Alert Voters Elect Competent Parliament

The upcoming May 11 is set for accountability of the politicians, when people will choose the next government through general elections. The voting public will be out there electing the right or wrong candidates for the national and provincial assemblies' seats in Pakistan. Currently, politicking is heating up throughout the country. A large number of contesting political parties have jumped into the arena to begin electoral campaign.

In the past five years, the country’s economy has almost shattered beyond any easy fix, while many entrepreneurs and top professionals have already abandoned the country. Due to the sub-standard governance and the administrative paralysis, those involved in looting the public money have been able to sneak out of the country without difficulty and consequently the national exchequer has almost bottomed out. Naturally, all responsible politicians will have to face the music on the election day.

Regardless of the questionable legitimacy of the last democratic regimes (federal and provincial), the five year term of 2008-2013 was the darkest era in the history of Pakistani politics. A coalition government was arranged through the most notorious black law called ‘National Reconciliation Ordinance’ (NRO), whereby the top leadership of various political parties was pardoned of any previous wrong doing pertaining to loan defaults or any other law breaking activity. The leaders of MQM, ANP, Q league and the PPP were among the major beneficiaries. Thus, NRO infected regime didn’t meet the eligibility requirement of “integrity and a strong will to deliver.”  Was there a fair ballot or a clear winner? I doubt it.

All know that  President of pakistan  was focussed on to cementing the ties between multiple partners in the “fragile coalition,” while the “friendly opposition” did much of the trick.

Most probably, the same crooks are again involved in planning “pre-poll rigging” as most of the stolen money is set aside for the dirty purpose. Other headache is that the voter fraud in Karachi stands intact, and it’s almost impossible for the Election Commission to touch the big wigs of major parties.

Since Pakistan is going through a chronic chaos in its socio-economic and political realm, patriotic Pakistanis including the ordinary ones are naturally awaiting for a miraculous positive change.  However, they don’t completely appreciate the essence of democracy; hence are unaware of the sensitivity about the diligent choice of candidates based on merit. Thus, there is a major responsibility on the part of everyone when it comes to decide with due care about electing the most deserving candidate.

And, the electors are obligated to stand up in order to fight off any threat as well as repulsing any undue pressures from the powerful corrupt mafia. Bottom line is the public is fed up with the current despotic system.

Apparently, the voters are constitutionally protected to exercise their right of vote the way they want. So it’s perfectly okay to resist “pressure tactics” from the corrupt mafia. This clearly means a green signal to vote freely without fearing any reprisals. But the question is whether this is workable – the answer simply is “no” because of the stupid age old “slavery system” in rural areas where the population is not allowed to utter a word or move an inch without pre-approval of powerful sardar, feudal lord or jagirdar etc.

There is need of imparting knowledge among the villagers about their legal rights so that they don’t feel retarded when it comes to copping with the negative ground reality.

In fact, emotional/physical enslavement of the poor rural population is on account of the parallel system in remote rural areas where the vaderas, sardars or the feudals punish the locals, chain them and imprison them in their private jails and torture cells. Pathetic!

These are a few stinky examples of “a state within state” in the rural areas. No government ever tried to remedy the criminal mindset. Hence, the slavery and oppression goes on without interruption.

Though the party leaders tend to make tall claims about the decency of their future delivery, yet there is no guarantee.

N league talks about bringing an economic revolution including a bullet train from Karachi to Peshawar (7 hours) and their promise of more road connections.

Being the anti status quo party, the PTI has seven points so far to attract the audience. Mr Khan has shown his 'tsunami plus' aimed at crushing the corruption and taking care of power shortage within five years and the best one among his package is elimination of "rich-poor gap." He claims to provide the nation with equality and policy of merit system.

Since the political engineering works not for the politically immature, the country is in need of a genuine coverage from the military and the independent apex judiciary under the constitution of Pakistan for bringing all the loot back to the public exchequer from the foreign banks.

Furthermore, feudal and dynastic politics has no place in the 21st century, so let’s get rid of the nonsense, sooner the better. With improved literacy level, better educational opportunities, a genuine opposition in the parliament and strengthening of national institutions our dream of democracy will come true where all citizens are treated equally with respect.

Since the ballot, not the bullet, is the solution to all Balochistan issues, a positive development is that Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) Chief Sardar Akhtar Mengal has joined the mainstream political race for the upcoming election. 

 

An atmosphere of level playing field is essential for evolving a genuine democracy. In order to bring the country back on the track of prosperity, we have to reject nepotism and bi-standards and protect education and commerce sectors. Pre poll rigging in any form bears consequences, and rejection through elections is the best tool to keep the corrupt and incompetent politicians out of parliament.

Reality of the "Wasted Five Year Term"

Despite the horrible misrule by the Pakistan People’s Party, President Asif Ali Zardari has been tenaciously working day and night on his manipulative strategy to encourage “alliance of convenience” (marriage-of-convenience) with multiple political partners. The alliance actually did pave the way for the party to survive constitutionally right till the end.

At least this time, the democracy has been given a free hand by the military, the judiciary, the civil society and the media. National Assembly has already been dissolved, while the provincial ones are still in the final process of winding up.

Upon digging history, one finds that there have been numerous unsuccessful attempts aimed at derailing the newly born independent state of Pakistan since 1949. General Ayub khan succeeded in taking over the reins of the country in 1958 usurping the 1956 constitution of Pakistan. Then Gen. Yahya preyed upon the vulnerable nation. And after the fall of East Pakistan in 1971, the West Pakistan province became  Pakistan (crippled one)  followed by the civil martial law under Mr Z. A. Bhutto, founder of Pakistan People’s Party.

As civilian Chief Martial Law Administrator (dictator) Mr. Bhutto went on a “Nationalizing spree” countrywide - snatching all major corporations/industries under the banner of his “Islami Socialism.”

Then comes Gen. Zia-ul-Haq in 1977, he suspends the constitution, dismantles the assemblies, arrests and hangs Mr Bhutto on murder charges despite the poor evidence against the deposed Prime minister. Zia remained a powerful dictator with his iron fist till his death in1988 air crash.

Subsequently, successive civil regimes faced another tough round of “on and off” mode. The governments of Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif went through their incomplete terms due to mis-governance charges.

All of a sudden, Gen Musharraf shows up to abrogate the constitution arresting the elected Prime Minister Mr Nawaz Sharif.

President General Musharraf, the last military dictator ruled the country from 1999 to 2008.

A disappointing but the steady governance during 2008-2013 was a different experiment altogether, where a civil government has manoeuvred to continue for the whole term, however, shrewd Zardari and his regime under Prime Minister Gilani and later under Prime Minister Raja Ashraf miserably failed to deliver.

But the factor of “pro democracy unanimity” played a pivotal role, as the stronger media, the super active apex judiciary, politically aware civil society, politicians and the military have been on the same page to give democracy a free hand. In other words, the ‘joint will’ is absolutely necessary to produce democratic maturity for Pakistan in the years ahead.

Nevertheless, completing the term is only the first step in the right direction, yet mismanaging the country’s affairs during five years amounts to wasting of nation’s precious time and resources.

And instead of being remorseful for not fulfilling their obligation of delivery to the nation, the outgoing rulers are tirelessly busy celebrating completion of the darkest era which was nothing other than the “sub standard governance” full of administrative paralysis.

A brief recap:

1. Gross domestic product (GDP) dropped significantly from 8% to 4%.
2. The demand for Pakistani goods dropped and investment flows dried up, adversely affecting Pak industries.
3. The masses are now buried under a mountain of foreign debt load which increased from $45 billion in 2008 to over $65 billion in 2012.
4. The past five years have been a major disappointment for the electorate. The PPP regime failed to recognise its responsibility to create a friendly environment for commerce where the youth could earn living. 
5. The promised Roti, kapra aur makan never actually happened.
6. During the final days, the rulers’ corruption and nepotism was sky high which crossed all boundaries; they doled out billions of public money without a trace, and ignored merit system while appointing jialaas against sensitive positions.
7. Hardly cooperated with the judiciary.
8. Maybe, the democracy (PPP’s version) is the best revenge in the form of rampant corruption, hyper-inflation, extensive power outages, gas shortages, ethnicity strife, wide spread sectarianism, chronic law and order condition, and the consistent defiance of the apex court’s verdicts.

Beyond doubt, the ruling PPP and its multiple partners went all the way to the end employing multiple maneuvers but left the office without any substantive accomplishments. Miraculously, the democracy survived in spite of disappoiting performance of the regime. (Tribune pakistan)

Since the nation cannot afford another era of democracy marked with corruption, misrule, favoritism, plunder and insecurity, so they must look for of leaders not rulers for a positive social change and for economic prosperity on urgent basis.

The next general elections give an opportunity to the honest and competent politicians to rebuild this great country by improving the law and order situation and making everyone accountable under law.

And, the voters should make the right electoral choices without any fear of reprisals and elect only those candidates who enjoy utmost integrity and who are competent enough to deliver sincerely to make the country going again under a genuine democracy.

Giving Peace a Chance !



Withdrawal deadline of NATO forces from Afghanistan nears, so does the  need to regenerate “friendly environment”  in the region. Indeed, negotiating with Afghan Taliban is of crucial importance at this hour.

Similarly, Taliban on Pakistan side have to give peace a chance too. There is no doubt that sectarian warfare has turned Pakistan upside down: To a great extent, there is  a justification in finger pointing towards Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Punjabi Taliban, FATA warriors, the secessionists in Balochistan, the Balochistan liberation army (BLA) as they keep defying WRIT of the STATE creating difficult scenario for the region unfortunately.

And of course, the warring gangs of Karachi have added further fuel to the painful reality, yet with the aggravating law and order situation, the authorities also are increasingly becoming too incapacitated to crack down on the (anti-Pakistan) proxy warriors.

The Taliban factions including the foreign intruders are successfully launching their attacks all over the country. They even have penetrated the security forces.

The fact is Karachi-the commercial hub now resembles a battlefield, where proxy war is being fought to satisfy the stakeholders.

Furthermore, the degree of looting, target killing and kidnapping for ransom is severe enough to scare off the peaceful citizens.

Sadly, the paralysis of country’s administrative machinery and the ongoing terror attacks in Karachi and elsewhere, especially the “Shiite-genocide” at different locations show that the enemy appears determined to dismantle the country at all cost by using all available tactics.  The patriotic Pakistanis are justified to suspect - a major game plan is at play to break up the country into pieces. God forbid! Certainly, the religious extremism is un-Islamic thing, which becomes a weapon (remote control) in the hands of mysterious stakeholders. The irony is, the security apparatus is only functional to protect the VIPs in Pakistan, while the vulnerable public remain prone to the deadly attacks 24/7. Hence, government’s commitment to the fight against terrorism is increasingly becoming questionable.

Some TV channels are suggesting the militants of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) and Sipah-e-Sahaba (SSP) in Karachi are involved in the recent merciless genocide of the ill fated Shias of Abbas Town and the killing of Hazaras as well.

Though, Taliban claim to establish a strict Muslim religious order, yet their track record of "brutality and terrorism" show their anti humanity (anti Islam) mindset. They have indulged in destruction of schools, places of worship, market places, housing complexes and public property. They have killed over 45,000 innocent Pakistani civilians so far. In complicity with other terrorist groups, these Taliban are still involved in target killings and massive genocide in the major cities of Pakistan.

Enough is enough: It’s time for sitting on the negotiating table for all parties in the region. Therefore, Pakistan is now fully supporting the Taliban’s new address outside Afghanistan.

In this regard, British Prime Minister David Cameron hosted Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai and Pakistan's President Asif Zardari  for trilateral talks on Afghanistan's peace and reconciliation process. The three leaders agreed to open an office in Qatar's capital for negotiations, expecting the Taliban to soften their hardline stance against discussions.

Subsequent to the recent five days dialogue between the Afghan Taliban and the U.S. in  Doha Qatar, Pak foreign minister Khar’s visit there does indicate the  determination to bring peace in the region.  However, the Afghan Taliban at Doha once again insisted for the release of their prisoners and kept rejecting the government of President Hamid Karzai. On the other hand, Pakistani Taliban militants have welcomed the five-point declaration of an All Parties Conference (APC) called by the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) for steps to restore peace in Pakistan’s restive tribal areas.

It’s noteworthy that the political parties have sent a positive message by excluding the word "terrorism" from the 'Joint Declaration.' The Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) gives it high regards. (Dawn News). Thirty political parties agreed on forming a grand tribal jirga representing all schools of thought. However, the Taliban want to propose their own names for representing them in the grand assembly. It’s been agreed to negotiate peace with the militant elements through a grand tribal group comprising 17 representatives. The declaration added that practical steps were needed to end lawlessness in the country. The process of peace negotiations would be fully supported to establish a rule of law in the society.  

The APC announced that the incumbent government, the caretaker setup and the next government would be bound to follow declaration. Nevertheless, the declaration is inherently defective for following reasons: Firstly, not taking Pakistan Tehreek-e-insaf (PTI) on board is the biggest blunder which has been made by the APC. Secondly, the one-sided concessions to the Taliban can ruin whatever success the armed forces have achieved against terrorists.

Almost everyone now realizes that only a viable solution through negotiated settlement is in the best interest of Pakistan and the region, but time will tell where the dust settles.