…bottom line… his blood group is “corruption +ve”.

That’s ridiculous!
Its like, I respect you dad, but who gives a rats ass about what you ask of me, Huh !

He earlier indicated that memo case might lead to his ousting. Later he gathered courage and defiance over the matter, only after entire state machinery came out of the closet, hell bent to not allow and threaten the primary witness to the case, Mansoor Ijaz. Gilani even declared Army chief’s request to the apex court for independently probing into Memo case, an “unconstitutional and illegal” act.

According to a letter submitted to Supreme Court earlier this week by Gilani’s lawyer, he mentioned reinstating the judges of Pakistan to his list of services for judiciary. Yeah right!

Only if the people in this country received a daily heroin dose through some public ration program, that we would forget a massive Long March towards the capital which forced Gilani to announce the restoration of judges around 5:30AM early Monday morning of 16^th March, 2009. Not mention the entire state machinery, police blockade, house arrests of several leaders, and ceasing of roads from entire province of Sind, was applied to stop the public from reaching Islamabad.

In his haphazard address restoring judges of Pakistan, b*****d goes onto say, “today I fulfilled the promise of Late Benazir”

Hello?

Army had refused to intervene, there were millions of people on roads, driving in huge convoys about to reach Islamabad any hour and, and a*****e gets to brag about his gift to Nation. Humph !

This dangerously shameless attitude of not learning from his mistakes is the reason why we worry for our country most.

Such is the intellectual meltdown of our ruling class and their followers, that it is almost sickening to allow their daily statements into even the most corrupt portions of one’s brain. I would rather see somebody shoot a cat, set it on fire or feed it to crocs, than allowing myself to watch his hollow public speeches and shameless self defense. Self acclaimed champions of democracy, with absolutely nothing to blame for shortcomings than their own; either stupidity or evil intentions.

I have high hopes for our collective national future, but I am Hopeless with Gilani. Regardless of him being convicted by Supreme Court today or not, I am sure even the gravity would fail to teach any lessons.

NOTE:

I felt the need to start a blog, because there were things I could not say in radio shows. Essentially ethics of broadcasting wouldn’t allow me.

When did I first feel the need?

Well minutes after watching Gilani’s first address to Nation
You can (should) read my first ever blog post at:

Breaking Ice

 In this background, the reference really is a request to determine whether or not the national assembly resolution had any merit or whether it was a contempt of court. The reference also establishes the principle that the judgment of the Supreme Court has greater meaning and weight than a resolution of the national assembly. In order to understand the case it is important to know the background.

Here are some clippings from Nation and Express newspapers and Wikipedia:
Nawab Muhammad Ahmed Khan, Kasuri’s father, was killed in 1974. Kasuri himself was the complainant for the murder case registered against Bhutto, who was eventually hanged in 1979. In April this year, 32 years after Bhutto’s death, President Asif Zardari filed a reference under Article 186 of the Constitution to the Supreme Court to reopen the murder trial.
Bhutto was convicted in a murder case and sentenced to death by the Lahore High Court (LHC) in 1979 during the dictatorship of the then army chief General Ziaul Haq. He was executed on April 4, 1979 by then military dictatorship.

A five-member bench of the LHC, headed by Maulvi Mushtaq Ahmad, had held the Bhutto trial for five months and awarded death sentence to him on March 18, 1978. The Bhutto family had filed an appeal in the Supreme Court. A seven-member bench upheld his death sentence in its February 6, 1979, verdict with a bare 4-to-3 majority. His review petition was also dismissed on March 24, 1979. Bhutto was hanged at the Central Jail, Rawalpindi, on April 4, 1979.

Sheikh Anwarul Haq is a former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan [September 23, 1977 - March 25, 1981]. He is often considered ‘ill-famed’ for giving legitimacy to General Muhammad Zia ul-Haq’s martial law and for upholding the decision of the Lahore High Court which sentenced Zulfikar Ali Bhutto to death for the authorization of the murder of a political opponent. Four Supreme Court judges headed by Chief Justice Anwarul Haq upheld the murder conviction of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. On 25 March 1981, S. Anwarul Haq became the first Justice and only Chief Justice to refuse taking the oath under the military imposed PCO and resigned on conscientious grounds.

Prime Minister Bhutto began facing considerable criticism and increasing unpopularity as his term progressed, the democratic socialists alliance who had previously allied with Bhutto began to diminish as time progresses. Initially targeting leader of the opposition Vali Khan and his opposition National Awami Party (NAP), also a socialist party. Despite the ideological similarity of the two parties, the clash of egos both inside and outside the National Assembly became increasingly fierce, starting with the Federal government’s decision to oust the NAP provincial government in Balochistan Province for alleged secessionist activities and culminating in the banning of the party and arrest of much of its leadership after the death of a close lieutenant of Bhutto’s, Hayat Sherpao, in a bomb blast in the frontier town of Peshawar.

Dissidence also increased within the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), and the murder of a leading dissident Ahmed Raza Kasuri‘s father led to public outrage and intra-party hostility as Bhutto was accused of masterminding the crime. Powerful PPP leaders such as Ghulam Mustafa Khar openly condemned Bhutto and called for protests against his regime. The political crisis in the NWFP (now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) and Balochistan intensified as civil liberties remained suspended, and an estimated 100,000 troops deployed there were accused of abusing human rights and killing large numbers of civilians.

On January 8, 1977 a large number of opposition political parties grouped to form the Pakistan National Alliance (PNA). Bhutto called fresh elections, and PNA participated fully in those elections. They managed to contest the elections jointly even though there were grave splits on opinions and views within the party. The PNA faced defeat but did not accept the results, alleging that the election was rigged. They proceeded to boycott the provincial elections. Despite this, there was a high voter turnout in the national elections; however, as provincial elections were held amidst low voter turnout and an opposition boycott, the PNA declared the newly-elected Bhutto government as illegitimate.

All the opposition leaders called for the overthrow of Bhutto’s regime. Political and civil disorder intensified, which led to more unrest. Bhutto imposed martial law in major cities including Karachi, Lahore and Hyderabad. However, Mr. Bhutto accepted that there were major irregularities in the election in a number of constituencies and a compromise agreement between Bhutto and opposition to hold fresh election in some constituencies was ultimately reported. This compromise theory was however probably a later day addition as a major PPP armed rally was in the offing.

Zia planned a the Coup d’état carefully as he knew Bhutto had integral intelligence in the Pakistan Armed Forces, and many officers, including Chief of Air Staff General Zulfiqar Ali Khan and Major-General Tajammul Hussain Malik, GOC of 23rd Mountain Division, Major-General Naseerullah Babar, DG of Directorate-General for the Military Intelligence (DGMO) and Vice-Admiral Syed Mohammad Ahsan, were loyal to Bhutto.

To remove this intelligence, Zia secretly contracted with the active duty British SAS army officers to maintain a staff course for the Army personnel while Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Mohammad Shariff quietly removed naval personnel loyal to Bhutto and his government from the Navy’s active duty. Zia ordered Bhutto’s loyal officers to attend a staff and command course and none of the officers were allowed to leave the course until the midnight. Meanwhile, Zia with his close officers, including Admiral Mohammad Shariff, then-Chaiman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, arranged the coup in the evening. On July 5, 1977, before the announcement of any agreement, Bhutto and members of his cabinet were arrested by troops of Military Police under the order of Zia by the evening.

Bhutto’s last personal appearance and utterances in the supreme court were not merely a long defence of his conduct he also made some matters clear. He mentioned the words of “heir” for his son “Mir Murtaza Bhutto”. He made some remark which indicated that he has views similar to a Sunni, though he was Shia albeit a non-practicing one. He also effectively cast doubt on the reliability of star witnesses against him i.e. Masood Mahmood who was a UK-trained lawyer and not merely a police officer and FSF chief. He mentioned repeatedly Lahori Ahmedi connection of Masood Mahmood in his testimony. He repeatedly brought the subject of his maltreatment in the death cell. Bhutto made it abundantly clear, even though indirectly that he wanted either freedom or death, not something in between, and appreciated Khar and his lawyer Yahya Bakhtiar.

During Bhutto’s five years in Pakistan’s helm, Bhutto had retained an emotional hold on the poor masses who had voted him overwhelmingly in 1970s general elections. At the same time, however, Bhutto had many enemies. The [socialist economics] and nationalization of major private industries during his first two years on office had badly upsets the Business circles… An ill-considered decision to take over the wheat-milling, rice-husking, sugar mills, and cotton-ginning, industries in July of 1976 had angered the small business owners and traders. Both leftists— socialists and communists, intellectuals, students, and trade unionists— felt betrayed by Bhutto’s shift to centre-right wing conservative economics policies and by his growing collaboration with powerful feudal lords, Pakistan’s traditional power brokers. After 1976, Bhutto’s aggressive authoritarian personal style and often high-handed way of dealing with political rivals, dissidents, and opponents had also alienated many….

       REHMAN PAK: You’re the only guy i have
met in the cyberspace who loves an “criminal” general… lol… i was
surprised… but thanks for making things clear… a member of the ISI’s cyber
brigade… Now no more argument

After a day, Ali Zain messages Rehman and says: “Hey, I don’t like this post. Please remove it: Treason case against generals & Chief Justice of Pakistan

Rehman answered: “pls ask the admins of the blog, thanks.” And there was silence!
–

 Recent posts

• Treason case against generals & Chief Justice of Pakistan
• Pakistani soldiers follow rules, generals violate Constitution
• After Bangladesh, the fall of Gilgit-Baltistan?
• China encroaching on Pakistan-controlled Gilgit-Baltistan?
• Terrorism = military + mullah + militant + media
• Resistance literature: Pakistani writers are powerful than generals
• People seek global action against Pakistani leaders

Mehran bank scandal also known as “Mehrangate” was a major political scandal in Pakistan between 1990-1994 in which senior politicians and political parties were found to have been bribed by military and intelligence officers to prevent the re-election and destabilize the government of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).


Initiated by Chief of Army Staff Mirza Aslam Beg with the alleged support of President Ghulam Ishaq Khan payments of up to 140 million Rupees were done by the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Chief Asad Durrani and Javed Nasir via the owner of Mehran Bank Yunus Habib. Intelligence funds were deposited in Mehran bank in 1992 propping up what was an insolvent bank as a favour for its owners help in loaning money to the Inter-Services Intelligence in 1990 that was used in the creation of the right wing alliance Islami Jamhoori-Ittehad and bankrolling the campaigns of many opponents of the PPP.
The scandal subsequently broke after the new ISI Chief Lt. Gen Javed Ashraf Qazi decided to transfer the intelligence fund back to state owned banks as per official rules. Mehran Bank was unable to return the money due to its poor financial state and collapsed. It was later discovered that large sums had been siphoned of to 39 fictitious parties.
In 1995, Mehran Bank was amalgamated with the National Bank of Pakistan and in 1996 the NBP had to make full provision for Mehran’s liabilities which resulted in a net loss that year to the bank of Rs 1.260 billion. .

A Supreme Court Petition was lodged by Air Marshal Asghar Khan with the bank transfer details. I wonder as to if Chief Justice of Pakistan could actually take up the case or not?

On April 20, 1994, giving details about the payments made by Mr Habib to generals, politicians and political parties, the then Interior Minister, Naseerullah Babar, told the National Assembly that the main beneficiary of his largesse was former army chief General Mirza Aslam Beg who received Rs140 million.

Key politicians named as recipients of ISI funds included Jam Sadiq Ali (Rs70 million from Habib Bank and Rs150 million from Mehran Bank), Journalist Altaf Hussein Qureshi (Rs.20 million); Yousuf Memon for Ijaz-ul Haq and Javed Hashmi (Rs.50 million); Nawaz Sharif (Rs6 million); former Sindh chief minister Muzaffar Hussain Shah through his secretary (Rs13 million), MQM Haqiqi (Rs5 million), former Sports Minister Ajmal Khan (Rs1.4 million), Jam Mashooq Ali (Rs3.5 million), Liaqat Jatoi (Rs1 million), Dost Mohammad Faizi (Rs1 million), and Jam Haider (Rs 2 million).
Yunus Habib was arrested on April 7, 1994 for misappropriation in the sale proceeds of the Dollar Bearer Certificates. On Dec 14, 1995, Younus Habib was convicted of fraud and embezzlement and given a sentence of 10 years rigorous imprisonment by the Special Court for Offences in Banks in Sindh.

On 6th of December, President Asif Ali Zardari was attending routine meetings at the President’s House when he fell unconscious. Zardari has prior medical history. There were fears it was a heart attack or a stroke. After a brief checkup, physician Col Salman declared him fit. But he was flown to Dubai on an air ambulance for a complete checkup, and was admitted to Dubai American Hospital.
As soon as he left Pakistan, there were rumours in the mainstream media that he had resigned after a ‘soft coup’ by the military. Analysts and politicians speculated the president would not return. Brigadier (r) Asif Alvi, who has served with army chief Gen Ashfaq Kayani, says that was not likely. “Kayani would be the last person to carry out a military coup,” he told TFT.

An uncompromising Nawaz Sharif is ready to take up any opportunity that comes his way, especially after being shaken by the growing popularity of his rival Imran Khan Already under pressure because of the Supreme Court’s probe into the Memogate affair and its decision that that the NRO was illegal, Zardari’s team failed to deal with the new crisis in a coordinated and coherent way. But they do have faith in their leader. “The clever Zardari I know will overcome this crisis,” the president’s aide said. “He has outsmarted his rivals and critics for more than three years now.” “The timing of the NRO decision and the way the Supreme Court is hearing Nawaz Sharif’s petition on Memogate has worried us,” a source close to the president said. After the apex court rejected the government’s plea on the NRO, Zardari enjoys “no immunity whatsoever”. But that is not the PPP’s problem, according to veteran party leader Taj Haider. “We have been facing court cases for a decade and a half and we are ready to face them again,” he said. Taj Haider, who is also the general secretary of the party in Sindh, said the NRO was a tactical move by PPP leaders that allowed them to come back to Pakistan. “Right-wing and reactionary parties are trying to use the Supreme Court,” he said, “but they will not succeed.” Seizing opportunity – Nawaz Sharif at the Supreme Court The liberal Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), one of PPP’s biggest allies with 25 National Assembly seats, has been looking at the crisis from the sidelines so far. “We have already been facing false charges, NRO or no NRO,” party spokesman Faisal Sabazwari said. He said his party would not support “judicial adventurism”. The Awami National Party, another key ally of the PPP, is standing by the president. Its leader Asfandyar Wali had recently met President Zardari to form a strategy to counter any move against the Presidency. “We support a free judiciary, but not judicial activism,” a party leader said. “The judiciary has to be impartial.” Clearly under pressure, the PPP invited its chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to Pakistan. The young leader was filmed meeting the prime minister wearing an ajrak and a Sindhi topi, indicating the party is defiant and playing what is known as the ‘Sindh card’. “The timing of the NRO decision and the way the Supreme Court is hearing Nawaz Sharif’s petition on Memogate has worried us,” a PPP leader said Babar Awan, the former law minister, also played the victim in a recent press conference. He alleged that Nawaz Sharif was given special protocol at the Supreme Court. The apex court rejected the allegation. “We hope that baseless allegations will be avoided in future and the dignity and respect of the apex court will be maintained,” it said in a statement issued last week. “No one was given any protocol or any special favour as far as entry into the court premises or Courtroom No 1 (the chief justice’s courtroom) is concerned.” But Dawn News aired footage that it said showed the contrary. An uncompromising Nawaz Sharif is ready to take up any opportunity that comes his way, especially after being shaken by the growing popularity of his rival Imran Khan in Punjab. “He is desperately seeking out a deal with the military,” a source in the PML-N said. Yasin Azad, the president of Supreme Court Bar Association, he was “against any sort of politicisation of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and the court’s involvement in political affairs”. “It is important that the Supreme Court doesn’t fall into a trap and undo the democratic process,” said a former judge asking not to be named. The mood is tense in Islamabad with the Supreme Court clearly in the driving seat. The military seems to have decided to sit back and watch.