by Dr Qaisar Rashid
Hardly has anyone come forward to claim that his name was included in the NRO beneficiary list for other than mala fide intentions: None has yet confessed that he was the genuine offender eligible to get relief through the NRO. Everyone having his name in the list declares that his name was maligned and that he did not fetch any benefit from the NRO. Then, who and where are the beneficiaries is the question reels several minds?
Before the voting process could be initiated on the NRO in Parliament, the MQM, a political ally of the PPP, withdrew its support by saying that its members were not the beneficiaries. The MQM might have done a lot of prior legal work to fathom the fate of the cases belonging to its workers, members and leaders before making that announcement. But that unpredictable step of the MQM left the PPP, the ruling party, high and dry. The PPP had to amass nothing but embarrassment both because of it premature failure to seek votes on the NRO and for having been left as the only political party the members of which had been benefitted by the NRO. Thereafter, the MQM alleged the PPP publicly for rigging elections in Gilgit-Baltistan in its own favour. The accusation added necessary fuel to the fire. The PPP found an anti-PPP party in the MQM. Consequently, a backlash has been unleashed from the Sind chapter of the PPP on the MQM so as the MQM should not be left un-smeared.
The failure of the NRO to get through the sieve of Parliament has debunked at least four realities. First, the feudal lords have got misfit in the political system being emboldened by the ethics of democracy, slogans of human rights and demands of free speech; the feudal mindset having an inbuilt spirit (and habit) of dictatorship is incongruent with the present times. The year 2007 was the culmination point of denying (representative) democracy to the people, besides oppressing personal freedom and muffling the voice of dissent. The year 2008 triggered the pro-democratic changes unprecedented in the history of Pakistan – and perhaps those were long overdue – to hasten the process of people empowerment in almost all spheres of life. The recently announced Balochistan package is one such manifestation.
Secondly, those who want to earn handsome money to live better life should preferably not join the government service. Instead, they should opt for the private sector. The list of the NRO indicates that the government servants of all hues outnumber the politicians. Apparently, the NRO beneficiaries from the category of the government service take hide of ‘political victimization’ for implication of their name. In fact, the obsession of the people to join the government service to earn recognition in society and then failure to live within the salary-limits force them to do embezzlements and frauds.
Thirdly, a military dictator is also not impervious to political compromises which are commonly the hallmark of the politicians to make their symbiotic survival possible. It is easier to demean politicians and the political system on that account from outside – the military cantonments – but it is difficult to survive in the political arena without making reprehensible compromises like the issuance of the NRO. Interestingly, the one (General Musharraf) who wanted to champion the accountability cause through the NAB delivered the NRO on October 5, 2007, just one day before his presidential elections – to refrain the PPP from opposing the elections in Parliament. Irony is that no meeting of the Core Commanders took place to issue any public statement that it had reservations on the NRO, as the army voiced on the Kerry-Lugar Bill (KLB).
Fourthly, a system contrived by the forces outside the country is fragile and doomed to fail. In making the NRO deal possible, it was not just the leadership of the PPP and the military regime (including General Ashfaq Pervaiz Kiyani as a go-between) were involved but also the politicians and bureaucrats of the UK and the US were keen to shape the deal. For the foreign players, the NRO was an attempt to clear the way of the liberal political parties like the PPP to manage the affairs of Pakistan. The reason of this thinking can be traced from the reaction of the foreign players to the presence of the religious parties in Parliament under the patronage of the former president General Pervaiz Musharraf. At that time, General Kiyani might have not foreseen a situation when the ISI chief would ask to visit India to appease Indians immediately after the Mumbai attacks in the later half of 2008. In response to that, the army defied their supreme commander, the President of Pakistan. The gulf broadened further when the reservations of the army on the KLB were not paid any heed to. In short, the support of the political system coming from outside is gradually flagging: only that system can survive which entails consent of the indigenous elements, both the politicians and the people.
Technically speaking, the army cannot be an obvious party to dislodge Asif Ali Zardari from the post of the President. The army can just express its discontentment on one issue or another to give signals to those who are in waiting (for their turn) to make stay of Zardari miserable in the presidency. If the Constitution provides immunity to the president, the Supreme Court cannot contravene the Constitution unless Parliament amends the Constitution. The candidature of Zardari cannot be challenged now because at the moment he is not a candidate. The candidature of the elected president is a past and closed transaction. A debate may happen and the Supreme Court may also pass judgement but that would be applicable to the future. Those who want to unearth Zardari by hook or by crook are actually planning to destabilize the whole system. It is not that the army exists as a default option but it is that there is no option available.
The constitutional immunity to Zardari will lapse after another four years. If the system destablizers could wait for that time to level their score, the nation will be obliged.
well it is crystal clear that all the politicins can do anything for the sake of their interest. they shout for democracy what where it is. e-g in this miserable condition where is opposition PML-N. they are ally with PPP in punjab and opposing PPP in Islamabad.
Where PPP stand in the scenario they totally failed to deliver and in fact when we observe by combining both the Ruling parties and Opposition parties it is reallly alarming situation that they people failed to show the masses that what is difference between dictatorship and democracy. it is not only the fedration but also the province of Punjab where Shehbaz Sharif is everything.
It changed to very interesting and eye-opening situation when some people say ”Musharraf was better” and they also qoute the last wording of his Speech as president when he said Pakistan ka Allah Hafiz.
well in short the both sides failed to deliver………..
IN CURRENT PARLIAMENT NO BODY IS SINCERE WITH POOR VOTERS….
THE SO CALLED MIDDLE CLASS PARTY MQM WORKERS SNATCHED COW SKIN FROM MY COUSINS IN KHARADAR THEY ARE RIGHTLY CALLED TERRORIST ….
AND WHEN ZULFIQAR MIRZA ANNOUNCED INQUIRY OF 12TH MAY AND OPENING OF 3500 CRIMINAL CASES THEY SHUT S THEIR MOUTHS
MY GOD THE WEAPONS THEY HAVE ….. KARACHI CAN EXPLODE ANY TIME THEY HAVE ENOUGH MIRCH MASALA ……
pakistan has arrived at a point where the rulers are not at ease and the ruled are not at ease.
both are in turmoil.the haves in fear of accountability and the have nots in fear of poverty and despondency.
however undaunted by all this pakistans security establishment has not abandoned a policy of adventurism.its well known that between 1992 and 2001 pakistan was calling the shots in afghanistan.as a result pakistan was isolated internationally.today pakistan faces internal upheaval and severe external pressures.not given able political and military leadership the country can get balkanised.till 2002 we all thought that there can be no coup from juniour level but all planners of 2003 pindi attack were soldiers ,NCOs,JCOs,Warrant officers of army and airforce.till 2004 army had deterrent value but in 2004 the corps commander karachi was attacked.today it is far worse.
despite learning our establishment is worsening things by murdering baloch leaders and harassing kamran shafi.pakistan needs far superior political and military leadership than it has today.
anyone who criticises or points out the facts is labelled as indian agent.
pakistan is an army with a state rather than a state with an army . indigenous support is a joke.one prime minister was hanged by a kangaroo supreme court by the military usurper despite indigenous support sans some urban opponents in lahore karachi and multan.one prime minister was exiled despite indigenous support.one ex prime minister was assasinated in dubious circumstances.one prime minister again popular was murdered by the bureaucratic military establishment and all involved in his murder inquiry also killed.
this whole theory of indigenous support is flawed.the parliament has members manipulated by the civil military establishment.the press is manipulated by the agencies and it dares not criticise the generals.
no journalist covered 10 million loans given by some banks to generals at very low interest and with no collaterals.the waived off loans are not discussed by the mujahid journalists of geo and so many others.NRO is province specific.
however now with insurgency ongoing in balochistan and NWFP and a new afghan policy which will rock this region the countrys very existence is threatened.yet our so called guardians of ideology are having all wrong priorities.
So long as Zardari is carrying ‘Bhutto’ Tag, PPP can win the election eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeasily. Only 3 days ago Babar Awan was accused under affidavit in the Supreme Court that he was given bribe of Rs 34 Crore to settle the case unlawfully. Only yesterday, I repeat yesterday in Peshawar a huge again a huge crowd gathered to listen to his speech, be was garlanded with roses, presented with bouquet of flowers and applauded as though if nothing has happened. It’ s not the fault of Zardari we are stupid and jahil who vote for this stupid party.
The situation is so confused that if we wrap up a donkey in PPP flag or if we put Sindhi Topi on a monkey, even these two creatures can win election from anywhere in Sindh. I will even say that Babar Awan, Rehman Malik and also Gen Musharraf can win election from anywhere in Sindh.
“The constitutional immunity to Zardari will lapse after another four years. If the system destablizers could wait for that time to level their score, the nation will be obliged.”
The whole article has portrayed the tragedy of the Pakistani people and implication of the foreign powers in Pakistani affairs with the tacit involvement of the Pak army top brass. One must not forget that the main characters in this whole saga, who sold their soul to the foreign powers were BB and Nawaz Sharif, both were the deal makers and the real traitors.
They both let the American’s, the British and the Saudi royal Mafia got involve to get into power and the dictator was already a stooge of the west and one of the big player in the ‘War for terror” by the west and “War for terror for money and power grab” for the Pakistani political prostitutes and the top brass of some rogue Pakistani mercenary military elites.
“The moral of the story” of this article is very misleading. No ware in this long article with excellent choice of words the writer admits that the whole election process was a farce and the Pakistani political parties with conscience rejected the fake and imposed election under the thumb of a dictator and an illegal judiciary.
If this person had iota of dignity, he should have recognized the fact that in reality the whole election should be deemed illegal and we should have new elections with all the Pakistani parties invole under the free judiciary, but instead this ’Propaganda master” is requesting or suggesting due to constitutional immunity to Zardari Pakistani should wait four more years, of a criminally insane and an unconstitutional “selected” government to begin with.
No we reject your conclusion and demand a new election under the real constitution of 1973, not under a constitution which was raped by a military dictator and was kept molested by the new political dictator.
People like you have been fooling the people of Pakistan on your masters advice for over sixty years, no more fooling the fools. Pakistani people had enough of your defeatist logic. What about the option of impeachment under the constitution by the collation of the willing including the PPPP members who know, what is best for their party and Pakistan?
Dr said
“Irony is that no meeting of the Core Commanders took place to issue any public statement that it had reservations on the NRO, as the army voiced on the Kerry-Lugar Bill (KLB)”
I am not a fan of dictators but pardon my lack of knowledge if I couldn’t understand the above statement. So how does NRO affect the army in the way KLB does?
I agree with you that system should not be derailed but at the same time corruption should be stopped. No one should be given a free hand to do corruption. The best judge of how a party rules Pakistan is public.
@ Dr.Qaisar Rashid. (3rd word, 2nd last line, 5th paragraph, of your above featured article.)
1. In future, please correct yourself when referring to the ‘highest’ field headquarter of the army, outside the GHQ.
2. There is NO WORD as a ‘ CORE’ in military parlance but the CORRECT word is, ‘CORP’ (or meaning, that army unit which usually consists of two or more divisions & their support.)
3. Similarly, one cannot refer to the two words ‘dipolomatic corps’ as ‘diplomatic core’? Or can you?
Dear ConcernedAmericanPak,
I agree with the first three para of your comments. Those are perfect. But then I did not mean that the elections were rigged. The elections were fair. The morale of the story is that Zardari is an elected President and cannot be ousted. Only constitutioal way is there to remove him, if so required. Otherwise, wait for completion of his term.
Dear Jalali,
The sentence confusing you is “Irony is that no meeting of the Core Commanders took place to issue any public statement that it had reservations on the NRO, as the army voiced on the Kerry-Lugar Bill (KLB)”. The sentence means that the army high command was also a party to the NRO. Secondly, when the NRO was being signed and promulgated why did the army high command kept silent. They were silent because their chief was doing all that filth. Why the NRO could not shake conscience of the generals and why did the KLB do?
Corruption will be stopped when the NRO will be rejected and the beneficiaries of the NRO will be condemned publicly.
Dear Sabzbagh,
a. Perhaps you are referring to this statement: “It is easier to demean politicians and the political system on that account from outside – the military cantonments – but it is difficult to survive in the political arena without making reprehensible compromises like the issuance of the NRO.” In this sentence, ‘outside’ has been described as the military cantonments. The sentence means that the military often demeans the politicians.
b. Thank you for inviting my attention towards the word Corps Commander. You are right. But then the term ‘Core Commander’ is also used.
Anyway, thank you all who showed keen interest in reading my article and bothered to unload your comments.
If you like to comment further, I will be ready to respond to satisfy you. I will keep on visiting the website to respond to your questions/comments.
Regards,
Sincerely,
Dr Qaisar Rashid
Writer.
Dear Dr, I respectfully disagree with you that the elections were fair, they may be fair in the sense of voting quality but the whole process was rushed and tainted with the two favorite horses given the advantage, the Kings league PML-Q of Pakistani Political prostitutes and the Mafia Queen BB’s PPPP, the grave worshipers party. The ethnic Mafia’s of MQM and ANP were on board, because of their top leadership is sold-out and criminal. Zardari was rushed into the elections during the confusion of BB’s murder and was recommended by the Foreign British agent Altaf the serial killer, “how convenient”. If the end result does not justify the means, than the end should be questioned and changed.
Dear ConcernedAmericalPak,
You may be right. I respect your opinion.
@qaisarrashid
Dear Dr., I apologize for my harsh words and have tremendous respect for your interaction with me and your behavior. There is no absolute right or absolute wrong, we both are entitled to our opinions and I agreed with most of your openion and got confused about your intentions.
This whole selection of election was drawn up in the “Stink Tanks” of the British Raj and American Neo-Satanic institutions of deceit, deception and lies with the help of Pakistani sellout political prostitutes and the ethnic and family Mafia bosses.
All parties have “unlimited” amounts of money, and battery of top notch Lawyers(Professional liars), so technically they made an “ironclad” effort and got us stuck with the most heinous group of international criminals as the top leaders of Pakistan.
Educated people like us, must see through the web of lies and deception and challenge these criminals, instead of letting them justify their crimes due to legal loopholes they used. Non of them has any shame or integrity, each day all the Pakistani media and people are uncovering their crimes, lies and cursing them publicly on all the forums.
But still non of them wants to see the writing on the walls and keep regurgitating the talking points, such as “not to derail Democracy“, ‘We won The elections”, “People voted for us“, “Let us finish our loot and finish the job we took from the foreign masters in return for immunity and protection.
No, the answer to them is No, the people of Pakistan must standup to this farce and take these people to the courts of justice had take their country and money back from these thieves and robbers.
Best wishes to you…..
nro is a live wire no doubt. But we shouldn’t be falling in the media trap here. We want to see liberal and moderate elements in media as it occupies our mind due to the powerful coverage. We are fightin extremism. Guys v need to be on our toes. Lets jus forget about NRo for a while ans see the wider picture here wha our country is going through and how can we help it!
SC to hear NRO cases from Dec 7
ISLAMABAD : The Supreme Court of Pakistan has constituted a seventeen-member larger bench to hear the NRO cases from Monday, December 7th , Aaj News reported.
http://www.aaj.tv/news/National/153692_detail.html
dekhte hn oonth kis krwat beth ta hy
NRO beneficiaries list presented in SC
The NAB sources said the assets of President Asif Ali Zardari in foreign countries stand at $1.5 billion.
http://www.aaj.tv/news/National/
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