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Aftab S. Alam Says:

June 2nd, 2008
Ramla A; as long as there are people like you and Asim among us who have the conviction and the courage to speak the truth as it must be spoken - clearly; we still have reason to hope.

I sincerely hope that after reading your thoughts there are many among us who have been guided, I know I find you as a source of strength.

God bless you and more power to your reasoning.

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Ramla A. Says:

June 1st, 2008
The correct question in life is NEVER “What should we/ I do to another?”

The question is, “What can I do? What could I do that I didn’t do?”

Victim mind-set at the national level is as bad as at a personal level. The violence that has been unleashed in Pakistan is awful, and Musharraf is partly to blame but not entirely - because the lawyers and the politicians and the media too are just egging people on to stay violent. Their statements are scary to any person who has their reason left intact.

Prime Minister Gillani actually seems to have a kinder and saner and more sincere stance. It’s all about sincerity and honesty - which the likes of Nawaz Sharif absolutely lack.

Those who are delusional that a “restoration” of judiciary or political system as it was will do the magic automatically are… delusional. People’s anger has been unleashed; unlike Musharraf, no one is telling them the truth about the food and power crises, the fascist fake religion that has been shoved down the majority’s throat by illiterate pariahs, global power struggles, and SHIFT. No, all truths are being twisted to serve a political, megalomaniacal end.

If people are done with Scapegoat Musharraf, and they realize they STILL don’t have power and safety (which is a function of the factors Musharraf cares for), much more violence will take place. It’s not an abstraction, it’s a reality that is so clear, it’s making us all sick at homes, in markets, in offices.

The only - the ONLY - solution is to stop our rage right now and focus on real issues and real solutions. Forgive the man who withdrew his attack, and negotiate. Let him go easy because the truth is he is no longer popular. Let’s NOT dream that other people’s failure = our success. Our nation is on a very dangerous path, and I fear we will eventually only learn the very hard way.

It had to be!

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Ramla A. Says:

June 1st, 2008
Musharraf chose the path of control, which became his undoing - but his intentions are not evil. He has simply become a scapegoat of a people who are unfamiliar that the crises we are facing are global. That Dr. Qadeer Khan was indeed saved from Guantanamo Bay or worse, and his carelessness is astounding. Iftikhar Chaudhry slipped down over the political banana and from that moment, gave up being a true judge. True judges do not decide guilt before letting a trial run its length.

Musharraf is not the only lame one. And that we have these caricatures of “leaders” in every conceivable sector of life shows how internally weak and flawed and irresponsible we are as a people. I agree with Asim: http://www.pakspectator.com/?p=3097&cp=1#comment-26131

Musharraf’s best move now may be to hand in his resignation, but the Pakistani nation’s blood lust is disturbing. Truly, is it nature that no one ultimately accepts controls, but Musharraf always had a plan of withdrawing control gradually. It’s called a process of maturation, but our nation has refused to grow up, acting like the teenager who fantasizes killing their elders. It’s psychotic.

To imagine that one guy or another will somehow wave a wand and “restore” a mad utopia we have obsessed over as a nation is unrealistic.

I think Musharraf has flawed greatly, but he has also shown great courage. He has protected the nation from certain attack from within and without. He has had the nerves to take down the corrosive Madrassahs and engage the secluded pockets of nationalities and mind-sets in Pakistan. He has paved the way for anyone who now might want to negotiate with dissidents by first showing the dissidents that the state is not weak.

We should have the greatness to forgive his flaws, make the best of what he built over time (but people took no advantage of), and learn from his insight and strategy.

The very fact that we don’t own the past 9 years and rest it all on one man shows that we have played passive victims all along.

May Allah protect Musharraf from vindictive minds, and may Allah enlighten us all.

I am just an ordinary girl, just as confused as others as to how to become a true Pakistani and a good Muslim. I seek guidence from learned person like yourself.

How about yourself? Can you perhaps explain, based on your own experience and perception, what is it that a “true Pakistani” and a “Muslim” entails? I think that will give a fair basis for all of us who really are interested in becoming one. So, lets go.