Men in Khaki

... it is also significant to note that he`s coming back on 21st i.e. tomorrow when 23rd is a public holiday. If he had really been on leave, it is the norm to conjoin public holidays.

#170 by bulleya,

The Gov`t has found a middle way out. Since the composition of the SJC was challenged, the only way to give it legitimacy is to get Rana Saheb on the helm of SJC as is the constitutional demand. And I can bet Rana Bhagwan Das will do justice. He has an unblemished and a non-political career, and an honest man. Everyone knows that.

Maybe it`s time to ditch Mushy. Let a really powerful ``Sher da Puttar`` Pakistani Punjaibi Paindoo dictator, like Zia Ul Haque, take over. Mushy is too wishy washy and soft on the vandals roaming the streets, shitting bricks, and destroying property - the fact that the miscreants are mostly lawyers makes it worse.

Had Mushy thrown a necktie party for the PPP ``democratically-elected`` ex-PM Nawaz Besharif, like Zia did to ZAB, everyone would get in line. I am disgusted with Mushy.

Ranjit,
It appears that the ``Trapped, surrounded, screwed and tattooed`` board is disappearing. :)

#358 by Salim_Chauhan on March 20, 2007 7:05am PT
#357 ranjit {``As zeemax says, it is the Liaquat Ali Khan types who did not want to live with hindus. ...Now as far as your situation in Pakistan is concerned, that is a bed that you chose to lie in. You must make efforts to assimilate there. I am a Sindhi settled in Delhi, just like you are a Mohajir in Karachi. If I can be 200% assimilated into India, why cant you be assimilated into Pakistan?``}

Ranjit bhai,
First of all, I have read that Liaquat Ali Khan hailed from East Punjab. :) Secondly, the overwhelming majority of Mohajirs were not even born at the time of partition - therefore, you cannot say that they ``chose`` this horrible situation.

There never was a plebiscite for Pakistan and Urdu-speaking Mohajirs never had a voice in partition. The Muslim League used its parliamentary majorities in Sind, Punjab, Bengal, Assam, and Frontier as justification for a separate homeland. As for assimilation into Pakistan, please tell me why the Bengalis seceded and why they did not ``assimilate`` into Pakistan? In fact, even as the majority population, they were forced to forsake Pakistan and go their separate way.

Mohajirs have tried to be more Pakistani than the Pisser-e-Zameen, the ``Sons of the Soil.`` Mohajirs have always been loyal to Pakistan - as evidenced by the poor ``Biharis``` continuing state of being ``stranded`` in Bangladesh. How can a people feel assimilated in Pakistan, when their own ``compatriots`` such as the PPP call them ``napaak and HindustaaNRa?``

Mohajirs have contributed to Pakistan`s progress with far greater positive impact than their numbers would require. Preserving one`s language and culture is not an unpatriotic act - in fact in Karachi, Mohajir Gujaratis, Rajasthanis, Mahrathis, people from Mysore, and even Tamils have all sacrificed their ancestral languages for Urdu which is still the lingua franca of Pakistan. Mohajir males even adopted the ludicrous and effeminate shalwar/qameez - made the national uniform of Pakistan by Bhutto. Mohajirs have had to learn Sindi as part of the provincial curriculum. Even after the strife between Mohajirs and Sindhis, perpetrated by the Bhutto and Zia regimes, Mohajirs have reached out to Sindhis and today, native Sindhis are joining MQM in droves. MQM is even popular in the Saraiki region of southern Punjab much to the chagrin of Nawaz Besharif and his ML-N.

I have not read of any instance where a Mohajir has ever been arrested and convicted of spying for India - the same cannot be said about the Pisser-e-Zameen. Furthermore, Mohajirs built up the relatively small city of Karachi into the huge metropolis it has now become. I think that you are being too general and your unfortunate accusations seem to transcend generational boundaries. Please try to be a bit more objective. Whether Karachi is reunified with India as part of a multinational reunification or whether Karachi and/or Sind are allowed self-determination, one thing is clear - no people can be denied freedom forever.

Bhagwandas discovered:

``Justice Rana Bhagwandas, who is to assume the office of the acting chief justice of the Supreme Court, is meditating in Lucknow, India, it is learnt. Justice Bhagwandas is busy in “Geeta Gyan” in the Ashram of Nilu Bhagwan, a spiritual lady from the judge’s native Sindh province, where she once lived as Nilu Sanjnani.``

www.dawn.com....

#149 Kamath sahib,

Thank you for providing me a link to the BBC page from which I extensively quoted in #141.

Who says that on chowk there is no meeting of minds and that people talk only to themselves! :)

#147 by ferozk

FerozK, thank you for your detailed and thoughtful answer.

[…once again, we in Pakistan, are making the same mistake of hoisting our hopes on to a pedestal from which they will surely fall once more.]

I have said this before – if there are any true idolators in that part of the world, it is the vast majority of your compatriots. :) And unfortunately, they idolize the wrong “gods”, who invariably prove too prone to the weaknesses of humans!

[The question at stake is who has the right to interpret the law in Pakistan; the judicial or executive branch of the government?]

I have always thought that particular question has been settled for a while and the winner have always been those wielding lathi sticks and wearing khaki. I like your optimism and hope that you prove right but the realist in me shakes his head the wrong way and tells me that you are reading more into a quirky phenomenon which was allowed to build up into more than it needed to. As far as the checks and balances is concerned – the tussle for power among the executive body, the legislature, and the judiciary was long decided… in favor of…

In favor of – the army!

In fact, I doubt that one would have seen anything like we see now had the place been run by the likes of the Zia – who was more of a “traditional” dictator. Mushy is a bit of a “soft” dictator, no doubt, and likes to maintain (at least the illusion of) a free press. However, the expectations of the Mushy pulling a Gorby are in all likelihood highly exaggerated! :) (But nobody will be happier for your country than I, if that indeed turns out to be the case.)

The “legal” community retaining its ethics and keeping the debate secular…hmmm! I need not mention to an eminent scholar of history what the track record has been so far. Lekin ummeed per to duniyaa jeeti hai! :)

#165 by Naqshbandi on March 19, 2007 4:34pm PT

when mahathir was in power, he played by the rules...he`s only saying the things that make you islamists feel warm and fuzzy because he`s out of power...his father was indian so the bania part of him knows which side of his bread is buttered(or being that his father was a tamilian, which side of the dosa gets the chutney)....

In addition to reading about cricket, the rest of the world is reading about a new game invented by the Pakistani authorities. The name of the game is still in the making. Hopefully, the audience will come up with their recommendations on the name soon. And we will read another biography, highlighting the team lead`s adventures, ``In the line of a new game``.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/03/16/pakistan.justice/index.html
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/03/19/pakistan.justice.reut/index.html
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/03/19/pakistan.justice/index.html
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/03/16/pakistan.justice.ap/index.html

when will third world tin pot dictators learn that the US is a fickle friend and if she can put you in power she can also remove you from power.

That`s why I admire people like Mugabe and Chavez and Mahathir of Malaysia (and the Iranians) -- they have the balls to tell the US to go fcuk themselves. Our great leaders masha Allah bent over and say, `Sar jii, itna theek eh ya hor thora dinga ho jaavaaN?``

This article is been published on http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au
US looks at plan to oust Musharraf

* Bruce Loudon, South Asia correspondent
* March 14, 2007

THE US has indicated for the first time that it might be willing to back plans by elite echelons of the military in Islamabad to oust Pervez Musharraf from power, as the Pakistani President was beset by major new difficulties over his attempts to sack the country`s chief justice.
Reports yesterday quoting highly placed US diplomatic and intelligence officials - previously rusted on to the view that General Musharraf was an indispensable Western ally in the battle against terrorism - outlined a succession plan to replace him.

US officials told The New York Times the plan would see the Vice-Chief of the Army, Ahsan Saleem Hyat, take over from General Musharraf as head of the military and former banker Mohammedmian Soomro installed as president, with General Hyat wielding most of the power.

The report adds another dimension to the range of challenges bearing down on the embattled military ruler following his weekend sacking of chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, whom he appointed just over a year ago.

Thousands of lawyers clashed with baton-wielding riot police yesterday during a nationwide day of action against the sacking of the top judge. About 3000 lawyers wearing smart black suits and chanting ``Down with Musharraf`` dismantled barriers in an attempt to stage a sit-in outside the Lahore High Court building.

More than 40 lawyers and 15 police were injured in the clashes. Police repeatedly baton-charged the demonstrators, some of them senior members of the bar, arresting 25 people.

In Islamabad, police barricaded the Supreme Court where the Supreme Judicial Council was meeting in camera to consider as-yet unspecified charges against the chief justice involving alleged misuse of his authority.

There was chaos and confusion as the council began its hearings last night. Having been held virtually under siege and incommunicado in his residence, the chief justice refused to get into a government car sent to convey him to the Supreme Court.

Instead, he stunned officials by starting to walk, surrounded by supporters, and told reporters he rejected any suggestion he had abused his office. Police soon intervened, however, and he was forced into a car and taken to another building before being transferred to the Supreme Court.

As courts across the country remained paralysed in protest, motives for the sacking emerged when it was disclosed that last month Justice Iftikhar said in a speech that General Musharraf could not continue as army chief beyond the expiry of his term as President later this year.

General Musharraf has a highly controversial plan that would have him elected to another five-year term as President by existing federal and provincial legislatures - before general elections are held.

But he also wants to continue as Army Chief of Staff, something that is bitterly opposed by political leaders as well as the international community. The plan would be challenged in the courts, and the chief justice`s strong words on the issue may have forced the President to take pre-emptive action to remove him.

The bitter wrangling lends weight to those in the US diplomatic and intelligence community who believe it is time to consider the post-Musharraf era.

The US report suggests a growing disenchantment towards General Musharraf in Washington and indicates that the longstanding view that the alternative to his regime would be chaos and a takeover by extremist Islamic mullahs is no longer ascendant.

The US officials say hardline Islamists have usually not done well in elections in Pakistan and that if General Musharraf were removed, a doomsday scenario would not necessarily follow.

The report could be an attempt by Washington to pressure General Musharraf to take stronger action against militants in Pakistan`s border areas near Afghanistan, where the Taliban and al-Qa`ida are operating. But it might also indicate the President`s allies in Washington are about to pull the rug from under him.

99.99% of paki politicians are corrupt and should be lined up and shot. so should musharraf and most of the military brass too. when was the last time they actually did something useful?

#161 Zeemax {`` ``Genghis Khanum`` as per your nemesis neembu ...
And BTW ... I`m screwing her ... not the other way around ... LoL .. ``}

Zeemax,
Pursuing small slant eyed felines is one way to overcome your limiting shortcoming. :)

#160 by Salim_Chauhan

``Genghis Khan.``

err .. ``Genghis Khanum`` as per your nemesis neembu ...

And BTW ... I`m screwing her ... not the other way around ... LoL ..

#159, Zeemax,
No need to get jealous of Altaf Payee - just because your Lucknowi nawaban left your sorry ass and you had to get screwed by ``Genghis Khan.`` LOL :)

#158 ... contd ..

This SOB married a nice Sindhi girl from an illustrious family of Sindh just to chamkaofy his siasat and paraded her on TV ... then this SOB got a daughter from raping her and paraded the baby on TV too as if in this manner he becomes a Sindhi ... This SOB.

Listen ... he`ll always remain a bhayya and a mutarwa ... he`ll never be a Sindhi by raping a Sindhi woman ... this dirty greasy shitty despicable SOB ...