Wednesday, July 3, 2019
Section 144 will hamper elections in erstwhile tribal areas: PPP
The Pakistan Peoples Party on Monday took up the matter of section 144 imposed in the erstwhile tribal districts ahead of the elections in July with the chief election commissioner saying that the move will ‘hamper the polls’.Party Secretary General Farhatullah Babar, in a written letter, stated that imposing section 144 will hamper free and fair elections on July 20.
“Access to voters through public meetings by candidates and their parties’ leaders is of paramount importance to present to the people alternate political narratives that can change their lives,” it underscored.
PPP leader urged that the executive authorities be directed to “refrain from imposing section 144 or otherwise banning entry” to outsiders in the tribal areas.ECP postponed elections on 16 provincial assembly seats for the newly-merged tribal districts in the wake of threat of terrorist attacks from across the border.
The voting was originally scheduled for July 2. A meeting, chaired by Chief Election Commissioner Sardar Mohammad Raza at the Election Commission Secretariat, decided that the polling will now take place on July 20 on the request of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government.
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2003753/1-section-144-will-hamper-elections-erstwhile-tribal-areas-ppp/
Pakistan's Selected PM - Back to horse-trading
Zahid Hussain
IMRAN Khan seems to be doing everything that he once claimed he was fighting against, including political horse-trading that he had earlier condemned as anathema to democracy. A new wave of arrests has given rise to allegations that his government is carrying out a political witch-hunt. Most ominous is the shrinking space for freedom of expression.
Few leaders have seen such a steep fall from a high pedestal within months of coming to power. A panic-stricken prime minister seems to have lost all sense of proportion. His most recent harangue in the National Assembly and his midnight address to the nation leave one wondering about his capabilities when it comes to navigating the country through the present financial and political morass. It’s a Greek tragedy unfolding.
It was reminiscent of the sordid game that has long plagued Pakistani politics when the prime minister recently met some opposition legislators reportedly willing to cross the floor. A federal minister claims there were many more from Punjab waiting in line to shift their political allegiance.
Khan’s ‘Wasim Akram-plus’ seems to have finally blossomed into a fine craftsman engineering defections within the opposition ranks. Meanwhile, a dexterous provincial governor through a ‘magic wand’ is said to have won enough numbers to change the PPP government in Sindh. “It’s a matter of time when the PTI will form the government in the province,” boasted a federal minister.
Neither horse-trading nor political witch-hunts can provide stability to the government.
What was unholy in the past has now been declared kosher under the rule of a self-proclaimed crusader against corruption. It’s certainly not awakening conscience that compels the opposition members to revolt against their ‘corrupt’ party leaders.Those of us who are familiar with our sleazy political culture know well how political engineering is done. There is no difference between the infamous ‘Changa Manga’ episode and the ‘Banigala’ meeting though the mechanics may vary. It is so pathetic to see PTI ministers hailing the turncoats selling their political loyalty. It is not opportunism or monetary incentive alone that lures opposition members to the ruling party; security agencies too are often instrumental in securing defections. Their footprint has been too obvious in the latest political manoeuvring. The main objective is to prop up a weak coalition in the face of an increasingly aggressive opposition.Although last week’s gathering of opposition parties has not been able to come up with any concrete plan that could threaten the government, it has pressed the panic button in PTI ranks. The smooth passage of the budget has not helped calm Khan’s anxiety.There was nothing in his concluding speech at the budget session of the National Assembly that could raise public confidence in the government trying to deal with the worst financial crisis the country has faced in recent times. It was the same old talk of going after ‘thieves who left the country badly in debt’. In fact, Khan’s threats of fixing the opposition has made the credibility of the ongoing accountability more questionable.
Most disconcerting is the arrest of a senior opposition MNA for allegedly carrying a large quantity of heroin.
He has also been charged for his alleged association with some banned sectarian groups. Shocking indeed. The timing of the arrest also makes the case more dubious. It reminds us of instances when political leaders were booked for ‘stealing buffalos’. Of course, drug charges are much more serious and under Pakistani law carry the death penalty. It is the first case of its kind involving a senior political leader.Although the ANF comes under the federal government, much of its staff comes from the army and is headed by a major general. Notwithstanding whether or not the charges are credible, the arrest of a senior political leader may drag the institution into controversy. It’s not good for the image of the security establishment that is already in the eye of the storm for the increasingly high political profile of its leadership and its media wing.Equally disturbing is the unannounced censorship of the media and growing restrictions on freedom of expression. Taking TV programmes off air without providing a sound reason illustrates the stifling of dissenting voices. Intriguingly, TV channels are not supposed to telecast interviews of detained political leaders facing graft charges while there is no bar on them under the law to speak in parliament.
Such draconian measures do not bode well for the democratic process. It is a sign of the government’s weakness and exposes its lack of confidence in handling the opposition. While in opposition, Imran Khan had benefited most from the free media but now he is afraid of it.
More troubling is that the government maintains it has nothing to do with the press curbs. Irrespective of who is doing it, it is ultimately the responsibility of the government to ensure media freedom. It is extremely dangerous to leave it to security agencies to run the affairs of the state.One lesson of history that Khan should have learnt is that neither horse-trading nor political witch-hunts can provide stability to the government. It is a siege mentality that he needs to break for his own good. Facing a vociferous opposition is also part of the democratic political process.It is apparent that the opposition is neither in a position nor is seeking to overthrow the government. But by his confrontational politics, the prime minister has made his government extremely unstable and is making it increasingly dependent on security agencies.
These are indeed extremely difficult times for the country that is facing serious financial crises and internal and external security challenges. Worsening political instability could make it more difficult to meet these challenges. Instead of resorting to political gamesmanship for short-term gains, the government needs to keep in view the country’s long-term interests.
Pakistan’s 2020 Perspectives Dismally Suggest ‘Failed State’ Syndrome – OpEd
By Dr Subhash Kapila
Pakistan figured repetitively in the last two decades as a ‘Failed State’ mired in economic bankruptcy and dysfunctional political governance but was repeatedly bailed out committedly earlier by United States and now China with more economic colonisation impulses than commitment. On the verge of 2020, Pakistan once again is tottering on economic bankruptcy and likelihood of intensification of political turbulence.
Before an analysis is attempted, it is imperative to highlight that the sole reason for Pakistan’s economic and political woes is the vice-like stranglehold that Pakistan Army exercises on the governance of Pakistan and being the root cause of Pakistan’s economic bankruptcy by misappropriating the lion’s share of Pakistan’s limited budget for its nuclear weapons and missiles arsenal, running an economic industrial empire contributing nothing to Pakistan’s national budget and illegal funds for spawning Islamic Jihadi terrorist groups used against India and Afghanistan.
Pakistan thus stands starved for badly needed financial resources for the social and economic upliftment of its present 210 million Muslims for whose supposed upliftment Pakistan was created with bloodshed as a Nation State. Nearing 2020, Pakistan as a Nation State seems headed once again towards being a ‘Failed State’.
In the last two decades, Pakistan was virtually for the first decade under direct Pakistan Army military rule and in the second decade Pakistan Army pre-empted PML-N PM Nawaz Sharif from completing his full second consecutive term. Pakistan Army then contrived a ‘Judicial Coup’ with once again an obliging Chief Justice of Pakistan to pave the way for fresh elections to install the Prime Minister of its choice in 2018 in the person of PM Imran.
PM Imran Khan raised high hopes within a tired Pakistan populace that he would usher-in a New Pakistan or as he stated in his election campaigning a “Naya Pakistan’. PM Imran Khan peering towards 2020 would be sorely perplexed that he would not be able to deliver on his various election pledges of social and economic transformation. And therein lays the rub in terms of dismal 2020 perspectives hovering over Pakistan headed towards ‘State Failure’ once again.
The politico-economic challenges that PM Imran Khan and the dilemmas confronting him stand reflected in a Column in the Pakistan English Daily DAWN some months back by Dr Niaz Mustafa whose selected excerpts are reproduced below:
- ‘The near impossibility of anyone being able to rule Pakistan may undermine this regime too. The PTI faces a unique double jeopardy. Its top leaders are middle class but it has co-opted many traditional elites too”.
- “It (PTI) is the only party that must perform the impossible task of satisfying the woolly desires for rapid change of the merit-based middle class and the patronage needs of traditional elites and poor clients. It is almost doomed if it does or doesn’t. If it tries reforms, it pleases middle class but angers its traditional allies.”
- “Since reforms will likely fail given entrenched elite power and the PTI low capacity, it may end up irking all. If it does not treat the current economic ills, IT WILL CREATE A MELTDOWN.”
- “But some say it’s poetic justice and just penance for it (PTI) unseating the PML-N via dubious polls. So POLITICAL INSTABILITYWILL LIKELY PERSIST.’
Pakistan in 2020 is also likely to witness prolonged political instability not only because of its poor economic health and economic future but also because PM Imran Khan in deference to Pakistan Army dictates who contrived his succession as Prime Minister of Pakistan has churned up the political turbulence within Pakistan by a witch-hunt against the two most powerful political clans of Pakistan, namely the PML-N and the PPP by arrests of their leaders on corruption charges. As if to say that all the Generals of Pakistan Army, both serving and retired, are above board on corruption.
The above political witch-hunt of Opposition leaders will likely lead to coalescing of the PML-N and PPP to jointly oppose PM Imran Khan’s Pakistan Army dictated political witch-hunt and unleash political protests intensifying and stormy political turbulence.
PM Imran Khan foreclosed his policy options and flexibility by fully gravitating towards China and dispensing with United States as patron saviour of Pakistan for decades. His political utterances in the run-up towards election as PM were decidedly anti American possibly dictated by Pakistan Army. PM Imran Khan during his election campaign was favoured recipient of Chinese Ambassador in Pakistan interactions. So much so, that when economic bankruptcy was staring in his Government’s face PM Imran Khan asserted he would not request IMF for bailout loans.
In terms of 2020 economic perspectives the overall analysis suggests a depressing picture of Pakistan’s economic future. Pakistan’s balance of payments position, FDI flows being virtually zero and industrial activity not worth the name Pakistan is mired in 2019 in economic distress and possibly insolvency. Is external debt servicing of exorbitant loans from China is staggering. Its income tax base is minimal with some reports suggesting that hardly 1% of Pakistani population pays income tax. Investor confidence on Pakistan is very low because of the gloomy economic future and political instability hovering over Pakistan.
Initially, China, Saudi Arabia, UAE and now Qatar have pitched in with loans of about 2-4 billion dollars each. That inflow is still meagre to bail out Pakistan financially. Swallowing his own pride, the Imran Government finally turned to IMF for sizeable double figure bailout loans. The IMF has also laid down some very hard stipulations for Pakistan to meet before it advances the loans. The major one being Pakistan must provide full details of its loans from China and written guarantees that IMF bailout loans would not be used for servicing outstanding loans to China.
Another serious factor that has cropped up is that IMF loans may not be forthcoming to Pakistan unless it fully complies with FATF stipulations on curbing terrorism from its safe havens.
Economically, the picture is depressingly pessimistic for Pakistan because China is already paying the price globally for its strategic sustaining of Pakistan and with no return on its economic investments primarily on the CPEC. CPEC within Pakistan is facing sabotage threats adding to China’s concerns. Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Monarchies cannot be expected to unendingly bestow financial munificence on Pakistan with dismal future perspectives.
With such dismal perspectives on Pakistan 2020 the crucial question that crops up is that to pre-empt this meltdown and State Failure can Pakistan Army once again reinvent its strategic utility for the United States and much to the dislike of PM Imran Khan gravitate back wholly towards the United States? If developments unfold this way what will be the reaction of China to being stabbed in the back by Pakistan and how does it up stick from Pakistan with billions of dollars sunk in CPEC?
Perplexing questions, to say the least but yet need to be assessed and answers hazarded. The only way Pakistan can reinvent its strategic utility for the United States is to collaborate with United States on containment of Iran. This will suit Saudi Arabia also. But will Pakistan risk this venture?
China will not go down without a stiff fight for up-sticking from Pakistan after affecting a colonial hold over Pakistan and sinking billions of dollars in CPEC and Pakistan’s nuclear projects. China’s singular advantage is that it has the most powerful ally in Pakistan Army Generals whom China has assiduously nurtured. Pakistan Army Generals have not forgiven the United States for their severe loss of reputation and image within Pakistan in the wake of US Special Forces liquidating Osama bin Laden in the midst of Pakistan Army’s most formidable garrison of Abbottabad.
The global community must no longer be blackmailed by Pakistan Army Generals that in case of Pakistan State Failure and meltdown regional stability will be endangered by Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal. If United States is attempting denuclearisation of North Korea why cannot the United States and the West attempt denuclearisation of Pakistan?
Concluding, the three main conclusions that emerge from the foregoing analysis on Pakistan’s 2020 dismal perspectives suggest that Pakistan is headed in 2020 towards ECONOMIC MELTDOWN.POLITICAL INSTABILITY and LIKELY STATE FAILURE—something on which Major Powers should deliberate and also on the consequences.
Why Pakistan’s Shias are disappearing and going into ‘small, dark cells’
FAWAD HASAN
Between 120 and 160 Pakistani Shias were 'detained' and reported 'missing' in the past several years. Many were taken away on their return from Iran, Iraq or Syria.
On the morning of 22 January 2017, residents of Orangi Town in Pakistan were woken up by the engine sounds of double cab vehicles entering the area. Security personnel were looking for young men, in this low-income settlement, who had returned from Syria.
They found Syed Arif Hussain, a 28-year-old Shia, who had come back from a pilgrimage to the Sayyidah Zaynab shrine in Damascus. Syed, a physiotherapist by profession, was led away by a dozen armed men, even as his 80-year-old mother Shamim Ara kept begging them to tell her where he was being taken or what allegations were against him. Two years since, he hasn’t returned home.
Syed is one among 120-160 Pakistani Shias who were ‘detained’ and subsequently reported ‘missing’ in the past several years. Many were taken away on their return from Iran, Iraq or Syria.
“No one is telling us where he is. Had I known that the price of visiting Bibi’s shrine would be this, I wouldn’t have let him go. All I have been doing in the past two years is take part in protests against such disappearances. They have labelled Syed a terrorist. But he cannot even look at the sacrifice of animals during Eid ul Adha,” said Ara.
Kin of missing persons belonging to the Shia community had staged a month-long protest in front of President Arif Alvi’s residence in Karachi’s Muhammad Ali Society on 28 April but to little effect.
On 18 June, 64-year-old Allah Dino was arrested from Karachi airport when he had returned from Karbala in Iraq. He remains missing to this date. Hussain Ahmed Hussaini, a 23-year-old who was reported missing for several months was recovered in May only to be sent to jail. His mother passed away on 19 June.
There have been reports of these men being detained and kept inside torture cells but the government has been tight-lipped about it. In an interview to BBC, a Shia man, who did not wish to be identified, had said how he was kept in a “small, dark cell”, “badly tortured” and given electric shocks by security services. He also said how he was repeatedly interrogated about the Zainabiyoun Brigade — a secret militia in Syria which is thought to be fighting on behalf of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
Shia activist Samar Abbas, who is known to be critical of Pakistan’s military establishment, was similarly taken away in January 2017 and held for 14 months. He, along with a few other bloggers, was released after a public outcry post March 2018. Abbas’ brother-in-law (name not known to ThePrint) was also detained and is still reported to be missing.
“They officials kept asking if I had taken money from Iran and was involved in sending young Shia men to battlefields in Syria. It took 14 months for me to prove that I was innocent,” Abbas said.
Bilawal terms Rana Sanaullah’s arrest ‘attempt at political victimisation’
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairperson Bilawal BhuttoZardari on Monday termed Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Rana Sanaullah’s arrest earlier today a “desperate attempt at political victimization”.
In a tweet, Bilawal said: “Arrest of President Punjab PMLN by Anti-Narcotics force is obviously desperate attempt at political victimization.
“Sanaullah has been a vociferous critic of PPP in the past & is currently one of the most vocal critics of the regime. Arrests expose govts weakness & desperation.”
Earlier in the day, Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) officials confirmed to Geo News that the anti-drug body had arrested Sanaullah, a member of the National Assembly (MNA) and president of the PML-N’s Punjab wing.
Sanaullah is said to have been arrested in a drug-related case. ANF officials told Geo News the arrest took place near Sukheke while the senior PML-N politician was reportedly travelling from Lahore to Faisalabad.