On the accession of Zardari (El Guapo) to the Presidency.
Like the poet, I laugh so that I may not weep.

The Multitudes Spoketh
And Verily
The Thief Was Acclaimed
To the Highest In The Land
And there was much rejoicing.

The famous words of Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan:

from the Economist.

But Mr Sharif, who was no stickler for the rule of law during his own two riotous terms, says the coupster must be punished. “I have no vendetta,” he explained, seated in his opulent mansion near Lahore, guarded by two stuffed lions. “Though he handcuffed me, humiliated my family, tried to destroy my party, put me in a dungeon in a 500-year-old fort, put me in exile for seven years; that is all gone. I hold nothing against him personally.”

Per Anatol Lieven.

The situation in Pakistan is not nearly as bad as the more hysterical sections of the Western media would have it. The country is still a very long way indeed from collapse or revolution. I was warned before setting off for Peshawar that the city was “under siege from the militants,” and far too dangerous for Westerners to visit. A couple of nights ago, as I tucked into my eighth piece of tikka with Pakistani hosts at Green’s Hut, a delightful outdoor restaurant in the Peshawar, I reflected that so far—insha’allah, as one must say here—the biggest threat to long-term health in the city remains what it has always been, a combination of Pashtun hospitality and wonderfully rich local food. There have been a couple of bombs since my arrival, but this is a sprawling city of almost four million people. There is trouble not far from Peshawar, but the city itself is in no real sense “under siege.”

I wonder how many of his tormentors had the same problem. From the Times of London:

“He is not loaded with millions like other leaders are. Sometimes he worried about the cost of things. He’s not someone whose hand had been in the cookie jar,” Mr Husain said.

Pervez Musharraf Resigned. Propaganda Won. Nation Lost

Sharif Walks Out of Meeting At Zardari House?

Who would have thought that Zardari might not keep his word this time? After all, he’s only broken it a few times before on the issue.

UPI reports:

Cracks emerge in Pakistan ruling coalition for reason other than Musharraf

August 20, 2008

Baloch “rebels” have kidnapped and then murdered in cold blood five government officials. These men were presumably middle-class, forced by the demands of service to function in Balochistan. They left behind grieving families and loved ones. The deafening silence that greets their murders, in sharp contrast to the rioting and outrage over the death of Nawab Bugti, speaks volumes about our politicians, our media, and yes, ourselves.

Sincerely,
Saeed Gul

To no-one’s surprise, I believe this is a disaster for the country.

The same idiots dancing in the streets will likely face the music in the years to come.

They say a nation gets the leaders they deserve. Musharraf was no angel, but compared to his detractors, he was a king among men.

Forty years ago, Pakistan pushed out President Ayub, perhaps the best and most sincere chief executive we had before Mushy.

That brilliant move, still celebrated by the the idiotic unwashed jiyalas and their English-speaking-chattering-class pseudo-intellectual rulers, led to the loss of half the country, and put us on the road to decline.

I realize there is the spirit of 1947 and the zeitgeist of 1965, but this might be just the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Believe it or not, there’s actually people who do share my (positive) view of Musharraf out there. Of course, not everyone is as forgiving of El Guapo (Zardari) or Elmer Fudd (Sharif) as I am.

Cue:

Moff Jerjerrod: The Emperor’s coming here?
Darth Vader: That is correct, Commander. And, he is most displeased with your apparent lack of progress.
Moff Jerjerrod: We shall double our efforts!
Darth Vader: I hope so, Commander, for your sake. The Emperor is not as forgiving as I am.

Here’s the rants from one page:

How did we repay Musharraf? By voting for known liars and corrupt individuals who looted Pakistan every time they attained power to such an extent that Pakistan had almost become a failed state and a bankrupt country. The goon of our times, Nawaz Sharif, did all he could to destroy Pakistan through large-scale corruption every time he came to power. The late Benazir Bhutto did the same. What the hell is wrong with us? W…. Four times previously they did nothing but corruption and presided over South East Asia’s worst governments. Were we really expecting these people to have changed their ways? Did our people really believe that Zardari and Nawaz, who have fed their children with the fruits of corruption, would have done something good for the country this time around? How many times does a man need to make a mess of things before your thick head gets it that he will quite likely make the same mistakes again, therefore, best not to give him the same responsibilities again? Are our eyes so blind? Yes, I am saying that there is a serious moral and ethical problem with MANY of our people. You can be illiterate and still know the difference between right and wrong, haram and halal. It appears that many of our people, particularly the ones who voted for the PPPP and PML-N, have lost their ethics somewhere down the line.

Imagine the unbelievable situation: known liars, looters and robbers, such as Zardari and N. Sharif have ganged up to take revenge against an innocent, decent and humble man, Pervez Musharraf. That N. Sharif and Zardari are corrupt individuals who looted the nation is an incontrovertible fact. This is not a mere allegation. Pervez Musharraf, on the other hand, is neither a filthy rich man nor a poor man. He comes from the middle-class and he still belongs to the middle-class, upper middle-class to be precise. We know of no corruption charges levelled upon him personally. Even foes acknowledge that Pervez Musharraf is completely corruption-free. Therefore, we have unchallengeable criminals and scoundrels who are now preparing a silly “charge-sheet” against a universally acknowledged honest man! Only in Pakistan can we have criminals pointing their fingers upon an innocent man and trying their best to harm him! How dare they do this even if, for arguments, their charges were accurate given they fact they broke all corruption records in the past? A criminal has no right to put on trial another criminal! And who will do the trial of these crooks?

Nawaz Sharif is large and fat physically, but he is a very small man mentally.