Preview of Looming Democracy - Two Months of PPP in the Limelight

#16 Urstruly {"I think BB deserved a state funeral with 21 gun salute, coffin draped in national flag and guard of honor."}

Urstruly,
I agree! At least maybe a little bit of dignity in carrying that coffin. I thought I was watching NBA action with an odd-shaped ball. :(

As a former PM and head of government, she definitely deserved the full honors - even Zia got the formal treatment before his journey to hell.

Re: # 17


romair you fool,

.... where did you learn math and statistics? ..... and then you wonder why people don't read your long-winded nonsense !..... "barely 30-35% of the people vote...out of that ppp gets 30%....so around 10% of the eligible voters is the ppp votebank" ........ how did you reach that conclusion - show me your math! ........ if my tenth grader had given me that answer i would have slapped her upside the head and sent her to bed without supper .......... people like you reinforce the horrible hindoos perception that all pakis are fools ! ...... you really are cluless !.....

........ now, let me go and read the rest of your miserable post to see what other gems are hiding there .......

SalmanBKhan #15, {"Salim, most of the people killed, maimed and burnt were Mohajirs...So forget about democracy in Pakistan..It will never happen,period."}

Salman Sahib,
Yes, I noticed that too and the news from family back home seems to confirm your information. :(

"Barq girti he to bechaarey MusalmaanoN per" should be changed to refere to Muhajirs unfortunately. Bengalis got their freedom, Paki soldiers came back home, but our people got over 35 years of exile in their own land.

This time the anger of the PPP goons was also directed against innocent Punjabis.

SalmanBKhan #15, {"Salim, most of the people killed, maimed and burnt were Mohajirs...So forget about democracy in Pakistan..It will never happen,period."}

Salman Sahib,
Yes, I noticed that too and the news from family back home seems to confirm your information. :(

"Barq girti he to bechaarey MusalmaanoN per" should be changed to refere to Muhajirs unfortunately. Bengalis got their freedom, Paki soldiers came back home, but our people got over 35 years of exile in their own land.

This time the anger of the PPP goons was also directed against innocent Punjabis.

atif2 #5 {"I have this feeling that Pakistanis weep, not for their departed leaders, but for themselves and their hopelessness. These ordinary no-name pakistanis, who come out in the street in support of their leaders and get beaten and killed by police, have the least to gain if that leader were to come to power. Yet these leaders, military and feudal, who rule pakistanis with utter disdain and arrogance while living luxurious life, get to secure "martyrdom" too."}

Atif,
Thank you for expressing in a post what I was too chicken to write in my article. Thank you for noticing my sarcastic comment about those "nameless, faceless, ...Pakistanis." After the tears have dried up and the heart has gained a normal beat, we are all left with contempt for these elites of Pakistan.

This reminds me of reading about Jinnah Sahib and how he took the silver bird from Delhi to Karachi and hit the palm of one hand against the other saying "..and that's that." Meanwhile, millions upon millions of his constituents started their horrible trek to the "promised land" while additional millions walked in the opposite direction feeling unwanted in this "Land of the Pure." I am so sick and tired of our people paying in blood for the idiosyncrasies and whims of these privileged ones.

atif2 #: one of the best posts, i have read in a while.....you are quite correct....i have three theories on why we weep......

1. what you mentioned: it is actually people weeping for their own hopelessness.......however there is another aspect to it......barely 30-35% of the people vote...out of that ppp gets 30%....so around 10% of the eligible voters is the ppp votebank....even if all of them weep, there is a 90% that doesn't weep.......deep down inside, much like the wtc attacks, while many pakistanis showed remorse, they were actually glad that the attack had occured....similarly, i wouldn't be surprised that deep down inside, many pakistanis may wanted to say good riddance to benazir politically (though they sympathesize with her family, at a human and personal level and are against the fact that she was killed)....

why do these guys weep...because at some stage, bb or someone had done something for them (in many cases at the expense of someone else).....i had a close friend, who was transferred to ke medical college on bb's sifarish....he is now a wealthy specialist in usa....he loved her like his own mother, forever.....the poor guy whose seat he took, must be crying....(i suspect our own Ras may have something like this also).......

2. this is the piri/faqiri and feudal tradition for generations......you are taught from birth that you are the servat of the local feudal and pir....at the top of this hierarachy, sit bhuttos (on the ppp side) and pir pogaro (on the pml side).......so this worship starts when the feudal and pir kids are around 10 years old......if tomorrow (god forbid) bilawal dies......rest assured there will be a lot of weeping, even though no one knew what he looked like till yesterday.......

3. people get so sick and tired of the incumbent ruler, that they will support anyone who kicks him/her out......rest assured in a few years, people will be so tired of zardari that they will support any general who kicks ppp out, and then will support hamza shahbaz when he kicks the general out.......and will then support bilawal when he kicks hamza out.....its the temporary lesser of evil theory.......

we have a long long way to go and a very large social transformation is needed to stabilize things......it took india 50 years of democracy, mismanagement, low economic growth (far lower than pakistan's) etc. to sort out the system.......

if we want something credible, we need to be ready for the long haul.....it will take initial low growth rates, religious extremism getting into power, feudals looting a lot more, generals doing their best to get in, after which we will stabilize......

i am not sure that will acceptable to all of us in the chowk crowd.....as we are the actual beneficiaries of the system that has run pakistan for 50 years.....all of us know some people in power......but how many of us are related to haris and peasants......

I think BB deserved a state funeral with 21 gun salute, coffin draped in national flag and guard of honor.But I think fouj was shitting in their pants; the idea of going into public in their uniform makes any napak fouji shit his pants these days. I think napak fouj has hired blackwater mercenaries to protect every crook above the rank of brigadier. Probably, when we will free our country from the occupation of East India Company ki najaiz aulaad we will re-burry her with full honor which she desreved as PM of Pakistan.

Salim, most of the people killed, maimed and burnt were Mohajirs..400 vehicles of Mohajirs were burnt.
And holding free & fair elections is a pipe dream..the only time it happened was in 1971 when Mujib won....and Bangladesh happened.

So forget about democracy in Pakistan..It will never happen,period.

Totally racist polarizing views expressed by this person in this article. Sorry chowk staff that you have scooped this low to publish this.

Very thoughtful observation and article yaar! Very good!

Kamath

Re: # 4

and zeemaxullah,

........ you have still not explained why you are 'grieving' since this murder is an obvious victory for your side ...... have you run out of mithai ?

What a crappy article, Salim.

One expected much better from you. Sadly disappointed.

And now, it seems Bilawal will be the new chairman of PPP.... ten percent will be co-chair....

What a crappy article, Salim.

One expected much better from you. Sadly disappointed.

And now, it seems Bilawal will be the new chairman of PPP.... ten percent will be co-chair....

salim mian,

shahbash naujawan ! ........ i guess you too could not resist the temptation of throwing gasoline on a burning fire with your silly comment about 'mohajir compassion' and 'urdu logic' .....your intentions are evident ..... shame on you and the jackass you rode in on ! .....

"I always loved you and will always do......I didn't realize the value of your presence till you're gone...
I didn't realize what pakistanis got in your form till you're gone......"(zeena)

"Qadre gauhar shah danud ya bu danud johree"

you are exactly right Zeena -- the budbukht Pakistanis of that perpetually self-demeaning land called Pakistan -- did not know what a precious jewel they got -- till they lost it -- and they lost it big.

"These images of shameless disorder, wanton destruction, and absolute disdain for life, property, and national image left me utterly speechless and emotionally void. How the looting of hundreds of banks would somehow mitigate the extreme sorrow over her loss escaped my Urdu logic. How burning poor workers in their factories, passengers in the buses, and commuters in their cars substituted for solemn grief was not obvious to me."

If it worked for Jinnah on January 16th, 1946, the same tactics should work today too, right? You, as a mohajir, should be able to understand it better than anyone.