Mood in Lahore Exuberant as Pakistani Government Backs Down

After another frenzy of high level meetings, Pakistani Prime Minister Gilani announced that the government would re-instate the judges deposed by President Musharraf, including former Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudry. In response, opposition leader Nawaz Sharif called off the culmination of the "Long March" on Islamabad which was set to take place today. Since the judges were kicked out of office, lawyers across the country have been demanidng their reinstatement.

Pakistanis are celebrating, as they believe that this decision is a watershed that will lead to greater freedom and more transparency in the government. Many are hoping that once Iftikhar Chaudry takes his post on March 21st, he will immediately open up the cases against President Asif Zardari (known as Mr. 10% for allegedly funneling state money into his own bank accounts) and former president Pervaiz Musharraf.

Today the mood was celebratory, as children flew kites in for the annual Basant spring festival. Everyone is excited that the people of Pakistan were able to force the government to comply with their demands for justice.

What will happen next? I suspect that this decision may be a big step towards the departure of President Zardari, and that the political drama will continue.

My Take on the Bombing and Security in Pakistan

From an American expatriate living in Lahore, Pakistan

Saturday Pakistan's capital city was rocked by one of the deadliest suicide attacks in its history. At least 43 people are confirmed dead and 250 injured after a large blast at the Marriott Hotel. The blast left a 20-foot crater and a fiery inferno that blazed for six hours.

Internal Security in Pakistan

Unfortunately, this attack and its aftermath do not come as a surprise. Having lived in Pakistan for over two years now, I have come to expect this type of news. Most Pakistanis are desensitized to the terror attacks that plague their country. When an attack happens, news tends to spread rapidly via SMS and word of mouth. Then within 24 hours people are back to business as usual. In the case of this blast, my husband and I did not even find out about it until Sunday morning when we checked the news headlines. None of our many friends in Lahore thought it newsworthy enough to send us a message or let us know about it. In the past, we've received multiple text messages about news like Benazir Bhutto's assassination. People are just not shocked by bomb blasts anymore. In a way, they are expected and accepted as part of the daily life of this country. That doesn't mean people like them or agree with the bombers, but the general public does not seem to see any course of action to take in response to these attacks.

Read more here

Aftermath of Lal Masjid (Red Mosqe)

Every day in the newspaper now we're hearing about a wake of bombings following the seige of Lal Masjid (the Red Mosque) last week. During this time, we've been without internet access or TV, so I've just now started to piece together exactly what has happened.

Lal Masjid is a madrassa (religious school) that has a history of contact with Islamic militants and whose leaders openly oppose the current government.

A profile of the Red Mosque (Lal Masjid) can be seen here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6503477.stm

Surprisingly, the women who study at the seminary there (Jamia Hafsa) are also known to pick up batons and Kalishnovs when they deem need be. Prior to the recent seige, the women, covered from head to toe in burkas, took over a nearby children's library and raided a hostel (dormitory). For six months the female students, along with the male militants, attempted to create somewhat of ther own autonomous area under the jurisprudence of Islamic shariah law.

Before the Government laid seige to the mosque on July 4, about 400 women walked out of the mosque complex. By July 10th the government was ready to break and root out the militants, doing whatever it would take to capture or kill the leaders. Over 1000 people left the mosque during the week long seige. Some were students, some hostages. Some were policemen who had been kidnapped by the militants.

The government troops broke in, and by the time they did so only one woman was left inside. She was the mother of the two major militant leaders. Over 100 died inside the mosque complex during the government raid. The deaths have consumed many other with anger all over the country, as many people believe that negociations could have gone on longer and that it is not right for Muslims to kill fellow Muslims.

The thing that I can't believe is, Lal Masjid is in the center of Islamabad, right near the center of Intelligence and Security.

You can see more about the raid on Lal Masjid here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6896192.stm