An Open Letter to Gen. Pervaiz Musharaff

Pu Li,

Thanks for the info, unfortunately i hail from a place where zamindars, as you describe them were not there, they were simply large land owners who got the land from the kings, i believe. Since there is some interest in the chowk about the indian land reform, may be you can clarify. Who were the targets of vinobas bhoodan movement, may be they were land owners.

The land cieling acts of andhra and tamilnadu were ineffectve because of the ;loop holes and many transfered lands before they came into effect. Then the governments were chasing `benami` transactions with out much success.

As usual, kerala was an exception, they simply ligislated the land for the tiller act. Many of the farmers where in a share cropping arrangement where in half the crop output had to be given to the land lord who takes no part in the farming. These arrangements were undocumented, and ligislation simply gave the land to the tiller, basically stating that the crop should not be shared, and the land will revert to the land owner, subject to the relevant land cieling act.

The namboodiris of kerala became poor overnight, they had no experience in farming, and in many cases with the substancial holdings legally permitted, the second onslaught of education and westernisation ,`killed`, them of.

No, but that is incorrect xinfinity(#397). They do know how to wipe their asses.

They are beneath contempt, granted, because they are in the U.S. Tell me though why are you becoming `foreign`? You use a computer, internet, software; you use their electricity, their language, however incompetently; use their expressions eg. `ass-hole`, their net terminology `u`,`ur`,`urs`,`r`, and wear their clothes i.e., jeans, jeanjackets (sand washed! or else `threaded` exactly the way the Americans do). We watch CNN (again, T.V., being an American invention just as the VCR [vhs mode anyway)], all the Indian movie channels, satellite telecasts.

We have KFC (it was Kentucky FRIED chicken in the U.S., but was changed to KFC when `fried` became a dirty word; we say it with the patrician air as if it were Gucci chicken;), McDonald`s as if we never knew chapli or tikia kebab; we have that food of the gods, the Pizza at pizza hut. Did we not have missi roti? It was also a full meal -- for the rich and poor alike. Think about it.

Get away from the hobgoblin of fighting with nonsense. Think. And, incidentally do not corrupt idioms and proverbs. `Not knowing how to wash one`s arse`, is a punjabi and urdu expression. Don`t anglasize it. Just doesn`t sound right, you will agree. Let`s hear some sensible words of logical `proof` from you.

Respectfully submitted,

MIII

peccavi (#105)

*I * will reverse the STEPS: (fantasy)

The plane flew for extra 45 minutes, according to all sources that count, over and around Karachi. Within Pakistan, it was asked to land at Nawabshah and Sindhry. Let us suppose the runways were not long enough for the landing of the plane at those places.

Any plane (inculdind the 300 Bus, particularly the Bus) was able to reach Quetta or Multan within that time with more fuel to spare, and land. Permission or no permission.

a. The reason was that musharraf`s hand-picked and appointed corps commanders and their `men` had arranged only at Karachi to `rescue` the musharaf fellow. And the civil authorities knew about these. That`s why //they// didn`t want the plane to land at Karachi.

b. Check with the two pilots as to who kept them from going to an airport other than Karachi? They *are * going to talk about it one day --if they do not meet a fatal accident before that.

c. Why weren`t the pleas of over a dozen pssengers, sitting with or around the musharaf fellow, for landing at anothe airport, paid heed to?

Finally, when only seven minutes` worth of fuel was left (?) etc. ...

Ask yourself who held those `250 pax` hostage? And how would you react to the information that my father and my brother-in-law were passengers in that plane?

Can we consider the following scenario?

In the plane: musharaf KNEW that he has been dismissed. That he will probably be taken into `protective` custody; but for, he KNEW, the army arranged rescue at the Karachi airport. The plane, therefore, MUST land at Karachi if he wanted to save his own hide and those of others who had been promised goodies since October 1998. (If anybody thinks that this coup was spontaneous then they have another think coming to them).

Please inform yourselves of `dis-information`.

And finally, not all the people who write unfavourably about the coup are in the U.S. $/or D.C. This is a cop-out from adducing good reasoning.

Jeevay

Hello mb & rs:

``IT IS WISE TO SEE A BATTLE FROM A DISTANT HILL``

great open letter to the General.

``This is something bigger than you, us, your colleagues in the army, or the often corrupt

politicians.``

So General Musharraf was defending only often? corrupt & despotic politicans and civillian dictators in the course of his duty & this is bigger than all of us? How noble! Do come to PK and experience ``this bigger than all of us`` democratic euphoria instead of making academic statements from the coziness and distance of Washington DC where everyone has good intentions including the ones that lead to... HEAVEN?

``No politicizing, causing dissension within the army, no amount of your critiques of the

government going unheeded, no economic instability justifies what you have done.``

How tolerant of you two in Washington DC! Come and speak your mind here and lead the people out of the quagmire. Sweet are the distant drums.



``You must reverse your steps,``

OK lets reverse the steps and go back to Gen Musharraf in the air with 250 pax in the plane & 6 mins of fuel left, along with you two saviours of democracy in PK. Would you have prevented the Gen from landing in KHI or prefereed to crash in the name of democracy? If yes pls hurry back to PK on the first available flight preferably PIA and lead the silent majority to victory & rescue democracy from the evil doers. I need leaders of your calibre to follow. I am convinced. But hurry time is of the essence. The millennium is drawing to a close. The advice you are giving to the General about resigning and joining politics is equally valid for you brave honourable gentlemen.

unless of course....

Re jay #94:

[In your moving post you mentioned land reform, which at least in india was not embraced at the national level.]

Not true. The so-called zamindars, jagirdars, inamdars, mirasdars, etc., were set up by the British and paid a fixed annual rent in return for the land. These zamindars were given government lands in return for supporting the British government and had never paid for it. The Indian Parliament passed the Zamindari Abolition Act in order to distribute these lands to the peasants. The law was challenged and the Supreme Court ruled it unconsitutional on the basis that it took away proprty without paying just compensation. The first amendment to the Indian Constitution was then enacted which enabled the Zamindari Abolition Act to continue in effect. Land reform was the FIRST PRIORITY of independent India.

[That is the death of a feudal lord, a land lord. It is urbanisation and education that is killing the land lords of india, not really any land reforms.]

This is true in the sense that those who owned land from tens to hundreds of acres (these were never zamindars and truly owned the land, though a few of them styled themseves zamindars and mirasdars to inflate their own rank) are finding it since the 1970s to manage their land when their children, having obtained a Western style education in engineering or medicine, have no interest in farming. These people are selling off their lands, thus effecting a second land reform caused by societal forces.

batlay & saeed:

how pained you sound in the USA having no idea about PK except to give vent to your anti-military feelings and pro-democracy stance from a distance better to have democracy set aside from time to time than to have no country left to cry about

come back here and tell the people of their rights and march to rescue your beloved democracy instead of enlightening us with your barbs against the takeover. the deposed are shocked by the absence of their supporters perhaps you can muster some?

sadna #151

“After all if individuals do well for themselves, society does well, too?”

HOW are individuals doing well is the key question… if at the expense of majority (by directly or indirectly denying access to opportunities)…nop!… society would not do well – same pie, unequal distribution….if everyone is getting a “fair go” (i.e. it’s an egalitarian society) and some individuals are doing well as a result, yep!…..society would do well…..because they are “genuinely” contributing in making a bigger pie.

“Re Pakistan, the lack of a stable political system must make it all the more frustrating. Young people instead of having a place in the scheme of things at least as a voting demographic, have to `seize the initiative`(whatever that means), a very difficult thing to do. `Jihadis` at least have guns and mullahs to back them.”

In few words, you have skillfully sketched the picture of what most young people in Pakistan have to deal with…

India bashing, Pakistan bashing, silly wars, stupid intelligence/counter intelligence activities, heinous tit for tat terrorist activities, childish claims of cultural/moral/racial superiority etc. etc… are all counterproductive and stupid… but some individuals do very well because of all this…. and we wait for their wealth to trickle down to us :)

My God, it was in front of me and I didn`t get it!

The problem of most Pakistanis, independent of how badly do they assault the English language, is unbounded, immeasurable, and unfathomably deep, nay, profound, idiocy.

Kash60 (#98) enquires how much were the two paid for writing the `open letter... .`? Since `its` letter is also partisan, 180 degrees opposite -- and vicious, to boot -- probably it did not occur to it that it was open to the same question. Somebody knowledgeable please tell me if this is called `begging the question`?

First of all, let me ask you, when was the last time you were in Pakistan? I think you have been living in the U.S. for too long and have no idea about what`s life is like in Pakistan. You may be right about the fact that the constitution is a sacred document and should be followed at all cost, but given the circumstances in Pakistan, somebody had to do something. I was in Pakistan just a couple months ago, and one of my close friends who has a masters degree was earning $50/month. What do you think of that? The economy is dead, there`s no law and order, the politicians were eating the country with both hands. I am glad at what Musharraf did. I just hope that he makes the right decisions from now on.

So how much were both of you paid to write this rubbish. You talk about a constitution that never existed, it was a whore being used and abused, by whoever came into power...

U mouron, dont make judgement from distant. U might have use some big words from urs US govt. book but u all need to know that an ordinary person on the street do not need all that bull crap beside food, shelter, and stablization in the society. So stop BSing and put ur gray matter (brain) in the sun for a while. URs beloved ass-hole (Nawaz) have looted money from every possible way, killed peoples, let Pakistan down in world arena and u and people like u keep lickin his brown stinky ass.

Actually ur kinda people r beyond help. And YOU and fellows like you r the reason where we standing right now. And not only Nawaz, but that bit.h Benazir, and stupid Altaf all r corrupted. I really wish that General Pervaiz would go one step beyond and would have killed them all like Khoumani did. No body and I mean no body in the political arena is capable and sincere now to rule this country.

What r country need now a big time revolution which can erase all the stupidity and all corrupted people and bring some ambitious mind with very open prespective. And I really wish that u and people like u never go to Pakistan. Right now we all need optimism and constructive thoughts by all mean. Not people like u who even dont know how to wipe ur own ass and start critisizin. Just shut up and stay away from Pakistan.

Re: Ms. Shahnaz-F`s analysis

Shibboleths, cliches and `truths of convenience`, should be given a rest and be eschewed. Surely, our neighbour to the south has the same kind of population as do we. Yet the democracy somehow survives.

In the most `advanced` nations of the world -- considered `ideals` of democracy -- undemocratic instances of actions are in evidence all the time; as are, of course, the uneducated, poor, and uninterested portions in the population.

Democracy, therefore, doesn`t exist because of our elitist pronouncements that uneducated people do not understanding the concept.

Look, analytically, for the viable explanations rather than parorating our crammed modes of stating clichés in the English language.

Mor later.

Sincerely,

Ess

P.S. How, and from where, can one obtain a copy of the Report on Violence Towards Womenn in Pakistan?

Re: Ms. Shahnaz-F`s analysis

Shibboleths, cliches and `truths of convenience`, should be given a rest and be eschewed. Surely, our neighbour to the south has the same kind of population as do we. Yet the democracy somehow survives.

In the most `advanced` nations of the world -- considered `ideals` of democracy -- undemocratic instances of actions are in evidence all the time; as are, of course, the uneducated, poor, and uninterested portions in the population.

Democracy, therefore, doesn`t exist because of our elitist pronouncements that uneducated people do not understanding the concept.

Look, analytically, for the viable explanations rather than parorating our crammed modes of stating clichés in the English language.

Mor later.

Sincerely,

Ess

Saad Khan,

In your moving post you mentioned land reform, which at least in india was not embraced at the national level. But i have been a witness to the colapse of the land lords. The mechanism appear to be simple, and i would appreciate if you could point out why it is not happening in pakistan.

Land lords, they send their children to the best schools, they usually do above average in academics, they get some basic degree, in many cases in engineering, where there are some `fee` paying colleges. They get jobs in the cities, a part of the rural wealth is tranfered to the city to build a large house, the children stay in the cities, eventually the land lord father devides and sells the land to achieve the highest return as he finds it difficult to manage the land in the old age.

That is the death of a feudal lord, a land lord. It is urbanisation and education that is killing the land lords of india, not really any land reforms.

I support Mr. Mueen Batly and Rahal Saeed 100% on their open letter to G. Pervez.

Azizian: I sent the following in response to another situation on this site. I wanted to say it again, so I repeat it below. I owe you another comment, at a later time. Your position is cogent analytical,and logically enticing; so, I shall join you in addressing the traitor.

I think that in view of his oulined agenda yesterday, he seems to intend to stay for a spell; perhaps a minimum of a century, since he has announced that the whole culture, the society, and personalities -- and, of course, the `institutions`, a term he seems to be quite fond of using without understanding as to what they are -- have to change before the `whole of Pakistan` will be out of armed forces` tassallat!

To achieve and accomplish all in his agenda will require quite a few generations. Unlearning, relearning, that sort of thing. And here some thought optimistically that since he had not mentioned 90 days, he will be gone early. The reason he didn`t mention a timetable is that he really wishes to stay, as I said, for a spell.

To outline goals and agendas to be accomplished, rather than a timetable, for his departure, he would remain safer, popular and unassailable. He has learned his lesson from ziaulhaq which the nation has not.

Now, what I said earlier follows:

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

I am an old man. I participated in the struggle for Pakistan 1936 onwards. I love Pakistan no less than I love my children and my life`s

only love, my wife.

You could not imagine me violating the Constitution of Pakistan by taking over the ruling of Pakistan because I love it and the politicians in power were corrupt.

And that is not just because I have only good wishes for the country and no slavishly conditioned soldiers, with armament bought with your money and mine, behind me. I just couldn`t do that because no matter how honest my intentions, no matter how benign, I would still be adictator! I assure you that since I wouldn`t allow such a thought, I am a better person for that.

I have been a man of principle all my life, I don`t drink, nor smoke; don`t play cards, have been a rationally thrifty person, a very good father, a loving husband and a fellow professional , a very popular and congenial colleague; I have been a most civilized person, generous, sympathetic and helpful to humanity and held

in extreme regard by people of my community which included leaders of political parties, ambassadors, cabinet ministers, and electricians,

govt. servants at middle and lower levels and salvation army labourers.

I have served my country richly, without being treacherous, treasonous, and seditious in my acts or thoughts.

That a democratically elected `leader` was dishonest, corrupt, and vindictive is bad Kismet of the country and a reflection of the

corruption of our values and personality characteristics. Very sad. But remediable by the parliament and the ruling political party members

by electing a new leader. In any case, remember, people elect leaders whom they deserve.

But for God`s sake do refrain from telling me that Mirza Musharraf is a better clown than the next one.

I am confident you would agree with me that an individual`s dishonesty is already a matter of public and historical record if that person

violates and degrades the very constitution he/she has taken an oath to defend. No nation, no individual, and certainly, no Pakistani -- in

this case -- should have the minutest personal respect for the seditious person.

To say that he pummeled democracy `to save democracy`, as I am hearing from some, is, when you think about it for a minute, is an inherent logical fallacy. Think about it!

Pakistan will survive despite these treacheries, God willing.

Pakistan, sohni dharty, painda bashad.