Baithak Desi Jun 08: Irfan Hussain, Amina Jilani, Ardeshir Cowasjee, Zia Mohyeddin, News , Cartoons
AS a news junkie, I miss my daily dose of Pakistani politics when I am abroad. And as my absences from the local scene are now often lengthy, I try to make up for lost time when I’m back by flipping from one TV chat show to another. Irfan Husain
[Perhaps he should subscribe to Baithak Desi?]
At the risk of being boring, and before breaking point arrives, I await clarification from some bright spark as to how it is that unelected Asif Zardari (and to a certain extent unelected Nawaz Sharif and unelected Pir of London Altaf Hussain) supersede and override constitution and parliament. Amina Jilani
Mian formerly of Model Town now of Raiwind Nawaz Sharif’s record is no better (rumour has it that he is vying with Zardari as to who ultimately will move into the presidential palace). Gohar Ayub Khan, in his book Glimpses into the Corridors of Power, relates how sometime early in Nov 1997 “The PM [Nawaz Sharif] asked me to accompany him to the PM House. In the car the PM put his hand on my knee and said, ‘Gohar Sahib, show me a way to arrest the Chief Justice [Sajjad Ali Shah] and keep him in jail for a night.’ ‘For heaven’s sake, do not even consider doing anything of the sort. The whole system will collapse,’ I told him.” Nawaz held his horses, but not for long. On Nov 28, 1997, he struck. The Supreme Court had brought a contempt case against him for certain injudicious remarks he had made about the chief justice and his court. Nawaz was summoned. But rather than going there himself he and his party organised the physical storming of the Supreme Court by the PML ‘storm troopers’. This disgraceful and shaming incident is so well known that it needs no elaboration here. (I have written 11 columns on the incident and its follow-up when the matter was taken up by the Supreme Court at my instigation. These columns, in case anyone is interested, can by found on the Internet in the archives section of Dawn. They are dated Dec 7, Dec 14 and Dec 21, 1997; March 29, April 5, April 12, April 26, May 10, May 24 1998; Oct 31, Nov 21, Nov 28, 1999; Oct 1 and Oct 8, 2000.) By Ardeshir Cowasjee
'Saved by the bell.' Today the expression is associated, by most people, with the ringing of the bell at the end of each round in a boxing match, but used in a non-sporting context, it means to be saved from a dire situation at the last possible moment. The strangest example of this occurred in England in the late 17th century, during the reign of William and Mary, when a sentry at Windsor Castle was accused of being asleep on duty. His defense at the court-martial was that he was not asleep because he had heard the clock of St. Paul's in London strike thirteen at midnight. The court ridiculed the idea that the sound of the bells of a London church tower could carry over the twenty miles between London and Windsor. The sentry was sentenced to death. While imprisoned and awaiting execution, some citizens of London heard of the sentry's story and his denial of the charge: they verified, to the satisfaction of the authorities, that the clock of St.Paul's did, in fact, strike thirteen instead of twelve on that particular night. The sentry was 'saved by the bell.' Zia Mohyeddin
News & Views
Notice issued to Geo for irresponsible action
Rohri - Steeped in history - Salman Rashid
[Perhaps he should subscribe to Baithak Desi?]
At the risk of being boring, and before breaking point arrives, I await clarification from some bright spark as to how it is that unelected Asif Zardari (and to a certain extent unelected Nawaz Sharif and unelected Pir of London Altaf Hussain) supersede and override constitution and parliament. Amina Jilani
Mian formerly of Model Town now of Raiwind Nawaz Sharif’s record is no better (rumour has it that he is vying with Zardari as to who ultimately will move into the presidential palace). Gohar Ayub Khan, in his book Glimpses into the Corridors of Power, relates how sometime early in Nov 1997 “The PM [Nawaz Sharif] asked me to accompany him to the PM House. In the car the PM put his hand on my knee and said, ‘Gohar Sahib, show me a way to arrest the Chief Justice [Sajjad Ali Shah] and keep him in jail for a night.’ ‘For heaven’s sake, do not even consider doing anything of the sort. The whole system will collapse,’ I told him.” Nawaz held his horses, but not for long. On Nov 28, 1997, he struck. The Supreme Court had brought a contempt case against him for certain injudicious remarks he had made about the chief justice and his court. Nawaz was summoned. But rather than going there himself he and his party organised the physical storming of the Supreme Court by the PML ‘storm troopers’. This disgraceful and shaming incident is so well known that it needs no elaboration here. (I have written 11 columns on the incident and its follow-up when the matter was taken up by the Supreme Court at my instigation. These columns, in case anyone is interested, can by found on the Internet in the archives section of Dawn. They are dated Dec 7, Dec 14 and Dec 21, 1997; March 29, April 5, April 12, April 26, May 10, May 24 1998; Oct 31, Nov 21, Nov 28, 1999; Oct 1 and Oct 8, 2000.) By Ardeshir Cowasjee
'Saved by the bell.' Today the expression is associated, by most people, with the ringing of the bell at the end of each round in a boxing match, but used in a non-sporting context, it means to be saved from a dire situation at the last possible moment. The strangest example of this occurred in England in the late 17th century, during the reign of William and Mary, when a sentry at Windsor Castle was accused of being asleep on duty. His defense at the court-martial was that he was not asleep because he had heard the clock of St. Paul's in London strike thirteen at midnight. The court ridiculed the idea that the sound of the bells of a London church tower could carry over the twenty miles between London and Windsor. The sentry was sentenced to death. While imprisoned and awaiting execution, some citizens of London heard of the sentry's story and his denial of the charge: they verified, to the satisfaction of the authorities, that the clock of St.Paul's did, in fact, strike thirteen instead of twelve on that particular night. The sentry was 'saved by the bell.' Zia Mohyeddin
News & Views
Notice issued to Geo for irresponsible action
Rohri - Steeped in history - Salman Rashid
Maxim - Today's Cartoon
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posted by temporal at 6/09/2008
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