ISLAMABAD, Dec 24: The Pakistan Muslim League-N warned the government on Saturday against any move to sack the military and intelligence leadership, saying such an action would be “resisted strongly”. The warning came from Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, on a day the media reported that Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani was expected to take some important decisions soon in the wake of the memo controversy. The PML-N leader asked the prime minister to “retract” his statements about the armed forces and reach out to army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani to remove apprehensions, if he had any. Nawaz Sharif, the PML-N chief, had had differences with three services chiefs — Gen Asif Nawaz Janjua, Gen Jahangir Karamat and Gen Pervez Musharraf — during his two stints as prime minister in the 1990s. He managed to get resignation from Gen Karamat when the army chief issued a controversial political statement, but his government was toppled when he ousted the then army chief Gen Pervez Musharraf. His party still justifies sacking of Gen Musharraf as legal and constitutional. “Whatever reservations we have about the ISI are there. However, if the government takes any step in this regard, the opposition and people will be against it,” Chaudhry Nisar said at a press conference. In reply to a categorical question whether the PML-N would oppose sacking of the army chief or the ISI head, the PML-N leader said: “Yes, you are very close.” Then he explained and justified his statement by saying that since the memo case was being heard by the Supreme Court, the government could not take any action to “pre-empt” a court decision. Chaudhry Nisar advised the prime minister to “reach out” to the army chief and remove his apprehensions as, according to him, the situation could still be brought under control. He praised Army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and said: “I will not say anything about the ISI, but as far as the army chief is concerned, he keeps himself away from politics. We have a good feedback about Gen Kayani.” The PML-N leader lashed out at Mr Gilani for his hard talk against the army and the ISI on the floor of the National Assembly on Thursday. “In fact, he (the PM) has charge-sheeted his own army by raising a question which is being put to Pakistan by foreign forces,” he said, adding the prime minister should keep in mind that “failure of subservient institutions means his own failure”. He recalled that more than once, the prime minister had stated inside and outside the assembly that all institutions were functioning under his control. The opposition leader alleged that the prime minister had used the same language that had been used in the controversial memo. Mr Gilani’s statements, he said, had further weakened the government’s position on the memo issue. These statements have exposed the prime minister’s feelings about his own army and secret agencies, he said. He regretted that the prime minister had created a situation that forced the army chief to make a public statement that the military had no plan to take over. In an allusion to President Asif Ali Zardari, he said it seemed the prime minister had made such remarks after receiving “instructions from somewhere else”.The PML-N leader said the government had unnecessarily provided such an opportunity to Gen Kayani, adding the democratic system should not be dependent on the army chief’s assurances. He alleged that after “destroying parliament and judiciary”, the government was now hell-bent on damaging the armed forces. He also criticised the prime minister for claiming the credit of instituting an inquiry into the Abbottabad incident and reminded that the government had agreed to constitute the judicial commission during the in camera joint sitting of parliament in May only on the opposition’s demand. He further alleged that the prime minister was not even in the picture and some of the federal ministers who were trying to develop a consensus on the resolution were mediating between the opposition and the military leadership. Chaudhry Nisar said the whole nation wanted democracy and was ready to defend it. “In the presence of an independent judiciary, a vibrant media, civil society and democratic forces, he said, there should be no doubt in the mind of rulers about the future of democracy.” REFERENCE: PML-N vows to resist `govt move` against COAS, ISI chiefAmir Wasim http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/25/pml-n-vows-to-resist-govt-move-against-coas-isi-chief.html
Did Musharraf, Kayani know about Osama's whereabouts?
In a sensational claim, a former Pakistan army General has said that Osama bin Laden had been kept in a "safe house" of Intelligence Bureau in Abbottabad with "full knowledge" of the then ruler Pervez Musharraf and possibly current Army Chief Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani. Gen Ziauddin Butt, who was appointed as the Pakistan Army Chief by the then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif but could not take over as Musharraf seized power in coup on the same day on October 12,1999, has reportedly made the claim at a conference in October. "In spite of denials by Pakistani military, evidence is emerging that elements within the Pakistani military harboured Osama bin Laden with the knowledge of Musharraf and Kayani," said an article quoting Butt on website of Washington-based think tank Jamestown Foundation. According to his knowledge, the former Director General of Intelligence Bureau Brigadier (retd) Ijaz Shah, "had kept Osama bin Laden in an Intelligence Bureau safe house in Abbottabad", Butt has said. The website claimed that "the revelation remained unreported because some intelligence officers had asked journalists to refrain from publishing General Butt's remarks. The report said Butt repeated his statement in an interview to Dawn News TV channel earlier this month, saying, "he fully believed that (brigadier) Ijaz Shah had kept this man (bin Laden in the Abbottabad compound) with the full knowledge of General Pervez Musharraf... Ijaz Shah was an all-powerful official in the government of General Musharraf". Asked whether Kayani knew of this, he first told the TV channel "yes, but later reconsidered: [Kayani] may have known I do not know he might not have known." However, Butt failed to explain why Bin Laden was not discovered even after Brigadier Shah and General Musharraf had left the government. REFERENCES: Musharraf knew of Osama's whereabouts? 25 Dec 2011, 1003 hrs IST, AGENCIES http://www.timesnow.tv/Musharraf-knew-of-Osamas-whereabouts/videoshow/4392218.cms Musharraf, Kayani knew about Osama's whereabouts: Ex-Pak army chief December 24, 2011 18:38 IST http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/musharraf-kayani-knew-about-osama-s-whereabouts-ex-pak-army-chief-160512
http://jang.com.pk/jang/dec2011-daily/25-12-2011/main.htm
Same Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Osama Bin Laden after 2 May 2011
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c90iggk2CkM
ISLAMABAD: The Opposition Leader in National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Saturday said the whole nation including Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) will oppose the dismissal of army chief or DG ISI over memogate issue, DawnNews reported. Speaking at a press conference, the PML-N leader said that the prime minster should reconsider his statement regarding Osama bin Laden. Nisar said that Gilani’s statement about bin Laden presence in the country was irresponsible. “Chief executive should not issue statements against security agencies of the country,” he added. Answering a question regarding Javed Hashmi, he showed grief over his decision to leave the party. “I will not say that he (Hashmi) left the party on the establishment’s behest, however I would say that the establishment was supporting Tehrik-i-Insaf,” said Nisar. REFERENCE: Nisar assails Gilani for comments on Osama’s presence http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/24/nisar-assails-gilani-for-comments-on-osama%E2%80%99s-presence.html
Chaudhry Nisar slams Pakistan response to OBL operation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5yX-sTgCXI
ISLAMABAD: Though he spent a large chunk of the marathon session on the back foot, besieged by politicians, the chief of Pakistan’s premier intelligence agency did come out of his shell to silence fiery Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan. Details of Friday’s closed-door session of a special joint sitting of Parliament continue to trickle out – with some interesting nuggets of information being narrated to The Express Tribune regarding an exchange between Director-General of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lt-Gen Ahmad Shuja Pasha and Chaudhry Nisar. Reported yesterday was a fiery speech by Nisar against the military establishment – but it emerged, through fresh information, that the DG ISI did not just stand there and take the tirade. Pasha, who has been at the receiving end of a number of fiery speeches by the PML-N leader over the last few weeks, is said to have shocked Nisar by replying in the same token. Nisar is said to have risen out of his seat for his speech right as the question and answer session was to begin. But a “visibly angry” Pasha snubbed Nisar in front of a full house. Pasha claimed that he ‘knew’ why he was being targeted by the leader of the opposition as of late – alleging that Nisar had asked him for a personal favour, which he, as DG ISI, refused to extend. Since then, said Pasha, Nisar had launched a number of tirades against him in particular and the military in general. However, Pasha said he would not reveal what the favour was on the floor of the august house – but would if asked outside. An embarrassed Chaudhry Nisar was said to have been taken aback as Pasha continued with his ‘counter-attack’. The DG ISI kept on grilling Nisar, asking the PML-N leader if he knew what the effects of his recent tirades had been. Pasha told the house that on a recent trip to the US he was told by CIA chief Leon Panetta in an important meeting: ‘Look, General Pasha – how can we trust you when your own country’s opposition leader is saying that you cannot be believed?’ Pasha said that, despite having answers to all questions during that session, he did not have an answer to that question by the CIA chief. “What should I tell the Americans?” the DG ISI asked in a bitter tone, addressing all the parliamentarians. Pasha’s frustration seemed to be born out of an awkward moment. Pasha, besieged by the politicians, had offered to resign – and upon this offer, some members from the opposition benches shouted, “Please accept his resignation.” The tension grew palpably when Pasha finished his counterattack. It was expected that Chaudhry Nisar, known for his hard stance and fiery speeches, would retaliate and at least refute the wild charges. But he remained seated. It got worse for Nisar when his fellow party member, Javed Hashmi, who spent five years in jail during the Musharraf regime, got up to shower praise on the army Interestingly enough, Chaudhry Nisar later praised the efforts of the generals. REFERENCE: In-camera session: ISI chief shot back at ‘favour-seeking’ Nisar By Rauf Klasra Published: May 15, 2011 http://tribune.com.pk/story/169003/in-camera-session-isi-chief-shot-back-at-favour-seeking-nisar/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LiC4tQJ6hw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49deNUW4oK8
Kamran Khan Says Pakistan is a Terrorist State (GEO TV MAY 2011)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_88jfndamw
Former Chief of the Army Staff & Director General Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) General (Retd) Khawaja Ziauddin while giving interview to Dawn News (11th Dec 2011) opined that this whole Memogate could be an Sting Operation launched by US Central Intelligence Agency to check the reaction of Pakistan and he also remind that in a similar circumstances in 1999, Kamran Khan (Allegedly a Senior Correspondent of The News Internationl/Daily Jang/GEO TV and contributor for The Washington Post) had also became active (General Ziauddin didn't explain what does he mean by Kamran Khan became active because Journalists are usually active but the way Mr. Zia used active for Kamran Khan, is always used for Fifth Columnists and Foreign Agents) - Sting operation - a complicated confidence game planned and executed with great care (especially an operation implemented by undercover agents to apprehend criminals) - Agent provocateur - Traditionally, an agent provocateur (plural: agents provocateurs, French for "inciting agent(s)") is a person employed by the police or other entity to act undercover to entice or provoke another person to commit an illegal act. More generally, the term may refer to a person or group that seeks to discredit or harm another by provoking them to commit a wrong or rash action. [Courtesy: Wikipedia]. REFERENCE: Mansoor Ijaz, Gen (R) Khawaja Ziauddin, & Fifth Columnist Kamran Khan. http://chagataikhan.blogspot.com/2011/12/us-cia-operation-regime-change-in.html
General (R) Khawaja Ziauddin with Dawn News - 1 (11 Dec 2011)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGn6ZCVJpg0
General (R) Khawaja Ziauddin with Dawn News - 2 (11 Dec 2011)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DThgijCy9gA
General (R) Khawaja Ziauddin with Dawn News - 3 (11 Dec 2011)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-m5W4GKU6M
General (R) Khawaja Ziauddin with Dawn News - 4 (11 Dec 2011)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVszykvFcnI
Daily Jang says that as per Former DG ISI, General Ziauddin Butt "Musharraf provided sanctuary to OBL" (Pigs can fly they have wings) http://e.jang.com.pk/pic.asp?npic=12-08-2011/Karachi/images/06_08.gif http://e.jang.com.pk/12-08-2011/Karachi/page1.asp#:
Same General Ziauddin while talking with an Indian Newspapers tried his best to tarnish Pakistan Army. http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/musharraf-closed-operation-osama-says-ex-isi-chief-ziauddin/1/137705.html
LAHORE: A Youm-e-Takbeer ceremony titled ‘Thank you Dr Qadeer Khan’ was held under the auspicious of Mohsin-e-Pakistan Lovers Foundation and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) at Punjabi Complex here Saturday. The chief guest of the ceremony was the former army chief and DG ISI General (retd) Ziauddin. Gen Ziauddin (retd), while addressing the participants, claimed that former Gen Pervez Musharraf had given asylum to Osama bin Laden on mala fide nature. He said that Gen Musharraf kept extraditing other people but he himself hide bin Laden so that the series of coming of money would continue and kept minting money from America. Gen (retd) Ziauddin said that ex-DG Ejaz Shah had colluded with Musharraf in this job and General (retd) Mehmood could also be part of that job too. When asked had Musharraf handed Osama bin Laden over to anyone before departing, he said that absolutely. He said that you could see how Ejaz Shah had enjoyed perks still today and he was still travelling in a car with green number plate. The former general said that how it was possible that Osama had been living near Abbottabad army academy for five years without any information. In such a period at least eleven of twelve time the houses were searched then why Osama was not found. He said that the whole band of General Musharraf was corrupt and Musharraf and his accomplices were minting money with both hands. He said that besides General (R) Tanvir Naqvi and another general all were plundering the country. He said that Musharraf had already made a plan to usurp power. He said, “When I was DG ISI Musharraf used to set spy on me.” While speaking on the dual policy of Musharraf, he said that he had sent a man to India for secret contact and when I as DG ISI summoned that person, at first that person refused but when I put proof before him then he admitted to visit India on Musharraf’s direction. Former Gen Ziauddin said that he had been associated with Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan for three years and all allegations on him are false and he is hero of the nation and most intelligent person. He said that if given chance Dr Qadeer would solve the issue of energy within six months. While addressing telephonically, Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan said that the youths should come forward to save the country and we would stand by with them. He said that revolution is the only solution to the problems. He said that country’s situation is extremely bad and people are fed up with price hike, anarchy and unemployment. He said a campaign should be launched with full force and there is a need to liberate the country. Arif Nizami, Qayyum Nizami, Irshad Arif, Dr Mujahid Mansoori, Amna Ulfat, Saadullah Shah, Maj (R) Muhammad Arif and Syed Rajab Ali were among those who spoke on the occasion. REFERENCE: ‘Musharraf provided Osama shelter to mint money from US’ Ali Masood Monday, May 30, 2011 http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=6348&Cat=13 KARGIL WAR Friday, February 5, 2010 http://drug-trafficking.blogspot.com/2010/02/kargil-war.html
LAHORE, Dec 24: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan has dispelled the impression that he is joining the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI). “I have no plans to join any other political party, including the PTI,” he told reporters here on Saturday. Welcoming the PTI for becoming third political force in the country, he predicted that its Dec 25 public gathering in Karachi would be a historic event. The former Supreme Court Bar Association president said that Javed Hashmi’s joining the PTI was a big blow to the PML-N. He expressed concerns over prime minister’s “contradictory” statements regarding the army. He said the prime minister claimed on the one hand that the army obeyed the democratic government but on the other contradicted himself by saying in the Supreme Court that it (army) did not. The rumours of martial law had ended after the army chief’s clarification. “There are few friends who want clash between the army and the government but it will not happen,” he added. — Staff Reporter REFERENCE: No plan to join PTI, says Aitzaz http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/25/no-plan-to-join-pti-says-aitzaz.html
Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan conveniently forget this act of Treason:)
Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry Meeting with Richard Holbrooke
ISLAMABAD, June 5 Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry met visiting US envoy Richard Holbrooke in the Supreme Court building on Friday. “The meeting was held at the request of the visiting US envoy Mr Holbrooke who came to meet the chief justice in his chambers,” said Dr Faqir Hussain, Registrar of the Supreme Court. He said that officials of the Foreign Office were present at the meeting. “Matters relating to judicial reforms as per national judicial policy and the whole judicial structure of Pakistan were discussed,” Dr Hussain said. The meeting comes at a time when Pakistani judiciary is seized with litigations that directly involved interests of the United States. A particular case of concern to the US is that of the missing persons in which intelligence agencies have been accused of either abducting people on suspicion of terrorism or handing them over to the United States. The case of Dr Aafia Siddiqui, who was reportedly abducted from Pakistan and is now in US detention, is also pending in courts. The Supreme Court spokesman denied that the issue of missing persons came up in the meeting. When contacted, the firebrand leader of lawyers` movement and president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, Ali Ahmed Kurd, declined to comment on the meeting. PML-N spokesman Siddiquul Farooq who has a case pending in the apex court said “It was a courtesy call by Mr Holbrooke and we believe in the person of Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry and we believe that no one can derail him from the judicious path.” Immediately after the meeting, the chief justice went to the presidency to attend the oath-taking ceremony of newly appointed Federal Shariat Court Chief Justice Agha Mohammad Rafique. There he had a one-to-one meeting with President Asif Zardari. It was for the first time since his restoration that the chief justice visited the presidency and met President Zardari. Justice Iftikhar, it may be mentioned, did not accept earlier invitations from President Zardari. The last time the chief justice met Mr Zardari was at the Zardari House just before he moved to the presidency after becoming president. After becoming president, Mr Zardari publicly resisted the restoration of Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, till the success of the long march by lawyers in March this year. One case pending before the Supreme Court and that directly affects President Zardari relates to the controversial National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) through which former President General Pervez Musharraf allowed the quashing of corruption charges against PPP leaders, including President Zardari. Under the new judicial policy reforms spearheaded by the chief justice, judges of the superior court are required to strictly follow the judicial code of conduct which, among other things, require them to stay away from public functions and not to assume executive offices to temporarily fill vacancies created by the president and governors going abroad. After his first restoration on July 20, 2007, Justice Chaudhry had stopped meeting the president or the prime minister and attending functions hosted by them. REFERENCE: CJ receives Holbrooke, calls on Zardari By Matiullah Jan June 6, 2009 archives.dawn.com/archives/41794
KARACHI: The story of Pakistani-American businessman Saifullah Paracha’s disappearance, arrest, transfer to the notorious Guantanamo Bay prison, possible release and continued detention remains a mystery. Paracha, 64, who the US claims was involved in terrorist activities, disappeared in 2003 while travelling from Pakistan. He was arrested from Bangkok on July 8 that year through FBI efforts and was transferred to Guantanamo on September 19, 2004. Paracha was to be released in 2006 following a visit to Guantanamo by a Pakistan government official, according to a confidential American diplomatic cable obtained by Dawn through WikiLeaks. But for reasons that remain unexplained, he is still under detention there and has been declared “high risk”. According to the cable, the director of operations of the National Crisis Management Cell of the interior ministry, Lt-Col Imran Yaqoob (Wrongly named Imran Farooq in the cable), met American officials at the US embassy in Islamabad to discuss his visit to Guantanamo. Yaqoob is reported to have said that the Pakistani delegation left with the impression that most of the Pakistani detainees were individuals who were “in the wrong place at the wrong time”, not extremists who posed a serious threat. He added that the delegation discussed the repatriation of these detainees with intelligence agencies at Guantanamo and the force commander at the prison, leaving with the impression that there were no major obstacles to repatriating six of them. This group included Paracha, provided that the government of Pakistan would keep him in detention. According to Yaqoob, Guantanamo officials told the delegation that if the Pakistani government submitted a formal request for repatriation it would be received favourably. Upon his return to Islamabad, the official prepared a report for the foreign affairs ministry in support of such a request. Yaqoob did tell American officials in Islamabad, however, that for the government to keep Paracha in custody, it would need information from the US to justify his continued detention, noting that Paracha’s family had a petition against his detention pending in the Supreme Court. The US official in a note said that “Post will pursue the question of the GOP’s ability to hold detainees in custody with the MFA and other interlocutors.” Yaqoob concluded by requesting that the embassy find out from colleagues in Washington about the views of relevant agencies on the prompt repatriation of the Pakistani detainees. The American officer agreed to do so, but warned that it would be difficult to share these views frankly “when the government continues to leak stories proclaiming the detainees’ imminent release to the local press”. In his comment the US official said he appreciated word that the US government was moving forward with the repatriation and that “Post requests guidance from Department on next steps, including interagency coordination and coordination with the GOP of any press statements preceding or following the repatriation.” But nothing seems to have come of these discussions between US and Pakistani officials, as Paracha is still detained at Guantanamo. An official assessment of the detainees, which includes a December 2008 dossier on Paracha and was also released by WikiLeaks, shows that he was determined to be “high-risk, as he is likely to pose a threat to the US, its interests and allies”. He is also recommended for continued detention. A similar recommendation had also been made on Oct 24, 2007. The assessment is based on what the US Department of Defence document calls the detainee’s own account and has been included without “consideration of veracity, accuracy or reliability”. It still apparently forms the basis of his continued detention. “If released without rehabilitation, close supervision, and means to successfully reintegrate into his society as a law-abiding citizen (Paracha) would probably seek out prior associates and reengage in extremist activities at home and abroad,” the assessment says. One of his sons, Uzair Paracha, had been arrested in the US and charged with providing material assistance to Al Qaeda. He was convicted by an American court in 2006. The American document termed Saifullah Paracha a “significant member” of Al Qaeda. In what the file describes as “custodial interviews” rather than interrogations, Paracha is said to have confessed to meeting Osama bin Laden twice, the first time in December 1999 or January 2000 and then again in the autumn of 2000, offering the Al Qaeda leader use of his television station to promote his message to the world. Paracha is also alleged to have had close links with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who confessed to masterminding the 9/11 attacks, and his nephew Ammar al Baluchi, another senior Al Qaeda operative. But he told his captors that his interaction with Al Qaeda “was just business”. One year after the Pakistani delegation’s visit to Guantanamo, when it became clear that Paracha was not going to be sent home, Amnesty International in October 2007 called for his release unless he was charged and given a fair trial in a non-military court. According to media reports, an American lawyer representing Paracha said in June 2008 that his client did not deny meeting Al Qaeda figures but did not know their real identities or that they were connected to terrorism. Hina Shamsi, director of the national security project at the American Civil Liberties Union, has told the media that the assessments “are rife with uncorroborated evidence, information obtained through torture, speculation, errors and allegations that have been proven false”. REFERENCES: Saifullah Paracha’s continued detention at Gitmo a mystery June 23, 2011 http://www.dawn.com/2011/06/23/secret-us-cables-accessed-by-dawn-through-wikileaks-saifullah-parachas-continued-detention-at-gitmo-a-mystery.html 2006: Saifullah Paracha’s Guantanamo detention’s continuing mystery July 2, 2011 http://www.dawn.com/2011/07/02/2006-saifullah-paracha%E2%80%99s-guantanamo-detention%E2%80%99s-continuing-mystery.html http://www.dawn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/paracha.pdf
Aitzaz Ahsan used US Influence To Restore Judiciary
The movement for the restoration of judiciary at its peak appeared to be the most successful public agitation in the history of post-1971 Pakistan. Unfortunately, it turned out to be the most colossal failure of recent times as well. If one were to credit someone with the victories scored by lawyers since March 9, 2007, Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan is the only person. Indeed, he has claimed this honor in an article published in the Newsweek of June 21, 2008. There would be few, if any, to argue against the fact that Ahsan has been the de facto and de jure leader of the 17-month-long struggle and its face both within and outside of Pakistan. However, with this ownership also comes the responsibility for the failures and miscalculations that have intermittently marred the struggle and culminated in Ahsan snatching defeat from the jaws of victory in the parade grounds of Islamabad. Victory indeed has a thousand fathers but defeat is an orphan and hence Aitzaz Ahsan's proclamations that the decision to call off the long march was not his alone. For many of us directly or indirectly involved with this struggle, the surrender speech did not come as a surprise. There had been clear signs in the weeks leading up to the long march that indicated the indecisiveness, inability or pure unwillingness of Ahsan to deliver the coup de grace. In the American political parlance, Ahsan has always been a flip-flop, a vacillating leader, unsure of himself, letting the moment slip through his hands. However, in case of the long march there is one thing for sure that Ahsan had packed his bags to arrive in the USA on June 25, 2008. His decision to embark upon this journey was known to his hosts in the USA, no later than June 1, 2008. The million dollar question is as to what Ahsan knew, good ten days before the long march that – to borrow words from a doctor friend – made him plan a coffee break in the midst of resuscitating a dying patient. Sure enough it was not a message from the Brigate Rosse of Umme Hassan, that he has subsequently blamed for planning to sabotage the long march. If he had faith in his cause and comrades, the conventional wisdom would have been to plan for the success of the march and to take charge of the situation in the event the proverbial Bastille fell. On the other hand prudence would dictate that the long march being the culmination of the lawyers' effort and probably the most potent weapon in their armamentarium, one should have planned for the contingencies in the event this cruise missile turned out to be a dud. By any stretch of imagination, a US trip does not belong to the emergency preparedness list of a failed long march. One can only deduce that the lawyers' leadership was either presented with a carrot, a stick or both by the powers that be, long before the march took place. The buildup to the march also indicates that whereas the participants were being primed for a long haul, no specifics were given about the mission and its objectives. A conspiracy of confusion was unleashed on the poor lawyers, who had given everything away thus far and were ready for a final showdown. Vague terminology and symbolism was deployed by Ahsan and his cohorts, beginning with the word long march itself. The phrase was thrown around as casually as was done by Qazi Hussain Ahmad a while back. Words like "yalghar" (attack) and "parrao" (camp out) were used by the leadership to build the momentum. Army House was mentioned many times as the target of a potential sit-in, only to be changed and confused with the parliament. No accurate assessments were made as to what would it entail to support the stay of a 100,000 strong entourage in Islamabad. Logistics and finances were completely ignored, as was the study of an event fairly similar in objectives, i.e. the march led by Mufti Jafar Hussain. Is it possible that these blunders of Himalayan proportions were acts of omission? If one were to give the benefit of doubt to Ahsan, the answer is yes. However, even in that case it reflects sheer incompetence, lack of will and a cavalier attitude on his part. Busing in a hundred thousand people from all over Pakistan only to be told to go home a few hours after arriving in Islamabad, is a cruel joke with the people in general and the legal fraternity in particular. This takes us to the question as to what Ahsan is really up to by making two trips to the US in less than two months. After he met Senator Joe Biden on June 26, 2008, the Senator told a room packed with Pakistani doctors that Ahsan had asked him to cut the American aid to Pakistan. Maybe the Barrister said something to this effect, maybe he didn't but it begs a question as to what was he doing making rounds at the Capitol Hill. He had been quoted in the Pakistani media that his June visit to the US was at the invitation of Allama Iqbal Medical College Alumni of North America but as it turned out he started meeting the US politicians at least one day before he attended any event involving the doctors. As a disclaimer I must add that an organization, the American-Pakistani Physicians for Justice and Democracy, of which I am the president, also requested Ahsan to attend our annual seminar on justice and democracy, which he did on June 28, 2008. Now Ahsan is back in the US, apparently to receive an award from the American Bar Association, on behalf of the Pakistani lawyers. There are also reports that he will be raising funds for an international conference on judiciary, to be held in Pakistan in October 2008. It appears that having squandered the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to effect change in Pakistan, Ahsan is now trying to regain through American blessings, what was lost on the parade grounds of Islamabad. In his zeal to meet and greet the American think-tanks, media and politicians, Ahsan seems to have forgotten that the man, who had led a successful long march, was a nationalist first and foremost. Chairman Mao Zedong aptly said that the revolutionary struggle is a struggle of masses; it can only be waged by mobilizing the masses and relying on them. REFERENCE: Long March: Destination USA By Dr. Mohammad Taqi President American-Pakistani Physicians for Justice and Democracy US (The author practices and teaches medicine at the University of Florida and is the president of American-Pakistani Physicians for Justice and Democracy. He can be reached at taqimd@gmail.com) http://pakistanlink.org/Opinion/2008/Aug08/15/01.HTM
No comments:
Post a Comment