Elected governments failed Pakistan: Musharraf

[SnIPeR Xr]

Elected governments failed Pakistan: Musharraf



WASHINGTON: Pakistan's former military ruler Pervez Musharraf said Friday that all elected governments have failed the country, as he tries to mount a political comeback.

On a speaking tour of the United States, Musharraf said he wanted to return to power through popular will but did not agree that "we want a democratically elected government and that is all, period."

"The important thing for an elected government is to deliver to the people and to the state. If that is not happening, that is the problem in Pakistan," Musharraf told National Public Radio.

"Unfortunately, the civil governments have never performed. And I repeat: Never performed in its history. They have never," Musharraf said.

During other appearances before US audiences, Musharraf has criticized the response of President Asif Ali Zardari and the civilian government to floods that affected 21 million people.

Pakistan, then the army chief, seized power in 1999 when he was flying back from a trip and then prime minister Nawaz Sharif tried to fire him.

Musharraf stood by his actions, saying Sharif "deposed himself" through his "unconstitutional" actions.

But Musharraf acknowledged that the army -- now under different leadership -- was unlikely to welcome him back and said he wanted to return "through the mandate of the people."

Musharraf became a close partner of the United States following the September 11, 2001 attacks, when he dropped Pakistan's support of Afghanistan's Taliban and assisted the war. He stepped down in 2008 after his efforts to control the judiciary triggered an uproar.

Many observers give Musharraf slim chances of returning to power due to his lack of a political base. US President Barack Obama's administration, while maintaining cooperation with the military, has focused on building democratic institutions in Pakistan.

Elected governments failed Pakistan: Musharraf

 

[brahmastra]

Musharraf himself failed to elected government.

 

[third eye]

Wonder what his views are on the unelected Govts ?

Generals have strange ways to justify themselves :

"[B]Musharraf stood by his actions, saying Sharif "deposed himself" through his "unconstitutional" actions.[/B]"

Give me the man & I will give you the rule !

 

[SnIPeR Xr]

May be he is wrong but:

"Elected doesn't always means representative of nation or elected by the nation".

Zardari is elected,but not by the people of Pakistan.

 

[muse]

The Daily Times in a editorial, was extremely harsh on Musharraf, but alas, you can't fight the truth, there is no fooling all the people all the time -- The editorial basically went for the utopian's defense - "It would have all worked out if..." -- the ugly fact is that it didn't work it, the ugly fact is that the politicians are stuck in the rhetoric of the 30's and 40's -- Whereas what is needed is sober economic policy -- Pakistani politicians and political parties are of such a caliber that they are beyond sobriety and economic policies - and please, "Awaam this" and "peoples that", are not economic policies, they are slogans - while the nation has moved past slogans, Pakistani politicians have not. So bury not Musharraf, for he only said what we all know is true.

 

[VCheng]

So bury not Musharraf, for he only said what we all know is true.

And yet, please keep in mind that Musharraf himself belongs to a series of military dictators that, in spite of enjoying absolute power, failed Pakistan EQUALLY MISERABLY.

 

[muse]

And yet delivered -- Ayub did and so did Musharraf -- yes, of course none of these is without faults. but reality is that military regimes such as those of Ayub and Musharraf have been era of the greatest economic development in Pakistan.

I do hope you will not feel compelled to respond.

 

[VCheng]

And yet delivered -- Ayub did and so did Musharraf -- yes, of course none of these is without faults. but reality is that military regimes such as those of Ayub and Musharraf have been era of the greatest economic development in Pakistan.

I do hope you will not feel compelled to respond.

I could very easily, but I will honor your request and defer, to save you the effort of defending the indefensible.

 

[BATMAN]

^^Oh no.... Musharraf actually rocked... even when he was military chief he helped Sharif to prolong his rule by weeding our corruption from civil institutions... delaying economic collapse.

Just check how dramatically foreign debts were reduced and increase in foreign investment.

Only fair elections ever took place in Pakistan were organised by Musharraf.
Otherwise what Sharif did to PPP in 1997 were a big farce.

Whole system of election in Pakistan is undemocratic.
Best democracy is local bodies govt. national and provincial assemblies cannot address the issues at grass toot level.

 

[VCheng]

^^Oh no.... Musharraf actually rocked... even when he was military chief he helped Sharif to prolong his rule by weeding our corruption from civil institutions... delaying economic collapse.

Just check how dramatically foreign debts were reduced and increase in foreign investment.

Only fair elections ever took place in Pakistan were organised by Musharraf.
Otherwise what Sharif did to PPP in 1997 were a big farce.

Whole system of election in Pakistan is undemocratic.
Best democracy is local bodies govt. national and provincial assemblies cannot address the issues at grass toot level.

I respect your opinion, no matter how misguided it might be, and I will keep quiet in this thread for now, as requested by Muse above.

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

mirrors a lot what he was stating when I saw him speak last week @ Atlantic Council

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

May be he is wrong but:

"Elected doesn't always means representative of nation or elected by the nation".

Zardari is elected,but not by the people of Pakistan.

party was elected........he just happened to become party leader, much to the peril of the party itself!


oh i'm sorry, his name is "Zardari-Bhutto" now; he keeps thousands of gold-framed portraits of his late wife and distributes them to every dignitary he meets, in order to keep her "spirit" (read his legitimacy) alive





but now i'm getting too political here; i'll leave rest for others to debate

 

[muse]

I will keep quiet in this thread for now, as requested by Muse above.

You misunderstand, I don't want you to not express yourself, quite the contrary - I just did not want you to think that need to feel compelled to do so.

 

[VCheng]

You misunderstand, I don't want you to not express yourself, quite the contrary - I just did not want you to think that need to feel compelled to do so.

Thank you for clarifying, but my opinions, and the need to express them, are borne of a deep love for Pakistan, and not subject to such trivialities, since they are not formed lightly or blindly.

Musharraf was a dictator, and his recent moves to position himself to retake power, will be an unmitigated disaster for Pakistan, just like his previous regime.

There, I said it.

Please feel free to refute what I have said so that we may discuss it candidly.

 

[muse]

Not at all I agree that Musharraf was a dictator, may we have more like him because Pakistan did really well during his term.

During Musharraf's time, to my thinking, society was freer than it is today, certainly free media is also a legacy of the Musharraf period and his economic achievements are Asian Bank and world Bank certified

I take it that "Dictator" is bad as far as you are concerned? Tell me, should we not evaluate him by his achievements for Pakistan, instead of a loaded political term?? I mean, is someone who is "elected" but fails to deliver, somehow "better" than someone is not "elected" but does deliver?? Isn't the usefulness, the value, the merit, of, say, a tool in it's usefulness as a tool? Or does giving a brand one to a tool somehow make it superior and useful?

his recent moves to position himself to retake power, will be an unmitigated disaster

Lets not get carried away and make predictions (it's just very early to make reasonable statements about such a distant eventuality) , since we respect the assertion that your opinions are not formed lightly or blindly, and we are proud of you for that.

And of course then there is this:

Party elections
Tuesday, 09 Nov, 2010

IT is a measure of the absence of democratic culture in our political parties that the PML-N has postponed party elections for the fourth time. We know, of course, that if and when party elections are held a Sharif will be the PML-N chief.

The Sharifs have the clout and the money, and that counts, and they run the country’s biggest province. This dynastic hold on parties is not confined to the PML-N; many other parties, including the PPP, the largest party in parliament, suffer from the same drawback. Some parties with a low representation in parliament, like the Jamaat-i-Islami and ANP, do hold party elections.

But the two parties which now have the highest number of representatives in parliament and have formed five governments since 1988 have demonstrated utter indifference to democratic values within their own ranks. The PPP also has come under scathing criticism from some of its cadres and supporters for what appears to be an arbitrary expulsion of some of its dedicated workers.

In the PML-N’s case, the contradiction is obvious. It is not prepared to hold local bodies’ elections, and apparently wants a mid-term general election. But it is not prepared to have an elected hierarchy and leadership. In September 2009, Mian Nawaz Sharif asked workers to complete the party’s elections by March this year.

Then it kept postponing the date, the latest target being Jan 15. In the absence of elections, both the PPP and PML-N resort to nominations for key party posts. This reduces these parties’ democratic credentials to a joke.

Nominations lead to resentment and heartburning, weaken the parties and cause splits. Like charity, democracy must begin at home. Without party structures based on democracy, our parties do not inspire much confidence among the people when they trumpet their attachment to democracy.


tsk, tsk, tsk, sigh