A Pakistani's Rant Post-Musharraf...
* This is in response to the anger being directed towards former President Pervez Musharraf. A number of people raise the issues of electricity shortages, economic mismanagement including inflated GDP figures, law & order situation, media's manhandling, Red Mosque fiasco etc etc as his policy failures. They tend to ignore some of the achievements he made in these areas as well. Person A is riding on the media bandwagon about how Musharraf destroyed Pakistan. Person B is trying to put things into perspective.*
A: Sad about Musharraf leaving?? Isn't 9 years enough for a leader to run a country and still nothing to show for...:)
B: Firstly, let me clarify that I'm not the biggest fan of GENERAL PERVEZ MUSHARRAF but I can't be faulted for liking the man PERVEZ MUSHARRAF. I can relate more to him than any of the blood-sucking corrupt leeches who are in power these days. He was a moderate with a vision for Pakistan. Our country prospered QUITE well under him. If you looked at our economy over the past 8 years, you'd seen that our GDP was growing at 7% per year. Middle class had widened enormously, jobs were being created and investment was pouring in. Our foreign exchange reserves, despite the massive Current Account deficit, were at record levels. Our currency was stable. Infrastructure had improved tremendously. Media had become more vocal and open. Civil society had become more active. So, he hasn't left us with nothing. He has left a legacy. Yes! he committed blunders- mega ones at that- for example ousting of the judges, media ban, emergency etc etc. but then again who doesn't commit blunders in Pakistan. If you had said that democracy is the right way ahead, I wouldn't have argued with you. Because I do think that he should've been impeached to deter any further military takeovers. I also believe that this country is crying out loud for democracy- a sustained one at that. But I don't know if its gonna happen or not. But I sincerely hope and pray that these politicians in general and our nation in particular becomes mature enough to realize that it might be their last chance quite literally. Meanwhile I'll be happy that democracy has prevailed at the same moment as i'll be sad for seeing a patriotic Pakistani leave his throne to corrupt, ineffective politicians. :) So, yeah I do realize that I'm in a quandary here but thats what most Pakistanis feel at any given time.
A: I will agree that all of them are blood sucking corrupt leeches including our Ex President. The man is known by the company he keeps. His prime minister was the on FBI list for securities exchange fraud in US. He left Pakistan before elections and asked to come back for inquires regarding financial figure reporting done by finance ministry, He bluntly refused as he carries an American passport. GDP and unemployment reporting was falsely (inflated) reported by the finance ministry.
Media is not free because of Musharaf...They have been struggling since 1947 to get where they are now. What happened when Musharraf shut down the GEO just because they are reporting things which are not liked by him and his friends.
Infrastructure...is not only roads and underpasses in Lahore and Karachi. Its also drinking water, electricity and lots of other things. A country with 7% GDP and 8 hours of loadsheeding in the biggest city of Pakistan is shame.
Its shame that we have people like Chowdarys of Gujart and Asif Zardari running the political parties in Pakistan but if we keeping going on this democracy path, eventually we will have better leaders which will come out of the process as long as the army does not interfere. I guess one has to pick lessor of an evil and I will see that corrupt politician are better than corrupt generals. At-least they are elected by the people of Pakistan rightly or wrongly.
B: As far as inflated GDP figures are concerned, yeah to a certain degree I agree with you. But then lets compare that to past decades. Even a GDP growth rate of 5.8%(actual over past 8 years) is far better than an average GDP growth rate of 2.3% during the nineties.
I do agree with you on the point of electricity. He could've done alot more. He could've built new dams etc etc. I never said Musharraf never made any mistakes. In fact, he made a lot of mistakes. But on the flip side of the argument lies the fact that demand of electricity increased at alarming rates over the past eight years due to increased spending power of a growing middle class. Eight years ago, not many people could afford air conditioners for example. It is totally different now with even lower middle class families affording 2-3 ACs in their homes. That fact coupled with the growing manufacturing and services industries meant that it was always going to be a bumpy ride meeting the electricity demands. Funny that you mention drinking water because the improvements in that regard have been most obvious over past eight years. It is one area for sure that his government did work over. And by infrastructure I didn't only mean roads and underpasses in Lahore and Karachi only. If you travel in Pakistan on highways now, you'll definitely see a VAST improvement from 9 years ago. Railway network has improved tremendously. Newer airports are being constructed. Old ones are being renovated.
Coming to law and order. Yeah! some decisions that he took over the years meant that Pakistan was always going to be on the hit-list of Talibans: Islamic world's supposed answer to Capitalism. However, barring that you might not have noticed that sectarian violence had died down in the country. The same sectarian violence that marred our '90s. It just didn't happen anymore. The Highway and Motorway police was improved and now they are at the same level as any other international police force. Traffic police's culture has been changed. We have a completely new, young, dynamic and educated breed of officers serving as traffic policemen in the country. They are being well-paid. And they don't indulge in bribery (so far, hope it continues). They are quite helpful as well. So, yeah i'd check this as one of his achievements.
When I look around at the job market in the country these days, I can't help but feel dejected at the lack of job opportunities. Compare that to last year only, (and I'm talking about LUMS grads only here) you'd find that 90% of the graduating batch got job offers within 2 months of completing their graduation requirements. This year only 10-15% have managed to get a job. Others have become disoriented and dejected at the sorry state of affairs of our country and economy. There are no new jobs opening up. Nobody is willing to invest in the country. In past eight months, 7 Billion Dollars of Pakistani money has been invested in Real Estate market of Dubai. 7 flippin' BILLION DOLLARS. At this rate, our paltry reserves of 9 Billion Dollars would deplete come next June.
As far as saying that media got its freedom without giving due credit to Musharraf, in my humble opinion is naive to say the least. If you dig up enough into the media's role during the '90s, you'll see that it was NOT free by any stretch of imagination. These corrupt politicians were NOT going to let the media genie get out of the bottle. Musharraf gave freedom to media- a FACT he should be admired for. As far as banning GEO etc is concerned, well! that was wrong and should never happened. But we are not living in an ideal world. In its six year of existence, I've never once, I repeat, NEVER ONCE seen anything positive about Pakistan from GEO. Don't you think media should have some responsibilities as well. Even now, if you switch to GEO, they would make it sound like Pakistan is on the verge of collapse. These harbingers of doom and gloom, doomsday conspiracy mongers also need to realize their responsibility. You should've seen the coverage of the whole Lal Masjid fiasco on our media. (For the sake of saving some of your time, I won't comment on whether that operation was right or wrong). However, these retards turned the Mullahs into the valiant fighters for the cause of Islam. The same people who held hostage hundreds of children and women. They were portrayed as the next best thing since sliced bread. Is this the freedom we are willing to afford to our press?
The objectivity has long been forgotten in favor of absolute sensationalism. Its an utter disgrace to watch these news channels. I wonder, if Musharraf was okay with GEO taking the mickey out of him on all its programs before Lal Masjid Fiasco, how did he become that sensitive all of a sudden. There was a reason why Dawn News never got banned. Because they report objectively and present both sides of the argument fairly without taking any sides. You should watch it to know what good reporting is about in a third-world country like Pakistan. Unfortunately, we overlook all these things when maligning Musharraf. GEO, ARY, AAJ etc have spread nothing but pessimism and doomsday scenario for ordinary Pakistanis. Sense of patriotism is being replaced by utter indifference and at times even by despise and hatred for this country through the continuous blabbering of the so-called experts on these news channels. I for one gave up on them a while ago because honestly if I hadn't I would have thought there was seriously NO HOPE for Pakistan. This is the impression that these guys give away. I think its imperative to note here that I'm all for freedom of speech but somehow or the other I don't see news channels in US (the bastion of freedom of speech) questioning the existence of the country itself. Somehow I don't see any Indian news channel giving 24/7 Live coverage to militancy in Kashmir. If I switch on any Pakistani news channel, I would get the impression that Iraq is as safe as the White House when compared to Pakistan. Nothing could be farthest from truth. Objectivity and patriotism is being replaced by cheap sensationalism and our uneducated population buys into it. Talk to an ordinary guy on street and you'll think that there is no hope for the country. Optimism and hope are dying a tragic death in this country and nobody gives a rat's ass about it sadly. Unfortunately, I wasn't the media's biggest supporter when they got banned cos of the above mentioned reasons. Media should have some responsibility as well, which ours lacks miserably. I'd gladly listen and watch Dawn News instead of all these sensationalist muppets. But thats just my opinion.
Now coming back to the question of democracy, I couldn't agree with you more. I was sad for Musharraf to leave the way he did. Because I've seen him do some good things for the country. I was upset for these politicians not having the guts to take him to court and charge him with treason. Because only that would stop any further military takeovers. I do believe that democracy would take 2-3 generations to finally get its act together and army needs to stay away. But hey! credit where its due. Musharraf did a number of right things for the country as well before he went nuts:). March 2007 the turning point. As they say, power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. :)
Anyway, I could go on and on. But I think I should stop. I'm totally up for another round of Musharraf bashing from your side. And despite the fact that I hate the idea of dictatorship, I'll still defend the good things he has done for our country. :)
A: Sad about Musharraf leaving?? Isn't 9 years enough for a leader to run a country and still nothing to show for...:)
B: Firstly, let me clarify that I'm not the biggest fan of GENERAL PERVEZ MUSHARRAF but I can't be faulted for liking the man PERVEZ MUSHARRAF. I can relate more to him than any of the blood-sucking corrupt leeches who are in power these days. He was a moderate with a vision for Pakistan. Our country prospered QUITE well under him. If you looked at our economy over the past 8 years, you'd seen that our GDP was growing at 7% per year. Middle class had widened enormously, jobs were being created and investment was pouring in. Our foreign exchange reserves, despite the massive Current Account deficit, were at record levels. Our currency was stable. Infrastructure had improved tremendously. Media had become more vocal and open. Civil society had become more active. So, he hasn't left us with nothing. He has left a legacy. Yes! he committed blunders- mega ones at that- for example ousting of the judges, media ban, emergency etc etc. but then again who doesn't commit blunders in Pakistan. If you had said that democracy is the right way ahead, I wouldn't have argued with you. Because I do think that he should've been impeached to deter any further military takeovers. I also believe that this country is crying out loud for democracy- a sustained one at that. But I don't know if its gonna happen or not. But I sincerely hope and pray that these politicians in general and our nation in particular becomes mature enough to realize that it might be their last chance quite literally. Meanwhile I'll be happy that democracy has prevailed at the same moment as i'll be sad for seeing a patriotic Pakistani leave his throne to corrupt, ineffective politicians. :) So, yeah I do realize that I'm in a quandary here but thats what most Pakistanis feel at any given time.
A: I will agree that all of them are blood sucking corrupt leeches including our Ex President. The man is known by the company he keeps. His prime minister was the on FBI list for securities exchange fraud in US. He left Pakistan before elections and asked to come back for inquires regarding financial figure reporting done by finance ministry, He bluntly refused as he carries an American passport. GDP and unemployment reporting was falsely (inflated) reported by the finance ministry.
Media is not free because of Musharaf...They have been struggling since 1947 to get where they are now. What happened when Musharraf shut down the GEO just because they are reporting things which are not liked by him and his friends.
Infrastructure...is not only roads and underpasses in Lahore and Karachi. Its also drinking water, electricity and lots of other things. A country with 7% GDP and 8 hours of loadsheeding in the biggest city of Pakistan is shame.
Its shame that we have people like Chowdarys of Gujart and Asif Zardari running the political parties in Pakistan but if we keeping going on this democracy path, eventually we will have better leaders which will come out of the process as long as the army does not interfere. I guess one has to pick lessor of an evil and I will see that corrupt politician are better than corrupt generals. At-least they are elected by the people of Pakistan rightly or wrongly.
B: As far as inflated GDP figures are concerned, yeah to a certain degree I agree with you. But then lets compare that to past decades. Even a GDP growth rate of 5.8%(actual over past 8 years) is far better than an average GDP growth rate of 2.3% during the nineties.
I do agree with you on the point of electricity. He could've done alot more. He could've built new dams etc etc. I never said Musharraf never made any mistakes. In fact, he made a lot of mistakes. But on the flip side of the argument lies the fact that demand of electricity increased at alarming rates over the past eight years due to increased spending power of a growing middle class. Eight years ago, not many people could afford air conditioners for example. It is totally different now with even lower middle class families affording 2-3 ACs in their homes. That fact coupled with the growing manufacturing and services industries meant that it was always going to be a bumpy ride meeting the electricity demands. Funny that you mention drinking water because the improvements in that regard have been most obvious over past eight years. It is one area for sure that his government did work over. And by infrastructure I didn't only mean roads and underpasses in Lahore and Karachi only. If you travel in Pakistan on highways now, you'll definitely see a VAST improvement from 9 years ago. Railway network has improved tremendously. Newer airports are being constructed. Old ones are being renovated.
Coming to law and order. Yeah! some decisions that he took over the years meant that Pakistan was always going to be on the hit-list of Talibans: Islamic world's supposed answer to Capitalism. However, barring that you might not have noticed that sectarian violence had died down in the country. The same sectarian violence that marred our '90s. It just didn't happen anymore. The Highway and Motorway police was improved and now they are at the same level as any other international police force. Traffic police's culture has been changed. We have a completely new, young, dynamic and educated breed of officers serving as traffic policemen in the country. They are being well-paid. And they don't indulge in bribery (so far, hope it continues). They are quite helpful as well. So, yeah i'd check this as one of his achievements.
When I look around at the job market in the country these days, I can't help but feel dejected at the lack of job opportunities. Compare that to last year only, (and I'm talking about LUMS grads only here) you'd find that 90% of the graduating batch got job offers within 2 months of completing their graduation requirements. This year only 10-15% have managed to get a job. Others have become disoriented and dejected at the sorry state of affairs of our country and economy. There are no new jobs opening up. Nobody is willing to invest in the country. In past eight months, 7 Billion Dollars of Pakistani money has been invested in Real Estate market of Dubai. 7 flippin' BILLION DOLLARS. At this rate, our paltry reserves of 9 Billion Dollars would deplete come next June.
As far as saying that media got its freedom without giving due credit to Musharraf, in my humble opinion is naive to say the least. If you dig up enough into the media's role during the '90s, you'll see that it was NOT free by any stretch of imagination. These corrupt politicians were NOT going to let the media genie get out of the bottle. Musharraf gave freedom to media- a FACT he should be admired for. As far as banning GEO etc is concerned, well! that was wrong and should never happened. But we are not living in an ideal world. In its six year of existence, I've never once, I repeat, NEVER ONCE seen anything positive about Pakistan from GEO. Don't you think media should have some responsibilities as well. Even now, if you switch to GEO, they would make it sound like Pakistan is on the verge of collapse. These harbingers of doom and gloom, doomsday conspiracy mongers also need to realize their responsibility. You should've seen the coverage of the whole Lal Masjid fiasco on our media. (For the sake of saving some of your time, I won't comment on whether that operation was right or wrong). However, these retards turned the Mullahs into the valiant fighters for the cause of Islam. The same people who held hostage hundreds of children and women. They were portrayed as the next best thing since sliced bread. Is this the freedom we are willing to afford to our press?
The objectivity has long been forgotten in favor of absolute sensationalism. Its an utter disgrace to watch these news channels. I wonder, if Musharraf was okay with GEO taking the mickey out of him on all its programs before Lal Masjid Fiasco, how did he become that sensitive all of a sudden. There was a reason why Dawn News never got banned. Because they report objectively and present both sides of the argument fairly without taking any sides. You should watch it to know what good reporting is about in a third-world country like Pakistan. Unfortunately, we overlook all these things when maligning Musharraf. GEO, ARY, AAJ etc have spread nothing but pessimism and doomsday scenario for ordinary Pakistanis. Sense of patriotism is being replaced by utter indifference and at times even by despise and hatred for this country through the continuous blabbering of the so-called experts on these news channels. I for one gave up on them a while ago because honestly if I hadn't I would have thought there was seriously NO HOPE for Pakistan. This is the impression that these guys give away. I think its imperative to note here that I'm all for freedom of speech but somehow or the other I don't see news channels in US (the bastion of freedom of speech) questioning the existence of the country itself. Somehow I don't see any Indian news channel giving 24/7 Live coverage to militancy in Kashmir. If I switch on any Pakistani news channel, I would get the impression that Iraq is as safe as the White House when compared to Pakistan. Nothing could be farthest from truth. Objectivity and patriotism is being replaced by cheap sensationalism and our uneducated population buys into it. Talk to an ordinary guy on street and you'll think that there is no hope for the country. Optimism and hope are dying a tragic death in this country and nobody gives a rat's ass about it sadly. Unfortunately, I wasn't the media's biggest supporter when they got banned cos of the above mentioned reasons. Media should have some responsibility as well, which ours lacks miserably. I'd gladly listen and watch Dawn News instead of all these sensationalist muppets. But thats just my opinion.
Now coming back to the question of democracy, I couldn't agree with you more. I was sad for Musharraf to leave the way he did. Because I've seen him do some good things for the country. I was upset for these politicians not having the guts to take him to court and charge him with treason. Because only that would stop any further military takeovers. I do believe that democracy would take 2-3 generations to finally get its act together and army needs to stay away. But hey! credit where its due. Musharraf did a number of right things for the country as well before he went nuts:). March 2007 the turning point. As they say, power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. :)
Anyway, I could go on and on. But I think I should stop. I'm totally up for another round of Musharraf bashing from your side. And despite the fact that I hate the idea of dictatorship, I'll still defend the good things he has done for our country. :)
posted by Ahmad @ 10:06 PM
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