Pakistani spring?

[Swampy]

Tens of thousands have risen in protest against the Pakistani government's corruption. And SJ will be happy to know the clerics are behind this.

[Sir John]

The clerics are ALWAYS behind it!

They interpret the rules, and the automatons follow them.


SJ

[mcnoch]

That is not a pro-democracy development, even when the head of this new movement was returning from Canada.

[Swampy]

Jan 15, 2013 14:47:07 GMT -5 mcnoch said:

That is not a pro-democracy development, even when the head of this new movement was returning from Canada.

He's from Canada? Do you have a link?

[mcnoch]

He has a Pakistani and a Canadian passport and lived - for health reasons - in the recent years in Canada.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_Tahir-ul-Qadri

[Swampy]

From the Wiki link:

Fatwa on Terrorism

On 2 March 2010, Qadri issued a 600-page Fatwa on Terrorism, which is an "absolute" scholarly refutation of all terrorism without "any excuses or pretexts." He said that "Terrorism is terrorism, violence is violence and it has no place in Islamic teaching and no justification can be provided for it.

[Swampy]

Pakistan's Supreme Court has ordered the arrest of the Prime Minister on charges of corruption.

I would support this, but, as discussed, I'm wary of the influence of Islamic radicals. The West should provide financial support to the moderate groups in the country.

[mcnoch]

Since the government announced elections before May 8th, the demonstrations are losing steam. Tahir al-Kadri's double-play by demanding democracy and requesting the arrest of the democratic elected government is isolating him increasingly in the political landscape of Pakistan. And even the people seem to be more interested in the politics than the leader of the protest. His last public speech was not even broadcasted live.