[align=left:d45fd3243f]Hi,
Given below is the text of my open letter to General Musharraf. It has not been published before and I have not sent it for publication thus far. If any recepient wants to use it in part or full he/she can do so with due attribution. Publications however are requested to at least let me know before using the content. Others are also requested to spread the word- Farrukh
Dear Mr Pervez Musharraf,
I write in the capacity of a citizen who has long been a believer in this state and this nation. It might be in your knowledge that on July 13, 2006 my first open letter to you appeared in a section of the press. If you have seen it you may recall that despite being critical of your policies I did not resort to any crude technique. For one I did not resort to any personal attacks. For two, I did not express any need for your stepping down. If I write now there is a reason. I am highly encouraged by your response to Naeem Bokhari Advocate's open letter to the Chief Justice. If you can lend your ears to such hearsay, I, a career journalist, might be able to come up with at least some rational arguments.
I know well that the issue of the Chief Justice's trial is sub judice and hence will not comment on the trial's inner dynamics however I will take the liberty of probing a few aspects of the underlying sordid saga. I do so because I believe that you and your flatterers chose to plant a slanderous letter by a man who has not only defended you on television in exclusive propaganda programmes and is known to be your friend (in other words he has accepted your influence in the past and can influence your course of action too). I believe that this very assault on the nation's apex court is a well meditated move to dismantle the federation for the very reason that a country's judiciary is the pivot of federalism as the federating units choose to stay together only on the principle of justice. I think senior jurists like Fakhruddin G Ibrahim will second my views. Again very successfully through simple manipulations your spin doctors have brought two senior judges of the country from Balochistan into the line of fire. If the crisis brews further there is a chance that both respected judges may lose their position owing to the controversy. People may hence say that even a Punjabi from Balochistan is not acceptable to this country's establishment. This is sad because an operation is underway in Balochistan in which people of this country are bound to lose in any case.
While this is the case with the judicial system, there exists another court which will not be easily affected by your machinations. This court, sir, is the court of public perceptions. The national media has to play the unenviable role of a lawyer in this court and let us see what is the state of this lawyer today. This is needed because you have for considerable time projected yourself as the champion of the freedom of expression. On March 13, one of your minister used obnoxious language against one of our highly respected colleague. The others revived the memory of Senator Joseph McCarthy in pure philistine manner. But this is not it. We are witnessing the revival of the notorious press advice system. Sycophants have moved the courts for the cancellation of the license of the television channels that show some moral fibre. Do you have any idea where is it going to take the country? In my article titled "The noose of censorship" dated January 1, 2007 I had written: "As the government gets more irritable and its failures exposed, there is no doubt in our minds that the black days of censorship and press advice are soon to stage a comeback. While for the journalists of the land it may pose only a few more difficulties given the arduous times we live in, for the autocratic military dispensation this may prove to be the last nail in the coffin. Such is the might of the modern day media." It is strange that while you make the mockery of justice system in the country, the allegations of contempt of courts are levelled against us and not you.
Not a long time ago we all were sympathetic towards you. In our error of judgement we thought that even though you had erred on many occasions, at least you were different from the military rulers of the past. But we have to note with deep regret that this difference is only negative. Seven years down the road, we reckon, you have made a mockery of the national interest, you have brought foreign wars to our own land, seldom shown mercy for your fellow citizens and yet very humbly bowed to the foreign dictates. In your televised address you threatened the Baloch leaders like Bugti that you'll hit them without leaving a trace and last year you managed that too. Do people not call it extrajudicial murder? You upstaged the military chief of the day to assume his position in collusion with Nawaz Sharif and then went on to launch the Kargil operation to destabilise the Sharif regime. When you overthrew Nawaz you, known then as a hawk, transformed into a turtle dove. You then ousted the then President and assumed his position too. When you said that after the 2002 elections you'll only play on the courts, little did we know that you meant the courts of law. You have divided and re-divided the people of this country ad nauseam. It now seems that when you'll come under pressure to dismantle the country like given your legacy you'll again bow to the foreign pressure. After all you have systematically eroded the institutions of the country in the past.
I see you have levelled corruption charges against Justice Chaudhry. Let us take your own track record into cognizance here. You are said to own a fortune worth hundreds of millions. Can you explain where did it come from? I have failed to find any independent source of income except for your military salary despite reading your memoir fairly carefully. Despite the fact that you come from the working class your son managed to study in prestigious institutions abroad. Your daughter was awarded a contract for decorations by the Defence Housing Authority despite your blood relation. You squandered one million dollars of the national exchequer to launch your personal memoir. And you have divulged so many national secrets in your book placing them on record. And what about the countless who have died or vanished under your watch? One fails to understand why do your cohorts and your intelligence operatives hate their own citizens that much.
I am aware that you can ruin me and like many I may also succumb to a mysterious death. But I don't care any longer. If you want to persecute me please be assured that I will willingly walk to the gallows. Also please note that all of my contacts are available on my website
www.pitafi.com. Nobody asked me to unfurl the prayer mat and pray for your longer life when you came under attack by the terrorist. But I did and now I feel compelled today to pray for the end of dark days of your rule. I love this country and have suffered in the past owing to this love. I am sure that everyone that loves this country is watching your recent machinations with deepest concern. Before the country breaks down into pieces or your own generals start rising against you, you are requested to step aside and let a judicial inquiry against you take place.
Thanking you in anticipation.
Yours truly,
Farrukh
http://www.pitafi.com/weblog/index.php?itemid=49#c
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Farrukh Khan Pitafi
Columnist, analyst and consultant
Contact:- 92-302-8676786
Website:
http://pitafi.com
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