An Open Letter to Gen. Pervaiz Musharaff

Hell Mueen Batlay and Rahal Saeed

Do you know what democracy is, you two live in D.C you should now better then anyone else, let me give you couple of examples

Monica Lewinsky case Clinton appeared in court.

CTBT congress does not wanna ratify it.

Clinton is accountable for the things that he did in past like Watergate scandal.

Let me give democracy in Pakistan, which was worst then dictatorship.

Lets start with press

Najam sethi, BBC corespondent in Karachi, Press Reporters during GDA demonstration.......

Hakim saied and several other non-political leaders got killed during this democracy.

Our Judicial system got corrupted and manipulated by this democracy.

Alarming increase in suicidal deaths.

In democracy parliament is not prime minister ‘s rubber stamp if they like shariat bill that’s fine if they don’t anybody force them or threat them.

Where were you two when federal government declared governor rule in Sindh?

Where were you two when karachites were getting slathered by fake police encounter?

After reading the comments of Mueen Batlay and Rahal Saeed i felt obliged to comment on their distorted views of recent events in Pakistan.As somone one looking in from the outside it is quite

apparent that the people of Pakistan are over joyed that a coup has taken place.The sad facts are that in countries like Pakistan democracy does not work.It merely serves to line the pockets of corrupt politicians who the behave like tyrrants serving no benefit to the masses.Hopefully the generals will execute the likes of the Sharif`s and the Bhutto`s of this world.In truth the only people upset at events that have taken place in Pakistan are the corrupt politicians and there cronies as well as the Americans and their Indian

cronies.Maybe Mueen Batlay and Rahal Saeed work for the Indian secret services?

This is totally totally a selfish act.Only because he was fired from the army did he do so. Was he sleeping all the time before then????

I disagree with you guys totally.

I think it is a blessing in disguise.

You people are watching and commenting from what you see in the CNN or the BBC broadcast.

I wish you people were here to see how our country was being shattered by the politicians including the democratic dictator Nawaz.

You say that He is no longer the chief fine who cares if he does what the elected government should have been doing then its fine by us and nothing of this sort would have happened.

People are infact happy on this action by the army or removal what ever you might call it.

The people living abroad get the picture which is painted to them by the foreign media and thats why they are so misguided. Ok let me tell you why was all this so necessary.

1- The most important thing in this era is economy and believe me the economy was just not there whatever money people contributed for the so called schemes for self relience was spent on the government officials.

2- The prices were sky high and the middle class and the lower class were being crushed under it. You call this good so Allah Help us all.

3- The country was losing its integrity and its image was being shattered in the eyes of the world as one nation whose leaders are corrupt and can sell their nation for a mere few dollars.

4- After Kargil the blame was put all on the ARMY and it was made to look as we have lost the entire Kashmir and our beloved leader goes to Washington to sell us off.

5- You have mentioned that the constitution was played with ,fine what good is a constitution when it is there and has no effect and carries no meanings so it is better to just tore it apart.

6- You say it was illegeal tell me is it morally legal to first extend a persons tenure as Chief of Army staff and then retire him when he is not even in the country and is on an official visit to another country and then ask the pilot to land the plane in either India or crash it.

7- Tell me guys what you would have done in these circumstances when you are watching the institute that you are leading getting polticized and rifts being created in it.

Finally i tell you guys that it was just not one person who has done it all, the whole of the ARMY and the NATION was behing the Army Chief for taking such a brave step.

If you people have heard his speech then let me tell you that if he is able to achieve what he has siad in his address then You will see taht one day we will all be proud of calling our selves Pakistani`s.

Dear Mueen & Rahal,

Today is the first time I have come on Chowk. I cliked on your open letter to General Musharraf and as I read it, I was amazed at your naivete and your total divorce from realities. Where do these guys live? I wondered, without knowing honestly that you do not live in Pakistan. Only when I reached the end of your letter I realized you do indeed live abroad, in the US capital, no less. Now I can understand why the contents of your letter sounded so nonsensical. Well gentlemen, if you feel so strongly about Pakistan and its constitution, why don`t you give up your cushy Western lifestyle, get over here and try and save the Constitution. Sitting over there the constitution may seem very holy to you. But for us living here in Pakistan, let me tell you that our Constitution, or any constitution for that matter is not worth the paper it is written on if it cannot guarantee even basic rights for the people. Pakistanis do not need constitutions. Millions of them do need drinking water, a roof over their heads, two meals a day, basic medical care and protection from terrorists, dacoits, fundos and immoral self serving politicians. Can you understand this? No you can`t. Because you don`t know what it is to be poor or to be sick or to be deprived in Pakistan. The Constitution is not the word of Allah. It is a document prepared by humans and amended 15 times by other humans just to justify their own wrongs and perpetrate their heartless, totally self serving rule on millions of illiterate, ill fed and hapless Pakistanis.

Here in Pakistan we are all solidly behind Gen. Musharraf. Not because he got rid of Nawaz Sharif. That is a consequence. But because once again we have hope that something good will come out of all this and perhaps, for constitution lovers like yourselves, a new and better constitution will be made that will ensure nobody ever again degrades and rubs into the dirt his countrymen and gets away scot free.

..So in a Nutshell you are saying he should along with 200 other innocent passengers..sacrificed his and their life...Just because there is a Mutilated Constitution in Pakistan...

...Ok...he has the choice for his life..But who gave any one the authority for the other 200 or so lifes....

Actually I don`t support your idea. To be in power is easy but using it honestly is difficult, at least as far as our politics is concerned. The power was in hand of ex-PM but did he exercised it properly. So this abuse of power really became threatening to the entire country, even to the army. There was no justification for sacking the General when he was out of the country and also not allowing the his plane to land in karachi. So I think there was no other option except to sack such a ruthless PM. There was no other way.

I have read with great interest Bilal Musharraf`s letter. What has happened in Pakistan recently is not some thing new for the country. Afterall, the army has ruled Pakistan in the Ayub and Zia era.

One finds it difficult to judge if this is good or bad. Living in United States, all I get to hear about Pakistan from the media and the peope here is that the present army takeover is some thing terrible that has happened as democracy is the only virtue the world has seen. In the eyes of the West, if you donot have democracy you are not ``civilized``. Hence the big support behind India and the conflict with the former USSR and now China. However, we need to look at this using our own eyes instead of those of the West ( which we have grown so accustomed to).

While democracy is the form of government in the Pakistani constitution, it is only good if it works.

Interestingly, Pakistan is an Islamic republic, hence Islamic principles are supposed to overweigh all other principles. Let us see what Islam has to say about the democratic form of government.

The first Islamic ruler was Prophet Mohammad.

Following his departure,Hazrat Abu Bakr was nominated and accepted by the prominant elders of that time. His term was for life. After his natural death, Hazrat Umer was elected by the prominant educated elders of that community, again for life, as were Hazrat Usman and Hazrat Ali. The concept of the entire nation, voting for its leader, whether they had the correct insight or not, was definitely not present at that time.

Having read the Quran translation, I have not come accross the concept of elected government in it either.The Quranic principles or concepts cannot be dismissed as being outdated or no longer valid in modern times, as it is the Muslim belief that the Quran is valid for all times.

So how does that answer the above question of General Musharaff? It does not.All I am saying is that we need to keep our minds open to other possibilities and forms of government and the Western democratic system, though it may work in the West, may not be the only option for a country like ours.

Look at the reality. Three out of four people are illiterate at the end of the 20th century.

Majority are living in poverty. Democracy has never given them the power to have a say in their day to day issues. Politicians have not had the transparency or accountability required of a democratic system. Feudals continue to hold the reins of power in all the elected assemblies due to their wealth and feudal power. Women continue to remain in the dark ages. Contrast our plight with China who started of much like us 50 years ago and under an honest and dedicated authoritarian government are now one of the global super powers.

In conclusion, the Pakistani people will need to rethink what form of government best suits their needs. There are several options. They need to select which is best for them.

Kursi Chore:

It was appalling to see that hardly a tear was shed upon the demise of democracy in Pakistan – what makes it hopeless is the reaction of my brethren t here – their reaction has been the same.

No major protest has been launched here, or anywhere. Mr. Sharif is accused of usurping power by systematically undermining other institutions and replacing their chiefs with his yes men, and thus becoming dictatorial. But look at what we got instead? No Courts - No Parliament – No President – only an un-elected thug, who has usurped power because he could.

It sickens me to read posts which pray that, “hopefully Pakistan can now make a new beginning and transition into a society with the ideals of Quaid and Iqbal”. Those who don’t learn from history will continue to repeat the same mistakes. None of our military leaders ever gave up power peacefully or democratically. All of them ended us involving in disastrous wars – which dismembered the country, ruined the economy, destroyed law and order in the country. (No civilian government in Pakistan ever went to war).



It was only a year and a half left in Mr. Sharif’s term – he could have been shunted out of office during the next election. We would have to go thru a whole bunch of bad governments before institutions and checks and balances and new leaders develop. But with this constant threat by the elite – which includes the army, the press and self styled intellectuals who feel that there should be some means of removing an elected government before the end of its term, the democratic process cant work. We have now had 3 elected governments, which have met with this fate. Would we ever learn?

I am hopeless - time for a new movement. “ Migration – get your loved ones out, for the end is near”.

For Mueen Batlay and Rahal Saeed

Having gone through your letter to Gen musharraf I would just like to say that i wish you were here in Pakistan experiencing the life.

Its simply HELL.What ARMY has done is only save the country from looters and plunderers.

What do you say of the action of not allowing the PK805 to land,their action would have resulted in killing of not only the Gen but the innocent passengers.

You will see INSHALLAH that the country would now get out of the mess which nawaz sharif has created.

Mueen and Rahal, I totally agree with your view that the methods used by general Musharruf to gain power in the country were wrong, and that democracy must be restored. It may not have been a perfect democracy that existed in Pakistan, but it was a democracy which allowed the people in the country to elect their own leader. Even an imperfect democracy and an imperfect constitution are better than none at all. However, I think that steps should be taken to restore the constitution to what it was before Nawaz Sharif adapted it. We need sincere politicians that are loyal to Pakistan, and not committed to lining their own pockets with gold. Someone, please break this cycle of corruption, and provide effective leadership to drag Pakistan out of this quagmire.

MB and Rs need to divest themselves of this western concept of democracy. Democracy can only work in a country where people have some semblance of literacy. 2000 years ago Cicero said ``Politicians are not born, they are excreted``

A country like pakistan is a politicians paradise. In the west particularly in the US where MB and RS reside, politicians are just as corrupt as any where else e.g Bill Clinton. It is the educated electorate and news media that keep them in check. I`m afraid our experiments with democracy have and will continue to fail.

Dear Mueen And Rahal,

Our country needs more sensible and concerned people like you both. I fully agree and appreciate your views. Good work done!

People here are under wrong impression of military rule. They think that this illegal dismissal of an elected govt will solve all their economic problems but this is not the true picture.

People will now surely suffer when the sanctions will be imposed on us by the foreign countries (as America has already done so).

The same happened when we went ahead with the Nuclear test(due to the pressure from the entire country)....We surely remember the aftereffects of that . But we must not forget that it was just a TRAILER!....Well we all now wait for the climax(i hope its not a tragic one and in Favour of our beloved country PAKISTAN).

MAY ALLAH BLESS ITS MERCY ON PAKISTAN & PAKISTANI ARMY!

Dear Mueen And Rahal,

Our country needs more sensible and concerned people like you both. I fully agree and appreciate your views. Good work done!

People here are under wrong impression of military rule. They think that this illegal dismissal of an elected govt will solve all their economic problems but this is not the true picture.

People will now surely suffer when the sanctions will be imposed on us by the foreign countries (as America has already done so).

The same happened when we went ahead with the Nuclear test(due to the pressure from the entire country)....We surely remember the aftereffects of that . But we must not forget that it was just a TRAILER!....Well we all now wait for the climax(i hope its not a tragic one and in Favour of our beloved country PAKISTAN).

MAY ALLAH BLESS ITS MERCY ON PAKISTAN & PAKISTANI ARMY!

ad Reply 20: You stated, ``Had Pakistan been a democratic country since independence, by now the people of Pakistan would have learnt the importance of themselves.`` I would have to agree 100% with this. However what`s done is done, we have to tackle the present problems.

You stated, ``Only after a couple of falls does a child learn to walk steadily.`` I agree again. However what if a child falls so many times, that its next fall will lead to its death. Is it alright to wait for it to fall one more time? Would genuinely appreciate your input on this.

Thanks,

UR

I dont agree with the author Has any one near to him ever committed sucide,has any one of his dear one suffered at the hand of the police The institution both during the so called democratic rule were destroyed completely The ruler were despots with no accountability Democracy is for the people and by the people except those ridiculus phone calls the people had no say whatsoever I had asked many ppl about this from cab driver to sr exectives and they were all welcomed this change Sitting comfotably in faroff land talk of democracy is moking with pll who are the real sufferer the People who live here in Pakistan