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.
3 comments:
"short-sighted legal advisors" are you referring to pm Shaukat Aziz? Perhaps they/he were not merely short-sighted when they advised the removal of the Chief Justice. Maybe they had their own agenda against the Supreme Court after the damaging Pakistan Steel case? Or, more dramatically, even to destabilize Musharrafs/Pakistans seat of power.
would you, or Hamid Mir, really accuse Pervez Elahi of the Geo TV raid - may it is too obvious as people were shouting his name at the camera to draw attention to him, or anyone, and away from the situation at hand. The whole thing seemed very staged, maybe done to divert attention elsewhere. What was the point of attacking a news station when many cabinet members are openly addressing the media willingly themselves?
Good for people to know.
Post a Comment