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ZAHRA AAPA MURDER!

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ZAHRA AAPA MURDER!

Moeed Pirzada | FB Blog |

ZAHRA AAPA MURDER : – I have not seen full details but to say that Pakistan Security Agency has confirmed that she was killed by MQM people is very suspicious.

First such black & white confirmations are difficult in best of circumstances, and are extremely rare in Pakistan; I wonder if any such previous confirmation was made in a murder case linking it with a political party. But leave all these questions aside, one can wonder that why this “Confirmation” is coming at this stage when in PTI Jalsa in Karachi, Imran Khan was prudent and cautious not to blame MQM for Zahra’s murder and even for rigging in Karachi. It was obvious that he had learnt his lessons well and was not prepared to offend MQM at a time when he needed to focus his energies elsewhere. Now this Confirmation will force many PTI people to take positions against MQM; so who could be behind this “Confirmation by Pakistani Security Forces” at this stage?

Triumph of the will…!

Moeed Pirzada
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Moeed Pirzada |

Triumph of the will…the power of determination – Amazing piece by Ayaz Amir – Idolise Imran Khan or pillory him, the fact remains that against the odds, out of the seemingly impossible, through sheer force of personality he has shaped an agitation…which if led by the half-hearted, or the weak of will, would have died a natural death long ago. “Go Nawaz go” did not seem much of a slogan to begin with but it is now catching on. The PML-N stalwart Pir Sabir Shah may now say that his tongue faltered when instead of saying “Go Imran go” at a party rally in Peshawar he found himself saying “Go Nawaz go”. Even if we are to take him at his word, and give him the benefit of the doubt, isn’t this a Freudian slip revealing the subconscious mind?

Two weeks ago in ‘Bozos who make morons look good’ I argued that the time may have come for Imran and the Reverend to re-examine their tactics and call off their sit-ins. I thought their sit-ins were losing steam and the two leaders had nothing much left to say. And I took a dig at Imran’s powers of oratory.

What else are Imran and Qadri saying? Only this that far from being a democracy this is a mockery of democracy and that true democracy can only come when elections are not stolen and there is some notion of justice in the land. When the law itself becomes a tool for evading the law, is there not point to Imran’s demand that vote rigging allegations can never be properly investigated as long as Nawaz Sharif holds the keys to power?

But as I have talked to people over the past few days I am coming to the reluctant conclusion that I couldn’t have been more off the mark. As our two leaders rail and thunder against the ‘system’ or the existing order of things, they are touching some chord somewhere because people are liking what they are saying. And the fiercer the attacks the sicker and more out of touch with popular feeling the Sharif dispensation looks. Whether because of inflated and cooked up electricity bills – probably the first time we are witnessing something as brazen and crooked as cooked up bills – or joblessness or inflation, it’s hard not to see that amongst whole sections of the population, the poor and the not-so-privileged, there is a great discontent against Sharif-style Thatcherism…the Thatcherite approach being to favour the rich and screw the poor.

Like them or hate them, admire them or make fun of them, the only two persons in Pakistan today giving voice to this discontent are Imran Khan and the Reverend Qadri. When they speak their audience is not just the few thousands in the sit-ins but the millions watching the spectacle on television. If this is an ISI plot shouldn’t we be grateful that for once the ISI is on the side of the people? This is a strange democracy sections of the commentariat are glorifying, which seems so removed from the ebb and flow of public opinion.

Read more: Why Nawaz Government rushing to dilute Supreme Court’s Suo Moto?

In times past Pakistani democracy’s biggest fear used to be from the bayonets of the 111 Brigade. In the Nawaz brand of democracy the fear of the bayonet has been replaced by a fear of a vote recount. It seems more afraid of the workings of the judicial process. So in face of widespread evidence that in entire Lahore constituencies there was systematic rigging, Sharifian democracy is adamant that there should be no vote rechecking. Faced with the Model Town shooting this democracy is adamant that the ends of justice should not be met. The Punjab government itself appoints a one-man tribunal to look into the Model Town incident. And when Justice Ali Baqar Najafi of the Lahore High Court is so heedless of consequences as to write the truth – the truth as flowing from the evidence coming before him – the Punjab government is aghast and every effort is made to suppress the report. This is our version of democracy.

But something will have to give. Imran and Qadri are not going away. They are staying put in D Chowk and there’s nothing a beleaguered, fever-stricken government can do about it. It may badly want to use force to clear the dharnas but it dare not because it knows that because of the resistance put up by the protesters the time is past for the police forces stationed in Islamabad to act above and beyond the call of duty. If nothing else, the dharnas and the speeches have given the police the first stirrings of conscience…strange as this may sound. The protesters meanwhile, having gone through their paces, are now battle-hardened. The use of force therefore remains not much of an option.

The onus is thus on the Sharif government to explore ways to resolve this crisis. By now the protesters should have looked exhausted. But it is the other way round, the government feeling the heat. And Imran, changing line and length, has just had a very successful jalsa in Karachi. Already the economy is suffering, the State Bank’s latest verdict on the state of the economy making this amply clear. Suppose the agitation goes on for another month. How will everything look then? All this has happened because Imran and the Reverend, braving the odds, have stuck it out. When Imran said he would stay atop his container come what may, even if he was left alone, it sounded, to the sceptic at least in me, a bit like Don Quixote. Not anymore.

Much of the punditocracy has got this agitation completely wrong, not that any certified pundit would readily admit to this…modesty not an outstanding characteristic of this class. For a long time they kept declaring that Imran had boxed himself into a corner and that he needed some kind of a face-saving exit strategy. For a long time the standard response to Qadri was to make fun of him. Now the jokes have dried up and there is less talk of exit strategies.

read more: “I Rejected Musharraf Deal”: Nawaz Tells PML-N Parliamentary Party under Shadow of Panama-Gate; Really?

Those who really think they carry a democracy medal on their chests should pay tribute to the bravery of the additional sessions’ judge who ordered the registration of a case in the Model Town shootings. He’s proved himself a better democrat than many of the armchair samurai crying themselves hoarse in print and on TV about the grave conspiracies afoot against democracy.

“Go Nawaz go” did not seem much of a slogan to begin with but it is now catching on. The PML-N stalwart Pir Sabir Shah may now say that his tongue faltered when instead of saying “Go Imran go” at a party rally in Peshawar he found himself saying “Go Nawaz go”. Even if we are to take him at his word, and give him the benefit of the doubt, isn’t this a Freudian slip revealing the subconscious mind?

What else are Imran and Qadri saying? Only this that far from being a democracy this is a mockery of democracy and that true democracy can only come when elections are not stolen and there is some notion of justice in the land. When the law itself becomes a tool for evading the law, is there not point to Imran’s demand that vote rigging allegations can never be properly investigated as long as Nawaz Sharif holds the keys to power? Those mortally afraid of a Model Town case, are they likely to facilitate a proper inquiry into allegations of election rigging?

The Sharifs knew how to deal with the PPP. They knew how to deal with Benazir Bhutto. A long list of PML-N figures got funds from the ISI for the 1990 elections. Yusuf Raza Gilani was defrocked as prime minister on the basis of a legal quibble. But has any action been taken against the beneficiaries of the ISI’s largesse in 1990? The PPP was never in a position to take on the Sharifs in the matter of rigging. It is just Nawaz Sharif’s luck that he is dealing not with a down-and-out PPP but a ziddi and obstinate Imran Khan.

As for the Reverend, “woh toh ghar ke bhedi hain, woh toh sab jaante hain”. And at his beck and call stands an army of dedicated followers, ready to face anything on their leader’s call. Those eating political halwa all their lives have never faced anything like this. Small wonder they look so disoriented.

 

Moeed Pirzada is prominent TV Anchor & commentator; he studied international relations at Columbia Univ, New York and law at London School of Economics. Twitter: MoeedNj. The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Global Village Space’s editorial policy. This piece was first published in Moeed Pirzada’s official page. It has been reproduced with permission.

Triumph of the will…!

Admin
-
0
Triumph of the will…!

Moeed Pirzada | FB Blog |

Triumph of the will…the power of determination – Amazing piece by Ayaz Amir – Idolise Imran Khan or pillory him, the fact remains that against the odds, out of the seemingly impossible, through sheer force of personality he has shaped an agitation…which if led by the half-hearted, or the weak of will, would have died a natural death long ago. “Go Nawaz go” did not seem much of a slogan to begin with but it is now catching on. The PML-N stalwart Pir Sabir Shah may now say that his tongue faltered when instead of saying “Go Imran go” at a party rally in Peshawar he found himself saying “Go Nawaz go”. Even if we are to take him at his word, and give him the benefit of the doubt, isn’t this a Freudian slip revealing the subconscious mind?

Two weeks ago in ‘Bozos who make morons look good’ I argued that the time may have come for Imran and the Reverend to re-examine their tactics and call off their sit-ins. I thought their sit-ins were losing steam and the two leaders had nothing much left to say. And I took a dig at Imran’s powers of oratory.

But as I have talked to people over the past few days I am coming to the reluctant conclusion that I couldn’t have been more off the mark. As our two leaders rail and thunder against the ‘system’ or the existing order of things, they are touching some chord somewhere because people are liking what they are saying. And the fiercer the attacks the sicker and more out of touch with popular feeling the Sharif dispensation looks. Whether because of inflated and cooked up electricity bills – probably the first time we are witnessing something as brazen and crooked as cooked up bills – or joblessness or inflation, it’s hard not to see that amongst whole sections of the population, the poor and the not-so-privileged, there is a great discontent against Sharif-style Thatcherism…the Thatcherite approach being to favour the rich and screw the poor.

Like them or hate them, admire them or make fun of them, the only two persons in Pakistan today giving voice to this discontent are Imran Khan and the Reverend Qadri. When they speak their audience is not just the few thousands in the sit-ins but the millions watching the spectacle on television. If this is an ISI plot shouldn’t we be grateful that for once the ISI is on the side of the people? This is a strange democracy sections of the commentariat are glorifying, which seems so removed from the ebb and flow of public opinion.

In times past Pakistani democracy’s biggest fear used to be from the bayonets of the 111 Brigade. In the Nawaz brand of democracy the fear of the bayonet has been replaced by a fear of a vote recount. It seems more afraid of the workings of the judicial process. So in face of widespread evidence that in entire Lahore constituencies there was systematic rigging, Sharifian democracy is adamant that there should be no vote rechecking. Faced with the Model Town shooting this democracy is adamant that the ends of justice should not be met. The Punjab government itself appoints a one-man tribunal to look into the Model Town incident. And when Justice Ali Baqar Najafi of the Lahore High Court is so heedless of consequences as to write the truth – the truth as flowing from the evidence coming before him – the Punjab government is aghast and every effort is made to suppress the report. This is our version of democracy.

But something will have to give. Imran and Qadri are not going away. They are staying put in D Chowk and there’s nothing a beleaguered, fever-stricken government can do about it. It may badly want to use force to clear the dharnas but it dare not because it knows that because of the resistance put up by the protesters the time is past for the police forces stationed in Islamabad to act above and beyond the call of duty. If nothing else, the dharnas and the speeches have given the police the first stirrings of conscience…strange as this may sound. The protesters meanwhile, having gone through their paces, are now battle-hardened. The use of force therefore remains not much of an option.

The onus is thus on the Sharif government to explore ways to resolve this crisis. By now the protesters should have looked exhausted. But it is the other way round, the government feeling the heat. And Imran, changing line and length, has just had a very successful jalsa in Karachi. Already the economy is suffering, the State Bank’s latest verdict on the state of the economy making this amply clear. Suppose the agitation goes on for another month. How will everything look then? All this has happened because Imran and the Reverend, braving the odds, have stuck it out. When Imran said he would stay atop his container come what may, even if he was left alone, it sounded, to the sceptic at least in me, a bit like Don Quixote. Not anymore.

Much of the punditocracy has got this agitation completely wrong, not that any certified pundit would readily admit to this…modesty not an outstanding characteristic of this class. For a long time they kept declaring that Imran had boxed himself into a corner and that he needed some kind of a face-saving exit strategy. For a long time the standard response to Qadri was to make fun of him. Now the jokes have dried up and there is less talk of exit strategies.

Those who really think they carry a democracy medal on their chests should pay tribute to the bravery of the additional sessions’ judge who ordered the registration of a case in the Model Town shootings. He’s proved himself a better democrat than many of the armchair samurai crying themselves hoarse in print and on TV about the grave conspiracies afoot against democracy.

What else are Imran and Qadri saying? Only this that far from being a democracy this is a mockery of democracy and that true democracy can only come when elections are not stolen and there is some notion of justice in the land. When the law itself becomes a tool for evading the law, is there not point to Imran’s demand that vote rigging allegations can never be properly investigated as long as Nawaz Sharif holds the keys to power? Those mortally afraid of a Model Town case, are they likely to facilitate a proper inquiry into allegations of election rigging?

The Sharifs knew how to deal with the PPP. They knew how to deal with Benazir Bhutto. A long list of PML-N figures got funds from the ISI for the 1990 elections. Yusuf Raza Gilani was defrocked as prime minister on the basis of a legal quibble. But has any action been taken against the beneficiaries of the ISI’s largesse in 1990? The PPP was never in a position to take on the Sharifs in the matter of rigging. It is just Nawaz Sharif’s luck that he is dealing not with a down-and-out PPP but a ziddi and obstinate Imran Khan.

As for the Reverend, “woh toh ghar ke bhedi hain, woh toh sab jaante hain”. And at his beck and call stands an army of dedicated followers, ready to face anything on their leader’s call. Those eating political halwa all their lives have never faced anything like this. Small wonder they look so disoriented.

Karachi Jalsa is a Game Changer?

Moeed Pirzada
-
0

Moeed Pirzada |

Why is Karachi Jalsa a Game Changer? – Many things can be said about this large assembly of men and women that are described around a quarter a million. (250,000 very conservative estimates). This collection of mankind at a short notice at one point around one issue, “Go Nawaz Go” is in itself a big event from any global or historic standard.

Second, these men and women were not brought in buses, trucks and tractor trollies by Police and Patwaris and unlike MQM, Imran Khan’s PTI had no solid organizational structure (no sector commanders or street & mohalla teams) in Karachi that could force, persuade and transport an ocean of humanity to Mizar-e-Quaid. They came of their free will, because they wanted to. It was thus an expression of human spirit and belief in something. They represented Pakistan’s middle classes: professionals, civil servants, doctors, lawyers, Pilots, Air hostesses, engineers, office workers, IT Experts, Army & Police Officers, managers, factory workers, Students and Professors and so on. And there were fathers with their young daughters, and brothers with sisters and many of them proudly told me that they were impressed by the mutual respect, discipline and sense of solidarity from others around them.

Most forget that Elections that determined the federal govt were fought in Punjab. PMLN are smart in mind games; you have to accept that. But that roaring sea of humanity in Karachi alive with slogans of “Go Nawaz Go” will now compel minds in and outside Pakistan.

For the past quarter century we and the world argued that where are Pakistan’s middle classes? why don’t they participate in politics? why don’t they change the game? So here they were expressing their disgust against a Dynastic rule by few families (Sharifs, Zardaris, Maulana Fazal ur Rehman and Achakzais), and control over all state institutions from Police and bureaucracy to Judiciary and Election Commission and they were there to protest against Rigged Elections and an elitist mindset that is not ready for political reforms. All that is relevant; but the real importance of Karachi Jalsa is that it has broken the logjam of the past few weeks. It has destroyed the lens through which govt and its supported and bought media was trying to portray the “movement for political reform”.

Nawaz Govt had tried all the tools in its kit – from Police crackdowns, Judicial sanctions and arrests to Army bashing in the parliament and garnering international support in the name of civilian supremacy – and was now waiting for the protests to die down under rain and sun and fatigue. Its attempts to paint “dharnas” or sit-ins as the final point of Imran Khan’s struggle and a failing struggle with Imran painted as a loser or desperate charlatan was bearing fruits.

But all of sudden the Karachi masses have sent the roaring message that ” we are not just a few thousand fatigued men and women sitting outside the parliament, they may be the symptoms of us, a focal point, but we are in millions, we are in cities, we represent the brain of this nation, its future and we are everywhere and sooner or later your propaganda mills against us will fatigue and fail, and the world all around us, be it Americans or British or Europeans or Indians or Chinese, will have to realize that instead of believing in sham elections and failed theories of dynastic politics they have to deal with us for we the middle classes of Pakistan represent the future. We carry the destiny of Pakistan and not the illiterate rural voters of Zardari, or the medieval supporters of Maulana Fazlar ur Rehman and Achakzai who still live in 15th century without realizing that how these dynastic parasites are exploiting them. And we want a political deal.

Nawaz Govt had tried all the tools in its kit – from Police crackdowns, Judicial sanctions and arrests to Army bashing in the parliament and garnering international support in the name of civilian supremacy – and was now waiting for the protests to die down under rain and sun and fatigue.

PM Nawaz is continuously hoping against hope to fool everybody in the country and across the world that what he faces is not a genuine political challenge for accommodation and reform but a farce created by his military and that democracy is under siege and he is fighting for civilian supremacy over military. He has succeeded to a great extent that is why even many decent and honest people in media, in civil society, in legal community, in bureaucracy and on social media and most in diplomatic community and across the world supported him for they thought that “democracy is under attack”.

You must question: how is it possible? how can they fool so many intelligent people? Answer is: PMLN disinformation machine is very smart; it is capable of playing tricks through double triple speak and is very well financed; after 2008 elections while they ruled 60% of Pakistan, its richest province with most resources, they successfully used a nexus of media and judiciary to paint themselves as “opposition” and thus saved themselves from the “anti-incumbency” feelings that confront every government after 5 years. Its height of stupidity when most international observers and many in Pakistan say that 2013 elections brought a change. There was no change; change came in 2008 elections when PMLN and PPP displaced incumbents “Q” from Punjab. From 2008 onwards, PMLN controlled Punjab and by virtue of their solid control over Punjab and its bureaucracy they displaced PPP from center in 2013.

Read more: Terror against political opposition and media?

Most forget that Elections that determined the federal govt were fought in Punjab. PMLN are smart in mind games; you have to accept that. But that roaring sea of humanity in Karachi alive with slogans of “Go Nawaz Go” will now compel minds in and outside Pakistan. World will also have to ponder: Can Nawaz continue to rule Pakistan with iron hand without a political compromise? Why he has no ability to resolve conflicts? What is the nature of this conflict aferall? Is he pitched against the military or urban middle classes? And Can he deliver in his present demeanor?

Nawaz Sharif & PMLN have consistently tried to avoid a meaningful political deal. They are only playing tricks and gimmicks. They cannot do that anymore. They are only fooling themselves. Sooner or later Nawaz has to agree on a “Credible Meaningful Election Audit with a JIT”, Electoral Reforms and new reconstituted Election Commission and Early Elections, (under the supervision of a credible supervising force) may be in the beginning of 2015 or autumn of 2015. And I don’t see how politics of Punjab can be healed without resignation of CM Shahbaz Sharif; he may even renovate his politics by presenting himself in front of the courts and clearing his name before the next elections. This will be best for him.

 

Moeed Pirzada is prominent TV Anchor & commentator; he studied international relations at Columbia Univ, New York and law at London School of Economics. Twitter: MoeedNj. The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Global Village Space’s editorial policy. This piece was first published in Moeed Pirzada’s official page. It has been reproduced with permission.

Karachi Jalsa is a Game Changer?

Admin
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1
Karachi Jalsa is a Game Changer?

Moeed Pirzada | FB Blog |

Why Karachi Jalsa is a Game Changer? – Many things can be said about this large assembly of men and women that is described around quarter a million. (250,000 very conservative estimate). This collection of mankind at a short notice at one point around one issue, “Go Nawaz Go” is in itself a big event from any global or historic standard.

Second, these men and women were not brought in buses, trucks and tractor trollies by Police and Patwaris and unlike MQM, Imran Khan’s PTI had no solid organizational structure (no sector commanders or street & mohalla teams) in Karachi that could force, persuade and transport an ocean of humanity to Mizar-e-Quaid. They came of their free will, because they wanted to. It was thus an expression of human spirit and belief in something. They represented Pakistan’s middle classes: professionals, civil servants, doctors, lawyers, Pilots, Air hostesses, engineers, office workers, IT Experts, Army & Police Officers, managers, factory workers, Students and Professors and so on. And there were fathers with their young daughters, and brothers with sisters and many of them proudly told me that they were impressed by the mutual respect, discipline and sense of solidarity from others around them.

For the past quarter century we and the world argued that where are Pakistan’s middle classes? why don’t they participate in politics? why don’t they change the game? So here they were expressing their disgust against a Dynastic rule by few families (Sharifs, Zardaris, Maulana Fazal ur Rehman and Achakzais), and control over all state institutions from Police and bureaucracy to Judiciary and Election Commission and they were there to protest against Rigged Elections and an elitist mindset that is not ready for political reforms. All that is relevant; but the real importance of Karachi Jalsa is that it has broken the logjam of the past few weeks. It has destroyed the lens through which govt and its supported and bought media was trying to portray the “movement for political reform”.

Nawaz Govt had tried all the tools in its kit – from Police crackdowns, Judicial sanctions and arrests to Army bashing in the parliament and garnering international support in the name of civilian supremacy – and was now waiting for the protests to die down under rain and sun and fatigue. Its attempts to paint “dharnas” or sit-ins as the final point of Imran Khan’s struggle and a failing struggle with Imran painted as a loser or desperate charlatan was bearing fruits.

But all of sudden the Karachi masses have sent the roaring message that ” we are not just a few thousand fatigued men and women sitting outside the parliament, they may be the symptoms of us, a focal point, but we are in millions, we are in cities, we represent the brain of this nation, its future and we are everywhere and sooner or later your propaganda mills against us will fatigue and fail, and the world all around us, be it Americans or British or Europeans or Indians or Chinese, will have to realize that instead of believing in sham elections and failed theories of dynastic politics they have to deal with us for we the middle classes of Pakistan represent the future. We carry the destiny of Pakistan and not the illiterate rural voters of Zardari, or the medieval supporters of Maulana Fazlar ur Rehman and Achakzai who still live in 15th century without realizing that how these dynastic parasites are exploiting them. And we want a political deal.

PM Nawaz is continuously hoping against hope to fool everybody in the country and across the world that what he faces is not a genuine political challenge for accommodation and reform but a farce created by his military and that democracy is under siege and he is fighting for civilian supremacy over military. He has succeeded to a great extent that is why even many decent and honest people in media, in civil society, in legal community, in bureaucracy and on social media and most in diplomatic community and across the world supported him for they thought that “democracy is under attack”.

You must question: how is it possible? how can they fool so many intelligent people? Answer is: PMLN disinformation machine is very smart; it is capable of playing tricks through double triple speak and is very well financed; after 2008 elections while they ruled 60% of Pakistan, its richest province with most resources, they successfully used a nexus of media and judiciary to paint themselves as “opposition” and thus saved themselves from the “anti-incumbency” feelings that confront every government after 5 years. Its height of stupidity when most international observers and many in Pakistan say that 2013 elections brought a change. There was no change; change came in 2008 elections when PMLN and PPP displaced incumbents “Q” from Punjab. From 2008 onwards, PMLN controlled Punjab and by virtue of their solid control over Punjab and its bureaucracy they displaced PPP from center in 2013.

Most forget that Elections that determined the federal govt were fought in Punjab. PMLN are smart in mind games; you have to accept that. But that roaring sea of humanity in Karachi alive with slogans of “Go Nawaz Go” will now compel minds in and outside Pakistan. World will also have to ponder: Can Nawaz continue to rule Pakistan with iron hand without a political compromise? Why he has no ability to resolve conflicts? What is the nature of this conflict aferall? Is he pitched against the military or urban middle classes? And Can he deliver in his present demeanor?

Nawaz Sharif & PMLN have consistently tried to avoid a meaningful political deal. They are only playing tricks and gimmicks. They cannot do that anymore. They are only fooling themselves. Sooner or later Nawaz has to agree on a “Credible Meaningful Election Audit with a JIT”, Electoral Reforms and new reconstituted Election Commission and Early Elections, (under the supervision of a credible supervising force) may be in the beginning of 2015 or autumn of 2015. And I don’t see how politics of Punjab can be healed without resignation of CM Shahbaz Sharif; he may even renovate his politics by presenting himself in front of the courts and clearing his name before the next elections. This will be best for him.

Please Share for wider debate!

Changing nature of conspiracy theories…!

Moeed Pirzada
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0

Moeed Pirzada |

Changing Nature of Conspiracy Theories by Nawaz Govt: This is now getting hilarious! First it was the Army planning to capture key installations and bring “Arab Revolution or Rose Revolution” through Imran and Qadri so Army was called in to face their own “creations”. Then it was discovered that Qadri represented Iran’s Shia Agenda and wants to create anarchy along with Wahdatul Muslameen.

As political situation changed everyone was quietly told that it was only DG ISI and one or two Brigadiers were trying to bring a revolution but Army is not part of it and that is why it is not succeeding. With the carefully planned defection and staged interviews of Pakistan’s perpetual rebel, Makhdoom Javaid Hashmi everyone was made to believe that Imran Khan was working for ISI Colonels – and also that the poor guy does not have reach beyond that.

diplomats and Political Affairs of key missions have slowly started to ponder: will Nawaz Govt faced with all this resistance be able to govern and deliver? – the Solution for the Nawaz Govt is accepting “Election Audit” and Political Reform.

Interestingly fearing that Supreme Court may not decide something regarding Election Audit, Hashmi was cleverly made to implicate the Chief Justice as part of the conspiracy. (As a preventive measure). On the floor of Parliament PM Nawaz told the nation and the world that Imran and Qadri had wanted Military Chief to meet them; later we learnt that it was a confusion and miscommunication between Nisar and Nawaz. The famous clarification “Oh pay kainday nay? (punjabi) – and we soon learnt that in fact the PM himself wanted military Chief to help resolve this political crisis. With Corps Commander Meetings it was revealed that at least 5 Corps Commanders plus DG-ISI were part of the conspiracy but Military Chief is standing rock sold for democracy and fortunately all “dirty eggs or conspirators” will be retiring soon and may be tried in the footsteps of Erdogan’s Turkish Model and will rot in jail along with Musharraf. Then we heard and read in print (Front Page Newspapers in Second Week of Sept) from top Govt Politicians claiming that in the presence of this military Chief (Gen. Raheel Sharif) no conspiracy against govt and democracy can succeed.

Read more: A conversation with Dr. Tahir ul Qadri

In between we were told – once again quietly in hushed tones – that Americans and the elements in the military conspired together to fail the visit of Chinese President to Pakistan and to destroy the investment vision of the govt that was set to resolve country’s energy crisis with generous $32 Billion Chinese investments and was to turn Pakistan into Germany in few years. And now for the past few days the theory being circulated is that Imran & Qadri along with dirty elements in ISI are in fact an American plan, a CIA plan, to create chaos across Pakistan and all these demands of new provinces and devolution are part of the script to create anarchy. So the ever-naïve Mirza Aslam Baig’s interview is only part of the ongoing revelation; his only addition is that in his comments he is making Pakistani Military as that “wise guy” that smelled the rat and decided not to fall into the trap. Conspiracy theories are always interesting.

This is now getting hilarious! First it was the Army planning to capture key installations and bring “Arab Revolution or Rose Revolution” through Imran and Qadri so Army was called in to face their own “creations”. Then it was discovered that Qadri represented Iran’s Shia Agenda and wants to create anarchy along with Wahdatul Muslameen.

They are an important speculative tool to discover truth. However even Conspiracy theories too have to have some consistency as they represent a “mindset” and sets of prejudices. Unfortunately, Pakistani Govt and its allies theories are hay wire moving in different directions changing as per need and convenience. What appears more plausible in Pakistani political crisis is that Nawaz Govt has tried everything: Preventive Police Action in Model Town Lahore to spread fear and panic; Containerization of Lahore and most of Punjab around GT Road, Police Crack Downs, Thousands of Arrests, Planting stories in International Media & News Agencies against ARMY; making ARMY responsible under Art. 245; putting ARMY on defensive through continuous scandalizing and maligning in Parliament through carefully choreographed speeches so that ARMY can not pressurize govt to find a meaningful political solution; investing massively in media to dehumanize Qadri and ridicule Imran to show him as a non-serious joker, as a stooge of Colonels, staging acts like Attack on Ptv to create national and international furor and diversions and praying to Allah to send more and more rain.

Read more: What is polarization?

And while many of these strategies have worked, the discomfiting fact is that “dharnas” and protests have assumed a life and character of their own. As government has shown its unwillingness to find a “genuine meaningful political solution” in the hope that time and fatigue will resolve the crisis the other side too has learnt to improvise. Imran Khan’s Karachi Jalsa is another evidence of that. Hence the final desperate attack: Protests are not going away because they are an American Plan.

In between we were told – once again quietly in hushed tones – that Americans and the elements in the military conspired together to fail the visit of Chinese President to Pakistan and to destroy the investment vision of the govt that was set to resolve country’s energy crisis with generous $32 Billion Chinese investments and was to turn Pakistan into Germany in few years.

Reality is that United States, UK and EU and all elements of their global power and influence (Print & Electronic Media, Human Right Organizations, Media Monitors like RSF, Civil Society Groups and NGO’s and so on) have solidly stood with Nawaz Govt under the impression planted by the Nawaz Govt that what it faces is not a “political challenge for change and reform” but a conspiracy by its military and the battle in Pakistan is for “Civilian Supremacy over Military”. That has worked well for Nawaz Govt, to the extent that gross police brutality, human right violations, sackings and beatings of media, and abuse of state authority by a collection of dynastic elite (Sharifs, Zardari, Maulana Fazal ur Rehman and Achakzai) have all been ignored by international community and even diplomatic corps in Islamabad. But now Nawaz Govt is panicking again, because it has tried everything and yet the “political feeling” is spreading across cities. Dharnas and size of crowds in Islamabad have lost meaning; with roaring crowds in Karachi a totally new reality is being born – Other cities may soon follow.

Another problem is that diplomats and Political Affairs of key missions have slowly started to ponder: will Nawaz Govt faced with all this resistance be able to govern and deliver? – the Solution for the Nawaz Govt is accepting “Election Audit” and Political Reform. Planting stories against CIA and United States will not help. What we are witnessing in Pakistan is a middle class movement against status quo of dynastic control.

 

Moeed Pirzada is prominent TV Anchor & commentator; he studied international relations at Columbia Univ, New York and law at London School of Economics. Twitter: MoeedNj. The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Global Village Space’s editorial policy. This piece was first published in Moeed Pirzada’s official page. It has been reproduced with permission.

Changing Nature of Conspiracy Theories…!

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Changing Nature of Conspiracy Theories…!

Moeed Pirzada | FB Blog |

Changing Nature of Conspiracy Theories by Nawaz Govt: This is now getting hilarious! First it was the Army planning to capture key installations and bring “Arab Revolution or Rose Revolution” through Imran and Qadri so Army was called in to face their own “creations”. Then it was discovered that Qadri represented Iran’s Shia Agenda and wants to create anarchy along with Wahdatul Muslameen.

As political situation changed everyone was quietly told that it was only DG ISI and one or two Brigadiers were trying to bring a revolution but Army is not part of it and that is why it is not succeeding. With the carefully planned defection and staged interviews of Pakistan’s perpetual rebel, Makhdoom Javaid Hashmi everyone was made to believe that Imran Khan was working for ISI Colonels – and also that the poor guy does not have reach beyond that.

Interestingly fearing that Supreme Court may not decide something regarding Election Audit, Hashmi was cleverly made to implicate the Chief Justice as part of the conspiracy. (As a preventive measure). On the floor of Parliament PM Nawaz told the nation and the world that Imran and Qadri had wanted Military Chief to meet them; later we learnt that it was a confusion and miscommunication between Nisar and Nawaz. The famous clarification “Oh pay kainday nay? (punjabi) – and we soon learnt that in fact the PM himself wanted military Chief to help resolve this political crisis. With Corps Commander Meetings it was revealed that at least 5 Corps Commanders plus DG-ISI were part of the conspiracy but Military Chief is standing rock sold for democracy and fortunately all “dirty eggs or conspirators” will be retiring soon and may be tried in the footsteps of Erdogan’s Turkish Model and will rot in jail along with Musharraf. Then we heard and read in print (Front Page Newspapers in Second Week of Sept) from top Govt Politicians claiming that in the presence of this military Chief (Gen. Raheel Sharif) no conspiracy against govt and democracy can succeed.

In between we were told – once again quietly in hushed tones – that Americans and the elements in the military conspired together to fail the visit of Chinese President to Pakistan and to destroy the investment vision of the govt that was set to resolve country’s energy crisis with generous $32 Billion Chinese investments and was to turn Pakistan into Germany in few years. And now for the past few days the theory being circulated is that Imran & Qadri along with dirty elements in ISI are in fact an American plan, a CIA plan, to create chaos across Pakistan and all these demands of new provinces and devolution are part of the script to create anarchy. So the ever-naïve Mirza Aslam Baig’s interview is only part of the ongoing revelation; his only addition is that in his comments he is making Pakistani Military as that “wise guy” that smelled the rat and decided not to fall into the trap. Conspiracy theories are always interesting.

They are an important speculative tool to discover truth. However even Conspiracy theories too have to have some consistency as they represent a “mind set” and sets of prejudices. Unfortunately Pakistani Govt and its allies theories are hay wire moving in different directions changing as per need and convenience. What appears more plausible in Pakistani political crisis is that Nawaz Govt has tried everything: Preventive Police Action in Model Town Lahore to spread fear and panic; Containerization of Lahore and most of Punjab around GT Road, Police Crack Downs, Thousands of Arrests, Planting stories in International Media & News Agencies against ARMY; making ARMY responsible under Art. 245; putting ARMY on defensive through continuous scandalizing and maligning in Parliament through carefully choreographed speeches so that ARMY can not pressurize govt to find a meaningful political solution; investing massively in media to dehumanize Qadri and ridicule Imran to show him as a non-serious joker, as a stooge of Colonels, staging acts like Attack on Ptv to create national and international furor and diversions and praying to Allah to send more and more rain.

And while many of these strategies have worked, the discomfiting fact is that “dharnas” and protests have assumed a life and character of their own. As government has shown its unwillingness to find a “genuine meaningful political solution” in the hope that time and fatigue will resolve the crisis the other side too has learnt to improvise. Imran Khan’s Karachi Jalsa is another evidence of that. Hence the final desperate attack: Protests are not going away because they are an American Plan.

Reality is that United States, UK and EU and all elements of their global power and influence (Print & Electronic Media, Human Right Organizations, Media Monitors like RSF, Civil Society Groups and NGO’s and so on) have solidly stood with Nawaz Govt under the impression planted by the Nawaz Govt that what it faces is not a “political challenge for change and reform” but a conspiracy by its military and the battle in Pakistan is for “Civilian Supremacy over Military”. That has worked well for Nawaz Govt, to the extent that gross police brutality, human right violations, sackings and beatings of media, and abuse of state authority by a collection of dynastic elite (Sharifs, Zardari, Maulana Fazal ur Rehman and Achakzai) have all been ignored by international community and even diplomatic corps in Islamabad. But now Nawaz Govt is panicking again, because it has tried everything and yet the “political feeling” is spreading across cities. Dharnas and size of crowds in Islamabad have lost meaning; with roaring crowds in Karachi a totally new reality is being born – Other cities may soon follow.

Another problem is that diplomats and Political Affairs of key missions have slowly started to ponder: will Nawaz Govt faced with all this resistance be able to govern and deliver? – the Solution for the Nawaz Govt is accepting “Election Audit” and Political Reform. Planting stories against CIA and United States will not help. What we are witnessing in Pakistan is a middle class movement against status quo of dynastic control.

Current political crisis and negotiations…!

Moeed Pirzada
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0

Moeed Pirzada |

Ref: Last Night Discussion on Form-14 Verifications: – Discussion with Mudassar Rizvi & Fawad was a bit technical but very important to current political crisis and negotiations. What we all need to understand is that the fundamental, the most necessary election record for verification is Statement of Count called Form-14. This Form-14 (Statement of Count) when filled completely details the: Total Registered Voters at the Polling Stations, Male Vote, Female Vote, Vote Cast, Vote Rejected and Total Accepted Vote. Form 15 & 16 prepared by Returning Officers (RO) that give the total result of a Constituency as to who has won is only a simple addition of all Form-14’s received from all Polling Stations.

Each Constituency of National Assembly in Pakistan consisted of anywhere from 250-300 Polling Stations. Each Polling Station was headed by a Presiding Officer designated by Election Commission. Who and who were appointed by Election Commission is an essential record; these were mostly officers of Education Department or Agriculture Dept. or such other provincial govt departments. Their “signatures” and “thumb impressions” are not only part of NADRA record but are also available from AGPR Office from where they draw their salaries.

The idea is that Election Investigations is a fact finding mathematical job; this is not a legal or constitutional task. Legal and Constitutional issues are very secondary or tertiary in this task. This explains why Election Tribunals are not of much help.

Most Polling Stations have registered voters anywhere from 700 to 1500. So if Polling ends at 5pm, within 2-3 hours Form-14’s are ready for distribution to Polling Agents and onward deposit to the Returning Officers. At every Polling Station at the end of Voting, votes were counted within 2-3 hours supposedly in the presence of polling agents of several political parties. Presiding Officers by law issue Form-14 after signing on their names & titles, fixing their own thumb impression and writing CNIC. This constitutes a dully Filled Form-14. Form-14 is a Public Document; it should be put outside the Polling Station; may be given to Media and given the universal presence of new Camera software in every phone we can capture their photos for record.(Suggestion for Media and Election Monitors for Next Elections).

Read more: PML-N’s obssesion with building white elephants to win elections

What Mudassar (FAFEN) was suggesting was that before a Judicial Commission or any JIT starts to go towards the Vote Count, the first basic steps should be done which will reveal a lot about the Elections and the next steps like Vote Count in Constituencies. The first basic steps should be to verify if Election Commission has all Form-14’s dully filled from all Polling Stations of all Constituencies. There should be around 69-70,000 Form-14’s for National Assembly and the same for Provincial Assemblies (since same Polling Stations were used) so around 138-139,000 Form-14s should be in possession of Election Commission. (ECP as per its own plan and commitment was supposed to put scanned copies of all these Form-14’s on its Website but for reasons not explained it has not been able to do it, which itself is a very suspicious act and raises very difficult questions).

Read more: 2018 Elections will be pointless: without “major electoral reforms”

Once ECP confirms the presence of dully filled Form-14’s, the next simple step is verification of the “thumb impressions” and signatures of the Presiding Officers on these Form-14’s. Since the record of the appointment of the Presiding Officers is available and their signatures and thumb impressions are part of record in NADRA and AGPR so it should take only 2-3 or at most 3-4 days of electronic work by NADRA to verify if the Form-14’s with ECP used for final Election Result are the same that were issued by designated Presiding Officers at the designated Polling Stations or they were changed at a later stage at the level of RO’s or DRO’s.

All political parties, media pundit and students of political science and Pakistan’s international stake holders need to realize that given the doubts and controversy around Election 2013, any next elections in Pakistan will be meaningless unless the nature of irregularities of Election-2013 are resolved and lessons learnt for Electoral Reform.

It is important to understand that RO or DRO or ECP cannot change the Form-14 once issued without the Due Process of Law. Also keep in mind that large number of copies of the Form-14’s issued by Presiding Officers are available with PPP, PTI, PMLN, other parties, Election Monitors and Media and once these Form-14’s are made available on ECP’s website it is possible for public to check if the Form-14’s used by ECP for result calculation are the same that were issued by Presiding Officers in the evening of 11th May 2013 (Day of controversial Elections)

This is only one step; many follow through steps are possible. FAFEN may issue a press release which we will follow. What is the basic idea? The idea is that Election Investigations is a fact finding mathematical job; this is not a legal or constitutional task. Legal and Constitutional issues are very secondary or tertiary in this task. This explains why Election Tribunals are not of much help. Because in Election Tribunals allegations are being addressed or scrutinized as per law and procedure. Complainants are supposed to bring hard evidence of rigging which they often can not assemble on their own. And the issues keep on dragging. So Election Tribunals – the way they are working – have limited application to this challenge of fact finding and determination of what happened. For example whole Town may have seen a murder but in a Pakistani court room it may still not be possible to prove that who killed whom. Election Tribunals unfortunately, the way they are constituted, also fall in the same category.

Read more: Watch this short video: Do elections bring democracy?

This also explains why PTI & Govt Negotiations are not reaching anywhere. PTI wants Constituency records (30 or more Constituencies) and documents, votes etc to be checked and scrutinized which is simple common sense of “fact finding”. But PMLN & Allies term this as “Super Tribunals” and unconstitutional. When in his latest address to the concluding hours of Joint Parliamentary Session, PM Nawaz Sharif said that “we won’t accept any constitutional demands” he was not worried about his “resignation” he was referring also to this process of checking Election Results. What PMLN has been suggesting (when they say we have accepted Five Points) is that Judicial Commission should investigate allegations leveled by Imran Khan and PTI against RO’s, DRO’s, Iftikahar Chaudhry, Najam Sethi and ECP etc or allegations that PMLN was responsible for rigging through Interim Governments or that PMLN was the beneficiary. This is a legal trick, the kind of which is used by lawyers in courts to defend their clients. In terms of Investigations into the Elections, the basic Election Audit these are meaningless time wasting excuses and nothing else.

Form-14 is a Public Document; it should be put outside the Polling Station; may be given to Media and given the universal presence of new Camera software in every phone we can capture their photos for record.(Suggestion for Media and Election Monitors for Next Elections).

We hope these ideas, discussed in 19th Sept, 2014 ARY Special broadcast and this Facebook Note reaches all political parties and Siyasi Jirga and it may help them. We have not seen PTI Negotiations Team’s final and actual written suggestions handed over to PMLN & Allies in govt but we have seen the proposals by Siyasi Jirga of JI and PPP and Sisyasi Jirga proposals are definitely weak, ambiguous and wishy-washy. They don’t offer any mathematical result oriented Audit of the Elections. All political parties, media pundit and students of political science and Pakistan’s international stake holders need to realize that given the doubts and controversy around Election 2013, any next elections in Pakistan will be meaningless unless the nature of irregularities of Election-2013 are resolved and lessons learnt for Electoral Reform. Similarly Election Commissions recommendations today for Electoral Reform and Electronic Voting etc are another waste of time since Electronic Voting can be doubly dangerous without creating institutions of integrity and the Members of current Election Commission have lost their trust in public eye; they should just resign.

Elections are the only reliable instrument for a “Transition of Power” in a democracy. Future of Democracy in Pakistan is at threat not because of protests but because Elections-2013 are most controversial since 1977 and significant sections of Pakistani population have lost trust in that exercise and there won’t be any trust in a future elections without resolving these issues. – More later on this.

 

Moeed Pirzada is prominent TV Anchor & commentator; he studied international relations at Columbia Univ, New York and law at London School of Economics. Twitter: MoeedNj. The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Global Village Space’s editorial policy. This piece was first published in Moeed Pirzada’s official page. It has been reproduced with permission.

Current political crisis and negotiations…!

Admin
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Current political crisis and negotiations…!

Moeed Pirzada | FB Blog |

Ref: Last Night Discussion on Form-14 Verifications:- Discussion with Mudassar Rizvi & Fawad was a bit technical but very important to current political crisis and negotiations. What we all need to understand is that the fundamental, the most necessary election record for verification is Statement of Count called Form-14. This Form-14 (Statement of Count) when filled completely details the: Total Registered Voters at the Polling Stations, Male Vote, Female Vote, Vote Cast, Vote Rejected and Total Accepted Vote. Form 15 & 16 prepared by Returning Officers (RO) that give the total result of a Constituency as to who has won is only a simple addition of all Form-14’s received from all Polling Stations.

Each Constituency of National Assembly in Pakistan consisted of anywhere from 250-300 Polling Stations. Each Polling Station was headed by a Presiding Officer designated by Election Commission. Who and who were appointed by Election Commission is an essential record; these were mostly officers of Education Department or Agriculture Dept. or such other provincial govt departments. Their “signatures” and “thumb impressions” are not only part of NADRA record but are also available from AGPR Office from where they draw their salaries.

Most Polling Stations have registered voters anywhere from 700 to 1500. So if Polling ends at 5pm, within 2-3 hours Form-14’s are ready for distribution to Polling Agents and onward deposit to the Returning Officers. At every Polling Station at the end of Voting, votes were counted within 2-3 hours supposedly in the presence of polling agents of several political parties. Presiding Officers by law issue Form-14 after signing on their names & titles, fixing their own thumb impression and writing CNIC. This constitutes a dully Filled Form-14. Form-14 is a Public Document; it should be put outside the Polling Station; may be given to Media and given the universal presence of new Camera software in every phone we can capture their photos for record.(Suggestion for Media and Election Monitors for Next Elections).

What Mudassar (FAFEN) was suggesting was that before a Judicial Commission or any JIT starts to go towards the Vote Count, the first basic steps should be done which will reveal a lot about the Elections and the next steps like Vote Count in Constituencies. The first basic steps should be to verify if Election Commission has all Form-14’s dully filled from all Polling Stations of all Constituencies. There should be around 69-70,000 Form-14’s for National Assembly and the same for Provincial Assemblies (since same Polling Stations were used) so around 138-139,000 Form-14s should be in possession of Election Commission. (ECP as per its own plan and commitment was supposed to put scanned copies of all these Form-14’s on its Website but for reasons not explained it has not been able to do it, which itself is a very suspicious act and raises very difficult questions).

Once ECP confirms the presence of dully filled Form-14’s, the next simple step is verification of the “thumb impressions” and signatures of the Presiding Officers on these Form-14’s. Since the record of the appointment of the Presiding Officers is available and their signatures and thumb impressions are part of record in NADRA and AGPR so it should take only 2-3 or at most 3-4 days of electronic work by NADRA to verify if the Form-14’s with ECP used for final Election Result are the same that were issued by designated Presiding Officers at the designated Polling Stations or they were changed at a later stage at the level of RO’s or DRO’s.

It is important to understand that RO or DRO or ECP cannot change the Form-14 once issued without the Due Process of Law. Also keep in mind that large number of copies of the Form-14’s issued by Presiding Officers are available with PPP, PTI, PMLN, other parties, Election Monitors and Media and once these Form-14’s are made available on ECP’s website it is possible for public to check if the Form-14’s used by ECP for result calculation are the same that were issued by Presiding Officers in the evening of 11th May 2013 (Day of controversial Elections)

This is only one step; many follow through steps are possible. FAFEN may issue a press release which we will follow. What is the basic idea? The idea is that Election Investigations is a fact finding mathematical job; this is not a legal or constitutional task. Legal and Constitutional issues are very secondary or tertiary in this task. This explains why Election Tribunals are not of much help. Because in Election Tribunals allegations are being addressed or scrutinized as per law and procedure. Complainants are supposed to bring hard evidence of rigging which they often can not assemble on their own. And the issues keep on dragging. So Election Tribunals – the way they are working – have limited application to this challenge of fact finding and determination of what happened. For example whole Town may have seen a murder but in a Pakistani court room it may still not be possible to prove that who killed whom. Election Tribunals unfortunately, the way they are constituted, also fall in the same category.

This also explains why PTI & Govt Negotiations are not reaching anywhere. PTI wants Constituency records (30 or more Constituencies) and documents, votes etc to be checked and scrutinized which is simple common sense of “fact finding”. But PMLN & Allies term this as “Super Tribunals” and unconstitutional. When in his latest address to the concluding hours of Joint Parliamentary Session, PM Nawaz Sharif said that “we won’t accept any constitutional demands” he was not worried about his “resignation” he was referring also to this process of checking Election Results. What PMLN has been suggesting (when they say we have accepted Five Points) is that Judicial Commission should investigate allegations leveled by Imran Khan and PTI against RO’s, DRO’s, Iftikahar Chaudhry, Najam Sethi and ECP etc or allegations that PMLN was responsible for rigging through Interim Governments or that PMLN was the beneficiary. This is a legal trick, the kind of which is used by lawyers in courts to defend their clients. In terms of Investigations into the Elections, the basic Election Audit these are meaningless time wasting excuses and nothing else.

We hope these ideas, discussed in 19th Sept, 2014 ARY Special broadcast and this Facebook Note reaches all political parties and Siyasi Jirga and it may help them. We have not seen PTI Negotiations Team’s final and actual written suggestions handed over to PMLN & Allies in govt but we have seen the proposals by Siyasi Jirga of JI and PPP and Sisyasi Jirga proposals are definitely weak, ambiguous and wishy-washy. They don’t offer any mathematical result oriented Audit of the Elections. All political parties, media pundit and students of political science and Pakistan’s international stake holders need to realize that given the doubts and controversy around Election 2013, any next elections in Pakistan will be meaningless unless the nature of irregularities of Election-2013 are resolved and lessons learnt for Electoral Reform. Similarly Election Commissions recommendations today for Electoral Reform and Electronic Voting etc are another waste of time since Electronic Voting can be doubly dangerous without creating institutions of integrity and the Members of current Election Commission have lost their trust in public eye; they should just resign.

Elections are the only reliable instrument for a “Transition of Power” in a democracy. Future of Democracy in Pakistan is at threat not because of protests but because Elections-2013 are most controversial since 1977 and significant sections of Pakistani population have lost trust in that exercise and there won’t be any trust in a future elections without resolving these issues. – More later on this.

Crackdown against political workers : democratic practices?

Moeed Pirzada
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0

Moeed Pirzada |

How many people have been arrested in Pakistan to curb this political movement? – Govt’s strategy is to keep a tight lid so that no reliable figures are available. However in the last 3-4 days all of you have noticed that though official figures of arrests were 100 or so, but then hundreds have been released by court orders in Islamabad and Rawalpindi but despite this Human Right Commission of Pakistan, International Right Groups like Human Right Watch and others have taken no notice. Are they not aware? or this is a tacit policy support to a govt in Islamabad, we don’t know; only time will tell.

Read more: Karachi Jalsa is a Game Changer?

But the disjointed patchy picture we are getting from our different reporters paints a large hitherto developing (and mostly undeclared) crackdown against political workers, potential affiliates of PTI, PAT and other supporting parties all across Punjab from Jhelum to Attock, and all that without any uproar from other parties and sections of society – this is a huge risk for the development of democracy; for democracy is a process like a flowing river that gets strengthened by expressions of dissent and then tying knots of political agreements around them; this is why it is said that worst democracy is better than martial law. However democracy is not merely holding of Elections but in the working of the process; democracy’s utility is not for building large material structures like roads or motorways, autocratic rules and dictatorships always do that better; Democracy’s real spirit lies in facing dissent and resolving it through negotiations and thus deepening the layers of agreement that bind the social and political order and helping society move ahead in time and space without major upheavals and bloodsheds. 3-4 days ago, when Police started crackdown against PTI One Month Congregation, it presented hundreds of political workers in front of Magistrates in Rawalpindi for violation of Sec. 144, to be sent to jail under 188. But Pindi Magistrates started releasing large number of them; Police panicked and shifted hundreds of them to Adiala Jail (more than 4000, according to reporters) without proper documentation for temporary detention or to be fixed under other offences/sections.

Read more: Faislabad represents an interesting challenge for both PTI and PMLN …!

Reports reaching us in Islamabad now indicate that Police is now resorting to MPO-16 (Maintenance of Public Order) and according to reporters thousands of people have been rounded up across Punjab, from Jehlum to Attock. According to one reporter, who is following it from his sources, this figure of arrests, in the last few days of crackdown alone, has crossed more than 10,000. Police Officers in small towns (SHO’s – Station Officers) have been given quotas of arrests to meet. If we add these new arrests to the earlier arrests of PAT (Pakistan Awami Tehrik) workers since June then this level of arrest and detention (under different laws) becomes extremely serious. PAT has been claiming more than 15-20,000 arrests since June. These figures might be exaggerated and some of these might have released but in the absence of any figures by the Police and government and without any attempts to dig deep by media and human right organizations and lawyers associations this situation is worrisome.

Read more: Of Altaf Hussain & London: First Steps..!

Govt’s continuous attempts to criminalize its political opposition by using cocktails of administrative powers and policing tools is a dangerous tactic; this has almost always backfired in Pakistan and is a threat to democracy. Also it carries the risks of benefitting the religious and sectarian organizations in the long run. Political passions for change are running high; they are coming from young people and fortunately these strong emotions are very mainstream in nature; if mainstream political process will not or cannot absorb these strong emotions in the form of political dialogue, negotiations and agreements then the sense of desperation will ultimately benefit pro-religious feelings with its multiple consequences.

Will find out more – but all media persons should try to dig deeply into the nature of this large scale crackdown across Punjab.

 

Moeed Pirzada is prominent TV Anchor & commentator; he studied international relations at Columbia Univ, New York and law at London School of Economics. Twitter: MoeedNj. The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Global Village Space’s editorial policy. This piece was first published in Moeed Pirzada’s official page. It has been reproduced with permission.

“No” to Executive Magistracy?

Moeed Pirzada
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0

Moeed Pirzada |

Why we should say “No” to Executive Magistracy? – DMG group has been building a case for the restoration of Exec-Magistracy; their argument has been that under the combined powers of District Administration and Judicial function under the old fashioned Deputy Commissioners (system abolished by Musharraf in early 2000) state had a stronger writ of law. This argument looked attractive in theory; however the test of pudding lies in eating it. The ongoing political crisis in the country has exposed the reality of Exec-Magistrates and their role in destroying the functioning of democracy. They have demonstrated themselves to be mere “pawns” in the overall architecture of control by ‘Ruling Power Elite’ obliterating the distinction between “govt” and the “state” which is the fundamental need of a democracy. It is important to understand why this is so?

Executive Magistrates in Islamabad have thus proved to be the weakest link in terms of democratic governance. Being under the Deputy Commissioner, they are a mere extension of govt in power reducing the political space to democratic opposition.

Islamabad was the only part of the country which still had the old colonial era “Deputy Commissioner” system. Exec-Magistrates here are Assistant Commissioners who work under the Deputy Commissioner and have judicial powers in addition to the administrative functions. Govt confronted by political challenge decides to resort to administrative machinery instead of painstaking negotiations; in fact has used the “administrative measures” (like Police crackdown, Imposition of Sec.144 etc) to influence and defeat the process of political bargaining – which is actually needed. Govt has used Deputy Commissioner to impose Sec. 144; a decision that remains controversial since it is not “bottom upwards” as a result of pure administrative need but “top-down decision” due to political considerations and timings of the govt that wanted to derive political advantage by restricting the movements of its political opposition that throw a challenge by public assemblies for political bargaining.

But that is not all; Sec. 144 was imposed long time ago but was used only when it was considered most politically expeditious in the last few days when PTI decided to have its “Monthly Congregation”; govt’s aim was purely political, and had little real administrative substance to prove if examined carefully. Then under that Sec. 144 Police arrested hundreds (thousands if you add Rawalpindi), even from their homes, late at night, and presented them in front of Exec-Magistrates who without any questions asked, as per orders from above sent them for 14 Day Judicial Remands, which we use for “murderers” in South Asia. Now technically, they could do it, since Exec-Magistrates have these legal powers. But we are essentially dealing with ‘abuse of political power’ under the false ambit of ‘rule of law’.

The ongoing political crisis in the country has exposed the reality of Exec-Magistrates and their role in destroying the functioning of democracy. They have demonstrated themselves to be mere “pawns” in the overall architecture of control by ‘Ruling Power Elite’ obliterating the distinction between “govt” and the “state” which is the fundamental need of a democracy. It is important to understand why this is so?

This is where we get to see the reality of Exec-Magistrates. Because when young political protestors were presented by Police to regular Judicial Magistrates in neighboring Rawalpindi which does not have the old Deputy Commissioner System but has separation of Executive from Judiciary, then Pindi Magistrates willy-nilly started releasing the arrested as per law. Executive Magistrates in Islamabad have thus proved to be the weakest link in terms of democratic governance. Being under the Deputy Commissioner, they are a mere extension of govt in power reducing the political space to democratic opposition. You all have heard that worst democracy is better than a martial law? Reason is that in martial laws, when military is in power, state becomes the govt, forcing the political opposition to directly confront the state. That is why martial laws freeze the political process and turn people into enemy of the state. Exec-Magistrates in Islamabad have done a similar thing. By virtue of their subordination to govt in power, they can’t function as “state functionaries” and only act as ‘force multipliers’ for the ruling elite. And all this while a large section of Pakistani population – especially educated middle classes in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi – is questioning the legitimacy of Elections that is being used by the ruling elite to justify their hold on power. Exec- Magistrates thus become a direct threat to the development of democracy in Pakistan.

This ongoing political crisis is exposing many aspects, failures of governance and political process and Executive Magistracy is one of these. I will come back with more learning lessons; but all educated professionals, lawyers, doctors, engineers, business managers, IT professionals, academics, all CSS candidates and students of politics and all those who wish to see advancement of democracy in Pakistan should examine the role of Executive Magistracy. We must gee rid of this colonial era relic of the past.

 

Moeed Pirzada is prominent TV Anchor & commentator; he studied international relations at Columbia Univ, New York and law at London School of Economics. Twitter: MoeedNj. The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Global Village Space’s editorial policy. This piece was first published in Moeed Pirzada’s official page. It has been reproduced with permission.

“No” to Executive Magistracy?

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“No” to Executive Magistracy?

Moeed Pirzada |  FB Blog |

Why we should say “No” to Executive Magistracy? – DMG group has been building a case for the restoration of Exec-Magistracy; their argument has been that under the combined powers of District Administration and Judicial function under the old fashioned Deputy Commissioners (system abolished by Musharraf in early 2000) state had a stronger writ of law. This argument looked attractive in theory; however the test of pudding lies in eating it. The ongoing political crisis in the country has exposed the reality of Exec-Magistrates and their role in destroying the functioning of democracy. They have demonstrated themselves to be mere “pawns” in the overall architecture of control by ‘Ruling Power Elite’ obliterating the distinction between “govt” and the “state” which is the fundamental need of a democracy. It is important to understand why this is so?

Islamabad was the only part of the country which still had the old colonial era “Deputy Commissioner” system. Exec-Magistrates here are Assistant Commissioners who work under the Deputy Commissioner and have judicial powers in addition to the administrative functions. Govt confronted by political challenge decides to resort to administrative machinery instead of painstaking negotiations; in fact has used the “administrative measures” (like Police crackdown, Imposition of Sec.144 etc) to influence and defeat the process of political bargaining – which is actually needed. Govt has used Deputy Commissioner to impose Sec. 144; a decision that remains controversial since it is not “bottom upwards” as a result of pure administrative need but “top-down decision” due to political considerations and timings of the govt that wanted to derive political advantage by restricting the movements of its political opposition that throw a challenge by public assemblies for political bargaining. But that is not all; Sec. 144 was imposed long time ago but was used only when it was considered most politically expeditious in the last few days when PTI decided to have its “Monthly Congregation”; govt’s aim was purely political, and had little real administrative substance to prove if examined carefully. Then under that Sec. 144 Police arrested hundreds (thousands if you add Rawalpindi), even from their homes, late at night, and presented them in front of Exec-Magistrates who without any questions asked, as per orders from above sent them for 14 Day Judicial Remands, which we use for “murderers” in South Asia. Now technically, they could do it, since Exec-Magistrates have these legal powers. But we are essentially dealing with ‘abuse of political power’ under the false ambit of ‘rule of law’

This is where we get to see the reality of Exec-Magistrates. Because when young political protestors were presented by Police to regular Judicial Magistrates in neighboring Rawalpindi which does not have the old Deputy Commissioner System but has separation of Executive from Judiciary, then Pindi Magistrates willy-nilly started releasing the arrested as per law. Executive Magistrates in Islamabad have thus proved to be the weakest link in terms of democratic governance. Being under the Deputy Commissioner, they are a mere extension of govt in power reducing the political space to democratic opposition. You all have heard that worst democracy is better than a martial law? Reason is that in martial laws, when military is in power, state becomes the govt, forcing the political opposition to directly confront the state. That is why martial laws freeze the political process and turn people into enemy of the state. Exec-Magistrates in Islamabad have done a similar thing. By virtue of their subordination to govt in power, they can’t function as “state functionaries” and only act as ‘force multipliers’ for the ruling elite. And all this while a large section of Pakistani population – especially educated middle classes in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi – is questioning the legitimacy of Elections that is being used by the ruling elite to justify their hold on power. Exec- Magistrates thus become a direct threat to the development of democracy in Pakistan.

This ongoing political crisis is exposing many aspects, failures of governance and political process and Executive Magistracy is one of these. I will come back with more learning lessons; but all educated professionals, lawyers, doctors, engineers, business managers, IT professionals, academics, all CSS candidates and students of politics and all those who wish to see advancement of democracy in Pakistan should examine the role of Executive Magistracy. We must gee rid of this colonial era relic of the past.

Crackdown against political workers : Democratic practices ?

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Crackdown against political workers : Democratic practices ?

Moeed Pirzada | FB Blog |

How many people have been arrested in Pakistan to curb this political movement? – Govt’s strategy is to keep a tight lid so that no reliable figures are available. However in the last 3-4 days all of you have noticed that though official figures of arrests were 100 or so, but then hundreds have been released by court orders in Islamabad and Rawalpindi but despite this Human Right Commission of Pakistan, International Right Groups like Human Right Watch and others have taken no notice. Are they not aware? or this is a tacit policy support to a govt in Islamabad, we don’t know; only time will tell.

But the disjointed patchy picture we are getting from our different reporters paints a large hitherto developing (and mostly undeclared) crack down against political workers, potential affiliates of PTI, PAT and other supporting parties all across Punjab from Jhelum to Attock, and all that without any uproar from other parties and sections of society – this is a huge risk for the development of democracy; for democracy is a process like a flowing river that gets strengthened by expressions of dissent and then tying knots of political agreements around them; this is why it is said that worst democracy is better than martial law. However democracy is not merely holding of Elections but in the working of the process; democracy’s utility is not for building large material structures like roads or motorways, autocratic rules and dictatorships always do that better; Democracy’s real spirit lies in facing dissent and resolving it through negotiations and thus deepening the layers of agreement that bind the social and political order and helping society move ahead in time and space without major upheavals and bloodsheds. 3-4 days ago, when Police started crackdown against PTI One Month Congregation, it presented hundreds of political workers in front of Magistrates in Rawalpindi for violation of Sec. 144, to be sent to jail under 188. But Pindi Magistrates started releasing large number of them; Police panicked and shifted hundreds of them to Adiala Jail (more than 4000, according to reporters) without proper documentation for temporary detention or to be fixed under other offences/sections.

Reports reaching us in Islamabad now indicate that Police is now resorting to MPO-16 (Maintenance of Public Order) and according to reporters thousands of people have been rounded up across Punjab, from Jehlum to Attock. According to one reporter, who is following it from his sources, this figure of arrests, in the last few days of crackdown alone, has crossed more than 10,000. Police Officers in small towns (SHO’s – Station Officers) have been given quotas of arrests to meet. If we add these new arrests to the earlier arrests of PAT (Pakistan Awami Tehrik) workers since June then this level of arrest and detention (under different laws) becomes extremely serious. PAT has been claiming more than 15-20,000 arrests since June. These figures might be exaggerated and some of these might have released but in the absence of any figures by the Police and government and without any attempts to dig deep by media and human right organizations and lawyers associations this situation is worrisome.

Govt’s continuous attempts to criminalize its political opposition by using cocktails of administrative powers and policing tools is a dangerous tactic; this has almost always backfired in Pakistan and is a threat to democracy. Also it carries the risks of benefitting the religious and sectarian organizations in the long run. Political passions for change are running high; they are coming from young people and fortunately these strong emotions are very mainstream in nature; if mainstream political process will not or cannot absorb these strong emotions in the form of political dialogue, negotiations and agreements then the sense of desperation will ultimately benefit pro-religious feelings with its multiple consequences.

Will find out more – but all media persons should try to dig deeply into the nature of this large scale crackdown across Punjab.

Why Auntie BBC should not run its London Agenda here?

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Moeed Pirzada |

Why Auntie BBC should not run its London Agenda here? – Now since I have provided you the details of why BBC was considered an overbearing Auntie with her strict values and indoctrination in the UK of 1960’s I can explain a bit what is wrong with BBC’s (and other Intel Media’s) approach towards political situation in Pakistan.

if anyone tries to tell you that BBC World Service is fair, impartial and objective and is not “spinning with a slant” when it comes to political situations in Iran, Middle East, Iraq, Egypt and Pakistan then either he is a “goof” himself or is trying to “goof” you.

BBC inside UK can be, especially in the past, blamed for social, upper middle classes biases for instance reflected in the Queen’s Accent and similar issues, but it is by its constitution equipoised between rival political forces. It will not, and cannot plead govt’s agenda against its opposition. It has been created, groomed and developed in a fashion to serve the best interests of British society and the state; and in last two decades it has successfully tried changing its “hideously white” image by incorporating minority Asian and Black voices. It is directly funded by License Fee and unlike PTV British govt cannot micromanage its internal funding, placements, programming, news agenda, preferences and priorities. When Blair govt was very upset on BBC’s Anti-Iraq war agenda it punished BBC by decapitation at the top (Andrew Gilligan Affair) by replacing its Director General and so on. However BBC World is a different story.

Read more: Damning BBC Urdu report on Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s Claims on ownership of London Flats

BBC World for greater part of its existence has been funded by British Foreign & Commonwealth Office (and keeps on suffering from Funding crises) and as such is and remains the propaganda arm of British Foreign Office and attempts shaping a global atmosphere conducive to British political interests – whatever may be the priority at any particular moment; be it a situation in Iran, Middle East or Pakistan. So for the world, BBC World Service is a British Auntie shaping a British Agenda upon its naïve viewers, listeners and readers. Most people in Pakistan, due to psychological hold of our colonial experiences, identify everything related to a “Gora” as something honest, of integrity and so on. Most of those impressions were carefully cultivated in the first instance, as part of the imperial policy, and whatever their reality may have been, these don’t apply upon BBC World Service which remains a propaganda arm of the British State and its foreign policy.

BBC inside UK can be, especially in the past, blamed for social, upper middle classes biases for instance reflected in the Queen’s Accent and similar issues, but it is by its constitution equipoised between rival political forces. It will not, and cannot plead govt’s agenda against its opposition.

BBC World is a superb high quality, sophisticated media platform, it has high standards of information collecting, research and presentation and dedicated teams that work to achieve that across the world; but despite all this if anyone tries to tell you that BBC World Service is fair, impartial and objective and is not “spinning with a slant” when it comes to political situations in Iran, Middle East, Iraq, Egypt and Pakistan then either he is a “goof” himself or is trying to “goof” you. You need to be very clear that BBC Worlds’ objective is not to serve Pakistani national interests but to serve British Foreign Policy. There is nothing wrong in it; all International Networks (CNN, Al Jazeera, EURO News etc) have to shape an opinion to serve the “consensus of powers” inside the “state of origin” And BBC World does it very nicely.

So in the present political crisis in Pakistan, while BBC World has taken a particular position aligning itself with Pakistan’s current government and totally ignoring the middle class political sentiment, and its honest yearning for reform or the brute elite control in the name of democracy then its only serving its agenda. This is doubly unfortunate because British society and politics, and deeply held values in its domestic affairs will not support what is being done in Pakistan in the name of democracy. Britain has passed through several upheavals in its rich political history and not all issues were resolved inside parliament. But BBC World is not serving British values in its commentaries on Pakistan; it is serving British Foreign Policy. Once you clear about this then you can make sense of all what they have been saying or writing in the last few weeks.

 

Moeed Pirzada is prominent TV Anchor & commentator; he studied international relations at Columbia Univ, New York and law at London School of Economics. Twitter: MoeedNj. The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Global Village Space’s editorial policy. This piece was first published in Moeed Pirzada’s official page. It has been reproduced with permission.

Why Auntie BBC should not run its London Agenda here?

Admin
-
1
Why Auntie BBC should not run its London Agenda here?

Moeed Pirzada | FB Blog |

Why Auntie BBC should not run its London Agenda here? – Now since I have provided you the details of why BBC was considered an overbearing Auntie with her strict values and indoctrination in the UK of 1960’s I can explain a bit what is wrong with BBC’s (and other Intel Media’s) approach towards political situation in Pakistan.

BBC inside UK can be, especially in the past, blamed for social, upper middle classes biases for instance reflected in the Queen’s Accent and similar issues, but it is by its constitution equipoised between rival political forces. It will not, and cannot plead govt’s agenda against its opposition. It has been created, groomed and developed in a fashion to serve the best interests of British society and the state; and in last two decades it has successfully tried changing its “hideously white” image by incorporating minority Asian and Black voices. It is directly funded by License Fee and unlike PTV British govt cannot micromanage its internal funding, placements, programming, news agenda, preferences and priorities. When Blair govt was very upset on BBC’s Anti-Iraq war agenda it punished BBC by decapitation at the top (Andrew Gilligan Affair) by replacing its Director General and so on. However BBC World is a different story.

BBC World for greater part of its existence has been funded by British Foreign & Commonwealth Office (and keeps on suffering from Funding crises) and as such is and remains the propaganda arm of British Foreign Office and attempts shaping a global atmosphere conducive to British political interests – whatever may be the priority at any particular moment; be it a situation in Iran, Middle East or Pakistan. So for the world, BBC World Service is a British Auntie shaping a British Agenda upon its naïve viewers, listeners and readers. Most people in Pakistan, due to psychological hold of our colonial experiences, identify everything related to a “Gora” as something honest, of integrity and so on. Most of those impressions were carefully cultivated in the first instance, as part of the imperial policy, and whatever their reality may have been, these don’t apply upon BBC World Service which remains a propaganda arm of the British State and its foreign policy.

BBC World is a superb high quality, sophisticated media platform, it has high standards of information collecting, research and presentation and dedicated teams that work to achieve that across the world; but despite all this if anyone tries to tell you that BBC World Service is fair, impartial and objective and is not “spinning with a slant” when it comes to political situations in Iran, Middle East, Iraq, Egypt and Pakistan then either he is a “goof” himself or is trying to “goof” you. You need to be very clear that BBC Worlds’ objective is not to serve Pakistani national interests but to serve British Foreign Policy. There is nothing wrong in it; all International Networks (CNN, Al Jazeera, EURO News etc) have to shape an opinion to serve the “consensus of powers” inside the “state of origin” And BBC World does it very nicely.

So in the present political crisis in Pakistan, while BBC World has taken a particular position aligning itself with Pakistan’s current government and totally ignoring the middle class political sentiment, and its honest yearning for reform or the brute elite control in the name of democracy then its only serving its agenda. This is doubly unfortunate because British society and politics, and deeply held values in its domestic affairs will not support what is being done in Pakistan in the name of democracy. Britain has passed through several upheavals in its rich political history and not all issues were resolved inside parliament. But BBC World is not serving British values in its commentaries on Pakistan; it is serving British Foreign Policy. Once you clear about this then you can make sense of all what they have been saying or writing in the last few weeks.

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