Deal or No Deal !

The game is on,waiting for the results to come!


The details of what went right and what went wrong at the still-to-be-officially-confirmed Musharraf-Benazir meeting in Abu Dhabi on Friday are being kept under such tight wraps that even some of the leading British newspapers, with all their resourcefulness notwithstanding, seem to have been forced to indulge in pure speculation with each of them reaching a different conclusion.

The Sunday Telegraph says that under the power-sharing deal struck by Benazir, Gen Musharraf would step down as the army chief but would be able to retain the presidency while Ms Bhutto would be permitted to return home to seek a third term for the slot of prime minister.

The Sunday Times, however, said the talks deadlocked because Gen Musharraf had refused to give up his army job in the bargain.The Sunday Observer perhaps for want of any concrete information did not even refer to the meeting, but said: “Some see him (Musharraf) as a reformer and the West’s ally, but others believe he’s a dictator who secretly supports Taliban. After bloody violence at a mosque in the centre of Islamabad, riots in Karachi, a slap administered by Pakistan’s courts after a clumsy bid to get rid of the nation’s judge, approaching elections and a string of failed assassination attempts, the 63-year-old career soldier and president is looking more fragile than a long time.”

The Sunday Telegraph story appears to be rather more rounded as after having talked about the points of agreements between the two it has also gone on to the issues on which Benazir and Musharraf did not agree.

The newspaper said the two still remained divided on who should hold the post of interim prime minister. Benazir is said to have suggested the name of Nasir Chattha, former speaker of National Assembly, while Musharraf wants to give the job to Iftikhar Shah, Pakistan’s ambassador to Turkey.

The paper said two ministers, Shiekh Rashid and Sher Afgan, confirmed the Abu Dhabi meeting with the former describing it as ‘successful’ and the latter saying that the two sides were able to overcome most of the stumbling blocks.

Sunday Times said he (Musharraf) had what the Pakistani media described as a secret summit in Abu Dhabi with Benazir Bhutto.

The exiled former prime minister is said to be central to American plans, supported by Britain, for shoring up Musharraf as a bulwark in the war on terror.

“The proposal is that, together, Bhutto and Musharraf would be able to establish a governing coalition that would isolate the extremists after elections due in November. They are reported to disagree, however, over Musharraf’s desire to remain both president and head of the army.

“Mutual distrust has surrounded contacts with Bhutto, and a deal remains fraught with problems, though both share a vision of turning Pakistan into a moderate, progressive nation.

“Living in self-exile, Bhutto has seen her bargaining position strengthen as Musharraf’s grip on power weakens. While he would be ready to give her Pakistan People’s party (PPP) a share of power, he would prefer the strong-willed Bhutto to stay on the sidelines, according to government sources.

“It may already be too late for a political settlement. Musharraf is trapped between the demands of his foreign patrons and the suicide bombs of his domestic enemies. He is given few chances in what appears to be the endgame of his eight-year benign dictatorship".

Source:Dawn newspaper.

Yeah !

This short-sightedness must be avoided

CJ Reinstated !

Its time to rejoice, the verdict has been announced!Chief Justice Ifthikar Mohammed Choudhry, restored yesterday to his real designation at Supreme Court of Pakistan.
cheers for the triumph of judiciary!
cheers for the triumph of people of Pakistan!

Pride of the President- PTV !

Ad published on 8 july in DAWN

I have got a chance to mess up with advertising as a subject in one of my semester. So, with all the knowledge and handiness that I have learned so far drive me to do this creative chore.
Note: the following script has been the victim of my dexterity. : P

HEADLINE:

“In our monkey business, corruption comes in a matter of seconds”.

SUB HEADLINE:

“Non stop gibberish of P(seud) TV.”
It’s airless!

BODY COPY:

P(seud)TV has futile transmission hours strong history, making us the most crooked hand in Pakistan’s TV history. But this callowness did not come to us overnight; we learned the ropes of incompetence and fiddled with your minds time and again. Our time was squandered to misapprehend information and give our audience stultifying experience of boredom. From 1964 when PTV started with its first hour of blabbing until today, we have been dragging a head to screw you up 24/7—year after year dashing your expectations by our doltishness. As your president airwaves carrier we feel responsible for every second on the dial to commend or eulogize his stature more and more.

SLOGAN:

All new bullshit—coming soon

07/07/07 Mystery!

Those superstitious types who freaked out last year when the calendar read 06/06/06 will have something to smile about on the 7th day of the 7th month, 2007.

Believing the triple appearance of the number 7 will bring luck, many people are planning important events for this first Saturday in July. Brides and grooms, especially, looking for a little extra dose of marital fortune, are flocking to the altar in droves on 07/07/07, according to wedding watchers.

If they only knew what the Chinese were thinking.

The number seven is considered lucky due to its frequent and favorable appearance in the Bible, say historians.

"As the number of the days of God's first week, of the levels of heaven...of the numbers of angels and trumpets, etc., the number came in the last few centuries BCE to represent divine perfection," said David Frankfurter, professor of religious studies and history at the University of New Hampshire. "Something organized seven-fold meant that it corresponded to God's own arrangement."

Numbers control our fate?

Just as some people wouldn't dare get married on a Friday the 13th or live in a house with the address 666, believing in the positive influence of the number seven is just another technique humans use to have some jurisdiction over the chaotic world around them, said Frankfurter.

“In our modern American society we have a tendency to look for magical ways to control the world or fate, so numerology is especially important for us,” Frankfurter said.

The obsession with numerology—and other para-sciences like astrology—tends to get stronger especially during significant life events like marriages, he added. "It represents Americans' rather weak (compared to Asian cultures') attempt to exert some numerical or calendrical control over important life-cycle, transition, or other crisis situations," Frankfurter told LiveScience.

Seven not lonely in luck

Trying to find meaning in numbers is a practice that goes back to ancient times, say historians, and doesn't begin and end with 6, 7 and 13.

There are many other numbers in the Bible that were thought to have sacred meanings, said Frankfurter, including twelve (for the tribes of Israel and the zodiac), five (books of Moses) and four (archangels, gospels).

Lucky numbers also vary from culture to culture, proving, skeptics say, that coincidental connections between an event and the influence of a number can always be found if you're looking hard enough, no matter what the digit.

Chinese culture, for example, associates "degrees" of luck according to how a number is pronounced. Eight, whose Chinese name rhymes with the words for prosperity and wealth, is considered particularly auspicious. The Beijing Olympics, as a result, will open next year at 8 p.m. on Aug. 8, 2008.

Oh, and many Chinese consider 7 a very unlucky number associated with death. Don’t tell the brides.

By Heather Whipps

The Masjid Mayhem!

The ongoing drama of Lal Masjid under the nose of the country guardians or its better to say a play all directed by the administration seems to be in its ending episodes after the ruefully ridiculous arrest of Maulana Abdul Aziz, who is said to be the backbone of this sharia movement. Since the occurrence of this incident and further, there comes many speculations, revelations and predictions. The whole Lal Masjid saga emerged as a failed strategy of a planner which resulted in Maulana Aziz’s unexpected capture. Moreover, all the time which has been surfed on the negotiations by the government with the Maulanas didn’t result in any fruitful conclusion. These are the people after whom those offered prayers which are now crediting them as stigma on Islam. Presently the situation has entered in a new phase, more than 4 days have been passed. There seems a revulsion in Maulana Rasheed Ghazi’s stance, who prior was agreed to do consensus with the government and ready to surrender themselves to them. But later on yesterday they have refused the officials to make any dialogue with them, and this proving the speculation about losing his control over the hardcore inmates. now according to the recent updates they are agree to dialogue with some MMA leaders, but this didn’t happened yet due to the various security reasons presented by government and them.

On the other hand, there is a doubt that government has used the Abdul brothers as a scapegoat. As they are giving this impression by deferring of an ultimate military operation. Keeping apart the issue of hundreds of lives of the women and girls inside. There isn’t any noteworthy statement by the government of this postponement except the above reason. This proving the multi dimensional strategy of government of using all this chaos in their favour. First to strengthen its or Musharaf’s position before the self claimed western pacifists and second, the CJ issue which has taken a secondary place in the prevailing issues. Also the APC rumblings are all there for government. History is evident of the fact that it’s the administration which has nurtured this plant, and now throwing up its tasteless fruit. Either it is Ezaj ul Haq’s or General Zia’s soft corner for them or the pending of the matter of illegitimate grabbing of madressah plot.

All which has happened so far is still in a complex state. The whole scenario appears to be an action reaction game whose result is still undecided.