It’s always the darkest before dawn. I for one, and many of you might find this surprising, am of the opinion that this blatant judicial murder of the constitution committed not just by one man but with full-support from the entire civil/military establishment is actually a good thing for Pakistan in bigger scheme of things. I said in a pervious article that there was a sense of eerie silence and complacency in Pakistan because of some superficial and cosmetic freedoms that were graciously ‘donated’ to us by the ‘All-mighty’ general. I am always amazed with this ‘ownership’ of freedom of media, like it was a bakri (goat) that was about to be slaughtered but this current government was gracious enough and ‘freed’ it. Thank heavens that the gloves are finally off. Whatever semblance of decency and decorum there was has now been replaced with ruthless beating of civil-society at the hands of military establishment, and it’s good because the people of Pakistan should have never been in any under any illusion that Army/civil establishment which has milked Pakistan has any intent of letting-go this golden goose, without putting up a fight.

Talat Hussein is absolutely dead on and I said it months ago that the fight is not between democracy and martial-law or Q league or X league, it’s always between the have’s and have not’s. Irony however is that sometimes have’s are leading both fronts so it’s a win-win for them. People at-large in Pakistan need to realize this particular fact-of-life more than anything else. What are we suppose to do now that I have painted this bleak picture that we are really in a zero-sum game here. In my humble estimation, initially we really have a choice between bad and worse. If Q league and BB are the 2 options, and they are, in all frankness it’s rather sad. But I have no doubt that these options are still better than the worst option which is dictatorship and unchecked and unchallenged supremacy and influence of Armed forces. Two things need to happen right away if we the people want our country back. First and foremost, no reconciliation of any sort, no election, no caretaker setup nothing shall be accepted until and unless the honorable justices are restored through out the country. This is of tantamount importance and civil-society should make sure that the political players, especially bibi since she is in the best bargaining position, fully understand that any sort of compromise with the dictator at this point without the restoration of pre-PCO judiciary would be considered blasphemy. Second of all, if musharaf has a shred of decency left, he should just walk away, I realize that it’s a tall task and we are rewarded with very petty men in our history so I for one am not holding my breath.

The thing that strikes me the most about these dictators is there audacity to blame everyone but themselves. I was listening to the speech by generalissimo and he was yelling, like it wasn’t him who is ruling the country for the past 9 yrs, I felt it was all my fault some how. “ Mulk mein dehshatgardi horahi hay”, “Intiha-pasandi barh rahi hay”, “qanoon ki hukmarani nahi hay”, really general sahib, you just found all of that out? Haven’t you been ruling the country with impunity for the past 9 yrs and if the country is in shambles, and it surely is - could we maybe assume that your incompetence might just have something to do with it? I mean it’s a crazy idea but maybe you and the incompetent thugs around you just might have played a small part in it, maybe? I couldn’t believe my ears that the justification for firing Supreme Court justices is that they were insane enough to inquire about the citizens of Pakistan who have been picked up by Pakistani agencies without any case or charge against them. Is it really Islamic terrorism to ask for proof of a crime that you are charging someone with? President of Pakistan was all teary-eyed because the Supreme Court suspended the IG and SSP of police for ordering the man-handling of Journalists and lawyers. Is the General loosing any sleep over police brutality which is being meted out to the civil-society of Pakistan, or is he only president of people that have guns?

One of the charges that were leveled against the higher judiciary was that they were releasing terrorist (lal masjid students), let’s entertain this thought for a moment here shall we? Even if they are terrorist, doesn’t the state have the responsibility of actually arriving in the court of law with some sort of proof? You can’t just say that a person is a terrorist and expect the court to just take your word for it. Ironically enough the 2 justices that heard the cases of Lal masjid students and eventually released them Justice Khokhar and Justice Abbasi, both have taken oaths under the new draconian PCO, so my question is what the hell is General talking about?

Lets be clear here folks. Fact of the matter is that the General and the thugs around him knew that they were on shaky grounds in Supreme Court and they pre-empted a decision that might have gone against the establishment. It’s really that plain and simple. General was insecure and he panicked and came down hard on the Supreme Court and Media-outlets which are no longer complacent and scared of his big-gun.

This is a proud day for Pakistan I reckon. The way civil-society has responded without any leadership or support from political parties is really phenomenal. Shame on opposition parties for napping again for the most part at this crucial juncture of our history. Lawyers and Media personnel that are getting slapped and their hair pulled and dragged in to the police vans are the true heroes of my country and I salute them. I hope and pray that when that day arrives ‘wohh din kay jiska wada hay’ these individuals are properly awarded and compensated. Mothers of Aitezaz Ehsan, Munir Malik, Kurd, and the nameless thousands should be proud for they gave birth to real men and we the nation stand obliged. Hamid Meer, Doctor Shahid Masood, Talat Hussein, Kashif Abbasi, Mushtaq Minhas, Ansar Abbasi, Nusrat Jawaid and thousands of other journalists have done a tremendous service to the nation of Pakistan for fearlessly listening to the voice of there conscience and raising Kalmayey-HAQ (truth) in front of the tyrant, and as prophet (PBUH) said it truly is the real Jihaad. The owners of media-outlets also deserve accolades for not budging under pressure and opted to take personal financial hits but didn’t sell their sole to the devil.

For the first time in history the commoner of our nation had a ray of hope for justice through the higher courts, whether it was justified or not in EVERY SINGLE case is a tall expectation but there was definitely something different about these honorable judges who refused to take oath under PCO. We the Pakistanis suffer with tremendous insecurity & low-self esteem when it comes to democracy. Educated, middle class Pakistanis for some odd reason believe that we as a nation can’t handle democracy. Most of them find the general endearing because he is a straight talker like ‘munna bhai’. I said it in a previous article that we are the only nation that romanticize our thugs and elevate there statures as ‘Robin-hoods’ when they are nothing but criminals. “Pyara-Gujjar”, “Maula Jutt”, “Rehamdil-Badmash” is a proof of that Stockholm syndrome that a big section of the society is suffering with. Nations that have made a name for them and stand successful in today’s world have one thing in common and that is Rule of Law. We can not change the umpire in the middle of the game just because we are staring defeat.

I heard Retd. Lt. General Abdul Qadir Baloch (who seemed like a decent gentleman) complaining that he felt that the govt.’s Point of view was never presented as forcefully and as eloquently as the dissenting Point-of-view. My humble opinion is that the problem was as much as with the credibility of people presenting it as much as it was with the actual Point-of-View itself. Truth is always sexier than deceit. It doesn’t get you a cabinet position for sure but it absolutely lets you appear more respectful than the liar. There is only hope for us if we have access to justice, and not justice against just terrorist or petty thieves but justice against powerful state machinery as well. During 2nd world war when German forces were gaining ground and momentum and England was at the verge of defeat, churchil asked if the courts were functioning properly and providing justice, once he was assured that they were he said that as a nation they will bounce-back. Whether it’s terrorism from separatist or foreign occupation, nations are only successful if the people living in that nation truly feel that they have a stake in the nation-hood. If the people are disenfranchised than rests assure that no amount of Army or ammunition will be able to conquer them. Hamid Mir recently said in capital talk that he doesn’t need a certificate of patriotism from the government, he should consider himself lucky because he is in a very good-company as an ‘enemy of state’, enjoy Habib Jalib:

aur sab bhuul gaye harf-e-sadaaqat likhanaa
rah gayaa kaam hamaaraa hii baGaavat likhanaa

laakh kahate rahe.n zulmat ko na zulmat likhanaa
ham ne siikhaa hii nahii.n pyaare baa_ijaazat likhanaa

na sile kii na sataa_ish kii tamannaa ham ko
haq me.n logo.n ke hamaarii to hai aadat likhanaa

ham ne jo bhuul ke bhii shaah kaa qasiidaa na likhaa
shaayad aayaa isii Khuubii kii badaulat likhanaa

us se ba.Dh kar merii tahsiin bhalaa kyaa hogii
pa.Dh ke naaKhush hai.n meraa saahab-e-sarvat likhanaa

dehar ke Gam se huaa rabt to ham bhuul gaye
sarv qaamat kii javaanii ko qayaamat likhanaa

kuchh bhii kahate hai.n kahe.n shaah ke masaahib 'Jalib'
rang rakhnaa yahii apanaa, isii suurat likhanaa