Hypocrisy All Over....

It has been more than a week since one of the saddest events in our history took place. Hundreds of lives were lost, for a cause which they did not even know about. Once again the 'targeted' came out of the trouble unscathed.

Immediately after the event Benazir Bhutto's (BB) letter, written before her arrival, to President Musharraf was brought to notice of the people. It stated the people who she believed were involved in the incident. Her letter stated the possible suspects and also her tough political opponents to be in the coming elections. It seems like even after the massive incident of October 18th, 2007, she has still been able to gather herself for another round of politics. It is believed that the name of Ejaz Shah (Head of Intelligence Bureau), Chowdhary Pervez Elahi and a couple of theres were there. I would like to only mention the stated two names because I believe that ,according to BB, these people are her main target. Firstly, no one can rule out the role of an intelligence agency in carrying out an attack which is meant to be in the 'interest of Pakistan' as they are trained to do so. People like Benazir who have undoubtedly looted the people of Pakistan are surely not in our country's interest. But due to American pressure and a personal interest, once again a leader on his downfall has succumbed to their demands. However, the leader did not realize the effects of striking a deal with 'the country's most corrupt woman' , according to himself, may have a devastating impact on our country. Secondly, the mention of Chowdhary Pervez Elahi is meant to gain political mileage from the blast. BB knows that she can gain the western sympathy or should i say the most powerful vote bank of her party can influence the President to drift away from the current setup headed by the Chowdhary Brothers. There is no way in the world BB that a politician of today's Pakistan can cause such a chaos when the western influence dominates the mindset of our President. The whole backing of MQM was present on the day which was clearly visible as not a single shot was fired to an enemy. The PML(Q) remained silent only on the orders of President Musharraf. There was no agitation until the event actually took place.

Soon after the event, the blame game started with BB coming out in the press. She decided not only to care less about the people who lost their lives, but also to gain as much political drama she can from the incident. Again, using her not so real emotions for her father and brother she tried to create an impression of the late 90's. Unfortunately, she does not realize that things have changed now in Pakistan over the last eight years in this regard. Our people have access to a fairly free media. Once again, I would like reiterate the media is not completely independent even today. So then BB came up with the notion that she wrote a private letter to the President because she does not want to create any political drama. However, while she was on the plane from Dubai to Karachi she thought that Dr. Shahid Masood of 'Meray Mutabiq' of Geo TV was completely a 'private' party to the affair. Therefore, she also mentioned those names to Dr. Shahid Masood. Well BB, I have to say your innocence is fatal.

Meanwhile, the Chowdharys decided not to let any sympathies go towards BB due to the blast. Then, Chowdhary Pervez Elahi came with their favorite line that they will compete with a lot of mettle with BB's party in the elections and the 'people of Pakistan' do not support the looters. It was not for long when an article published in 'The News' told us about the nearly Rs. 55 Billion being written off by the government in favor of the national assembly members representing them. Well if BB's case abroad amounted to US$1.5 billion then their one write-off was around US$1 billion. So should we celebrate as a nation now that our current ministers are at least 30 percent less corrupt than our previous leaders, such as BB. Even though these figures are about just one write-off. Usually corruption details about the government comes after their departure. Therefore, they have already declared around US$1 billion of looting. So we may be reaching a new record after this government leaves.

This is where the hypocrisy comes in extensively in the ruling politics. Today PPP and PML(Q) are fighting against each other on various issues. Both are eager to take each other on; one at the behest of President while the other, at the behest of American support. The same American support which loves our people so much that it offered the FBI support for the blast of October 18th. However, that proposal was rejected by the government because as I stated earlier things may not be right in Musharraf's own camp. Therefore, you cannot carry out a raid in your own house. Especially, when the house is not in order. A similar foreign help was used in investigation the blast of President Musharraf and PM Shaukat Aziz in their respective incidents of terror. But, BB was not given the same warmth and affection because the government strongly believes now that our police force and investigative forces are quite capable of finding the 'real' culprits. All of a sudden, our government again feels a sense of patriotism by not allowing any foreign intervention. Don't we love our government so much? It is indeed working only in the interest of Pakistan.

As time passes by, things continue to intermingle with each other. The judiciary dynamics, along with the PPP-PML(Q) tussle, and ofcourse the Uncle Sam influence are all the perfect ingredients for a chaos in our country. The real people of Pakistan, which amount to the 70 percent poor people, do not care a bit about what happens. I do not blame them as there is no real leader in the country who can mobilize them. To me another dramatic event will take place before the elections which will finally achieve its goal. The goal which will make the President even more weak internally and externally of Pakistan. However, if that does not happen then we may witness one of the dirtiest elections in our country. In either case, for now let us all hope for the best to come for Pakistan. And also let us hope, that someone in our nation is able to gain enough strength to mobilize the masses of Pakistan to bring a real change in our country.

October 18th - A Devil's Dream

October 18th, 2007:
The most disgusting act of terrorism took place in our country. Terrorism is a norm in Pakistan. But, this act of terror may not just be terrorism; it was the perfect recipe to self-destruct a vibrant nation.

All us Pakistanis today should think hard about our future. What is going on in our country? Why have the people of Pakistan become so ignorant? Once again, the poor people of Pakistan died in hundreds and many more got injured. Yes, the people supporting BB may not be appreciated by the larger majority of Pakistan. But, did they really deserve the most horrific death? Ofcourse not.

How much more politics will be played at the expense of poor people's blood? How much more money will be poured in to gather hundreds and thousands of workers for personal gain? And how much American influence will dictate our actions? Why don't we realize that forced actions will not change our fate? Why have a few thousand politicians taken the whole of Pakistan hostage? Where is the silent majority?

In my perspective, Pakistan is at a more dangerous crossroad than what we were immediately after chaos in September 2001. At that time, if we decided to go against the American dream we would have still stood united as a nation. But today, we are clearly lost. The poor people of Pakistan may have no more hope from our system. In fact, even the privileged class may have lost hope in our country. It is time that we as a nation re-explore ourselves.

The same President Musharraf who stated that 'BB was the most corrupt leader' until a few months ago, has joined hands with her to tackle the issue of terrorism? Is the nation of Pakistan naive? Ofcourse not. This person whose basis for coming to power was corruption, is now granting pardon to all the political activists of Pakistan? The same leaders who mass massacred thousands of people in the name of politics, religion, and ethnicity should be forgiven to fight the issue of extremism?

Today, we are no more a sovereign state if we decide our politics for sake of outside interests. Any opposition leader in the past few months has never been given such a grand welcome as the one BB received. Is it because she was so popular that it was not possible? Or was it because there were vested interests of every single party involved? Ofcourse that is the sad truth. Someone needs to stay in power for sake of another country. Someone needs to regain their US$1.5 billion. Someone does not want to leave a country which ruled us once. Someone wants to come back to Pakistan to, once again, rob the treasury of Pakistan. There are so few people, yet so influential that they are shaping the future course of our country. This is an awakening call. We need to realize that our ignorance may push our country to point of no return.

As far as yesterday is concerned, I do not see a role of the 'tribal areas' extremists. But, one thing which has changed since yesterday is the control of power. It is obvious that Musharraf's control of power is not absolute. In fact, his interests are based on American's blessings. His personal interest is so attached to them. He would have realized yesterday, that things all are not perfect within his camps. There is lack of consensus within his own ranks. But we need to remember he is about to become a civilian. And no civilian is powerful unless he is elected from the masses. While BB has been clearly sent the message that she is not safe at all. In fact, this was just an indication that no elections can happen in Pakistan with PPP coming to power. Therefore, it may be very imminent that 'the American Dream team' will not be realized in Pakistan. Therefore, there is a chance of removal of two most-discussed political figures of today. I see a big political change within a year in Pakistan. However, I am unable to assess our future. Once again the reason for that is our people have become ignorant and have lost hope.

It is time that a political mobilization takes place in Pakistan in order to realize the unrealized dream.

Supreme Court: Far from expectations

Things have never been so polarized as they seem to be at the moment. The Supreme Court declared the petition against the dual offices as 'invalid' for any prosecution. This is a big blow the opposition, which had pinned a lot of hopes with the nine-member bench under the chairmanship of Justice Rana Bhagwandas. However, it is not a surprise for many who should have read between the lines.

Any avid follower of politics through the print, and electronic media would have predicted this verdict. During the hearing of the case, there were several times when Justice Rana Bhagwandas stated that it was the parliament which validated the dual offices, rather than courts. This itself was an indication that the decision would indeed turn to be in favor of General Pervez Musharraf. However, there was also a lot of 'behind the scenes' pressure on a few unnamed judges who reportedly met high ranking officials days before the verdict. It was stated that the situation is pretty much black and white. If the verdict goes in favor of Musharraf then its all well and good. However, if there was any movement of the verdict from the above statement then there is an imminent possibility of martial law being imposed all over the country. This itself, I believe also led the decision in favor of the President by a healthy margin of 6-3. The private meetings which were held 'behind the scenes' must not have secured more than a couple of judges for getting it their way. However, those judges would have definitely created an impression that if the verdict was indeed against the President, then things would go out of control.

If a martial law was imposed, these so called 'guardians of justice' would have been made non-functional. As a result, they would have been inactive and they would have been made helpless infront of the nation. I believe it was the Chief Justice, Iftikhar Muhammad Chowdhry, which got independence rather than the whole institution. Recent figures of judiciary claim that around 85% of the judiciary is corrupt and it is the third most corrupt institution in Pakistan. Therefore, if a martial law was in place I am sure that General Pervez Musharraf or the new commander leading the scenario would have been able to find enough 'Pakistan loving' judges who would have replaced the current school of lawmakers.

The other interesting aspect about the whole incident is the manners in which the lawyers have reacted. It is sad to know that the same lawyers who had supported the CJ when he was wrongfully removed from his post, are claiming that verdict is biased. The lawyers need to take a crystal clear stand that they are either for an independent judiciary or a 'Musharraf-free' Pakistan. The manner in which they reacted confirmed to me at least that they were just against one man rather than the unjustified system. Even today, I can say with 100% confidence that I can buy a lawyer in Pakistan to get a false case registered in my favor for a mere thousand rupees. Therefore, things have not changed in a way they should have. In addition, I do not agree that the verdict was biased but rather it was not a legal verdict. It was a political verdict. If the verdict would have against Musharraf then Pakistan would have been destabilized. There is no doubt that a martial law would have been put in place. Therefore, the judges left their duty for a moment and took a political decision. This is a sad part in its own way, as political matters are solved through political negotiations. After this verdict, the judges are once again faced with an allegation of being 'politicized.' The lawyers, however, seem to be always politicized. It is not a hidden fact anymore the kind of funding which was provided by Mr. Nawaz Sharif to the media and lawyers community to create an upheaval against Musharraf. Therefore, it leaves a bad taste in the mouth of every person who loves Pakistan. Maybe, that is the 'strange' reason why no real masses of people of Pakistan should at any of the days after the restoration of Chief Justice, Iftikhar Muhammad Chowdhry.

What happened on October 29th was also a disgraceful scene. A day earlier, I supported the overall scenario that a martial law was averted. Even though, the judiciary did not fulfill its commitment of abiding my constitution completely. They were indeed politicized by then. But, a day later President Musharraf broke all records to show that he is no more capable of being a tolerant leader. His ongoing tussle with the media had been going on for a while. That was partly because of genuine friction and was also because of the politicization of celebrity journalists who have reportedly taken hefty amounts from opposition to fulfill their agenda. This an issue which I will discuss in my later issues about the manner in which the media has some hidden culprits who change the course of peoples' thoughts. Getting back to Saturday, it was indeed a disgraceful moment. The IG of Islamabad, Manver Shah, showed that he had no fear due to complete backing of the higher administration. The policemen were dressed in white civilian clothes and carried out targeted atrocities on the media people. It was an embarrassing moment for Pakistanis all over the world who witnessed 'freedom of media' in its ugliest form. I partially understand the reason why police had been brought out to take care of the lawyers. Especially ever since Ahmed Kurd had made some aggressive remarks against the army, rather than one person. As I have stated in my earlier blogs, it is wrong for any Pakistan to publicly insult the military institution of Pakistan. Yes, there are some people who have taken part in politics but that does not give any right to any citizen to insult the remaining 90 percent people of the Army who are genuinely defending our homeland. In addition, the lawyers have now shown to the world that they are not genuine as well. Most of them are just creating chaos to take power in their hands rather than being independent. However, what happened with the media personnel was completely unjustified. Never in the history of Pakistan have 32 media personnel been injured in any government tussle. This was worse than the famous slashing of journalist in the era of Zia.

These actions by all the parties involved; lawyers, Presidency camp, government, opposition, media, are just leading to chaos and anarchy. I truly believe that Pakistan should not have a martial law. But, if a martial has to be imposed then it needs to be a takeover in which more than thousands of corrupt people are taken to gallows. The reason for that is power corrupts. When President Musharraf first came to power he gave the people of Pakistan a lot of hope. But, enventually he became a part of a system for which he justified his entry into power. Today, after 8 years of military rule we have not been able to create even one leader in Pakistan. A hope was sparkled in the message of Imran Khan of PTI. But, that also blurred away due to the smoke and dust of his surroundings.

In the coming weeks, it seems like Musharraf will indeed get re-elected and will doff his uniform according to his promise. However, I still strongly believe that a deal with Pakistan's largest party, PPP, has been struck. Both Musharraf and BB are playing their cards well to dodge the Chowdhary Brothers Inc. who are breathing their last moments. However, if Musharraf decides to move away from from the commitment then he would be acting as a catalyst in bringing down his downfall. It seems like President Musharraf is moving towards the ultimate end of his power. It is only a matter of time which would decide if this end comes like cancer or rather a sudden collapse. Our history is filled with examples of the latter one rather than former.