A Work In Progress

Politicians are supposed to play politics. It is better they fight it out in drawing rooms and assemblies than public fighting each other on their behalf. Therefore the case for the first military takeover by Iskander Mirza and Ayub Khan is as much nonsense as the one by Musharraf. Pakistani economy did not perform badly during the forst 10 years despite frequent government changes. ONly occasion where a civilain can be held responsible for messing up the economy was Z. A. Bhutto`s nationalization.

Two of the provinces NWFP and Balochistan had no history of Hindu exploitation with nominal Hindu presence. Yet they accepted creation of most unhappily. The case for falling behind Hindu population was a valid one on many places but a desire for power and dislike for Hindus contributed more for Bengali, UPite and CPite Muslims. In Sindh and Panjab, most valuable thing -land was in the hands of Muslims and Sikhs and no anti-Hindu feelings existed in the countryside.

[while the people of West Pakistan, also known as the Punjabis, were in the Unionist Party lapping at the heels of their British masters and refusing independence in the name of slavery]

This is wrong. The Unionist did not accept Gandhi, Nehru, Jinnah, Congress and Muslim League as their masters before independence. Why should anybody be forced to take sides in a democratic process? Nothing wrong for Balochis or Tamils voting for their local parties and so did Panjabis. Had Panjabis remained loyal to Unionists, the bloodbath at partition could have been averted. Unionists were best representatives to represent the interests of Panjab whereas ML and Congress did not even have a single recognizable leader from Panjab.

Musharraf was going to take over irrespective of Nawaz Sharif`s actions. That is why NS dismissed Musharraf and made history by kicking out the mastermind of coup plot disgracefully. His other choice was to wait for the over throw like Z. A. Bhutto with the same result. Z. A. Bhutto knew of Zia`s plan at least 6-8 hours in advance and did nothing because he knew it would not work. NS at least kicked Musharraf`s ass with Peshawari chappel on national TV. For that very act, at least half the Pakistani English journalists do not write General with Musharraf`s name.

Ilyas:

-``the solid land-mass where muslims constituted an overwhelming majority of the population , and aspired to an independent state``

Don`t you mean the two solid land masses? Or was East Pakistan an afterthought?

LOL!! You don`t have to answer. It`s your country and you are welcome to build your own nation building myths. Just don`t go round announcing to Indian refugees and their descendants that a Pakistan was already there, and we Hindus and Sikhs of West Punjab were aliens.

That might tempt us to go a little further back in history then.

The season of Jinnah-bashing is in full swing again. Now he is akin to some real -estate man rather than the statesman he was.
His Pakistan was not created with all these fantastic possibilities in mind: It was already there- the solid land-mass where muslims constituted an overwhelming majority of the population , and aspired to an independent state for - as you say- the Pursuit of Happiness according to their own ideas.

Speaking of Zia`s Pakistan and its islamic push, I read a letter to Dawn today, whereby he implores Russia`s Putin to stand up against Mr Bush`s unilateralism.

What an irony? It was Pakistan which became a catalyst for the disintegration of communist Russia and Putin is the part of the old establishment who has not forgotten Pakistan`s hand.

To ask Mr Putin to stand up is like adding insult to injury?

But I am happy that Communism ended in Russia. The only country remaining is China. Ofcourse North Korea is acting like Rodney Dangerfield: is getting no respect from Bush.