West 'seeks Iran disintegration'

West 'seeks Iran disintegration': "Western powers are seeking to undermine Iran by spreading 'anarchy and vandalism', the foreign ministry says.
A spokesman said foreign media were 'mouthpieces' of enemy governments seeking Iran's disintegration."
BBC News

The More things change the more they remain the same.

Once again the circle of life has come back 360 degrees to the point of Marshall Law/State of Emergency. It used to be every 20 or so years 1958, 1978, 1998 but this time it has come around rather quick for the comfort of the politicians in 2007, even though it ever went away since 1998.

Musharraf is expected to Address the nation tonight even though, no official reason has been given so far. The Western media (CNN later reported that Marshall Law has declared) is again quick to give it a terrorrism related spin which they later took off their sites and and now is speculating about the Concerns of 'Lawlessness and and political instability' but we know fully well that it's an old trick out of one of his infamous hats to extend his own Rule. The Chief justice has aparently been arrested and the media suspended.

Ah.... what else is new... seems like Pakistan has a way of digging themselves a hole time and again. It;s throughly depressing to see this happen specially with a figure head who has time and again denied such intentions.This jsut goes to show how easy it is to use the military muscle and use it to your advantage when a military ruler is in power... A democratic government would have had to go through major hurdles to impose anything like this. All a dictator has to do is ask his troops to move in and take control of everything.

Then again it's not all that depressing knowing Pakistan's history.. knowing fully well that more the things change, more they remain the same. Pakistan has seen this far too often and the life has still continued. People here have found a way to disconnect themselves from the political drama and carry on with their normal lives... Sure, every slightest political move is discussed in details on every corner of every street, cafe, barber's, taxis, work and any other imaginable place where 2 people can congrigate ( as it's bound to happen tonight as Kamal Haider, the reporter for Al-Jazeera describes it a s a 'black day')but... It seems that people are unflatered by all these going ons... after all who would want to raise a voice infront of a man with a gun????

Beyond the Attacks

Riddle is certianly the right word to define Pakistan's political circumstances - as suggested by Jayshree Bajoria in her article in Council on Foreign relations website. Pakistan has the most diverse group of situations all jumbled into absolute caos. It's hard to believe that the country is still able to function with all these shortcomings and with the presence of many potentially dangerous elements that could spin the situation out of control at any given moment.

The existance of anti west, stubborn groups that are willing to go violent is hard enough for western powers to swollow. Add to it, the existance of neuclear capability of any sort alongwith corrupt admisitration, makes any western leader shiver in their dreams.

And if that's not enough, there's political instability in shape of corrupt political parties who have all had some share of power at least once and will do anything to get it back - hostile neighbours (not just India) that would take any oppertunity to undermine whatever stability pakistan does have - Military dictatorship, that west seems to have come into terms with but thinks it's not bearing fruits any more - and the world renowned secret services that are out of control.

More recently an independent private digital media and rejuvinated judiciary and Courts0 have also entered the mix to make it even more complicated and out of control.

Even though most western newspapers and magazines focus on the War on Terror and any violent attempt is attributed to the Islamists, Taliban or Al-Qaeda (NewsWeek)- like Attacks on Benazir Bhutto (BBC News) that clearly have footprints of internal power struggle than Al-Qaeda. Benazir also endorsed this in her letter to President naming people that are either part of the government, had a hand in setting up corruption cases against her, or the ex-ISI cheif who she's had a personal vandetta with for a while. Even though the war on terror has a very little direct impact internally yet it does have indirect implications. In the war on terror general public opinion inclines more towards anti western sentiment for supposedly dragging pakistan into this war by indirect threats than the sympathy towards western need to engage in this war.

Exiled Pakistani PM to go home

BBC: "The Sharifs have an inalienable right to return and remain in the country as citizens of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry Chief JusticeThe Sharifs have an inalienable right to return and remain in the country as citizens of Pakistan." Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry Chief Justice"

Exiled former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has pledged to go home soon and contest elections, in a bid to oust President Pervez Musharraf.
He was speaking in London soon after Pakistan's top court ruled against the government and said he could return.

Mr Sharif, who left Pakistan after he was deposed by Gen Musharraf in a 1999 military coup, said it was "the beginning of the end" for his rival.

Mr Sharif told the BBC: "Dictatorship and democracy don't go together. One will have to go." ... "It is dictatorship which will have to go. The sooner Musharraf understands this, the better it is for him and the country." ... "I'm not scared," he said. "If Musharraf wants to fabricate cases against me, let him do that. I'll face them."

Mr Sharif was sentenced to life in prison for tax evasion and treason among other offences and went into exile following the coup eight years ago. The authorities said Mr Sharif had promised to stay out of Pakistan and away from politics for 10 years in exchange for his freedom and exile.

But Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry said in his judgement on Thursday: "(The Sharifs) have an inalienable right to return and remain in the country as citizens of Pakistan."

The Pakistani government said it accepted the ruling but hinted the Sharifs might face legal action on home soil. Attorney General Malik Mohammed Qayyum said: "Let them come and the law will take its own course."