Elections Usher in a New Face
Washington can expect to get along reasonably well with Pakistan's next prime minister. The Pakistan People's Party, the dominant partner in the newly elected ruling coalition, has chosen the eminently trusted politician Makhdoom Amin Fahim for the job, according to a PPP official who asked not to be named prior to the official announcement. Fahim, 68, is notoriously lacking in charisma, but he does have a demonstrated ability to get things done. Better yet, he possesses an attribute that makes him a rarity among the country's senior politicians: an immaculate reputation for honesty. And he's known to favor close military and economic ties with the United States.
Like most other Pakistanis, though, he's convinced his country needs to recalibrate its relationship with Washington—particularly regarding America's aggressive strategy against extremists on the Afghan border. Blaming the former Army chief, President Pervez Musharraf, for taking a disastrous course in the tribal areas, the new civilian leaders think they can do better by negotiating with tribal elders.
Fahim has shown before what he thinks of Musharraf. Back in 2002 the president, urgently seeking partners for his own jerry-built party, tried to recruit the PPP vice chairman as prime minister, asking only that Fahim not take direction from the PPP's exiled leader at the time, Benazir Bhutto. Fahim refused. Late last week he told party associates that the offer was made and rejected a total of four times.
Fahim says he has no regrets. Personal ambition doesn't seem to be what drives him—which is one reason the ambitious party heads are trusting him with the job. Bhutto's widower, PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, may be planning his own bid to step in as prime minister after stability returns. In any case, Zardari is counting on Fahim to hasten that return. Like the late Bhutto, Fahim is the scion of a landed feudal family in southern Sindh. His father was a locally venerated Sufi holy man, the Pir of Hala, and a founder of the populist PPP with Bhutto's father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Fahim in fact retains the Sufi title of pir, which he inherited from his father. Nevertheless he's a thoroughly secular, moderate and pragmatic social democrat. He writes mystic poetry on the side.
Will Fahim change course in the tribal areas? Washington's top ranks seem unworried about what the new civilian leaders might decide. "We're going to let them have their rounds of discussions," says a senior administration official who was not authorized to speak on the record. "We still expect the [Pakistani] Army is going to take the necessary military action." Count on an interesting transition.
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Posted By: democratic_reforms @ 03/18/2008 11:34:40 AM
Comment: Tkarna k roy a republican hopeful to u s presidency against all odds, in jungle democratic he rev dr kamal lives and politicking, u s presidential election nov 4, 2008; said in new york ciry at staten island , the comment and ideas were roformed in newer scripts that Pakistan will greatly help itself if elected leaders who recently won majority in parliament will benefit more to remove musarraf from presidency immediately, rather use him as interim president until foces ossing musarraf are consolidated in power and strength to bring in drastic changes in democracy and equations of sustaining the same. so far the power balance is volatile. Inner conflicts in pakistani people may derail many dreams of average pakistani upto void achievements due to conflicts among partners. reported by rev mr premanshu das, rev ms paromita r baidya of new delhi and rev ms lisa bn r alston of new york as chief of campaign services : the rev dr kamal roy for u s president 20008:see below:
Posted By: CANDIDATE_REPUBLICAN @ 03/03/2008 10:05:01 PM
Comment: TRIANGLE OF JUNGLE DEMOCRACIES USA TO PAISTAN TO RSSIA UJDER PUTIN TO USA. JUNGLES ARE DEEP FOREST BUT GREENS ARE SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT OF SHADE. OTHER JUGLES ARE DEEPLY OF CONCERN TO PEOPLE. bUT WE THE PEOPLE MUST BRING TO EQUITY IN JUSTICE,LEADERSHIP AND OPTIMUM PRIVILEGES TO MOST SOONER THE BETTER, SAID DR THE REVEREND KAMAL KARNA ROY , A MR CLEAN FOR U S PRESIDECY 2008 AS SCHEDULED, BUT MAY NOT BE HELD WITH U S DISTRICT COURT INTERVENTIONS AS PROVIDED IN U S CONSTITUTION AND OTHER LAWS OF U S. REPORTED BY REV MR PREMANGHU ROY DAS EFORMS AGENT IN DEMOCRACIES WORLD WIDE IN NEED OF REDELOPMENT. SEE BELOW
WE NEED TRUE DEMOCRATIC CONDITIONS FOR WE THE PEOPLE OF DIFFERENT NATIONS., including in u s a
Posted By: shaista @ 03/01/2008 5:36:46 AM
Comment: THE lunch hosted by Mr Asif Zardari for the newly elected members of the three leading parties on Feb 27 may well be remembered as a landmark in the long awaited transition to a democratic dispensation in Pakistan.
The squalls that rocked the state on Oct 12, 1999 and in the form of the 17th amendment inflicted much damage. Then, the catastrophe of Nov 3 put all salvaging efforts beyond the capacity of any single party.
The existing distortions in that historic but half-alive Constitution present a nightmare and demand the exercise of the highest form of political wisdom and legal expertise. The process of eliminating them by creating a new interface between politics and law has just begun.
Pakistan???s present crisis is characterised by the bitter harvest of constitutional violations, growing imbalance between a power-hungry centre and the handicapped federating units, uncontrollable violence by ever-proliferating bands of extremists and, above all, by a rapidly rising table of sub-surface social anger at glaring inequalities of income and opportunity.
A reasonably broad-based coalition government may provide a healing touch. There is no great virtue in a two-party system anymore as, for quite some time to come, regional aspirations will deepen particular identities of the constitutive elements of a diverse nation. The greatest achievement of the three top leaders present at Mr Zardari???s lunch is that they successfully persuaded their followers that these identities were perfectly compatible with an overarching national identity.
Scratch the surface and lurking just beneath the protest against the humiliation of the higher judiciary and repeated violations of the Constitution is a palpable anguish of poverty and deprivation.
Pakistan must eschew politics of vendetta but that does not mean that every crime against the state and society be brushed under the carpet. It needs a high-powered Commission on Truth, Justice and Reconciliation in the interest of historical accuracy and to build dykes for future security.
We need to replace mercenary relations with relations based on mutual respect, community of interests and coordinated pursuit of common objectives within our respective national parameters.
A strong and stable national coalition can be built around the present understanding between the PPP, PML-N and ANP.
The US-led West should welcome it and not undermine it as it alone can make Pakistan???s battle against militant extremists effective
The west should to withdraw their support from the one Musharaf who loathed by the people at maximum
Posted By: shaista @ 03/01/2008 5:07:40 AM
Comment: THE results of the election that took place on Feb 18 were astonishing. President Musharraf???s supporting party Pakistan Muslim League (Q) was wiped out and the ministers who were lucky enough to keep their seats are now at a safe distance from President Musharraf. The people at large want the president to go with no other choice.
However, the US has been unduly interfering in our politics as its Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher has emphasised the need to continue President Musharraf???s rule.
Pakistan has remained under military rule for more than half of its life, and the people no longer want any dictator to rule over them. As the PPP has secured the maximum number of seats, followed by the PML (N), the ties made between these parties also pose a serious challenge to the president???s stay any further in office. His rule for eight long years has brought many hardships to the nation and now he should quit
The US slogan for democracy is and justice is just a slogan and in real and practicle not willing to be so for their own agenda
From whome to expect the justice and democracy in the world the only power it self violate
This is not the Musharaf pakistan but of 1,600/-Millions people and what they think of the rest
This is not in the benifit of US to support the cruel one of the country who now the people think as Mechile G.Choaf
The people and the young generation have very strong anti US sentiments due to their blind support of Dictator Musharaf
This is not a good sign and this will increase with passage of time