General Musharraf and Engineered Democracy essays

General Musharraf and Engineered Democracy essays President Musharraf and Engineered Democracy "To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public." The period of the Musharraf regime in terms of the political scenario was clearly articulated by The International Crisis Group (ICG) that said that President Pervez Musharraf has been unilaterally instituting political and constitutional changes intended to ensure that generals retain the real power after the Oct 10 elections. In a latest report titled "Pakistan: Democracy needed not more military rule", the highly-reputed international group has noted that the Musharraf government is following the pattern of the country's previous military rulers of carrying out constitutional changes intended to ensure that "the generals retain the real power and any democratic transition falters before it begins." I believe that to get things going their way, the Musharraf government had started playing its cards from the very beginning. Probably, they realized that the international community was not going to stand a military regime in a country of geo-strategic importance for an extended period of time. Musharraf had to plan early, plan well and in the process stay well ahead of his adversaries. After the military coup, General Musharraf sent out a clear message to all by proclaiming himself as the Chief Executive of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan that he was clearly in control, and was here to stay. He started with suspending the 1973 constitution and promulgating the PCO. The judiciary was made to re-take the oath under the PCO, and Justice Irshad Hassan Khan was made the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, following the refusal of the senior judges of the Supreme Court, including Chief Justice Ajmal Mian, to retake the oath under the PCO. By installing the Chief Justic...

Creative Writing 5 Tips for Writing a Novel

Creative Writing 5 Tips for Writing a Novel Creative Writing: 5 Tips for Writing a Novel Even though creative writing gives you much more freedom than academic writing, it takes a lot of time, effort, and dedication to master. Luckily, if you are writing a novel, there are a few things you can do to make sure you end up with something you can be proud of. 1. Start Small One mistake aspiring novelists make is leaping right into writing a full-length novel. If you’ve not written fiction before, consider starting with a few short stories. This will let you hone your creative writing skills before you set to work on your seven-volume masterpiece! Not exactly what we had in mind, but sure.(Photo: kelly taylor/flickr) 2. Where to Begin? Speaking of starting points, coming up with an idea for your story is one of the trickiest parts of writing a novel. The old adage of â€Å"write what you know† applies here, so one option is to base a story on something in your life or something you’ve observed. Another top tip is starting with a character. Who is your story going to be about? What is their background? Where do they live? What challenges do they face? If you can answer these questions, the rest of your story should start falling into place. 3. Have a Plan Once you have a basic idea for your story, you should take some time to make a plan before you begin writing. Try to consider what the major plot points will be, who the main characters are, and what the end point will be. You might need a bit more detail than this. You don’t have to stick to this rigidly once you get going, but it should give you a basic structure you can use to guide your writing. 4. Give Yourself a Quota Every author has days when they don’t feel like they can get anything done or when the words seem to come out wrong. But don’t let this put you off! Give yourself a quota of words to write each day. This doesn’t have to be much (even a few hundred or a thousand words a day will add up eventually). They don’t even have to be perfect (you can edit later, so resist the urge to hit â€Å"delete†). The important thing is to keep going. 5. Edit Ruthlessly! Once you have a first draft, take some time away (have someone else read it and give you feedback if you can). But when you do come back to your manuscript, be brutal! Editing your own work can be painful, but it has to be done. Make your story as streamlined as possible. This means making small cuts where redundant words and phrases appear. But it can also mean cutting sections that aren’t essential to the plot, such as unnecessary scene-setting. Red pen optional.(Photo: Nic McPhee/flickr) If you can do this, you should end up with a much better novel as a result!