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Pakistan Politics

Articles related to Pakistani politics

Roar of the lion

By Ayaz Amir

What was the election slogan of our straw lions? “Kaun aya, kaun aya, Sher aya, Sher aya”…who is coming? the lion is coming, (lion being the election symbol of the winning PML-N). And Punjab swooned to the sound of this slogan and voted the straw lions into power, convinced salvation was at hand.

In barely three and a half months the national landscape seems transformed. The same voting public awaiting miracles has begun not just to squeal but to howl. The rupee was slipping vis-à-vis the dollar, making everything more expensive, and prices of common necessities were shooting into the sky. As if this was not enough to sour the public mood we have had the two mighty kicks just delivered, sharp rises in the prices of electricity and petrol. Punjabi wit can be devastating and jokes these days are about the strength and hunting prowess of the lion.
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Learning lessons from Sri Lankan victory over rebel Tamil Tigers

By Sabir Shah

While Pakistan continues to be hit on regular basis by terrorism after 9/11, it needs to gain some inspiration from a much smaller and poorer Sri Lanka, which is literally rising from ashes after having fought with the rebel Tamil Tigers for nearly 27 long years and ultimately defeating the insurgents on May 29, 2009.

Sri Lanka was left with a daunting post-war task to ensure the welfare of nearly 300,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), who were held as a human shield and a bargaining chip by the rebel Tamil Tigers.Read More »Learning lessons from Sri Lankan victory over rebel Tamil Tigers

Why I returned to Pakistan: Musharraf writes new book

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 mushFormer military dictator Pervez Musharraf has announced plans to pen another book, “Why I returned to Pakistan”. Sources have said that according to Musharraf “the country was facing uncertain, flammable, volatile and disfigured anarchy, which the rulers seemed to be helpless in controlling, hence I decided to return to Pakistan (ostensibly to salvage the country from the crises)”. The book, which is to make its entry into market soon, also covers Musharraf’s interactions with various global leaders and his close associates who have known to have advised him against returning to Pakistan.
Read More »Why I returned to Pakistan: Musharraf writes new book

Tragedy waiting to happen

By Ikram Sehgal

While thankfully Imran Khan’s injury was not life threatening, it has immobilized him for the time being. One should be grateful that it was an accident rather than a security incident.

However security guards were involved, therefore one must look at all the aspects of personal protection afresh, particularly when it involves the security and safety of important persons. There are a lot of books and material about security protection, unfortunately most of these are written by those who have learnt their security as a subject in a classroom and have never put theory into practice. While personal protection is a specialised subject, security professionals are very reluctant to disclose details about the nature and modus operandi of their job mostly because of the confidential nature of their business; at most times they are prevented by law and the rules governing their employment.Read More »Tragedy waiting to happen

Rigging factories reduce PTI victory

 By Jalilur Rehman

It were the rigging factories in the provincial metropolis and other parts of the country that began working in the evening on the polling day and reversed the results for winning PTI candidates. In the city Hamid Khan renowned jurist, Dr. Yasmeen Rashid known gynaecologist and Hamid Zaman a businessman appear to be victim of the rigging factories the ultimate outcome of which was their engineered defeat and victory of their opponent who belonged to PML (N). Interestingly the PTI leadership, their candidates, voters and supporters knew that rigging has been committed but how and when was not known to them. There are reports with documentary evidence and footage of the cameras that in the provincial metropolis some towering candidates of the skipper Imran Khan’s team have been made target of engineered rigging but still the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) seems to be unmoved rather reluctant for taking appropriate action in accordance with law to redress grievance of the victims. It is believed that all those constituencies where results had been delayed the political opponents of the PTI rigged the results through rigging factories. Read More »Rigging factories reduce PTI victory

How MQM works in Karachi

By Dr Arif Alvi 

I’m Urdu speaking, my grandparents made a lot of sacrifices and migrated to Karachi, Pakistan, from India.

Karachi was a city of lights until nearly 30 years back when MQM started showing its true face. I will tell you how MQM works and I have experienced all of this myself. This is a very well-managed organisation, which works under a tight command and control mechanism. They have divided Karachi into a number of sectors; each sector is divided into units. The first tier is called the unit. There are MQM units in every nook and corner of Karachi. Every apartment complex has one unit, and nearly one in every 500 houses there is a unit. The units report to a particular sector under which they come. Each unit has a unit in-charge and other proper posts. As these guys live among us, they know each and every house and shop that comes under their supervision. The unit in-charge literally controls whatever goes within the jurisdiction of his unit. From cable persons reporting to him to the SHO of that area; everyone obeys that unit in-charge. Read More »How MQM works in Karachi

The truth about Nawaz Sharif’s exile deal

Following are the details of an article published in the daily THE NEWS written by Aamir Mir regarding Mian Nawaz Sharif’s exile deal in 2000.
PML-N President Nawaz Sharif’s repeated assertion while the general elections are near at hand that he had actually been sent into forced exile to Saudi Arabia by the Musharraf regime runs contrary to an October 2007 verdict passed by a seven-member bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry.

The October 17, 2007 SC verdict said: “The former prime minister’s release from prison and his journey to Saudi Arabia after getting a presidential pardon due to an undertaking could not be described as forced exile.”Read More »The truth about Nawaz Sharif’s exile deal

It’s Nawaz Sharif versus Imran Khan

According to an influential American newspaper Washington Post, the real contest is between them as the race is narrowing down to the respective political parties of the two leaders.

The PPP is trailing after a five-year rule that many Pakistanis say crippled the economy, stoked poverty, failed to solve energy shortages and left the country less secure, The Washington Post, citing analysts, reported from Rawalpindi on Tuesday.Read More »It’s Nawaz Sharif versus Imran Khan

Pakistan Army wants cleanup before polls

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Pakistan Observer report by Afzal Bajwa

 

Asserting as the only unwavering institution amid political transition, Pakistan army has urged upon political leader-ship to go for law and order be-sides accountability before general elections, well placed sources told Pakistan Observer.

According to the sources, the armed forces’ top brass believes that politically elected functionaries must be held responsible for the misgivings, lacking, and blatant failures on their part. “The army does not want to share the responsibility of the outgoing government’s miserable failure in the counter terror measures,” the sources added.Read More »Pakistan Army wants cleanup before polls