Immediately People in Pakistan reacted vehemently to this Supreme Court verdict and were seen to be rioting on the streets mostly in the province of Punjab. With the sitting Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif effectively ineligible to occupy this position, a two month governor rule was enforced allowing Salman Taseer full control of the province.

Though justice must be served across the board and one cannot expect the judiciary to be selective, If the Nawaz brothers are guilty then the Mr. Asif Ali Zardari must also come under the knife and open his billions of dollars of corruption cases, or even the mere fact that all elected parliamentarians in Pakistan need to have a basic Bachelors level higher education and Mr. Zardari cannot even produce a degree and merely suggests ‘to have been educated from ‘a business school in London'.

Farhan at the Guppu Blog starts off to say:

Just for the political revenges, they keep on holding a particular case as to be able to use it as a weapon against someone when needed. I ask a simple question; what took so long for the Supreme Court to pronounce the decision? Answer is simple likewise, that Supreme Court continued the hearing and pronounced the decision when Zardari wanted it to.

DeadPan Thoughts feels Justice needs to be served across the board:

Personally I do agree that people with marked and murky histories should not be allowed into our politics anyways, but if this is so then why were they allowed to run in the last election. Why were they accepted as the “Chief Minister of Punjab” and why are some politicians declared “unfit” while others enjoy the protection of various deals brokered outside Pakistan.

Omar Azam at Pak Times talks about how Nawaz Sharif was disqualified earlier but Shahbaz Sharif was allowed to serve as Chief Minister of Punjab for over a year:

On June 23, 2008, a full bench of the Lahore High Court disqualified PML-N chief Mian Nawaz Sharif from contesting the election. However, the court had conditionally allowed PML-N President Mian Shahbaz Sharif to hold the office of the chief executive of the province.

Pakistan Policy Blog analyzes the overall political gravity of the situation:

Politically, the Sharifs and their faction of the Muslim League (PML-N) are isolated. Its major allies are those outside of parliament: the lawyers, Jamaat-i Islami, and Tehreek-e Insaaf. Zardari is politically secure. The Pakistani president has Musharraf-era constitutional powers (the hyper-presidency), a docile (though occasionally rebellious) prime minister, a healthy coalition in the center, a share in all provincial governments, a pliant Supreme Court, an army stuck in the barracks, and support of major Western governments. An influx of foreign aid could bolster his hold on power. Also, the PPP will likely be the largest party in the Senate after elections in March. Zardari — if he makes the right deals — could get a constitutional amendment passed that would fall short of restoring the presidency to its original nominal status. In short, Zardari could have his cake and eat it too.

While Pro-Pakistan questions the decision:

Shahbaz Sharif will have to step down from the position of Chief Minister of Punjab. This will also intensify their involvement in the upcoming Long March of Lawyers on 16th March, 2009. This will have major implications on the political scenario of the country

Derwaish from All Things Pakistan expresses dismay at this decision which might cause political instability:

Without going into merits of the decision, I think it will create more political instability and uncertainty which is the last thing we want to see in Pakistan. It is rather unfortunate but the initial reactions and statements suggests that Pakistan might be heading towards the politics of confrontation and horse-trading of 1990's

Yasir Latif Hamdani from Pak Tea House is stumped:

I thought the PPP government and President Zardari were more astute than this. By allowing this to go through, they have called forth a flood vis a vis the Lawyer’s Movement and this time around it would be the civilian government of liberal and democratic PPP instead of the Military regime. I wonder who will gain from this?

Baithak notes that:

Pishin, Ziarat, Qila Abdullah, Chaman, Loralai, Sibbi, Mastung are badly hit areas. According to the geological survey of Pakistan, the epicenter of the quake was in Chiltan mountains. Ziarat is the worst hit area.

As soon as the quake shook the region, a Wiki page on the quake was up and running, which is managed by a renowned blogger iFaqeer at Wiki Pakistan. The map of the affected region can be found at the CARE website.

Here is a video of the quake uploaded in YouTube by pakirajput:

Pakistaniat started with a chilling post sharing the facts of the incident:

Officials are saying there were two tremors, striking at about 0409 and then 0510 PST followed by at least three aftershocks.

Adnan shares his concern:

Things are not as good financially as they were in Oct 2005 but hopes are high and Insha Allah with help of (fellow) Pakistanis this disaster would be overcome. I can just hope all political parties, Lawyers, Army quit their personal differences for a moment and get ready to help victims. May Allah help us all and make us able to help others.

Changing up Pakistan shares a comment:

Today, yet another tragedy has occurred, this time on the brink of a harsh winter. Mohammed Hashim, a resident in Wam, one of the hardest hit villages, told the AFP, “We are doomed…We have nothing left to save our families from the cold in the night.” [..] Many of the residents had spent “the day in a desperate search for loved ones or burying the dead in mass graves, as aftershocks nearly as big as the initial quake pounded the landscape, sending rocks spewing from nearby peaks and sparking fresh panic.”

Lahore Metblogs tells about aftershocks in the post titled nature’s wrath taints an October in blood again:

Rescue efforts have been initiated to save as many people trapped under the debris and landslides as possible with Pakistan Army taking the lead. Powerful aftershocks are being felt around Quetta, and the epicentre in Ziarat Valley, which also happens to be the most picturesque of all places in the province.

Islamabad Metblogs narrates Ziarat's Mayor's plea:

“There is great destruction. Not a single house is intact.”

Our duty to our brothers and sisters in Balochistan calls us. We did whatever we could for the victims of October 08, 2005 Earthquake and our efforts didn’t go in waste. We make an appeal to unite again and show a greater level of unity, enthusiasm and love for our Muslim brothers and sisters in pain.

While in my own blog I highlighted two relief efforts trying to help the devastated region: an appeal by the IDSP director and another relief effort by an educational institute FAST whose students stepped up with a FAST-Relief collection drive to immediately deliver relief goods into the region.

More efforts can be located at Wiki Pakistan Earthquake Page which has been set up for the cause.

What the US approach to Pakistan should be was a core part of discussion, since Pakistan has come under greater scrutiny in recent times and is considered a hot-spot.

In roughly 37 days, the United States of America will be electing its 44th President. Though the elections are limited only to the US, the outcome of the election will have a far greater global impact.

Riaz Haq writes on Haq's Musings blog:

There is a significant concentration of Muslim vote in Florida and Michigan. If, as the anecdotal evidence suggests, Obama gets the lion's share of the Muslim American vote, then he could win the presidency by a thin margin of Muslim votes. Is an Obama win good for Muslim-Americans or Pakistani-Americans?

He summarizes the result of the debate in favor of McCain:

it is clear that Sen McCain is far more knowledgeable about Pakistan than Senator Obama. Mr. McCain has also repeatedly stressed diplomacy and close working relationship with Pakistan and demonstrated his commitment by his actions such as several visits and phone conversations with Pakistani leadership recently and in the past. On the other hand, Mr. Obama has made aggressive statements about Pakistan without making serious effort to understand the issues faced by Pakistanis in FATA.

Pakistan Policy Blog argues extensively for and against both sides:

OBAMA GOOD FOR CIVILIANS, BAD FOR MILITARY Obama’s support for Pakistan’s fledgling democracy and appropriation of the Biden plan, which calls for vastly increasing development aid, is excellent. It is an integral part of a transition toward a full-fledged Pakistan policy. But Obama seems unaware of the clear and present economic danger in Pakistan

MCCAIN GOOD FOR MILITARY, BAD FOR CIVILIANS McCain has yet to really come to terms with the existence of a civil, democratic government in Pakistan. He fails to include Pakistan in his proposed League of Democracies. He seems in denial — or his talking points have yet to be updated — so much that he is confused as to what the president’s name is. “Kardari.” …. it also demonstrates the greatest flaw in McCain’s Pakistan policy: he has failed to adapt it to a post-Musharraf Pakistan

Interestingly Pakistan Policy Blog coins a keyword “McBama” which could potentially be a mash-up of both policies:

MCBAMA GOOD FOR COMPREHENSIVE U.S-PAKISTAN RELATIONS neither the candidates, nor most in the U.S. policy community, truly understands the comprehensive failure that is Afghanistan. In respect to a Pakistan policy, Obama’s is more promising. McCain offers strengths vis-a-vis relations with Pakistan’s military and respect for its sovereignty that Obama fares miserably on.

Temporal at Baithak shares his frustration at McCain mispronouncing names:

John McCain, the “expert” in foreign policy mispronounced Ahmadinejad's name four times in a row and screwed up Zardari's name to boot.

On my own blog Teeth Maestro I also commented on the mispronunciation puzzle:

Probably the most interesting surprise was when McCain could not properly pronounce the name of our President Mr. Asif Ali Zardari to utter a mumbling Kirdari (sic), its not a crime by any standard to fumble with a difficult pronunciation, but when dealing with foreign dignitaries you try your damnedest to ensure that you pronounce their name correctly, lest they be offended. If this was just the start then the Iranian would have a field day ripping him apart since a few minutes later McCain made minced meat out of pronouncing Ahmedinejad’s name to utter something like Ahmadinenene (sic) – Definitely a diplomatic PR disaster awaiting to happen.

Desi in DC writes:

Who would have thought that I would say this but after yesterday’s US presidential debate it seems maybe McCain may be better for Pakistan. I disagree with most of his policies except his foreign policy, In Obama’s case his domestic policies make sense but his foreign policy shows his lack of experience.

Changing up Pakistan discusses the debate extensively to say:

It was a victory, albeit a narrow one, for Democratic candidate Senator Barack Obama. Regardless of political posturing, the U.S. will always act according to its national security interests. If Coalition forces are being killed by militants in cross-border attacks, it inherently threatens U.S. security; that would be true for any country. The difference in this presidential election is that Obama openly acknowleges this reality, while McCain merely chooses to equate it to an attack on Pakistani sovereignty. Ultimately, however, there isn’t an easy answer to this issue, and the next president will be forced to respond to the realities on the ground. Therefore, it may come down to how they tend to respond to major issues rather than their current political stances.

Procastination summarized his LiveBlogging coverage to say that, “I would rate it a draw. Obama didn’t land any knockout punches” and later pipes in with a CBS poll swinging in favor of Obama to say, “That sounds good for Obama & CNN Polling is even better.”

On Teeth Maestro, my analysis is in favor of an Obama-Biden victory:

Pakistan stands at a fork, if the same old policies are followed, the same blind sighted relationship maintained with crooks and dictators running our country the menacing war on terror will only get worse surely something both America and Pakistan wish not to happen. Obama on the other hand represents a fresh change, as per my neutral review of the debate, it is my understanding that if they both support the approximately the same line of action for Pakistan, I would carefully put my eggs into Obama’s basket, he talks with more commitment to the challenges ahead while simultaneously suggesting and a tough guy approach on Pakistan. He wants to solve the issue of War on Terror and not let it linger on longer then necessary. With Senator Biden as his side who has been the only American bureaucrat to fully understand the problem in Pakistan, I feel that an Obama-Biden presidency will be a brighter future for Pakistan.

Photo above, of a television screen showing the presidential debate is by Captain Alcoholica.

It seemed to be a normal day for Pakistan but it turned into a roller coaster of adrenaline pumping and rumor mongering session for its citizens as news started to flow. For the people it was one rumor after another flooding from TV newscasters to SMS's and even emails; it was as if the fate of Pakistan were to be decided by each other. Deadpan Thoughts quite easily summarizes the roller coaster of rumors in one sentence saying “The phone beeps - Mushy’s being impeached..go put on GEO [a TV channel]..NOW“. Some had us believing that this outgoing chap would go down fighting while some on the other hand conspired for the restoration of judiciary as his last vengeance but in the end it fizzled out to be a valiant outgoing speech, throwing in the towel before his tearful adios which Siam's Blog shares ‘A grim-faced Musharraf backed by Pakistani flags and a portrait of the country's founder' to say “I leave my future in the hands of people.”

Pervez Musharraf - Image credit: World Economic Forum Photostream in Flickr and used under a creative commons license

The tearful good bye on the 18th of August by Musharraf came barely four days after the celebrations of the 61st Independence Day. Pakistan gingerly marks the end of a long nine year dynasty. His concluding remarks were mostly a walk back into history as penned down by The Pakistani Spectator, which was just to highlight his services for the people and for the country.

Pakistani bloggers reacted with mixed feelings, on one hand some celebrated Musharraf by chiming in with the ‘For he is a Jolly Good Fellow' tune, while some faithfuls were quick to lend him a standing ovation but most cautiously celebrated the end of a dictatorship. Sarcastically Yeah That too had a few words to share, Ammar wrote about how the new ‘Cat Fight' is now about to begin, Chowrangi talks about Pakistan's future after Musharraf, Psychotic Discourses sheds light on the new form of Demon-cracy, MB confuses us with the talk about circle of circuses.

The immediate question that remains lurking is whether Musharraf is allowed to seek asylum outside of Pakistan or will he be put to trial for the charges alleged against him. Its definitely a tough juncture for Pakistan with a lot at stake.

One does wonder what next, wherein lies a huge mixture of political wannabes eying for the top slot, though the onus of pulling the country out of the mess lies squarely on the shoulder of Asif Zardari and Nawaz Sharif, both unelected politicians entrusted with the faith of a nation to hopefully pull this country out of the mess it now finds itself in.