When Musharraf goes the Net goes Mushy

When Musharraf goes, the Net goes Mushy

A small walk down the social network corridors shows strong reactions across the Internet to General Pervez Musharraf's sudden exit. And guess what? The reactions are both negative and positive

CMN Bureau

Monday, August 18, 2008

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Jhooky ga woklon ka percham, yaqeen ajj bhi ha
Mery khayal ki dunia main musharraf ajj bhi ha
Bohat hawain chalian, mera rukh badalnay ko
lakin Mari dunia main musharraf ajj bhi ha

PUNE, INDIA: Yes, Musharraf, who has been at the helm of Pakistan for nine years, has hung up his boots today, apparently to avoid impeachment. And treading this move is a swarm of opinions all over the Internet as these passionate Shayaris on Orkut indicate.

"TODAY is the saddest day in the History of Pakistan... Another Quaid-e-Azam leaves this nation in the hands of democratic dogs....God Helps Us.......!" - Alfiyah ALi

"We will be only watching thugs running our country and wouldn't do a thing for our great leaders, except watching him leaving as he was all alone with a huge fan club but no one to come out and give him strength that he wasn't alone? Just keep cursing the antis and wouldn't show our feelings towards our hero? Well, the story is ended and MAY ALLAH BLESS PAKISTAN" - Mohsin Ali

"last nyt i waz praying to GOD fau da betterment ov pakistan dat MUSHARRAF iz da only ryt person for pakistan..but wteva da heck happened today iz real deep sorrow grief." – Hira Iqbal

"We'll miss u Musharraf.You were a brave & honest leader & people of Pakistan don't deserve some 1 like u.Lets see what Zardari & Nawaz will do for the country now." - Sadia Miskin It's interesting to see such emotions for the man on horseback, General Musharraf, known more as a dictator who begets rebellion and opposition. But yes, the General has another army of fans all over the Internet.

WE LOVE YOU

There are quite some communities devoted to the General. For instance there is General Pervez Musharraf fan club with over 600 members on Facebook, then there is 'Pakistan would be LOST without President Musharraf!' with around 3000 members and another one 'THE ONLY HOPE-MUSHARRAF' with about 2000 members.

On Orkut a similar fan club boasts over 3000 fans. Incidentally, there are groups on these sites, which are more wary of democrats than despots. They urge members to rethink about bringing an era of democracy under yet another unquestionably corrupt politician.

They feel that Pakistan is better off under this man, who at least has integrity and definite sincerity in his cause for a progressive nation. Musharraf's exit would definitely evoke mixed responses because there are people, as these sites reveal, that feel that Pakistanis should not become the victims of myopia and assess the options around.

This group on Facebook asks, "Do you see the fundamentalists or the selfish politicians ushering in democracy in the true sense of the word?"

It appeals to Pakistanis "to vest hope in the one man who has made positive changes and has the ability to continue with our support." As Musharraf says bye bye, a fan on Orkut's 'Show your love for Musharraf’ writes, "Sir,,,,,,i give u a salute for ur,,,,,,, wonder ful 9 years,,,,and at the end,,,,,,, as u again think only for Pakistan….sir,,,,,,,i always love u,,,,,,u r great,,,,,,,u r my hero.............. "

The czar who is normally described with adjectives like cavalier, despotic and tyrant has a huge share of supporters too, it shows. A Facebook fan club for Gen Pervez Musharraf that chants 'Pakistan would be LOST without President Musharraf!' describes him as strong, wise and educated.

It reads: "It was after 55 years that our country found the right President who is the very first one to eradicate terror out of this land and opt for peace! …. His efforts for the well-being of the people of Pakistan and for the country itself are admired by the young audience of Pakistan and we want him to be our leader for much longer."

The group points out this President has done the best for their country, and more so because even under severe stress he was able to make just and fair decisions for his people.

The group's member Irfan S says, "Hats off to you Mr. President. Your patriotism and honesty were apparent to all who possess a heart and eyes. You shall always be remembered as the man who put the interests of Pakistan above everything else."

Another member, Hareem Shahid applauds the exit in a witty way, "he made a rite move people..this government cant work with heroez...sir ve salute u and all our prayrz fr u!ths wasnt ur cup of tea indeed.."

WE HATE YOU

But, yes, on the same sites, we can find groups, screaming 'I hate Musharraf" and applauding his exit.

Messages like “Mubarak ho, Musharraf gone" spring up as soon as the news of his exit broke. "afta 9 yrs hes finally out don know abt u guys but I am happy," says Mustafa Atique on Facebook.

Hate groups clearly spell out the things Musharraf will be remembered for.

Amongst these the primary ones are the Kargil operation, receiving the famous Telephone call after 9/11, presidential elections in uniform, operation to assassinate Shaheed Akbar Bugti, deposition of Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhary, freehand to police for beating civil activist, lawyers, media and political workers, price hikes, hoarding and load shedding.

Groups flagging 'I hate..' captions are spread across networking sites. If 'I Think a Turnip would make a better Head of State than Musharraf' group on Facebook is counting about 500 members, another 'I hate Musharrf' group here has over 800 members or communities like 'Go Musharraf Go' are up and growing.

And Musharraf has been a popular choice on the bullet board of posts full of hatred and criticism since ever.

Another Orkutter Ali Abbas on this group called 'I hate Musharraf' that has over 1600 members, points out that one of the survey by human rights proved that Musharraf is the most hated person of last 150 years of subcontinent."

Alongside a bevy of fans ad supporters for this firm and strong policies are flocks of abhorrence full of hatred against autocracy and a call for democracy.

Musharraf was the army commander in 1999 when he overthrew Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, and this former general has been under pressure to quit since he fired 60 judges, including Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammed Chaudhry last year, leading to nationwide street protests, as per a Bloomberg report.

Musharraf assumed the presidency in 2001 and was re-elected by Pakistan Parliament in October. Opposition parties claimed the law barred Musharraf from standing while he still headed the military. Musharraf handed over control of the army to Ashfaq Parvez Kayani in November.

The report adds that Musharraf was credited for steering Pakistan's economy out of trouble in 1999 when the government had less than $1 billion in foreign exchange reserves and the nation's economy expanded at an average annual 7.5 per cent in the four years ending June 30, 2007.

But in the recent past, he has faced criticism for a slowdown in economic growth, a widening budget deficit and an inability to reign in inflation running at a 30-year high. He has got a lot of flak for his policies having stunted economic growth.

Hassan on Orkut wraps his sentiments like this, "60 saal pehle candle light dinner sirf ameer log kr skte the… .ab to poori kom ko ye sahoolat muyassar hai..................farq to para hai...."GEO MUSHARRAF."

As one community that spells its hatred in a few lines reflecting anguish over a despotic rule says, "When The Constitution Is Suspended, When The Media Is Demolished, When The Judiciary Is Also Suspended Just To Save Your Seat, When The Democracy Remains Just A Name, When The Politicians Are Corrup............ Then The Democracy Dies And The New Martial Law Is Born As A Name Of Emergency......... Then We Pakistanis Have To Obey The Dictators.....The Iskander Mirza, The Ayub Khan,The Yahya Khan, THE ZIA-UL-HAQ, THE PARVEZ MUSSHARRAF........!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

The hatred groups have more than just unprintable cuss words and lines oozing with fury.

Netizens have tagged him with interesting titles.

Shah Rukh, a member on Orkut's 'I hate Musharraf' calls him QUAID-E-Qilat for creating shortage of Wheat, Gas, Sugar, Water, etc. Love him or hate him, he has been popular enough for whipping a tempest of reactions within a few hours on the World Wide Web.

Now this way or that way, one thing is for sure, as a Facebook member Hina Ahmed says it well, "u wil always be remembered "

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