I am sure many of ATP readers will be surprised to see this photograph in which former President Musharraf is saluting his most vocal critic Imran Khan.

Before you jump onto conclusions, let me tell you that this photograph is said to be taken during a fund raising event doe the Shaukat Khannum Memorial Hospital sometime in 2000-01. It was the time when Imran Khan’s PTI supported Musharraf and he was a reportedly hot favorite candidate for Prime Ministership.

Do you think the photograph is real? Imran Khan actually mentioned this one in many of his speeches in US recently. Watch the part of his speech after 4 minutes and 50 seconds in a video here. And if it is, what does it tell us about Gen. Musharraf. Or about Imran Khan.

In the photo above, a small boy is seen feeding a colony of pigeons near the Sindh Secretariat, Karachi.

Photo is taken on October 4, 2008 and is courtesy of Syed Abbas Mehdi.

When I first saw the photo, the sheer number of pigeons reminded me of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1963 movie called The Birds. Photo to the right is a scene from the movie ‘Birds’.

I do not think that I am the only who who has been quite stunned by the near-total radio silence from Gen. Pervez Musharraf since he was forced out of the President’s office.

Of course, one realizes that he has probably been advised - maybe ‘told’ - to keep a low profile by the military itself. Possibly, that was part of the unstated ‘deal’ that led to his resignation. Moreover, one must confess, that given all the passions he can still ignite amongst his detractors as well as his supporters, it is probably a good think that he has kept a low profile. Pakistan is already too traumatic a place. There is already “too much news” in Pakistan as it is. A little quiet from the Pervez Musharraf front is, therefore, probably good for the general and good for Pakistan too.

But that being as it is, one is quite surprised at the silence nonetheless. Silence is certainly not characteristic of the man. And he obviously has a lot that he could say, especially given all the events since his departure. That he has kept his restrain - or been made to keep his restrain - is, therefore, certainly surprising and possibly admirable.

Except, that it seems that he has finally broken the silence - but only briefly and most cautiously. One hears that he will also soon start saying more - on the international lecture circuit. Whether one agrees with him or not, it will no doubt be worth a listen.

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Eid approaches. This not not a time to be depressed. But these are depressing times. Eid deserves an upbeat message and positive pictures. Soon, we promise, we will have these for you. But today, I cannot get this picture out of my head.

This picture, taken by Emilio Morenatti of the Associated Press, haunts me. As it should. Taken yesterday (Sunday) in Islamabad, the caption reads: “A Pakistani boy waits to get a ration of donated food before Iftar, the time to break their fast, during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan.”

Following is something I wrote 20 years ago for Adamjee College’s annual Magazine. Time flies guys! While going through my stuff today, I found the magazine and thought of sharing the article here. Pardon me if some of the write up appears too lame in 2008. Imagine that I was just a first year teenage student then. While some of the text may appear to be sarcasm, I am very proud of my college and I hope many of our readers will be able to relate to their college life in Pakistan.

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This was another bad week for Pakistanis. Our closest international ally continued bombing our territory. The self-style custodians of our morality kept up the indiscriminate killing of our citizen. One of our most popular television show anchors incited murder in the name of religion through television.Once again, this was a week when  Pakistanis died. Pakistanis cried.

The political machinations in the country continue to be a distraction that is keeping many, too many, glued to the soap opera quality twists and turns in the story of Pakistan’s tortured democratic experiment. But the real story in the country remains what it has for the last two years: a divided society which is at war. Niether the self-styled custodians of our internal identity nor our self-styled freinds abroad seem to be helping. Indeed, they keep making things worse for Pakistanis everywhere.

Meanwhile, Pakistanis continue to die. Pakistan continues to cry.

Whether it is pre-US-election posturing or a deeper shift in US policy, it is clear that the American forces have increased their military incursions into Pakistani territory. Beyond the fact that this is clearly a violation of the sovereign territory of a country they claim to be their ‘closest all,’ one cannot even imagine what the strategic logic of these incursions could possibly be since each incursion only strengthens the hand of the extremist elements that are supposedly after, angers Pakistani public opinion, and pushes the Pakistan goevrnment into a tighter corner. There is no real evidence that they have hit any important militant target but innocent Pakistanis, including children, women and even Pakistani soldiers have certainly been killed; 15 killed this Wednesday; 12 more on Friday.

Meanwhile. Pakistanis continue to die. Pakistan continues to cry.

Meanwhile, the merchants of murder and mayhem thrive even more in this condition and continue their war against Pakistan. Indeed, they seem now to be targetting the places of worship themselves. Only today an alleged suicide bomber was caught in Islamabad. On Thursday, 25 died in a grenade attack at a mosque in the Banai area of Dir during taraweeh prayers. Last Saturday, even as Asif Ali Zardari was being elected President, 31 people were killed and another 81 others injured as a suicide bomber blew himself and his vehicle up at the Zangali police post at Kohat Road, Peshawar.

Meanwhile. Pakistanis continue to die. Pakistan continues to cry.

And those who one might have wanted to bring calm and lessons of peace, are themselves engrossed in preaching hate, and in this case murder, to mass audiences. On September 7, Aamir Liaquat Hussain - GEO TV’s popular religious talk-show anchor, former MQM Minister, a holder of multiple fake degrees, and religious instigator extraordinaire - in his GEO TV Show Alim Online presided over a long discussion instigating that those holding Ahmadiyya beliefs were ‘wajib ul qatl’ (i.e., liable to death). The next day, Dr. Abdul Mannan Siddiqi - a 46 year-old Ahmadi in Mirpurkhas and a US-trained cardiologist who had retruned to work in his community - was murdered in broad daylight while working at his local hospital. The next day, Seth Muhammad Yousuf of Nawabshah was also murdered brutally. Whether there is a direct link between the two or not, the preaching of hatred and the practice of hatred both thrive in our land of the pure.

Meanwhile. Pakistanis continue to die. Pakistan continues to cry.

One sits here, shaken by sadness at this waste of human life, and wonders: at how many hands and for how many reasons should Pakistanis die? How long must Pakistan cry?

These pictures need no commentary. Click on pictures to link to related posts.

09/09/08  ISLAMABAD :Newly elected President Asif Ali Zardari was set to be sworn in to office on Tuesday.Zardari secured a large win in a poll among lawmakers on Saturday and will become the 14th president. The inauguration will take place in a closely-guarded ceremony at Aiwan-i-Sadr (President House) in Islamabad around 1pm (0700 GMT), officials told AFP.The Afghan president Hamid Karzai will attend the event, in which chief justice Abdul Hameed Dogar will administer the oath as government leaders, military top brass, judges, diplomats and high-ranking civil servants look on. A guard of honour comprising the three armed forces will then welcome Zardari on the lawn of the presidential palace, completing a spectacle expected to be broadcast live to the nation.

“It is a very significant day in the history of country and it is the victory of the people and the mission of Benazir Bhutto shaheed (martyr),” said Farzana Raja, an MP and senior Zardari aide ahead of the ceremony.

Security around President House, which is situated in the already high-security zone of Islamabad, has been further fortified ahead of the inauguration, officials said.Zardari will speak to reporters later Tuesday and is expected to outline his vision for Pakistan, including his plans to counter extremism and turn around an economy beset by rampant inflation and a plunging stock market. As co-chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Zardari already heads a fragile coalition government which, although still in office, recently lost the backing of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s party. As president, Zardari gains the right to dismiss governments and appoint leaders of the military, which has ruled Pakistan for half of its 61-year existence.

Asif Ali Zardari becomes the President of Pakistan today after winning the presidential election. He secured 479 votes out of 702. His opponents, Retired Chief Justice Saeed-uz-Zaman Siddiqui received 153 elctoral votes and Senator Mushahid Hussein received 43. Asif’s victory in three provinces is overwhelming, especially in Sindh where his opposing candidates couldn’t get a single vote. Only in Punjab Assembly Saeed-uz-Zaman Siddiqi is able to get more votes than Asif.The vote by the two houses of parliament and four provincial assemblies forms the 1,170-member, but 702-vote, electoral college. According to a Dawn update:

‘Asif Ali Zardari secured 281 votes out of the 426 valid votes polled in the parliament,’ chief election commissioner Qazi Mohammad Farooq said. He has secured 458 out of 702 electoral college votes, according to partial Election Commission results.

Asif Zardari is the 13th President of Pakistan. The ones who have been President before him include: Iskandar Mirza, Ayub Khan, Yahya Khan, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry, Zia-ul-Haq, Ghulam Ishaq Khan, Waseem Sajjad, Farooq Laghari, Waseem Sajjad, Rafiq Tarar and Pervaiz Musharraf. Waseem Sajjad has twice been the President of Pakistan.

06/09/08  ISLAMABAD: The polling for the election of the country’s 14th president (including the caretakers), being contested by the three candidates, is progress at the Parliament House, while the Senate members have already cast their votes.

Prior to the polling in the parliament, Chief Election Commissioner and Returning Officer, Justice ® Qazi Muhammad Faruque briefed the Senate and National Assembly members about the procedures of the process of casting votes and said that the members would be called in chronological order of the English alphabets.

People’s Party Co-Chairman, Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz)’s candidate Saeed-uz-Zaman Siddiqui and Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid-e-Azam)’s Secretary General, Mushahid Hussain are vying for the presidential slot, according to the Election Commission’s released list of candidates.

Senate, National Assembly and the four provincial assemblies members are casting their votes in the presidential election underway. First of all, the names of the Senators were called in the Parliament House for voting and later followed the National Assembly members, who are still casting their votes. Polling kicked off this morning at 10.10 A.M., which would continue without break until 3.00 P.M. in the afternoon, while the voting process continuing in the four provincial assemblies of the country also.

Returning Officer, Chief Election Commissioner will announce the results of the presidential election this evening and, thereafter, the notification of the successful candidate will be issued. The newly elected President will take oath of his office today.