The Verdict

Published in the Friday Times on March 7, 2008

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 Sir, 

Although the people rejected Musharraf and his allies in the elections, the Americans are not happy. They think Musharraf is indispensable for Pakistan. They have been pressuring both Zardari and Nawaz to let Musharraf remain in office. So what was the point in holding elections? Why did we waste those millions on asking the people what they wanted if we can't decide fr ourselves who our leaders should be? Why doesn't the US dictate to India who should be president or prime minister? There is only one way forward now: restoration of the sacked judges and accountability of those who looted the country during the past five years. The nation would love to know what happened to all that flour which we had in such abundant quantity, that our prime minister exported it and then we had to import it at a huge loss.

Shakir Lakhani

Karachi

Sharif government unable to resist blackmail by Iman Khan

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If Pakistan had been like China or Saudi Arabia, Imran Khan would have been sentenced to death and buried last year. Unfortunately, this government is too weak to resist blackmail by Imran Khan, who has been doing everything he can to destabilize the country. When sixty seven activists of Imran Khan's party (PTI) were sentenced to prison terms up to ten years, I hoped that the PTI leader would see some sense and apologize for the mayhem and destruction he caused on May 9, 2023. But he only hardened his stance, principally due to the chaos in his home province, where Shias and Sunnis are fighting in Parachinar. In fact, he is responsible for that trouble, having settled the Taliban rebels in that area (which until then was inhabited by Shias). 

But the real shock came when nineteen of his party activists were pardoned and set free by the military. This made Imran Khan think he was right in being tough. Pardoning those who attacked the state will make the activists think they can do it again.

In the meantime, Imran Khan's supporters are firmly convinced that Trump is going to get him freed. Yesterday, after a long time, we were able to access Twitter (X) without using a VPN, and today the internet speed is the fastest I have ever seen. This will undoubtedly make Pakistan's enemies believe that the government is weakening and their agent (Imran Khan) will again take over the government. Let's hope it doesn't happen.

Nawaz Sharif is a bigger fool than Imran Khan

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 By now Nawaz Sharif should have learnt a lot from his past mistakes. After all, he's over 70, and in three stints as prime minister, he had plenty of opportunities to know what went wrong after he was removed by the establishment. But no, it looks like he didn't learn anything, judging from his recent step to make Ishaq Dar the deputy prime minister, in addition to being the foreign minister (for which he has no experience).

I'm sure, there are millions of people in the country who think Imran Khan is a big fool. But it seems that Nawaz Sharif is a bigger fool. He can't trust his own younger brother even though the latter is more capable than him. Shehbaz Sharif, being the younger brother, has proved himself to be loyal to Nawaz, having served as chief minister of Punjab thrice and as prime minister for a few months before the last elections. By now, Nawaz Sharif should know that his younger brother is utterly reliable. Yet Nawaz imposed his own daughter as chief minister of Punjab (even though Shehbaz's son Hamza was more suitable). And now, with the appointment of Dar as deputy prime minister, he's made sure that Shehbaz is without any powers and is simply a messenger. It's a pity, really. Shehbaz is a born diplomat and gets things done. But the poor chap will now have his hands tied up.

Parvez Musharraf's legacy

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Parvez Musharraf died in Dubai yesterday after a long illness. It's ironic that he couldn't live long despite having collected billions in his lifetime.

When Parvez Musharraf overthrew Nawaz Sharif in October, 1999, people welcomed him. Nawaz Sharif was a nincompoop who had been elected with a two thirds majority, which is why he thought no one could touch him. He wanted to further Islamize Pakistan, wanting to be the Amirul Momineen (Commander of the Faithful). Nawaz's biggest mistake was not heeding his father's advice. The old man had repeatedly told him not to defy the army. Instead, he sacked Musharraf (who was in Sri Lanka) and appointed a Kashmiri general (Ziauddin Butt) in his place. Not only that, he closed all airports in the country so Musharraf would be forced to land in a neighboring country (probably India). Musharraf's cronies re-opened Karachi airport and allowed his plane to land.

Everyone expected Nawaz to be sentenced to death, instead he got 25 years in jail, but the Saudis forced Musharraf to release him. Nawaz signed an agreement not to return for 10 years, in fact he did come back to attend his father's funeral but was deported immediately. 

Musharraf attended the same school that I did (St. Patrick's). He was in the same class as two of my cousins. I don't remember meeting him, although he was only a year ahead of me. 

Musharraf made many mistakes, like suspending the Constitution, for which he received the death penalty (it was later overturned). He was allowed to leave the country and spent the last ten years out of Pakistan. In my opinion, he should not have allowed our natural gas to be used in vehicles. With the large scale theft of gas in the country, it was only a question of time before we consumed all of it. We're paying for this mistake today.

Split between IK and the establishment is evident

There are growing signs that the establishment is slowly distancing itself from its selected prime minister, who every day gives more evidence of being the nincompoop he is. Only the other day he was supposed to tell the nation about the secret deal with TLP, the establishment's party that was used in the past to destabilize the government of Nawaz Sharif. But the moron Imran spoke only of the good that he's supposed to have done, which is nothing to write home about. There is a strong suspicion that that this time too, the selectors brought the militants out in the streets to warn their blue-eyed boy that they can no longer support him if he doesn't do as he is told. However, this time the move backfired against the establishment when the militants refused to back down and the army chief himself appealed to a Barelvi cleric Muneebur Rahman and the three Memons for assistance. They have withdrawn from most areas but in some places they're still there, waiting for their chief to be released, while their party is no longer banned and can contest the next elections.

Religious parties have never garnered more than fifteen percent of the votes in general elections. But the perception is that most elections have been heavily rigged. If free and fair elections are allowed, extremists will take over the country (as in Egypt) and the US will then do everything in its power to have them removed.

I remember Maulana Fazlur Rehman begging the female US ambassador to get him elected or selected as Pakistan's prime minister. She tried to explain that the US does not interfere in local elections but apparently he remained convinced that it is America that decides who the next prime minister of Pakistan will be.

It now looks like the opposition will not use force to bring down Imran Khan's government. I think they know that it will collapse under its own weight. With the Election Commission also active (obviously under orders from the establishment) and the Daska bye-election rigging attempts out in the open, we should see Fawad Choudhry and Azam Swati being forced to apologize or face disqualification if they refuse to do so. Interesting times are ahead for us.

TLP on the warpath: chickens coming home to roost!

One of the ways used to destabilize Nawaz Sharif's government was to make the newly-created party (Teheek-e-Labbaik Pakistan) to demonstrate against his rule. At that time the TLP wanted the law minister to be sacked for doing something which I don't remember exactly. It had something to do with Ahmedis. When the sit-in ended, an army officer was seen giving a thousand rupees to each demonstrator. The video of this event immediately went viral and is also on Twitter today, as the TLP paralyzed two cities (Karachi and Lahore) yesterday. What I don't understand is why the media is not using its name, it is simply being described as a religious movement. 

A few months back, the TLP had been out on the streets, demanding the withdrawal of the French ambassador, and cutting off all relations with France (which, by the way, is a major arms supplier to the country). At that time, Imran Khan's cronies had agreed to do so in six months or so. But when the TLP saw that it hadn't been done, they came out on the streets, affecting traffic movement in the two major cities and causing the deaths of many Covid patients in hospitals, which had run out of oxygen cylinders.

Imran Khan must be wondering why everything he did and said before being selected has come back to haunt him. he recently said rapes are caused by scantily clad women in movies. The next day, pictures of him with such women went viral on the social media. When in opposition he said he would never go to the IMF, but was compelled to do so immediately after becoming prime minister. Let's hope and pray that he's sent home soon by those who selected a moron like him to lead the country.

Imran Khan's downfall begins

They tried their best to stop the united opposition parties from holding a "power show" in Gujranwalla. Event though all analysts (including those who love IK) admitted that it had been very impressive, Imran's cronies have spared no effort to portray it as a failure. The most voluble has been Punjab's information minister Fayyaz Ul Hassan Chouhan, who has never paid any income tax in his life. He is fooling no one else but himself if he thinks the public believes him. In fact, his party is so much hated throughout the country that Punjab's lady health minister was booed when she went to the burning Hafiz Centre in Lahore to sympathize with those whose shops have been destroyed. They yelled abuses at her, shouting slogans praising Nawaz Sharif and calling for Imran Khan to resign. This should at least convince her that her party is no longer popular in the majority province. I hope her boss sees the video and gets the message.

As expected, all government ministers called Nawaz Sharif and his allies Indian agents, with that loudmouth Railway Minister Shaikh Rasheed even saying that Nawaz's party should be banned. He seems to have forgotten what happened when the majority party in Pakistan was banned and its leader (Mujeebur Rahman) labelled a traitor and imprisoned. The country was dismembered. I wonder why this man is tolerated by those who rule the country. I also wonder why his recent bout with Covid has not left him scarred. I won't be surprised if his brain deteriorates rapidly and he starts making weird statements.

What Nawaz said has been known for a long time. We know that the 2018 elections were heavily rigged to foist that nincompoop IK on us. In just two years he has destroyed the economy. And I can bet that he will raise the salaries of government and private sector employees by twenty percent or so. This will again cause prices to go through the roof, as he will need to substantially increase petrol, gas and electricity prices to balance the budget. It won't be long before he is overthrown. I only hope his removal is done without bloodshed.

Panic in the selected government!

It's easy to tell whenever a government in Pakistan knows that it is no longer popular and is about to fall. The biggest sign of course is the imposition of censorship on the media. All TV channels have been ordered not to telecast speeches of the opposition leaders, even those who have so far not been convicted of any offence (like Maulana Fazlur Rehman).

The other significant sign is calling all opposition leaders Indian agents. The entire cabinet of the puppet prime minister Imran Khan has gone into overdrive, painting Nawaz Sharif and his allies as helping India. Strange, Nawaz Sharif and his ministers did not call Imran Khan an Indian agent when he paralyzed the government of the day for 124 days in 2014. That "dharna" led to the cancellation of the visit of the Chinese president to the country. Ironically, it is said that the same Chinese president is reluctant to visit Pakistan after an important advisor of the puppet premier was caught indulging in corruption. 

As I said, almost every minister in the government is yelling out loud about Nawaz's treachery. Shehbaz Gill brings up something new every day. Today he "revealed" that Nawaz met Modi secretly in Nepal, yesterday he said Nawaz's sons have been seen talking to Indians in London recently. Shaikh Rasheed, whose brain has obviously been affected by Covid, can't control himself. Yesterday he threatened Maryam Nawaz openly, saying he would reveal certain secrets that would cause an earthquake. If he really has such secrets, why not expose them now? But then, no one takes him seriously, he talks about everything under the sun except his job (which is to run the railways).

The third thing is arresting prominent leaders of the opposition. Today they have announced they will arrest Maryum Nawaz's husband on charges of treason, but they dare not arrest Maulana Fazlur Rehman, whose party leaders threatened to hold demonstrations outside the Peshawer Corps Commander's House when the National Accountability Bureau said it would charge him with financial crimes. NAB of course hurriedly withdrew the notice, probably after some bigwig told it to do so.

So we are in for interesting times in the days to come. I hope the puppet prime minister is told to go to London soon and rest there for the remainder of his life.

The beginning of the end for Imran Khan!

 I have never liked Nawaz Sharif. I know that he is anti-Karachi, that he trusts only those people around him who speak Punjabi, and that he tried to force some media houses and automobile manufacturers to shift to Lahore. I also know that he got the census fudged to show a significantly higher population growth in Lahore and at the same time a very low population growth in Karachi. But the huge amount of taxes contributed by Karachi traders (compared to those in the rest of the country) prove that the population of Karachi is much higher than recorded in the census of 2017.

But at least Nawaz Sharif was much better at governance than the nincompoop who rules over the country today. When it was announced that Nawaz Sharif would address the multi-party conference, the entire government machinery went into overdrive, even threatening to shut down those TV channels that would dare to telecast Nawaz's speech. Apparently the invisible forces who thrust Imran Khan into power realized that such a step would backfire and allowed the speech to be telecast. And I was surprised at how well written the speech was, and how Nawaz spoke. 

What I really liked was his assertion that he doesn't have anything against Imran Khan, it's those who rigged the elections and made  him the prime minister who are the villains. He spoke of corruption not only by government ministers, but also by the junior general Bajwa, stunning everyone who thought he would never dare to utter a word against the army. He also called for the Hamoodur Rahman Commission report to be made public, to fix responsibility on those whose actions resulted in the dismemberment of the country.

I think what made this possible was the exposure of corruption by that general, as well as the fact that some of Imran's minions paid no tax, while he himself paid very little (as also pointed out by Nawaz Sharif in his speech).

Now that the opposition has united against the government, it won't be long before Imran is sent home. 

Why does Imran Khan want Nawaz Sharif to return?

Nawaz’s return

Published in The News on August 30, 2020

This refers to the news item ‘Shahbaz Sharif will be disqualified if Nawaz Sharif doesn’t return: Fayyaz Chohan’ (Aug 27). It seems the ruling elite is not aware of the problems being faced by the people. Instead, it has suddenly decided that the most urgent thing to do is to bring back the former prime minister.

If the PTI had concentrated on solving the problems of the common man instead of targeting members of the opposition for alleged corruption, it would not have become so unpopular. By the way, if it is so much concerned about corruption, why doesn’t it take action against some of its own party members who are accused of corruption?

Shakir Lakhani

Karachi

https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/707613-nawaz-s-return

Tomato politics

Published in Daily Times on November 22, 2019

So Nawaz Sharif has finally been allowed to go abroad, but the government spokespersons are doing their best to portray it as a huge victory for Imran Khan. While the lady information adviser says that the PTI respects what the court has ordered, the lawyer looking after whatever science and technology there is in the country wants to challenge the decision in the apex court. As if the nation didn’t have more pressing problems, like the price of every edible item going through the roof, or hundreds affected by dengue or dog bites.

Perhaps the high price of tomatoes and other edibles would be responsible for the Great Khan’s downfall, just as another Khan (Ayub) had to go home after the disappearance of sugar. By saying that tomatoes are available for just seventeen rupees a kilo, the finance genius responsible for the tottering economy proved that those who rule over us are out of touch with reality. Just like the lady doling out misinformation day in and day out is convinced that peas are available for five rupees a kilo. Or that ‘highly efficient’ chief minister who thinks that the price hike is artificial, definitely caused by those who are jealous of his huge accomplishments in the country’s largest province.

Last night at a wedding dinner, a guest showed two video clips doing the rounds on Twitter on his thousand-dollar smart phone. The first was of a woman speaking chaste Punjabi, and although I didn’t understand all of it, I could understand what she said. I won’t repeat all of it here as it was too graphic for sensitive souls to hear. She very clearly said what should be done to the Dear Leader for having fooled the public with his false promises while campaigning.

The second clip also showed a woman, this one from Karachi. The way she spoke Urdu it was clear that she was either the daughter or granddaughter of someone who had come to Pakistan from Modi’s home state of Gujarat; those who heard the late Abdul Sattar Edhi speak will understand what I mean. And she had evidently seen much better days, as most people in that ethnic group are reasonably well-to-do, among them being those who, according to the late President Ayub Khan, “are the owners of half of Pakistan”. This was in the 1960s, when East Pakistan was still a part of the country. So as I said, this woman in the video burst into tears while complaining vociferously about the rampant inflation and her sons being jobless, regretting deeply that she had voted for PTI, and asking if this is what Imran Khan had in mind when he spoke about turning Pakistan into Medina. It was very poignant, and almost everyone at the dinner table was affected. Soon, as most of them had voted for PTI, they began talking about the past fifteen months that the party has been in charge of the country, and how people all over the country are thoroughly disillusioned with it.

The owner of the expensive smart phone said the Great Khan is not to blame for the situation, it’s his advisers and ministers who are responsible. They don’t have to go out to buy groceries so they don’t know how steeply prices have shot up. They don’t know the cost of petrol (which in any case they get free from the government), so a hike of five or ten rupees a liter doesn’t affect them. But he agreed that the buck stopped with the Dear Leader, because he’s the one who selected his ministers and advisers.

ll the men sitting at the table were sorry they had voted for PTI, and were quite sure they would never vote for PTI again.

by Shakir Lakhani

https://dailytimes.com.pk/504506/tomato-politics/

If Nawaz dies, will Imran survive?

I suppose we should have expected something like this. Imran Khan's chief reason for putting opposition leaders in jail was to wear their resistance down until they confessed to their crimes and agreed to hand over to him some of the so-called "looted" wealth they are supposed to have accumulated. For this purpose he has reportedly put former Prime Minister Shahid Khakan Abbasi in a cell on death row, with no sunshine at all and a toilet in a corner of the cell. Miftah Ismail, a very distant relative of mine, has been jailed even though he wasn't a minister until the last three or four months of the previous government. The former Managing Director of PSO (Ikramul Haq) has also been imprisoned, even though Imran Khan's right hand man Asad Umar says the man is honest.

Conspiracy theories abound, as they usually do in this country. Some say Nawaz Sharif was slowly being poisoned to make him relent, and those who were doing the poisoning didn't realize they had gone too far. Now that Nawaz is near death, Imran Khan has panicked, as he knows he'll be blamed. Personally, I think Nawaz lost the will to live after the death of his wife and the apex court's judgement about him being dishonest (though no one has suggested that the judges who did so should themselves have been closely examines to discover if they are honest and upright).

In an ironic twist of fate, Imran Khan is desperately trying to persuade Nawaz Sharif to go abroad for medical treatment, ironic because he had always said that he would not allow anyone on trial to leave the country. Not long ago he declared that he would remove the air conditioner and TV set in Nawaz's cell. The man is certainly mean and vindictive, not fit to be the ruler of even a small banana republic.

If Nawaz dies (his doctors have expressed apprehensions about his survival), one can say with confidence that the country will see more disturbances. I predict that Imran Khan won't last long and will have to flee the country, as Nawaz's supporters will certainly hold him responsible for Nawaz's death. Imran is already in trouble due to the massive inflation which has made lives miserable, for which Maulana Fazlur Rehman has launched his march to destabilize the government.

 

Signs of a government on its way out

We have seen all the signs before. Whenever the establishment gets sick of a sitting government, it becomes very aggressive. With Nawaz Sharif's last government, the judiciary became very active and removed him. Of course, the stupid man's name appeared in the Panama list, which contained details of properties owned by him. He should have resigned immediately, but like most Pakistanis, he resisted until the end. If only he had bowed out, he wouldn't be sitting in jail today.

With the present Imran Khan's weak government, the establishment seems to have concluded that he's not what they thought he was. For one thing, the man has no control over his tongue, so he can't help saying what shouldn't be said in public. Last week, he openly said that the army had trained terrorists, which must have caused many generals to lose their tempers. So it was inevitable that he should be told that he's not a popular leader, knowing that he came to power through rigged elections.

The first sign was the Chief Justice saying that the process of accountability is one-sided. At the moment, only the corrupt elements in the parties opposed to Imran Khan are being tried, even though among his own allies there are corrupt elements (perhaps including himself).

Next was the Election Commissioner's refusal to accept two nominees of the government, on the grounds that it was against the Constitution. Imran wanted his own men in the body, to ensure that future elections could also be heavily rigged in his favor. If the establishment had wanted, the two would have been accepted without a murmur.

Another shocker was the disqualification of the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly. The Election Commission announced that sixty five thousand votes had been discarded. Apparently this has happened in most of the constituencies won by Imran's party. If he defies the establishment, all votes will be re-counted and the true picture will emerge.

Finally, there is the long-standing corruption case about foreign funds being used by Imran to contest elections. Until now, the Election Commission had steadfastly refused to proceed with this case, since it would have meant the disqualification of Imran and all his minions. But now, hearings will be held, meaning that Imran will have to be very careful whenever he opens his mouth. 

One thing is sure. Knowing him, sooner or later there will be more friction between Imran and the establishment, and he will soon be shunted out.

Which side are you on?

Which side are you on?

Published in The News, December 1, 2018 

When he was in the opposition, Imran Khan used to call Nawaz Sharif a traitor for trying to improve relations with India. The phrase ‘Modi ka jo yaar hai, ghaddar hai’ (Whoever is Modi’s friend is a traitor) is still fresh in our minds. Now, Imran Khan has made the mother of all U-turns and is now talking about the Franco-German union. So what should we conclude from all this? Should we trust Imran Khan now, knowing that tomorrow he may do the opposite of what he has promised today? 

Shakir Lakhani

Karachi

https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/400246-which-side-are-you-on

Why this devaluation?

It's been only forty five days since the caretaker government took over the reins of the country, and in this short period the rupee has been devalued twice, losing 14 % of its value. If things continue like this, we'll see the dollar shooting up to Rs. 150 or even more by the time the next elected government is formed (assuming elections take place on July 25). So why is Imran Khan shouting at the top of his voice that the government of Nawaz Sharif is responsible for this massive devaluation? At least the outgoing government had a firm control over its fiscal policies. Are the caretakers allowed to devalue the rupee in this manner? Why is the Chief Justice not taking notice? If he can intervene to reduce prices of petroleum products, why can't he ask the government to take the rupee back to its former value of Rs. 110 to the dollar. I'm sure he knows that with every devaluation, prices of essential items will rise, until people start thinking seriously about committing suicide.

Why have elections?

Published in Daily Times on May 16, 2018

After the recent charade of the senate elections and the election of the chairman and deputy chairman, one cannot be blamed for wondering if we really do deserve to have the kind of democracy which allows politicians to loot and plunder.

Of course, since Nawaz Sharif himself did his best to destabilise past PPP governments, he ought not to have been shocked at what has happened to him.

It has been obvious for a long time that we are not democratic by nature. The ten immediate years after partition saw politicians fighting among themselves, while prime ministers did not last long in those tumultuous days, with one, I I Chundrigar, resigning only a month into his tenure.

The people, therefore, actually welcomed General Ayub Khan with open arms, calling him the saviour of the country. Claiming that universal adult franchise (one man-one vote) is not suited to the temperament of our people, Ayub introduced the basic democracy system in which an electorate of only eighty thousand people, out of a total population of eighty million, voted to elect members of the national assembly.

These basic democrats elected Ayub Khan as president, rejecting the popular Miss Fatima Jinnah. Those elections were thought to be massively rigged, as she was the sister of the founder of the nation and was very popular among the masses. Ms. Jinnah also died under very suspicious circumstances, and it is widely believed that she was murdered during her sleep.

When Ayub Khan became unpopular, however, our people came out on the streets to throw him out. The people did not protest when he handed power over to another general, although his own constitution said that the national assembly speaker, an East Pakistani, should have taken over as president.

After the first supposedly free and fair elections in 1970, the winner Shaikh Mujeebur Rahman should have been allowed to form the government. Unfortunately, our so-called ‘democracy-loving’ politicians, led by Bhutto, and those who were in power at the time simply could not bear the thought of having an East Pakistani heading the government.

The country was dismembered, and we had to start anew, with Bhutto serving as the civilian martial law administrator and whose intransigence was the main reason for the country’s breakup.

Despite calling himself a committed democrat, Bhutto was highly autocratic, very much like Imran Khan, Asif Zardari and Nawaz Sharif. He humiliated and tortured many of his party stalwarts like JA Rahim and Mukhtar Rana, who had the courage to oppose him.

Bhutto’s tenure ended in 1977 when the people came out to protest against the massively rigged elections, and when General Zia seized power even though he held Bhutto in high esteem mere days before launching the coup. Then again, our politicians too have the knack of changing sides at the drop of a hat, as is being witnessed nowadays.

After the restoration of democracy, both Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto connived with the establishment to dislodge each other’s governments. Even during the last PPP government, both Zardari and Nawaz were at each other’s throats. Zardari imposed governor’s rule in Punjab, while Nawaz sided with the establishment in the Memogate scandal.

If our politicians favour real democracy, why do they not hold transparent elections in their own parties? Shahbaz Sharif was elected unopposed as party chairman of the PML-N. Apparently no one else had the guts to oppose him.

The PPP, moreover, is a family business, with grey-haired and experienced veterans like Aitzaz Ahsan and Raza Rabbani forced to obey the orders of the virtually inexperienced Bilawal, while the PTI chief rejected his own election commission’s report about rigged elections and corruption within his party.

It has sadly been like this since the country’s independence, with history repeating itself every few years. Our leaders have always been embroiled in trying to retain or attain power, which gives an opportunity to the establishment to step in, much to the relief of the common man. Those who lose elections try their best to dislodge the winners, who in turn try desperately to remain in power and therefore cannot concentrate on good governance, which leads to the country suffering.

It has been said that the best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter. Talk to the voter in our rural areas and you find that he is not at all bothered by corruption. He respects those who are wealthy and who live in their own palatial houses.

In fact, if our politicians were to suddenly adopt simple lifestyles like giving up their motorcades and getting their children educated in government schools, they would find themselves losing the confidence and respect of their voters. The common Pakistani thinks, “If this man is not wealthy, how can he solve our problems?” The average Pakistani peasant will either vote for his feudal landlord’s party or to someone who belongs to his own caste or tribe. Which is why the PPP will continue to win elections in the rural areas of Sindh.

One may well ask then, “Why have elections at all?” Why not simply appoint members of the feudal elite throughout the country to rule and supervise development in those areas which they control?

Look at our assemblies, dominated by feudal lords and the filthy rich. The nation has to incur massive expenditure on holding elections, which in any case tend to be rigged and tend to cause so much bitterness.

Even in the US, a man like Donald Trump became president, despite the fact that Hilary Clinton got three million more votes than he did. In our own country, we had a prime minister who has been elected three times, and who is the alleged owner of property worth millions.

Perhaps a few years without elections may be the solution to our ills. Plus, of course, having incorruptible leaders like Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore who will not hesitate to take strict action against those indulging in corruption.

Shakir Lakhani

The writer is an engineer, a former visiting lecturer at NED Engineering College, an industrialist, and has been associated with the petroleum, chemical industries for many years. He tweets @shakirlakhani

https://dailytimes.com.pk/240455/why-have-elections/

PML-N’s claim of ending load-shedding is as true as Nawaz Sharif being “sadiq” and “ameen”

Published in the Express Tribune blogs on December 10, 2017

It all started with the inauguration of the 660 megawatt, coal-fired power plant in Port Qasim, by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi. He startled everyone by claiming that this is the most environment-friendly power plant of the country. Being an engineer, he should have known that nothing can be worse for the environment than producing electricity by burning coal.

This is the reason why most coal-fired power plants are being shut down all over the world. The prime minister also knows, but failed to mention, that such coal-fired plants in Port Qasim, and other areas near Karachi, will result in the city being covered in smog which will be worse than the one experienced in Lahore.

I thought this government would have by now realised that people have stopped believing what it says, but apparently, Nawaz Sharif’s cronies wanted to give further proof of their incompetence.

This was evident in the statement given by Federal Minister for Power Division, Awais Leghari, who said that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government had fulfilled the promise it had made to the public four-and-a-half years ago, of producing surplus electricity in the country. He claimed that the overall electricity generation had increased to 16,477 megawatts, which is around 2,700 megawatts more than its demand.

It is clear that this is another attempt to fool the public. The demand for electricity is always less during the winter – the real test will be during March and beyond, when the demand escalates and inevitably leads to more load-shedding. This is due to the fact that our main problem is not less power production, but an aging infrastructure. Our transmission lines were laid decades ago, when our electricity requirement was about a third of what it is today.

The government, instead of increasing generation capacity, should have concentrated on improving the infrastructure instead. There is no sense in making more electricity as long as the transmission and distribution network lines cannot support it. Furthermore, the bigger challenges being faced by the country are electricity theft and circular debt (but more on that later).

What followed his statement was undoubtedly the biggest shocker yet – Leghari tweeted that 65% of Pakistan has been made free of load-shedding.

Awais Leghari

✔@akleghari

Allahamduliah #Pakistan has started producing surplus #electricity. More than 65 % population of Pakistan will be shifted on #zero load shedding midnight. We have ended urban rural disparity on load sheeding. Another promise fullfilled.#PMLN#RoshanPakistan

6:22 PM - Dec 3, 2017

I have been in close contact with people across the country, asking them if they think the situation has improved, but every single one of them has told me there has been no change in the situation; they continue to suffer as they did before. There has been no reduction in load-shedding.

Leghari further claimed that load-shedding would continue in areas where power theft was over 80%.

Great. So, wherever there is load-shedding – which means majority of the areas of the country – we must assume that it is due to power theft. Is the underlying message here that most of the people in the country are thieves, just like most of those in the parliament?

Not to be outdone, the Chief Minister of Punjab, Shehbaz Sharif, also jumped in, suggesting that his party’s government has overturned darkness in Pakistan. With a straight face, he claimed that the “credit” of wiping out load-shedding goes to the PML-N government, as load-shedding has become “history” now.

Load-shedding cannot become history as long as those who voted for PML-N keep indulging in electricity theft, and the chief minister does not do anything to stop them.

Nawaz, our deposed prime minister, wasn’t far behind either. He astounded everyone by saying that by ending load-shedding a year earlier than promised, he was guilty of not being “sadiq” and “ameen” (honest and truthful). He has, of course, proven that he is neither honest nor truthful by making claims like the ones aforementioned, which has already been proven false, as load-shedding is still rampant across the country.

As mentioned earlier, in addition to the aging infrastructure, circular debt is also a major problem, one which the government simply does not have the will to resolve. The debt is equivalent to the amount that power consumers (mainly government departments) have to pay the power producers. Due to insufficiency of funds, power producers are unable to generate enough electricity, as a result of which there is rampant load-shedding across the country.

The circular debt is over Rs800 billion, with over Rs400 billion flows till June 2017. The government reduced it somewhat in the beginning of its tenure, but it has gone up once again. In fact, there was no need to make new power plants at all, as even though the installed generating capacity of the country was increased to 25,100 megawatts, actual power generation nonetheless went down compared to previous years. Retiring the circular debt, improving the infrastructure and controlling electricity theft are all measures that should have sufficed.

However, since new power plants mean more commission and kickbacks, our ministers went with this option, despite the fact that the solution was staring at them right in the face.

Nawaz may be able to fool his voters today, especially since it is winter, but he cannot fool the rest of us with his outlandish claims about eliminating load-shedding. Come summer, and the people will know just how “sadiq” and “ameen” he really is.

Shakir Lakhani

https://blogs.tribune.com.pk/story/61188/pml-ns-claim-of-ending-load-shedding-is-as-true-as-nawaz-sharif-being-sadiq-and-ameen/

Like Ayub Khan and Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Nawaz Sharif can’t see the writing on the wall

Published in the Express Tribune blogs on November 30, 2017

I have never considered Nawaz Sharif as an intelligent man. Considering the events that have taken place this year alone, he should have learnt the lesson that he cannot continue looting the nation anymore. In fact, he should just spend the rest of his days in the holy land (Saudi Arabia) or he could go to London and guide his party members from there, like Altaf Hussain.

Furthermore, with the humiliation he has suffered after being disqualified as the prime minister of Pakistan and from contesting future elections, he should have at least had the grace and dignity to admit his defeat. But like General Ayub Khan and Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, he can’t see the writing on the wall. He thinks he can bounce back and take on the premiership of this benighted country for the fourth time.

So what does he do?

First, he amends the Constitution which would enable him to remain the party chief of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). This apparently is to ensure that he bags the prime minister position when (more like if) his party wins the upcoming general election. Moreover, he wants to establish his power as “the boss” over his party members and allies, so that they know that this isn’t the end of Nawaz Sharif and hence they should continue following his orders.

In any other democratic country, he would have had to resign immediately after the Panama leaks surfaced. But that is clearly not the case in Pakistan though. For some parties like Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), however, we have seen the complete rout of them which resulted in them losing popularity in Pakistan. Looking at the events that are currently taking place, it seems that PML-N might be following in their footsteps and tumbling down.

To save his place in PML-N, Nawaz got the National Assembly to pass the Elections Act 2017 bill, after removing the clause preventing a disqualified person from heading a political party. No one from the opposition objected to it at that time, but when the bill came for approval by the Senate, Aitzaz Ahsan noticed the missing clause and contested to have it included. The Senate rejected his move and passed the bill, though with a very narrow margin, but later, however, decided to adopt Ahsan’s objection and barred disqualified persons from leading their political parties.

Hence, the National Assembly recently passed the law, making it possible for Nawaz to head the PML-N. The bill will be presented to a joint sitting of both houses, but since his party has an overall majority, it will be implemented by law. However, it is now up to the Supreme Court to decide if the law is in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.

Even a layman could have told Nawaz that his preoccupation with being the head of his political party was bad for the country. It seems that he and his supporters, including those in government, thought that this was the only issue the nation was facing, and hence they should go all out to ensure that Nawaz remains the chief of his party.

Furthermore, no one is surprised by the government’s inadequacy to effectively deal with the Tehreek-e-Labaik protesters during the 22-day long Faizabad sit-in which had paralysed the country. Despite boasting that he could disperse the crowd and end the dharna within three hours, Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal was compelled to ask the Army to deal with the situation. When the army had reservations about doing so, he surrendered to those who were indulging in what the court called “anti-state activity” and “an act of terrorism”. One would have thought, after ruling Punjab continuously for 10 years, the party would at least have gained enough experience to enforce law and order (which is what every government should be able to do), and even more so after the Model Town clash of 2014.

Due to the ruling government’s failure to control the protesting mob, November 25, 2017 will go down as the blackest day in our country’s history. Now, instead of being penalised for terrorism, we shall see such people creating mayhem and paralysing the country, demanding that the government should resign on some flimsy pretext. Our enemies must be enjoying themselves, watching our helplessness against those who do not want the country to prosper.

Before Nawaz cries wolf over how the dharna was a means to prevent him from returning to power again, or how it was a conspiracy by the establishment, or how the country is crumbling without him being in power, he should know that his own party was divided on the issue; his own son-in-law, Captain Safdar Awan, was firmly supporting the protestors. He should have seen the writing on the wall when in the recent vote in the National Assembly, his party and its supporters were able to garner only 163 votes. Fifty of his own party members did not turn up to vote, this coupled with the fact that at least 10 PML-N lawmakers have resigned from the party, prove that his party is not united and he is not suitable to be the party chief of the PML-N.

There is now no choice for Nawaz Sharif but to quit politics. To paraphrase a British parliamentarian, “You have done enough harm. In the name of God, go!”

https://blogs.tribune.com.pk/story/60736/like-ayub-khan-and-zulfiqar-ali-bhutto-nawaz-sharif-cant-see-the-writing-on-the-wall/

Why NAB should be disbanded and replaced by an anti-corruption bench of the SC

Published in the Express Tribune blogs on July 22, 2017

If they have been honest and if their assets have been obtained legally, they should have no difficulty in proving so in a couple of weeks.

There is much talk of disqualifying the Panama accused to prevent them from running for public office again. Disqualification alone will be against the principles of natural justice. Simply disqualifying the accused will send the wrong message to other corrupt politicians who have enriched themselves over the past few years. The court (in addition to sentencing the accused as per law), should also seize all their properties and assets, freeze their bank accounts, confiscate their vehicles and put their names on the Exit Control List (ECL).

And it should not simply end with the conviction and disqualification of those who are on trial today. There are many like them who have looted the country and enriched themselves while in positions of power. The nation knows well who they are; they are those who have built palatial mansions for themselves and who enjoy lavish lifestyles. They should simply be asked to explain how they are able to spend so much, and what the source of their income is. If they are not able to explain to the court that their properties have been earned legally, they should be convicted, and all their assets seized immediately.

Again, the process should not simply end with politicians. The bureaucrats and civil servants who helped those politicians in their illegal activities should also be investigated. If they are found living beyond their means, and if they have assets which are disproportionately large in comparison to their incomes, they too should be convicted and their properties seized.

As for the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), it should be disbanded immediately and replaced by a permanent anti-corruption bench of the Supreme Court (SC). Mushtaq Raisani, an officer of the Balochistan government, was set free by NAB after surrendering only two billion rupees worth of cash, jewellery and property, even though he was widely suspected of owning hidden assets amounting to Rs40 billion. He would definitely have surrendered all his assets in exchange for freedom if he had known that he would be sentenced to imprisonment for many years.

Of course, the first case to be taken up (after the decision on Nawaz Sharif and his family) should be that of the former president, Asif Ali Zardari. Even though this man had been convicted of money laundering by a Swiss court, no action could be taken against him due to claims of immunity. Now he is living in luxury, more than a Mughul king could have dreamed of. He should be asked about how he is able to live in a palace in Dubai, besides having mansions in France and the UK, how he is able to pay for the maintenance of these houses, and the money trail leading to their purchase. A swift enquiry followed by the seizure of his huge assets in Pakistan (which include many sugar mills, agricultural land and 40 bungalows adjacent to the Bilawal House) will put the fear of God in those who are planning to loot the country.

Then there was the case of the former naval chief Mansurul Haq who was released after a plea bargain. We must not forget the scandal-ridden government of Zardari, when there were allegations of corruption against Fauzia Gilani, the wife of former Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani.

Then, there was Raja Pervaiz Ashraf (popularly known as Raja Rental) who was involved in the scam of renting floating power plants at exorbitant rates. Moreover, the Hajj scandal is still fresh in our minds, with the principal accused being acquitted for a lack of evidence. But who can be asked to provide the source of funding for his investments, properties and other assets?

In fact, even though NAB was aware of the corruption of the ruling family and other politicians, it closed 129 cases against politicians in the past three years (undoubtedly under political pressure). We need a radical change in dealing with corruption, which causes the country a daily loss of $133 million! Just by reducing corruption to half its present rate, we can wipe out our foreign debt of 75 billion dollars in only four years.

There is no need to form judicial investigation teams for this process. If they have been honest and if their assets have been obtained legally, they should have no difficulty in proving so. But knowing how arrogant our feudal lords are, as they have always assumed that they can go on looting and plundering the nation with impunity, they are likely to have no evidence that their properties have been purchased with legal income (just as Nawaz was unable to do so). It’s time to make them accountable. They should understand that the laws of the country also apply to them, not merely to common Pakistanis, whose taxes they have pilfered and deposited in their foreign bank accounts.

The nation will forever be grateful to the SC if this process is taken to its logical end and those who are corrupt are punished severely.

Shakir Lakhani

Engineer, former visiting lecturer at NED Engineering College, industrialist, associated with petroleum/chemical industries for many years. Loves writing, and (in the opinion of most of those who know him), mentally unbalanced. He tweets @shakirlakhani (twitter.com/shakirlakhani)

http://blogs.tribune.com.pk/story/53840/why-nab-should-be-disbanded-and-replaced-by-an-anti-corruption-bench-of-the-sc/