It seems the protestors got part of what they wanted: Governor's Rule has been imposed in Balochistan. [1]
It seems the Supreme Court has called for the arrest of the Prime Minister on corruption charges from the time he was the Water and Power Minister and in charge of handing out contracts to private power plants.
This is coming at the same time as a 50,000 sit in at the capital against corruption being led by a moderate Muslim cleric (who, til now, was most famous for the 600 page Fatwa Against Terrorism), who is suspected by critics of being backed by the military, the judiciary, the US, the UK, or some combination thereof.
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That cleric is a moderate? Puzzles me, if he is. Doesn't seem like one to me.
Well, compared to Taliban Cleric he is moderate.
According to Wiki he did oppose terrorism and say Islamic state must respect freedom and human rights.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohammad_Tahir-ul-Qadri
Spiegel is more suspicious of him.
Before this, he was most famous for a 600 page fatwa declaring suicide bombings and terrorism as un-Islamic.
Other faults include lauding General Musharraf's coup back in 1998, as well as the abrupt nature in which he arrived on the scene. The man's not perfect, but his pros outweigh his cons, in my own opinion.
Anyways, on to news:
Seems we'll know in the next few hours about the PM getting arrested.
Qadri is not standing down, and Rehman Malik (Interior Minister, but acts more like the Information Minister in the worst possible way) has given him til the end of Thursday to clear out due to "terrorist threats", which may or may not be believable. At the same time, the FIA (think Pakistani version of the FBI) is investigating just where the guy got all his funds.
Peshawar is having a Quetta-style sit-in in front of the provincial governor's house demanding an end to an operation that killed many tribesmen. Police lathi-charged (beat them with sticks) and forcibly removed the protestors during the night.
Supreme Court has admitted a case where Sherry Rehman (current Ambassador to the US) has been accused of blasphemy.
Way too much going on at once, in the minds of most analysts. People suspect the Army, the courts, the US, the UK, or some combination thereof.
EDIT -
Could we please, please, pretty please rename this thread?
edited 16th Jan '13 10:57:45 PM by FFShinra
Unchanging Avatar.
Yeah, there doesn't seem to be any more news available regarding the thread title.
Except for 4/1/2011. That day lingers in my memory like...metaphor here...I should go.
Rename it into what? General Pakistan thread?
"And as long as a sack of shit is not a good thing to be, chivalry will never die."
Yes please.
News: Seems the anti-corruption police won't arrest the PM yet because they're still investigating. Then the leading officer of said investigation was found dead today, apparantly a suicide via hanging from a fan.
Qadri's protest ended with his party getting a seat at the table in the interrim government and a bunch of promises to follow the constitution. Pro-Qadri people say they got what they wanted, critics say the deal was a mere face-saving measure. We'll see as the details are hammered out on January 27th.
Suicide? Wonder how many hands held that rope. More than two, I will warrant.
Good thing Qadri seems to be taking power.
As for the days to come I would surprise if a lot of policemen and judges *wink* had some... accidents...*wink*
edited 18th Jan '13 10:25:27 AM by Baff
I will always cherish the chance of a new beggining.
That or the guy was given some impossible demand (like hiding evidence or something else that would have made him the scapegoat if the case failed) and decided to take the easy way out. If the former, the question is whether its the PPP stalwarts trying to "save democracy" or the Supreme Court's stalwarts pissed that the investigation is taking too long. If the latter, could be anyone.
He's not taking power. He just gets a say in the decision-making process of who DOES take power, and that too only in the interrim government. As to acccidents, the government is desperate to complete its term, since it would be the first civil administration to do so in Pakistan's history....particularly since that would be the only good thing to occur in the current government's time in power.
Even MORE news: It seems Pakistan will release into Kabul's custody the former second-in-command of the Taliban/Mullah Omar's right hand man, Mullah Baradar, as part of their assistance in the negotiating process between the US/Afghanistan and the Taliban.
edited 18th Jan '13 10:30:35 AM by FFShinra
nevermind.
edited 13th Jan '13 10:32:33 AM by Baff
I will always cherish the chance of a new beggining.