Just wrote this in reply to a birthday wish I got from a friend on Facebook, who mentioned that he will always remember this as the day we elected Mr. 10% as our President:
The supreme irony is that he got elected on a day that is celebrated as "Defence Day".
You and I don't have to like it, but the man--or should I say Da Man aka Maanroo Saeen--has more legal right to be President of Pakistan than Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto ever did. He might be as corrupt as his wife, Nawaz Sharif, and Imran Khan rolled into one, but he's also more politically savvy than all of them combined. Paradoxes are us, man! Democracy is messy, and all that cool stuff, what? After all, American elected--or gave 49% of the vote to--George W Bush not once but twice.
More later. I have a major project to launch this weekend.
I have been away from blogging since September 19th or so, except of very short and situational pieces. I was back in Pakistan for family reasons this last week. When I left Pakistan Friday evening local time, Emergency was just a rumour. I had just attended an event the evening before with some journalists, bloggers, activits, and other members of Civil Society titled "Take Back Karachi". (Details at: http://www.t2f.biz/karachi/ -- they've added a graphic about the emergency.)
When I got off the plane at JFK, I saw a typically short report on CNN that Emergency had been imposed and immediately started Facebooking with a couple of journalists on the ground in Pakistan. Since then, it seems like Pakistanis are starting to step up to their moment of truth.
But first here's a flashback for those who missed it; it's a former head of Pakistan's much-mentioned ISI saying, the day before "Da Proclamation", that if Martial Law is proclaimed--and he points out that a constitutionally-mandated "Emergency" is not an option--civil society should step up and push back:
As Adil says, people see a picture and all they feel is shame for the 5 policemen beating up a lawyer; I feel nothing but pride, for I see one Pakistani putting his self on the line for his principle. People see a media blackout; I see journalists that a dictator has no choice but to ban.
As with the earthquake in 2005, we have started information collection at:
(By way of background, WikiPakistan is an Information Database about Pakistan, Pakistanis and the diaspora hosted by Wikia, a community destination supporting the creation and development of wiki communities and run by a lot of the same people who run the Wikipedia. The site is at http://pakistan.wikia.com/ and background information can be seen at http://pakistan.wikia.com/wiki/Pakistan:About . It is an open database that anyone can edit and is developed under a Free Document License. [Contributors should be aware that if they choose to post material there directly, they are agreeing to release it under the GNU Free Documentation License. Please see www.wikia.com and WikiPakistan for further details.] Contributors are encouraged to click on the “Create an account or log in” link in the top righthand corner of every page and create an account. You do not need to provide any personal information.)
You can read more, and find links to more, on the pages referred to above. More later.
It is really odd--about 50 years ago, the government of Pakistan convened a council of Ulema to decide "Who is a Muslim?" Having declared ourselves an "Islamic Republic" the matter was legally pressing. Their decision in the end was that the State and community must recognize anyone who claims to be a Muslim to be a Muslim. That was the official position of the 2nd largest Muslim nation in the world--then the only "Islamic Republic"around--and that of its Ulema. Today, only the most progressive of organizations--who you, it seems, do not want to consider properly Muslim--holds that position.
The following is a part of this speech I love to quote:
"... we have proved it to the world more than once. We established Pakistan because of our passion for what we call the Islamic way of life. This is no narrow sectarian, or medieval, or theocratic or intolerant conception. It means no more and no less than this: that we believe in God and atheistic doctrines cannot flourish amongst us. That we believe in the equality of men and the equality of civic rights and opportunities for all, irrespective of their religious belief. That we believe in social justice, ... that we believe in democracy, not as a political creed; but as a part of our religious faith ... the way of life that we have chosen for ourselves, [is] not a new concoction, but one that is based on a body of belief and tradition that have been handed down to us by our forefathers"
The speech the Nawabzada gave to Congress was part of our High School English curriculum. (I think it was Congress; thought I have faint recollection of it having been the very University Churchll gave his "Iron Curtain" speech)
Dr Adil Najam recently mentioned to me a speech by the Nawabzada to the Constituent Assembly about the Pakistani flag; a speech that mentions what the Pakistani attitude to minorities should be. I have requested him for information on how and where to get a transcript or recording.
