No country for old men

Given that in the coming decade we are yet to witness the blossoming of the next generation of young Bhutto’s and Sharif’s dynastic political leaders are going to be a thorn in Musharaf’s backside. However, given his long list of faults people still perceive him as the lesser of two evils.

I would go further than ask for a new crop of leaders; yes we need new leaders, but we don’t necessarily need personalities and ego’s that are larger than the parties they serve. Political parties and ideals cannot be hostage to the a personality and their last name. The APML starts off on the back foot. It does not appeal to people on any ideological basis, the party seems to be about Musharaf and without him the logic of a new party falls apart.

Political parties must be more democratic and egalitarian within themselves. Indeed as George comments, our politics is at a standstill. Our political parties seem to have run out of ideas and self-confidence. No PPP rally can take place without ZA Bhutto in the background for example.

The Tories have tried to reinvent themselves by ditching any association with Thatcher. The Republicans are trying to move ahead from the disastrous Bush years. So much so that during the 2008 election he hardly campaigned for the party that he was heading.

Hopefully, our next generation of leaders will represent the best of a party and what it has to offer, rather than being the product on offer themselves.Recommend

Well written George. But we shouldn’t just hold age against the guy….censoring the media, sacking the chief justice, wiping out Lal Masjid, being an American lackey…those are the reason for a honorable exist. [Remember how sad and pathetic it was to see Muhammed Ali well past his prime...deja vu]

Mush is on a suicide mission, what a way to go for a commando, the ultimo machismo. Sitting around playing bridge day after day, going out to dinner cum ghazal parties must just become too boring. And the demons in the back of your head saying “Coward, 3rd world dictator, living in exile….”

I feel sorry for his wife and kids.

The endless line of sycophants and feedback fans probably keeps his hopes alive for one last gunfight….tragic end to spaghetti western.

General your day is gone, have the decency to live off respectably.Recommend

Dear George,

I remember the time we met Gen. Musharraf and what excitement he generated amongst the audience that time. With his best team of technocrats that he had assemled, we thought that he really would deliver democracy through a completely different angle or way or whatever you want to call it. There was hope. And then his oh – so – memorable breakfast meeting with the indian journalists in dehli during his first visit was just proving that this man was not your regular run of the mill types general…sigh and that handshake with Atal Bhihar Vajpayee…and how he promoted privitisation and speedy intilations and restructuring of the media and the telecom sector. The electricity that was generated. But then acording to one senior head of editorial that we worked with at the time…stopped in his tracks and saw our excitement and sat us down to remind us that it was ‘a general’s rule after all’ and it was going to turn ugly and he would do such blunders that it would leave us having to pay another very heavy price. Ten years down the road I remember that lecture given to us by Ghazi sahab, and Lal Masjid was the turning point in my support for Gen. Musharraf. How could a man so powerful…sitting at the healm of absolute power…not notice what was brewing in the presidencies own backyard. Thus, no matter how sincere his intentios might be…i feel his military set mind will probably always get the best of his always. I so agree with you.Recommend

Its not about leaders man! Its about state-structures. Without genuinely and sincerely accepting that Pakistan is a multi-national country, and without putting in place a real federal constitution which provides for all the nationalities to rule the federation in turns or in concet like in Switzerland, no leader in the world can reverse the chaos that is Pakistan.

ESSENTIALS FOR A SUCCESSFUL PAKISTAN:
1- Secularism
2- Federalism
3- DemocracyRecommend

There is a need for a liberal, secular party that appeals to the urban, educated population.

That is the problem with our pseudo-intellectuals. Wake-up, even most of the urban population isn’t even aware, forget the education. It is not appeal to certain class, it is more about integrity towards the work. Can we start thinking beyond ourselves please?Recommend

Agreed. But it remains his constitutional right to appear in the elections. Democracy after all is a painful process of filtering.Recommend