Tuesday, December 31, 2019
#Pakistan - #PPP; From Bhutto to Bilawal Bhutto
Khalid Mahmood Rasool
The journey of democracy in Pakistan has never been smooth. Turmoil and tremors have been the hallmark of Pakistani politics causing ripples of uncertainty, fear of political extinction and a continued fight for an uninterrupted democratic process. Few political parties could hold substantial ground to stay relevant in all seasons of politics like Peoples Party of Pakistan (PPP) which proved probably the most resilient one in the country’s political arena. As PPP is undergoing a transition to pass the reigns of its leadership to 3rd generation while struggling to redefine its relevance to national politics, the country’s own power dynamics are passing through a paradigm shift as well.
It was December 27th in the year 2007 that Benazir Bhutto fell victim to the brutal terror attack at Liaqat Bagh, Rawalpindi. After eight years in exile, raising three children in hard and harsh exiled life and fighting for her political comeback, Benazir Bhutto finally managed to return to Pakistan to lead her party in the forthcoming election. Her charisma rekindled her party’s hopes to turn the tides with a more matured and energetic persona of iconic Benazir Bhutto. But, sadly nature had different plans for her.
The ghost of Liaqat Bagh struck again; she fell to the same fate as of Liaqat Ali Khan. Benazir Bhutto met with the same fate; lost her life but the mystery of her assassination still shrouds till to date. With the demise of Benazir Bhutto ended the exclusive bloodline legacy of Bhutto family. Pakistan People’s Party was up for a new transition; a paradigm shift occurred in leadership and its outfit.
Zulifqar Ali Bhutto has left behind a legacy that has inspired his followers until today. He happened to be one of the most brilliant politicians of our time. He was equally most admired by many and most contentious for the rest of the people. His legacy of raising the common man issues as main political agenda; Roti, Kapra Aur Makan connected with millions of peasants and laborers who were hardly heard in electoral politics. Despite being one of the most divisive politicians and his tragic departure from the scene through judicial but contentious verdict, his pro-poor legacy has survived.
Benazir Bhutto emerged as political successor of her father. Repressive regime of Zia and all out efforts to marginalize the party had a severe toll on party’s ranks and cadres. She along with Nusrat Bhutto, her mother, withstood those harsh days. She picked up the piece of the party on her return to the country in 1986. She managed two stints as prime Minister but had all along to fight with so many abrasive and restraining forces leading to her dismissal twice. Her leadership style aside, the public goods delivery of her both tenures were marred by allegations of financial mismanagement and corruption. But all said done, she stood out as an outstanding successor of her father and had many admirers around the world for being first woman Prime Minister in Muslim world, well-educated and enlightened leader in a male dominated society and polity.
After her assassination, her children adopted the family name as Zardari Bhutto; announced by Asif Ali Zardari soon after the taking the reins of the party. The last and complete tenure of PPP in power is fresh in most the memories. The tenure was tainted by poor governance and allegations of corruption to that extent that party succumbed to losses in all provinces except in Sindh.
PPP is now in ruling Sindh uninterrupted since over 12 years. Still its politics draws more strength from its martyrs and less from its governance. Lately, removal of hundreds of thousands of recipients from Benazir Income Support fund for illegally extracting the benefits speaks volumes about a style of politics which largely is based on cronyism and buying loyalties at cost state coffers. Fake accounts saga has also exposed the web of cronies and plundering public sources.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari in now the new face the party; addressing a death anniversary rally at the same place where her mother lost her life twelve years ago. Since then, the world has changed a lot in Pakistan and around the world too . Political dynasties in South Asia have been fighting hard to reclaim lost glories of the past but many have ended in the wilderness of obscurity. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is at a historic juncture of family dynasty; which way he wants to move on would define his place in country’s politics. He would follow the tradition of clinging to sympathies attached with martyrs or carve out world of his own capable to deliver in a complex and changed world; the time would decide.
Bilawal wants 'farcical' NAB abolished as govt defends newly passed ordinance
Pakistan Peoples Party Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Sunday said that the recent promulgation of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Ordinance, 2019 was a tacit admission by the government that the corruption watchdog "is a farce" and should be "abolished".
Bilawal, in a tweet today, claimed that the ordinance was “proof that it agrees with President Zardari” that “NAB and the economy cannot run together”.
Latest NAB ordinance is proof even government agrees with President Zardari, NAB & our economy can’t run together. Instead of clearly biased efforts the government should work with opposition. do your job & legislate. #AbolishNAB, strengthen anti-corruption laws & end this farce.
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“Instead of clearly biased efforts, the government should work with opposition,” said the PPP chairperson, advising the government to do its "job and legislate".
The federal cabinet on Friday gave its approval to the NAB Ordinance, 2019, which was also approved by President Arif Alvi on the same day.
Under the ordinance, NAB will no longer be allowed to take action against government employees.
The proposed ordinance also states that the property of government employees cannot be frozen without a court order. Furthermore, if the accountability watchdog cannot complete an investigation against a suspect within three months, the accused will be entitled to bail.
In addition, NAB will now only be able to pursue corruption cases of Rs500 million and more.
Moreover, according to the new ordinance, NAB's jurisdiction over matters relating to tax, stock exchange, and IPOs has been curtailed.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan and building control authorities will be the sole authorities tasked to act on all such matters.
Pakistan just sentenced a Fulbright scholar to death on a fabricated blasphemy charge
By Eugene Chudnovsky
On Dec. 21, a Pakistani court sentenced the 33-year-old writer Junaid Hafeez to death on a fabricated charge of insulting the Holy Prophet. Earlier this year, Vice President Mike Pence, speaking at the Annual Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom in Washington, denounced the prosecution of Hafeez on unsubstantiated blasphemy charges.
This case is a grave threat to academic freedom — Hafeez is a scholar with a long record of academic accomplishment.
In 2009, Hafeez was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to study literature and theater in the United States, where he obtained a master’s degree. He returned to Bahauddin Zakariya University in Pakistan as a lecturer in 2011. Apart from teaching, he worked on English translations of Urdu documents, directed and acted in a few plays, and even appeared on television.
By 2013, Hafeez’s talents made him a leading contender for a permanent faculty position advertised by the English department. This was when his troubles started. His hiring was strongly opposed by an Islamist group that accused him of expressing liberal views on social media. The group initially sought to sabotage his candidacy in favor of Islamist candidates. When this failed, they accused Hafeez of blasphemy.
Such accusations, frequently used to settle disputes in Pakistan, have dire consequences.
Before 1980, blasphemy was punished by fines or, in extreme cases, by a few years in jail. Articles of the penal code that punish blasphemy by death were introduced between 1980 and 1986 by the Islamist ruler of Pakistan, General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq. They were praised by religious fanatics who often kill people accused of blasphemy inside prisons, on the way to trials, or even after acquittal.
In March 2013, Hafeez was arrested for supposedly violating a section of the Pakistan Penal Code criminalizing derogatory remarks about the Holy Prophet. His first lawyer abandoned him after receiving death threats. For a few months, nobody dared to take the case until Rashid Rehman, a lawyer with the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, agreed to defend Hafeez.
At the hearing held in April 2014, the prosecutor threatened Hafeez’s lawyer in front of the presiding judge. Rehman was told that he might not be around to participate in the next hearing. One month later, he was assassinated in his office by two armed men who were never found. Meanwhile, Hafeez was attacked by other prisoners and placed in solitary confinement, where he spent five and a half years before trial.
The loss of the second lawyer delayed the court proceedings. The case was transferred from one judge to another. Eight judges total were involved.
Additionally, the blasphemy charges against Hafeez led to his family being ostracized. His father lost his business, and the never-ending imprisonment of his eldest son took a hard toll on him. In 2017, he suffered a heart attack. After years in solitary confinement, Hafeez’s health deteriorated too.
Human rights organizations throughout the world demanded Hafeez’s release. After the news broke that the trial was near, hope grew that Hafeez would be acquitted. The brutality of the sentence delivered to a young Pakistani writer by the court in Multan came as a grim surprise to almost everybody.
Government lawyer Airaz Ali called it a “victory of truthfulness and righteousness.” Even more shocking was the jubilant reaction to the court’s decision by members of the government's prosecution team, who chanted “Allahu akbar” and distributed sweets to celebrate the sentence.
This is the same Pakistani government responsible for roughly 150 nuclear warheads. Their lack of respect for free speech poses a grave threat not just to dissidents in their country but to global peace and human rights.
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