Loud Thinking

Archive for the ‘Politics’ Category

Why Kashif Abbasi failed to remind the following verdict of the judge when Rana Sanaullah today said in his (8-9PM ARY News) program that road barriers at Minhaj Secretariat were illegal?

Quote:
“Justice Najfi also noted that the PAT workers had not fired a single bullet on the police and just pelted stones when attempts were being made to remove the barriers outside Minhaj Secretariat, which were completely legal thus the Punjab government’s action was “illegal”.”
Unquote.

Panacea for the ills of Pakistan..!

After 67 years, Pakistan is a more fragmented society than our forefathers could have ever imagined. The schism (division or disunion), is so intense that if immediate corrective steps are not taken, God forbid, this country may see even more turbulent times.

The writing on the wall is clear for all to read. The decadence of Pakistani society in every sphere of life, be it political, economic, educational, industrial, agricultural, religious, law and order or any other segment worth naming, is abysmal, to say the least.

Hardly, any day passes without reports of suicides committed by the poor due to the economic hardships. Children did not not die in dozens, but in scores, due to the measles outbreak and; strangely enough, no soul moved and not even a single person was held accountable.

Recently, hundreds of hundreds kids, women and men died in Thar area, just due to diseases and malnutrition, but our ministers and public representatives made sure to enjoy their feasts, right in the middle of the starving population of Thar. These beasts are more callous than the Changez Khan.

Maybe, we have one last chance to stem the rot, to unite the people and to give them a prescription, to rise again and re-build the nation from the ashes; because, for the overwhelming majority, a time is coming that the masses may will be forced to think: no life no nation.

The current frame work, under which the country is being run will not take Pakistan any forward, even if it is allowed to continue as such, for another 100 years. All small and big nations in our region and the world have overtaken us, in the basic fields of health, education, justice, law and order and food security.

It is high time that all stakeholders must wake up, as the nation is moving towards destruction and business as usual, can do no good for Pakistan; our survival is directly linked with the existence of our nationhood. Nationhood means, “the state or quality of having a status as a separate and independent nation”.

Pakistan needs a turnaround for which the basic need is our adaptation and readiness for the change, not in cosmetic but real sense. We need a complete change from one era to another, like the one, witnessed by China, under Mao Zedong.

Hence, for all Pakistanis, failure is not an option but success is also not automatically guaranteed. In this regard, I would like to suggest that we formulate a new social contract, for the common people of Pakistan, who always pays 100 percent bills and taxes and never defaults on their bank loans. Let us make a new Pakistan, which is redesigned to practically cater to the needs of the exploited masses.

Moreover, the current election system is so flawed that any Tom Dick and Harry can easily manipulate it to defeat the basic purpose of the democracy. So, if the basic electoral process is retarded, how can it give birth to genuine representatives?

Changes must be made in the constitution, to make it a presidential form of democratic set up. The election system should also be changed, so that the whole country directly votes for the president. However, before voting, the candidates of all political parties for presidential post, must notify a list of their MPAs, MNAs and Senators, who will be automatically considered elected, according to the percentage of votes cast, in favour of all the candidates, for the top post of the country.

The decision for Pakistan’s charter of development for building dams and mega projects for the next 50 years should also be finalised, on which, later on, no politics should be allowed. In other words, the representatives of the nation should decide now, where they would like to see Pakistan, in each and every field of life after 50 years. This plan should be further divided into ten five years plans.

In order to decentralise and empower the maximum number of people, to enjoy the fruits of self-rule, we should convert every division of Pakistan into a province. This will also work as a panacea (an answer or solution for all problems or difficulties), for the eradication of linguistic and any other type of frictions and doubts about the hegemony of one class of the people over the other.

In fact, it will work wonders in the speedy development and unity of Pakistan; and kill instantly, any secessionist or separatist activities, currently prevailing in some parts of the country.

We Pakistanis (of which 60 % are living below absolute poverty level) are PROUD to feed our POOR parliamentarians on the following subsidised rates.

Tea Rs.1.00
Soup Rs.5.50
Dal Rs.1.50
Meals Rs.2.00
Chappathi Rs.1.00
Chicken Rs.24.50
Dosa Rs.4.00
Veg Briyani Rs.8.00
Fish Rs.13.00

Now how come these people (1+11 parties) have the guts to criticise Dr. Tahir ul Qadri Sb., when he says that he will provide all utilities including electricity, at 50% of the current rates, when they are eating meals in the parliament at 200 – 1000 % subsidy and poor Pakistani’s tax money is being used to purchase dogs and BMW’s for the security and luxuries of the VVIP’s?

An out of box proposal to break the political logjam in Pakistan..!

All the Pakistani stake holders in its political system, more so the PTI, must realise that the current political logjam resolution, through the judicial commission enquiry, may create more problems than providing the black and white answers to the question of whether the election 2013, were massively rigged or not.

As such, foresight demands and also it is in the larger interest of the nation, to not to follow a course which most certainly will pop up more serious problems, instead of resolving the issue of massive riggings in the E-2013.

Since, Pakistan has already fallen behind in every sector of economic development, even compared with such countries like Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh and SriLanka etc., it can ill afford plunging from one crisis to another, for months and years. It is high time that every stake holder realised that enough was enough and for the sake of Pakistan, we have to move forward, sacrificing our egotism.

As they say no player is bigger than the sports, it should be clearly realised that no politician is also bigger than the country and its national interest.

Hence, in view of the foregoing, the following win win solution is being placed before all the stake holders and the key institutions to immediately take Pakistan out of the present political crisis.

PROPOSAL:

Pakistan can have a referendum under the supervision of its armed forces and rangers, to get reply of just one question i.e., whether E-2013 were rigged or not. And, if the answer is in affirmative then the Prime Minister Mr. Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, should dissolve all the assemblies, set up a new care taker govt and hold fresh elections, under a new EC. Moreover, before the dissolution of the assemblies, the parliament must also pass a bill, for the election reforms, as per the consensus of all the stake holders.

In the meantime, the PTI should also join back the assemblies and end its Dharna in Islamabad.

These all proposals including referendum is under the constitution and no one can object that any constitutional violation was committed.

Congratulations to Mr. Imran khan that our cricket team has also joined your call for the CDO movement and firstly, MISBAH chose to bat under favourable bowling conditions and later on, team got all out for 102 in 32.1 overs.

Some other interesting statistics of the Pakistani innings played under Civil Disobedience Movement called by the PTI.

Total balls of the innings 193
Scoring shot balls 58
Dot balls played. 135
Total boundaries x4. 7
Boundaries behind the
Wicket. 6
Boundaries in front 1
Innings sixes 1
Scored 19 runs for 3 wickets in 10 overs, which may well be a sort of a record for the power play overs, when only 2 fielders are allowed outside the circle.

Now, Pakistan is truly reaping the fruits of the over one year’s PCB chairmanship of cricketing and administrative wizard and darling of Mian Nawaz Sharif, Mr.Najam Sethi ( who is still the most powerful man in the board relegating the chairman Shahyar Khan as just a figure head) wherein, against the Sri Lankan team, we lost Test series 2-0 & ODI series 2-1, in a most ignominious manner.

In this regard, Prime Minister, Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, must remember that the history will never forgive him for the fact that he was informed and forewarned many times in writing that cricket was NOT the cup of tea for the nincompoop Najam Sethi, but he supported him to the hilt, by compromising the national interest, for the reasons best know to Mian Nawaz Sharif and the world at large, as well; easily forgetting that the constitution of Pakistan, strictly prohibits nepotism and favouritism.

In fact, in this case the constitution of Pakistan, was flagrantly violated and then people had the guts to criticise the past dictators, for saying that constitution was just a piece of paper.

PTI and PAT must add another condition to their demands that the alleged 20 Crore Rupees distributed amongst the 16 TV channel anchors must be returned back to the national exchequer either by the anchors or by Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif.

Moreover, the names of the anchors who were given this huge national wealth must also be published.#AzadiMarchPTI

Hasan Nisar wanted at PTI Dharna..!

Imran Khan must invite Mr. Hasan Nisar at PTI Dharna.

In Pakistan, there is NO better intellectual fiery speaker than Mr. Hasan Nisar, who is a one man demolition squad and turn the tables in just one speech..!

An article of the century..!

A part-time leader.

By Zahid Hussain

Published about 5 hours ago

The writer is an author and journalist.

“The most important quality in a leader is that of being acknowledged as such.”

— André Maurois

UNFORTUNATELY, our third-time prime minister does not fit this criterion. While our troops are engaged in the most critical battle against militants and hundreds and thousands of people have been displaced from their homes in North Waziristan and are facing severe hardship, our leader is off to Saudi Arabia for his annual spiritual retreat for 10 days.

There cannot be any objection to his religious zeal. But as a leader he is also expected to focus on the job for which he has been elected. It is certainly no ordinary situation for a country in the midst of a conflict and looming humanitarian crisis.

Being away from the country for so long at this critical time and on a private trip illustrates how low governance is on his priority list. Should our leader not be dealing with the vital issues of national security at home rather than seeking his own salvation?

In any other country, a leader would have preferred to stay with one’s own people in times of tribulation. But this is not the case with Nawaz Sharif who is best described as a part-time leader with minimal interest in running the affairs of the state. Not surprisingly, the approval rating for his party has plummeted in a short period.

As a leader, the absent Nawaz Sharif is expected to focus on the job for which he was elected.
Surely, it is hard for any incumbent to maintain the same level of popular appeal that brings one to power. Yet the plunge in Nawaz Sharif’s approval ratings within the first year of his third term in office is astonishing even by Pakistani standards, if opinion polls are to be trusted.

Trailing far behind the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, the party has now fallen behind even the PPP in public approval ratings. According to the latest Herald/SDPI opinion poll, only 17pc of respondents said they would vote for the PML-N if elections were held today compared to 33pc for the PTI and 19pc for the PPP which was routed in the last election.

Such a low popular standing does not come as a surprise given Sharif’s dismal performance and style of governance. His is more of a family limited company than a functional institutional democracy. All power is concentrated in the hands of a few members of the family. And now the ‘gifted’ daughter is being groomed as heir apparent. There is no party organisation and all decisions are made by Sharif alone. The exclusion of others has created serious misgivings among senior party members.

For once, Asif Ali Zardari was right when he said the people had voted for Sharif to be prime minister, not a monarch. And that monarchy is run from Lahore where Sharif mostly stays when not out of the country. The rest of the country does not seem to exist for him.

A frequently asked question is how different is the current Sharif government from the prime minister’s previous ones. The answer is simple: it is far worse. Sharif is more indecisive and as one political leader said “he has no fire in the belly”.

Yet there is no deficit of hubris of power. The Model Town carnage and police brutality is the hallmark of Sharif’s rule. The panicky reaction of the administration on the arrival of Tahirul Qadri is a manifestation of the increasing political alienation of the Sharif administration.

It has been a disappointing first year in power. There have been fewer examples of such a lacklustre leadership devoid of any foresight. His disdain for parliament is demonstrated by his rare appearances in the house in the past 14 months. Not surprisingly, parliament has been reduced to a dormant forum with little debate on substantive policy issues.

Sharif returned to power with a promise to take Pakistan to the path of economic revival and improved governance. But his vision of progress has been limited to metro buses and motorways. Certainly, his government has achieved short-term economic stability, but in the absence of fundamental structural reforms the long-term scenario does not look so encouraging.

The health of the economy is interpreted through the narrow prism of foreign exchange reserves and appreciation in the value of the rupee. It is scandalous the way the finance ministry apparently manipulated the economic growth rate to portray a positive picture of the economy. The distortion was exposed when the real figure was provided to the IMF.

A major reason for the erosion in the approval rating of the PML-N is the utter failure of the government to deal with the power crisis. There has not been any respite from load-shedding despite the government’s claim of substantial increase in power generation. The unresolved problem of circular debt is said to be the major reason for the widening shortfall in power supply. The government has done little to improve the working of the distribution companies or to collect outstanding bills.

After much dithering, Sharif has finally given the go-ahead for the military operation in North Waziristan. But he is still not willing to take complete ownership of the critical campaign. Even the responsibility for displaced persons has been handed over to the military. What is most alarming is the government’s decision to call in the army to guard important public installations in major cities. There is also a plan to give wider power to the armed forces under Section 245 of the Constitution. It is tantamount to a complete abdication of the civilian government’s responsibility.

Getting the army involved in maintaining law and order in the cities can mean a gradual military take­over. It is almost a repeat of 1998 when the Sharif government used the troops for everything starting with electricity meter readings. It is apparent that no lessons have been learnt from the past. A part-time leadership cannot deal with the grave situation confronted by the country.

The writer is an author and journalist.

zhussain100@yahoo.com

Twitter: @hidhussain

Published in Dawn, July 23rd, 2014

Why the general public is fed up with the government so soon..?

Respected Ahsan Iqbal Sahab,

AoA.

Sir,

The ground realities of the last 14 months, absolutely negates your statement of joy, over the news about the improvement in the ranking of Pakistan, by the Moody’s.

As such, it is very difficult to believe your words, to wait for another 4 years, for the turnaround of the country, under the PMLN’s rule.

The proof of the pudding always lies in its eating.

The mother of all questions is that what is the difference and change of the power load shedding situation, comparatively prevailing between the PPP and the PMLN’s governments?

The answer is that we are getting the same amount of electricity as before, but at the 100% increased rates.

Moreover, the new addition of torture, which was not prevalent in the PPP rule, is that throughout the country, the power is supplied at, as low as 170 Volts, under PMLN’s 14 months era.

Further, the FM has already committed with the IMF, to again increase the power rates to almost another 100%.

Perhaps, the main reason for the extremely high utility rates is; that the government after lacking the will and utterly failing in recovery of outstanding bills, has decided to go the easy way, of putting further burden on those honest citizens, who pay each and every penny of all of their utility (inflated) bills.

Now, this wrong policy has created so much public anger and hatred against the government: that if there was an overnight change, rest assured, the whole nation will distribute the sweets….. again.

So, please don’t live in the cloud nine and come to the ground for God’s sake; and see the mood of the general public and its perception about your government, which is badly defamed for extravagant expenditures of Crores of Rupees on purchases of latest model BMW’s, highly costly foreign tours, purchase of expensive dogs, almost free five star meals being served to the parliamentarians in the NA cafeteria, dishing out very expensive and absolutely unnecessary jobs to the favourite people in the government organisations, etc. etc.

What is revealed from the above facts?

The answer is simple and straight forward…that there is a total disconnect from the problems of the voters and the general public, of the ruling elite of Pakistan.

This disconnect is proved by the daily mantra of the PMLN’s leadership, telling the public to be patient and give them the chance to rule for another four years; to set the things in order, which is akin to the famous quote of the French princess during the French Revolution, when she said if the people were hungry and they don’t have bread, why can’t they eat the cake? Hope you also remember that once Pervaiz Musharraf said the same thing that if the vegetables were costly, why can’t the public eat the chicken? Pervaiz Musharraf also said at the peak of the lawyers agitation that he was unable to see the huge crowds of the agitating lawyers, from the president’s house.

Now, the same type of talk is being done by the PMLN’s leaders, which is a classic proof of their disconnect from the general public.

The biggest problem with the disconnect is that it is never ever visible at the far end to the rulers; and they are always surprised that if people are not getting the bread, why can’t they eat the cake?

Sir, the people will be happily ready to give you not only the next 4 years, but the next 40 years, as well, but just inform the public what tangible sacrifices the leaders are giving for the public? People will never buy the argument of Metro Bus or other mega projects, if they are sleeping hungry, ill and without gas, water and electricity. Yes, public will allow you to lead them, if they see two stones are also tied up with the empty bellies of their rulers.

Always remember genuine leaders rule by example, not by hollow slogans.

All the vibes coming from the PMLN leaders confirm that it was no more a party of the poor. Rather, very sadly, it looks to be a party of the super rich royalty, totally devoid and detached, from the issues being faced by the general public.

Perhaps, due to this very reason, the sensible political parties keeps the party and the government positions separate.

It is hoped that you will not take the above bitter realities, explained by me as an offence, but as they say, it will be considered as an honest and free customer feed back, worth weighing in the gold.

As they say in marketing jargon, the customer is always right.

With best wishes,

Yours truly,

Nayyar

Syed Nayyar Uddin Ahmad

Lahore.

Sent from my iPad3 4G LTE

Modi government committed to lower taxes, finance minister Arun Jaitley says

Surojit Gupta & Sidhartha,TNN | Jul 15, 2014, 01.40 AM IST

BUT PMLN’s GOVERNMENT IS NOT ONLY COMMITTED TO INCREASE TAXES AND RATES OF UTILITY BILLS WHICH IT HAS ALREADY VERY HAPPILY DOUBLED IN JUST FEW MONTHS OF ITS RULE AND NOW HAS COMMITTED WITH THE IMF TO FURTHER DOUBLE THE RATES..!

However, BMW’s and dogs worth crores of Rupees will BE purchased from the tax payers money as usual, for their own comfort and security of the rulers..!

LET THE GENERAL PUBLIC GO TO HELL..!