In the Line of Fire, A Review

Re: # 52 Dear Mr B.Khan... Do not misunderstand. The democracy is valued , we have reverence for it. But army chief feels if its so prcious and valuable why waste on people who do not know how vote correctly. He feel freedom lies in undertanding necesaties and spare country from bad choices. A father does not allow 5 years child to play with fire arm, same is democracy it can be destructive to country at this times in few decades we can do democracy expt, but its not time now, its time will also some.Patience has virtue you can second that. At this time we need good same medicine, it may test better but its better to take and cure. At this time will lead to real bad things.

Re: # 54

Dear H.Mo. This your friend ``Harish`` seems well intensioned but not well informed about situatuion. He has romantic ideas about freedom, equality and democracy etc. I think sitting in USA and India and commenting about necessicity of Democracy in Pakistan etc like looking after sheep caring and guiding while riding Camel . Indians have real strange ideas for sure.
This Ghulam Mustafa Khar is also called of ``Sher E Punjab``- Lion of Punjab. This what people respect, like the lion of Punjab.

Re: # 54

Dear H.Mo. This your friend ``Harish`` seems well intensioned but not well informed about situatuion. He has romantic ideas about freedom, equality and democracy etc. I think sitting in USA and India and commenting about necessicity of Democracy in Pakistan etc like looking after sheep caring and guiding while riding Camel . Indians have real strange ideas for sure.
This Ghulam Mustafa Khar is also called of ``Sher E Punjab``- Lion of Punjab. This what people respect, like the lion of Punjab.

The title of our soldier-president`s book ``In the Line of Fire`` should instead have been something else. Perhaps, ``In the Line of HIRE``... since we`ve willingly hired our services to the mighty (but miserly) paymaster. But it is, as Ayaz Amir wrote, In the line of embarrassment (this, BTW, is a worth reading article; DAWN 29th September, 2006)...

I say this because the title of Chief sahib`s book is a blatant theft... plagrism taken to an extreme, where the book`s title itself is stolen from the autobiography of another soldier. ``The Line of Fire`` is the title of the 1993 autobiography of Admiral William J Crowe who was Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States during the Raegan (or Daddy Bush?) presidency. Check the following link at:

Barnes and Noble

Some people have neither principles nor any shame.

...SR

PS: I must confess, however, that I enjoyed reading the book. He`s done a fine job of self-promotion. I certainly feel a bit disarmed after reading it.

Re: # 52

No they only take you for a fool ballu ji. First of all I dont even know whether you belong to Pakistan or India but in any case I would take your posts to mean that either you are a Pakistani or you have an unhealthy fascination with Pakistan; so here it goes. When you say
`` If democracy was allowed to take roots in Pakistan it would have taken care of un necessary concentration of political power with the parties of BB or NS and factions and regional alliances would have indeed formed automatically.``
do you see what is going on in Bangladesh where this farce of a democracy is being allowed. All that democracy has done is give them hunger, strikes, and deaths.
Then you said
``And who gave the army the right to intervene in the matters of election or dismissal of elected governments?? ``
People like you who keep voting for the same idiots again and again give Pakistan army the right. The normal deent person of Pakistan was not even allowed to vote during Bibi and Nawaz times so people like you got out and voted for whomever paid you the most. If the army does not intervene every 10 years or so then Pakistan will be bankrupt but at least you will be dancing in the name of democracy.

``What nonsense these rascals spew on this board!!!``
This is the mentality of most of the people who vote for BB or Nawaz. Call anybody a name for not allowing or wanting BB or Nawaz to return to Pakistan and plunder its weath. Tell me, did you enjoy your trip to the Raiwand Estate on your way to Surrey palace. At least remember all the innocent people who got murdered by your beloved politicians when you drink wine with BB and play politics. That wine glass did cost some young boy his life.
****
By the way Harish, yes that was the person and Ahmed you are correct with the book name.

The book says it al. No more comments.

The most unfortunate reason is that the Pakistanis are too full and puffed up with their uniqueness and false egos to even acknowledge the success of Indian democracy. Indian democracy in its nascent stages was mainly congress monopoly. Now it has number of national and regional political parties coming together to form coalition at the center. If democracy was allowed to take roots in Pakistan it would have taken care of un necessary concentration of political power with the parties of BB or NS and factions and regional alliances would have indeed formed automatically. The army`s criminal intervention in politics has destroyed the very basis of civilian rule in Pakistan. The other unfortunate reason is that the army needs to fight imaginary enemies and wars to keep it self in power- hence this nonnsense reference by the dictator to being ``in the line of fire``. The fact is that the Jehadis and Islamist radicals were created by the rascal Paki army and now they claim to have ``broken the back`` of their illegitimate child that they had fathered.

Do they take us for fools??

The unfortunate fact is that Pakistan continues to have a primitive polity which has not been given an opportunity to develop. The feudal eco-social system ensures that the political class continues to remain hopelessly feudal and correspondingly corrupt. The total weakening of the moral fabric of the politicians, the army and the society at large has resulted in a stage where it would be futile to expect a decent set of democratic leaders. The army despots, especially the current one is found acceptable to a vast majority- including most of our intelligentsia. The most frustrating part is that even though the universal truth ``democracy rox, army sux`` should be applicable to Pakistan in equal measure-- but in the short term, democracy (choice between the BB & the Sharif) only scares Pakistanis away. In the long run, however, democracy can be the only solution.

This book is a must read for all Pakistanis, not because it is reveals some new facts about our country, but it reflects the true self of our President. The sitting President has shared some very personal, irrelevant facts about his life and career. He should have written with more decency - it wasn`t a humour piece. The account on his two immature affairs and poor granny`s exploitation could only add spice to his book, but didn`t suit the position of the writer. The fifth section has some major slips where Musharraf goes into the details of how the agencies had executed special operations. The account on the way his team tightened the trap on Mushtaq by tapping his girlfriend`s number, only to be brought to the nation`s knowledge by President, that the girl has ditched him (Mushtaq) too, is far from humour. It is but, undeniable, that the book can hold its readers till the end, revealing some very exciting facts about the Pakistani politics, though through Musharraf`s lense.

Re: # 47

`` As I said earlier that elections are not held within a political party in Pakistan so the elections at a national level become meaningless. ``

spurious argument.One can only laugh when the PAkistani public laps this army propaganda.
Is there a rule of law or not in Pakistan? Does the Pakistani constitution permit such intervention by the army?? And who gave the army the right to intervene in the matters of election or dismissal of elected governments??

What nonsense these rascals spew on this board!!!

Arjun (37): If the leaders aren`t responsible, you hold them accountable by voting them out...what`s so difficult about that to understand?

Reply: There are only two mainstream political parties on a national level, People`s Party and Muslim League. People have a choice to choose only between the candidates of these two parties. Leadership of both these parties was elected twice and rejected twice. In a developed country if a leader of a political party makes a serious mistake or his major policy decision is defeated in the parliament either he resigns from both offices, i.e. premiership and as a head of the political party, or new elections are held within a political party and a new candidate is chosen as a new party leader. As I said earlier that elections are not held within a political party in Pakistan so the elections at a national level become meaningless. Our political leaders handle their political parties like fiefdoms and then they cry foul when military intervenes.

Re: # 43
Third world brotherhood. Hope that dictector pays in real dollars, hope he does not issue useless promisary note.

Re: # 44
My feudal lord. But lady has class she always marries very superrich and some times as a second wife also. GMK would have killed her long back but this modern publicity problems.

#38 by hasanmahmood

Of course you are going to think that I am making this up but I will give you the name of the book (which one of his wives wrote-the name is escaping me at the moment) to see what a great man he is.

Is it Tehmina Durrani or something?

So now the paki army is into DPO...Dictatorship Perpetuation Outsourcing...Like Indian BPO but with a fraction of the revenue..

Pakistani military experts strengthen Mugabe’s army

* Pakistanis will stay there for 2 years, will be paid in dollars
* Pakistan has had military, defence ties with Zimbabwe for long time: envoy

Daily Times Monitor

LAHORE: Pakistan has sent several senior military experts to help strengthen President Robert Mugabe’s army, which has been severely weakened by mass resignations, desertions and a Western military embargo, says a report in The Independent.

The secondment of the Pakistanis to retrain and re-equip the Zimbabwean army comes as Mr Mugabe is desperate to beef up his forces as he fears the deteriorating economy may lead to social unrest, the report says.

Mr Mugabe has relied heavily on his army to crush any challenge to his rule. The Pakistanis arrived as annual inflation surged to 1,281 percent, the highest in the world, leaving a majority of Zimbabweans unable to afford the basics for survival, and raising the spectre of mass strife. The Pakistani experts will stay in Zimbabwe for at least two years and will be paid in US dollars by the Zimbabwe government, which is struggling to raise foreign currency to pay for essential imports such as fuel and food, the report adds.

The first secretary at the Pakistani embassy in Harare, Safdara Hayat, said that his country’s experts were brought in under a military cooperation agreement signed with Zimbabwe last week. He confirmed the Zimbabwe government would pay the military experts. Although exact numbers were not available, Mr Hayat said those already in Zimbabwe had been seconded to the air force.

The Zimbabwe air force has played a particularly important role in quelling mass protests by monitoring ground movements of protesters. Asked why Pakistan, a Commonwealth country, was deploying military trainers to Zimbabwe despite human rights abuses that had prompted the Commonwealth to suspend the country, Mr Hayat said only: “Pakistan has been involved in military and defence cooperation with Zimbabwe for a long time. The agreement has only been renewed now.” The last such agreement was signed in 1983.

Zimbabwe said that it had every right to pursue bilateral deals with Commonwealth nations. The opposition Movement for Democratic Change condemned Pakistan’s decision. Party spokesman Nelson Chamisa said the deal proved “the Mugabe regime was in perennial combat with its people,” and accused Mr Mugabe of importing “gunmen, not grain”, The Independent report said.