by pakistanipoliticalscene

Timeline To Injustice

It is a well know principle in the justice system that “The Justice Must Not Only Be Done, It Must Also Seen To Be Done”. The decision in the Prime Minister of Pakistan’s case met neither of these criteria. Here are  some facts that support this argument. It clearly shows that the the Prime Minister was convicted before any trial and the whole gimmick was to find a reason to do so. The trail was not fair and not met the basic standard of giving the Right of Appeal to the Defendant in a higher court.  The Supreme Court, which is an Appeal Court, once again exceeded its constitutional limits and became a trial court. The decision appeared to have been already made somewhere else to remove Nawaz Sharif by hook or crook. The following seems to point towards that direction:

  1. Javed Hashmi, ex President of PTI, has repeatedly said that Imran Niazi has been assured by the military that Nawaz Sharif will be removed through a judicial coup. The dharnas were part of the plan.
  2. Subsequently, Imran Khan told Hashmi that that the new Chief Justice, Saqib Nisar, will throw Nawaz Sharif out when he takes over,
  3. A phone call that was made to reporter and appear to have been from the Agencies in connection with some news he published clearly said something to this effect “We will throw him (meaning Nawaz Sharif) out soon”
  4. A call form Khosa (I don’t want to call him a judge) to Imran Niazi to file a case in the Supreme Court and we will take care of Nawaz Sharif. By this action, the Supreme Court became the plaintiff.
  5. The case was filed on the basis photo copies and documents that were previously rejected by the same Supreme Court.
  6. Revelation by the clown Shiekh Rashid that the COAS decided to remove Nawaz Sharif because he wanted to replace him, but could not find another Butt to agree to take over from the current COAS.
  7. The scope of the case was illegally expanded from the offshore companies to other search of other assets. The rule of legal proceedings is that the scope must remain as prayed in the original petition. Any new elements must be through a separate petition
  8. The verdict in April was clearly deceitful, based on frivolous grounds and seemed to have been influenced by Mafia novel and an assumption that rich people make wealth through illegal means.
  9. Public statements from Saqib Nisar that Imran Niazi is a person of exceptional qualities. This set the tone of the case. To me Saqib Nisar lost his claim to be a judge, let alone the Chief Justice of Pakistan after this comment and a derogatory comment against Hindu Community.
  10. Comment from Azmat Saeed that Government is acting like Mafia and that Adiala Jail has a lot of room for new prisoners.
  11. The formation of JIT was illegal, in which members were hand picked and illegally included ISI and MIT members.
  12. JIT was nothing more than a rubber stamp for the establishment and just signed on what was already fake report. The evidence of that was that both the army and the judges complimented them as having done a great and honest job, when they had no business to say so.
  13. The post JIT report trial was clearly biased and ignored the valid arguments presented the defense attorneys. The judges became the plaintiffs and forgot that they were judges and not plaintiffs.
  14. Having acknowledged that Nawaz Sharif is not connected with the offshore companies and that he has not done any corruption, disqualified him on Iqama issue. In doing so they
    • Used the definition of un-drawn salary from a Black Dictionary that doesn’t even exists.
    • They completely over rode the universal law that the local laws take precedence over any other definition or law.
    • The local Income tax law and generally accepted accounting principals contradicted with the argument presented by the judges in their judgement,  I cannot imagine that the Khosa and Company were ignorant of this. It can only be assumed as utterly dishonest.
  15. The Review Petition pointed all these flaws in the judgement, but was ignored.
  16. The monitoring judge and others pressurized NAB to file references against Nawaz Sharif and also file an appeal against the High Court judgement in favor of Nawaz Sharif. The Appeal is time barred under the law.

A lot more have been said on the case and the deceitful way the Panamgate case was conducted by the Supreme Court of Pakistan. It broke constitution, laws of  Pakistan and above all the justice system. By rendering injustice the Supreme Court, once again, have played into the hands of the establishment, brought disgrace to the Country and has proved that Kangaroo Courts operate in Pakistan.

by pakistanipoliticalscene

Panamagate Circus – Take aways

It has been more than a year that Panama leaks surfaced. Since then, the Circus has been going on first on media, among political opponents and then for the last six month or so in Supreme Court of Pakistan. Who knows how long will it take to resolve and what would be the outcome? As we speak, irrespective of the final verdict by Supreme Court of Pakistan, there are several takeaways from this episode:

  1. A minuscule group, consisting of politicians, intellectuals and media, day in and day out, talk about nothing but corruption in the system. They, naively believe, that corruption, that you can never completely eliminate, is cause root of all our problems.They harp this tune this while sitting in the comfort of their homes, leading a lavish and comfortable life. They refuse to acknowledge that Pakistan is progressing. This Group has little or no sympathy to the people in the lower cadre of the society, except for drawing room discussions and providing some financial assistance to a very select group. Unfortunately, this group has not demonstrated the capacity to look at the big picture and always try and find shortcomings in everything positive that is happening in the country. Some go on tangents and others provide weak arguments to justify their view point. They simply refuse to accept that Pakistan is moving forward. Their motives are questionable.
  2. On the other hand the workers and the less fortunate show  a better perspective of whats happening in the country. They see that development is taking place and pin their dreams and hope in continuation of the present regime for a better future. They take a holistic and more realistic view than our so called minuscule middle, upper middle and the elite class. The have a very straight forward and credible thought process, that is, who is likely to provide better livelihood for them and their future generations. While our politician and intellectuals harp about education, these people want employment. If they see something tangible done, they appreciate it and pin their hopes around that. They are the real voice of masses who have pin their hopes on the present government for better future for themselves and the next generations. And that where vote shall go
  3. The Supreme Court of Pakistan has shown immaturity and seems to be on a predetermined track to disqualify PM, come what may. In the process, it has lost its mandate and legitimacy. There is also some indications of the age old Judiciary-Army nexus to dislodge an elected PM hasn’t died. Never in the 70 years history of Pakistan, an elected Prime Minister is allowed to complete his term. This is no coincidence and one is forced to assume that the history is repeating itself again. The posturing of the army and the judiciary over the last 4 years suggest that they don’t want to see Nawaz Sharif in Power any more. The two Supreme Court Justices have illegally disqualified PM without a trial. The other judges commissioned a joint investigation team (JIT) to conduct an inquiry, the report produced by JIT is nothing more than the piece of paper it is written on. The judiciary did not follow the law that is the burden of proof lies on the plaintiff. Unfortunately, in this case, the Judiciary has become the plaintiff itself by appointing a JIT under the umbrella of judges who are hearing the case. The Supreme Court has become a trial court, that has nullified its justification for existence, which is to be an appeal court with a responsibility to review judgement from lower courts. Furthermore, by becoming a trial court, it usurped the basic right of every individual to a fair hearing of his appeal by not offering him a different court and a forum. Review petition in front of new judges or a larger bench, unfortunately does not meet the criterion for justice.
  4. The army remains ever hungry for publicity, flexing its muscles and appear to subvert democracy and meddling in politics. As a result, it has to publicly re-assert its position as a neutral player in this and other similar episodes. However, its demeanor does not support that posture. Not too distant in the past the COAS met Imran Khan from among all political parties.The COAS has to be meet almost any foreign dignitary who comes into the country. It has never let go of the fact that there is a civilian government running the country and never attributes anything positive to govt, other than itself (Raad ul Fsaad etc.) A large section of the people feel that the army has not fulfilled its job of routing out terrorism from the country, Their intelligence and execution is weak, resulting into continuing deaths of thousands of brave soldiers and innocent civilians. The COAS and the army wants a pat on the back for doing the job they are supposed to do. This is neither fair nor acceptable. Behind the scenes they refer to civilians as “bloody civilians”. On media, they portray themselves to be their saviors. It is too obvious. The COAS, repeatedly claims the army to be a champion of CPEC, while its sole responsibility is to provide security to Chinese and other companies working in remote areas. The army is subservient to the govt and must act on its orders, yet it refuses to acknowledge this fact and portrays as it is the driver of the good work in the country.  It has protected Musharraf and its COAS have minted wealth. The army Generals do not like to salute the civilian Head of State, and do that unwillingly and with the grudge.
  5. Politicians, instead of fighting their battles in the elections like they are supposed to do, are using  other means. the party in the forefront is Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI). It is a bunch of discarded politicians and is likely to lose in the next elections because they have nothing to show, hence it is resorting to these tactics.
  6. The media is playing a destructive roles. They have the same old faces and so called experts, who have nothing but to criticize and pass judgments. They have nothing positive to say and are not worth listening to. They have become the judge and the jurors. In their round the clock transmissions you hardly see or hear anything positive. The anchors are jack of all trades master of none, including their own profession. Their news begins with a bad news and their experts give points as if they are preaching to kindergarten children. Really disgusting. They are among the top of various mafias operating in the country.

So, In a nutshell, one can clearly see that the so called educated group, media, politicians, army and Judiciary does not want to see a powerful Prime Minister, who is always a strength for any country. They fear that they would lose grip on the country if the Prime Minister becomes too powerful. They want to be ahead in the dirty power play game they are playing. They don`t care if the country suffers in the process. They just do not want to let go of illegally usurped power which is out their own mandated spheres. It also appears that some section of educated class, media and so called experts in the media, politicians are also not happy the progress Pakistan is making. They leave no effort to negate it through frivolous arguments. These people do not want to listen to the voice of people or want them to respect their mandate. This is in justice of the highest lot. In the end, but not least, they want to kill peoples hopes and dreams by removing the present government, simply because the present govt has its own way of operating and want every institution to work within their sphere of responsibility.

by pakistanipoliticalscene

The Big Picture

  1. Most of the, so called, intellectual and experts have either lost capacity to look at the big picture, or deceitfully distort facts, or look only at a piece, to give a distorted meaning to suit their objectives. Here are a few examples of what I am talking about. I am sure you would have also come across such situations.
  2. Pakistan’s GDP grew by about 6% in 2016. The counter argument provided by this group is, look at the trade deficit and foreign debt, economy is helped by low oil prices, exports are down, foreign currency reserves are stagnant, remittances are down. Non of these arguments change the fact that Pakistan’s GDP grew by almost 6%, which is a great achievement. I will address these points that have no or very little relevance in the infrastructure development phase that Pakistan is going through. For now I would like to leave it at that.
  3. Most credible agencies like Bloomberg, Forbes and likes forecast that Pakistan is a new growth frontier and is expected to be among top 20 economies in the world by about 2040 and the driver of this growth is infrastructure development is CPEC. Rather than acknowledging and appreciating this, they would say things that numbers are fudged, look at India its going to be in top ten etc.etc
  4. $50BN investment from China to develop critically needed infrastructure in Pakistan. They say oh we have another East India company coming to Pakistan, but what are the terms?, our nation is burdened with debt, look at what happened to Srilanka etc. etc. They have no clue that a dollar invested in infrastructure pays its off multiple times. Rather than appreciating the fact that China has agreed to invest in infrastructure in Pakistan, they criticize it day in and day out.
  5. Coal Power project built by Chinese help to overcome energy shortage. You hear from these critics that China is dumping technology on Pakistan that is obsolete, the power projects are way to make commission for the ruling family, look at Nandipur failure etc. etc. All these comments do not change the fact that Power shortage will be eliminated when these new projects come on stream.

I have given few examples to put across the fact that our, so called, intellectual class have completely lost the capacity to look at the big picture. They go into small and non consequential stuff to put their point across. They forget that big picture always has a better story to tell.

As opposed to our intellectual class the, so called, uneducated or less educated see the big picture and give their opinion based on that. If they see development, they say so without any qualification. They see progress all around, reduced load shedding, more work opportunities, they see CPEC as game changer and so on.

My earnest request to all intellectuals and expert to look at the big picture. And the big picture is that Pakistan moves ahead and progress is being made.

by pakistanipoliticalscene

COAS’ meeting with Imran Khan

There is a lot of discussion about the COAS’ meeting with Imran Khan on the media with, so called experts giving their two scents of opinion on;

  1. What may have conspired at the meeting
  2. Why only Imran Khan was invited and not other political leaders
  3. Or for that matter, is this the beginning of series of meeting by COAS with the political parties heads?
  4. There is a deal made between the COAS and Imran Khan
  5. Imran Khan has been told that he is the next PM (as claimed by PTI), and so on

Although I am not privy to any information, here is my take on this meeting.

  1. The meeting must have been called at the behest of the govt to deliver certain messages. The COAS is not likely to ask for this meeting unilaterally as this would be out of order and in appropriate
  2. Imran Khan must have been warned not to support the TTP and likes as Pakistan govt and the army are fighting these terrorist.
  3. FATA will not be merged with KPK as this is not feasible until the governance issues sorted out
  4. There is no deal between the army and Imran Khan as this will be an illegal act and considered a subversive activity.
  5. Imran Khan has not been given any understanding to the affect that he will be the next PM, as PTI asserts, because this would be pre-poll rigging and another illegal act.

So, my take is that Imran Khan’s meeting with the COAS is a warning to Imran kahn and is not a good sign for PTI. If, by any chance, the meeting was arranged without government’s consent or on its behest, the COAS would have been asked to pack his bag and go home.

by pakistanipoliticalscene

Letter to the Supreme Court of Pakistan on Panama Leaks

by pakistanipoliticalscene

INDIA’S FUTURE HINGES ON RESOLUTION OF KASHMIR ISSUE

They say that foresightedness is one of the greatest virtues people, leaders and communities can have. And by the same token, shortsightedness is the greatest misfortune people or societies can have. Of course, no one has the crystal ball that can accurately foretell what’s stored for you, but an educated assessment of the future is always beneficial.

India aspires to play a greater role for itself in the world affairs. It is demanding an entry into the UN as a permanent member, it also wants to become a member of the nuclear club. It is trying hard to portray itself as a country that hold great prospects for investors and a country with a secular mindset and a tolerant Hindu society. With these messages, India is trying to woo support from the rest of the world for a greater role in the world. Aiming for this objective is fine, but then it needs certain pre-requisites to facilitate the progress towards this goal. The first among those is to ensure that India remains a secular and a progressive Hindu State.

If we look at a couple of thousand yeas of history prior to 1947, the united India has been ruled by minorities. It is only 69 years ago that Hindus got to rule some part of subcontinent, called India. Unfortunately, India risks losing it, and only, due to its short sighted policies and nothing else.

For some reason, Indians believe that offering economic opportunities will enable them to hoodwink the world into believing that India is a peace loving and a just society. This may be true in the short run, but cannot take India far. There are several reasons for that. Among those that, in my opinion, those that strike out are as follows:

  1. India runs the risk of a nuclear war with Pakistan. Its rhetoric and covert activities of RAW inside Pakistan are not in the interest of India. India cannot get away with breaking Pakistan. It will have to face a destructive nuclear war, before that happens
  2. If for argument sake, it does succeed in breaking up Pakistan, it will have unstable nuclear powered neighbors – not a good situation to be  in the longer run
  3. Out of about 1.2 billion population, about 350 million are Muslims. The growth rate among the Muslims is around 3%. By the turn of this century, the number of Muslims living in India would close to a billion people alone. So, we are really talking about another nuclear power Muslim country.
  4. There are about a dozen insurgencies brewing in India. Among them is Kashmir. It’s a question of time that India will have to relinquish Kashmir and let go of other insurgent ethnic groups.

With this backdrop, India needs to introspect and re direct its strategic thinking. It must be viewed as a country that must adhere to the international norms and respect international law, else it will disintegrate and lose international support sooner than later. So what options India has to preserve the Hindu State?

1. Hold referendum in occupied Kashmir to come clean on its long standing commitment to hold plebiscite that it agreed to hold.

2. Over time, integrate Muslims into the mainstream to prevent a violent reaction from Muslims.

3. Make peace with Pakistan to defuse the potential of an undesirable and destructive nuclear war.

India has some choices to make. I hope for Hindu Indians, that Indian leadership makes the right choices.

by pakistanipoliticalscene

US THE DISHONEST BROKER

US THE DISHONEST BROKER

Like many times before, last night I saw a TV clip of Mark Toner, The Press Secretary, US government. As he spoke he did not have an eye contact with the people and, as in most cases, when he talks about Pakistan and India, he had a sheepish look.

Leaving the eye contact and the looks aside, what is said was devoid of the ground realities in Indian held Kashmir and the current situation in the Subcontinent. And I must say, he was dishonest in his intent. Here are a few things he said:

1)      Pakistan and India needs to fight terrorism jointly

2)      Pakistan needs to do more

3)      He welcomes Indian Pakistan dialogue

He completely ignored, among other things, that:

1)      The Indian occupying forces are committing atrocities against civilians and are using weapons that are banned for use on civilians

2)      Thousands of Kashmiris are on the streets demanding the plebiscite as per the UN resolution, where India accepted in 1948

3)      The City has been under curfew for the last two months causing hardship to civilians

4)      Fundamental rights of the Kashmiris are being usurped by India

5)      The interference of the Indian PM in the internal affairs of Pakistan

This is just recent and in the context of Pakistan and India. With reference to Palestine and Israel its even worse whereby Israel kills thousands of civilians, The only comment comes from the US is that Israel has the right to defend 

If the US has to broker, then it must take a neutral and an honest view or should stay away from it. By taking a dishonest position, the US is hurting more its already tarnished reputation. Believe me, overtime the US will not be left be any friends and will be left alone, if it continued as it is. As things stands now, most countries and citizens around the world don’t like the US policies. It is a question of time when they start boycotting the US. The saner people in the government, intellectuals, media and at other forums must do some introspection to see where the US is headed?

by pakistanipoliticalscene

SWOT Analysis of The Religious Parties

STRENGTHS

Loyal supporters

Appeal to the religious sentiments of the people

Diehard supporters

Influence large segment of society through madrasas

Large number of young enrolled in madrasas

Somewhat disciplined

 OPPORTUNITES

Unite to form a uniform platform

Become more tolerant towards other ethnic groups

Allow madrasas to come under Govt. supervision

Walk away from supporting jihadists, militant groups

Demilitarize madrasas and militant wings

Do more social work

Follow a more moderate path
WEAKENESSES

Leadership controversial

Support/ harbor militant groups

Losing mass appeal

Support Pakistan arch enemy TTP

Recipients of foreign funding

Creating discord among ethnic groups

Involved in fighting proxy wars and bloody killings

Anti West outlook

Want to take matters in own hand

Intolerance towards others

Fragmented

Sided with dictators and establishment

 THREATS

Uprising from masses

Possible ban from establishment/ government

Losing mass appeal and may not have any social or political role

Could be strapped for funding

Internal and external blacklisting

 

 

 

 

 

The religious parties have used religion to muster support of the gullible masses. They have done nothing constructive for the country, except wage religious wars, create discord among various ethnic groups, fight proxy wars on behalf of foreign countries. Religious parties harbor the largest group of militant groups, have largest cache of arms and are not working in the interest of the country. Hence, at best they will remain where they are with losing mass appeal. In the longer term, these parties will fade away The leadership has used masses to further their own objectives.

In the next elections, they are likely to fare no better than they did in the last elections.

by pakistanipoliticalscene

Swot Analysis of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM)

STRENGTHS

Resilient political party – survived most attempts to break it up

Best representation of the middle class – strong middle class appeal

Performance oriented

Extremely loyal members

Came out of shadows of Altaf Hussain, generally considered impossible

Strong hold in major urban areas of Sind

Well organized/ disciplined

 OPPORTUNITIES

Change image to a productive party with broader and national outlook

Take ownership of Urban cities of Sind and work for their betterment

Reach out to other ethnic groups and work with them

Mobilize disciplined supporters to work for the community at large.

Turn Karachi, Hyderabad and other cities of Sind into exemplary cities
WEAKENESSES

Narrow perspective/ objectives

Too much effort to defend Altaf Hussain

Very active militant group

Considered extortionists

Considered anti establishment

Involved in killings

No real message for masses, except protection of Muhajir’s rights

Only urban appeal in some cities of Sind

 THREATS

In group fighting and continued killings of each other

Cornered further, if overall security situation does not improve in Karachi, as MQM is considered to be one of the parties harboring criminals

Corruption of top party leaders could create some leadership vacuum causing split and in fighting

 

 

 

MQM is the most resilient party in Pakistan. It has survived the most attempt to break it up. Being united and very disciplined in furthering its cause, MQM can contribute a lot for the development of Karachi and Sind. It needs a broader perspective and mission. MQM has no real threats and is a likely a long term survivor. It will remain strong in Karachi and Urban areas of Sind, but will struggle to gain country wide acceptance because of its ethnic appeal.

In the next election, MQM is likely to maintain its part position in the Center and in Sind.

by pakistanipoliticalscene

Swot Analysis of Pakistan Peoples Party

STRENGTHS

Strong grass root support

Strong ethnic appeal

Young leadership

Love for the family, have the largest diehard followers among all parties

Presence in all Provinces

Strong Legacy of leaders

No leadership vacuum

 

 OPPORTUNITIEIS

Turn around perception through performance

Regain past position in Punjab

Clean up the old guards and bring in fresh blood with a zeal to perform

Bring active governance in Sind for the next two years

Consolidate Bilawal’s position

Zardari bring money from Swiss accounts into Pakistan, and clear his reputation – no big deal for him

Mend ways and shun past governance style, root out corruption from party and government in Sind

Aggressively reach out to masses in other provinces, who would be willing to give more chances to PPP, as opposed to any other party

 

 

 
 

 

WEAKENESSESS

Possible struggle leadership at the top most level

Relied too long on Bhutto name

Not performed, taken things for granted

Tainted reputation of Zardari

Regional organization not strong, consists of old guards, who have failed

Lost considerable ground in Punjab – The strong hold in the past

No performance under the belt.

 THREATS

Continue to protect Zardari and others, hence lose out more support

Zardari and other leaders are nailed for corruption

Lose ground in Sind due to bad governance, thus creating a vacuum for other parties to fill.

Become a marginal party rather than mainstream and a major party.

 

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is the only political party in Pakistan that has the grass root support and, probably, the highest number of diehards. It is also the only major political party that has a successor for party leadership – Bilawal Bhutto. He is young and can mature as he goes along. With these factors, PPP is, probably, the only party in Pakistan that has a long term potential, as we see today. All PPP has to do is to improve its image that is tarnished by Zardari as a party that is extensively involved in corruption, and turn out performance.  If PPP is successfully able to perform and improve image, then is in a good position to rule Pakistan for 20-25 years from 2025 onwards. By 2025, the party leader would also be in his forties and mature.

Having said that, the next elections may see PPP struggling to get more seats. May just be able to hold on to about 30-40 seats at the Center.