Our Darkest Hour

This is perhaps the darkest hour in our nation's sad history. The Concerned Citizens of Pakistan, mourn the loss of Benazir Bhutto - as we all do, regardless of agreement or disagreement with her politics - and send our deepest condolences to her family. At this time, we would do well to remember the words of her father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in his letter to Benazir from his death cell:

"Tin-pot dictators have ravaged Asia, Latin America and Africa... They are the worst tyrants of the post-colonial period. They have destroyed time-honoured institutions and treated their people like animals. They have caused internal divisions and external confusion. The dictator is the one animal who needs to be caged. He betrays his profession and his constitution. He betrays the people and destroys human values. He destroys culture. He binds the youth. He makes the structure collapse. He rules by fluke and freak. He is the scourge and the ogre. He is a leper. Anyone who touches him also becomes a leper. He is the upstart who is devoid of ideals and ideology. Not a single one of them has made a moment's contribution to history."

Following the tragic assassination of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, we have been plunged into a crisis whose proportions are difficult to exaggerate. Because of the divisive policies of one dictator and his refusal to back down, the country is on the verge of descending into complete chaos. To resolve the crisis and pull the country back from the brink of disaster, the Concerned Citizens of Pakistan demand the following:

1. Musharraf should step down immediately, and hand over power to a National Government, formed by the consensus of all major political parties and drawn from all Provinces of the country. The National Government should be headed by a neutral icon such as Justice (R) Wajihuddin Ahmed or Rana Bhagwandas.

2. The Judiciary be immediately reinstated as it stood on November 2, 2007.

3. Curbs imposed on the media be immediately removed.

4. A new and truly independent Election Commission be constituted.

5. Free and Fair Elections be conducted within 90 days, with complete freedom for international observers and independent exit polls.

In Mourning and Complete Solidarity,

Concerned Citizens of Pakistan (CCP)