Author: Other Pakistan
The classic film ‘Roti’ starring the legendary Rajesh Khanna begins with his character Mangal stealing roti as a child from a restaurant to fill his empty stomach. This event transforms him for life because he is punished for this ‘heinous sin’ and from here on in his life of crime begins. In another classic Bollywood film ‘Deewar’ starring the legendary Shashi Kapoor and Amitabh Bachchan, one scene stands out where Shashi Kapoor’s character fires on a boy who is stealing roti for his family. 
Later he realises his mistake and offers the family food which is rejected by the boy’s mother who cries and throws the roti away upon hearing her son was shot only because he stole roti. The moral behind the stories and their relevance today to a Pakistan crying out for roti is so obvious it need not even be stated.
Yesterday I nearly fell of my chair in bewilderment and anger when Geo TV reported that roti was now selling at a staggering 5 rupees in Karachi. At times of such gloom I then add to my woes by reflecting on the founding vision of Pakistan as a land of the pure. This nation was after all, envisaged as the solution to the problem of bread for the Muslim masses by the great Allama Iqbal. How we have failed!
However the current atta crisis is a crisis like no other having no parallel even for this crisis prone government. Yet its effects on the poor toiling masses cannot be imagined who are literally in agony today thanks to this departing present from a failed Musharraf regime. The price of a bag of atta has increased tenfold with millions of Pakistanis unable to enjoy their most basic of fundamental rights – food. And yes the ‘Supreme Court’ should take suo moto notice of this breach of our rights (we are waiting with bated breath Justice Doggar!) but more importantly one must wonder whether the government will take notice itself?
The government’s worst crime during the atta crisis has been its indifference by design or default in looking the other way. Just like the sugar scandal and others before it, the government has sat idly by and enjoyed the view as the masses suffer thanks in this instance to the illegal and immoral hoarding of wheat by the powerful atta mafia. Such an act is unforgivable and it is tantamount to a war crime against our own people and it makes my blood boil.
The right to food is a universal human right. Yet it is a right alien to most Pakistanis collectively known as the masses whom live a life of squalor and degradation. Food was first declared a right in the UN’s 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. By 2004 the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization Council had adopted “voluntary guidelines for the progressive realisation of the right to adequate food,” with 187 governments as signatories.
Furthermore twenty-two countries have enshrined the right to food in their constitutions, either for all citizens or specifically for children including Pakistan with Article 38 Section D of the Constitution of Pakistan stating that:
‘ The State shall provide basic necessities of life such as food, clothing, housing, education, and medical relief for all such citizens, irrespective of sex, caste, creed or race, as are permanently or temporarily unable to earn their livelihood on account of infirmity, sickness or unemployment’.
www.pakistani.org/pakistan/constitution/part2.ch2.html
On 16 October 2007, the United Nations celebrated World Food Day with the theme ‘The Right to Food’ reminding us all that it is the right of every person to have regular access to sufficient, nutritionally adequate and culturally acceptable food for an active, healthy life. That it is the right to feed oneself in dignity, rather than the right to be fed. That with more than 850 million people in the world still deprived of enough food, the right to food is not just economically, morally and politically imperative – it is also a legal obligation.
Pakistan too celebrated the day with messages of support from luminaries no less than the ‘President’ and ‘Prime Minister’. Most notably the ‘Federal Minister’ for Food, Agriculture and Livestock Sikandar Hayat Khan Bosan chose to shout from the rooftops in his address on the day that ‘The right to food has been accorded universal recognition. It is a binding obligation which is well established under international law. And the right to food has also been well recognized in numerous national constitutions’.
www.fao.org/wfd/nems_detail.asp?event_id=37444&ISO3=PAK
However actions speak louder than words for only a few weeks earlier the same Mr. Bosan and his cabinet colleagues chose to look away at illegal wheat hoarding by the powerful atta mafia. Consequently the atta shortage and rocketing roti prices prevalent today all over Pakistan are the sole responsibility of men like Bosan in the Musharraf regime. The following newspaper extracts from September and October 2007 provide ample proof of criminal negligence and even complicity and serve as an open charge and a damning indictment against the Musharraf/Aziz regime:
Federal ministers are divided over a proposal to crack down on individuals hoarding wheat as they feel that action against “some influential people� could create problems for the ruling party in the general election. According to a report submitted by intelligence agencies a few weeks ago, a number of “major players� are stockpiling wheat. But the government is hesitant to attach “top priority� to the scandal because of the election factor.
The revelation prompted another minister, from Punjab, to advise the government to avoid launching such an operation ‘for the time being’. He said it might ‘upset influential people’, creating ‘problems’ for the government in an election season. It has been learnt that black market operators have now decided to make windfall profits by hoarding non-perishable farm produce, e.g. wheat, rice and sugar, because the stock and real estate markets had failed to yield high returns. The average price of locally-produced wheat was 200 dollars per ton against the landed cost of the imported variety, which amounted to $415 a ton in September, leaving a profit margin of more than 50 per cent to the hoarders.
Towering political figures, both on the treasury and the opposition benches, have been found involved in the ongoing wheat and flour crisis, having managed to swindle around over Rs 6 billion by hoarding and then smuggling the commodity to the neighboring countries, top official sources in the finance ministry told The News. The sources said that the opposition parties had more or less also joined the government’s ‘unscrupulous figures’ in this loot as they had not come out with any protest worth the name against the crisis. Rather, political parties have left the masses in the lurch to bear the bite of inflation.
They hoarded wheat and with the connivance of ministers, both in the federal and provincial governments, they managed to smuggle the commodity, as the said ministers are also landlords, big growers and also possess flour and rice mills. It is pertinent to mention here that the government has decided not to constitute a commission to launch a probe into the wheat scam, as major chunk of ministers and politicians with agriculture background are not in favour of such a move.
Today the poor caretaker government is bearing the brunt of criticism when the real blame lies with Pervez Musharraf and Shaukat Aziz and their respective fan clubs which pass for political parties. The News editorial of 8th January hits the nail on the head by reminding us:
The ‘atta’ crisis is adding to the sense of unease and uncertainty currently prevailing in the country. An inability to readily obtain vital items of food will, after all, inevitably breed insecurity. There is thus an urgent need to ensure that supplies swiftly reach the worst-hit areas, to regulate prices and to act against all those engaged in pocketing large profits, so that the misery of desperate people can be brought to an immediate end’.
I echo those sentiments and pray for rapid improvement on the ground so that the masses can get respite. I pray above all that roti is made affordable for the poor and wretched of Pakistan for whom my words of solace are not enough. In the words of the Quaid ‘we must concentrate wholly on improving conditions for the great masses of the poor’. We must do better as a nation, we must build a better Pakistan, a more just Pakistan, an ‘other’ Pakistan.
Other Pakistan is the brainchild of Wasim Arif; its vision simply is to create an ‘other’ Pakistan by providing a forum for discussion and debate amongst Pakistanis and non-Pakistanis on how to create a better Pakistan. He encourages debate from all readers and he can be contacted at wasim@otherpakistan.org or via the Other Pakistan website at www.otherpakistan.org
This article has put in words, what I have been trying to say. I did post earlier that it is no inefficiency of government, but actually it is a criminal act. The question is who will punish people involved in such heinous crimes.
http://pkpolitics.com/discuss/topic/atta-crisis-case-must-be-filed-at-international-court-of-justice
The good news is that President of Pakistan has finally taken notice of this crisis and has intructed the authorities to take action. ( in other words carry on). Now people will have to come to the streets. but what if they do, they might be greeted by some frustrated, lowlife bomber. One things for certain, no matter how long they rule, all these government people, especially Mush will meet the most dreadful fate ever met in our history.
Every Pakistani should write one letter to Gen Kiyani to depose Musharraf, restore Constitution and judiciary and form national goverment to oversee fair and free elections if Pakistan has to surivive. It wont cost that much money to post just one letter. The population of pakistan is 160 million and even if one million do it thats enough.
Address
Gen Asfaque Kiyani
Chief of Army Staff
General Headquarters
Rawalpindi
Thats it. Enough is enough now. How long we Pakistanis would just wait for a miracle to happen..
Jo qumay apni madad aap nahi kartiheen Allah unki madad nahi karta.
Its just one of the results of “Injustice”
Only one solution.
“Insaf, Insaf aur bas Insaf.”
@ c hussain,
why do you seek kayani’s involvement? There is a Japenesse saying, do not wash blood with blood.
Ibn Batuta
Ibn Batuta
It is a fact – although a very unfortunate fact – that neither awam nor politicians have guts to take on Musharraf although they had numerous chances esp the politicians – BB was the first example who did a deal with Musharraf at his weakest moment when CJ was restored.
So who is going to remeove this guy – he would only go after bloody revolution – he wont go quietly. He would rather have all Pakistan bathe in blood and broken up in tatters than leave quietly.
There is only one person who can throw him out and that is from army – Kiyani being obvious.
If you have any alternative please do educate me I would love to hear your opinion
@c hussain,
by your own logic, we must also say that Kayani has also not shown guts to take on Mush. He has not been able to even get his official residence from Mush?
But let us accept that he is the only one who has this capacity, why do we assume that he would use it and that even if he uses it, it will be in line with what you are hopping? More likely it will be a gimmick to save the army rule by removing one face and putting on another. At most he would remove Mush, talk about how now things will be different now and then continue with the same policies. Restoration of judiciary and constitution back to Nov 2 is not in the interest of army or USA and hence Kayani will never do it.
So what is the alternative?
History is a good guide. Not our limited history but world history. Those nations who have waited for a Massiah have only got destruction. The only option is a political mass movement. If that is not posisble, I am afraid then we are doomed to slavery and oppression. If there is anything we can do is to work for creating political awareness, motivation to rise for our rights and realise that sovereighty belongs to people. Again, do not wash blood with blood.
Ibn batuta
@c hussain
I would second @ibn batuta, we don’t want any involvement from Army what so ever. If Army has any respect for themselves, they should stay away from this mess. It might take a little longer, but the movement has started right after 9th of March. It will come to its logical end.
He cannot keep Aitezaz and judges under arrest forever. If you are asking who would remove it. People will remove him, if tries to install PML-Q government. Musharraf only chance of survival is to reconcile the differences between PML-Q and PPP. If he is able to pull that trick, then I seriously have no hope.
@ chussain
I humbly disagree with your solution.
BIG NO TO ANY RULE OF ARMY.
The first step for reconciliation is restoration of judiciary and independent election commision. Musharraf has to agree with this minimum requrement, if he wants any future hounarable exit.
Kyani was the SOB’s (Mush) most trusted person; that is why he was made head of the ISI and later on promoted as the COAS. Why would he go against his former master? It is true that he is wearing a different cap now but I believe that it will not change his position.
If army intervenes now then we will never be able to get out of its (army) grip. This is the first time, as far back as I can remember, when people are openly insisting an end to army’s intervention into country’s political affairs. As far as the atta crises is concerned, everyone know that all the hoarders are sitting with the SOB (Mush) and therefore, could never been in a more safe place. One of the hosts from Bolta Pakistan had once stated that “these agencies knew exactly in which cave Akbar Bugti was hiding but how come they don’t know who these hoarders are”
Every Pakistani should decide it Pakistan or Pakistan Army? Time to choose is now.
Atta Solution:
Shove the filthy face of Mush in Atta till he comes to his senses or loses them.
About throwing off Mush in the gutters. I think that Kiyani if ever intervened would do it in his own interest and would become another parasite to get rid of next.
See Iran’s example. The Shah was far more powerful, ruthless, better ISI version (SAVAK), feverishly supported by US etc. But when the sea of people (all very different but having a common denominator ie Anti-Shah) swarmed his palace no protections could save him. We need people from ALL walks of life to physically join in and create that critical mass which would be unstoppable. People can start off by complete Civil disobedience.
All the army officers have a fraternity and they never go against each other especially when serving. I dont know why people say that kiayni will take such an action. Miracles do happen, but this is highly unlikely. Mush has aqcuired special constitutional powers and he is an undeclared king. The army supports him, the only thing we can do is hope for the best. I think if this continues, some day our own people will ask the americans and foriegn forces to come liberate pakistan from our own army.
The SOB (Mush) says “I’ll quit if majority demands so: Musharraf”:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=20081\13\story_13-1-2008_pg1_4
He is still living in some illusion that the majority does not want him to quit.
Rana Bhagwandas house arrested:
http://www.nation.com.pk/daily/jan-2008/13/index7.php
This government is afraid of everyone.
@Amir Hameed
This is a pill for the foreign media…
in reality if such a thing happened he would use 58(2b) and address the nation…meray piyaray humwatano…
it is interesting that Mush is giving so many interviews to foreign newspapers…and the interviewers are very soft on him…
It was sad to see that today’s DAWN made this news one of its front page headline. The article then had just one line on this matter.
Ibn Batuta
There was a news today that an american journalist has been expelled. the article below has the full details.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jJhMtnpx1-jqgshNhbhcqWRMbauQD8U4H7G00
here is the article…
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/06/magazine/06PAKISTAN-t.html?pagewanted=print
ibn Batuta
@ibnbatuta.
thanks. a good article; I dont know why the writer was expelled. One thing I dont understand is that Do these local talibans want to impose islamic law in that particular area or the entire country. If they just want to have islamic laws in swat than they should have it. Thats the only way to pacify them.
We, Pakistanis, have decided to give Illegal President Pervaiz Musharraf two titles as a recognition for his support of Atta smugglers. We hereby suggest that Pervaiz Musharraf should be addressed as one or both of the following titles:
1. QUAID-E-QILLAT
2. ATTA CHORE
He has earned these latest titles and they add to a long list of others that we have been giving him in recognition of his efforts to bring Pakistanis to its knees.
@ zenith
“I dont know why the writer was expelled”
he was expelled because he presented a true picture of the reality, and didnt punctuate the article with “terrorists” and lies about how “evil” the Taleban are, which the Mush regime wants us to hear. i would rather live in Swat than in Musharrafistan anyday, and I’m sure the people over there have much more justice than the rest of Pakistan. may all of Pakistan be liberated from Musharraf and his army.
@ Traffic
I agree with u. I said that as i thought it was nothing in that article that defamed our mighty ruler Mush. New laws have been passed that give the authorities power to close channels news papers etc that publish dematory material against mush. The army on the other hand is not an angel army itself as many UN reports say that pakistani troops have been found indulging in extremely immoral activities while on UN peace missions, no wonder we hear from PTV that the pak army has returned after completing its peace missions; the countries expell them.
@ zenith
this army is nothing but a bunch of mercenaries who have sold off their souls and religion for a few thousand rupees, to kill innocent Muslims to fight America’s war, while the generals take billions of dollars to fulfill their lusts and desires. i pray for the day that this army is disbanded and the generals publically hanged in the streets of Rawalpindi. that will be the true Day of Independence. so far the only ray of light i see in this dark tunnel of Musharraf’s rule is the mujahideen, because unfortunately this country cannot be liberated from these generals and their army by peaceful means as much as we would all prefer it to be that way.
I agree with all of you that army intervention in not a solution but what you guys are proposing is not going to happen. Do you think that one day Musharraf would just step down and say – look guys i am sorry i am leaving and he would just walk away.
No that is not going to happen. A person who has blood on his hands and has been directly involved in assassination of so many people would take such a risk.
Now the question is how would he go. The judiciary under arrest and political parties dont have guts and unity. The army is involved in NWFP, Balachistan fighting against their own people.
Do you guys suggest that would India come to save us – like they did in 1971 when they came to save Bangladeshis from the army – let me make it clear – they would never do that – thats why suddenly their Defence Minister Parnab Mukerjee is saying that Pakistan has got great resilience and would bounce back and that Musharraf is their best bet.
So guys where do we go now – maybe just sit and home pray to Allah – and you know what Allah would do – He would send more Ahzab on us because He doest not help those who dont help themselves.
The only way Musharraf can is go is b y violent means. thats all.
By the way the hot news are that Shabaz Sharif had secret negogiations with Brigadier Niaz who is agent of Musharraf and there is some sort of talk about National Goverment. Thats why Nawaqz sharif, Zardari and Imran Khan have all started to talk about National Government suddenly. The question is will they accept Musharraf as President while they join National Government.
Admin please put up a section on question of formation of National Govenment to elicit the views of the visitors here
Meetha Sach
I fully agree with you =- that is the ultimate solution – come on just a march on Persident house by million people – joined by police also – and that is end of he story.
No one has to be violent – no one has to be killed – just a peaceful march. and then sti there
http://www.express.com.pk/epaper/PoPupwindow.aspx?newsID=1100331254&Issue=NP_LHE&Date=20080113
A very throught provoking article
[...] Note – This post was posted on Pakistaniat/ATP and PK Politics also and has been reproduced for the benefit of regular Other Pakistan visitors who may not have viewed it already. The links to both posts are here and here [...]
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