I knew it, I KNEW IT! Once Musharraf felt that the political class was not ready to sing his song this time he would look back to the team of nobodies he had used for his first emergency cabinet. And I was sure that when the scene was so much devastating for our prez they would certainly resort to McCarthyism. For those of you who are not aware of this genre of cheap politics let me explain. In the early days of the Cold War a Senator Joseph McCarthy had risen to much heights invoking patriotism and branding every dissident as a soviet or communist mole. The technique was simple. Pick a critic, throw aspersions on his person, invoke patriotism, and condemn that person without paying any heed to his arguments. This technique worked for a while and then renowned CBS anchor Edward Murrow brought an end to his tyranny by exposing him. Now a similar gang of intellectual thugs has invaded our capital and our television screen in support of Musharraf.
Yesterday Marvi Memon daughter of Nisar Memon was on television and she started shrieking at the top of her voice in one of the talk shows in the presence of suave Ayaz Amir and Fauzia Wahab. Quite predictably she alleged that Amir and Wahab’s parties were not patriotic. Why? Because she had moved a bill on Northern Areas and the recent developments in Indian Kashmir which could not find instant support? I mean look at this. These are the folks who are supporting a general who turned the country into a US colony by providing three bases here. The same general who sold countless Pakistani citizens to the US without even letting them have their basic right to prove themselves innocent in a Pakistani court of law a perfect example of which is Doctor Aafia Siddiqui. And yet these folks have no shame. Allege your opponents, shout at them, keep repeating the same stupid mantras and hope the people will swallow this attitude again.
Likewise, the former Chief Minister of Punjab Peja Elahi addressed a public meeting in which he claimed that during their regime Karzai did not have courage to criticize Pakistan. I am afraid Mr Elahi is on drugs or else he would have not said such a stupid thing. I mean have you forgotten how Karzai had confronted Mush on his various foreign visits?
Another example is our dear Mushahid Hussain and this is the saddest part. We could digest the stupid blabbering of Marvi and Pervaiz but when a seasoned man makes mockery of logic our hearts weep. Mushahid has forgotten that Benazir Bhutto was assassinated only a few months ago. He has forgotten that people like me still have his lectures on audiotapes extolling the PPP. Since Musharraf now gives him importance the he has started speaking gobbledygook. He says that the PPP had succeeded in elections only benefiting from Musharraf’s policies. Does he mean the murder of Benazir Bhutto? He further states that if Musharraf has he should quash the NRO. Mr Mushahahahid remember that day when the same Musharraf had imprisoned you alleging you along with the Sharifs of taking part in a conspiracy? People like me had spoken and worked tirelessly then for your freedom. Again when you were not being given any importance in the party it was yours truly who had written tirelessly in your support. And now you sit there and make a mockery of the people’s mandate. You know full well that Musharraf’s election from an outgoing parliament was sham and yet you sing his song. My dear sir politics is not the name of such naked opportunism. Of all the people at least you should have shown some reason. Maybe while abolishing NRO Musharraf should send him back to the gaol too.
But the tragedy doesn’t stop here. Some of the anchors are also being used to whip up support for Musharraf. I must urge all PPP, PMLN and ANP leaders to avoid participating in the shows of the following anchors till the time the situation has not settled: Katrina Husain, Mujahid Barelvi, Jasmine Manzoor and PJ Mir. In Katrina’s program the way Fauzia Wahab was ignored or censored was really sad.
Our own Kamran Khan is doing an interesting thing these days also. He seems to be busy in frightening us of the consequences of Musharraf’s departure, albeit subtly. For instance he repeatedly tells us that Asif Zardari is to be the next President as if it was something horrible. But see this assertion in the light of the previous work of Mr Khan. All these media geniuses are building pieces of a case against Musharraf’s sacking. I don’t understand why especially because Mr Khan has suffered as much as anyone else owing to Mush’s arbitrary policies. As for Katrina I was disappointed to note that she was not even listening to the talk of Musharraf’s opponents as was visible from her questions. This is really sad.
And finally it seems the terrorists also have some affinity with Musharraf. See at a time when the NWFP assembly was to adopt the no confidence motion against Musharraf there was an attack on an Air Force bus. It is clear that once Mush is gone the nexus of terrorism will break automatically.<-->

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