Posts Tagged ‘benazir bhutto’
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The TIME magazine and 4-bar Twix: A great combination, indeed. Whenever I take an international flight, whether it be down to the United States or across the Atlantic to Pakistan, I usually pick up these two items. It’s a ritual. Picking up the magazine from the airport means that you get the latest issue – before it’s even released. And this issue was of particular importance: It was TIME magazine’s 100 most influential people.
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So I unlocked my iPhone 1.1.2. I jailbroke it followed by using a StealthSIM. It was really easy to cut the sim, so be confident and go ahead! It works fine, everything works fine. YouTube needed a fix however, so needed to download that but it works. If anyone needs help or source files, let me know and I will direct you.
In the mean time, to keep in touch with the current political scenario and analyses, please check out Chowrangi.com
Bhutto – A Quick Look At International Reactions and Analysis of the Assassination
Posted on: December 27, 2007
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The Bhutto Assassination has already begun to have severe impacts on the world. While people are crying and mourning, a very close friend, disheartened and tied up with family problems says that his city is dead, the rest of the country is on fire.
Individuals all over the world, particularly the states are the aftershocks of the massive quake that is shaking the country. Texas, a state with a major population being Desi’s have been reporting on the unrest and tension in cities such as Sugarland (Read the Houston Chronicle’s post with Barkat Charania Here).
Imagine this: with so much tension, one wrong move or one wrong word on the part of any prominent leader or organization may spark riots. There are supporters of each political party in the United States as there as in Pakistan, and there may well be fights emerging between them- this across the seas, tens of thousands of miles from where the tragedy occured. If this happens in every major country, not only will there be stress in Pakistan, but in other countries leading to stress on Pakistan. This may call for the United States to topple the military and the current care taker government for its interests in order to re-stabilize the scenario in both the local and international communities.
Earlier the same day, a few members of Nawaz Sharif’s party were shot and killed by an opposition party. We set light to our own busses and cars. Pakistani brothers and sisters, we must realize that this does nothing but cause more anger and we are the ones who with our own hands add to the loss.
The future prospects of Pakistan? The General Elections? This is how it might carry on: No other emergency or martial law is imposed. A new political candidate is selected for PPP and will have an equal chance at winning the elections as did Bhutto, despite having no prominence. The popularity of the party has already been boosted even further by what has ensued and now, PPP will not think in terms of a candidate winning the elections, rather, the political party, an ideology, a movement winning the election. The saviors?
Nawaz Sharif has an increased chance of winning the election now, however. With a major competing candidate out of the way, the PPP being dispersed, it remains to be seen if they can pull back together. In the meanwhile, Nawaz has an open gateway to win a major amount of votes.
The Musharraf regime has and will constantly come under critical fire from the country and foreign allies, and although Musharraf will be blamed in particular, each member of the party is at risk of revengeful crimes.
For the record, it is not clear as to whether this is Al Qaeda or another faction that was responsible for this event. Benazir was a secular leader and so had attracted hatred from extremists.
A word about the way the assassination was committed. There was enough security for guns to have not been allowed in the procession. However, the security may not have been too tight in terms of being able to detect explosives (this is after all, a suicide bombing). Since Benazir’s vehicle was surrounded by individuals, the explosion may have been intended to disperse the crowd, leaving Benazir an open target for any sharp shooters. Benazir’s political style may have also been studied by the assassins, since the vehicle glass was bullet proof. However, usually, Bhutto pulls down the window to wave at the crowd and so, it is plausible that the assassins may have played on Bhutto’s predictable method. The assassination was also committed at the same location as the late Liaquat Ali was killed. This cannot be a coincidence.
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It is official. Benazir Bhutto, leader of the Pakistani People’s Party has been assassinated in Pakistan in a rally. Bhutto died of a gunshot wound to the neck, after which a suicide bomber blew himself up – this according to CNN. There is perhaps a lot of speculation, mourning and anger looming in the air. Everything seems to be chaotic, and the recent socio-political situation of Pakistan is reminiscent of a phrase, “order out of chaos.” When I wrote the articles, As the Fog Clears Parts 1 and 2, on Chowrangi, I never considered this a possibility.
It is important at this point to focus, not on what has happened, but what will ensue in what I believe will be a series of events leading either to a revolution or, well, nothing. People will either eventually forget about it, or instead of just demanding justice, will take it into their own hands.
A major portion of the Pakistani population and ex-pats will say that this is the Musharraf government at work – Satan at his best. But please, countrymen, let us not over-attribute, and remember that Bhutto had a lot of enemies. This assassination may well be an attempt to defame the Musharraf government. All the same, it is not even rational (at this point) to rule out that this was not an assassination attempt by the Pakistan Muslim League (PML, Musharraf’s Party).
It may well be Nawaz Sharif to secure his throne, since he is the obvious rebounder. Although Sharif claims to now boycott the election, he has done so before, only to compete in the January 2008 elections.
It may well be Mr. Zardari, who may come back to Pakistan with renewed vigor and lead his party to salvation. After all, he does have a disturbing track record.
It may well be the local or foreign intelligence agencies, trying all the more to destabilize Pakistan through internal stress.
It may very well be the Taliban, or other local extremists.
What I am trying to say here is not that one of these individuals or organizations have committed a heinous crime, a murder, deciding the fate of not just a country, but of human beings; rather what I am trying to say is that there are an equal number of possibilities as to what happened and why and that we must reserve judgement. What happens in a country such as Pakistan, which is so famous in the international media, has global repercussions. We must contain ourselves before we give our state up for grabs to a number of ill-intending entities. Let us not be another Afghanistan, another Palestine, another Iraq, or perhaps Iran.
Stay in your local communities. Keep a vigilant eye out for any suspected activities, and report to the police on their hotline numbers (Madadgar 15 in Karachi) of even the remotest suspected threat. Take care of chores during those times of day when there are not a lot of people gathered together. A suicide bomber is going to target a large crowd, not a dispersed one. Look for people wearing thick heavy clothing (for they may well be c4 strapped to the chest), some people with their hands constantly in their pockets, or those people you have not seen before.
Avoid keeping your cars outside of a safe and secure area, for this may allow enemies to use them in their illegal activities. Avoid taking routes which are deserted for that matter, for you may be stopped by dacoits or kidnappers. Stay out of home for as little as possible. Arrive from work early. Take extra security measures in securing your home and family. Be prepared for any emergencies (include a first aid kit, clean water, toiletries and important legal documents).
My brothers and sisters, this is a dark and gloomy day for all of us. Stay strong, Pakistan.
If anyone would like to add anything else, please do so.
The Hypocrisy of Democracy
Posted on: November 26, 2007
Yes, it rhymes. But it isn’t something that should surprise anyone of us, passionate, dictator-hating, democracy-loving citizens of Pakistan. When the President of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf (also known as Mushy Unles to his fans) declared emergency followed by announcement of national elections, all the major political party leaders such as Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif spoke aloud to the national public to boycott the elections, saying they will be rigged. Not surprisingly, Benazir Bhutto, party leader of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has already filed her nomination papers in Larkana, Sindh and Nawaz Sharif, party leader of the Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) is soon to follow.
The WeCite blog says, “While Nawaz Sharif is expected to file for his nominations later today, Dawn has reported that Pakistani former prime minister and main opposition leader Benazir Bhutto has already filed for her nominations…Nawaz Sharif, who has been the most recent running mill with regards to boycotting the elections is said to file his papers today in Lahore.”
Do we really, really vest our trust and the future of a nation who blatantly, proudly counter their own threats without any explanation? Better yet, are we really true Pakistanis who seek justice, truth and democracy, yet turn a blind eye to such events?
What are your thoughts?
