Standing up for Justice: A Test for our Leaders

DR. RIFFAT HASSAN

On February 18, 2008, despite all the Machiavellian plans devised and implemented by General Musharraf’s government to subvert and divert the cause of justice, the voice of the people of Pakistan rang out loudly and clearly in support of this cause. One must thank the Almighty for this act of grace which saved our country from further devastation at the hands of a despot whose megalomania has reached cosmic proportions. But one must also thank those leaders who took an unswerving stand for justice - whether like Mian Nawaz Sharif they took part in the elections, or like Aitzaz Ahsan, Imran Khan and the A.P.D.M. members they withdrew from the process. These leaders who, at great personal risk and cost, make an ethical issue the centre-piece of their struggle, provided visionary and courageous leadership to a nation that was sinking deeper and deeper into the abyss of hopelessness and helplessness. By their words and deeds, they have inspired and empowered the suffering masses – “the silent majority” – of Pakistanis as no mere political rhetoric could have ever done. The mobilization of civil society that has occurred because of the efforts made by them – the first in the living memory of most Pakistanis - is the most hopeful development that has taken place in Pakistan almost since its inception.

The gravity of the problems that Pakistan has to face today is known to all thinking citizens. There are multiple complex challenges that have to be confronted in every sphere of life. The systematic manipulation of executive power by an increasingly ruthless military dictator in order to maintain and extend his authority at any cost, has done untold damage to the very fabric of Pakistani society. In whichever direction one looks one sees ruin – a breakdown of institutions which are pivotal to any civilized society, an erosion of moral values essential for the development of a self-respecting nation, a dissipation of precious dreams and hopes without which no country can evolve or advance.

The mandate that Mian Nawaz Sharif has received from the people has put a very heavy mantle of responsibility on his shoulders. So much is expected from him – not only that he will rectify the wrongs that have been done in the political, economic, social and other spheres of everyday life – but that he will make a fractured, broken nation whole emotionally, mentally and morally. This is a formidable task for any leader, especially for one who was forced to live in exile for many years and whose family was subjected to extreme hardship. But the fact that God has elected him for this task, the fact that God enabled him to return to Pakistan despite huge impediments and obstacles, makes it his religious and moral obligation to live up to the ideal of a leader – referred to by Allama Iqbal as “Mard-e-Haqq” or “Mard-e-Momin” - who represents the highest ideals and best practices of Islam.

Aitzaz Ahsan is a person of amazing versatility and talents. His brilliance and diligence as a lawyer has long been recognized. However, since he undertook to represent the Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Choudhry in March 2007, he has become much more than a lawyer or a political leader. He has become the symbol of the “mujahid” who pursues the quest for justice in the face of formidable odds.


The Honourable Chief Justice has immortalized himself by refusing to submit to the dictates of a “zalim sultan.” His courage and conviction and refusal to surrender even when Pharaonic actions were taken against him and his family, including his young children - something that has no precedent in history – made him a beacon of light for thousands of people who had lost all hope of ever finding justice in Pakistan. However, Aitzaz Ahsan - with his intense dedication, energy, and passion – has played a pivotal role in making the cause of the Honourable Chief Justice the rallying-point of a nation that the gallant lawyers’ movement awakened from a state of death-like dormancy. By doing what he has done, and is continuing to do, he has secured his place in history.

Imran Khan has phenomenal achievements to his credit. A legendary sportsman, he has followed in the footsteps of Muhammad Ali who has become larger than life through the work he has done to give hope and help to countless persons in critical circumstances. One cannot forget the massive effort undertaken by him to raise consciousness about cancer, the deadly disease that killed his beloved mother, and gather the community support that enabled him to establish The Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital, an outstanding medical facility which provides free treatment to disadvantaged patients. A social reformer par excellence in the core of his being, Imran Khan gave up a life of luxury and ease in the West, and returned to Pakistan to initiate “Tehrik-e-Insaaf” – a movement for justice.

Imran Khan’s profound commitment to justice has been exemplified in the way he has responded to the havoc wrought upon Pakistan’s judicial system by General Musharraf who removed the Honourable Chief Justice of Pakistan and his worthy colleagues so that their unworthy successors appointed by him would legitimize his past, present and future, crimes. Imran Khan did whatever was humanly possible for him to do. He tried to mobilize youth which idolize him. He participated in all kinds of protests and suffered all kinds of punishments, including being jailed. He went to the U.S. – the greatest supporter of General Musharraf – and talked to many groups and policy makers to inform them of Pakistan’s rapidly deteriorating situation and urge them to live up to their own professed ideals of democracy and justice. Imran Khan went to England – a country where many still regard him as an icon – and demonstrated in front of the Prime Minister’s residence when General Musharraf was visiting the country. Thanks must also be given to Jemima Khan who demonstrated her love for Pakistan and for the cause of justice by her ongoing ardent participation in the movement for the liberation of our country from the evil rule of a Western-backed military tyrant.

Mian Nawaz Sharif, Aitzaz Ahsan, and Imran Khan now stand at the centre of an historic movement. They also stand at the threshold of the opening of a new chapter in Pakistan’s politics. All of them are political leaders in their own different ways with their respective party loyalties. In the coming days they may have to make some crucial decisions with regards to their priorities. At this time it is very likely that a strong pressure will be put on them to focus on what Asif Ali Zardari has referred to as “the larger perspective” and not insist on the restoration of the pre-November 3, 2007 judiciary as their first priority.

There will be many who may advise them to be a part of, or to support, the new parliamentary set-up and assure them that in due course of time, the parliament will review the issue of the restoration of the judges through setting up committees etc. It is very easy to be seduced by such advice and assurance which takes away the burden of continuing an uphill struggle. However, the Qur’an – the highest source of authority for us – makes the pursuit of justice mandatory in all circumstances, as clearly and emphatically stated by Surah 4: An-Nisa’ : 135 :

O ye who believe!
Stand out firmly
For justice, as witnesses
To Allah, even as against
Yourselves, or your parents,
Or your kin, and whether
It be (against) rich or poor:
For Allah can best protect both.
Follow not the lusts
(Of your hearts), lest ye
Swerve, and if ye
Distort (justice) or decline
To do justice, verily
Allah is well-acquainted
With all that ye do.

The Honourable Chief Justice and his venerable colleagues have borne the undiluted fury of an unscrupulous, callous ruler without flinching. The strength and steadfastness that they have shown, as the nation has struggled through the dark night of the soul, has kept the light of hope alive amongst millions in Pakistan and elsewhere. At this time, thousands are looking toward Mian Nawaz Sharif, Aitzaz Ahsan, Imran Khan and other like-minded leaders, to fulfil the commitment they have made to the people of Pakistan that they will work ceaselessly to right the grievous wrong that has been done. If the crucial issue of the restoration of the deposed judges is allowed to be put on the back burner in the interests of “the larger perspective” and its review is relegated to committees, the momentum that our valiant freedom-fighters have built up in their respective movements will be lost forever. As Shakespeare said with ominous insight:

There is a tide in the affairs of men,
Which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune.
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
On such a full sea are we now afloat.
And we must take the current when it serves,
Or lose our ventures.

Before Mian Nawaz Sharif, Aitzaz Ahsan, and Imran Khan is the shining example of Allama Iqbal and Quaid-e’Azam, two visionaries – incidentally both lawyers - who were responsible for the creation of Pakistan. The spiritual and political founder of Pakistan both believed that politics had to be grounded in ethics, and that moral principles must not be compromised on grounds of political expediency. By answering the call of God and the people to uphold the cause of justice - hard as it may seem at this time – their gain both in this world and in the hereafter will be much greater than if they walk away from this awesome responsibility.

(The writer is a Professor, specializing in Islamic Studies and Iqbal Studies, who teaches in the United States, and also heads The Iqbal International Leadership Institute.

Emergence of Civilian Masters

By: MUHAMMAD ASIF RIAZ

“War is too serious a matter to entrust to military men” is a famous quotation now getting popularity in Pakistan as Aitzaz Ahsan is using it frequently in his TV interviews while emphasizing the doctrine of Civilian Control of the Military. One more illustrative example are the words of Chairman Mao Zedong, who stated that "Our principle is that the Party commands the gun, and the gun must never be allowed to command the Party", reflecting the primacy of the Communist party as a decision-maker in Marxist-Leninist and Maoist theories of democratic centralism. One can find the same philosophy in the Jinnah’s advice to Colonel (later General) Akbar Khan. “Never forget that you are the servants of the state. You do not make policy. It is we, the people’s representative, who decide how the country is to be run. Your job is to only obey the decisions of your civilian masters.”
All of the above quotations lead to the doctrine of civilian control of the military that places ultimate responsibility for a country’s strategic decision-making in the hands of the civilian political leadership, rather than professional military officers. One author, paraphrasing Samuel P. Huntington’s writings in The Soldier and the State, has summarized the civilian control ideal as "the proper subordination of a competent, professional military to the ends of policy as determined by civilian authority”. Civilian control is often seen as a prerequisite feature of a stable, liberal democracy; use of the term in scholarly analyses tends to take place in the context of a state governed by democratically elected officials.
What is civilian control? Is it a fact? Is it a process? According to Professor Richard H. Kohn, "civilian control is not a fact but a process”. Affirmations of respect for the values of civilian control notwithstanding, the actual level of control sought or achieved by the civilian leadership may vary greatly in practice, from a statement of broad policy goals that military commanders are expected to translate into operational plans, to the direct selection of specific targets for attack on the part of governing politicians. Leaders with limited experience in military matters often have little choice but to rely on the advice of professional military commanders trained in the art and science of warfare to inform the limits of policy; in such cases, the military establishment may enter the bureaucratic arena to advocate for or contest against a particular course of action, shaping the policy-making process and blurring any clear-cut lines of civilian control.
For many young democracies, the institutionalization of civilian control over the military is a crucial task for democratic consolidation. This is especially true for Pakistan. After Pakistan gained independence in 1947 and lost its founder and first prime minister very early, the military history of Pakistan can be viewed as the history of modern-day Pakistan, as the military of Pakistan has played and continues to play a vital role in the establishment and shaping of the country. Although Pakistan was founded as a democracy after the partition of the Indian sub-continent, the military has remained one of the country’s most powerful institutions and has on occasion overthrown democratically elected governments on the basis of mismanagement and corruption. Successive governments have made sure that the military was consulted before they took key decisions. Political leaders know that the military has stepped into the political arena before at times of crisis, and could do so again up till now.
Pakistan’s ruling party has been routed in the country’s February’s general election , paving the way for a new government made up of former opposition parties that may try to impeach the President, Pervez Musharraf.
No party took an outright majority in the new parliament but anti-Musharraf parties, including the Pakistan People’s Party, the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) and possibly others, are in discussion about forming the next government.
Co-Chairman PPP Asif Ali Zardari and PML-N Quaid Nawaz Sharif while addressing a joint press conference on Thursday evening at the Zardari House after holding two-hour-long talks declared “We have decided to work together and move together for the future of the democracy in the country and to strengthen parliament.” In the same press conference Mr. Zardari said “system should be changed and there should be a new social contract with the establishment”. This is very bold and well thought of statement from Mr. Zardari but unfortunately got less attention from political and democratic analysts. If this statement read along with the quotation of Georges Clemenceau quoted by Atizaz Ahsan many times, gives some kind of insight of internal thinking taking place at PPP and shows that they are marching towards the doctrine of civilian control of the military in future.
Kohn succinctly summarizes this view when he writes that the point of civilian control is to make security subordinate to the larger purposes of a nation, rather than the other way around. The purpose of the military is to defend society, not to define it. As civilian leaders cannot usually hope to challenge their militaries by means of force, and thus must guard against any potential usurpation of powers through a combination of policies, laws, and the inculcation of the values of civilian control in their armed services.
Historically, direct control over military forces was hampered by the technological limits of command, control, and communications; national leaders, whether democratically elected or not, had to rely on local commanders to execute the details of a military campaign, or risk centrally-directed orders’ obsolescence by the time they reached the front lines. The remoteness of government from the action allowed professional soldiers to claim military affairs as their own particular sphere of expertise and influence; upon entering a state of war, it was often expected that the generals and field marshals would dictate strategy and tactics, and the civilian leadership would defer to their informed judgments.
Improvements in information technology and its application to wartime command and control (a process sometimes labeled the "Revolution in Military Affairs") has allowed civilian leaders removed from the theater of conflict to assert greater control over the actions of distant military forces. Precision-guided munitions and real-time videoconferencing with field commanders now allow the civilian leadership to intervene even at the tactical decision-making level, designating particular targets for destruction or preservation based on political calculations or the counsel of non-uniformed advisors.
While civilian control forms the normative standard in almost every society outside of military dictatorships, its practice has often been the subject of pointed criticism from both uniformed and non-uniformed observers, who object to what they view as the undue "politicization" of military affairs, especially when elected officials or political appointees micromanage the military, rather than giving the military general goals and objectives, and have the military decide how best to carry those orders out. By placing responsibility for military decision-making in the hands of non-professional civilians, critics argue, the dictates of military strategy are subsumed to the political, with the effect of unduly restricting the fighting capabilities of the nation’s armed forces for what should be immaterial or otherwise lower priority concerns. Politicians who personally lack military training and experience but who seek to engage the nation in military action may risk resistance and being labeled "chickenhawks" by those who disagree with their political goals.
In contesting these priorities, members of the professional military leadership and their non-uniformed supporters may participate in the bureaucratic bargaining process of the nation’s policy-making apparatus, engaging in what might be termed a form of regulatory capture as they attempt to restrict the policy options of elected officials when it comes to military matters.
Keeping these in minds it is hoped that results of this election, the power and the trust entrusted to political parties and their leaders, there will be an emergence of civilian masters in Pakistan.
The writer is Research Associate at The Iqbal International Leadership Institute and can be reached at asif@iili.org.pk

Pervez Musharraf's allies received a drubbing in Monday's elections. Now he faces the prospect of being impeached as president if his rivals can cobble together a two-thirds majority in parliament - Photograph: Aamir Qureshi/AFP

(Courtesy The Guardian)

In some ways life has changed little for Pakistan's president, Pervez Musharraf, since Monday's election. The retired general still trots out for afternoon tennis, aides say, and enjoys a game of bridge a few times a week. In the evenings he pulls on a cigar and, although he can't admit it, nurses a glass of whisky.
Visitors still call to see him at Army House, the marble-floored Rawalpindi residence of Pakistan's military chiefs, even though he retired three months ago. "It has been renamed Presidential Lodge," said spokesman Rashid Qureshi. "The normal routine is functioning."
But outside clouds are gathering. The spectacular rout of his Pakistan Muslim League (Q) party at the polls has shorn the retired commando of his political base, leaving him isolated and exposed.
"He's been sulking," said a senior party official. "He's retreated into a mental bunker, which is not healthy. He thinks everyone is out to get him and only listens to a small circle. It's a dangerous mindset to be in at this point in time. He could decide to hit back."
Musharraf's bad mood stems from the prospect of Nawaz Sharif, the rotund prime minister from Punjab he ousted in a 1999 coup and banished to Saudi Arabia a year later, returning to power. Sharif, who controls the second biggest party in parliament, the Pakistan Muslim League (N) has vowed to oust Musharraf at the earliest opportunity. "The nation has given its verdict. The sooner he accepts it the better," said Sharif.
But Musharraf, targeted at least twice by al-Qaida assassins, has a knack for survival. And he has at least one loyal friend left. Shortly after the electoral drubbing George Bush paused on a trip to Africa to pay warm tribute to him. He sounded less enthusiastic about Sharif's ascent. The message filtered quickly through the lines. In Washington the state department urged the opposition to work with Musharraf. In Islamabad American diplomats engaged in frantic talks with the opposition.
Senior officials from all parties told the Guardian they were trying to broker a deal that would ensure Musharraf stays in power. The PML (Q) official said his party was being pressured by US embassy officials hoping for a coalition between their party with Benazir Bhutto's Pakistan People's party, now led by her widower, Asif Ali Zardari.
"The Americans want a German-style grand coalition including the PPP," he said. "They want Musharraf to stick around, even if it's a diminished Musharraf."
British officials have been more coy, bristling at suggestions they are following the American lead. But many Pakistanis believe Whitehall is singing from a hymn sheet drawn up in the White House.
"The British are masters at using their language; the Americans are more crude. But in the end, it comes down to the same thing," said Nadir Chaudhri, a Sharif aide.
The western obsession with Musharraf seems puzzling. Since he resigned as army chief in late November most of Musharraf's power has drained to his successor, General Ashfaq Kayani. Diplomats unanimously praise the former spychief as a sober and sympathetic commander.
The problem is Sharif, who although not elected to parliament is still the power behind the PML (N). Although he went through a makeover during his exile in Jeddah and London - polishing his English, acquiring a hair transplant and a wardrobe of Saville Row tweed jackets - diplomats fear he cannot, or will not, deliver on their greatest concern: hunting al-Qaida and Taliban militancy.
Critics suspect Sharif of being a closet "fundo", or fundamentalist. They recall his infamous attempt to crown himself commander of the faithful while prime minister in 1998, and point to his family's conservative background. His close links with Saudi Arabia, which provided a royal jet and bulletproof Mercedes for his return from exile, have also caused some concern, particularly about possible leakage of nuclear technology.
But supporters and some political rivals say such fears are misplaced. A former Sharif minister said that during a 1998 meeting with Bill Clinton in the White House Sharif signed off on a secret plan to assassinate Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan, using a CIA-trained force of crack Pakistani troops. Earlier he permitted an FBI team to capture a terrorism suspect and bundle him into a plane bound for the US.
"The whole idea of Sharif being the odd man out in the war on terror is utter nonsense," said Chaudhri, his aide. "There's no one more committed to rooting out extremism than him."
Still, Bush, whose has given more than $10bn to Pakistan since 2001, is more at home with Musharraf.
"He's very loyal. It's almost a tribal thing," said one aide. To some degree, Musharraf has reciprocated. Yesterday the New York Times reported that the president has allowed the CIA to set up a secret base inside Pakistan from which unmanned Predator aircraft can attack al-Qaida fugitives in the tribal areas. If Musharraf goes, officials worry, so could the permission to strike at will.
But many Pakistanis are angry at what they see as American meddling, even among pro-western parties.
"The US has to understand that the parties now elected to parliament are not stooges of Musharraf. They are genuinely elected people," said Senator Enver Baig, of Bhutto's PPP.
On the streets there is a tangible sense that the boundaries of power are blurring and Musharraf's aura is fading. Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, a cigar-chomping politico who was a Musharraf favourite, was among 19 former ministers to lose their seats in Monday's election.
A few days later he held a press conference at a five-star hotel, visibly smarting from the loss and threatening to set up his own party.
"Politics is very crude. You have to deal with the situation," he told the Guardian.
Speculation is rife that other PML (Q) cronies will defect to Sharif's party - from whence many of them came - in droves.
On Thursday hundreds of lawyers and civil society activists tried to storm the barricades outside the Islamabad house of the imprisoned former chief justice, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. Lawyers in suits, ties and gardening gloves ripped back coils of barbed wire, only to be confronted with a phalanx of policemen armed with teargas and water canon. "Go Musharraf, go!" chanted the crowd - a mantra that has haunted the president since his botched attempted to fire Chaudhry last March. Musharraf despises the judge even more than he does Sharif; in a recent interview he described him as "the scum of the earth".
But unlike previous protests, the police did not baton charge or thrash the protesters - at least not very much - and only a few teargas canisters were fired, which landed half-heartedly in a nearby garden. When the crowd dispersed peacefully, one lawyer shook hands briefly with a policeman in riot gear, who smiled back.
"Things have changed," said the organiser, Athar Minallah. "Today Musharraf is obviously not in power, and that is the beauty of democracy."
But Musharraf's fate also rests on the ability of the fractious opposition to unite. In a country of giant egos and troubled history, that's no sure thing. A complex game of blackmail and manoeuvre is underway.
On Thursday afternoon government lawyers reinvigorated a corruption case against Zardari, a move seen as a shot over the bow in his government-forming talks with Sharif. But that night the two men appeared in public, looking chummy on a pair of gilt-edged thrones, announced they would "cooperate" to form a government against Musharraf.
Exactly what that means is unclear. Sharif's party wants to form a provincial government in Punjab but leave the national administration to the PPP, perhaps hoping to win an election outright in one or two years' time. Zardari wants a genuine coalition.
"We are still in the opening moves of this chess game," said Ayaz Amir, a newly-elected parliamentarian.
By roping in a few smaller parties the two leaders could cobble the two-thirds majority necessary to impeach Musharraf. The end could come by March 8, the date by which election officials estimate the new parliament will first sit.
Musharraf says he is going nowhere. "His term runs for five years. He knows there's a vast number of people who appreciate and love him for what he's done," said Qureshi, his spokesman. "After all he's done for this country, he would feel a little disappointed I guess."
In his self-vaunting autobiography, published last year, Musharraf wrote that "a true leader will always be loved by his people".
Supporters say if it comes to an impeachment motion, he may not fight to the end. "Frankly I'm not sure if he has the stomach for Custer's last stand. I don't see the fire in his belly any more," said a party official.
A new home, complete with security bunkers, is under construction on the edge of Islamabad. Whether he needs to move in there any time soon should become clearer in the coming weeks.

PTUDC Meeting in Canada on Elections 2008

Umar Bajwa

Over a dozen people attended a meeting on the recent fraudulent elections in Pakistan on a cold blustery Toronto evening. The meeting was hosted by Canadian supporters of the Pakistani Trade Union Defence Campaign (PTUDC), the first such meeting to date in Canada. Julian Benson of the PTUDC and Somia Saadiq, an activist with the Pakistani Communist Party, were the featured speakers; a representative of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) was also scheduled to attend but was unable to make it at the last minute.
The discussion at the meeting centred on the fraud committed by the Pakistani state, and of course recognized by the major imperialist powers. Julian, in particular, emphasized the dangers the imperialists would face if the PPP had been allowed to sweep into power, with the support of millions of ordinary Pakistanis. Somia detailed many of the instances of fraud, as well as outlining the efforts and desires of the Pakistani masses in getting rid of Pervez Musharraf.
The most energetic debate of the meeting occurred over the class content of the PPP. One person argued that the PPP was nothing more than a bourgeois party and that socialists had no business supporting it. Instead, he praised the work of the Labour Party of Pakistan. Somia responded by pointing out that the LPP had aligned itself with the Islamic fundamentalists of the country, some of the most treacherous and reactionary elements within Pakistani society (and responsible for many of the attacks against working class militants and socialists in the country). Julian also pointed out that the LPP's call for boycotting the elections simply sidelined them from the mass movement, as well as ignored the millions of Pakistani workers that supported the PPP's banner.
A small collection was also taken, with all of the money directed to helping out the work of the PTUDC in Pakistan. Over the next few days, there will be similar meetings in Montreal and Vancouver which will help to expand Canadian solidarity with Pakistani working class militants.

Youtube banned in Pakistan

As many of you might have noticed, YouTube has been banned across some parts of Pakistan. The ban is not universal as yet but people who have internet provided by the PTCL in particular are unable to access the website. In addition Micronet Broadband users have also suffered from a youtube blackout.Worry not, you can still try a few anonymizers to access youtube. Details are at:http://www.freeproxy.ru/en/free_proxy/cgi-proxy.htmIn addition if you are interested in copies of the rigging videos, contact me. I have 2 of them saved in AVI format.

In solidarity

The Post-election View

Sundas Hurain and Basim Usmani

The recent elections' outcome has created a myriad of colorful Newspaper headlines on February 18th. Dawn's Bruce Lee-esque headline read "Musharraf allies face voter's wrath". The News, now taken to paraphrasing Bilawal Bhutto, has "Democracy takes revenge". "All the King's men, gone!" is the headline at Daily Times, a newspaper known for being pro-Government due to its owner, Salman Taseer'sministership.At the street level, people have been echoing similar sentiments. On various occasions, we were exposed to working class parents who have found their children spending weeks without meals, gas or electricity under the current administration. Suddenly, returning to the pre-musharraf years seems like serious progress.

1998 was the last year Nawaz Sharif spent unchecked before being unceremoniously defenestrated from Pakistani politics by Musharraf's coup. He had stormed the Supreme Court Judges in 1997, his military operation in Kashmir was a disaster. He even gave the newly constructed motorway to the military, granting them a foot hold in what should've been a civillian market.

We are ten years on, and Nawaz is posed to become the opposition's golden boy. Upon sweeping victories in Punjab that have won Pakistan Muslim League's Nawaz group 66 seats, Sharif has hit his PPP counterpart Zardari with a set of demands. Restore the judiciary, impeach Musharraf, and select High Court advocate Aitizaz Ahsan for Prime Ministership. He is echoing the demand of the ever-increasing anti-mush voices. His stances have forced many of us to reconsider our opinions of him and his party. Many PPP supporters ended up voting for PML-N due to the lack of a clear concrete position on any issue by the former and the bold principled stance of the latter.

From this point on, several outcomes may be conceived of; each with its own reactions. Everyone is looking to the parties elected. PML-N has made its stance clear. Now it's up to them to stick to it. But more heavily so, the eyes of the people now turn to the so called People's Party. Will it oblige? There are quite a few uncertainties in the current situation. At the foremost being PPP-P which is still ironing out its internal politics and power hierarchies and is hence, still unable to take any concrete stances over anything. If PPP-P decides to yet again look to Washington and ally itself with the pro-mush forces, it will be heavily discredited within the country. It's only choice is either PML-N, or the other anti-mush parties. With Musharraf's popularity at an all time low, the independents are most likely to align with the party that speaks of ouster and accountability. PML-N also stands to be able to make a government without the PPP by aligning with the all the other anti-mush candidates, in which case, PPP will either have to join in, sit in opposition, or coalesce with the much despised PML-Q or MQM.

Pakistan is now a threesome between Musharraf and his allies, the professed anti-musharraf political parties, and the lawyer's movement.The will of the people is evident. The strongest of the king's party have faced miserable defeats. The popular notion was, vote for PML-Q if you support Musharraf. So strong are anti-musharraf sentiments in the larger populace that politicians like Sheikh Rasheed who have gone 30 yrs undefeated could not secure a victory from the seats they were running from. Interestingly enough, the candidates for whose success rigging was not deemed required, were the ones that lost. The party leader Ch Shujaat Hussain even succumbed to heavy defeat, not being able to secure even a single seat for himself.

What does this mean for the people of Pakistan? Moving around on the
streets on election night, as preliminary results came out, the sheer emotion and ecstasy of the people was overpowering. With hope in their eyes, smiles on their lips, and hands in the air, they celebrate the possibility that their overburdened lives may now become livable. With an unprecedented 250% food inflation, the Pakistani poor—who form 80% of the population—have been the hardest hit. With no remedies available, no recourse to welfare or justice; citizens of a country that has failed time and again to provide for them even the most basic of necessities.

Their only hope: change. Fighting against all odds, amidst news of murdered candidates and possible bomb threats, the turnout at many polling stations in Lahore was impressive. Being part of the student election monitoring cell of the StudentAction Committee, rampant instances of rigging were observed by us and many caught on video. But in spite of massive rigging, people turned up in even higher numbers. Speculations state that the 39 or so odd seats won my PML-Q and 19 by MQM would not have been possible were it not so for pre and during poll rigging.
One MQM candidate was caught rigging elections in his constituency in Karachi by a Ranger deployed at the booth. But that didn't seem to make people suspicious of the 19 other MQM candidates that swept up the total twenty seats in Karachi. And no coverage has been given to Scotland Yard's forthcoming investigation into Altaf Hussein, the MQM chairman who's been indispensable in the efforts to make Karachi unlivable due toviolence.

Due to a systematic de-politicization of society and a ban on any involvement of students in politics, Pakistan suffers from an acute lack of credible politicians. The people of Pakistan in spite of widespread mistrust towards all the political parties are yet again forced towards looking to them for relief. The question on everyone's minds and tongues; will they deliver this time or disappoint us once more?

As for Musharraf, he has repeatedly stated, refuting various polls, that he believed the will of the people to come through the elections alone, and that if a majority of the people wished for him to step down, he would. Well the people have spoken: GO MUSHARRAF GO!

Former ISI Rigging Chief Confesses

The man, who rigged 2002 polls, spills the beans

By Umar Cheema

ISLAMABAD: The main wheeler and dealer of the ISI during the 2002 elections, the then Maj-Gen Ehtesham Zamir, now retired, has come out of the closet and admitted his guilt of manipulating the 2002 elections, and has directly blamed Gen Musharraf for ordering so.

Talking to The News, the head of the ISI’s political cell in 2002, admitted manipulating the last elections at the behest of President Musharraf and termed the defeat of the King’s party, the PML-Q, this time “a reaction of the unnatural dispensation (installed in 2002).”

Zamir said the ISI together with the NAB was instrumental in pressing the lawmakers to join the pro-Musharraf camp to form the government to support his stay in power.

Looking down back into the memory lane and recalling his blunders which, he admitted, had pushed the country back instead of taking it forward, Zamir feels ashamed of his role and conduct.

Massively embarrassed because he was the one who negotiated, coerced and did all the dirty work, the retired Maj-Gen said he was not in a position to become a preacher now when his own past was tainted. He said the country would not have faced such regression had the political management was not carried out by the ISI in 2002. But he also put some responsibility of the political disaster on the PML-Q as well.

The former No: 2 of the ISI called for the closure of political cell in the agency, confessing that it was part of the problem due to its involvement in forging unnatural alliances, contrary to public wishes.Zamir’s blaming Musharraf for creating this unnatural alliance rings true as another former top associate of Musharraf, Lt-Gen (retd) Jamshed Gulzar Kiyani has already disclosed that majority of the corps commanders, in several meetings, had opposed Musharraf’s decision of patronising the leadership of the King’s party.

“We had urged Musharraf many times during the corps commanders meeting that the PML-Q leadership was the most condemned and castigated personalities. They are the worst politicians who remained involved in co-operative scandals and writing off loans. But Musharraf never heard our advice,” Kiyani said while recalling discussions in their high profile meetings.He said one of their colleagues, who was an accountability chief at that time, had sought permission many times for proceeding against the King’s party top leaders but was always denied.Kiyani asked Musharraf to quit, the sooner the better, as otherwise the country would be in a serious trouble.

Ma-Gen (retd) Ehtesham Zamir termed the 2008 elections ‘fairer than 2002’. He said the reason behind their fairness is that there was relatively less interference of intelligence agencies this time as compared to the last time. But he stopped short of saying that there was zero interference in the 2008 polls.

“You are quite right,” he said when asked to confirm about heavy penetration of ISI into political affairs during the 2002 elections. But he said he did not do it on his own but on the directives issued by the government.Asked who directed him from the government side and if there was somebody else, not President Musharraf, he said: “Obviously on the directives of President Musharraf.”Asked if he then never felt that he was committing a crime by manipulating political business at the cost of public wishes, he said: “Who should I have told except myself. Could I have asked Musharraf about this? I was a serving officer and I did what I was told to do. I never felt this need during the service to question anyone senior to me,” he said and added that he could not defend his acts now.

“It was for this reason that I have never tried to preach others what I did not practice. But I am of the view that the ISI’s political cell should be closed for good by revoking executive orders issued in 1975,” he said.

Responding to a question regarding corruption cases that were used as pressure tactics on lawmakers, he said: “Yes! This tool was used, not only by the ISI. The NAB was also involved in this exercise.”Former corps commander of Rawalpindi, Lt-Gen (retd) Jamshed Gulzar Kiyani said majority of corps commanders had continued opposing Musharraf’s alliance with top leadership of the PML-Q.“Not just in one meeting, we opposed his alignment with these corrupt politicians in many meetings but who cared. Now Musharraf has been disgraced everywhere, thanks to his political cronies.”

Taliban Facilitated Elections in Waziristan!

Militant help

In North Waziristan, the government sought the help of the militants to conduct peaceful polls

By Mushtaq Yusufzai

The Taliban in North Waziristan tribal agency facilitated the Feb 18 polling, where the tribespeople, unlike the rest of the tribal regions, evinced a keen interest in exercising their right to vote.

Almost a day earlier, in the militants-dominated North Waziristan Agency, the government had struck another peace deal with militants with the hope of restoring peace to the militancy-stricken tribal region.

In the peace deal, the government and tribal militants, who prefer to be called Taliban, had pledged to work together in future for maintenance of peace and resolving disputes.
The militants, on Dec 17, 2007, had announced a unilateral ceasefire and then extended it almost five times when the government reciprocated accordingly.

A senior militant commander on condition of anonymity said that the peace truce was signed in the grand 'jirga' where the militant commanders, tribal elders as well as government officials were present. He said that it was almost the same agreement which had been signed on Sep 5, 2006, between them and the government.

The government had almost made up its mind to reschedule polls in the adjacent North Waziristan after postponing the election on NA-42 in South Waziristan due to the mass migration of the Mahsud tribespeople to distant Tank, Dera Ismail Khan and other parts of the country as a result of clashes between security forces and Baitullah Mahsud-led militants.
Later, the government announced to conduct elections in North Waziristan but declared all the polling stations there the 'most sensitive' ones and suggested extraordinary security measures for holding free and fair polls.

Keeping in view the security concerns in the region, the government sought the help of the militants in conducting the election in a peaceful manner.

A senior government official said that the task was given to the Taliban after the paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC) and Khasadar force or tribal police personnel expressed their reluctance to provide security to the polling staff deputed in the remote and the most sensitive areas.
Tribespeople from parts of North Waziristan told TNS that not a single security personnel was sighted in almost all the 10 subdivisions of the volatile tribal region, including Miramshah, Mirali, Shawal, Data Khel, Ghulam Khan, Spinwam, Shawa, Dosali, Razmak and Garyum in the election day. Residents in Miramshah, North Waziristan's regional headquarters, said that militants were the ones who conducted the polls and provided security to the voters.

People felt it was primarily that reason, the presence of Taliban, which encouraged the already terrified tribesmen to come out of their homes and cast their votes.

"It seemed more like jubilation here. The people enthusiastically participated in elections and there were no signs of fear as the well-armed militants were deployed everywhere in and outside the polling stations," said Mohammad Salimullah, a tribesman while talking to the TNS by telephone from Miramshah.

The residents said that they felt a threat from the militants before the elections, but when learnt that they themselves were part of the game then everyone came to the polling station.

"It was the day of the militants and they proved themselves more capable than those who were supposed to do the job," said Haji Gul Halim, a resident of Dande Darpakhel town, near Miramshah.

During the polling, witnesses said, heavily armed militants were seen patrolling the streets and thoroughly searching voters before entering the polling stations.

"In some of the polling stations, militants, even briefly detained people for allegedly violating the Taliban's code of conduct which they had set for the election," said Mohammad Rahman in Mirali town, the second biggest town of the agency.

He, however, added that the Taliban were later seen releasing the detainees and giving them advice to help the people elected a sincere and pious representative. Interestingly, when the polls finished, militants informed the local political authorities that their job was finished and that they should collect the ballot boxes.

"The ballot boxes were then taken in armoured personnel carriers (APCs) to Miramshah and the name of the successful candidate was announced," said a government official, but wished not to be named.

16 candidates were contesting the election for the lone National Assembly seat of North Waziristan Agency (NA-40). Except for a few, like PML-Q's Ajmal Khan, who served as federal minister in the past, and an

independent candidate Abdul Qayyum, the majority of the contestants belonged to Maulana Fazlur Rahman's Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F), but only Maulana Nek Zaman, a former pro-MMA MNA from North Waziristan, was JUI-F nominee on NA-40.

The remaining candidates, including Aurangzeb, Haji Kamran Khan, Fazal Subhan, Mufti Sadeequllah and Nisar Ali were JUI-F dissidents and decided to contest when the party refused their nomination for the election.

Some of them are considered to be very close to the militants, including Abdullah Shah, who belongs to a banned outfit Al-Rashid Trust, Haji Kamran Khan and a few others. Now some of the losing candidates had started raising questions over this unique trend of involving militants to hold elections.

They have accused the government of allowing militants to help elect their blue-eyed candidate, Haji Kamran Khan in the polls.

They said that the militants organised a huge rally in support of the winning candidate and fired shots in the air when Kamran Khan was declared the winner.

(Coutesy The News)

My Comment: This report of cooperation between Taliban and the Government of Pakistan in Waziristan suggests that if there is enough will for peaceful co-existance, peace might not be so elusive an ideal, after all. Indeed, it suggests that while US and Taliban may remain irreconcilable, the same may not be true for Pakistan and Taliban. In the interests of the people, both parties can, and should, arrive at some reconciliation. Pakistani state, on the other hand, would do well to learn from history and keep itself out of that difficult region; above all, it would do well to spill less blood, there and everywhere else.

U.S. Ambassador Anne Peterson should leave Pakistan

Yusuf Nazar

The U.S. Ambassador is blatantly interfering in Pakistan's internal affairs and trying to influence the formation of a new government in Islamabad. The New York Times (Feb. 22) reports, " as the negotiations proceeded between Mr. Sharif and Mr. Zardari in the last two days, political circles here were awash with talk that Washington was interfering, trying to micromanage a process in which the Bush administration has much at stake.

The impression that the United States was meddling was fortified Wednesday when Mr. Zardari was summoned to the American Embassy for a meeting with the ambassador, Anne W. Patterson. Afterward, Mr. Zardari was portrayed as a creature of the Americans who wanted him to work with Mr. Musharraf, a negative perception for a politician in a country where recent polls show the United States has a favorable rating of just 16 percent."

This seems like a crude attempt by way of a 'careful leak' apparently made through the U.S. diplomatic channels to belittle Mr. Zardari and defame him since he has apparently refused to play ball with the Americans and has opted to work with the PML(N) whereas the Bush administration officials want him to work with Musharraf and his allies in the PML(Q) - a group called as political orphans by late Benazir Bhutto.

According to a report (Feb. 22) in the News International by its correspondent Ansar Abbasi, "although, Zardari did not talk of Washington's pressures, sources in the party confirmed that the Americans had brought tremendous pressure on the PPP co-chairperson to make a coalition government with the likes of the PML-Q and MQM but not with the PML-N.

The N-League's foremost priority for the reinstatement of the deposed judges is not getting approval from Washington despite the fact that within Pakistan this is the most popular demand of the masses. Not only the Americans are directly influencing the party to make what many see as an "artificial" coalition government in Islamabad, some pseudo intellectuals are also pursuing the same agenda."

The Daily Times (Feb. 21) reported that, "a delegation of US senators visiting Pakistan met Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari at the US embassy here on Tuesday and urged him to ally with moderate forces to form a democratic government. US Ambassador Anne W Peterson was also present on the occasion. The delegates condoled with Asif Ali Zardari on his wife and former prime minister Benazir Bhutto's death and acknowledged Benazir's struggle for democracy. The delegation of US senators includes Senator John Kerry, a former US presidential candidate, Senator Joseph Biden and Senator Chuck Hagel."

The Americans and particularly its Ambassador in Pakistan should know that the people of Pakistan have voted the Pakistan People's Party -headed by Mr. Zaradari - as the largest political party and he therefore should be treated with due respect and courtesy. But more importantly, it is high time that junior level American diplomats should stop trying to micro manage Pakistan. Another U.S. diplomat - its Consul General in Lahore - met Aitzaz Ahsan and tried to persuade him to that the PPP should work with Musharraf as President.

The level of interference by the U.S. diplomats in Pakistan has crossed all limits of diplomatic norms and the tolerance of Pakistani people. It is about time that the people demand that the U.S. Ambassador Anne Peterson immediately leave Pakistan. The APDM and the civil soceity- particularly - the lawyers should demand this as a sign of protest by the Pakistani people against the American support for dictator Musharraf.

Press Release From Justice (Retd.) Tariq Mahmood.21-02-2008

It is evident from Pakistan’s history that removal of any military dictatorship does not occur simply through a popular movement. Although the military dictatorship becomes weaker; it simply reappears with a new face. This time too, there was no indication that we would get rid of General Musharraf, until the 9th of March 2007.

But on the 9th of March, the lawyers saw and seized the opportunity to start a populist movement against the rule of Gen. Musharraf. The private media, civil society, students and political parties have played an integral and enthusiastic role in this movement. As a result of this movement, Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Shaheed and Mian Nawaz Sharif returned to Pakistan, which resulted in the military dictator being forced to hold General Elections.

Since the power of the ballot is one way to enable the citizenry to remove military dictatorship, hence the popular political parties decided to participate in the elections, while some decided to boycott the elections. And, unfortunately, that portion of the leadership of the Lawyers’ Movement, which was outside prisons or house-arrest, sided with those political forces in favour of a boycott of the General Elections.

Nevertheless, the General Elections took place, and the results in Sindh, Punjab and NWFP demonstrated the wishes of the people. However, since the popular political parties of Balochistan boycotted the elections, thus the results there are skewed. Nevertheless, the PPP was successful in Balochistan. In the NWFP the MMA won only the few seats it deserved.

In this scenario, I would request that the victorious parties should be given the opportunity to form the Government, so that they can start dealing with the problems facing Pakistan. These include the restoration of the Judiciary, but this problem must be solved with great care and deliberation. Military dictators have turned Pakistan into ”Masaailistan”. These problems cannot be magically solved instantaneously.

Thus, at this critical juncture, we should not take any step, which would bring the incoming political leadership under pressure and the invisible powers may take advantage of it, which would harm and set back our Movement, and might even necessitate the launch of a new movement.

At this time, there is a need that we should adopt attitudes and behaviour that will strengthen our institutions. We should not work for our personal interests. We all have made huge sacrifices for the larger interest of our country and for strengthening our institutions. We want a prosperous Pakistan for our children, where there will be equal rights for everyone and equal opportunities for everyone to develop according to their abilities. We should not expect any temporary personal benefit, in exchange for our sacrifices.

Through these election results the people of Pakistan have provided our leadership a golden opportunity to take Pakistan out of its problems. But to achieve this, we should cooperate with them and be patient. This is the start of a new and challenging era for Pakistan, in which our success will require us to be wise, sensible and patient.

Video of MQM Polling agents rigging in NA 250, Karachi

Replace NRO with general legislation on "Judicial Pardon"

Salman Shuaib

It is evident that PPP is not too keen on restoring the judiciary, especially since they want the NRO to stay. Musharraf has activated the trial in the Swiss courts against Zardari as a bargaining chip. The disgraced General will also rely on the good offices of President Bush to press Zardari to not restore the judiciary, as it will spell the end of Musharraf.

All these, however, are the last sighs of a dying man. The movement for restoration of judges will only gather pace from hereon, and CJP Iftikhar will have to be restored sooner or later. Infact, "restored" is the wrong word, CJP Iftikhar "is" the current constitutional Chief Justice of Pakistan and we don't even need the new government to pass any administrative order to reinstate the Chief Justice.Our problem is to ensure that CJP Iftikhar resumes his office wihout any conditions attached. At the same time we need to restore a level of trust and cooperation between the reinstated judiciary and new executive.

The NRO is unacceptable as it gives an exclusive constitutional amnesty to certain political parties for their alleged corruption. In order to restore Pakistan's judiciary with honour and without such humiliating conditions as the NRO, I recommend that a general concept of judicial pardon for those who commit acts of redemption be legislated.

Those who commit an act of goodness such as restoring the judiciary without any conditions attached, thereby protecting Pakistan from billions of dollars of corruption in future, they should be eligible to receive a judicial pardon for their past crimes - provided that such a pardon is given at the discretion of the judiciary and not a part of any legislation. Also, if any past corruption is proven, then the guilty individual that received a pardon will still have to reimburse Pakistan's coffers with the stolen amount but will not be subject to any personal punishment such as jail for the specific period that he received a pardon for. The pardoned individuals will remain accountable for any future acts of corruption.

I believe that if Allah can forgive us for our past crimes if we overcome them with good deeds, then our Constitution should also have some element of forgiveness in it.

Again, just to ensure that my personal opinions are not misinterpretted as a free ride for the corrupt, I would like to lay down the specifics of the "Judicial Pardon" as it ought to be legislated:

1. NRO stands annulled
2. Any citizen of Pakistan that has committed a crime in the past but overcomes it with an act of equal or greater goodness, as determined by independent judges, should be eligible to receive a judicial pardon for his past crimes. The extent of the pardon should be determined by the judges as well.
3. Provided that if any past acts of corruption are proven in a court of law, the individual receiving pardon must reimburse the State of Pakistan with the misappropriated amount.
4. The individual receiving pardon will still be accountable to the judiciary for any corruption or crime committed in the future.
5. No conditions must be attached to the resumption of office by the Chief Justice Iftikhar and all other judges. Judicial pardons will only be granted on a case-by-case basis after the independent judiciary is restored.

I believe that Imran Khan should mediate between CJP Iftikhar, Nawaz and Zardari with the above proposal. This is my personal opinion and not in any way reflects PTI's official stance. The civil society, lawyers and APDM meanwhile should continue to press for the reinstatement of CJP Iftikhar so that he comes to his office with the power of the people, and not beholden to any political party that does him a favour.

Judiciary restoration should be first govt priority: Atizaz, Imran

(Courtesy GEO)

LAHORE: Chief of Tahreek-i-Insaaf Imran Khan and Supreme Court Bar Association President Aitezaz and Imran both said public has given their mandate in elections that they completely reject Musharraf’s dictatorship and wants democratic forces to takeover.

They said elected leaders should take advantage of this mandate and take a clear stance on the issue of judiciary. They appreciated the mutual statement by Nawaz sharif and Asif Ali Zardari in a meeting that judiciary will be reinstated.

Both Aitezaz and Imran stated that there is no need of parliamentary intervention to reinstate the deposed judges as it was only one executive order and not any parliamentary intervention which had deposed them.

Imran and Aitezaz seems united on one point that they want reinstatement of Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudry as the chief justice of Pakistan and all 60 deposed judges who took stand for every citizen of Pakistan and not just the constitution of Pakistan, hence there will be no compromise on this demand.

Aitezaz called for lawyers and civil society’s long march on 9th March and Imran Khan ensured APDM’s and his full support and participation to make the long March a success. In reply to a question Aitezaz said he totally supports ANP’s demand of change of name of NWFP to Pakhtunwa.

Over to new leaders

By I. A. Rehman

DAWN - 21 February, 2008

THE poor, dumb, illiterate voters have done it again. They have maintained their tradition of cleaning the politicians' stables every nine or ten years and securing for their elected representatives opportunities to establish a system of governance that is democratic, sensitive to the people's sorrows and their aspirations, and responsible to them.
What the masses did on one of the most radiant Mondays in Pakistan's political history was not easy. The attempt by the arrogant members of the executive to influence their choice and pre-determine the electoral outcome may have been largely foiled in the final round, it need not be forgotten.
Everyone knows about the cheques and bags of flour that were being distributed in Lahore on the eve of the election or the canvassing for the King's party done by the mightiest in the land by predicting its triumph. The people's success in overcoming these factors makes their effort all the more impressive. They deserve credit for Monday's vindication of the majesty of the ballot more than anyone else. They made the final lap of the race somewhat credible, the earlier laps were not.
The media is a close second on the roll of honour, for they stuck to their job despite provocations and not only made the hurdles placed in their way ineffective, they also made the curbs placed on them look ridiculous. The voters' achievement can be summed up in a few words. They left no room for doubting their comprehensive repudiation of the regime and the way they have been governed for many years.
By calling off the bluff of trouble-makers they reaffirmed the fact that gatherings that demonstrate freedom from fear of violence are not likely to be interfered with. They kept the rate of turnout abreast of the requirement and at places it exceeded 50 per cent.
The voting pattern had quite a few notable features. In three provinces the establishment party was routed and it survived only in Balochistan because the potential winners there, the nationalists became more serious about the poll boycott than the authors of the idea. While the political parties invited criticism for their lack of planning and preparation the voters did not display any such shortcoming. They respected the multi-ethnic character of the provincial entities and avoided voting exclusively along ethnic lines. And they have obliged the various pretenders to the seat of power to learn the art of governance by coalition which must in all circumstances be based on the principle of inter-party consensus.
That Pakistan's crises have been aggravated to such an extent that they cannot be adequately addressed by any single party is quite widely understood. Even a government of national consensus will realise the need for patient application to the task of creating a reasonably efficient order. The split-vote in almost all parts of the country means that there is no alternative to a sincere search for national consensus and reconciliation.
Let nobody presume that democracy has been restored, only the journey towards this goal has began. No election guarantees change and fulfilment of people's expectations. It may be suicidal to take the establishment for granted. Its capacity to protect itself by exploiting differences between the major political actors must not be discounted. The danger that democratic politics could be undermined by a replay of the centre-province confrontation such as was witnessed after the 1988 election has already been noted in public debate and it must not be ignored. Whatever the nature and composition of new governments at the centre and in the federating units, it will obviously be necessary to keep personal ambitions of the front runners in check.
Those capable of staying out of power may last in public favour longer then those rushing to assume responsibility for what must for quite some time be unpopular decisions.
In order to be able to fully respect the electorate's verdict in favour of change the new governments will need to be clear about their priorities. Essentially this applies to the PPP and the PML-N. Fortunately both of them reaffirmed their commitment to the Charter of Democracy in their election manifestos. Their ability to deliver on the people's expectation will depend on the degree of their faithfulness to the charter.
The new governments will start off well by recognising that democratic governance will not be ushered in with their oath taking. Their most formidable task will be to lay the foundations of democratic institutions, beginning with resurrection of the parliamentary system, which consists mainly of rule by a cabinet totally responsible to and guided by parliament. A speedy revival of parliament as the locus of state authority will be necessary for evolving the system of responsible governance. Pakistan has suffered a great deal over the past decades because of its rulers' tendency to avoid interaction with the people during inter-election years.
Mature politicians do not always talk down to their people; they listen to them and are not shy of learning from them. It is time to free political parties of the stigma that their sole purpose is to manage periodic elections.
Now is the time for democratic political parties, to establish mechanisms for a two-way flow of ideas between party leaders and the cadres so that the choice of candidates for elective offices can be made solely on the basis of one's talent, skill and record of public service. The only defence democratic forces can build against their authoritarian rivals lies in broadening the base of governance, the greater the number of the people in power the stronger and more benevolent the democratic system will be.
Of course, there will be pressure on the new rulers to resolve the issues that have fuelled agitation and discontent over the past many months. These are: restoration of the judiciary and its status as an organ of the state by no means inferior to either of the two other state pillars; resolution of the causes of discord over the presidency and a redesigning of its constitutional role; the need to build up a federation of duly autonomous partners; the urgency of devising effective means to overcome militancy and extremism; and the pressing demand to guarantee the disadvantaged hordes freedom from want through gainful employment, social security and advancement of women's and children's rights.
Fortunately the electorate has created possibilities for resolving all of these matters. None of these issues is new, and the causes of failure in the past to deal with them should be kept in mind. Quite often the democratic forces make the going difficult by poor manoeuvrings against their adversaries. Efforts to address the critical priorities must begin straightaway because delay in facing a crisis is the surest way to perpetuate it and make it progressively more intractable.
But the temptation to find instant solutions to complex issues through hasty and ill-planned initiatives can be as damaging as inaction. The new leaders will improve the chances of their success if they can learn to take the people into confidence and to take them along. Broadest possible public support to their enterprise alone can assure the new leaders of the minimum necessary comfort on what is manifestly a bed of thorns. Only the fittest to govern will survive.

Advocates on the move: Meeting Aitzaz Ahsan

Farooq Tariq

Labor Party Pakistan

We were today at Lahore High Court to participate in their Thursday weekly protest rally. Every Thursday, the advocates take out rallies. In Lahore, the advocates come from two different places and then join hands at Lahore High Court building. Here is what our observations are.

Over 4000 advocates marched on the main Mall Road of Lahore in a very defiant mood. They chanted slogans with full throat and vowed to continue struggle until end of military dictatorship and restoration of judiciary.

“Go Musharaf Go, Friends of Musharaf are traitors, You and me are dying with hunger, because the General Head Quarters Military (GHQ) has looted every thing, The black coats movement will win, Friends of Americans are traitors, Going with Musharaf will dig its own graveyard, We will prevail, restore our judges, down with those taking oath under PCO, Listen Chief (the deposed chief justice Iftikhar Choudry) we will die for you, The black coat will end Musharaf dictatorship, were some of the slogans raised at the rally.

They had earlier gathered at the hall of Lahore Bar Association and Karachi Hall at Lahore High Court. At Lahore Bar Association general body meeting, Justice Khawaja Sharif spoke and at Lahore High Court, Justice Shaihd Siddique and Justice Shafqat spoke of great movement of the advocates for the independence of judiciary. Later, Chief Justice Iftikhar Choudry spoke to Lahore High Court Bar Association members on telephone from Islamabad, where is detained at his home. Advocates were in a rebellion mood and were warning repeatedly to the future government of Pakistan Peoples Party.

“If they join hands with Musharaf, the struggle will be against them as well,” They praised the people of Pakistan who have voted against Musharaf. It seems that the movement has once again picked up to new heights. There were advocates from all ages and many elderly advocates were raising slogans like the young ones. The young ones were leading the rally with a great enthusiasm. The women advocates were raising many slogans as well.

One young advocate could raise slogans for many minutes continuously, winning many appreciations by the participants. She had almost made a song that she expressed in slogans along with her colleagues. Later in the afternoon, 10 of us went to the house of Aitzaz Ahsan, the president of Supreme Court Bar Association. We heard on the radio that he is again detained at his house after yesterday speech to the demonstrators who gathered at his house. There was a lot of police outside his house. We went in his office, which is situated at the back of his house.
There were over 30 present in the office.

His secretary Aftab welcomed us and told us that he cannot come out of his house. As we were writing messages for him, and handing over Weekly Mazdoor Jeddojuhd Faiz number, Aitzaz Ahsan just came over to the office to the surprise of every one. He was very pleased to see us over there. He spoke a lot of word of praise for the contribution of Labour Party Pakistan during the struggle of advocates. He particularly thanked me for all the enthusiasm we are bringing in the movement. He appealed to every one there to be ready for 9 March to reach Islamabad if judges are not restored. That will be the main preparation for every one in Pakistan.

He said he has just come out of his house to greet us briefly. The police officials were there but did not intervene or asked him to go inside the house. Earlier, on the radio, I heard that Punjab Government home secretary has issued strict orders that no one can meet Aitzaz and that Aitzaz has broken the law yesterday by coming out of his house to join the demonstration briefly.

It seems that the Punjab government has lost its control over its institutions of repression and the police was not doing what they were asked to do. We left his house after this brief encounter with Aitzaz, he was very happy and was eager to show his commitment to continue the struggle till the end of dictatorship.

PPP, PML-N to form coalition government

Nawaz says no disagreement on judges' restoration

ISLAMABAD: Following his meeting with PPP Co-Chairman Asif Zardari, Pakistan Muslim League (N) Chief Nawaz Sharif said the PPP and PML-N will follow the agenda laid out in the Charter of Democracy.

He was addressing a joint press conference with PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari after their one-hour meeting at Zardari House, where both the leaders announced the formation of a joint government in the centre and the provinces.

Both the leaders unanimously decided to restore the 1973 constitution.

Responding to a question, Nawaz Sharif said that they would not take any help from Musharraf. “I would have done so before the elections, if I had such an intention,” he added.

Both the leaders announced that the UN would be asked to investigate into the murder of Benazir Bhutto. Nawaz Sharif maintained that there is no difference in the two parties on the restoration of the deposed judges.

“We accept the mandate of PPP with an open heart and wish that PPP complete its five year term,” he said, adding, “struggle for restoration of judiciary will continue and the Charter of Democracy will also be followed.”

PPP Co-Chairman Asif Zardari said PPP and PML-N have decided to work together for democracy. However, he said, some of the matter are yet to be decided by the parties. Zardari said that both the leaders have decided to stay united in the parliament. Nawaz Sharif added, ‘We fought against the dictatorship and will keep doing so.’

Tear gas fired at protesting Pakistani lawyers

KARACHI, Feb 21 (AFP) - Police fired tear gas in Karachi Thursday as lawyers in Pakistan opposed to President Pervez Musharraf took to the streets in the first protests since Monday's elections. Police baton-charged and fired tear gas shells at lawyers protesting in Karachi to have judges reinstated after Musharraf sacked them last year.

Six people, including lawyers, were arrested outside the district court, police said. “We have arrested a few people and police had to use tear gas to disperse lawyers who were trying to hold a rally,” senior police official Tahir Naved told AFP. In the eastern city of Lahore, about 2,000 lawyers chanted, “Go Musharraf, go” and, “Restore independence of judiciary” during a rally.

They staged a protest sit-in outside the provincial parliament before dispersing peacefully. Similar rallies and meetings were held by lawyers in other cities across Pakistan to protest against President Musharraf’s declaration of emergency on November 3, and sacking of 63 judges including the then chief justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, who was also detained at his home. Lawyers across Pakistan have held regular Thursday demonstrations since the judges' dismissal and have threatened a large-scale march on Islamabad next month if they are not reinstated.

PPP, PML-N and ANP hold talks in Islamabad

ISLAMABAD: Leaders from three major winners in the recent elections, the PPP, the PML-N and the ANP were in contact for the formation of government today in Islamabad. The parties were holding consultations ahead of a summit meeting in Islamabad today (Thursday), sources said.

PPP Co-chairman Asif Zardari, PML-N Quaid Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif and Awami National Party leader Asfandyar Wali will hold consultations here in a meeting to reach a consensus over some crucial issues such as restoration of the deposed judges, strengthening of national institutions, future of the president and other major issues.

Mian Nawaz Sharif and Asfandyar Wali reached Islamabad today for the meeting. The central executive committee of Pakistan Peoples Party held a meeting on Wednesday to discuss the post-election scenario, while the PML-N central working committee meeting today in Islamabad.

No constitutional hurdle to reinstatement of deposed judges: Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry

In a telephone address on Thursday to the Sindh High Court Bar Association, deposed chief justice of Pakistan Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry said there were no constitutional hurdles to returning the judges to their posts.

“I was deposed by an executive order and I can be restored by an executive order. There is no need of two-thirds majority of the parliament,” Justice Chaudhry said. “People have given their verdict, which shows that they have rejected the policies of the government,” Justice Chaudhry said from his home in Islamabad, where he was still under detention.

In a similar address to lawyers in Lahore, he said it was now the responsibility of political parties trying to form a ruling coalition to “work for the rule of law, independence of the judiciary and reinstatement of judges.” He said he remains chief justice and all the others dismissed in November “remain the judges legally. There is no hurdle in the reinstatement of judges, it needs only a simple official notification,” he said.

Aitzaz warns of long march if Judiciary not freed until March 9

(Courtesy GEO)

LAHORE: President, Supreme Court Bar Association Aitezaz Ahsan came out of his residence on Wednesday evening, where people in hundreds welcomed him and raised him on their shoulders.
People representing civil society and lawyers in large numbers were carrying placards of the deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, whose release orders have not been issued as yet.

Addressing the people present there, Aitezaz Ahsan said, ‘I am thankful to the representatives of civil society, doctors, lawyers, businessmen, women and men who came up for my release and have been staying back to support me.’ He said the people themselves took him out without any official orders.

He said a Punjab government official came with a piece of paper and asked him to an apology that elections are over and that ‘He will not undertake any political activity.’

Ahsan said that he rejected the offer by government, adding, ‘The day of everybody’s freedom is coming up.’ Aitezaz Ahsan warned to launch a long march towards Islamabad, if the judges are not restored until March 9.

Commenting on the elections results, he said he is pleased at them and congratulates the successful candidates, adding Pervez Musharraf kept canvassing for Q-League; however, the number of seats of his party was restricted to 38, thus, the anti-Musharraf votes were 86 percent in the recent elections.

Aitezaz thanked the media, which came instrumental in propagating ‘our message’ and give currency to it. A society cannot be free with a judiciary in chains, he added.

EU monitors point out poll irregularities

(Courtesy DAWN)

ISLAMABAD, Feb 20: The European Union has criticised the government for its failure to provide a level playing field in the electoral process. It has also pointed out ‘procedural irregularities and institutional inadequacies’.

“The elections were competitive,… but there were significant problems with the election framework and environment,” according to the preliminary assessment of the European Union Election Observation Mission released at a press conference here on Wednesday. The final report will be released in April.

The EU mission had the largest contingent of foreign poll observers who covered 65 per cent of the constituencies. It will also monitor post-election developments, including complaints and appeals.“A level playing field was not provided to the competitors with the authorities favouring the Pakistan Muslim League (Q),” said chief observer Michael Gahler, adding that the ruling parties “profited from the support”.

Mr Gahler said the involvement of the authorities included a multi-fold clout of institutions, including the local government nazims.He said the observation was independent of the results.“Nazims were directly involved in campaigning activity and misuse of state resources in their areas, mostly on behalf of PML-Q candidates. There were credible reports of police harassment of opposition party workers and agents. Some candidates across the board placed undue pressure on public authorities within their constituency to make public resources available to them,” the report said.

“The public broadcasters, the main source of information for most of the population, failed to live up to their responsibility to maintain balance. They provided substantial coverage of the president, government and the PML-Q and limited coverage of other parties,” it said.

Private television channels provided candidates and parties with pluralistic coverage, it said.

The report said people did not have confidence in the independence of the Election Commission.

“Statements of the count were not always issued to agents and were generally not displayed. Observers and candidates’ agents were not granted sufficient access to results compilation at the constituency level. Very few returning officers displayed constituency results with a breakdown by polling station -- a basic transparency requirement.”

Nevertheless, it said, on the whole counting was well conducted in the stations observed.Robert Evans, head of the EU Parliament delegation, said: “The election period has shown the strong desire of the Pakistani people for democracy and the rule of law.”

He said the holding of elections in a peaceful manner was the first sign of peaceful transition of power.

Massive fraud! - An Eyewitness Account

Erik de Bruyn

Erik de Bruyn, leader of the left wing of the Flemish Socialist Party in Belgium has been invited by the PPP to monitor the elections in Pakistan. In particular he is monitoring the elections in the industrial belt of Karachi (NA 257) where the PPP candidate Riaz Lund is challenging the ruling extreme right wing party, the MQM. Here what his personal report on day of election.

Yesterday started with hope, as you can see from my earlier report. But what I saw yesterday made me realise that this Election Day was just the beginning of a very long struggle of liberation of the people of Pakistan. Yesterday I visited some twenty 'sensitive' polling stations. All of them are in an area dominated by the MQM, the party in power in Karachi and the Sindh Province and the local pillar of the Musharraf regime.

When I say 'dominated' you have to take this quite literally. In theory all parties have the right to send scrutineers to the polling stations. In this area I saw only twenty percent of stations with PPP scrutineers. Other opposition parties were not even to be seen. How is this possible? The scrutineers present are incredibly courageous people. They suffer ill treatment, are sometimes abducted and often even killed by the parties in power. A collaborator of an independent NGO told me that yesterday official figures indicated that 15 scrutineers of the PPP were assassinated in the whole country. Most of the 27 people killed yesterday were scrutineers at polling stations, quite apart from the abductions, torture, etc. Last night two PPP women activists in Karachi were still missing. We tried to compensate for the absence of a sufficient number of PPP scrutineers by organising a kind of flying picket in this 'sensitive zone'.
The forms with the electoral results being changed or filled in at the central counting office of the NA-257 district, where the data should only be collected and counted.

The absence of PPP scrutineers was not the only thing I saw: some polling stations were decorated as headquarters of the MQM. Election forms which had already been filled in (pro-MQM of course) were strewn around the tables ready to get stamped by the officials, identification papers of people who are not on the electoral rolls (in other words people who do not exist), suitcases filled with election forms which were either not sealed or badly sealed. Some of the cases of fraud were solved by our presence and intervention. Some 900 MQM votes have been declared null and void as a result of these irregularities.

However, the worst was yet to come. In the evening I went to the central counting office of the NA 257 district. What I saw and photographed there defies everything imaginable. Stacks of bags full of election forms were broken open. Forms were being filled in or changed in the corridors of the court hall. Other original forms were thrown away. Thanks to our pressure and the presence of the local media, a local president of the polling station was arrested and taken away. But will it surprise you to learn that the PPP candidate Riaz Lund, who in the evening was winning with 15,000 votes in 50 out of the 198 polling stations, has officially lost the election?

Muneer A Malik's Press Release regarding elections

Sheikh Rashid leaves Pakistan

(Courtesy The News)

KARACHI: Disgraced and defeated PML-Q leader Sheikh Rashid left Pakistan on Monday night for Spain after he was rejected by the people of Rawalpindi in Monday's massive anti-PML-Q sweep. The outspoken leader had earlier booked a flight to Dubai from Islamabad but when the story leaked to the media, he cancelled it. Later, he quietly took a flight to Karachi and then sneaked out of the country, unable to face the humiliation and possibly charges of corruption under a new government of PML-N and PPP leaders. Authorities posted Rangers around the Lal Haveli in Rawalpindi to protect it from the wrath of Pindiites.

140% turnout in Karachi

PPP and PML-N has demanded the results of Karachi to be canceled as up to 140% turnout has been reported at some polling stations. They said that the Karachi was held hostage under MQM and up to 65,000 votes were casted in areas where previously not more than 4,000 votes were casted earlier.

PMLN and PPP also said that they have collected proofs of rigging.

More reports of rigging can be seen at:
http://www.teeth.com.pk/blog/
http://www.teeth.com.pk/blog/2008/02/18/election-irregularities-being-reported-on-other-blogs/

It is really impressive that the opposition was still able to win amidst all this rigging.

In other news, Sheikh Rashid, has left Pakistan after being humiliated in these elections. He lost both his seats, one by a margin of about 46,000 and the other by a margin of 62,000 votes. Last time he was elected from both. News report can be seen below. Let's see how many of the Q-Leaguers will flee the country (to join Shaukat Aziz) and how many will join the opposition.

The hands that help you vote, can't rock the ballot

Urooj Zia

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Karachi: At least 100,000 eligible voters in the city were not able to cast their votes on Monday merely because they had been appointed as presiding officers, assistant presiding officers, polling officers and district returning officers (DROs) at polling stations that were far away from their home constituencies. This number also includes the 27,000 policemen and 10,000 Rangers personnel who were called up for election duty in order to maintain peace during the polling process in the city on February 18.
On Monday, approximately 3,487 polling stations had been set up in Karachi. Each polling station had, on average, four polling booths (the actual number varied between two booths to eight booths per polling station). One presiding officer, one assistant presiding officer, and two polling officers – one each for the national assembly seat and the provincial assembly seat – had been appointed at each polling booth.
All of these government officials had, however, been deputed at polling stations that were far away from the stations where they were supposed to cast their own votes. "I've been on election duty for the past 17 years," one official at a polling station for NA-253 said. "I'm always deputed to stations that are far away from my house. Our duty at the polling stations that we're deputed to starts at 08:00 a.m. and goes on beyond 05:00 p.m. [until the votes are counted and the results announced]. Polling times at the stations that we're supposed to cast our votes at are also from 08:00 a.m. to 05:00 p.m. Therefore, even though I've been working to ensure that polling goes smoothly, I myself have never been able to vote."
Similar sentiments were echoed by most polling officials deputed at other stations in the city. A female presiding officer at a polling booth in North Nazimabad told The News that she was a lecturer at a government university, and had done her best to make sure that all her students voted on February 18. On polling day, however, she herself was stuck miles away from her home constituency.
Law-enforcement officials that The News spoke to on Monday also lamented the fact that they were not able to vote. 'We've been on duty since 04:00 a.m. We wanted to vote, but can't, because we're still on duty and can't leave our posts,' a group of policemen said at around 02:00 p.m.
"The government should set up a method for proxy voting for us," one presiding officer said. "This way we'll be able to accomplish the duties assigned to us on polling day, as well as exercise our Constitutional right to vote."

POLITICS-PAKISTAN: Voting For Change

Beena Sarwar

KARACHI, Feb 19 (IPS) - With unofficial results for Pakistan's general elections heralding major upsets for President Pervez Musharraf's allies, the message was loud and clear: despite the pre-poll manipulations and irregularities voters have rejected the politics of hate and religious extremism.
Though final results are yet to be announced, the Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N), led by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, and the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) of Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated on Dec. 27, have emerged as the two largest parties -- routing the pro-Musharraf, Pakistan Muslim League - Quaid (PML-Q).
Sharif and Asif Zardari, widower of Bhutto and leader of the PPP, are now discussing the possibility of forming a coalition government.
Some 45.6 percent of the electorate turned out to vote, according to the Election Commission (EC), confounding predictions of poor voter turnout expected due to the high levels of pre-poll violence coupled with the move by several political parties to boycott the polls.
The elections have been unprecedented on many counts. The election schedule was announced on Nov. 20 during the emergency rule imposed by Musharraf, then army chief as well as president. On Nov. 3, 2007, Musharraf essentially conducted a coup against himself, commented Mohammed Hanif, head of the BBC Urdu service at the time: "Faced with increasing demands to give up his position as military chief and confront the complexities of civilian rule, Gen. Musharraf decided to topple President Musharraf."
Musharraf had initially indicated that the elections would be held under emergency rule but faced with intense international and domestic pressure, he lifted the emergency on Dec. 15, but not before he had taken oath as a civilian president and made as many as 15 amendments to the constitution that gave this office more powers.
Musharraf also sacked nearly 60 members of the higher judiciary, including Supreme Court chief justice Iftikhar M. Chaudhry, because they refused to endorse the emergency and were known to be opposed to his election as president while still army chief. Sharif and other politicians have said that the prime objective of the new government would be to reinstate the sacked judges.
Citing widespread irregularities and manipulations by the ruling party, organisations like the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan announced that there was no point in monitoring the polls. The Citizens Group for Electoral Process gave the pre-poll process an overall score of 26 on a scale of 100 in terms of fairness.
Despite, or perhaps because of these manipulations, Monday's polls were the most scrutinised in Pakistan's history, drawing an unprecedented number of international observers -- over 500. They included three prominent United States senators, Joseph Biden, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, along with senior panel members John Kerry and Chuck Hagel.
Speaking with the BBC's Lyse Doucet on Feb. 19 in Islamabad, Kerry expressed his "admiration for Pakistani voters," who have spoken, he said, "powerfully and forcefully", going to the polls despite the pre-poll violence and loss of lives.
Doucet, no stranger to Pakistan, is among the over 700 foreign journalists who have landed here for the elections. Immigration authorities set up separate counters to facilitate the foreign media at Pakistan's international airports some days before the polls.
In addition, for the first time, the elections were held under the spotlight of over 40 privately-owned television channels. The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists and other organisations, like Human Rights Watch, had in the run up to the elections expressed anxiety about how much freedom the electronic media would be allowed.
Musharraf's six-week emergency rule from Nov. 3 was accompanied by a blackout of all independent news channels. They were allowed back on air only under a restrictive code of conduct imposed by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority. Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, PML-N's Sharif lauded journalists for covering the election campaigns risking their lives, and despite the restrictions.
A day before the elections, Attorney General Malik Qayyum had termed these restrictions as "illegal". He was addressing a press conference at which he denied that it was his voice admitting that the polls would be "massively rigged" on the audio tape recording released recently by the New York-based Human Rights Watch.
Although the PPP and PML-N have emerged with a thumping majority according to the unofficial results, observers point out that this happened despite the pre-poll manipulations that had been documented earlier.
Talking to Geo News on Tuesday morning, as the results were still coming in, the routed former chief minister of Punjab and provincial president of the PML-Q Choudhry Parvaiz Elahi, who won one of the three National Assembly seats he was contesting, said he accepted his party's defeat.
"Not all the results are in yet," he added. "We are confident that we will still win some more." Sure enough, the last few results to come in did push the PML-Q to a better position.
The delays in reporting the results of some key constituencies aroused some suspicion. "They wanted to hold back the results of several seats," said Nawaz Sharif in his press conference, citing delayed results where his party eventually lost by narrow margins.
Many voters could not find their names on the electoral list, while others whose names were listed were prevented from voting. Amiruddin Channa, who came to Karachi from Dadu in interior Sindh 22 years ago, told IPS that he had been trying to find his name on the voters' list since morning. The 65-year-old retired senior government official's wife and daughter's names were finally located and they cast their votes.
"But the polling officer told me my vote was in Dadu although I saw it on the list here. I have also served as a presiding official, but we dealt with cases judiciously. The presiding officer here refused to take a stand. When I insisted on my right to vote, a goonda (hooligan) there became very threatening, so I left," Channa told IPS. "I'm a pensioner, I have high blood pressure, it doesn't make a difference to me whether the PPP comes to power or whoever. I'm never voting again."
Several other incidents of vote manipulation, violence and loss of lives, were reported around the country.
Political science professor Sahar Shafqat also points to "the massive systematic disenfranchisement of women," noting that women were barred from voting in several districts in NWFP. "But maybe more serious is that women are simply missing from the electoral rolls. Since the rolls are based on the national identity cards which many women simply don't have or are barred from obtaining, they are severely underrepresented in the lists."
IPS obtained several eye-witness accounts of ballot papers being illegally stamped and stuffed at polling stations around Karachi, the stronghold of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (United National Movement or MQM).
"I myself stamped two ballots for MQM," Javed (real name withheld) told IPS. "The boys came at 8 am to take people out to vote. They returned at 10 am and took me along for elections 'work'. I went into four polling stations with them in our area."