Tariq Azeem: Cunt

Instead of wasting valuable time thinking of a funny or jazzy angle on things when someone really pisses me off, I have resolved to simply use their name and follow it with the word "cunt" in the title. Allow me the pleasure of introducing the first cunt (or Premier Cunt) in this series, Honorable Minister Tariq Azeem.

Here's a news item from Dawn today:

Mr Azeem told Dawn that the issue was now between Pemra and TV channels which needed to follow rules and regulations and a certain code of conduct.

“TV channels can resume their transmissions if they pledge not to indulge in deliberate defamation,” the minister said, adding that criticism of the armed forces and judiciary would not be tolerated.

The minister said that TV channels would have to avoid showing gory scenes and discourage obscenity to get their transmissions resumed.

Responding to a question, he said that TV channels had earlier held out an assurance that they would voluntarily enforce a certain code of conduct. “But so far they have not come up with their own code of conduct,” the minister said.

He said that rumours spread by certain TV channels about the house arrest of the president caused the stock market to crash on Nov 5 and rumours like these could not be allowed to be aired by TV channels.

“How can you broadcast such sensitive news without getting it confirmed from the government,” Mr Azeem asked.

About entertainment channels, the minister said that they also needed to be regulated to ensure that there were no vulgar scenes in TV dramas and ads and that dresses of artistes in dramas were also not improper.

When reminded of the suspension of transmissions of CNN, BBC and Al-Jazeera channels, he said the government was reviewing its policy about them.

“At times you watch highly objectionable scenes on foreign news channels such as gay marriages etc which is unacceptable in our society,” the minister said.

Similarly, he said, foreign TV channels sometimes made derogatory remarks about Islam and the people of Pakistan and government functionaries. He said Pemra was looking into these issues and would soon come up with a policy about these channels.

Deliberate disinformation? You mean lying? Perhaps something like, oh I don't know, lying about elections being held this year and no emergency being imposed? Vulgarity? You mean something like scratching your balls on national television? Gay marriage? Derogatory remarks about Islam? Are you fucking kidding me?

Listen, you prick. Don't insult our intelligence. Just stop it. Next time someone asks you about curbs on the media, just say "We don't feel like we should hear criticism." Bus, khatam. End of story. Saying this is about gay marriage and vulgarity is so far removed from the truth that it doesn't just insult our intelligence, it insults the concept of insulting our intelligence. So please: shut the fuck up.

Cunt.

The Honourable Pakistani Judge

There is no one who epitomizes the post-PCO judiciary in Pakistan then the Honurable Mr. Afzal Soomro, Chief Justice of the Sindh High Court.

Prior to taking oath as the Chief Justice, Mr. Soomro had the distinction of being under an official investigation for corruption charges, we are talking about bribes in the millions. Mr. Soomro had remained suspended for several months but as Mr. Soomro belongs to a prominent political family, he automatically has friends in 'high places' and mounting political pressure wasn't far away. Mr. Soomro, still under investigation, was reinstated to the High Court a couple of weeks prior to the imposition of emergency - and now he stands as the Highest legal authority of the province, and there are now murmurs that he may even be elevated tothe Supreme Court.

Mr. Soomro regained his honour through a single bursh stroke. He of course can't be called upon to adjudicate, not because he is allegedly corrput but because he is utterly lacking in grey matter; glorious is the day on which he is able to muster a string of words that form a coherent sentence.

The man he replaces, the Honourable Sabihuddin Ahmed, was one of the finest legal minds of the country and an unsurpassed authority on Constitutional Law. Well I guess when you no longer have a constitution, what use a judge who understands it.

Lawyers in Pakistan: Between a Rock and a Gun!

I work at what may be termed a mid-sized law firm, which specializes in Intellectual Property matters (Patent, Design, Trade Mark, and Copyright). It has an independent wing that handles litigation, with which I am associated; and we have ten lawyers and five non-lawyer support staff who work in this wing, so that is 12 people whose income depends on the courts.

For over a week we have not gone to the Court because we are protesting against the emergency, which means no new cases filed, and revenue being zilch; sooner or later something must give way, our livelihood depends on that. Being a lawyer in Pakistan can be economically rewarding but no where near rewarding enough for you to build millions in cash reserves over night. Our litigation wing is only 5 years old so it does not have reserves that will sustain it for months; in fact, persevering beyond a month will stretch us.

On top of this the High Court Judges (post-PCO) have started dismissing cases if lawyers fail to make an appearance at the Court. Dismissal of a case means the case being completely thrown out of the Court, any injunction, restraining order, recorded evidence, is wiped off the record; thus years of work could be undone in 20 seconds.

This is an unprecedented step and an alarming development; this is the first time in Pakistan’s legal history that ‘civilian’ Judges have failed to respect a strike call by the Bar (the lawyers union, if you like).

On the other hand the Bar Council has stated that it will take action against any lawyers who proceed with their cases at the High Court (one hour strike is to be observed in the lower Courts). The Bar Council contains the power to expel you from its ranks, and if the Bar Council kicks you out, you can not practice law in that jurisdiction.

So we are in a bit of a jiffy here. If we go to the Courts we’ll be chastised by our peers and if we don’t go, our client’s could face serious damages (Imagine the Court throwing out a case against the counterfeit of Tapal Tea, ten other manufacturers are going start counterfeiting Tapal Tea, by the time we take action Tapal would have lost millions).

Then there’s the fact that we really don’t want to appear in front of these opportunist PCO judges. The good legal minds have all disappeared and we are now left with judges whose legal aptitude is limited who became judges, in the first place, due to their political affiliation and through other social affiliations.

As of today all the lawyers have been informed that appearance in the High Court is entirely at their discretion.

As far as new cases are concerned we will be taking more of them in the lower Courts (District, Civil), which comes at huge risk because

a) Lower Court Judges deal primarily with criminal cases and have a hard time understanding corporate and commercial law, especially Intellectual Property matters;

b) They are highly corrupt.

Most lawyers in Karachi have some form of ‘setting’ with the administrative branch of the High Court and through this we are able to delay putting up our important cases (to meet the ends of justice of course!). The judges have however, taken notice of this and issued a strict directive against this practice, so yeah, we’re a bit screwed and really don’t know what to do.


So tell us what we should do? I’m serious, tell us what to do!!! Any and all suggestions are welcome. Meanwhile, I’m considering a career in the media or maybe in the sub-prime credit sector of the Banking Industry, wish me luck!

Officer Resham Chuddie

Heres a true and fun little Emergency story. It seems that one of Karachi's senior lawyers got picked up by police last week, and was taken to Artillery Maidan Police Station. There he suffered a fright, when he found the Town Police Officer (TPO) sitting in silk underpants, with a gun on the desk. 'No worries', the lawyer was assured, the TPO was just about to get a maalish. The lawyer was then asked a few questions and released. In Pakistan its the weird things that never change.

R.I.P. AAJ Tv?

There are reports coming in - i.e. someone who works at AAJ has called a colleague - that PEMRA (Pakistani Electronic Media Regulatory Authority) has cancelled AAJ Tv's license and Director of News and talk show host Talat Hussein has been taken into custody.

There has been constant pressure on AAJ, Geo and ARY to sign PEMRA's newly amended PEMRA "Code of Conduct" - as per which, all electronic media outlets (TV Channels and Radio Stations) are prohibited from 'criticising' the Pakistan Army, members of the Judiciary and the Head of State.

Police had earlier raided AAj Tv's offices in Islamabad while Talat Hussein spoke to Daily Times about "constant pressure" from the government stating that “the government wants us to sign the code of conduct under duress before they allow the channels to go on air.”

Till now TV One, Rang TV, Din News, Khyber News, Apna Channel, Kook, Sindh TV, KTN, Business Plus, CNBC, Indus News and Punjab TV have signed the amended Code of Conduct. Which leaves us with GEO, ARY, AAJ TV, DAWN News and Rohi TV (?) as non-signatories of the Code of Conduct (source: The Post).

The financial pressures on the media outlets are huge and its only the truly large media conglomerates who can sustain such a challenge. At the same time it is the large media conglomerates who have the most to lose, a company like GEO with 5 operational channels (and a staff in the hundreds) have already lost millions. (report)

It then comes as no surprise that there are unconfirmed reports that ARY has now relented to government pressure and its broadcast will be resumed soon.

International news channels such as BBC, CNN, FOX, Sky and Al-Jazeera also remain banned; the ban on these channels had temporarily been lifted but that only lasted for about 2 days.

"There is no Martial Law" - PTV

Pakistan Television appears to have caught up with time and commissoned a series of 'hard-hitting' talk shows, no doubt as a result of the public's addiction to dramatic, and orchestrated, talk shows (thank you GEO - put a crackpot Mullah (or Imran Khan ) together with Asma Jilani and watch the fireworks).

So here we have PTV's version -

Cast

Host: A young man or woman - good looking in a very typical pakistani way e.g. a chubby fair and lovely model (& no NB i'm not being jealous OK!)

Guest 1: Establishment type - An old face who, many believe, was born a Senator, no set agenda just a voice box of whoever's in power e.g. Wasim Sajjad.

Guest 2: A firebrand Politician - And by firebrand I mean retarded; a member of the ruling party (PTV's subliminal message of the day appears to be: Opposition to the Great Leader is Zionist Propoganda) e.g. Dr. Sher Afghan Khan (true story: a resolution was proposed, a while back, by an opposition politician, demanding the removal of Dr. Sher Afghan, owing to his unstable mental condition!)

Guest 3: A fresh voice, of the youth - Of course a fresh youth hear means a 35 year old buraucrat, with really bad hair and disturbingly right wing views - not as in 'I like Taliban' but more 'I hate India' and 'Freedom of Expression is the biggest threat to national security.'

An excerpt from the Heated Discussion runs like this:

Guest No.1 - "Musharraf is the best because he is a 'bold leader'" (you hear this a lot);

Guest No.2 - "No Musharraf is the best-est because he has led us closer to 'true democracy'"

Guest No.3 - "No Musharraf is the best-est-est because he is a 'true Pakistani'"

Host - "No Musharraf is the best-est-est-est because he has a large cock and rode me like a stallion last night."

Ok so the last bit may be a lie - what the host actually said was that there is no Martial Law in Pakistan. The Court Martial of civilians, fucking civilans man, are neccessary for the security of the country (mulk ki salamati); oh and who are these traitors of the motherland, so far charged with treason:

Mr. Javed Hashmi (PML-N)

Leaders of the National Party - the National Party is a leftist party in Baluchistan that heads the Baluchistan National Movement; it fielded 7 candidates in the last elections (all charged with treason) and received 0.35% of the total votes. (Source)

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At this point the program ends and is followed by In -credible- dia (there's meant to be a line cutting through 'credible'). The show is hosted by a clone of the talk show host and has a guest who is a clone of Guest No.3. The only purpose of this show is to sling as much mud on India as possible. Oh and the tag line is derived from the slogan 'Incredible India' which is used by India's tourism department in its promotional campaign. This show is unbelievable petty and also terribly scary; it is well produced and far apart from the normal PTV propoganda and echos North Korean styled social engineering.

Retarded Microsoft Word Alert Of The Day

Apparently, MS Word does not think "disjunct" is a word. I was writing a paper and I typed "disjunct" and I got the red squiggly line. Unbelievable.

Put Your Hand Up If You Think Yesterday's Events Weren't Completely Choreographed

That's funny, I see no hands.

For the uninitiated, let me sum up what happened yesterday. BB promised a rally of thousands of protesters; the police surrounded her house and barricaded her in; and at the end of it all, she went on state television to give a speech. State television! Even the Americans are saying stuff like "We hope we’re seeing a little bit of political theater here."

Now, I don't normally believe in conspiracy theories, mainly because I have an IQ in triple figures. But, honestly, this entire drama was staged. There's no doubt about it. None.

Anyway, I was thinking about what exactly it is BB is trying to do here. If we assume that BB is primarily consumed with attaining power - a safe assumption, I would say - and that there are broadly speaking two ways to go about attaining said power (cutting a deal with the military vs. joining hands with the opposition and then getting elected), then, at some point, is it not the case that the expected utility from joining the opposition is greater than the expected utility from cutting a deal? In other words, the more unpopular Musharraf gets, the less likelihood there is of BB either (a) attaining power or (b) wielding power. I guess what I'm trying to get at is that while cutting a deal with Musharraf even as late as September 2007 was in BB's instrumentalist interests, at what point does the balance shift to the contrary? What hypothetical set of events will it take to convince BB she is better off without Musharraf than with him?

I think the key to that question is her experience in her first two terms. BB - better than most people - knows you cannot govern Pakistan effectively without the military at least quasi-supportive of you. While dreams of a military-free utopia might be pervasive in the Pakistani political psyche at present, please allow me to disabuse those notions. It simply isn't going to happen - the military is too entrenched in the system, and you cannot ignore it or wish it away. With that in mind, it becomes imperative for any leader, even democratically elected ones with large mandates, to have support of the military. That is why I suspect BB is unwilling to let her alliance with Musharraf go at this point. It's almost as if she's decided: either I should be in power with the military (or a military man and his buddies) behind me, or I shouldn't be in power at all. Anything in between is completely pointless.
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I close with an excerpt from an article by everyone's favorite BBC newscaster, Lyse Doucet.

Ms Bhutto is back from eight years in self-imposed exile, having done a deal with Gen Musharraf to come home. Some hope she will fight and win another election.

I reminded her of a press conference in 1988 after her first election victory.

Back then, there was also the issue of how she would be able to work with a military which has always distrusted her Pakistan People's Party.

I still remember raising my hand at that press conference and asking about reports she would be meeting army brass who brought an end to martial law after the mysterious death of the former leader of the country, Gen Zia ul-Haq.

"Who had requested the meeting," I asked then. "You or the army?"

In other words, who was really in charge?

She did not really answer my question in 1988.

So I asked it again, in a different way this week, just before we started recording the interview - remarking on how it now seemed she was still in the same place, trying to find a way to work with the military.

Her reply was a startled angry look. I realised I had struck a sensitive nerve.

Can Someone Please Find Jose Mourinho A Job?

He clearly needs less free time on his hands.

Mourinho, who prior to his dismissal from Chelsea this season had said he was more "serene" than ever, seems to have flown into a rage when his 11-year-old daughter told him about playground taunts that another boy had made, comparing her with her father.

Mourinho went into the playground at the £6,500-a-year school his daughter attends in Setubal, near Lisbon, on Wednesday afternoon and found the boy who had been taunting his daughter, Matilde.

He then appears to have pulled the 12-year-old boy by the ears and gave him a thorough dressing down, as other parents and pupils looked on in bemusement. It is not clear whether he employed the "hairdryer" technique favoured by his former rival, Sir Alex Ferguson.

One witness told the Portuguese newspaper Correio da Manha that he was left "speechless" as he watched Mourinho scold Pedro Antonio.

Mourinho, 44, was then hauled into the office of the headmistress like a naughty schoolboy and made to apologise to his tearful victim and his family.

Isabal Simao, the headmistress of St Peter's school, said Mourinho appeared truly embarrassed and later wrote to the boy and the school to apologise for his behaviour.

Arbitrary Arrests

With the blockage of the Media nobody is quite sure as to who's been arrested or as to what is happening in the country. The reports are only verifiable if you know someone who knows someone.

The newspapers are quoting a figure of 1700, it could of course be much higher. Those arrested include Judges, the family members of judges (son of the CJ Sabihuddin - Ahsan he's the friend of a painter ! - son of Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmany; Brother of Justice Khilji - a lawyer in his 70's; Justice Bhagwan Das's family is reportedly under house arrest, these are the ones I know). Many, many lawyers have been arrested.

Then there are the students, teachers and professors from BNU and LUMS who have reportedly been picked up as they constitute a naitonal threat.


A large number of those arrested do not belong to any political parties; many aren't even politcally active, even amongst lawyers there are many who have never taken part in Bar Room politics.

Take for example Mr. I. A. a Customs Lawyer belonging to a notable Bohri family. His father was a judge of the Sindh High Court ages ago, and known for his left wing views. But the last time his family was active in politics was when his great grandfather was made the first mayor of Karachi. Mr. I.A.'s family run various schools in impoverished areas of the city and devote a lot of time to many good causes. The family through its civic duties symbolises civil society.

Now Mr. I.A., married mid-30's, young children, did not go out and protest, even though he might have wanted to. He stayed home and minded his own business, until the police came knocking at his door; yet another threat to our national security has been neutralised.

So now lets all rejoice at our new found safety and security, don't you just love the smell of liberty now that freedom and the causes of freedom have triumphed; lets add to the merriment and sign a truce with the militants!

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P.S.
My cousin commented about how all these events made him nostalgic and made him remember his youth, mis-spect in the days of Zia. He reminsced how he would get together with his friends and they would go to the youth centre where the authorities put a show every friday evening - 'enemies of the people' would be brought into the centre and flogged.

That he found parallels with Musharraf's rule is alarming, and yet not. A General governing a police state, is a General governing a police state.

The MQM gets its revenge

Mr. Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmany, the second highest judge of the High Court of Sindh (SHC), prior to the emergency, also happened to be heading the larger bench of the SHC that was overseeing suo moto proceedings on the May 12th Killings; the killings for which the General refused to order any official probe.


Upon imposition of the emergency the Honourable Justice was arrested and according to a source close to the agencies, handed over to the MQM with the agencies acting as mere spectators. The Judge was abused verbally and physically by the MQM workers before the agencies took charge; he remains locked up battered and bruised.

I had personally been present on a number of hearings and it was an amazing experience and had literally taken my breath away. The Court had appointed Mr. Qazi Faez Isa as Amicus Curiae (friend of the court) and he was simply phenomenal. Every detail of that day was laid bare and Mr. Justice Osmany had taken no prisoners in naming names in an attempt at exposing the killers of May 12th. The culpability of every branch of the government was slowly exposed in an extremely meticulous manner and questions asked from the Governor to the Mayor, to the head of the KPT. The Honourable Justice was extremely vocal in assailing the MQM, not just the workers who were visible, but the entire leadership. This is especially noteworthy as in the 'usual course' (the term is relative and informed by the particular history of Pakistan) in that the Judges did not just order the arrests of the killers they were attempting to unearth where the orders came from, both within the government and within the MQM.


The media played a big role in this case, these were after all killings witnessed, live, by the entire country. Justice Osmany and his fellow judges took the unprecedented measure of asking all media outlets to provide video submissions; hours and hours of footage was submitted by Geo, Aaj and ARY and then assessed by the Judges. Journalists were also allowed within the court room whereas news cameras could be positioned outside so that the lawyers could be interview right after the hearing. This was a case that was accessible to the public and the judges persistence had ensured that May 12th wasn't easily forgotten.


The MQM had earlier tried to halt proceedings by sending hundreds of their workers into the Court Room, the MQM lawyers including Mr. Khwaja Naveed then submitted testimony from around 700 MQM workers stating that the MQM was innocent and had instead been attacked. This was a despicable attempt by the MQM lawyers to delay the matter tremendously and force the Court into taking measures that would divert the limelight. And it worked partially as the Court had no option but to stop Public Access during the hearing, only lawyers were allowed. Even then Mr. Jusice Osmany ensured that media personnel would be allowed in the Court so that they could report the progress.


It had become clear that the Judges would not cower and an Order against the MQM and the Government was due. What had also helped was the symbolic action by the Supreme Court against police officials in Islamabad, and though much derided by the General, had set the precedent that no one was above the law.


Well so much for that. The Judge heading this inquest is being abused and his whereabouts unknown. Oh and those despicable MQM lawyers, two of them have been appointed as judges of the Sindh High Court to replace the sacked Honourable Justices. Welcome to the era of the Honourable Mr. Justice Khwaja Naveed.

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Clarification:

Earlier in this post, it was stated that Sarmad Jalal Osmanis son had also been picked up. However that was incorrect as it was outside our knowledge as to whats happening to Justice Osmani's family, It was actually Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali's son who had been picked. The portion about Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmany himself however is true to the best of our knowledge, and it has been verified.

Barcelona-Rangers

Needing a break from my increasingly depressing readings in ethnic politics, and even more depressing events back home, I decided to take two hours off and watch some Champions League football. What follows are my thoughts and impressions from watching Barcelona play Rangers at the Camp Nou:

1. Ronaldinho looks to be rounding into form. He's still giving the ball away with maddening munificence in midfield (how's that for some alliteration?) but he basically constructed the two goals. For the first, he picked out Messi at the far post - who strangely enough had acres of space for this sequence - who headed it back across goal. I'm sure Messi was trying for goal but it ended up in the path of Henry who elbowed it home. The second goal was just brilliant. Ronaldinho got the ball at the edge of the penalty area, tapped it to Messi who went straight back to Ronaldinho, who had made a quick run. A quick dribble to settle himself and then the shot, which the goalkeeper stopped, but sent straight to Messi who had an easy finish. The entire sequence (Ronaldinho to Messi back to Ronaldinho to shot on goal) took less than a second (I swear to God). The Rangers defense could not be blamed - the movement and the passing was too good, and too quick. That said, Ronaldinho was still substituted and didn't look mighty pleased. I don't always understand Rijkaard - if the guy's getting better, and is playing well, why not just leave him out there? If you want to give Bojan a run, that's fine - take Henry off instead. He's the one that was strangely ineffective all game.

2. I absolutely detest teams like Rangers. For the first 70 minutes, they had almost 11 players at all times behind the ball. It was sickening. It reminded me of Greece in Euro 2004. God, I wish teams who can't stand up talent-wise would just admit it and move on, and not subject us to this crap. God knows what would have happened if Barca hadn't got the early goal. Thankfully, we didn't have to find out.

3. The Barca back four look mighty suspect. It wasn't one particular instance or mistake that caught my eye, just a feeling I got that teams like Arsenal and Bayern (who luckily aren't even in the tournament) could easily score tons of goals against this team. Puyol, for all his heart and virtue and spirit, is slow. S-L-O-W. Marquez, though he wasn't playing today, always seems vulnerable to making a mistake. And Thuram really shouldn't be a starting 11 player for a team hoping to win the Champions League, not at his age. The only two guys who are assured are Milito and Zambrotta. Everyone else scares me. All I'll say is: thank God for Yaya Toure.

4. Messi has replaced Mohammad Asif as "the athlete most likely to lead me to orgasm". Just thought I'd throw that our there.

5. This was a weird sort of game in the sense that you were almost always expecting a moment of brilliance from Barca that would open up Rangers but it never really came. Messi and Ronaldinho dazzled a couple of times but there were few - by Barca's standards anyway - ooh and aah moments. A lot of that had to with Rangers' anti-football, as Messi called it after the first leg. But a lot of it was also Barca's own doing. There wasn't much creativity out of midfield, and it's when he's gone that you realize how important Deco is to this team. Wait, scratch that. Everyone knows how important Deco is to this team, even when he's playing. I'll rephrase and say that it becomes glaringly obvious how important Deco is to this team when he's not playing. Iniesta and Xavi are very, very good at what they do, but they don't do what Deco does, which is provide vision and playmaking. Barca need him healthy quickly if they're going to mount a serious challenge this year.

6. If you haven't seen 17 year-old Bojan play, let me tell you, you need to. Him, Giovani and Messi, health willing, are going to terrorize a lot of teams for a long, long time.

7. Barca have to be relatively satisfied with the way they're playing. They've been one of the three best teams in the CL so far (Man United and Arsenal are the other two), and have separated themselves - so far at least - from the second tier (Milan, Real, Inter, Sevilla). They've just got to get everyone healthy, get the attacking pecking order set in stone, play Zambrotta and Milito in every game, and hope they don't run into a rampant Arsenal/Man United type on their day. Hopefully they'll get at least further than they did last year.

Does Benazir want the Chief Justice back?

Just a quick post to add to what's already been said by Ahsan and Kabir, I apologize for the grammar in advance.

I just heard Benazir's press conference on Geo-Uk. She's given Musharraf till the 13th of November to declare that he will doff his Uniform on the 15th as promised, otherwise shes promised to take out a "long march" in Rawalpindi (an interesting venue), or in Lahore if Rawalpindi is blockaded by the police. She has also demanded that Musharraf and the Election Commission stick to the timetable for elections (or as close to it as possible), and withdraw the state of emergency.

To state the obvious, those are pretty much item for item the same demands that have been made by the United States thus far.

However, neither the US nor BB have demanded:

1. That Musharraf quit both posts (i.e his position as President as well)

2. That Musharraf reinstate the judges he removed upon declaring the emergency, most notably the Chief Justice .

Personally, I seriously doubt that BB was particularly sorry to see the Chief Justice go. The Chief Justice himself was not particularly constrained by his judicial remit and was often compared to a judicial thana-dar of sorts (though let me qualify that for institutional reasons, that is in no way an endorsement of Musharraf's decision to sack him and the rest of the senior judiciary).

It is therefore possible that BB considered him a serious obstacle/spoiler for any future Government she formed, a likelihood which could be evidenced by her refusal to call for his reinstatement.

If that is the case, and if both BB and the US are, in part, happy to see the back of the Chief Justice, it could help to explain why neither immediatley/instictivley took a hard stance with respect to the Emergency itself, which his dismissal would have necessitated.

Just a further point with respect to the what could follow the emergency. Stephen Cohen, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institute and author of "The Idea of Pakistan", wrote in this article that Musharraf is seeking a quick emergency so as to oust the judges, confirm his presidency and then:

"if things go as well as they can, carefully controlled elections will be held, Benazir will come to office, Musharraf will be able to retire from the army, leaving it in the hands of close and trusted advisors, and the army and Benazir, together, will tackle the extremist problem."

He then identifies two problems with this "reasonably rosy scenario".

"First, the terrorists and insurgents of Pakistan may not cooperate, and surrender meekly to Pakistani forces. Recent battles over the Lal Masjid, in FATA, and now in Swat show that there is a large and dedicated cadre of true militants who are more than a match for the Pakistan army in a tactical environment. The PPP is weakest where the militants are strongest, and cannot be counted on to provide the political guidance to tackle them. The militants are not interested in ministerial bungalows in Islamabad, they want to turn Pakistan into a base from which they can attack other soft Muslim and Western states (and India), and even lay their hands on Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal. Musharraf may have sidelined the journalists, lawyers, and judges, but he has yet to demonstrate that Pakistan has the will, or the capacity, to develop a comprehensive counter-terrorist and counter-insurgency strategy. The recent operations in Swat, once a tranquil backwater but now under the control of Islamist fanatics, was done, according to press reports, without any regard for the refugees and innocent civilians; if past experience is any guide, the Pakistan army’s operations will merely serve to increase recruitment to the ranks of the militants.

Second, bringing Benazir in to the “system” will be bitterly opposed by Musharraf’s civilian supporters. They detest her populist approach, they have no rejoinder to the developmental and educational agenda that she has set out, and only talk of how many roads and bridges Pakistan has built under this and previous military regimes. It is hard to imagine that they will work with a Bhutto government, and she may find it hard to work with them. As one Pakistan general remarked to me several years ago, the first preference of Pakistani politicians is that they govern the state, their second preference is that the military rules."

True, but both of the obstacles mentioned above existed pre-emergency, and would have posed a problem even in the realisation of the pre-emergency rosy scenario of a Mush-BB deal.

In my opinion, if the post- emergency "rosy scenario" comes through the costs of the emergency will likely be mostly long term, in terms of the institutional precedent set and the serious damage done to a decapitated and neutered judiciary. The short term costs will be that people are less likely to back either BB or Mush, the only two leaders in Pakistan who are keen to address the issue of Islamic fundamentalism and militancy. The short term benefits, if any, are that the next government will not have to deal with an interventionist judiciary and an ambitious Chief Justice.

Benazir: Lifting the Veil of Moderation

The emergency has lifted the veil from the faces our 'enlightened moderates' once and for all. Where Musharraf has finally been exposed to be a Dictator then Benazir Bhutto, Altaf Hussain and Fazlur Rehman as power hungry, political hacks. These revelations hurt the manufactured image of one Ms. Bhutto the most.

Benazir has been busy doing the international press rounds for a few months now; hell it almost appeared as though she was about to stand for an election in the U.S. such was her presence in American papers. 'The face of an enlightened, moderate and modern (EMM) Pakistan' was so convincing in the portrayal of her EMM values that people, who were worried of the ever increasing encroachment of islamism and right wing nuttery, saw a glimmer of hope. And she had played all the cards right as well - she had manouvered a deal in a manner that didn't portray her to be a complete sell out; and she had mended fences with the MQM, the most surprising of all deals considering their history and perhaps the most important deal as the MQM has been the most vociferous opponent (amongst the political parties) of islamism.

Benazir's return was heralded with fanfare and tragedy, all of which indicated the importance Benazir had, yes had, in Pakistani society. The following two weeks has seen a drastic erosion in the goodwill that had been extended to her, and it has all been her own doing.

If Benazir's pre-return was a political master stroke, aided I'm certain by american, professional, political handlers (such was its similarity to a campaign for an americn election), then the post-return has been an abject failure. Benazir has been incoherent about her message and has shunned away from taking on substantive issues, relying on ridiculous rhetoric and forwarding wild conspiracies. She has been a rallying against the Intelligence Bureau and the ISI in an absolutely idiotic manner.

Benazir has been constantly talking about how the 18-10 bomb but in an abolutely politically immature manner. She might start of by stating that this was an attack on the 'forces of moderation' but then will come the diva like self praising, followed by her revisiting the nexus between the Mullahs and the Millitary (yes Afghan war, we get it) but then comes her tirade against the IB and how the agency targetted her and her family, and how she was deposed at the IB's urging because she was an honest ruler, blah, blah; to top it all of she will forward a new, retarded conspiracy about the bombing. Two weeks ago the lights weren't on and there was sniper fire (the lights, its Karachi ffs, and the sniper fire was actually shrapnel), two days ago it was how the second suicide bomber was a young boy (how one might ask, well she says she's got info), the authorities have identified the two suspected bombers (they found two heads that had flown off clear from bodies, which is apparently what happens when a bomb strapped around your chest explodes)!

The most telling event has been Benazir and the PPP's silence on the state of emergency. Benazir might have asked people to come out to the streets, as a confused Ahsan posted earlier, but neither her nor anyone from her party has heeded that call. Instead Benzir was planning on meeting Musharraf yesterday to deliver her 'protest' - which is the biggest middle finger she could possibly have shown to civil society. Benazir the great hope has greatly failed a failing nation.

Guess Who's Back Writing Op-Eds In The Western Press?

That would be one Ms. Bhutto. It's hard to argue with the following:

The United States can promote democracy — which is the only way to truly contain extremism and terrorism — by telling General Musharraf that it does not accept martial law, and that it expects him to conduct free, fair, impartial and internationally monitored elections within 60 days under a reconstituted election commission. He should be given that choice: democracy or dictatorship with isolation.

Maybe I'm seeing things that aren't there, but read this paragraph and tell me BB is not trying to absolve Musharraf of the blame for the imposition of emergency.

In my view, General Musharraf’s ruling party understood that it would be trounced in any free elections and, together with its allies within the intelligence services, contrived to have the Constitution suspended and elections indefinitely postponed. Very conveniently, the assassination attempt against me last month that resulted in the deaths of at least 140 people is being used as the rationale to stop the democratic process by which my party would most likely have swept parliamentary elections. Maybe this explains why the government refuses to allow the F.B.I. and Scotland Yard to assist in a forensic investigation of the bombings.

Read that again: General Musharraf's ruling party and their allies within the intelligence services. Why would she mention them unless she wanted to draw a distinction between them and Musharraf himself? Am I crazy, or is BB still trying to cut a deal? To further muddy the waters, she issued a call for street protests, the much talked about red line that many said she would not cross if she was still interested in a settlement with Musharraf. As always, BB has left me immensely confused.

The ISI: Our Favorite Intelligence Agency For A Reason

Aren't these guys just the sweetest people in the world?

As part of the emergency measures, the government has also blocked transmissions by privately owned television stations.

Hamid Mir, an anchor with Pakistan's independent Geo TV network, said Tuesday that Geo's chief executive had been taken to a safe house operated by the country's Inter-Services Intelligence service, or ISI, and accused of "anti-Pakistan activities."

That was followed up by an e-mail in which the CEO, Shakil Rahman, was warned that "Pakistan Army is the backbone of Pakistan, don't try to damage it." If he did, the e-mail continued, he and his family "would be hunted down like rats."

Meanwhile, our lawyers are keeping up with their protests. It's hilarious how the NYT felt the need to provide subtitles in their interview with one lawyer, despite his speaking English. I guess, to be fair, it's only us Pakistanis who understand that "murshel laa" actually means "martial law".

Some Interesting Revelations Of The Meeting Between Musharraf And Western Diplomats

As most of you probably already know, Musharraf had an extensive meeting with ambassadors and officials from Western countries to explain his decision to impose emergency. The NYT reports that Musharraf railed against the judiciary in the meeting, and was ambiguous on the question of combating militancy in the country, the putative cause for emergency.

General Musharraf invited Islamabad’s diplomatic corps to his official residence on Monday to brief them on the situation and on his reasons for declaring emergency rule. But two Western diplomats said the encounter only reinforced concerns that General Musharraf was more focused on vanquishing his political rivals than on fighting terrorism.

At the meeting, the general primarily railed against his political opponents, with special venom reserved for the Supreme Court. When asked by a diplomat to describe specific plans to crack down on terrorists, General Musharraf gave only a vague answer.

“He effectively dodged the question and turned to the military presence in the room and asked them to organize a briefing for ambassadors,” said one of the Western diplomats. “It wasn’t very clear in terms of what was actually being done.”

The second Western diplomat said: “There was serious concern that terrorism and security was not front and center. What was really amazing was him going on and on and on about how bad the judiciary was.”

During the meeting, Anne W. Patterson, the American ambassador, complained to General Musharraf about the “extraordinarily heavy-handed measures” he had used, in particular the arrest of human rights activists. “It would be hard to imagine a group less threatening to the security of Pakistan,” she said, according to a diplomat.

Other diplomats at the meeting made similar points, but General Musharraf, who did not wear his uniform but wore traditional Pakistani clothing, appeared unconvinced, the diplomats said. He said he was concerned that the ambassadors from developed countries did not “understand Pakistan.”

By the way, I apologize for not posting my own thoughts on this entire mess. My brevity can be explained by two simple factors. One, I don't actually have a great deal to say beyond the fact that this is both normatively disturbing and instrumentally, uh, fucking retarded. Two, it's that time of quarter at school when I don't have time for much else. I'm trying to make up by linking to news from a range of sources which I hope keeps you procrastinating at work/school for at least a few minutes a day, which we all know is the only reason anyone reads blogs.

Najam Sethi Must Want A Job In The Musharraf Government

How else to explain this shocking editorial, where the Daily Times essentially - though not explicitly - lays the blame for the imposition of emergency on the courts and media? Isn't that the same thing as blaming a raped woman for not dressing conservatively?

There is no doubt that there was “judicial activism” in the country not normally seen in third world states where institutions often malfunction. Before he got wrongly dismissed in March 2007, Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry had hundreds, some say thousands, of suo motu cases under his belt. He had already put the brakes on privatisation by reversing the sale of Pakistan Steel Mills. But after his reinstatement, the apex court underwent a radical and extremist transformation that, as it turns out, has harmed rather than helped Pakistan. The lawyers’ movement and its support among the general public made the judges square off against the government.

Unfortunately, many electronic media journalists, flushed by their new found freedom to say whatever they liked, motivated by the principle of subjecting the state to accountability, and offended by the government’s action to remove them from scenes of conflict, added to the tendency to push the executive to the wall. Regrettably, too, the Lal Masjid in Islamabad was returned by the Supreme Court to the terrorists under these conditions. A suo motu judiciary went after the “missing” people cases with a vengeance, regardless of the nature of the terrorist charges against them, threatening the civil servants with punishments, and indirectly causing them to lose initiative in the pursuit of their duties.

News Roundup: Emergency And Its Aftermath

The Guardian has a story describing a prospective "diplomatic showdown" where Musharraf will be told to (a) hold elections in January and (b) doff the uniform, or have his aid cut off.

The US and Britain are today expected to demand that Pakistan's president, Pervez Musharraf, honour pledges to hold elections in the next two months and step down as the army chief, or face a cut in western support.

The diplomatic showdown will come in the form of a meeting in Islamabad between the Pakistani leader and a group of ambassadors, two days after he declared emergency rule - and three days after giving assurances to the prime minister, Gordon Brown, and the US secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, that he would stick to an election deadline in mid-January, and step down as head of the country's army.

The report also has a fascinating tidbit on what PTV was broadcasting yesterday. I don't want to spoil it for you - go read it yourself. Meanwhile, The News has a story detailing the rise of two factions within Musharraf's close circle on when/whether to hold elections. Presumably, this particular fissure is the same one Mushahid Hussain referred to when he said that the decision to impose emergency was debated within Musharraf's circle and a 20-5 majority favored the measure.

But the ruling alliance is divided on the question and it is expected that the ultimate decision would be taken in a week in this regard. Highly placed sources told The News that the meeting was also attended by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, president PML Chaudhary Shujaat Hussain and other leaders.

It was resolved in the meeting that the state of emergency would not be prolonged. The ruling alliance is reportedly divided over the schedule of the general polls and for that reason no decision could be finalised in the meeting.

One group of the alliance is asking for extending the tenure of the present assemblies by at least six months while the other group is of the view that the general elections must be held without any delay and for the purpose the dates already announced must be adhered to.

The Washington Post quotes a PML-N figure saying the reported number of arrests doing the rounds in the media (500) is vastly understated and the figure is closer to 1000. I have no reason to doubt that claim. It is also difficult to argue with Asma Jehangir's statement.

Aziz acknowledged that 500 opposition activists had been arrested. Opposition groups said the number was higher. Ahsan Iqbal, the spokesman for an opposition party led by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, said that as many as 1,000 activists from his party had been detained, including top leaders. Iqbal said Musharraf was "guilty of treason" for suspending the constitution.

Asma Jahangir, a leading human rights lawyer, reported in an e-mail that she had been ordered to stay confined to her home for 90 days. She said it was ironic that Musharraf "had to clamp down on the press and the judiciary to curb terrorism," adding, "Those he has arrested are progressive, secular minded people while the terrorists are offered negotiations and ceasefires."

Tooting Their Own Horn

In dark times such as these, we can always count on the Daily Times to provide us with some comic relief. Here is a news item published in today's paper in its entirety.

Daily Times correctly predicted in its November 2 edition that the government was planning to issue a new Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO) and hold the Constitution in abeyance, in a story headlined ‘PCO on the way any day’. The story reported that the PCO would be issued in a couple of days, which is what happened.

Reactions To The Imposition Of Emergency

Here's a roundup of what some people are saying about today's events.

Aitzaz Ahsan, as he was being arrested: "Musharraf is acting like a spoiled child, holding the whole country hostage. These are the last days of Pervez Musharraf."

Nawaz Sharif, talking to a TV news channel: "We are heading towards a chaotic situation, heading towards anarchy."

The U.S. government: Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice called for a "quick return to constitutional law." White House spokesman called the move "deeply disappointing."

Imran Khan, talking to AFP: "He has committed high treason by negating the orders of the Supreme Court which bars him from taking any unconstitutional steps and by sending in troops after the Supreme Court decision. He is punishable by death."

The Indian government, in a statement by the Foreign Ministry: FM spokesman Navtej Sarna said that, "We regret the difficult times that Pakistan is passing through. We trust that conditions of normalcy will soon return, permitting Pakistan's transition to stability and democracy to continue."

Me, rolling out of bed and reading two texts sent by a couple of friends in Pakistan: "You've got to be fucking kidding me."

Full Text of the Proclamation of Emergency in Pakistan

Yet again, here we go:

WHEREAS there is visible ascendancy in the activities of extremists and incidents of terrorist attacks, including suicide bombings, IED explosions, rocket firing and bomb explosions and the banding together of some militant groups have taken such activities to an unprecedented level of violent intensity posing a grave threat to the life and property of the citizens of Pakistan;

WHEREAS there has also been a spate of attacks on State infrastructure and on law enforcement agencies;

WHEREAS some members of the judiciary are working at cross purposes with the executive nd legislature in the fight against terrorism and extremism thereby weakening the Government and the nation’s resolve and diluting the efficacy of its actions to control this menace;

WHEREAS there has been increasing interference by some members of the judiciary in government policy, adversely affecting economic growth, in particular;

WHEREAS constant interference in executive functions, including but not limited to the control of terrorist activity, economic policy, price controls, downsizing of corporations and urban planning, has weakened the writ of the government; the police force has been completely demoralized and is fast losing its efficacy to fight terrorism and Intelligence Agencies have been thwarted in their activities and prevented from pursuing terrorists;

WHEREAS some hard core militants, extremists, terrorists and suicide bombers, who were arrested and being investigated were ordered to be released. The persons so released have subsequently been involved in heinous terrorist activities, resulting in loss of human life and property. Militants across the country have, thus, been encouraged while law enforcement agencies subdued;

WHEREAS some judges by overstepping the limits of judicial authority have taken over the executive and legislative functions;

WHEREAS the Government is committed to the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law and holds the superior judiciary in high esteem, it is nonetheless of paramount importance that the Honourable Judges confine the scope of their activity to the judicial function and not assume charge of administration;

WHEREAS an important Constitutional institution, the Supreme Judicial Council, has been made entirely irrelevant and non est by a recent order and judges have, thus, made themselves immune from inquiry into their conduct and put themselves beyond accountability;

WHEREAS the humiliating treatment meted to government officials by some members of the judiciary on a routine basis during court proceedings has demoralized the civil bureaucracy and senior government functionaries, to avoid being harassed, prefer inaction;

WHEREAS the law and order situation in the country as well as the economy have been adversely affected and trichotomy of powers eroded;

WHEREAS a situation has thus arisen where the Government of the country cannot be carried on in accordance with the Constitution and as the Constitution provides no solution for this situation, there is no way out except through emergent and extraordinary measures;

AND WHEREAS the situation has been reviewed in meetings with the Prime Minister, Governors of all four Provinces, and with Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, Chiefs of the Armed Forces, Vice-Chief of Army Staff and Corps Commanders of the Pakistan Army;

NOW, THEREFORE, in pursuance of the deliberations and decisions of the said meetings, I General Pervez Musharraf, Chief of the Army Staff, proclaim Emergency throughout Pakistan.2. I hereby order and proclaim that the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan shall remain in abeyance.3. This Proclamation shall come into force at once.”

Emergency Rule Declared in Pakistan

I'll be updating this as more news comes in.

Just a quick update in case the news networks, both domestic and international, are down in Pakistan, which they appear to be. Geo is still running in the UK.

As you may have heard, Musharraf has declared Emergency Rule in Pakistan. A newscaster on PTV said: ''The chief of army staff has proclaimed a state of emergency and issued a provisional constitutional order''

An 7 member Supreme Court Bench set aside the Provisional Constitutional Order. Their judgement managed to make its way out to the press.

The army has entered the supreme court building, and the Chief Justice was ousted from the premises. Army checkpoints have been set up around Islamabad, I believe. The doors of the Sindh High Court have been sealed. Aitazaz Ahsans house has also been surrounded by police. Security outside the Governors House in Karachi is on High Alert.

Plus, you cant be out in more than groups of four (at least in Lahore from what they're saying).

The emergency is being cited as an "emergency plus" i.e something less than Martial Law, which means that the government ministries (provincial and national assemblies too) will continue to function, and fundamental rights (such as they are) will continue to exist for ordinary citizens.

God knows whats going to happen in the Courts on Monday. I don't see that any of the Bar Councils across Pakistan will be accepting any fresh judicial appointments under this new PCO.

Benazir Bhutto left the country prior to the emergency. There is some speculation (pretty credible in my opinion) that she knew in advance, and which is why she left in the first place. She was apparently boarding for her return when the emergency happened and following its imposition initially opted to disembark, but is has now boarded a plane and is flying back in to Pakistan.

The emergency comes after further developments for the worse in Swat after two police stations were lost to the militants, and following the capture/disarmament/release of about 120 police plus paramilitaries, and after the Supreme Court ordered that Nawaz Sharif be allowed back in for the second time.

UPDATES:

Put of 27 judges called in to replace the removed justices in the Sindh High Court, only 4 took oath. The rest of the nominees have politely declined so far. This is a big deal.

Three Supreme Court Judges have already taken oath under the new PCO.

Abdul Hamid Dogar is the new Chief Justice.

The Chief Justice has gone home. He has been placed under a communicative quarantine of sorts, no phones, no TV no mobiles.

Nawaz Sharif has stated that he will attempt to return, because apparently he cannot bear to watch this travesty of justice, and because he now thinks he has a shot of being allowed to stay. A big "Yeah Right" from me on both counts.

Condoleeza Rice has said that the declaration of emergency (read the move to authoritarianism) is highly regrettable. Looks like the last minute phone call didn't work this time, a pretty clear signal to the US that Musharraf isn't always bluffing.

On Geo-UK, I'm looking at some bewildered faujis sitting in the back of a truck in Islamabad, surrounded by photographers popping flashes and taking pictures.

Benazir has now landed in Karachi, and a number of PPP supporters have greeted her at the airport.

I'm thinking that this is effectively Musharraf's second coup.

Quote Of The Day

A Pakistani soldier explains why he refused to fight Taliban forces in Swat:

I surrendered because I realised that I was only fighting fellow Muslims.

Hmmm, I see. The most obvious point to make is that Pakistani soldiers have proved remarkably adept at fighting, killing, torturing and raping fellow Muslims - fellow Pakistani Muslims - in the past. Plenty of Bangladeshis and Balochis will attest to that. But that view ignores another obvious point, one Ayaz Amir makes in his column today.

In the tribal areas, and now in Swat, the army is stuck in low-intensity conflicts it has no heart or stomach for fighting. Facing an external enemy is one thing but fighting your own countrymen, especially when of the same racial stock (a distinction which did not apply to our brethren in East Pakistan), is quite different.

While his words may make you squirm, it won't make them any less true. One of the reasons West Pakistani soldiers were so aggressive and inhumane in the civil war of 1971 was the ubiquitous view in the armed forces that the Bengalis were (a) a vastly inferior race, (b) not true Muslims, and (c) not true Pakistanis (all of which were quite funny, considering they were (a) more educated per capita than the rest of Pakistan, and (b) fought as hard or harder than most West Pakistanis for independence from the British). I was speaking to a friend who has done extensive research in Pakistan and she told me that a Pakistani woman once told her that the widespread rape of Bengali women by West Pakistani troops was a good thing because it would improve their gene pool. These widely held racist views of the Bengalis allowed our soldiers to commit gruesome and untold war crimes against their own population even though they were technically "fellow Muslims". The same, though to a lesser extent, is true in Balochistan.

The ethnic dimension of the current war in FATA and now Swat has not been given sufficient attention, I don't think. One of my professors here is compiling a dataset comparing proportions of ethnic representation in states' militaries at the time of their independence. He found in Pakistan's case that in 1947, Bengalis comprised over 50% of the population and about 1% of the armed forces, and Balochis too are severely under-represented - primarily because neither Bengalis nor Balochis were designated as the "martial races" by our military leaders. The Pathans, on the other hand, have faced no such problem and have in fact been over-represented in the military. What this means is that our army, made up of a significant number of Pathans (though still dominated by Punjabis), is quite squeamish when fighting fellow Pathans. I suspect what the soldier I quoted in this post meant was that he surrendered because he realized he was fighting fellow Pathan Muslims, not fellow Muslims.

By the way, the birth place of the soldier in question? Dargai.

The Impact of a Suicide Bombing

As I headed to work today, abusing the jackasses on the road, I had to stop at the traffic signal right before Kala Pul (the Black Bridge). My car happened to be parked one car behind a truck carrying, what I believe to be Army Commandoes (they had camouflaged uniforms rather than khakis). And for the first time in my life I was genuinely scared. I was scared that they would be targeted and I was scared to be anywhere near them. This is what suicide bombings do to you.

A citizen of this country has enough to be scared about, add more into the cauldron and you have a people crippled by paranoia as fear creeps into every sinew of the social fabric.

I have not commented on the terrible suicide attack in Karachi, I genuinely did not know what to say. The pictures relayed the horror better than anything I could ever write. The pictures however fail to represent the impact such an event has on society.

The bombings on army convoys has resulted in me being afraid of driving behind an army convoy, even though nothing has happened to me nor am I the target. The army personnel who are the ones targeted, and the ones most in danger, have no choice but to rely on fate to protect them. There is a similar thing that has happened with the 18th October bombing.

A 140 people died on that fateful day. They consisted mostly of Policemen and paid PPP supporters / workers. These were people who had little, real, choice about being there as they were either on duty (Police) or abject poverty had forced their hands (the ‘inner circle’ around BB’s convoy consisted of villagers from interior Sindh who had been paid to travel for a few days). The next time (if) BB holds a rally these people will, like the soldiers, still be there – the police will be on duty and the workers will be transported by the feudal lords.

Outside the inner circle however stood people who were there out of their own volition; people who supported the PPP; many who were simply curious and interested in watching the spectacle. A few people from my own office who live in apartments in the near by area were part of the procession for some time during the day, one had left minutes earlier (and they are MQM supporters). All of these people exhibited a willingness to be part of the political space and it is these people who have been scared from stepping into the political space.

Its been two weeks since the bombing. The Sharah-e-Faisal is as busy as ever. The next time there’s a political rally, it will not be so. The irony is that the people most susceptible to such an attack will still be there.