An Unnecessary Interview with History I really do not know why the author of this article is being critisized so much..
For all those who think that we should not "humilate" a sitting president....just see the international and local media...they are all critisizing him...
Regarding this argument that politicians have been corrupt whereas Musharraf is a better choice,
I am pasting an article written by an Indian....kindly see it...it does make a very strong case…its an outsider’s view which demonstrates as to why there is a difference in fortunes between two countries…


Junta versus Janata by Shekhar Gupta, The Indian Express
Published on January 21, 2008

The Indian politician bumbles, the Pakistani general strides purposefully in his natty suits. Guess who keeps his country stable. Pakistanis surely coin more colourful political slogan than us. They are also less subtle. So, the next time you see visuals of a PPP protest rally on your TV screens following Benazir¡¦s assassination, strain your ears a bit to catch a most telling slogan: Amreeka ne kutta paala, vardi waala, vardi waala. It would lose much flavour in transliteration, but the meaning would not be lost on even a non-Hindi speaker. Now when was the last time you had the army called a dog, and that too an American poodle, on Pakistan¡¦s streets? And this is a Pakistan under an almighty (lately, former) general who has the power to declare and suspend emergency in televised speeches, the power to make 36 (or thereabouts) amendments in his ¡§constitution¡¨ at a press conference, and whose ability to take the biggest decisions on the spot is the envy, often, of the Indian politician, and has been a cause for admiration among India¡¦s chattering classes.
How many times, since he came on his first visit for the Agra summit, have we heard fellow Indians, including serious, knowledgeable people, talk of him with a sense of awe? See, how confident he looks, how well he speaks, the swagger, so impressive, knows his mind, is so fit and energetic, so much in control, so macho, can-do and so on. The sub-text was, view this is total contrast with our own political class: overweight, badly dressed, clumsy, evasive in their answers, indecisive, inarticulate and, horror of horrors, not even able to speak any English.

And then came Shaukat Aziz, on secondment from Citibank. So smart, articulate, in his smartly cut suits, blah, blah and blah. And what kind of people did we have holding the same job in India? Gowda, who slept in Parliament. Vajpayee, who never seems to answer any question. Gujral who only uttered diplomatic platitudes that meant nothing. And Narasimha Rao, who mostly pretended he had not even heard the question.

Now let me tell you a few stories. Not necessarily connected either by timing or context, but yielding an interesting conclusion, nevertheless.

¡E One of the great untold stories of the Agra summit is how challenging it was for both Vajpayee and Musharraf to deal with each other. One thought he had the answer even before a question had been asked. The other would think for ever, and often tire out his interlocutor. Apparently at one of the mid-day review sessions Musharraf shared his exasperation with his aides. He said something like, I know you guys told me he takes time responding to anything, but how do I deal with somebody who takes so long and then says nothing? A bit like John McEnroe tossing his racket in exasperation while playing Ramesh Krishnan and screaming: how do I play this guy? He serves at five miles per hour!

One of his aides tried to suggest that Vajpayee takes so long because he is processing Musharraf¡¦s question in his wise, old head. Musharraf was still irritated and somebody senior in his inner council said, with humour laced with disdain: to unka processor Pentium nahin, 286 hoga (then his processor must be a 286, not a Pentium).

¡E Now listen to the story from the other end. What exasperated Vajpayee most of all was Musharraf¡¦s cocky ¡§decisiveness¡¨. ¡§You are the prime minister, I am the president, if we agree on something, let¡¦s sign,¡¨ he would say, while at the same time making changes on the draft of a likely agreement and asking Vajpayee to okay it. He simply wouldn¡¦t buy Vajpayee¡¦s argument that he had a cabinet to go back to. ¡§Par aap prime minister hain. Aap faisla keejiye (but you are the prime minister, you decide),¡¨ Musharraf would say. So when Vajpayee briefed his aides and fellow members of the Cabinet Committee on Security (who, barring George Fernandes, were in Agra), he said about his counterpart pretty much the opposite of what he said of him: ¡§He is in such a hurry. Kuchch sochne ko taiyyar nahin hain. Sub kuch faisala abhi chahte hain, kaise samjhaoon bhai.¡¨ Or words to that effect.

¡E In the main lounge of the Congress Centre at Davos, Switzerland, where all kinds from heads of state to global corporate leaders to rock stars to ordinary journalists congregate and rub shoulders during the World Economic Forum January meeting, I found my old friend, Pakistani journalist, part-time politician, now a full-time exile, Boston University professor and also an Indian Express columnist, Husain Haqqani. As we exchanged gossip, Shaukat Aziz walked past, accompanied by a couple of minders, perfectly cut suit, pompous, smug smile and all. Just that morning he had lectured many of us senior editors over breakfast, laying down the law for India: nothing would move, the gas pipeline, even the permission to Indian private airlines to fly to Pakistan unless the ¡§core¡¨ issue was addressed. Again there was some admiration for his confidence and clarity even among the Indian contingent as he was ¡§so unlike our bumbling politicians¡¨.

Haqqani¡¦s eyes were now lit up with mischief. He pointed his finger directly at Aziz and said: ¡§You know what they say, Davos is the Disneyland of the mind. If that be so, there goes its Mickey Mouse.¡¨

How have the relative fortunes of the two competing kinds of leaderships and nations under their charge evolved over these seven years? Musharraf now looks bumbling and unconvincing, an international joke, a pitiable, forlorn figure, hated by his countrymen, distrusted by the world and mentioned dismissively even by Barack Obama. Shaukat Aziz has disappeared from the scene, even losing out to an ordinary mortal ¡X coincidentally from India ¡X for the top job in his alma mater, Citi. Their country is a mess, their own army, for the first time, is seeing its credibility, power, its pre-eminent position in Pakistan¡¦s society and power structure questioned. Its political class is decimated, its institutions fatally wounded. How do people as proud as the Pakistanis feel when their dictator offers to salvage his credibility by summoning the Scotland Yard to investigate the assassination of their most prominent political leader? Nobody believes their election commission¡¦s intentions, motives or judgment in postponing their election.

Vajpayee, on the other hand, sits at home, having lost power in an election, not in the pink of health, but satisfied at the way his country is moving. His successor, from the opposite side of the political fence, even comes to wish him on his birthday. His country has meanwhile had many more state elections and another general election within a year or so will give his successors in his own party another crack at power. Now, think, who finally won. The indecisive, inarticulate, ineffective slob who did not seem to have an answer to anything, or the macho, confident, smart, decisive, modern smartie who seemed to have an answer to everything?

There are many interesting, and important conclusions to be drawn from this complex argument. But the most significant is this: a modern nation needs democracy and so it needs its politicians, however clumsy, corrupt, effete and power-crazed they may be. Because a military dictator can also be all of these things. The difference is, the political leader draws his power from the democratic process, so he has a stake in preserving that system, howsoever cynical he may be. The general draws his power by throttling the democratic system and its institutions and you can see the results of that in Pakistan. So, in a democracy, howsoever powerful a Lalu or Mayawati, they have to shut up and listen when the Supreme Court speaks. The election commission can publicly upbraid both Sonia Gandhi and Narendra Modi. We, the media, can question and curse who we want. It happens because the political class has the biggest stake in the democratic process, howsoever much it may wish to manipulate it. In contrast, a military dictator owes his power to the absence of institutions, of checks and balances. That is exactly what Musharraf has done to his judiciary, the election commission and even the media. That is why he has to summon the Scotland Yard to investigate Benazir¡¦s assassination.

Surviving Musharraf\'s Exit? Re: # 529
I have written "if" to indicate a contigency...
I am not saying that PML (N) will move out...but merely indicating that PPP will not face problems of survival if they do
Regarding Mr Musharraf...well NRO had been put into implementation even before the picture became clear...
It is obvious that Mr Musharraf is doing his part of the deal....
Regarding 3rd November steps....well frankly it is a legal debate whether you need 2/3rd majority to give them a constituional cover or not...there are enough sellouts who are claiming that it takes a 2/3rd majority to roll those steps back.....
Wesay is there any law in the Pakistan in the first place...
Did 3rd November itself orginated out of some provision in the constitution....

Socialist Yuppies 3: The Jihadi It was brilliant.....
Showing that what is said is never that easy to practice...
Wesay some of it applies to Our old fasioned marxist icon with "great" ability aka Nadeem Farooq Paracha...
You know talking about unwashed masses...writing jingles for corporates...calling junoons sell outs for appearing in coca cola ad...and calling himself a creative person for the ads he himself wrote...

Surviving Musharraf\'s Exit? Its a good article and rightly it has been pointed out that at present he is the punching bAG...
I do have doubts that he has any intentions to leave or will actually be forced to leave....
The way things are shaping up does not indicate that things are moving towards his dismissal or impeachment....
NRO was borought in with the condition that PPP would support Musharraf....
Now cases against Mr Zardari have been withdrawn....
Mr Musharrraf has done his part of the deal...and with 58 2 (b) and still friendly army behind him, PPP will do its part....
Its funny the way MQM had a "hiostoric" truce and Q league gave vote of confidence....
The reliance of PPP on PML (N) has more or less been eliminated...
If PML (N) moves out of coalition...
PPP will survive....
And will perform their part of the deal with out any problems....
The punching bag will continue to stay there.....though gradually the focus would be more and more on apprently vibrant Parliament
And some "progressive" psuedo intellectuals who also have been supporting Mr Musharraf and think that his opposition is just "reactionary" will be happy......

The Nawaiwaqt Generation and the Power of No! Re: # 327 Well the post is reflective of the clarity of the article itself......
It is just a jibe at various "scientific" explanations of the CJ crisis....

The Nawaiwaqt Generation and the Power of No! Mr HP do you really think that things are as planned as you seem to portray....
Really so urban Punjab in a collective planned way decided to challenge army through a CJ crisis.....
You see ever since that crisis happened and the people responded, I have been reading all kind of explanations....
There are people who have actually called it a reflection of anal middle class morality....called it an epic struggle of the survival of middle class ...The class which had always kept the common man out!!!!!
Or some cried that reactionaries were chanting slogans for restoration of CJ while "progressive" elements were above the trivialities of protest as they understood that history moves according to a logical plan and such "minor" hiccups in the dialectic process can be ignored...Since justice has a “right wing” tinge to it therefore any one talking about is a self contradictory idiot and not “progressive” …..
And now comes this masterpiece!!!!!!!!!!

It seems to combine the class mentality theory with regional disparities!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bravo Mr HP…..
You take the prize!!!!!!!!!!!!

Student Politics in Pakistan: A Profile It was a good descriptive article....
Though I think it would have been better if Mr NFP had analysed the actual effectiveness of these student wings in influencing the mainstream politics...
The article mentions the names of some politicans which have emerged from the student unions but does not talk much about the reciprocal relationship between the main parties and their student wings and how it has actually evolved over time....
Likewise to what extent the student unions have actually influenced the society in general...
Another important aspect is about the likely future of the student unions...
With the mushroom growth of the private universities, the unions with political unserpinnings will be hard hit as generally the public sector universities have been their breeding ground....

Voting For Change Re: # 477
That was well said.....
Wesay bhee I do not understand about this non sense of NS or BB or AZ versus Musharraf...
It is the self sustainable system with adequate checks and balances which is important....
I think there was a very good article by an Indian author and i am pasting it below. This will set all the detractors of democracy right....



Junta versus Janata by Shekhar Gupta, The Indian Express
Published on January 21, 2008

The Indian politician bumbles, the Pakistani general strides purposefully in his natty suits. Guess who keeps his country stable. Pakistanis surely coin more colourful political slogan than us. They are also less subtle. So, the next time you see visuals of a PPP protest rally on your TV screens following Benazir¡¦s assassination, strain your ears a bit to catch a most telling slogan: Amreeka ne kutta paala, vardi waala, vardi waala. It would lose much flavour in transliteration, but the meaning would not be lost on even a non-Hindi speaker. Now when was the last time you had the army called a dog, and that too an American poodle, on Pakistan¡¦s streets? And this is a Pakistan under an almighty (lately, former) general who has the power to declare and suspend emergency in televised speeches, the power to make 36 (or thereabouts) amendments in his ¡§constitution¡¨ at a press conference, and whose ability to take the biggest decisions on the spot is the envy, often, of the Indian politician, and has been a cause for admiration among India¡¦s chattering classes.
How many times, since he came on his first visit for the Agra summit, have we heard fellow Indians, including serious, knowledgeable people, talk of him with a sense of awe? See, how confident he looks, how well he speaks, the swagger, so impressive, knows his mind, is so fit and energetic, so much in control, so macho, can-do and so on. The sub-text was, view this is total contrast with our own political class: overweight, badly dressed, clumsy, evasive in their answers, indecisive, inarticulate and, horror of horrors, not even able to speak any English.

And then came Shaukat Aziz, on secondment from Citibank. So smart, articulate, in his smartly cut suits, blah, blah and blah. And what kind of people did we have holding the same job in India? Gowda, who slept in Parliament. Vajpayee, who never seems to answer any question. Gujral who only uttered diplomatic platitudes that meant nothing. And Narasimha Rao, who mostly pretended he had not even heard the question.

Now let me tell you a few stories. Not necessarily connected either by timing or context, but yielding an interesting conclusion, nevertheless.

¡E One of the great untold stories of the Agra summit is how challenging it was for both Vajpayee and Musharraf to deal with each other. One thought he had the answer even before a question had been asked. The other would think for ever, and often tire out his interlocutor. Apparently at one of the mid-day review sessions Musharraf shared his exasperation with his aides. He said something like, I know you guys told me he takes time responding to anything, but how do I deal with somebody who takes so long and then says nothing? A bit like John McEnroe tossing his racket in exasperation while playing Ramesh Krishnan and screaming: how do I play this guy? He serves at five miles per hour!

One of his aides tried to suggest that Vajpayee takes so long because he is processing Musharraf¡¦s question in his wise, old head. Musharraf was still irritated and somebody senior in his inner council said, with humour laced with disdain: to unka processor Pentium nahin, 286 hoga (then his processor must be a 286, not a Pentium).

¡E Now listen to the story from the other end. What exasperated Vajpayee most of all was Musharraf¡¦s cocky ¡§decisiveness¡¨. ¡§You are the prime minister, I am the president, if we agree on something, let¡¦s sign,¡¨ he would say, while at the same time making changes on the draft of a likely agreement and asking Vajpayee to okay it. He simply wouldn¡¦t buy Vajpayee¡¦s argument that he had a cabinet to go back to. ¡§Par aap prime minister hain. Aap faisla keejiye (but you are the prime minister, you decide),¡¨ Musharraf would say. So when Vajpayee briefed his aides and fellow members of the Cabinet Committee on Security (who, barring George Fernandes, were in Agra), he said about his counterpart pretty much the opposite of what he said of him: ¡§He is in such a hurry. Kuchch sochne ko taiyyar nahin hain. Sub kuch faisala abhi chahte hain, kaise samjhaoon bhai.¡¨ Or words to that effect.

¡E In the main lounge of the Congress Centre at Davos, Switzerland, where all kinds from heads of state to global corporate leaders to rock stars to ordinary journalists congregate and rub shoulders during the World Economic Forum January meeting, I found my old friend, Pakistani journalist, part-time politician, now a full-time exile, Boston University professor and also an Indian Express columnist, Husain Haqqani. As we exchanged gossip, Shaukat Aziz walked past, accompanied by a couple of minders, perfectly cut suit, pompous, smug smile and all. Just that morning he had lectured many of us senior editors over breakfast, laying down the law for India: nothing would move, the gas pipeline, even the permission to Indian private airlines to fly to Pakistan unless the ¡§core¡¨ issue was addressed. Again there was some admiration for his confidence and clarity even among the Indian contingent as he was ¡§so unlike our bumbling politicians¡¨.

Haqqani¡¦s eyes were now lit up with mischief. He pointed his finger directly at Aziz and said: ¡§You know what they say, Davos is the Disneyland of the mind. If that be so, there goes its Mickey Mouse.¡¨

How have the relative fortunes of the two competing kinds of leaderships and nations under their charge evolved over these seven years? Musharraf now looks bumbling and unconvincing, an international joke, a pitiable, forlorn figure, hated by his countrymen, distrusted by the world and mentioned dismissively even by Barack Obama. Shaukat Aziz has disappeared from the scene, even losing out to an ordinary mortal ¡X coincidentally from India ¡X for the top job in his alma mater, Citi. Their country is a mess, their own army, for the first time, is seeing its credibility, power, its pre-eminent position in Pakistan¡¦s society and power structure questioned. Its political class is decimated, its institutions fatally wounded. How do people as proud as the Pakistanis feel when their dictator offers to salvage his credibility by summoning the Scotland Yard to investigate the assassination of their most prominent political leader? Nobody believes their election commission¡¦s intentions, motives or judgment in postponing their election.

Vajpayee, on the other hand, sits at home, having lost power in an election, not in the pink of health, but satisfied at the way his country is moving. His successor, from the opposite side of the political fence, even comes to wish him on his birthday. His country has meanwhile had many more state elections and another general election within a year or so will give his successors in his own party another crack at power. Now, think, who finally won. The indecisive, inarticulate, ineffective slob who did not seem to have an answer to anything, or the macho, confident, smart, decisive, modern smartie who seemed to have an answer to everything?

There are many interesting, and important conclusions to be drawn from this complex argument. But the most significant is this: a modern nation needs democracy and so it needs its politicians, however clumsy, corrupt, effete and power-crazed they may be. Because a military dictator can also be all of these things. The difference is, the political leader draws his power from the democratic process, so he has a stake in preserving that system, howsoever cynical he may be. The general draws his power by throttling the democratic system and its institutions and you can see the results of that in Pakistan. So, in a democracy, howsoever powerful a Lalu or Mayawati, they have to shut up and listen when the Supreme Court speaks. The election commission can publicly upbraid both Sonia Gandhi and Narendra Modi. We, the media, can question and curse who we want. It happens because the political class has the biggest stake in the democratic process, howsoever much it may wish to manipulate it. In contrast, a military dictator owes his power to the absence of institutions, of checks and balances. That is exactly what Musharraf has done to his judiciary, the election commission and even the media. That is why he has to summon the Scotland Yard to investigate Benazir¡¦s assassination.

February 18th, 2008-Election Day Re: # 233
You disappoint me to no end....
Initially I had thought that you were a secular person.....
but u r just a biased right wing hindu....
dear friend u just have a hatred against pakistan....
the reality is that mullahs have been wiped out in NWFP....
the verdict for NS is not for mullahism....
but for restoration of judiciary.....
But a religous fundo like u wont understand it...
after all religous right is religous right.....
whether it is mullah in Pakstan.....
or pundits like u in India.......

February 18th, 2008-Election Day Re: # 62

Sorry to disappoint you bhai dot dash....
The results show that despite the so called perception that judiciary issue is just a middle class issue....
Or the questions " how many people use law..."
or that the civil society which has been called tauntingly as "civil society"....
The fact is that even common man has shown his concern.....PML N has shown performance mostly on the basis of judicial independence.....That was main slogan....
The thing is that one should never be static in one's view...
you never know what can actually materialize...
The same "unwashed" masses which in many people's never gave a damn about these issues have apperently given a damn.....
You see that is why I say...
In social sciences nothing is certain......
And one has to demonstrate more flexibility while trying to formulate an opinion.....
with an understanding that explanations change when the ground realities change.....
So perhaps "civil society" or elite is not that interchangable....
May be elite is what is being wiped out in Punjab....
And Sindh.....
And yes that civil society which you are calling "civil society" and think has no understanding of "real" issues confronting abdul ali......is not that bad after all......

Cholesterol Say Paak Yes Mr NFP....
The results of the election are in front of us...
Even in rural areas the people have not considered judicial crisis as "media manufactured".....
Kindly elaborate on this......
And yes this question is also directed to your "fans"....
May be to quote you....
They are also confused with little to no knowledge of geo politics....
Answer jani......

Monday Morning Blast in Rawalpindi ... An eyewitness account Re: # 247
Mr Jayp kindly read my post no 103 with open eyes....
I never denied that ideology or for that matter what you call social set up has nothing to do with that...
You have given examples of so called other muslim countries...
Well suicide bombing has largely been a trademark of Arab nationals and they by no stretch of imagination are Pakistanis.....
Secondly other "non violent" countries do not have Afghanistan right next to their border and they never had the experience of huge amounts of American money to actually set up the apparatus...
The so called "cultural" factors only become active when there is a stimulus...
Factors are multiple and often complicated.....
And all I am asking is to be less arrogant....
Both of us are not intellectual giants.....
And when it comes to social sciences even giants can not be sure.....
It is a good thing to exercise caution and have a healthy dose of skepticism....

Monday Morning Blast in Rawalpindi ... An eyewitness account Re: # 92
Bravo jayp what an explanation....
At least you have admitted that Tamil and Mokhti bahni were trained by India..
It seems that compared to Pakistani brand of terrorism you people were much more effective....
You see we trained and then those trained elements started to target us.....
You trained and those terrorists just targeted the targets not yourself...
Wow ....
brilliant....
And all that hue and cry over pakistan training terrorists....
Any how you have also missed the point....
terrorism is always an outcome of multitude of mutually reinforcing factors...
yes ideology may ignite it or even be the major cause of it but under particular circumstances...
If Russia had not invaded Afghanistan...
Perhaps this kind of TNT stuff would not have been happening with such frequency and intensity.....
It was the combination of that invasion, US money to actually set up such Madarrassas and yes the ideology...
You see I am not denying it.....
Merely pointing out that explanations are complicated....
Social sciences are not like natural sciences....
These are not exact....
Factors can be multiple...
And one has to at least maintain a less know all and arrogant tone.....
That is it......

Monday Morning Blast in Rawalpindi ... An eyewitness account Re: # 6
Although I agree that terrorism or for that matter suicide bombings in Pakistan are partly religously driven as the bombers are often promised "paradise" by Mullahs....
But since you have so much arrogantly claimed to know all about "terrorism" I wonder why these bombings were not taking place in 1970s or 1960s.....
Surely Islam was still there...
Pakistani Army was still there.....
Why it is a phenonmenon of 80's and onwards....
Since you seem to be so "bright" and know all about a complex phenonmenon like terrorism which by the way has been practised in many other parts of the world...
Even where there are no Mullahs or muslims....
South America, Africa, Ireland......
I ask you to please reflect and "educate" us....
And yes while explaining terrorism please also explain why it is also prevalent in other parts of the world also...
And why it started to really emerge in 1990s in this part of the world....

What is Hinduism? A Personal View I really do not know why all of the interactors are so bent upon abusing each other's religon.....
I am not religous but at the same time I do feel that religous fervour is only intensified when one's religon is abused....
No matter how much we like to disown....
Religon is one of the things which does form our identity....
Even Einstien despite being an Athiest started calling himself a jew when jews were being abused.....
Religon always has a reactionary element...
You abuse someone's religon or even give "logical" criticism...
It will always intensify the fervor....

Remembering You I always remember him...
He was the best student in our class..
I remember when he joined C 1 in 1989, he was a little short and then he suddenly started to gain height and was around 6 feet before we left Aitchison and went to Government College...
I remember his soft spoken attitude...
The studious nature...
The innocence which combined with high level of intellect...
I was in Karachi when I found out about his death and I was shocked beyond belief....
In fact of our class C 3 C of 1991 SC batch, Farzan's tragic death is the third death. Two of our other class fellows namely Ali Nasir Waraich and Sheryar Safir Shami have also tragically passed.
Aitchison College has always stayed in my heart and I remember those days clearly and often recall those memories...
Your brother will always be a part of those memories and thus in some way always alive in my heart.....