Ali Malik's blog

I wanted to talk about the demise of long march. Ghalib said about it decades back Thi khabar garm ke Ghalib ke uraeen ge purzae - dekhne hum bhi gae pae yeh tamasha na huwa But then I thought I should write about three threats facing PPP co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari, namely a character assassination campaign by right-wing establishment and "his-brother"-linked journalists (planned and soon to be launched), the threat coming from Larkana in the form of PPP-haqiqi (or should i say PPP-Sarkar Raj), and above all the threat to his life with the forces of oppression and establishment and extremism in Pakistan having him on target (I think only thing stopping them, apart from security arrangements is, international reaction to such event, and reaction on street in Pakistan and particularly Sindh). But, among those news and concerns, has stemmed something that, to me, is more pressing than anything else. For last two weeks, there are stories all around of ever increasing Taliban...

Istaqlali lawyer and Pakistani media always makes us believe that Benazir Bhutto wanted restoration of judges. They base her November 10 speech for this. Here are Benazir Bhutto's views on judges before and after November 10. The crux of her speech of November 10 was that it is criminal to take Pakistani flag off CJ's residence and we will make it hoist again and restore sanctity of institutions. First is her press conference in Dubai on October 17, 2007, a day before she came to Pakistan. http://youtube.com/watch?v=EPVUOK5DAPo Second 14 days before her assassination, long after November 10, 2007, on December 13, 2007, she again expressed her views on judges. This is the text reported by all major newspapers of her press conference. You liar media and Istaqlali lawyer, have courage to propagate your point of view without misquoting a dead person. You are shameful creatures. May your lies and ulterior motives be exposed.

The feedback I received on my last post surprised me. However, the most surprising conversation happened with a leading Islamabad-based journalist famous for news-breaking. While discussing way forward for Nawaz Sharif, I advised the journalist to convey to Nawaz Sharif that survival for both him and Musharraf lies in joining hands. Little did I know that my advice will be acted upon much before my wildest imaginations. My advice drew an "are you mad?" reaction from the journalist. Just when it is really hard to comprehend a Musharraf - Nawaz Alliance, there is no way both can stay in this power-game without each other. Let us discuss Musharraf first. Asif Zardari was reluctant to touch Musharraf until AZ has consolidated his position and has also taken Army, international community and other stakeholders into confidence. After his open assault on Musharraf, it became clear that Musharraf's days are numbered. A falling Musharraf needed a straw and the straw came in Na...