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| India-Pakistan |
| On the ropes |
| 2007-08-14 |
| By ROEDAD KHAN On August 14, 1947, I was a free man, proud citizen of a free, independent, and sovereign country which I could call my own, a country I could live for and die for. I was young-twenty four to be precise- full of joie de vive, idealism, hope and ambition. To quote Wordsworth: ‘bliss was it in that dawn to be alive. But to be young was very heaven.’ On that day, we dreamed of a shining city on the hill and the distant bright stars. It was a day that should never have ended. For it was like a dream come true, and carried with it a sense of pride, of excitement, of satisfaction, and of jubilation that it is doubtful whether any other can ever come up to it. On that day, over a century and a half of British rule came to an end. The Union Jack was lowered for the last time. I saw the sun set on the British Empire in the sub-continent. I witnessed its dissolution and the emergence of two independent sovereign countries. Today, Pakistan is a shadow of what it used to be. What is there to celebrate? We lost half the country in a totally unnecessary and easily avoidable civil war. Today, the Federation is united only by a ‘Rope of Sand’. 60 years after independence Pakistan is under army rule for the fourth time and at war with itself. It has a disjointed, dysfunctional, lopsided, hybrid, artificial, political system - a non-sovereign rubber stamp parliament, a weak and ineffective Prime Minister, appointed by a powerful president in military uniform. As we look back at all the squandered decades, it is sad to think that for Pakistan it has been a period of unrelieved decline and the dream has turned sour. Poverty has deepened. While life at the top gets cushier, millions of educated unemployed, the flower of our nation, and those at the bottom of the social ladder, are fleeing the country and desperately trying to escape to the false paradises of the Middle East and the West. The rich are getting richer, while the poor are getting more and more impoverished. The middle classes seem defeated. There was a time when they were the key to prosperity and national stability. Now they appear submissive in the face of a drastic drop in the quality of their life. All these years, the people organised their lives in terms of a better future for themselves and their children. But with the passage of time, the future has quite literally shrunk and the present has stretched out. Eight years of army rule have reduced us collectively to a plantation of slaves. Our entire political system has been pulled into a black hole. Public criticism of those ruling Pakistan has become widespread. The army, once held in high esteem, is now being seen in a different light. Army rule has eroded people’s faith in themselves as citizens of a sovereign, independent, democratic country. The result is the mess we are in. The country appears to be adrift, lacking confidence about its future. Never before has public confidence in the country’s future sunk so low. October 12, 1999 will go down in our history as another sad milestone on the downward path. This is the darkest era in the history of Pakistan since 1971. The independence of Pakistan is a myth. Pakistan is no longer a free country. It is no longer a democratic country. American military personnel cross and re-cross our border without let and or hindrance. They violate our air space with impunity, kill innocent men, women and children in Waziristan and Bajaur. To please the Americans, the government has deployed over 80,000 troops in the rugged tribal area and is fighting a proxy war against its own people. It has handed over more than 700 so-called Al-Qaeda militants to the United States as its contribution to the American war on terrorism. More than 500 soldiers, the flower of our army, have died fighting Wazir and Mahsud tribesmen. For what? The nation has been forced against its will to accept a totalitarian democracy. The Pakistan Mr Jinnah founded is gone. It disappeared the day Generals used the army as an instrument for grabbing political power. On that day, the lights went out. Pakistan slid into darkness. The eight long years the regime has remained in power will go down in history as “the nightmare years”. The nightmare is not over yet. One thing is clear. If Pakistan is to survive, army must be placed outside the turbulent arena of political conflict. The secession of East Pakistan made it abundantly clear that the Federation cannot survive except as a democratic state based on the principle of sovereignty of the people and supremacy of civilian rule. People are getting fed up with military rulers. The people of Pakistan have crossed the psychological barrier and overcome fear. They will resist if General Musharraf tries to perpetuate his rule through rigged elections or extra-constitutional measures. Now that members of the Bar, civil society and political activists have taken to the streets in defence of our core institutions, things will change. The statusquo will shift, dictatorship will crumble, and people will once again believe in the power of the powerless. The long nightmare will be over. It will be morning once again in Pakistan. With the reinstatement of Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhary, people have suddenly woken up as if from a deep slumber, and are demanding end to military rule and return to authentic, unadulterated democracy. Democracy, which all these years was in limbo, stalled, waiting for a strong breeze to carry it forward, is once again on the march in Pakistan. Islamabad had never witnessed such electrifying, intoxicating scenes Thousands of protestors - members of Bar in black coats and black ties, political party activists, members of civil society, all marching up and down the Constitution Avenue, flags flying and drums beating, is unprecedented in the history of Islamabad. This is not a sign of Pakistan’s decline or threatening doom. It is a sign of Pakistan’s vitality. It is evidence of a new beginning. General Musharraf has painted himself into a corner. While he no longer has many true believers, he still has plenty of enablers in key positions - people who understand the folly of his actions, but refuse to do anything to stop him. It is not too late for General Musharraf to spare the country the trauma and himself the disgrace of another confrontation with the Supreme Court. There is a simple way out: he should announce that he will not contest the presidential election, seek forgiveness and depart. |
| Posted by:john frum |
| #6 a ‘Rope of Sand’ Our politicians would do well to heed this notion. It is with a "rope of sand" that the MME (Muslim Middle East) is trying to hang the West. Only the most spineless politicians—which we have in abundance—refuse to admit how that rope of sand can be turned into one made of glass. More than 500 soldiers, the flower of our army, have died fighting Wazir and Mahsud tribesmen. For what? How about, "not getting your asses cremated wholesale?" The statusquo will shift, dictatorship will crumble, and people will once again believe in the power of the powerless. The long nightmare will be over. It will be morning once again in Pakistan. Except your “thousand points of light” will more likely be just a few one big ones. With the reinstatement of Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhary, people have suddenly woken up as if from a deep slumber, and are demanding end to military rule and return to authentic, unadulterated democracy. Bullshit! Democracy flies in the face of shari’a law and Pakistan seems to want nothing else. This is not a sign of Pakistan’s decline or threatening doom. It is a sign of Pakistan’s vitality. It is evidence of a new beginning. That “new beginning” had better be sans Taliban and al Qaeda or you can kiss your sorry Pakistani ass goodbye. There is a simple way out: he should announce that he will not contest the presidential election, seek forgiveness and depart. Yeah, sure thing. Military dictators always chose the path of least resistance. I'd certainly like to hear john frum's assessment of this article. I'm certain it would amount to nothing more than "wishful thinking." |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-08-14 22:19 |
| #5 Obviously literate. Obviously poor mentation, c.f. "totalitarian democracy" Oxymorons don't make good arguments..... or regular morons, either.... |
| Posted by: Flinerong Poodle6728 2007-08-14 19:38 |
| #4 You wonder? Who frequents? Here, go to town: http://www.robtex.com/dns/http:www.nation.com.pkdailyaug-200714columns1.php.html |
| Posted by: newc 2007-08-14 18:36 |
| #3 I wonder who this was written for? Who, exactly, is the target audience? I went to the source web site, and found a newspaper that sounds like it thinks in the same vein as the NYT. Anyone got some insight? |
| Posted by: Whiskey Mike 2007-08-14 16:13 |
| #2 Wah-wah-wah. Another Third World Sob Story... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2007-08-14 14:53 |
| #1 American military personnel cross and re-cross our border without let and or hindrance. They violate our air space with impunity, kill innocent men, women and children in Waziristan and Bajaur. I say BS. On the other hand, I hope it's true that we are crossing the border when necessary. Someone needs to chase these sorry talibunnies and AQ to ground. Sorry about your diminished joe de vive Roedad. Ya all shouldn't a f@cked with us on 911. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2007-08-14 14:46 |