"Will the General be Relaunched - The Rebuttal "
Ayesha Ijaz Khan, "Will the General be Relaunched" the very idea has to be taken with a pinch of salt; make that a lot of salt now that the Supreme Court of the land of the pure is in the foray. The article is nevertheless an articulate presentation on how the political scenario has transpired over the last 10 years - and the effects the events have had on the state of mind of an average Pakistani during this period.
Dear Ayesha ,
Allow me to put on the gloves now:
I would however like to refute an assertion you made in the piece: I am one of the expat Pakistanis; Canadian to be exact - and represent the expats whose political mindset you aptly attempt to read in your piece.
I've been here in Canada for the past 8 years having left home at 17 . I am now a 25 yr old employed man with an engineering degree and a house mortgage . So in effect I am no different than the thousands of others across North America and Europe making their comfortable and cozy living abroad.
Having said that, I sure hope that I havent come across a political zealot or nut job of any political figure or party. I do hold my independent political views of our country and as you will see have done my share to attain those views. However within the parameters of those views I believe that you are being uttery obtuse by bracketing Imran Khan with with Pervez Musharraf. Even referring the former as a fringe politician.
Imran Khan is anything but a fringe politician and I can only support this claim from a first hand experience - an anecdotal one:
In March of this year I had a calling - an awakening of sorts - and I decided to use my annual vacation - significant because you allude to its "waste" by us expats - to make a journey to Pakistan to be in the eye of the storm. Being single n all, I packed my bags and decided to join the long march. I am not a politician nor a heir of one: just an average joe, who deeply craved political activism, a movement, a revolution, orange-purple whatever; anything which would forward and highlight public display of political awareness a- and luckily there stood a noble cause - a lawyers movement - reaching its climax - something so very unprecedented in the history of this nation or any third world country for that matter.
On Friday the 13th in the heyday of Rehman Maliks crackdown on the Longmarch. , I backpacked from Lahore ( my hometwon) to Islamabad to be in the midst of everything - They told me at the Lhr Railyway Station - this was supposedly the last train to Islamabad - for the next 4 days. As it so very often happens on trains - I met people.
A group of 4 - ISFers they called themselves - shared the adjacent bunkers. I saw a familiar face in one of them : he said his name was Hasaan Khan Niazi, Imran Khans college bunking nephew.
We have brought along table cloths , we'll wet them before we hit the streets. we are hoping our Islamabad chapter can arrange hockey sticks to kick the tear gas shells back to the police. We' gotta make sure we dont repeat the mistakes of the last Long March eh
Islamabad is a spacious city you know. The "Chairman" is gonna be close by most likely Pindi - he'll be there at 3pm on the 16th dont you worry--- Once on Shaharaye-Dastoor if thre is lathi charge you can easily escape in different directions - towards the margalla hills or the woods, but hopefully it wont come to that. They wont let us sit and protest and light candles at night. Rehman Malik is a coward - no matter how many containers he sets up we'll be there.
I am a first yr Arts student at LUMS - my name is Osama Khawar. He said that with Bolsheviks flare. He was reading Trochsky. You know what the fundamental problem with the communist idea was?
No , I said.
It lacks a value system. A submissive force largely holding the moral character of the governing class - something which can mutuality cause moral equilibrium between the governing and the governed.
I wonder if a fusion of a submissive code - like religion or Islam for instance and the marxist idea - would work.
You see Bhutto's idea of Islamic socialism ......
Ayesha, the followers for the supporters of the two camps which are vastly different in demographic and nature. the four days I spent in a hideout in Islamabad amongst the youth and student members of Imran Khans party changed my perception on the future of politics of Pakistan. Words simply wont do justice nor would an emotional overflow to convert one into a believer - only the experience of political activism - and the camaraderie of it can.
Perhaps todays article in Pak Tribune by Dr. Ghayur Ayub "Youth as a Political Force" can highlight the impact Imran Khan is having on the youth of Pakistan and the significance of stirring up this force.
Coming back to Long March. the group i was with included LUMS students, some of whom i initially thought i could converse with more easily than others, but mostly , students from a variety of backgrounds , from government colleges in central punjab to drop outs in primary and secondary school.
What i saw left me completely mystified. The political maturity in the average youth in that camp was dynamite. From admonishing me on composition and checks and balance of of govt between the Judicial - Executive - Legislative bodies to the mismanagement of nations resources by the legislators under the pretext of development plus the three tier education system in Pakistan ... they knew it all...
Upon first look You would dismiss these kids as a waste of talent gone down the drain. But they aren't. These kids have been glued to tv set to decide and judge for themselves the people who have been responsible for the state of affairs.... the media
Even if my optimism is adventurous and miscalculated and these were the very select few amongst millions - it still gives me hope that they saw a leader and a visionary in a person and were inspired make a journey to risk their lives make a journey to stand up against the. This i know i know in the heart of my heart, they simply would not have done that for a fringe politician
In March of this year I had a calling - an awakening of sorts - and I decided to use my annual vacation - significant because you allude to its "waste" by us expats - to make a journey to Pakistan to be in the eye of the storm. Being single n all, I packed my bags and decided to join the long march. I am not a politician nor a heir of one: just an average joe, who deeply craved political activism, a movement, a revolution, orange-purple whatever; anything which would forward and highlight public display of political awareness a- and luckily there stood a noble cause - a lawyers movement - reaching its climax - something so very unprecedented in the history of this nation or any third world country for that matter.
On Friday the 13th in the heyday of Rehman Maliks crackdown on the Longmarch. , I backpacked from Lahore ( my hometwon) to Islamabad to be in the midst of everything - They told me at the Lhr Railyway Station - this was supposedly the last train to Islamabad - for the next 4 days. As it so very often happens on trains - I met people.
A group of 4 - ISFers they called themselves - shared the adjacent bunkers. I saw a familiar face in one of them : he said his name was Hasaan Khan Niazi, Imran Khans college bunking nephew.
We have brought along table cloths , we'll wet them before we hit the streets. we are hoping our Islamabad chapter can arrange hockey sticks to kick the tear gas shells back to the police. We' gotta make sure we dont repeat the mistakes of the last Long March eh
Islamabad is a spacious city you know. The "Chairman" is gonna be close by most likely Pindi - he'll be there at 3pm on the 16th dont you worry--- Once on Shaharaye-Dastoor if thre is lathi charge you can easily escape in different directions - towards the margalla hills or the woods, but hopefully it wont come to that. They wont let us sit and protest and light candles at night. Rehman Malik is a coward - no matter how many containers he sets up we'll be there.
I am a first yr Arts student at LUMS - my name is Osama Khawar. He said that with Bolsheviks flare. He was reading Trochsky. You know what the fundamental problem with the communist idea was?
No , I said.
It lacks a value system. A submissive force largely holding the moral character of the governing class - something which can mutuality cause moral equilibrium between the governing and the governed.
I wonder if a fusion of a submissive code - like religion or Islam for instance and the marxist idea - would work.
You see Bhutto's idea of Islamic socialism ......
Ayesha, the followers for the supporters of the two camps which are vastly different in demographic and nature. the four days I spent in a hideout in Islamabad amongst the youth and student members of Imran Khans party changed my perception on the future of politics of Pakistan. Words simply wont do justice nor would an emotional overflow to convert one into a believer - only the experience of political activism - and the camaraderie of it can.
Perhaps todays article in Pak Tribune by Dr. Ghayur Ayub "Youth as a Political Force" can highlight the impact Imran Khan is having on the youth of Pakistan and the significance of stirring up this force.
Coming back to Long March. the group i was with included LUMS students, some of whom i initially thought i could converse with more easily than others, but mostly , students from a variety of backgrounds , from government colleges in central punjab to drop outs in primary and secondary school.
What i saw left me completely mystified. The political maturity in the average youth in that camp was dynamite. From admonishing me on composition and checks and balance of of govt between the Judicial - Executive - Legislative bodies to the mismanagement of nations resources by the legislators under the pretext of development plus the three tier education system in Pakistan ... they knew it all...
Upon first look You would dismiss these kids as a waste of talent gone down the drain. But they aren't. These kids have been glued to tv set to decide and judge for themselves the people who have been responsible for the state of affairs.... the media
Even if my optimism is adventurous and miscalculated and these were the very select few amongst millions - it still gives me hope that they saw a leader and a visionary in a person and were inspired make a journey to risk their lives make a journey to stand up against the. This i know i know in the heart of my heart, they simply would not have done that for a fringe politician
