HYDERABAD: Leaders of political parties, civil society, teachers and thinkers declared here on Sunday that mafias had taken over control of almost all universities in the province and turned the institutions into virtual slaughterhouses. ….
Read more » DAWN.COM
By Adnan Farooq
‘I am sorely disappointed both with Nawaz Sharif himself going to court, and by the walk-out of the party from the National Assembly during the democracy vote on the 16th January’, says Kamran Shafi.
Pakistan’s leading columnist and a public debater frequently appearing at TV talk shows, Kamran Shafi, writes a regular column for the Express Tribune. He is a known critic of Pakistan military’s unconstitutional actions. In an interview with Viewpoint, he throws light on current political scenario in Pakistan. Read on:
What the present stand-off would lead to?
Hopefully to the realisation by all that it is best to stay within the confines of the Constitution as prescribed for all institutions.
What do you say about the role of judiciary. It was expected that the Advocates Movement would deliver the end of ‘Doctrine of Necessity’. But it seems, judiciary is once again ready to serve the Khaki interests?
I think judiciary is not serving ‘khaki interests’, only stressing it’s suzerainty over every other institution which can prove to be extremely dangerous.
Continue reading Judiciary stressing its suzerainty: Kamran Shafi
By Omar Ali
While the Zia-ul-Haq narrative promoted jihadist militias and covert foreign adventures, Pervez Musharraf’s regime led to open rebellion in Balochistan, an independent Islamic emirate in FATA, a nationwide terrorist problem and new compromises with the same corrupt politicians. And were Ashfaq Parvez Kayani to take over tomorrow, he will end up with the same compromises and the same old faces.
Before a democratic government can stabilise, the middle classes, schooled in the Pakistan Military Academy narrative, start aching for another saviour on horseback, but none exists.
In the current crisis in Pakistan, there has been some comment over what might work better for the country’s development — a “democratic” model or an “authoritarian” one. These categories may be misleading. Generalised arguments about “authoritarian regimes” and “democracies” hide far too many details under the hijab. There is vigorous debate about the shortcomings (real and imagined) of modern capitalist democracy and there is no reason to think that it is the final system under which mankind will live forever. But in the last 100 years, most absolute or dictatorial regimes have all either broken down, or seen capitalist development and evolved into some sort of democracy. The question then is not about democracy versus authoritarianism. It is about whether an “under-developed” state, such as Pakistan, can “develop” as a capitalist democracy without going through a fascist phase.
Continue reading The alternative to the slow boat of democracy in Pakistan is failure
The language of the talk show is urdu (Hindi).
Courtesy: Lekin with Sana Bacha on GeoNews Tv – 20th January 2012 – p3
“Tomorrow they may decide to kill me because I know too much. But I want this on record so that one day, 10 years from now, 20 years from now, somebody goes back and says: What was happening in Quaid-e-Azam’s Pakistan?”
Nearly twelve years ago monthly Herald published this interview of Benazir Bhutto (taken by Ali Dayan Hasan). This is perhaps the most revealing interview that BB gave to a local publication. In the context of Pakistan in 2012, this interview remains most relevant. This introduction to the interview is most insightful as it echoes many themes that we are living through once again. Her successor, Yusuf Raza Gilani has made similar remarks on the floor of the Parliament. At least we seemed to have inched a little forward though the destination of democratic Pakistan remains rather elusive. ….
Read more » Pak Tea House
See more » http://pakteahouse.net/2012/01/19/blaming-politicians-alone-for-tarnishing-democracy-is-actually-less-than-half-the-story-benazir-bhuttos-interview-to-herald-2000/
Govt has no intention of sacking Kayani, Pasha: AG
ISLAMABAD: During the hearing of a petition filed against a possible removal of Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani and Director General Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lt-Gen Ahmad Shuja Pasha, the government clarified that it had no intention of sacking the said officials, DawnNews reported.
Attorney General Maulvi Anwarul Haq told the Supreme Court bench hearing the petition that the government had no plans to take such an action.
On the attorney general’s explanation, Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry directed him to file a written reply after taking orders on the issue from the government. ….
Read more » DAWN.COM
Mansoor Ijaz claims he has US support for Pakistan visit
By Murtaza Ali Shah
LONDON: Repeating his claims of receiving threats from Pakistani officials on a daily basis, US businessman Mansoor Ijaz, has said he had now been assured by the US government of its support during his forthcoming visit to Pakistan.
Ijaz, who claimed to have delivered a controversial memo against the army to US Admiral Mike Mullen in May last year and accused then ambassador Husain Haqqani of being involved in crafting it, also says he would travel to Pakistan but would not say when.
In an exclusive interview with Geo News, Ijaz said he offered Haqqani to stop “telling lies” about him (Ijaz) and he would stop telling “the truth” about him (Haqqani) but said the former ambassador did not “stop”.
“I had a conference call with the US State Department a couple of days ago. The US government will provide the support that they always do for US citizens,” Ijaz said in the interview in London.
“They (the US government) made their official position very clear and I made my reasons for going very clear. They understand it’s a high profile case and they understand I am a reasonably high-profile American citizen,” he added.
“And I think If, god forbid, anything goes wrong they will certainly be there to help my family make sure that things got sorted out. I am absolutely confident that the American government will do the right thing if something went wrong,” he said without elaborating what could possibly go wrong.
Ijaz has been summoned by a judicial commission in Islamabad on January 24 (Tuesday), which was set by the Supreme Court following petitions on the issue moved by the opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leaders and others.
The American national of Pakistani-origin was issued a one-year multiple-entry visa by the Pakistan High Commission on Thursday evening. Ijaz said he would travel to Islamabad but would not reveal his travel plans.
Ijaz appeared seriously distrusting of Pakistan government claims about his security. “Part of the problem is that you have government officials that are threatening me on a daily basis and I find that a little bit strange that from one corner of their mouth they are saying that I’m secure and at the same time they are threatening me too,” he said.
He said it was not just his personal protection that worried him but rather he was more concerned about the security of his family, businesses, the entire infrastructure around his life.
“I have to make sure that all of these things are attended to. I can’t just get up and recklessly go and do whatever I want to do,” he said but added that he did not want to “put an overburden on the system in terms of my personal security while I’m there”.
Ijaz explained he was a family man with a lot of personal, business and social commitments and wanted to make sure that “certain things had been addressed” to give everyone “peace of mind” when he travelled to Pakistan.
Ijaz praised the memo commission for addressing his concerns. He also appreciated the Pakistan army, which he said, had agreed to “do certain things that they have not agreed to do for anybody else and I very much appreciate that”. …
Read more » Geo Tv News
Pakistan’s former ambassador to the United States Husain Haqqani said that the judicial commission investigating the memogate was trying to coerce him to confess that President Asif Ali Zardari had urged him to draft the memo to former chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Admiral Mike Mullen.
This was revealed by Haqqani to Professor Christine Fair of Georgetown University, a South Asia expert, who has extensively researched the Pakistan army, the Inter-Serviced Intelligence and the terrorist organisations based in the country.
Haqqani was asked to step down as Pakistan’s envoy to the US over his suspected role in the secret memo, which said that the Pakistan government had sought help from the United States to stave off a military coup in the wake of the Abbottabad raid on May 2, which killed Osama bin Laden.
Fair, who was discussing the memogate affair at a conference at the Hudson Institute and arguing how the judicial process has been subverted and due process disregarded in the investigation of Haqqani, said she had met Haqqani last week. His interpretation of the investigation was “that they are trying to use these proceedings to put the fear of Allah in him to get him to give up the goods on Zardari to bring this government down,” she said. “This is a well-worn playbook that this military had in its disposal,” she added.
Fair said that this case “bears some similarity to what we saw with (former Pakistan prime minister) Benazir’s (Bhutto) father — Zulfikar Ali Bhutto — when they took the head of his security and coerced him into becoming what’s called an approver in Pakistani parlanace — I guess in our parlance it would be basically a witness for the state.”
Thus, she said, “While we all care about Husain Haqqani, I want to emphasise that this is not simply about the particular personal safety or lack thereof of Haqqani, but also about Pakistan’s democratic institutions.”
Fair said that what was currently taking place in Pakistan “in my view is a slow-moving coup.”
“So, if we care about Pakistan’s democracy as well as Husain Haqqani, the United States government really needs to be much more vocal than it has been,” she said. “We have to work with our partners to send a very clear message that we recognise that this is a coup albeit via judicial hue.”
Lisa Curtis, who heads the South Asia programme at The Heritage Foundation, a conservative Washington-based think tank, warned that “if the Zardari government is forced out, whether it be through the Supreme Court — and it looks like the army is working in tandem with the Supreme Court albeit behind the scenes — this is going to send a negative signal.”
Curtis, a former Central Intelligence Agency official, said the signal would be clear that “the Pakistan army still wields inappropriate control within the systems,” and that ‘civilian democracy has really not taken root in Pakistan“. She argued, “Even though the Zardari government may not be perfect, it’s an elected government and we need to keep that in mind.”
Courtesy: rediff.com
Q&A – Ayesha Siddiqa, Political Commentator
PAKISTAN IS in a political crisis, again. Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani is openly targeting the army. The army and ISI are digging up dirt against the prime minister on Memogate and are angry with his statements. The judiciary is adamant on pursuing corruption cases against President Asif Ali Zardari and is charging the prime minister for contempt. Amidst all this chaos, talks of a possible coup are doing the rounds. Gilani has been summoned to appear before the Supreme Court. Controversial Pak-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz, the man who claimed to have delivered the controversial memo to the Americans, is to visit Pakistan on 24 January. Kunal Majumder spoke to Ayesha Siddiqa, Pakistan’s leading authority on civil-military relations, about her assessment of the changing equations between the army, judiciary and the government.
Excerpts From An Interview
A lot of commentators are suggesting that a coup is not possible in Pakistan anymore. Do you agree with this assessment?
I wouldn’t agree that it is impossible, but at this moment, it doesn’t seem likely. A coup will happen only when the army runs out of options. Now, the military has other options available. It has a fiery judiciary ….
Read more » Tehelka
By Web Desk
Excerpt;
The central character in the Memogate scandal, American businessman Mansoor Ijaz said on Friday that the parliamentary committee probing into the case cannot summon him because he is not a Pakistani national. …
…. The committee had summoned Ijaz on January 26.
Ijaz’s Counsel Akram Sheikh has confirmed that he will appear in front of the judicial commission investigating the Memogate scandal on January 24. Earlier on Thursday, Ijaz was granted a one year multiple-entry visa to Pakistan. The American businessman had visited the the Pakistan High Commission in London, where he was granted the visa. …
Read more » The Express Tribune
Review board orders Malik Ishaq’s release
By Asad Kharal
LAHORE: A review board of the Lahore High Court (LHC), on Friday, denied an extension for the detention of Malik Ishaq, former leader of the banned Lashkar-i-Jhangvi, for one more month and issued orders for his release. ….
Read more » The Express Tribune
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