A Four-Point Plan for a Wholesome Change
By Perwaiz Ahmad
Fullerton, CA
We cannot afford another decade of haphazard and unconstitutional rule in Pakistan. Just like a Domino affect President Musharraf has succumbed under pressures from the West and a new kid on the block, Saudi Arabia to accept the long-standing demands of its own people. He has agreed to most demands and some waiting in the wings to be adopted because our benefactor(s) are not pleased. Did we forget "Friends not Masters" so quickly? Why do we put ourselves in this position in the first place?
Musharraf would have been a hero and his legacy would have been etched in stone forever if he had listened to his own people for a change. He knew he could only last so long based on the history of his military predecessors but he defied everything and anything to reconcile with the ground reality. The huff-and-puff outbursts on Pakistani TV become hollow statements when the same is adopted after a frantic foreign visit to meet the bosses. Why are we bent on becoming the laughing stock of the world and why don't we learn from history for a change? It used to be the practice in the past that if you break the law you get punished by the court; the new rule is to change the law first and then implement your hidden agenda with a bang and bloated chest.
If the general truly loves Pakistan he should execute a four-point plan with expedition:
… Give complete autonomy to all the provinces.
… Disqualify each and every one in the election ring now who has a checkered record and doesn’t qualify to contest elections under the Constitution.
… Ensure independent judiciary at all times to implement the Constitution.
… Have a watchdog group comprising of members from all provinces like a think-tank to ensure check and balance over and above the National Assembly because inevitably we are going to get an Assembly of "opportunists" and self-serving individuals.
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