Musharraf's mistakes 2... Continued...

You should have bargained something for Pakistan too...
Now what are his other blunders? It was just unfortunate that the 9/11 disaster had to strike in his time. Sad as it was, the incident was not of our making. It had it's roots in the wider history of The Middle East. Where was the need to panic? US needed to be sympathised and indeed helped. But we did not have to buy more problems.
US could have helped in solving vexed issues...
We had to calculate our cost. A little time should have been taken and US told of our own concerns and of a problem we have been having for 50 years, despite a UN resolution in our favor. US needed to be told that if certain issues are not resolved in time the world would have more problems on it's hand.
We are paying dearly for US follies...
The frustration might all the more manifest itself in shape of further terrorism which Pakistan could ill afford. Now we are seen as doing the dirty work for United States and yet being told "do more". Are we in a position to say "no more"? No. We are in a no win situation. People are taking up arms. It is a dangerous situation now as you must be seeing in the news these days in northern areas.
All we want is a democratic solution and a bully kept at bay...
We could have at least bargained for the resolution of the Kashmir dispute. You did not avail of the reciprocity opportunity. You can't possibly fight India to get Kashmir. We are not even wanting Kashmir. All we want is a democratic solution. India is holding on to Kashmir against the wishes of the Kashmiri people. US had to be told "you scratch my back I scratch yours". And why not? This would have saved Kashmiris of the sufferings at the hands of the huge Indian army. That would have given the signal to the people that Pakistan was not just doing the US bidding but was solving it's own problem. That did not happen.
I consider this a major blunder and an opportunity lost that might trigger further terrorism.

http://thinker-thinkingoutofthebox.blogspot.com/

Police department is so stretched that ordinary peoples issues are totally neglected... Why should PPP have unfair advantage?
This no one talks about. Where are the champions of freedom of press or are they champions of the opposition particularly PPP? If a citizen has a problem and needs redressel from police it is always an exuse so and so political leader is showing up and they are not available. Now it has crossed all limits.

Musharraf's mistakes...

The blunders were too costly...
On being freed, a man went wild dancing on the street and hit the nose of a person. He went to court. The hitter defended that he was a free man and could do any thing. The judge decreed: right, but the moment his nose came in your path the other man's freedom began. So here is the punishment.
Freedom comes with responsibility Sir...
This is precisely what Mr. Musharraf and the media have not understood. Freedom of the Press is fine but they cannot go wild as they have for the past so many months. Any freedom comes with responsibility. Where is the responsibility. Where is integrity to your profession?
Inept political leadership caused the take over of military...
The media does nothing concrete and positive but simply and only criticizes the President. Yes he came to power as a military man. But the situation was created by sheer arrogance and irresponsibility of the political leadership. Who can deny this?
Mr.Nawaz Sharif's life saved...
You just can't take one thing and keep harping on it. You must also see if Mr. Nawaz Sharif had not done what he did, for which he was punished for life, the opportunity would not have been there for the Junta to take over. He left for ten years on his own and got a pardon.
Army should be in the barracks for sure but the entire blame cannot go to them alone...
I am one of those who firmly believes that the army should be in the barracks for sure. But the ground reality is different. This guy when he took over, Pakistan was about to default. There were no reserves left. Nawaz had indeed become an elected dictator. Remember what he had done with the previous Chief of Staff. So blaming The President for just belonging to the army is not fair.
Ministry of Information erred grossly... where were the guidelines Sir?
The way, without guidelines, freedom of press was given by the President was his biggest blunder. While this should have helped Pakistan and Pakistanis it has helped the opposition. Media immediately took sides. I was amazed why the media rather a few in the media were taking sides instead of being neutral and just reporting and anlyzing. They cannot conduct media trials as they have been doing.
Media trials by the unscrupulous should be stopped...
They would start with judgments "that the government has totally failed, what do you think?" Leading question. You get the desired answer not necessarily the correct one. Why are some journalists doing this, guys like Kamran Khan and Kashif Abbasi etc? They would go to the extent of that 16 crore people have passed a judgment etc. As if they have taken a poll or done a referendum. Media trials going unabated. And their holier than thou approach. My God. I was all perplexed.
The journalists are scared of PPP. Why? Where is the freedom of press then?
On hard investigation I found that they are very scared of PPP even a passing negative reference would attract a threat. Some say that they get paid extra and also get the protection. Now media is power and if such unscrupulous elements get in, they exploit. And they have. President does not take action. They know it and are having a field day. They have even abused the President and the freedom they are enjoying for the first time in 60 years. Does it happen any where else in the world?
Freedom of the press is a lethal weapon cannot be used with carelessness...
In India for instance pass a negative reference against Rahul Gandhi, then see what happens to them, leave alone Sonia and Manmohan Singh. Their houses will be burnt and they will be taught a lesson that will be a deterrence for all other journalists. Freedom of the press should have been given with due guidelines so that it did not become a free lethal weapon in the hands of the opposition. Pakistan media is like wild bull right now.
Is Muhtharama an official title of the corrupt and twice failed ex-Prime Mininisters? Media should refer to her as Mrs.Benazir that is all...
Why should Benazir be called a Muhtharama in media? Their party workers call her that, it is fine. Does one call Respected His Highness Mr. Bush or Mr. Gordon or Mr.Blair in international media? This is ridiculous. Is it some official title for the corrupt, a former Prime Minister twice removed on corruption charges and misrule or something. A Pakistani journalist is not a PPP worker. If he is then surely he or she can call her Muhtharama although corrupt people cannot be respected.
This is a major blunder of The President. Other blunders you will read later. Keep reading my blog. Thank you.

Oh Karachi!

Benazir what have you done?
Don't make a joke of the poor!
You talk of the poor. But what have you done with them. What have you given them? Hundreds cut into half and hundreds more maimed with hands or legs amputated. You and the rich are safe and fine but the hundreds of poor and scores of poorer policemen have died. Wish you had been less selfish.
You made the job of security impossible...
You were told to delay, to be careful. You had lost your own brother in your own regime. Have you forgotten that? With your foolhardiness and bravado, you made the job of the security impossible. Thanks to the security arrangements you are at least alive. The poor have died though.
Blame game won't help... it is in bad taste.
Your husband, Sheri Rahman and the irresponsible media lost no time in blaming the government. Yes they could have done more, probably. But it is always easy to be wise after the event. But in such sad moments the blame game was not in good taste. As a neutral observer I wonder what more could the government have done? PPP had an absolute free hand to do any thing. They did. They put up a fabulous show with total disregard to the inconvenience to the local traffic and local residents of Karachi. They were all inconvenienced.
It was impossible to see the carnage right in front of you...
It took me time to overcome this shock. It all happened right in front of me. There is no way I could describe my feelings. I could not even watch. Any way our blog does not write what you must have already read in the newspapers and seen on TV etc. The whole thing has been sordid and such a huge tragedy.
The living without limbs is more difficult...
My heart goes out to all those killed and more for those injured. They have to live with the injuries, disfigurement and loss of limbs etc. I wish I could do something for them. I am at my own level.
Is media scared of the PPP? Why don't you speak the truth?
We are going to talk about things the media has ignored either deliberately, under threat or bribe, I do not know. But the fact remains, media in Pakistan does show restraint when it comes to Benazir and PPP while their guns go blazing against the President. They are so brave against him. That is very good. But why are you so one sided? Be brave against the PPP too. Particularly Geo - Kamran Khan, ARY - Kashif Abbasi, Aaj, Dr. Danish in TVOne are all guilty of fear. Why don't you speak the truth?
Benazir's accusations are not well founded...
Benazir should know she was not in Dubai but Karachi where power cuts is a daily phenomenon. She complains of lights going off at dusk. A very shallow accusation. At 12:00 midnight she was not supposed to be there. Why did she not adhere to a program? At that time, after all her program, she was supposed to have been at home. The conditions were definitely not good, why did you hang on there at great risk. You escaped but the poor died.
Had you stuck to a program you could have saved lives and the suffering of poor...
You ought to have briefly made a presence on the road, gone straight to Mazar-e-Qaed made your passionate address, made your point, pleased your followers and gone home comfortably. Instead you chose the "Tamasha" fanfare. Your truck was just not able to move. When could you have reached the place, made the address and gone home? What was the program? The more time you were on the road the people were so much at risk. Had you cared for the poor, their suffering for the past three days, you would not have done this.
According to experts there were no more than 100,000 people...
One wonders how many people were there? Benazir says 30,00,000. Did she calculate? No. Just an idea. It is not too difficult to calculate. Just count the busses that arrived from the interior, count trucks, cars or whatever mode of transport. I am a media man and a marketing man I can easily estimate. As a marketing man, figures are most important, I can very roughly calculate the number of people present. As a media man I know how a few can be shown to be many. All TV personnel will testify to this. There were no more than 75,000 to 100,000 people.
The poor PPP supporters had no transport to go back nor were they paid...
What is the plight of those that were brought in by PPP leaders from interior villages and small and big towns. They were promised money. Lots of them have complained that they have been left high and dry on the streets and did not even have the transport to go back and did not have money to go by public transport. They were obliged to borrow money from locals in Karachi to go back. So much for the poor the lady talks about.

Don't forget you have failed not once but twice and twice you have been removed on charges of corruption and misrule. Your party members call you "Mothorama" meaning respected. Surprisingly media follows suit as if it is some official title. But can you call one who is accused of such rampant corruption as respected?

P.S.
There is a perception in political circles that this sordid carnage, if any thing, has only helped Benazir. Sympathy has grown, increased her vote bank while herself and the top PPP leadership has come out unscathed. The propounders of conspiracy theories see a lot of planning in it and think every thing has gone exactly as per plan. Just ten minutes before she was moved to safety. The blast was just far enough not to cause casualty to the leadership. Some people see conspiracy in this although the author does not contribute to conspiracy theories.

Do come back but don't blow up a God given chance yet again...

Miracle - yes but this time no fooling the innocent people please...
Allah has been so kind on you. I agree with you that it is a miracle. It indeed is. You are given yet another chance to lead. Now for God's sake don't blow it up. The government has helped you in so many different ways. People have come out in large numbers to greet you - whether hired or genuine is immaterial. But please do not fool around this time.

Do something for the people who love you. You talk of poor. But don't let poverty be their permanent destiny. If you mean to remove poverty then you have to start with land reforms. Are you prepared to address agricultural land reforms? You have to introduce land ceiling for which Pakistan is late by 60 years. You have to give up your lands. Feudalism will go. This will be like truely helping the poor. Are you ready to give that sacrifice so that it helps the poor in rural areas?

People say you will give them jobs. But how will you? Will merit will have a place? Will employment be generated by increasing employment by giving land to the landless, putting up industries and services or are you just going to appoint four instead of one in a job, thereby killing a thriving organisation. If you do that you will kill the economy. Expand opportunity, expand economy don't overload an existing opportunity.

If you are coming with a clear vision it is fine otherwise you will only be fooling the nation. Twice you have been removed for corruption and mismanagement. This time don't go down as the wife of a corrupt man. Now for God's sake let it not repeat. I wish the best for Pakistan and us including you.

Benazir is indeed welcome but what about Asif Zardari?

Is your husband good in national interest? Ask the nation?
This is rather embarrassing for us and must be for Benazir too. I posed this question to the hard core supporters of PPP and pat came the answer "But what to do with Asif Sain?". People are worried. Genuinely worried.

They think whatever good the lady might do will be undone thoughtlessly by this gentleman. How can people forget his exploits when Benazir was in power. However much the media may trying to sweep his deeds under the carpet it haunts people without a reminder . Let me not repeat them all here.

How can this man be stopped? Is he in national interest, is a question the lady must ask. She is getting a third shot at becoming the Prime Minister of Pakistan. Can she let this opportunity also be squandered without making good history? I think she should not take this chance.

You know what the people on the street are saying? This baggage is coming along and the guy has his eyes on the $16 billion foreign exchange reserves that Pakistan presently enjoys. Whether her husband is corrupt or not and if he is a culprit is not the point. You cannot just ignore the perception this man has created for himself and thus sullied the lady's image.

Besides huge scams this man is linked to car thefts and how they have been recovered from Bilawal House. He may not have been convicted but no body can prove that he is all that innocent. His reputation as Mr. 10% and later 100% seems well earned. As Imran Khan had put it "bacha bacha jantha hai ke Asif Zardari chor hai". (Every child knows that Asif Zardari is corrupt). So his non-conviction is immaterial if Benazir wants to make it big into history. Can the lady ignore his reputation? No.

This time the nation wants Benazir to do things the world will remember her for. Not for corruption, loot, plunder, vendetta and utter lawlessness. The chances of her doing this will improve if she keeps her husband's greed and guile away from her and power.

Benazir, you already have enough money, now don't go for it this time left, right and center. Do some thing good for Pakistan so that you make history and people remember you as some one who was honest and did something good for Pakistan.

There is a lot of good you can do like introducing land ceiling to a maximum of say 60 acres, giving land to the landless, finishing off with the decadent feudalism, solving the Kashmir problem favorable to Pakistan and the people of Kashmir, education, industrialization, exports, better foreign policy etc. to placing Pakistan high up in the list of fast developing nations.

Let your agendas be worthy of the great nation you will be representing at the world forums.

Remember, you will never make it good in history with dishonesty and corruption. Allah is giving you another chance this time do good lest you be thrown out again by Providence.

Condoleeza Rice should mind her own business...

Don't tell us what to do...
Condoleeza Rice has no business to advise us. We are a sovereign state and we do not like orders from any body even it is a super power and a friend. And please do not even suggest that we are going to be unfair in elections. You have no business what so ever to meddle in our domestic matters and make them worse. Please let us have our dignity and do not tell us what to do. We know what to do.

You are making blunders after blunders before and after 9/11. Did we tell you any thing. You want to solve the problem of terrorism but you do not want to address the root causes of the problem. By supporting Israel illogically you created a monster. One side you talk of democracy and the other side you do not support the will of people. You allow Israel to occupy for 40 years with all attrocities. When they want a democratic solution you use veto and have done so almost 80 times for Israel. You are compromising on US security for the sake of Israel. You are serving not US interests but that of Israel. But do we tell you any thing?

You talk of democracy but do not pressure India to stop atrocities on the people of Kashmir and let the will of the people prevail. On top of it you go and reward India in so many different ways, forgetting the way it treats its minorities and the pogroms it conducts against Muslims. You give no helping hand in solving the Kashmir problem and when we are helping you, you say "not enough". What are you doing to solve the problem of people so that people do not have to take up arms. You do nothing but do we tell you anything? No.

You left Afghanistan after they liberated Soviet Union and made no efforts to develop it. You do not help people where they are in problems and yet want help all the time. Why? But do we tell you anything? No. So why do you tell us what to do? You have no right what so ever to tell us what to do?

You go and invade Afghanistan and Iraq and are responsible for unnecessary deaths of millions of people and some your own. You go in so childishly on false pretext and destroy countries. Do we tell you what to do. We don't. So why do you tell us what to do?

If Ms Rice and her predecessors had done their job right there would have been no terrorism.

Media in Pakistan is doing free publicity for the Oppositon - Irresponsible journalism! Don't take sides.

Free publicity for the Opposition...
I usually see the electronic media in Pakistan. It is fantastic the way the present Government has given freedom to the media. Media never enjoyed this freedom for the past 60 years. And mind you this kind of freedom is not there in USA, Europe or even India. Media in the pretext of the freedom of the press does not promote a party against the other. It does not even take a stand against the defined Government policy in national interest.

For instance can one talk in India against the Government stand on Kashmir? Never. Can they raise the voice of some Indians who happen to be Muslims? Never. It is all suppressed with an iron hand. Take for instance Urdu TV from India - the policy is all government propaganda. Can they reflect the mass opinions? Never. One word against the government policy, they are in trouble. So many restrictions will be employed for one reason or the other.

Pakistan media has totally gone out of control. Kamran Khan for instance in Geo, look at him, the way he beams on talking to Benazir and promoting her and the same with Kashif Abbasi of ARY. Aaj's Talat Hussein is not that partisan, although as a channel it is. They start off by saying "The Government has failed in every possible way etc." They are conducting the media trials and passing judgments on the Government and The President in particular all the time. And this is without giving the accused a chance to defend themselves.

If they are critising the Government objectively it is fine. But they are taking sides. While their issue is only the president and his uniform and re-election they do not talk about the utter mis-management and rampant corruption that prevailed at the time of Benazir's and Nawaz Sharif's governance. They don't even raise the critical issues of the people. On the contrary with the help of the audience they have they are building opinion against a party. Can media take sides to this extent?

Media is building opinions with biased views and without regard to national interests and peoples' interests. Poor are completely forgotten. Media does not talk of the pressing issues of the people and poor in particular. I think it is about time media showed maturity, sensibility and responsibility and did not take sides lest you help the corrupt and proven failures each twice. The opposition is also not spending money but getting free publicity from the irresponsible media that is not serving the people in all integrity but some vested interested.

Don't take sides.