Black Day

The College of Business Management has been my Alma matter for over 4 years now. In this period I have experienced a lot of aspects, of learning, academic and practical life lessons. Most of these have been down to either good or bad teachers or purely the registration or the administration associated work.

But most of these “practical learning’s” were of patience, handling ourselves in unorganized registration lines, coping with lack of semester planning, bad INCOMPETENT teachers, and the general misery poured upon us by Administration. However, today, November 24th, the first day of registration for the Spring Semester of 2008, has marked itself as a Black Day like none.

The registration ‘drama’ started as early as 7 in the morning today with students lining up outside the Administration Block, to give in their forms and get their desired courses before they got full. Can’t really blame them if CBM takes 800 students in year, graduates less than 25% of those, and the whole place feels like it will explode at any moment. They were well aware that the doors would open at 8. That’s when the entire ‘ages’ old sacrificial tradition of Registration at CBM took a turn for the worse.

As soon as the doors were in the ‘process’ of being opened, the students went ballistic. There was pushing, shoving and a general all round display of barbarism. This resulted in broken glasses of doors, with one door having to be removed, injured students with one or 2 getting badly deep cuts, and blood lying on the stairs, the floor and shattered glass everywhere. (For a better idea, people should visit the CBM group on Facebook)

The mere thought, of our college, which is touted to be ‘One of the better colleges of Pakistan’ , was to experience, Blood and anarchy over registration, something that should be the most basic of things at any University, is distressing, shameful and tragic.

I have never liked CBM’s administration, their attitude, or the way they go about their things. But their lack of planning, and greed and one mind track has led to this event. They have created the situation for such an incident to take place, and they can’t shy away from their responsibility of this. (Even thou they were very quick to clean the mess from the morning, much faster than anything else they have done in their day to day activities. I am sure this was out of “concern” of the students to get on with their activities rather than avoid having it recorded or snapped up to appear anywhere and bring attention towards them at an unholy hour. No, they can’t be that SHALLOW, can they?) The truth is that the mere fact that this incident did take place is proof of exactly how shallow the think tanks of CBM are.

I have spoken to senior and junior students, senior and visiting faculty members, and I was responded with a heavy feeling of bemused disconnect. As if they were wishing it was 10 years ahead in time, and CBM was a past they had already escaped. You want to build a University? … Well sadly you have failed. You have built a Business Minded “Sethia” organization rather than an Institute of Learning.

Keep taking more students every year, after the lot has been rejected by your competition, keep taking them in at an insane number, keep graduating less than 25% of them every year, and in 2 years time you will be richer than you already filthy are. And in 2 years time the lot coming in at CBM will be more ill-disciplined, take being in CBM as a joke, and start carrying the slogans and banners of the party they support, and bring bats to HELP them break the windows next time rather than going about the pushing and shoving.

That’s the CBM’s management for you. I will not even venture on some of the other dark qualities possessed by some of the members of this management, for reasons of keeping some sort of semblance here.

But having ranted all of that, I am afraid the Students aren’t going away from this rant without a scratch.

The great students of CBM have time and again proved that they are after all Pakistani, so being a ‘Parha Likha Jahil’ is more or less a prerequisite. After all, today’s chaos was started by the Students only, no matter whatever the fault of the management, they can’t deny that. It started because of the failure to THINK before acting by the students and doing things in haste. It was much like a bad accident at a traffic signal, where one car breaks the signal beyond the red light; one breaks it before the red light. Our nation, as displayed by the ‘youth’ of the nation, refuses to accept that there needs to be discipline, very strict discipline at that in certain things. They want the short cut. They want what is good for them first. They want that, WITHOUT even considering that there are other people around them. The raunchy, rowdy mental state that these students instigated today was pathetic to say the least.

They will do everything possible to do exactly opposite of that, which would be the wiser choice in a GOOD MORAL SENSE.

I have ranted enough, and I am now tired. Not of writing, but tired of 4 and a half years of the same story being dished up, more and more brutally every time. It’s more and more disappointing every time.

CBM “The place of learning”; indeed. Anybody know a medic

Excerpt from Roosevelt’s Speech at The Sorbonne, Paris, 1910

“….It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.”

Theordore Roosevelt: ‘Citizenship in a Republic’

Speech at The Sorbonne, Paris, April 23, 1910

The English Woe

November 21st, 2007, the night that England failed to qualify for the European Championships. The night they failed to fire on all cylinders and grab that last lifeline thrown their way, even thou they didn’t deserve it might I add. The night that they lost a game to a team which had nothing to lose, had already qualified, said they were going to be happy with a point, at HOME, in front of their own fans, in a newly built Wembley.

Steve McLaren mind you, masterminded their downfall. He started the game with a unfamiliar formation of 4-5-1. He started a game which he, rather England desperetaly needed to avoid defeat in. A game which they should have gone at all guns firing. Especially as I have already stated they were playing with a team which had nothing to lose. The Croats got the better of McLaren’s thought process ( if he has any ). Sure a good number of his first choice were injured. But why did he opt not to start with Beckham, in this extremely crucial game? Why did he choose 5 midfielders and leave a striker like Defoe out? Why was he making bloody notes in the rain when his team were 2 goals down instead of passionately getting the lads to get a move on? Never have I seen such display of absolute ridiculous managerial tactics as I did in this match. The FA were right to sack him immediately, although good old Steve was ‘Not going to step down, or give up’. If only such optimism was there from the start of the match, the result might have been different. Mind you, I was happy England didn’t go through, but not for the fact that it was England, but for the fact that the team didn’t deserve to qualify frankly, and that too because of McLaren, and him alone. The FA were actually not in their right minds when they picked him from Boro ( mind you I think they did Middlesbrough a huge favor thou) .

All that said, it is still a sad notion to have the European championships without England. Without the likes of Wayne Rooney, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard or even David Beckham. I feel sorry for the English fans. They deserve better. A sport which that country loves like a religion. I associate such passion only with Cricket when it comes to the national level. And I can understand their pain, as I go through pretty much the same with Pakistan. But I really do sympathize with them. They really do deserve better, better than good old Steve.

Now that England are not in the qualifiers, I have a feeling that the FA are going to have a rather hard time finding a good coach in this period. Considering that the international dates are pretty much free, the slots are not filled , and don’t particularly have chance to be filled before the World Cup qualifiers begin. So all you who are dreaming of the “Special One” to fill the position and be thy savior, think again. He is smarter than to throw away his Career to a national coaching job at such a time. He could easily get a job at the next big club, that were out their. And much less a national coaching job for a team which has nothing for the next 2 years at least.

I also sincerely hope the FA don’t overreact  to this and do something rash in the form of an ongoing debate this season of limiting overseas players in the premier league teams. Their argument of giving the local lads more chances to play will not work in their favor, as they already play against each other, much of the quality of the  Premier League comes from the overseas players, and removing them would only mean them playing against each other only. That wouldn’t help improve the team. That would only make it less competitive and weaker. And would make the Premier League much more less attractive on a lot of  counts which will only hurt the FA.

Anyway lads, to wrap it up, I once again say, The English and especially McLaren got what was coming to them. Too bad they didn’t take the lifelines thrown their way. Cheers!

The Prince of Islamabad

James S Robbins

MEMO
From: Niccolo Machiavelli
To: Pervez Musharraf

Subject: Nice work

General, I have been watching your career with great interest and admiration. Your most recent move of isolating your uncooperative Supreme Court and clamping down on various troublemakers has been well-executed and will probably succeed in maintaining your power — a goal which, as you know, is not just everything, it is the only thing.
I wanted to give you the benefit of my half millennium of observing the political scene.
First let me caveat my praise by saying you never should have let matters come this far. This is the difference between true greatness and merely being extremely capable. The great man never needs to dig himself out a hole because he never winds up there. This is why I never bought the notion that Bill Clinton was a political genius. True, he could manoeuvre out of crises, but his troubles were always of his own making and always unnecessary. The clever man escapes conviction but the great man is never impeached. But while on the subject, I liked his “defending the constitution” slogan, keep it in your back pocket.
Your next move is to engineer something like you did in 1999 where you got the Supreme Court to justify your original coup under the aegis of the constitution. I know you have recently arrogated onto yourself the right to amend the constitution unilaterally, thus could put anything you want in there. But it makes much more sense to find a clever lawyer who can read into the existing document whatever you need. This is their business, let them do it. That way when you reopen the court with justices who have taken a loyalty oath to you, they can shut down a lot of criticism by making a favourable ruling with the document as it is.
Probably your team will want to make reference to Article 41, Section 6: “The validity of the election of the president shall not be called in question by or before any court or other authority.” Seems highly useful, since that was the issue to start with. If you absolutely must amend the document to justify your holding both political and military power, just copy from the Americans the idea that the president is the commander-in-chief of the military. It already exists in Article 258(a): “the supreme command of the armed forces shall vest in the president.” Any lawyer worth his expense account can work out a solution for you
with that.
I was highly amused at the fretting, mostly in the west, that you would use this emergency as an excuse not to hold elections. Who are these amateurs! Usually one creates conditions of this type in order to win elections, not cancel them. Think Reichstag Fire, 1933. But because they brought up the idea that the elections might be cancelled, you could look very magnanimous by going ahead with them. With the opposition in hiding and the media on a short leash it should be no problem getting the results you want. Use your own judgment on the timing, you have ntil mid-January at the latest but could have a snap election before that. You don’t want to do it right away, but don’t wait for the opposition to get its act together either.
You are going to have to suffer some rhetorical hits from the international community, primarily from the do-gooders in Europe and particularly the US who don’t know how politics really works. Maybe they will start talking sanctions again. But they won’t take serious action
unless you do something completely out of control like mass executions of your political enemies. Sometimes that can be useful but I would counsel against it at this time. A few disappearances, sure, especially the Islamists, who will question that? But don’t give your international critics an excuse. Keep things low key.
Anyway they may talk about sanctions, but would they really go ahead with them? Why would they, other than to make themselves feel virtuous? Pakistan was under sanctions of one form or another from the mid-1970s on and they didn’t make a great deal of difference. If the west cuts military aid, go to China or Russia, they are good for it. If they go for economic sanctions, appeal to the Saudis and other Sunni states with oil windfalls, they will help out.
Furthermore you have cards of your own to play if they want to get rough. Afghanistan is the key here. President Bush needs to have stability in Afghanistan as a part of his legacy. He needs an entry in the “win” column. But as they say in Kabul, Pakistan sneezes and
Afghanistan catches cold. You could do a great deal to destabilise the Karzai government. Most Afghan trade passes through Pakistan. NATO troops are supplied via Karachi. And repairing relations with the Taliban is always an option, at least covertly. I don’t think Washington# would be ready to trade Karzai’s survival just to make some silly — and by that I mean principled — point about democracy.
There is also the nuclear card, this is a huge one. Washington will not want to throw away the progress made in counter-proliferation. The stakes are too high. Just hint that new sanctions will be answered by refusing to cooperate on nuclear matters with states involved in the
Proliferation Security Initiative and they will back off quickly. Remember that the real issues and interests at play from the Americans’ point of view have very little to do with democracy. After all, the sanctions originally imposed for the 1998 nuclear tests and the 1999 coup were dropped in the weeks after 9/11 — with Pakistan still possessing the bomb and you still in power. The Americans are more than# willing to make common cause with authoritarian  leaders so long as they are effective.
And this brings me to my final point, general. The real reason you are alienating your supporters at home and abroad is that you have not been demonstrating your effectiveness lately. Your approval ratings are down well, that’s not so bad on its face, it is better to be feared than loved after all. Throwing your critics in jail should help. But you have to show the international community that you still have game.
My advice — just go get bin Laden. You know basically where he is and who is helping him, how could you not? You also know the man is weak; he is way past his prime. You will suffer no repercussions from taking him down, no more than you have already. If you cut a deal with the tribes who are hiding him to stay out of their business in exchange for his head then they are likely to go for it, especially if you grease it with a large cash payment. Present them with the alternative of taking the gloves off and really cleaning house, Tamerlane style. Yes, they have their ‘pakhtunwali., their honour code; but they can find ways around that. Look how they ran the foreigners out of South Waziristan, not much hospitality there. Just incentivise the deal correctly and get the job done. Can you imagine the response from the US if you justified the state of emergency by bringing in Osama in an orange jumpsuit?
May your magnificence accept this little gift in the same spirit in which I send it — and if you will read and consider it well, you will recognise in it my desire that you may attain that greatness which fortune and your great qualities promise. Oh, and as for Bhutto, watch your back.
The writer is director of the Intelligence Centre at Trinity WashingtonUniversity and a senior fellow for national-security affairs at the American Foreign Policy Council.

Benazir’s False Promises

From the Los Angeles Times

Aunt Benazir’s false promises

Bhutto’s return bodes poorly for Pakistan — and for democracy there.

By Fatima Bhutto

November 14, 2007

KARACHI — We Pakistanis live in uncertain times. Emergency rule has been imposed for the 13th time in our short 60-year history. Thousands of lawyers have been arrested, some charged with sedition and treason; the chief justice has been deposed; and a draconian media law — shutting down all private news channels — has been drafted.

Perhaps the most bizarre part of this circus has been the hijacking of the democratic cause by my aunt, the twice-disgraced former prime minister, Benazir Bhutto. While she was hashing out a deal to share power with Gen. Pervez Musharraf last month, she repeatedly insisted that without her, democracy in Pakistan would be a lost cause. Now that the situation has changed, she’s saying that she wants Musharraf to step down and that she’d like to make a deal with his opponents — but still, she says, she’s the savior of democracy.

The reality, however, is that there is no one better placed to benefit from emergency rule than she is. Along with the leaders of prominent Islamic parties, she has been spared the violent retributions of emergency law. Yes, she now appears to be facing seven days of house arrest, but what does that really mean? While she was supposedly under house arrest at her Islamabad residence last week, 50 or so of her party members were comfortably allowed to join her. She addressed the media twice from her garden, protected by police given to her by the state, and was not reprimanded for holding a news conference. (By contrast, the very suggestion that they might hold a news conference has placed hundreds of other political activists under real arrest, in real jails.)

Ms. Bhutto’s political posturing is sheer pantomime. Her negotiations with the military and her unseemly willingness until just a few days ago to take part in Musharraf’s regime have signaled once and for all to the growing legions of fundamentalists across South Asia that democracy is just a guise for dictatorship.

It is widely believed that Ms. Bhutto lost both her governments on grounds of massive corruption. She and her husband, a man who came to be known in Pakistan as “Mr. 10%,” have been accused of stealing more than $1 billion from Pakistan’s treasury. She is appealing a money-laundering conviction by the Swiss courts involving about $11 million. Corruption cases in Britain and Spain are ongoing.

It was particularly unappealing of Ms. Bhutto to ask Musharraf to bypass the courts and drop the many corruption cases that still face her in Pakistan. He agreed, creating the odiously titled National Reconciliation Ordinance in order to do so. Her collaboration with him was so unsubtle that people on the streets are now calling her party, the Pakistan People’s Party, the Pervez People’s Party. Now she might like to distance herself, but it’s too late.

Why did Ms. Bhutto and her party cronies demand that her corruption cases be dropped, but not demand that the cases of activists jailed during the brutal regime of dictator Zia ul-Haq (from 1977 to 1988) not be quashed? What about the sanctity of the law? When her brother Mir Murtaza Bhutto — my father — returned to Pakistan in 1993, he faced 99 cases against him that had been brought by Zia’s military government. The cases all carried the death penalty. Yet even though his sister was serving as prime minister, he did not ask her to drop the cases. He returned, was arrested at the airport and spent the remaining years of his life clearing his name, legally and with confidence, in the courts of Pakistan.

Ms. Bhutto’s repeated promises to end fundamentalism and terrorism in Pakistan strain credulity because, after all, the Taliban government that ran Afghanistan was recognized by Pakistan under her last government — making Pakistan one of only three governments in the world to do so.

And I am suspicious of her talk of ensuring peace. My father was a member of Parliament and a vocal critic of his sister’s politics. He was killed outside our home in 1996 in a carefully planned police assassination while she was prime minister. There were 70 to 100 policemen at the scene, all the streetlights had been shut off and the roads were cordoned off. Six men were killed with my father. They were shot at point-blank range, suffered multiple bullet wounds and were left to bleed on the streets.

My father was Benazir’s younger brother. To this day, her role in his assassination has never been adequately answered, although the tribunal convened after his death under the leadership of three respected judges concluded that it could not have taken place without approval from a “much higher” political authority.

I have personal reasons to fear the danger that Ms. Bhutto’s presence in Pakistan brings, but I am not alone. The Islamists are waiting at the gate. They have been waiting for confirmation that the reforms for which the Pakistani people have been struggling have been a farce, propped up by the White House. Since Musharraf seized power in 1999, there has been an earnest grass-roots movement for democratic reform. The last thing we need is to be tied to a neocon agenda through a puppet “democrat” like Ms. Bhutto.

By supporting Ms. Bhutto, who talks of democracy while asking to be brought to power by a military dictator, the only thing that will be accomplished is the death of the nascent secular democratic movement in my country. Democratization will forever be de-legitimized, and our progress in enacting true reforms will be quashed. We Pakistanis are certain of this.

Fatima Bhutto is a Pakistani poet and writer. She is the daughter of Mir Murtaza Bhutto, who was killed in 1996 in Karachi when his sister, Benazir, was prime minister.

Wanderer

I wander, from face to face, from group to group. I wander searching through the various social ethos. Through the networks upon which the pathos of this society lay. I try ever so hard to fit, to be the missing piece of the puzzle.

I have wandered through the nights, I have found souls, who are lost in themselves, and the darkness. Who mainly exist in the after hours so as to function in the day time. Who remain zombies by day and slaves of their desires by night. The creatures of our social order who carry out the various taboos.

I have wandered through the streets of the old city. I have glanced upon the faces of the hungry, the poor, the socially misfit forgotten class. Those who, with a gallon of oil in their hair and hole in their pockets ( intangible , symbolic hole ) look to the night sky , to the moon to lose themselves and forget their plights.

I have wandered through the modern playgrounds of the young generations, and the future market people.  I have seen in their faces, a lust, for remaining ignorant to the gravity of all that happens around them. Those who choose to remain in the safety pods of their parents to one day leave, escape, without actually getting in harms way. The blessed, the privilege, the people who were or are to steer this country tomorrow.

I have wandered, through the homes of the lonely parents, whose off springs have forgotten them. Who live by themselves, in a routine life of their own. Forgotten, disowned by blood. Destined to sad, grave, heavy and teary eyes.

I have wandered, then to the beaches, where the homeless lay. People with fortunes worse then that of ones from the old city.

I have wandered through the crowds of the elite. For whom the rest are mere pawns in a game much bigger than a 1000 poor people’s lives. For those to whom stature comes before humanity perhaps.

I have wandered through the night time masquerades of those who, wish to let their vices get the best of them. Who let ecstasy take control above all.

I have wandered, and now I am still walking. I haven’t stopped anywhere. I haven’t looked back. But I have a photograph of all in my head now. I have a puzzle in my head, the pieces are things I have seen. The solution to this puzzle, is a mystery of it’s own.

So I keep wandering, keep searching. I am the wanderer.

Ladies and Gentlemen, The Islamic Republic of Pakistan

60 years, 3 military rules, or martial laws if you will, numerous scandals within the government, terrorist attacks, corruption and 6 governments in the past 15 years. That is the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ladies and gentlemen. And now , to add to it’s history, we have the imposition of emergency by President General Pervaiz Musharraf. Don’t get me wrong, i still feel he is the lesser of all evils presently. But unfortunately that doesn’t seem encouraging enough at this point in time,  if one tries to associate that fact with a bright prosperous future within the next 10 to 15 years even for this country.

The nation has time and again, unfortunately been led down by the various people holding the offices of the administration or state. That’s old news. It seems to have become part and parcel for us. But mind you, all great nations ( and by great i am not admiring their integrity or dignity, merely the age at which they stand and the level at which they are self sufficient and developed) went through turmoil , political and otherwise in the earlier formative years of this country. As compares to countries of 250 years , or more , 60 is a mere child. However, that is still not encouraging enough. All I can say to that is for people to be patient and pray.

Aah, but now lets come to the people shall we. The great people of this country. The educated, the elite, the middle class, the ’sufaid posh’, the beggars, the robbers, the government officials, the government workers , the Pakistani in general. What a people we are. I believe that most of our problems root from within ourselves only. We as a nation, as a culture, refuse to go beyond our old or rather ‘puranay zamanay kay’ school of thought. Those who do, leave the country in search of brighter pastures. There are those who want to help the nation, so they stay back, and work here only and eventually become bitter. There are those who stay with a noble outlook, but soon find themselves in the riches of the wrong ways. They suck the blood of this nation. They further corrupt the system , and that’s why they are reluctant for a change in this nation.

Even the non-corrupt ,so called pious people of this country, refuse to even obey the most basic of CIVIC LAWS. There is a deepining lack of morale in our country when it comes to an individual questionening themselves. It is with a very weak self civic sense, then that these same individuals have the audacity to critisize others.

There is also a myopia in our country, that helping out the nation, if you are not a part of politics means, going to the villages and sitting there and helping them or charity. That’s it. To all those myopic people. HELPING OUT CAN be done simply by not running away to other countries to work or settle down as well. If you are the privellaged class, then you are the future of this country’s economy. Simple as that. If you go away, then their less contribution to the economy. It can’t be denied that there is some responsibility automatically upon you to play a part in the development of the country. If the entire cream of the country runs away, then i am sorry those who can’t do anything beyond thikning about survival, is doomed forever. They do not have the capacity to work , and build and create jobs, or opportunities for overall development projects. They don’t even have the capacity to think along those lines , much less the resources.

Our nation, I with a regret have to say, is mostly filled with hypocrits, and people who simply like to say for the sake of saying things against everyone. Whereas if they just look at a mirror, they can find a lot that can be done there as a start. It is these same people who protest against the State of Emergency imposed and the absence of media. I, while not completely agree with the circumstances under which the emergency was imposed, feel it was inevitable. As for the media, I completely back the government’s will to make the elements of the media sector sign a ‘Code of Conduct’ . They have shown they will go beyond their limits. However any attempt by the government to curb critisizm over it’s own actions within the media, is wrong, and I am not condoning that.

I will wrap up this boring, long, overdrawn, rant on the ‘Islamic Republic of Pakistan’. Where the government is as corrupt as the last, only more subtle. Where crime goes up by the day. Where the law enforcing agencies are either filled with extremist nuts or bribe hungry officials. Where the common man is more and more , day by day becoming a hypocritic, bitter man.

God Save Us.

I will end with a joke, that was passed along some time ago.

” The leader’s of three nations come to see God. George W. Bush, Tony Blair and Gen. Pervaiz Musharraf. They all asked God, ‘When will our nations prosper ?’

To Bush God said , ‘Not in your lifetime’

To Blair HE said ‘Not in your children’s lifetime’

And to Musharraf HE said ‘Not in MY lifetime’ “

It’s just a joke, however it is still sad, in the implications that stare us in our face.  

A painting…

A man sits by the window , lost in thought. His muscles are tensed up. Palms are sweaty and there are fluctuations of pain in his head.

His eyes seem detached from everything. They are filled with guilt. With passion, love and rage. But there is no sorrow.

He has his gaze fixed outside the window on the rocks next to the sea. They are jagged and covered with moss.

There is light wind coming from the sea, a chilly sea breeze, instilling a pang of cold inside of him. The overcast sky seems almost apt for his mood, tailor made. A scene right out of drama and theater.

Everything outside, despite the gloom, looks beautiful.

Everything inside resembles nature of a different kind. The feel of the cold steel of a magnum. The scent of fresh bloo, the dizziness of not knowing what just happened. The magnum’s empty chamber.

She lay on the bed, frozen. Her eyes fixated on his. That was her last view, of him, in a rage, in a mad frenzy. She kept looking at his, as he shot all six bullets in her.

He loved her. He was obsessed. And obsession can be dangerous. She was his muse, his madness. Seeing her in another’s arms drove him insane.

He kept looking outside. He kept wishing he knew everything was alright.

Pakistan : State of Emergency

November 3rd, 2007, the President of Pakistan, also it’s Army Chief, General Pervaiz Musharraf , has issued directives, to declare a State of Emergency in the nation.

The Chief Justice has been removed, and Abdul Hameed Dogar has been appointed as the new CJ. There were earlier reports of scattered protests. Also there were reports of 18 of the 28 judges having been suspended.

Aitzaz Ahsan , arrested. Benazir holed up at Karachi airport awaiting to be escorted by Para Military personal to her residence in Karachi.

All news channels, local and international, have been taken off the air since about 5:30 PM PST.

Pakistan’s nation, as of now, is only reliant on news feeds from the internet, and friends and family living abroad and reporting in the news being aired on the channels in their respective countries. As of now, the rest of the world perhaps knows more than the nation itself. The country, is in complete dark. The President will address the nation at 23:00 PST. (18:00 GMT). We can all but wait, to hear, the latest in the script of an effectively disastrous year for the current administration, the General and most importantly … the nation.

This erratic behavior by one man, for his ego, for his own safe haven, and his own power, is today being played out to the tune of a mockery of a government. I want you Mr. President to know , that I am from this day and this time forth completely against you. I refuse to stand behind your policies, I refuse to debate with others about the well being of your intentions and their honesty and most of all integrity.

Benazir Bhutto, and the General, to me right now it seems have played their cards absolutely perfectly. They have left I assume most shell shocked, and others depressed at the theatrical manner in which those entrusted with guiding this nation proceed.

To add to the pathetic STATE of affairs, this emergency has been declared upon by the President and Army Chief , General Musharraf , ON HIS OWN GOVERNMENT and ADMINISTRATION. Whereas those imposed by Ayub and Zia were on Governments exclusive of those two individuals, this one is being imposed on HIS own government. As much as I hate to say it, this is nothing more than a desperate act of saving your own power and refusing to let go of it with such poise and such drive that, the fate of Pakistan, is at this moment, to me or to any other ordinary citizen unknown.

Congratulations, Mr. President, you have successfully become unpopular throughout, and you have successfully proven that it is a game of ego rather than a fight for serving one’s nation. I Salute your irrefutable “integrity”.

God Save Us.

Arsenal : ALL HAIL THE GUNNERS

We yell, we scream, we turn a 60,000 strong stadium into an army more fiercer than the White Sorcerer’s army in Lord of The Rings. We paint our face, we wave our flags, we chant our anthems, and we stead our mast. We are ready. We are here to welcome those little devils with the faces of glorius past and present and most importantly .. the all conquering future.

Sure, we have not with us the King no more. But we have with us instead, a young one in the making , and in fact half done before time. So ready we are. Our focus  is there, our goal is clear. No Knight from ye SCOTLAND can do nothing to the tactician from FRANCE.

All HAIL GUNNERS … WE ARE GUNNING FOR GLORY THIS SEASON… WE ARE GUNNING FOR YOUR HIDES, AND WE ARE GUNNING FOR THE SILVER. ALL HAIL THE MIGHTY GUNNERS !