A Nation Reborn

{`` If we can’t be concerned enough to stand up for justice and liberty, than we deserve tyranny and servitude! Pressurize the government! Get students together and hold protests and rallies! Write in newspapers, write to ministers, and write to other citizens! Those in power base their power on the ignorance of the masses. Destroy the ignorance; you destroy the very foundations upon which those in power stand!``}

Akbar Sahib,
Well-written article, but a lot of brave words and plenty of cricket, nihari, and ammi jaan.

Nobody in his/her right mind would advocate dictatorship - especially a military one. Everyone wants democracy, but there is no quick fix, no cheap freedom, and no instant cure for insanity. Pakistan has NEVER experienced a sustained even limited democracy. Jinnah was basically a universally-accepted autocrat, a one-man show, who needed no ratification of his whimsical ideas. Muslims have an uncanny habit of elevating even the most mediocre of their leaders to positions approaching divinity.

Democracy means much more than mob rule. Majority rule does not mean that a vote can decide the life or death of any hated minorities, confiscation of their wealth, or designation of their community as non-Muslim, naPaak, or discrimination against them in employment, business, or education. There must be concrete, sacred, and inalienable rights assured to ALL citizens - such as in the Bill of Rights. There must be protection for smaller states/provinces, otherwise Delaware would have never joined the United States.

Pakistan has had only two orderly, legal, and fair transitions of power. The first was in the `50s when the Bengali-dominated Awami League and Suharwardy beat the incumbent Muslim League. The second was when an Urdu-speaking Mohajir COS, Mirza Aslam Beg, transferred power to a victorious Benazir Bhutto in 1989. Forget the fact that Gen Aslam Beg was an imbecile when it came to knowledge of military matters - he was the fool who considered helping the Bosnians achieve military success as a futile effort and bound for failure. But he did supervise fair elections and did not grab power for himself - unlike Ayub, Yahya, Zia, and Mushy.

The question to ask is what replaces Mushy in the future? Another two rounds of twiddle dee and twiddle dum will not do. The military must be there ONLY for the defense of the country against FOREIGN enemas - something it has NEVER succeeded in doing effectively. The military should not become a tool of a single province or ethnicity to lord over the rest of the country. The provinces should enjoy full local power - including taxation, police, education, and local legislation. The days of the One Unit and Basic Democracy crap are over. Will Pakis rise to the challenge or are we to expect more of the same? Throwing bricks, burning tires, and smashing windows are not the solution.

Re:eastmwest#4

[.People can relax, mingle with the opposte sex and just chill. At least for one day. If you can`t beat them join them. I think they should have ``Kafir Day`` and make it trendy and fun...]

Finally a Paki dude who has suggested a gem of an idea. Bravo!! Mashallah!! Subhanallah!!

It is time for Musharraf to take another U turn -- reinstate CJ -- get rid of Shaukat Aziz, Pervaiz Illahi, and that stupid vulgar law minister -- retire the cowardly lion Shoojat Husain -- and promote himself to a figurehead President -- end the exile of Benazir and Nawaz Sharif -- let the two party system provide an activist prime minster.

Time for Musharraf to give total rest to his tired rundown jaundiced -- liver -- enough of one-man ``saaray jahaaN ka durd humaray jiggar mein hai`` stuff.

The staying the course right now does not look pretty infact it could get very ugly -- and there is no need for for that.

Look more than anything, more than ever...Pakistan needs some good bars, swanky ones, dive one, pick up joints etc... How about a vodka infused sharbat? People can relax, mingle with the opposte sex and just chill. At least for one day. If you can`t beat them join them. I think they should have ``Kafir Day`` and make it trendy and fun so the mullahs will loose their thunder. Kafir Day will be like Carnival. Before you know it ...Germans, Scandinavians will be choosing Pakistan over India. (Sorry but this Pakistani tourism schtick recently is a sad sorry imitation of India tourism dept ``Discover India``. Everyone I know has been or wants to visit India)

This is you chance Pakistan, imagaine all the attnand overnight it will ring true;
``Make Love Not War``.

Bet even Hamidm will hanker to rush back asap. :)

Isnt all this anarchist talk scaring you guys? I mean real-estate evaluations can drop by as much as 80% you know!

Loved your passionate style.

And Amen to that:



``Following the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson, they have shown that these are indeed good times. Great times even. If we can’t be concerned enough to stand up for justice and liberty, than we deserve tyranny and servitude! Pressurize the government! Get students together and hold protests and rallies! Write in newspapers, write to ministers, and write to other citizens! Those in power base their power on the ignorance of the masses. Destroy the ignorance; you destroy the very foundations upon which those in power stand! Never before have I seen such clarity as to the stand that must be taken at such a crucial time! We need to send a clear message to the government and all other politicians that Pakistan is a country for the people! It is a country rooted in universal principles, the violation of which will never be tolerated! This is a time when a shining precedent can be forever etched into the history of our nation. It is a time that may very well be remembered as that juncture in Pakistan’s history when the people rose like fire and thunder and valiantly chose freedom over enslavement; forever preferred justice over tyranny!
``