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Ear to the Ground

Musharraf Rivals Join Forces

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Posted on Mar 9, 2008

It wasn’t a good Sunday for Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, as the leaders of Pakistan’s two biggest opposition parties agreed to set aside enough of their differences to form a coalition. Their first order of business is to strip the president of a number of his powers.

Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Asif Ali Zardari aren’t exactly the best of friends, but they have a common enemy in Musharraf. It will be interesting to see how they govern if they are ever successful at marginalizing the general.

It will also be interesting to watch the Bush administration react to the diminishing prestige of one of its biggest allies in the Muslim world.

New York Times:

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan—The leaders of the two major political parties, in an unexpectedly strong show of unity against President Pervez Musharraf, agreed Sunday that they would reinstate judges fired by the president and would seek to strip him of crucial powers.

The power sharing deal, announced by Asif Ali Zardari, the leader of the largest party, the Pakistan Peoples Party, and Nawaz Sharif, the head of the Pakistan Muslim League-N, represented another tough challenge to the already waning authority of Mr. Musharraf, a favorite ally of the Bush administration.

The two men, appearing at a news conference together in the resort area of Bhurban, said they would seek to remove the president’s power to dissolve the Pakistani Parliament and his power to appoint the chiefs of the military services. Together, the two parties control just shy of two-thirds of the Parliament after an election last month in which Mr. Musharraf’s party was routed.

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By Tanvir Ahmed Siddiqui, March 11 at 4:15 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

Post Election 08 Sentiments in Pakistan

WHAT A MISERABLE SLAVE TO HIS TEMPER A MAN IS.
Title sentence of an unknown classic intellect is so true and relevant to persisting attitude and uncalled for egoistic behavior of the one and only who is still trying to remain glued with the saddle of power in Pakistan.
Busharruf is now a burnt out case. His perpetuality can only and only ruin the course. He can no longer do any good for Pakistanis and even for Americans who are still trying to hatch all their eggs in a basket that is now torn apart from its neck to base. Despite stampede run through the battalion of his stalwarts by a sizeable majority of the people of Pakistan (in Elections 08), his continued insistence to stay glued on saddle and cross the swords is a continued insult of all democrtaic morality and principles. Those who say that there is ofcourse no morality in Politics they are as uncivilised and unreasonable as Talibaans. But unfortunately for us, his friends are ever more dangerous than his foes. The clever and sharp mind of the bunch of those faceless men and women around him playing with levers of his power are of course conscious of the dangers at stake.  They all must try to redress the balance that is possible only when the justice in our society is restored to prevail. Sacking Judges and gagging of media, lawyers and other opponents he simply drawn an iron curtain on our society. His actions in despair neither helped to comfort our present nor they helped us to make our future instead they all made us to collide with our future. His claim of turning our economy is far from reality. Honestly speaking our turning economy is like a coiled cobra always ready to turn back and strike on us one side or the other.  Inflation has been made a hedgehog having typical characteristic to every now and than burst out piercing spines on us and immediately roll itself up into a ball of financial statistics and numbers. He can do nothing as a looser. 

Buds have Burst

Hail Lovers hail my friends all hail
Buds have burst now roses are flushed
And drunk with joy are nightingales

Hail lovers hail my friends all hail
Sky is blue now streams are through
Pushed away are those mighty rocks

Again would they freeze
Fragrance of our hopes
and scents of our dreams

Again Shall they reap thy harvest will they sow
Again they forget their faults which now lay
All in reproach, at their beloved’s door

Heaven which they built has slipped from their hands
Beyond gateway of their palace of disgrace
Lost is now hope of their former grace

Hail lovers hail my friends all hail
Dawn breeze is swirled Dusk wind is whirled
And drunk with joy are nightingales

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By Purple Girl, March 10 at 5:19 am #
(237 comments total)

Good For them - Why can't we do

Why is it these fledgling ‘Democratic’ nations have more Democratic Zeal then ours?
How is it that our foundation of ‘Checks and Balances’ have failed to Protect and Defend the Constitution and US from the SAME ABUSE OF POWER??
Becasue these two ‘warring factions’ are already working in Unison, for the Imperialist Doctrine of the Multi National Conglomerates.
At this point I can not tell the Reds from the Blues, and perhaps that will be their undoing FINALLY! Teh masks have fallen- Bi partisanship through these Operatives merely means they have joined forces against the Laws, Rights and Freedoms which this country was Founded on.
Please Do explain to me the Difference between Hillary and Mac- they should be running mates- they’ve done great work together for the Inc’s and Foreign ‘Investors’. I do not rely on their words or their show of ‘dissent’ I merely turn down the osund and watch the actions and results and I am further Vindicated in my Suspecions of their true motivation and allegience. this comes from a 2x Clinton supporter and Defender, a person for an instant, considered support Mac in ‘00 (Al left something to be desired at THAT Time- I did vote for Al in ‘00). I have always liked Hillary, admired her and was anticipating her run for the WH. But with in a span of 6 yrs she has not only lost my support, my willingness to forgive and Defend- she has cause dme to re evaluate Her Husbands Presidency, thus his Legacy.
Mac has taken a expected turn- a rather small fall from Grace since he was not too high up in my calculation.
But Hillary has plummeted to the depths of from her lofty seat. And she has done so by her own Hand! It’s not the Old hateful Republican taht are her detractors nor the biased ‘starry eyed ‘ media and voters. It is those who stood behind you for the last 16 yrs- YOU HAVE BETRAYED US!!! and “Hell haveth No Fury....”
I not only WILL NOT VOTE FOR HER, I will be her most venomous detractor. I do not want her in the Oval Office I want her in GITMO, along with the rest of the Corporationist who have covertly seized our country over the last 4 decades! ‘Experience’! Does she think we have all been Comatose for the last 35 yrs. We are dying of literal and figurative Cancer, due to all the Smoke Blown up our Asses!
I will be to her what I have been to the rest of her Co Workers/conspirators, A Nightmare!

CAVE ADSUM

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By Douglas Chalmers, March 10 at 3:18 am #
(2932 comments total)

the "usurper"....

Mushi, the “usurper”, being funded by the USA - and playing games with the Taleban and Al Qaeda to keep the ball rolling must come to an end! And the boys’ club must come to an end, too.... in the military and the judiciary, uhh.

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