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Archive for category PAKISTAN POLITICS

Posted by Fayb in PAKISTAN POLITICS, Pakistan Security and Defence: Enemy & Threats (Internal & External), SHARIF FAMILY CORRUPTION, ZARDAR'S CORRUPTION on September 18th, 2018

Our Liberal Intellectual, and the Gift that Keeps on Giving 

Saeed A.Malik.

The elections are done and are now being dusted. After the results have been declared, they have been greeted by the same cacophony of voices, which has become the norm as an election aftermath in Pakistan. In this sense, these elections were the same as any other. But a large majority point out two essential differences i.e that these elections were more peaceful than those held earlier; and that there was little or no rigging of the ballot itself. And hardly any complaint was lodged with the ECP on this latter score.

However, a lot may be said on the performance of the ECP itself. And the least that can be said is that it proved to be unprepared and incompetent beyond expectations. And there are many who blatantly, or through innuendo, accuse the army to have helped PTI over the finish line with help from the ECP. They forget that this ECP was hand picked by Zardari and Nawaz Sharif. It was designed under the ruling spirit of the “Charter of Democracy” which was sanctified by the 18nth Amendment. The methodology of how the election commissioners were henceforth to be chosen had a clear objective i.e that Pakistan must squirm under the alternating heels of Zardari and Nawaz Sharif, in perpetuity. That this did not happen has brought forth roars of rage from Mulla Fazal, and screams of anguish from Zardari, N.S, Achakzai, and Asfandyar Wali, all of whom plundered Pakistan in an unholy partnership without let or hindrance, or any fear of the same. 

Before the elections, we were dished out a standard fare by those who have now firmly acquired the sobriquet of “liberal intellectuals”. We were conditioned to expect that individuals like Ch Nisar and Brahamdagh Bugti will certainly win, being the favourites of the “establishment”. Also, those with the jeep as an election symbol, PSP, and GDA, will be helped across the finish line in large numbers, and that a very large number of independents will be returned. This narrative was also sold with uncommon zeal to the west, most notably in the U.S, and across the border in India. And none lapped it up so avidly as our Indian friends did.

But quite the opposite happened in EVERY particular. Each one of these predictions went wrong. Thus, for the moment at least there is confusion among our liberal intellectuals while they are busy concocting a new narrative. But what has been significantly missing from their narrative is the “other” story of Pakistan i.e the bankruptcy of the state largely achieved through ruthless plunder of state coffers by its leaders. This has left Pakistan hamstrung in a way that no calamity could have. Pakistan today is virtually defenceless because it does not have the means to sustain a defence if attacked.

John Perkins, in his book “Confessions of an Economic Hitman” clearly lays out the blueprint of how big powers undermine smaller states. It is the job of the Hitman to offer the President of the target country a project which is economically unfeasible and guaranteed to bankrupt this country so that it can then be held in eternal thralldom. And along with the offer of such a project, the subject President also gets a fat cheque in his Swiss Account. If the President refuses, jackals are sent after him and he is assassinated. Jamie Roldos of Equador and Omar Torrijos of Panama were both eliminated for not taking the bait offered them. And if the jackals fail because the security of the offending President is so watertight, as was the case with Saddam, he is then dealt with by an invasion.

Pakistan has lost the first phase of its war–the economic phase. It must now await the second phase. The enemies which dealt the mortal economic blow to Pakistan are Zardari, Nawaz Sharif, and all others who signed the infamous ” Charter of Democracy” which was little more than a blueprint of cooperation to loot the country dry. Their crime was not just plundering. It was also treachery. These people worked actively to undermine their country while filling their pockets at the same time. They should, therefore, be tried for both crimes.

The liberal intellectuals are guilty of providing intellectual cover to the crimes of the enemies of Pakistan, both internal and external. Theirs is the crime of abetment in the sale of a narrative which goes against the interests of the country which has given them all they own.

Free expression of opinion is theirs by right. But this ceases to remain so when opinion is put forward as fact and done specifically to help those who have undermined the very foundations of the state. When this happens it becomes abetment of the enemy, which both Zardari and Nawaz Sharif and their poodles clearly are.

Readers who are interested, need to just collect the writings of these liberal intellectuals and scrutinize them. They will hardly find a word against the massive theft which has taken Pakistan down, or against those who perpetrated it. But they will find streams of invective against the “establishment” which are presented as facts.

But for the majority of committed TV anchors and opinion piece writers who refused every blandishment from the gangsters who plundered Pakistan, the narrative of the liberal intellectuals would have been a runaway sell.

As Pakistan struggles to remain standing in the days and weeks ahead, the thieves may be remembered. But it is important that their abettors are also not forgotten.

P.S. We now see a fresh broadside from our liberal intellectuals taking shape. This is that Imran Khan is a “puppet” of the army. This has already been sold to the Indian media by our intellectuals, and Indian media outlets are spreading this around like it were God’s truth. But anyone who has any honesty about him and knows Imran just a wee bit will know that the man least likely to be anyone’s puppet is Imran. Hopefully, we will all see this being borne out in the days ahead. I also predict he will get along with the army better than most earlier parliamentarians. And his relationship with India will be more constructive than it has been in the recent past.

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RETURN OF THE NATIVE

Posted by admin in Karachi, PAKISTAN POLITICS on May 20th, 2016

                                              RETURN OF THE NATIVE

 

Mustafa Kamal, the ex-Nazim of Karachi, has staged a come back on March 3, 2016, to Karachi, after a sojourn of three and a half years. His return to the political scene at this juncture has created quite a stir in social and political circles of Karachi in particular  and of Pakistan in general. Actually it would have been better if he returned before the local bodies elections recently held in Sindh province.

 

Mustafa Kamal is well-known for his honesty, sincerity, devotion and capability to deliver. Whatever good work and development we see in Karachi is the result of his planning and hard work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

According to the up-coming news its heartening to know that he has returned to his native place with a great will to re-start his work from where he had left, hopefully with better planning and devotion. It goes without saying that MQM, with its deeds, has earned only a bad name for itself as well as for the country. To put it in a nut-shell, it was a dire need of the time to launch an organization to fight peacefully for genuine rights of the Urdu speaking Muhajirs. But what they have given is a tarnished image of Muhajirs, causing great humiliation and shame to them and in fact to the whole country.

 

Perhaps our own misdeeds invited scourge from God. The period of scourge now seems to be over and its time for remorse and re-examination of our conduct followed by reform and reconstruction. An opportunity has presented itself which demands making an assessment of the situation and responding accordingly.

 

I make an earnest appeal to all who stand for justice and fair play to join hands and extend their full support to Mustafa Kamal and his associates, in any way they can, to make this mission a real success. Let everyone of us, irrespective of his/her faith, ethnicity and provincial affinity, give full moral support and co-operation to this move.

 

Let the new party, to be announced shortly in future, not be against MQM (Muttahida Qaumi Movement) or its chief and let it not aim to break it up. It may continue to function and have its own way. If the new party has good and sincere workers, the people will surely support it. It is important, however, that only sincere and patriotic persons are welcome to join the party, and those found otherwise in future, should be expelled.

 

Let this forthcoming organization be a platform for all of us to work together to revive peace, prosperity and welfare in Sindh province and to the whole country. Let us (with the help of God Almighty) bring back the identity of Karachi as a city of lights and a portal for employment and opportunity for the people coming from all parts of the country. If we are sincere in our objective and efforts God Almighty will be with us and we will get divine help to achieve our goal.

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Distinction between friend and foe

Posted by malika in PAKISTAN POLITICS on August 21st, 2013

Distinction between friend and foe

Asif Haroon Raja

Presidential election held on 30 June 2013 kicked up lot of dust owing to PPP’s cranky behavior. PML-N’s demand to seek a change of date was not with mala fide intention. It was wrong on part of well-meaning but secular Fakhru Bhai not to understand the significance of 27th Ramadan which fell on 6th August and that many either sit in Aitiqaf or perform Umrah during last ten days of Ramadan. He should have owned his mistake and changed the date rather than showing his inability to do so when requested by PML-N. He displayed weakness when he was required to act firmly to stop pre-poll rigging and rigging on polling day, but became rigid at a wrong time. Rather than taking decision he passed the buck to the Supreme Court.

PPP’s attitude was debatable and it gave an impression as if Raza Rabbani would win the contest if held on 6 August and not otherwise. Judging from the political strength of each party and alliance of MQM and JUI-F with PML-N, victory of Mamnoon Hussain was a foregone conclusion. The only wishful possibility visualized by Rabbani was absence of large number of PML-N and JUI-F Parliamentarians on 6 August because of Aitiqaf/Umrah might pave his way to victory. He also naively thought that nomination of a weak candidate by PML-N might help him in winning over dissidents from PML-N and allied parties. Hidden motives were to make the election and judiciary controversial.

Notwithstanding some undesirable reservations expressed about Mamnoon, none will disagree with me that anyone howsoever mediocre but clean would be better than tainted Zardari. Hence boycott of election by PPP and its two worthless allies was in bad taste. PTI wisely decided to take part in election and field its candidate, although Imran Khan has still not got reconciled to general elections results and has landed himself in avoidable trouble. Mamnoon won with an overwhelming majority and will enter the presidency as a ceremonial president in September, putting an end to palace intrigues pursued by his predecessor.   

Presidential election was no issue; what concerns Pakistanis are insecurity of life and property, energy crisis, faltering economy, declining morals and values, erosion of national sovereignty and honor, media’s negativity and foreign interference. Blood is oozing out of every pore of Pakistan for the last many years without blood transfusion to replenish the loss. As a result, the state is getting enfeebled with every passing day. The only preventive measure taken is to barricade the country by putting string of barriers and check posts and pitching security forces against faceless enemy which is well-trained, well-equipped and supported by external powers. While lawless FATA has to some extent been secured because of heroics of Army and FC, settled areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and urban centres where police is in the forefront remain in turmoil. Militants stab the chosen target with ease and get away. No fool-proof system has been devised to nip the evil in the bud by preventing occurrence through timely intelligence.

Unknown-1This myth has also been broken after the DIK jail break about which all concerned had been forewarned well in time. Police sluggishness, ineptness and collusion with the militants were reasons behind the embarrassing outcome. It was in knowledge of all that the police are involved in high scale corruption and in league with the criminals particularly in Balochistan and in Sindh. Performance of KP police was relatively better in facing militancy. Some say this downslide is owing to unclear policy of PTI government regarding TTP.

While the effect of this demoralizing event had not faded away, the nation was subjected to another embarrassment in Islamabad on August 15 where a lone gunman kept the capital city police in a spin for over five hours. But for Zamurrad’s bold act, the high drama would have continued till next morning. Having seen the conduct of Islamabad Police and its senior officials on TV, it can be safely concluded that it is unfit to confront even minor challenges.          

It is indeed mind boggling that our security forces have been fighting war on terror haphazardly for a decade without national security and counter terrorism policies. This is despite the fact that Pakistan is the biggest victim of terrorism. Reason behind this criminal neglect is that the elites have secured themselves within the confines of Red and Green zones, bulletproof vehicles, and ring of security guards while leaving the masses to fend for themselves. In hundreds of acts of terror, the underprivileged class has suffered the most. This unfortunate class had neither been taken into confidence to participate in US imposed war nor is in direct clash with the militants. It is caught between the crossfire of security forces, militants and foreign agents.

The police which are the frontline force to check crime and terrorism have been thoroughly corrupted and politicized by the elites to serve their ends. Moral turpitude of all segments of society has nosedived and distinction between good and bad blurred. Rather, dishonest officials are patronized and rewarded while the honest are seen as misfits. This downslide started during Gen Musharraf era which allowed complete liberty of action to Washington to neo-colonize Pakistan and India given a free hand to crush freedom movement in occupied Kashmir. Five-year inglorious rule of PPP-ANP-MQM combine ruined Pakistan’s economy, social fabric and state institutions.

Till 2002, FATA was unofficially recognized as Illaqa Ghair where murderers, absconders, car-lifters, abductors and criminals could find refuge from hand of law. Now whole of Pakistan has turned into Illaqa Ghair since there is no rule of law, elites are biggest law breakers, accountability is absent, law enforcers and lower courts are corrupt. Terrorists having confessed committing over hundred murders are set free; terrorists nabbed during close combat in war zones are given bail; those in jail are freed by terrorists. Anti-terrorist courts violate mandatory timeframe and take their time to decide high profile cases, and those sentenced to death are not hanged.            

A stage had been set to declare nuclear Pakistan a failed state, but God saved Pakistan from sinking by turning the victory of USA in Afghanistan into defeat and thus checkmating its imperialist designs. Since ISAF cannot possibly pull itself out of the quagmire without the help of Pakistan, the US is grudgingly tolerating Pakistan. Issues on which the US has been making hue and cry are being put up with and friendly gestures made. Its affability is however not at the cost of annoying India which continues to remain in its good books. USA is not putting any pressure on India to stop its hostile acts against Pakistan as is evident from ongoing escalation of tensions along the LoC. TTP and BLA have not been bridled by CIA.

It is heartening to note that the new government has firmed up to stem the rot and to not only clean the mess but also improve the economy and living conditions of the downtrodden. Some positive steps have already been taken. Electricity policy has been formulated and curse of prolonged load shedding marginally controlled. PM Nawaz Sharif’s address was inspirational and well-intentioned but good intentions require speedy and result oriented implementation. What is needed now is to take all stakeholders on board and finalize coherent national security policy and counter terrorism policy at the earliest to control the scourge of terrorism. Setting up of Rapid Response Force (RPF) and Joint Intelligence Secretariat to combat terrorism by the close of this month is satisfying, but police needs a big overhaul and so do investigating and prosecution agencies and lower courts. Effective RPFs and effectual intelligence setup are also required in each province.  

As regards foreign policy, friendship with immediate neighbors is desirable, but it should not be one-sided and at the cost of honor and dignity. Clear distinction should be made between friend and foe since enemies guised as friends have caused more harm to Pakistan. It is good that grant of MFN status to India has been put on hold till normalization of relations. China being all-weather and time-tested friend, should be trusted and envisaged long-term projects executed.     

The writer is a retired Brig, defence analyst, columnist and author of several books. asifharoonraja@gmail.com

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