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#PanamaVerdict #Pakistan - Goodbye, Nawaz

Cyril Almeida

THE ducks were in a row. They’ve been dragged, kicked, shot and used to beat Nawaz over the head. It has not been pretty. Hell, it couldn’t have been uglier.

So, now what?

Attack the court, blame the boys, curse fate and the stars, it doesn’t really matter. Nawaz is gone and he isn’t coming back. There’s no precedent for unwinding a Supreme Court judgement during a democratic spell and there won’t be.

Nawaz is gone.

The judgement itself is confounding, appalling in argument and scope. It is, quite nakedly, a decision in search of a reason. Why did it happen? Eventually we’ll figure it out. This isn’t a place known for keeping its secrets long.

How did it happen? The Sharifs’ bumbling defence made it possible, giving the court the weapons it needed to bring the hammer down.

But the verdict is a bullseye and the verdict will stick because it is one thing above all else: popular. Popular with the people.

And there lies the vulnerability of Nawaz.

A judgement knocking out a prime minister who was popular enough to be the favourite for re-election is more popular with the people than the prime minster who has been ousted. How that has come to be is worth examining because there are lessons in it for the practice of politics here. A judgement knocking out a PM who was popular enough to be the favourite for re-election is more popular with the people than the PM who has been ousted.

Hating politicians is as old as politics. In Pakistan, there’s an added edge: the urban, middle-class, educated cohort that sneers at all things politics and wears its dislike of politicians with pride.

If it weren’t for the scum, the self-serving, corrupt politicians, hoodwinking the poor and the helpless, Pakistan would be a decent place to live in with good jobs and fair opportunity – the logic is as self-evident as the conviction real. No politician can really hope to fight that. It is the natural support base of the anti-democrats and the best a politician can hope for is his fate to never be in their hands. But as the beast was fed, as the anger of that cohort was stoked and manipulated in the wake of Panama, Nawaz made the mistake of ignoring it. A segment of the population that was never going to love Nawaz or any politician of his ilk, its billowing rage ought to have had alarms ringing in the PML-N.

But Nawaz didn’t pay attention and soon enough he was reduced to a public caricature: corrupt, dynastic and out of touch. From there, he was one big, fat, easy target.

Maybe the court would have done him in anyway. Maybe the boys’ disdain had made a third exit inevitable.

But it’s a heck of a lot easier to plunge the knife in when a particular swath of the population is whipped up into a frenzy — the urban, middle-class, educated, TV-watching, social-media-consuming cohort.

From a politician’s perspective, it can seem terribly unfair. Nawaz, after all, had protected his base impressively enough to have installed himself as the favourite for consecutive terms.

Why should he, or any other politician, have to pander to another group outside his base that at best will tolerate him and at worst will regard him with unbridled hate?

But they already know the answer: the urban, middle-class, educated cohort is a potential ally of other institutions. The rage of those people can become the institutional platform for terrible things to happen to you, the politician.

Keeping that cohort onside may be the difference between continuity and decapitation. So could Nawaz have done anything differently? The hindsight game is easy, but there were some possibilities.

A shake-up of his team, a reshuffle of the cabinet, a nod to the governance priorities of the angry cohort — things to slow down the caricature of the corrupt, dynastic, out-of-touch leader ballooning out of control. Because Nawaz didn’t do any of that or anything at all, we have to ask: are his politics anachronistic? Is he frozen in time? On those parallel tracks that politicians here must try and survive, the record suggests he is. Megawatts and roads appeal to the N-League base, but leave the other cohort cold.

The metrobus could have bridged the gap, but it was successfully mired in corruption allegations and lost much of its sheen. The familiar faces that he surrounded himself with made the base comfortable, but angered the other cohort because they symbolise the past.

Maryam could have been the bridge to the other side, but the succession was approached like a coronation. To win the other cohort’s grudging respect, she needed to look like she was working her way to the top — instead a palace-bred princess appeared. And then there was the disregard for institutions, democratic and in the executive, and the centralisation of power. It didn’t bother the N-League’s base, but for the angry cohort it symbolised corruption at the heart of the Sharif empire.

Why must everyone be their slave, why can’t they just let people work honourably and with dignity? The more Nawaz was Nawaz, the more he thought he was doing right by his base, the angrier it made the group whose anger he did not understand and could not afford.

Busy practising an anachronistic politics, the caricature of a corrupt, dynastic, out-of-touch ruler grew and grew until it was too late.

Now, the country has a judgement that is more popular than a prime minister who may have been popular enough to win re-election. Nawaz is gone, but the others should pay heed: practice a modern politics or suffer the same fate as the mightiest who has fallen.

Pakistan - Terror in the heart of Lahore

By Mashaal Gauhar

Though army counter-terrorism operations Zarb-e-Azb and more recently Radd-ul-Fassad have significantly weakened the TTP, the recent attack in Lahore shows that the group is still capable of causing serious harm through the proliferation of offshoots and With over 26 people dead and 30 injured, Lahore’s recent suicide attack is the latest in a long list of militant assaults on the capital of Punjab. In February, a suicide blast near Punjab Assembly left 13 people dead and 70 others wounded. Last year’s terrorist attack in Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park killed 72 people and left hundreds injured.

What is new about this attack is that investigators have concluded that it was carried out by the Taliban Special Group (TSG), a newly formed wing of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) comprising highly trained suicide attackers.

With a mission to destabilise the state and implement their own brand of shariah law, TTP attacks have a discernible pattern of focusing on security forces, educational institutions, minorities and sacred places of worship. This latest assault is believed to have targeted the police. Of the 26 killed in the attack, nine were policemen.

Though army counter-terrorism operations Zarb-e-Azb and more recently Radd-ul-Fassad have significantly weakened the TTP, the recent attack in Lahore shows that the group is still capable of causing serious harm through the proliferation of offshoots and splinter groups.

The TTP’s systematic use of suicidal warfare has proven particularly problematic. Inexpensive and requiring low levels of technology, human bombs are the preferred weapon of choice for groups like the TTP. “It is an alternative technology — the systematic mechanisation of human beings — that confers upon militant groups many of the same capabilities of the sophisticated weapon systems of advanced states,” explains Jeffrey William Lewis and academic author of The Business of Martyrdom, A History of Suicide Bombing.

Strong military action is critical but cannot be the only solution. The formation of the new TSG wing indicates that insurgent groups can find ready adherents among the socially and economically marginalised segments of the society. This disturbing new development underscores the need to ensure that strong military action is supported by a long-term strategy centred on economic and social uplift to effectively eliminate the TTP and its affiliated groups.

Resources must be directed towards striking at the recruitment capabilities of these groups including a crackdown on militant propaganda, dismantling centres for radicalisation and closing down sources of terrorist financing. Additionally, the government must strengthen its institutions such as the police force and criminal justice system. It is hoped that the National Action Plan proposed by the government to root out terrorism can make progress towards achieving these goals.

Lahore’s magical past is beautifully rendered in the Sanskrit epic The Ramayana, which details how Prince Lava, son of Lord Rama and his beloved wife Sita, founded the city of Lahore. Indeed, the word ‘Lahore’ is derived from his name Suicidal warfare exacts a profound psychological toll on society. The damage on Pakistan’s society is all too evident: intolerance and violent prejudice in the name of religion abounds. Pakistan’s media must take a stand against hardline voices claiming to speak on behalf of Islam. The taking of an innocent life is among the gravest of sins and can never be justified. Any attempt to do so represents a violation of the very essence of the religion.

Government, media and civil society must ensure that militant organisations purportedly acting in the name of Islam are exposed for the ruthless mercenaries that they are. The tolerance and diversity that once flourished must be reclaimed as part of Pakistan’s identity. A city where Hindu, Sikh and Muslim empires flourished for centuries, Lahore’s rich heritage cultural heritage is a symbol of this diversity. Representing the second most populous city in the country after Karachi, Lahore is recognised as one of the oldest living cities in the world. Its primordial past can be seen and felt across the city from the pre-enlightenment statue of ‘Fasting Buddha’ in Lahore’s National Museum to the ancient Old City.

Lahore’s magical past is beautifully rendered in the Sanskrit epic The Ramayana which details how Prince Lava, son of Lord Rama and his beloved wife Sita, founded the city of Lahore. Hence the word ‘Lahore’ is derived from his name. Today, the temple at Lahore Fort stands as an enduring tribute to Prince Lava. Home to Pakistan’s great mystics like Madho Lal Hussain and Bulleh Shah, Lahore traditions of poetry and art continues to flourish. Though battered by this recent assault, Lahore’s spirit remains unassailable

Unemployment – An acute problem of Pakistan

By: Farah Jamil

‘I have a degree but not job because I don’t have reference better known as ‘safarish’ – is the most common line said by every single individual of our country as a considerable proportion of our youth is currently unemployed. Almost every youngster in Pakistan endorses the fact that the country is plagued by sheer unemployment.

In today’s time, trying to attain and maintain a proper status in the corporate jungle is not an easy task at all. Our youth is immensely inclined towards the government jobs and the main reason behind it is the lack of accountability.

Many Employers give preference to the experienced candidates rather than the freshers – this is another reason that leads to unemployment.

To analyze the current state of unemployment, we managed to speak to few youngsters and experienced professionals also – took their opinion regarding the youth unemployment in Pakistan.

Speaking to Samaa, a fresh graduate of Mass communication Saad Khan– currently struggling to get hired in media organization – shared his views, “Being a graduate of Mass communication from a public sector university,  I have to struggle a lot even to seek an ‘unpaid internship’. First reason which is quite visible is those universities are producing peoples, who have no skills to stand on professional platforms, resulting as – their in born talent has also being rusted.”

While describing the main reasons of unemployment in our country, Khan said, ‘Pakistan is full on natural and productive resources but we have no planning of how to utilize it?’

‘Population growth also leads to raise in unemployment, government sector institutes like PIA are being privatized and forthcoming generations have no idea and guidelines of career counseling’, he added.

Digital marketing lead/ digital strategist Syed Waqas Saghir ,after spending 8 years in the relevant field ,described the key reasons of unemployment in Pakistan. Here is what he said, “I truly believe the major reason behind Unemployment in Pakistan is no career counseling where most of them start studying having no clear vision of what to study and which field should be perfect for him/ her, besides that, action plan and personal development plan is the crucial part where universities should  focus on instead of only focusing on courses.”

Saghir talked about the growth of human resource departments of different organizations and said, “Pakistan’s Recruitment industry is very unprofessional to some extent where they don’t hire the right person for the right job.”

He went on to say, “Employers in Pakistan should use the strategy of MBTI (Myers Briggs Type Indicator) to analyze the candidate during hiring process”.

“MBTI is the most popular and respected personality type tools in the world. It is an easy to understand framework which helps to build relationships and teams”, he suggested.

I must say that the present state of unemployment is purely caused by “safarish” and it is the main reason behind unemployment as the deserving candidates do not get jobs while the non-deserving ones sit there. The parchi-system in every single organization should come to an end at its earliest.

The government should also take some serious steps to overcome this problem. It is necessary for the prosperity and progress of every nation.

Pakistan - My 15 years of struggle, gone to waste: Mukhtar Mai

On July 16, a young man named Umar Wawda allegedly kidnapped and raped a 12-year-old girl in Multan. The case was brought before a local panchaiyat [village council] to preside over. Two days later, the council elders ordered the complainant to rape the 16-year-old sister of the accused in return. The first information report of both incidents was registered on July 20. Police have till now arrested 20 people. The accused are still at large.

“Here we are again talking about another Mukhtar Mai”

I am not surprised. It is a norm for panchaiyats and jirgas to penalize a woman for a man’s crime. They call it 'justice.' Men in Pakistan, guilty men, go unpunished. Women, innocent women, get punished.

People in Pakistan, and elsewhere, often ask me why do jirgas still exist in the country? I tell them that they exist to remind Pakistanis that their legal system has failed.

It is not easy for a poor man or a woman to get a police complaint registered. Then, even if you do get one registered, you will be confronted with a long-winded process of going to courts year after year. A poor person cannot afford to go through this both financially and mentally. In the end he approaches a jirga for the speedy resolution of his dispute.

Unfortunately, these men who sit on these councils are never fair to women. It does not matter to them that the only crime committed by a woman is that she is unfortunately related to a criminal.

Now, if even a single man had been punished for what happened to me in 2002, we might not be here today. But here we are again, talking about another Mukhtar Mai.

In the last few years, I have met many rape survivors. And when I meet them I do not ask them any questions. Why should they relive that horrible and devastating moment? So, instead, I sit with them, sometimes quietly. Then, I tell them I went through what they did but I am still alive today. I am, maybe, stronger and they will be too.

When I heard about this incident in Multan, my blood pressure shot up. I couldn't stop thinking about it. My 15 years of struggle and effort to highlight this injustice has gone to waste. Nothing I said or did was of any use.

The media will continue to raise the issues. The activists will continue to raise their voices. But unless the courts set a precedent and punish these men and their facilitators, not much will change.

Those in power, those in courts, those in police stations do not know what it is like for a woman to try to live a life after she has been assaulted. From then on, she is neither alive, nor dead. She is neither accepted by society, nor by her family.

One of the girls is 12 and the other is 16. If this isn't barbarism, then I don’t know what is.