“The avaricious are complainants and judges too. Who to appoint counsel, whom to seek justice from?” asked our great poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz at another time, when he too was incarcerated for ‘treason’.

Banay hain ahle hawas muda’ee bhi munsif bhi

Kissay vakil keratin, kis say munsafi chahain?

Good that Faiz Sahib wasn’t also imprisoned for terrorism. Though those too were bad times but not as bad as today. Then Pakistanis had hope; today they are hopeless. Our systems are hurtling towards their natural metamorphosis. Better this way than by force for then they become martyrs and return as zombies to haunt us.

Last week Gen Musharraf appeared before a high court for placing certain judges under house arrest, which is a bailable offence. But the judge attached a terrorism charge to it, denied him bail and ordered police to arrest him. Many lawyers say that he cannot and it was another case of overstepping. Once denied bail it is up to the interior ministry to order police to arrest the accused. The police did not. Musharraf is hardly going to go looking for the police to arrest him.

Since the police didn’t arrest Musharraf, he went home. His security whisked him away because the anti-Musharraf lawyers there were in such a black mood that they feared they might attack him. It is security’s job not to be too careful and take things for granted. But a clearly partisan media that Musharraf the ‘dictator’ made independent of the state but not of the Big Business-Big Politics Combine started the ridiculous rumour that he had scampered. A paper we know well, otherwise fairly balanced called him a ‘runaway’ general. Why would Musharraf voluntarily return to face the music only to scamper? Why without getting the US-UK combine to get cases against him withdrawn or the Saudis to get him a pardon and whisk him away to one of those carbuncles they call ‘palaces’? He came knowing the knives were naked, the cases against him alive and the terrorists ready. The next day this same paper’s headline screamed: “The general submits to justice.” Musharraf returned voluntarily and embraced justice. I find it comical that he has been placed on the Exit Control List whereas he should have been placed on the Entry Control List and saved our powers a lot of confusion.

It was also comical that while Gen Musharraf was in the anti-terrorism court the real terrorists dressed like Dracula were beating up a boy outside. Probably he was pro-Musharraf. It is certainly everyone’s democratic right to protest peacefully but not to cause mayhem. This is what our flag bearers of democracy and liberalism are: if you agree with them you are good; if not they will throttle you. And they resent it when you call them ‘liberal fascists’. The classic definition of fascism is the use of the most progressive rhetoric to further the most retrogressive ends. If they were true democrats and liberals they would not take oaths under provisional constitutional orders to protect their jobs, join unelected cabinets and seek offices of any kind.

Perhaps our hapless powers didn’t seriously expect Musharraf to return and so were not prepared for it. There is no precedent for them to follow, no template to adopt. Caught in utter confusion they are thrashing around like beached whales, unwittingly putting Musharraf’s life at greater risk by dragging him around from home to court to some police establishment to an anti-terrorism court. No one is saying that real justice shouldn’t take its course; of course it must but only under due process with balance and equity. They have no right to present the general on a platter to terrorists and potential killers. If, God forbid, anything happens to Musharraf his blood will be on their hands. With police brandishing fearsome weapons milling around him in the name of security, do they know that there is not another assassin amongst them, like Salman Taseer’s police ‘bodyguard’ shot him in the back like a coward?

This coldblooded, self-confessed assassin has many supporters amongst the ‘lawyers’ who showered flower petals on him and still lionize him. Are terrorist lovers terrorists or is Musharraf who fought them both? These ‘lawyers’ beat up judges, contrary lawyers, journalists, cameramen, photographers and politicians. They are officers of the court but like serial contemnors they repeatedly bring the judiciary into contempt by their hooliganism. They obviously don’t know the law. Judges in an egalitarian state where blind justice prevails equitably and every citizen is equal before the law should have cancelled their licenses and imprisoned them for mayhem and causing grievous bodily harm – or are they scared of them? The chief justice took nary any notice. But I suppose some citizens are more equal then others, what? This state has become Bedlam.

The government instituted this particular case against Musharraf for placing certain judges under house arrest on the instructions of the judiciary. Some of the same judges are still in various courts, including the chief justice, whether they sit on the bench hearing it or not. There is such a thing as influence. Judges are the injured party, complainants and adjudicators all at the same time, as Faiz lamented. Can judges be judges in their own cause? Can anyone? Is it due process? Many of these judges legitimized the 1999 countercoup and took oath under Musharraf’s first PCO. Are they Lilly White clean or are they a danger to Snow White? A partisan judiciary and a partisan media are the last thing a real democracy needs. They become democracy’s death knell.

Try Musharraf certainly in all cases that have been filed against him, no one is saying otherwise, but try all his “aiders, abettors and collaborators” too and only under due process. If the state doesn’t display wisdom, balance and equity and justice doesn’t flow from the courts it will soon start flowing through the barrel of a gun toted either by the army with gloves off or terrorists who don’t know what gloves are. God help us then. No one wants that for then there will be grave injustices. The prosecutors and persecutors of today will become the prosecuted and persecuted of tomorrow. We have dug ourselves into a ditch yet we continue digging. If we don’t stop digging the ditch will become our grave.

If they think that this will prevent future army interventions they could unwittingly hasten it. Just as the lawyers felt humiliated by the treatment meted out to their chief and came out in protest, the army will also feel humiliated with Musharraf’s hounding and could come out in protest in its own way. I would love to hear today’s chatter in the barracks and the messes.

If putting judges under house arrest is terrorism, then what is giving bail to numerous terrorists who went on to commit heinous acts of terrorism? Lack of evidence forsooth such outdated and ineffective laws and procedures must be changed. This was the first point in the 2007 Proclamation of Emergency. Nobody in his right mind could disagree with it. The blood of all those killed by the terrorists is on the hands of those magistrates and judges that gave them bail. So too the responsibility for the pain of those maimed and the lives destroyed of the victims’ families.

They would also try Gen Musharraf for treason under Article 6 for the 2007 emergency but not for the 1999 countercoup which the Supreme Court legitimized and became “aiders, abettors and collaborators”, as did the then president, the initial cabinet, politicians, generals, bureaucrats, editors and journalists who supported it. But in an act of legal terrorism against our collective intelligence, the last parliament of geniuses indemnified them all. If the 1999 countercoup had not been legitimized there is no way the 2007 emergency could have happened. You cannot take cognizance of the effect and not the cause.

Which Article 6 are they going to try Musharraf under, the one that obtained in 1999 and 2007 or the new one changed by the last parliament? The first didn’t contain the word ‘abeyance’, the second one does. The conclusion seems sadly inescapable that the amendment was Musharraf specific for he didn’t impose martial law nor abrogated the constitution but only put some of its articles in abeyance for a time – for 42 days in 2007 during which time he retired from the army. Is this their devious gambit of trapping him while saving their own skins, those who sat in the late parliament courtesy the NRO and pardons? Our late parliament of geniuses should have known that laws are made for dispensing justice, not extracting revenge. If these geniuses think that by indemnifying them the “aiders, abettors and collaborators” of 1999 they are off the hook they have another thought coming. There is manmade justice on earth and Divine Justice perpetually going on in Heaven. The wheels of God grind slowly but they grind exceedingly fine. There is no way that Musharraf can be tried for ‘high treason’ only for the 2007 emergency and not for the 1999 countercoup along with all “aiders, abettors and collaborators”. That justice should not only be done but also be seen to be done is axiomatic; so too impartiality that should not only obtain but also seen to obtain.

The writer is a political analyst. He can be contacted at humayun.gauhar786@gmail.com

- See more at: http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2013....7gC68EDO.dpuf

The election campaign started in full earnest on Saturday. The next twenty days will pose a formidable challenge to the political parties on one hand and the ECP, the caretaker government and the security agencies on the other. The campaign begins under an independent election commission and a consensus caretaker set up. The present polls are thus going to be different from the earlier exercises of the type when money and muscle power played a significant role during the polls. A set of election rules limits the use of money by putting a ceiling on election expenses, regularizing the size of posters and banners, prohibiting wall chalking and restricting candidates and their supporters from providing transport to voters. To reduce the role of muscle force display or use of weapons has been banned.

The regulations put a heavy burden of responsibility on political parties and their candidates. While some of these regulations have always been part of the code of conduct, this time an independent and empowered ECP is expected to implement them strictly. The support extended to the ECP by the judiciary further adds to its clout. A larger number of polling stations this time will reduce the distances between the voters’ residence to the polling stations doing away with the need for transport except in the case of the ailing and the aged voters. In quite a few constituencies in Balochistan and in some of the remote constituencies in other provinces however voters might find it hard to travel for miles without transport. Thus a ban on the candidates and their supporters to provide transport to voters may deprive many of the right to vote unless the ECP is willing to provide it. As things stand there seems to be no provision of the sort in place.

The next challenge concerns security. Several pre-poll incidents of attacks on candidates and political gatherings indicate that in the days to come the threats might become more frequent and deadlier. So far the major source of threat has been the TTP which had vowed to target the PPP, the ANP and the MQM candidates. During the pre-poll violence over the last few weeks one MQM candidate and two ANP candidates were killed while in a suicide attack targeting another ANP contestant 16 persons lost lives. The attack on the first day of the campaign on one of Jamaat e Islami’s election offices in Karachi indicates that there are other sources of violence as well. Unless the caretaker government and the law enforcement agencies are able to ensure a secure environment in days to come, the voter turnout in Pakistan – already the lowest in the region – may decline further.

- See more at: http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2013....CBjE0lfp.dpuf

The National Accountability Bureau has asked provincial governments to enlist the help of policemen to round up electricity defaulters. The anti-graft body is also looking at other options such as freezing the assets of those who fail to pay their outstanding electricity dues by the April 20 deadline that it set a month ago. In a letter to chief secretaries of all four provinces, the chief commissioner Islamabad and inspectors general of police in Punjab, Sindh, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, and Islamabad, the NAB has said that criminal proceedings were being initiated against the defaulters.

The bureau said it intends to recover billion of rupees through registration of cases, making arrests and freezing of assets under the provisions of National Accountability Ordinance 1999 on request of the federal government. The NAB's immediate task is to recover Rs510 billion from such defaulters across the country. A 30-day notice was issued through print and electronic media for payment of dues to all defaulters, failing which they were warned that they risked prosecution under the law.

Meanwhile, the Planning Commission of Pakistan has proposed that the government should remove the circular debt from the books of energy sector entities and take responsibility for the mismanagement of the power sector reforms.

The commission's proposal has come at a stage when the circular debt rose to an astronomical Rs872 billion at the end of the last fiscal year. This amount is about four per cent of the GDP and if the upwards rise of this debt is not arrested, it will increase constraints on the availability of electricity and slow down economic growth. Among the causes of circular debt, the delays in tariff determination by an inadequately empowered regulator compounded by interference and delay in notification by the government in addition to giving an unfair deal to the Karachi Electricity Supply Corporation. This also reflects the failure of governance at all levels federal and provincial government, corporate entities and the regular power generation, transmission and supply. The federal government also failed to resolve the issue of the currently soaring circular debt problem and stop future accumulation of the debt. The government has been reluctant to initiate improvements in the legal framework to curb theft of electricity, limit the recourse to courts for debtors and stop political interference in sector governance.

This is because of mismanagement and corruption that the people are facing the peril of longer powers of power load-shedding that has mounted to at least 14 hours in major cities of the country where the outages usually extend to three consecutive hours at a time when summer has yet to fully set in. If this is the situation in major cities what may be the degree of the consumers' plight in towns and rural areas, is not difficult to imagine. The crisis needs its resolution on war footing; the shortest possible period; not even weeks but days and hours. The situation, however, points out to the stark fact that such a dream is hard to realize and nothing but a long, dark tunnel lays ahead with no light at the end

http://www.thefrontierpost.com/category/46/

Once the king of Islamabad the General ® Pervez Musharraf spends his first night as a jail inmate in his own farmhouse at Chak Shehzad declared sub-jail by the Anti-Terrorism Court on Saturday morning. Disgraced military dictator has been sent on a 14-day judicial remand in the judges’ detention case. In his hay days at the highest military office, the man trampled the law at his will to capture the reign of power, put the honorable judges under house-arrest and used the state force to eliminate the opposition to his rule. Hence routed through the due course of law, a vast majority in Pakistan would like to see him behind the bars for his illegal acts of high treason against the civil government and the state machinery. His criminal acts deserve condemnation and strong protests to the extent that in future, no one could dare to do what he did to the country, its Constitution and its institutions. Like any civilized society, Pakistan too has a judicial system, though somewhat corrupted, that can deal with criminals like Musharraf.

The acts of Musharraf attracted the wrath of lawyers’ community that forced him to reverse his bad decision. Now the man is on the deck to face the charges of power abuse on many counts. His court appearances are being punctuated with the lawyers’ violent protests, indecent acts of shoe-throwing and clashes with his handful supporters. These activities sometimes even mar the court proceedings and ruin the decorum of the courts. Ugly scenes on the premises of the courts are worth taking suo moto action by the superior judiciary to uphold the respect and the esteem of the judicial system. Superior judiciary must protect the basic principles of justice wherein each and every criminal is treated like an accused till proven guilty after a due procedure. Musharraf’s rule was acrimonious for all and sundry, the repeatedly disrupted court appearances of Musharraf may, ultimately, paint the court hearings as the harassment of the court and the guilty. Nobody understands better than the lawyers that the law guarantees the accused a right to come clean if he can.

The most educated lawyers’ community fought for the supremacy of the law but today their violent protests and rowdy clashes tantamount to breaking the law. Such conduct of some of the lawyers is uncalled for that may generate some sympathy for the dictator, having been deprived of justice.
Lawyers must not forget that India, even today, is finding it difficult to defend her justice system in case of execution of Ajmal Kasab and Afzal Guru for failing to ensure transparent judicial procedure. Extreme care should be undertaken that criminal Musharraf be not made a hero by lawyers’ unbecoming protests and high-handedness. A dictator should be given an exemplary punishment after going through the transparent and impartial judicial proceedings for his misdeeds and egomaniac heroics. The sanity demands supremacy of law not the vandalism or the terrorism of any form in Pakistan.

http://www.thefrontierpost.com/category/46/

The Kaptaan does have an enormous following in Lahore. In the rural areas however, he has but a dim presence (mind you, given the load shedding, nothing is bright any way). The rurals are likely to vote for whoever they are commanded to by the landlords.

Most people you see have no idea of what their electoral duties are. Or if they do, they’d rather vote for the more expedient candidate, one who shares an interest (however slight) in the uplift of their area, and in the people who live in it. But then no one has an idea of what their duties are. Why else would Mr Sethi, as interim chief minister, be trying to restart Basant, or the judiciary interfering so much in what doesn’t concern it?

Each person is acting to a self image, something akin to a superhero.

In Imran’s mind’s eye he is a patriarch with an interest in cricket, a role fostered by being the only brother of several sisters. Had he not been interested in politics he may have run the local cricket club and in time become balla chacha, the white haired owner who pats kids on the head and gives them candy if they do well, a paddling if they drop too many catches. Unfortunately in his mind’s eye the patriarch also presides over the village jirga. I’m not sure what should be done about that propensity, but maybe wisdom will come with time.

There’s Shahbaz Sharif, who perceives himself astride a roaring lion vibrating between many different projects, the lynchpin without which all those projects would fall apart. Sometimes he sees himself teaching the local populace how to mount and dismount escalators, and every time he goes up one side of the road and comes down the other side via escalators that work, the citizenry rushes forward to garland him, trampling over paper mills and reducing them to dust in its eagerness.

Nawaz Sharif almost always sees himself in the same role, which privately rather annoys him: he sees himself issuing sweeping orders to close down all cricket clubs in the country, threatening to come down (heavily) on anyone playing the sport. It is an inexplicable role for someone otherwise so passionate about cricket. Otherwise, though, he sees himself as a marble statue, also astride a lion, one pudgy hand out flung and pointing in the direction of Ittefaq Hospital. Oh and on his head he wears a halo, which on close inspection proves to be a mushroom shaped cloud composed of tiny circling electrons.

Altaf Bhai automatically sees himself (and he can’t explain why) either as a marshmallow, or a spider in the centre of a large, sticky web. Otherwise he imagines his face plastered on every wall, dimple side foremost, one hand held up like a dike against which a wall of Taliban has flattened itself. Most voters like this last image best unfortunately they also see him as sitting on a slightly gruesome pile of persons holding aloft an automatic rifle.

Asfandyar Wali Khan is aka Wally because as one does with Wally people are wondering where he is at present. But times are tough and they have been particularly tough for Wally considering his anti-Taliban rhetoric, so perhaps he will surface in time and play a greater role with his party in future, preferably without his current partners.

There are other bit players, and one of them is of course Mr Musharraf, whose role sadly landed him in greater trouble than he bargained for. He saw himself exploding through a VIP lounge, whilst a grateful populace wept and shouted in welcome. It didn’t. It is unclear whether his detention at his farm is meant to serve as a punishment or a public example but from where the bulk of Pakistan’s population stands it is neither; how can it be, with a home like that with free food thrown in?

The simplest role is that of Asif Ali Zardari nee Bhutto. It’s odd because although he has never read Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland he sees himself most often as a Cheshire Cat. He dreams of the day when he can safely replace the roti kapra makaanmotto with, ‘It doesn’t matter which way you go, so long as you’re paid for it.’

When questioned about it, he vanishes, then reappears again and this time vanishes quite slowly beginning with the tail and ending with the grin which remains some time after the rest of him is gone.

‘Well! We’ve often seen a cat without a grin,’ we think, ‘but a grin without a cat! It’s the most curious thing of all!’

Which kind of describes the PPP without Benazir, but that’s another story altogether.

The writer is a freelance columnist. Read more by her at http://rabia-ahmed.blogspot.com

- See more at: http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2013....JNOXZntd.dpuf

General retired Pervez Musharraf has chosen the wrong route to greatness. I don’t know whether his ambition is about achieving real greatness or simply to become influential enough as to become famous in the world. In the former case there is no shortcut. One has really to possess the grit required for achieving greatness. In the later case intrinsic greatness of personality is perhaps not required. In this case the element of chance has the pivotal role.

Pervez Musharraf has gone wrong at a tangent. He thought he belonged to the former group whereas he belongs to the second group, as a text book case. He is one of those actors of human drama who was exclusively catapulted to prominence by a sheer chance and a favorable circumstance. Had the then prime minister of Pakistan, Mr Nawaz Sharif, not been so naïve to deny landing to the aircraft of country’s army chief in Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf would have been basking in the sun like any other retired four star general of the Pakistan army.

It is only a person with genuine potential of greatness who is capable of maintaining a critical eye on the obtaining conditions and circumstances around and taking decisions accordingly. In the case of actors of incidental prominence, the individual takes things for granted and takes decisions based on whims, trial and error.

There is no hard or fast rule about classifications of above two types. Even an ordinary man obtaining prominence by chance can be the performer of many good deeds. In fact when a person reaches the pedestal of some authority, his potential of good as well as bad deeds gets stimulated.

Pervez Musharraf had been in the driving seat of our federation for over 8 years. Before passing any verdict, we have to analyze his rule. First, we take his good deeds.

For the first time in history he gave a genuine local government system to the country. He was right in calling it a prerequisite for democracy at grass root level. Our pseudonym politicians belonging to the conservative right, when returned to power after Pervez Musharraf’s exit from the country, did not have a second thought in rejecting that system in their sphere of authority.

As he was not financially corrupt personally, the vultures around him were inhibited to indulge in financial corruption as a matter of rule. As such the country did enjoy a respite from plunder, experienced during the so called decade of democracy, preceding his arrival.

The greatest achievement of General Pervez Musharraf, benefiting the posterity in achieving democratic values, is complete freedom granted to media. During his rule he liberalized licenses for television and radio channels. He also ensured facilitation of granting uninhibited declarations for newspapers and magazines.(Carl Marx has said somewhere that the capitalist, by granting labor reforms, weaves a web around his own neck that would ultimately strangulate him. In the case of Pervez Musharraf it is media reform that ultimately caused his downfall.)

The above pluses of Pervez Musharraf, though are no mean achievements and particularly the later item will be remembered for long and will be praised in history. But unfortunately, he also has a long list of negatives against his name.

The most damaging negative of his doing has been his promotion of religious (fanatic) parties. Like all his predecessors he also thought that he could fool the people in the name of religion. As a consequence the elements of secular polity and enlightenment suffered a serious blow. In the same context he ignored proliferation of religious seminaries (madrassas) in the country that provided impetus to sectarian divide as well as general terrorism by Tehrik Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Al Qaida. Lal Masjad episode was a corollary of the same. In word, he advocated enlightened moderation but in deed he promoted religious extremism. To keep Saudi junta in good humor, he kept his eyes closed to the money being pumped in to Pakistan, through semi literate mullahs for the establishment of religious seminaries and airing sectarian hatred.

The other bad thing done by him was staging the disastrous drama of Kargil that derailed the meaningful negotiations with India. In the same context of rapprochement with India he had also misbehaved during Indian Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpai’s bus diplomacy visit to Pakistan, by declining to be with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif during reception of Indian premier at Wagha.

He caused a great damage to the cause of Baluchistan. Instead of bringing them in the national fold, he alienated the Baloch nationalist leaders through arm twisting and other authoritarian ways. General Zia ul Haq groomed the specter of Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) to strength and Perved Musharraf extensively used this monster to his personal advantage and to the detriment of national interest.

Future historian will expose the devastating damage done by the institution of ISI to the state and the people of Pakistan. Pervez Musharraf will be graded right in line with General Zia.

The nexus of ISI and Lashkar E Tayeba (LT) and other jehadi outfits is responsible for Indo - Pak tensions. General Pervez Musharraf continued the policy of promoting the jehadi organizations which resulted in the shape of Indian parliament and Mumbai terrorist attacks, most probably by LT, thus thwarting the Indo - Pak rapprochement.

He also maintained the illusory concept of good and bad Taliban. He treated the TTP as the enemy and the Haqqani group and Mullah Umer of Quetta Shura as the good Taliban.
One wonders how a Taliban outfit that is almost inhuman in Pakistan will become a benign friend while in Afghanistan. Actually there is nothing to wonder about. If a person can mount an obviously doomed expedition like Kargil and still claim it to be a great feat of strategy, any senseless action can be expected of him.

He then enters in to an understanding with Peoples Party, through his American patrons to bring about an engineered democracy in Pakistan. Even that was going all right till a stalemate occurred with chief justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhary. Then he behaved like a bull in china shop and committed successive unconstitutional and senseless acts like proclamation of emergency and detention of judges of higher judiciary that brought his back against a wall. He was bailed out of this dirty situation by the army and he proceeded on self imposed exile.

He should have thanked his stars and should have called it a day for politics as he was living comfortably in London and Dubai and making millions of dollars by lecturing around the world. But that was not to be. After four years of exile he started getting hallucinations via the face book and twitter that the nation was beckoning him to come and assume the charge. Against all advice, including that of the Pakistan army leadership and his friends and family, he took the plunge and has landed himself in a deep muck. Ultimately what will happen to him is any one’s guess but one fact is so obvious that no good can happen to him.

Carl Marx says, “Men make their history, but they do not make it as they please; they do not make it under self-selected circumstances, but under circumstances existing already, given and transmitted from the past.” Evolution is bound to take its toll.

http://www.thefrontierpost.com/category/40/

It is refreshing that all political parties are enthusiastically taking part in the forthcoming elections. One party even went overboard to approach the UNO for a trivial issue regarding delimitation of constituencies. Moreover, thanks to concerted behind the scene political process and relentless implementation of multiple development projects, of public interest, by the Pakistan Army, that all worthwhile political entities are participating in the electoral process in Baluchistan. Era of boycott and disruption of election is over, at least for the time being.

Time is now ripe to take the country out of the malice of low voter turnout. For this a well thought out strategy has to be evolved to strengthen the enabling environment for the voters. Diverse sets of factors correlate with voter turnout in Pakistan. Main factors are: compelling issues, charismatic leadership, faith in the fairness of electoral process and enabling environment. Motivation of the parties to pull out voters is a major contributory factor.

Pakistan stands at 164th in terms of voter turnout among the 169 counties that have had democratic elections over the past 50 years. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) expects voters’ turnout between 60 to 65 percent in the upcoming elections, including estimated 40 percent turnout of the women voters. Last year, ECP had proposed declaring the results at any polling station null-and-void that attracted less than ten percent of the women voters’. However, the proposal could not get through because of opposition from some mainstream political parties. Opponents of this proposal were of the view that women voters’ turnout generally remains low at the polling stations located in the rural areas, therefore nullifying the results of polling stations with less than ten percent female voters’ turnout may not be a workable option. Moreover, in certain parts of the country major political contenders have been reaching a mutual agreement to not to involve the women in the voting process.

There is no credible figure as to how many women exercised their right to vote in the past elections. This time, separate record for the female voters will be maintained.
A recent booklet, jointly published by National Data Registration Authority (NADRA) and the ECP provides comparative data about Pakistani voter’s turnout patterns with select countries. In India, the average voter turnout is 59.4 per cent and in Bangladesh it is 58.2 percent. Pakistan’s average turnout of 45.3 percent is only better than Egypt (45.1%), Ivory Coast (37%) and Mali, which has the lowest voter turnout of 21.3 percent.

Some countries have made voting compulsory for its citizens. Australia is one of the first countries to have taken this step; there average voter turnout is 94.5 percent. In Peru voters are required to carry a stamped voting card as a proof for having cast their vote.

In a democracy, a citizen’s vote is an empowering tool, which is effective only if exercised. Vote institutionalizes two important civic rights: choosing the future leadership and accountability of previous leaders.

As regards low voter turnout, there are various reasons associated with it: security concerns; sociological issues and taboos; lack of compelling issues; lack of faith in the contesting personalities; despondency syndrome; indifference etc.

In Pakistan’s 2008 general elections, voter turnout was 44.1 per cent. While in the same year, in Bangladesh 87.4 per cent voters cast their vote in the parliamentary elections. In India’s 2009 general elections, voter turnout was 59.7 per cent.

It is encouraging that arrangements are afoot to enable overseas voters to participate in the polls. NADRA has announced that necessary mechanism has been put. This is likely to allow the 4.5 million Pakistanis living abroad to cast their ballot. It is for the first time that Pakistanis living abroad will be able to vote. Available details indicate that polling staff will be sent to Pakistani missions for arranging the polling. Two centres would be set up in the countries which house over 100,000 Pakistani nationals and one in those where the presence is thinner. It will be interesting to gauge the impact of these votes. In all probability, the impact is likely to be of limited consequence except in the areas which are traditionally expat pockets.

Almost all political parties had urged the Supreme Court and the ECP to make it possible for overseas Pakistanis to participate in the electoral exercise. The system worked out by NADRA is new and one hopes that it functions efficiently. While Pakistanis in other countries should certainly have the right to vote, such ventures in other countries have led to allegations of unfair play. Hopefully, we will not add a new controversy to our electoral process.

To improve the turnout, the ECP will have to make necessary arrangements for the voting of internally displaced persons. In some of the constituencies, over 90 percent of the population has been displaced due to ongoing violence. It would be appropriate to setup mobile polling booths to reach out to all IDP camps and facilitate such people.

The act of seeking votes on the basis of religion, sect or ethnicity has been made an offence by the ECP. Keeping in view the socio-political environment of the country, religion/sect, tribe, clan and ethnic alignment are powerful drivers in the context of attracting voters. Voting is also territory and constituency oriented. Moreover, local ethnic based power structures play a vital role in electoral dynamics.

Therefore, if at all, this restriction is implemented, it would reduce the turn-out. At the same time, another instruction by the ECP that three year jail terms shall be awarded for stopping others from voting is a positive step that would boost the turn out. Likewise, insertion of ‘none-of-the-above’ box on the ballot paper is also likely to encourage voters to come out and vote. The ECP has also announced a jail term for those who disrupt the working of polling staff.

This step would go a long way in infusing a sense of security amongst the polling staff as well as the voters.

ECPs’ restraint on political parties regarding provision of transport to voters is likely to be flouted. However, assuming that it could be imposed in letter and spirit, it would reduce the voter turnout tremendously.

To offset the impact of this restriction on turnout, ECP should itself make arrangement for providing transport to the voters and increase the number of polling stations so that even elderly, sick and physically handicapped voters could cast their votes conveniently.

Democracy cannot evolve and flourish unless an overwhelming majority of the people votes. Voting process should be made as simple and as convenient as possible. Computerizes National Identity Card (CNIC) number could itself become the vote number, inserting the CNIC into an ATM like machine should display the candidates’ names and symbols, voter should place his/her thumb on the appropriate symbol, machine should check the authenticity of the thumb impressions against previously recorded data in the CNIC/mainframe; then it should accept or reject the vote and issue an acknowledgment receipt either way. This is the kind of system that we should develop for 2018 elections.

(Writer is Consultant, Policy & Strategic Response, IPRI)

http://www.thefrontierpost.com/category/40/

Whether it is with regard to government policy or judgments of the superior judiciary, non-implementation by civil administration of the above has been the menacing culture of the country: A host of problems owe their births to this unhealthy practice.

The recent example of this malpractice is that outgoing prime minister Raja Pervez Ashraf, also known as �Raja Rental� for trying to install rental powers plants during his tenure as the minister for water and power that would have caused huge losses to the national exchequer. , Raja is accused of sanctioning 200 more CNG stations on his last working day on March 13, 2013; although, the Supreme Court had ordered against new CNG stations. The SC�s suo moto took notice of the development and fixed the hearing on April 16. The court was informed that the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority had, despite the outgoing prime minister�s instructions, refused to grant licenses to 200 CNG stations, as not up to the needed criteria. At the same time, the Federal Investigating Agency submitted a list of applications for the grant of CNG station licenses during the whole tenure of the Pakistan People�s Party-led government since 2008. The FIA record says that the OGRA received more than 7,000 applications of which1,541 applications were approved. The FIA submitted the detail of 1,508 cases with a commitment that the record of the remaining cases would be submitted during the hearing of the case. The SC also directed secretary ministry of petroleum and natural resources to probe the matter of letter of credits relating to import of cylinders and CNG kits during ban on the CNG station licenses with the assistance of the Federal Board of Revenue. He was asked to submit the report in this regard .It also observed that the court would examine the change of sites of several CNG stations. However, the anomaly remain that it was the Musharraf regime that sanctioned thousands of new such filling stations despite the fact that gas reserves were depleting and the decision was to effected adversely gas supplies to domestic consumers and power stations.

The same Raja Pervez Ashraf has now been allowed to contest the National Assembly constituency in Gujar Khan. Does it not give the message that the returning officer and the election tribunal had wrongly rejected his nomination papers and the allegations were not true? This has put a big question mark on the entire scrutiny process. There are other examples of the same nature and this raises a question as if assemblies coming after the May 11 parliamentary polls will be infested with the same lot of lawmakers who pay no taxes. A report in December last year, , titled �Representation without Taxation�, said that more than 70 per cent of Pakistan�s MNAs, MPAs and senators and a majority of top political leadership pay no or little taxes. Are we preparing the stage for the same rotten elements whose elimination was required by implementing articles 62 and 63 of the constitution? Are we any near the goal of assemblies housed with representatives of the middleclass people or, are we drifting further away from the cherished destination?
After the outgoing assemblies were, for the first time, allowed to complete their constitution tenure of five years, a hope had kindled in the heart of Pakistanis that democracy had come to stay. The process, however, now in progress hardly gives the hope that this objective can be achieved. What is now seen is that feudal, big industry and commercial interests are poised to once again consolidate their power to perpetrate their ruthless rule over more than 180 million people, 30 per cent of whom are living below the poverty line - abject poverty? Does the situation even give a semblance of hope for a democracy which empowers the people? Another problem concerns the mounting terrorism which has targeted parties and candidates in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan and to a lesser degree in other parts of the country. The spate of planted bomb explosions and suicide bombs attacks has already turned the period leading to May 11 elections, the bloodiest in the country�s history. The fear of militancy rules over whatever electioneering is going on in Pakistan to a degree that security of candidates and workers of political parties has emerged as a major issue. There are fervent calls for the deployment of armed forces but the army too, has its limitations and more so when it is already engaged in the tribal areas and elsewhere in Pakistan. The entire political and election scenario is fraught with dangers. The elite and the ordinary people are confused as to the direction of events.

http://www.thefrontierpost.com/category/46/

A top-level meeting of the government officials with the Interim Prime Minister in the chair was held in Islamabad on Tuesday. Therein the meeting, Caretaker Prime Minister Mir Hazar Khan Khoso has issued instructions to the Establishment Division to fill 3000 vacant posts of Baluchistan quota on merit. Indeed, it is a welcome move for the people of restive Balochistan. For years, the people of Balochistan have been deprived of their basic rights for one reason or the other. The Prime Minister has rightly instructed the Establishment Division that these posts should be advertised again in the local mass media and ten more days be given to applicants for submitting their applications afresh for these vacancies, paving way for transparent induction of deserving candidates. Nonetheless, the statement remains doubtful in the light of the media reports that Caretaker PM’s son Shafqat Hussain Khoso serving in grade 17, soon after the new setup was installed, has been promoted and appointed in grade 18 in NHA on a lucrative position on deputation. The quick elevation of undeserving son of the caretaker premier in grade 19 on next day may have surprised many others working in NHA. But certainly, it was a rude shock for many who were hoping for an end to nepotism, favoritism and corruption unleashed in the previous PPP regime. Notwithstanding wide-spread corruption reported from subordinate ministries and departments, earlier, former Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani’s sons benefitted from the powers of their father, and then again, son-in-law of his successor Raja Ashraf Pervez, too, was given the prized posting. Thus many dubbed the PPP regime as the most corrupt government this country is ever governed by. Now the widespread feelings are that the hand-picked caretakers are well and truly heirs of the previous regime. The caretakers have started the political journey from where the previous government left, building up the same charge-sheet of corruption and nepotism. It is going to hurt the sentiments of masses and integrity of the Prime Minister’s office. Though the abuse of the position, power and authority is not new phenomenon in Pakistan yet a majority of the countrymen cannot expect the same from an elderly person from the superior judiciary. What a bad luck this country has that each and every ruler—no matter where he comes from-- falls to temptation of greed and lust associated with the power. The caretakers will remain in power for a few more weeks. Alas! The stories of nepotism are hitting the racks. Now the caretakers have decided to execute the jobs quota in Balochistan. The people of Balochistan have already been brutalized over the years. They deserve fair-play, justice and even-playing field. The caretakers must take every possible measure to curtail the prevailing sense of deprivation amongst the people of Balochistan. The transparent execution of jobs quota will woo the people of Balochistan back in the mainstream politics, and the jobs on merit is the answer to many ills. No more nepotism, please!

http://www.thefrontierpost.com/category/46/

The final list of the candidates is out. There are more contestants in these elections than was the case in the 2008 elections. Invariably four to five candidates are contesting in each constituency. In some cases there are more candidates but not all candidates are taken seriously. In all 148 political parties have obtained election symbols but not all of them are going to put up more than a couple of candidates. The number of independent candidates appears to be on the rise. Most of them opted to run as independent after their favourite party being rejected them for allocation of party ticket.

There is an overcrowding of candidates on the right of political spectrum. More candidates will be competing for the Islamist and the Political Right votes. However, family and baradari linkages, local political factionalism, personality of the candidates and how has the candidate engaged in community service in the past will influence voting behaviour. Every party has a secure vote bank that is associated with the party leader or the party identity. However, no party has enough vote bank to secure a comfortable majority in the National Assembly. Every party has to make efforts to win other votes.

Though there are reserved seats for women, thirty-six women are contesting on general seats. Some non-Muslims are also contesting on general seats.

The candidates started their election campaign on individual basis soon after the filing of the nomination papers. However, the pace of the election campaign has been slow mainly because the unnecessarily elaborate scrutiny of the nomination papers and the Returning Officers’ efforts to embarrass the candidates in the name of Islam caused confusion. This also delayed the allocation of party ticket by political parties. All this delayed the start of the election campaign and if some candidate began their campaign in their constituency on individual basis it was low-keyed.

From April 19-20 the political parties formally launched their election campaign. Up to now, Imran Khan’s PTI appears to be most active. This is followed by the PMLN. The PPP is keeping a low profile due to the non-availability of leaders of national stature. It is paying more attention to putting out advertisements in newspapers and private sector TV channels than holding public meetings. President Zardari cannot lead the election campaign. The top PPP leaders, especially Bilawal Bhutto, Faryal Talpur and Makhdoom Amin Fahim, face terrorist threat. Their visibility is very low. The PPP’s focus is on invoking the Bhutto legacy.

The traditional methods of election campaign are being supplemented by the use of modern communication technologies. The traditional methods like door to door contacts, meetings with the residents of a locality, interaction with community leaders, use of handbills, party flags and posters and banners are being employed. The candidates and parties are avoiding big public meetings, election marches, night time rallies and a high visibility election campaigning. These campaign methods used to turn election campaign into a big festival. Now, the threat of terrorism has forced the political parties to reduce big rallies and marches to the minimum.

The Tehrik-e-Taliban-e-Pakistan (TTP) and their local affiliates are using suicide and remote control bombings to demonstrate their capacity to operate and strike freely in Pakistan, disrupt the election process and deter the ordinary people from coming out for voting on the polling day. Such attacks have taken place in Peshawar, Mardan, Karachi and parts of Balochistan and the tribal areas. Several people have been killed in these incidents.

The TTP is targeting the candidates and election campaign of three liberal-left parties: the ANP, the MQM and the PPP. This is working to the advantage of Islamic political parties whose meetings and electioneering are not targeted by them. One of the PML-N candidates in Balochistan faced bombing attack on his entourage. This attack was done by a separatist Baloch group. The Punjab is peaceful, at least up to now. This gives a clear edge to the Tehrik-e-Insaf and the PML-N that are dominating election campaign in the Punjab. Imran Khan adopts a pro-Taliban position and the PML-N maintains ambiguity towards hard-line Islamic groups, avoiding direct criticism of the Taliban and the Punjab based sectarian groups.

Modern communication technologies are being used more frequently this time than was the case in the February 2008 elections. Mobile phones are the main communication system in election campaigning and the monitoring of the polling stations. Mobile phone message system is currently being used to send political messages for seeking support as well as for inviting activists and voters to party meetings. Facebook and Twitter are also being used for debating the elections affairs, especially the election manifestos and the role of the leadership in political parties. Some of these exchanges are contentious and the supporters of different political parties trade charges and counter charges. The e-mail messages are also used for sending publicity material and for inviting people to meetings.

All major parties are using these technologies. However, the PTI was the first party to use modern communication technologies for political mobilization and publicity. The PML-N has established a special team working under the leadership of Maryam Nawaz Sharif for using information technology for building support and communicating regularly with voters and supporters. The PPP is rather slow in adopting modern communication technologies. Almost all political parties have their web pages, although all parties are not efficient enough in updating their web page.

The use of modern communication technology, especially the use of computer for communication, is limited to urban population. A large part of rural population and the poor section of population in cities do not have much access to the computer related communication technology.

The political parties have hired advertising agencies and media groups for projection of the party through the media and to design media and publicity campaigns. The PTI and the PML-N have hired or borrowed small aircraft/helicopters to enable the leadership to travel quickly across the country. The Pir of Pagaro (PML-Functional) has his own aircraft and the PPP is expected to hire one.

There is a lot of focus on newspaper advertisements and projection through television. Colored handbills and posters and banners are commonly used. In some cases the candidates violate the Election Commission’s limits on size of posters and billboards.

The administrations of major cities are charging fee for displaying party/candidate posters on roadsides. In this way the city administrations are earning a reasonable amount of revenue. The election campaign has become an expensive affair.

The writer is an independent political and defence analyst.

- See more at: http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2013....75Efnbil.dpuf