Imran Khan at LUMS

Hamid writes ".... it seems that the us elite is already rigging the elections !!"

No, they don't need to bother with the rigging, the peons do that, they just point to the one they want as Prime Minister... by the way, why are you so obsessed with so that you are mentioning me in every damn post of yours. I'm not mad at you for trying to deride my posts with nonsense, I just feel sorry for you, unlike tahmed who is a conniving hypocrite who would stab his own people in the back, you are much more forthcoming in your view, however dispicable they might be, but you are an honest man for that you are much higher in my books than that peon of the West, tahmed. Now keep on deriding me, its a pleasure to read that dimwits consider my posts outlandish...

There is this ticker on GEO TV with the clock going since the "emergency"......its ever increasing and you have a fatuos guy (shahid massod ?????????) interveiwing people....

anyway the real issue is this...its been 3 days now...and nothing much has happened...its like life as we know it, and not "not as we know it". A few protestors here and there generally people carrying on as usual....the guys who are the most agitated are the chattering classes and the lairs (that is the way the Law minister called them in the Beeb interview - I now he meant lawyers ;) ).

What are the people waiting for the friday sermons and kutbas etc.

I tell you this is all a small tea in a storm cup!

skeptical: thanks. Let us pray for the brave Pakistanis like Asma Jehangir, the Chief Justice and thousands of the finest among Pakistanis, many of whom were beaten savagely yesterday, and are in jail or locked up in their houses today.

hamimd: hamid gul is probably getting served chai and samosas in his "prison". if mush was serious about terrorism, he would not have waited 8 years to nab the father of the taliban. the taliban are musharraf's ticket to dictatorship, and he is not about to throw away the ticket that enables him to keep fooling the willingly fooled george bush and co.

romair dot dot dot#123 "not the brightest tools in the toolbox....."

you mean, "not the sharpest". if you are to use metaphors, at least get them right. and "brightest tools" makes no sense at all unless you have hammers, wrenches and screwdrivers in your toolbox that shine bright like the midday sun!!

Re: # 123

romair,

.... which batch were you in ? ...... i can probably do a full background check on you with two phone calls ......

... stop this bs before i am forced to expose you !

anil #: "Have you ever considered that Musharraff is playing very smartly...."

....i think you are greatly over-estimating the intellectual capabilities of the leadership of pakistan - both military and civilian......

.....the individuals who are now running the pakistan military were my commanding officers, when i joined...i.e. they were colonels, when i was a lieutenant.....so i know quite a few of them......and as a whole, i know the capability of their group........

rest assured, they are not the brightest tools in the toolbox.....quite the contrary....i doubt they would be able to carry out an intelligent coversation on chowk, much less in an actual debate......and, believe me, i am not exagerating.....they have very little exposure of pakistan, much less of the rest of the world....

......there are only two groups in the pakistan military, which have some highly intelligent people.....these are doctors and engineers.....however, they are support groups and never get command positions....generally, they retire early and join the civilian marketplace......

......allow me to give you the background of my batchmates, who may go on to become the heads of the their respective branches.....their profiles highlight both the good and bad of the pakistan military.....

the guy who will become a general and perhps coas someday from the army, was my roommate, and a friend.....he is the son of a very poor man (equivalent to a servant of the chowk crowd).....the army has allowed him to rise in the society, like he never could have as a civilian....hence his loyalty to the army will be total and he will, probably, have a negative opinion of rich civilians (like the chowk crowd).....and he is a pretty brave guy....the ideal profile for someone who could carry out a coup someday.....

having said that, he did not have the grades to get into any engineering or medical college in pakistan; even the lowest one......i doubt he could do an mba etc.....in essence in my age group, there are thousands of civilian pakistani professionals who are far more intelligent and competent than him, with far more exposure......however, like musharraf, he could be ruling over them someday......

....the one in the navy who is also well on his way, could not have gotten into any professional institution either......ditto for the one in the air force......

.....so one fine day, we may find these three guys, heading the army, navy and air force, sitting in a national security council, ruling over us......they are good friends, but the thought scares the hell out of me....even hamidm mian has more exposure and intellect than them......none could even come close to entering uet, lahore - hamidm mian's alma mater......

on the other hand, these guys (so far) are quite honest and patriotic and and are basically poor or middle class guys who have come up on their own merit.......they are not like us rich guys on chowk.....in their own, "patriotism," if and when (more when then if) they get power, they will destroy pakistan (even if they are well-intentioned)......

....if you want to take it further......i have three other colleagues; two of whom will probably become generals......though not chiefs of staff.....one flunked f.sc. (12th grade) three times........another never went beyond f.sc.......and the third got through b.sc (though i don't know how)......these guys are at a colonel rank and doing well......when they become generals, they will be the main advisors of the three potentinal coas's mentioned above.....telling him whether to coup or what to do in afghanistan or with usa etc......in addition, they will head huge govt. organizations, when they retire......

you are, thus, hugely, overestimating certain things and people......musharraf was a bit different, since he is from a very highly educated family and has some exposure...and is a muhajir, who are generally more sane than the rest of us.....however, not nearly as much as you think......

......more on politicians later.......they have one advantage, that within the seas of wasi zafars, there is the odd aitezaz ahsan and imran khan who have seen the world.....unforunately, the odd benazirs would be good choices, however, they are far too corrupt and self-centered to do any good.......

musharraf is (or perhaps was) a better option than the bbs and ns and qazis of the world......but only because, he is financially honest....which is why, no one is out on the streets........but rest assured, there are far far smarter people in pakistan, who would be much better.......

another silver lining in this cloud: maybe we can send gen hamid gul to guantanamo - that bigmouth is a national liability

........ look guys, i am trying to cheer you up and i assure you that if mushy does not hold elections on time i will join you in calling for his head (along with masadi's and romair's)...... promise

Re: # 117

"as for the lawyers, if they had managed to get even a third division in their inter exams they could have found gainful employment instead of being beaten on the streets ........."

.... this excludes our friend ylh and maybe half a dozen others ....... generally speaking, pakistani lawyers are rejects who couldn't get a job as a patwari ......

Re: # 116
Well said!!!!

All Musharraf had to do was to secure IOK for Pakistan.
None of this would have been an issue, he would have
remained king forever, all sins forgiven and forgotten.

Since he could not do that and is trying to do all this,
he is getting hammered.

masadi mian,

.... it seems that the us elite is already rigging the elections !!

US Ambassador Anne Patterson meets ( Updated at 1530)
ISLAMABAD: US Ambassador to Pakistan Anne W Patterson met with Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Justice (Retd) Qazi Muhammad Farooq here on Tuesday.

They exchanged views about the preparations for the forthcoming general elections in Pakistan. Qazi Muhammad Farooq briefed Anne Patterson about the steps being taken to ensure free, fair and transparent elections.

The US Ambassador stressed the need that the schedule for the general elections should be announced at the earliest. Secretary Election Commission (EC) Kanwar Irshad was also present in the meeting.

tahmed mian,

...... actually i do have a dog in this fight because my entire family, except for me, still lives in pakistan and in a few years i plan to retire there .... that is why i have to be optimistic ......

..... but look, this is not the first time emergency or martial law has been imposed on the country ..... and compared to past instances, it is a mild one ... the only difference is the electronic media and the internet, which makes it possible for the unwashed masses and ignoramuses like masadi to discuss it in public ......

..... musharraf is a delusional fool who thinks that only he can bring 'real' democracy to pakistan ...... like all faujis, including our own field marshall romair, he is convinced that he knows everything and is surrounded by sycophants who continue to give him bad advice so that they can hang on to their pajeros ..... hopefully, he will step back from the brink and hold the elections on time ... if not, the only people who will gain from this confusion are the mullahs who we all want dead and buried ........

.... i still predict that we will have a hung parliament and a civilian government in january ...... if not, we have the droopy eyed egomaniac fool to blame - like all pakis, the stupid cj didn't know when to stop ..... as for the lawyers, if they had managed to get even a third division in their inter exams they could have found gainful employment instead of being beaten on the streets .........

anil: if musharraf is such a great leader, why dont you invite him to India where he can do you the favor of destroying your Supreme Court, breaking the heads of lawyers and journalists, taking billions in unaccounted military aid and in return pick up people from the streets to provide the necessary "body counts" while allowing the real terrorists a safe haven, make a mockery of your voting rights by re-electing himself every few years, bring out ghoondas on the street with guns to kill peaceful protestors, let maulvis roam free kidnapping ordinary citizens (until some foreign government pulls his ears)?

#1 "It seems that Imran Khan is the only rational voice coming out of Pakistan at the moment."

Yes davkant, he will and can the moment he stops calling for a universal jirga system in Pakistan. Otherwise, it is only good looks and better English that seperates him from that paagal former ISI man, Hamid Gul.
He spoke well at LUMS and I really want to believe in him, but then when started on his jirga thing ... sigh.

Anil,

(Fakhruddin Ali Ahmad Obliged)

Apparently the guy was completely sozzled and lying in his bathtub when the emergency decree was brought to him for signing. The guy signed without a second thought. Not much later died allegedly becuase of grief and shame at what he had done.

(jump started the job left unfinished by Jinnah.)

He is only jump starting the job left unfinished by the ZAB-Yahya duo, not MAJ (pbuh). Witness the way the kanjaroon army is falling apart in W'stan and Swat under the great Gen's watch.

Regards