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Archive for category Nawaz “Badami Lassi Kim Barker Thurke” Sharif

Archive Article: How Pakistan was Sold for $8 Billion!

 

 

 

 

 

 

ARCHIVE ARTICLE

October 2011

Pakistan Sold for $8 billion?

By

Dr Shahid Qureshi

One can safely say that current ruling Pakistani elite including political, civil, business and military have sold Pakistan as much as for roughly $8 billion worth of assets abroad. This rough estimate is based on the available figures of two leading figures in Pakistani politics Nawaz Sharif & Brothers Limited and Zardari & Co Limited who have properties and assets abroad mainly in the USA, UK, Europe and else where.The others are Chaudhry brothers of PML-Q, ANP leader Asfandyar Wali, Rehman Malik and others also have assets abroad. British national and self exiled MQM-A leader Altaf Hussain is also part of political sharks in terms of assets abroad.The foreign assets of other politicians like Imran Khan and religious parties are not yet reported. But one can not rule anything out. One thing is common among almost all Pakistani politicians and Generals is that all of them have their children or grand children living, studying abroad with foreign nationalities or married to foreign nationals. Hypercritically those who shout the loudest against the US have send their sons and daughters their too.There is another class who has assets abroad and that is members of civil, military establishments and corrupt business elite. They are the protectors of the assets of these politicians. They teach them the tricks of ‘sophisticated bank robberies’, wiping out their bank loans, taking commissions from international firms and safely depositing them abroad. There is a tiny minority in Karachi, who is ready to serve any one and every one in terms of money laundering, playing with the currency exchange rates and provides help in the flight of capital out of Pakistan. They place their members on high positions in the disguise of ‘great community workers’ but in actual fact these people are responsible for funding terrorism and gang warfare in Karachi to all sides. They act as a bank for enemies of Pakistan. Their media channels follow the lines of the enemies of Pakistan in media and psychological warfare. They are the champions of flourishing of ‘black economy’ in Pakistan. That is why we find them in almost each and every financial scandal in the known memory of Pakistani corruption.Most of the above got these properties and assets by robbing Pakistan and selling its sovereignty. The so called business community of Karachi is at the fore front in facilitating the flight of capital abroad and later investments in their projects. They are in the ‘gold circle’ of the current regime and so called elite.They are the real gangsters and worst than target killers. After reading most of JIT (Joint Investigation Team) reports of target killers from Karachi one can safely say these are the poor people living in deprived areas killing around innocent people on the orders of shady elite living in posh areas with guards in big mansions. One can find this so called business community in all shady deals and working as bank for any one and every one especially the nasty neighbours.In London they have readymade business plans for Pakistani crooks and cons with money. Some of them regularly attend religious gatherings and give large sums in charity to get credibility among the clerics. Without knowing the source of the money some clerics do special prayers for them. Some of them are notorious for frequently doing ‘bankruptcies’, insolvencies as well as running special religious TV channels. Well money can buy you anything? That is how they get their people placed on the influential positions with access to sensitive information.This is the small minority of people has held Pakistan hostage to the foreigners just to protect their assets, properties, foreign nationalities and green cards. The freezing of assets of Arab leaders after the Arab spring in the past few months should be a wake up call and lesson for others? The lesson is your money is safer in your own country than a foreign plastic platinum card in your back pockets.   Bashing of Pakistan’s military both as an institution and its generals for both right and wrong reasons is quite fashionable. Pakistan’s military and nuclear assets are the main target of the enemies and so called friends. Pakistan’s army is a voluntary force; everybody can join the army and may be after the 30 years of service an officer become a general, others retires as they go along their careers.“The personal wealth of Pakistani generals is estimated at £3.5m a head’, according to The Guardian’s report, “The plot to bring back Benazir” published on 21st July 2007. The musical chair of politicians and military is harming the existence of Pakistan. The elite of Pakistan are institutionally corrupt and now become an organised ‘mafia’. Scandals of ‘steel mills’, sugar mills, cement; stock exchange has broken the records of previous corruptions. The culprits are from both opposition and ruling party.Few years ago Zardari – Benazir Bhutto assets worth more than $ 2 billion according to Saifurahman and according to NAB figure are around $1.2bn [£ 830m]. Raja Bashir of The Pakistani National Accountability Bureau told The Guardian that, “Ms Bhutto has 26 bank accounts, 14 properties and total assets of one billion sterling pounds abroad. We are very glad that other countries are cooperating with us.”On March 2, 2006, The Dawn newspaper reported that Benazir’s assets in Spain ‘unearthed’, The National Accountability Bureau claimed to have unearthed two more offshore companies and a villa in Spain owned by former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. A spokesman of the bureau said that judicial authorities of Spain had frozen assets of two Sharjah-based companies, Petroline and Tempo Global Gains, as well as their six bank accounts.The villa worth half million Euros, allegedly owned by Ms Bhutto and her three children, Bilawal Zardari, Bakhtawar Zardari and Asifa Zardari in Playas Del Arenal, Marbella, had also been seized by the High Court of the Valencia province, the NAB claimed. The NAB official said the Petroline Company was owned by Ms Bhutto, former FIA director-general Rehman Malik and Hassan Ali Jafferi and was established in 2000.Nawaz Sharif had no connection with the feudal elite. His family moved from Jati Umra near Amritsar and by 1960 they owned a few modest size factories – iron foundry, ice making, and water pump factory.Some how Mian Sharif managed to reach General Jill, as General Ghulam Jilani Governor of Punjab in General Zia’s regime He literally begged to give a break in politics to Nawaz Sharif. That is how he got into the military’s chicken farm and his factories started laying golden eggs.  Nawaz Sharif was appointed as finance minister of Punjab in 1983.  In 1981 the family business group Ittefaq turnover was Rs. 337 million, but by 1987 it had soared to at least Rs. 2,500 million, that is according to the group’s own accounts. Within four years Ittefaq had become one of the wealthiest private industrial groups in Pakistan. ‘Hard work and grace of Allah’ explained Shehbaz Sharif. One can imagine the miraculous growth in the assets of billions now. Investing in politics is not bad business at all in Pakistan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

According to Asia Week, Rehman Malik current Interior minister and key holder of Zardari’s safe produced 200-page report of MNS’s corruption. The secret document was leaked to the London-based Observer newspaper published details of alleged corruption involving the MNS and his family. According to the report, the Sharif family obtained loans from Pakistani state banks for business purposes and illegally converted the money into foreign exchange worth at least $66 million.According to the report, the Sharif family acquired properties in London through two companies, Nescoll and Nielsen Enterprises, registered in the British Virgin Islands and linked to a bank account in Lahore in the name of a fictitious person: Suleman Zia. The four flats in Avondale House in Park Lane are said to be worth at least £ 750,000, which worth millions of pounds keeping in view the current housing market in London. Not a bad deal!What clinched the appointment for Nawaz Sharif as PM was a word to the presidency by the then ISI chief Lt. Gen Hamid Gull, that the army believed he was a better choice. General Hamid Gull now regrets his misjudgement. Subsequently the President also dismissed him. Nawaz Sharif’s problem was power: a pathological crass compounded by crass incompetence. Nawaz Sharif also seemed to be an ungrateful person. He did not feel any obligation towards president Ghulam Ishaq Khan, nor did he ever say ‘thank you’ to General Hamid Gull’.The smart business minded ‘Abbaji’ late father of Nawaz Sharif invited General Asif Nawaz to his Lahore residence. After a fatherly ‘tête-à-tête’, Abbaji told the new army chief that he was like his son and requested him to take his two sons Nawaz and Shehbaz under his wings: and also told the ‘children’ that they must follow and never disregard the General Sahib’s advice. And one last thing Abbaji said to the General Sahib, as he came to see him out off at the porch of his house, ‘my both children have a Mercedes each, and here is the key to yours; you are like a son to me.’It didn’t work with General Asif Nawaz, he felt offended and therefore, instead of being able to buy the General, Nawaz Sharif had instead lost his respect too.“I sent Ghous Ali Shah to gave a lift home to General Musharraf and inform him that he has been deposed in absence said Nawaz Sharif while addressing a meeting in Manchester in July 2007. How intelligent was to promote engineering corp’s, Kashmiri, General Zia and decorate him with the badges purchased from Sadar Bazar Rawalpindi, MNS must be thinking in his spare time? Majeed Nizami editor of the Nawa-e-Waqt a closest ally of Nawaz Sharif had to remark that they used to regard Benazir Bhutto as a ‘security risk’, it seemed Nawaz Sharif was a greater security risk. He was indeed the worst thing that had happened to Pakistan since independence. Whether it was money, morals or security, the nation found it difficult to trust him. His recent speech at SAFMA attracted lot of controversies. MNS don’t believe in reading and learning?It is interesting that when Pakistani soldiers and Kashmiri freedom fighters were battling against the Indian army on the freezing heights of Kargil, Nawaz Sharif’s business proxies were selling sugar to India . India did not need to import any sugar and yet if Vajpayee had accepted to buy Pakistani sugar it was only to sweeten his relationship with Nawaz Sharif.It is highly significant that when the Kargil crisis broke out both George Fernandez and K S Sudarshan, the former a socialist and India’s defence minister and the later leader of BJP militant wing RSS themselves exculpate Nawaz Sharif of any blame. If the Indians were trying to protect Nawaz Sharif, they must have had very good reasons to do so. It is this selfish and opportunist behaviour that made these leaders make decisions against the interests of Pakistani state? Take the example of US aid to Pakistan and kind of work these people agree to do in return.  More recently angry and sarcastic attitude of Nawaz Sharif against the military is deplorable, when thousands of soldiers have lost their lives while his sons and nephews are doing multi million dollar businesses abroad. Pakistani politicians including Nawaz Sharif can only have moral high ground on others once they prove themselves. That they look after Pakistan’s national interests more than their personal wealth hidden abroad. They don’t take decisions which harm the interests of Pakistan just because their assets could be frozen abroad.The US aid to Pakistan has actually proven to be a ‘rip off and fraud’ by financial terrorists of Wall Steers.  There is no doubt that US has caused more than $70 billion losses to Pakistan since 2001. On the other hand only aided/lend or both $22.87 billion from 1950 to 2010. Most part of that aid actually never arrived in Pakistan as it was paid to your defence and military complexes back in the USA.  This rip off could only be possible if people mentioned above have prostituted themselves for personal interests.  Breakdown of US aid as reported:Total US Aid: $22.87 billion in 60 years & losses to Pakistan: $60 billion1950-1964     2.5bn economic and 500 m military aid1965-1979     2.55 billion economic and 26 million military 1980-1990     5 billion military and economic aid 1991-2000     429 million economic and $5.2 million military 2001-2009     3.6 billion economic and 9 billion military 2009-2015     7.5 billion approved under Kerry Lugar Bill aid mostly non military ($1.5 billion per year)Almost all the regimes of Pakistan have been prostituting with the enemies by deliberately harming the state of Pakistan and following IMF agenda e.g. gas and electric shortages to destroy the industrial infrastructure, Railways and Pakistan Steel. They have ignored the risks and challenges concerning the US lead military occupation of Afghanistan and drone attacks on Pakistan. Pakistan has suffered approximately $70 billion economic, human losses, structural damages to roads and bridges deployed more than 147,800 troops conducting combat operations in the tribal areas along the Afghan border. The Pakistan armed forces has lost more than 3,200 soldiers, with another 6,400 injured. They sustain an average of 10 casualties each day, and approximately 35,000 Pakistani civilians killed by suicide bombers and terrorism.  US policies around the world and especially in Pakistan created refugees and approximately 2 million internally displaced people (IDPs) in SWAT and FATA to further destabilize the country. Millions of people in Pakistan are waiting to be fully rehabilitated; 2.5 million Afghan refugees are a burden on the economy of Pakistan as well as causing social problems. They can’t go back to Afghanistan as US and NATO have occupied Afghanistan and fighting an unwinnable war.One can assume that Pakistani nation suffered both human and financial losses only because this small minority of people have their few billion dollars worth assets in USA, UK, Dubai, Malaysia and Europe. If current regime and political stake-holders in government really sincere with Pakistan, they should bring their money back to Pakistan. They can enjoy their wealth and it will be safe and unfrozen.A bird (dollar) in the hand is much better than two (dollars) in the Bush(land).

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Nawaz had already made a Plan by using Dr Saif who prepared RTS Programme-  *For the last one month – A pitched battle to stop Imran Khan*.

Where Nawaz Sharif’s Election Rigging Via RTS Failed. Delay in Results were Nawaz Sharif’s Software Manipulation.

Nawaz Sharif had already made a Plan by using Dr. Saif who prepared RTS Programme

 

*For the last one month – A pitched battle to stop Imran Khan*.

*Imran Khan is the death sentence to corrupt politicians, journalist, bureaucrats, judges & businessmen*. They all have to fight together to stop him coming into power. 

By Ahmad Jawad

A very well planned strategy to create doubts about Imran Khan’s victory has been executed in last one month with variable Time & space. 
*Reham Khan* tasked to launch personal attacks portraying Imran Khan as a bad character, bad husband & other serious allegation to taint his image.  
*Iftikhar Chaudhry* tasked to refresh old Sita White case. 
*Hamid Mir, & Shaukat Siddiqui* tasked to make elections doubtful blaming role of ISI. 
*General Asad Durrani* book co-authored with former RAW Chief launched with perfect timing to discredit Army to rescue Nawaz Sharif. 

*Nawaz Sharif blamed ISI for Mumbai attacks* to highlight the uncontrolled role of establishment in Pakistan. 
*NAB made a surprise attack on Metro Peshawar* just a few days before Elections to create an impression of corruption in KP. Metro Multan was conveniently ignored despite serious allegation even by Chinese authorities. 
*Hameed Haroon* attempt to discredit elections citing the role of ISI at International Media. It was a deadly attempt but backfired. 
*IA Rehman, Saleem Safi, Talat Hussain, Shahzaib Khanzada* & likes of them constantly tried to malign decisions of Judiciary & NAB to support Nawaz Sharif. 
*Hussain Haqqani* became highly active internationally to malign establishment to create the impression of its linkage with Imran Khan. He even reached out to Reham Khan. 
*Kulsum Nawaz* illness was used to gain variable time advantages for Sharif’s movements. 
*Suicide attacks* in KP against ANP, MMA & PTI. Strangely no attack against PMLN or PPP. 
*Few lean Jalsas of Imran Khan* were projected as a change in public opinion. 
In the last, *confusion being created that Imran Khan would not be PM or his margin of victory will be small*. 
Such media warfare has never been witnessed in the history of Pakistan. *Almost all major political parties on one side with one common target to stop Imran Khan from winning*. 
*Imran Khan is the death sentence to corrupt politicians, journalist, bureaucrats, judges & businessmen*. They all have to fight together to stop him coming into power. 
*Foreign agenda* will suffocate if Imran Khan comes to power. 
It’s last decisive battle but the fight will continue for next 5 years. Every evil of status quo got together to stop Imran Khan. *In last 40 years, the first time it is not a battle between PPP & PMLN*! 
it was just PTI against PMLN, PPP, MMA & ANP. 
That’s the strength of Imran Khan, he got every rat out of its hideout to expose the real face of rats. 
Unfortunately, PTI own Media Cell was too naive to such challenges and became almost nonexistent and irrelevant to counter such disinformation. *Luckily, Social Media by PTI volunteers & general public took charge of such ferocious Media attacks and battled well*.  
Such is the *strength of Imran Khan* that he alone knocked down hostile: 
-*Political opponents*.
-*Foreign agenda & funding*. 
-*Media conspiracies* & agenda. 
 
*Nation must share the burden he has taken for our generations*.

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 The Strategy of Madness by Saeed A. Malik.

 The Strategy of Madness.

Saeed A. Malik.

Although Machiavelli did advocate that a Prince may sometimes profit by playing mad, I can only think of a couple of times this strategy was actually employed.
The first time it was used was by Richard Nixon during the Vietnam War. He told Melvin Liard to let the word out so that it gets to the Russian and Vietnamese leadership that the U.S President harboured such extreme hatred of communism, he could be expected to do just anything to end the Vietnam War. He wanted it bruited about that it was not beyond him, in a fit of madness, to order a nuclear strike on both the countries! He believed that if played properly this could induce both the Russians and the Vietnamese to come to the table and to end the war on U.S terms.
Melvin Laird, who was Nixon’s secretary of defense at the time, was then ordered by Nixon, to lay out plans which would give credibility to this “Madness”. But he chose to put off giving shape to any such plans by one excuse or another. He thought this strategy was too “crazy” and dangerous and could lead to a nuclear war.
But Nixon insisted, and in Oct 1969, US bombers, loaded with nuclear warheads were ordered to fly along the borders of USSR. And for three successive days, they did this.
No one is certain about the degree of fright these manoeuvres created among the Soviets, but nothing much came of them.
But the next time this strategy was employed, it did create an immense amount of fright. This was when Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, then under arrest and knowing his quarters were bugged, began issuing fusillades of invective against Zia ul Haq and his generals, enumerating all the nice things he would do to them when he returned to power.
By this stratagem, Bhutto did succeed in generating some serious fright. Serious enough to get himself hanged!
And now we are seeing Mian Nawaz Sharif, egged on by his brilliant daughter, taking a leaf out of Bhutto’s book and running with it.. Whether the result he achieves is going to be as brilliant as the one achieved by Bhutto, one cannot predict at the moment. But one can clearly see where he is headed.
He has decided that being the lion that he is, it best behoves him to roar and to keep on roaring until the roar flattens out into a bray. And he seems to have arrived at the felicitous conclusion, that without him, Pakistan stands to lose all meaning. Thus, if he cannot have Pakistan all to himself and his brood, Pakistan would be better off as a heap of rubble.

So far his crowning achievement is the tattering of a political party built of three decades of loot and plunder.

The only thing more pathetic than

Nawaz Sharif is his sorry remnants of slobbering court jesters, making excuses for him and trying to put Humpty
Dumpty

together again.

 And then there is Chaudhry Nisar–sulky little Jack Horner…the sole carrier of the flag of integrity in the late lamented PML-N…the symbol of loyal service to the party. So loyal in fact, that he has proudly confessed to advising Nawaz Sharif at every turn, of how to make away with the wealth he stole from the country he pulverized and pauperized, and therefore to escape the just deserts coming to the plunder king of a ravaged land. 
But luckily for Pakistan, whatever be its plight, Nawaz Sharif’s last attack on the state and its army seems to have put public support decisively behind the army. 
Most writers and nearly all the anchors have given to cutting him slack, have either genuinely turned, or seem too embarrassed to help him along with their usual platitudes of mercenary support. Perhaps Pakistan will see better days yet. 
Perhaps the process of accountability now underway will be an across the board process, and proceed from top to bottom, because the poor bottom, having been buffeted so long and so mercilessly, is now in a truly sorry state and needs some relief.

Saeed A. Malik. 

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NAWAZ SHARIF INTERVIEWED by BBC

 

 

Image result for Nawaz Sharif Liar Thief Money Launderer

 

 

November 4, 2017

  NAWAZ SHARIF INTERVIEWED by BBC

 If anyone wants to know what hypocrisy means and what is its practical manifestation well it does not get better than this. This joker (Muhammad Nawaz Sharif) was interviewed yesterday by BBC.  

Here is my take on his profile:

 A protege of General Ghulam Jilani and a product of General Zia’s martial law, Nawaz Sharif never tires of lecturing us on the benefits of democracy.

If anyone wants to know what hypocrisy means and what is its practical manifestation, well it does not get better than this. Watch and learn as it unfolds before you in its finest hour.

Financed by the ISI with illegal funds and propped up by the Establishment’, he says he always follows the Constitution and the Law. Maybe his dictionary is different from what we are accustomed to reading, but the Constitution for Nawaz in his eyes is a set of rules to facilitate his thievery. 

He is so bitter about the ‘PCO’ judges but is indifferent to how he himself rose to stardom on the shoulders of the so-called Establishment. Selective in his judgements, partial in his dealings and unfair in his conduct, he is not a man that even a child can trust. They first took out the clause restricting membership to the assembly for the educated only and ushered in the uncouth scum of this country, the fools we now suffer on TV with their slapstick arguments, insulting one another in the basest accusations one can ever be exposed to. Then they took away the powers of the President to dissolve the assembly, removing all checks and balances, giving themselves free license to loot and rob with wanton abandon. Now they want to remove articles 62 and 63 so that morality does not come in their way as they continue to misgovern this hapless nation.

 

Crying crocodile tears over the demise of democracy, Nawaz was directed to hold a Census by the SC just as he was made to hold Local Body Elections by them. In fact, he was forced to convene the NSC by the SC. His most memorable decisions were ones that were forced by the SC through a suo moto action on account of his reluctance to do the right thing. 

His idea of democracy is limited to circumventing the National Assembly and avoiding the parliament.  In his democracy, government funds were distributed to legislators, (just as they had been before) in the garb of development funds,  as a bribe and a reward for good behaviour. He did this as if it was his father’s country and we were all serfs who were obliged to contribute to this aberration. So much so that we are now taxed for transferring funds from our own savings to our current account while people such as him get away with tax evasion as they lecture us. He insists that 200 million voted for him knowing fully well that he got only 14% votes and that too not to him alone but to the  PML-N Party as a whole.

He talks of conspiracies, whereas he was removed for his deceit and theft; he fails to acknowledge that his Party still has two PMs: one in Azad Kashmir and the other of Pakistan; that his Party still has a Chief Minister in GB, Punjab and Baluchistan despite his wrongdoings. Where does he find that conspiracy against him and that too an international one?

Here is a man who is responsible for stabbing his colleague Junejo in the back, scuttling Benazir’s Government twice, personally going to Court to have Gillani removed, and then having the gall to say, “No PM has ever completed his term”. Never mind that his beloved Constitution does not specify the term of a PM but mentions the term of a Government only. That this small fact escapes his limited intellect, that the world over, PMs come and go, but it is the Governments that remain.

 He talks of disclosing conspiracies but his moment never arrives, he speaks of the rules of business but violates all. His nepotism and violation of merit stand out in every government institution as he corrupts all, FBR, NAB, SECP, State Bank, FIA etc. His hostility towards the judiciary is well established as he presided over the only ever physical attack on the SC.
His animosity against the military despite how he was ‘wrongly’ facilitated by them, is amply displayed by his conduct. He bites the hand that fed him. He illegally ordered the hijacking of an aircraft, got his name cleared by a kangaroo court and now reasons that you cannot hijack a plane from the ground! Well then using the same logic, ‘you cannot do a coup from courtroom as well’. He forced out General Karamat for suggesting a National  Security Council and then shamelessly constructed one later on. Claimed he had no idea about Kargil though was briefed numerous times. A compulsive liar, a trait that his ‘children’ have inherited and are famous for displaying on every occasion.

Somebody adamant in negotiating with terrorists till he was shamed in backing down after the APS incident. Politicised the police and made every department of government dysfunctional including NACTA and NAB. Conspired against his own military to bring them into an international dispute through the Dawn Leaks and have them declared as a proscribed Group facilitating terrorism; an Indian objective. A leader who bred and nurtured Chotu Gangs while restricting Ranger operations in Punjab. He did this with a straight face while he ordered such operations in Sindh with easy abandon. He collaborated with extremists and ignored the sacrifices of the likes of  Colonel Shuja Khanzada who battled for Pakistan.

 

A shameless man who has put his sons and daughter in the line of fire to save himself. Who did not stop at sullying the reputation if his own dead father to explain his own wrongdoings? A cheat and a petty crook, who ensured that government was meant for his own well-being regardless of the consequences as he misused his authority everywhere and plundered resources without remorse.

He did not stop taking credit for projects conceived well before him, such as the Gwadar Port or taking massive commissions from those that he did initiate. He mortgaged the country into an unsustainable debt, businesses closed down and migrated, exports fell and agriculture destroyed. Circular debt has become unmanageable as energy has started shutting down. Ghost schools haunt the nation and no hospital in the country is good enough for him or his own family as they flee to other countries for medical attention. Today India prides itself on giving visas to Pakistanis needing medical help.

A PM who during his tenure, never made a single meaningful statement on Kashmir, who tried to facilitate India where ever he could. Protected the terrorist Kulbashan while collaborating with Sajjan Jindal in his personal businesses at the cost of the country. Insisted on running the foreign affairs himself where he woefully disgraced us in Saudi Arabia as he sat like a poodle while India earned accolades and we were insulted over the War on Terror despite our sacrifices. Tried to pimp his way into relevance into the Saudi-Qatar affair where he was never taken seriously, just as he was not when he unfolded his chit to read out to Obama, that “Dal and Qeema” awaited him in Pakistan.

Now he asks, “What did I do?”  (Mujhe kiyun nikaala?)

Mr PM, it is what you did not do: Govern Pakistan, the only mandate given to you and your band of thieves. 

You failed us internationally, you let us down before our friends and enemies alike, and you robbed us.

May the Lord have mercy on you and your soul.

– Lt-Gen (Retd) Tariq Khan

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Controversial Senate Elections Brig.Gen (Retd) Asif Haroon Raja

Controversial Senate Elections

Brig.Gen (Retd) Asif Haroon Raja

 

 

 

 

The March 3 Senate elections seem to be the most controversial elections in the 45-year-old history of the upper house of the Parliament as all the parties are crying foul and accusing each other of indulging in horse-trading. It is proven that big amounts were doled out to 20 legislators of PTI in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly to secure votes for PPP. PTI MPAs have confirmed that they are being asked by their leadership to return the amounts. Likewise MQM (Bahadurabad Group) MPAs were also purchased by Zardari.

Next round of foul play was witnessed on March 12, on which the election for the offices of Senate chairman and deputy chairman took place. PML-N with highest numbers of seats had fielded Raja Zafarul Haq to contest against joint opposition candidate Sadiq Sanjrani from Balochistan. Zafarul Haq was appointed at the 11th hour when PPP refused to accept PML-N’s proposal to field outgoing chairman Raza Rabbani. For the seat of a deputy, Usman Kakar from Balochistan was pitched against Mandiwala (PPP nominee). The opposition band comprised of PPP, PTI and MQM (Bahadurabad).   

The ones sitting inside the parliament house and those watching on their television screens were taken by complete surprise as the presiding officer declared that 40-year-old Sadiq Sanjrani, an unknown entity and a political minnow was the new, democratically-elected chairman of the Senate. He had secured six votes more than the desired figure of 52. Without any political association, he had managed to defeat an alliance of parties headed by political heavyweights such as Nawaz Sharif (NS), Mahmood Khan Achakzai, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Hasil Bizenjo and Pir Pagara.

To dub this is a surprise would be an understatement. How could a pygmy first win the Senate elections as an independent candidate, and then, bag the crown of chairman of the upper house of the parliament? How could he floor all the seasoned politicians in one lunge? The only support that Sanjrani seemed to have was from five independent candidates from Balochistan. There had to be some secret hands that helped him in achieving the marvel.

What magic this six-man team had that forced archenemies Asif Ali Zardari and Imran Khan (IK) to join forces and put their weight behind Sanjrani? Why did the PPP the second-largest party in the house with 20 seats opt for the deputy chairman`s office? The consensus among commentators is that the party would have bagged the Senate chairman`s office with ease had Raza Rabbani been nominated. Whether one likes it or not, the fact is that Sadiq Sanjrani is now the democratically elected chairman of the Senate, as prescribed in the constitution.

Elections to the Senate are held after every three years. In Pakistan, where the military has directly ruled for more than three decades, these elections have continued to take place without fail for the past 33 years. But never have the Senate elections evoked as much public attention as they did this time.

The media gave exceptional coverage to it, in part because there was absolutely no certainty about whether elections would even be held. The apprehension was that the `real political players` or the `establishment` of the country did not want to see a second smooth transition from one civilian government to another.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A perception that Senate elections were in jeopardy was given hype by the media and PML-N social media in the wake of the events that had unfolded starting with the Supreme Court removing NS from office in the Panama Papers case to a ruling that barred NS from holding the office of party president. As Senate elections drew nearer, this narrative bugged the minds of all the mainstream political parties and had become a hot topic for discussion by the analysts.

Some baseless rumours gained currency and several scenarios about future political dispensation were floated and heatedly debated on social media. The most hyped themes were ‘technocrat government’, and ‘nexus between Establishment and Judiciary. While NS and his lobbyists blamed the judiciary for being prejudiced, anti-NS lobbyists bucked up the judiciary and kept elbowing it to hurry his conviction in three reference cases.  

The seeds of discontent were sown in January when the PML-N lost its coalition government in Balochistan after a revolt within the party. Many started to argue that this political move in Balochistan, at this point in time, was being orchestrated by the invisible `non-political forces` in an attempt to delay the Senate polls or to deprive PML-N of winning Senate elections.

The ruling party found more reasons to beat the drum. Its stalwarts cried out that it was not possible for Zardari to have conducted political engineering and horse trading all by himself. The July 2017 apex court verdict that barred Sharif from holding a party office also deprived PML-N candidates of their election symbol, just a few days before the Senate polls, because their nominations had been signed by Sharif. These steps further reinforced the suspicions of PML-N that the judiciary was predisposed and was implementing the given script. 

Despite the obstructions, the Senate elections could not be delayed. But those intent on disrupting the democratic process had more tricks up their sleeves. Analysts and political pundits in Islamabad believe that once `Plan A `to delay the Senate elections failed to materialise, the `schemers` implemented `Plan B` and deprived the single largest party of the upper house of getting its nominees elected as the Senate chairman and the deputy chairman.

Similarly, it was also opined by some politicians that when `their` plan to force the government to call it a day through Faizabad Interchange dharna failed and the next plan to bring Zardari and IK together through Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) chief Dr Tahirul Qadri in last January also backfired, they managed to achieve the same target through unknown young Balochistan Chief Minister Abdul Quddoos Bizenjo belonging to PML-Q.

Lodged in Balochistan House in Islamabad a few days before the Senate elections, Quddoos shuttled between Zardari House and Bani Gala and eventually managed to bring the two antagonists together. He succeeded in getting IK to vote for Zardari`s nominee for deputy chairman. Although the move was justified in the name of giving representation to a smaller province, nobody is ready to believe that Zardari and IK have done so out of love for the people of Balochistan and to alleviate their sufferings.

Both PTI and PPP are vying to gain power in next elections, but well knowing that their chances are slim due to their below average performance, they are expectantly looking toward the judiciary to remove the major stumbling block, NS led PML-N whose performance is far superior to others. Another contender for power has emerged in the form of Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) under Quddus, which comprise mostly of dissidents of PML-N. All legislators of PML-N in Baluchistan will soon join the new party.

It has unveiled the wily plan which is similar to the birthing of King’s Party by Gen Musharraf in 2002. Other suchlike experiments were MQM, MQM Haqiqi and PSP. We know the fate of those experiments. For the first time, a national party had won a sizeable chunk of seats in Baluchistan in 2013 elections and it might have further improved its vote bank in next elections. Regionalization of politics and marginalization of national political parties, when seen in context with germs of provincialism and 18th Amendment, is harmful to the federation.

The BAP soon after its inception on March 29, made history by inducing exiled Juma Khan Marri to return and join the new party. Hopefully, more would return. If the intentions of BAP are sincere and based on the honesty of purpose to make Baluchistan peaceful, integrated and prosperous and free of racial prejudices, I wish the new party all the best.    

Many in the PTI rank and file are unhappy with the leadership`s decision to enter into an undeclared alliance with the most corrupt Zardari. They feel that the party has compromised its high moral ground. In order to hide his embarrassment and to pacify PTI activists, IK futilely tried to justify his volte-face by saying: `Had we allowed the PML-N to bag the office of the Senate chairman, they would have brought legislation to save the Sharifs from accountability and to protect the money that they have looted.

The other fear of PTI, PPP, Judiciary and the Establishment was that after winning a majority in both the houses, PML-N will not only restore NS but also clip the wings of Judiciary and Establishment. PTI’s leading lights naively feel that the move made by their leader has not only blocked PML-N from gaining a majority in two houses but has also lessened the chances of victory of PMLN in coming elections and brightened the chances of PTI. 

Saner elements and experienced politicians, however, are not buying their arguments and believe that machinations in the Senate polls amount to razing of a genuine political mandate and will harm democratic progress. Some are suspecting that once the initial plan of sabotaging Senate elections backfired, Plan B was launched to put up controlled Senate with puppets running the show. They say that perhaps Raza Rabbani and Farhatullah Babar advocating supremacy of parliament were irreconcilable.

Some of the reasons behind Plan B were the sinister designs of ruling party, hype created by media about annulment of certain clauses of 18th Amendment in the constitution, supposedly harmful to the integrity of the federation, allegedly professed by COAS Gen Bajwa, together with so-called Bajwa doctrine and the circulating gossip that ‘Army was standing behind the judiciary’.

Nationalist Senators from Baluchistan affiliated with PML-N were in high temper and expressed their deep resentment after the results were announced and the first session of The Senate was presided over by Sanjrani.  They bewailed that they had managed to build a semblance of the supremacy of parliament, brick by brick, but now they felt that the house had crumbled. Hasil Bezinjo angrily said that the face of parliament had been blackened.

He claimed that the parliament stood defeated this day when it was practically proved that the `dominant forces` were more powerful than the parliament. He said the assemblies of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had been turned into a market where votes were purchased. He asked the `dominant institutions` and political parties to let democracy prevail.

PkMAP`s Usman Kakar bluntly said that an intelligence agency was continuously meddling in the affairs of parliament; an act he deemed as `venomous for the state’. He warned, `They want to defeat parliament and democracy. They have opened up a front in the country’. He appealed to all political parties to unite for the supremacy of parliament, rule of law and constitution, and to prevent the interference of intelligence agencies in politics. He argued that given what had happened during the Senate elections, the intelligence agencies had now put a question mark over the upcoming general elections, too.

Sanjrani with no past experience has an uphill task ahead of him. His first task will be to win the trust of the house, the majority of whom believe that he has reached the office through manipulation and with the support of `unseen forces.` It will be extremely difficult for him to fit into the big shoes of Rabbani who had transformed the Senate from a `debating club` to a true `House of the Federation` in merely three years and had issued 78 rulings, more than the combined rulings of his three predecessors in 13 years.

PM Khaqan Abbasi has made things further difficult for Sanjrani when he stated on March 24 that he commands no respect among the masses since votes were bought to make him the chairman. He suggested his removal and replacement by consensus chairman. Some quarters are suspecting that PML-N may use the money to bring a vote of no confidence against Sanjrani. BAP leaders have taken offence to Abbasi’s outburst and threatened to march to Islamabad if he doesn’t take his words back.    

All eyes are now set on the NAB’s verdict on three cases which have already crossed the deadline of 15 March given by apex court. So far no documentary evidence has been furnished before the trial court by prosecution witnesses including Wajid Zia that NS had any linkage with Gulf Steel Mills, Al-Azizia Steel Mills and Avenfield apartments, or he had any role in these deals. It was also not established that NS had any connection with Qatari royal family. These have apparently gone in favour of NS and has deeply upset his antagonists.

As if this worry was not enough, sudden and unplanned meeting of PM Abbasi with chief justice Saqib Nisar on March 27 is giving sleepless nights to them. They are trying to read too much out of it and fear that some kind of NRO may not have been agreed upon to let NS off the hook. Earlier on, a rumoured meeting between COAS and CM Punjab had also disturbed the opponents of PML-N. However, in the wake of NS’s unrelenting attacks on the judiciary, they are very hopeful that soon he will land in jail. 

It was against this backdrop that the DG ISPR dropped another bombshell upon the rumour mongers by making it clear in his press briefing on March 28 that the Army had played no role in political manoeuvring, nor has anything to do with NRO, or had sought an alteration in 18th Amendment. He said that the news about Gen Bajwa-Shahbaz meeting was false. He also clarified that Bajwa doctrine was misquoted and wrongly interpreted and that it envisions safe, secure and peaceful Pakistan and nothing more. He rejected the impression that the Army was behind any dharna. About elections, he stated that EC is empowered to announce dates and sitting government and interim setup have a role in it. His briefing has punctured the balloons of the gossipers trying to tarnish the image of the military.      

The people are looking forward to timely elections but for that delimitation of constituencies has to be completed by Election Commission (EC). The PM and opposition leader are required to form an interim government. It is generally perceived that given the level of aversion, differences over selection of caretaker PM and CMs will prop up and perforce EC will do the needful, failing which the Supreme Court will step in to resolve the issue. A smooth and peaceful transition will strengthen democracy. 

Despite all the internal difficulties and external dangers, I still believe that Pakistan has a great future and it has the requisite potential and resilience to overcome the challenges. Pakistan is blessed with infinite resources and CPEC is a major project which is a ray of hope in these melancholic circumstances.

Since political stability is going to play a pivotal role in the development of our country, what is needed is electoral reforms. Democracy is essential for a better Pakistan but certain crucial reforms are required such judicial, bureaucracy, police, education, media, and moral reforms. These projects should be undertaken either by the caretakers or by the next elected government. 

The writer is retired Brig, a war veteran, defence, security and political analyst, columnist, author of five books, Vice Chairman Thinkers Forum Pakistan, Director Measac Research Centre, Editor-in-Chief Better Morrow magazine. asifharoonraja@gmail.com

 

 

 

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