Lament of a Disillusioned Citizen

Re: # 21
Harish Jee,

App tho punjay jhar ke pakistan aur Jinnah ke bhund ke pechay pargay hein, kiun qibla koi khaas project hai kia?

{Pakistan was never as divided as it is today, thanks to the budding Jinnah}

Yaar, take a break, a kit-kat break, even better watch Fifa world cup its really very interesting, so much massalla dude with all those crummy third world countries trying to beat the much better developed countries, can u believe it, their audacity to challenge the high and mighty. Thoba thoba thoba....phitkaar inpay....the gist of all this BS is get a life dude...

Dear Ahmed sahib

(Whether one likes or not today Pakistan is Gen P.Musharraf. )

Such sentiments are not unique to Pakistan. Once it was said India is Indira, Indira is India. But 21 years after he death, India is possibly a much stronger country. Give your country and countrymen a chance.

Regards

General has given lot to country even with some problems. Musharraf is Jinnah today. Hope he rules for next 12 years. Two decades under him can transform Country and he is only able to care of terrorists. I think too dwarfs are criticizing him due thier own inferiority complex jelosy and greed. Whether one likes or not today Pakistan is Gen P.Musharraf. I doubt light wt civies like BB or Nawaz amount to anything. But MQM Chief counts all others have to no value.

Re #12

Just too good, calling Fareeha aunty !

#15

I do not want to dispel your optimism, but it doesnt appear that something is going to happen in Pakistan, atleast for the next 5 years. There have been words and words and words all over for the past so many years regarding restoration of democracy in Pakistan but now it is clear that those words have gone into deaf ears.

So my advice to Pakistanis is that either you have to get into action ,that is, take it on to the streets(like the Nepalese have done) or accept the status-quo as your fate.

There is no other third option.

To sanjay : I totally agree with you that actions are needed. But sir, actions do not come out of the blue, they are always inspired by words. And if the Pakistani people had not cared about their govt. they would not have stood up for their rights along with Bhutto, nor had they chanted slogans against Ayub and no matter what the reason for Ayub`s downfall there is no denying that people did come out against him. It is just that the population is frustrated after getting no rewards for their work, but pessimism can be ended. This country is ours and it is our duty to run it. It is high time that we realize our duties! Nobody could have said a month ago that nepal was ready for such a large-scale opposition. You never know what`s going to happen and it is just some pessimistic seers who never will agree even if the opposition faces them in the face. Afterall it was the pakistan public who broke the gates of the diplomatic enclave a few months back.

Mr. Saleem Chauhan you have certainly enlightened us with many problems that face us before elections, democracy and civilian rule but may I ask you who exactly will fulfill these demands. Mr. President, maybe, who has nothing more important to do than to hang on to power ( or his uniform). Or maybe you are waiting for another martial law and another general who will promise us much and give us nothing after another 11 year stint. Ah! Yes, now I understand, maybe you are waiting for the messiah.

Sir, please first read the article which clearly states that democracy evolves through mistakes and you cannot abolish democracy for the reason that one or two leaders were a failure. Sir, USA did not put aside democracy after the Watergate scandal. Although I might disagree with some of your points I do agree with them on the whole and the only way they will ever be implemented is through an established democracy and civilian rule.

As far the Punjabi part goes you seem to be a much more biased man against Punjab than the author is against any region. How do you propose to control an even further divided Pakistan while already the provinces are being kept together through the barrel of the military’s gun? I feel that the author has spoken a much needed truth and rather than complaining about the minor mistakes in the govt. has identified the responsible source, the President

Fareeha Choudhry, {``whatever it is, each new government makes us yearn for those gone, to jail cells or foreign lands, locked either in the land or out of it and we slowly realize that the compromised angels weren’t those who were coming our way but rather those who were being dragged away in trumped up cases, their foreigner-saved-my-neck deals and disowned palaces and billions of stolen dollars hidden in foreign accounts waving cheerio right behind them.``}

Farheeha Sahiba,
Please speak for yourself. I think that there is ample evidence that both Benazir and Nawaz stole, embezzled, and stashed away their ill-gotten money - all at the expense of the poor and short-changed people of Pakistan. Shame on you for even wishing their return to power. You must be from Punjab - it`s so obvious.

{``what makes me the angriest is the how easily and guiltlessly our Constitution is raped, plundered, twisted, destroyed and then suitably recreated to cater to the whims of those in power. ``}

Again, Fareeha Sahiba,
It is far better for the Constitution of Pakistan to be raped, plundered, twisted, and destroyed, than the people of Karachi to be raped, plundered, tortured, and massacred at the hands of Paki Punju Rangers deployed by the ``democratically elected`` authoritarian regimes. Once again, shame on you for even advocating a return to the bad years of the late 80s and 90s.

Before we can even talk about elections, democracy, and civilian rule, there must be fundamental changes in Pakistan:

1. All the provinces need to be subdivided into several smaller autonomous provinces to preclude power being grabbed by the largest province as a manifestation of mob rule.

2. The rights of minorities and smaller provinces must be safeguarded against an imposition of the will of the majority at the expense of human rights.

3. Pakistan should be declared a secular state with guaranteed freedoms of conscience, religion, speech, and press.

4. All elections should be conducsted under the watchful eyes of dependable, honest, and numerous foreign observers.

5. There should be an immediate reversal of the anti-Ahmedi laws with a full and open apology and appropriate restitution to this persecuted group of patriotic Pakis.

6. Last, and most importantly, there should be immediate repatriation of stranded Pakis in BD (the so-called ``Biharis,``), also accompanied by a full and open apology with appropriate restitution to this neglected, long-suffering, and cheated group of loyal Pakis.

Without a solid foundation of sincerity, honesty, justice, fairness, humanity, and rights of citizens, a ``democracy`` for the sake of counting votes, is merely a facade.