The Silent Majority Speaks

Dear writer,

Very good article, one can only hope and pray that civil society in Pakistan whatever is left of it can assert itself.

Civil society in Pakistan is limited to Karachi, Lahore, Pindi, Islamabad beyond these major urban cities, rest of the country is dominated by baradri, tribal, feudal structures that do not allow any form of civil polity. Even the major urban cities are subject to feudal mindsets and military (militant) controls, therefore Iam not sure where civil society can make a difference, if the recent popular wave seen for the CJP is an example, well this will be a one time event that can very easily be reversed through military or religious edicts.

Still, good article and noble ideas, wish u well.

A good expose` by the author.
Yesterday the book Military Inc now this article.

We as Indians have this moral responsibility to help Pakistanis, in whichever meagre way possible, to help them come out this unending General saga.

rf786, well said.

`They are not allowed to assume such roles and they are not trained for these non -military roles. `

your thoughts are very noble indeed, but it seems that the military of your country enjoys playing god. so the best way out of this mess could be that all military personal of your country rising beyond the rank of a major must clear a full time MBA course in case his services are required in business fields and he wants to coontinue being the in military.

my above thoughts are only inline with the reality of your country.

As well as these direct army ppl in civil jobs, there are many civil appointees who are not supposed to be there but carry favour with Mush and crew... eg. Tarik Kirmani (ex-petroleum guy) chairman PIA, PIA is now banned from flying to Europe except for its new planes... so he has been replaced by some other twit who has no idea about the industry!!!

There are many others too... Army should go back to the baracks and leave running of the country to civil society....

#2 would be helpful if all your country men thought like that!

from todays paper

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007 06 05 story_5-6-2007_pg7_17

EU ban on PIA airbuses may last till November

KARACHI: The ban on Pakistan International Airline’s (PIA) aircrafts from flying to European countries may last for another six months, as no positive development could be made during talks held in Brussels last week between Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAA) and European Union’s Air Safety Commission officials.

The ICAA and EU’s safety commission made it clear during the talks that no compromise would be made on safety standards. The EU barred PIA airbuses from flying to European countries because of safety concerns in June 2006 and asked the airline’s management to improve the safety standard. According to sources, the ICCA and EU safety commission officials told the CAA delegation that a safety commission delegation would visit Pakistan next month to see the measures being taken by PIA’s administration to improve safety in its fleet. online

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Also see

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007 06 05 story_5-6-2007_pg1_10

and

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007 06 05 story_5-6-2007_pg1_1

Musharraf gags media

* PEMRA allowed to seal channels, suspend licences, make new rules without informing parliament
* Council of Complaints withdrawn
* Fine for violation of rules increased tenfold

By Zulfiqar Ghuman

#3 not a bad idea, tho in reality we dont want them there in the first place...

`#6 by ally on June 5, 2007 3:43am PT
#3 not a bad idea, tho in reality we dont want them there in the first place...`

ally....no country wants its military beyond the barracks, except when it is required. however, in pakistan`s case the military is everywhere except in the barracks. so if u have to live with it, might as well get them to it properly rather than making a mess out of it.

as an after thought, i have met some officers of the indian amy, i must confess that except for fighting, they are almost good for nothing.

#7

as can be seen by all, the Pakistan army officers are not that much different from their Indian counterparts! Now imagine India being ruled by them!!! God Forbid!!!

#2 by Folio

Folio, my contribution as an Indian would be to get Lallu Prasad Yadav to run Pakistan for a minimum period of 10 years, with complete autonomy and freedom!

We would then see a completely ``turned around`` Pakistan not exporting high quality Jehadism but importing good old values from you know who.........

Ally,

The defence ppl are well entrenched on the civil side - the wrong side.

The celabration of Defence Day by/in Pakistan is another attempt to spend ur money 4 the self-aggrandisement by the Army. This article is an evidence as to how deep this rot gone gone into.

Simply put, this is the Patronage Network that`s being developed is wide and deep. There are no easy ways to cut this whole network.

I said it b4. Gather ppl in crores that surround the GHQ, National Assembly and other vital state installations. Let the General declare retirement.

(Btw, dont guillotine him and his family like they it in French Revolution).

Croatians did it (Orange Revolution). Phippinos did it (to remove Estarda). Nepalese did it recently.

Pakistanis are emotional like we Indians are. They gather in lakhs to protest against some silly cartoons but not for the `real` issues. May be that`s how we philosophise abt Pakistan and her fate. :-(

#9 by chennai on June 5, 2007 4:04am PT

Chennai,

Lol.

That`s not feasible. MQM kept a seat 4 him in Karachi in the future Parliament of United South Asia. B2B affinity (Bihari2Bihari) ;-)

Lalu indeed done a great job for the railways.

The celabration of Defence Day by/in Pakistan is another attempt to spend ur money 4 the self-aggrandisement of the Army.

Folio, ally. devkant, chennai

yaar,
hope u guys r having fun at our (pakis) expense, just remember one thing, India does not want a splintered neighbour bleeding with nuclear toxins. Just had to add something from our perspective, hund thay bhund pfhatee hueee hai..

rf786

I too am a Pakistani like you and also dont want a splintered pak!!! also dont want the Generals in power...

#13 by rf786 on June 5, 2007 6:20am PT


India does not want a splintered neighbour bleeding with nuclear toxins


Why not? you think the US will just stand by and watch if the jihadis get the nukes? and do you think india won`t retaliate if the jihadis use nukes?

If the jihadis take over, that`ll be really bad for the interests for current and retired top brass of the paki military...so they`ll do what needs to be done to keep the jihadis at bay...

Pakis duking it out with pakis is a great scenario for India..I`m stocking up on buffalo wings and beer....

I have said this before.

Other countries have armies, Pakistani Army has a country, they almost had two but the Afghan’s got away.

Faruk