Thursday, May 5, 2011

Signs Of The Times?

Let's get some things straight. There are still a large number of BIG questions unanswered about the killing in Abbottabad of Osama bin Laden. Many in Pakistan are choosing to obsess over how the American Navy SEALs team managed to come in and go out of Pakistan without being detected by the vaunted and financially over-indulged Pakistani military. Others are also questioning whether one should take the US government's and the ISI's word that OBL was indeed present in the compound that was attacked and whether he was, in fact, killed as stated. These are NOT the questions I am talking about.

The question that really needs to be answered is how it was possible for the most wanted man in the world to be living literally under the nose of Pakistan's men in khaki, whose leader had declared almost at the same spot only a week ago that his men had broken the back of terrorism and that Pakistani "dignity" would not be compromised for the sake of "prosperity." The question that really needs to be answered is why we - the people of Pakistan - should take anything he says with any seriousness if, in fact, he and his boys are really that incompetent. And why the Pakistani people should continue to give up their prosperity to fund such incompetence. The question that really needs to be answered, if the boys in khaki are not to be taken as the most incompetent people on the face of the earth, is what they were hoping to gain from such brazen duplicity. Because that really is the only choice available in their defence: nincompoop-ness vs two-facedness. Thanks to whatever their defence may be, Pakistan has a choice of being considered either a failed or a rogue state.

But if any good can come out of this fiasco, it had to be what I witnessed while watching Aaj Kamran Ke Saath on Geo tonight. The tone was in remarkable contrast to what most of the Pakistani electronic media (with a couple of notable exceptions) had decided to feed the Pakistani public over the last two days. The 'line' seemed to be completely reversed from what the Pakistani public has been force-fed generally over the last decade. And if it means what I think it does, coming from the well-connected Kamran Khan, it might just indicate some sort of silver lining for a future that looked increasingly bleak.

See this clip of the first 12-odd minutes of the programme and decide for yourself (you can watch the whole programme here):




Can one still hope to dream?


34 comments:

  1. so when is he getting labelled as a "yahoodi agent"??

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  2. I wouldn't go as far to suggest that he is taking on "Kayani and Co". He only mentioned Gillani and Zardari.

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  3. Man, this is insanity.
    I've lost all faith in my government and leaders.

    What the hell did just happen in last 2 days.

    Why were our forces not able to tackle such a bold attempt at our sovereignity. Our forces could've tackled usama themselves.

    Where is our president and prime minister. They don't even care to appear once in frnot of their people. They are taking their public for granted.

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  4. @Anon320: He won't. You have to go against the line for that privilege.

    @Anon458: I have never suggested he is "taking on Kayani and Co." Far from it. What I am suggesting is that the official line may be changing. Forced by circumstances, no doubt, and certainly too late to avoid the ignominy currently officialdom's lot, but better late than never? If others in the media begin to follow suit, you'll know for sure.

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  5. Recipe to create and self-destroy a country

    Time needed: 60 years but can be done sooner

    Ingredients:

    A mis-interpreted dream, preferably involving religious utopia
    People from all parts of the continent loosely united by religion
    A few feudal lords (add according to taste)
    1 Dozen hard liner Generals
    Continuously fed hatred of 1 neighbour (if needed, also of a jewish state)
    An excuse of a constitution that can be amended as desired
    3-4 Minority communities (religious preferred, but sectarian will work just as well)
    1/2 pound of corruption
    400 Grams of unemployment
    4 medium sized sensationlists

    Preparation: Take people, and soak them well in the mis-interpreted dream. Add a little hatred of neighbour but only a little, remaining portions will be used later in the recipe.

    On the Grill:

    1. Take the people prepared above, and press them a little by making rulers out of a few feudal lords.
    2. Add some hatred of the neighbouring country, then shake well.
    3. Let it be for 5 years.
    4. Take a couple of generals and give them extra freedom.
    5. By this time you will start seeing a martial law.
    6. Add some more feudal lords (should come with a new rhetoric).
    7. Sprinkle the half-baked constitution.
    8. Press people a bit more for a few years but don't break them, yet.
    9. Turn the people around, and let generals take the charge again.
    10. Alternate between generals and feudal lords every few years.
    11. Give constant stir to people by pounding upon religious minorities.
    12. Broil in hatred for a few more years till they become red.
    13. Garnish with finely chopped corruption, unemployment and puree of sensationalism.
    14. Serve to Uncle Sam on a platter.

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  6. Kudos to Kamran Khan for a really positive solution to the present problem of credibility which plagues Pakistan. Come clean and the world will receive you with open arms. Drop this negative religious fervour. It's destroying your culture.

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  7. Everything we pay in taxes either goes in pockets of zardari or this incompetent and inept army. An army which is only good in imposing martial laws.
    no wonder we are a laughing stock all over the world now.

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  8. Cafe Pyala ---- I never used to watch Kamran Khans show as it basically used to be the establishments line. Listening to this show has for the first time given me a small ray of hope. I am from Khyber Pukhtunkhwa and honestly I cannot even describe in words the devastation caused by the Taliban/AlQaeda on the psyche of the people there let alone the toll on the infrastructure and the economy. Many people in KP actually want the drone attacks to continue because they realize that our army is either unwilling and unable to get the job done. This is one of the main reasons why Imran Khan's dharna could not attract too many people. This osama episode for the first time has awaken our people to the duplicity of our establishment and they hate it.

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  9. What silver lining? Pakistan's defense, security and foreign policy has been blatantly run by the Army and ISI yet all these media guys constantly dump the crap at Zardari and Gilani's doorstep. Pakistan awam are hopelessly addicted to the lies that they have been force fed for decades.

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  10. Tehseen, You missed one key ingredient: A bunch of nuclear bombs on Ghazi'an titled missiles.

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  11. Brilliant stuff. Really jawdropping. is this really a reversal of his usual line?

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  12. Khakis are like the son who gets all attention, love and money at the cost of the rest of the siblings but pays back by disgracing the family.

    This moron, kamran khan, still thinks that bloody khakis have nothing to do with all this.

    don't dream my countrymen, we are on a plane called 'strategic depth' that is leading us by our noses to its destination, collective suicide.

    I feel sad for myself, ordinary people like me and the poor younger generation.
    I am dumping my nationality. thinking of emigrating to Turkey. Seriously.

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  13. going cold turkey... as difficult as giving up smoking before it kills you? :)

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  14. He should've been clearer about the khaki aholes

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  15. Perhaps we should all read and ponder on www.telegraphindia.com/1110504/.jsp/others. What the chinese news agency Xinhua says re the Abbottabad incident.
    It strikes me as credible.

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  16. Seeing Kamran change his stance is evidence of the depths of deception that the army and the isi have sunk to.

    and although the duplicity of the army / isi's actions are now in the open, the real question is can they be taken to task.

    the state, in its current form, cannot and will not take on the army - isi.

    the people, well, haha, the people can't do anything.

    so a safe presumption of what the short term future holds for pakistan:

    immense pressure from the US to come clean, or breakaway, or the funds stop.

    the government turns to the army and the isi, who refuse to comply with american demands, and continue on their path.

    al-qaeda responds to osama's death, maybe using the LeT

    plot / planner / attackers traced to pakistan. (if its LeT, then more urban pakistan than rural or tribal).

    A US response will be inevitable.

    And then the proverbial shit will hit the fan.

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  17. how about staging a protest in front of the GHQ until Pasha resigns?

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  18. I agree,we should protest, we should protest in front of GHQ. lets do it.
    I am in DC, I am going to discuss it with my friends, we can protest in front of Pakistan embassy holding placards condemning khakis.

    Lets come out, now is the time. it is now or never. BELIEVE ME, WE CAN DO IT.

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  19. @Pekhawaray....wrora...don't think its too wise to protest infront of the PAK embassy in DC. I dont think the khakis care about that. On the other hand if protests start in Pakistan against the khakis then they will take notice.

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  20. The story that I heard from someone with a sibling in the ISI crew of the Army is different from the official and unofficial stories being passed around.

    It goes: The ISI manipulated its jihadi contacts and played Osama into coming to the Abbotabad safehouse in 2009 (I think this part is crap, they just don't want to admit he was in Abbotabad for 4 years before finding him). They then told the Americans, that they had him, and they tried to negotiate handling it on their own terms and extracting some concessions from the US. The Americans wanted to go in during January 2011, but the Pakistanis kept stalling and wanting more time (Ray Ray got dragged in the middle of this tiff). Finally the Americans had enough and went in - as they crossed over from Bagram into Pakistani airspace, they alerted the top echelon of the military and told them they were going to do it without them and not to stand in the way.

    Sounds plausible - the military/ISI try to leverage as much as possible and it ends up blowing in their faces.

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  21. @Anon 1:12

    Moral of the story: Khakis shouldn't try to act like Sherwanis and Suits!

    Leave the diplomacy to politicians.

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  22. couldn't convince my friends to protest. some are busy, some not sure, others are just not interested
    I guess its never then!

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  23. @Pukhtun...thanks wrora.
    Mushi said "The Pashtun and Taliban, they are all look-alikes. They all have beards. They all carry weapons. So who knows which one is a Taliban, and which one is a Pashtun?" Can't believe the fucking idiot actually said that! He has always been a loose canon. I still remember when he said that women in Pakistan want to get raped so that they can get a visa for the West.

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  24. Military domination means ethnic domination as one ethnic group is over represented in the military.
    For the federation to survive, the military has to take a back seat. the 'national interest' is anti national and is dangerous to the existence of the state.

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  25. It is becoming increasingly difficult for the khakis and their scotch drinking friends to keep fooling the common citizens of Pakistan who are quickly discovering the truth. Hopefully we will see positive changes soon for peace on the subcontinent... so much work needs to be done together on the REAL problems facing our people.

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  26. why media is mum on current electricity crisis in khi?

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  27. Check this out:
    http://www.texasarchive.org/library/index.php?title=America_Welcomes_President_Ayub

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  28. http://tribune.com.pk/story/170963/pakistan-the-deadliest-country-for-the-media/

    what a headline! btw you should write a post regarding your community!

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  29. hey CP, where have you disappeared

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  30. Guys......WTF??? where are you???

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  31. Hope you guys are ok over there in Khi with all that load-shedding. I can only imagine what that 8 hour session must have felt like.

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  32. seems to me like people behind CP were analyzing dawn wikileaks hmmm what else can keep them so busy and quiet????

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  33. Have you guys been sent to Gitmo?

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