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Pak expats fear new phase of uncertainty

ABU DHABI - Pakistanis residing in the UAE fear a new phase of uncertainty in their country in the wake of the President Pervez Musharraf's impeachment issue.

However, office-bearers of the two coalition parties - Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) - defended the impeachment decision taken by their leaders. The impeachment would remove the hurdles in the implementation of the ruling coalition's agenda, they said.

Pakistanis from different professions spoke about the humiliation they faced while living outside Pakistan due to the political situation in their country, and agreed that the after-effects of impeachment move, whether successful or not, would be complicated and bring a bad name to Pakistan and affect investors' confidence.

They said the politicians should not follow the policy of personal vendetta and concentrate on addressing the pressing issues facing the common man.

Shaikh Mohammad Pervez, an insurance expert, said over the past one year, Pakistani people had become increasingly disheartened by politics and political parties because nobody seemed to be bothered about their problems.

'It will be difficult to continue with the present set-up after impeachment, whether successful or not, and a national government would have to be established and fresh elections held in six months,' he said.

Iftekhar Ali Minhas, an IT professional, said the politics of pulling each other down had never succeeded in Pakistan and the politicians 'should work for the betterment of their homeland and not to implement their likes and dislikes on other people.'

Tahir Munir Tahir, a Pakistani journalist based in the UAE, said the President should not have allowed the impeachment to happen. 'Instead, he should have acted when things started going against him. He has lost the opportunity of a respectful exit. Overseas Pakistanis were expecting improvement in Pakistan affairs after the elections in February and were planning to go back and invest there. However, they are disappointed by the way things are shaping up there,' he stressed.

Choudhry Noorul Hassan Tanwir, Middle East coordinator of Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), said the decision to impeach the President was correct, but late.

'It should have been done immediately after the new government took office. Valuable time has been wasted. Because of the delay, it was not possible by the new government to implement its policies and people felt as if the previous government was continuing. The impeachment is important and would be successful. Also important is the restoration of the judges. These will be good for Pakistan as well as for Overseas Pakistanis,' he pointed out.

Mazhar Iqbal Choudhry, former president of Pakistan People's Party in London and presently incharge of PPP affairs in Abu Dhabi, said that impeachment was necessary in order to end the uncertainty in Pakistan.

'It will improve the country's economy and promote foreign investment. People want change and improvement which was not possible in the presence of Musharraf,' he added.

Ismail Wali Mohammad, an office worker, said, 'The impeachment decision has been taken by two persons who want to sell off whatever is remaining of Pakistan. Political leaders are not capable of defending their country. Instead, everything that is good in Pakistan has happened during the rules of the military leaders, Ayub Khan, Zia-ul Haq, and Pervez Musharraf. The political leaders will be exposed by the President during the impeachment process and they will fail.'

Saroona Najeeb and Najeeb Sadiq, educationist and IT professional, said every individual should do what is good for Pakistan.

'Overseas Pakistanis are ashamed of the happening in their country where it is only the middle and lower middle classes that suffer. The impeachment is a political game and will not lead to any drastic changes. The politicians cannot shake the President. He is a strong man and enjoys US support. Already horse-trading has started and our money is being used to buy out politicians,' he said.

Tauseef Hassan Farooqi, commercial director in a power company, said the politicians are digging their own grave by initiating the impeachment process.

'It is high time that they work for the benefit of their country. Their present move will destabilise Pakistan and pave the way for another Martial Law, another disaster. The eight years of Pervez Musharraf were perfect and the politicians should be ashamed of their performance of the past six months. Maybe, the politicians are playing in the hands of the enemies of Pakistan,' he felt.

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