Dear Senator Biden,
I am writing to appreciate and admire your understanding of ground realities in Pakistan. No doubt your experience in foreign relations and meticulous knowledge about geopolitical sensitivities gives you the ability to decipher the complexities of a nation like Pakistan better than any other politician in the USA.
You are absolutely correct to conclude that any support to Musharraf’s current actions by the international community (and especially by the United States) will marginalize the vast majority of moderate civil society of Pakistan and will push them to join forces with a handful of extremists.
Musharraf's declaration of January 9 election date is a complete eyewash in presence of emergency, uniform and kangaroo courts. To make things worse Musharraf has introduced draconian amendments in law to try civilians in military courts (to use it against political opponents and to spread a reign of fear and terror among law abiding and peaceful citizens).
As you are well aware, in Pakisatn the Judiciary remains in chains, media is under a blackout while civil society faces brute force. In doing so, Musharraf has crossed all limits and is hell bent to destroy the fabric of Pakistani society in order to cling to power.
Senator Biden … amongst all this gloom, your voice of reason to categorically oppose the Martial Law, demand the reinstatement of Judiciary and removal of uniform has come as a ray of hope for the 160 million beleaguered Pakistanis. You are standing up for the Truth. You are winning the hearts and minds of the people of Pakistan. You are, through your in-depth exposure of world affairs, preventing the front line state in the war on terror from falling into chaos.
Not only is this a show of mature leadership, but it will also be a big advantage to your camp in the current Presidential race.
The majority of moderate and civilized Pakistanis thank you for this effort.
Showing posts with label Current. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Current. Show all posts
Monday, November 12, 2007
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Justices Seek Justice
Judiciary, one of the strongest pillars of a state, plays a key role in maintaining a balance between the powers of the executive and rights of the citizens. A strong and independent Judiciary, therefore, ensures the establishment of a vibrant society where every citizen is guaranteed certain fundamental rights.
Judiciary provides the root for maintaining order. It generates the respect for law in the eyes of the citizens. Together, these represent "law and order". It is not possible to keep order in a society where there is no respect for law.
There could be no sustained economic activity without law and order. And without sustained economic activity, there could be no prosperity for the citizens.
A strong Judiciary is, therefore, needed to ensure law and order, to generate sustained economic activity and to achieve the goal of being a prosperous society. Consequently, an independent and strong Judiciary is one of the biggest assets of a vibrant nation.
Pakistan, after 60 years of looming in the dark, finally set its course towards an independent judiciary. For the first time in its history the judges started redressing issues faced by the poor and needy. The transformation was so swift and so real that people, young and old, men and women, would travel hundreds of miles to come to Islamabad to knock at the door of the Supreme Court in the hope of getting justice. This was a hope that was awakening a nation which was in coma for the past 60 years.
And the honorable Justices were committed to deliver. The Supreme Court reduced the load of undecided cases from approximately 32,000 to only 7,000 by March 2007.
All this did not go too well with the dictatorial establishment. The executive arm of the state, for the first time in the history of the country, saw its power being challenged. For the first time it felt that it had to be answerable for its deeds. For the first time it was being forced to operate within the limits drawn by the constitution of Pakistan.
Finally, on Nov 3rd, 2007, Mush's patience gave way and he took the unprecedented step of displacing the Justices of the Supreme Court.
Most Justices (including the Chief Justice, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudry) are still under house arrest in their official residences in Islamabad. Their household workers are allowed to shop for groceries only once a week. They are completely cut off from the rest of the world. Their telephone lines have been disconnected. They do not have any televisions or Internet connection.
The Chief Justice has an 11 year old son who needs constant medical attention. The son is being denied these medical facilities. His daughter was due to appear in an A-levels exam on Wednesday, but was not allowed to leave the house. Eventually, the British Council declared the official residence of the Chief Justice as an examination center to conduct the daughter's exam! There are reports that intelligence agencies are planning to move the Chief Justice from Islamabad to his private residence in Quetta.
Justice Rana Bhagwan Das, confined in his official residence, will not be able to celebrate the festival of Diwali with his family and friends in Karachi.
Justice Javed Iqbal is a heart patient and was experiencing chest pain. He was denied the facility of a doctor for hours.
Another Judge, Justice Sardar Raza Khan has been under house arrest with his entire family. They did not even have groceries and daily supplies in the first few days of the Martial Law.
It is outrageous that an illegal dictator has the cheek to treat the honorable Justices with such disrespect. Indeed, Gen (r) Mush will have to pay for his deeds, both in this world and the next.
For now, the Justices seek justice themselves. But Truth will eventually prevail and Evil will be rooted out.
Justice will soon knock on the door of the Justices. Amen.
Judiciary provides the root for maintaining order. It generates the respect for law in the eyes of the citizens. Together, these represent "law and order". It is not possible to keep order in a society where there is no respect for law.
There could be no sustained economic activity without law and order. And without sustained economic activity, there could be no prosperity for the citizens.
A strong Judiciary is, therefore, needed to ensure law and order, to generate sustained economic activity and to achieve the goal of being a prosperous society. Consequently, an independent and strong Judiciary is one of the biggest assets of a vibrant nation.
Pakistan, after 60 years of looming in the dark, finally set its course towards an independent judiciary. For the first time in its history the judges started redressing issues faced by the poor and needy. The transformation was so swift and so real that people, young and old, men and women, would travel hundreds of miles to come to Islamabad to knock at the door of the Supreme Court in the hope of getting justice. This was a hope that was awakening a nation which was in coma for the past 60 years.
And the honorable Justices were committed to deliver. The Supreme Court reduced the load of undecided cases from approximately 32,000 to only 7,000 by March 2007.
All this did not go too well with the dictatorial establishment. The executive arm of the state, for the first time in the history of the country, saw its power being challenged. For the first time it felt that it had to be answerable for its deeds. For the first time it was being forced to operate within the limits drawn by the constitution of Pakistan.
Finally, on Nov 3rd, 2007, Mush's patience gave way and he took the unprecedented step of displacing the Justices of the Supreme Court.
Most Justices (including the Chief Justice, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudry) are still under house arrest in their official residences in Islamabad. Their household workers are allowed to shop for groceries only once a week. They are completely cut off from the rest of the world. Their telephone lines have been disconnected. They do not have any televisions or Internet connection.
The Chief Justice has an 11 year old son who needs constant medical attention. The son is being denied these medical facilities. His daughter was due to appear in an A-levels exam on Wednesday, but was not allowed to leave the house. Eventually, the British Council declared the official residence of the Chief Justice as an examination center to conduct the daughter's exam! There are reports that intelligence agencies are planning to move the Chief Justice from Islamabad to his private residence in Quetta.
Justice Rana Bhagwan Das, confined in his official residence, will not be able to celebrate the festival of Diwali with his family and friends in Karachi.
Justice Javed Iqbal is a heart patient and was experiencing chest pain. He was denied the facility of a doctor for hours.
Another Judge, Justice Sardar Raza Khan has been under house arrest with his entire family. They did not even have groceries and daily supplies in the first few days of the Martial Law.
It is outrageous that an illegal dictator has the cheek to treat the honorable Justices with such disrespect. Indeed, Gen (r) Mush will have to pay for his deeds, both in this world and the next.
For now, the Justices seek justice themselves. But Truth will eventually prevail and Evil will be rooted out.
Justice will soon knock on the door of the Justices. Amen.
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
The Fabric of Society
Today I had the opportunity to speak with a notable journalist of Pakistan. I wanted to share with him some directions to overseas Pakistanis who are outraged at the imposition of Martial Law and wish to do something to help the country.
After deliberating my views with him (which I will share in a separate blog), I asked whether something could be done within Pakistan. His answer came as a shock to me. This is what he had to say:
"My suggestion is that overseas Pakistanis should just concentrate on raising support outside of Pakistan. Do not worry about what should be done within Pakistan. There is a lot happening and a lot being planned. The authorities are not letting us report much of the activity but I can tell you that things are moving towards a clash.
In one incident, students from a few Universities in Islamabad were trying to make a peaceful demonstration when they were brutally attacked by the police. These 16/17 year old students were completely outraged at this despicable treatment and vowed to react with full force, only this time not with placards and banners, but with Guns!"
The journalist told me that he is receiving constant phone calls from young people asking him that they wish to go to the tribal areas to join the rebels to fight against Musharraf regime. In his opinion, suppression of freedom by a ruthless dictator will result in a disproportionate increase in extremism which will come to haunt the regime.
When I asked him about the mood within the army (quoting a story from New York Times which claimed that the US is contacting some senior army Generals, including Gen Kiyani), he said that he has absolutely nothing to do with the army and he does not even like to answer their phone calls.
After speaking with this senior and well-respected journalist, it was clear to me that the somber mood in Pakistan (after 4 days of Martial Law) is now changing to a mood of defiance and action.
Can Musharraf, along with the army top brass and the turncoats in his government realize the damage they are doing to Pakistan? The suppression of freedom and civil liberties is playing havoc with the fabric of the society. This brutal repression is pushing the already fed up common man up against the wall.
The regime needs to wake up and take immediate steps to put the country back on rails. To begin with, the Judiciary needs to be reinstated while media curbs need to be abolished. Without these steps the emotions will continue to steam up and will result in an explosion capable of causing much damage.
After deliberating my views with him (which I will share in a separate blog), I asked whether something could be done within Pakistan. His answer came as a shock to me. This is what he had to say:
"My suggestion is that overseas Pakistanis should just concentrate on raising support outside of Pakistan. Do not worry about what should be done within Pakistan. There is a lot happening and a lot being planned. The authorities are not letting us report much of the activity but I can tell you that things are moving towards a clash.
In one incident, students from a few Universities in Islamabad were trying to make a peaceful demonstration when they were brutally attacked by the police. These 16/17 year old students were completely outraged at this despicable treatment and vowed to react with full force, only this time not with placards and banners, but with Guns!"
The journalist told me that he is receiving constant phone calls from young people asking him that they wish to go to the tribal areas to join the rebels to fight against Musharraf regime. In his opinion, suppression of freedom by a ruthless dictator will result in a disproportionate increase in extremism which will come to haunt the regime.
When I asked him about the mood within the army (quoting a story from New York Times which claimed that the US is contacting some senior army Generals, including Gen Kiyani), he said that he has absolutely nothing to do with the army and he does not even like to answer their phone calls.
After speaking with this senior and well-respected journalist, it was clear to me that the somber mood in Pakistan (after 4 days of Martial Law) is now changing to a mood of defiance and action.
Can Musharraf, along with the army top brass and the turncoats in his government realize the damage they are doing to Pakistan? The suppression of freedom and civil liberties is playing havoc with the fabric of the society. This brutal repression is pushing the already fed up common man up against the wall.
The regime needs to wake up and take immediate steps to put the country back on rails. To begin with, the Judiciary needs to be reinstated while media curbs need to be abolished. Without these steps the emotions will continue to steam up and will result in an explosion capable of causing much damage.
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