Seat of Power

To start with, I do not think that any Pakistani has a doubt in his mind that President Musharraf is in trouble. Yes, there maybe disputes about the extent of trouble.

I think that Musharraf has made the biggest political mistake ever since he came to power in 1999. Even the 9/11 u-turn in policy was not so problematic for him. At that time, he was sitting firm on his 'rotating' seat of power. That 'rotation' allowed him to see 360 degrees around him. But, this time it seems like he has been seated on the 'non-rotating' seat of power. Therefore, he does not have all ends covered in his sight. Even though he was quick to apologize to Hamid Mir in his live telecast of Capital Talk on Geo TV, he was not able to implement his promise to punish the culprits of of the attack on Geo offices the same night. Well, what difference does it make? We are more used to the President breaking his promises rather than keeping them. It will be a shock for the nation when he actually keeps it someday.

Moving on, he has lost a lot of ground due to his 'smart' PML(Q) advisors. There is no doubt in my mind that Chowdhary Pervez Elahi, Chief minister- Punjab, ordered the in-humane raid on the media offices of Geo TV. Come on, we are not living in the 80's where someone can use the 'danda' (forced by action) politics on people. The same breed has ordered the attack on the Supreme Court before during Nawaz Sharif's government. I say this with so much confidence because after the raid the police unit shouted slogans of 'Punjab police Zindabad.' Now, there is only one person who claims to be the 'Sher of Punjab' at this point in time. This conclusion has also been implied by Hamid Mir, Bureau Chief- Geo TV.

When Musharraf first apologized on the television I was not able to believe it. But, then I realized straight away that some mismanagement has been done by some short-sighted advisors. I believe that a raid was ordered on Geo TV without the knowledge of President Musharraf because a lot of things were already happening at the same time. For example, our respected law minister, Mr. Wasi Zafar, was swearing on the program 'Voice of America' without any shame. It is not easy for a President and Chief of Army staff to apologize to a media person. However, I deeply admire the boldness of the President in making the apology.

Now, my suggestion to the President is to change the government. Yes, moves are already taking place which are fostering the return of PPP to power in the coming elections. But again the short-sighted advisors or 'chamchas' , as I call them, arranged a flamboyant rally at the Liaqat Bagh a couple of days back to make our President feel like a Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. It is an act too late if the process has already started for negotiations with Mohtarma Benazir. It is also clear that Pakistan needs Musharraf in order to stop the politicians to fill too much of their pockets. Thatcan only be done in the shape of a uniformed leader.

Right now, we are in a phase of developing our economy and already the stock market is reacting to the political crisis. Therefore, it is important for Musharraf to remain there for some time to come. However, the new government which I propose should have candidates from both the big parties, such as PPP and PML -Q. This will allow the President to have a 'check and balance' mechanism in place which he always talks about. But before that, a lot needs to be sorted out. Right now, Musharraf is at its lowest due to several reasons. One of the main reasons is that his main advisor on legal affairs has stayed away from all the proceedings against judiciary in respect to Iftikhar Muhammad Chowdhry; still the legal Chief Justice of Pakistan. His main advisor is no one other than Muhammad Ali Jinnah's advisor during the time when our nation was in the making, Mr. Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada. He has also called for an open trial and believes that judicial system was not only disturbed but thrown out out of a high rise building. This is the first time that prominent members of the government who have credibility stayed away from this affair. One of the other names is Wasim Sajjad. I need not to say more to prove his credibility and achievements.

To conclude, if the President truly wants to help the Pakistani nation then he should not lose his team members who are genuine. These Chowdhari Brothers Inc. is just a mess managed by unethical power-oriented people. Therefore, it is high time to gather all the lawyers together from all the regional bars and listen to their advice. I say this because the fall of a leader is only imminent when ignorance overcomes wisdom. If Mr. President does not ask for a replacement for his 'non-rotating' seat of power with a 'rotating' one then things can go out of his hands. Yes. Army may be the most powerful institution in Pakistan. But, the institution is managed by people who are Pakistanis. So, let us hope that our leader somehow realizes the danger of this crisis and acts on it.

Pakistan's exit - Biggest Cricket Debacle

First of all, I would like to convey my heartiest condolences to Bob Woolmer's relatives for the irreparable loss.

Just a few days back I published a blog as a prayer for the national cricket team. But, now we stand isolated after exiting the World Cup in such pathetic fashion. We still have to play Zimbabwe though in order to fulfill the official requirements of the cup. The team will be glad at this point in time to have more time to come back to their country as people are eagerly waiting for them. I believe that most of the responsibility lies on Inzamam Ul Haq, who clearly did whatever he could to make us into a laughing stock. We lost to a team which was playing its first World Cup. Why is that we care so much for these teams that we want them to get the test playing status? I am shocked at the fact that Inzamam Ul Haq did not completely retire from all forms of cricket. Its such a disgrace that he is still justifying the loss by saying it was 'kismat' (luck) which was not on his side. Come on Inzi, luck favors those who help themselves. It does not favor someone who selects the team based on the amount of beard one has on their face.

If after Imran Khan there ever was a captain who was given the complete authority for team selection, it was Inzamam. But this is where the problem lies. He believed that he was another Imran Khan. This is where his downfall came. Our team can only lose to Ireland if our players are headed by brainless captains. After all this authority, where were the Under-19 players who made us win the U-19 World Cup last year in Sri Lanka? Why did not Inzamam pick even fast bowler from the 'real' Pakistani squad. To be honest, neither Iftikhar Anjum or Rana Naved are match winners. If there is a person who is a match winner it is Anwar Ali who made the difference in U-19 WC Final against India. And, why did Inzamam keep a leg spinner as a bowling coach when the world knows that Pakistan created the most devastating fast bowlers of all time? It is just sad to talk about all this.

Now, I think that it is high time that a change in system is brought about. First of all, PCB should be injected with a new constitution which clearly has paid selectors. If we have exited 2 World Cups in an embarassing manner under the selection of Mr. Wasim Bari then that means there is a serious problem with him. He also works for the PIA and takes a seperate salary for them for providing his invaluable services to our cricket. In addition, Dr. Nasim Ashraf also needs to decide if he is a minister for state or the chairman of PCB. We need to build more green tracks in our country so that our batsman who come out for the flawed domestic system are able to handle extra pace and bounce on the wickets. In addition, politics should definitely be kept aside for a moment so that the real talent prevails in our team. We need to cut down on the number of teams which play at national level. Instead, there should be one team from each province or six teams in all so that the most competitive cricket is played amongst them. In our system we have players who make double hundreds in domestic tournament. But, when they come to international level we are just surprised at the way they place their ball right into the fielder's hands.

It definitely will take a long time to recover from this loss. The great Inzamam Ul Haq has left us with so many problems. He is the biggest culprit in Pakistani cricket right now who did whatever he could to make us disgraced. However, let us hope that some sense prevails in our decision makers so that our 160 million people are not disappointed to higher levels. At the end, I would like to pray for our people to have strength and patience so that we are able to pass through this difficult time.

Musharraf's 'In'dependent Judicial System

Corruption Perceptions Index 2006 - Total of 160 Countries Transparency International , www.transparency.org.

It has finally happened. The grey areas have been removed, and everything has become black & white. President Musharraf has done just enough to lose whatever sympathy he had with the people who still believed that he was a credible man. In fact, he has gone a step further by unconstitutionally removing the Chief Justice, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, without a judicial inquiry recommendation.

I still await President's next appearance on media regarding this issue in which he will state his reasons for the removal. Once again, we 'the people of Pakistan' will not understand the bold vision of our President. Hats off to our President for re-asserting the notion which states that there is a 'law of the jungle' in Pakistan. In addition, we are so blessed that our leader showed no hesitation in removing our Chief Justice when he was involved in using excess protocol, and for appointing his son in FIA without merit. Today's generation of Pakistan should be called the 'golden generation.' After all, even the least corrupt countries like Finland have not been blessed enough to witness such bold initiatives by its leader.

Let us see how the government will manage the affairs in the coming days. The trial conducted by the Supreme Judicial Council starts today. In a country where 'sifarish' (a term used for using influence of power to get work done) is a norm, if not part of the culture, the panel should not take that as a serious offense. Moreover, if protocol is such a big issue in our country then it means that it must be Iftikhar Muhammad Choudhry, and not Musharraf, who sits in the Mercedes S-500 V12 surrounded with a 6-7 car convoy while moving in and out from President's House. It seems like our people are not even wise enough to know that President Musharraf drives his own car without any security to anywhere he visits. I really have no hope for these people of Pakistan who have always disappointed me in times like these.

To conclude after all the sarcasm, I hope that Iftikhar Muhammad Choudhry, still the constitutional Chief Justice of Pakistan, holds his ground because more than a personality is at stake here. This may be the reason why lawyers for all provincial benches have showed solidarity with Mr. Iftikhar. The end result of the inquiry may not be to our liking but one thing is undisputed; March 9th was one of the saddest days in our judicial history.

WC '07: A prayer for the 'Cornered Tigers'....

Yes, it is out there now! Pakistan cricket team will take the field without Asif, Razzak, and Shoaib. To add to the injuries, Afridi will be missing the first two one dayers.

Even though the Pakistani team seems no real threat to the major contenders in the competition, I still have hope. Being a Pakistani, we have a 'never-say-die' spirit. To be honest, it is only because we have proved the rest of the world wrong when we stand against all odds. If you recall, in 1992 we were nowhere close to even qualify for second round. But, luckily for us we got through because of luck. After that we never looked back. We went on to take the World Cup in style, at the MCG Australia. Yes, the team today does not have a great captain like Imran Khan but the team still consists of eleven Pakistanis. And, those eleven Pakistanis are backed by 150 million people who are the most emotional people in the world. That itself should say a lot to the teams who will be facing us. If our team unites and really puts faith in themselves then I see a chance of us making it all the way.

The above statements may be coming out of sheer patriotism but this is what the nation is praying for right now. Even though there are lots of criticisms which I have for Mr. Inzamam Ul Haq, I would keep them aside for the betterment. I believe that if we make it to the second round, the toughest round in the World Cup, then there is a surprise for everyone out there. I seriously believe that Mohammad Asif and Shoaib Akhtar will be brought back into the team for two 'injured' players. And, boy would that turn the tables around. If Hayden and Symonds have made a negative statement about our key bowlers its not because of their concern for 'clean' game of cricket. It is only because of the fact that when 'Rawalpindi Express' runs in these 2 batsmen amongst many others, start to feel the pressure. Come on, we Pakistanis are proud to have the world's fastest bowler. To add on, we have the most unpredictable side with the most devastating player in the world, Shahid Khan Afridi. If luck favors him, he alone can finish the career of any bowler. So, world hold on! Pakistan maybe the forgotten 'cornered tigers' who were last unleashed in 1992.

May God shower His Blessings on our team and may we do what we do best; win against all odds. Come on people, we 'Pakistanis' are kind of used to it.