Altaf Hussain of the MQM asking for a Military Coup in pakistan

ajtr

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Pakistan in political crisis amid allegations of flooding aid corruption

The embattled government of President Asif Ali Zardari slipped further into crisis after its largest coalition partner called for a military coup to tackle corruption and failures over flooding.

Altaf Hussain, the leader of the Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM), said the political establishment's lacklustre response to the severe flooding should provoke an uprising.
He called on "patriotic generals to initiate martial-law-like steps against federal politicians" and legal proceedings against those "who save their crops and divert floods towards the localities as well as villages of the poor".


In a country where most leading politicans are also titled hereditary landlords, he called for a French Revolution-style redistribution of land between the classes in response to unprecedented destruction.
More than 15 million people have been affected and are at risk of diseases from contaminated water. The rising waters have killed more than 1,500 people.
Mr Hussain, who is exiled in Britain, spoke to supporters in Karachi via telephone. His comments represented a threat to Yousuf Raza Gilani, the prime minister, whose Pakistan People's Party relies on the 25 MQM members of the National Assembly for a majority.
While Pakistan's military has been praised for its decisive and rapid response to the flooding emergency, Mr Zardari and Mr Gilani's government has been roundly criticised for being slow to react and mounting a poorly orchestrated civilian campaign.
Nadeem Ahmad, the former general who heads Pakistan's civilian relief effort, is said to be "deeply unhappy" over political interference by prominent figures in the PPP to ensure their supporters are at the front of the queue for aid.
Officials at Gen Nadeem's National Disaster Management Authority said their efforts had been undermined by politicians diverting helicopters and demanding food or medicine for their constituencies at the expense of others.
Mr Hussain is widely viewed as a political opportunist. Members of his party in Pakistan have unsavoury reputations for ties to political violence. But his political movement has shown an astute sense of the balance of power, having been aligned with most of the governments of the past 10 years.
On Monday attention focused on the southern province of Sindh, where tens of thousands of people have fled a surge of water as monsoon rains course along the Indus.
Mr Zardari took control of the PPP after the assassination of his wife, Benazir Bhutto, in 2007. He became president a year later, but has been dogged by low approval ratings and corruption allegations.
Analysts said there was little stomach among the generals or the wider population for a return to military rule only two years after the restoration of democracy.
However, a change of government through a confidence vote after defections from the ruling bloc has become likely. As president, Mr Zardari would not lose his fixed-term position even if the PPP government fell. But if the opposition took over it would be likely to initiate impreachment proceedings that could drive the leadership into exile.
Hasan Askari Rizvi, a political analyst, said the MQM comments were significant as the first direct call for the military to step in amid growing public anger. "There's no coup around the corner but it strengthens the role of the military in politics," he said.
Mr Zardari's decision to fly to France, where his family owns a chateau, and Britain as the flooding crisis unfolded cemented his image as being out of touch.
His government was already mired in a deep economic crisis and struggling to tackle militants along the border with Afghanistan even before the floods. Farahnaz Ispahani, an adviser to Mr Zardari, said Mr Hussain's comments were intended for his party faithful.
 

ajtr

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Generals better than politicians: MQM


ANITA JOSHUA
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At a time when the political class is under attack from all quarters — particularly the media — for the poor response to the floods, ruling coalition constituent and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain on Sunday said his party would "support the patriotic generals if they take any martial law-type action against corrupt politicians and feudal lords''.

At a workers convention in Karachi over telephone from London — as is his wont — Mr. Hussain said the generals had directly or indirectly ruled Pakistan through martial laws in clear violation of the mandate of millions.

"If these generals can topple political and democratic governments, they can also take steps to weed out corrupt politicians and feudal lords,'' he said in a speech that was also critical of Pakistan's foreign policy as it was ineffective in comparison to India's.

Lesser evil

Describing the Army as the lesser of the two evils facing the country — the other being corrupt feudal lords who doubled up as politicians — Mr. Hussain turned his ire at those members of the landed aristocracy who had diverted floodwaters to save their own land at the cost of many towns and villages. Most political parties were quick to criticise Mr. Hussain's statement with Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan stating that the Supreme Court ought to take suo motu notice of this observation. Sherry Rehman, former federal Information Minister from the PPP — with which the MQM is allied not only at the federal level but also in Sindh — described the statement as inappropriate in a country where democracy has been derailed so often.
 

Agantrope

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My goodness, are they thinking coupe as a soup.

அது Coupe இல்ல மாப்பு உங்களுக்கு நீங்களே வெச்சிகுற ஆப்பு :emot15:
 

thakur_ritesh

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as i see it, ground is being prepared for MQM's official pullout off the present government and then be a part of the national government, a process that is being initiated by the army. coup for sure but with in the confines of pakistani constitution, at the behest of the pak army and executed by their political parties.

the response from the pml-n is quite intriguing, it seems for now they are not too keen on seeing the demise of the present government setup nor do they want to rock the boat in anyway or be blamed for the fall of ppp led government, and any national government cant be formed without their participation. quite possible they want to let the ppp see off the present crisis and from the economic mess that pakistan finds itself in, which could very well take another 2(+) years, let the ppp be the fall guy for all the mess which means they take all the blame, and then make a kill when the things would have stabilized. fact of the matter remains no matter how many political parties emerge in pakistan, electoral battles will for the foreseeable future will be played out between the ppp and pml-n, with others adding up to the numbers, for now they dont have a 3rd front as is in india which by the way was also buried officially in the just gone by elections last year, so eventually if the things are left to the politicians, the decisions will be as per the whims and fancies of ppp and pml-n.

the way pml-n is projecting itself, national government is off limits, so either the status quo continues or if the army is really desperate fresh elections get initiated with in a short span of time and why not, elections are after all the legal way of minting all the illegal and legal money for a powerful few.

beyond all this, an outright military coup, well anit happening for now, got to wait for that a little longer mr altaf hussain.
 
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ajtr

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Marching towards tyranny, again?


Altaf Hussain, chief of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), has appealed for a "martial law-like" intervention by "patriotic generals" against "corrupt feudals and landlord politicians". Coming from someone whose party is known for its ethnic exclusivism — despite pretending otherwise of late– and various other crimes like land grabbing, bhatta (protection money), torturing and/or murdering dissenters, Mr Hussain's statement could have been laughed at for its sheer absurdity. The only problem is, this is no laughing matter.

When General Musharraf was in power, we witnessed a militarisation of the state and society. Because of this, the people lost respect for the army. Ever since General Kayani became the chief of army staff (COAS), he has tried to portray himself as a professional soldier with no interest in politics. Under General Kayani, the army has refurbished its image by protecting our territorial integrity and internal security, which is its primary task. Apart from fighting the Taliban, the military has been at the forefront of rescue and relief efforts during the floods. This has done the army's image much good. On the other hand, the incompetence of the incumbent civilian democratic government is no secret; allegations of massive corruption against the government and its track record have not helped matters either. After the recent floods, despondency can be felt all over the country. It seems that the public has lost faith in the incumbents. An anti-government lobby is now trying to exploit this situation to its advantage. Thus, the MQM chief's 'call' for a not-so-divine intervention by the army at this point in time may be a reflection of not just that anti-democratic lobby but some signals from the powers-that-be may also have something to do with it.

The MQM came into being with the support of the intelligence agencies to counter Sindhi nationalism. Since then it accumulated more and more power and eventually got out of hand, a la the Taliban. After a few ups and downs in its relationship with its mentors, the MQM is back in the game and wants to return to the fold of the establishment. Altaf Hussain's statement has been criticised by almost every political party. Some have even gone so far as to suggest the ultimate penalty for him since this is a clear violation of Article 6(1) of the constitution: "Any person who abrogates or attempts or conspires to abrogate, subverts or attempts or conspires to subvert the Constitution by use of force or show of force or by other unconstitutional means shall be guilty of high treason." This may only be wishful thinking because Mr Hussain has only 'suggested' a military intervention while no military dictator has ever been tried under this Article even though they directly subverted the constitution. Dr Farooq Sattar has denied that his party chief has asked for a martial law; he claims that Mr Hussain has taken a bold stance and has his finger on the pulse of the public. Now this is going a bit too far because despite the public's reservations about the incumbents, no sane person wants a return of military rule. Those who oppose democracy argue that we would be electing the same faces even if the present government completes its tenure since there is a dearth of alternatives. This is true, but if one were to rationally think about it, the only way to find new leadership is to continue with the democratic process.

It would be wise if Mr Hussain could think with a cool mind instead of giving an open call to the military to seize power. Pakistan has already suffered greatly in its history by not adhering to democratic norms. Military interventions have brought nothing but pain to us and a fresh one will not bring anything new. Democracy on the other hand is a painfully slow process but to develop our institutions, there is no other alternative in sight. We should let it take its normal course instead of delving into tried and failed interventionist territory. g
 

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