Barack Obama, the American President with the magic to impress, has
asked Africa to stop blaming the West for its problems. While Mr
Obama was uttering his hypocritical mantra of asking the Africans to
look down their own sleeves for the root cause of their problems,
the Washington Post quoted a senior state department official that
the US government had sent 40 tons of ammunition to shore up
Somalia’s government and is funding training programmes for Somali
soldiers. Africa is a perfect example and a true reminder of the
destruction the capitalist states has brought upon humanity. It was
the doctrine of “liberal intervention” which was used to justify
West’s interference in the African continent resulting in proxy wars
between France, Britain, America and other European states, over the
resources of African countries. At the moment, Europe and America
are locked in battle over the horn of Africa, Sudan, Congo, Algeria
and Chad. Moreover, I suggest Mr Obama, take a look at the opinion
surveys, so that he is reminded that it is not just Africa, but the
Muslim World as well, which blames America’s imperial policies for
its miseries. While Obama may hope to work his magic to cover
American ambitions in Africa, the destruction brought upon the
Muslim World due to Western policies is so massive and is so
explicitly linked to Western policies that even Obama magic has
failed to convince the Muslim World of “a new beginning”. Mr
President, we would stop blaming the West for our problems, when the
West would stop propping up puppet regimes in the Muslim World, stop
interfering in our affairs and end the occupation of our lands.
Islamabad
Leadership failure
Kadar Khan
Leadership is criminally on the path of deterioration ignoring
threats and problems intentionally staying in a suspension designed
by own devices. The recent article by the New York Times though
highly suggestive with implied inferences in a backdrop of common
public appeal towing a controversial and conflicting approach.
However, the article is based on true examples of the leadership
failures in building a nation because of their corrosive corruption
and cronyism highlighting failures. Ironically the article is
implying late 19th century, Mayor of Chicago City, would have been
enough to take care of the governance that collective political
leadership of the country is unable to do it.
The country remains in the grip of venal, feudal, wealthy
politician-landlords like the opposition leader Nawaz Sharif and the
current president, Asif Ali Zardari, for whom democracy means one
vote one time, after which the victors go on to dominate
indefinitely. Worse, greed and graft have led Islamabad’s ruling
class to ignore large portions of the population, who remain
illiterate, and their incompetent governance has opened the door to
Islamists’ offering average Pakistanis promises that the first Mayor
Daley would have recognized.” (New York Times, July 10, 2009) Via
email
Shumaila Rana case
Col Riaz Jafri (R)
If the footage shown on the Geo TV is to be believed then one has to
admire the nerves, the cool confidence and the calm composure of the
lady MPA while presenting the allegedly ‘stolen’ credit card and
affixing her signatures on the bill on making the purchases. Not an
eye blinked nor a finger quivered during the entire episode, which
would have made even a three-war hardened soldier like me sweat
profusely. If the honourable MPA can be that deft, skilled and
expert with a card not belonging to her, then what havoc could not
be expected of her playing with the millions of the State funds and
other lucrative deals entrusted to her by the nation? Hers is the
5th case bringing ignominy to the party.
When an elderly white bearded Haji MPA can cheat in an examination,
when an honourable minister can not only allegedly bypass the
customs channels but also manhandle the custom staff on duty, when
an honourable minister can misbehave with a lady MPA on the floor of
the assembly and when an honourable minister is accused of raping a
woman under threat of murdering her, can the image of the
politicians and the political parties remain untarnished and clean?
One would not be wrong in assuming that probably these are only a
few out of the thousands of cases that have surfaced. A proverbial
tip of the iceberg! How many more must not have gone unnoticed and
consequently unpunished. If such are our leaders, do we need foes
without.? Honourable CM Shahbaz Sharif has done well to instruct the
police and others in this case to let the law take its own course
without any fears or favours. But would it, is a million dollar
question? Rawalpindi
Erosion of State & insititutions
Tarrick Malik
Pakistan was liberated by a group of dedicated men like Mohd Ali
Jinnah, Allama Iqbal and others who resisted temptations of British
Raj to bribe them with lands, wealth and bounty. A country created
to become a democratic welfare state for downtrodden muslims, fell
victim to the insatiable greed for power and ill-gotten wealth, of
those that succeeded Quaid e Azam after his untimely death. This was
the biggest misfortune for this country.
Those who disagree must evaluate the unforgiveable tragic
circumstances which resulted in the breakdown of the transport
provided to the Father of Nation and its beloved Governor General ,
when he landed in Karachi, a sick man accompanied only by his
sister, a driver and an assistant. Where were the rest of the people
including the PM, the army chief, police, senior bureaucrats, city
mayor etc, because remember Karachi was the federal capitol. This is
an unfortunate reality, which cannot be denied, whatever the
apologists may state. It is our unfortunate fate that Pakistan fell
into the hands of a corrupt coterie of self seeking ambitious men,
comprising mostly of members of Congress allied Unionists, civil and
uniformed bureaucracy and of course a few Mir Jaffers, who fell
victim to their own greed for power. Had the constitution been
framed in time, by the constituent Assembly as desired by the Quaid
e Azam, this country could have survived the loss inflicted by the
untimely death of its Founding Father. If the senior muslim officers
of our armed forces had heeded to the command of the Quaid to
intervene in Kashmir, there would have been no Kashmir problem today
and our vital water resources not been hostage to whims of Indian
hegemony. From there on it has been a continuous process of
criminalization of our executive, our political system and civil and
armed paid servants of the state.
It started with illegal filing of claims for the vast evacuee
property left behind by affluent fleeing Hindus in Punjab and Sindh,
a process that led to erosion of morals, ethics, politics and indeed
our commitment to Pakistan. From adventurists like Ghulam Mohd,
Daultana, Noon, Ayub Khan, Yahya Khan, Zia to Musharraf, it is
unending tale of treachery, deceit and greed. Look at choice and
yardstick used to award tickets by various political parties, the
PPP, PML(N), MQM, PML(Q) etc in the recent elections. Possession of
wealth irrespective of the means, is the sole criteria for awarding
tickets. Even nomination for reserved women seats, have generally
been given not on political abilities, commitment and integrity, but
purely on whims. What we see are petty thiefs, or those with history
of criminal involvement in land mafia, smuggling and those who have
made it a business to be loan defaulters by design. Pakistan’s
civil, armed, judicial and political institutions have to be
surgically cleansed of the criminal corruption that has led to
breakdown of law and order, insurgency, rise in street crimes and
erosion of our state and its institutions. Lahore
LG system
Murad Ali Mohmand
Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has announced dissolution of the
Local Government sysytem from 1st August and new administrators will
be appointed instead of Nazim’s system. He also said that the
provincial governments have full right what they want to do with the
local government system. i request the Prime Minister to please
clear his statement and the future of local government. The local
government was a good system in which the people could access their
local leaders, now they would again have to wait outside
commissioners, bureaucrats offices.
I would request provincial Chief Minister of NWFP Haider Khan Hoti
to continue this process and announce the elections for the local
government. The village people solved thousand of their problems
through their local Nazims and now if this system is finished and
elected or government representative have taken the charge then the
problem solving would become a dream and corruption a routine life
in the office of these new representatives as local Nazim could not
demand bribe from his own people who appointed him. I am sure the
government would think seriously over this issue.
