvering capacity of his armored sports coupe He made a stunt attempt in top gear to pass through in between the Judiciary and The Media. But that stunt attempt unfortunately turned out to be like smashing into a bull simultaneously hitting on to a concrete wall.. Thereafter he once again miscalculated to give yet another blow of his that famous last punch. But the target that he considered soft unfortunately again turned out to be as hard as a rock that dragged them all between a rock and the hard place. His dearest friend and his front seat companion (also now famous as Shortcut Aziz) discreetly abandoned him right there in same critical condition but despite in his hurry & haste never forgot to pick and pack up all those bounties from our national ToshaKhana. Thereafter taking a flight from the scene of accident Mr. Shaukat Aziz now somewhere backstage is shrugging his shoulders and heard to be saying “Hey! its not my faaault! He was at the driving seeeat not meee” Most of the than fellow enthusiasts of Mr. Ex-President on his board who always cherished and shared his self confidence and capability of his driving skills quietly slipped and sneaked off his board one after the other. Thereafter and subsequently we have seen that in elections of February 2008 and consequently in all bi-elections not a single candidate even like his that thick and thin Sheikh Rashid and so many other known stalwarts never ever used the name and shadow of Pervez Mushurruf to bring up any strength, vigor and enthusiasm in their Electioneering campaigns. Life is like that for sure and we always remain prune to any misfortune. Those slings and arrows of our fortune never work forever because the sling finally breaks somewhere at a point and the club that contains those slings and arrows at last gets empty. Despite all our efforts, our skills, our smartness and our ability of tactical maneuverings we remain trivial to fall like a comet and fragment in a trice. Anyhow that good and bad but exciting time is over and we have already seen the good and bad result of his that famous Last Punch. Now let us all wait to see what happens to that Last and final Bullet he says that he is left with in his personal pistol and with which he has now announced to dance high-handed on stands of Polity Fun Fare. It’s all a matter of Time and Space because life is not a matter of milestones but of moments. To kick off his active political campaign he again is requesting the media to provide him a space. As of now that NPC (National Media Press Council) on which he had drawn that Iron Curtain with his blatant power now conditionally seeks his public pardon before he is provided with another space. To re-gain that reasonable space firstly he may have to go through so many such blots and pardons from Kohlu to LalMasjid and from murder of BB to the case of Aafia Siddiqui and missing persons, with that May 10 carnage of Karachi and what not? Anyway and anyhow Mr. Mushurruf and his brand new set and bunch of cronies now claim that he has fan ship of almost Two hundred thousands on FB alone. Now let us see how these great numbers of his fans and following help him comparatively much better way and more effectively than all those endless number of enthusiastic fans and friends of Mr. Imran Khan.
ReplyDeleteTHIS MANS PERFORMANCE HAS BEEN SO DISGUSTING ,THAT ONE DOES NOT FEEL LIKE COMMENTING, EXCEPT I HOPE HE COMES BACK!!
ReplyDeletei have very serious reservations for the words "his only sin" in the second last paragraph.
ReplyDeletealthough mr. tanveer has explained meticulously what the majority think about him. i cannot help but add some of my own.
this ex-dicK-(tator) should be brought back to pakistan, issuance of red warrant, and tried for all the crimes he committed while in power.
he not only sold HIS soul to the devil, he sold the people who were supposed to be his sons and daughters to the devil. and even for this crime, he should be hanged.
the more i think about what pakistan had to go through because of him, the least of the punishments i can think of is hang till death. but let his nemesis, the judiciary decide his fate.
if i had anything to do with it, i would have handed him to the relatives of the people who he ordered killed, sold, or done any other harm.
I am certainly carried by the inflamed sentiments of the readers about Pervez Musharraf who was lucky to leave the country well in time. I wonder that he is under the illusion or the delusion that he is still popular and can jump into the power saddle and rule for a few years more.
ReplyDeleteI certainly agree with Tanvir Ahmed siddiqui that his chummy cronies must have inflated his ego once again and convinced him that he can still grab power because he is still popular. As I have written, he will have to wade through a sea of hurdles that might take years to finally come out with a clean chit or with perennial curse and condemnation. He has no chance but still let the civil society, the law and the people decide what treatment he deserves.
NOTE:UPRIGHT OPINION IS SAEED QURESHI ,THE WRITER OF THIS PIECE.
ReplyDeleteYASMEEN ALI
The only crime Musharraf committed was that of being extremely stupid. He had the chance that few people in history are given, but unfortunately being not very well read in the art of power, he messed it up by choosing the wrong sleeping partners and his insipid attempts to fool the people about being a 'benign' dictator. Actually I would not call him dictator at all, because he tried, unsuccessfully, to establish his diktat through the current system. big mistake...if you are a dictator, be one...
ReplyDeleteI AM A COMMONER. I roam in the streets of Pakistan from morning till evening and meet ordinary people like myself. I don't know philosophy. I have no idea how to write a thesis. I, therefore, want to say a few simple and straight things about Pervez Musharraf and his tenure.
ReplyDeleteMy first opinion about him is that he is an honest man and a die- hard patriotic Pakistani.
About his honesty I have read only two questions so far. First, where did he get his plot and house in Chak Shahzad from? I exactly remember the answer he gave to the Pakistani public through the media. He quoted his property and income tax statement of that year in which it was reflected that he had sold out his plot in Defence Karachi and invested the sale proceeds in Chak Shahzad. I am honestly prepared to accept it, knowing the prices of plots in Defence Karachi.
Second question raised was after his retirement and that was regarding his apartment / house (whatever) in London and his lifestyle these days. Now, an apartment / house is an apartment / house and not a Palace. Having disposed off most of his property in Pakistan and having put in his commutation as a General, I feel it should be possible to buy that size of a property in London. Moreover, his son in America is making a very reasonable earning. He could have contributed towards purchase of this property also. Then his book and his lectures in various universities and institutions must be helping him in his day to day expenditures. I know one thing; most of our retired junior bureaucrats have more and better properties abroad. (AUR POLITICIANS KI TAU BAAT HI NA KAREN...!)
I'll give passing reference about ONLY two other generals: Zia ul Haq was reputed to be most honest person. One of his sons left his medical practice and the other one left his international banker's job. Both of them are jobless for last 12-13 years and are leading high profile family lives in addition to doing high profile 'Pakistani standard' politics.....how and from where.....? ( AUR ZIA K DOOSRAY SAATHI AKHTAR ABDUR REHMAN K SHAHZADON KI TAU BAAT HI NA KAREN......!)
.............Continues.........
"big mistake...if you are a dictator, be one"
ReplyDeleteI absolutly agree @ Mr.Asad..MUSSOLINI a popular ditator (1925-43). The popular slogan on him was: "Mussolini the Man who makes the Trains run on time" It was simple if ever the train was late..the Engineer, the conductor the route master were all arrested and exemplary tortured upside down. Whereas our so called so known dictators like Zia and Mushurruf despite of spending their golden decades on levers of absolute powers & prerogatives they could not even run a fare charge meter of cab & motr-rickshaw what to talk of running our trains on time. The kind of time authority and resources they had ceased at their disposal they could turn miracles in resolving life line issues of this country like KALA BAGH DAM, Deweopanisation, corruption loot and plunder and Sanctity of Law. But days in and days out of all those years they kept on looking out for every illicit mean & venue to prolong their stay of power & prerogatives. Finally leaving our country on this long drawn journey of tyranny and abondoning this nation at the bloody alter of his NROised safe exit He and and his chummy friends now think that He can still be encashed and capitalized. They all together have some guts of shame nodoubt.
My second impression about Pervez Musharraf is that he was a simpleton to the extent of being a fool. I elaborate hereunder:-
ReplyDeleteHe was a dictator, but he didn't behave like one. He tried to rule through a MATHA political group and tried his best to please the MULLAH, till it was too late.
If he had behaved like a dictator in letter and spirit, he should have pushed Kala Bagh Dam home, against all opposition, like Chinese did in case of their Three Gorges Dam.
He had most nincompoop inner circle advisers around him who got him round to doing three blunders one after the other in a short span of time and thus ruined all his career's brilliant achievements. These were Bugti's murder, confrontation with the Chief Justice and Lal Masjid.
He also tried to please the media by giving them unprecedented freedom, even more than the Western countries. Media openly degraded not only him but also the armed froces of the country, which was highly un-acceptable.
................Continues...........
Now a few words about Musharraf's rule. I AM A COMMONER. I don't want to go into theories. I'll talk from a common man's stand point.
ReplyDeleteWhen Nawaz Sharif was de-throaned, we had just about 500-600 million dollars forex in the kitty. He took it to 16 billion dollars.
The price of a US dollar remained stable at Rs 60 for years.
Prices of commodities like Atta, sugar, rice, petrol, diesel, kerosene, vegetables, fruit remained stable and at a much much lower level than what they are today.
I read in today's newspapers that experts at national and international level have calculated that percentage of the people below the poverty level in Pakistan in 2002-2003 was 34.7, which came down to 17.2 by 2006-2007 and was further reducing, whereas today it is more than the level of 2002-2003.
Inspite of this the tax collection increased manyfold from that of 1999-2000.
Exports increased manyfold during those years.
Per capita income increased considerably.
Corruption level decreased considerably and NAB recovered billions from big defaulters. Now the NABis being winnded up in the 'best national interest'.
All the above mentioned trends in economic recovery and progress have now clearly reversed, making the life of common man hell. Just look at the prices of daily use items...!
As regards the missing persons, agencies have always been lifting people involved in anti state activities. However, before nineties their number used to be small and the media was not very free. Therefore, such incidents never gained much publicity.
In recent times because of Al-Qaida and Taliban factor coming up in a big way, the number of arrests has surged. One thing is sure. These missing persons are either terrorists or the helpers of terrorists, for sure. The only problem is that in most of the cases even families do not know that their son/brother/father/husband is indulging in anti state activities or he is helping such elements.
However, the protesters are justified in demanding court trials of the accused people. And this action is mandatory even on the present govt.
Agencies perform their routine functions on their own and barring some exceptionally high profile cases,heads of state are not directly involved in the arrest proceedings of such people.
Sympathies with the families of missing persons are very much a matter of human feelings, but in the larger interest of the motherland, it is also the duty of every Pakistani to keep a timely watch on their kith and kin to see that they don't fall into wrong hands and make the family suffer.
Moreover, sympathy with the families of missing persons is good, but we must also sympathise with the families of those innocent people who get killed in markets, mosques, offices and on our safety duty at police check posts, because of actions or support of these people.
@haider2003 sb: In defense of His honesty, sincereity and love for this country what ever you hv written can be acceptable only to some but not to the most who know all about hedging activities of his son and other friends. His patriotism for this country is also evident with the kind of treatment he opted merely to degrde and insult our national hero Dr. Abdul Qadir Khan and also to the cheif Justice of Pakistan. Anyway his honsety and patriotism is not under discussion on this forum..what under discussion is his personal competance and acuman as an statesman which as per endresults is a total failure. Right from Kargill to Kohlu Bugti and missing persons and from Lalmasjid to Karchi Carnage from Cheif Justice to A Q Khan and from NRO to his Safe Exit all are supposed to be his examplary and self explainatery deeds. Throughout his tenure each and every above listed action is now taken as most controvercial case study in the history of Command and StateCraft.
ReplyDeleteTanveer
ReplyDeleteWithout taking sides, let me state, The Cheif Justice's behaviour, support from vested interests have at best, made him controversial.
Dr A Q Khan's behaviour & big mouth hurting Pakistan does no credit to him either.
I stand by this opinion staunchly on the info available to me which may not be possible to discuss on this Forum.
@Tanveer Ahmad Siddiqui Sb. Regards.
ReplyDeleteI did not mention Dr. A Q Khan episode as a wrong doing on the part of Musharraf, because honestly, I feel Dr. Sahib doesn't have a clean slate as far as his personal conduct is concerned. His lust for money and in the process the damage he has done to the country is beyond any doubt. Suffice to say that I can assure you that I am NOT talking on hearsay.
I have also no doubts that world media reports about existence of A Q Khan network at international level for, you know what, are true.
It is true that Dr. Sahib once smuggled IN what Pakistan needed and was for Pakistan's benefit, but let's also confess that he subsequently smuggled OUT of Pakistan whatever he thought was beneficial for his own purpose.
If this all was untrue, Dr. Sahib should not have confessed it on the TV in front of the whole world. What was the threat to him ? Removal and imprisonment ? That he got in any case and he should have known that he was in for that in any case. If he says he took the blame to save Pakistan......save from what ? In fact he landed Pakistan into shit by this confession.
Actually he had no way out but to accept the truth.
He has been given a free hand to write whatever he wishes in his column in daily Jang. His column almost always starts with expression of his deep love for Bhopal or any other Indian city and ends with curses to Pervez Musharraf.
Why doesn't he write down his story about his "coerced confession" if at all that was really a "coerced confession"? That is the best way he can take his revenge from Musharraf who is planning to jump into practical politics.
Telling you the truth I was feeling so ashamed and let down that day hearing my hero confessing his doings on the TV in front of the whole world. It was a bad day for me and every body else like me.
I think CJP Iftikhar Muhammad Ch. fared much better in front of the same dictator, BECAUSE he had the truth, and hence no fear, in his guts.
AND TIME HAS SHOWN THAT GOD HAS TAKEN HIS(CJP's) SIDE.........!!!
No politician or public figure is above board and entirely clean in Pakistan. Despite being a kind of quasi-military dictator or autocrat, Musharraf did some good things: for instance empowerment of female gender.
ReplyDeleteI dont think there was anything wrong in cooperating with the United States’ so called war on terror. Taliban’s are neither pro Pakistan nor pro American. It is a freakish lot among Muslims, which has its own peculiar perception of Islam. These fanatic groups have been appearing in history in the Islamic empires from time to time. In addition, their concept or philosophy of Islamic theology narrows this universal religion.
Having said that I would maintain that former president’s decision to join NATO and United States in Afghanistan saved Pakistan from a colossal trouble. Now it is Afghanistan, which is being battered, and partially Pakistan too is having collateral damage (drone attacks). However, in case of Pakistan’s refusal, an America seething with revenge against the Muslim countries would have certainly wrought havoc more on Pakistan than what it has been doing in Afghanistan. No one would have come to her rescue.
If we had sided with Taliban, they are no match to military prowess of NATO and America. Taliban were utterly defeated after American entered Afghanistan. So I believe Musharraf’s decision to join America was in the best interests of Pakistan that saved Pakistan from a big catastrophe. After all Saudi Arabia, a leading Muslim country too is vassal state of United States. So are Jordan and Egypt.
Other decisions too did not carry his personal mileage but against those elements that posed threat to the integrity of Pakistan, I mean Akbar Khan Bugti and religious extremists of Lal Masjid episode. The opponents of Musharraf blew all this out of proportion for political gains. However, should we believe that in their hay days Sharif brother were clean, just and respectful of institutions and lovers of a real democracy culture. Not at ll. The incumbent dispensation is the most unpopular besides being incompetent of all the governments of the past.
So let Musharraf enter the political arena, play his ball, and leave the rest to the people if he can make an impact in the elections or not. For breach of constitution, he should clear his case before the courts, which are the right institutions to hand out a verdict on this count.
Saeed Qureshi
"Now a few words about Musharraf's rule. I AM A COMMONER. I don't want to go into theories. I'll talk from a common man's stand point.
ReplyDeleteWhen Nawaz Sharif was de-throaned, we had just about 500-600 million dollars forex in the kitty. He took it to 16 billion dollars.
The price of a US dollar remained stable at Rs 60 for years."
common man doesnt know a-z of what is forex or what is "de-throned". what is the meaning of dollar price being stable.
common man knows one thing.........they were committing more suicides in musharraf's era after the inflation was still there. more than his predecessors had left for the common man.
As regards as Dr. A.Q. Khan's "smuggling" out anything........
ReplyDeletethe man who was the most closely guarded person in any era in pakistan, smuggled out goods without anyone's notice? hard to believe.
if he did so, it was with the consent of those who were supposed to guard him. meaning the armed forces. musharraf found his scapegoat and tried to feed him to the wolves of the world.
yes, he was a weak man, as knowing he wasn't guilty, he still asked for our forgiveness on TV. but that same weak man made us what we are today, to stop our enemies from openly attacking us and waging a war upon us.
if anyone is guilty in all of this debacle, is the one who used him, just to save his own skin......
I think Munir Ahmed Khan and not Dr A. Q. Khan pioneered the harnessing of atomic energy technology that finally led to the making of atomic bomb by subsequent experts including A. Q. Khan. So to project Dr. Khan as the sole person for making Pakistan a nuclear weapon country is incorrect.
ReplyDeletetrue, but we can't deny that he was one of the leading scientists at work in this regard. and in the same respect his importance can't be denied.
ReplyDeletea body can't function at full potential if one of its key organs are gone missing, similarly, work of Dr. A.Q. Khan can't be ignored.
plus, how many ppl left well paid jobs in the foreign to come to a third world country to which they belonged to start from scratch?.........
i don't know of any..
except Dr.A.Q.Khan.
@Faisal Sb. Regards.
ReplyDeleteWe have millions of Pakistanis working abroad. And multi-millions of their dependent family members living in the country. Dealing in dollars is their day to day routine. So they know and are very much affected by the price of dollar and its impact on prices of all kinds of imported items of their daily use.
By common man I don't mean those 25% who are living below the poverty line. Leaving 10-15% of upper bracket, there is a very large middle class and lower middle class whom I term as the common man. Being the majority class, they deserve to be called common man. It is they who are now, thanks to the factors that we all know, falling below the poverty line by very large numbers every year.
Own industries are THUP and we have not even been able to produce a cell phone. Even a sweeper needs and possesses a cell phone. The common man needs atta, sugar, cooking oil, a motorbike, a small fridge, a TV, a cell phone and you imagine. All these items (of course including wheat and sugar) are being either imported or being assembled/manufactured from imported raw materials, which cost in dollars. And when the price of dollar increases, The Commoner very much knows and gets affected by it.
Oh, and I would like you to compare the number of suicides taking place today with those of Musharraf's times. I am surprised if any body doesn't know it.
I don't want to dwell any further on Dr. A Q Khan's issue. Musharraf removed him, I still feel because of Dr. Sahib's own fault AND in his own interest. Musharraf still called him as his hero. When I compare the cases of Dr. Khan and the CJP, I feel perturbed that my/our hero lacked something somewhere inside him.
the middle class as we know of is getting vanished. its either the elite, the higher class, or the ones that are poor.
ReplyDeleteeach passing day brings more people under the poverty line. so with all due respect, i think the common man is increasing more in numbers day by day.
same thing happened in musharraf's era. as well as previous eras. i don't recall any government which was better in terms of inflation or price tags on edibles and necessities that was better than its predecessor.
that is why the people always think of the past rulers to be better than the present ones. not due to the goodness of the past ones, but because the new ones are more incompetent than the ones of the past.
i can't call the lesser evil as good. evil is evil. big or small. just like a piece of pork will always remain haraam to us just like the whole bit more than just a nibble.
@UPRIGHT Opinion: "I think Munir Ahmed Khan and not Dr A. Q. Khan pioneered the harnessing of atomic energy technology that finally led to the making of atomic bomb by subsequent experts including A. Q. Khan. So to project Dr. Khan as the sole person for making Pakistan a nuclear weapon country is incorrect."
ReplyDeleteIt is not that since beganing to the end Dr. Munir Ahmed / Dr Summar Mubarakmand or for that matter anyone else has no major or minor contribution in making Pakistan a Nuclear State. But Mr. Upright the way you have opinionated to degrade Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan clearly reflects your personal bias against him that is not expected from a person of your calibre and stature..Simulataneously declaring Dr. A. Q Khan a criminal,a thief and a smuggler Why Mushurruf still called him a "Hero of the Nation"? How a national Criminal , a theif a smuggler at the same time can be a Hero of The Nation..Plaese stop giving all this bullshit just to please your own Pay Masters.
@haidre2003 said...
ReplyDeleteTanveer Ahmad Siddiqui Sb. Regards.
I did not mention Dr. A Q Khan episode as a wrong doing on the part of Musharraf, because honestly, I feel Dr. Sahib doesn't have a clean slate as far as his personal conduct is concerned. His lust for money and in the process the damage he has done to the country is beyond any doubt. Suffice to say that I can assure you that I am NOT talking on hearsay...
haider sb; that i dont know whether you are talking on hearsay or you hv been the personal eye witness to his accounts.. but all i can say hear is that we both are in defense of our own opinions and our Likes and Dislikes but i dont want go too far in personalising the issue..and perhaps with our intellect we would not be able to convince each other mainly because we are here on this blog mainly to converse and communicate and not neccessarily to convince and agree. But I can assure you today that One Day You Have to Go over What You Discard..
Thanx for attending my posts anyway.
@Yasmeen Ali
ReplyDelete"Tanveer
Without taking sides, let me state, The Cheif Justice's behaviour, support from vested interests have at best, made him controversial.
Dr A Q Khan's behaviour & big mouth hurting Pakistan does no credit to him either.
I stand by this opinion staunchly on the info available to me which may not be possible to discuss on this Forum..
YAA: Professiore Iam always impressed that you know it All...But now the problem is that In our country we have no shortage and scarcity of men and women who think " They Know it All" but some strongheads like me would not give up only because of the reason that "we dont know nothing".
To Tanvir Ahmed Siddiqui Sahib,
ReplyDeleteFirst let me be clear that I have no personal disliking for Dr. A. Q Khan. Nor do i know him so intimately to earn the insinuation that I have personal bias against him. I am merely sharing a piece of information that not only I know but also so many people are aware of that.
There was a kind of feud going on in the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission between Munir Ahmed Khan and Dr Khan in which Dr Khan triumphed. Dr Khan is a hero and has many qualities one of which was to equip Pakistan with a weapon that is the ultimate deterrent against our foes, particularly India, as is epitomized by Brasstacks military exercises conducted by Rajiv Gandhi’s government during president Zia’s time.
Now every individual has both merits and demerits and flaws and shining hallmarks. First of all Dr Khan is accused of transferring nuclear technology to such countries as Libya and North Korea which were declared by United Nations as pariah and rogue states even if these were not. However, smaller countries like Pakistan cannot have a solo flight defying the international obligations no matter how distasteful and repugnant these might. It is not possible to flaunt out national honor for nothing in front of the Untied States like Iran, as we are much weaker and internally divided. So commonsense and discretion is batter part of valor.
In this context, Dr. Khan not only exported the technology to the countries that were isolated and had multiple embargoes and restrictions but took money for that kind of bargain which you may call immoral and indecent. On top of that, Dr Khan has a penchant for publicity. He has been himself spilling the beans of his doings, which could not have been overlooked by hostile countries or such countries that would not want Pakistan to be a nuclear weapon state.
Dr Khan was very deftly and sagaciously saved by President Musharraf who placated America and other countries against the proliferation of nuclear wherewithal. However, he did not lower his fame, stature, and dignity at home and would still treat him as a hero. It is always the person who has the last laugh, is considered the victor or the winner. That is how Dr. Khan despite contribution or pioneering role by other such as Munir Ahmed Khan came to be known as the father of the Pakistan’s atomic status while the others were sidelined.
Dr. Khan is still writing articles in daily jang, which he should desist from. But old habits die hard. By virtue of his unflinching urge, he has to be in basking in publicity and public -relations business. The quality of articles is poor and the subjects that he chooses are merely to settle score with someone or to pour personal aversion against someone specifically President Musharraf Awho in fact is his benefactor and savior of his honor.
By Saeed Qureshi
Editor Upright Opinion
To Tanvir Ahmed Siddiqui Sahib,
ReplyDeleteFirst let me be clear that I have no personal disliking for Dr. A. Q Khan. Nor do i know him so intimately to earn the insinuation that I have personal bias against him. I am merely sharing a piece of information that not only I know but also so many people are aware of that.
There was a kind of feud going on in the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission between Munir Ahmed Khan and Dr Khan in which Dr Khan triumphed. Dr Khan is a hero and has many qualities one of which was to equip Pakistan with a weapon that is the ultimate deterrent against our foes, particularly India, as is epitomized by Brasstacks military exercises conducted by Rajiv Gandhi’s government during president Zia’s time.
Now every individual has both merits and demerits and flaws and shining hallmarks. First of all Dr Khan is accused of transferring nuclear technology to such countries as Libya and North Korea which were declared by United Nations as pariah and rogue states even if these were not. However, smaller countries like Pakistan cannot have a solo flight defying the international obligations no matter how distasteful and repugnant these might. It is not possible to flaunt out national honor for nothing in front of the Untied States like Iran, as we are much weaker and internally divided. So commonsense and discretion is batter part of valor.
In this context, Dr. Khan not only exported the technology to the countries that were isolated and had multiple embargoes and restrictions but took money for that kind of bargain which you may call immoral and indecent. On top of that, Dr Khan has a penchant for publicity. He has been himself spilling the beans of his doings, which could not have been overlooked by hostile countries or such countries that would not want Pakistan to be a nuclear weapon state.
Dr Khan was very deftly and sagaciously saved by President Musharraf who placated America and other countries against the proliferation of nuclear wherewithal. However, he did not lower his fame, stature, and dignity at home and would still treat him as a hero. It is always the person who has the last laugh, is considered the victor or the winner. That is how Dr. Khan despite contribution or pioneering role by other such as Munir Ahmed Khan came to be known as the father of the Pakistan’s atomic status while the others were sidelined.
Dr. Khan is still writing articles in daily jang, which he should desist from. But old habits die hard. By virtue of his unflinching urge, he has to be in basking in publicity and public -relations business. The quality of articles is poor and the subjects that he chooses are merely to settle score with someone or to pour personal aversion against someone specifically President Musharraf Awho in fact is his benefactor and savior of his honor.
Saeed Qureshi
Editor upright opinion