Discrediting the Elections
Today, Human Rights watch issued a news release, stating that they had obtained an audio recording of Pakistan's Attorney General Malik Qayyum having a private conversation with someone about how the upcoming parliamentary elections would be “massively rigged". The recording can be listened (or downloaded) here.
An English translation of the recording, which is in Urdu and Punjabi, was also provided by HRW:
"Leave Nawaz Sharif (PAUSE).... I think Nawaz Sharif will not take part in the election (PAUSE).... If he does take part, he will be in trouble. If Benazir takes part she too will be in trouble (PAUSE).... They will massively rig to get their own people to win. If you can get a ticket from these guys, take it (PAUSE).... If Nawaz Sharif does not return himself, then Nawaz Sharif has some advantage. If he come himself, even if after the elections rather than before (PAUSE). Yes."
Now all this is fine, well done, whistle blown. But given that the audio recording clearly predates the return of Nawaz and the assassination of Benazir, one wonders what exactly the person who recorded the tape has been doing for the last 3 months. Maybe he was busy, or just never got around to sending out the tape, or both.
Or maybe the objective was simply to trash the credibility of the election itself, 3 days before they're due to take place. A nice hatchet job,very constructive, very Pakistani.
Goddamn that fat fool Qayyum, the 'riggers', and the jackass who submitted the recording.
Or maybe the objective was simply to trash the credibility of the election itself, 3 days before they're due to take place. A nice hatchet job,very constructive, very Pakistani.
Goddamn that fat fool Qayyum, the 'riggers', and the jackass who submitted the recording.
Labels:
Minority Reports,
Pakistan
4 comments:
The translations provided by HRW are flawed.
The proper translation is here.
http://moizkhan.blogspot.com/2008/02/ag-predicts-rigging_15.html
qayyum and a recording of an incriminating phone conversation...
... is it just me, or have we been here before?
@MK
Thanks for the correction, and the link
@Asad
Yeah i should've mentioned it actually, thanks for pointing it out. There were something like 30 odd audio tapes back in 2001 (i dunno if all were of Qayyum but i wouldnt be surprised). One of the tapes contained a conversation between Qayyum and Saifur Rahman, where the two were happily determining BB's corruption sentence between themselves.
I don't understand the comments in your second last paragraph. Did you want everyone to go along and pretend the elections were credible even though they are not? Furthermore, this is not the first time that HRW and other human rights/good governance groups have criticised the elections.
I don't know how it is 'constructive' to just pretend that the elections are credible and free and fair when clearly, they are not and perhaps every Pakistani citizen knows that.
In my view, the 'jackass' who submitted the recording is doing the Pakistani people a service. They deserve better than 'fake' elections and a semblance of 'democracy' whilst underneath, everything remains its shitty same for the next 10 years. But that's just my view.
Take care!
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