Protest rally starting from Nasir Bagh to Regal Chowk at 1:30 pm. This is a mega event involving all civil society organisations, lawyers, students, NGOs, as well as like minded political parties.
Please try your best to come to all the events and bring along friends and like minded people.
Nasir Bagh is opposite Town Hall on the Mall. Further down from NCA.
Update: Aitzaz Ahsan will be leading the rally.
OPEN LETTER TO FATIMA BHUTTO
Dear Fatima:
I looked forward to your articles over much of 2007. I read you with interest. My sense of you was of a serious and sincere young woman who had sensitivity and an openness that was engaging.
Unfortunately your very personalized and somewhat vicious attack on Benazir Bhutto a couple of months ago jolted me. You came through then as a bitter, betrayed and judgmental niece and not as a columnist (in my view newspaper columns are not meant to settle personal scores). I have no doubt that you are in pain and that you do feel betrayed but by forcibly drawing me into a personal pain you insulted and trampled on my integrity as a reader.
I don’t want to be a part of the internal pain and betrayals of the Bhutto family. My concern is only at the level of what the Bhutto’s were, are and will be in the public sphere since I am in no way associated with the Bhutto’s and nor in fact with the PPP. I respected Benazir Bhutto for a lot of things (while being only too critical of her failings) but I was particularly appreciative of the fact that she didn’t air her family linen in public even under extreme provocation. Nor I understand did she indulge in personal vendettas or bear too many grudges (in some cases I think she should have!). She was either very ‘politic’ or very magnanimous. Either way I felt better that she was not publicly vicious and that she kept her personal pain and betrayals to herself. I always felt that she dealt with me as a citizen and as a woman and in that gave me respect.
Given that I believe in due process and believe that a person is innocent until proved guilty (and that not be a fixed court as in the judgment against Z.A. Bhutto) I don’t like to indulge in hearsay, suspicion, speculation, innuendo or gossip. I am sorry that you (and others) force this upon me thereby challenging my integrity and my ability to think things through. I am not suggesting that I exonerate murder (not under any circumstances), nor corruption, but I do insist that this not be based on personal ‘truths’ or personal biases etc. Death, any death ‘diminishes’ me (and all of us) and while I feel for your pain and am appalled that Murtaza, a man of such promise should have been so ruthlessly gunned down, I do think that you should refrain from misusing your ‘power’ as a columnist (and as a Bhutto) to make unsubstantiated charges. I too would like to see those who cause death punished. But logic intervenes in my own understanding of Murtaza Bhutto’s murder and I am not able to point a finger at anyone. I will come back to this ‘logic’ later, for now I would like to explore another aspect of that same article that I refer to.
As a feminist I am appalled that you are so deriding of Benazir as a woman. Your article brought to the fore how ingrained sexism is so many of us and how easily even the ‘best’ of us who can obliterate a woman’s identity even when that woman has nurtured a self definition despite all odds and often at great pains to herself. By calling Benazir ‘Mrs. Zardari’ you insulted not just her but all of us women who have tried to carve out our identities within a rampant and sinister patriarchal structure. That you should so flippantly be a part of this makes me reconsider your politics regarding women’s equality and I begin to wonder where your identity will lie should you get married (will you cease to be a Bhutto? I hope not!) I would like to point out though that a majority of women in Pakistan and elsewhere in the world do not become ‘Mrs.’ or ‘Begum’ when they get married. This is common only in urban upper and middle class circles and is a heritage of colonialism. Fatima how many village women have you come across in Larkana who are called ‘Mrs.’? I don’t think the word exists in our languages. Nor should it…Further although I would and do stay away from theological references I understand that in Islam Muslims will be ‘called upon’ by their mothers’ name. This ideological and empirical ambivalence lend themselves to much confusion on the status of the natal family and parentage in terms of identity and recognition but I do think that it supports my position that the term ‘Mrs.’ is an aberration and actually irrelevant.
Benazir was a Bhutto regardless of how you and others may want to play it. She was a Bhutto by birth but also by conviction and by commitment just as I think you will always be if you were to continue to articulate whatever it is that Bhutto stands for (regardless of whom you marry). I am also very disturbed by the present prurient debate on parentage and spousal identification or on who can wear the Bhutto name triggered off by Benazir’s children adding Bhutto to theirs. As a feminist I am delighted by this and only wish that it had been done much earlier as several children have taken on both their parents’ names even in Pakistan. I understand that Benazir was intrigued that Abida Hussain’s son is named Abid Hussain Imam (using both his parents’ names) and thought that this was apt. I think so too and think that all children should be known as the children of both or neither. I am also delighted that by claiming their mother’s name and home and with her husband changing his residence (and his burial place I understand), these Bhutto’s are declaring to the world that their legitimacy at every level derives from their association with a woman. I think that this is fantastic given that women in the main get their identities from their fathers, husbands, sons and brother or even uncles etc. This is striking a blow to one of the foundations of patriarchy and even through Zardari and his and Benazir’s children may not have intended to make such a challenge, this is still an affirmation of matrilineal and matrilocal norms and is… well…feminist. That the people of Pakistan accept this makes me further interested and supportive.
I have found that I have been affirmed by the response of the people (and particularly the members and voters of the PPP) to a woman, a young woman leading them even though Bhutto had male heirs. Much is made of her being a child of the Bhuttos and therefore gaining respectability and a legacy above all others because she was a Bhutto. I do think that it is important however not to forget that she did have brothers and Murtaza Bhutto did come back to challenge her within the party and with the people. I am aware of the argument that she ‘stole’ the legacy of the PPP and even distorted it. Perhaps she did maneuver it but she could not have been successful then or later if the party had not gone along with her or if she had not been able to get out the vote. Like most people in this country I continue to be very pained by Murtaza Bhutto’s murder and do think that this tragedy is a tragedy shared by the nation. I remember when he returned and remembered his promise but I was very disturbed by his returning to ‘claim his inheritance as a male heir’ (I don’t know if he said this but I do remember it being an argument in the public when he returned with some newspapers quoting him to this effect). I am also enraged that a father should separate his daughter from her mother at the age of three (no matter what the reasons). No law, religion or system allows for this. I appreciate that now you may not be interested in your blood mother but who knows what your stand would have been had Murtaza facilitated your getting to know her at an early age. Too many skeletons in all our closets! And I am only sorry that you, by opening up a family drama, have propelled me to open up other wounds.
I marvel though at the sophistication of the people who voted for Benazir especially when there was another PPP (several others in fact) to vote for over the last 15 years or so. I think that this is not because she had a better manifesto (I haven’t seen the manifestos of the other PPP offshoots and hers may even have been more pedantic). As I understand it and as people who voted for her explained to me over the years, they had an affinity with Benazir…she was theirs. She had suffered with them and for them. Those years that she spent fighting for her father’s life and against General Zia Ul Haq, the stories of her solitary confinements; house arrests; her courage in the face of the martial law; her resilience and her commitment at a young age (without emotional and personal support) to a cause larger than herself is writ large in the hearts of people. It is for this same reason that others who were with the PPP are no longer of much relevance except as spoilers. I have always wondered where the companions of Bhutto (the ‘uncles’), and the second line leadership were in those years. Some jumped, others were silent, still others dragged their feet, some went off in a huff, some genuinely disagreed and some turned traitor. The names can be reeled off but I would still like to ask Mumtaz Bhutto, Peerzada, Mubashir, Jatoi etc.were (as also Atizaz Ahsan) what role they played, first with Bhutto’s struggles when he was in jail and then hanged, or later with Benazir’s (I don’t recall them making too much of a noise). How much of a role did they even play in the Movement for the Restoration of Democracy? My memory may be faulty on this score but I don’t recall them putting their lives on the line. I don’t recall them suffering. Fortunately Benazir was supported by others with the same commitment as hers.
I appreciate that Murtaza and Shahnawaz Bhutto and many others were following their own form of resistance but however sincere (and I do believe in the sincerity) that adventurism led to countless deaths, prison sentences, torture, and disappearances not least perhaps the murder of Shahnawaz himself. A friend of mine spent ten years in jail tortured, often in solitary confinement, left without hope, on the grounds that the state suspected him of being a member of Al Zulfikar. He says sometimes he would get news of Bhutto’s sons, their marriages, their chidren, their time in Europe, and he would also get news of Benazir…in solitary or under house arrest. He says she spoke up for those in jail, that she sent messages or otherwise addressed them. They felt less alone with the very fact of her. This friend was released in 1989. He was still only 27 years old but defying logic, rationality, objectivity, intellectualism, he has supported Benazir since. However faded or ‘irrational’ he continued to dream.
This dream is the crux of peoples’ engagement with the Bhutto family. It is in giving voice to this dream that holds people to the PPP; it is this dream that makes for the resentment of the Bhuttos within the power structure and with the establishment (military or civil); it is this dream that makes those who support a Bhutto a threat to the status quo; and it is this dream that makes those who are the status quo insecure. So many people argue that Benazir (and for that matter Bhutto) did very little for those who supported them. Those who had something to lose if the Bhutto’s had challenged the structures of society, say this with comfort and with glee. This is understandable. But the detractors, the middle class, urban progressives, intellectuals, academicians, ‘left’ activists and ‘left’ pretenders who add to this ‘they didn’t do anything’ refrain are to my mind either unable to understand liberal bourgeois democracy or are unable to see reform for what is it…a slow, laborious, tedious, and frustrating process that I myself am impatient with. Yet I don’t expect mainstream politicians to bring revolutions. I only expect the more progressive among them not to reverse whatever progress might have been made and to push the parameters. The Bhuttos did what I thought they could do. In any case I am not nor have ever been a member of the PPP and as a socialist and feminist always criticized and challenged the Bhutto’s from the left. I have not allowed this criticism however to negate what they did do and in some cases this would be substantial even if some of it cannot be quantified. But at the very least it was that they articulated a humanity that touched their supporters. This I salute, legacy or not. I am reminded of one of the most poignant songs that have come out of the women’s movement called Bread and Roses “…yes it is for bread we fight for but we fight for roses too…” It was the roses Fatima, the roses… perhaps it still is…(as also the bread).
In the 60 years of Pakistan a Bhutto has only been in power for about 10 and yet this name looms large both for supporters and detractors. I wonder at this especially for the latter. Why does the focus always stay on the Bhuttos (as opposed to all other politicians and even the military governments?) Why are Benazir’s all too brief terms in office still under the microscope; why are all her wrongs always in the public discourse (urban discourse in the main); why does she bring on such fury…? Further why does the murder of Murtaza figure more than the suspicion of murder of Shahnawaz? Why is there no ‘objective’ thinking through of Benazir’s involvement (or lack of) in the murder of her brother Murtaza? I have been troubled by this last since 1996 not because I think that she could not have done it (after all murders, betrayals, ambitions, kidnappings, taking children away from a parent usually a mother, etc. are fairly common in ‘royal’, feudal and patriarchal families) but I am perplexed about the whole process of such a judgment. I am for instance baffled by the fact that Leghari, Sharif and Musharaf didn’t conduct inquiries that would have proved this. Surely then they could have hanged her and/or Asif? Or at the very least could have preventing them from ever returning to Pakistan. Leghari dismissed Benazir’s government soon after Murtaza’s murder. The interim government was meant to look into her misdeeds as were the governments of Sharif and Musharaf. Why did they not convict her for this crime (or even Asif who spent time in jail for this and other charges). I have always maintained and still do that the murderers could not be exposed…perhaps because they continue to be powerful elements in the establishment.
I wonder too about populism. It can be a very creative force but it can also be dangerous. To me what is important is to understand what it is that touches people to the extent that they think that these families or individuals can determine the course of history. What do the Bhuttos, the Gandhi’s, the Perons, the Kennedys etc. have in common other than youth, tragedy and well…good looks!? What does political stardom mean? Why do people need to create larger than life characters and yet still be accessible enough to mirror the anguish of a people?
While the larger problematic of populism intrigues me it is perhaps in order for me to focus on the Bhuttos and try to understand populism in our own context. I don’t think that the Bhutto ‘legacy’ has only to do with one’s association to a family. We have only too many politicians here who are associated with a particular family and this in itself does not play out as populism. I have tried to understand this both as an activist and an academic and continue to grapple with it. But I accept it as phenomenon and only hope that those who are heirs to this populism can steer this in a manner that is in the best interests of those who place such faith in them.
You and your step mother, Ghinwa Bhutto, argue that the name Bhutto should not determine political success and nor should it give privilege. I agree but then do wonder why Ghinwa Bhutto leads her faction of the PPP as Murtaza’s widow and wonder also why she has continued to head it. Is it not her husband’s name that she exploits and is the Bhutto ‘legacy’ not being used here? And you Fatima, is the media, and political, and social circles not focusing on you only because you are a Bhutto? Surely every young Pakistani professional woman is not being interviewed by the London Times and the Guardian etc.? Or being feted and read here and abroad (not even older women who may have made significant contributions to Pakistan let alone ‘ordinary’ women get this type of celebrity status no matter how much they may deserve it)? Do you not also play the Bhutto card every time you accept or court celebrity status? Do you not already have an edge that you have not worked for and you will not continue to have this edge even if you do decide to just work ‘with the grass roots’ and continue your writing?
Actually I have no problems with this. I only have problems with your saying that you don’t. You are an ‘heir’ to the Bhutto legacy, a legacy shared by all the grandchildren of Nusrat and Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. These grandchildren would include to my mind the children of Sanam and Shahnawaz Bhutto (every one seems to have forgotten them!). I hope that all of you can reach out to each other in the interests of those who ‘need’ a Bhutto and can take this legacy and this history forward together. All of you even those of you who do not want to get directly involved at the moment, have a role to play if for no other reason than to keep the PPP together as a national multi-ethnic, multi-class trans-gender, trans-religious, liberal, progressive and I hope, secular party that reflects the interests of all the provinces and areas of Pakistan. As the family ‘elder’ your role and responsibility is perhaps more cut out since I think it is for you to reach out to all of them (including Shahnawaz’s daughter Sassi Bhutto). I also think that all the Bhutto grandchildren should have to earn the respect and the love of the people who support them. The Bhutto myth lies to a large extent in that they worked and suffered for those who supported them…enough for them to risk their own lives…and lose. I would hate for the Bhutto ‘legacy’ to now be handed on a platter to Bilawal, to you or to any other grandchild without him or her having earned it. Earning it is a long and potentially dangerous struggle even if you decide to work only at a local level. None of you however are ‘too young’ as is being suggested. Benazir Bhutto was about your age when she took on her monumental task and Bilawal is not much younger than her, Murtaza or Shahnawaz were when circumstances forced the Bhutto mantel onto them.
I wish you a life of commitment, energy and courage…
Sincerely
Nighat Said Khan
This is the article by Fatima Bhutto where she calls her aunt Mrs. Zardari.
And here is the obituary she wrote for her aunt.
At the Concerned Citizens of Pakistan’s convention in LUMS on Tuesday (22/1/08), Talat Hussain, from Aaj TV, concluded that the energetic, and unabashedly embarrassing Lahori audience, had contradicted his belief that emotions and rationality are completely separate from one another. The overwhelming display of emotion that was flagrantly displayed by the audience was grounded in a rational thought process. People were unwilling to hold in what they felt because most have reached a point where they really want to see some change. Instead, nothing seems to be happening. The judiciary has not been restored, elections will probably be postponed again, and Musharraf is still clinging to power. The country is facing a wheat and flour crisis. People line up for hours just to buy a staple commodity that should be easily available, especially since we grow it! The electricity and gas supply is sporadic at best and the country has never seen as much violence as we were seeing today. Terrorists are loose and seem to be free to wreak havoc. Musharraf’s handpicked caretaker government refuses to accept any responsibility and doesn’t seem to be doing enough. People have had enough.
Just about everyone in this country would like to see Musharraf leave. Don’t believe me? Look up the numbers on his popularity ratings. People do want free and fair elections, but they are not at all possible without an independent judiciary. The elections will almost certainly be rigged in favour of the King’s party- the notorious mafia called the qatil league- unless the PML-N strikes a deal with Musharraf similar to the power sharing one that was planned with BB, in which case they will be rigged in favour of PML-N. Either way, they will be rigged, and Musharraf will probably rig an inflated percentage for the religious parties, like he did in the last “elections”, just to show that Pakistani society is under threat. He will try to prove himself to be invincible now more than ever, and by doing so, he may end up tearing apart the federation. And the biggest problem is that even if we do have free and elections, what are our options? And are they good enough? Are they worth the change and upheaval they will bring? Can we trust the very parties that looted and plundered the country in the 90s? Can we trust parties that are now saying that they are willing to work with an illegal dictator? And, most importantly, what on Earth can we do?
These were some of the questions that were on people’s minds at the CCP convention. The panel included representatives of Tehreek-e-Insaaf (Imran Khan’s party), PML-N, and PPP. Hameed Khan and Pervez Hassan were also present. Diep and Asim Sajjad (of UWC fame) were part of the panel. The turnout was huge. However, because of the camera crew, people were not able to come and sit all over the floors, and many stood outside the door peering in. Even my boss showed up late; he was left standing and being pushed around until he got frustrated and left. It was wonderful to be in a place where there were young people and not just lawyers and the same old ancient activists. (No offence ladies, but you guys have been at this an awfully long time. Some of you are grandmothers!) For me, personally, it was great to see LUMS students in a regular crowd. They tend to live in a bubble and protest only on campus. More than anything else, it was great to see a diverse crowd.
The convention started with Hamid Zaman reading out the list of demands. They were the usual ones regarding Musharraf’s resignations, the restoration of the constitution and judiciary etc. Then Talat Hussain started his discussion and Pervez Hassan was the first to speak on the current judiciary crisis. What was interesting for me the response of the party representatives.
TI: We are great… Musharraf must go… judiciary should be restored… we will never work with a dictator…. we have boycotted this sham election…
PML: We are great…. Musharraf must go… judiciary should be restored… we must participate in the elections…. Too much violence… country needs to be saved….
PPP: We are great…. Musharraf must go… judiciary should be restored… we must participate in the elections…. Too much violence… country needs to be saved…. BB was killed….
No one stated the obvious: what do we do? And when asked, no one had an answer that could satisfy. In fact, people felt that the political parties were not acting ethically and working towards the removal of Musharraf by courting him. Hameed Khan made an excellent point, which was that by not joining in the citizens’ and lawyers’ protests, the political parties had stood idly by and didn’t supported the masses. He also stated that if they had joined in, Musharraf would have left by now. When the PPP representative said that Aitzaz Ahsan was leading the lawyers’ movement, no one really bought this lofty excuse. So what if some of the participants are affiliated with political parties? Where are the civilian supporters and why don’t the parties join in the protests in large numbers. The PML-N candidate was grilled about the current talks being held between Shahbaz Sharif and Musharraf, and the PPP candidate was reminded that their party did the same. What I wanted to ask the PPP candidate was why they were not supporting and promoting their most prominent candidate: Aitzan Ahsan, who they had used as a example. Why aren’t demanding that he be freed? Why are so few of them present when there is a rally outside his house? And why haven’t they set up a hunger strike camp or something outside his house. Why aren’t they raising a hue and cry over this? Frankly, in my opinion, he is he best candidate for Prime Minister, and if he were to run, I would campaign for him tirelessly.
Anyway, back to what do we do? Diep testified that no political party in the country was truly democratic. In her opinion they are not at all democratic. How can one work with these parties then? The crowd, meanwhile, was getting more and more restless and rowdy. People were hoarding the mike and making all sorts of elaborate statement instead of asking questions. What amused me the most was people’s long-winded and entirely narcissistic introduction of themselves. We had to shout: “ask the question!” on more than one occasion. The President of the Pakistan Medical Association was the most painful audience member because he absolutely refused to stop talking and ask a question, despite the fact that he was being reminded that we were running out of time. He said that he had gotten the mike after great difficulty and needed a few minutes to speak his mind. I was the one who let out the loud snort when he didn’t stop and asked him if he wanted me to vote for him. I just couldn’t resist. But basically, he just didn’t ask a question and Talat had to cut him off. One man got up and started reading a poem he had just written. A few of the Punjab University students got up and started shouting “Go Musharraf go!” The audience joined in because the audience refused to shut up. Refused. No matter what Talat said, people kept shouting and booing the political representatives, and contradicted what they were saying. Some people didn’t wait for the mike and just said what they wanted to. It was terribly embarrassing, yet, in a twisted way, fun.
Despite the atmosphere, many pertinent questions were asked. What people really wanted to know was what the political parties would do. Many reminded the PPP and PML-N candidates that their treatment of the judiciary- and media- left much to be desired. Their tenures in office didn’t achieve much. When the PPP candidate was asked why her party didn’t amend certain laws, her excuse was that they didn’t have a 2/3 majority in parliament. The PML-N candidate also came up with similar excuses when asked about the judicial scandal during their time, when people felt that unfair promotions were being given. And the very, very sorry fact of the matter is that they are not our best choice, but they are, unfortunately, our only choice.
So, what do we do? We fight. We support the right people, like Aitzaz Ahsan, as well as the ordinary citizens who want to run for election. They are our best bet because the political parties are proliferated with feudals, and the army is, at the moment, the only other option. We need to continue with our non-violent protests, despite the fact that they haven’t achieved much, because we have to make our voice heard. We need the media to cover our dissent so that people the world over know how desperately we need Musharraf removed. His support from the West certainly isn’t helping, and the blind and irrational belief that he is the best bet for Pakistan at the moment is delusional at best. He has gone to Europe to salvage his decreasing popularity over there. But he has, as usual, put his foot in his mouth and shown his true colours. He has now stated that Pakistan isn’t as evolved as Europe and isn’t ready for a transition into democracy. That really insulted me. When your own president declares to the world that you are indeed the third world citizen you are treated as, then he is not your leader anymore. He is doing you the biggest disservice. He cannot be trusted to represent you in any way, shape, or form.
Not giving up should be our most important priority. If we do, then we are injuring our nation. I know it’s hard not to get disheartened. I know how emotion and frustrating it can be. I too sometimes think that the best thing to do would be to just leave. But, I also know that this is my only home. I love this country, and especially my incestuous city, despite all its faults. No matter where I go, this is the one place I return to. This is one place where I belong. This is the one place I cannot be judged by the colour of my skin or my religion. I am not a third class citizen here. I belong. I am Pakistan.
It is my firm belief that if a doctor were to examine our dear dictator right now, he’d be found to be suffering from (among other things) extreme dementia. Don’t believe me? Let him speak for himself:
*I am not at all a politician. I don’t think I’m cut out for politics. I am certainly not going to stand for election.
*Have I done anything constitutionally illegal? Yes, I did it on November 3. But did I do it before? Not once
*Remember that mindsets can not be changed through force and coercion. No idea can ever be forcibly thrust upon any one.
*Who is trying to derail the political and democratic process? Am I? Or is it some elements in the Supreme Court — the Chief Justice and his coterie — and now some elements in the political field?
*There is nothing wrong with intellectual differences flowing from freedom of thought as long as such differences remain confined to intellectual debates.
*Did I go mad..? Or suddenly, my personality changed? Am I Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde? (This one’s my favourite)
*They will suffer but they know how to survive. The people here are very hardy.
*Please give us time. Please do not accept the same level of civil liberties and human rights that you earned over centuries. We are also learning. Please give us time.
*After 11 September we joined the international coalition against terrorism and I am delighted that the majority of Pakistani people supported this decision.
*First we have to rid ourselves of hatred, of religious intolerance. We have to rebuild and realise that a mind cannot be opened by oppression…
*You cannot change hearts and minds through force. (Says the dictator)
*I appeal to my Pakistan to rise. To banish intolerance and hatred from ourselves and establish a climate of equality and brotherhood.
*Let us not be despondent. I am an optimist. I have faith in the destiny of this nation.
*We will have to take important and painful decisions.
*Chaos is being created.
*The nation is a victim of uncertainty.
*The three pillars of state – judiciary, executive and legislative – all need to work in harmony.
*We want democracy to come to Pakistan…We want sustainable democracy that takes root. I mean every word of it.
*Am I trying to usurp power, or am I trying to bring democracy to Pakistan, that is the question…You have to believe me, and take me on my word, I want to bring democracy.
*I am going to relax and play tennis and golf. (Oh dear…)
*Unfortunately, we have been up against our own people … They had strayed from the right path and become susceptible to terrorism.
*Most of the people in fact were against my writing this book at this moment, but like a good military leader (!!!), I took the decision against the major part of their advice.
*I have confronted death and defied it several times in the past because destiny and fate have always smiled on me. (Lets add delusions of grandeur to the list of ailments)
*Before I reached class 10, at the age of 15, I had been an above-average student, usually among the first four in my class. That year, however, my grades dropped dramatically. The cause: my first romance. Truth to tell, she made the first move. I was still too shy to initiate a romance, let alone woo a girl. (And this comes second)
*Our fuel was so low that we would have crashed had the army not taken control of Karachi airport. The nearly fatal confrontation with the prime minister brought me to power.
*Considered purely in military terms, the Kargil operations were a landmark in the history of the Pakistani army.
*It was nexus between Bhutto and small coterie of rulers that destroyed Pakistan. The myopic rigid attitude of (Bangladeshi leader) Sheikh Mujibur Rehman did not help matters and he played into Bhutto’s (Gen) Yahya (Khan’s) hand by remaining rooted in East Pakistan.
*She (Bhutto) would not like to go into an election because her party is not in a state to win at all.
I rest my case
This was stolen from Kamil Hamid’s facebook notes.
Delusions. They’re what keep us going here in Pakistan. Our survival instinct kicks in and [apparently] happily accepts what it being thrown our way, whether we agree with it or not.
We, Punjabis, are the most despised ethnic group in Pakistan. We are the majority. We wield the most power. We are the rulers, the feudals and the military. We have managed to isolate each and every ethnic group of our country. They all hate us. And I don’t blame them.
I don’t want to launch into a long list of Punjabi wrongdoings. It would eat me up with guilt and will take up lots of time since the list is, unfortunately, endless. Needless to say, we, the Punjabis, have managed to usurp most of this country’s resources. We have promoted only ourselves. We have developed Punjab and left all the other provinces in the margins. Most of Balochistan is a barren wasteland. We exploit their resources, such as gas, and, in return, do not even grant them access to what we are taking from them. Sindh and the Frontier have similar grievances against us.
I propose that the problem isn’t just about exploitation, but also about honour and ideology.
Punjab has been through numerous rulers and kingdoms over the years, just like most of the subcontinent. The Indian sub-continent was never united; it was a conglomerate of kingdoms that constantly warred with each other. A rich and fertile land like Punjab, with her five flowing rivers, abundant harvest and tolerant culture, was never part of one kingdom for too long. We, the Punjabis, are as old as the Indus Valley Civilization itself. One of the most ancient cities in the world, Harrapa, is found here. Punjab was too tempting for anyone to resist. Anyone who came close wanted a piece.
Because Punjabis had to live with constant disruptions and new rulers on a regular basis, they learnt to adapt as best they could. Punjab’s numerous crops were to be protected. So instead of fighting, Punjabis tended to come to terms with their new rulers. This, in my opinion, was actually a pretty smart move- far better than waging wars for centuries. This also made Punjabi culture quite tolerant. There were hardly any forced conversions in the land since it was already quite multi-religious. Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsis, Christians etc all lived together very peacefully. In fact, Islam was not spread by the sword here. No, it gained popularity because of the numerous Sufi saints, such as Bulleh Shah, who preached that God was love. Punjabis learned to reach an understanding with any others who walked amongst them. Punjabi culture is extremely hospitable, and people were welcomed to Punjab with open arms. Instead of resisting and fighting the latest conqueror, Punjabis accepted and worked with their new leader. Wise choice. Wars and chaos would destroy Punjab’s goldmine: her fertile crops.
The Islam of Punjab is quite different than the Islam of the rest of our provinces. Sindh’s first converts were born out an invasion by Muhammad bin Qasim, an Arab. The hermeneutics of the Islam practised in Sindh, NWFP and Balochistan is a syncretism of the tribal cultures of those lands, which are a blend of traditions from earlier religions and cultures. The tribal system of honour is a code that is deeply entrenched in the psyche of these ethnic groups, and is inseparable from their practice of religion. One example of this is the belief that honour killings are divinely sanctioned. What I am saying, and what I am going to get a lot of flak for, is that the Islam and culture of the tribals is different from that of Punjab’s. Whereas the tribals believe religion to be inseparable from honour, the Punjabis do not see it that way because of the tradition of tolerance in the Punjab.
The tribal ideology consists of fierce loyalty to the clan. This, in turn, leads to a strong sense of honour. Indeed, it is a grave crime to dishonour the clan in any way, shape or form. Honour killings are an excellent example of this because when a woman’s sexuality is illicit, it doesn’t just damage her reputation, it brings dishonour to the whole family, and thus the clan. This is why so many innocent women- including rape victims- end up meeting their death. Even the slightest accusation is reason enough to believe that one’s honour is threatened. Similarly, if a member of the clan converts to another religion or marries a member of the rival clan, the honour code- and loyalty- is threatened. This certainly was not true in pre-partition Punjab where many families, including my own, had Hindu, Sikh and/or Christian relatives. My paternal great-grandmother, much like the vast majority of my family, was a Brahmin covert, and my mother still has many Hindu relatives across the border. Punjabis, like I said before, were a tolerant people who lived peacefully side by side despite differences in religion etc. (I say “were” tolerant because we are now too influenced by intolerance and extremism that is plaguing our society.)
This is a very crucial difference between the Punjabis and the tribals. To them, and to the many ethnic groups who moved from India, we are seen as weak people who sell out to anyone who rules us. We seem to have no loyalty to our tribe or clan. This makes us seem like we place far less importance on honour than the others. Our acceptance of others is also not exactly seen as a positive step. Our ideology, which is to tolerate and work with whoever is in power, is seen as a sign of weakness. We are not ready to fight for what we stand for like they are. We also are not as focused on being Punjabi as say the Pathans are about being Pashtuns. We do not defend our culture to death like most others do. We don’t even teach Punjabi in schools here! Perhaps it is because we are the majority, and thus are not threatened. Our rich land and the fact that we are the majority of the population certainly doesn’t help give us more credibility.
Punjab today, however, has certainly delineated from its tradition of tolerance. Sadly, this was one of the worst influences we could have adopted. Also, the fact that the state has split the country along lines of ethnicity has only lead to resentment against the Punjabis, and quite stupidly, we are becoming their self-fulfilling prophecy of oppressive, hegemonic rulers. This is why the next Prime Minister of Pakistan cannot, and should not, be a Punjabi. In a country that is bitterly divided along ethnic and sectarian lines, this would a disaster akin to civil war. Sindh, which displayed its awesome and crippling strength of agitators in the days following Benazir Bhutto’s death, will not accept a Punjabi leader. A Punjabi can no longer stand for the federation; they will only be seen as yet another symbol of Punjabi dominance. Unfortunately, since the elections are most likely to be rigged, not only will we have a Punjabi Prime Minister, Pervaiz Elahi from PML-Q, but we will also have a powerful Mafioso man, and immensely corrupt feudal who will illegally return to power, and loot and plunder the country like he has been doing for years. As responsible citizens we have to ensure that this doesn’t happen. If it does, there is a real danger that we will break up. And if that happens, India will also have a vested interest in the region because of our nuclear arsenal. This is yet another reason why we need to have free and fair elections. Those supporting Musharraf blindly, like Sajida Hina Khan are in fact doing the biggest disservice to this country. Those who claim that their families have fought hard for this country should finally stop putting their foot in their mouth and do something. If they don’t, they’ll be as responsible for the chaos that ensues as the corrupt leaders they support.
As expected, the government is attacking blogs (of all things!) again. I guess they’ve really started abusing the cyber crime bill already.
Two years ago blogspot was banned and we discovered that you can access it through http://www.pkblogs.com/. I ended up shifting my blog to wordpress because of my students’ heinous article about me in which they revealed my blog. And since wordpress seems to have less Pakistani bloggers, the chances of it being banned are less. The Emergency Times at www.pakistanmartiallaw.com cannot be accessed. Here’s the link through pkblogs: http://www.pkblogs.com/pakistanmartiallaw. It’s well worth taking a look at.
I also want to say “HA!” to the people making fun of me for taking this cyber crime bill seriously. “What the hell would they shut down blogs for? I don’t think they care much for what one person says!” Seems like they do. Sadly, it seems like they do.
And to those who say Musharraf has “freed” the media and given us more freedom, I would like to ask: Are you still delusional enough to believe this? Doesn’t this interfere with my right to freedom of speech, which, by the way, the laws of Pakistan entitle me to.
This is a post by Nuhzat Saadia Siddiqui from her blog “hooray for the 21st century;” (The blog is on my blogroll) I loved what she wrote, especially since her expression beautifully conveys what so many people are feeling at the moment. What is really pertinent about this is that Nuzhat is not a political person, but has, like most of us, been sucked into the current political situation and the many questions that come with it. I hope you like it!
Three days ago, while on my way home from work, I saw a banner in Model Town congratulating the ‘Lion of the Land’ (Musharaf) on saving the nation and the country with a sensible decision to impose state of emergency. For a second, I paused and wondered whether to take the garishly bold text seriously or to dismiss it as sarcasm. These days, everyone’s a cynic with his or her opinion about the current political upheaval in the land, so I tend to take every statement condemning or praising Musharaf with a massive pinch of salt. But this banner got me thinking: would it have been allowed to stay up if it condemned rather than praised Mr. General President? Maybe, maybe not. I have seen instances of tolerance and moments of impatience in the man who made a brand out of Enlightened Moderation, so even now, I am rather confused about how to comment on his mercurial behavior.
To be absolutely honest, my apathy kicks in when I hear about political fiascos these days. It is my version of Ginsberg reaching for his feather boa whenever he heard the word ‘democracy’. I don’t care about political tantrums and intrigues. I could not nod twice about the hypocritical, manipulative scheming of the likes of BB, Main Mian, The General President and Ran Khan et cetera. All I know for sure is that I am a citizen of this country. I am the common man everyone wants to talk about but not to. I am a part of the nation that has very spectacularly been look over than looked at by verbose but lacking civil and military dictators. I am the ‘awam’ that has been let down so many times it has mastered the art of passive aggressive nonchalance. So what do I understand from the current situation? What do I want?
I want a revolution. I want the inside of our heads and hearts out, finally, for good. I want the hungry to be fed and the naked to be clothed. I want the shamed to be awarded the grace they deserve. I want promises fulfilled. I want my say in the ideals that should be making a better future for this country. I want those who toil twelve hours a day, bare-foot and thirsty under the sun in the fields to have the same right. I want us to be informed about our rights and then be allowed the freedom to exercise them as well. I want to fulfill our duties and I want everyone in the football team in Islamabad to do the same. I want water and education, I want light and protection. I want doubt, religious paranoia and fear of every stranger to be exorcised out of me by some sensible souls who do it in halves, but hope to make it a whole one day. I want to not be trivialized by the world community and the government, and I want to not be the sensational piece of breaking news for the local media. I want some piece and quiet, and I want my damn country back.
Enough, as they say, is enough.
They are surely wiser than us. Look at them burning gold into their history pages while we collect the ashes.
I want the flame, not the residue.
There was a bomb blast at the Lahore High Court on Thursday, 10th January, 2008. A suicide bombing to be exact and so far it seems to be the work of a militant group. It occurred in the middle of a rally- the weekly lawyers’ rally that takes place every Thursday. Generally I try and take part in it, but for once my indolence has saved me. I didn’t go. I had a day off so I slept in. I woke up to the news. My friends were calling me- most hysterical- thinking I must have been in the rally. My first reaction was to cry and wonder who all I know was there: Luckily, no one I know has been injured or hurt. It seems to be an attack on the Police, but most of the lawyers claim that it was aimed at them because if they had not been running late, they would have been in the midst of the bombing. However, the fact that bomber drove up on a motorcycle and then walked towards the Police, lends more credibility to the theory that it was probably the Police who were targeted.
A year ago, I used to hear the same disastrous news about Afghanistan and Iraq and picture a ravished land, full of warriors. Suicide bombings, sectarian violence, Taliban and Al-Qaeda aggression… I remember thinking how dangerous they were and wondering how people lived there. I remember wondering if these people lived in perpetual fear. I used to wonder why they didn’t just get up and leave. Well, I guess now I know. We are living in volatile times. Even “The Economist” has declared us the most dangerous country in the world No one is safe anymore. No one except Musharraf it seems.
Yet, I don’t feel unsafe. I’m not scared, even though I know I should be. I don’t fear death, and I don’t care if I get injured while fighting for a cause. I will not be silenced, even though a new cyber crime bill will be able to try those who are criticising the government. Here is the text from an email I received: http://nabihameher.wordpress.com/2008/01/10/cyber-crime-bill-promulgated-by-the-president/
When Musharraf first came into power, he freed the media, and made Pakistani society more free than ever before. Now, he has completely gone in the other direction. We are no longer free. He wants to control the media. He wants no one to criticise him. He has support, but it’s beginning to wane. Kabul has come to Islamabad. We are what Afghanistan used to be. We can’t even go to Swat! It’s only a few hours north of Islamabad. The militants have completely taken over. They have moved from Afghanistan to Pakistan, simply because the government doesn’t keep a check on the millions of people who cross the Pak-Afghan border every year. This is really spinning out of control. Pakistan used to be a very secular country. Even now the vast majority of the population does not support the fundamentalists. Yet we are allowing our nation into a training ground for rouge elements. We are disenfranchising our youth, hurtling them into the hands of the militants. This is Musharraf’s responsibility and he should be held accountable for it. Where are the millions and millions of dollars he was given to fight the militants? Why is the army still unsuccessful? I don’t believe their lofty excuses about the fact that “the territory” is hard to control. Even if Waziristan is impenetrable, what about the rest of the country? What can’t the cities and northern areas like Swat be controlled?
The fact of the matter is that Lahore is (was?) actually the safest city, and if Lahore can be bombed, then the problem lies with the government that cannot seem to control the Taliban. Furthermore, since the government claims that the police were targeted, they are conducting a very through investigation into this bombing. They also didn’t hose down the forensic evidence. So, apparently, the police are smart enough to know that. They have also found the head and some of the limbs of the bomber and are sending it for DNA testing. The results are due soon. They also conducted an autopsy on the severed limbs. I would like to ask why Benazir Bhutto’s assassination was not handled as efficiently as this one. This also begs the question of why an autopsy was not performed on her without the family’s consent? I mean the fact of the matter is that they did not, and probably cannot, find the family of the bomber and ask their permission. Why the disparity? Will the government now claim that they learned from their mistakes?
If this can happen in Lahore then Pakistan has truly descended into chaos. This has got to end. This chaos has to stop. Otherwise we will find ourselves in the midst of much anarchy. If only influential people were not so apathetic… I still don’t want to have to say, “I told you so,” again. But I think I will and that scares me.
Last night, my friend Amina and I went to the Avari bakery to buy a cake. All the cakes we liked turned out to be dummies. There were only a few cakes for us to choose from and they were actually quite disgusting looking. One was a honey cheesecake. Since we’d never heard of such a thing, we asked him:
“Is cheesecake mein kya hai?” (What’s in this cheesecake?)
He replied: “Jee cheese.”
I burst out laughing and had to leave the bakery, leaving poor Amina stranded, trying to keep a straight face.
My mother received the following in an email and asked me to be careful online.This is very, very frightening for someone like me who has a blog like this one. I could very well be arrested and tried under this ridiculous bill. This is the work of a power hungry dictator who wants no one to oppose him. I fear that it will be abused.
In a shocking development the President of Pakistan has promulgated the Cyber Crime bill, I don’t have the exact document but our last understanding of the issue – which was the ‘final draft’ this bill can be considered very dangerous for regular citizens. The bill forms a Tribunal which is in effect judge jury and executioner all encompassing, it allows the FIA full authority to confiscate and arrest anyone who is deemed by the government to be in violation of the ‘integrity of Pakistan’ labeled as a person having terroristic intent – this is a new word created by the Govt of Pakistan for the English Language 
. There maybe some good aspects to the law but when an agency or tribunal supersedes the Justice system one would tend to worry of its widespread potential to misuse.
As per the final draft – an officer can walk into my house confiscate my computer and arrest me, he/she does not have to explain why and neither give reason for the arrest. I shall remain in custody as long as it takes for the tribunal to take collect evidence. And if found guilty by the Tribunal I am punishable from 3-10 years &/or Rs. 5,00,000.
In all honesty I feel this is just a step to clamp down on the Internet and can be seen to be just like the PEMRA ordinance that was enforced on the media after Nov 3rd
DISCLAIMER: This is my own understanding as per the FINAL DRAFT that was up for approval – though our team of lawyers met the Ministry of IT and voiced their opinions, I am told that they were only heard and we don’t know if it was accepted into the bill. we await a copy and if someone has it please forward along
We must raise hell – don’t know if it will change anything but our protest must go all international news outlets
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