Sunday, February 17, 2008

Musharaf - A Termite to our country.

Musharraf has brought loss to our country and nothing else. The proclamations by his aides regarding economic prosperity, peace, low poverty levels and on war on terror illustrates a false image in the minds of the people.

According to a corruption watchdog survey I saw on a website, Pakistani public opinion perceived the first and second terms of Musharraf's administration as respectively more corrupt than the first and second terms of previous administrations led by Bhutto and Sharif, respectively. Pakistani media too have alleged time to time that corruption of the previous governments was replaced by institutionalized corruption of the Pakistan Army, awarding land deeds, such as defense colonies in major cities, and a life of luxury to its ‘loyal’ officers. Musharaf’s government has cost taxpayer’s money hundreds of millions of rupees in order to hire a team of aristocratic lawyers to represent him in the courts. For instance, regarding the privatization of Pakistan Steel, whose worth is around Rupees 600 billion was being sold out for a mere Rupees 20.6 billions, the government had spent Rupees 90 million , with Sharifudin Pirzada-a prominent lawyer- alone hoarding 6.6 million rupees as fees. Another example from several more, Musharraf appointed Saukat Aziz as finance minister during his tenure as the Chief Executive. World powers supported Pakistan financially rescheduling debt to reward Pakistan due to the support it gave in the war on terror which helped in saving hundreds millions of dollars, in addition Musharaf was able to secure new loans. Result - foreign exchange reserves increased exceeding $16 billion in 2006, but at the same time foreign debt hit an all time high topping $40 billion.

The portrayals from his side are bogus so that he can create an illusion to put his trial and accountability on the back burner. To lead one needs to be honest i.e. not to break their undertakings. Late 2003, Musharraf made a deal with the religious party MMA agreeing to resign from the army by 31 Dec 2004. With that party's support, pro-Musharraf members were able to gather the two-thirds majority required to pass the controversial17th Amendment, which legalized Musharraf's 1999 coup and many of his decrees. In late 2004, Musharraf went back on his promise and Musharraf’s legislators in the Parliament passed a bill allowing him to keep both offices.

According to the following articles from the constitution mentioned here, Musharaf should be charged for treason and fire-starting corruption to the country.
According to Article 6 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan:-
"Any person or persons who commit the act of mutiny against the parliament, judiciary and/or the elected members and officials of parliament is/are guilty of committing the highest treason. This person or persons committing such an act must be charged and prosecuted in the court of law and sentenced to death if found guilty"
Article 243.1 of the constitution of Pakistan states that 'The Federal Government shall have control and command of the Armed Forces' and when a person is commissioned as a member of the Armed Forces, takes the following oath
"I ------, do solemnly swear that I will bear true faith and allegiance to Pakistan and uphold the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan which embodies the will of the people, that I will not engage myself in any political activities whatsoever and that I will honestly and faithfully serve Pakistan Army (or Navy or Air Force) as required by and under the law."
Such a hypocrite and corrupt person should not be supported. By voting in favour of the ‘Kings Party’, Pakistan will be thrown back into the times of ‘Pharoh’ where the people of Musa (A.S) were harshly treated as slaves. A quote of Lao Tzu strikes a chord in my mind, “Governing a great nation is like cooking a small fish - too much handling will spoil it,” this quote shows the true picture into the minds of the people of Pakistan of what Musharaf is doing to the country.

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