There are only two things I hear these days about the currently unfolding events; its the worst time to go back and secondly about the concern that people have not reacted against the emergency en mass! I cannot comment on the first part because I've never really let circumstances dictate my direction. But the alleged brutality of police in the streets is self explanatory for lack of a serious public reaction to the ongoing events.
My suggestion to General Musharraf is that its probably time to step back and contemplate on the events with the bigger picture in mind. He should realize the fact that people will always be in need of others to lead them and it should not come as a surprise that he's no longer the person our people are looking for. I think the biggest service the General can do to his people at this stage is to take all responsibility for actions against the northern districts and step aside for a new leadership. This will perhaps allow room for dialogue and peace when new faces are holding the reigns.
It might be foolish optimism on my side, but I think this is the defining moment for the events shaping in the near future. If one person can take the blame for all the violence from the government's side, there is still hope for the bloodshed to stop. Not a bad deal for save countless lives to be lost in the coming days from both sides.
The ban on media has proven to be a strangely baffling move. To thrust a complete blackout on a nation which has been systematically driven into an addiction of livid soaps and spicy (even if untrue) news stories, was surely going to be very unpopular. On top of all that, its a true surprise that somehow even the UAE government got its arm twisted and played a crucial role in the ongoing saga.
If we keep our national maturity level in mind, freedom of press effectively means producing tools that are used to steer the thought process of the whole nation. This is understandably threatening for our political leaders who have been traditionally driving the wagon. In the hands of sharp minds such as the Jang group, the media has truly been used (or more to the point misused) to its full potential in manipulating the people's mood.
It is difficult to say whether there has been any financing involved from our ousted ex-political powers to control the media but the complete anti-government campaign reached its climax during the chief justice episode. Now it remains to be seen, whether the news channels continue to criticise all future governments equally or some bias will become more apparent with time.