A deluded Messiah: General Musharraf launches his own political party

Pakistan's political scene is full of dichotomies. Politicians who represent the electorate and are not in the government often end up praying for Messiahs with boots to come and pull the country out of one abyss or another. Intelligentsia who chant for Western ideals of freedom and democracy often end up promoting special non-democratic routes to "technocrat" governance of for a badly governed country. And usurpers end up looking for legitimacy through concocted elections and by (without exception) creating their own Pakistan Muslim League - General Ayub, General Zia, and General Musharraf all followed the same path. Only General Ayub had the courage to leave disgracefully, but retire and die gracefully as an old man surrounded with his grand children.

Unlike his predecessors who by the end of their tenure knew that they are unwanted illegitimate children of hunger for power, General Musharraf still suffers from a delusion of being a Messiah. An illegitimate usurper who's popularity is limited to 312268 (on 02.02.2010) followers in facebook and primarily among the affluent and Westernised urban elite in and outside Pakistan - a minuscule constituency that almost never votes in general elections.

Launching his political party General Musharraf grudgingly acknowledged his lack of popularity among the electorate and apologised for his past"I am aware of the fact that there were some decisions which I took which resulted in negative political repercussions, repercussions which had adverse effects on nation building and national political events, and my popularity also, may I say, plummeted in that last year. I take this opportunity to sincerely apologise to the whole nation. Ladies and gentlemen, only God is infallible."

Can a leopard change its spots: speaking to BBC Radio yesterday General Musharraf was still promoting the case for a military intervention in the Pakistan politics. He is still of the view that western democratic values do not have place in Pakistan and there is a special formula with explicit military role in governance of country is still the answer.

I do, however, agree with General Musharraf that "total despondency and demoralisation and hopelessness which prevails in society today" require some radical changes in Pakistan's political scene. I also believe that as Pakistani citizen Musharraf has a right to get involved in, form a political party and seek a return to power through legitimate constitutional process - provided he demonstrate that he believes in one.

I also believe that people of Pakistan have a right to hold him answerable for unconstitutional acts, excesses and crimes committed during his time in power. He has a right to return to politics. He also has a duty to face the people of Pakistan in a court of law.

British Council staff complete triathlon covering the equivalent distance of the land boundary of Pakistan to raise funds for flood victims

Some say that the UK citizens are suffering from Charity fatigue. Statement doesn't hold true when you hear heart rendering stories like the British Council staff in the UK who have just completed a gruelling triathlon covering the equivalent distance of the land boundary of Pakistan to raise money for the flood-devastated country.

On 27 September, the final kilometre out of 6774 was covered ensuring that the team completed their challenge in just 27 days.

The worst floods to hit Pakistan in recorded history have affected an estimated 20 million people, with six million in need of food aid. Although emergency relief is now well under way, the long term reconstruction needs are enormous. The UN estimates that over 10,000 schools have been totally or partially destroyed.

In the picture one can see Cardiff team runners (from left to right) Bill Burson, Owain Wright and Sebastian Graca Da Silva and swimmer Edwina Lewis-Chaston, who between them covered over 500km for the triathlon challenge.

Reacting to the apparent donor fatigue in the UK, Tom Birtwistle, External Relations Officer, at the British Council decided that an ambitious fundraising challenge was needed: ‘I thought the idea of a team triathlon covering the perimeter of Pakistan sounded taxing enough so I started recruiting people to join me.’

Twenty-three members of British Council staff, including Chief Executive Martin Davidson, came forward wanting to help. ‘I’ve really enjoyed being part of a team of colleagues raising money for a part of the world which has suffered so much and is an important part of the British Council family. My only problem has been forcing myself out of bed for when the swimming pool opened at 6.30 in the morning,’ said Martin.

Edwina Lewis-Chaston, Project Delivery Officer, managed to notch up the miles despite being five months pregnant: ‘Within the big challenge my personal aim has been to swim a kilometre a day, but having four extra arms and legs didn’t help me swim any faster!’

‘The more I read about the relief effort the more I realised the urgency of the cause. If we can help keep the issue on the agenda, let’s – it’s the right thing to do,’ she added.

In response to the £3,642 raised to date for the Disasters Emergency Committee, David Martin, Director Pakistan, said: ‘We are heartened and encouraged to hear that colleagues in the UK are showing solidarity with Pakistan.’

He added that British Council staff in Pakistan have been donating to the Edhi Foundation, with generous donations made during Ramadan (the traditional time of giving - ‘zakat’ - to those in need).

Further fundraising activity in the UK offices for those less keen on a physical challenge included a cake sale this week which raised over £400.

There is still time to contribute to the campaign by visiting the team’s Just Giving page.

Recall the Pakistan cricket team right away, arrest on arrival and try in a court of law like common crooks that they are.

Story run by the News of the World newspaper in the UK has all the circumstancial evidence to prove that there is something rotten going on inside the entire cricket world. Pakistanis were stupid enough to get caught. If Pakistan cricket is to survive from this latest scandal the need to to do the following:

• cancel the forthcoming one day series forthwith and recall the cricket team back. According to media reports the outcome of that series has been predecided by the betting world. It doesn't really matter whether remaining matches are played honestly or not, whatever the result it will be tainted. Continuation of the current series will create unnecessary media frenzy and delay anti-corruption proceedings against the culprits.
• Arrest the team on arrival at the airport and let the National Accountability Bureau investigate the corruption charges like they are supposed to do for anyother corrupt public figures in Pakistan.
• All those proven to be guilty should be banned for playing all forms of cricket in and out of Pakistan. They should also serve jail terms appropriate to their crime.
  

There have been previous attempts at investigating and bringing the culprits to justice. Enquiry lead by Justice Qayyum in its report fell short of implicating the so called heroes of Pakistan cricket and recommended action mostly against those who were in effect out of the lime light.

It is time for Pakistan cricket to bite the bullet and make an examples of those who have brought shame to a nation of cricket fanatics.

Helping those affected by flood disaster in Pakistan - II

A public service blog post this time. Two internationally recognised Pakistani fashion designers Maria B and Yousuf Bashir Qureshi (YBQ) are coming to Manchester to run a charity Fashion Show in partnership with International Foundation for Mother and Child Health (IFMCH) a local charity based in Cheshire. All proceeds from this charity event will be used to set up field health units in the flood affected areas of Pakistan. The event will take place on Friday 24 September at Nawab International Restaurant Banqueting Hall, 1008 Stockport Road Levenshulme. Tickets for the event are available here.

Helping those affected by flood disaster in Pakistan - I

While the world at large is practically indifferent to the sufferings of victims of one of the biggest natural disasters - floods in Pakistan, there are individuals and small organisations that are doing sterling work on the ground with or without the support of government infrastructure. One such organisation is JAWAN - a group of young alumni of various educational institutions who got together to help the victims of SWAT last year and are now actively helping the flood victims. Here is a short report on their work and how you can join in to help.

Dear All,

We have Alhamdulillah been able to raise PKR 5.2 million+ (52 lac) in just 10 days.

To start with, we had PKR 987,000 set aside from the remaining IDPs fund for rehab in Swat. Unfortunately due to the frail security situation earlier we could not go there. After hearing about the devastation caused by floods we used these Swat-rehab funds as base, immediately started raising more funds and used last years teams and channels (with some new volunteers joining us) and went in to Swat for Round-1 of Relief Efforts. We provided basic food items (10kg flour, 5 kg rice, 2kg lentils, 2kg sugar and 1kg ghee) to 1200 families in remote areas. Most distributed by hand, some sent to Matta area through heli[copters] and some sent deep into Shangla through mules with the help of Pak[istan] Army.

All the while fund-raising for Round-2 was aggressively going on and planning for Round-2 Southern Punjab was being done. As soon as we came back, a larger team left for Alipur/Jatoi/Kot Addu areas this last Saturday. They took their time surveying around to make sure they deliver by hand to the most needy. By tomorrow INSHALLAH they would have distributed food items to around 2000 families in distress.

Round-3 fund-raising is in full swing. In the past 10 days, excluding the base amount of PKR 987,000 with your selfless efforts and trust, we have been able to raise more than 4.2 million+ (42 lac) rupees which is no small feat. Most of the money is here, payments have been done for the first two rounds and the committed money is being followed up to make sure we have money in hand and a good estimate to procure goods for Round-3.

We urge you to keep this momentum and raise as much money as you can, create as much awareness as you can. Remember, we are willing to go for as many rounds as we can and only your contributions and fund-raisers can make it possible.

Team J.A.W.A.N, Pakistan.

Fadil Aleem +92-345-4022058, fadil.aleem@gmail.com
Waqas Burney +92-300-4211047, mail@waqasburney.com

For donation procedures and details, please visit the document-link below.

https://docs.google.com/document/edit?id=1UtullVhZzl1WDnedr7A04hpkpr0OzwPj-_lCHhlbzd4&hl=en&authkey=CLSWzdwM

Was David Cameron wrong to accuse Pakistan of double standards on terrorism!

Many have have been saying it openly and in private what David Cameron said about Pakistan and its complex engagement with Terrorism. But David Cameron committed the cardinal sin of saying it in the wrong place of all - India.

The general public in Pakistan sees India as a far greater threat than either Al Qaeda or the Taliban. A research study conducted in Pakistan and elsewhere by the Pew Poll during April this year contains some powerful lessons for both the US and the UK. It might've been a good idea for the Foreign Office to have read it before David Cameron gave an anti-Pakistan speech in India.

A majority of ordinary Pakistanis see India as the most serious threat to their country -more than twice as many as the 23% who think the Taliban a dangerous threat. A derisory 3% think Al Qaeda is something for them to worry about.

This latter is of course America's greatest obsession, and US strategists would do well to put themselves in the shoes of regional 'friends' - if they still are that: 59% of Pakistanis describe the U.S. as an enemy, and less than one in five - 18% - say they trust the Americans.

President Barack Obama is also very unpopular, with only 8% of Pakistanis expressing confidence that he will do the right thing in world affairs. This is his lowest rating of any major country by a factor of three times....and gives the lie to any idea that his religious background is a plus-point.

But perhaps the most worrying results are those concerning anti-terrorism and the war in Afghanistan. Only one in five Pakistanis support a US-led 'war on terror'. And a mere 7% support the war in Afghanistan.

The most stark contrast of all, however, is that of the yawning gap between Indian confidence in the US, and Pakistan's mistrust: 83% of Indians think the US has their interests in mind, but only 19% of Pakistanis do.

There is an obvious lesson here for the Obama administration: its claims to be pro-Islam aren't credible, and its trust in regional allies like Pakistan is misplaced: most of that country's citizens see the US as a friend of their greatest enemy....and the enemy next door agrees with them.

Meanwhile, memo to Dave and the FCO: if you're going to have a go at Pakistan, don't choose the capital of their biggest foe as the location for doing it. It won't play well. (John Ward at THE SLOG)