Mullahs in Pakistan have failed on every front. These brainless Mad-house-russah “garduates” aren’t worth the topees (caps) they wear. Time to burry the Mullah-ism for good, and start afresh with tolerant, and pro-business society.
Down with MAToos.
Poor response to Pakistan strike
Reports from Pakistan say that a nationwide strike called by opposition parties has attracted limited support.
The strike is effective in the city of Quetta, where hardline Islamic parties who are spearheading the protest have strong support.
But in the country’s other cities, life is carrying on as normal although some shops and businesses are shut.
The opposition have called the strike to press for the resignation of the country’s president, Pervez Musharraf.
They say the move is a protest against local elections held last month.
More than 40 people died in the two phases of the polls, amid widespread allegations of rigging.
The strike is the first time that all the main opposition parties have come together since Gen Musharraf seized power in 1999.
The BBC’s Aamer Ahmed Khan in Karachi says general strikes are not usually widely observed in Pakistan. Moreover, there has been a decline in political activism in the country in recent years.
Opposition members also staged a walk out from the parliament in support of the strike.
They shouted “Go Musharraf, go” in the assembly before staging a sit-down protest outside the building.
Partial impact
Authorities have stepped up security during Friday’s action, the Associated Press reports.
Some shops and businesses are shut in the cities of Karachi and Lahore and traffic is thinner than usual.
But the strike has not had much impact on the capital Islamabad and the frontier city of Peshawar.
“There has been a partial impact but the banks are open and attendance at government offices is almost normal,” Salahuddin Haider, spokesman for Sindh province, is quoted as saying by AFP.
Violent
Political observers say the recent elections were seen as a test of the president’s strength.
Elections were held for local councils in more than 100 districts across the country.
The Pakistan Muslim League, which backs the president, said it had won convincingly.
But secular and religious opposition parties denounced the voting process, and described the polls as the “most violent and most blatantly rigged” in Pakistan’s electoral history.
Officially, political parties were not allowed to participate in the polls, but in practice they did support candidates.
A record 218,000 candidates, including more than 55,000 women, contested the elections.
The present system of local governments was introduced by President Musharraf four years ago, in a bid to establish grassroots democracy.
However, most opposition parties are critical of the local government system.
They accuse President Musharraf of using the system to undermine the parliamentary democracy and perpetuate his own rule.
Story from BBC NEWS:
