Musharraf’s New Ordinance Hoopla

jayp,

..... that goes for you and the other horrible hindoos suffering from small penis syndrome too - just shut up !

hamidm: It aint over till the fat lady sings!!

And there are plenty of fat ladies around that can sing over the next few months - the supreme court, the military, or just plain rank and file of political parties who decide they have had enough of the prima donnas (BB, NS, Mush) in this soap opera.

The Reconcilation Ordinance is an awful piece of legislation and the manner of it's passage - rushed in the hours of the night - speaks to it's flaws. It was an ordinance that was passed by the president, acting on his authority to pass a law, in the absence of a sitting senate or a parliament. As an ordinance, it has a sunset clause and it will automatically lapse and will be null and voided after a period of 4 months.

The only way this piece of legislation can exist longer than 4 months, is for the next parliament to pass it as a parliamentary bill. In any case, as the law stipulates, any presidential ordinance passed, has to come before the parliament and be debated. The next parliament must debate this law.

There is a parliament in session right now, but it was not allowed to pass this legislation, because Musharraf's PML-Q (which as one wit said on GEO, today, stands for Pervaiz Musharraf League - Quislings) is itself divided over the issue of granting amensty to Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif and such a law, had it been put to a test, would have not passed.

The elections are over and it is a tragedy that PPP boycotted it and gave Musharraf the throphy and in the process, allowed Musharraf to waltz into the presidency contested. If not Musharraf, they should have participated in the elections and should have voted for Wajeeuddin (sp.) The game plan of the PPP is now to approach the courts and challenge Musharraf but the courts might throw this argument out. If the PPP gives up its right to cast a vote against Musharraf, there is not much the law can do and now, PPP will question the legitimacy of this election and cry "murder most foul".

Painful shades of MMA in 2002 and the 17th Amendment! Just like the MMA then, PPP today abdicated its responsibility as the opposition. PPP as a political party is supposed to represent the people of Pakistan, because the very name PPP stands for Pakistan's People Party. It did not!

It supported its own interests and in the process, effectively disenfranchised its electoral support.

Today, despite the abysmal nature of the events, it was a watershed day in the political history of Pakistan, because for the first time, the mask of deceit was torn off the faces of the "national leaders" and the people finally saw the real face of politics in Pakistan.

The secret behind the portrait of the Pakistani Dorian Greys had been revealed!

Today, was the day to face reality and admit; we are all guilty. Today, we have to ask ourselves who is to blame if we select these people again? Will we blame the "hidden hand" again, or our own naive emotionalism? Today, we learned what happens to a nation and its people, when they ignore their past experience; change their history and lie to themselves.

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the most foolish of them all?

Ciao

The army in present-day Pakistan is like the Church in medieval Europe.


Seeing as how they'r buggering you, it's even like the catholic church of today.

tahmed,

....... do you really believe that if there was a 'fair and free' election the results would be any different ?......... i can almost guarantee you that bb,ns, altaf bhai and maulana fazloo would still be the big winners ...... even the chaudaris will win although their 'party' might loose a few seats ........ as for the 'rank and file' of the political parties, they love their leaders - so who are you to argue with them ?! ....... i know a lot of people who will dump mo of mecca before they dump bb of larkana ........

re: # 19

The sentence: "The elections are over and it is a tragedy that PPP boycotted it and gave Musharraf the throphy and in the process, allowed Musharraf to waltz into the presidency contested."

should read as

"The elections are over and it is a tragedy that PPP boycotted it and gave Musharraf the throphy and in the process, allowed Musharraf to waltz into the presidency uncontested."

Ciao

Re: # 19

ferozk,

.... i feel your pain, but you are stating the obvious .......

.... "Today, we have to ask ourselves who is to blame if we select these people again?" ........ good question, but what are our choices ? ....... imran khan's party of one or baitullah mehsud ?

Just so we don't give prophetboy's revisionism a free pass, I'll post this. It reminds people that the paki junta was out dancing in the streets when nawaz was overthrown. Apparently the paki junta, deluded as they are, thought Pakiland was winning in Kargil and Nawaz had betrayed them by flying to DC(yup, on the 4th of july) and signing away pureland's greate victory over the hindoo...



"As You Sow, So Shall You Reap"

Hamed Mir penned this op-ed piece in Islamabad's popular, Urdu-language Ausaf (10/13): "At last, exactly what happened was that which the army was trying to avoid. When things started to get out of hand, despite its reluctance, the army had to rein in the elected democratic ruler of the country. What a pity that on October 12, when the army took control of the prime minister's house, the TV station and the airports, people started dancing in the streets and chanting anti-Nawaz slogans.... Whatever happened, the evening of October 12 has saved the country from a great civil war.... The fact of the matter is that Nawaz Sharif, by signing the Washington Declaration on July 4, had himself decided in favor of his political death."

so why isn't chowk getting bilal mushlet to write another "He had no choice" piece?He had no Choice!
Bilal Musharraf October 14, 1999

Let's see what bostonboy wrote days after hi old man launched a coup.

apparently the coup was launched not because pureland got it's ass kicked in kargil but because pureland was lagging in e-commerce.

He had no Choice!

Bilal Musharraf October 14, 1999

A personal perspective on the suspension of parliament
My father is a self-made man and I wish to state this up front that he has made a conscious effort to never abuse his influence for personal gain.

The developing world better prepare itself for what is about to hit it within the next decade. They say that 97 percent of the world economy will be controlled by the economies geared up for electronic commerce. The difference between the richest and poorest nations of the world is said to have been 1:5 two centuries ago but unbridled commercialism has given rise to a disparity of 1:500. Pretty soon we'll be dealing with inequities in wealth and resource distribution of a ratio in the order of one to thousands times more between the least developed and most developed economies. Until the day comes when every Pakistani, regardless of ethnicity, sex or religion has an equal opportunity to prosper through hard work, Pakistan cannot be a dynamic and progressive country that can stand its ground in the global competitive markets.

What are the options? Back to a fa�ade of democracy in the existing political structure? Satisfying the immediate expectation of announcing a hand picked portfolio of technocrats that would form an interim reform government? Devoting all attention to an across the board accountability?

Accountability must take place, and bringing in competent individuals to key positions is a decision that should not be taken in haste. Time WILL reveal the sincerity of purpose of individuals in question and actions will speak louder than words to give each of us confidence. I have one request though, and I would not say this if it was not absolutely crucial at this time. Pakistanis, wherever they are abroad, need to understand that this is a very unique point in Pakistan's history. We need to make the world appreciate the context in which the much needed reforms will be undertaken.

hamidm: i couldnt care less if people elected masadi's stupider (if that is possible) cousin for president. as long as they could also boot masadi's cousin out of office if he proved ineffective, and/or put him behind bars if they caught him stealing from the governments bank account.

It is the system that is important. Not the personalities. You cant run a country of 160 million people on the whims of one prima donna. or even three or thirty.

Congrats to Mush – ‘jalnay walon ka moon kala’

I personally made an effort to distribute aftari to 100 poor – after the results of the election although I am keeping y fingers crossed until the Supreme Bias Court of Pakistan comes up with the decision.

A Democracy lead by politicians and political parties, fails as they say and it’s Mushraff who brought real democracy to Pakistan by introducing freedom of speech and expression unlike the people from the North believed in when they ruled once.

Forgiveness does not change the past but it does enlarge the future.
Bravo to Mushraff for the new National Reconsilation Bill which paves way for clean politics and a bright future free from blackbailing of politicians and government officers. Lets just forget and forgive. I know people like tahmed’s , aquaris and urstruly will cry but they are simply not realists.
Most of the cases against PPP and MQM were made up , politically motivated and false – and were a waste and burden on judicary.

PS. Tahemds,Urstruly’s, Aquaris will cry babies no matter what happens !!!

Re: hamidm2# 23

Hamid sahib, I am stating what is written on the wall, but let me assure you that there is no pain. I have been a certified cynic, jaded, to a perfection for a very long time.

We have no choice.

I was merely venting my "idealism" and I am guilty of that occassionally and I will not defend my lapses. :)

Honestly and dispassionately speaking, blaming the Pakistani leadership is useless. Leaders come from the people and the governments they create, reflect the character of the people who elected them. The cynic in me applauds the statements of Dr. Salman Shah, Owais Leghari and Sheikh Rashid, when they talked about people supporting the ones who looted and plundered. Politicans and people who in engage in politics are not boy scouts and neither should they be judged along those standards.

This was a faustian bargain pure and simple. It was about votes and it was about power. It was based on cold political interests.

Imran Khan and Baituallah Mehsud are two opposite sides of the same intenable option in Pakistani politics. What I was alluding to was civic accountibility and that is, unless the people of this nation do not take responsibility of participating in the politics of the nation, they should not blame the people, who come to power. Without civic accountibility, politicans will look after their own interests just as water makes its own way, because they are not accountable for their actions.

All of this talk of democracy in Pakistan is facile, because we have abdicated our civic responsibilities. We do not ask our leaders to justify the policies that are being made in our name and we take no ownership for those policies. We are willing to die to put back into power those who have robbed us, but we are not willing to die to remove those who have robbed us from power. Here lies rub. Our priorities are out of sync with our wishful thinking and we are not willing to admit to our own complicity in our own misdeeds.

Hamid sahib, we are living in denial. :)

Ciao

IB: so you are happy that a general has been "elected" president just because he is of your ethnic group. you are truly a smart man!! :-)

ferozk: you might be interested in this editorial from Washington Post today, which echoes what you have been saying. I am reprinting it in full since it shows just how stupid musharraf's antics are proving to be:

Pakistan's Tainted Election
Gen. Pervez Musharraf is likely to be reelected as president today; whether he can maintain power is another question.

GEN. PERVEZ Musharraf will almost certainly succeed in orchestrating his "reelection" today as president of Pakistan -- but it will be an ugly victory. The national Parliament and provincial legislatures that will convene as an electoral college have little legitimacy, because they were chosen in rigged elections four years ago. In a genuine democratic election, Mr. Musharraf would have no chance of extending his eight years in power, which began with a military coup. Already tainted, the general's mandate will also be tenuous: Pakistan's Supreme Court ruled yesterday that the result cannot be certified until it rules on whether Mr. Musharraf is violating the constitution by entering the election without stepping down as Army commander in chief.

The good news is that Pakistan's autocratic but ineffectual leader will probably surrender a large share of power in the coming weeks. He has promised that if granted a new mandate as president, he will give up his military command -- something that may cause the Supreme Court to overlook the legal problems with his election. Yesterday he also, at last, struck a deal with one of the country's two principal secular political party leaders, former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. Under its terms, corruption charges against Ms. Bhutto and her husband will be dropped and she will be allowed to return to Pakistan this month. Her party hopes to win parliamentary elections due by early next year and return her as prime minister.

In a few months Pakistan could be governed by a troika of Mr. Musharraf, Ms. Bhutto or another civilian prime minister, and the likely new army commander, Gen. Ashfaq Pervez Kiyani. The Bush administration, which has been quietly pushing for just such an outcome while publicly proclaiming disinterest in Pakistan's internal affairs, is hoping that it will strengthen the government both politically and militarily in what, right now, is a losing battle against Islamic extremism -- including Taliban and al-Qaeda forces that have gained control over a large and growing chunk of western Pakistan.

The problem with this convoluted process is that it may involve very little democracy. Though Ms. Bhutto says her deal with Mr. Musharraf is meant to ensure that parliamentary elections will be free and fair, it appeared yesterday that another major Pakistani political figure, Nawaz Sharif, could be excluded. Though relatively popular while in exile, Ms. Bhutto could quickly be discredited if she is seen to be gaining power through backroom dealing with Mr. Musharraf. The government has recently conducted a crackdown on opposition leaders from Mr. Sharif's party, as well as on the media. Unless the crackdown is reversed and a credible parliamentary election is held, Pakistan's moderate and secular center will continue to be at war with itself while its enemies grow steadily stronger.

Re: tahmed32 # 31

The bottom line is that the idea of institutionalism has suffered a body blow, from which it might never recover in Pakistan. The "midnight deal" was about the interests of a few personalities and had nothing to do, with the process of democracy. The silver lining in all of this is, that the reality of the political process has been unveiled in Pakistan and because of that, both the army and politicans; secular and religious stand discredited.

Hopefully, this will cure our public's national emotionalism and bon hommie, which has caused so much stink in our politics and as to the Reconciliation Ordinance, it would have passed more muster had it been debated and passed by the next parliament. As things are right now, this ordinance has simply and rudely slapped the Pakistani public in the face and there is a complete sense of inalienation in politics; the people have no idea to whom to turn and there is a tangible "trust deficit".

In this situation, out of sheer hopeless and befuddlement, the people will look to the likes of Imran Khan and Baitullah Mehsud and the final curtain will finally descend. Again, the blame lies squarely with us and our total abdication of our civic responsibility.

Is there a way out? Yes, there is, but for that to happen, we must accept the ownership of our politics and the manner of achieving this still passes through a national reconciliation, but not in form of a presidential ordinance, but in the shape of a national referandum on the issue.

Let the people decide in a truely populist tradition and this will reconcile us to the reality and finally, based on the decision, will hold us accountable for our actions. Reconcilation comes from admitting our wrongs and learning to live with them, and sadly this ordinance does not attain that mark.

Ciao