BBC journalist Barbarra Plett attends a sufi gathering in Lahore and poses the question: “Can sufism counter hardline Islamic extremism?”

“It was Sufis who came and spread the religious message of love and harmony and beauty, there were no swords, it was very different from the sharp edged Islam of the Middle East.

And you can’t separate it from our culture, it’s in our music, it’s in our folklore, it’s in our architecture. We are a Sufi country, and yet there’s a struggle in Pakistan right now for the soul of Islam.”

“That struggle is between Sufism and hard-line Wahhabism, the strict form of Sunni Islam followed by members of the Taleban and al-Qaeda.”

My following piece was the lead story in today’s online edition of Eureka Street:

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan - In the waking hours of Monday morning I watched intently as the Zardari Government was bought soberly to its knees. Intense political pressure had forced Prime Minister Gilani to reinstate Chief Justice Chaudhry through an executive order.

The lead up to such a move came as Nawaz Sharif, leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and his brother Shahbaz Sharif, Chief Minister of the Punjab, were simultaneously dismissed from office by the Supreme Court on February 25, effectively barring them both from holding public office.

As I walked through Rawalpindi the day after Sharif’s dismissal, I came face to face with groups of young men roaming the streets, breaking shop fronts and destroying public property. The hotel I was planning on staying in was attacked and had its front windows smashed in, groups of men on motorbikes, waving flags and brandishing sticks sped along the roads shouting political slogans as they whizzed by. “Welcome to Pakistan” I thought to myself.  

In the weeks that followed Pakistan was plunged further into political instability, with an increase in civil disobedience, the uprise of anti government rallies and the threat of a political coup. The Long March intensified and steadily aimed its sights for the heart of Islamabad. A city that was in total lockdown.

Defying his house arrest, Nawaz Sharif broke through several police barricades and led the Long March into the streets of Lahore.

Violent clashes began between protestors and baton wielding riot police, who, under strict orders to stop the march at all costs, began shelling crowds with tear gas. But it didn’t stop there as reports of a journalist who was run over on his motorbike by police caused a massive backlash and protestors immediately turned on the authorities, setting an armoured police bus ablaze, incinerating it completely.

Arrest warrants were also issued for Imran Khan and Shahbaz Sharif, but they both successfully evaded capture and made it safely to Rawalpindi, where they tentatively remained in hiding until the news of the Chief Justice Chaudhry’s reinstatement was broadcast. Dozens of other political figures were also arrested and detained during the lead up to the march to Islamabad.

The streets of Rawalpindi were now relatively empty, an eerie feeling in a usually bustling city. Shipping containers and large trucks blocked off every major road to and from the city, but after slipping past several police check points unnoticed and entering the centre of town I noticed that the city had not come to a complete standstill; large groups of men once again roamed the streets, only this time they were patiently waiting for the call to action. A call that has now been answered by the current government.

The Pakistani establishment has seemingly been split into two camps: Zardari and Sharif.

Zardari, whose popularity as president is plummeting, represents the US backed Pakistan, a country that is content ruling and being ruled as it is. Sharif on the other hand is backed by the Pakistani elite, a movement and group of people who are questioning the status quo, who are sick seeing their money disappear as bribes for feudal lords, ministers and police, sick of a country riddled with corruption and incompetent people in positions of power and who largely want Pakistan to grow and prosper.

Of course it reeks of having capitalist motives and Sharif is no saint when it comes to corruption allegations, but it is a grassroots democratic movement based loosely around the principles of Western democracy and if implemented could do wonders for the country.

Sharif has been fighting to reinstate Chief Justice Chaudhry, who, before his suspension by Musharref in 2007 opened up the “missing persons” case and began to dig into the dark recesses of the government’s dealings with its secret agencies. As a consequence, the US was implicated in hundreds of cases of people (mainly all innocent) who had disappeared due to US led interrogation techniques in the fight to curb the war on terror.

Chaudhry is considered as a politically dangerous man to a lot of people, so the thought of him now being reinstated and having the power of an independent judiciary will send a definite shiver down the spines of the spineless.

Where Pakistan will go from here is anyone’s guess, but as tremors quake throughout the political landscape it may be a good time to till the soil and sow new seeds.

There is little-to-no rest in site for Pakistan as it recovers from a gruelling three weeks of political espionage, civil unrest and a near coup.

Claims of a strong military push for the resolution of the Long March by reinstating the deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammed Chaudhry is now being heavily denied by the Pakistani Government.

“The armed forces must have been concerned about what was going on; they must have been as concerned as any other member of the civil society because what was happening was that two major political forces were on a collision course,” said Farhatullah Babar, a spokesman for President Zardari.

The US are now insisting that the current state of political flux will increase the likelihood of more Militant attacks by Islamic extremists intent on destabilising the country.

“Instability in Pakistan has become a major source of international concern, especially since Pakistan is one of a handful of countries that possess nuclear weapons - The current political turmoil will certainly distract the government from dealing with the multiple challenges facing Pakistan, including spreading Talibanisation in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP),” said Lisa Curtis, a senior research fellow in the Asian Studies Centre at the Heritage Foundation.  

A convenient viewpoint for a country that has so many ulterior motive in the region and has just announced plans to extend its covert attacks, not only in the NWFP, but also pushing deeper inside the Pakistani border.

“Mr. Obama’s top national security advisers, known as the Principals Committee, met Tuesday to begin debating all aspects of Afghanistan-Pakistan strategy. Senior administration officials say Mr. Obama has made no decisions, but is expected to do so in coming days after hearing the advice of that group,” reported the New York Times.

After a day of intense rioting in Lahore, the current government has publically annouced that Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammed Choudhry will be reinstated.

The streets of Lahore have been turned into a battle ground today, as baton wielding riot police begin to shell protestors with tear gas. As I write, GEO News has once again been taken off air (as of 30 seconds ago).

Reports confirm that Imran Khan, Shahbaz Sharif and a handfull of others, defying their arrest warrents have made it safely to Rawalpindi. Although police raids have been made on a number of Rawalpindi houses in an effort to find them.

Islamabad is preparing for the worst as the long march begins to reach the outskirts of the city this afternoon. Shipping containers have been used as heavy duty barricades surrounding Parliament House to stop protestors breaking through.

Many in the central business districts have closed their doors due to the impending protest and probable riots. The feeling on the streets is that of excitement and uncertainty - The democratic movement is still alive, so the outcome of the next 24 hours is crucial for the future of Pakistan.

Police blockade Parliament House

Nawaz Sharrif, leader of the major opposition party (PML-N) has been placed under house arrest today by the Zardari Government. Dozens of political workers have already been arrested in early morning raids and orders have also been given to arrest Imran Khan along with a score of other prominent political figures.

According to reports, Shahbaz Sharif, former minister of the Punjab, has reached Rawalpindi, ready for the last leg of the long march as it enters Islamabad tomorrow.

Pakistan’s most widely watched news channel, GEO News , has been taken off the air by the Zardari Government.

GEO News has been giving minute by minute updates of the Long March - a march organised to reinstate the Chief Justice, Iftikhar Muhammed Chaudry. The last time GEO was taken off air was when the previous dictator, General Pervez Musharraf, oredered it to be shut down when he initially deposed Chief Justice Chaudry in 2007.

When all else fails why not gag the media? Funny how history just keeps on repeating itself.

In his latest article, Rod McGuinness, managing editor of newmatilda.com, interviews Robert Baer, an ex-CIA operative.  The article, “Iran is the key to peace” outlines some of the West’s misconcieved ideas about this Middle-Eastern superpower and articulates some very important points:

“Still, the West’s misunderstanding of Iran within the US government, defence circles and foreign policy think tanks, clearly frustrates him. “They are not a fascist state. They let me in - an ex-CIA guy who used to deal for many years with the Iranian opposition. They understood I was not a threat or still a spy or anyone that could do any damage. [By contrast] I cannot go up to [Osama] bin Laden’s cave and wander around. Or Saudi Arabia - I can’t go to Saudi Arabia because of my Saudi book.” (In 2003, Baer published Sleeping with the Devil, How Washington Sold Our Soul for Saudi Crude. It was later adapted for the film, Syriana.)”

“Baer says, “I can see why they would want [a nuclear weapon] eventually because Saddam should have had one … In essence they want one but I think they are going to time it a lot better. The Iranians are really, really smart, sophisticated people. I’ve seen the backside of their diplomatic negotiations and talks and I would say they are infinitely more sophisticated than their American counterparts. I have seen them comment [on US military engagements], places we shouldn’t have been, what’s happening in the United States - and their analysis was as good as the New York Times and the Washington Post.”

Taliban fighters have shot down an unmanned US drone in the Tribal regions along the Afghan border.  Over 200 people have been killed by drone attacks since August 2008, so it’s not at all surprising that the drones are being targeted.

US Drone