Musharraf retires as Pak army chief

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This was a very interesting BIG news to watch last night. I thought that Mush will never take off his uniform, and I sat glued to the TV to watch the direct telecast of Mush passing the baton to Kayani - they were at a very plain, but beautiful location in Rawalpindi. As I heard his very emotional speech, I started thinking what must be going on in his mind to give up something he did for the past 45 years and loved so much! He was extremely gracious, and a little stiff, when he actually handed over the baton at the ceremony. But may be he was thinking, 'oh well, some day I had to do it, now is the time..' or may be about the next step in his big plan to bring back stability in Pak. May be he was just thinking about his experiences of several years in the army....Whether he was thinking (or not), for sure I believe that he is someone who is extremely passionate about his country - he wants to sincerely take Pak on a path of sustainable growth and success. And puts his country above himself! Thats a rare quality....

Mush stopped Bhutto from taking out a rally and kept her in house arrest recently. I think he did the right thing! Bhutto, apparently, didn't learn anything from the bomb blasts at a big rally earlier that killed 100-200 innocent people/her supporters. I believe Mush stopped from that happening again and may be even saved Bhutto's life...

In hard circumstances like the ones Mush faces, whether its pressures from the US, or from within his country, it sometimes does require a leader just like him to make the right decisions. He is the only one who can ban people like Nawaz Sharif/Bhutto from entering the country, or prevent big rallies that can be potentially dangerous.

Nobody knows how this change will affect Pak or, for that matter, India because Mush, as non-army President, will still be in a very powerful position in Pak. In the short term though emergency in Pak will be lifted very soon. And we will also see Mush in plain clothes. May be he will have dozens of white shirts in his wardrobe now :)...

Sanjay Dutt , 16 others get bail

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Here I go again, ranting about Sanjay D. He was granted bail by the Supreme Court yesterday and is free. Again. I am pretty sure he has a friend in SC who grants his bail every time he appeals there. The only thing he needs to do now is report to CBI every month or so, but obviously, he can now party as before.

On one hand, I feel this is big relief for his friends and family, and I understand their agonizing pain for the last several years. But what a loss for law and order on the whole! I mean, again, nowhere have I seen the full analysis/report/reasoning/basis for him being in and out of the jail for the last 15 years or so. It is still unclear how this case has developed and whether right now he is out temporarily or permanently. But his lawyers repeatedly say that the arm(s) he possessed were for self-protection. Well, then why was he sentenced for 6 years by TADA where it took the lawyers ~15 years to study the (bomb blast) case and for the court to give verdict? And the biggest disappointment is that, as expected, 16 other accused have been granted bail as well. Yikes.

The only thing I wish at this point is that may be the verdict should have come sooner. May be the sentencing was of shorter duration. May be the law could be interpreted and applied in different ways depending on various factors. May be someone could explain me this whole thing from the beginning. I just feel that the public, i.e. I, have been deceived and deprived of information that they deserve to have...