Another Telephone Call from US : History Repeats Itself
By Gul Raiz • Dec 1st, 2008 • Category: Politics, Worth A Second Look • 8 CommentsThere is lots of hue and cry over the so-called notorious telephone called by Colin Powell just after the 9/11 to the then Pakistani president General Pervez Musharraf, and then all kinds of derogatory paintings were hung over the walls of media as how Musharraf kowtowed in front of Americans promptly, hastily, cowardly, without discussing with anyone and just sheer out of diffidence. That telephone call has become the favorite shooting target of political jokers, media anchorpersons, and so-called intellectuals in the pages of newspapers and paper-tigers of talk-shows.
The current so-called democratic government prides itself that it is not deterred by anyone and takes the decision at it’s own and it’s the opposite for the Musharraf era. That claim has been busted as history repeats itself. According to the media reports, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s not much publicised telephone call to President Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday evening is understood to have led to the government’s hasty announcement on Friday to send the head of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to New Delhi to help in the probe into the Mumbai terrorist attacks for which the Indian government pointedly blamed Pakistan.
But then the real rulers intervened and ISI chief was saved from the ordeal.
The phone call from the US’s then secretary of state Colin Powell that woke Musharraf with the news of the attacks in Washington and New York offered him a straight choice: You are with us or you are not with us. According to the popular folklore soon after 9/11, US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage warned Lt. Gen. Mahmud Ahmed, head of ISI, Pakistan’s intelligence service, the US would “bomb Pakistan back to the Stone Age” if it did not immediately turn against its Afghan ally, Taliban, and allow the US to use military bases in Pakistan to invade Afghanistan. Now everyone including Armitage denies any such thing.
Musharraf took every decision after discussing it with the people who were responsible for the security of Pakistan. Do you really think that the likes of Chaudhary Shujaat and Sheikh Rashid have got the guts to offer any visionary advice? They were just pawns and tissue papers which were used against their lot to clean up Pakistan. But sadly enough the rotten and reeking lot came back.
But our so-called democratic puppet caved in, as soon as he heard the name of Condi. Condi told him what to do and he, while shuddering ordered press release of sending ISI chief to India. Even Zardari the president didn’t mind, rather he thanked PM for zero delay. But the men who keep vigilant and awake, when we and our so-called leaders sleep did the right thing and saved the country from humiliation of third degree.
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all pakistanis are ***hol**.. mo**er ***kers… and ***tias…i am an indian muslim ..indian first and muslim second .. do u understand?????????
I wanted to comment on the post written by Gul Raiz but when I saw the vulgar language written by the commentator, it shook me. When the politicians of India have to beg votes from one billion population of India which has ‘Majority’ of such dirty elements, how we can expect sanity will prevail.
I always laugh on the predictions of westerner experts who claim India will be one of the future super power. As I mentioned in my Urdu column last week, they have two reasons for their unrealistic analysis.
(1).. Anti-Muslim feelings are common ground between western civilization and Indian Hindu mentality. So India is always given grace marks by such white intellectuals.
(2)…The second reason is Pak-Sino relations. Since China is the ‘real’ super power of the future and USA and its allies want to see India as counter-weight vis-a-vis China, so they expect the so-called shining India would be super power of the region.
Honestly speaking after watching and reading Indian media and hearing such abuses from ordinary Indian people, I am now more convinced India, suffering from myriad of internal conflicts, can NEVER be a super power.
Do the people of a ‘would-be’ super power behave as this commentator has done? In a population of more than a billion, I do not think there may be saner elements more than few hundreds. The rest are exactly like this as this commentator is.
Administrators of TPS should remove such vulgar language which has polluted TPS.
Dear Chaudhry Sahib, I have enjoyed reading your comments as usual. I wish that you would not let yourselves be bothered by the abusive language of some commentators here. Couple of people can hardly be classified as a reliable and representaive and even authentic example of a nations mentality or mind set. As far as, their acheivement regarding a democratic dispensation for their country and people is concerned, the fact remains it is a remarkable achievment. It is especially, an extraordinary and successful experiment in democracy when you realistically see the diversity of their people, cultures. Think about all these issues of religions, regions, castes, and class and a whole pallet full of languages, 18 recognized official languages! Call it whatever you wish but they have created for themselves a nuique place and respect in the world.
I wish that we had the confidence in our own nationality and standing to maintain our relationships with different countries of the world based on our interest and independant of one from other country. For my taste and understanding, for us Pakistanis Indians can be and should be a natural friend when you look back into our common history and even natural affinity. Our nature and Indian nature has more common than anyone else in this world, including our so called muslim brethern around the world. What do we have common say with a Malaysian or Ghanian or Sodanese muslim, you will say religion. Right? But, you know as well as I do that a Christian from El-Salvadore doesn’t claim any kinship with say a Swedish or German Christian. They neither feel that it is either their right or others responsibility on the basis of common religion to support or oppose eachothers’ policies etc. Which muslim is terribly worried about our economic vulnerabilities; is it not true that when faced with natural clamities like the 2005 earquake the West assisted us with every possible support than our own so called muslim brethern.
Regarding your recommendation to TPS to remove the ‘pollution’ I think you ought to take sometimes and take a walk through various posts here in the recent past, it will blow your mind. I think nothing pollutes a human mind than selective sense of virtue and being convinced aout being always right or believing in anything that claims to be ‘perfect’. Claim of ‘Perfection” automatically denies human mind the ability to question and investigate which takes away the possibility of any improvement and adjustibility.
Ch naeem
Lets see the previous record of a preacher like commentator and I am doing as per his comments” to take a walk through various posts here in recent pasts
a little example of pollution in TPS
Aftab S. Alam Says:
November 25th, 2008
Mr NKhan, you might care to identify who you meant by, “real Muslims and Pakistanis” ? It seems to me that you have allocated this privilege to those who meet your, personally, set standard. You proceeded with this, “If you love Islam and Pakistan now is the time to stand and fight for our Faith and Country.” Who are you trying to dare, who is the target of your this challenge? May I assume that, at least, you meet this standard. How nice you wish others to go and die to satisfy your sense of bravery; you are a brave man, you want to fight with other people’s blood, how fu**ing nice! My recommendation is that you should just go right ahead and blow your ass(take your friend with you!) and leave Islam and Pakistan out of your screwed up system; let me assure you Islam and Pakistan will do alright without you and your this ill-literate friend.
so no need to worry about such style as this style has become our national identitification.Thats why people recognised our background in minutes and in millions too.
Bismillah sheikh”The exact meaning of you name is “commence by using Allah name “seeing your verbal style and word power its better that you change your name as bismishaitain sheikh.It will surely match with your identity.We people really enjoy if you attack us with logics and mannerism and surely would appreciate your existence here.
Aftab! I could not understand if you wanted to defend the vulgar words written by Bismillah Sheikh (I read those words without editing, in the first place, soon after those appeared at TPS (I am happy that now these words have been contorted) …
YOU SAID;
“I think nothing pollutes a human mind than selective sense of virtue and being convinced aout being always right or believing in anything that claims to be ‘perfect’. Claim of ‘Perfection” automatically denies human mind the ability to question and investigate which takes away the possibility of any improvement and adjustibility.”
Should I have said ‘thanks’ to Bismillah Shiekh?
All of us have been reading various view points appearing in national, Indian and western media, many of which castigated Pakistan and its spy agenices. To know divergent opinion is fine, I appreciate it but Aftab, Its painful to be abused.
saare jahan se achha hindustan hamaara ………HINDI hai HUM…HINDI hai HUM….WATAN hai………hindustan hamaara …saare jahan se achha….Mazhab nahin sikhaata aapas mein bair rakhna saare jahan se achha hindustan hamaara………..Do you understand???????????
Sure, we do understand Sheikh sahib. We understood from the very first sentence which you wrote on Dec 1st.
Hello dears,
I am an Indian. There are good and bad elements in our country just like your country. I am a christian. I would only like to say the following things. To begin with, I am not against any religion and not an anti-Muslim, because I believe every human being has the right to follow whichever religion he chooses to and preach whichever religion he chooses.
But somehow when I look at the human records and rights of the Islamic world I feel, as a religion Islam somehow condones the use of lots of violence and force. Most of the Muslim majority countries run by Islamic law. Why should it be so? Indian being a Hindu -majority country does not run by Hindu scriptures neither do the most developed Christian countries run in the name of Christ or Bible.
So the biggest problem in Islam is that religion and politics are mixed. First get rid of this problem and most other problems will sort itself out. All Islamic countries should make their constitution secular and declare to the world that religion indeed is a personal matter of its citizens.
Secondly wherever the Muslims are large in number they want special treatment or they want to be live in their own territory. See the question of Kashmir. Why cannot the Muslim citizens of Kashmir integrate with other Indians and participate in the economic progress of the country..?
Or in the middle east. Instead of endlessly fighting with the jews, why cant the arabs settle peacefully in Israel and be governed by democratic governments…
Let us look at another example. Many many Indians were killed by the Britishers. Similarly 6 million jews were killed by Hitler and his goons in Germany. But did all the jews become suicide bombers or jewish jihadis and bomb German shops or kill germans after world war II…. No… they became scientists, writers, and created a homeland for themselves.
So all that I am requesting you brethren is that instead of being narrow-minded and saying that the problem is with the rest of the world it may be a good idea to look at Islam and move away from a strict and narrow-minded interpretation of Koran only.
The prophet Mohammed in his time was a great reformer and compassionate person. But unfortunately the Muslims of today want to use the same verses (which were meant for the social conditions of the time of Prophet Mohammed) even today without any change. Would the prophet have liked the present situation and narrow-mindedness and rigidity of some of the Muslims today….?
My hunch is NO.