Bye Bye BB
Vo Mar gayia
I had gone upstairs in the afternoon to ask for some help reading Urdu script, something I have been struggling with. Our landlord's wife, Usma-ji, patiently took me through several pages of lessons. After my head was swimming with curli-qs, hamzas and alifs I was going to take my leave when Usma-ji offered me some gajjar-halwa (a rich carrot dessrt) so I sat back down while she warmed some up for me. It was then that her youngest son poked his head in the room and announced, "Benazir is dead! Ayaz says so". Both Usma-ji and I scoffed, assuming it was another Internet/sms rumor while her children excitedly babbled, hoping the rumor was true. Usma-ji turned on the television, I thought to check the news, but she actually watched an Urdu cooking show for five minutes before switching to a news channel. Ribbons of Urdu and English headlines rolled in opposite directions across the bottom of the screen.
There it was confirmed. Two of the teenagers gave each other a high five, and everybody seemed to be running about the house. I joined the commotion, racing downstairs to get my cell phone and call Devin, not suprisingly the networks were busy. Upstairs again, they talked about how much they dislike Benazir, not an uncommon sentiment in Pakistan... although she also has large bastions of support in certain areas, such as Sindh. They also made sure to remark that they didn't like Musharraf any better and that Nawaz Sharif was only barely better. Despite the odd air of giddiness in the room, Usma-ji went on to say that this was a bad thing (she always speaks to me in Urdu, so I didn't get the nuances), perhaps to make up for her children's glee. {later edit: when I asked them for comments for a news story, they were suddenly full of respectful praise for BB, contradicting the earlier scorn -- a reminder that most people outwardly choose to show 'appropriate', as opposed to genuine, reactions.}
Devin arrived home in a somber mood. He told me that when he found out he almost cried and that the atmosphere and the law office was grim. I snapped from observing one end of the emotional spectrum to another. Though neither of us like or trust Benazir further than we could throw her, we agreed that this is a very sad day for Pakistan, setting a dangerous precedent that was foreshadowed on October 18th when a bomb damaged the convoy she was carried in and killed many supporters.
Our landlord arrived about 20 minutes later to deliver our much awaited heater (the antique one we been using had died a few days ago and we've been dressing in many layers to stay warm) and expressed grave concern about the situation. We all concurred that whether or not we agree or disagree with somebody's politics, it is certainly a dark day when terrorism becomes a means for exterminating political candidates. For those not familiar with Pakistani domestic politics, despite Western stereotypes of violent Islamic countries, suicide bombings have not historically been common here. In fact it's only within recent years the scourge has torn apart the country's interior at increasingly frequent intervals... this is something that most Pakistanis find quite alarming.
I will admit that I did get exhausted with Western adulation of a woman who in reality showed her true colors as a particularly opportunistic and corrupt politician. Every time she spoke with such self-righteous passion I cringed. Once you're in Pakistan, it doesn't take long to figure out what most Pakistanis already know: that she has a habit of changing her promises and position as often as the wind changes course -- depending on what is advantageous to her that day. You just get used to not putting too much credence in anything she says. Her ego made it impossible for her to see beyond short-term personal benefit and work towards building her party into more than a cult of personality... something that may be devastating for the PPP in the near future, that is unless her martyrdom sustains it.
Already there are reports of riots in the streets in many cities and towns across Pakistan. We guess that the worst will be in Karachi where her bastion of support is, but even here in Lahore media and personal reports are filtering in of violence in the streets. This single event, a culmination of a turbulent year, could destabilize the country more than anything thus far this year. During the emergency, it was the State that you had to be afraid of, and only if you were actively organizing against its repressive measures. But this promises to ignite the less predictable rage and madness that infects angry masses and spreads easily to those discontent for other reasons (for example, the combination of Pakistan's massive poverty and rising prices of staples like wheat). We are planning to stay home tomorrow and hope that others that we care about in Pakistan will do the same if they can. Some have already been killed in the rioting and unfortunately more probably will within the next 24 hours.
It's not only PPP supporters who are angry and upset, local media reports that Pakistanis of various stripes and creeds who mourn the day that the tactics of terrorism deepened its grip on the social and political life of the country. As self-centered America obsesses about the impact of terrorist acts on its homeland, the scourge of violent (non-state- sanctioned) extremism, does far more damage in the countries where they are based. This is, of course, in part due to the violence of America's state-sanctioned 'war on terror', but also because those governments deemed as American collaborators become targets themselves, and in part because the politics of violent extremism hit hardest and most frequently where they are an integrated part of a larger society.
Who did it? although we've had a crash course this year, we don't know enough about Pakistani politics yet to say exactly who. Although her list of enemies isn't exactly short, but the list of those willing to utilize these means whittles it down to a stub. It stumped me earlier this year when she stated that she would allow American troops on Pakistani soil to help fight terrorism. I boggled, what was she thinking? What Pakistani would support that? Not even the secular liberals I know who are so often branded by their conservative brethren as being supporters of America (Most of them share a strong critique of American imperialism, what differs is their vision of how it should be dealt with).
The attack was well-planned... a suicide bomb blasted out the windows of her bullet-proof car and then a gunman shot her in the neck. Edit: This was reported earlier, but it now seems that she was shot while waving to a supporter out a window, before the bomb blast. The usual predictions will be that militant Islamic groups, were behind this.
What next? The immediate predictions of those we've talked to are this: another emergency may be declared, elections will be canceled or significantly delayed. With the PMLN partially castrated, as its leader Nawaz Sharif and his brother have been disqualified him running for election, and many other parties and civil society groups calling for boycotts of elections, it should be interesting.
We just heard a Jamaat-e-Islami representative on Dawn News call for an all parties unified movement to oppose Musharraf's reelection. Jamaat-e-Islami is an interesting party -- I've written about their student wing, who were fond of using violence and coercion to promote their ends, in my article on student organizing. That said, they are strategic organization -- purportedly one of the only major parties to conduct genuine internal elections. In addition, they gain the moral high ground by boycotting the elections when PPP and PMLN couldn't pass up the opportunity to participate. Historically, they have never won an electoral majority -- and for that many are grateful given the conservative brand of Islam they propagate. Anyway, it's too early for us to many predictions beyond that.
Criticisms aside, I feel a sense of shock at the death of such a large figure in Pakistan, and grief both for her as an individual and for Pakistan as a country. We'll keep you posted. Love and peace to all our friends in Pakistan and around the world during a dark Time.
I had gone upstairs in the afternoon to ask for some help reading Urdu script, something I have been struggling with. Our landlord's wife, Usma-ji, patiently took me through several pages of lessons. After my head was swimming with curli-qs, hamzas and alifs I was going to take my leave when Usma-ji offered me some gajjar-halwa (a rich carrot dessrt) so I sat back down while she warmed some up for me. It was then that her youngest son poked his head in the room and announced, "Benazir is dead! Ayaz says so". Both Usma-ji and I scoffed, assuming it was another Internet/sms rumor while her children excitedly babbled, hoping the rumor was true. Usma-ji turned on the television, I thought to check the news, but she actually watched an Urdu cooking show for five minutes before switching to a news channel. Ribbons of Urdu and English headlines rolled in opposite directions across the bottom of the screen.
There it was confirmed. Two of the teenagers gave each other a high five, and everybody seemed to be running about the house. I joined the commotion, racing downstairs to get my cell phone and call Devin, not suprisingly the networks were busy. Upstairs again, they talked about how much they dislike Benazir, not an uncommon sentiment in Pakistan... although she also has large bastions of support in certain areas, such as Sindh. They also made sure to remark that they didn't like Musharraf any better and that Nawaz Sharif was only barely better. Despite the odd air of giddiness in the room, Usma-ji went on to say that this was a bad thing (she always speaks to me in Urdu, so I didn't get the nuances), perhaps to make up for her children's glee. {later edit: when I asked them for comments for a news story, they were suddenly full of respectful praise for BB, contradicting the earlier scorn -- a reminder that most people outwardly choose to show 'appropriate', as opposed to genuine, reactions.}
Devin arrived home in a somber mood. He told me that when he found out he almost cried and that the atmosphere and the law office was grim. I snapped from observing one end of the emotional spectrum to another. Though neither of us like or trust Benazir further than we could throw her, we agreed that this is a very sad day for Pakistan, setting a dangerous precedent that was foreshadowed on October 18th when a bomb damaged the convoy she was carried in and killed many supporters.
Our landlord arrived about 20 minutes later to deliver our much awaited heater (the antique one we been using had died a few days ago and we've been dressing in many layers to stay warm) and expressed grave concern about the situation. We all concurred that whether or not we agree or disagree with somebody's politics, it is certainly a dark day when terrorism becomes a means for exterminating political candidates. For those not familiar with Pakistani domestic politics, despite Western stereotypes of violent Islamic countries, suicide bombings have not historically been common here. In fact it's only within recent years the scourge has torn apart the country's interior at increasingly frequent intervals... this is something that most Pakistanis find quite alarming.
I will admit that I did get exhausted with Western adulation of a woman who in reality showed her true colors as a particularly opportunistic and corrupt politician. Every time she spoke with such self-righteous passion I cringed. Once you're in Pakistan, it doesn't take long to figure out what most Pakistanis already know: that she has a habit of changing her promises and position as often as the wind changes course -- depending on what is advantageous to her that day. You just get used to not putting too much credence in anything she says. Her ego made it impossible for her to see beyond short-term personal benefit and work towards building her party into more than a cult of personality... something that may be devastating for the PPP in the near future, that is unless her martyrdom sustains it.
Already there are reports of riots in the streets in many cities and towns across Pakistan. We guess that the worst will be in Karachi where her bastion of support is, but even here in Lahore media and personal reports are filtering in of violence in the streets. This single event, a culmination of a turbulent year, could destabilize the country more than anything thus far this year. During the emergency, it was the State that you had to be afraid of, and only if you were actively organizing against its repressive measures. But this promises to ignite the less predictable rage and madness that infects angry masses and spreads easily to those discontent for other reasons (for example, the combination of Pakistan's massive poverty and rising prices of staples like wheat). We are planning to stay home tomorrow and hope that others that we care about in Pakistan will do the same if they can. Some have already been killed in the rioting and unfortunately more probably will within the next 24 hours.
It's not only PPP supporters who are angry and upset, local media reports that Pakistanis of various stripes and creeds who mourn the day that the tactics of terrorism deepened its grip on the social and political life of the country. As self-centered America obsesses about the impact of terrorist acts on its homeland, the scourge of violent (non-state- sanctioned) extremism, does far more damage in the countries where they are based. This is, of course, in part due to the violence of America's state-sanctioned 'war on terror', but also because those governments deemed as American collaborators become targets themselves, and in part because the politics of violent extremism hit hardest and most frequently where they are an integrated part of a larger society.
Who did it? although we've had a crash course this year, we don't know enough about Pakistani politics yet to say exactly who. Although her list of enemies isn't exactly short, but the list of those willing to utilize these means whittles it down to a stub. It stumped me earlier this year when she stated that she would allow American troops on Pakistani soil to help fight terrorism. I boggled, what was she thinking? What Pakistani would support that? Not even the secular liberals I know who are so often branded by their conservative brethren as being supporters of America (Most of them share a strong critique of American imperialism, what differs is their vision of how it should be dealt with).
The attack was well-planned... a suicide bomb blasted out the windows of her bullet-proof car and then a gunman shot her in the neck. Edit: This was reported earlier, but it now seems that she was shot while waving to a supporter out a window, before the bomb blast. The usual predictions will be that militant Islamic groups, were behind this.
What next? The immediate predictions of those we've talked to are this: another emergency may be declared, elections will be canceled or significantly delayed. With the PMLN partially castrated, as its leader Nawaz Sharif and his brother have been disqualified him running for election, and many other parties and civil society groups calling for boycotts of elections, it should be interesting.
We just heard a Jamaat-e-Islami representative on Dawn News call for an all parties unified movement to oppose Musharraf's reelection. Jamaat-e-Islami is an interesting party -- I've written about their student wing, who were fond of using violence and coercion to promote their ends, in my article on student organizing. That said, they are strategic organization -- purportedly one of the only major parties to conduct genuine internal elections. In addition, they gain the moral high ground by boycotting the elections when PPP and PMLN couldn't pass up the opportunity to participate. Historically, they have never won an electoral majority -- and for that many are grateful given the conservative brand of Islam they propagate. Anyway, it's too early for us to many predictions beyond that.
Criticisms aside, I feel a sense of shock at the death of such a large figure in Pakistan, and grief both for her as an individual and for Pakistan as a country. We'll keep you posted. Love and peace to all our friends in Pakistan and around the world during a dark Time.