The UN’s assessment that Pakistan’s politics has become the inheritance of only 100 families shows the depths to which politics has been personalised. According to its human development index, 49 percent of the population has been pushed below the poverty line; besides, the standards of public health and education have considerably deteriorated. The UN report was also critical of the Benazir Income Support programme saying that better programmes would have to be introduced to fight poverty.

In the light of these findings, there appears to be a correlation between despair characterising Pakistani society today and unchecked personalisation of politics. For various reasons, Pakistan remains a country where development continues to elude. But complicating the matter is the fact that the parliament is taking on the character of an elite club, closed to the general masses. The result: a debilitating impact on democracy as we went through a spell of the kind of governance that paid no heed to the call for removal of hunger and provision of basic services to the people. That means that democracy in real sense is not being practised. The people will not have any say in corridors power, nor will their interest be watched when only certain families keep ruling over them.

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The Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Justice (r) Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim’s visit to Quetta to hold talks with political parties in Balochistan to urge them to shed their reservations, if any, about participating in the forthcoming general elections was a welcome initiative. He received an across-the-board nod when he told them that he had the complete assurance of the Army and the Frontier Constabulary (FC) that they would provide due security. Balochistan Chief Secretary Babar Yaqoob Fateh Muhammad, who was present at the meeting, confirmed that the army and the FC had pledged themselves to provide due security and the both were at the disposal of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). To this, ECP Secretary Ishtiak Ahmad Khan added that each candidate would be given four guards during the elections and maintained that strict measures had been adopted to ensure that rigging and bogus voting did not take place. For having a secure environment for the Hazara community, the recent target of sectarian fanaticism, to cast their vote, a suitable strategy was being chalked out. ECP Member Justice (r) Fazalur Rehman was happy at all political parties’ agreeing to take part in the polls.

To the parties’ doubts about the likelihood of change in the fortunes of the province after the polls, the CEC replied that the free and fair elections his commission was striving hard to conduct should be expected to throw up candidates who would adopt policies that are oriented towards development and betterment of the people’s lot. Thus, in the full participation of parties lies the success not only for the province, but also for the whole of Pakistan. One would hope that the candidates would stand behind the ECP to achieve its goal. On the request of the political parties and in view of recent floods in Balochistan, the period of nomination of papers was extended till March 31. The CEC also met caretaker Chief Minister Nawab Ghaus Bakhsh Barozai. The only dissenting vote came from exiled Nawabzada Brahamdagh Bugti, chief of Baloch Republican Party, that has been among those carrying out violent acts. Brahamdagh, in an interview with foreign media, said that joining in the electoral process meant recognition of Pakistan; and he did not want to have any dealings with it and that was why he was striving for an independent Balochistan.

It is good that the CEC plans to hold similar meetings with political parties of the rest of the provinces. Justice Ebrahim should remember that the change that he and the nation wish to see happen post-polls is only possible if apart from the conduct of free and fair elections, the candidates are screened strictly in the light of articles 62 and 63 of the constitution. At the same time, serious attempts at neutralising the terrorist menace have to be initiated right now to create a reassuring climate for the voters to cast their ballot. The danger of turmoil, while ever present in areas that are being daily hit, cannot be ruled out elsewhere. The whole nation, the political parties and all, have to join hands with the security forces to make the exercise of the right to franchise a success.

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The National Accountability Bureau (Nab) has announced countrywide arrests of power defaulters if they do not pay their bills by April 20. These defaulters owe Rs 166 billion to the distribution companies. This was disclosed by Nab Chairman Adm (r) Fasih Bokhari on Thursday. He disclosed that of the total, Rs 110 billion was owed by defaulters owing more than Rs 100,000 each. He also said that Nab had established cells for this purpose in all the distribution companies. A number of questions arise, and probably the first is whether the distribution companies are so weak that thy need Nab help to pursue those who do not pay their bills. It also must be asked why so many have been allowed to develop such large amounts outstanding, even though the distribution companies have the power of disconnecting the supply of any defaulting consumer. An answer, or rather the indication of one, is provided by the fact that a caretaker government has taken office, upon which Nab has suddenly taken an interest. The political government seems to have acted as a protector of defaulters rather than anything else, and thus politicians must take responsibility for the previous failure of the distribution companies to collect their dues. This failure to pay dues is behind the problem of circular debt, which is plaguing the whole power sector. It is only when the distribution companies collect these dues, that this problem can be solved.
Now that the distribution companies have got down to dealing with the consumers who do not pay their bills, is it perhaps too much to hope that they will go after those who steal electricity by illegal connections? Those people too have only got away with this through political influence, and must be brought on record. In the case of nonpaying consumers, at least the quantum of their theft is on record, while for those stealing through illegal connections it can only be estimated. However, if such consumers start to pay what they owe, a big difference would be made.

Admiral Bokhari also spoke about how Nab also planned a post-election scrutiny of winning candidates’ forms. It is true that the assemblies should be purged of people who do not come up to the legally prescribed standard, but even defeated candidates should be examined, to stop bad eggs from contesting again. However, before that stage, the arrests of the power thieves are anxiously awaited, as evidence that Nab is indeed in earnest.

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It would be wise to take the caretaker government for its word when it says it is genuinely committed to conducting free polls as it did on Friday but what matters is will it really succeed in making a practical demonstration of that. Intentions and actions, after all are two different things.

Where it would not be quite alright to question the neutrality of the interim setup, generally thought to be non-aligned, the way it has been trying to deal with some initial hurdles, leaves the doubt lingering whether elections would be as fair as it says, it can hold. A bit worrisome is the case of the Deputy Governor of the State Bank who could not be given marching orders despite categorical orders by the ECP seeking his removal over fears that he being a political appointee might provide the loan defaulters with a stepping stone to contest elections as well as misuse government funds. One cannot help but ask if that is just the tip of the iceberg given the number of such politically motivated appointments made by the outgoing government both at the centre and the provincial levels. Aware of the challenge, interim Chief Minister Punjab Najam Sethi for instance is seeking out details of all such officers in the province. This has been followed by Caretaker setup’s warning to bureaucracy not to meddle in the electoral process. These troubles reflect one facet of the problem. Disappointment over the sluggish way the interim setup first announced it would form the federal cabinet only to procrastinate is also making its presence felt. Worse still, not much thought is being given to yet another eccentricity, which pertains to the rather gratuitous presence of governors. Though expected to stay out of the electoral arena in theory, these innocuous looking representatives of the federal government could turn out to be detrimental to democratic transition at hand. After all, they were appointed by their respective parties; obviously what they are most certain to do is to keep guard over their turf.

For the commitment expressed by the caretaker government to materialise, it has to first see to it that its orders or those of the ECP are considered sacrosanct and not only that they take their effect on everyone concerned. It should not duck out of a situation where it is supposed to live up to publics’ expectation. In line with expected level of integrity, mingling with leading candidates and party heads might begin to smack of partisanship all the more so when there are other issues in want of urgent attention. The caretakers will definitely have a hard time as they go about rising to the occasion. More than any other thing, it is the peoples’ will that must prevail in order to let them shape their fate and that of their country.

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The MQM’s abrupt initiative to seek UN’s involvement, questioning the delimitations of electoral boundaries in Karachi, is unwarranted. Is there no institution inside the country credible enough for the party to trust? According to some experts since the decision regarding delimitation of boundaries was taken by the Supreme Court, the MQM going this far means, it is plainly questioning its authority. The MQM has to act as a responsible political party that should respect the constitution, and vital state institutions. It has to go by the court orders and of the ECP whether it likes them or not. And if it thinks, its interests are being impinged it ought to knock at their doors. Sadly, on the one hand, it keeps saying it respects the SC but on the other it displays such unseemly behaviour. This makes for a paradox that might erode party’s credibility as well as needlessly embroil it in a controversy.

The measures that the ECP is taking is to enable a common Pakistani vote with freedom, a right that should not be affected merely because of some reservation about the marking of boundaries. If the MQM says it is a popular party, it should not be afraid of new boundaries. Why make such a fuss?

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For anyone aware of the depth of people’s feelings against the corrupt, the dishonest and the fraudsters who have led the country to the sorry state it is in, the stories about fake degree holders and defaulters of dues appearing in the media these days would signal that their hopes are well on the way to fulfilment. That is, If the combined efforts of the Supreme Court, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and the Higher Education Commission (HEC) bear fruit despite the powerful forces’ resistance. A strict and proper application of articles 62 and 63 of the constitution would throw out of the ring the dirty and the despicable that are always eager to get into the corridors of powers by hook or by crook to serve their own ends. The hope is that the coming general elections bring to the legislative chambers of the country cleaner persons who have the vision and the capacity to reverse the situation and, of course, realise the urgency of attending to the people’s needs. The Supreme Court has summoned the ECP Secretary and the HEC Chairman to appear before it today, after taking suo moto notice of the HEC’s letter to the ECP complaining that it was taking a lenient view of the cases of 54 parliamentarians whose degrees have been established to be fake. And then there is the issue of 189 others who, according to reports attributed to the HEC, have not bothered to provide certificates to the HEC or the ECP despite several reminders. As the timeframe is very short, it appears, a large number of skeletons would soon be out of the cupboard. Only two days back, ex-MPA KPK Sardar Ali Khan was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment in a fake degree case. But the question here is how the affected political parties – and it is hard to imagine any party escaping unscathed – would react if their stalwarts and all are debarred. Violent protests and a chaotic situation are not ruled out threatening the holding of timely elections! After all, minus these hopefuls, their standing in the National and Provincial Assemblies would lose significance. The ECP has also asked Wapda, PTCL and gas companies to furnish particulars of outgoing defaulting parliamentarians within 48 hours. Obviously, not a happy tiding is in store for a number of them.

Relevant to the polls are two other developments: the ECP’s sharp reaction to the aerial firing done after some candidates had filed their nomination papers and other incidents tantamount to the show of power in Punjab and Sindh. Taking serious notice of the firing, the show of arms and the candidates submitting their papers with a huge crowd in tow, the ECP has warned that not only would the administration be responsible for any untoward incidents, but also the nomination papers of these candidate would be rejected for this violation of the ECP’s announced electoral code of conduct.

Apart from his involvement in the rental power projects case, former Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf faces another predicament. The Amnesty International has charged that even after the expiry of his constitutional stint in power, he authorised the expenditure of as high an amount as Rs 961 million against advertisements. Certainly, interesting times lie ahead for us Pakistanis.

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By:Raoof Hasan


We are effectively in the interim to the holding of the national elections on May 11. All the transitional governments have been installed at the centre and in the provinces, albeit without cabinets except in the KPK.
Understandably, from now on, things will move swiftly and smoothly till new governments are installed to manage the country’s fate for the next five years. But, is the exercise going to achieve the quintessential objectives of a genuine transition?

This would depend on a number of ifs and buts. Are the governments that have been installed to oversee the transition genuinely neutral and committed to the task of holding free, impartial and transparent elections? Is the much-touted application of articles 62 and 63 of the constitution going to be uncompromising and across-the-board? Will those guilty of various transgressions during the course of their sojourn in the corridors of power, most notably the corrupt involved in mega scams, the fake degree-holders, the tax-evaders and the dual-nationality holders, be kept out of the election process? Are only the “sagacious, the righteous, the non-profligate, the honest and the ameen” going to find their way to the parliament? These are just some of the thoughts that occur in an environment that has been grossly vitiated by an endeavour to perpetuate the interests of the contending parties in power encompassing the manner of induction of the interim set-ups and the unremitting pressure being wielded on the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to overlook many a flaw that are perceived as detrimental to their inherent political interests.

There is far too much expected of the ECP which has neither the capacity nor the power to force things the way it may desire. This is so because, in addition to its own lop-sided constitution, it is dependent on the services and cooperation of so many other institutions in conducting the elections, most notably NADRA, the civil administration, the judiciary, the military and the intelligence agencies. Will these institutions be as transparent and effective as the ECP may desire, or will people manning these institutions have their own agendas dictated by their political mentors to whom they owe their allegiance? And, quite simply, what possible results can be expected of elections handled by supposedly neutral caretaker chief-executives who have to deal with administrations installed by the predecessor political governments with well-defined and self-projecting interests and objectives?

Let’s look at it from another angle. While the political governments in the centre and the provinces may have their conflicting interests, all of them also have a collective interest: to resist and defy the prospect of change. This is so because if this change actually occurs, it would effectively eliminate any place and relevance for the traditional political mafias that have dominated the shape of things in the past. Doesn’t it, therefore, follow that all these forces, individually and collectively, would use their seen and unseen powers and leverages to block the path of change? And if that be so, does one smell the prospect of violence to overshadow the process of elections?

There is also the element of the militants spoiling the party for the contenders to power. There are trouble-spots right across Balochistan, Karachi, South Punjab and KPK where elections are either not going to be held, or these will be dominated by violence and irregularities. Smitten by fresh de-limitation of some constituencies in Karachi, the MQM will have to go into double-drive in its heartland of influence to preserve what it considers its ‘rightful’ share– most of which has been secured by installing an environment of fear and by indulging in registering and polling ‘ghost’ votes. Since, of late, other contenders have also gained influence in the constituencies hitherto dominated by the MQM who will be going all-out to translate their newly-gained footholds into seats in the legislatures, the prospect of violence looms large.

Balochistan is a different ball-game altogether. The coming of Nawab Akhtar Mengal and his declaration of intent to participate in the electoral process is a good omen. But, such is not the case with many other nationalist forces that believe that participation in elections does not present a solution to their simmering problems. Cognisance must also be taken of the reality that the presence of the ECP is limited to Quetta alone which is not sufficient to conduct the election process in the entire province. Even the installation of a Baloch person as the interim prime minister to oversee the elections in the country has not doused their concerns and grievances.

So, what do we see coming in shape of the national elections? Will it be a vast potpourri of converging and conflicting interests battling it out initially, but ultimately cooperating to pave the way for the re-emergence of the same old, corrupt and worn-out political mafias taking charge again? That appears to be the likeliest outcome because the battle is being fought on their turf with their implements overseen by umpires who enjoy their blessings and who have their absolute support and protection. But the likeliest may not always happen.

In spite of a plethora of adversities, the key to the outcome of the coming elections, more than any other single factor, may lie in the hands of a projected vast number of people – according to some estimates as many as equalling the total number may have cast their votes in any of the past elections – who would visit the polling stations for the first time principally in support of the drive for change in the country. Seen together with the ouster of over 35 million fake voters from the electoral rolls, they constitute the single most lethal component that can impact the fate of the coming elections. Will their exuberance and enthusiasm that have come forth in multiple ways in the past persevere through the next six weeks to the day of the elections? If that were to happen, it may define the transition of power being wrested from the traditional corrupt political mafias and passed on to the proponents of change in the country. An elevating thought to savour, but the dice appears heavily loaded against the prospect.

The writer is a political analyst. He can be reached at: raoofhasan@hotmail.com

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By:Kamran Rehmat

It certainly helps that Imran Khan has had a distinguished cricket career and that his swansong was winning the World Cup in a ‘boy-on-the-burning-deck’ avatar.

The feat was like a fairytale rooted in one man’s belief to perform the mission impossible against all odds and its 21st anniversary last week would certainly have rekindled the fire as was evident at the rousing, if rain-drenched, National Day rally.

Where cricket has helped Pakistan’s greatest captain is in doing the hard yards at 60 and keeping himself fresh: he still maintains physical fitness by workout and despite often falling short of required sleep or even happy meal hours thanks to unbearable demands placed by his party, he even keeps a steady stream of tweets going out on an average day — he has the highest number of followers for any Pakistani.

It also works in his favour that he has tremendous self-belief — borne out of previous career or life-changing events when detractors laughed off his ambition(s) and he proved them wrong almost more often than not.

In short, it is a bio well told to bear repetition.

But his perseverance in guiding the PTI into a viable alternative entity against all odds and significantly, in defiance of established electoral politics in Pakistan deserves some credit.

Last week he pressed home around 80,000 office bearers who were directly elected by the members of PTI in an unprecedented, if long drawn out, intra-party polls, which were, again, deemed impossible by naysayers.

The exercise was also reckoned to be counterproductive since it would bring fissures to the fore, resulting in disgruntled elements, especially those at the losing end, who would then switch party loyalty.

In fact, Khan was seen as naïve to indulge in an exercise, that as well as virtually taking him into political hibernation while his rivals lapped up fair weather friends and forged alliances, was pregnant with the potential to disintegrate the party.

However, what has happened is that despite the bickering and the odd desertion, PTI has rung a paradigm shift in how even ordinary people — including a village tailor — have been able to canvass and become office bearers on the strength of popular vote.

The detractors are now struggling to explain the dénouement even as the party has survived dire predictions to sustain itself. Potential voters are bound to note this stark difference in how the PTI and the two mainstream parties — the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) — run the show. The PPP and PML-N have a strong dynastic make-up and it is well nigh inconceivable for them to pitch-fork a raw party worker for a parliamentary seat.

PTI’s National Day outing was its first major show of force after a nearly five-month hiatus thanks to the intra-party polls during which critics had begun to wonder if its tremolo had waned to the effect that it was no longer a major player.

But the road show has firmly put that speculation to rest. It was also the first public rally by any party after the announcement of the election date of May 11, and coming in the stronghold of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s PML-N, which is widely favoured in a slew of opinion polls to win the next elections, it is bound to set the stage alight.

The PTI’s comeback weeks away from the election will certainly ignite the passion of its workers who are fresh from the net practice of having gone through an extensive intra-party poll exercise. In the past, the lack of experience was a major chink.

However, much as the average PTI activist or supporter believes, the party is far from having acquired the ability and capacity to “sweep” the polls — which its leader continues to harp on (more likely a studied tactic to keep the morale of party hopefuls high).

While the PTI is generally assumed to have been able to force swathes of urban-based population particularly in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provinces to think along the lines of giving it a chance against the status quo parties, its singular failure has been to hit the straps in rural Pakistan, where over 60 per cent of voters reside.

Perhaps, PTI has been hemmed in by the fact that rural Pakistan is still dominated by clan politics and financial/administrative muscle and that voting here is not driven by any notion of change. But this should not have been a deterrent, only a motivator, to try to nudge the rural folks however difficult.

But it seems, like other contenders, the PTI, too, has concentrated its math on the 148 National Assembly seats on offer from Punjab — the corollary being that whoever controls Punjab is more than likely to claim a stake at the Centre, too.

Perhaps, if the PTI had taken the intra-party poll drive to the rural areas right after its game-changing October rally in Lahore in 2011, it would have built enough momentum to rise as a truly national force by now. Currently, it has no support base in interior Sindh or Balochistan.

Having said that, it is refreshing at times like these to have a status quo challenger who is at least walking the talk as was evident in some of the promises he made his compatriots.

These may have seemed simple — the one about never lying with the nation even naïve to the wise heads of Pakistani politics — but when was the last time a Pakistani politician even made a trite attempt to establish a relationship with the awam?

The writer is Editor Pique Magazine based in Islamabad. He can be reached at kaamyabi@gmail.com

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Ban on appointments is not that justified

Unlike other well established democracies, elections in Pakistan are held under interim setups. The setup provides a semblance of fairness and impartiality though it comes with its own set of problems, the key problem of which is managing the affairs of institutes of national importance when there is a ban on new appointments. Senior posts at these institutes remain vacant, thus putting day to day work of the government at risk. This scheme of things is in no way encouraging as is evident from a recent decision of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to ask for an explanation from the government on the appointment of Ashraf Mahmood Wathra as Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan, which they say goes against the ban imposed the ECP on all appointments.

The ECP’s decision might have a legal standing but the ground realities tell a different tale. Mr Wathra’s appointment has been hailed by the business, trade, and banking sectors, including the Korangi Association of Trade and Industry. He is considered to be one of the top bankers and knows the dynamics of Pakistan’s economy very well. When the country is going through a tough period, what with elections at hand and a dwindling economy, what we really need is competent and professional management at all the organisations related to economy and finance, and there is no such organsiation as the State Bank of Pakistan that requires this much needed change. Considering the abundance of top level talent in the field, such appointments should have been a no-brainer, but what complicates the matters is a decision by the ECP that has banned any appointments in view of the upcoming elections as governments in Pakistan have often been indulged in handing out jobs in order to lure the electorate.

Other than the restriction set by the ECP, there seems to be no other objection on Mr Wathra’s appointment. To single out his case alone does not bode well for the impartiality of the ECP. If there had been some procedural irregularities in this appointment, the same can be rectified in a way to avoid any confrontation with the ECP and thus put a stop on the functioning of an institute whose decisions can make, or break, the economic outlook of the country. The finance ministry is better advised to make amends with the ECP as it needs professionals like him who have an untainted career and have the courage to take initiatives to set the country on a path of economic progress. The stalemate must end, and professionals like Mr Wathra must be given a chance chip in their share of expertise for the country’s benefit.

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Five years of democratic rule and a minimal realization of past mistakes by the politicians have made the present election different from those in the past. During the period the judiciary acquired independence and started to exert itself, some maintaining that at times it overexerted itself. Constitutional amendments brought into existence an independent and powerful election commission. Consensus caretaker governments were formed at the center and the provinces. While the Election Commission of Pakistan and the caretaker set up have their peculiar weaknesses they along with the Supreme Court are playing a vital role in making the present elections different from the previous exercises.

Dual nationality holders are out except a handful who have renounced their adopted citizenship. Computerized electoral rolls have made it possible for the common voter to verify at one click if his name is on the list and in the right constituency. A big failure of the ECP is that despite promising to provide the overseas Pakistanis the right to vote, it failed to take concrete steps in the direction. While the NADRA has belatedly come up with a scheme, its implementation within the remaining 38 days seems difficult. Those who produced fake degrees in 2002 and 2008 elections when these were mandatory have been debarred from the elections. The Supreme Court has given three days to 189 former parliamentarians who have yet to get their degrees verified to fulfill the requirement. A strict scrutiny of the nomination papers has discouraged many contestants this time with the result that the number of nomination papers filed has come down to over 10,000 from nearly 15,000 in 2008 polls.

With the nomination papers of all candidates filed, the first crucial step towards holding the elections on May 11 has been taken. Next is the scrutiny of the candidates’ papers, extending from April 1 to 7. A central scrutiny committee comprising officials from the ECP, the NAB, the SBP and NADRA is already in place. There are however reports of several Returning Officers not providing copies of the nomination papers to the general public. This will deprive the ECP of crucial input at the stage of scrutiny. Candidates should have been debarred from using religion to demonise their opponents. As this was not done a prominent politician was repeatedly called Shaitan Khan at a JUI-F rally in Lahore. That two women candidates filed nomination papers from the tribal areas indicates that democracy is fast striking roots even in the areas considered politically backward. This should be a lesson for those parties who debar women at places from voting through mutual consent in the name of custom or tradition. The government has to provide full security to these courageous women who could be targeted by the extremists.

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