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Archive for category Nawaz Sharif Scams

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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PM Imran Khan has nothing to do with DPO transfer, Sohail Waraich lays bare facts

Editor’s Note -This is a malicious story originated by Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz. Pakistan’s Senior Journalist Sohail Waraich sets the record straight. In our opinion this is typical mischief perpetrated by the forces of corruption led by the jailed former rigged election product Nawaz Sharif. It is also an effort to destabilise not only the government of PM Imran Khan, but also to impact the improving economic and security environment of Pakistan.

As the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government recovers from the embarrassment caused by an incident involving Khawar Farid Maneka, one of Pakistan’s senior journalists has come up with yet another twist to the story.

The host of Geo TV’sAik Din Geo K Sathshow and columnist Sohail Waraich says neither Prime Minister Imran Khan nor his wife Bushra Imran has anything to do with the transfer of Pakpattan District Police Officer (DPO) Rizwan Gondal.

According to media reports, Gondal was reportedly transferred at the behest of Khawar Farid Maneka, the former husband of Bushra Imran after the Punjab police officials offended him by intercepting his vehicle.

In his weekly column, the inimitable journalist wrote in Daily Jang that the actual story is completely different from what has been largely reported.

He goes on to reveal that an intense tug of war and acrimony persisted between Maneka and Bushra Imran, rejecting the common perception that the divorce between the two took place in an amicable manner.

Sohail Waraich says the differences of personalities led to the divorce between the two despite their efforts to keep the union intact. All the arrangements and interventions from close friends to save the relationship also failed.

The mistrust between the parents of five children continued to deepen even after Bushra Maneka tied the knot with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman Imran Khan.

In the run-up to the July 25 elections one of Maneka’s brother, a candidate of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, openly expressed his resentment of their former sister in law.

In the first incident that took place on August 5, Sohail Waraich writes that Mubashira Maneka and Ibrahim Maneka, children of Farid Maneka and Bushra, were intercepted by the police. A heated argument ensued between police and Ibrahim who contacted his father by mobile phone. Maneka rushed to the spot and took his children away.

According to an inquiry report prepared by the Punjab Police, Ibrahim said in his statement that the incident took place when he along with his sister was walking to the shrine of Baba Farid.

After the incident, Khawar Farid conveyed to his ex-wife that the police had acted at her behest.

Angered over the incident, Ibrahim and Mubashira stopped talking to their mother. On the other hand, Bushra Imran thought it to be the work of Khawar Farid’s brother who was pitting children against their mother.

Khawar Farid also probed the DPO to reveal the name of the person behind the whole episode. “What could the DPO have told when there was nothing to tell,” Sohail Waraich wrote.

Before the dust had settled, came August 23. Khawar Farid, his new wife, servants and guards were intercepted by police while they were on their way to the Peer Ghani State.

An inquiry report prepared by Additional IG Abu Bakar Khuda Baksh, Khawar Farid Maneka didn’t pull up when he was signalled by police.

Maneka, however, argued that he neither saw any police post nor any red light.

According to the columnist, the police chased the two cars of Maneka’s convoy and intercepted them.

Farid Maneka came out of his vehicle and introduced himself. Officers were insisting for vehicle search suspecting the presence of illegal arms in the custody of Maneka’s guards.

Maneka then contacted DPO Rizwan Gondal and informed him of the situation. The DPO, the columnist wrote, asked the officers to let Maneka go.

The second incident strengthened his suspicion that the police were acting on someone’s orders and Bushra Bibi was the prime suspect thinking that she was doing all this out of vengeance.

Ahsan Jamil Iqbal, a family friend of Maneka’s, intervened after both the sides exchanged allegations.

Jameel approached Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar whom he had acquainted during a couple of meetings in Bani Gala and brought the issue into his notice.

Additional IG Abu Bakar Khuda Baksh in his inquiry report wrote that neither Punjab IG nor another police officer had asked DPO Gondal to apologize to the Manekas.

But a suggestion indeed came up during a meeting at the Chief Minister House that either Gondal should apologize or give an explanation to Ibrahim Maneka.

Meanwhile, the issue surfaced in the media and the transfer of DPO became politicized.

Explaining the entire episode, Sohail Waraich wrote that two different forces of the Punjab Police; Highway Patrolling and the Elite Force, have intercepted the Maneka family.

Both the incidents took place late at night when police see everybody with suspicion and don’t hesitate in manhandling citizens.

Such incidents are commonplace in all of Punjab and one of them happened in Pakpattan, but the transfer of DPO became the talk of town just because the issue involved Punjab CM, First Lady and her former husband.

Excerpted:

The News, Pakistan

 

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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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Invisible Blinkers By   Brig(R)  Saleem Qamar Butt

Invisible Blinkers

By

Brig(R)  Saleem Qamar Butt

The moment one lands back from a developed country at any airport in Pakistan, one gets an uncanny feeling of chaos, mismanagement, dishonesty, rudeness, pollution and lawlessness…..all antonyms to values otherwise expected to prevail in an Islamic country where everyone claims to be a pious and holier than holiest Muslim. 

One is compelled to ponder as to why people in majority behave so bad living here or even those who live abroad and soon after touching home base, behave in the same appalling manners. Our airports, railway and bus stations, all public places and traffic on roads is perhaps one of the worst display in the world and speak volume about our poor education system and overall poorest grooming as human beings or members of a civilized society. Ironically, nothing seems to be done either by the government or by non-government institutions to arrest these negative practices.

While our religion puts so much emphasis on piety, cleanliness, truthfulness, doing good things and stopping self and others from evil practices, discipline, politeness and on helping the needy, why then people apparently performing all Islamic duties (haqooq Allah) and visibly following five main pillars of Islam, falter so badly on performing duties as a useful and sober member of society (haqooq-ul-ibad)? There is no short answer though; yet, a shallow dive into this matter reveals that most of us are wearing ‘invisible blinkers’, that keep us from considering a situation rationally or suffering from a phenomenon akin to a pair of flaps attached to a horse’s bridle, one beside each eye, to keep the horse from looking anywhere but straight ahead…..focused on self preservation and progress alone. What causes these invisible blinkers’ attachment to our eyes that causesmunafqat’, ‘double-dealing’ or ‘hypocrisy’? I posed this question to an Islamic scholar and he gave an out of the ordinary answer. According to him, “if a person willingly, knowingly or unknowingly eats forbidden or Haram, his/her sense of judgment on sifting right from wrong is taken away by Almighty as a punishment” something similar to ‘summun bukmun….!’

However, in societies like Japan or Singapore where religion is not so much visible, Islamic virtues and values are best seen in practice and hypocrisy is almost extinct. It is said that ‘poverty has no religion’….but our society defies this proverbial truth too because the rich class is more corrupt and duplicitous than poor people. The honest minority is facing enormous frustration as corruption infested society makes it almost impossible to remain free from ill practices one way or the other. No amounts of dua or prayers seem to work to put the rail back on tracks as far as Pakistan’s difficulties and challenges are concerned. Nevertheless, sometimes most complex challenges have simple solutions.

If we can follow the dictum, charity begins at home, we may find the silver lining sooner than expected. In Germany and Japan after second world war and in Central Asian Republics after independence from former Soviet Union in early 90s, the institution of Mothers and teachers played the main role in grooming and educating the children and youth to rise as shining stars of hope and prosperity of nations and results achieved by these countries in all fields in a short span of time are too obvious to neglect. If we can choose and elect the right leadership, who can provide people universal free education system, well-groomed mothers and highly qualified teachers, we can achieve in a decade what we have missed in the last seven decades. The training of trainers through Japanese and German teachers at the national level on a massive scale and raising the status of teachers in the society needs to be accorded a high priority. Our highly educated women resource need to be galvanized to undertake to groom of mothers as being practiced in Ladies Clubs in military circles. Inclusions of sports in all educational institutions must be made compulsory for the inculcation of sportsmen spirit and to ensure mental and physical health. A political party that can include these simple and basic grassroots level steps in its manifesto may be given preference for electing our government instead of lofty but hollow slogans. We as a nation have to strive hard to get rid of invisible blinkers. 

Allah only helps those who help themselves; therefore, we have to bell the cat ourselves rather than expecting in vain miracle happening by mere inactive prayers.

* Brigadier(R) Saleem Qamar Butt, SI (M) is a student of International Relations, Defence and Warfare Studies with expertise in Executive Management, Military & Intelligence Diplomacy, Strategic Analyses and Forecast.

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Close to the Dead End, Sharifs Out to blow the system by Shaheen Sehbai

ISLAMABAD INSIGHT Close to the Dead End, Sharifs Out to blow the system

Shaheen Sehbai 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I AM happy to write this in Calibri font, as it is not illegal anymore. But this piece can only be written in this font because it deals with issues created by the illegal use of Calibri. While my media friends are chilling out, watching Najam Sethi’s PSL and cruising on calm warm waters around Dubai, the political temperature and the battle between institutions back home has almost reached the boiling point, or the dead end. After what has happened, and is happening, the policy of judicial restraint and strict non-interference by the military and security establishment has stretched so thin, it can snap any time. The salient features of the present picture include: – After Nawaz Sharif has been legally sidelined, his ambitious and energetic bro in Lahore is now stuck neck deep in a swirling mass of quicksand, sinking deeper by the day, nay hour. – His open support and instigation to a revolt by the Lahori bureaucrats has almost wiped out his chances of becoming the next leader of the country. – Nawaz himself has conceded defeat by saying he is sure to get convicted in the few remaining corruption cases. So his policy is: After Me, the deluge. – He has unleashed his defiant daughter but she is also in the same boat and will sink together with his dad. – The NAB, backed fully by the Supreme Court and the armed forces, has launched a frontal and direct offensive in Punjab, ending its policy of passive restraint. – As all of these institutions are on the right side of the law, NAB has been threatened and challenged by provincial government, which in fact should have been helping the NAB to catch the corrupt. It is just the reverse and untenable. – After Shahbaz’s hitman Cheema was arrested, the next in line is Nawaz’s right-hand man Fawad Hasan Fawad and he is reported to have joined a gathering of protesting baboos in Lahore through a video conference. – PM Abbasi flew direct from his TAPI visit to Lahore to huddle with Shahbaz and nothing about their meeting was said. – They could, however, have discussed only two things. PM telling CM to stop the Punjab baboos revolt or PM agreeing to CM’s demand that same strategy should be adopted in Islamabad. Both are a no-win prospect. – The embedded perversity in this situation is that those in government are rising in revolt against their own authority. If the revolt persists, Shahbaz government sinks deeper into dirt. If the same happens in Islamabad, Abbasi would subvert himself. – With the political prism standing on its head, lop-sided, it does not need even a nudge to overturn it. – The last push could be coming from Islamabad where reports of a presidential ordinance to clip the powers of NAB are being considered. That may be the last nail, if one was needed. – If that happens, the Supreme Court will immediately come into action. The deadlock will deepen further, the swirling mud pond more stinky. – The joke now being perpetrated as Senate elections may also be swept aside by the Courts or makes the Upper House look ludicrous. – Every political initiative, based on negative intent and perverse logic will have failed. In such a scenario, with Punjab government deadlocked, Centre not responding to correct the wrong, all institutions fighting each other, there will be no way out but for the Supreme Court to invoke Article 190 and ask the armed forces to intervene in whatever shape and manner was deemed necessary. In Punjab this quiet intervention has already happened with Rangers taking over security of NAB headquarters where Cheema was kept. The obvious threat was not from anyone but the Punjab Police and other security departments. In short an internal subversive threat. The catch in this situation is that Nawaz has been asking for such an intervention by his provocations and stinging attacks on other institutions. The policy of restraint did not allow him to claim victimhood so far. Now the institutions have moved on as the final verdict declaring Nawaz and family as convicted criminals is almost ready to come. That probably was the deadline for the institutions to pursue the restraint. Now it is time to show some teeth. The few remaining days may even see a more desperate Nawaz and his family committing more shocking attacks on the institutions. A physical attack on the Supreme Court or the NAB court could also be anticipated. Surely it would be prevented. The bigger failure is that the political system has failed to stop any of these violators from thinking irrationally and for the larger cause of keeping democracy running. All other parties could have joined in a roundtable to advise Nawaz and family not to destroy everything. But they are so deeply divided they have lost the capacity to think even about their own future. Some parties are crying wolf, shouting loud but if Nawaz succeeds in carrying out a suicide attack on the political system, all parties will lose.
2018-02-26

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