10 posts tagged “musharraf”
missing people in pakistan:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=TUjSJMl1Hv8
http://youtube.com/watch?v=n2PYgrE33Jo
http://youtube.com/watch?v=zaRGMb5GnDM
i admit that i m ignorant about the world at large and in specific about how many rounds this video has taken around the world, so at the risk of looking like a fool who posts videos that the world has already seen, i ve pasted the link (in 3 parts) to the video regarding the people who have gone 'missing' in pakistan..
most would know about the issue itself.. i did too.. and that was one of the reasons why i thought i could skip the airing of this video and a talk by mrs janjua and the mother of another missing person.. i didnt, but thats a story for another day..
i do not know how big a part that played in me posting this here, because the video told me of nothing that i didnt know about, yet, it told me more than i thought i could ever know about the issue.. anyways.. enough of this recurring going-round-in-circles apologetic-at-being-unable-to-convey-what-i-want-to-say talk that has become the feature of my life..
most of the people in the list at the end seem to be baloch (they were apparently 'picked up' for their nationalistic tendencies [only god knows what that means]) so it takes some of the gloss off the label of this being a product of the war on terror.. shameful and utterly wrong in any case..
following is the list of email addresses you can (should) mail to and tell them to stop referring to Mr. Dogar as the Chief Justice of Pakistan since he constitutionally isnt (details in previous post):
aajcomments@aaj.tv, ed.khi@br-mail.com, editor@dawn.com, re.lhr@dawn.com,
re.isb@dawn.com , feedback@dawnnews.tv/com, editorial@dailytimes.com.pk,
newsroom@dailytimes.com.pk, feedback@geo.tv , imran.aslam@geo.tv
Right. The age of Draconian laws has come upon us once again and we should, no wait, it is imperative that we DO something about it. But what can you do if you re not a member of a political party, or if you re afraid of being arrested and detained with no rights to have a lawyer or a trial (a possibility that stares each one of the protesters in their eyes when we go out, or even anyone else in pakistan currently regardless of him protesting or not [see: person beaten up in front of his daughters outside FAST when he wasnt even protesting]. The lawyers and human rights activists, when detained, were being shifted from one place to the other so their families could not keep track of them)??
The answer is ALOT.
Firstly, many media sources and stories now refer to Mr. Dogar as the 'Chief Justice of Pakistan' and the others of his kind as 'Justices', while Chief Justice Iftikhar Choudhry is referred to as 'the deposed Chief Justice'. The ruling of the supreme court earlier this year itself stated that Iftikhar Choudhry could not be deposed in any way, plus the imposition of emergency was itself declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court before the bench was arrested and supposedly 'deposed'. Hence, the provision according to which the judges had to take oath was itself already declared unconstitional, and that makes the oath taken by Mr. Dogar to become the Chief Justice null and void in its entirety. So legally, Iftikhar Choudhry is still our chief justice and the previous supreme court judges are still legally at their posts if not practically. The least you can do is contact all media people (dont know them, doesnt matter. Whats the internet for?? bombard them with emails) and tell them to stop referring to Mr. Dogar as the Chief Justice, because he clearly isnt. Same goes for all the international readers (if any). This is very very simple. Please show your support by doing this.
Secondly, the current 'establishment' (if it can be called that), in its magnanimity, is at least forwarding all the mail Chief Justice Iftikhar Choudhry and the other judges of the Supreme Court get without censoring it. Informal reports tell us that the morale of our heroes is going down, and they constantly keep asking, "have the people come out on the streets yet?". They have no way of knowing that the movement against this tyranny is ripe and in full flow, and this is where you can come in. Mail those judges and let them know that the brave stance they took has not gone to waste, and we, inspired by their actions, will do whatever we can to ensure that justive prevails. Its not asking for much. 4-5 lines, a few paragraphs is all it needs. I will try and compile the postal addresses of the judges here on this site, if you cant bother looking up for it.
Thirdly, please keep commenting on the sites of international channels like bbc and cnn, to let them know that you are against this unconstitutional, unfair, and tyrannical imposition of 'emergency'. Even a single line would do, but just keep doing it and let them know that normal life is NOT going on in Pakistan, and can not go on under this facade. The international media has been giving this issue a lot of coverage. Please dont let it die down.
Lastly, keep the faith. It cant be done if you think it cant be done. You cant fail if you keep trying. Dont let the fire die down, and just dont give up.
THINGS WILL CHANGE!
ac·tiv·ism [ak-tuh-viz-uh m]
- noun
1. ...
2. Philosophy.
a. a theory that the essence of reality is pure activity, esp. spiritual activity, or process.
b. a theory that depends on the relationship between the mind and the object of perception depends upon the actions of the mind.
Dust and cobwebs on the doors of freedom, our city was a vultures dream. There was a morbid menu of monstrosities for the hungry media vikings each day, while our hearts cried a mourners wail. Sickly and tongue-tied - we motored on to the next big bandwagon; insipid souls rallying on towards the great big nothing. But fate was kind, if truth be told. It hit our head with maxwell's silver hammer, and while our bodies didn't follow Joan, our rotten apathetic souls sure did die, and there was the rebirth of our conscience. No longer are there any doubts. No longer are opinions polarised. A debate is no longer needed. No longer do we have tv channels analysing and critiquing and no longer are we taking great pleasure when they hit the proverbial nail on the proverbial god forsaken head. Now that all these little cushions have been, almost playfully, snatched away from us at the orders of the 'liberator', the broken furniture is there for all to see. So let us dive headlong into this, undoubtedly testing, quest for the rights that we shall not forego, even if it means that the deathknell for us has been rung.
However, in pursuit of this one, undoubtedly noble, end, let us not forget the golden principle of fallibility - for the end may be one but the paths manifold. Let us not be like the tyrant in forgetting all humility and trying to build a system so magnificent, that it ends up collapsing under its own weight. Let us not commit 'hubris' and try to strike the perfect blow at the first attempt, because Gods we are not. While some order is necessary, the show must go on. We may be nothing but children in front of this serpant, but the souls of our enemies are weary from all the wrongs they have done, and while honesty and passion are all we have, they may very well be all we need. So lets do this people! Lets take the power back, if thats the last thing we do!
deep jis ka mehlaat mein hi jalay
chand logon ko khushion ko le ker chalay
woh jo savay mein har muslihat kay chalay
aisay dastoor ko, subha-e-baynoor ko
mein nahi maanta, mein nahi jaanta
- Habib Jalib
since the internet at my home is blocked, as are all the news channels, and there is a lot that has to be done, lets keep it short for now till i post something in detail later at night:
GO MUSHARRAF GO!
if there still are any doubts, may God (or chuck norris) help you.
GABAAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAAaaAAA!!
*falls down laughing*
contrasting mental snapshots from yesterday:
- diagonally parked oil tankers on the roads
- talat hussain and co. lying around on some balcony
- altaf hussains speech starting with a half-hour (well, nearly) long ayat in a dramatic way while the people were 'staring in blank devotion as their leader spoke to them with unseeing eyes' - a bad play of words on a red sparrowes track
- cold drinks and assorted 'mashroobat' for the crowd in islamabad
- the three guys from ppp, pml n, and mma holding hands (the mma one was slightly reluctant) and badmouthing the pml q guy
- mushy and co. talking about their 'vulgar display of power' (another pantera album ironically) from inside a bulletproof box while the people were roaming around (probably looking for some drinks and food - the air of festivity suggested that you could not rule out the possiblity of cotton candies and ferris wheels)
- me thinking about a childhood friend (shahzaib).. we were 12 or something back then and i said something along the lines of 'oh man altaf hussain sucks haha' and he said 'oye altaf bhai ko kuch na kehna' - speaks volumes about the following and popularity of mqm
oh well.. and ofcourse, people dancing to dhols in islamabad and the constant gunfire and blood on the streets in karachi - a surrealistic depiction of human nature summed up by shakespeare, "the show must go on"
two interesting things regarding the ongoing political scenario in pakistan:
1. musharraf is constantly trying to avoid talking about benazir and the ppp in any interviews whatsoever especially when it is asked about whether she d be allowed to contest the elections or not. quite interesting was his interview with kamran khan where kamran asked him that clearly, benazir had been making positive moves and was giving positive signals to the establishment so would those efforts be reciprocated?.. musharrafs reply was something along the lines of: well, the question of whether nawaz sharif would be allowed to contest the election while being abroad is a legal matter and we are looking at the legality of it, and lets see how that goes.
now, and this is part of the reason why i didnt really like the interview, why didnt kamran khan tell him that he had wanted the answer to the fate of benazir and the ppp and their covert connections with the government?why didnt the presenter pin him down on that point till he gave us an adequate answer?.. and why is musharraf constantly and CLEARLY avoiding this question.. hmmm.. food for thought..
2. i dont like the role geo has played in the whole of it. something just doesnt seem right, and it is my 'belief' that all their excessive propaganda was to gain an edge in their own personal negotiations. after their office got attacked, all they reported on was that, even when there was nothing new left to say. then after musharraf announced that they will be given financial compensation ensued a small time lag (possibly for covert negotiations for prunes and perks) after which their whole outlook on the whole scenario changed. they removed the 'dua' regarding the leaders. previously there were chants of 'lanat hai, lanat hai, musharraf pe lanat hai" (which roughly translates as damn you musharraf heh). That was one extreme before those events and after that all their news has been relatively sugarcoated, and they have kept praising and welcoming the presidents remarks with open arms since then. And then giving him an interview in which kamran khan did ask a few stinging questions, but he never pinned musharraf on the very clear discrepancies in the answers musharraf provided us with, which can only mean one thing: they were just giving him a good opportunity to explain himself to polish up his image again.
anyhow.. lettuce see what happens next.
in other news, i m glad that for the first time in a long time, we have an experienced first choice back line with umair and shoaib finally coming to practice as the centres and fadi being the flyhalf with scooby being out with a shoulder problem. we have two out and out wingers now (whereas we previously only had zohaib) and now have adequate cover for most positions. well, most positions, apart from the fullback spot, which shall be taken up by yours truly. i just hope i can last the whole tournament because there is no cover in my position. i m the only fullback around! :|
we play the islamabad jinns on thursday and the bahawalnagar rugby club on friday.. for everyone in lahore, you guys should come and promote the game, and since redbull would be co-sponsoring the event, i believe there might be free redbulls, but then again, you never know. no promises apart from a cracking honest game. you ll see a marked difference between this and any other sport in terms of honesty!.. perhaps i m biased. blah! later
well.. i m just waiting for some musharraf supporters to blog (and i ve seen loadss of blogs which make it seem like the writers indulge in a few bouts of amore with his pic each day) about the latest scenario regarding the chief justice..
something along the lines of "that ought to show them.. they should know who the boss is.. anyone and everyone who gets in the way of musharraf leading pakistan to prosperity will be and should be crushed like that"..
because that would just show me that mankind can go much lower than it currently is (and it already is quite low).. it would be a spectacle, believe me!..
everyone can pretty much see how well the 'enlightened moderation' and 'guided democracy' is working.. infact, i read a small satire ridden passage in a blog which was harping on about the greatness of musharraf for the 'freedom of speech' that he has promoted and how somehow (and nobody knows how) it is of absolute importance that we get the freedom of speech, screw the military killing pakistanis in wana, screw the prices of everything sitting on skyscrapers, screw everything.. as long as we get our own private space where we can vomit out our shallow interiority and make ourselves believe that our life is something special, nothing matters.. alex tocqueville talked exactly about this... the vomit of interiority.. people not giving two hoots to totalitarian regimes because they are getting their own little spaces where they are able to grapple hard with their lower selves with numerous victories and a few losses.. ofcourse, as long as their 'elite' interests are served, everything is going right.. everything must be going right.. after all, he is taking the country in a direction in which WE want it to go.. us: the illiterate graduates (and undergraduates alot of them, as a matter of fact)..
anyways, for people talking about how democracy was really a sham under nawaz sharif and benazir and hence supporting musharraf, its absolutely ludicrous because this is the biggest sham democracy of them all.. lol
anyways.. the protest at college today was pretty good.. over 400 signatures in a few hours.. it was about the completely unconstitutional removal of the chief justice, its condemnation, as well as condemnation of this farcical government.. people should do that in their colleges too if they are even remotely interested in their country..
other than that.. fridays practice is the last before the squad is announced so fingers crossed.. i finally think that i m now really comfortable on the pitch.. and i m loving it..
