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Posts tagged with: Zardari
Mar 27, 2009    |       32 comments

Zardaris upcoming Joint Session speech – 58-2(b) & the 17th?

zardari-speech-to-parliamentPresident Asif Ali Zardari is scheduled to grace and address the Joint Session of the two houses, in preparation Mr. Asif Zardari made a swift preparatory powder and puff exit to Dubai while his son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has in turn made his way to Pakistan and will most likely expected to grace the visitors gallery along with his sisters on Saturday whilst his father carefullyplaces the picture of their slain mother on the dais to address the nation.

Typically the speech was expected to have been a garlanding speech for the PPP to have fulfilled Benazir Bhuttos’s promise, he would generally have returned the cordial pat on the back to Nawaz Sharif [returning the favor where Nawaz Sharif gentle tapped the shoulders of Yousuf Raza Gilani on his visit to Raiwind a few days back]. it would have followed through with some simple announcements regarding the Governor rule in Punjab and even maybe a few cordial cabinet seats handouts to PML-N in a show of friendship and support – BUT
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Mar 18, 2009    |       63 comments

Update: Sanam Bhutto waiting in the ranks

sanam-bhuttoIn light of the recent success of the Long March movement, which may have been a victory for the people of Pakistan, one person that has truly lost out is Mr. Asif Ali Zardari and along with it has also dashed the hopes and dreams of his party which he hijacked a year or so back. It is now rumored that Sanam Bhutto is feisty and has in no small words lashed out at her brother-in-law in an interview with Benazir Bhutto’s close confidant Daphne Barak. Though the contents of the interview are yet to be made public

Sanam Bhutto is acting as the watchdog of Bilawal, Bakhtawar and Assefa’s interests and is concerned that other members of Zardari family are working to derive benefits.

The News 18th March 2009: Sanam has been very upset with Asif Zardari’s handling of the PPP that is the most precious political legacy of her father Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and her sister Benazir Bhutto. He betrayed her sister’s promises to the nation about restoration of judges, caused political friction to the point that led Pakistan to the brink of civil war and caused historic damage to the popular Pakistan People’s Party to the maximum extent. Reportedly Sanam Bhutto has said, My father, my brothers, my mother all of us suffered and made sacrifices for PPP and Asif Zardari has usurped it.

Though the interview is yet to be made public but it seem this might be the start of the much talked about PPP breakup where the old guard finally sums up the courage to stand up against the usurper who has conveniently occupied the Presidential Palace

Update March 18th 23:00 PST: In a clarification issued by Sanam Bhutto The News carries an update clarifying that Sanam Bhutto, the sister of slain PPP leader Benazir Bhutto, denied reports of any differences in Bhutto family she is claimed to have cordial relations with President Asif Ali Zardari and there was no property dispute between the Bhutto family and the President. “Bhutto family stands by President Zardari to resolve the challenges facing the country,” she added.

Mar 18, 2009    |       12 comments

The Beginnings’ End

Guest blog by Kamil Hamid

While celebration is in order, the civil society movement and Pakistanis in general must understand that it is crucial this be used as a beginning for a new era of activism and the drive for justice. Sitting back at this point, and allowing “appropriate parties” to handle matters would be nothing short of disastrous.

As I write this, the general atmosphere among many of us is one of jubilance, celebrating our victory. After a two-year struggle, Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudry has finally been restored. Over the course of these years, Pakistan has faced some of its darkest times, the circumstances of which have still not changed greatly. We face a growing religiously motivated insurgency, not confined to the North but breaking out like an epidemic across the country. We also face a severe energy and food crisis, as well an economy that has nearly imploded; thanks largely to the reckless and irresponsible way it was handled for the past decade. Our largest city, the hub of our economy, is ruled by ethno-fascist thugs who have garnered genuine support among some of its citizens due to their frustration with the government’s lackadaisical attitude. The continual pounding of American drones on our Northwestern borders, as well as a bristling India to the East only makes matters worse.

Yet it would be incorrect to say that we have not come a long way: Musharraf has been forced out of power, and the military has been forced back into the barracks (hopefully, for the last time). A vibrant and energetic civil society has formed and proven to the world that Pakistan is not the nation of sleepers that it has often been mockingly called.
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Mar 15, 2009    |       8 comments

The Deal has been finalized, the show will go on, hero’s need to be made

I share with you an email circulated widely by journalist Afzal Khan today –

Its a worrisome analysis almost in line with my earlier post today morning – The Sharif’s are being seen to have been allowed free movement while lawyers and political leaders are being arrested country wide. This lawyers revolution is for now the beating pulse of a nation, little do they factor in the frustrations and the voices of the people

The email from Afzal Khan carried the title The deal is clinched, but the show will go on (Afzal Khan)
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Mar 15, 2009    |      1 comment

Why CoD is not for this government?

Guest post by Naeem ur Rehman

Charter of Democracy, the most widely used term in the prevailing situation has a major flaw in it. Now the question is what flaw it can have when everyone loves it so much, even the lawyers. The CoD was created for specific personalities, their personal demands and to deal with a specific situation, there was no consideration given to the broader demands and the needs of the people of Pakistan or to a long term benefit to the country. Such documents will always struggle when it comes to its implementation, if a prevailing situation changes ever so slightly. After the tragic death of Benazir Bhutto, this CoD became not only useless to the current government but actually became the biggest hurdle to cross for Mr. Zardari. let’s have a close look at few yet most important clauses of CoD.

“The 1973 Constitution as on 12th October 1999 before the military coup shall be restored with  the provisions of joint electorates, minorities, and women’s reserved seats on closed party list in the Parliament, the lowering of the voting age, and the increase in seats in parliament and the legal Framework Order, 2000 and the Seventeenth Constitutional Amendment shall be repealed accordingly”
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Mar 15, 2009    |       21 comments

Country nears a Long March frenzy, but a deal brews underneath

I write this blog post early Sunday morning at around 5am, so my thoughts might not be all that coherent, but I feel some pressing points need to be shared before the Lahore stand off takes off in barely five hours from now at 10am on March 15th

  1. Shahbaz Sharif had a very urgent meeting in Islamabad last night [13th March] where he flew from Lahore to Islamabad [eye witness confirm], the talks were afoot that a few deals were being negotiated – namely the eligibility of Nawaz and Shahbaz would be settled, Shahbaz Sharif would then reinstated as Chief Minister and Governor Salman Taseer will be shown the door, in exchange the Sharif brothers will end the Long March with immediate effect. These basic issues were agreed upon by both sides [even the idea of ending the long march / defusing it], what remained a tackling issue was the exact process on how to reinstate Iftikhar Chaudhry. Shahbaz Sharif allegedly wanted solid guarantees and merely the ‘word’ of Zardari carried little weight, COAS Kiyani and Hilary Clinton were being propped up to foot the final claim but reassurances were not entirely satisfactory [or so we are told]. Shahbaz returned having not finalized the deal on the last point
  2. Gilani as off till the 13th March was playing a significant role in negotiations, but on the 14th was visibility out of the picture, he has been propped up by the US Government to play a more responsible role in settling this crisis, word is still out if he can or cannot deliver, but a few statement were made that gave good vibes to the public but it alone cant be the guage of the attitude behind closed doors
  3. None of the lawyers from other cities were permitted to leave their respective cities, Kurd from Quetta, Muneer Malik and Rashid Rizvi from Karachi.- But ironically Sharif brothers are given a free hand to move
  4. Lahore is allegedly clamped down any roads leading into or out of Lahore are effectively sealed
  5. But suddenly today early morning March 15 3:00am a convoy carrying Shahbaz Sharif from Raiwind breaks through a barricade and runs off onto the Motorway towards Islamabad
  6. Moments later news breaks out that hundred of police officers raid Rawalpindi bar thrash the lawyers sleeping there and are reported to have arrested 60 people
  7. March 15th will be the day of resistance in Lahore – to be strategically handled by the elder brother Mian Nawaz Sharif
  8. I honestly suspect this is a deliberate ploy to undermine the presence of Lawyers and other political parties while paving the way for PML-N to stretch their muscles in victory, lawyers being deliberately left on the sidelines, its possible that the only Lawyers that might make an visible appearance could be Aitzaz Ahsan & Hamid Khan arriving on the Constitution avenue, but with the sudden departure of Shahbaz Sharif from Lahore to Islamabad goes to suggest that he has full plans to hold the PML-N fort on the 16th March in Islamabad and would in all likelihood be the only person to really be allowed to make a big show
  9. Not that, it matters as long as there is the independence of Judiciary, but we must keep in mind that the NRO is not be debated and neither is the 17th amendment being talked about.
  10. Lets also not forget that the frenzy of the Long March only started after Shahbaz Sharif lost his Chief Ministership, and prior to that development, PML-N was on the fence playing second fiddle as it has continued to do so since Feb 18th with the Lawyers movement

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Mar 12, 2009    |       7 comments

PM Gilani can become a hero from zero

Guest Blog by NRehman

zardari-gilaniPrime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has a chance of a life time to become a long awaited hero for the Pakistani nation. If the PM stands firm against Presedent Zardari and ask the Parliament to vote for the restoration of the judiciary, he will get an enormous applause from the whole nation. The long march by Lawyers will change its slogan to “Kadam Barhao Gilani hum tumharay sath hain“.

He has a chance to start a new era for PPP and will leave other parties far behind them. This is such a perfect opportunity that even the establishment will feel helpless if they wanted to take any action against it. He will have the support of most of the Parliament in both houses. Senior PPP leaders like Amin Faheem, Aitazaz Ehsan and Safdar Abbasi will support him straight away and the other will follow immediately, there is already a big conflict in PPP over this NRO issue but nobody is bold enough to come out and complain.

Come on PM show us what you are made of and lead the nation through this tough time, you have been given a golden chance to shine and make PPP a formidable force in Pakistan.

Mar 11, 2009    |       23 comments

What should the army do?

Guest Post by Aqil Sajjad

There are some rumours that the PPP is planning to use the army to curb the long march. One hopes these stories turn out to be false, because if the military were to side with the government against the lawyers, it would be pitting itself against the people of Pakistan. Its public image would take another serious battering, and army officers would again come in for a lot of abuse from angry people when they went out in their uniform, as was the case in the post Nov 3 days.

This would be very unfortunate, since we need the army to play its due role in the defence of the country with full public support, rather than getting into a fight with te civil society on behalf of some vested interests.
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Mar 9, 2009    |       12 comments

Why ‘Bangladesh Model’ is inevitable

Guest blog by Ahmed Nadeem

Political and administrative blunders being committed by our saviors on daily basis are clear signs of death of the Feb 18 mandate. Bad luck of our leaders – Media picks each of such blunders and passes to public. The shady explanations, fake excuses and rhetoric of leaders which follow to justify governance become an entertainment rather then satisfying the public. Blame goes to media – a ready scapegoat. The day Sarah Palin said that she is an expert in international relations as she can see Russia from her hometown; her dream to become Vice President was over. Ask our leaders and they will tell you it was fault of Tina Fay, who did the prank on Palin. Blames also goes to establishment and non-democratic forces. No mention of own blunders and endless hunger for power. This is not their stupidity alone. Our leaders have no idea of the times and the world in which they are living.

Zardari has been out of touch with people for last 10 years. He has no idea what Pakistan he is living in today, so are the politicians, judges and bureaucrats. None of them is connected with people. None of them gets public feed back about their actions, decisions and repute. This isolation leads them to make unpopular decisions and ultimately becoming civilian dictators. These decisions cause distrust and frustration in public. Politician in rest of the world runs their blogs and keeps connected with their constituents and public through face book or online forums, emails and text messaging. By doing so – they get public feed back and gauge public mood to form future policies. This results in popular decisions and good governance. None of parties or leaders in Pakistan affords to be open to criticism or public access because of their past baggage and morals.
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Mar 8, 2009    |       10 comments

Method of Appointing Judges

Extracted from an email sent by the Emergency Moderator to the Emergency Mailing List on 8th March 2009

Guess: Zardari or MusharrafAs stated a few days back, we are circulating a proposal on the method of appointing judges that is somewhat more detailed than the one given in the charter of democracy. In the mean time, the PPP has appointed another chamcha as the Islamabad High Court CJ. This is on top of the induction of 16 jiala judges in the LHC (Lahore High Court). All these appointments must be rejected, the judiciary should be unconditionally returned back to the Nov 2 status, with all post-Nov 3 appointments reversed. New appointments should then be based on a formula that ensures that no political party is able to install its own chamchas in the judiciary. This is the only way to ensure the real independence of the judiciary, and nothing short of this should be accepted by the civil society.

Coming to the proposal we are sharing, it is not our original idea, but is being taken from a 4-part series of articles by Salahuddin Ahmed in June last year. This can be a good starting point for a serious attempt to design a new system that makes the judiciary genuinely independent.

Those seriously interested in the subject should go to the links below and read all four of these articles completely, but I am also quoting the most relevant parts from these pieces right after the links.
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Mar 4, 2009    |       3 comments

Mr. Zardari remained Mr. Zardari afterall

Guest blog by Amjad Malik, MA, LLM

Zardari MetamorphosisI wrote on 7 September 2008 that the litmus test for Mr. Zardari to prove whether he is an ‘don’ or an originator of a new dawn of democracy in Pakistan depends on his progress on 5 things: a) how he handles absolute power, b) his party, c) chief justice issue, d) charter of democracy and e) foreign policy. Looking at his performance in first 12 months, it is unfortunate that he is trailing on all. He could not father the nation and confined himself to the meager position of his party chairmanship and handles his party petty matters at President House, thus making it virtually impossible to look at PML with the same affection as required by the constitution bring his very office into a conflict & disrepute. He enjoys all the powers which ideally should have been assigned to his party premier, but he did not.

Drone attacks and missiles in Fata are still falling randomly, a bitter reality, and he has not taken concrete steps to implement sacred historic charter duly signed by his wife in London on 14 May 2006 which has a hope for the nation in decades to come. He not only backed out on his promises, & written agreements on judiciary, but humiliated the chief justice and went one step ahead by appointing higher court judges on whole sale basis without consensus, and consultation with provincial Govt in question & his partners in COD, thus he violated the charter which can save the Federation and civil rule in the country. He gathered a team of non elected commodity around him and has cornered opposition. He has ordered Governor Rule and let loose his fiery aide in Punjab to blow fire on opposition leaders. First he lost credibility of his words, his faith in democracy and now his respect amongst his peers.
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Mar 3, 2009    |       42 comments

Sri Lankan players attack amid a ‘political’ security lapse

lahore-sri-lanka-attackEarly today morning a number of terrorist people on foot attacked the Sri Lankan cricket team as it was approaching Gaddafi Stadium the bus was brutally attacked by almost twelve gunmen as it passed through the Liberty Roundabout.

The bus was miraculously shielded from about two rocket attacks and serious damage was avoided as Police Security escorts retaliated for about twenty-five minutes with heavy gunfire. This sadly resulted in critical injuries to police forces and about five of these selfless public servants lost their lives protecting the lives of our cricketing guests.

Reports initially emerged that quite a number of Sri Lankan players were injured but as the news filtered through two players received serious wounds one was a grazing wound to the chest and the other to the ankle. Remaining players received minor injuries due to flying debris and shrapnel. As of now the Sri Lankan team has been evacuated via a helicopter to Lahore airport for an onwards journey to Sri Lanka via Dubai aboard an Etihad Airways flight

Watching different channels and looking at the footage of the attack, it is clear that religious fundamentalists may have struck yet again. They were armed with hand grenades, rocket launchers, modern rifles and other sophisticated weapons apparently they were with a small beard and looked to belong to Pushtoon origin [?].
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