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Local residents with Pakistani ties wary of turmoil

Posted November 08, 2007 10:00 pm

Steven Spearie

As Ali Nizamuddin watches the chaos unfold in Pakistan, he keeps thinking about Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, fired as chief justice of the Supreme Court.

Chaudhry, a thorn in the side of President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, this week appealed to the nation's lawyers to "not be afraid. God will help us, and the day will come when you'll see the constitution supreme and no dictatorship for a long time."

Nizamuddin, who teaches international relations at the University of Illinois at Springfield, said Chaudhry's words may be a rallying cry.

"(Change in the government) does require for people to stand up," he said. "Those images of attorneys in the streets being beaten were being transmitted everywhere.

"This has a more galvanizing effect."

Central Illinois residents with ties to Pakistan are keeping a guarded eye on the situation that boiled over last weekend. Musharraf, the head of state and army chief of staff, suspended the constitution, limited assemblies and dissolved the country's highest court. He also cut off privately owned television channels and issued warnings to journalists critical of the regime.

The situation has other ramifications, said Nizamuddin, because Pakistan has been a U.S. ally in the war on terror and has nuclear capabilities.

While Nizamuddin, a native of India, maintains that Musharraf's popularity is lower than ever, others hold different views.

"What Musharraf is doing is good for the country," said Omair Haq, a 28-year-old IT consultant who earned bachelor's and master's degrees from UIS.

Haq lived in South Karachi when Benazir Bhutto, who recently ended eight years in exile, was prime minister. Conditions, especially the economy, are better now, Haq said.

Monty Latif, a systems architect for IBM in Springfield, also said Musharraf has moved Pakistan "in a modernist direction."

"He's done a lot for business and media as well," said Latif, who is an American citizen.

However, he said, there are fanatics and other forces in Pakistan "who want to create havoc." If Bhutto mobilizes her forces, the situation "could get ugly," he said.

But Ali Jafri, who came to Springfield from Pakistan in March, is confident Bhutto can marshal a popular uprising.

"She holds sway in Karachi (Pakistan's largest city)," said Jafri. "She can reach into the hearts of her supporters.

"It's obvious this is a last-ditch effort (by Musharraf) to retain power."

Nizamuddin has seen his classes on Middle East issues grow in popularity.

"People (here) are beginning to ask the fundamental questions: Why do they hate us? What are their legitimate grievances?" he said.

"We can't be close-minded individuals, living in a closet, when we're dealing (with countries like Pakistan.)"

To keep apprised of the situation back home, Jafri reads blogs and watches GEO, a Pakistani TV station that streams video on the Internet. Jafri said his friends and colleagues in the United States see attorneys and students being beaten by police as reaching "a boiling point."

"They don't understand how Musharraf can do what he wants. That escapes their understanding," he said.

Asked about the situation in Pakistan, Nizamuddin mentions the Iraq war, the latest conflict between Israel and Lebanon and the threat of a U.S. invasion of Iran as possible flashpoints.

"It's just a tinderbox," he said of the region. "If we're not careful, things are going to disintegrate."

Steven Spearie can be reached at spearie@hotmail.com or (217) 622-1788.

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