A winter of depair

IT is amazing how the following lines from a Charles Dickens’ novel depict the situation in our country at present. ‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of disbelief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.'

The Nation January 12, 2007

The Year 2006

The year 2006 was ‘the year of Our Lord’ in uniform; it was the year of the Saviour of the Democracy. It was the year of great economic success; it was the year of complete peace. It was the year of great development in Health and Education sector. It was the year of true democracy. It was the year laden with relief packages; it was the year of the common lot. It was time of despair for those in exile, but for those at home it was the beginning of a truly moderate and enlightened Islamic Republic.

Let them play

WITH the election 2007 in the offing, a lot is being said about it. Keeping in view the well-known Referendum conducted by General Musharraf in the past and his self-proclaimed 98% turn out, one sees no reason why Nawaz and BB should be repudiated from contesting the election.
With General Musharaf as President and Nawaz and BB as PMs twice in the past, the nation is well aware of the capabilities of each of them and allowing Nawaz and BB to contest the election would be a healthy competition. Whereas allowing either Nawaz or BB and rejecting the other would be injustice, I see Musharraf’s contesting in their absence as a sole wrestler in the ring punching the air and pronouncing himself victorious at the end of the day. Since Musharraf declares himself an upholder of democracy, it is time he translates his words into action. An election where Nawaz and BB are allowed to contest, it would be remarkable if Musharraf’s team wins cum laude.

The Nation; (EDITED) November 24, 2006