The Unkindest Cut Of All
Declaring “no confidence” in Chief Minister Sindh Arbab Ghulam Rahim, MQM’s Provincial Ministers handed over mass resignations, for good measure their Federal Ministers also resigned from PM Shaukat Aziz’s Cabinet. Everyone and his uncle knows the MQM is posturing and will withdraw their threatened exit from government, the timing of their protest is of some consequence. Synchronising with a well orchestrated western media attack against Musharraf and Pakistan, it gives the perception of their ganging up with forces inimical to Musharraf and Pakistan at worst, and at best being opportunists in taking advantage of the crisis Musharraf and Pakistan face, both internationally and internally.
The Zarqawis Among Us
With accurate intelligence locating Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and some of his aides in a hut in Baquba, US aircraft successfully targeted the most wanted terrorist in Iraq with two 225 Lbs bombs. Zarqawi did not die immediately after the bombing, the 45 minutes leading to his actual death raised a minor controversy. Zarqawi was no intellectual he was simply an operator, made larger than life by media propaganda. In death, the murderous uneducated Jordanian remains very much the man of controversy he was in real life, the tragedy is that as a martyr he will inspire others to more insane acts of terrorism, atrocities not excluded.
National Consensus
Within hours of the polls closing on Oct 10, a very wrong perception of the early returns, which was indicating that the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal was sweeping the polls in NWFP and Balochistan, sent alarm bells ringing all over. Analysts took it to mean an overwhelming majority in Punjab and Sindh as well. Within minutes almost every news channel in the world was predicting a “Talibaan” government in the country, attributing this to the “wave” of anti-American feeling “rampaging” through Pakistan. As later results clarified, the “wave” was confined mostly to the western border in areas adjoining Afghanistan. Available statistics and educated analysis thereof reveals a different picture. The vote MMA garnered hardly exceeds what the alliance partners individually obtained in the 1997 Elections. There is certainly anti-American feeling, but that had very little to do with the vote, the core concerns affecting the individual voters were more earthy, food, clothing, shelter, medicine, education, transportation, access to potable water, electricity, gas, etc. An additional worry was the lack of employment, followed by corruption and law and order. Moreover the other major parties were very badly split.