Our Country Crisis

Unmaking of the State

By Adil Zareef
“I cannot forecast to you the action of Russia. It is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma!” — Winston Churchill

PAKISTAN in this age and time clearly fits this description. The US prediction that the next 9/11 would come from Fata is no less ominous — Pakhtunkhwa certainly is in the eye of the storm.

Only last week, the Pak-India Forum for Peace and Democracy meeting scheduled in Peshawar for May 24-26 was postponed for ‘security reasons’. It had last met in Peshawar in November 1998 in an altogether different world. There was music and classical dancing by the Sheema Kermani troupe as well as panel discussions on diverse issues between the two rival neighbours. Our world seemed to be inching towards normality.

Most ordinary folks ask the question: from where have the Sufi Mohammads, Nek Mohammads, Baitullah Mehsuds, Fazlullahs, Mangal Baghs, Namdaars and their ilk suddenly appeared and fortified their positions, taking the public hostage and challenging the state? Why do these things not happen in Punjab where they have Raiwind, Mansoora and the renowned ‘bazaar’ alongside the famous Badshahi mosque? How do the profound and the profane coexist as their economies thrive? And here in our land known for centuries for its peaceful civilisations and syncretism of cultures there has suddenly emerged the most violent interpretation of religion threatening to take the country into the dark ages.

An Imperial Success

THE purists may scoff but the public is delighted and, like it or not, it’s the majority vote that counts. Indeed there is an element of elitism in the barbs directed against the Indian Premier League. Some of the concerns voiced are right on the money, pun intended, but the ebbing flood of criticism also appears to be coming from a position of unwarranted superiority. It is time the naysayers emerged from the ether and saw the real world at ground level. Twenty20 contests are a thrill a minute, usually take place after the day’s work is done and are over in less than four hours. That’s why they are an instant hit with a public that craves spectacle more than stratagem, for whatever reason. And how many decades ago was it that cricket was not commercialised? It’s just a matter of degree, though the IPL does represent a quantum leap in that direction.

Uncertainty and Stock Crisis

Ibrat
THE Karachi Stock Exchange witnessed the benchmark KSE-100 index once more losing more than 500 points on Thursday when rumours about President Musharraf’s resignation were at their peak. The country remained in the grip of rumours until … the president himself contradicted them. The plunging of stocks … was due to political uncertainty.

Under the previous regime, the stock exchange had witnessed an artificial crash when some circles earned millions of rupees. Why was no protest staged against Shaukat Aziz? There are many dimensions of the recent stock market crisis. These factors include the worldwide slump in the stock markets, a decrease in remittances by overseas Pakistanis, the illegal business of money changers and weaking of the dollar.

What Happened Last Week: Musharraf’s Ouster?

What a shameful last three days we’ve had. The media fabricated the story of Musharraf’s departure in a plane to ‘a neighboring country.’ The sad thing is that the rest of the good media is going to suffer when our politicians lead us to the next military takeover. Friends of Pakistan used to wonder why we’re so suicidal. Now they wonder why we’ve also reduced ourselves to a joke. This is the truth: Nawaz Sharif and the Musharraf-hating gang are getting desperate. Chances of taking revenge from Musharraf by using the hapless ex-CJ have all but receded. Zardari has cleverly got them mired in a 62-point bill that could take months if not years to materialize. Now they’re trying to play with the military. They tried once and got burned. Now they are trying again. This time there will be no U.S. president or Saudi crown prince to the rescue. My advice: Stop playing with fire.
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan—One could concoct a tale out of anything. Here’s one.

By HUMAYUN GAUHAR
Monday, 2 June 2008.
WWW.AHMEDQURAISHI.COM

The president explained to me the other day the sort of generator or UPS I should put in my house. How could a president know such things? Conclusion: He must be thinking of moving to his private home soon and is therefore studying alternative electric supply options. Scoop!

What a shameful last three days we’ve had. Our friends were wondering why we’re so suicidal. Now they wonder why we’ve also reduced ourselves to a joke. A daily comic that passes for a newspaper and the comic TV channel associated with it deliberately started the rumor last Thursday that President Musharraf would be leaving in hours.