First Quaid-e-Azam and now the flag?

Following is a recent picture of Pakistan Cricket team, invited to the President House by Asif Ali Zardari, after winning the T20 World Cup. In the background, on the wall, you can clearly see the pictures of himself, Bilawal, Benazir Bhutto and Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto but there is no picture of Quaid-e-Azam.


If you pay a little more attention to Zardaris' or even the Prime Ministers' TV appearances, you would at once notice that all the pictures of Quaid-e-Azam have been replaced by Benazir.

Following is a report form GEO:

Qaid-e-Azam is the founder and one of the greatest leader. Replacing his picture with some corrupt politicians is a great insult not only to him but for all the Pakistanis out there. This should be treated as an act of treason

In another news, Peoples Party (PPP) did not stop there. They also replaced all Pakistani flags with their party flags through out Islamabad. They were not even removed for the Independence day of Pakistan.


This is happening in the Capital city of Pakistan. According to the laws of Pakistan, disrespecting the flag is a criminal offense punishable by death in some cases.
If this is not a blatant disregard for the flag of Pakistan by PPP, I do not know what else is!!
Where is all of our party leaders and scholars? Why nobody is saying anything about it?

Zardari’s Foreign Trips

I have been trying to compile a list of all Zardari’s foreign trips for some time now as he has spent most of his time outside Pakistan, sharing drinks, than in Pakistan.

Following is a little break down of most of his trips since he assumed Presidency on September 9th 2008.

September 12 – 14	“Personal” visit to Dubai.
September 14 – 17	Three day visit to London to drop off his daughter, Bakhtawar, at Ediburgh University. He also manages to meet PM Gordon Brown.
September 21 - 30	Arrived in London on his to New York where he is scheduled to attend UN General Assembly session along with his entourage of 60 people. (wow!!)
----- Sept 25	Took time out from his busy schedule to hit on Republican nominee Sarah Palin. (Sorry..I had to add this to the list)
October 14 – 17	First “official” visit to China on the invitation of Chinese President Hu Jintao
November 4 – 5	Two day visit to Saudi Arabia with an entourage of 200 people. The aim was to seek an economic bailout to avoid an IMF loan. (yea Right!!). Prime Minister later defended Zardari’s 200 men joy ride by claiming that the trip was personally paid by Zardari and not the Government.
November 11 – 15	4 day trip to United States to participate in the high-level session of UN General Assembly on 'Culture of Peace’
November 16	Arrived in London for an 'over-night’ stay on his way home.
November 24 – 25	Two day trip to UAE to ask for more money.
December 4 – 8	Arrives in Turkey for attend the second trilateral summit. Came back to offer Eid Prayer at Aiwan-e-Sadr on the 9th.
December 19	One day visit to neighboring Afghanistan.
Year 2009
January 6	Another visit to Afghanistan to discuss regional peace. He was received at the Kabul Airport by First Vice President Ahamad Zia Massoud (Why didn’t President Hamid Karzai received him?)
February 20 – 24	Arrived in China on a four day visit to sign bilateral pacts and memorandum of understanding. The News reports that “[the] President Zardari has no meeting scheduled with his Chinese counterpart or the prime minister.”(more..)
March 10 – 12	Two day visit to Iran to hold talks with the Iranian leadership and to attend the 10th ECO Summit.
March 23 – 25	Leaves for Dubai on a two day “private” visit to spend some time with his family.
March 31 – April 3	Another visit to Turkey for a trilateral summit between Turkey, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
April 15 – 17	Three day visit to Japan to attend Friends of Democratic Pakistan and donor’s conference. (WTH?? more money..!?)
April 17 - 19	Arrived in China directly from Japan (did not get a chance to even stop home to change clothes..)
April 30 – May 3	Three day official state visit to Libya (Libya! seriously?.. to discuss what?.. how to sell nuclear assets to US..?)
May 4	Arrive in Great Britain on a private visit
May 5 - (whenever)	“First official visit to US” (so the last one was paid for by Zardari???). He arrived in New York today (May 10th) and I am not sure when will he be leaving.

Zardari took office on September 9th 2008 and in less than 8 months, he made over 20 foreign country tours. Why is he always running away from his beloved country?

May be he loves Pakistan so much that he wanted to experience his love away from it. Or may be he is bothered by constant load-shedding or the rising inflation. May be he got his cell-phone snatched while talking to Sarah Palin…and now he is afraid to stay in Pakistan… there can be many different possibilities.

Sources

I would like to thank my fellow blogger who started this list initially at http://fiverupees.blogspot.com/2008/12/asif-zardaris-many-foreign-trips.html

I have consulted many different sources to compile the list above, more sources that can be listed here. If anyone needs any information or source of the information listed above, please leave a comment and I’ll direct you to the appropriate source document.

Bhutto - A Legend or a Curse?

Since the assassination of Benazir Bhutto every politician has been trying to play the "sympathy" card to get more free air time for them. The Media and other politicians, who were her bitter rivals once, portrayed her as an "Angel" and a great leader. No doubt she was a very intelligent person and knew how and when to play her political cards. But she was neither "a great" leader nor a sincere one.

According to Ralph Peters, a New York Post columnist, writes:

"Bhutto was corrupt, divisive, dishonest and utterly devoid of genuine concern for her country."

These are very bold allegations by Peters, but sadly, they are very close to the truth. if we simply use common sense and and look back at our history, we probably be able get answers to most of our questions.

Benazir Bhutto came to power for the very first time in December 1988 on the false promises of eradicating poverty and lawlessness in the country. Unfortunately, within two years of her coming to power, "in August 1990 the President of Pakistan, Ghulam Ishaq Khan, dismissed her government on charges of corruption and other malfeasance and called for new elections."

Similarly, Benazir again came to power with a sweeping victory in October 1993. That government too suffered the same fate as before. This era of her administration is very well summarized by New York Post like this:

"During her years as prime minister, Pakistan went backward, not forward. Her husband looted shamelessly and ended up fleeing the country, pursued by the courts."

Apart from widespread corruption and lawlessness, Benazir was also believed to be involved in a carefully planned police assassination of her younger brother, Murtaza Bhutto, in 1996 while she was the Prime Minister.
Fatima Bhutto, the niece of Benazir and daughter of Murtaza bhutto wrote in an article for Los Angeles Times:

"My father [Murtaza] was a member of Parliament and a vocal critic of his sister's politics."

"To this day, her role in his assassination has never been adequately answered,although the tribunal convened after his death under the leadership of three respected judges concluded that it could not have taken place without approval from a 'much higher' political authority."

During this time Mr. Zardari, Benazir's husband had established his reputation as "Mr. 10 Percent" for taking kickbacks on every single government contract and corruption.

In November 1996, her government was again dismissed by then President, Farooq Leghari on charges of allegations of corruption, economic mismanagement and a decline of law and order.

Both Ms. Bhutto and her husband were convicted of corruption by a Lahore court, but was later overturned by the Supreme Court in 2001 only because of evidence of government interference.

In 1998, Swiss investigators recovered documents that, " reveal that a company set up by Miss Bhutto's lawyer siphoned off commissions from a deal between a Polish company and the Pakistani government." (Source: BBC)
The following week Asif Zardari was formerly indicted by Swedish court for money laundering charges.

The above mentioned are some of the highlights of Benazir Bhuttos' political life. I have presented you hard facts without injecting any of my opinion above. The fact that her two terms as the Prime Minister of Pakistan ended abruptly and left Pakistan in shambles, tells you something about her.

Well now she is no longer with us. May Allah forgive her.

Sources:

1. "The Bhutto Assassination: Not what she seemed to be", by Ralph Peters, New York Post, Dec 2007
   <http://www.nypost.com/seven/12282007/postopinion/opedcolumnists/the_bhutto_assassination__not_what_she_s_912265.htm?page=0>
2. "What's the Deal with Bilawal Bhutto Zardari?", NPR, Dec 2007
   <http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17717208>
3. "Bhutto, Benazir", Encyclopedia Britannica, Jan 2008
   <http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9079076>
4. "FOX Facts: Benazir Bhutto", Fox News, Dec 2007
   <http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,318525,00.html>
5. "Aunt Benazir's false promises", by Fatima Bhutto, Los Angeles Times, Nov 2007
   <http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-bhutto14nov14,0,2482408.story>
6. "Details released of corruption charges against Benazir Bhutto", BBC News, July 1998
   <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/138117.stm>