A bloody campaign trail

Nasim Ahmed

The Election 2013 campaign trail has been getting bloodier by the day. A deadly shadow of violence overhangs the coming elections as, from Peshawar to Quetta to Karachi, an endless wave of attacks and threats has relentlessly targeted politicians and election workers over the past few weeks. Questions have legitimately been raised whether fair, free and transparent elections can be held in an all pervasive atmosphere of fear and intimidation.

On April 26, within a span of 12 hours militants attacked a major ANP leader and bombed an election office of the party in Karachi, in which 11 persons were killed and 40 others were injured. A day earlier on April 25, at least six people were killed and another 15 injured in a massive explosion near an election office of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement in Karachi. The two powerful blasts razed all buildings in the vicinity and destroyed a large number of vehicles parked nearby. It was the second bomb attack on MQM within two days. On April 23, a bomb had ripped through an election camp of the party near People's Chowrangi, killing four people and injuring more than a dozen others.

Last Tuesday also saw four blasts in different parts of Quetta, one apparently a suicide blast targeting FC personnel. Two deaths were confirmed, alongside scores of injuries. Another similar blast took place on April 24 in the same city. This time too, as in the case of three of the four blasts on April 23, mostly innocent people were hit. According to one count, at least 26 people have been killed by bombers and gunmen since April 11, including 16 mowed down by a suicide bomber at a rally by the Awami National Party (ANP) in Peshawar. Amnesty International in a statement has said that 37 people have been killed and 183 injured in attacks on election officials and party representatives and supporters countrywide in recent weeks.

Clearly, the purpose of these attacks is to create a climate of panic and fear among the people and, thus, force them to stay away from public meetings and prevent them from casting their votes on the polling day. Intelligence agencies had predicted violence on a large scale in the run-up to the elections. It is not known what precautionary measures the security agencies adopted, but the sad fact is the perpetrators of blood and gore are succeeding in their designs. This is clearly not the right kind of environment in which to go into an election - an election that is meant to usher in a historic democratic transition. In the circumstances, a low turn-out is expected which will defeat the very purpose of the democratic exercise.

The pre-poll violence that we are witnessing was not unexpected. As is well known, TTP had hurled open threats against the coming elections and warned that they would do everything to disrupt the process. The TTP militants have mounted a series of bombing assaults on the ANP party leaders and their meetings in Peshawar, while a spokesman for TTP has claimed responsibility for the attacks on the MQM and the ANP campaign offices in Karachi. The Taliban have been targeting the three main parties in the previous coalition government - PPP, ANP and MQM - which broadly embrace a secular and liberal ideology. On the other hand, the PTI, the PML-N, the JI and the JUI-F which are considered soft and sympathetic towards the Taliban are immune to militant attacks.

In view of the generally volatile law and order situation in the country and openly hostile designs of the Taliban, security should have ranked higher up the caretaker government's priority list. But the caretakers have proved ineffective and weak in dealing with the situation. Needless to say, the primary responsibility of the caretakers is to ensure the holding of the elections in a free and fair environment. In the present circumstances, that means mobilising the security and intelligence apparatus on a war footing to go after the militants' cells and their communication networks. But this has not been done. No doubt, the militants are resourceful and have repeatedly demonstrated their ability to strike at the targets of their choice, but the state has a formidable capacity to take on the violent elements threatening the coming elections and, indeed, our very survival as a democratic society.
In recent weeks, a number of high level meetings have been held to review the security situation but so far no worthwhile measures have been visible on the ground to enhance the security of the coming polls. The prevailing uncertainty and sense of chaos threaten to severely hamper the electoral process and may even jeopardize its successful completion. Amnesty International recently asked the government to investigate the recent militant attacks on election meetings and candidates and take stringent measures to prevent poll violence to ensure holding of elections in a free and transparent manner. Surely, the ECP and the caretakers need to work out a new strategy to deal with dangers looming ahead. The active support and cooperation of all security forces, including the army, should be immediately sought to contain the rising tide of pre-poll violence.

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As elections draw nearer, political pundits, crystal gazers, pollsters and surveyors have been coming up with their estimates and analyses of who will achieve how many votes in the coming elections.

Opinion polls have been conducted by both national and international organizations to find out how voters will exercise their right of franchise. Gallup Pakistan, the International Republican Institute, SDPI and various newspaper surveys have come up with their own findings on the likely outcome of the coming elections.

But there is a difference between voting intentions expressed in the course of a survey and a scientific analysis of the voters lists and their age- and region-wise break-up and the trends they indicate. In other words, what do the numbers say? A study of the facts and figures relating to the voters' lists of 2008 and 2013 elections throws some interesting results.

Let us start with the 2008 elections and the number of votes cast secured by
various contesting parties. In 2008 the number of valid votes was eight crore and eight lakhs and the voter turnout was 42.85 per cent. The election results showed the PPP getting one crore and six lakh votes, constituting 30.6 per cent of the total. The number of votes polled by the PML-N was sixty eight lakhs (19.6 per cent). The PML-Q secured eighty lakhs votes (23.0 per cent), MQM twenty five lakh votes (7.4 per cent), ANP seven lakh votes (2.0 per cent) and the JUI-F eight lakhs votes (2.2 per cent). The remaining fifty three lakh votes (15.3 per cent) went to Independents and various nationalist parties. The PPP which emerged as the single largest party with 97 seats formed a coalition government with the PML-N, the ANP, the MQM and other parties at the centre.

Now coming to the 2013 elections, the most important tool to anticipate voters' bahaviour is an analysis of the latest electoral list. As per the apex court's directive, the Election Commission has updated the electoral list for the 2013 polls. As a result of the revision of the electoral list, approximately three crore and fifty six lakh bogus votes have been discarded and three crore and ninety one lakh new votes have been added. Thus, currently, the total number of valid votes is eight crore and forty four lakh.

We can divide the total number of voters into two categories. The first category consists of old voters numbering four crore and forty two lakh or 54 per cent of the total. These voters voted in the 2008 elections and mainly belong to the over-30 age group. The number of new voters is three crore and ninety one lakh or 46 per cent of the total. They mostly belong to the age group 20-30 years. According to NADRA statistics, 47 per cent of the voters are in the age group 18-35 years.

For argument's sake, it can be assumed all of the old voters will follow the old pattern, that is, vote for the same old parties as they did in 2008 elections with the same overall turnout of 43 per cent. But under the law of probability, there is a strong possibility that in the light of new circumstances, about 20-30 per cent voters may switch their loyalties and vote for other parties. On current showing, the likeliest beneficiary of the vote switch by over one crore voters will be the PTI and to some extent, the PML-N.

Now coming to the three crore and ninety-one lakh new voters, how will they vote? On the basis of various opinion poll surveys and the gathering at election rallies, an estimated 60-70 per cent new voters may vote for the PTI and the remaining 30-40 per cent may choose the PML-N, the PPP, the MQM and other parties. It may also be mentioned here that this time all election surveys are predicting a higher voter turnout - as much as 60 per cent - as compared to around 40 per cent in previous elections.

If over 50 per cent of new voters - that is two crores out of four crores - turn out on the polling day and around 60 per cent of them vote for PTI, the party will secure over one crore and twenty lakh votes. Add to this about 40-50 lakh votes from the one crore vote switchers from the previous electoral list and the tally becomes complete - about one crore and sixty lakh votes. If all other negative factors are also taken into account, this figure may come down to one crore and twenty lakh. According to the same formula, the PML-N may secure from eighty-five lakh to one crore votes and the PPP from seventy to eighty lakh votes.

Although the vote bank is not necessarily proportional to the number of seats won, on past showing it may be assumed that the PTI and the PML-N may be in close competition with 70-100 seats, while PPP may be restricted to 60-75 seats. This creates a very interesting situation. However, all these are mere calculations and the ground situation is in a state of constant flux. In a closely contested election like the present one where numerous variables and hidden elements are at play, the final results are difficult to predict with complete accuracy. But one thing is certain. It will be a hung parliament in which the major players will be the PML-N, the PTI and the PPP.

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The Pakistan Muslim League-Q of the Chaudhrys of Gujrat has lost many "electable" candidates through defections to the Pakistan Muslim League of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and the Pakistan Peoples Party in recent days, but it still eyes an important role in the formation of the next government in Pakistan, as no single party will be able to form the government single-handedly after the general elections.

The mainstream political parties, the PPP and the PML-N, are neck-and-neck in recent opinion polls. They will have to seek the support of smaller parties, like the PML-Q, the MQM, the ANP and the JUI-F to form the government, which is expected to be weaker than the last PPP government. Contrary to the vote bank of the PML-N in big cities of the Punjab, especially on the GT Road, the PML-Q mainly draws support from rural areas of the province. According to experts, the PML-Q will not lose its relevance in power politics with the next assembly predicted to be more fragmented than the previous parliament.

The party had won 92 seats in the 2002 assembly to form the government under the umbrella of President General Pervez Musharraf, but in the 2008 election it managed only 41 seats. It is contesting the election after seat adjustments with the PPP in the Punjab. It will have the backing of the PPP on 20 seats among 34 candidates it has named for the May 11 vote, all of them from the Punjab. The two parties are contesting against each other on at least five National Assembly seats, including NA-105 Gujrat, where Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi is facing Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar of the PPP.

For two National Assembly seats of Gujrat, NA-104 and NA-105, the hometown of the Chaudhrys, a tough competition is expected between the PML-Q and the PML-N. In past elections, the constituencies have always been a battleground between candidates of the Chaudhry family and the PPP. However, in this election, candidates of the PTI and the PML-N are posing a serious threat to its authority. The PML-Q dominates in NA-104 as Shujaat Hussain and Pervaiz Elahi have completed many development projects, especially Gujrat University, during the Musharraf regime. Chaudhry Wajahat Hussain of the PML-Q, brother of Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, former MNA and MPA Nawabzada Mazhar Ali Khan of the PML-N and Usman Ali Tariq of PTI are contesting elections. On the provincial assembly seats, the PML-Q has fielded Chaudhry Shafaat Hussain, younger brother of Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain from PP-109 and Shujaat Nawaz Ajnala from PP-108.

In the 2008 general election, Wajahat Hussain won with 96,379 votes while PPP's Nawabzada Chazanfar Gul was runner-up with 63,374 votes while Syed Faisal Abbas of the PML-N bagged 8,927 votes.

NA-105 is one of the most discussed constituencies with a close contest expected between Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi and Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar of the PPP. However, Pervaiz Elahi is better placed than the PPP candidate. According to an opinion poll, people are not happy with Ahmad Mukhtar's performance during the five-year tenure of the PPP government. In 2008, Ahmed Mukhtar won the NA-105 seat with 79,735 votes while Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain was runner-up with 65,738 votes.

It is a fact that in rural areas of the Punjab, Biradari (Clan or caste system) and rivals are the main factors when people cast their votes. Their first priority is the clan or caste. Jaats, Rajputs, Kashmiris, Arains, Gujjars and Khokhars are some main Biradaris in the province. Most candidates bank on their Biradari vote in villages. Then they vote against a candidate who is supported by their rivals. Party affiliation comes last. This can be seen even in big cities of the Punjab and political parties consider the support of Biradaris in awarding tickets to candidates. As long as voters are divided on the lines of Biradari and opposition to rivals, the PML-Q will continue to receive its share in power.

According to analysts, it will be a relevant force if no major party gains simple majority. They think the Q-League will be a power player in a hung parliament at the Centre even if it wins 10 seats. Created to fulfil the wishes of a military dictator by merging different factions of the Muslim League before the 2002 elections, the PML-Q began wilting shortly before the 2008 election. Many individuals left the party to join the PML-N or the PPP or contest the polls independently. The desertions in the National Assembly and the Senate continued even after the election. In Punjab, 47 of the 85 PML-Q members of the Provincial Assembly formed a 'forward block' to support Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, which meant the chief minister and his PML-N government could survive even after coming out of a coalition with the PPP.

Before elections, the PML-Q and the PPP reached a consensus over seat adjustments, leaving six National Assembly and 14 Punjab Assembly seats open. The Q-League gained 25 while PPP got 75 constituencies in central Punjab. Both parties agreed to support each other in forthcoming general elections and 25 out of 100 constituencies were given to the PML-Q in central Punjab. The PPP got 148 constituencies of the Provincial Assembly and the PML-Q 52.

Will the seat adjustment help the PML-Q win seats in the Punjab is a big question? Some people believe the alliance would hurt both the PPP and the Q-League while others say the seat adjustment will be mutually beneficial.
According to critics, the PML-Q could never become a political party and remains a group of "electables" as it lacks clear thinking and ideology. They think the PML-Q has become a victim of its policy of weakening political parties and strengthening individuals. Even its strategy of joining the PPP government could not stop desertions. It was and remains a group of winnable candidates who are together to serve their own interests. It is a party that has candidates but no party following amongst the voters and the 'electables' have stayed with it when they could not be accommodated by major parties for different reasons. However, some stayed with the PML-Q because they have developed a strong relationship with the Chaudhrys over the years.

They say the Chaudhrys had joined forces with the PPP because they had run out of other options. They had drifted too far from the Sharifs and did not want to join hands with the PTI which has an uncertain future. An accommodating PPP was the only viable option for them. However, a bad performance in the polls can accelerate the process of its disintegration.

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A brouhaha was raised in recent weeks about the role of returning officers and the kind of questions they put to the candidates. It has been the most penned down and talked about debate in the last few days. The politicians became het up and the media men wrought up.

Articles 62 and 63 have ignited a heated debate nudging apart two sections of society: liberal secularists and the conservatives; that is what each side of the divide is labeling each other. The rejection of the nomination papers of Ayaz Amir worked as fuel to the fire, burning in the "liberal" minds. Ayaz Amir's rejection orientated the discussion to the seemingly unending debate on the 'ideology of Pakistan'.

This writer read more than a dozen articles on the topic. Most were quite liberal, stretching the debate to the credentials of Quaid-e-Azam and Allama Iqbal. An editor of a widely circulated English daily opined that both these founding fathers of Pakistan would have failed before the Returning Officers of the electoral process. He goes as far as to say that Allama Muhammad Iqbal would have been on a sticky wicket if requested to explain the ideology of Pakistan. He further tags the behaviour of these Returning Officers as being an "absurd display of religiosity".

These so-called liberals have nothing in their pockets but the speech of Jinnah delivered on August 11, 1947, brushing aside almost more than one hundred sayings of the Quaid about upholding the ideals of Islam. The speech of 11th August, in point of fact, shows a transition from the concept of nationhood towards statehood. But that is the sole source to render secular meaning to the type of Pakistan Jinnah wished to have.

The Quaid had a clear concept of Islam as a code of life. In reply to a journalist in 1943, he said, "Islam is not a mere religion, but a realistic and practical code of conduct." During his visit to Usmania University, Hyderabad, he emphasized, "The concept of an Islamic state is that in which one has to obey Almighty Allah faithfully. This obedience is through the injunctions and principles of the Holy Quran. In Islam, sovereign powers are not vested in the persons of king or parliament.... Quran has prescribed the limits of our political and social life."

The current debate, originated from the use of Articles 62 and 63 by the Returning Officers. These two Articles define the parameters of the qualifications and disqualifications for the ones aspiring to join the provincial and central legislative assemblies of Pakistan. Article 62(e, f) proved to be a great provocation to these liberals.

It is vehemently argued that the words 'sagacious', 'righteous', 'non-profligate', 'honest' and 'ameen' for the legislators are vague and defective, not to mention difficult to implement. But the point is, why are these words not taken in a general sense or in its general connotation? After all, these terms have a legal and moral significance in many laws of the world and specifically, Islam.

The qualifications of a witness as enunciated by Islamic law are that he ought to be of "reliable character", "mature mind" and "understanding". Moreover, a competent witness is the one who "avoids major sins". Nobody has found it necessary to define these terms since they are generally understood. Nobody can argue that the words used for the qualification of a witness are defective or obscure. But when the constitution says that a legislator should be the one who abstains from major sins, the latitudinarians rush forward to defend their cohorts and peers, contending that to implement Articles 62 and 63 would be tantamount to the resurrection of General Zia's soul.

Sir Ivor Jennings has written about the qualifications of a minister in his widely acknowledged work, Cabinet Government. He says, "The most elementary qualification demanded of a minister is honesty and incorruptibility." No legal expert has ever listed these simple words as opaque and demanding further clarification.

Now there is another problem: the blame is reposed on General Zia-ul-Haq for interpolating these articles in the constitution. It is argued that Zia was responsible for Islamizing the constitution. But flipping over the pages of the constitutional history of Pakistan, one notes the aburdity of that claim.
In the constitution of 1962, the oath of the President, the P.M. and the members of the parliaments bound them to express obedience to the constitution, without reference to Islamic ideology; but adherence to Islamic ideology was made part of the interim constitution of 1972 and then 1973, under the supervision of Mr. Bhutto. The Objectives Resolution was also retained unanimously, as the preamble to the constitution of 1973.
In the "Asma Jillani vs. Government of the Punjab" judgment given in 1972, Chief Justice Hamoodur Rahman had it thus, "The state of Pakistan was created in perpetuity based on Islamic ideology and has to be run and governed on all the basic norms of that ideology."

The role of a legislator to enforce the Islamic ideology has been defined in Articles 2, 2A, 5, 31, 35, 36, 37, 38, 203(A), 203(J), 227, 228, 229 and 230. The logic becomes very simple now: how can a legislator help the process of promulgation of Islamic injunctions and teachings if he himself is devoid of the knowledge of the Holy Quran and Sunnah? How can a person who indulges himself in behaviour antithetic to Islamic laws assist the parliament forge laws as articulated in the mentioned articles? Vetting of the aspiring parliamentarians by the Returning Officers, as per Articles 62 and 63, ought to be a matter of high priority so as to implement the constitution in its quintessence.

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As the election campaign has gathered momentum despite continued terrorist attacks on certain political parties, a clear trend is emerging regarding the actual electoral battle lines.

The latest attacks have been made on Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and the Awami National Party (ANP) in Karachi, which claimed the lives of dozens of people. On the other hand, the electoral arena is on fire and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) are each striving hard to convince the voters to cast their ballots in their favour.

Importantly, the Pakistan People's Party, one of the two main traditional stakeholders for political power, is hardly to be seen on the electoral front, but trying hard through the media to get the voters' attention. From observation of the electoral contests and the mood of the voters, it is now more than apparent that the May 11 general elections would largely be a contest between the PTI and the PML-N in the political heartland of the country - the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

In yet another electorally important province, Sindh, the Pakistan People's Party ostensibly seems to rule the roost and may win a majority of the national and provincial assembly seats. Nevertheless, there could be some surprises. For instance, in Karachi, the stronghold of the MQM, since the 1980s, for the first time, the party seems to be on the back foot. There are a number of reasons for that, of which the foremost is the delimitation of certain electoral constituencies of the city; cleansing of the voters lists of around 35 million bogus votes, of which the MQM had always taken advantage; the targeting of the MQM by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the absence of the establishment's patronage of the party. From this situation, both the PTI and the PML-N could take advantage. However, the former is better poised to exploit the conditions in Karachi. The reason is that apart from a political figure, PTI head, Imran Khan, has been a national hero due to his legendary cricketing career and is therefore liked in every nook and corner of the country.

Moreover, due to his belonging to the Punjab and his Pakhtoon ancestry, he could attract the votes of both the migrant communities of Karachi; whereas Khan's image of arguably the only national level leader in contemporary Pakistan could pull the huge non-parochial Urdu-speaking population of Karachi towards the PTI.

Here it is important to note that Pakhtoon voters are already frustrated due to the insensitive attitude of the Awami National Party (ANP) to their woes in Karachi; while the Punjabi community, after the dissolution of the erstwhile Punjabi-Pakhtoon Ittehad (PPI), do not have a representative body in Karachi. Karachi electorally is quite important as it has 20 National Assembly seats, while the rest of Sindh has 41 seats.

Now come to the political heartland of Pakistan. In the Punjab, the contest on most of the seats in northern and central Punjab is between the PML-N and the PTI. Whereas in southern Punjab, although the PML-N is still strong, but as the region has traditionally been a stronghold of the PPP, therefore this time the PTI seems to have replaced the PML-N as the main challenger to the PPP. In fact, a number of the PPP leaders from south Punjab have already joined the PTI. These include names like Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Ishaq Khakwani and Afzal Sindhu. Qureshi and Sindhu remained federal ministers in the outgoing PPP government. The PML-N is going to lose a lot in south Punjab due to its opposition to the vociferous and uniformly strong demand of the region of making it a separate province.

So with significant defections from the PPP to the PTI and the unpopularity of the PML-N in south Punjab, Khan's party may gain significant electoral wins. It may be mentioned, that already the PTI has forged an alliance with the Bahawalpur National Awami Party (BNAP), which has been struggling for a separate Bahawalpur province and led by the Nawab of Bahawalpur, Salahuddin Abbasi. On the other hand the Pakistan Democratic Party (PDP), the party of late Nawabzada Nasrullah, has already merged into the PTI.
Nawabzada Mansoor Ali Khan, the son of Nasrullah, is contesting the NA election from his native Muzaffargarh on the ticket of the PTI. So all this would contribute to the tally of the PTI votes. In the upper and central Punjab the PTI and the PML-N are locked in a tight one-to-one contest on most of the constituencies. In the Attock, Rawalpindi, Chakwal, Lahore, Sialkot, Faisalabad regions the contests are going to be nail-biting. Seemingly, the PML-N still holds its own in its traditional stronghold Lahore and it remains to be seen that how many seats the PTI is able to wrench from it on the basis of its young voters and change band-wagon. The PML-N had formed an alliance with Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ), the front organization of the banned Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP); whereas the PTI has created an alliance with Sheikh Rasheed's Awami Muslim League. Both these organizations are going to help the PML-N and the PTI respectively in Jhang-Faisalabad and Rawalpindi-Islamabad regions.

The denial of the ticket to popular figure and politician-cum-journalist Ayaz Amir by the PML-N in Chakwal is going to dent the party and help the PTI add to its tally of seats in the region, as Amir's panel has announced support to the PTI candidates. As far as KP and FATA are concerned, they are as important as any other region of the country because KP, with 35 NA, and FATA with 12 NA seats together have 47 seats and they could play a critical role in the formation of the government of any party. However, in KP the real contests are largely between the PTI, which according to almost all surveys is far ahead of other parties, including the PML-N, on the one hand and the ANP, JUI-F, PPP on the other hand. Interestingly, unlike all the other parties, which have their strongholds in different parts of the province, the PTI has a uniform strength and support across KP. In Peshawar valley, that is the districts of Peshawar, Charsadda, Mardan, Nowshera and Swabi, the PTI is locked in a stiff contest with the ANP. In southern KP, that is the districts of Kohat, Hangu, Karak, Bannu, Lakki Marwat, D I Khan and Tank, the PTI is vying against the JUI-F. In extreme northern Swat, Shangla, Kohistan, Dir Upper and Dir Lower districts, the PTI is challenging the PML-N, JUI-F and JI.

In Hazara division, the contest is straight and simple; that is between the PML-N and the PTI. As far as FATA is concerned, the PML-N does not seem to have much following, while the ANP never had any strong support in the region. Traditionally, the JUI-F has bagged most of the seats from the region. But this time, the PTI is equally popular and the reason is Imran Khan's consistent anti-drone stance. There is another interesting basis of Khan's support in FATA and that is due to his mother's belonging to the Burki tribe of South Waziristan. The support of the PTI in FATA and KP could be gauged from the fact that the party is contesting on all the 47 NA seats from there.
Balochistan has never been significant from Pakistan's overall election point of view, as it only has 14 NA seats, which is roughly divided between its Baloch and Pashtoon belt. With the return of the Balochistan National Party (BNP) to the electoral fray, it is expected to win most of the seats from the Baloch belt.

On the other hand, Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) has also returned after the boycott of polls in 2008. In the Pashtoon belt, the contest is mainly between the PkMAP, the JUI-F and the PTI. This time the seats of Balochistan may become extremely important in the formation of the central government.
So all is set for the elections; but the bad law and order situation is hampering the process of electioneering and now the main question is whether free and fair polls could be possible on May 11. This is the question which the concerned quarters have to address because without elections, the already adverse situation in the country is going to be aggravated.

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Anti-Kalabagh dam (KBD) lobby in Pakistan has successfully scuttled plans to construct KBD which is technically most feasible, economically viable and beneficial for all the four provinces.

ANP in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) has doggedly opposed construction of this dam since in its view KBD will sink Nowshera in KPK. Sindh nationalist parties maintain that it would turn Sindh into an arid area and deprive them of Palla fish.

They say there is not enough water in Indus River to justify another dam and the proposed dam would greatly lessen the water quota of Sindh and Punjab will draw maximum benefit from it. Landed Sindhi Waderas and the PPP also joined the bandwagon since many of their leading lights have tens of thousands of acres of irrigation lands in Katcha area in Sindh, where their lands are irrigated by flood waters each year. It is now an open secret that India is backing the anti-KBD lobby since it knows that KBD would adequately meet the water needs of Pakistan and make it economically prosperous and thus fail its program of drying up Pakistan by constructing large number of dams over Rivers Chenab, Jhelum and Indus.

Gen Ziaul Haq made sincere efforts to build the dam but could not do so because of immense political pressure from these parties. Next Nawaz Sharif tried but had to abandon it because of loud protests. Gen Pervez Musharraf resolved to undertake the project since by that time Indian designs had been exposed and Pakistan’s water needs had multiplied. With the help of technical experts which included members from KPK and Sindh, he debated the issue to dispel misperceptions aired by vested interests and tried to convince them that bulk of water flowed into the sea because of absence of storage system. They were told that all the contentions were false.

They were informed that fear of Nowshera getting submerged in water is fallacious. It was stressed that dams do not consume water but store water.
Whether there is one dam on a river or ten, no additional water is needed except when the lake of dam is first filled. Water is consumed at the barrages where canals are taken. There is a provision of a right bank high level canal in the design to irrigate the DIK area, and a left bank canal to irrigate South Punjab. But the water for DIK and South Punjab would be drawn from the share of KPK and Punjab respectively. As for Sindh, it will get its 37% share additional water from the KBD of 2.5 million acre feet. The Sindh province would get the maximum benefit from KBD.

When anti-KBD technical experts ran short of arguments, MQM jumped in and forbade Musharraf from undertaking this project and he shelved it under the frivolous plea of lack of consensus. When the PPP led regime took over power in 2008, the first announcement it made was to shelve KBD for good. Instead it opted for highly expensive thermal Rental Power Project (RPP).

Failure to build dams coupled with RPP scam and high-scale corruption in Wapda led to acute energy crisis which resulted in power outages and gas shedding for long hours and destroyed the industrial sector. Policy of appeasement allowed India to deflate freedom movement in occupied Kashmir and to construct 40 big and small dams over our three rivers. Mismanagement, poor governance and insatiable greed to loot and plunder led to high inflation and sky rocketing price spiral, which not only ruined agriculture but also increased poverty and joblessness. Increasing poverty, lack of justice, snobbish attitude of elites towards the have-nots, rulers subservience to the US and intrusion of US in internal matters have all contributed towards fuelling terrorism.

Patronage of criminals and mafias and near absence of accountability promoted lawlessness and gave greater freedom of action to the criminals and target killers to spread bedlam. Sidelining merit and giving preference to favorites ruined state owned public enterprises. Politicization of NAB, police and other law enforcement agencies gave a freehand to the wrongdoers to indulge all kinds of malpractices without any fear. Such recourse resulted in wide scale embezzlement and irregularities in all government and semi-autonomous departments. Corruption in lower courts kept the unprivileged segment of society deprived of ends of justice. Corruption in education department promoted the culture of ghost schools and blocked growth of literacy rate. Avid lust for power and wealth led to degeneration of moral turpitude. While dishonest and corrupt officials were protected and given promotions, the honest and upright were persecuted and punished.

Of all the four provinces, performance of Sindh government was the worst, although Balochistan government was no less. Every MPA of Sindh Assembly should have been held accountable for bloodying Karachi with human blood for five years and for keeping the economic hub centre of Pakistan perpetually destabilized resulting in closure of industries and business centres and exodus of businessmen to other countries. Unholy practices of extortion, bank robberies, burglary and kidnapping for ransom, carjacking and motorcycle lifting, raping, land grabbing and drug trafficking scaled new heights. Mercifully the people have got rid of parasites and are now eagerly looking forward for a healthy change through elections planned on May 11. Ongoing acts of terrorism against liberal parties are the outcome of previous government’s policies.

Foremost duty of the caretakers and ECP was to carry out proper screening of candidates and then hold fair and free elections so that right kind of persons entered the legislature. The duo has not lived up to the expectations of the people since all the black sheep have easily passed the screening test. The two are responsible for ensuring law and order and provide security to the political parties taking part in elections. Series of successful terrorist attacks on leaders and activists and election offices of liberal parties in particular indicate that the duo is failing in this duty as well.

Irrespective of rosy manifestos of each party, foremost duty of next elected government should be to take stock of the magnitude of the problems faced by Pakistan and evolution of methods to solve them. Worsened law and order, enhanced threat of terrorism, faltering economy, energy crisis, poverty and threats from across the border should be accorded top priority.

Comprehensive policies should be evolved and resources harnessed to confront these challenges. Lavishness should be replaced with austerity, all holes of corruption plugged, nepotism and cronyism to be ended and merit system restored. Selection of heads of all state corporations and semi-autonomous bodies done with due care to reinvigorate the flagging health of state institutions. Creative economic policy aimed at exploiting own resources and giving up foreign crutches should be framed. Construction of Bhasha and other smaller dams should be expedited and KBD project undertaken.
Toothless accountability bill formulated by the last government should be made effective to net the evil doers and to award them exemplary punishments. Honest officials to be socially upgraded. All-encompassing counter terrorism policy may be chalked out, which should include identification of causes of terrorism and their remedies. Undermined rule of law should be reinstated and one law made for the rich and poor; system of justice further improved to provide cheap and quick justice to the unprivileged class. Long term poverty alleviation program should be unfolded to give relief to those living below poverty line.

In order to effectively confront external and internal threats, there should be no letup in up gradation of our defence forces and nuclear and missile development programs. A separate counter terrorism force should be created to tackle urban terrorism and paramilitary forces given the frontline duty to deal with terrorism and cross border terrorism in border areas so as to let the Army fully focus on external threat.

(The writer is a retired Brig and a defence analyst and columnist)

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Election is abuzz with full throttle, focused for the decisive day of 11 May, which will give factual verdicts for the claims of political parties and confirmation to authenticity of surveys coming in recent past before us time to time grading people and parties to the levels of like and favoritism.

This time elections are indifferent – two major parties PPP and PML N seems not contesting for the legislative houses in same zeal as it was in past but it looks to be engagement of PTI with PML N as an alternative to PPP. Except for some melody on private channel broadcasted in paid content depicting sacrifices of their deceased leaders already in heaven, PPP seems to be either very confident in holding their stakes or their whole campaign is in doldrums. Both possibilities can not be ruled out taking into account traditional Sindhi vote bank in cache of party always representing the interior portion of province under a shelter a single flag traditionally. Indeed, it remains a fact that party needs a vanguard figure to lead at this significant stage failing in that Functional League and Nationalist representation may give a serious set back.

PML N is an optimist party now while apparent environment is supporting them but PTI can really turns the table if Imran Khan is success full in bringing claimed and dreamed Tsunami during Election Day. The case in wholesome is going to be different all over the canvas. A large number of veteran voters are at the verge of defection from their old association of political parties owing to varied reasons. Such as, gradual loss of confidence by voters in Traditional Two political parties, awareness acquired through time, experience and media in significance of vote and election and nonetheless people want to experience affect of CHANGE now. Many feels that changed claimed is change far fetched even if PTI comes into power, as party is controlled by same old faces that were earlier part of famous TWO.

Elections are offering infertile landscape to a few parties currently while they are being targeted during their access to people. These parties are blaming for pre poll rigging against them. In mega city – MQM seems to be set in grabbing all cards intact except for some uphill task in NA 250.Lady representative Khushbakht Shujaat may see tough time by triumph card used by Jamat in the shape of ex City Nazim Naimatullah and even one odd other candidates. Delimitation, rural – urban migration from interior Sind, alliance by many against one and Tsunami is a cause of concern for Altaf Hussain and his team. Elections are important for ANP and JUP in confirming their claims of their mainstream political parties. PML Q seems sitting on sinking ship as many have already defected and loyalties of those even wins not assured.

Reality remains that predicting results precisely now is complex and tricky and cruel game of politics may bring surprises this time also. It all depends on mind set of voter and how candidates go to them in last minute campaign. Another factor in deciding the real consensus will be security and law and order environment – vote not used may affect the real portrait of results.

Whatsoever domino effect comes it looks that will remain a puzzle prized hundred thousand dollar to decide ruling and opposition benches this time again. Intricate, alliances and opposition will remain feature of post election days. Point is how far democracy brings opulence and prosperity for people will be gauged in time to come.

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Currently Pakistan is going through the most abysmal of times marked with ravaging terrorism, power and economic crises. But amidst all this turmoil, Pakistanis have once again resorted optimism and seen a ray of hope in the bleak tunnel- the elections 2013.

Their hopes are sky high as each politician promises to revolutionize Pakistan like never before and claim to be the bearer of the ‘elixir’ to all the ailments of the nation, which as always the naïve nation has blindly believed (Pakistanis have by the way, reached the highest level of evolution by developing the ability to see things that are actually non-existent). However, the most exciting thing about these elections, which has stirred up the whole political scene, is the mounting popularity of the young germinating political party-PTI aka Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.

Though it has been quite some years that PTI was organized but it is in the recent times that it has won over the hearts of masses; more specifically the educated middle class and among them the young enthusiastic lot of the society, and this time PTI has a good chance of actually reserving some seats in national and provincial assemblies.

Pakistani youth see Imran Khan and his party as the ambassador of the ‘great revolutionary change’ that Pakistan direly needs. They see Imran khan as a blunt, courageous and upright person and a man of his words. The majority of the literate middle class is vigorously supporting Imran khan as they have categorically tested almost all the politicians and political parties (some were even given more than one chance) but have been disappointed each time. All the politicians contesting for the elections have some controversial strings attached to them, which even includes treason in some cases.

But Imran khan is the one politician that has not been tested yet and so has no such history. His supporters argue that Imran Khan in his career as a cricketer has always been a man of his words and rules. He got the cricket trophy for Pakistan then in the most uncertain and unfavorable conditions, so he will rescue us from our predicament now as well, he built Shaukat Khanam against the odds and till date provides free cancer treatment to the unfortunate, poor and helpless natives of Pakistan, so he will care for the general public when he will be elected as a president; as he is a conscientious person with a compassionate heart, and so their list goes on and on. They have their hopes so high that sometimes it feels as if Imran khan’s aficionados have built themselves a castle in the clouds, a utopian Pakistan, where everything is just perfect with Imran Khan as its benevolent heroic leader, and they have already started dwelling in it.

The prevailing scenario is not something new in this land of political uncertainty, the same movie was played in the cinema of Pakistan a few decades ago, and yes you have guessed it right; I am talking about Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. When Bhutto was contesting for presidential elections in 1970, the country’s atmosphere was filled with same enthusiasm, passion and optimism. People had same hopes attached with Bhutto then, which they have with Imran khan now or perhaps even more. Bhutto was a good foreign minister; he was courageous, blunt and fearless and had an equally charismatic personality.

He had that power of words which could turn tides in his favor, people viewed him exactly the same as they view Imran khan- the great liberator. But what happened? Bhutto who stepped in with good faith, made blunder after a blunder, he did more harm to Pakistan than any other leader had ever done. It took us many years to revive from the after effects and repercussions of his ill conceived policies like nationalization.

I don’t mean to criticize Bhutto here (it’s of no use now anyway) my intention here is to make one simple point, just because Imran khan was a good cricketer and built us a cancer hospital does not imply that he will be a good leader as well. What we fail to comprehend is that a leader is much more than a good human being and a remarkable orator. He must possess that far sightedness which could enable him to see what lies beyond the horizon. He should have that firm power of decision which gives him the courage and muscle to stand by his decisions once they are made and the valor to face their consequences. A leader is someone who has the nerve and the audacity to look in the eye of the enemy and make no compromises whatsoever. A leader is someone who does not keep his people suspended between hope and uncertainty; he remains honest to his people and does not let them built castles in sand but meanwhile tries his utmost to provide the best for his people. And most importantly a true leader has a pristine character so that no one can dare lift his/her finger at him. Now considering all these characteristics, does Imran khan falls on the scale of a true leader?

Imran khan maybe a good person but he is just one person whereas his party is same as all the other political parties, a congregation of political rolling stones. All the higher authorities in his party are the same old politicians whom we have tested time and again and each time they have successfully befooled us and robbed us of our roti, kapra and makaan.

How can we trust them and hand them the keys of our treasure once again just because Imran khan is their great leader now? How can he keep control over the hungry savages; ready to rip apart and suck the blood of the innocent land? The biggest reason of the demise of Bhutto was not Bhutto himself but his corrupt associates. Imran khan has repeatedly, in his public speeches, claimed that he will rid Pakistan of its most heinous of evils- jagirdari nizam and peeri mureedi whereas the vice president of his own party is the biggest “gaddi nasheen” of Pakistan; his “gaddi” is his most valuable and profitable asset, his legacy that he won’t let go for a billion dollars. Then Imran khan claims to eradicate corruption in a matter of mere ninety days, you don’t need to be a specialist on the matter to know the flimsiness of the statement. The developed countries like U.S.A and Europe etc, with economy and administrative system much better than ours couldn’t exterminate this evil from their society, then how can a struggling country like Pakistan free itself from corruption in just ninety days? Corruption is not some dirt that you can wipe off with a duster, it is a mind set. Then the most concerning thing in his statements is their vagueness, he talks about condemning drone attacks but condemning is not same as stopping them, our current leaders starting from president to all the way down to district counselors, everybody condemns drone attacks, but what good has their condemnation done up till now? He talks about imposing land tax, what I fail to understand is how exactly does he plan to impose it, when his party is run by landlords, they won’t let it happen in million years, it is losing bait for them. He is often seen talking about radical changes in system and solving grave issues of national and international importance within a matter of days, which at times seems quite impractical. He talks about change but never bothers to tell how he will bring all these reforms in mere months when his predecessors couldn’t bring them in years?

Imran khan himself is a controversial personality with a blotted past. His activities as a cricketer, his marriage and his connections with his “in laws” still raise many questions in the hearts of a great number of people. The claim, that Imran khan has no history of corruption and hence a pristine past, maybe because he did not get the chance yet. Even if we forget his past for a while, the party tickets that he has given out are a bit of a prelude of what may be awaiting us on the other side of the mountain. The PTI contestant from my zone is reputed to be of land mafia, I wonder after such grand public speeches about granting tickets on merit, how did Imran khan gave him the ticket? Isn’t it the conflict of words? Or is it the true merit of Imran khan? If this is the beginning than God forbid what will be the end!

I am not a supporter of any political party, neither am I anti Imran Khan or anti PTI. I just want to shake my fellow natives awake from their slumber, their trance. Make them realize, not to have sky high hopes that if God forbid, their dreams shatter, they will take a nasty fall and their faith will shatter along with it. Don’t be too blinded by the new light that you ignore the flip side of the coin.

Now the question arises, why PTI? When many other, well in fact all parties are tested and proven to be much more corrupt and flawed, then why just criticize PTI? The answer is, we know that all other parties are good for nothing, but we don’t know anything for sure about PTI because it has not been tested yet. PTI is the party chanting revolutionary slogans, slogans that really rush the blood in veins, slogans of hope, prosperity, equality- slogans of change. Slogans that have weaved beautiful dreams in the eyes of the bereaved nation, giving them a hope of life. But with all these heavenly promises, the loop holes in the PTI are something that can’t be tolerated.
These are the loop holes which if not amended will turn into black holes; engulfing all the optimism and spirit of the already forlorn Pakistani nation.

I hope like all of you that if Imran Khan comes into power, he may come up to all of our good expectations and proves to be what he claims to be, and that he may lead the way to a better tomorrow, a better Pakistan (amen!)

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What are the most important problems faced by the country and how a political party contemplates to go about solving these problems? This, in essence, should be the crux of an election manifesto.

At last, all the major political parties have come out with their election manifestos. Let us analyze these documents. But before that, spelling out the top priority national problems, which should also be of top concern to the national political outfits, must take place.

Problems of the people are always intertwined. None of these problems could be dealt with in isolation or independent of one another. Therefore all such omni-potent problems have to be treated with due deference to their connections with one another.

Education and employment, health and housing, promotion of democratic values and empowerment of federating units, population planning and land reforms are, in nutshell, the subjects of concern. The problem of terrorism merits its mention separate from the other problems for not being a problem of all times. The problem of terrorism sprang up due to the faulty policies of some stooge governments in the past. As such it is not a problem of permanent nature. But the solution of this problem is very much linked with the national literacy profile and also with land reforms, to some extent.

However, to my reckoning, mother of all evils is exponential population growth. For a country like Pakistan, with its given resources, optimum results cannot be achieved in any of the fields of socio-economic activity without bringing the demographic profile in line with the available resources. We keep on adding the establishment of public as well as private sectors educational institutions in the country frantically. Yet we fail to achieve the desired literacy index; because our effort cannot cope with the population growth. In the like manner we always remain drastically short of health and housing requirements due to the same reason.

It is virtually a matter of criminal neglect on the part of all stake holders, including the politicians, the government functionaries, the bureaucracy and the media that no attention is paid to such an acute problem. All these institutions have maintained a kind of deafening silence on the subject, despite its being the fundamental problem requiring every one’s attention. There is no enigma regarding this criminal neglect. This negligence is being maintained due to fear of the religious right. Unfortunately, over a long period of time, a faulty perception has developed in the upper tiers of society that the common man is committed to the attitude of religious right in the matter. Despite repeated rout of the religious parties in all the general elections that have taken place so far in Pakistan the faulty perception does not die down.

Persistence of such a perception with politicians and bureaucracy could perhaps be ignored due to the all time tainted character of these segments but the deafening silence maintained by the intelligentsia, that is the men and women of letters, and the media in general, is just not palpable.

Sages of all eras have maintained that every problem must be tackled from the root. Superficial treatment of any problem of any magnitude is doomed to failure. Instead of devising means of effective population planning we keep making superficial arrangements like building more schools, creating more superficial jobs, adding more hospitals and more beds in the existing hospitals, building more houses, bringing more land under cultivation and so on and on. With the available resources such additions always fall short.

Promotion of democratic values can be achieved only by ensuring proper use of vote by the common man, free from feudal and ethnic bonds and prejudices. This reform can be brought about through bi prong measures.
Firstly by achieving desired literacy and second by breaking the shackles of landlordism. We have earlier concluded that the literacy index could be improved by arresting the exponential population growth. And now we find that to achieve freedom of exercise of vote by the rural population that accounts for around 70% of country’s population, meaningful land reforms can ensure elimination of feudal lords’ influence on voting.

Advocacy of a strong center has always been the most typical obsession of the official bureaucracy and the feudal lords of Pakistan. This strategy badly alienated the people of the smaller provinces and encouraged nationalist movements there. The external forces also capitalized on such sentiments. As a consequence we are still engaged in superficial measures to consolidate the alienated units. Although the outgoing government had done some legislations with regard to devolution of powers and finances to the provinces but still more measures of such devolution have to be undertaken.

Purposeful land reforms will also help in restoring the confidence of the smaller provinces in the federation. In the past only cosmetic land reforms were carried out twice, once during the dictatorial regime of Ayub Khan and second time by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Both the attempts were meant to fool the people.

Heads of conscious citizens hang in embarrassment to find missing mention of all the top priority problems of the country in the election manifestoes of the main political parties None of them has made an unequivocal commitment to carry out land reforms in case their party is returned to power in the coming elections. This is done to keep the feudals in good humor. Similarly to keep them on the right side of the dark forces of bigotry and religious extremism, population planning is not mentioned. The country is starving of energy, including gas and electricity because of the population explosion. The country is far below the international standards of health and hygiene because of over population. Country is drastically short of the infrastructure required for providing education to all the children, because of overpopulation. There is ever increasing unemployment, because of overpopulation. With every passing day the country is getting short of the water resources, due to the expanding population. Housing problems is likewise accentuating with every passing hour, again due to overpopulation.

All the above problems are better known to the prospective contestants of coming general elections but they don’t touch upon the subject of population. One of the leaders of a front line political party says he will launch a bullet train when returned to power (but no mention of population planning, as if the bullet train will be done up just by air). They claim to end power shortage in months and corruption in days. And so on. They are trying to fool the simple and semi literate folks of Pakistan. I don’t know how far they can go about doing that. I therefore take solace in a saying of Abraham Lincoln that I quote here: “You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time.”

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Those, elevated to the throne of the state under the NRO deal, had repaid Musharraf by sending him off with guard of honor after his nine years dictatorial rule in the uniform. After a five-year self imposed exile he returned, most probably with another NRO deal brokered with the good offices of some Arab Shieoukhs under the patronage of the White House and the Pentagon.

Musharraf was under the misconception to be warmly welcomed by his countrymen who were facing extreme frustration and despair at the hands of Zardari and company’s misrule during their five years term in power.

He was wrong in his judgment and fell in the net he had woven for himself by committing a number of crimes during his dictatorial rule. Presently his three crimes are under adjudication including the assassination of BB, the most important national and international level politician. The other important case is the Judges case under trial. The mind of the common citizen is stuck as to why he is not tried for the treason he committed on the 12th of October 1999. There is no mention of that serious crime from any quarter, probably because the Judiciary of the time had validated the criminal act of Musharraf under the law of necessity. The Chief Justice of the time Honorable Mr.
Justice Saeeduz Zaman Siddiqui was in a way house arrested under the guard of an army Colonel deployed at the entrance of his house, as the top Judge was not endorsing any argument based on the necessity of law. Anyhow, the crime of the dictator was validated giving the dictator full powers to do what he liked.

The second assault on the Constitution of the country was the heinous crime of the 3rd November, 2007 when he did it in the capacity of the Army Chief, being under the oath to be loyal to the Constitution. As such he is liable to be proceeded against under Article 6 of the Constitution in both the above cases. The shameful act of the 3rd November was fully supported and backed by America as Musharraf was thought to be the last man in the ranks who was fully following the dictates of America and who was to be succeeded by none of the same servility in the hierarchy.

There are few indications whether he would be charged for other serious crimes, abusing the very spirit of Islam and the ideology of Pakistan. Cutting at the very roots of the ideological edifice of the country and declaring Ataturk as his ideal, Musharraf had undoubtedly sent across a message of his mindset to be a man to have complete apathy for the Islamic values and the Islamic status of the country. The Turkish leader had been censured for his anti-Islamic concepts and acts by Allama Iqbal in his poetry labeling him a man who collaborated the enemies of Islam in the dismantling the Institution of Khilafa. The dictator Musharraf had disclosed his mindset on the first day when he declared Kamal Ataturk as his ideal. He put his concept before the nation by displaying two pet dogs in his arms, telling the nation what type of man he was.

He introduced the nude culture of mixed Marathon races with full vigor in order to appease his Western masters. In the name of freedom of media he opened the way for the secularist intellectuals, anchor persons and the liberals to spit out their venom against the country’s ideology and the value structure of Islam. He fixed a quota of 33 % for women in the parliament simply to show to the West that he was going to adopt all measures against the sanctity of women in the name of progress, development and enlightened moderation. Women have not been given that much representation in the Parliaments of Europe and America despite their philosophy of gender equality and the so-called WID activism.

Women were given the opportunity to get into the government and semi government offices to fully popularize the curse of woman lib, a popular agenda of the west to pave way for molesting the sanctity of womanhood.
Zubeda Jalal was entrusted with the task of replacing the Islamic subjects in the curricula for trash to deprave the tender mind of the youth. We had achieved Pakistan on the basis of Islam and had separated ourselves from the Hindu on the same philosophy. Musharraf did adopt all measures to obliterate the genuine concept of the genesis of the country thereby cutting at the very roots of the ideological country.

Imran Khan has termed the NRO as the biggest crime of Musharraf. He is correct in the sense that NRO being an illegal act became more deplorable when external intervention was allowed in the brokering of the deal. It was a criminal deal even if done internally but its injurious affects increased manifold when it was done in participation of external elements and most probably on their behest. The unfortunate thing is that country like Qatar, which otherwise has no status except being a stooge of the US, is also a party to the deal.

Imran Khan has probably termed it as the biggest crime on this account.
Further misfortune of the nation is that Musharraf surrendered at one telephone call at the time when the conglomerate of the MMA was also a part of the government in Islamabad. They did nothing and even did not have the decency of character to come out of the government in protest. The so-called enlightened moderation so firmly exhibited by Musharraf in all fields was a mean attempt to please the Jewish and the Christian lobbies in the corridor of power in the Western capitals.

The so-called liberal and enlightened electronic media is so liberally displaying the rhetoric of people like Altaf Hussain who is advising people to vote for liberalism, nudity and secularism, obviously an antagonistic preaching against the sole ideology of the country. The electronic media never gives that much importance to the statements in favor of the Islamic identity of Pakistan.
Today it becomes impossible for a modest family to watch the TV screen because of its being fully loaded with the hedonistic, libertine material. All this filth now in this abundance is the result of the policies of Musharraf who worked full 9 years to achieve what he wanted to do Musharaf could broker a bargain with the US when he was surrendering to the telephonic call for becoming ally in the war of terror. He could by time on the plea of consulting his aides and advisors on the matter and chalk out a policy line in that respect. He could also keep the things off for a reasonable period of time on the excuse of consulting the neighboring countries like Russia, China, India and Iran as entering into the region with the complicity of the Pakistani leadership was a matter of great concern for the regional countries.

Musharraf was unable to cash the event and he made his own conclusions for the justification of his cooperation in attacking a sovereign Muslim country in the name of war on terror. Musharraf used to narrate three big advantages of the joining American aggression against a Muslim Emirate of Afghanistan.
According to his logic the economy of the country would boost up. He believed in American aid rather than having belief in the Almighty Allah. His second argument was that henceforth the atomic installations of the country will get more secured and the Kashmir issue will be resolved.

One wonders as to what was the basis on which Musharraf was falling in this euphoria. He counted all these gains in the Ulema convention which he had convened in the name of consultation after he had committed all these things to America.

It was a consultation after the decision had already been done by the single person alone. Some of the learned intellectuals and ulema, in the same meeting had warned Musharraf of the dire consequences what wrong direction he had adopted. Now after 12 years participation in the so-called war on terror Pakistan is harvesting the fruit of the wrong policies adopted by the dictator to the detriment of the nation.

These misfortunes are now so visible and practically proved to have occurred and documented in writing and spoken about unequivocally. Of late a book in the name of ‘Yeh Khamooshi Kahan Thak?’ authored by Lt. General ® Shahid Aziz is a cardinal document which uncovers the wrongs of Musharaf and his detrimental policies which have done a havoc to the solidarity of Pakistan and the interest of its people. It is a worth reading book on this subject and gives you full account of the events which make Musharraf directly responsible for all that harm done to the country. Some sentences from the book on page 276 read as ………” Everything was wronged. Hands were joined with America in the cover of non-alignment to collaborate in the assassination of the Muslims.

With a promise to introduce a new system of governance, the dictator became president of the country for five years as a result of the sham referendum. A government of the most corrupt and inept politicians was established with the assistance of the armed forces. Hands were washed off the Kashmir claim under the American pressure.

Baluchistan was alighted with the fire of separatism. The national thinking was rendered into a marketable commodity through the commercial TVs, opened for the purpose. Giving the call of ‘Sab se pehle Pakistan’ was rhetoric of hypocrisy and the religion (Deen) was hued with the sloganeering of enlightenment and moderation thus leaving behind the Deen-e-Akbari and installing the Deen-e-Pervezi on the holy soil of Pakistan which had come into being in the name of Islam.

After these national crimes we confronted a variety of retributions of Allah in the shape of earthquake, devastating floods, target killing, killing on the basis of sectarianism, ethnic feuds, flood of bloody terrorist attacks and killing at the hands of alien secret agents, who are here to unleash internal fighting in one shape or the other. We have dug out the roots of the Islamic country and tried to erect it on the foundation of secularism and liberalism, which will never sustain it as both are not compatible in any degree.

The most unfortunate thing is that during all these years of Musharaf rule the Ulema not only remained silent spectators to all these anti-Islamic measures but played with him the game of pseudo-election and power politics.
The drone attacks started during this period and continued through the five years of the so-called democratic rule of the 4-party alliance, accomplice in the crime. These political parties who have misruled this country are responsible for the whole menace the country is confronted with. They cannot exonerate themselves from the charges of being silent accomplice in the crime of American drones attack killing thousands of innocent tribal Pakistani Muslims.

There was a good chance for the MMA to unite again but they missed the bus obviously due to the egoistic element so firmly personalized by each of the constituent parties. These so-called Ulema are responsible for the grave situation. Being in this huge number they could not do anything for the betterment of Islam and the country. Chaudhri Shujaat who was the man to support the dictator, agreed to the NRO, except the clause permitting an individual to go for the post of premiership for the third time. It means that the Chaudhri did everything in personal interest. Musharraf, having done all these sins on his own free well must be held responsible for all the consequences.

There is the report of the Lal Masjid Commission which has fixed the responsibility of the carnage of the inmates on Musharraf, Shaukat Aziz and their cabinet.

Scores of innocent students were killed which could be avoided had patience been exercised. The record of the events shows that the issue was resoluble through negotiations but for the egoism of Musharraf.

As noted in the General Shahid Aziz’s book, Musharraf, in all important cases, used to take decision exclusively himself and would call for consultation with his colleagues just for public consumption. He was arrogant to accept any suggestion from any of his team members.

He had a complete servility for the American dictates and would go to any extent in order to please his Washington bosses. He was making the American believe that the terrorists had reached Islamabad and had occupied the mosque (Lal Masjid) and if they once got control on the government in Islamabad, the whole game of America in the region will come to an end.

This is how the dictator played havoc with the interest of the country and risked the whole nation at the altar of the American adventurism of playing with the blood of the Muslims of the region. It is now time for the quarters concerned to make an unbiased decision that Musharraf is not only a criminal of the cases subjudice in the court of law but he is responsible for all the ills inflicted on the integrity, solidarity and ideology of Pakistan. Justice demands that a list of crimes of the dictator be prepared and he should be tried for all these criminalities giving priority to the most grievous ones to be followed by the rest.

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