Pakistan Views Online

میمو کیس سوالات ، سپریم کورٹ اور جنرل جونز

2012-01-07T09:46:00.000-08:00

میمو کیس سوالات ، سپریم کورٹ اور جنرل جونز

2012-01-06T23:41:00.000-08:00

Brothers in arms?

South Asian News Agency (SANA) ⋅ January 6, 2012

Mohammad Malick

Unpredictability has forever been the defining characteristic of Pakistan’s politics but even by our exceptionally erratic standards, January is becoming an alarmingly unpredictable month. Superior courts are seized with legally complicated and politically explosive cases. The judicial investigation into the memo could end up scarring God knows who; imminent action on the non-implementation of the earlier NRO verdict; contempt cases against mighty ministers with apex court judges looking genuinely furious; a high court full bench set to hear contempt cases against the prime minister etc – the bag was never so full.

The Supreme Court is being provoked into retaliating by government ministers in what appears to be a well thought out strategy. Covert political manoeuvrings are adding scouts knots to the already complex situation. A deliberately divisive ill-timed debate on new provinces is bringing out old animosities. Socio-economic deprivations are transforming ordinary powerless folks into powerful raging mobs. The streets are soaked in the gasoline of discontent waiting to be lit. The political and military establishments are caught in a deadly embrace and will disengage only after some heads roll. For the first time ever, even the uniform is no longer a guarantee of safe passage. Only a mighty few know what they are up to, but even fewer know where it all may end. Times were never so unpredictable, so volatile.

The energy-starved country is beset by problems like daily theft of millions of cubic feet of natural gas, not to forget electricity pilferage running into equally abhorring figures. Gas appliances are working at an average 26 percent efficiency, wasting millions more cubic feet every single day, and it can all be prevented by one meaningful executive action. But then, the executive is probably too busy fighting the judiciary. Power appliances including fans (and there are over 50 million operating daily at an average of 11 hours per day, nine months of the year) are working at a lowly 40 percent efficiency level and needlessly wasting precious power. Once again, no power crisis here for our political classes which are more interested in power politics.

Word has it that the PML-N is involved in an undeclared parallel process with its declared arch nemesis, the president. According to a very important senator from Sindh, the PML-N’s top leadership has indicated that it will refrain from resigning en masse from the assemblies and ensure smooth holding of Senate elections provided the government announces the date for the next general elections within the current month. The PML-N can then claim victory for having forced early elections. The PPP for its part would get its cherished Senate elections where it is slated to emerge as the single largest political entity and retain the coveted post of chairman Senate, said to be a heart beat away from the presidency. The possibility of the government holding general elections in Sept-Oct 2012, one year ahead of the normal schedule, is now a near fact with those closest to President Asif Ali Zardari echoing the same time band. An early Senate election in February has also been hinted at.

Both President Zardari and Mian Nawaz Sharif, however, have their own trust problems and would like the interlocutor(s) to hammer out ironclad guarantees before any such political settlement sees the light of day. Stung by past broken promises, Nawaz would like to know how and who would ensure that the president will not ‘change his mind’ on some conjured ruse after March 2012, even if he announces in January the date for the next early general elections. For his part, the president wants to be sure that the PML-N will not pull a fast one later and resign en masse from the assemblies. Reportedly, it has also been conveyed that owing to immense internal pressure from his own party hawks, Nawaz Sharif’s hand may be forced on the resignations issue if the general elections are not announced before the end of January.

The force of recent events may ultimately compel the president into agreeing to such a compromise. However, being personally averse to political coercion, the president will ride hard and, aware of Nawaz’s obsessive fear of the khaki’s, appears confident about keeping Nawaz from straying from the assemblies without ceding to his demand of an early election schedule announcement. The president also appears comfortable in the knowledge that after four years of waiting in the wings, Nawaz will never become part of any strategic game that could end up turning the PPP into a political martyr so close to the end of its tenure. A very influential real estate baron is trying to force the two sides into a covenant of convenience, but whether he can surmount immense mutual mistrust remains to be seen. The encouraging indicators are all there.

The PML-N’s top leadership has toned down its vitriolic diatribe against the president. From abandoning its hyped ‘Go-Zardari-Go’ campaign to Nawaz stopping his supporters from raising Zardari-specific slogans in his latest public rally, the signs are too obvious to ignore. In a similar vein, the PPP hawks have visibly eased off on Mian sahib’s person. Of course there is the occasional firing of salvos from both sides but then a front of credibility needs to be maintained till a deal actually happens.

Surely, both sides are likely to deny any such secret overtures but then doesn’t every ultimate political fact in Pakistan start off as a denial? The Mullen memo being the latest example.

And talking of the memo issue, interesting details keep trickling in. Like this little bit about two top political leaders, including a former prime minister, calling upon the top military brass to dissuade them from filing individual affidavits before the Supreme Court. Later events showed that the request went unheeded but attempts to stem the ongoing judicial probe continue. An important member of the Parliamentary Commentary on National Security recently told me in Dubai that immense pressure was being exerted on committee members to pass a resolution requesting the parliament to adopt a resolution demanding an immediate halt to the parallel judicial probe. Clearly the government wants to block any honest probe into the memo affair.

To be fair to Husain Haqqani, he must be treated as innocent till proven otherwise and his latest expressed fear for his life is most distressing. Investigating an individual as per the norms of law and justice is one thing, threatening his life another. No rational human being could ever condone the latter course of action. Sanity must prevail on all fronts. It would have been better if Husain had identified the ‘powerful’ vested interests that he referred to as being his possible assassins. With the government standing squarely behind him, such a revelation would help taking matters to their logical end.

And talking of logic and being logical, I must share an excerpt from Feisal Naqvi’s legally logical and brilliant article titled: ‘An unbecoming tantrum.’ Feisal is an eminent lawyer with impeccable liberal and progressive credentials. He clarifies the deliberately created misperception about the circumvention of due legal process and denial of an individual’s rights in the ongoing judicial probe. He argues, “The commission set up by the Supreme Court cannot determine the authenticity of the memo. Instead, the most the commission can do is investigate the authenticity of the memo and give its report. The conclusions in the commission’s report may form the basis of criminal charges filed against Mr Haqqani, but those charges would still be adjudicated by a competent court after a full trial. In short, what the Supreme Court has short-circuited is not the trial of Husain Haqqani but the investigation into his alleged crimes. Is this textbook procedure? No. Is it unprecedented? No”.

Ironically, the government’s own tactics of funding and whipping up a media frenzy against those seeking an impartial probe and tarring honest judges are contributing the greatest to cementing the impression of guilt even before the issue has had its day in a ‘competent’ court of law.

http://www.sananews.net/english/2012/01/brothers-in-arms/

Courtesy News

Memogate: stop insulting our honourable judges

2012-01-04T21:46:00.000-08:00

Memogate: stop insulting our honourable judges

Be Part of Challenge of Change in Pakistan

2011-12-28T11:59:00.000-08:00

Good Governance Forum, founded in March 2007 as Pakistan's First and Only Interactive Think Tank on Governance, has the unique distinction of launching the first-ever online campaign through emailing, blogging and posting comments on international media including The Washington Post, The New York Times, USAToday against the dictatorship of then President Pervez Musharraf.

Good Governance Forum has the unique distinction of being invited to the United Nations' MDG Summit in New York in 2010 as delegate and speaker on the world forum.

Good Governance Forum has the unique distinction of being registered from Pakistan as a civil society organization by the Dept of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations.

Good Governance Forum has the unique distinction of being the first and only think tank in Pakistan to file petitions in the Supreme Court of Pakistan and the High Courts on major national issues for relief to the people of Pakistan.

Good Governance Forum categorizes its supporters into Patrons, Advisers and Contributors. These are defined as under:

Patrons: Citizens who donate Rs 50,000 and above in a year.

Advisers: Citizens who provide their professional expertise on specific subjects without charge to the forum.

Contributors: Citizens who donate Rs 5,000 and above but less than Rs 50,000 in a year.

Patrons and Advisers can carry their titles on their visiting cards and represent the forum on specific platforms in and out of Pakistan with prior approval of the Chairman of the Good Governance Forum.

Patrons and Advisers can avail the resources of the Good Governance Forum for pleading any issue at any public forum or at the level of the federal or any of the provincial governments relating to themselves, their organizations or general public.

Contributors can avail the Forum's data bank on specific issues for their writings or participation in the issue-related public debates.

Good Governance Forum plans to nominate ladies and gentlemen from amongst its Patrons, Advisers and Contributors to work with major political parties, NGOs and government departments to help improve governance in the country.

Good Governance Forum comprises 3000+ members from almost all walks of life including the business community, civil services, diplomats, educationists, military, news agencies, NGOs, politicians, print and electronic media, professionals.

For further details, please visit http://ggovernance.blogspot.com or email to good.governance@gmail.com.

Army’s constitutional role | Opinion Maker

2011-12-28T05:26:00.000-08:00

Army’s constitutional role | Opinion Maker

Pakistan News Online

2011-12-27T23:58:00.000-08:00

Pakistan News Online

Panel of Advisers for PTI

2011-12-25T23:13:00.000-08:00

As usual, there is a divergence of opinion for and against PTI, its organization, its membership, its manifesto and its capabilities to deliver what is needed or what is promised by Imran Khan, chairman of the party.

In my personal opinion, Imran Khan is the last HOPE for an effective democratic government in the country. We have tried and tested almost all leaders and parties over the past half a century. None could lay down solid foundations in any sphere of our national life to let the country and its people progress and prosper on a continuing basis. We have no choice left with us. Either we take Imran Khan in and give him a chance to bring CHANGE or we face another ordeal of military-backed junta for another decade or so. Let there be no ambiguity and no wishful thinking to the contrary. Writing is there on the wall.

Regardless of what our Army Chief says in his public pronouncements, we can never be sure that the army will NOT take over the government in one way or the other. To the best of my understanding, the present Army Chief is not really interested in taking over the civilian government. But we cannot ignore the fact that the Army Chief cannot act in isolation; he has to feel the pulse of the jawans and the officers. With weak and non-performing democratic institutions, the possibility of army take-over always exists, by choice or compulsion. And no political party worth its name can really resist the army take-over, notwithstanding the loud proclamations of our so-called democracy-loving politicians in and out of government. These very politicians often rush to join the military setup. That is our history and we cannot possibly ignore it.

I would, therefore, suggest we should come up with our recommendations on key issues and send them to Imran Khan. Maybe, we work out a working relationship between Good Governance Forum and the PTI for providing research-based reports and recommendations. Afterall, it is our country and we, as concerned citizens, have the moral obligation to use our intellect to help our country and our people.

I request all those ladies and gentlemen who have expertise on key national issues to send me their brief introduction and what they can offer to PTI as members of Panel of Advisers for PTI from Good Governance Forum, with or without emoluments. All contributions will be adequately recognized.

It may interest you to know that a couple of our forum's members are already working on digital media tools for PTI. A lot is yet to come. PTI's election campaign will surely take other political parties by surprise and the PTI for the first time in our political history will be able to reach out and interact with people throughout Pakistan as well as overseas Pakistanis. That is the way modern technologies can be used to let the people become part of the movement for change. We need to break the shackles of subjugation to our outdated voting traditions and hereditary election process.

Let me assure you that, Insha Allah, the next elections WILL be held ONLY after due electoral reforms are carried out and implemented with honesty and competence. Nothing is Impossible for a live and vibrant society. And we are on our way to prove it.

--

Mumtaz A. Piracha

Founder & Chairman

Good Governance Forum

Pakistan

www.goodgovernanceforum.com

Leading the Way to Meet the Challenge of Change

The NEED for CHANGE in PAKISTAN

2011-12-24T02:06:00.000-08:00

It is obvious that the top leadership of the PPP, PMLN and PMLQ is not acceptable to a large number of key party members of these parties. With PTI, a third option has emerged. A new political landscape is imminent.

PMLN will end up as a regional party of Punjab IF Nawaz Sharif doesn't quit as its head and put in place an acceptable leader to reorganize the party within and outside Punjab in other provinces. It won't be able to form the provincial government in Punjab without support from other parties.

PPP will end up as a regional party of Sindh IF Asif Zardari doesn't quit as its de facto head and put in place an acceptable leader to reorganize the party within and outside Sindh in other provinces. It would not be able to form the provincial government in Sindh without the support of other parties.

PTI will end up as a major national party IF the present top leadership of PMLN and PPP continues to hold on to their present party slots. There won't be a major national party to sit in the Opposition in the parliament.

Coalitions don't work for a joint Agenda for the progress and prosperity of the country. There has to be a majority party in parliament to lead the way to Change according to its own Agenda. Likewise, we need to have a majority party in each of the provinces to work independently on its Agenda. The provincial majority parties can join hands with the majority party at the Centre to help bring the Change in their respective provinces in tune with the majority party's agenda at the Centre IF there is commonality of interests.

I am of the view that the Establishment is fully aware of the NEED for CHANGE through free, fair and transparent elections in the country. I donot foresee elections without major electoral reforms and an independent Election Commission of Pakistan. Major electoral reforms will include revision and updation of electoral rolls, strict scrutiny of candidates, and substantive control over the polling stations to prevent bogus voting and manipulation of results. Voters' turnover is expected to be much larger than the previous elections. Latest technologies hitherto unused in Pakistan will play a key role in making the elections worth the effort.

I strongly urge the concerned citizens of Pakistan living anywhere in the world to come forward and join hands with Good Governance Forum or other similar organizations to help bring the CHANGE. We are already working on the introduction of latest technologies through professionals in the field to reach out to voters, opinion leaders, women and youth within and outside Pakistan. We are also in the process of forming an Advisory Council of experts belonging to the various fields like economy, security, foreign affairs, defense, media etc. to help make the CHANGE possible.

We need to make the next general elections a milestone in the history of Pakistan. And the next federal and provincial governments worthy of the aspirations of their people. And I am confident we CAN do it.

Many a time, I thought of winding up Good Governance Forum owing to the apathy of the civil society to contribute but every time something unexpected happened that kept me going. My optimism is now bearing results, very positive results. Women and Youth are going to be my soldiers in the time ahead. Yet, we need Elders as the Commanders or Policy Makers. So, all those are welcome who are competent to fulfill the NEED for CHANGE. They can join us as Patrons, Advisers or Contributors. Details can be seen on our blog http://ggovernance.blogspot.com.
--

Mumtaz A. Piracha

Founder & Chairman

Good Governance Forum

Pakistan

www.goodgovernanceforum.com

Leading the Way to Meet the Challenge of Change

War and the generals - Zafar Hilaly

2011-12-16T21:17:00.000-08:00

War and the generals - Zafar Hilaly

Death wish of the Pakistani political class - Ayaz Amir

2011-12-16T21:05:00.000-08:00

Death wish of the Pakistani political class - Ayaz Amir

2011-11-15T02:26:00.001-08:00

You are invited to post information about corruption cases on the blog http://endcorruptionbuildpakistan.blogspot.com under the icon COMMENTS on its homepage.

Your information will be reviewed and forwarded, if found tangible, to the relevant authorities for appropriate action as soon as possible.

We will be talking to the WEB.TV and WEB.RADIO, accessible to the Pakistanis in and out of Pakistan, to highlight these corruption cases. We also plan to use the Social Media Networks such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and others for this purpose. Emailing and SMS can also be used as and when the opportunity arises.

According to the International Telecommunications Union, there were 18.5 million Internet users and 100 million mobile users in Pakistan in 2010.Your support will go a long way in securing the future of Pakistan and its people. It is NOW or NEVER. Time is Running Out.

Good Governance Forum
www.goodgovernanceforum.com
email: good.governance@gmail.com

Dissecting a ‘leak’

2011-11-12T21:44:00.000-08:00

Dissecting a ‘leak’

An open letter to chief minister Shahbaz Sharif

2011-11-04T04:02:00.000-07:00

An open letter to chief minister Shahbaz Sharif

Pakistan: a hardy country | Opinion | DAWN.COM

2011-07-28T00:42:00.000-07:00

Pakistan: a hardy country | Opinion | DAWN.COM

2011-07-03T06:19:00.000-07:00

Democracy and federalism - Noreen Haider

16 Apr 2011 – The 18th Amendment has been declared one of the major achievements of the present government and credit has been taken by all its coalition ...
www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=41885&Cat=9

Democracy and federalism - Noreen Haider

18 Apr 2011 – The inequitable distribution of resources and disparity in development in the various regions of the country has left Pakistan in a messed ...
www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=42324&Cat=9