Articles of the year 2008

These are exciting times we live in and we are blessed by incredible luck, for, the cards have fallen exactly the way they should have done without the tinkering by angels. Confessions of the head of ISI angel Zamir (General no less) who has admitted to the rigging of the 2002 election. Feb 24 The News.

The fraud committed upon the Nation was suspected by many, but so completely in awe were we of our military establishment that none dared challenge their writ. This serious aberration thrown up in 2002 resulted in an imposition of an unreal Fundamentalist block. This branded Pakistan as a militant Islamic state, leading to our being named by Newsweek as the most dangerous place in the world. Every Pakistani who has been denied a visa or who has been strip searched at an airport, or who has been denied entry at an airport or student aspiring to proceed abroad for further studies now knows who to thank in their prayers. I know the feeling. I've been there. We must remember the self confessed architect of our newly found place in the Fundo ranks. Now we know who to blame. It is our leadership that was responsible, and is dangerous and should be dismantled, or what is left of it. The magnitude of the crime against Pakistan by being branded a rogue state is too large to be forgiven by any NRO. The biggest crime is that we were wrongly accused, and Gen ®Zamir played into the Zionist hands by having us declared a rogue state, and unreliable. Being Nuclear we were doubly dangerous. We went from the leader of the Muslim world to a Pariah state. Thank you Gen® Zamir.

Clemenceau was right when he said 'War is too serious a business to be left to the Generals.' In Pakistan we have learned that Politics is too dangerous a business to be left to the Generals, for we have learnt to our horrific cost that the Generals managed to lose half our country in 71. The aftermath of 9/11 should have provided us with a bonanza in terms of the Billions that poured in, but were frittered away on senseless toys like the mobile phones and the huge imports of luxury goods, while completely ignoring the export sector. The incompetence of the Musharraf regime, in positioning his huge 78 member cabinet, allowed the country to be bilked of millions upon millions of Dollars in one scam after another. When the CJ did start taking Suo Moto notice the entire Judiciary was sacked and is still under arrest. Luckily for Pakistan, the incompetence of Musharraf's government coupled with an active media, the scams were unearthed and laid before the public. The last straw was the flour scam where lines of people were shown queueing for flour that had vanished from the shelves. The distraught citizens lining up for hours in their misery, while the Prime Minister and President were gliding about in Bullet proof cars, and inarticulate party leaders mumbled on about the performances of the Karachi Stock Market, and the high volumes of Mobile phones, and the number of cars on the roads. Figures, that mean nothing to the millions living below the poverty line, and these numbers rising daily with no letup in sight.

The completely callous disregard for the human factor, was misread by the Q league, resulting in the electoral debacle. If the elections had not come about as a vent, then the people would have come out on the streets to wreak vengeance upon those responsible. This was not due to just incompetence, but it was the behaviour of a Government completely out of control, and blinded by their stupidity. Even now the President's team is behaving as if they can negotiate their way out of this mess.

To surround oneself with Flash slick Cititypes has not helped Pakistan either here or in Davos. The hard-nosed businessmen that congregate in Davos can see through the falsities from a distant, and can hear the hunger pains of the people from afar. No amount of makeovers can disguise the sad plight of the peoples.

With democracy nearly in our grasp, we are lucky that the PPP leadership such as Amin Fahim having suffered so many sacrifices over the last eleven years, may now be given a crack at the leadership he has deserved so long. His credentials are impeccable, trust and loyalty are in abundance, with the competence factor so deficient in his predecessor, is one of his strengths. He is never shrill, nor condescending, and is a natural people person something Pakistani politics needs desperately. Asif Zardari for his part, has after these long years in the wilderness, found a new touch, of healing, and his people skills have improved beyond recognition. He has taken the mantle of the senior statesman, and is handling it superbly. Many persons are commenting that he has not put a foot wrong since his return, under tragic circumstances. It augurs well for the PPP and for Pakistan. Let us be done with the Generals.

Similarly the N league in Punjab with the Shariff brothers firmly in control have an advantage in so far as their leadership is very highly qualified, and competent--- and principled

For Pakistan it looks good, and we are lucky that the weeds have been exposed, and removed by the voters themselves.