Text of Speech by Gen. Pervez Musharraf

BY NOW WE ARE TOTALLY IMMUNE TO SPEECHES , SLOGANS

POLITICAL SERMONS AND MANIFESTOS FOR A RADICAL CHANGE .THE GENERALsADDRESS WAS NO DIFFERENT FROM

WHAT EVER WE HAVE HEARD HUNDREDS OF TIMES BEFORE,

II WAS EAGERLY AWAITED , AND PRECEEDED BY OPTIMISIM AND JUBILATION WHICH WAS ALSO ATTACHED TO NAWAZ SHARIFS SPEECH AFTER 1997 ELECTIONS , IN A WAY THAT SPEECH (NAWAZ SHARIFS) APPEARED MORE SINCERE GENUINE, ORIGINAL AND GAVE A RAY OF HOPE

TO THE PEOPLE , AS THE FORMER PM HAD GIVEN SEVERAL

CONCRET NEW POLICIES (WHICH WERE IMPLEMENTED AS WELL)FOR WHICH HE HAD A MANDATE. WHO GAVE THE GENERAL THE RIGHT TO TAKE FAR REACHING POLICY INITIATIVES, IT IS CLEAR HE INTENDS TO KEEP ON THE POWERE WITH A BUNCH OF NON ELECTED SYCOPHANTS , AND ESSENTIALLY FOLLOW THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL

POLICIES OF THE FORMER PM , UNDER HIS OWN NAME.

My dear Pakistanis, let join hand leave our past behind - give a chance to General for new Pakistan - away from the corrupt politicians and buearucrats - pray to GOD for the better and fresh start.

where are we heading to? we are entering 21st century with a

system even looked down upon by acient greeks! i am ashamed to call

myself a pakistani. its better if i call myself an indian. at least there

is some dignity left in that country. our rogue army after poking its nose

in afganistan, kashmir, chechnia, and even assam, has return back to its

past time hobby. playing musical chairs! i saw the speech on-line. well

what do you expect from a thief who wants to justify his action? you get

the same

story over and over again. what really bothers me is that the liberal

elements of our media are supporting this. i never expected najam sethi

the friday times editor to support the coup. salahuddin has gone as far as

questioning the use of democracy! what a shame! our people are too

reactionary to see the whole picture. when are the going to realize the

fatality of army rule? how many martial laws will take to convience them?

can`t they see that its the army who creates corrupt politicians and its

the same rougues who removes them? no matter how corrupt and inefficient

sharif was i was satsfied that at least there was democracy. now i have

nothing to look up to.

now what? what choices does army has? if it imprisons sharif,

he`ll become a hero. if they show him the rope he`ll be a shaheed. in

either case he will survive and will return to plunder again. then we`ll

have another round of musical chair. i think i will not going to see even

a single smooth transfer of power in my life. only way we can stop this

musical chairs is to change our views reguarding pakistan. have friendly

relations with india. cut down the military budget and spend that on

country development. forget kashmir. concentrate on pakistan first. or

else there won`t be a pakistan left. but how r we going to do that?

elections , thats the only way out. but in the presence of army how can we

expect elections? only some devine help can take us out of this mess.

Irfan Ahmed

U.S.A.

BY NOW WE ARE TOTALLY IMMUNE TO SPEECHES , SLOGANS

POLITICAL SERMONS AND MANIFESTOS FOR A RADICAL CHANGE .THE GENERALsADDRESS WAS NO DIFFERENT FROM

WHAT EVER WE HAVE HEARD HUNDREDS OF TIMES BEFORE,

II WAS EAGERLY AWAITED , AND PRECEEDED BY OPTIMISIM AND JUBILATION WHICH WAS ALSO ATTACHED TO NAWAZ SHARIFS SPEECH AFTER 1997 ELECTIONS , IN A WAY THAT SPEECH (NAWAZ SHARIFS) APPEARED MORE SINCERE GENUINE, ORIGINAL AND GAVE A RAY OF HOPE

TO THE PEOPLE , AS THE FORMER PM HAD GIVEN SEVERAL

CONCRET NEW POLICIES (WHICH WERE IMPLEMENTED AS WELL)FOR WHICH HE HAD A MANDATE. WHO GAVE THE GENERAL THE RIGHT TO TAKE FAR REACHING POLICY INITIATIVES, IT IS CLEAR HE INTENDS TO KEEP ON THE POWERE WITH A BUNCH OF NON ELECTED SYCOPHANTS , AND ESSENTIALLY FOLLOW THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL

POLICIES OF THE FORMER PM , UNDER HIS OWN NAME.

My dear Pakistanis, let join hand leave our past behind - give a chance to General for new Pakistan - away from the corrupt politicians and buearucrats - pray to GOD for the better and fresh start.

where are we heading to? we are entering 21st century with a

system even looked down upon by acient greeks! i am ashamed to call

myself a pakistani. its better if i call myself an indian. at least there

is some dignity left in that country. our rogue army after poking its nose

in afganistan, kashmir, chechnia, and even assam, has return back to its

past time hobby. playing musical chairs! i saw the speech on-line. well

what do you expect from a thief who wants to justify his action? you get

the same

story over and over again. what really bothers me is that the liberal

elements of our media are supporting this. i never expected najam sethi

the friday times editor to support the coup. salahuddin has gone as far as

questioning the use of democracy! what a shame! our people are too

reactionary to see the whole picture. when are the going to realize the

fatality of army rule? how many martial laws will take to convience them?

can`t they see that its the army who creates corrupt politicians and its

the same rougues who removes them? no matter how corrupt and inefficient

sharif was i was satsfied that at least there was democracy. now i have

nothing to look up to.

now what? what choices does army has? if it imprisons sharif,

he`ll become a hero. if they show him the rope he`ll be a shaheed. in

either case he will survive and will return to plunder again. then we`ll

have another round of musical chair. i think i will not going to see even

a single smooth transfer of power in my life. only way we can stop this

musical chairs is to change our views reguarding pakistan. have friendly

relations with india. cut down the military budget and spend that on

country development. forget kashmir. concentrate on pakistan first. or

else there won`t be a pakistan left. but how r we going to do that?

elections , thats the only way out. but in the presence of army how can we

expect elections? only some devine help can take us out of this mess.

Irfan Ahmed

U.S.A.

BY NOW WE ARE TOTALLY IMMUNE TO SPEECHES , SLOGANS

POLITICAL SERMONS AND MANIFESTOS FOR A RADICAL CHANGE .THE GENERALsADDRESS WAS NO DIFFERENT FROM

WHAT EVER WE HAVE HEARD HUNDREDS OF TIMES BEFORE,

II WAS EAGERLY AWAITED , AND PRECEEDED BY OPTIMISIM AND JUBILATION WHICH WAS ALSO ATTACHED TO NAWAZ SHARIFS SPEECH AFTER 1997 ELECTIONS , IN A WAY THAT SPEECH (NAWAZ SHARIFS) APPEARED MORE SINCERE GENUINE, ORIGINAL AND GAVE A RAY OF HOPE

TO THE PEOPLE , AS THE FORMER PM HAD GIVEN SEVERAL

CONCRET NEW POLICIES (WHICH WERE IMPLEMENTED AS WELL)FOR WHICH HE HAD A MANDATE. WHO GAVE THE GENERAL THE RIGHT TO TAKE FAR REACHING POLICY INITIATIVES, IT IS CLEAR HE INTENDS TO KEEP ON THE POWERE WITH A BUNCH OF NON ELECTED SYCOPHANTS , AND ESSENTIALLY FOLLOW THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL

POLICIES OF THE FORMER PM , UNDER HIS OWN NAME.

My dear Pakistanis, let join hand leave our past behind - give a chance to General for new Pakistan - away from the corrupt politicians and buearucrats - pray to GOD for the better and fresh start.

where are we heading to? we are entering 21st century with a

system even looked down upon by acient greeks! i am ashamed to call

myself a pakistani. its better if i call myself an indian. at least there

is some dignity left in that country. our rogue army after poking its nose

in afganistan, kashmir, chechnia, and even assam, has return back to its

past time hobby. playing musical chairs! i saw the speech on-line. well

what do you expect from a thief who wants to justify his action? you get

the same

story over and over again. what really bothers me is that the liberal

elements of our media are supporting this. i never expected najam sethi

the friday times editor to support the coup. salahuddin has gone as far as

questioning the use of democracy! what a shame! our people are too

reactionary to see the whole picture. when are the going to realize the

fatality of army rule? how many martial laws will take to convience them?

can`t they see that its the army who creates corrupt politicians and its

the same rougues who removes them? no matter how corrupt and inefficient

sharif was i was satsfied that at least there was democracy. now i have

nothing to look up to.

now what? what choices does army has? if it imprisons sharif,

he`ll become a hero. if they show him the rope he`ll be a shaheed. in

either case he will survive and will return to plunder again. then we`ll

have another round of musical chair. i think i will not going to see even

a single smooth transfer of power in my life. only way we can stop this

musical chairs is to change our views reguarding pakistan. have friendly

relations with india. cut down the military budget and spend that on

country development. forget kashmir. concentrate on pakistan first. or

else there won`t be a pakistan left. but how r we going to do that?

elections , thats the only way out. but in the presence of army how can we

expect elections? only some devine help can take us out of this mess.

Irfan Ahmed

U.S.A.

Dear Chowkwallas:

According to BBC, ``The Commonwealth secretary-general, Emeka Anyaoku and UK Foreign Secretary Robin Cook have both said they expect Pakistan to be suspended.

The heads of the 54 member nations are to meet in London and Mr Anyaoku said they would send a clear signal to Pakistan that undemocratic behaviour was unacceptable.``

Comment:

As a matter of principle, I don`t support General Musharraf`s recent coup. The job of Army is basically to protect our borders. However, it beat my mind why the Commonwealth organization/executive sent ``a clear signal`` to Nawaz Sharif stating that ``undemocratic behavior was unacceptable`` when Nawaz Sharif was violating all possible rights of Pakistani citizens and using the coercive state apparatus for the consolidation of his dictatorial regime. Perhaps boneless and corrupt leaders like Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto are most acceptable because they enhance the are a rich source of transfer of wealth to the Western world.

Sincerely, Bilal Ahmad

A good speech.

My only objection is that it should not have been in English? I believe less than 5% of Pakistani`s could have understood the speech, and it is quite unfair to the masses who must have be anxious to understand what is going on. I understand that army people feel comfortable issuing orders in English, but he should remember that he is working for the poor illitrate masses now.

Otherwise the speech was encouraging and I am keenly awaiting the appointment of the caretaker cabinet.

2 Good news for all my Pakistani friends

- The News has just said that about 500 odd defaulters have been put on Exit Control List

- and WAPDA is holding out on Hubco (something which Nawaz was about to agree to under international pressure). I believe Hubco is a racket comparable to the best ones put forward by Zardari & Co and the Chaudhri`s. Lets hope that the General doesn`t buckle under to international pressure.

Regards

Dear General Mush,

You made me proud to be Pakistani-American again! I hope you do exactly what you laid out in your speech. Having been born here in the US but having never been to Pakistan, I am proud of my heritage nonetheless.

I hope and pray that you will prove to be the Kemal AtaTurk Pasha for Pakistan:

*Get rid of religion from the body-politic of Pakistan and separate mosque from the state.

*Accept the line of control as the international border for Kashmir and be done with it. So that resources could be made available for education and fighting poverty and hunger.

*Forget about looking toward Islamic countries for your salvation. Your salvation lies with closer ties with the western nations, especially the United States.

*Imitation, they say, is the best form of flatery.

So look towards South Korea, Singapore and Israel for copycat lessons.

You said it all when you said: The choice before us on 12th October was between saving the body - that is the nation, at the cost of losing a limb - which is the Constitution, or saving the limb and losing the whole body.

Right on General!

Soldotna in Alaska

To our Dearest Leader,

May Allah bless you and endow you with success in your tasks to come. Let it be known that Pakistanis love you for what you have done to save our country.

One of the greatest tasks which I believe is of paramount importance is the end of corruption. We must be careful to note however the causes of this insidious disease which has become so rampant in our nation. The system of Feudalism is the backbone of corruption and has been the main cause for why we have never had democracy. The most prudent comparison can be made to the system of lobbies in the US. These lobbies, like the Feudals control hundreds of thousands, and in some cases millions of votes which they use as leverage to make the politicians succumb to their demands. In the case of the US, these lobbies are there to provide special benefits to a large group of people. In Pakistan, membership in this lobby is not optional and the benefits are never seen by anyone except the likes of the Magsi`s, Bugti`s, Bhuttos, Junejo`s, and so on.

How can democracy survive when this is the way our system works ? How can the common man ever be free if the evil of these Feudals is allowed to continue. They must be eliminated totally and never again be allowed to rear their ugly heads in our nation. All our politicians over the past few decades have sold themselves and the interests of the nation to these traitors.

You now have the power to correct this great injustice left behind as a legacy of the colonial era. I sincerely hope that you will take this opportunity to purge our country of these elements once and for all or we all doomed to the same cycle all over again. If you do not take action on this, we will all be back in the same position again in a few years because no politician can survive without votes. This is the failing of our system and too much blood has already been shed. May Allah give you the strength and the will to carry out this task. Only then will we be able to truly look at our land with pride. Pride for being free, pride for our justice, pride for our dignity. Pakistan Zindabad and Allah hu Akbar !

destruction of all other institutions was acceptable as long as the army wasn`t harmed!

too much mention of the plane landing saga makes it more and more suspect.

`In the new nuclear environment in South Asia, we believe that both Pakistan and India have to exercise utmost restraint and responsibility`

wish this reality had dawned (if it really has now) before kargil.

the mention of u.n. resolutions would be a non-starter.

otherwise, all the right words to please everyone. education, as someone pointed out, was a glaring omission and perhaps the most crucial.

Excellent speech, expressing perfectly the sentiments of most decent, thinking Pakistanis who know the situation on the ground.

Four points differentiated the speech because he did not need to state or do them, but did in any case:

a) Stating that true Islam is tolerant and peaceful and giving equal rights to minorities in letter and spirit

b) Furthering media freedom by looking into allowing private TV and Radio news broadcasts.

c) Withdrawing troops from border areas with India

d) Declaring personal assets and tax returns.

The reference to the plane landing is not personal vendetta. This action by Nawaz Sharif, if true, was outrageous and criminal and should be perseucted under the law. One should distinguish between just accountability and a personal vendetta.

It is still early but the General appears to be the kind of man I would want to lead us. Let us hope all others who think so do all they can in the Pakistan and USA to further his cause.

General: Give emphasis on Education - please!