Pakistan is seemingly on a standstill;yet a new life is surging through the people.On the surface, the major highways, connecting roads between provinces, have been blocked...yet people are moving. They catch trains where they are stopped from getting on planes, they go in rallies and if stopped in groups, they even start walking when they are stopped from going in cars......All of these enthusiasts are trying to converge to Islamabad. They have one aim in view....restoration of the judiciary that had been sacked by General Musharraf, ex-President of Pakistan, when they refused to validate his extra-constitutional measures.From that day, a movement has been born. It inculcated into common Pakistanis an urge to have justice, awill to stand up and fight for their rights.....It changed Pakistan.
Two years have passed, yet theese people are still struggling. Yet again, the people have been duped, this type by acivilian Government, which is unwilling to restore the judges because it is afraid of its own past corruption record. The silence was deafening before this storm but now that it has unleashed, this movement has swollen into an epic story of a fight between right and wrong. Curbs on media have only strengthened people's resolve to fight any dictatorial moves. The civil society, lawyers, opposition leaders, human right activists, media, students, former diplomats, ex-army men, all are on the streets, demanding their right to be heard. This is a revolution
Today as I sit besieged in a forlorn capital and wait for tomorrow, I have a feeling that these long marchers will somehow come to Islamabad, no matter how they are stopped. There is a feeling of deja vu in the air.The atmosphere is so tense that it seems to be electric. There is fear in the hearts of the Government at such an unexpected showdown as was seen in Lahore today. Masses everywhere, families, children. The heavy-handedness of the police and Government forces seems to have strenthened people's resolve to go out and register their protest. This has become a massive anti-Government referndum. The foreign Governments, especially the US, should learn what comes of supporting the most unpopular leaders in Pakistan for their own ends.People now quote an american justice who had said at a court ruling " this is a court of law, not a court of justice". The writing on the wall is clear. We want justice.
March on Pakistan. May God be with you
No comments:
Post a Comment