I think Iftikhar Chaudhry bears a strong resemblance to Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq and that makes me uneasy. I will have to dust away the cobwebs from my MA days to recollect how popular or unpopular Zia was before he came to power. Was he a hero before he turned into a villain?
The way Mr Chaudhry is going, chances are that he is Pakistan’s next leader and even dictator in making…(You want to hit me on the head and shoo me off from my line of argument? This is my space and I will doodle as I wish. So you stay put and listen to me day dreaming at work. When I should be thinking ships, my mind is wandering off to more action packed stuff).
…Asif Zardari is failing as a leader. If he intends to continue as a spineless state head, I think it is better that he goes. I wonder why did he not ever eavesdrop on Benazir’s satta ki baatein and learn some moves.
Atleast Musharraf was smarter. He pulled off a deal with the Americans and raked in money. Zardari accommodated the Talibans, compromised with Sharif, reinstated Chaudhry and he may have to run away from the country again (if he hasn’t already).
Looking at the state of affairs, political uncertainty is likely to persist in Pakistan for some time…
(And what did fellow cityman Sandeep Pandey have to say in his ruminations on his trip to Pakistan published by Tehelka -A solution on Kashmir has been worked out according to a former Pakistan government representative. If not for the events in Pakistan and now the general elections in India, Manmohan Singh would had visited Pakistan and made the announcement. HAHAHAHA)
…Talibans are ruling defacto in Afghanistan and NWFP, Kayani as expected has stepped into the fray, Chaudhry, the golden boy of democracy is back to Supreme Court and Mr Sharif has sunk his teeth deeper into the pie called premiership.
By the way, Sharif says he does not recall suicide bombers blowing off people in his governance. Ahem, I remember a long bloody painful phase called Kargil. I remember Captain Vikram Batra and I remember pondering-why do nations go to war (I could have had the answer later but I decided to go astray and bunk classes).
Talking about Pakistan and Mr Chaudhry takes me back to a post I wrote on the country’s correlation to my maid woes (Go read it).
After writing it, I have been thinking about how India stands in the middle of an unstable region-A coup of sorts in Bangladesh, an absconding head of the state in Pakistan, a war torn Sri Lanka, Nepal struggling to find foot post-monarchy, Maldives taking baby steps towards a democratic era and Bhutan calm but coming to terms with its new identity.
India is like a weary sentinel watching over this delicate geopolitical landscape (does this smack of big brother syndrome?)
Though it has not escaped any of its neigbours’ plagues, it stands with all the strapping of a steady state. I wonder what prevents the Indian army to aspire for power, what makes its democracy tick despite lumpens milking politics dry and what keeps tolerance alive despite its proneness to riot.
I will worry over the fevicol that keeps the country glued later. Till then I will try keeping a tab on Mr Chaudhry.
PS: Prime Minister Gilani has vowed to snip off Presidential powers and restore earlier priviliges to the Parliament.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123739962780174043.html?mod=article-outset-box
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