A Letter To President Musharraf

Re: # 41
I think a large part of the Sikh population got carried away by the propaganda carried out by Bhindranwale, he mesmerised the gullible rural population into believing that they could really take on the majority and attain Khalistan. On such occasions a lot of riff raff and lumpen element joins in the chorus, you even had cashiered Army officers joining the movement and setting up the final countdown at Harmandar Saheb, while the silent majority were just dumb observers. Any upright Sikh officer who dared to stand up to Bhindranwale was eliminated creating a fear psychosis. There was a lot of disaffection in the defence services too engineered by Bhindranwale followers through unit granthis. Soon after Blue Star Sikh troops commandeered trucks and siezed weapons as far as Nasik and started towards Punjab, of course they never made it and would have realised they had been misled.
The blame of course goes to the Congress and their leader Indira Gandhi in the first place shoring up Bhindranwale against the Akali Dal. She paid the price for this blunder.
As for the pogroms after her death again the Congress and Rajiv Gandhi are wholly to blame. Passions were really high particularly after selected massacres of Hindus in Punjab, but it was the duty of the Congress to ruthlessly put down the disorder but they on the contrary actually encouraged the mass murder.
As I have said before, due to the follies of Congress rulers, a magnificent community has been hurt and sidelined and the question is in the next war against Pakistan in the Punjab will the Jat wholewheartedly welcome the Indian army as hithertofore or will he just watch them passively?

Stuka (#26), Bulleya (#29):

It was not just blue star operation, subsequent massacre of Sikhs by Prime minister Rajiv in Nov 1984 was the proverbial second punch that forced Sikhs to reexamine their place in India.

Anyway, minorities need to learn to live by majority rules, no matter which country you are in. All other lecturebaji is crap.

On the other hand, this incidence in Pakistan is majority on majority. Even if Mushy may not feel any pain, at least he will act as if he is hurting inside.

Re: # 43

{It is true the government (Congress) sat on its butt and the state machinery failed}

Stuka,

It was much more than that. Actually, Hindus in central India did not want to harm Sikhs. It was the ruling Congress stalwarts who were driving the massacre operation from Delhi. Some of my relatives in Indore were notified 10-12 hours in advance by Congressi Hindu friends that they had received “chuDDiyan” from Rajiv’s folks since they had not killed any Sikhs yet (remember, this second operation lasted 3-4 days in North India). This prompted Sikhs in two colonies that were heavily populated by Sikhs to block off all roads with trucks backed by all young Sikhs with guns, swords etc. The hired hooligans (remember average Hindu is a peaceful vegetarian who outsources the dirty work:)) came and left since risk/reward ratio was too high. They did however kill a dozen or two Sikhs (the unfortunate ones caught alone) in the town to complete nominally their quota to please Rajiv.

Also, chattering class might not have blessed the November massacre operation but they did not speak out for any inquiry. On top of that they blessed Rajiv with huge mandate as prize for his “achievement” - teaching Sikhs a lesson AGAIN.

#``41 by Pardesi on July 13, 2007 3:09pm PT
Stuka (#26), Bulleya (#29):

It was not just blue star operation, subsequent massacre of Sikhs by Prime minister Rajiv in Nov 1984 was the proverbial second punch that forced Sikhs to reexamine their place in India.``

Pardesi, The reason I did not mention the massacres was because there was no moral justification of the event by the chattering classes. It is true the government (Congress) sat on its butt and the state machinery failed. But I was talking about the reaction of the opinion creators of society (the Greek Chorus if you will) that did in a sens e back the Operation Blue Star but not the subsequent massacres.


``Anyway, minorities need to learn to live by majority rules, no matter which country you are in. All other lecturebaji is crap.On the other hand, this incidence in Pakistan is majority on majority. Even if Mushy may not feel any pain, at least he will act as if he is hurting inside. ``

You are right. That`s exactly what I was thinking after I wrote my previous post. We would have seen maybe half the level of soul searching if the Mullahs were Shia...and none if it was Pandits or Priests rather than Mullahs :)

Re: # 44

``One does not have to side with mullahs to see that killing of fellow citizens by their own army was a criminal act``

Wrong.

Killing is wrong anyway, but within the current legal framework in most countries, consider that you have a hostage situation, and you try to negotiate, and then the hostage takers open fire on the law enforcers, and kill a few law enforcers, and refuse to surrender and be arrested....I`m sorry, but people get shot for way less in even Canada or US.

So the government was justified within its legal framework to take action.

-thinking

One does not have to side with mullahs to see that killing of fellow citizens by their own army was a criminal act. But to be sure, this is not the first act of its kind. It has been happening all over Pakistan with increasing speed. Its just that this one occured in the capital city in front of cameras.

An unconstitutional and illegal president who came to power by having his thugs literally scale the walls of PM house does not even have the authority to order planting of a tree, much less ordering a wholesale massacre. After all, for good or bad, there are only two possible (and somewhat overlapping) sources of law in Pakistan:

1- Quran. But thats a big no no for this dictator since it does not align with his personal idea of ``enlightenment``

2- 1973 Constitution. But he abrogated it when he overthrew an elected (yes, half assed, but still elected) government

So under which system of governance did he execute the writ of the state? If he could not wait 8 days before ordering bombing of Lal Masjid, dont we, after a godly patience of 8 years, have a stronger case to begin bombing the infrastructure that supports his dictatorship?

The author made a passing reference to undertaking a referendum on whether alcohol and prostitution should be allowed/regulated or banned in Pakistan. This is of course a very uncomfortable question for the democracy loving enlightened moderates........for the result of this poll would be somewhere close to 97%. And so, yes, the ``enlightened moderates`` want democracy. But no, not the kind of democracy that makes them uncomfortable. In the end, it is really a struggle between ``haves`` and ``have-nots``. Religion is merely a medium of expression of ``have-nots``, since it gives them the power and the motivation to blow-up the infrastructure of F-16 wielding ``haves``.

Khadija,
Very well-written and beautifully expressed with all the straightforwardness of a Panzer blitzkrieg. There is no doubt about your anger, your sadness, your outrage, and your message. By stating the following you made a powerful conclusion and slammed the ball squarely in his court:
``And if, in all good conscience, you feel that you cannot stand in the line of fire, will you make way for someone who can?``

I just hope that your application for a Canadian visa has already been successfully processed.

You also said:
{`` You have been quoted as having said that ``I will order action if the media promises it will not show dead bodies.`` Is image your only priority? ...
Mr. President, if you, who as the chief of the army staff, has taken a firm stance about not abandoning your uniform, if you could not control these militants then how do you expect us to stand by you?...``}

Khadija, I think that everyone, including you, is misquoting the poor misundersood simpleton of a general. He meant to say:

`` I will remove my uniform if the media promises it will not show my naked body.`` LOL If this incompetent, cruel, and bloodthirsty dictator was not a murderer, he might be as funny as Omar Sharif (the one from Lalukhet).

well lookie here...the indigenous freedom fighters of the lashkar-e-toiba 2.0..Now if I point out that the JD is a front group for the LeT or that Hafeez Saeed is the leader of a state department terrorist group, some people will call it pak bashing

The irony is thick...the LeT jihadis were indoctrinated with a steady pakistani government propaganda about the hindoos killing muslims and destroying mosques...and now the jihadis are accusing their masters of doing the same...

Funeral prayers for Lal Masjid victims: More than 10,000 people attend JD-organised funeral

* MMA demonstrates outside press club, claims govt covering up ‘mass murder’
* IJT holds funeral prayers at PU

Staff Report

LAHORE: More than 10,000 people offered funeral prayers in absentia for victims of the Lal Masjid operation at Jamaatud Dawa’s (JD) Jamia Masjid Al Qadsia in Chauburji on Friday. AFP reported more than 20,000 men, women and children in attendance.

JD chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed was seen crying during the prayer, which he led. Earlier, he told worshippers during his Friday sermon that the operation was an operation against every mosque and religious seminary in Pakistan. This was the largest prayer of its kind in the city.

MMA protests: On the appeal of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), thousands of people protested the government’s crackdown on Lal Masjid earlier this week. The protestors urged the Supreme Court to take suo motu notice of ‘state terrorism’ to avoid a civil war. They urged the government to step down in wake of the operation in which scores of people including soldiers were killed.

The protestors alleged that the government was covering up the mess it had made of the operation. They claimed that hundreds of men, women and children had been killed, but that the government had enforced curfews and prohibited the media from entering the area to hide its misdeeds. Clerics denounced the operation against Lal Masjid during their Friday sermons. They also denounced the government’s attitude towards religious people. They demanded President Pervez Musharraf resign because his government had failed to protect the life and property of the people of Pakistan.

The MMA (Lahore chapter) demonstrated outside the Lahore Press Club. Liaqat Baloch led the protestors. A large police contingent was deployed around the press club and traffic was halted during the protest.

Punjab University: The Islami Jamiat Talaba (IJT) also offered funeral prayers in absentia at the Punjab University. An IJT release stated that more than 4,000 students, teachers and PU employees attended the prayer.

Re: # 66

dear rf786,

``If mosques and madrassah’s in the CAPITAL that are situated in the shadow of our intelligence force cannot be controlled, how do you hope to control similar monsters across the country?``

hope that clarifies it.

Khadija

Re: # 50

Dear Salim Mian,

Iam sorry, but I cud not detect the sarcasm. To me, it sounded more like a charge sheet against the Govt and completly ignores the criminal, hostile acts of the ghajee terrorists.

Its easy to point fingers at the Govt, but what of the terrorists that were willing to kill and be killed? This is just the tip of the ice-berg, ever been to Binoria Town Karachi? That is the mother lode for all terrorists, yet they are untouchable and held with great respect. My dear Salim, debate being framed to justify or rationalize these terrorists is appeasement and has only made the terrorists stronger, ask ZA Bhutto Marhoom.

Re: # 50

Mr Salim Chauhan,

Thank you for that kind defence.

Unfortunately i am not awaiting immigration documents from anywhere. Perhaps applications are in order :-).

Sincerely,
Khadija

#19 by rf786 on July 13, 2007 1:14pm PT
{``Dear Writer,
...Being a Pakistani with no dual nationality, residing in Pakistan yet asking for a vote on alcohol in a country that has yet to reverse reprehensible blasphemy laws, what gives? ``}

Bismillah Bhai,
Don`t tell me you missed her wonderful and well-disguised sarcasm? She is saying that we all know Mushy and his advisors were three sheets to the wind when they made the decision to storm the Lal Masjid. She is also saying that we Pakis desperately need legalized alcohol to cope with the actions of a government and a dicator who are intoxicated with both alcohol and absolute power.

This is so powerful, so intense, and so effective that I am surprised that a Pakistan lady, without being of dual nationality, can write so well and so effectively. After all, we have expatriate Pakis in the US, who claim to be professors of one thing or another. These imposters, who flaunt their ignorance of Urdu, could not write decently in English, even if they were requesting a list ditch act of clemency from the Governor, while they were facing imminent execution.

The irony is thick...

JD chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed was seen crying during the prayer, which he led. Earlier, he told worshippers during his Friday sermon that the operation was an operation against every mosque and religious seminary in Pakistan. This was the largest prayer of its kind in the city.

Here is another irony..Hafiz Saeed is originally from India :))

#51 by stuka on July 13, 2007 5:15pm PT


Here is another irony..Hafiz Saeed is originally from India :))


dayum...

here`s more irony...gandhi is from india too...you know..the gandhi who, wccording to manto, is responsible for the islamic radicalism in today`s pakistan...

July 13, 2007

Khadija Malik Hassan
Somewhere City
Pakistan

Dear Khadija,

I am in receipt of your very special letter and would like to acknowledge the same. I have not received anything written with such warmth and affection since a no-good individual called Beej wrote to me a pairavi letter on behalf of a suspicious lawyer who had a few no-good things to say about me – but we won’t talk of those things here so as not to hurt the feelings of the parties concerned!

You see, my dear Khadija, you need to get one thing clear. I never wanted to rule – although many have drawn that erroneous conclusion, especially after my glowing Referendum (Thank you very much, my dear Pakistanis – Pakistan Paindabad!). I did not want to rule, in fact, all I wanted to do was to retire from my cushy army job to perhaps another cushy after-army job. But duty called – and I answered – even though that NS fellow never wanted me to.

As you know, we khakis put duty above everything else – we place it on the highest pedestal we can locate and offer our dua to it first thing every morning, for we must always do our bit to protect the motherland – and that dua is the best way to do it – and it is free!

If we did not put our duty before everything else, how do you expect us to award those medals of valor to each other?!

And like somebody in America said – “we have nothing to fear but fear ourselves” – accordingly, we have realized that Pakistan has nothing to fear but the Pakistanis – and so we do our best to protect Pakistan from the same!

I only wish you had sent your letter directly to me instead of to the whole world! I wonder why. (There is that slim possibility that you are trying to get a visa to the USA and your letter is the first step in the direction. Okay, if not the USA then – as a poor second choice – to Canada (but don’t tell that DM guy, he will start crying again!) or even – Lord forbid – to the UK! And if none of those places work out, hey, there is always down under! BTW, I am already married so don’t try any dora-baazi on me! Mrs. Mushy won’t be receptive to a number two in the house. The children’s spots are also filled, so adoption is out – even our pet dog is still in the prime of life! Sorry, no vacancy!)

It is incorrect to say that just because you are a Pakistani, you are no foreigner. You see, most Pakistanis are foreigners in lands which are not Pakistan – AND lands which are Pakistan! We live in an age of enlightenment when we broaden our outlook and make no distinction between Pakistanis and foreigners – at whatever level! Take that GWB for example – he may be the president of the USA, but we will never treat him any less than any ruler in our country! And it is a highly moral stand – you see, my dear, he is an elected leader, which automatically makes him more legitimate than most leaders of our land!

I am sorry you have no dual nationality or assets abroad. Life is tough for those who lack those resources. But sorry, I can not help you – we would like our countrymen to become self-sufficient and it is a good idea to set up a good example! So go set up a good example for the youth of our country – by fending for yourself! Like I said before – Pakistan comes first!

Regarding those children killed in Jamia Hafsa, you should wait till the dust settles – many of those that you designate as children but happened to have thick beards!

To fill that void in your shattered heart, I would like to send you an autographed copy of the Ghauri-I, Ghauri-II, Ghauri-III, and Hatf-IV missiles – so your little heart will swell with so much pride that you will never miss anything. And those pictures will never die.

Don’t be misled by the 1,200 number. The actual number of casualties is a lot less in that mosque.

It is just that like all desis – we can not resist a good deal when we see one and the vendors were offering a volume discount! So, even if we don’t need those coffins today, it is only a matter of time – you see my dear, unlike those infidels across the border –every citizen of our land will surely depart in one! A volume purchase assures us Pakistanis of our basic right!

Your mention of the demon lover leads me to believe that you are of marriageable age. Your heart-felt anguish at the prevalence of whorehouses also leads me to believe that things have not moved well for you in terms of prospective suitors. I will be happy to send in a couple of very eligible bachelors – in khaki, of course!

Yes, those houses of ill-repute are a serious threat to our country – just imagine the scores and scores of ablaa Pakistani naaris who would have to beg for alms because no decent Pakistani male will marry them because all the decent Pakistani males will be too busy visiting those whorehouses – especially those run by foreign ladies! I admit that our Pakistani young men are so vulnerable and innocent when it comes to resisting the charms of foreign women – even of those across the border! I promise to look into this serious problem at a high priority level – right after my second referendum!

My concern about not showing dead bodies on the media is genuine, of course! It is like this my dear – if it does not show, it never happened, and even if it did – who will tell?! (Not you, I hope!)

Your remarks on the patriotic ISI are most unwarranted! Do you have any clue how hard those folks have to work?! Do you have any idea how many individuals they have to keep track of?! How many politicos they have to watch for and collect data necessary to disqualify them from hoodwinking the innocent Pakistanis by running in elections and getting themselves elected?! You dears are so innocent, my dear! Who is more credible – the brave ISI knights in shining armor or a bunch of mullahs in burqas?

I am glad you liked my autobiography. I realize it is not everybody’s cup of tea. In particular, I think it could have been made a bit more interesting. I thought of hiring this Beej fellow for that job – but changed my mind when it appeared that he would have cut out most of it and simply expanded one small section into a thousand page thriller on my old flame – that Bengali girl! Ahhhhh!

I am sorry I seemed to have disappointed your expectation of being a good dictator. But never fear for this can be easily remedied. Make sure to vote in the next referendum and I will make a much better dictator the next time! Really!

I hope my lengthy explanations above can help you develop a better perspective on life, like you requested. But stay off the bottle – or you will end up like that HP fellow! Like you said yourself, there is always a choice!

I am aware that you want a free press, you want an independent judiciary, you want a strong executive, and you want legislators who are loyal to the COUNTRY, not a theology, philosophy or political ideology.

Absolutely! I am all in agreement.

In fact I consider it my duty to provide you all of those things. We even do so in the most efficient manner – you get all of it rolled into one – and don’t be fooled by its khaki cover!

It is like a one-stop shopping!

Hope to hear from you again!

And again!

Sincerely,
P. Musharraf
(Just call me Mushy)

Re: # 56
I request you do not take my words out of context.

``Mr. President, are you not aware how many whore houses operate in the capital? Are you not aware that in every sector of Islamabad alcohol is readily available? Has none of your 40 advisors as yet brought this to your attention? Has no one realized that what these extremist fanatics have been raging about actually contains a grain of truth amidst all their madness and lack of reason? It is a grain of truth that may sadly now be manipulated to subvert the more critical truth of their outraging militancy.``

the LAST sentence is the operative phrase.