Our Announcements

Not Found

Sorry, but you are looking for something that isn't here.

Archive for April, 2014

Col. Riaz Jafri (Retd): Standing up for One’s Rights

Posted by admin in Pakistan-A Nation of Hope on April 2nd, 2014

LETTER TO EDITOR

April 1st, 2014

 

Standing up for One’s Rights

 

It was quite heartening to watch over a private TV channel transporters of Hafizabad thrashing a Police traffic ASI left and right who had booked one of them allegedly for not paying him the illegal gratification. Well done the transporters for standing up for your rights. It is sincerely hoped that the Hafizabad Police will not take any reprisal and retaliatory action against the transporters on the ‘pretext’ of their taking the law in to their own hands but in the process in order to actually protect the ASI of the corruption and misuse of his authority.  As a matter of fact an impartial judicial inquiry be held and the ASI, if found guilty, must be dismissed from the service to serve as a deterrent to others.

 

At the same time, how do I wish that all Pakistanis emulate the Transporters of Hafizabad in standing for their rights and hand out the same treatment to any public servant – administrative, judicial or political -demanding illegal gratification for doing even the most legitimate work for the hapless and helpless public.

 

Pakistan Zindabad

Col. Riaz Jafri (Retd)

Col. Riaz Jafri (Retd)
30 Westridge 1
Rawalpindi 46000
Pakistan

E.mail: [email protected]

, ,

No Comments

KING IN YOUR COUNTRY

Posted by admin in Pakistan-A Nation of Hope on April 2nd, 2014

 
In a poor zoo of  India , a lion was frustrated as he was offered not more than 1 kg of meat a day.
The lion thought its prayers were answered when one
day a Dubai Zoo Manager visited the zoo and requested the zoo management to shift the lion to  Dubai Zoo.

The lion was so happy and started thinking of a central A/c environment, a
goat or two every day. On its first day after
arrival, the lion was offered a big bag, sealed very
nicely for breakfast. The lion opened it quickly but 
was shocked to see that it contained few bananas. The
lion thought that may be they cared too much for him
as they were worried about his stomach as he had recently shifted from  India .

The next day the same thing happened. On the third
day again the same food bag of bananas was delivered.

The lion was so furious; it stopped the delivery boy and blasted at him,’
don’t you know I am the lion…king of the Jungle…, what’s wrong with
your management? What nonsense is this? Why are you
delivering bananas to me?’
The delivery boy politely said, ‘Sir, I know you are
the king of the jungle … but… you have been brought here on a
monkey’s visa!!! ‘ 

Moral of the Story ….

*Better to be a Lion in your own country than a Monkey elsewhere*

, ,

No Comments

HATS OFF TO PML N GOVERNMENT NEPOTISM: ANUSHA REHMAN-AN EVIL & CROOKED EXAMPLE OF GOOD GOVERNANCE IN PAKISTAN

Posted by admin in Pakistan-A Nation of Hope on April 2nd, 2014

HATS OFF TO PML N GOVERNMENT
               
 
EXAMPLE 
 
OF
 
 
 GOOD GOVERNANCE IN PAKISTAN 

 

 

Anusha Rehman’s Husband Gets Job as Board Member in PTML

 

 
 
 
Mr. Shabbir Khan Anusha Rehmans Husband Gets Job as Board Member in PTML

Mr. Shabbir Ahmed Khan (second from right), during his official visit to GSMA Mobile World Congress in February 2014 as board member of PTML. Anusha Rehman, Dr. Ismail Shah, Mr. Yasir Qadir, Mr. Ikhlaq Tarar and Brig. Sami is also seen in the picture

Anusha Rehman, State Minister for Information Technology and Telecom, has managed to get her husband inducted in PTML’s board as a member, The News has reported.

Mr. Shabbir Ahmed Khan, who is the husband of Anusha Rehman, is reportedly appointed as member of the board of directors at PTML, cellular arm of PTCL.

The news of Mr. Shabbir’s appointment first surfaced in January, however, it was only today that Mr. Akhlaq Tarar, who is Federal Secretary for IT & Telecom and also the Chairman of PTCL Board, confirmed the appointment.

Anusha Rehman opted to not to comment anything on the matter, while Mr. Tarar said that appointment was made after government persuaded Mr. Shabbir to take the responsibility.

, ,

No Comments

NOTES FROM A SOCIAL SCIENTIST: For the PM’s Eyes Only!

Posted by admin in Pakistan-A Nation of Hope on April 2nd, 2014

NOTES FROM A SOCIAL SCIENTIST
 
 
 
 For the PM’s Eyes Only!
 
By Dr. Haider Mehdi
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Prime Minister: This is a brief top-secret report for your eyes only on the state of affairs on the Pakistani streets, examining how common citizens are thinking, feeling and questioning the prevailing political discourse as well as viewing their own existence in the present-day socio-economic environment within political ground realities in the country.
 
 
 
But first of all, let me share an interesting metaphor and an intriguing thoughtful analogy with you. Someone the other day remarked, “Just going to a Church does not make one a Christian, any more than standing in a garage makes one a car.” I have adapted this analogy into a political metaphor as follows: Just saying Pakistan is a democracy does not make it democratic, any more than swimming in an Olympic-size swimming pool makes one an Olympic swimmer. The danger is drowning in the swimming pool if one does not learn to swim properly. The point here is that “democracy” is not just a voting ritual; it is the process of a revolution of “perceived possibilities” aimed at attaining and maximizing public welfare to its ultimate best. The public fear is that as long as the PMLN political managers are temperamentally stuck to the traditional socio-economic-political model, the possibility of a way forward does not seem to exist.
 
 
 
Irving L Janis, world famous American academic and research psychologist (author of the book Victims of Groupthink) observed that national political leaderships, even in well-established Western democracies, tend to be alienated from major public sentiments and undercurrents at the pinnacle of their political leaderships when surrounded by complacent second-tier subordinates who only feed information that supports the leader’s already perceived perspectives on nearly all important national issues. It is a survival game – these tactics keep the second-tier political managers within the ruling circle; however, this practice deprives the top leadership of getting diverse and vital information feedback on public issues, thus distancing the top leadership from current public sentiments. I am no authority to judge whether this kind of political manipulation and management is being conducted in the corridors of power dominated by the PMLN administration. One can only hope that political sense prevails in the interest of the nation and democratic norms, and the incumbent leadership can move forward to resolve this nation’s pressing and crisis-ridden problematics.
 
 
 
Prime Minister: However, I am obliged to share with you that the news on the Pakistani streets is not good.   The majority of Pakistanis, those who ride buses, buy “haleem” and “chanay” from street vendors, send their children to inadequately staffed and poor condition schools, bear the brunt of economic and social inequality, suffer the consequences of poor medical services, are deprived of power and gas, are faced with growing unemployment, skyrocketing costs of daily consumables and nonexistent law and order conditions as well as endless failures in the dispensation of justice in the legal system, and so on and so forth, are now asking vital questions on political management and making loud and clear judicious statements and judgments on the state of this country’s affairs.
 
 
 
These men and women on the street, the majority of Pakistanis, complain that the rulers of this country consider them like dispensable commodities. They believe that they are viewed as unaware, unperceptive, uneducated, lacking in political consciousness and inconsequential in the national decision-making process and, above all, unfit to understand and appreciate the intricacies and dynamics of political management and national priorities. They claim that they are conscientious and fully cognizant what is going on but are simply the victims of this country’s traditional political culture that has timelessly subjected them to economic-social marginalization and political oppression. They are angry and about to explode.
 
 
 
One of the most important questions being asked on every street corner of Pakistan these days is about the recent financial aid of the Saudi government. The Saudis have given such a massive amount of money on the personal guarantee of Pakistan’s Prime Minister, and common people are asking what exactly that means! Does it mean that the PM will return the money to the Saudis, if they demand it back, from his personal account? Or does it mean that the Prime Minister has assured the Saudis a repayment check from the national exchequer should they demand the money to be returned? Or has the PM negotiated a payback in some sort of civilian or military service deal requested by the Saudis at the time of their choosing? Or, is it an unconditional grant without any time bar? If it is, so what has motivated the Saudis into such a massive act of generosity? Another related question being asked by Pakistanis is about the sudden and unexpected visit of the Bahraini Emir at this particular time (it is important to note the Bahraini monarch has not visited Pakistan in the last 40 years).
 
 
 
The Pakistani Prime Minister is the only one who can answer these public queries, for he is the only one who has absolute and accurate knowledge of recent Saudi-Pak and Bahraini-Pak discussions or negotiations. Whatever the merits or demerits of these negotiations, the Prime Minister would be well-advised to share this information with the Pakistani public with complete candor, diplomatic honesty and within the acceptable levels of this nation’s self-interests. Indeed, this would calm public nerves.   However, the PMLN leadership should be prepared to reframe and redefine the course of Pak-Saudi and Pak-Bahraini diplomacy, if needed.
 
Here I offer my personal view on these issues which might help the PMLN foreign policy establishment and perception management experts in defusing the public uproar over this matter.  Both the Pakistani incumbent government and the public in this country must understand that the recent Saudi and Bahraini perception of a threat to their countries’ stability is not without due merits and adequate political reasons. We must understand that this “existential threat” does not emanate from Iran, but from the US-West-led “New World Order” strategy that has already changed the shape of politics in the greater Muslim world. Exactly 100 years after the first world war in 1914, when Saudi Arabia and other Islamic countries were created, the US-West is busy again trying to reshape Islamic nations in order to continue its military, political and economic domination. The plan this time is to break these nations into small countries, encourage conflict between different ethnic groups, and promote sectarian rivalries within them. As we know, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Indonesia, Egypt and Afghanistan have already been politically divided to different degrees of ethnic conflict by direct as well as convert US-NATO interventions – and this process is being accelerated by a meticulously organized plan to transform the present day international political system.  That is the threat and at the heart of what the Saudis and Bahrainis are feeling – and understandably fearful of. Pakistan’s role at this crucial moment in a fast-changing international political system cannot be of a military nature in its dealings with other Islamic countries. This is a God-sent opportunity for Pakistan to establish itself as a leading player, as an important actor, in the conciliatory process between different Islamic countries to help in the consolidation of peace and stability in the contemporary international system.
 
The question is: Can the PMLN leadership and its foreign policy managers handle such an ardent as well as arduous task?
 
Will a nuclear Islamic nation rise to its stature?
 
That remains to be seen!

 

, , , ,

No Comments

Courageous Gen(Retd) Musharraf Pleads Not Guilty to Kangaroo Court Treason Revenge Charges Trumped Up By Kargil Coward Nawaz Sharif

Posted by admin in Pakistan-A Nation of Hope on April 1st, 2014

Pakistan’s Ex-President Pleads Not Guilty to Treason Charges

By SALMAN MASOOD

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Photo

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Supporters of former military ruler Pervez Musharraf protested outside a special court in Islamabad where Musharraf appeared on charges Monday. 
Credit Aamir Qureshi/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan’s former military ruler, pleaded not guilty to treason charges on Monday after being formally indicted by a special court here, according to lawyers in the case.

The indictment was a turning point for Pakistan, where the military has long dominated the civilian leadership and no military ruler has ever been tried for abuse of power.

But the court proceedings on Monday might also have a silver lining for Mr. Musharraf, who requested that the special court panel allow him to travel abroad to seek medical treatment. The three-member panel did not reject his request outright, suggesting that Mr. Musharraf could approach the government about having his name removed from the list of people barred from leaving the country.

Muhammad Farogh Naseem, a lawyer for Mr. Musharraf, said the former leader had already asked the Interior Ministry for permission to leave. Earlier, Mr. Naseem urged the court to allow Mr. Musharraf to travel to the United Arab Emirates to visit his ailing mother in a hospital, and to be allowed to go to the United States for his own treatment.

Video

CreditReuters

Musharraf Pleads Not Guilty to Treason

 

Pakistan’s former president, Pervez Musharraf, is the country’s first military ruler to be tried for abuse of power.

Publicly, government officials dismissed the idea that Mr. Musharraf would be allowed to travel. But for months there has been speculation that Mr. Musharraf might eventually be allowed to leave the country as a way to defuse a case that could bring the military into conflict with the judiciary and the civilian government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif told the Pakistani Parliament on Monday that the government could arrange an air ambulance to ferry Mr. Musharraf’s ailing mother to Pakistan. Mr. Asif also said that the country’s military and civilian leadership were “on the same page.”

However, despite a studied silence from the military over Mr. Musharraf’s treason case, there have been rumblings within the ranks and among former army officials, who view the spectacle of their former commander being dragged through the courts as deeply insulting.

During the court proceedings, Mr. Musharraf, dressed in traditional garments, stood defiantly as charges were read out, then pleaded not guilty.

“I fought two wars for the country,” he told the court during an impassioned speech that lasted just under half an hour. “I gave 44 years of my life to Pakistan’s army. The country was nearing default in 1999 when I assumed power, but I restored the country’s honor.”

“Is it treason?” he asked several times as he enumerated the successful economic policies while he was in office. “I regret that despite all this I am being called a traitor.”

Mr. Musharraf is accused of subverting the Constitution in 2007, when he imposed emergency rule and fired high-ranking judicial officials in an attempt to maintain his grip on power. He resigned under threat of impeachment in 2008 and left the country.

He returned to Pakistan in March 2013 to revive his political career, but instead found himself ensnared in court cases. The treason charge is the most serious one Mr. Musharraf faces; if convicted, he could be sentenced to death.

Proceedings in the case began in December, but Mr. Musharraf’s appearance Monday was only his second in 37 scheduled hearings. His lawyers have cited security and health concerns for past absences.

On Jan. 2, Mr. Musharraf was on his way to court but went instead to a military hospital in the neighboring garrison city of Rawalpindi, after complaining of heart trouble.

Since then, the justices on the panel hearing the case have expressed their unhappiness with Mr. Musharraf’s continuing absence. The panel, headed by Justice Faisal Arab, issued an arrest warrant for Mr. Musharraf that would have gone into effect had he failed to attend the hearing on Monday.

Late Sunday, Mr. Musharraf’s lawyers said he had been admitted to intensive care at the military hospital, suggesting that he might again fail to appear. But on Monday morning, a contingent of police officers arrived at the hospital, and Mr. Musharraf, for whom arrest would have been a deeply humiliating possibility, agreed to go to Islamabad.

Elaborate security arrangements were made for the proceedings on Monday. At least 2,100 police officers and paramilitary troops stood guard on the route from the military hospital in Rawalpindi to the court in Islamabad, officials said.

Mr. Musharraf adopted a different legal strategy on Monday, as none of the lawyers who had represented him earlier in the case attended the court hearing. Instead, Mr. Naseem, a lawyer with a good reputation, took up his case. Mr. Musharraf’s earlier legal team had adopted a combative approach, often trading acerbic comments with the prosecution lawyers and even bitterly arguing with the justices, accusing them of bias.

 

 

, , ,

No Comments


© 2025, All Rights Reserved by Pakistan Think Tank.