A non-Pakistani view of Dr. Tahir ul-Qadri

[RazorMC]

So what does an outside think of Dr. Qadri's political strength (if any)?

Daniel Markey recently wrote an article called: "Pakistan's Widcard". Some quotes:


"Most American observers have written Qadri off as a flash in the Pakistani pan. They may need to think again."


"It is possible that Qadri will decide to send his party, the Pakistan Awami Tehreek, into the fray of national elections in May. Building a Pakistani party machine with credible, popular candidates is the work of years, not weeks, so there is a very good chance he wouldn't win any seats. Even so, Qadri-backed politicians might steal just enough votes to spoil the plans of the front-running party of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif (PML-N) and shift the makeup of Islamabad's next ruling coalition."


"Contrary to many press reports that depicted him as a detached Islamic scholar with little in the way of a political background, Qadri has a decades-long history of dealing with all of Pakistan's top leaders since the 1980s, from Generals Zia and Musharraf to Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif. Today, Qadri's politics are motivated by deep disillusionment with all of them, military and civilian alike. Such sentiments place him squarely in the mainstream of Pakistani public opinion. "


Source: Here

==========================

I can understand Mr. Markey's appreciation of Dr. Qadri, but his facts are all one-sided. He is looking at this issue through an outsider's point of view (not entirely unnatural) and attaching undue importance to someone who couldn't even organize a decent dharna without requesting backing from MQM and PML(Q).

His Islamabad Agreement was clearly an exit-route that the PPP-regime granted him. There were hardly any consultations with his TMQP or PAT as he had claimed at the top of his voice.

But this article does give us Pakistanis a little insight into what the Americans are thinking about the state of Pakistani politics.

 

[batmannow]

& no posts on this thread shows, how wrong you thought about him too?
his dharna was all alone himself!

 

[BATMAN]

PTI activists says that Dr. Qadri is damaging to IK.
Pakistani media blame him as an establishment launch.
where as soem foreign observers see him dividing votes of PML-N

What the ******* bigots are we.. when we baselessly blame dr. Qadri just to serve our personal agendas.

 

[rubyjackass]

So what does an outside think of Dr. Qadri's political strength (if any)?

Daniel Markey recently wrote an article called: "Pakistan's Widcard". Some quotes:


"Most American observers have written Qadri off as a flash in the Pakistani pan. They may need to think again."


"It is possible that Qadri will decide to send his party, the Pakistan Awami Tehreek, into the fray of national elections in May. Building a Pakistani party machine with credible, popular candidates is the work of years, not weeks, so there is a very good chance he wouldn't win any seats. Even so, Qadri-backed politicians might steal just enough votes to spoil the plans of the front-running party of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif (PML-N) and shift the makeup of Islamabad's next ruling coalition."


"Contrary to many press reports that depicted him as a detached Islamic scholar with little in the way of a political background, Qadri has a decades-long history of dealing with all of Pakistan's top leaders since the 1980s, from Generals Zia and Musharraf to Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif. Today, Qadri's politics are motivated by deep disillusionment with all of them, military and civilian alike. Such sentiments place him squarely in the mainstream of Pakistani public opinion. "


Source: Here

==========================

I can understand Mr. Markey's appreciation of Dr. Qadri, but his facts are all one-sided. He is looking at this issue through an outsider's point of view (not entirely unnatural) and attaching undue importance to someone who couldn't even organize a decent dharna without requesting backing from MQM and PML(Q).

His Islamabad Agreement was clearly an exit-route that the PPP-regime granted him. There were hardly any consultations with his TMQP or PAT as he had claimed at the top of his voice.

But this article does give us Pakistanis a little insight into what the Americans are thinking about the state of Pakistani politics.

Half the group of people who call themselves South Asia experts in the West are lazy bums who don't care to read our newspapers daily and barely even visit the region. Half of this bunch is sensationalist(how else will they earn their bread). So we have to take the words of self-proclaimed experts with a pinch of salt. The mainstream have rightly attached little importance to Qadri.

This article represents nothing about how the West thinks of our region. But lazy guys like this one do dilute the consensus among the mainstream. This is sometimes also good for Pakistan. When Osama was found in Pakistan, if it were not for noise like this, Pakistan would have been in for serious trouble.

 

[JanjaWeed]

Tahir Ul-Qadri's movement reminds me of Anna Hazare's one in India. Both started off with high expectations with massive domestic support, but fizzled out with a whimper. Just goes to show.. it doesn't matter how good a orator or crowd pleaser you are.. you need a strong political backing to sustain the momentum & keep it going. If you want to change the system, be a part of it & bring the changes from within rather than trying to change it from outside. Then you might stand a chance...

 

[Cyberian]

Salaam to all the Muslims,



We don't need non-Pakistanis' views on Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri - we have more than 180 million people in Pakistan who can express their views on Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri.

Salaam to all the Muslims.

 

[RazorMC]

& no posts on this thread shows, how wrong you thought about him too?
his dharna was all alone himself!

Or it just shows that Qadri sahab really doesn't matter to Pakistani politics.

PTI activists says that Dr. Qadri is damaging to IK.
Pakistani media blame him as an establishment launch.
where as soem foreign observers see him dividing votes of PML-N

What the ******* bigots are we.. when we baselessly blame dr. Qadri just to serve our personal agendas.

Only some of the ISF insisted on siding with Dr. Qadri, the top leadership was right in staying away from him.
TuQ is not just blamed for personal agenda... there are several reasons why people have doubted him and will continue to do so.

 

[rubyjackass]

Tahir Ul-Qadri's movement reminds me of Anna Hazare's one in India. Both started off with high expectations with massive domestic support, but fizzled out with a whimper. Just goes to show.. it doesn't matter how good a orator or crowd pleaser you are.. you need a strong political backing to sustain the momentum & keep it going. If you want to change the system, be a part of it & bring the changes from within rather than trying to change it from outside. Then you might stand a chance...

Please don't compare Quadri with Anna. Quadri was asking for the Election Commission of Pakistan to resign. And he demanded a bunch of other unconstitutional things. His attitude towards Pakistanis is that they are a loser bunch who have to be reformed with himself as a dictator. Quadri's popularity came from his Islamic sermons.

Anna's popularity had his earlier social work as a strong credential. His movement is still strong and has only moved to groups with better political knowledge. For example, these groups will not ask for banning 1000 rupee note like Anna did. THe movement Anna started is still going on, only his dreams of a sudden change vanished. That is the reason the crowds melted away.

 

[RazorMC]

^^ That's the difference between a politician and a social worker.
Dr. Qadri was a mere opportunist looking to take advantage of the political atmosphere in Pakistan.

I strongly feel that he will try to make another jump into the arena closer to elections.