Benazir Bhutto, 1953-2007

Nawaz to contest elections

Nawaz has decided to contest the elections after all, proving that the political parties cannot be counted on to have any principle whatsoever. I don't understand why he would do this, frankly, even from just sheer pragmatism. What's the point of playing along in a sham election in which the result has already been predetermined, only to play the part of the loser? But in his infinite wisdom, Nawaz has decided that it's worth it. So he too has fallen victim to the arm-twisting of the Americans and the Saudis as well as the deals offered by Musharraf, not to mention his own sheer greed and stupidity.

Saudi ambassador, Mr. Tough Guy

So now it's come to this. The Saudi ambassador is playing the role of a mafioso, a tough guy, someone who makes you an offer you can't refuse - and if you do, he'll break your legs or maybe put you in permanent exile.

The Saudi ambassador has been making the social rounds in Pakistan. First, he visited Nawaz Sharif at Raiwind to explain to him that he needs to behave himself and stop creating "hurdles" for Musharraf (by refusing to play along with the farce of an election?). Next, the ambassador pays a visit to Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry. You know, the man that everyone and their mother have been trying to visit but keep getting denied. Most recently, a group of retired judges had attempted to visit the CJ, and then it was the CODEPINK activists. But inexlicably, the CJ didn't want to see them. I guess now we know why - he was waiting for someone to come along and offer him a haj trip. Duh.

The Saudi embassy is insisting that there is nothing nefarious behind the offer. It's just a nice offer to make to a man who is only the biggest thorn in the side of Musharraf right now. Why anyone would think it's at all suspicious that the Saudis would want to get the CJ out of the country is just bizarre. There's nothing unusual at all about the offer. The Saudis even scolded the local media here and warned them not to

mislead and misguide the public mind and generate unfavorable responses regarding the intent and purpose of a brotherly sovereign state, its leadership and its people.

Now, I don't mean to go on a rant here, but I must confess that it REALLY bugs me that Pakistanis will talk ad nauseam about US imperialism but never talk about Saudi imperialism. The manner in which the Saudis have interfered in Pakistani affairs over the last 30 years is disgusting - they have played a very big part in ruining the country. And now their latest role in Pakistan's current debacle takes their heavy-handedness to a new level altogether.

Hey Saudis, leave us the fuck alone. And take the Americans with you.

Spectacular weather

A few years ago, I resolved to try to always look on the bright side. This isn't easy, especially when the country is under martial law, the constitution has been suspended, there are no fundamental freedoms such as free speech and free assembly, the economy is tanking, violence and misogyny are higher than ever, and there's a civil war going on in the country to boot. And oh yes, you might get blown up any second just going about your business.

But I've worked on this for the last few days, and I've finally found a great silver lining to this mess: the weather. Yes, Karachi is enjoying spectacular weather these days. The days are warm but not hot - usually one doesn't even need a fan to keep comfortable. The evenings are amazing, cool and breezy, and the nights have just a hint of chill in them to consider breaking out the shawl or sweater. In short, it's just perfect weather.

Female suicide bomber in Peshawar

In what seems to be a first, a female suicide bomber blew herself up yesterday at a military checkpost in Peshawar. Maybe this is the twisted Pakistani version of "progress."

Enabling the bad guys

The sign says:
Political Rally
Everyone must pass through the scanner
Note: Persons with bombs should wait until there's a power blackout. Thanks.

Permanent military base in Swat

The government announced yesterday that there will be a permanent troop presence in Swat from now on. This station will likely be in Matta town, which is now infamous for having been captured by the Taliban and its police station been renamed "Taliban station."

This permanent troop presence is a terrifying idea. It is a permanent occupation of Swat, and by extension of the surrounding areas of FATA. It is of course a violation of the existing treaties between the people of FATA and the GoP. And finally and most crucially, it will solve nothing and will only make matters worse. If you're not sure why, just think of how the permanent basing of US troops in Iraq will help matters there. And actually, even though the analogy isn't perfect, it works well because frankly, this new base is most likely to be used by the US in the future.

Geo petition dismissed

Geo's petition to come back on air has been dismissed by the Sindh High Court. What else can one expect from PCO judges? This, however, was somewhat unexpected since everyone had believed that there was an imminent deal between Geo and the government. So it's not clear anymore how and when Geo will come back on air now. It has been able to resume broadcast from Dubai and therefore is viewable in the rest of the world but not in Pakistan. (Don't forget that this is Pakistan's largest private channel.)

A student movement?

There's a great piece on the current student movement in Pakistan by Faheem Hussain, who notes that it is an exciting development despite the fact that it is not a broad-based movement (notably, it has failed to address issues of poverty and social justice). Excerpt below:

It is not yet a student movement, but at least the student community is in motion and ferment again after a lapse of a couple of decades. Whether this will develop into a movement is still to be seen. Students who had been absent during the period from March to November in the struggle for the rule of law and for the freedom of the press were suddenly galvanised by the events of November 3rd and the subsequent destruction of the Constitution and the judiciary by General Musharraf.

Read the full piece here.

No agreement yet on boycotting elections

The APDM (basically, PML-N) and the ARD (basically, PPP) have been meeting to try and resolve differences between them on the election boycott. The only outstanding issue left? Restoration of the judiciary. Yes, Benazir can't decide how she feels about the ONLY issue that has united all opposition in Pakistan and is responsible for galvanizing a real movement against the military for the first time in the country's history.

Benazir's position is that any restoration of the judiciary must be an issue for the next parliament to decide. We all know how that will go. It will be a forgotten issue along with all the rest of the many promises made by parties before elections.

I fail to understand how anyone thinks that participating in these elections will serve anything other than the interests of the U.S., Musharraf, and Benazir.

CODEPINK activists deported; LUMS faculty charged

The CODEPINK activists who've been visiting have been arrested and will be deported today (they've been given the choice of either leaving or facing sedition charges).

Meanwhile, LUMS faculty have also been charged, under the Maintainance of Public Order regulation. The faculty charged are Rasul Bakhsh Rais, Farhat Haq, Aasim Sajjad Akhtar, and Osama Siddique. These charges are less serious than the sedition charges against the Punjab University faculty but are are another way of cracking down on the student movement.

Eviction of non-PCO judges (the good guys)

According to Government of Pakistan rules, government employees who have been assigned government housing can retain that housing for up to 6 months after retirement. This is presumably done so that employees have some breathing room to find new accommodations after leaving public service (and yes, it's a very nice perk). Six months seems reasonable given that finding housing under any circumstances is a hellish task, let alone when done during a major life transition such as retirement and all that comes with it. But moving after retirement seems like a piece of cake compared to having to move when, say, the dictator of your country has summarily and suddenly fired you from your job because you refused to budge from your principles.

This is the situation that the non-PCO judges now find themselves in. The GoP has issued eviction notices to all the non-PCO judges who are in government housing. It's just one more way to humiliate those who dared stand up to Mister General. It's also a sign that he thinks he will get away with this, as he continues to consolidate his latest plan for remaining in power.

More crackdowns on protests

There were at least two brutal crackdowns on protesters today.

A rally at the Islamabad Press Club was brutally attacked by police (lathi-charge etc.). Many injuries have been reported.

In Lahore, police have surrounded the LUMS campus (another sign that the student movement is ruffling feathers and creating a threat). Police also attacked protesters at the Lahore Press Club (including the CODEPINK people).

More boycott news

Benazir and Nawaz met yesterday to discuss the boycott but there was no specific deal. Benazir is sticking to her "I'm contesting this election under protest" line, and Nawaz says he's for a boycott but also argues at the same time that boycotting elections will only make the pro-Musharraf government party PML(Q) stronger. Incidentally, there is a term in Pakistan for such parties as PML(Q) that will support whoever is in power: "lota" - so termed because the lota will turn whichever way you will turn it, without regard to principle.

So the lotas will get stronger, it is feared, if the opposition parties boycott the election. Of course at some level Nawaz's hand-wringing about the matter in particular is sort of pointless, since he doesn't have much of a chance anyway. The powers that be have decided that Benazir is their girl, and the rest will participate just for window-dressing. The parliament will, according to this plan, be fragmented and the PPP will have only a small majority so that governing will be difficult and therefore power will remain in Musharraf's hands even though he's changed clothes.

Today's front page of the Daily Times was a good visual reminder that Nawaz is basically irrelevant to this whole affair. One front-page story reported on the fact that Nawaz Sharif's nomination papers for the National Assembly have been rejected (because of objections arising from his actions in response to Musharraf's 1999 coup, believe it or not). Meanwhile, immediately below that, a story reported that the US ambassador, Anne Patterson, was exhorting Nawaz not to boycott the election. Well, honey, it's not as if he has a choice in the matter, really - not when you don't allow him to run in the election to begin with! Yes, of course, his party can still run, but how ridiculous will it be that the party will be participating in elections when its top leadership, Nawaz and Shahbaz Sharif (also rejected by the Election Commission), are barred from doing so?

CODEPINK stages hunger strike at Aitzaz Ahsan's house

CODEPINK head Medea Benjamin is in Pakistan right now and has been meeting with some activists (incidentally, David Barsamian has also shown up and is giving a series of talks this week). Benjamin and her contingent staged a 24-hour hunger strike outside Aitzaz Ahsan's home in Lahore where he is under house arrest. From their press release:

Medea Benjamin and Tighe Barry, members of the U.S. human rights group Global Exchange and the women¹s peace group CODEPINK, came to Pakistan to learn about the political situation since emergency rule was declared on November 3. One of the people they are most anxious to meet with is prominent lawyer/politician Aitzaz Ahsan, who was jailed by the Musharraf government from November 3 to 25, when he was then placed under house arrest.

Pakistan government representatives in the US have said that the lawyers arrested under the emergency law have been released. But when the visiting human rights activists tried to meet with Aitzaz Ahsan on December 1, they discovered that his home is still designated a "sub jail" and he remains hostage in his own home, unable to go out or to receive visitors. For that reason the U.S. activists decided to stage a vigil outside his home.

"Pervez Musharraf is telling the world that he is committed to democracy. So it is outrageous that the head of the nation's Supreme Court Bar Association, Aitzaz Ahsan, remains under house arrest," said Tighe Barry.

"We have come a long way to meet this man who we have heard is one of the great heroes of the struggle for democracy in Pakistan," said Medea Benjamin. "We will sit patiently in front of his door and sleep overnight in front of his door, asking his jailers to allow us in."

I know, I know - Western activists poking their noses in Pakistani problems. But they can shine light on the situation in a way that no one else can. Actually, I have very high expectations of progressive activists in the U.S. I hope that they can finally come to their senses and pressure their government to stop supporting the military.

Let's call their bluff

Musharraf and Benazir must be two of the biggest cry-babies. First, Musharraf gives an interview in which he says that if the Jan. 8 election creates a situation that is "unacceptable" to him, he will resign. Then Benazir announces that, poor thing, she really doesn't want to participate in the elections, rather she is doing so "under protest."

Well, I say we call their bluff. Listen, you two. We don't really want you both around. Why can't you get a hobby, or go on that round-the-world trip you've always wanted to take? Or perhaps you need some time in an ashram to "find yourselves." You could even just do us the courtesy of fading away ingloriously. But this foot-stomping hysterical tantrumy drama is just unbearable. So just go away already. We don't want you. Really.

Huge student protest in Lahore on Friday

There was a huge student protest in Lahore yesterday (Friday). This was the first time that the student movement has taken to the streets (as opposed to staying within their campuses), and by all accounts it was a huge success. There were no arrests but plenty of harassment and intimidation from the police. But the students prevailed and I think this is a huge and bold step by the students.

Students rally in Lahore against military rule

Unfortunately in Karachi there was no turnout to speak of, but Karachi's problem remains an old and unique one - students are basically caught between the MQM and the Jamaat-i-Islami student wings, and paralysis on campus ensues. Plus, the administrations of the Karachi-area universities have been unequivocally pro-Musharraf and have enforced his will through force. So I'm not sure what it will take for Karachi's students to rise up and break the strangleholds on them. I do know that there is a lot working against them.

Meanwhile, it seems that the protest yesterday might become a regular event (I certainly hope so). The demands of the students, by the way, are quite clear: no elections until there is complete restoration of the pre-martial law judiciary, and the removal of the military from the political arena. We could all learn a lot from these students.