Famous Last Words or a Messiah in Khakis?

Saint or Sinner?

April 4th. came and went again as the
Gathering at Garhi Khuda Bux was reported
Smaller this year or was it the wishful thinking of
Opposing forces which prevail today as if
The hanged man is finally buried.

Like a meteor no less but possibly
Enveloped in feudal vengeance and hate
Or liberator of the oppressed powerless
Maybe the user of many tools to climb
To the top position of power or the scaffold.

This breaker or re-maker of the pure country
Now lies in the timeless sands of Mehran
Hero or cursed villain, many visitors to his grave
Say prayers, soul of Larkana famous or
Infamous, he was one of ours.

Guilty or innocent who can forget
The actor or the revolutionary hero
True patriot or traitor, freer of slaves
Or hypocrite responsible for all evil
Let loose in a country seeking excuses.

Many riddles, the memory of 1970`s
Defeat, small victories, economic ruin
Decisions badly taken, even criminal
But as this one observer reflects today
This saint or sinner left quite a void.

Ras H. Siddiqui
April 4

To the memory of Z.A. Bhutto. A controversy that continues.

Since the debate has shifted from the origional article to Ayaz Amir`s article in dawn, I would also like to add my two penny`s worth about it.

Please note that Mr. Amir has been in the army, in the civil service and a former member of the provincial assembly. With his back groud he would easily fancy himself as quite qualified to be appointed an Advisor / Minister / part of the new GHQ establishment, it is hardly surprising that he has focused the result of his article on the ``need to guide the GHQ``....... a vision that only heeeee can provide.

By writing this article, and playing with the words as he does everytime, (and he is a master of this feild ofcourse), he is just trying to say........bless me Gen MSRFFF......I wanna hang out with uuuuu!

Regarding the public sentiment about Musharaf, people are happy to see the poor tiger (NS) whining behind bars and the the former 10% family on the run. Things are better on the street ........to hell with democracy ....... whats best for the people is the right way to move......we dont need any drawing room analysts to tell us how to spell democracy and development........we prefer to learn our lessons on the street.

jamshed nazar,

san jose, CA

Too many people in Pakistan seem to equate elections with democracy. Unfortunately, they are not the same thing. There are countries that have regularly held elections for decades, and are still caught in the third world, with no prospects. There are other countries that have only had one-sided elections, or no elections, yet are now counted in the first world countries.

To understand whether the current regime is better than the other alternatives, one needs to look at the spirit of democracy, and not the technicalities of democracy. It is now a proven fact that having elections one after the other is not an answer to the problems of Pakistan. Newly elected govts. have been more corrupt and incompetent then the the ones they replaced. If the major political parties are so interested in democracy, then shouldn`t they hold elections in their own parties first? How many political parties in Pakistan have elected leaders running their own parties? They are all dynastic fads who disguise themselves in the role of democrats. Barring a few honest parties (which will never get elected), all the other ones have a corrupt and self-serving agenda. If that isn`t clear to Pakistanis now, then I don`t know when it will be clear.

With the current corrupt and feudal system in Pakistan, there could be elections for the next fifty years and nothing will change. It took the vested interests fifty years to establish this system, it will take that long to dismantle it through elections (that is provided some elected party actually has the motivation to do so). Will Pakistan survive if the massively corrupt and the massively feudal continue for that long? Will some sort of a social maricle occur through elections that these groups will all of a sudden pass laws that will we restrict their own actions, instead of strengthening the status quo? Will the uneducated Pakistani all of a sudden become powerful and realize, ``hey, i have been voting for the wrong guy all my life; in the next election, I will vote for the other party?`` Even if someone tries to vote for the other party, he/she will soon find out that the other party`s candidate is also a corrupt businessman or a feudal.

If someone can answer how the above mentioned problems in the Pakistani system will change through elections, in a timeframe before Pakistan ceases to exist, then by all means Pakistan should hold elections today. If they cannot answer these questions, then by asking for elections, they are merely risking Pakistan`s future to personal wishes and ideals, and on nothing concrete.

They are hoping that another election(s) will change the situation, without pointing out how that change will occur. Pakistan`s problem has not been that it has not had elections. In the past ten years, Pakistan has more elections than probably 99% of the countries in the world. Things only went from bad to worse. Another four elections is not going to solve anything. The actual problem is the feudal and corrupt structure of the society. I would sincerely be grateful if someone could explain how repeated elections will change this system. So far the people asking for eletions have not pointed out how that will change anything.

The last thing Pakistan needs right now are elections. What Pakistan needs is a sincere govt. (not a perfect one, because those don`t exist). Ideally it should be through elections. But if that hasn`t worked, then by any other means is fine; as long as it is sincere, and relatively capable. People need to objective when they criticize, and not emotional or idealistic. Compare the policies of this govt. with the policies of the previous, and then do an objective analysis.

Regarding the travel of Musharraf. It is actually good that any person leading Pakistan travels and meets other leaders. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. The CEOs of all major companies spend most of their times travelling and meeting important people. The only issue that is worthy of criticism is the manner in which and intentions of the travel.

There are two obvious differences between Musharraf`s travels and those of his predecessors. He went by commercial aircraft (not the VIP Boeing that Benazir or NS used; infact that has been sent back to PIA). He took along a small and professional group of people. Not the normal neighbors and brothers and cousins, and party hanger-ons etc. that NS used to take along with him. There is a big big difference between taking your party and mohallaywallas on an umra trip, followed by a shopping trip in london, en- route to a meeting in the US on a VIP Boeing (permanently reserved for the prime minister), and an international trip on commercial airlines with a group of internationally recognized professionals to meet the leader of a country to discuss the present and future of foreign relations.

Regarding isolation: The two biggest US sanctions on Pakistan were placed during civilian regimes; one in Oct 1990, the other after the nuclear tests. A country that is corrupt internally, will always be isolated regardless of the type of regime at the helm. If a country has a strong economy, nobody is going to bother about what kind of regime runs it. After all, Clinton did take off from Pakistan to meet the Gulf Council members. How many of them represent democratic regimes? Did he ask the leader of Oman why the hell he doesn`t hold elections?

The current regime, as undemocratic as it might be, has on the whole made much better decisions than its so called democratic predecessors. Most of these decisions should be praised even if they were implemented and proposed by the devil himself. Do you want Ishaq Dar, Shiekh Rashid, Nawaz Khokhar, and Zardari running the country again; not to mention Nawaz Sharif, Benazir, and Shahbaz. For the people who want immediate elections, make sure you don`t complain and whine when NS, BB and Co. are back in the saddle robbing Pakistan; because that is exactly what is going to happen. Can someone give one reason, why they won`t come back unless massive structural changes are made in the social system. Idealism can be a very dangerous thing.

For all those wishing for immediate elections, without spending even a millisecond thinking about what will happen aferwards: be careful what you wish for, your wishes might come true.

More on Ayaz Amir at a later time. I think he actually likes Musharraf (he criticizes everyone; however, he criticizes everyone else more than he criticizes Musharraf).

FAMOUS LAST WORDS:

Politics is not about doing good for other people; it is about the authorative allocation of values. The army`s intervention and acquisition of functions performed by other institutions is about a new set of values imposed by group that is de facto a political party with coercive force and has the willingness to use it.

This particular intervention is devoid of international acceptance and domestic legitimacy. The regime has made some moves to improve governance. Whether it succeeds depends on political support at home and economic assistance from abroad. The chances of failure are high because we remain in denial more on economic issues than political ones. The military is unwilling to scale down its expenditures or reform itself. By reform we also mean new doctrines and new tactics and whatever re-engineering it takes to stop the hemmorage of national resources while preserving the independence of the country. The independence and integrity of Pakistan ofcourse should be divorced from the financial independence of generals and admirals and air marshals..

fairdinkum #3

About Gen. Perv`s foreign trips, he seems to be visiting any country which will have him. But did he go to China yet?

I think China`s refusal to entertain Perv is something which should be thought about

long and hard.

Vicky

I did for a long while thoroughly enjoy reading Mr. Ayaz Amir’s op-ed pieces and its hard for me to pin point exactly what contradiction triggered my looking at his commentary a little objectively. But the truth is that from that point on I’ve come to realize that all he does as a writer is to project a moral high ground. His posture is neither consistent nor pragmatic. Mr. Amir normally cries himself hoarse about the “utopian” ideals of Pakistan’s Kashmir policy, but then he is just as quick to denounce any shift from the traditional position.

The status quo that he advocates as a proactive posture for Pakistanis to adopt in the interest of democracy and development is ridiculous. When has the problem been with democracy alone? The problem is and has always been the system which has grossly centralized authority and resources, holding the people`s grass roots developmental issues hostage, while the people have been expected to remain content with a fig leaf given out to them for maybe (a big maybe) getting around to reforming the state machinery at some indefinite time in the future. An honest study of the success stories from the far east will in itself reveal what Pakistan needs to do, and there is nothing short of radical change that is required.

The Pakistani State machinery HAS to be irreversibly engineered in a manner that it no longer holds the people’s developmental issues hostage. It is only then that the national body politic, through the parliament, can continue to evolve and legislate laws that refine a vision for the Pakistani society.

I would go as far as tally this with Jinnah`s vision. Jinnah broke with Nehru`s congress on the grounds that he did not see a grossly centralized Capitol represented by congress guaranteeing the tools of development to the minorities, Muslims in particular. To the very end, he advocated (financially) autonomous Muslim states within an Indian federation. Although that is a matter of history now, and history will judge Nehru to be afflicted with a monstrous ego problem. That notion of dismantling an oppressive colonial system in an ethnically diverse country continues to date, and there is a desperate need to redefine the oppressive state machinery and empower the masses through a well thought out system of checks and balances, so citizens of Pakistan have the room to indulge in developmental problem solving at the grass roots level.

Re: rehanhasanansari # 1

Although Mr. Ayaz Amir holds his own every so often (since cynicism always hits home in the case of Pakistani politics), more lately he seems to be tied in a complex a web of thoughts. His articles unnecessarily complicate issues and he spins in circles trying hard to find, in every situation, his personal niche as a journalist i.e. “absolute cynicism”....whether the situation warrants it or not.

Two glaring contradictions within the same article:

“As for the takeover, for a brief moment after October 12 it was seen both here and abroad as an opportunity for national renewal. Not any more. If the men on horseback had trimmed their reaction to fit Nawaz Sharif`s provocation (his attempt to remove the army chief in a cavalier manner), if instead of digging in their heels they had unfurled a quick plan for civilian restoration, they would have earned the nation`s thanks and been hailed as heroes “

(Further down)

“The internal political scene is dismal. The Muslim League faces a gender crisis. There are more women than men in its upper councils. The only men are Kulsoom Nawaz and Tehmina Daultana. The rest are women. The PPP does not count. The religious parties have pipe-dreams of their own. They cannot come to power (and long may it remain that way) but they are capable of exercising a negative influence. Let us not forget that Talibanism is more a mental than a physical phenomenon and the religious parties are helping to warp national thinking by reducing national debate and discussion to a primitive level.

The chances of any democratic movement arising are therefore nil. If the army returns to barracks it will do so on its own and not because anyone tells it to. So if things must change and Pakistan is to get out of its present abnormal situation, the army has to be a party to democratic restoration. But at the moment the present crop of military riders are in a conquering mood. They do not like being reminded of the past or being told that dark clouds line the horizon. “

Mr. Amir first proposes that the army should have returned to the barracks immediately after Octover 12th (implying no changes in the political structure). He follows soon afterwards by running down the political structure in Pakistan and lamenting over no chance of change through a democratic movement. So does he feel the need for change or not. I for one feel the need for drastic changes in the existing political structures and can’t see what his version of the perfect realistic scenario would be.

If one examines the LB elections plan in more detail, it actually is a reasonable start...

Thanks Rehan Ansari for posting Ayaz Amir excellent analysis of the situation in Pakistan. It is worth reading for all, interested in the better future for Pakistan.

In a period of mere six month, this man has caused tremendous damage by internationally isolating Pakistan. He is following in the foot step of General Ne Win of Mayanmar. It is high time for intelligent and concerned Pakistanis to realize that all that talk about feudalism, corruption, devolution and empowerment are nothing but the buzz words for prolonging his stay in power. A person who did not like his sacking, turned around and grabbed the power. He has liked his commandeering the PIA flight so much that he has fallen in love with flying around. At this rate of foreign travel, he will break BB`s record in short time.

Why can`t people see his slow and long drawn out plans for democracy is no different than the Ayub Khan`s Basic Democracy model. A person would be out of his mind thinking about non-feudal elites winning elections at the district or tehsil level. President Clinton is right in saying that only a continuous democracy can weed out the fat cats and undesirable corrupt feudals.

The idea of district level stuff is nothing but a practice of divide and rule.

He has already started floating the idea, through think tanks, of rejoining certain districts to create new semi-provinces of Saraiki, Pothohari and of course mohajir areas. He just does not realize the serious implications of breaking Punjab and Sindh. All he is doing is creating more and more unstability.

So far he has delivered nothing and expected to deliver nothing in forseeable future.

Salman:

I`d go with Ayaz Amir`s analysis.

Besides, Pakistan is facing international isolation because of Military rule. Mr. Musharraf is even talking about breaking ties with US. SE Asian countries have refused to support Pakistan on any issue unless democracy is restored. We have bad relations with Iran and India...and with friends like Afghanistan, and Saudi Arabia, we certainly don`t need more enemies.

Investors don’t have confidence in our country. We rely heavily on handouts for survival. So, what do we do? Keep Musharraf because he is a good bloke and not worry about the imminent disaster if Military rule continues? OR Ask the ‘good bloke’ to do the right thing for the country and go back to barracks where he belongs?

Military thinking,

All that a military man knows is to obey orders, thinking process stopped long ago. In the first few weeks of takeover the CE used to stop at traffic lights to show his respect for the law. Now he is so scared that the entire streets are blocked off for his convoy. No thinking.

With in weeks he declared that lahore was a waste, not worth the paper it is written on. Now he wants to continue, clinton ordered him so.

He announced that there is no jihadists moving from pakistan to kashmir. Now he says he will control them. That is the final disgrace, if the violence reduces in kashmir that will be the final proof that it was all a jihadist work and pak involvement. The exmilitary men of chowk at last will have to shut up and accept the role of pak jihadists in kashmir.

Then again they may not, because their own chief could not wear the military uniform in his own country under orders from a white man. Colonial mind, or the senseless mind, which one drives the pak military.

CE will not bring about any progress, another defeat for the military could. Indian army or the army of gods is the choice.

sigalph235,

The following article may enhance your understanding of the world of fundamentalism.

The World of Fundamentalism

by Robert Wuthnow

Excepts:

``a major project sponsored by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences many of the best minds in religious studies from colleges and universities all over the world have been hard at work trying to answer this question. Directed by Martin E. Marty and R. Scott Appleby, funded lavishly by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the project is employing a cast of hundreds, holding scores of conferences and symposia, and is expected to produce at least six lengthy volumes of essays over the next several years. The initial volume has already provided many valuable insights into the world of fundamentalism. Some of these insights will be familiar to knowledgeable readers, but because the movement is so misunderstood it is important to set the record straight.``

``Contrary to the vague, misleading ways in which the term is often deployed in popular journalism, fundamentalism, the present volume reminds us, is a specific theological movement. It can be understood only in relation to particular times, places, events and figures. Christian fundamentalism should not be confused with evangelicalism, the charismatic movement or conservative Christianity in general, although it has had connections with all these. Nor should it be considered a personality style, a mind-set, a form of religious militancy, a world view or even a particular orientation toward the truth. Fundamentalism has always been shaped by its implicit dialogue with the world surrounding it.``


Full text of the article at:

http://www.religion-online.org/cgi-bin/relsearchd.dll?action=showitem&id=235