A Tragedy Born of Military Despotism and Anarchy

looking at it from across the border, i feel pakistan is in throes of a change to popular democracy. but then this can happen,if the army and the usa lays its hands off and the civil society in pakistan emerges as a political power.

the challenge remains as to how, the army can be kept away, when it has vested political and economic interests? can an army that is used to pampering, take a cut in its status?

the other is ,by not acting in accordance to american will, can have serious consequences to pakistan economically and militarily, can the nation survive that?

well 2008 seems to be exciting...

TV Sahib,
Indians seem to have more patience with corrupt politicians. Pakis are more naive about the corruption of their military men. Perhaps it's part of the "martial race" syndrome. :)
Democracy in Pakistan never really took root - Nehru's long tenure as PM may have been the difference. Pakistan was orphaned within four years.

Salim_Chauhan:
"How a former Paki PM can afford a mansion in Surrey (decorated with priceless relics from Harappa and Taxila and maybe even Moenjodaro) and be rumored to have $1.5B in overseas assets is a real mystery."

In India, we have so many politicians who have made so much money it would make BB's ill-gotten assets look like pocket-change. The local rumor where I live was that the hand-picked bureaucrats of the ruling state politician had to deposit 8 crores every day at his house from underground collections. And he's ruled for over 4 years. And yet, no one talks about cutting short the political process of elections every five years or if the governing party loses it's legislative majority, however corrupt the ruling politicians may be.

Nothing in Pakistan can be more corrupting than the pervasive influence of the army which has uprooted even the smallest civilian political plant that has taken root and habitually tripped elected governments at every turn and then blamed their stumbling on everything from incompetence to corruption.

#72 TV Arad {"If she was all that you describe her to be, why wasn't she given a chance to face the people in a the next scheduled election and answer the charges? ...The real problem is that plurality has been non-existent in Pakistani politics since inception. That itself is not surprising given that it was founded on extremist views sugar-coated as a struggle against discrimination. Just like most of your arguments on chowk boards."}

TV Sahib,
You have a good point about the intolerance for debate in Pakistani politics - you may even be right about my extremist views. These are extremist times that call for extreme caution. :)

As for elections, BB did lose the last one to NS who was overthrown by Mushy. The corruption charges were still open against her and a Swiss Court had accused her for being a washerwoman of monetary assets. How a former Paki PM can afford a mansion in Surrey (decorated with priceless relics from Harappa and Taxila and maybe even Moenjodaro) and be rumored to have $1.5B in overseas assets is a real mystery. When posed a similar question, President Ferdinand Marcos is reputed to have responded "I was very frugal with spending my salary and save a lot." LOL :)

Salim_Chuahan:

"Tariq Sahib,
I have a lot of respect for your insight and ability to unmask spin doctors. Unfortunately, in this brief sentence, you have imitated David Copperfield and attempted to make one of the worst periods of Pakistani history disappear. Not only did she merely change, she changed into a vengeful vampire, bent upon sucking dry the lifeblood of the country that hanged her father. Only her utter hatred for Pakistan could explain her dismal performance and violent authoritarianism during her two miserable tours as PM."

If she was all that you describe her to be, why wasn't she given a chance to face the people in a the next scheduled election and answer the charges? Elections humbled the Empress Indira Gandhi, Crown Prince Rajiv Gandhi, India Shining BJP and so many others local governments in India whose hubris got way ahead of their achievements.

The real problem is that plurality has been non-existent in Pakistani politics since inception. That itself is not surprising given that it was founded on extremist views sugar-coated as a struggle against discrimination. Just like most of your arguments on chowk boards.

Tariq Sahib,

Time is short and you are not a young man anymore.

Please concentrate your energies on Pakistan alone

in the near term. Pakistan is where you are needed most.

"Can Pakistan Survive?" has become THE question again.

Selling books and talking to old leftists from Europe

and the Middle East is fine under normal circumstances.

The circumstances today are far from normal.

Pakistan appears to be in serious trouble. It is not

just a Left and a Right wing question. It is the Left-Right

people who have failed.

{"She changed again after becoming prime minister."}

Tariq Sahib,
I have a lot of respect for your insight and ability to unmask spin doctors. Unfortunately, in this brief sentence, you have imitated David Copperfield and attempted to make one of the worst periods of Pakistani history disappear. Not only did she merely change, she changed into a vengeful vampire, bent upon sucking dry the lifeblood of the country that hanged her father. Only her utter hatred for Pakistan could explain her dismal performance and violent authoritarianism during her two miserable tours as PM.

Re: # 8

bulleya

"in my opinion, the intellectual and leftist wing of ppp needs to break off and form its own urban party.....led by aitezaz ahsan type of people.....there is enough know-how in pakistan's urban circles to support such a progressive party.......i think it would do well in urban politics......in addition, it could join up with urban progressive parties, on the conservative side (like pti) and have quite a few common agendas......"

I, for one, entirely agree with you. It is for the young to bring the leftist on one platform but unfortunately the young of today are becoming extremists to the right and even suicide bombers.

Nawaz Shrief: I think giving NS such a complement is turning a eunuch into a man dingo man. He rose to prominance by constructing bragadier level bungalows. Was kicked out of power, tossed around like a ragtag mummy, exiled, deported from the airport, brought back by rulers to make election looklike valid, banned from election. What else you can expect. I am meditating on my 10% quota. If I have to judge, I would say 5% chances are jamiate islami did it and 5% Murtaza's PP to avenge his death.

Re: # 66

"those who authorised the hosing down were part of the machinery of the Government of Pakistan - going all the way up to Musharraf."(AlephNull)

Aleph you are exactly right -- hosing down the evidence before the whole world to see -- and the CNN BBC cameras spent quite a long time filming that incredible scene -- in such a matter of fact way -- like a routine washing of blood from the floors of a slaughter house at the end of a 'businesss' day -- was simply mindboggling!

PM #65:

{{But the suicide-bomb-as-destruction-of-evidence was not what I was referring to. I was looking for an explanation of the hosing down of the crime scene. What was the reason for that? Did those behind the killing (and ordering the hosing) think that they could've hidden the fact that she was shot, not counting on video footage to expose them?}}

The identity of the human agency behind the killing is unclear at this point. However, the default assumption is that those who authorised the hosing down were part of the machinery of the Government of Pakistan - going all the way up to Musharraf. They didn't need to have ordered the killing - they might simply have wanted to have their preferred version of events be accepted as the correct one. Destroying evidence would certainly improve the odds in their favour.

The decision to destroy evidence could plausibly have been taken immediately after the killing, or might even have been precomputed much earlier, without knowing for sure who the perpetrators were, simply to avoid the embarrassment to the regime that a thorough professional investigation could easily bring. The most severe embarrassment would be that the assassination was carried out by rogue elements within the Pakistan Army or the GoP; there are probably other scenarios that could be almost as embarrassing to the powers-that-be.

HP: I read your #17. Earlier too, somewhere else. But the suicide-bomb-as-destruction-of-evidence was not what I was referring to. I was looking for an explanation of the hosing down of the crime scene. What was the reason for that? Did those behind the killing (and ordering the hosing) think that they could've hidden the fact that she was shot, not counting on video footage to expose them? That's sounds implausible; though it's possible that they just didn't think it through...

#63
Well Sorry to hear that! He was a great guy and yes a leftist intellectual!

Re: # 62 kaswar was a great intellectual and he had migrated to lahore , gulberg area , i think he has expired.

"my uncle was there in 1972-76."

Thats a long time ago. I spent some of the 70s in Isloo but I was just in teens then. I got to visit Multan only once and don't know much about that area. But when I visited, I stayed with Kaswar Gardezi family. Is he still alive. He took me to Surraya multanikar's singing one night!

Re: # 60 my uncle was there in 1972-76. i studied in Lasalle High School in Multan.We belong to Muzzafargarh.