Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Thursday, November 18, 2010
my country
I love my country.
My India is very great.
My country name India
For the love of my country
Faryal Leghari (PAKISTAN)
24 November 2011, 7:29 PM
Politics in Pakistan is a strange cup of tea. Everyone wants a sip and those who have once tasted of that exotic brew develop a life long and overpowering addiction.
This addiction has certain tenacity. A tenacity to never let go, to conspire and stay on in power, come what may. Eradicating corruption, improving governance, resolving the economic situation and providing security are claims that are as easily made as they are shed. Every new election brings fresh promises amid false hopes, that are stripped bare sooner then one can blink once the cabinets are formed and the new government takes the sacred oath to serve the country and fulfill its constitutional obligations.
One could put it down to resilience or even a defeatist, approach that compels the electorate to re-elect these representatives over and over again despite relatively warped records. Forgiveness is a virtue one could learn from this nation.
But what is not forgivable is the attempts to put the country’s sanctity for sale. National integrity, honour and pride, the upholding of constitutional rights and defending the state’s strategic assets are factors that must always be above the greedy clutch of power.
The recent fiasco that is yet to reach its conclusion over the secret memo sent to former US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, is indigestible. What disgusts the intellect is not the ridiculous efforts to cling to power by seeking external help to avert a feared military take over but the Faustian bargain which has been thrown in the process.
By promising to open the doors for US ground operations and give it carte blanche to kill whichever target is deemed a threat is something even neutral observers will find hard to accept. By promising to replace the Army Chief and ISI head with more compliant military officers, reformulate the national security team with pliable officials and offering the biggest cherry on the cake — access to Pakistan’s nuclear programme — the brains behind the memo forgot the basic selling point. A great sales offer is likely to be dismissed if it sounds too good to be true. Mullen thus promptly dismissed the proposal even then when Washington’s ties with Pakistan, principally its military establishment were severely strained in the aftermath of the Osama bin Laden operation.
The bearer of the memo, US businessman Mansoor Ijaz may have as yet to prove himself a credible figure. Judging from his past writings against the Pakistani state — civilian governments and the military — his smug proclamations supported by enough evidence point at no other than the recently resigned Pakistan ambassador to the US, Hussain Haqqani and President Zardari. This accusation has trapped the whole country in a Memogate corner.
Haqqani, despite resigning and offering full cooperation with the investigation, has to date, refuted all charges and denied any close contact with Ijaz. The coming days are likely to bring us a second climax and a deepening of the civilian-military rift.
The question is how could Haqqani (if he was the mastermind behind the memo) have authorised the writing down of such a proposal for the US officials on his own? Has he been merely used as a pawn and now denies patronage when caught?
Irrespective of the brain behind Memogate, the whole affair gives off a stench. It is also deeply embarrassing.
Some conspiracy theorists have even suggested an ISI-military link with Ijaz, aimed solely to discredit the civilian government and remove Haqqani. One thing that does not support this angle is that no matter how little love there may be between the GHQ and the Presidency, destabilising the government would hardly bring any benefits to the army. A military takeover, if there was one on the cards, would have proved more fruitful earlier when the Zardari led PPP government was flexing its muscles after assuming power. Moreover, it may have made sense had the military reacted rashly and staged a coup in the days when an anti-military defamation campaign erupted in Pakistan after the Abottabad raid and the PNS Mehran base attack in Karachi. Fortunately, that did not materialise thanks to the wiser counsel among the khaki bigwigs.
My India is very great.
My country name India
For the love of my country
Faryal Leghari (PAKISTAN)
24 November 2011, 7:29 PM
Politics in Pakistan is a strange cup of tea. Everyone wants a sip and those who have once tasted of that exotic brew develop a life long and overpowering addiction.
This addiction has certain tenacity. A tenacity to never let go, to conspire and stay on in power, come what may. Eradicating corruption, improving governance, resolving the economic situation and providing security are claims that are as easily made as they are shed. Every new election brings fresh promises amid false hopes, that are stripped bare sooner then one can blink once the cabinets are formed and the new government takes the sacred oath to serve the country and fulfill its constitutional obligations.
One could put it down to resilience or even a defeatist, approach that compels the electorate to re-elect these representatives over and over again despite relatively warped records. Forgiveness is a virtue one could learn from this nation.
But what is not forgivable is the attempts to put the country’s sanctity for sale. National integrity, honour and pride, the upholding of constitutional rights and defending the state’s strategic assets are factors that must always be above the greedy clutch of power.
The recent fiasco that is yet to reach its conclusion over the secret memo sent to former US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, is indigestible. What disgusts the intellect is not the ridiculous efforts to cling to power by seeking external help to avert a feared military take over but the Faustian bargain which has been thrown in the process.
By promising to open the doors for US ground operations and give it carte blanche to kill whichever target is deemed a threat is something even neutral observers will find hard to accept. By promising to replace the Army Chief and ISI head with more compliant military officers, reformulate the national security team with pliable officials and offering the biggest cherry on the cake — access to Pakistan’s nuclear programme — the brains behind the memo forgot the basic selling point. A great sales offer is likely to be dismissed if it sounds too good to be true. Mullen thus promptly dismissed the proposal even then when Washington’s ties with Pakistan, principally its military establishment were severely strained in the aftermath of the Osama bin Laden operation.
The bearer of the memo, US businessman Mansoor Ijaz may have as yet to prove himself a credible figure. Judging from his past writings against the Pakistani state — civilian governments and the military — his smug proclamations supported by enough evidence point at no other than the recently resigned Pakistan ambassador to the US, Hussain Haqqani and President Zardari. This accusation has trapped the whole country in a Memogate corner.
Haqqani, despite resigning and offering full cooperation with the investigation, has to date, refuted all charges and denied any close contact with Ijaz. The coming days are likely to bring us a second climax and a deepening of the civilian-military rift.
The question is how could Haqqani (if he was the mastermind behind the memo) have authorised the writing down of such a proposal for the US officials on his own? Has he been merely used as a pawn and now denies patronage when caught?
Irrespective of the brain behind Memogate, the whole affair gives off a stench. It is also deeply embarrassing.
Some conspiracy theorists have even suggested an ISI-military link with Ijaz, aimed solely to discredit the civilian government and remove Haqqani. One thing that does not support this angle is that no matter how little love there may be between the GHQ and the Presidency, destabilising the government would hardly bring any benefits to the army. A military takeover, if there was one on the cards, would have proved more fruitful earlier when the Zardari led PPP government was flexing its muscles after assuming power. Moreover, it may have made sense had the military reacted rashly and staged a coup in the days when an anti-military defamation campaign erupted in Pakistan after the Abottabad raid and the PNS Mehran base attack in Karachi. Fortunately, that did not materialise thanks to the wiser counsel among the khaki bigwigs.
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