An Open Letter to Gen. Pervaiz Musharaff

sensible article, written with cool heads and a vision. however, may be too late - martial law (aka emergency) has arrived. there is nothing illegal about it any more. no judge or court of pakistan can challenge it. the ceo rules it all. there is no constitution any more.

this is indeed sad. even ayaz amir seems to justify it. awful.

i commend you for your courage and efforts and wish you and likeminded people the very best in your efforts.

What rubbish??? This country has always needed some serious cleansing and the ``democratically elected`` idiots will not and could not do it. Now, there may be another opportunity, but considering our luck, generals will start becoming richer. I just hope that along the way they skin a few of these democratic leaders. BTW, you should visit your democratic country and see how bad things have become for an average citizen.

I do not support the military coup, however I think your understanding of the issue is naive. You have not appreciated the conditions and sentiments of the people in Pakistan properly regarding this coup and are unfortunately only repeating what you are reading in Western media.

If you had given the issue a moment`s thought before penning this naive article you would have realized that this coup was a certainty, it was only a matter of time. Everyone is criticizing the coup leaders because they are not analyzing the complexity of the situation, it consisted of highly destabilizing acts on part of Nawaz Sharif also. No country can afford a prime minister artificially propped up by outside forces who systematically destroys every institution of the country. In case this is news to you, this coup was long expected.

Perhaps the most befitting reply to this naive article would come from your masters in Washington themselves in a short time. The U.S will rush to make contact with the new military regime and try to establish a working relationship. Nawaz Sharif is already forgotten in the eyes of the world because he is useless. And the coup is now irreversible, the alternative is unacceptable for the army. The sooner you understand the dynamics of international politics and how quickly democracy gets relegated to a back seat in order to serve foreign interests of the developed world, the better.

In the meantime, I would urge you to get the details of the events which led to the coup before repeating these foolish statements.

``Constitutional propriety is of importance in a country where the rule of law in the right sense of the term prevails. In Pakistan the Constitution has been violated more often than the honour of a woman who regularly walks the streets. So what are we talking about? ..`` -Ayaz Amir

Ayaz Amir couldn`t have put it better. He understand what the situation required.

I think both of you living in the US aparantly don`t have an idea of what was needed to save Pakistan.

What good is a Constitution if the country isn`t around to use it.!!!!!

interesting read ...

Ambitious Ziauddin steered Nawaz to political disaster

News Intelligence Unit

By Kamran Khan

ISLAMABAD: Within half an hour of his surreptitious climb to the post of the

Chief of Army Staff on Tuesday afternoon, the former Inter-Services

Intelligence chief, General Khawaja Ziauddin knew that the Army he was

supposed to lead was not prepared to accept his command.

The News Intelligence Unit (NIU) has gathered that all of Ziauddin`s phone

calls to the Corps Commanders and the Chief of General Staff -- placed from

the Prime Minister`s House in Islamabad on Tuesday -- drew a blank, a

reaction that almost instantly drew down the curtains on former prime

minister Nawaz Sharif`s second term in office.

Debriefing sessions with detained aides of the Nawaz Sharif administration

by security officials here have disclosed that the former ISI chief-led

operation to stage an in-house coup in the Army was driven by his personal

ambitions ignoring the actual situation on the ground.

``Even a layman in Pakistan is aware that any operation of this sort can

never be completed without the active support of the troops and commanders

posted in the cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi,`` an Army official

commented.

``It was foolish of the former prime minister not to be aware that his

nominee for the Army chief didn`t have the key support of the 10 Corps and

more specifically the 111 brigade,`` he added.

It has now become clear that Lt. Gen. Ziauddin was the architect of the

secret operation that envisioned the official announcement of his promotion

to the post of COAS once Gen Pervez Musharraf boarded PIA Flight PK 805 in

Colombo for a journey that severed his contact with the GHQ for a good 200

minutes.

It was also Lt. Gen. Ziauddin who, along with the former principal secretary

Saeed Mehdi, had suggested to Nawaz Sharif that General Pervez Musharraf`s

plane must not be allowed to land at Karachi so that he could be arrested at

any other less busy airports in Sindh.

Sources said that Ziauddin had assured Sharif that he would gain the full

command of the Army much before the landing of General Pervez Musharraf`s

plane at Karachi airport, a dream that suddenly transformed itself into

Sharif and Ziauddin`s worst nightmare.

Officials here believe that because of his family and, more particularly,

his father`s old ties with Khawaja Ziauddin`s family, Sharif always wanted

to appoint him to the coveted post of the COAS, but he couldn`t do that

since he had ignored a senior-most three star general as General Jehangir

Karamat`s replacement. Several close aides to Sharif had often conceded in

the past that Gen Kuli Khan Khattak was ignored because Sharif was not

comfortable with a Pathan general.

Ziauddin, an officer from the Army`s Corps of Engineers, was one course

junior to Gen. Ali Kuli Khan and Gen. Pervez Musharraf at the Pakistan

Military Academy, but even before Karamat`s dramatic exit from the Army,

Ziauddin had told his friends about the likelihood of his replacing Gen.

Jehangir Karamat.

Sources said that General Karamat had posted him as the Corps Commander,

Gujranwala in response to a personal request from Sharif, who wanted to give

him a fair chance at the time of Karamat`s retirement.

Those who had close access to Sharif always contended that his decision to

appoint Gen Musharraf was a stopgap arrangement between Gen. Karamat`s

abrupt resignation and Ziauddin`s eventual appointment as the COAS.

Ziauddin`s appointment as the ISI chief, minutes after Musharraf`s posting

as the COAS, spoke volumes of Sharif`s bent of mind at the time.

With the knowledge that doubts deliberately created about Musharraf`s tenure

as the COAS would further deteriorate worsening relations between the Army

and the former prime minister, Ziauddin using his position as the ISI chief

nonetheless invented an intriguing conspiracy theory on the Kargil crisis

and helped fuel misinformation that the Army leadership got Sharif trapped

by launching the Kargil operation.

During the Kargil crisis, Gen. Ziauddin`s exclusive briefing to the former

prime minister almost always contradicted the GHQ`s version. ``He was

responsible for planting the seeds of intrigue on the Kargil issue in

Sharif`s mind,`` according to a reliable official source.

In his rash drive to convince Sharif that Musharraf`s removal as the COAS

would ease tension with the Army, Ziauddin is believed to have also

encouraged the former Intelligence Bureau chief Colonel (retd) Iqbal Niazi,

to invent a variety of Army-backed threatening scenarios for Sharif, who

apparently had an unlimited appetite for stories that painted a highly

negative picture of Musharraf and the corps commanders considered close to

the COAS.

Khawaja Ziauddin`s desperation to please Nawaz Sharif became evident on the

first day of his appointment as the ISI chief when he readily confirmed a

police-doctored version about the culprits allegedly involved in the ghastly

murder of Hakim Mohammad Said.

On Ziauddin`s report, submitted without any independent verification, Sharif

got an excuse to knock out the democratic set-up in Sindh, an act that later

emerged as part of a well-engineered plot to make way for the installation

of an exclusive PML-run unelected administration in Sindh.

An independent Army probe later discovered that the Sindh Police`s version

of the Hakim Said case, with a stamp of ISI confirmation from Gen. Ziauddin,

was nothing but ``a pack of lies.`` Neither Sharif nor Ziauddin, however, ever

acknowledged the blunder.

In another desperate attempt to please the former prime minister, Ziauddin

ordered the illegal detention of Najam Sethi, the editor Friday Times, for

more than two weeks. Despite the Army`s blunt refusal to initiate sedition

or treason charges against Sethi, Ziauddin obliged Sharif and Saifur Rahman

by keeping Sethi locked up for about 20 days.

Sethi had been handed to Ziauddin`s ISI after being abducted by IB goons

from his Lahore residence. Sources said Ziauddin agreed to hold Sethi in

illegal detention in response to a single phone call from Saifur Rahman, who

later also made Sharif speak to him on the subject.

Reliable sources said that Ziauddin was also behind severe criticism of the

Kargil crisis by at least two corps commanders, who later met Sharif in

Ziauddin`s presence. These meetings were never reported to the COAS, who

later reacted by removing both corps commanders from their posts.

For Sharif, sources said, Ziauddin`s mission was to divide the corps

commanders on ethnic and professional lines and to create an anti-Musharraf

lobby amongst the corps commanders.

``Since his appointment as the DG ISI, Ziauddin was playing a dangerous game

that pitched his boss against the Army,`` observed a senior official. ``His

operation ultimately turned out to be hara kari (suicide).``

I read this article again, and I sorry to say that this is completely naive and childish. Apparently you guys have no clue about what the situation was in Pakistan. Don`t you have family there, or are you one of the fortunate ``friends`` of Nawaz and Co.? How could you be so completely blind and unaware of what was going on? Or is this article just supposed to make you feel good by including all the politically correct terms in it?

If you indeed still have any connection to Pakistan then I can only think of four possibilities:

1. You are one of those rich people who never associate with the common people in the street therefore you have absolutely no clue about what the common person experiences.

2. You are Pakistani-Americans who have either never been to Pakistan or have only gone there occasionally but stayed well within the comfy confines of a posh bungalow.

3. You are loyal supporters of Nawaz Sharif who do not give a hoot about the country but are only concerned about how easily that money keeps on flowing in the right direction.

4. God has not been very generous in terms of giving you powers of obervation, thought and deduction.

Poor show guys ... hey, I felt sorry after discovering the lack of depth in your thought. You really should have thought more about this one.

In keeping with the spirit of a post by maTha (elsewhere on chowk) titled something to the effect that: ``The Quaid-i-Azam has moved``


Re: Chicken Mango massala

General Musharaff should additionally be approached and asked to consider an amendment to the (non-suspended) constitution that would change the name of the country from ``The Islamic Republic of Pakistan`` to the new and truer name of ``The Mango Republic of Pakistan``. This new name is more accurate than the one suggested by certain elements in Latin America, where they are proud of their banana crops. We are not known to produce good bananas, but our mangoes are the best.

As for our four-time conquer army, well, it has put the fox in charge of the hen house yet again. The chickens inside the hen house have welcomed the fox who has promised not to eat any chicken (not this time) on account of his preference for turkey meat! Unfortunately, for the chicken, the hen house was being run, not by the chickens themselves, but by carnivorous animals, such as lizards and snakes under the overarching leadership of big fat turkeys. The fox seems intent on having turkey dinner for the time being while the lizards and snakes shall continue to steal the eggs.

May I ask these moron if they know about any other way to get rid of NS!!!

ibne sina:

i think you as well as a lot of other people on this board are right in thinking that NS`s rule was intolerable, howsoever `democratic` it may have been.

but don`t you think you are applying band-aid to a wound that requires deep cure? would this action not seal the fate of pakistan to forever remain under army rule, overtly or covertly? do you want pakistan`s policies, both internal and external, to be dictated by army or by a civilian govt?

if you believe that a `big brother` army over a civilian govt is acceptable, then you are right and gen mush is right.

if you believe that gen mush would simply go back to the barracks once he has installed the govt of his choice and not interfere any more, then you are right and gen mush is right.

but if you believe that pakistan should be governed by a civilian govt, and the army should obey govt`s orders and not question those, even if it takes a few years for this mentality to emerge and function well; then this coup surely gives the process a big kick backwards.

the coup is nothing to jump around and be happy about. but these `mantar` of democracy and protecting the constitution can only come from someone whose never been in Pakistan- much less been in contact with the common pakistani. NS with help from his hooligans and PML parlimentarians had destroyed the justification and raison d`etre of the Supreme Court- the foremost pillar responsible for protecting the constitution which you (the writers) so pathetically try to defend.

Ms/- Batlay and Saeed sitting in America can make such comments.

In the mind of a citizen of Pakistan and enduring the legitimated illegitamcies of the legitimate democratic/undemocratic governments in Pakistan certain questions do arise:

Would it not have been nice if we found you flanked on or side in fighting the evils that we all wish to eradicate instead of looking upwards to the gods?

What constitutions? Written, strangulated before launch, amended and reamended on personal whims and to suit personal needs. You may not remember or not even be aware of the circumstances of launching of the 1973 constitution. It was desired by ZA.Bhutto, the writer of this constitution that all parties agree to it and sign. The opposition parties at that time did not agree with certain clausses and particularly the one related to ouster of the Prime Minister by NO CONFIDENCE VOTE. The clause did not leave any room for ouster of the Prime Minister by peaceful means. It suggested in plain words that in case of a no confidence motion in the house the votes cast in favour of the no confidence move by the ruling party members were not to be taken in to account! Thus the motion would never succeed, leaving the only violent or unlawful legitimate means! Mr Bhutto enticed and lured the oppositon by promising to discuss and remedy. Poor man afterwards in four years did not find time and was victim of his own doings. Later 8th amendment empowering the President was brought which was used twice and finding it dangerous Mr.Nawaz got removed. The one of only two GOOD THING THE 2/3RD MAJORITY STRENGTH WAS PUT TO! The other being demanding the nation to keep on sacrificing and raising the allownces of the legislators.

You are mistaken. You are levelling charges and threatening to get back while sitting in America. You are levelling charges of an act on a person who in your own words had been sacked and did not hold the office of COAS. Please note and add also ?AT THE TIME OF TAKE OVER HE WAS NOT ON THE SOIL OF PAKISTAN, NO, NOT ON ANY SOIL! His landing was made possible at Karachi only after THINGS had been taken care of!

We know they are not angels and they know we do not like lambskins for attire! People have welcomed them hoping they have learnt lessons from their past and superiors and their fate. Pakistanis are with them till they worship and fear the same god the people do and the moment they deviate they will find the trumpets and the drum tunes change to boo!

As a rejoinder I may add: LESSON FROM HISTORY

MUSKETEERS OR THE STOOGES

The three men, after Quaide Azam whom God bestowed with most powers to date are:

1Muhammad Ayub Khan. 2. Z.A. Bhutto and 3. Ziaulhaq who could change the destiny of Pakistan.

Ayub khan was the man who enjoyed the support of military bureaucracy as well as that of the masses when he assumed the throne. He had no stopping if he wanted to steer the country to unity, democracy and prosperity. Alas God gave him the strength, the opportunity the length of time that God denied the Quaid, but not the will. I wonder at the strength, which squealed at one twist of arm. He reined for 11 years or does it add to 16 till ?71 and more beyond? The result: General Tikka Khan said, ?I shall change their ancestry?. To day with pride the East Pakistanis call themselves ?Bangla Deshis?. We must though, be grateful to Yahya Khan for one great contribution to Pakistatn that for the first time in 23 years he gave the status of a province to Baluchistan in 1970.

2. Z.A. Bhutto rode in town as ?CIVILIAN MARSHAL LAW ADMINISTRATOR?. And the masses from Manora to Torkham pinned their hopes on him. He vowed to rebuild Pakistan. Of course to rebuild one has to pull down the prvious structures. So he did; Education, industry, banks, answerability, what not and gave the New Constitution. Which was to have been mutually agreed by all and sundry and signed to this effect. Sign they did but on one condition that a clause which they did not agree with would be discussed later in Murree and amended. The constitution was launched on 23rd March 1973, amendment /strangulation ensured before its launch! The clause did not leave any room for peaceful ouster of Prime Minister! Poor man did not have any opportunity to discuss it over and perhaps save himself. I have always wondered how he was called juggler of foreign policy. I think him to be the most unpredictable a personality. One could not tell where he would see the rising sun the next morning. People are admonished to ride two boats at a time he would, three or more! Juggler of words he definitely was but alas his own words were made to eat him up or show the world what one should expect trying to ride more than one boat. (I am a firm believer in Divine Justice, if he was punished and tried for what is said then the punishment is too light because that punishment is for a criminal who is not charged and duty bound to protect the lives of any person). It is hypothetical if, had he got time he would have been able to build Pakistan on the debris of previous structures.

At least he had been made to agree on re-election in 1977which perhaps could result in the first elected government in Pakistan. A process envied and stopped. From every minute or otherwise curve of the globe came the pleas to spare him. His people did not think so. To a question prior to his hanging that what would happen if he were hanged the once Governor of Sind in his regime ?Talpur? said, ? Meri Mooch Peshab Mein Moond Dena Agar Aik Murgee Ka Bachcha Bhi Choon Kar Jai!

(In case there is a sound in protest even from a chick over his hanging you could shave my mustache in urine!) The juggler of foreign policy did have many personal friends abroad but Pakistan with its struggling democracy at that time was solitary. No cry, ?save the infant? was heard from any remote or near corner.

Then came the pious. Symbol of humility, Islam and patriotism. Prayer cloth, ?Jae Namaz? came up and under the table went the bottle. Until then I did not know alcohol was a good irrigant for beard. (I don?t hide behind a beard and can not afford ?) In a jiffy shurafa and shoora and rufaqa sprang from no where.

The first lie was to hand over power to the elected government in 90 days. The 2nd was perhaps that he would take to task every S.H.O. (station house officer of the police station) in whose jurisdiction crime could not be controlled. The poor and some innocent were flogged. Until recently I used to say that Ziaulhaq harmed Islam more than any body but now on second thought I stand corrected his regime has done a great service that now nobody in Paksitan will ever be able to cheat with a mock slogan of Islam. The God fearing sacked the one and only honest man, Junejo. He made it very clear he would make an enquiry into the Ojri Camp disaster and bring the culprit to book. He was brave, and man of his words. The then secretary information a serving general, Mujeeb, edited the sentence, ?Marshal law and democracy can?t go hand in hand? from his maiden speech?. Before the speech had been completely on the air Gen. Mujeeb had been omited from the secretary information post! Perhaps he was one of very few persons of office in Pakistan who had a clean slate. Though the bureaucracy did succeed in making a dupe of him when he announced the austerity policy and made high officials use 1000 c.c. cars instead of heavy on fuel and luxurious ones. The taxpayer paid for spree replacement and no body knows who else other than the small car manufacturers/importers benefited. I enjoyed the glum gaze of a Chairman, from his 1000 cc. car watching his subordinate riding in a brand new Corolla.

Zia was an ardent follower of Islam. In a banquet in honour of Col. Qadafi a woman speaker kept on addressing Zia as ?Amir ul momineen?. He beamed. Col Qazafi left for home the next morning. Shouldn?t Qadafi be dumb to be a col still, his tenure extending to nearly half a century as head of a rich oil producing state and having taken on U.S.A.

Crime, costs and lawlessness, in Zias regime, rose to such heights in the Punjab also that I came to conclude that if things continued in the same manner something new would happen in Pakistan. In Pakistan movements against the governments have always started from sind and other provinces, true they did not gain any momentum and success unless Punjab joined in, now movement against Zia could start from the Punjab. In my view the other provicnes sustain the sufferings accepting ? Government is not ours, Police is not ours and if we suffer it is our fate. But then the residents of Punjab were perplexed, ?Government is ours Police is ours and foj is ours so why are we suffering? It is not in spite, I believe we can not be knitted together unless we know the sufferings, the feelings of each other. Putting a lid has brought us here. The people are least to blame. I have named the first daily that started publishing papers from various cities giving local news and portraying local sentiments only ?The first Ntaional Disintegration Daily?. I consider it a move to keep the other less informed, and make him habitual of listening only one side of the story. The result should not be too dim to be perceived. Iqbal in some other context said ?Khuda Tujhe Kissi Toofan Se Ashkara Kar Dey?

But in my mind only a disaster of some magnitude can bring us together when we will feel the brotherly arm and grope it in despair. An arm that would have come to deliver us. Be it Sindhis?, Punjabis?, Balochis? or Pathans?.

The pious and the Islampasand, Ameerul Momineen applying the Islamic Justice with all his might that god bestowed him with, contributed towards keeping this would be knitted nation, yet more divided by extending the quota system to further 20 years. Meaning thereby ?you shall have the right to live, learn and earn a living if you are a Sindhi, Punjabi, Pathan or Baloch. Pakistani national does not exist here. A bonafide Pakistani is found only on a foreign land, identified by his Green Passport! Haven?t we successfully kept the Pakistani nationalism beyond the borders of Pakistan?

When these strong, iron men, wielding all power, were not bestowed with the will and wisdom to work for the well being of Pakistan, did they need any mock 2/3 majority to make and changein laws, when they did manipulate to their benefit Will the returnees on ?Quaids picture??

Tariqlodi

These lines were written some time ago, waiting for a favourable response from the chowk editors by way of honouring some (3) previous dispatches? which perhaps did not meet the standard or the spirit.

EVEN THE 2/3 MAJORITY DID NOT DELIVER. THE POWER MELTED TO WHENCE IT HAD COME!

Over the period of 52 years we have seen so many changes that we fear nothing will change, unless the god changes?the people will not!

CHALTA HOON DO CHAR QADAM HAR IK REH RO KE SATH

PEHCHANTA NAHIN HOON ABHI REHBAR KO MEIN

tariqlodi

Mueen and Rahal,

I believe your intentions to be sincere, but I have to disagree with you. The constitution, whose fate you so lament, unfortunately is an enigma to the majority of Pakistanis. The vast majority of them, including the elite, have not read the document.

In addition, you seem to think that the no democratically elected government can trash the constitution in spirit without violating it legally. You are wrong. Nawaz Sharif has shown no respect for ANY democratic institution in the country. The storming of the supreme court and subsequent fiasco is as undemocratic as one can get. In addition, the Prime Minister himself through his group of companies shows no respect for the sanctity of contracts through his various defaults.

I know it generally pains liberals such as yourself but the people of Pakistan have more confidence in the integrity of the army than in the integrity of any other institution (ironically Nawaz Sharif has helped ensure that). No where in your letter do you even acknowledge that the coup was in direct response to, and the only means of averting, what was a coup against the army itself. What kind of democratically elected man, fires his COAS (the 2nd one mind you)while he is out of the country without even informing him of the decision.

Pakistan, as I am sure you are aware, has more security concerns than most states. I do not want any leader, with whatever mandate, to fiddle with the armed forces for his political benefit. We cannot afford it.

As far as the `legality` of the action is concerned. You are correct that it is technically illegal (but then I don`t of any country in which coup d`etats are legal). Your argument seems to imply that an army coup is not appropriate at any time. Clearly that is not the case.

Faraz

ps. I doubt that there will be significant opposition to the military, especially amongst educated Pakistanis.

Well, what`s the point in having democracy for the sake of democracy? I was a political activist during the reign of Zia-ul-Haq, and I know a little bit about Pakistani politics.

Understand well, the whole process of democracy in Pakistan is corrupt to its core. They all pay money to get party tickets and even more money to grab a ministerial portfolio. It is unrealistic to expect anything but plundering of public wealth from these people when they finally take charge. This is the problem with democracy Pakistan style. This not how democracy in the west, for example, operates does it? Their democracy and our democracy are poles apart…. They are talking about neurological disorder, and we are complaining of stomach pain. You can`t prescribe the same medicine for two very different illnesses.

In IT words, democracy in Pakistan is a bit like trying to install Windows NT 4.0 on an XT computer...you have to upgrade the damn thing before you can install a sophisticated operating system like NT 4.0...

I agree that, in essence, constitution of Pakistan represents aspirations of Pakistani people.

But it`s not worth the piece of paper its written on, whether you have democracy or military dictatorship, if it is not adhered to by whoever is in power.

However, I do believe that if Musharaf imposes Martial Law and decides to rule himself with an iron hand then, I am afraid, we are heading for another Zia-ul-Haq era....which means Ctrl+Alt+Del

May God bless Pakistan, and may the people of Pakistan find peace and prosperity.

And yes, Pakistan Zindabad!

Re: all

Looks like every pakitani chowkee has a vested interest in the latest affairs of their country...Either one is seen pro-Nawaz or Pro-Army. They are subsequently branded as being related to Nawaz and his cronies or are branded as having ``The Army connection``. What about those who are Anti-Nawaz , pro-Democracy, Anti-Army. ? These people were earlier labeled as pro-Army as long as Nawaz was in power . Now that the army is in power, they are labelled as pro-Nawaz....

Just waiting to read the words of an Unbiased observer.

Slink, SR, BG, FerozK (in my opinion Unbiased , democratic, and not pro-Nawaz).... are you guys listening ?.

Rishi

p.s: Indians do not have any liking for Nawaz. Nawaz is widely seen as a back stabber. And most of the indian public (atleast the ones i know) are happy to see him suffer. And still some more are happy that the army took the reins because it proves their perceptions of the Pak Army as ``The Rogue Army`` and of Pakistan as ``The Banana Republic``. Assuming that the Army called all the shots in the Kargil affair, if anyone believes that there would have been a victory for pakistan is being Naive. Even India in todays world cannot capture new territory in Pakistan and hold it for a sustainable period. This is the era of Status quo. So it would be wise not to look for scapegoats in the kargil affair. Nawaz tried it first, now the army/sycophants are at it again...

Rishi, reply #13

``Looks like every pakitani chowkee has a vested interest in the latest affairs of their country...``

Duhhhhhhh!!!

``Either one is seen pro-Nawaz or Pro-Army. They are subsequently branded as being related to Nawaz and his cronies or are branded as having ``The Army connection``. What about those who are Anti-Nawaz , pro-Democracy, Anti-Army. These people were earlier labeled as pro-Army as long as Nawaz was in power . Now that the army is in power, they are labelled as pro-Nawaz....?``

You`re a little confused...so don`t try to spread it. When Nawaz was in power there were no pro-army issues yet. The branding you talk about, is probably done by people who aren`t analysing the situation well.

Most Pakistanis understand the situation very clearly. At this point, let me attempt to explain the simple mind-set of a Pakistani. Most thinking people fall in exactly all three of those categories, they are Anti-Nawaz Shariff, pro-democracy (under a different structure) and anti-army (the army should leave once the structural changes are made). The Army is only being given the benefit of doubt at this point (til policies are announced)as a means of re-vamping the sick political system. All systems of checks and balances have been systematically annihilated by the ``democratically elected governments``. That is why the situation has come to this. Pakistanis do want to return to a civil political system as soon as possible, but not without serious changes. The army so far has been giving positive indications in attempts to re-design the system. Til now one remians hopeful. Pakistan Paidabad.

No kidding, they`re living in DC! Had they actually been living in this poor benighted country of ours, they might have realised why so many people here are supporting the coup. Yes, democracy is a great thing, but let us not confuse it with what Nawaz Sharif was doing. Where were you guys when Najam Sethi was getting tortured? In DC, huh? Now get over your bloody outrage and for God`s sake let someone do something good for this country. Sure, the General could fail. But I`ll take the possibility of success with the army over the sure death of this country under Nawaz Sharif any day.