Some discreet gloating

You don`t say!

Darius Nakhoonwala

The goings-on in Pakistan, all that Lal Masjid stuff, have enabled leader-writers to indulge in a bit of genteel and discreet gloating. I felt sorry for the poor dears, though: they were dying to be bitchy as hell but what the hell, upbringing will tell So much so that none of them could bring herself or himself to use that very evocative editorial phrase, "hoist with your own petard."   

But don`t be under any doubts, folks, for that is what Pakistan is today, hoist with its own jolly petard, the said petard, of course, being the mistaken belief that you can mix politics and religion to attain some dubious external objectives, and think that you won`t get hoist on it. President Musharraf has some de-hoisting to do. I for one will watch him with keen interest.

The Hindu said President Pervez Musharraf was blundering on in "his season of big errors". The edit gave an excellent summary of what has been going on since January. Reading it one is struck by the similarity to whatever happened at the Golden Temple in Amritsar just before and during Operation Bluestar. But the edit studiously refrained from making any comparisons. I wonder why.

The Indian Express focused on the assassination attempt on Pervez Musharraf.  "Last Friday`s incidents constitute the most serious threat to Musharraf`s life since December 2003... the greater the threat to his life, the stronger is the international support to him." India, it said, had also now become a convert to this phenomenon.   Then the edit added a last, completely mystifying and ultimately stupid senetence: "…India must consider discreet but definitive steps to encourage a political reconciliation in Pakistan between the Army and the pro-democracy movement." India? Intervene in Pakistan? Yo, man, you nuts or sump`n?

The Asian Age said Pakistan was "in complete chaos". Complete, Sir, you are sure? Then it went on that the "the government had no option but to crack down on those demanding the Talibanisation of Pakistan and seeking to impose their religious fundamentalism on the nation."  Yes, ok, but wait for what came next, viz, the most amazing ignorance. "President Musharraf has been so preoccupied with the US war on terrorism and the consequences in his country, as well as other major domestic issues like the judicial crisis, that he had little idea about the game plan being hatched by the clerics until it was actually put into operation." Oh boy, how dumb can you get, especially when in the very next breath you say that " Islamabad is a highly fortified capital, and little happens without the knowledge of the government"?

And then there was the Pioneer, which gave us an unasked for lesson in the history of assassinations in Pakistan, failed and successful, ending rather ominously with " These are confusing times in Pakistan: Nobody is quite sure about General Musharraf`s future course of action. His time in office runs out later this year, unless he is able to manipulate events in a manner that suits his purpose. Or his enemies are able to get to him."  

The Hindustan Times said President Musharraf had only himself to blame, had some tea and cucumber sandwiches and glided off.

The Telegraph, in its very ladylike way, just ignored the natives.

Darius.Nakhoonwala@gmail.com