Election Pakistan 2008 : Fair Peaceful Transparent

noreply@blogspirit.com (Pakistan Islamic Republic) — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 11:48:44 +0100

Election Pakistan 2008 : Fair Peaceful Transparent All Credits For President Musharraf Victory For Pakistan.

President Pervez Musharraf Monday said the winning party or a coalition would form the next government and he would work with it according to the constitution. Talking to Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, who is Co-Chair of the Pakistan Caucus on the Hill, at the President’s Camp Office here he said there was no conflict in his role with the Prime Minister in accordance with the Constitution, which was based on the parliamentary system.

The President said holding of the general election have belied those who raveled in conspiracy theories and spread misperceptions.

Sheila Jackson, who is in Pakistan to observe the elections, exchanged views about the political process and the democratic elections in the country.

President Musharraf gave an overview of the developments leading up to the election and said that the government was committed to full transition to democracy and these elections were yet another evidence of the sincerity of his commitment.

He said Pakistan suffered from many misperceptions such as the doubts that were being cast over the holding of the election especially when these were briefly postponed after the tragic assassination of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto.

Sheila Jackson said as member of the House she reflected feelings of her colleagues on the Hill who desired to see democratic, stable and strong Pakistan that continues to play its important role for peace and progress in the region and in the world.

They wanted to see Pakistan emerge as a role model following the elections, she added.

She recalled that she visited Pakistan earlier while accompanying former President Clinton and was impressed by the vision of the President for Pakistan.

Sheila Jackson appreciated President’s policies especially for empowerment of women and promotion of a vibrant free media with scores of private sector TV channels operating in the country.

She praised the role of Pakistan in fighting terrorism and paid tribute to the sacrifices made by the Pakistan armed forces. She affirmed that as a friend it would remain her endeavour to present an honest and correct perception of Pakistan .

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Fate of Pakistan Pivotal For The Future Of The World - Historian Karen Armstrong

noreply@blogspirit.com (Pakistan Islamic Republic) — Sat, 9 Feb 2008 10:44:08 +0100

Fate of Pakistan pivotal for the future of the world- historian Karen Armstrong

03 Feb 2008 09:53:26 GMT
Source: Reuters

ISLAMABAD, Feb 3, 2008 - The future of Pakistan, and how it balances the need for Muslim symbols with the secularism needed to run a modern state, will be important for the future of the world, according to historian and theologian Karen Armstrong.

Nuclear-armed and reaping the grim harvest of "extremism" resulting from the West's support for a religious war to drive the Soviet Union out of neighbouring Afghanistan, Pakistan has a big question to answer, says Armstrong. "How do you become a secular Muslim state?"

Last Thursday, Armstrong, whose writings have highlighted the tolerant and pluralistic nature of Islam, met President Pervez Musharraf, who hoped to change Pakistan into a state where "enlightened moderation" prevailed.

"Pakistan is on the frontier of this present struggle," Armstrong told Reuters during a visit to Islamabad to celebrate the golden jubilee of the Aga Khan, Fatimid Imam Caliph of Islam.

"I think it is not so much important for the future of Islam as important for the future of the world," said the 63-year-old Briton, whose book "The Battle for God: Fundamentalism in Judaism, Christianity and Islam" was released a year before 2001 attacks on the United States.

"What happens here will be very decisive in how the so-called war against terrorism proceeds in other regions."

"The kind of conversations I have about this topic remind me very much of conversations I had in Israel, another secular state born out of displacement and tragedy."

Armstrong said Israelis faced a similar struggle between secularists in tune with the vision of their country's founder, David Ben-Gurion, and ultra-orthodox Jews, some of them militant.

Even Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, realised the need to have a degree of secularism in order to run a modern state, she said. Khomeini, just before he died in 1989, told mullahs not to meddle in defence and economic policies, she said.

CORNERED BY SECULARISM
The separation of religion in the state represents a modern, major change in societies where religion is a way of life. When it happens too quickly, people feel threatened and if attacked through the media or by force, they become aggressive, said Armstrong, a former nun who describes herself as a "freelance monotheist". "Most of these extreme movements are rooted in profound fear, a fear of annihilation," she said, stressing that the same dynamics play out in Christianity, Judaism and Islam. "In small-town America there are Christians who believe they are going to be wiped out by a so-called liberal establishment."

During the interview, Armstrong cited the example of Sayyid Qutb, whose writings from an Egyptian jail in the 1950s and 60s helped craft a strain of Sunni Muslim fundamentalism that spawned the global jihad of al Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahri.

People should study Qutb's texts rather than the Koran if they wanted to understand al Qaeda, she said. But they had to be read in the context of the torture Qutb suffered and his reaction to efforts to secularise Egypt, she said. Attempts to introduce secularism, which took centuries in the West, has been done too quickly in the Middle East, according to Armstrong, resulting in religious movements that tend to become lethal if they occur in regions where violence is endemic.

Armstrong didn't see militancy in Pakistan's tribal lands, or Hamas or Hizbollah movements, or even bin Laden's al Qaeda, as being motivated principally by religion. It is more of a kind of political followup.

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Election Pakistan 2008 : Fair Peaceful Transparent

Fate of Pakistan Pivotal For The Future Of The World - Historian Karen Armstrong