Wednesday, June 27, 2018
How Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez won: Ultra-liberal pitch drew first-time voters in changing district
Herb Jackson
The message 28-year-old Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez delivered in a web video last month may not have been specifically about federal issues, but it went viral and struck a chord in the diverse New York City district where she beat 10-term Rep. Joe Crowley in Tuesday's Democratic primary.
"After 20 years of the same representation, we have to ask: Who has New York been changing for?" Ocasio-Cortez said as Crowley was shown on the screen. "Every day gets harder for working families like mine to get by. The rent gets higher, health care covers less, and our income stays the same. It's clear that these changes haven't been for us, and we deserve a champion," she said.
It's not that Crowley, 56, had ever been considered a conservative. He was potentially in line to succeed California Rep. Nancy Pelosi as the Democrats' leader next term, and in a tweet gloating about Crowley's loss, President Donald Trump called him a "Big Trump Hater." But in a climate where some liberals want Democrats to use every tactic available to resist Trump – and were angered they agreed to end a government shutdown in January without ensuring protection for young undocumented immigrants – Crowley, as the No. 4 Democratic leader in the House, was painted as part of the establishment.
Ocasio-Cortez ran on a platform promising paid family leave, Medicare for All, a universal government jobs guarantee, justice reform to "demilitarize our police," and abolishing ICE, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office. "I was the only candidate in the race that did not take corporate money in a time when economic marginalization is really increasing in New York City," Ocasio-Cortez said Wednesday on the program "CBS This Morning." "So I think that created a lot of trust in our community and our message really inspired a lot of folks that don't usually turn out in an off-year midterm primary."
Though Ocasio-Cortez had been an organizer on Sen. Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign, it was her first run for office. Many of her campaign workers were also new to the process, inspired by Trump to get involved through grass-roots organizing efforts such as the Indivisible Project.
"They were new to the political system, and that mindset is really important to this moment. The knocked on doors, they made phone calls. They reached out to people who are often dismissed as infrequent voters," said Ezra Levin, co-executive director of the Indivisible Project.
The district also changed since 1998, when Crowley was first tapped by his predecessor to run for the seat. Back then, the 14th District was 28 percent Hispanic, according to the Almanac of American Politics. Under the lines drawn after the 2010 Census, that figure was more than 50 percent. More than 45 percent of the district is also younger than 35, and Ocasio-Cortez, if she wins in November, would be the youngest woman ever elected to Congress. "The future of the Democratic Party isn't old white men, it's people of color, it's youth," Levin said. Republican campaign operatives seized on Ocasio-Cortez's support for government health insurance and job guarantees, and her call for eliminating immigration enforcement, as a way to motivate their own supporters.
"If there was any doubt that their party has moved drastically to the left, Democrats just elected a self-avowed socialist over the current chair of the House Democratic Caucus," Michael Ahrens, spokesman for the Republican National Committee, said in an email Tuesday night. "Just wait until 2020."
Crowley not only became the highest-ranking House member to lose a primary since Republicans rejected Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia in 2014, he was also the first Democrat to be turned aside in this election cycle. But Crowley had not faced a primary in more than a decade, so having to turn out his base was not as routine as it is for some other politicians.
Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-N.J., said he asked Crowley at a Mets game in Queens two weeks ago if he might need any help, since Crowley had helped others in the region in the past.
"He thought that he had handle on the election, that he knew what he had to do," Pascrell said. "He knew there were changing demographics, but he felt he had compensated for that. I believed him."
Pascrell said he was surprised at how low the turnout was. Unofficial returns tallied by The Associated Press showed that with 98 percent of precincts counted, Ocasio-Cortez had 15,897 votes to Crowley's 11,761 "There's a lot of angry people, angry with both Republicans and Democrats, and a lot of first-time voters who voted in the 14th District. I think that had a lot to do with this." Pascrell rejected the suggestion Crowley wasn't doing his job for the district, and rejected the suggestion Crowley had surrendered in January when Democrats agreed to help reopen the government without getting a vote on protecting young immigrants.
"Joe fought harder than anybody I know in the New York or New Jersey delegation. That's a bad rap," Pascrell said. But Pascrell said Ocasio-Cortez worked hard for the win.
"Any career can be ended on a random Tuesday night," Pascrell said, praising the way Crowley congratulated Ocasio-Cortez and said he hoped for her victory in the fall.
Disclosures with the Federal Election Commission show that through June 6, Crowley spent $3.4 million, including nearly $1 million since the beginning of May, with $840,000 going for advertising, direct mail and polling.
Ocasio-Cortez, who touted her refusal to accept contributions from corporate political action committees, raised $310,000 and spent $207,000 through June 6.
A large portion of her fundraising came in the final weeks before the election, with about $234,000 raised from April 1 through June 6.
She had a few celebrity donors, most notably actress and producer Susan Sarandon and the husband-wife television writing team of Neal Marlens and Carol Black, whose credits include "Growing Pains" and "The Wonder Years."
U.S: - Democrats see major upset as socialist beats top-ranking US congressman
The victory, in a New York district primary election to determine who stands against the Republicans in November’s midterms for a seat in Congress, immediately prompted debate about the wider ramifications for the Democrats, and whether it heralds a further move to the left.
Ocasio-Cortez is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America and a former organizer for Bernie Sanders. She would be the youngest female member of Congress in history if she wins as expected in November.
She won by a margin of 57.5%- 42.5% over Crowley in a majority minority district that included parts of Queens and the Bronx.
In the election – one of several primary victories by progressives – Ocasio-Cortez won 57.5% of the vote and Crowley had 42.5%. The district includes parts of Queens and the Bronx.
When the result was called, a visibly shocked Ocasio-Cortez clasped her hands to her mouth. “Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God,” she repeated. She then said: “We meet a machine with a movement, and that is what we have done today … working-class Americans want a clear champion and there is nothing radical about moral clarity in 2018.”
Crowley, head of the Queens county Democratic party and the fourth-ranking Democrat in the House of Representatives, was widely rumored to have ambitions to succeed Nancy Pelosi as Democratic leader in the House when the California Democrat stepped down. He had raised over $3m for his campaign, 10 times the amount raised by Ocasio-Cortez.
He had expressed confidence about the race in private conversations and as one national Democratic strategist told the Guardian: “The Crowley team did not raise red flags or ask allies for help with his primary.” Prior to 2018, Crowley had not even faced a primary since 2004, years before his 28-year-old opponent was even eligible to vote.
The upset was compared by observers to the shock defeat of Eric Cantor, the number two House Republican, to a Tea Party candidate, David Brat, in 2014. Cantor’s defeat stopped any momentum for Republicans in Congress on immigration reform. It also helped to create the hard-right House Freedom Caucus and drive out the former speaker John Boehner.
Pelosi, who is under pressure to step aside and pave the way for a new generation, insisted the win for the left of the party was not representative of a wider trend.
Pelosi said: “They made a choice in one district. The fact that in a very progressive district in New York, it went more progressive … is about that district. It is not to be viewed as something that stands for anything else.”
Asked if Democratic leadership should be more reflective of a party that is increasingly diverse, progressive and young, Pelosi replied: “I’m female, I’m progressive – so what’s your problem? Two out of three ain’t bad.”
Ocasio-Cortez ran on an unapologetically left wing platform that included a federal jobs guarantee program and abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the agency responsible for border enforcement. The Puerto Rican American also benefited from the changing demographics of a district with a growing Hispanic population and attacked Crowley for his ties to Wall Street, accusing him of being out of touch with his increasingly diverse district.
She ran on a platform of universal healthcare, a federal jobs guarantee program and abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice), the agency responsible for border enforcement. Like Sanders, she shunned corporate donations and attacked her opponent’s ties to Wall Street, accusing him of being out of touch with his increasingly diverse district.
“I think a lot of working-class Americans and voters here have been waiting for an unapologetic champion for economic, social and racial dignity in the United States,” Ocasio-Cortez told CBS. “And we provided a very direct message, a very clear message.”
Speaking in the Oval Office on Wednesday, Donald Trump weighed in on the result, taking shots at the Democratic incumbent: “For Crowley to lose that election was a shocker. I was surprised.” Trump added: “I think he probably took it for granted. I can’t say that I’m disappointed because I was never a big fan. But he lost his election, he probably shouldn’t have lost his election.”
Victories for progressives
In Maryland, Ben Jealous, the former president of the NAACP, won the Democratic primary for governor against the Prince George’s county executive, Rushern Baker. Jealous ran as an ardent liberal and touted national supporters such as Bernie Sanders as he called for free college tuition and marijuana legalization. Baker ran as a mainstream Democrat with a host of local establishment endorsements. Jealous will face the incumbent Republican Larry Hogan in November.
In Colorado, congressman Jared Polis won the primary for governor. Polis ran on a leftwing platform, including single-payer healthcare. He will face off against the Republican Walker Stapleton, a member of the Bush political dynasty, in November.
Two Republican candidates endorsed by Donald Trump also held off primary challengers Tuesday night.
On Staten Island, the former congressman Michael Grimm failed in his comeback attempt against the incumbent Dan Donovan. Donovan, a comparative moderate, received Trump’s endorsement as part of an effort by Republicans to keep themselves from making a seat that Obama won in 2012 even more vulnerable in the midterms.
In South Carolina, just one day after Donald Trump appeared on his behalf at a raucous rally, Governor Henry McMaster pulled off a narrow victory against the businessman John Warren in the runoff for the Republican gubernatorial nomination.
McMaster will face the Democratic state representative James Smith in the November election.
#Pakistan - NAB seeks police help for producing Shehbaz Sharif
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Wednesday sought help from the police for producing Shehbaz Sharif before NAB Lahore in the Saaf Paani case, a private TV channel reported.
Shehbaz has been summoned on July 5 to appear before the accountability watchdog. NAB reached out to the Lahore capital city police officer and directed the relevant authorities to ensure that Shehbaz appears before the bureau. NAB will also direct the SHO concerned to submit a report of the notice served to Shehbaz. The report will be submitted before July 4 with details of Shehbaz’s appearance and delivery of notice. The notice will be sent to Shehbaz’s official address in Model Town.
On Monday NAB arrested Engineer Qamarul Islam Raja – former chairman of Punjab government’s Saaf Pani Company – for his alleged role in awarding contracts to ‘favourites’. He is also the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) pick in the general elections against the party’s disgruntled leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan from Rawalpindi’s NA-59 constituency. Interestingly, the arrest took place within 24 hours of Raja’s nomination as the PML-N candidate for NA-59 and the PP-10 constituencies of Rawalpindi.
Meanwhile, PML-N’s former finance minister Miftah Ismail has been summoned by NAB Karachi on July 5. Senator Rubina Khalid was summoned on Wednesday at NAB Rawalpindi. The bureau has authorised complaint verification against Senator Rana Mehmoodul Hassan for having accumulated assets beyond known sources of income.
https://dailytimes.com.pk/259148/nab-seeks-police-help-for-producing-shehbaz-sharif/
Pakistan Army’s Graduation from Military Coups to “Judicial Coups”
By Dr Subhash Kapila
Published: 2017
Published: 2017
Pakistan Army yet again succeeded in overturning the strong electoral mandate with which PM Nawaz Sharif rode into power for the third time in 2013 and this time by a “Judicial Coup” with a complicit Supreme Court Judiciary.
The Pakistan Army has moved away from its traditional military coups for regime changes of its elected Prime Ministers to ‘soft political coups ‘attempted by the previous Pak Army Chief General Raheel Sharif, and in 2017 finally succeeded in displacing PM Nawaz Sharif through a “Judicial Coup” with full complicity of Pakistan’s Supreme Court Judiciary and Pakistan’s pretender for Prime Ministership Imran Khan who is widely believed to be a stool pigeon of the Pakistan Army military hierarchy and the ISI.
The above was foreseen presciently by noted Indian Columnist and policy analyst, M.D. Nalapat who had noted this in his writings in the Indian media organ ‘Sunday Guardian’ of 16 November 2016 wherein he noted that: “Analysts in key countries who are engaged in tracking developments in Pakistan warn that General Headquarters, Rawalpindi has initiated a plan to remove Prime Minister Nawaz before middle of 2017. Instead of a Musharraf-style military coup this time around the planning is for Pakistan’s Supreme Court to perform the (not very difficult) task of finding Nawaz Sharif guilty of corruption and initiating his prosecution. The grounds given will be the Panama Papers revelations along with fresh evidence gathered by GHQ Rawalpindi, military intelligence authorities including undeclared assets in the United States and Canada”.
Pakistan Army’s HQ, Rawalpindi, script has panned out as scripted with a compliant Pakistan Supreme Court Judiciary as a willing accomplice.
The case and implicit charges of complicity of Pakistan’s Supreme Court Judiciary stand articulated by Pakistan’s noted Human Rights activist and lawyer, Asma Jahangir who has commented scathingly on this whole process of judicial fudge-up to remove PM Nawaz Sharif from office. The main charges made by her against the Pakistan Supreme Court Judiciary are as follows: (1) JIT report was an investigation report by an agency. Veracity is still to be proven (2) Unprecedented for a JIT to include ISI and Military Intelligence officers as members of JIT investigating allegations against the Prime Minister (3) Investigation report is not a verdict.
Asma Jahangir pointedly observed that Panama Papers included names of many other Pakistanis. Why have they not been included in the ambit of JIT investigations which focussed on PM Nawaz only? More pointedly, Asma Jahangir notes that why did Pakistan’s Supreme Court not proceed against PM Nawaz Sharif as long as he was seen close to the Pakistan Army GHQ and why now when Pakistan Army GHQ perceives that Nawaz Sharif was not toeing the Pakistan Army GHQ line? Could complicity of Pakistan Supreme Court Judiciary with Pakistan Army GHQ need to be proven further?
Observers have pointed out that ousting of Pakistani Prime Ministers by judicial intervention is becoming a trend and cited past such judicial interventions of unseating PM Gilani (2008-12) and PM Raja Pervez (2013-13).
The New York Times commenting on PM Nawaz Sharif’s ouster last week observed that Pakistan’s Supreme Court legalised three military coups in the past in 1958, 1977 and 1999 under the dubious pretext of the “Doctrine of Necessity”. In another stirring indictment of Pakistan Supreme Court Judiciary commented that: “The empowered judges have become media-courting populists and having typically joined forces with the military by using allegations of corruption against disobedient prime ministers.”
It was also observed that no Supreme Court Judge has ever proceeded against Pakistan Army generals for Human Rights violations or on corruption allegations.
The ouster of PM Nawaz by a judicial coup would certainly impact the internal dynamics of Pakistan’s political landscape. In an ‘Opinion ‘article in the English Daily ‘The Independent’ it has been observed that “For a State that has been dominated by the military throughout its 70 years of existence, and where every military coup has been sanctioned by the judiciary,, yet another premature dismissal of an elected leader, even if on perfectly legal grounds —- could further tarnish the credibility of the civilian authority and reinforce the Army’s grip on the country’s fate”.
Crucially, there are two questions that hover in the analysis of PM Nawaz Sharif’s ouster by the Pakistan Army through the instrument of a ‘Judicial Coup” by a complicit and compliant Supreme Court Judiciary. The first is why has the Pakistan Army struck now when there was hardly a year for PM Nawaz Sharif’s five year tenure to have ended—the fist by any Pakistani Prime Minister? Secondly, where did the external stimulus come from for the Pakistan Army regime-change impulse at this juncture?
Pakistan Army’s intense dislike for PM Nawaz Sharif and the political direction that he wanted to give to Pakistani foreign policies are well-known and well-discussed in media analyses. Suffice it to say, that the Pakistan Army was deadly against PM Nawaz Sharif’s soft line approaches to India and the Kashmir issue and also Afghanistan. This clashed with Pakistan Army’s strategies. Also was the Pakistan Army’s displeasure with PM Nawaz Sharif not letting General Musharraf off the legal straightjacket as desired by the Pak Army?
In terms of external stimulus for regime change in Pakistan, it can be logically analysed that this stimulus has come in a big way from China. China openly has been calling for an orderly transfer of power. But the main question, pray may I ask is the transfer of power to whom?
Relative to the CPEC, while Pakistan’s civilian leadership including PM Nawaz Sharif, himself as a good businessman, were well-disposed to the CPEC but China was intensely concerned that with the deteriorating law and order situation in Baluchistan and Gilgit-Baltistan could hit its CPEC massive investments and CPEC could be derailed. The Pakistan Army in a much stronger driver’s mode in Pakistan’s affairs was seen by China as the preferred insurance to protect its CPEC investments. This again has to be viewed in the backdrop of the growing resentment in Pakistani civilian circles of the Pakistani wisdom of joining and facilitating the CPEC to please China. Some have questioned the Army’s commitment unreservedly.
China however was not in favour of an outright direct military coup which could in contemporary circumstances have possibly invited economic sanctions from the US and the West besides stringent criticism of China already under attack on its complicity over the North Korea missile tests issue.
A Pakistan Army GHQ engineered “Judicial Coup” was seen by China as a no-cost low-cost option especially it could be passed-of as yet another Pak Army-Supreme Court Judiciary complicity traditional pattern.
Pakistan seems set for yet another one year of political turmoil till the My2018 General Elections. Who knows that the Pakistan Army GHQ could prolong Pakistan’s political turbulence by directly stepping-in on its traditional pretexts of restoring law and order? Logically, vociferous protests and demonstrations by Sharif’s supporters to bring Pakistan Army’s accomplice Imran Khan also for legal trial over similar allegations could rock Pakistan’s domestic scene.
So while China gains it is the United States and India as the other pivotal powers with a stake in South Asia peace and security that would be significantly impacted by Pakistani turmoil. While India is accustomed and conditioned to Pakistan’s turmoil, the danger is that the United States should not stumble again into adopting Pakistan-appeasement policies.
Concluding, perceptionaly, it is not Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif who stands guilty today but the unholy nexus and complicity of Pakistan’s Supreme Court Judiciary with Pakistan Army GHQ in derailing Pakistan’s nascent democracy. Ironically the Pakistan masses ELECTED LEADERS are always rejected by the Pakistan Army GHQ-Supreme Court nexus through dubious “Judicial Coups”.
Pakistan’s July General Elections – Analysis
By Dr Subhash Kapila
Pakistan’s General Elections are scheduled for mid-July 2018 but the perspectives on it remain clouded in that in the run-up what has become abundantly clear is that the Pakistan Army-Supreme Court Chief Justice Combine carried out a “Judicial Coup” and thereby attempting scripting the outcome by pre-empting the return to power of Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif by an unprecedented verdict of his ‘Disqualification for Life.”
Reinforcing the above contention, Pakistan’s politically hyper-activist Supreme Court Chief Justice Saqib Nasir passed orders that all remaining appeals of Former PM Nawaz Sharif be decided upon before the General Elections. Implicit in such an order was the over-drive to convict Nawaz Sharif before the General Elections are held.
Before a further analysis of perspectives of Pakistan General Elections 2018 is attempted what needs to be flagged is that the future of Pakistan’s democracy is at stake. The Pakistan Army got the jitters at the prospect of Former PM Nawaz Sharif completing a full five year term in office. Fortunately, the Pakistan Army had in place a Supreme Court Chief Justice with identical aims and the result was not only the unseating of the Prime Minister but also his ‘Disqualification for Life”. That prompted my Paper in Julyn2017 entitled “Pakistan Army Graduates from Military Coups to “Judicial Coups”. The last named term thereafter entered public discourse.
Also needs to be flagged is the fact that how long can the Pakistan Army continue to dominate civil-military relations in Pakistan and determine the course of Pakistan’s political destiny? Pakistan General Elections 2018 do not foretell that a change is around the corner. Till that political dawn materialises Pakistan’s political dynamics will see no change.
Pakistan’s first military dictator initiated the concept of “Guided Democracy” for Pakistan and the Pakistan Army is intent on a continuance of its divine right to ‘Guide Pakistan’s Political Destiny.” It is a pity that whatever civil society that exists in Pakistan could not galvanise the Pakistanis- at- large to overturn this self-proclaimed dubious role.
Contextually, the above overhang needed to be highlighted before attempting to explore the relevant perspectives that emerge in the confused and complex political dynamics at play on Pakistan’s domestic scene. The above overhang generates a number of political developments that could likely determine the final outcome of Pakistan’s General Elections in July 2018.
With the new Pakistan Army-Judiciary Combine at play in Pakistan for last couple of months and which seems determined not only to prevent the return to power of Former PM Nawaz Sharif but also to return to power of Pakistan Muslim League-N to power, this has spawned two political developments. The Army-Judiciary Combine has signalled that the favoured Establishment’s Political Party is Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e Insaaf Party (PTI).
Pakistan Army has an intense dislike for Former PM Nawaz Sharif for two reasons and what it perceives is that Nawaz Sharif is inclined to encroach on Pakistan Army’s traditional turf of foreign policy towards India and changing existing equations in civil- military relations. Reconciliation with India and development of friendly relations with India has been in the past the electoral plank of Nawaz Sharif.
In Pakistan’s traditional ‘Lota Politics’(defections) this has magnetised the PTI as the natural choice for all defectors from PML-N willing to cross-over to the perceived favourite political party of the Establishment. However, the number of such PML-N defectors is not too large. It mainly is composed of politicians of Southern Punjab wanting a separate State. On current indications, Former PM Nawaz Sharif and his PML-N party’s strongholds in Heartland Punjab seem to be intact.
Pakistani political analysts still root for the return to power of the PML-N as Imran Khan’s PTI has not been able to make major inroads in Heartland Punjab. The PPP also does not seem to have been able to make a sizeable political presence in Heartland Punjab. It is Punjab as the majority province that determines who will form the civilian government in Islamabad.
If that be so, then what becomes debatable is whether the political script choreographed by the Pakistan Army-Supreme Court Judiciary Combine to prevent the return to power of PML-N would hold good or unravel? It can only hold good if the Establishment resorts to wholesale rigging. The Establishment in such an eventuality would have to run the gauntlet of the Pakistani media-watch and international observers.
Moving to the personal popularity of the political leaders of the three major Pakistani political parties former PML-N PM Nawaz still leads over PPP’s Zardari and PTI’s Imran Khan, despite the Pakistan Supreme Court’s political disqualification. Zardari may have been President of Pakistan in earlier years but has no widespread political support in Pakistan. The same applies to Imran Khan.
Perceptionaly, Former PM Nawaz Sharif being prosecuted on flimsy grounds by the Supreme Court emerges as a political leader grievously wronged by the Establishment and hence will be seen as a ‘political martyr’. How much political capital accrues to Nawaz Sharif because of the foregoing will become evident only in end-July 2018.
Because of the Ramzan period which ended last week hectic political activity was not noticeable, but now it can be expected to pick up and also become acrimonious because of the high stakes involved for all major political parties and moreso for the Pakistani Establishment whose single-point agenda has been to prevent the return to power of PML-N conscious of the fact that even with Nawaz Sharif politically disqualified, he would still continue to be the Mentor-in-Chief of the PML-N alternatively led by his brother Shahbaz Sharif.
Political analysts in Pakistan are worried that voter turn-out in General Elections 2018 may not be all that high because of the July weather and maybe possible heavy rains. In Punjab this could affect the PML-N traditional vote banks. But the reverse side of this aspect could also be a reality that Pakistani voters in Punjab may turn out in larger numbers impelled by the belief that Nawaz Sharif has been wronged by a politically-activist Chief Justice of Supreme Court straying into Pakistan’s political minefields perceptionaly his own or at the behest of the Pakistan Army.
Pakistan’s General Elections are also susceptible to influences of major external powers that may not directly intervene to determine the outcome of the elections but resort to other means still to protect their national interest. The United States and China have the biggest stakes in the outcome of Pakistan General Elections 2018. The United States present interest in Pakistan is in relation to US military presence in Afghanistan where the Pakistan Army is the major disruptive factor. China has major strategic investments in Pakistan far outweighing those of the United States. China has effectively colonised Pakistan today.
Both the United States and China prefer to deal with the Pakistan Army in power or a political party enjoying the support of the Pakistan Army. But it cannot be forgotten that China’s prestigious $ 64 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor was concluded with PML-N Government in power headed by Former PM Nawaz Sharif.
Not visible on the electoral scene in Pakistan with just a month to go for General Elections 2018 is heated and hectic election campaigneering. Many reasons contribute towards this phenomenon. In the recent past the Pakistan Establishment has clamped down hard on media personalities including forced disappearances of journalists, including women. Within Pakistan, it is being speculated that the Establishment has thrown many subtle hints that the PML-N should not be given prominence in coverage.
The other plausible reason could be a sense of weary resignation within Pakistan that the election outcome is a foregone conclusion in that the Pakistan Army-Supreme Court Judiciary Combine will ultimately have is way according to their scripted version.
There is another scenario in which the Pakistan Punjab electorate unmindful of the Establishment’s preferences votes back PML-N to power both in Punjab and in Islamabad. What would then be GHQ Rawalpindi’s options? Accept the verdict or engineer another constitutional breakdown?
In Conclusion, what emerges from the above perspectives is that Pakistan’s political landscape will remain clouded not only in the run-up to General Elections2018 but possibly shortly thereafter. In the overall analysis, the final outcome of Pakistan’s General Elections is not determined by the verdict of the ballot boxes but by Pakistan Army’s jackboots and regrettably in 2018 even by the tilted scales of Justice of Pakistan’s highest Judiciary in the persona of the politically activist Chief Justice of Pakistan Supreme Court.
#Pakistan - #PPP - ‘Sindh Nahi Darbaari Ka’, Bilawal reacts to Shahbaz’s statement over Sindh
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal BhuttoZardari has strongly reacted to PMLN President Shahbaz Sharif’s election campaign in Karachi, saying ‘Vote Mangnay Niklay Hein–Rasta Tak Pata Nahi Liyari Ka” (They came here to ask for vote even they don’t know the route to Lyari).
Bilawal took to twitter after Shahbaz Sharif kick started election campaign in Karachi here Tuesday. PPP Chairman said “Mazdoor Ka Hay Haari Ka —Sindh Nahi Darbaari Ka’ (Sindh does not belongs to sycophant, it belongs to peasants and labourers)
Upon his arrival in Karachi on Monday to kick start his election campaign, Sharif avowed to strive for progress and affluence for the metropolis.
“We will make Karachi better than Lahore if given a chance. You are free to compare our performance with that of our competitors,” Shahbaz said.
http://www.thesindhtimes.com/sindh/06/sindh-nahi-darbaari-ka-bilawal-reacts-shahbazs-statement-sindh/
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