Dna issue 37

C M YK

sunday, 17 - 23 August, 2014 I Issue 37 I Pages 16 I rs 25

THE TRAGIC FLAW MUtUALLy LET’S NOT CONFUSE DEMOCRACY AssUreD WITH FAMILY FIEFDOMS AND DestrUctIoN BUSINESS CONGLOMERATES oPINIoN: Raoof Hasan

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TWO GAUNTLETS FOR MR SHARIF cover story: Humayun Gauhar

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‘WE ARE STRENGTHENING DEMOCRACY’ LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION REVEALS BACKCHANNEL DEALINGS MEANT TO DIFFUSE AZADI MARCH TENSIONS INtervIew: Syed Khurshid Ahmed Shah

BY MIAN ABRAR

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CMY K

Sunday, 17 - 23 August, 2014

edItOrIal

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

Arif Nizami Editor

Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

Shahab Jafry

Asher John

Joint Editor

Associate Editor

Chief News Editor

Over-reliance on Jamaat chief administrative plays arbiter measures

Lahore – Ph: 042-36375963-5 Fax: 042-32535230 Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9 Fax: 021-35381208 Islamabad – Ph: 051-2287273 Fax: 051-2818125 Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

No Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan

Hurting the common man

I

N the PML-N’s personalised style of governance there is an increasing reliance on bureaucracy, crucial decisions are delayed and the government is short of options whenever there is an emergency. In a democracy, the prime minister shares power with cabinet ministers inducted on the basis of their experience or expertise. He takes major issues to parliament where policy decisions are taken through debate and discussion.

Whenever there is an emergency the matter is discussed in the cabinet and the problem shared with allies and even the opposition. the government is thus never short of alternatives. Whenever a situation takes a new turn the government faces it with confidence without getting

panicky. the PML-N government does not tackle problems through normal means available in a democratic polity. these include consultations with stake holders and resolution of conflicts through give and take. Instead of resolving things politically, the government has frequently gone for administrative remedies which create problems for the general public and cause unrest. the June 17 police firing in Model town, the diversion of the emirates flight carrying tahirul Qadri to Lahore and the way PtI and PAt protesters were treated are the most recent examples. In all these cases the government took a rigid position, refused to enter into talks to find a middle way and went for

administrative remedies like blocking the entire province with containers and concertina wires and suspension of cellular services in several cities.

Some of the PML-N critics maintain that arrogance stops the party leadership from holding parleys with opponents or withdrawing from its untenable positions.

Others maintain that the party runs the country like a family enterprise where decisions are taken in a small kitchen cabinet. It is time the government reviewed its style of governance which continues to generate crisis after crisis while it makes the life of common man miserable. the ruling party has to realise that it would be difficult for it to complete its tenure through reliance on bureaucracy alone. g

Exit Maliki

But will it help Iraq?

I

t was only a matter of time before Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki caved in to pressure for his ouster. Of late, even tehran began agreeing with Washington that a change at the helm had become necessary. But whether his chosen successor, Haider al-Abadi from the same Dawa party, can put a more inclusive government in place by the midSeptember deadline, or even if such toggling can arrest the country’s implosion, remains to be seen. there is no denying that the Islamic State (IS) – al Bagdadi’s caliphate – is a merciless sectarian outfit for which Baghdad’s politics holds little relevance. But there is weight in the argument that a government even marginally more sympathetic to the Sunni minority would have been able to halt IS advances long ago. And the bet is that it might still not be too late.

Al Qaeda was a continuous thorn in the US side in all the places where IS now holds sway. In fact, places around Anbar, especially Mosul, tikrit and Fallujah, had to be taken and re-taken from militants during the US occupation. In the end, it was only by coaxing indigenous Sunni tribes that local militias were formed and al Qaeda driven away. the local population stood

by Maliki’s regime for a while – while it was promised a sizeable sum of the oil spillover – but

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changed sides once it became clear Baghdad was not going to honour its promises, and two different types of sectarian battles began. One was in Baghdad, where Maliki and friends, still upset over long years of Sunni rule under Saddam, pushed out the sectarian minority from practically all places of influence in the capital. the other was in the Sunni hinterland, where local tribes decided not to fight for the government any longer, and stopped resisting Baghdadi’s thugs as their power and influence grew.

Washington is clearly counting on a return to the old ways. With Sunnis more empowered, they would be encouraged to oppose militants since their own interests would be tied to the government. But such things are often easier said than done. It might be too late to turn the tide on IS. And even if the Sunnis are willing, it will take a bigger, and bloodier, fight to win this time than any during the Americans’ stay.

For the moment the Americans are happy pulling strings from afar. But if the situation worsens further, active involvement might once again become necessary. It’s not just human rights that is at stake, there is also Iraq’s oil. And if Iraq’s Sunnis and Shi’as can’t help each other, it might take the US to protect oil fields in the south. g

T

Here was little hope of the mainstream opposition bloc ever forestalling Imran Khan’s march. But as the PtI’s coalition partner in KPK, the Jamaat was counted on by many as engineering the closest thing to a truce. And the more its ameer, Siraj ul Haq, became visible over the last week, the more hopes were raised about the possibility of some sort of a thaw. But it’s not just that Khan was unrelenting, it seems that the to-and-fro between the PtI and the government left the ameer with second thoughts about the government’s preferred response.

He finds both the march and protest constitutional and lawful, which implies that any efforts to confront it are pretty much to the contrary. there was a time in Pakistani politics not long ago when the likes of Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan could be counted on to diffuse political crises just like the one now choking Islamabad. Since politics is about demands and accommodations, questions and answers, etc, and even sit-ins and demonstrations eventually end in political deals, surely it is wiser to come to amicable settlements without the unnecessary show of force, hostilities, even violence. But our leading politicians lack such subtleties and sensitivities, and often their personal dislike for each other translates into mutually hostile party positions, which makes constructive engagements that much more difficult. It is in such times that seasoned politicians of the Nasrullah mould play a crucial role. And as the confrontation steadily intensifying since last year’s election shows, our

whiteLies Apollo

There was a time in Pakistani politics not long ago when the likes of Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan could be counted on to diffuse political crises just like the one now choking Islamabad. Since politics is about demands and accommodations, questions and answers, etc, and even sit-ins and demonstrations eventually end in political deals, surely it is wiser to come to amicable settlements without the unnecessary show of force, hostilities, even violence.

political landscape is without such a mediator.

JI has been losing influence for a while now. Siraj’s predecessor spared few opportunities where he could push the party into further controversy. the new ameer was not only charged with face-saving, but also improving the Jamaat’s visibility and political profile. And Imran’s falling out with Nawaz seemed to present the ideal opportunity. But when push came to shove, JI was just without credentials to play a decisive role.

Perhaps one silver lining on the cloud hovering over Islamabad is realisation of the need for politics of reconciliation, and necessary agents to achieve such ends. g

For feedback, comments, suggestions and, most importantly, tips, contact us at whitelies@pakistantoday.com.pk

So Imran Khan’s azadi caravan came fitted with the kind of amenities that would sustain a revolutionary march – a stage for visibility, some huddle space to strategise, even a custom fitted lavatory (reportedly) – so went the hype. But the skirmish with N boys at Gujranwala revealed it was not so all-purpose after all, at least not bullet proof. Maybe that is why The Khan, visibly angered by the attack, made off for Islamabad at full speed, in his personal – and quite bullet proof – vehicle this time.

Khan knows that revolutions, sit-ins, etc, are gruelling affairs. Good, then, that he is in tip-top shape; something he ensures by keeping a healthy exercise schedule and eating well. In fact, whenever time permits, his favourite hangout in Lahore is Cosa Nostra, the Italian pizza joint. Just the other day, he was spotted downing some thin crusts with his mates, no doubt weighing pros and cons of the long march.

It was in these meetings, says the grapevine, that Khan told his friends that he just doesn’t trust Nawaz. The prime minister has a habit of wriggling out of commitments, he complained. That is why he is determined not to leave Islamabad till his demands are met. All the better, then, that he prepped himself well for the GT road ride by feasting on some Gujranwala breakfast specialities; nothing like chiray (sparrows) and some good old nihari to set the tone of things to come. g

C M YK

Sunday, 17 - 23 August, 2014

opiNioN

All in the name of democracy Timing is of the essence, more so in politics

Arif NizAmi

The writer is Editor, Pakistan Today.

T

housands of Imran Khan and Tahir ul Qadri’s supporters battle it out in tandem on the streets of Islamabad for democracy and fair elections.In reality they want nawaz sharif’s scalp.

In the process TuQ (Tahir ul Qadri) is offering the moon to his enthralled audience, including free health care, education and what not in the name of real democracy. The Khan on the other hand, armed with his reformist agenda, also wants to end the “monarchy of the sharifs”.

The sharifs and their cohorts want to ‘protect democracy at all costs.’ Their mantra is that those agitating against them want to destroy the democratic system to pursue their own nefarious agendas. Yet they do themselves little favours. The Gujranwala incident, where PML-n workers clashed with PTI marchers, was the latest in a series of needless maneuvers which only make matters worse for the n-league.

‘Oblique hints are thrown that a hidden hand is encouraging Imran and TUQ. In the lexicon of Pakistani politics this means the military — euphemistically termed as the ubiquitous establishment’ oblique hints are thrown that a hidden hand is encouraging Imran and TuQ. In the lexicon of Pakistani politics this means the military — euphemistically termed as the ubiquitous establishment.

Paradoxically on Independence day nawaz sharif had the army chief General Raheel sharif in tow on three different occasions. at one of the ceremonies, in the presence of the top brass, he thunderously declared that the country needed at least a decade of peace for progress and prosperity.

For the sake of optics nawaz wants to demonstrate that the military leadership is firmly behind him. The reality is somewhat different. Tensions on the fate of Musharraf and the sharifs, India and afghan policy remain. More so an underlying trust deficit is evident to discerning analysts.

But it is yet to be seen whether Imran and TuQ’s marches are being provided tailwind by the military. nonetheless — the so-called Kayani doctrine probably still in place — it is not a bad idea to keep the civilian leadership on a tight leash by such behind the scenes mechanisations.

In this context virtually all the stakeholders

are engaged in orwellian doublespeak, which has become the narrative of our political spectrum. Edward herman, political economist and media analyst, describes doublespeak as: What is really important in the world of doublespeak is the ability to lie, whether knowingly or unconsciously, and get away with it; and the ability to use lies and choose and shape facts selectively, blocking out those that don’t suit an agenda or program.

Imran Khan’s declared aim is revamping and restructuring of the election commission and a probe into the irregularities in the 2013 elections. his maximalist demand is resignation of nawaz sharif as prime minister and holding of fresh elections under a neutral dispensation. how is this possible without violating the constitution?

The Khan and his cohorts glibly claim that they are not inviting the military to intervene. The PTI chief, however, made a Freudian slip by demanding a government of technocrats that almost cost him the exit of his anti army president Javed hashmi, who had been jailed by former dictator Pervez Musharraf for opposing his military rule. now Imran is talking about formation of a “non political government” to hold elections. again, unless nawaz agrees to dissolve the parliament, no caretaker government of sorts can be formed to hold elections.

The PML-n government, after initial dithering, has agreed to PTI’s demand for forming of a three member Commission comprising supreme Court judges to probe election irregularities as alleged by Imran Khan. sharif has also conceded the demand for elections reforms through the all-party parliamentary committee formed for the purpose. To facilitate these reforms he has even pledged to amend the constitution if need be.

TuQ, smelling blood, does not want the Khan to settle for anything less than sharif’s resignation. For all practical purposes he can only be asked to resign if it is proved beyond doubt that that his mandate is entirely fraudulent.

To prove specific allegations in a court of law leveled against various people named in his news conferences and interviews could be problematic for the Khan. This is not to say that many of the players Imran has named are entirely blameless and were not colluding with the sharifs to influence the outcome of the elections.

Khan’s dilemma is that he has upped the ante to an extent, that backing off can be politically disastrous for him. he is also apprehensive that once pressure is off the sharifs they will back out of their commitments. nawaz, in order to assuage Khan’s fears, should agree to an opposition figure heading the parliamentary committee for elections reforms. similarly, the promised high-level judicial commission should be announced without further delay.

Timing is of the essence, more so in politics. While the PML-n government took too long to react to the PTI’s demand for scrutiny of fingerprints in four constituencies, the Khan on the other hand was perhaps too hasty in putting forth his charter of demands. he has once again demonstrated his street power that was never in doubt since his rally at Lahore in october 2011. since then there has been no turning back for him.

If Imran and his cohorts are pitching for the military to intercede in some form or the other, it is another matter. short of that he should cut a political deal with the sharifs. Reforming the

‘Imran Khan’s declared aim is revamping and restructuring of the election commission and a probe into the irregularities in the 2013 elections’ election system will be no mean feat as it could go a long way in breaking the stranglehold of the PML-n in its traditional heartland. speaking of doublespeak, nawaz should learn a few lessons from the crisis that could cost him his government. The recently empowered and relatively educated urban elite has no stomach for his patriarchal politics — all in the name of democracy. Claiming that economic progress is somehow synonymous to his remaining in power is a flawed narrative.

Economic development is not necessarily synonymous with shiny metro buses for urban centers of Punjab and Islamabad, highways and motorways. similarly to install

additional power capacity, Pak China economic corridor is a good idea. But the jury is still out at what cost for the exchequer? owing to the stubborn refusal of the government to tax the rich, tax to GdP ratio remains dismal. nonetheless keeping the PML-n government’s limitations in mind, it deserves brownie points for at least trying. on the political front a vice regal, and a detached style remains a hallmark of the sharifs. The prime minister hardly attends the parliament perhaps for the reason that every member he included is equal in the elected house.

Leave alone the opposition, his own cabinet members are often heard complaining that he is not accessible. The situation in Punjab is no different.

It remains to be seen whether lessons will be learnt. If the past is any guide: those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

This essentially is the sad history of Pakistan. Both the political elite and the military leadership will have to demonstrate otherwise. g

www.pakistantoday.com.pk 03

C MYK

coveR sToRy: ?

The deluge Beware the lurking danger and the battalion of Brutuses CANDID CORNER

Raoof Hasan The writer is a political analyst and the Executive Director of the Regional Peace Institute. He can be reached at raoofhasan@hotmail.com Twitter:@RaoofHasan

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ell, the scent of the impending revolution has preceded the marchers to the capital: we have a town under siege of a draconian government using the worst of its fascist tactics. More than that, the PMl-N leadership seems to be totally confused, even divided.

The prime minister’s worst fears are reflected in the comic spectacle that, since the convening of the National Security Conference, he has been in a perpetual photo-shoot with the Chief of the Army Staff (COAS). Be it the Independence Day Parade in front of the Parliament House which appeared to be more like a congregation of the exhumed, or the visit to Ziarat in Balochistan to inaugurate the new Residency building, he seems to be making sure that the COAS does not move out of his sight. Is it the fear of the lurking danger on the horizon further compounded by the Machiavellian movements of the battalion of Brutuses within the party? And, what possible good can such contrived optics do in the context of influencing the gradual shift in the ground conditions that may make an intervention of sorts inevitable in the end?

Things are not looking good. The fact that Nawaz Sharif did not want the marchers to reach Islamabad is borne out by many factors, not the least by the physical assault that his goons launched on the PTI caravan in Gujranwala — supposedly a stronghold of the ruling party. The manner in which the government functionaries delayed according permission to the organisers to begin their march towards the capital and the impediments that were placed in the way of the marchers including the huge, earth-filled containers and the digging of trenches were rooted in the inconsolable fear that does not quite leave the elder Sharif at any given moment in time. He appears consumed with it and his facial expressions and body language are not much help in hiding the ailments which are rather dug deep in his person. In the end, his actions speak volumes that he has not been able to rationalise his decision-making process and remains bitten by the demons of fear and hate. If anything, this has been a consistent feature of his person, and consequently of formulating and driving his policies.

Hypothetically, if the marchers are able to gather a sizeable crowd, and I am not talking of a million or even a number close to that, and are able to choke the life in the capital as it has effectively been even before the protesters having reached here, what could be its possible and irredeemable consequences?

Before we get into that, let’s first look at the demands which have prompted the onset of the marches. These include the resignation of the prime minister as being central to the electoral fraud that has allegedly taken place, the induction of an interim

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government consisting of technocrats, later changed to non-partisan individuals, the constitution of a judicial commission to look into the irregularities that took place in the 2013 elections, apportion responsibility and punish the culprits, replace the election commission with a fresh one comprising people of known integrity and character, reframe the electoral laws to ensure a free, fair and transparent election in the country, holding of fresh elections and transition to the new, elected government. Army or any other kind of extra-judicial intervention is not solicited. But, then, it never is, but is always welcomed.

On the face of it, at least some of the demands are not likely to be met by the incumbent government particularly the ones relating to the prime minister’s resignation, formulation of an interim government and the holding of mid-term elections, thus paving the way for the induction of a new government that may not include the PMlN as a component.

In the event the marches remain predominantly peaceful, the government could also try through intermediaries, particularly the ones who were reportedly active in having facilitated the grant of permission to the marchers in the first place, to engage the PTI and other leaderships to come to a negotiated settlement which could be built around the concession already granted in terms of the formulation of a judicial commission to look into the alleged electoral fraud and taking measures to correct it together with taking some other cosmetic measures.

If the negotiated settlement approach does not work, as it is unlikely to, the marches could either turn violent, thus inviting an intervention of some sort to keep peace in the capital. even if the marches don’t turn violent, but bring life to a standstill in Islamabad, this again would necessitate a certain level of corrective intervention to bring things back to normal. What could be the possible ramifications of any such intervention, its objectives and the timeframe in which to achieve the desired goals and put the country back on the democratic course? And whether that would be doable at all under the existing constitution and its associated appendages that have repeatedly brought the country to the verge of many an irresolvable impasse like the existing one?

The other dangerous factor to any prospect of a peaceful resolution of the burgeoning conflict is centred in the composition of the marchers and what they stand for? While the major component, the PTI, stands for constitutional democracy and has repeatedly vowed to work within its parameters in its struggle for a genuine democratic rule, the other component, the PAT, has altogether rejected the existing corrupt system and has vowed to replace it with a people-friendly arrangement that would transfer power to the lowest echelons of the society. This paradox could also be exploited for some of form of adventurist intervention, the likelihood of which remains remote though. eliminating the undoable, the question is whether there remains any prospect of a peaceful resolution of the emerging crisis, a possible reconciliation between the feuding leaders on a give-some, take-some basis?

While there is a gnawing trust-deficit between Nawaz Sharif and Imran Khan which has been gravely aggravated because of the electoral adventurism of the PMl-N leadership in cahoots with the judiciary, the election commission and some notables who had been allocated seats of power with a stated intention, there is virtual hatred that separates Tahirul Qadri from Nawaz Sharif.

This is rooted in a rather close relationship that the two enjoyed towards the beginning

‘While there is a gnawing trust-deficit between Nawaz Sharif and Imran Khan which has been gravely aggravated because of the electoral adventurism of the PML-N leadership in cahoots with the judiciary, the election commission and some notables who had been allocated seats of power with a stated intention, there is virtual hatred that separates Tahirul Qadri from Nawaz Sharif. This is rooted in a rather close relationship that the two enjoyed towards the beginning of their respective careers, one in politics and the other in prophesying. So, in essence, and if the reconciliation bid does not work, and it is also not possible to leave the capital to the mercy of the feuding parties, we have only one possible conclusion that may come about as a natural consequence of two emerging scenarios: either a stalemate encompassing a capital held in hostage and bruised by a certain level of violence leading to intervention, or downright bloodshed among the marchers and the institutions of the state resulting from increasing levels of desperation being displayed by members of the Sharif family and their paid cronies and foot-soldiers’ of their respective careers, one in politics and the other in prophesying. So, in essence, and if the reconciliation bid does not work, and it is also not possible to leave the capital to the mercy of the feuding parties, we have only one possible conclusion that may come about as a natural consequence of two emerging scenarios: either a stalemate encompassing a capital held in hostage and bruised by a certain level of violence leading to intervention, or downright bloodshed among the marchers and the institutions of the state resulting from increasing levels of desperation being displayed by members of the Sharif family and their paid cronies and foot-soldiers. Do we, therefore, say that some kind of intervention is a done thing and, sooner or later, the system in the country is going to be put on a ‘corrective’ course by those who take charge?

Back to square one? In a way, that may be so. This is what has happened in the country with a monotonous regularity, but, nevertheless, has so far not resulted in chiselling any credible and sustainable solution that would preclude the prospect of any further interventions. The Sharifs erroneously thought that by forcing the Musharraf trial, they would close the doors to any future military intervention. It was deeply flawed. As predicted, it has come back to haunt them and they are eager to let the general slip out to wherever he may wish to, but it may be rather late for that now.

Quite in keeping with the inglorious tradition, every few years, the people who are assigned the responsibility of leading the country make a horrible mess of it, thus precipitating the eventuality of the undesirable. On the face of it, we seem to have reached that point!

It may also be undesirable to assign reasons to individuals for our failure to govern by opening up avenues of mindless confrontation among them. But this has been the case primarily because we are consumed with an intense undemocratic and despotic mindset that only thinks of ways and means of strengthening our personal hold on power in a manner that it would forever banish the prospect of others to step in. This has been particularly the crisis of the Sharifs. Having taken political birth in the lap of a vile dictator and having perfected his art, even adding further venom to it, the Sharifs try desperately hard to hide their spots. They are not able to because it is so deeply entrenched in the persons. They protect and patronise it. They nurture it.

They feed on it. Carrying empty skulls on their necks, and infatuated by a dominant passion to strangulate an entire country so that it would only remain engaged in singing

their hollow praises and that of their unworthy progeny, they have done more damage to their cause and the country than all the rest of the jokers put together. What looked like a propitious opportunity for them to put the country on an irreversible course to progress and egalitarianism has been turned into a dungeon of darkness in barely fourteen months.

Principally, it is the corrupt Sharifs and their coterie of paid cronies and dim-witted lieutenants, hailing from both the political and the bureaucracy domains, who are pitted against Imran Khan and his youthful charges who genuinely believe in the prospect of ‘change’. Having known both the protagonists at close quarters, I don’t believe that there is even a remote prospect of either the Khan backing off on his stated demands, or the Sharifs ceding ground that they perceive would endanger their unchallengeable hold on power. Forget the prime minister resigning of his own free will.

Forget that he would take some genuine measures aimed at making the electoral system free and transparent. Forget that he would support the move to constitute a fully empowered election commission. Forget that he would allow the judiciary to conduct a fair evaluation of the last elections. He is not made like that. He has perfected the art of despotism which he learnt from the one he called his ‘father’. He employs this at its crudest solely to elongate his stay in power.

Consequently, confrontation appears to be the only course that the prime minister and Khan are likely to follow and the intermediaries would not make an impressionable difference.

A lot may already have happened before this piece appears in print (it is 9 pm, Friday, August 15 when I am despatching it to the paper), but a lot may yet happen.

More than anything else, we must concentrate on bringing about some key changes in making the existent system more workable and more quality-intensive, absolutely the best for every job. It is no longer a question of incorporating cosmetic changes to transition this crisis. It is more a question of the long-term that should drive us to what needs to be done. This system has outlived its utility, if ever it had any for a country like Pakistan. We need to look at it afresh and come up with constructive ideas which will stand the challenge of crises in the future and would eliminate the prospect of any undemocratic mindset ascending the citadel of power. let’s not be consumed by who does it. let’s just do it to expedite the advent of a democratic and egalitarian culture that would take Pakistan further, failing which there is only the deluge. g

CMY K

Sunday, 17 - 23 August, 2014

Illegal custodians of a false democracy On the run and where to go, what to do?

Humayun GauHar

The writer is a political analyst. He can be reached at: humayun.gauhar786@gmail.com.

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y friends and relatives were bemused that I was returning home from London with such turmoil in the offing. They will never understand nor accept that I am a creature of the volcano. When a volcano is about to erupt what business does its creature have being anywhere except in its crater? I love to see history in the making and wouldn’t have been anywhere else for anything in the world.

Only God is king, not this ruler or that. None should ever forget that, be he prince or pauper.

Historical forces are on moving fast in Pakistan, but only the few beneficiaries here and abroad and of the current system and government are clinging on to what passes for ‘democracy’ in this sad country. An example of not understanding history-inthe-making is the US strategic think-tank Stratfor saying: “Pakistan’s civilian forces are undermining democracy.” What democracy? Do rigged elections mean democracy? Actually, they are trying to bring in real democracy for the first time. But I forget: in the Third World, the western electoral process that passes for democracy is the hegemon’s weapon that throws up poor governments that can be manipulated in its interests. A Pakistani wiseacre wrote that the custodians of democracy are destroying democracy, or words to that effect. He should have added, “once again”. The truth is that “the illegal custodians of a false democracy are destroying the sham and thank God for it”.

Hopefully it will lead to a new dawn and not something even worse than what we have. you never know.

As always, the ball seems to be moving towards the army’s

court. When the crunch comes, it will perforce have to become the final arbiter, the question being whether it will fall behind Nawaz Sharif on one side or Imran Khan and Tahir ul Qadri on the other.

Apparently the army has said that it will remain neutral. That is bad news for Mr Sharif, for he would have expected this vital institution of the government to be on the government’s side. He is mistaken. The army is on Pakistan’s side and if a particular government is damaging Pakistan then it can hardly be expected to side with it for in so doing it would be violating the very purpose of its existence, which is to protect Pakistan. But one thing it mustn’t do, which is take over directly as it has done four times before and come a cropper. If it must, it should only act as enabler and midwife. To say that it shouldn’t even do that would be the height of idealism and theorising in the zone of irrelevance.

Right now it seems that only the few beneficiaries of the government are battling with the many opponents of the system that throws up such governments as we have always had after elections under an alien system that we have flawed beyond recognition. If one takes these people seriously one is in danger of getting distracted from an understanding of what is happening. What is happening is the movement of historical forces that cannot be stopped or diverted. As the poet Faiz said: “Rivers that have danced up and broken their banks cannot be stopped by sticks” and the moment has come “when crowns are flung high and thrones toppled”.

Those who still cling to our hypocritical and contradictory constitution, to this political system and what they think is ‘democracy’, have fallen by the wayside as historical forces have crunched on like a juggernaut.

They are in danger of being left behind by history, of being on its wrong side. Someone inconsequential once asked me (and my dead father, if you please) why we father and son are always on the wrong side of history? This was in relation to my support of President Musharraf’s government against the then chief justice. I could see that if he and the same old political faces return Pakistan would be put on the destructive track. As it transpired, I have been proved right, not that it matters in

the larger scheme of things.

Once when two huge weather systems met over the Atlantic, they created the Perfect Storm. In Pakistan we also have a Perfect Storm coming, one called Hurricane Imran, the other Typhoon Qadri. They are but the instruments of historical forces, catalysts, triggers, agents of change. Don’t focus on people; focus on historical forces, on history in the making. Together Hurricane Imran and Typhoon Qadri threaten to swallow up the small dust storm called Nawaz Sharif and hopefully the system too. What this Perfect Storm does remains to be seen, for this article is being written on Friday afternoon and the two storms have still not reached Islamabad.

But one thing is obvious: Nawaz Sharif is in big trouble. I’m not saying yet that he is done, but out of abundant caution he should be packing his bags and planning where he will go and what he will do. The dung will hit the fan later today or on Saturday, so by the

‘As always, the ball seems to be moving towards the army’s court. When the crunch comes, it will perforce have to become the final arbiter, the question being whether it will fall behind Nawaz Sharif on one side or Imran Khan and Tahir ul Qadri on the other’ time you read this some of it may already be dated. Actually, the dung has already hit the fan along the way in Gujranwala where stone throwing, gun-firing goons of Nawaz Sharif, his brother Shahbaz and mindless minions attacked Imran’s cavalcade. Police were caught on camera standing by and watching and patting their hoodlums on the back, just as they patted the hood Gullu Butt after the massacre of Qadri’s innocent men and women in Lahore in June. This time the head hood was one ‘Qaumi Butt’ – ‘National Butt’ if you please. What’s with these Butts anyway, except that they are Kashmiris like Nawaz Sharif? Why not a ‘Choora’, another Kashmiri name that also means ‘dagger’ in Urdu? Better Gullu who wielded a baton than a Choora who could have taken his

surname seriously and wielded a dagger. Far more lethal. The many civilised Butts of the world should be in umbrage for their good name being spoilt. Worse could come. The violence may be even more horrific because rumour has it that once the storms get to Islamabad, Nawaz Sharif’s goons will carry Qadri’s party flags pretending to be his workers, go to Imran’s rally and attack, and vice versa, Nawaz’s goons wielding Imran’s party flags would attack Qadri’s rally to start a fight between them. This is how challenged minds think.

Remember a flag is attached to a heavy baton and it’s a good way to hide a weapon. In the unfortunate event that this were to happen, Nawaz Sharif’s government will hurtle faster towards its demise than it already is. And the army will hurtle faster towards the hotspot.

Not good.

This Perfect Storm could have been avoided if Nawaz Sharif had displayed some wisdom. Instead, his has been a litany of errors. I am loath calling it “a comedy of errors” because what he has done and is doing is not funny. Far from it. It’s downright tragic and crassly stupid.

Storms always leave some destruction in their wake. But we don’t know destructions extent yet and what will emerge in its wake – a bright new dawn that everyone wants or a political winter. Whoever coined the phrase “pregnant with possibilities” had a good turn of phrase. It applies beautifully this moment’s Pakistan – our situation is pregnant with possibilities.

For Nawaz Sharif to get out of this in one piece, leave himself a political future and save the country, he should resign immediately and call snap elections, ask the president to dissolve the national assembly and also ask him to tell the provincial governors to dissolve all provincial assemblies, form caretaker governments comprising men and women of general acceptability, ask them to iron out the wrinkles in the electoral system and then hold elections. Having painted himself in such a difficult corner, there is no other sensible option left for him as far as I can see. He has only himself to blame for the situation he finds himself in today. But ironing out wrinkles is easier said than done. Our national population census is 15 years old, five years delayed. How

‘This Perfect Storm could have been avoided if Nawaz Sharif had displayed some wisdom.

Instead, his has been a litany of errors. I am loath calling it “a comedy of errors” because what he has done and is doing is not funny’ can we hold credible elections when we don’t even know how many people we are, where we are and how old we are? The census should also correct the imbalance between our rural and urban populations to break the feudal hold. Overseas Pakistanis should be given the franchise.

Census will require the redemarcation of electoral constituencies and making new electoral rolls, getting in biometric ink and asking the army to oversee their fairness because it is the only credible institution to undertake such an onerous task. That’s a tall order and will take time, but nothing short of this will do.

Those who ask what moral authority the caretaker governments would have should know that moral authority comes not from Supreme Courts but from the people who are God’s vicegerents on earth, God who is sovereign over the omniverse.

Those who say that Nawaz Sharif has so many million votes behind him (we don’t know exactly how many because the elections were so rigged) and Hurricane Imran and Typhoon Qadri have only one million marchers between them at most are simply bleating nonsense. Every one of the marchers has at least 10 empathisers behind him or her.

That makes it 100 million, more than our registered voters, for not everyone registers. Take any figure you will, it will be more than Nawaz Sharif’s claimed votes. So can your imbecility. We have had enough of your nonsense. Nawaz Sharif and his followers are completely outnumbered. Imagine a million people coming into a city of 1.2 million. Only Saudi Arabia that arranges the annual Haj could manage it. We are in for an interesting next few days. God help us. Whatever happens and emerges should, please God, be good for Pakistan. g www.pakistantoday.com.pk 05

CMY K

cover story: ?

Bearding the lion in its den The PTI’s march in Punjab has hit the PML-N where it hurts the most

Aziz-ud-din AhmAd The writer is a political analyst and a former academic.

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efore reaching Islamabad Imran Khan had already brought the arrogance ridden PML-N to its knees. The top leadership of the party, which had let loose its ministers to make fun of Imran Khan for fourteen months, was almost begging for talks and willing to yield to demands that it once dismissed with disdain.

A panic stricken administration was found incapable of coping with two protests simultaneously, the one by Imran Khan and the other by Tahirul Qadri. Consequently, it resorted to desperate measures that disturbed normal life throughout Punjab.

Those living in Lahore were the worst sufferers. The administration was badly exposed when it ordered the lock down a part of the city and created an artificial shortage of petrol all over the province to stop the PTI motorists from proceeding on the march. This was bound to cause suffering to the citizens. The government commandeered hundreds of private containers to block the roads causing shortages of essential items and stopping exports from the industrial areas to Karachi port. The intercity movement of commuters was affected. Shahbaz Sharif had to apologise to people for the inconvenience caused by the measures.

The government acted ineptly in handling the first political challenge of its tenure. This raised e questions about how it would deal with greater challenges of the sort likely to emerge in days to come.

The attack on PTI’s peaceful marchers in

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Gujranwala again exposed the intolerant mindset of the PML-N. Gujranwala is supposed to be a stronghold of the ruling party. This made it all the more necessary for the leadership to keep party workers under control. The party leadership and the Punjab government simply failed to restrain these workers. If Shahbaz Sharif cannot discipline his activists after giving permission to PTI to take out the march, this would send a disquieting message to the entire opposition. The PML-N workers attacked Imran Khan’s container and tore down PTI hoardings in Gujranwala. If the PTI was to act similarly, violence would engulf Punjab. This would provide an excuse to the army to move in.

This is the second incident of violence against the PML-N’s critics in the last two months. In the earlier incident police had shot down at least 14 workers of PAT in Lahore while Gullu Butt, a PML-N worker, had a field day vandalalising cars of the PAT’s workers under police watch. Gullu Butt has now become a part of our political vocabulary signifying an intolerant and aggressive mindset.

‘The attack on PTI’s peaceful marchers in Gujranwala again exposed the intolerant mindset of the PML-N. Gujranwala is supposed to be a stronghold of the ruling party’ The PTI has presented come up as a major opposition party challenging the PML-N in its stronghold of Punjab.

Significantly, many who turned up for the march did not belong to the so called burger class. It proved that the PTI has attracted a sufficiently large cadre of jiyalas or highly motivated workers from lower middle class also.

The march also exposed some of the vulnerabilities of the PTI. The party failed to

get even a fraction of the hundred thousand outriders on motorbikes it was expecting would lead the mach from Lahore. Had the party been able to attract large crowds in Gujranwala, few would have dared to brickbat its marchers or demonstrate against the party.

The PTI also failed to achieve the avowed aim of the march, which was getting Nawaz Sharif’s resignation. The Azadi march was presented as a “final battle” to root out the corrupt and bring in “a fair system in the country”, “monarchy” was to be replaced with democracy. In a speech on August 3 at PTI workers’ convention, Imran Khan said the sit-in will not end until a ‘new Pakistan’ comes into existence. The party failed to achieve any of these objectives.

What remains to be seen is whether Khan will be able to persuade his workers to be contented with much less than he had promised them. His opponent would meanwhile accuse him of indulging in hype and jugglery that characterises run of the mill politicians. first demanding the setting up of a caretaker set-up comprising technocrats, Imran Khan beat a hasty retreat when the statement led to protests and a minirebellion in party leadership. This was the first display of public dissent in the party.

Imran Khan’s shifting positions have dented his credibility. on July 3 the PTI chief said that he was willing to call off the August 14 long march on Islamabad if the Supreme Court opened a probe into election rigging in four constituencies. When Nawaz Sharif agreed to the probe, Khan demanded the prime minister’s resignation first.

The march was a solo flight. No major opposition party was willing to support it.

Having been abandoned by PTI which did not wait for him despite an earlier agreement, Tahiriul Qadri left Lahore from a different route and went and took out a separate protest march. Important opposition leaders accused Khan of taking issues which could best be resolved in parliament to streets and thus weakening the system. Some wondered if he was acting on behest of the powers that be. Jamaat-i-

‘The march also exposed some of the vulnerabilities of the PTI. The party failed to get even a fraction of the hundred thousand outriders on motorbikes it was expecting would lead the mach from Lahore’ Islami, which is PTI’s coalition partner in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, was reluctant to join the “Azadi March”.

If Imran was relying on the khakis help, they declined to oblige him. There is a perception that they were more interested in giving a shake up to the PML-N regime than give Imran a helping hand as they consider him a bigger headache than Nawa Sharif.

If the PTI march had not been attacked in Gujranwala, the tone of the PTI leaders would have became less strident as they moved towards Islamabad. The march reflects the inability on the part of the political parties to sort out their differences through peaceful parleys. Intolerance, which characterizes both the PML-N and PTI, forced them into confrontation. The undemocratic attitude at the top is highly infectious and is acquired by the workers.

Both parties find it difficult to resolve their differences peacefully. Unless they overcome this, they are likely to put the system in danger through no-holds-barred confrontations.

Issues like rigging could have been resolved in the parliament. The parliament alone can work out electoral reforms to ensure that the flaws in the system are removed. The PML-N leadership has, however, discredited the parliament by remaining absent most of the time from its sittings. Nawaz Sharif did not attend a single sitting of the senate for a whole year. This provided an excuse to the PTI to take to the streets. If the PML-N does not take parliament seriously other opposition parties too might take recourse to agitation in the days to come. g

C M YK

Sunday, 17 - 23 August, 2014

The capital hearkens…again!

The test of Nawaz Sharif’s political acumen has begun

mUhammad mUTahir ali

The writer is a student of political science. He tweets at: @MMutahirAli and can be reached at: mutahir111@hotmail.com.

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l-WIDA Al-wida, Nawaz Sharif Al-wida” (Goodbye Nawaz Sharif) chanted a charged crowd of people gathered outside Imran Khan’s residence at Zaman Park as he addressed them for the final time before setting off for his Azadi march. he said he would not return from the capital without Nawaz Sharif’s resignation.

“Go Nawaz Go” screamed the workers of Pakistan Muslim league-Q, gathered outside the residence of their party leaders, before they began their march. PMl-Q, a party otherwise largely passive, has appeared as the frontline ally of Pakistan Awami Tehreek in its agenda of bringing about the ‘revolution’.

And “Pak fouj Zindabad” was the final slogan raised by Tahir ul Qadri in the last of many press conferences held by him before he set out on his ‘Inqilab march’. he said his revolution would fold up the current system and enforce the constitution in its true spirit.

Both marches started on the same day, from the same place, for the same

destination, with one primary purpose: removal of the current government. Will they be successful or will Nawaz Sharif, for once, be able to politically defuse a movement aiming at his premature departure is a question only time can answer.

The turmoil which seems to have escalated quickly is actually largely a mess of PMl-N’s own making. The government’s constant blunders along the road abetted in building up the opposition it is facing today. It started with PTI’s allegations of rigging in the 2013 elections. After the government turned a deaf ear for over one year on the demand of auditing the ‘famous four’ constituencies, PTI decided to increase the pressure. The political temperature, however, cooled down upon the commencement of military operation in Waziristan and even though PTI had been building momentum for the long march through its rallies, it called off its Bahawalpur jalsa and the announcement of the march after the operation initiated. however, it revoked its decision, and announced 14th August to be the D-day, after the aggression of Punjab Police in the model town incident of 17th June, which claimed 14 lives.

As PTI’s Azadi march and PAT’s Inqilab march reached Islamabad, people waited with an inherent feeling of uncertainty to see their leaders once again gather to determine their fate.

“The tension can only be defused if the political leadership reaches an agreement acceptable to all the parties”, said hassan Askari Rizvi, prominent media analyst. however, if both PAT and PTI are not ready to concede to anything less than the prime minister’s resignation, a political agreement is a virtual impossibility. The breakthrough, as always, will come from somewhere else.

“If the deadlock continues, the army will have to intervene at some point”, added Rizvi.

The government has been trying hard to give an impression of a complete understanding with the military leadership.

From Independence night ceremonies to the Ziarat residency visit, the prime minister has been seen together with the army chief in all his latest public appearances with a clear message: we are on the same page. But the situation in capital, as we know, can change quickly. “either the government and the marchers have reached a deal and the situation will defuse peacefully or there is a complete disagreement and something untoward may happen”, said Ayesha Siddiqa, political analyst and author of the bestseller Military Inc. Siddiqa drew two possible scenarios.

“The latter case leads to the possibility of military intervention”, she continued, the extent of which will depend on the gravity of the situation.

For hassan Askari Rizvi the key word here is “violence”. he believes nothing will be more inviting for the GhQ boys more than disruption of peace and order. And, in the latest act of shooting his own foot, PMlN did manage to induce violence in the situation. A group of N-league workers attacked the PTI caravan while it was passing through Gujranwala. The enraged aggressors hurled stones at the vehicle of PTI chief Imran Khan and some injuries

‘Both marches started on the same day, from the same place, for the same destination, with one primary purpose: removal of the current government’

‘The government has been trying hard to give an impression of a complete understanding with the military leadership’ were also reported. “These are the kind of incidents that incite Martial laws” said Sheikh Rasheed in a TV beeper.

Certainly, these are the kind of acts that will have a different connotation, and a different aftermath, in the capital.

“If PTI and PAT manage to stage the sitin for four to five days; they will be successful in building up some serious pressure and will succeed in achieving some major demands”, said Rizvi.

While Qadri’s recent history of the long march does not tell a very successful story, it is Imran Khan, who has asked Nawaz to ‘get his resignation ready’, whom many are calling the key player. If the numbers are held for some days, it will certainly be hard for the government to maintain the statusquo.

In 1992, Benazir Bhutto launched a long march against Nawaz Sharif’s government, which she claimed was formed after rigging in 1990 polls and had become the epitome of corruption. however, the march was successfully curbed by the Sharif government using state power. Many PPP leaders were arrested; some tortured and many PPP workers neutralised using police.

Nawaz managed to defuse the 1992 long march using force. But he needs to fathom the actuality of the present situation, and quickly. Today, he is up against a different opposition, in a different time. In twentyfirst century, politicians find political solutions, and the sooner he finds one the better for him. g

Of narrating dreams and killing women Why using state machinery against Dr Qadri is counterproductive

Umair aziz

The writer is an investigative journalist. He can be reached at: elcstars@hotmail.com

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he business of the nation state system has been a troubled one, especially in the Islamic world.

Muslim scholars, even those educated in the west, gave varied responses to a system of governance quite alien to them.

Many decried the system based on borders, a concept alien to Muslims, otherwise destined to rule the entire world, which they didn’t due to a lack of jihad and distance from religious practice.

Others proposed a more balanced model by terming the nation-state

Islamic and advocated Islamic teachings within its bounds.

Since the mid-20th century, when the nation-states were carved out in the Middle east, Africa and Asia, there has been a constant tension between the Muslim rulers of these countries and the scholars advocating revival of the caliphate—a truly Islamic system of governance according to them. These advocates, eminent religious scholars and thinkers, even sanctioned use of violent force against their rulers, which they believed had no right to rule, citing precedence from Islamic history.

Pakistan, being no exception, has also been facing this identity crisis, with the state itself, at some instances in history, employing the religious doctrine to rule beyond borders — a concept itself a corollary of the nation-state. however, once the friends-of-thestate have now turned against it and its institutions, all remnants of the ‘infidel’ British rulers. even the edict ‘Muslims-don’t-killMuslims’ is not effective anymore, as mosques, markets and shrines resound with bloody explosions.

These new interpretations being slowly and gradually infused into

the collective mindset of the Muslim youth across the world, is a challenge, not just for Pakistan or the Muslims, but for the world at large.

It is in this scenario that Dr Tahir ul Qadri issued a 106-page fatwa (religious edict) against terrorism and suicide bombing. By terming the nation-state Islamic, he chose reconciliation over violent uprising and killing. At a time when sectarian hatred is ripping apart Muslim societies, scholars of both Sunni and Shi’a sects are seen sitting in the audience during his large religious

‘With the Pakistan army busy dealing with the epicenter of global Jihad in its tribal belt, the use of force by the incumbent rulers against a religious scholar publicly supporting the military against terrorists is nothing less than a shot in their own feet’

gatherings. Despite there being a well-rooted tradition of madressa system of education in the subcontinent, he prefers opening schools and colleges where IT and english language are taught besides other modern disciplines.

It was daring of Dr Qadri to issue an edict against terrorism in a country where even political leaders shy away from publicly denouncing it for fear of losing votes or life.

With the Pakistan army busy dealing with the epicenter of global Jihad in its tribal belt, the use of force by the incumbent rulers against a religious scholar publicly supporting the military against terrorists is nothing less than a shot in their own feet.

There is no dearth of fatwas against the soldiers fighting militancy; remember the Lal Masjid clerics? When billions of dollars are being poured into a concerted global effort to contain what has become for them a Frankenstein, the incumbent rulers contained Dr Qadri and his followers for a week at his residence after using brutal police force, which killed 15 of his supporters, including women.

Dr Qadri might have some

flaws, or many, as the government claims. he does have a Canadian passport, a document (or a vice), which the government believes, should snatch from him any right to point any wrong in the polity. his fanciful accounts of meeting religious figures from history have been mocked by many and are still taken with a pinch of salt. But there is nothing illegal about narrating dreams and having dual nationality. None of these are offences big enough to warrant police action so ruthless that finds no comparison in the country’s chequered history.

The geo-political situation of Pakistan demands that the government think big. It is after all, for whatever reasons, in the thick of things, globally. It might even surprise the rulers, but they are the ones who will be remembered for saving a political dispensation, which can ensure fundamental human freedoms.

Not out of sympathy, but for political expediency and greater good the government should refrain from using state’s force against Qadri and his supporters.

After all, both Qadri and the rulers are pro-nation-state and against terrorism, aren’t they? g www.pakistantoday.com.pk 07

C M YK

Sunday, 17 - 23 August, 2014

opinion

Man or market: The economy’s challenge to Putin’s power economic malaise has a way of eroding legitimacy

AbdullAh humAyun The writer can be reached at: abdullah.humayun@gmail.com, and on Twitter at: @ahshafi.

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HetHeR sociopathic strongman or messiah, depends upon which side of the Russian border you lie on. Putin’s dramatic rise to power is the stuff of legends. An ex-KGB colonel, who a few years before his ascension as the president of Russia was a person unknown outside a small community of politicians and bureaucrats, was suddenly catapulted to Russia’s premiership in 1999. Now in his third presidency and with enviable approval ratings, Putin has shown little inclination of giving up power. the recent slowdown in economic growth, however, could potentially turn the tide against the incumbent.

Putin came at the helm at a particularly raw and sensitive time in Russia. Here was a country that was barely a whisper of its former self, the USSR. Where the USSR had been one of two countries at the top of the international food chain, a vast empire that challenged and frightened the whole of the western world, Russia in contrast was an anemic, ill-governed state that went by on morsels and bailouts from its ex-rivals.

Surely, the imF bailout of 1998 must have been a supremely humbling experience for the Russians.

Between 1989 till 1998, Russia’s economy shrank dramatically. in 1992, for example, the Russian economy contracted by 14.5 per cent. 1997 was the anomalous year, when the economy grew but even then expanding by a mere 0.8 per cent. By the year 2000, compared to the USSR era, the country’s GDP was down by a colossal 42 per cent, according to a report on the Russian economy by the Center for Strategic and international Studies. From global superpower to an emblem of communism’s failure, Russia’s downfall must have been a jarring and painful journey. it was in this backdrop of a country swept by pessimism about the future that Vladimir Putin took over the presidency. Given past performances, expectations must not have been particularly high. the oil bonanza, however, allowed Putin to exceed those expectations by an exponential magnitude. instability in the middle east and a developing world hungry for energy drove up oil prices to unprecedented highs. By 2003, with GDP growing at 7.3 per cent, the frequency of champagne glass clinking had increased considerably in the country. the good times came, prosperity ensued, where America’s per capita GDP was 17 times that of Russia’s in 1998, that gap had narrowed considerably to five times of Russia’s per capita GDP by 2007.

08 www.pakistantoday.com.pk

the party in Russia, however, seems to have ebbed somewhat. Recent political tensions with the west and a stalling economy have left investors wary. 2013 saw foreign capital outflows at $63 billion and a similar amount has been pulled out from the country over the first quarter of this year. the World Bank estimates that capital outflows could potentially reach $150 billion. if things hold up for Russia, economic growth is expected to be an earth scraping 1.1 per cent, which could potentially plummet to -1.8 per cent, according to World Bank estimates published in march. 2015 is not expected to be much better with economic growth expected to lie in the range of 1.3 per cent and 2.1 per cent.

Russia’s economic background is important because it is an essential piece of the context that has allowed Putin to consolidate power. economic growth has become a valid means of earning legitimacy to rule. this can be seen in other countries around the world. take China as an example, the communist party has realised that inclusive economic growth which provides a higher standard of living to its citizens is essential inmaintaining its grip on power.

China’s response post 2008 clarified this stance further as the countryembarked on a an ambitious policy that saw infrastructure investment go up from 42 per cent of GDP to 49 per cent of GDP, mostly in order to offset a slowdown in export led growth caused by the financial crisis.

Governments which have been unable to deliver on the economic front sooner or later find themselves being booted out of power.

Congress was disemboweled by the BJP partly because of its inability to deal with flagging economic growth while Narendra modi’s success in fostering the same in Gujrat provided voters with a contrast that simplified decision making even for the most politically uninformed citizen. economic malaise has a way of eroding legitimacy. Grievances that are buried under a veneer of better opportunities slowly surface, the electorate starts grumbling and an anti-incumbency feeling takes over. Slowly but surely, a lack of economic progress starts showing and pervading through society, leaving people questioning their choice of candidate.

Russia’s current economic situation then leaves Putin with perhaps one of the biggest challenges to his authority. An inability to deal with flagging growth could potentially loosen Putin’s grip on power, unless he finds other means of legitimacy to hold on to his position.

However, recent sanctions imposed by the west on Russia could very well work in Putin’s favour, with the west acting out their historically hostile attitude towards Russia, it would be easy for Putin to make his electorate believe that Russia’s economic woes are the work of the west. Sanctions could also push sections of the business community to find refuge with Putin, further strengthening his power base with the oligarchs.

Putin has shown himself to be a master at preserving his power. the oil bonanza allowed him to consolidate his authority.

However, the fall in economic growth presents him with a multi-dimensional power challenge that could very well spell his end. g

modi and hindu taliban

BJP is willing to be used as an instrument of RSS border Crossing

Kuldip nAyAr

The writer is a veteran Indian journalist, human rights activist and a noted author.

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mit Shah is a new word in the Sangh parivar jargon. it means loyalty. Shah is, without any doubt, Prime minister Narendra modi’s man Friday. But what differentiates him from others is the blind faith he has in his master, modi. Amit Shah was given the task to polarise the biggest state of Uttar Pradesh. He won the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) 71 seats out of 80 in the Lok Sabha in the recent elections. modi has now put Shah at the head of the BJP to spread the same divisive ideas, the Hindutava, all over the country. One thing is clear from his appointment: Resistance to extremists has worn out so much that even a fanatic Hindu like Shah can occupy the highest position in the Sangh parivar.

He is openly trying to put RSS and modi’s government on the same page.

For example, Kaptan Singh Solanki, appointed as governor of Haryana, is a hardcore RSS member. What it conveys is that the BJP is willing to be used as an instrument of RSS. By stating that the Sangh would take part in politics mohan Bhagwat, RSS chief, has only confirmed the perception that the parivar is dictated by RSS. this may be against the undertaking that RSS had given to Home minister Sardar Patel that it would not participate in political activities. then the Jan Sangh had to amend its constitution to reenunciate that the organisation would remain “devoted purely to cultural work.” the appointment of Solanki also sends out the message that there is no difference between BJP and RSS, the liberals and the extremists. Both are two sides of the same coin. modi may not have taken any step to accelerate the pace of Hindutava. Yet his prime ministership has emboldened the RSS elements. So much as that one BJP member called Sonia mirza, india’s pride in tennis, a Pakistani. it must be tough for the muslims who have to prove their loyalty to india all the time.

Her husband is no doubt a Pakistani.

She was naturally hurt for being questioned on her nationality. the Hindutava of sorts was seen in Haryana where a separate Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) the Haryana will control by all the Gurudawara in the state and their offerings. it is a serious matter which should have been pondered over seriously to find a formula to allay the fears of Sikhs in Punjab and Haryana.

RSS considers the Sikh part of Hindu community. the Sikhs, on the other hand, are against the assumption. the violent reaction of Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal showed that the Punjab Sikhs, a majority in the community, will not tolerate any division in what he describes as panth, the Sikh order.

Another unfortunate deduction is that the liberal elements in the BJP have dwindled in numbers. they find no option to the RSS leadership. maybe, the distance between the BJP and RSS was never a reality. it was part of the

RSS tactics to make a dent in the general perception that the indian society prefers the liberal BJP to the obdurate RSS. the perception about tolerance in the Hindu religion is largely true. Had this not been the case, the constitution would not have said in the preamble that india would be a secular republic. the proof is provided by elections where 80 per cent of Hindus, who constitute an overwhelming majority, vote for a liberal india. Another indication is that even the liberal muslim leaders don’t get elected even when their community constitutes 15 to 16 per cent of population in the country. the ominous side is that the bigoted are adopting a still harder line and getting acceptance. Otherwise, Shah’s elevation makes little sense. After the BJP victory at the centre, he has been polarising the society and ensuring that the party does not snap its ties with RSS or the extremist Shiv Sena in maharashtra. the recent episode of forciblefeeding a fasting muslim by a Sena mP is in a bad taste. What is more surprising is the explanation offered by the mP concerned and others. Several Sena members failed to condemn the mP and instead said it was done only to let the authorities know that the food supplied at the maharastra Sadan was awfully bad. though the Sena mP had subsequently apologised, the party had no business to equate it with some muslim men raping women during Ramzan. the modi government has at last reacted with Home minister Rajnath Singh regretting the incident and reiterating that the government was committed to safeguarding the religious freedom guaranteed by the constitution.

Despite this, modi’s overall say in favour of Hindutva cannot be denied.

He is associated with the anti-muslim riots in Gujarat in 2002. He is also known for his strong anti-Pakistan and anti-Bangladesh sentiments, the two muslims republics in india’s neighbourhood. Amit Shah was part of modi’s ministry at Ahmedabad at that time.

Fortunately, modi also realises that he should have good relations with both the nations. His invitation to the prime ministers of Pakistan, Bangladesh and the maldives, to his oath-taking ceremony says so. For modi to have good relations with india’s neighbours would strengthen the idea of pluralism, something that has helped the country to sustain a liberal atmosphere in the subcontinent.

Both New Delhi and Dhaka are fighting against fundamentalism, represented by the taliban. islamabad is used to do so because it uses them for fighting ‘a battle of independence’ in Kashmir. there is also a strong influential lobby within Pakistan to support fundamentalism which is spreading in the entire muslim world. i wish New Delhi could act against the Hindu taliban which is emerging as a serious force. the liberal muslims, whether living in Pakistan or Bangladesh, cannot afford to be complacent in their resolve to eliminate the taliban, the fundamentalists. they want islam to abandon the efforts at reformation and go back to the type of islam was at the time of inception 1400 years ago. they too realise that it is not possible to do that. But then their approach is based on the strategy in elections which seem to return a candidate who supports pluralism.

Rulers of Pakistan and Bangladesh seem to be realistic enough not to do anything which would scare away the nonmuslim electorate. g

CMY K

Sunday, 17 - 23 August, 2014

satire: Captioned Calm down, Nawaz.

Everything is going to be alright.

I wouldn’t bet on it.

opinion

Evolution beats revolution anytime Here we are, new powers in play, throwing down the gauntlet

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Badar iqBal CHaudHary

he die has been cast, and Caesar has decided to cross the Rubicon and confront the Pompey in the very citadel of power. A million shall march onto the city of elites and snatch away the lamp incarcerating the genie distributing wealth, and be the lords of their own destiny. All that makes for an enthralling story but for a small fault in the plan – there is no plan.

If democracy were a rule of the majority, and utilitarianism the collective good of the most numbers, then there is no bigger a farce than allowing a million or two, or even ten to topple the government voted in elections with quite a decent turnout and in a historically transparent manner. The immediate fact that Caesar refuses to acknowledge the credibility of people after having trusted them with his life and liberty, Musharraf and Iftikhar et al, raises doubts about his ability to judge a person’s character.

Is there then no space forspeculation that the cohort Caesar is leading could potentially be hiding a Brutus or two?

But there are bigger lessons to be invoked here than any potential attempt at empire building or a plausible hijacking attempt at any stage. The lessons that have been manifested in very short history of this land demonstrate that when the politicians choose to challenge the rule of the majority, either a Bangladesh is created or a Zia-ulhaq adorns the pulpit.

Given our precarious history, and the repeated nihilistic ventures to serve the personal interests of individuals and institutions alike, one needs to have been circumspect about such showmanship to prove a point. Riding the tide of popular politics, many a statesman has been led astray. Caesar, for all his faults, would not fancy being counted amidst undemocratic instruments.

No matter the criticism heaped upon Pompey, accusing him of lethargy and indifference, he proved that patience can bear fruits that no amount of political rhetoric could yield. And yet here we are, new powers in play throwing down the gauntlet. What is amiss is the understanding of history and the political acumen that which should have

Let there be no bones about the fact that guided the gait, thereby compelling hasty decisions and thus wrong moves inplenitudes. if the government is toppled merely a year into its constitutional stint, this would be the Ambition is an extremely desirable quality when bridled by initiation of a musical proprietary, but leave chair of governance, ‘Given our precarious history, and and the return to the it uncontrolled and it can serve to stand the the repeated nihilistic ventures to repugnant politics of 1990s. The army may, holder in decidedly serve the personal interests of bad stead. This or may not, dilemma should not individuals and institutions alike, depending of course have been lost on on its mood and the one needs to have been Caesar, himself privy personal whims of the circumspect about such generals, usurp to the fall of a democratic power. But civilshowmanship to prove a point’ government as well as military imbalance would once again a dictator in his long stint as a politician. Unfortunately, the lust for become conspicuous in its tilt towards the armed forces. The generals currently being in a position of authority compels the otherwise reasonable head to shun the same. engaged in a reputation building exercise in

‘Let there be no bones about the fact that if the government is toppled merely a year into its constitutional stint, this would be the initiation of a musical chair of governance, and the return to the repugnant politics of 1990s’ the shape of a deadly war would attain the moral high ground.

There is not much debate about what follows. If the institutional head does not assume the role of the king himself, he becomes a veritable kingmaker, shaping the national policy and important security and defence paradigms in shadows.

That Caesar would not enjoy being a puppet leader, despite his popularity and struggle, is not hard to construe. Why then are all the pains being taken to oust the government firmly in place, when the same efforts could much easily have been expended in ridding the Gaul of Gallic dissidents, and establishing a system of governance that would have been a subject of envy for the rest of the Roman Republic? The victor of Gaul, after all, has all the resources at his disposal to vindicate his statesmanship. The difficulty of the task should have only served to make the desire to succeed fervent.

It is not to state that agitation of any sorts is bad, but a confrontational politics which challenges the actual writ, giving legitimacy to one’s own existence, could only be internecine. The advisors of the great orator would do him a great service by reminding him of the dictates of history, and by dawning upon him the possible consequences of his acts. What lies ahead is a perilous path which can easily lead to fall of the structure built by years of persistence and tolerance.

A better alternative would be to resort to more compromising standpoints, and go from one to another, in incremental steps.

As is evident from French, Russian and Iranian revolutions, progress made in revolutions is ephemeral, easily reversible due to cultural lag (the society’s reluctance to redefine its own structures quickly enough). The evolution handily beats any revolutionary advances. Too ambitious a plan leads one nowhere. g www.pakistantoday.com.pk 09

C M YK

IntervIew: Kanza Javed

trendsetter ????????? ?????

An upcoming author to watch out for

By Luavut zahId

K

anza Javed was a name not known to many till she shot into the spotlight after having an unpublished novel nominated for the Tibor Jones South asia Prize. How she has become one of Pakistan’s brightest up and coming writers.

On her way to hopefully publishing her first novel in India, Kanza has a fresh kind of writing that has the magic to hook a reader.

Pakistan Today sat down with the young writer to talk about her inspirations, her upcoming work and a whole lot more.

Despite having a way with words, Tibor Jones was something Kanza was absolutely unprepared for. Having her manuscript nominated for the prize took her by shock. She speaks about how it all began quite fondly.

“The Tibor Jones South asia Prize was a complete surprise. I was 21, had just recently finished the first draft of my novel and decided to send it as a submission upon the request of an editor that I met at a British Council Event”, she recalled.

The manuscript in question is called “ashes, Wine and Dust”.

It’s a novel that Kanza began working on at the young age of seventeen. “I had a few characters entrapped in my head for a long, long time and I wanted to release them… allow them to grow… thus I began writing. I was uncertain about where I was heading but I just knew that I had to write this ‘thing’”, she explained while talking about her inspirations.

“Being nominated for Tibor Jones South asia Prize 2012 gave me a lot of exposure and introduced me to the world of poets, writers, publishers, agents and editors - a territory that was foreign to me once. I was the

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youngest writer to be nominated for the prize and the only one who travelled from Pakistan to Kolkata, a truly magical city,” she added.

For most writers their journey starts fairly early on in life. They can see things through a lens that is available only to them. Their observation of the world around them is a little sharper, the colours slightly more defined, and the people fuller with mystery. When you combine that kind of ability with a love for reading the results can be astounding. While this is rare in our side of the world, Kanza was able to harness the ability

‘Despite having a way with words, Tibor Jones was something Kanza was absolutely unprepared for.

Having her manuscript nominated for the prize took her by shock. She speaks about how it all began quite fondly’ fairly well. On how she began her journey as a writer she said, “For as long as I can remember I have loved reading and writing. as a child, there were a few things I was good at, writing was one of them.

“I found it fascinating, this very idea of manipulating reality for my amusement and having complete control of characters and episodes. Personal diaries became short stories and soon enough, I realised that this was something I wanted to do seriously. This made me study literature, a subject that was fashioned just for me. Often I found myself among people who

believed that literature was something to be studied either by the idiosyncratic or those incapable of understanding the physics of circuits or the applications of theorems. I remained inclined towards a subject that catered to my needs to read and write avidly”.

Unlike many other writers, however, the young author doesn’t have a list of inspirations ready for declaration. “I still am unable to identify with what people call their “writing process,” for me the process can be trigged anytime, the inspiration can appear from anywhere. It can begin while having an interesting conversation with a complete stranger, or my grandmother; or by taking the train or any journey for that matter. anything can inspire you and stimulate your feelings and senses; a recollection, a lucid dream, a myth, an old legend, a social condition, a past mistake, a certain character you once encountered, it’s all relative and sometimes an indescribable phenomena,” she said.

While she maybe one of the most promising young writers to watch out for, her journey hasn’t been easy. In fact the journey for many Pakistani writers, young or otherwise, is enormously difficult. Pakistan does not have a real publishing industry. There is a dire lack of agencies and publishing houses that can support writers and their work.

Instead of being able to publish and release their work locally many writers have often had to look across the border, or find themselves in entirely different continents to get the job done. another large problem is that there is no concept of author rights in Pakistan, publishing houses that are willing to publish books written by local authors

will often offer them a meager one time “fee” instead of giving them any kind of profit that is earned off of the book.

Our young author finds the situation plenty distressing. “approaching local publishing houses or agents comes with its own set of problems. Pakistan has no literary agencies and there are only a few publishing houses.

I was fortunate when it came to finding an agency in India, because of the Tibor Jones nomination. I couldn’t have asked for anyone better for representing my work. But I meet people every day, people who write and wish to get their work

‘Kanza Javed is also a sharp blow to the myth that there is a shortage of quality female writers in Pakistan.

Her work is an example in how wrong this conception really is and she has a thing or two to say about the stereotype overall’ published, and are hesitant or unfamiliar with the agent and publishing culture. I do wish that Pakistan finds a way to host a thriving publishing community because the amount of talent we harbor is immense”, she added.

Kanza Javed is also a sharp blow to the myth that there is a shortage of quality female writers in Pakistan. Her work is an example in how wrong this conception really is and she has a thing or two to say about the stereotype overall. “There is absolutely no dearth of female writers in Pakistan; this is a myth, a preconceived reality that a country that is hovering over

television channels because of its unconquerable insurgencies and evils, like subjugation and oppression of women, is bound to have a more expressive male ‘community.’

“We had Mumtaz Shahnawaz capturing the partition experience in the 1900’s, here in Lahore, and with every passing year, there is a significant increase in releases by female writers. They write about everything; politics, culture, domestic lives, relationships, societal norms, religion… you name it and they are working on it. They have made, and are making, significant contributions in English and Urdu Literature all the time.” Strong writers exist but unfortunately remain largely invisible.

We ended our discussion on a much happier and lighter note.

She told us a little about her favourite works, and unsurprisingly they weren’t few in number. “There are so many. I fall in love with a different writer, era, character, every week. It is very hard to distinguish something as, ‘this is it, and no one could have done it better.’ Every writer and piece of Literature offers something new.

I just finished, Soul Mountain by Gao Xinjian for the second time, had to experience that soulcleansing journey again.

Currently I am reading Ben Okri’s The Famished Road. I was familiar with Okri’s poetry but never had a chance to read this novel,” she said.

Kanza’s novel is going to be a book to look out for. Pakistan needs more serious authors like her to follow their real passion instead of shying away from what seems like the impossible.

If this generation is able to churn out a few great writers then it will be doing the next one a huge favour. g

C M YK

Sunday, 17 - 23 August, 2014

www.pakistantoday.com.pk 11

C M YK

Sunday, 17 - 23 August, 2014

opinion

The fault in our politicians imran Khan and Tahirul Qadri are no messiahs, but they play the role well Sajid Khan Lodhy

The writer is a journalist. He corresponds at sajidkl@hotmail.com and tweets at: @sajidsadeem.

P

AKISTAn’S political scene is never dull. You can find a tehreek here, an inqilab there, a dharna by this party or a jalsa by that party. The current situation finds Imran Khan, who heads country’s third largest party in the Parliament, the PTI, and Tahirul Qadri whose party has zero presence in the Parliament, in the Capital asking the incumbent government to resign or face their marches (Azadi and Inqilab, no less) till their demands are met.

Whatever their demands are now, the issue started with noting more than an administrative problem but it has transformed into a political one. Allowing the marchers to enter Islamabad was a bitter pill for the Punjab and federal governments. Putting the country under virtual siege, with losses to the tune of billions to businesses, industry and stock exchanges, what Imran and Qadri don’t seem to realise is their inherent selfishness. Their actions don’t lead towards some greater good; instead they are misleading thousands who are with them and millions who subscribe to their ideologies.

What if I told you that in politics being selfish, being shrewd is okay? But that’s not what these two are. They are self-serving, obsessive power grabbers at their very core. Of course, that can be said of many a politician in Pakistan, it stands to reason more against them as they would rather like to sink the ship if it doesn’t steer in the direction they want.

But then there is another type of politics that you need to understand, one that is distinct from the one practised by the Qadri and the Khan.

What if I told you, dear reader, that politics is a self-serving game, that it is not some trade that can be peddled around with ease and kicked to the curb when your objectives are achieved? See, I knew you would say that that should not be the case, yet the dark(er) realities of our country’s political horizon show it to be exactly that. The idea of a politician who understands not only how to dabble in politics but also knows full well the endgame of politics, is somewhat alien to our neck of the woods. You can find our regular, run of the mill, politicians here – from dynastic political pedigree to those with a claim of being divinely appointed political messiahs, from former playboyturned-cricketer-turned-philanthropist-t urned-holier-than-thou-politican to fugitives-of-justice politicians, from ethnically discriminated to those who can’t even spell their names – but what you won’t find is a politician who is in this business for the sake of it, or for the love of it, so to say. Politics is not just how to win elections (rigging, anybody), or coming up with slogans that sound

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good (roti, kapra aur makan, ab ni tu kab), or fulfilling some populist demand (building Kalabagh dam, changing nWFP into KP), it is way more than that.

While one can make a case that these tactics, slogan, shenanigans, political machinations are also a part of politics, that’s not the whole story. There is this tangible, visible part of politics i.e., the aforementioned, and then there is this intangible part which is the crucial one, a part not understanding which makes even the shrewdest politician only a selfserving tool. This part deals more with serving the people and not ruling them, this part deals more with standing with the people in times of tragedy and disaster instead of going on royal trips abroad, this part deals with understanding the logic behind why we need laws and why we need to implement them instead of repealing, replacing or amending them to suit our needs, this part deals with capacity building of LeAs and not using them as personal bodyguards at the cost of state and people, this part deals with standing up to terrorists of whatever hue and colour they are instead of capitulating authority to them and considering them equals, this part deals more with allowing political dissent, accepting social changes, freedom of religious practices and embracing ethnic/linguistic differences with open arms than suppressing them using state machinery.

‘Nawaz Sharif and Asif Ali Zardari might have failed in their bid to become better leaders, but forcing them to abdicate power through unconstitutional demands won’t make Imran Khan or Tahirul Qadri a better leader. It would only make them appear self-obsessed, and greedy’

This is a part which unfortunately is missing from almost every single political entity in the country. how is it different from that other part? Let’s take an example. Universally, improvement in infrastructure is a function of progress; it is not a proof of how good of a politician you are.

Consequently, a public project like Lahore Metro Bus Service is not an indication of how good of politicians Brothers Sharif are, it should simply be taken as a result of the city’s evergrowing demand in providing a better urban transport solution, although failing to fulfill this demand would have been a fault they could be held responsible for.

Other than that, that is exactly what he was voted to do. nawaz Sharif and Asif Ali Zardari might have failed in their bid to become better leaders, but forcing them to abdicate power through unconstitutional demands won’t make Imran Khan or Tahirul Qadri a better leader. It would only make them appear self-obsessed, and greedy.

The real test of how good a politician is not in how selfless he is, for that is nigh impossible, it is in fact in knowing how well he understands the intangible part of politics. Will Imran Khan and Tahirul Qadri ever learn that? g­

Thy brothers’ welfare: millat thinkers’ forum A culture of research and development to seek knowledge is the path to reclaiming lost glory omer Zaheer meer The author is a Director of the think-tank “Millat Thinkers’ Forum”.

He is a leading economist, qualified accountant and anti-money laundering expert with international exposure who can be reached on Twitter and www.myMFB.com @OmerZaheerMeer or omerzaheermeer@hotmail.co.uk

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here was a time when Muslims ruled the planet. They civilised the world in all areas of life like economy, astronomy, medical science, diplomacy, trade, management, military studies, foreign affairs, art, literature, etc. This was when the rest of the world, particularly the west, was experiencing dark ages. This golden era for humanity led by Muslims illuminated the dark worlds of those left behind. however, since the fall of Muslim Spain and persecution of the Spanish Inquisition

by Christian fanatic Queen Isabella and her husband Ferdinand, the Muslim world has plunged deeper and deeper into an abyss.

There are various reasons for this downfall and historians have written detailed accounts covering various aspects. One key element has been the disassociation with research and development. A nation whose beginning was with “Iqra” meaning “read” ignored the importance of seeking knowledge. The order to seek knowledge from mothers’ lap to grave (signifying importance of knowledge) got lost in the disillusionment with the vitality of knowledge. The carriers of the legacy of personalities like Al-Beruni, who was seeking knowledge even on his death-bed, left seeking knowledge at the bottom of its priority list. It is not surprising then that the nations which took over the legacy of research and development to seek knowledge had been bestowed with ruling the world.

One key aspect of the knowledge based culture of these developed nations has been the development of independent and highstandard think-tanks. These think tanks vary by ideological perspectives, sources of funding, topical emphasis and prospective consumers. In developed countries, not only governments but corporate sectors also fund think tanks. Their importance is realised to such an extent that many countries allow tax-exemptions to these institutions in addition to other incentives to promote a culture of research and knowledge seeking.

Pakistan, like the rest of the Muslim world, has lagged behind in this area.

Unfortunately the culture of research has not been properly developed in Pakistan.

The value of research and development is highly under-rated if realised at all in the circles making key decisions. As if that was not enough, the few think-tanks that do exist are mostly handicapped by their patronage’s interests, mostly foreign. Their limitations due to foreign funding or from sources with vested interests result in questionable reputes.

It was against this backdrop and keeping the importance of independent think-tanks to the development of a nation

in view, I along-with some key people sharing the thought, started working towards addressing the situation by taking some positive actions. After deliberations, it was decided that a step in the right direction would be the formation of an independent think-tank, aspiring to international standards.

A team lead by Mr Zaheer Ahmad Meer (chairman professionals’ social network and senior advocate) and comprising Mian Khalid habib elahi (advocate supreme court and ex-deputy attorney general), Mr Omer Meer (chairman liaison committee LTBA, qualified FCA & certified antimoney laundering specialist), and Mr Wajih Ur rehman (agriculturalist and social worker), worked day and night to turn this dream of the first totally independent and international-standard think-tank of entire Muslim world in Pakistan into a reality.

This led to the formation of the phenomenon called Millat Thinkers’ forum (MTF). The mission statement of Millat Thinkers’ forum (MTF) is Diagnose (the issues), Deliberate (on the different aspects and complexities) and Decode (to understand and recommend/develop a solution). These traits have been lacking and highly required not only in Pakistan but the entire Muslim world.

Millat Thinkers’ Forum‘s model involves quality research by a highly competent team followed by monthly events where the best brains of the country are brought together to provide inputs.

Finalised reports then form the basis of MTF’s recommendations and sent to concerned departments. Its membership is focused on high quality induction to ensure accomplishment of the objective of meeting international standards. The members include top professionals, successful businessmen, scholars, media personalities, parliamentarians, social workers, academics, research scholars, students, etc.

MTF has been working informally for some time and has even assisted some policy makers during this time.

Information related to Millat Thinkers’ Forum including event information, pictures, videos, research and even finalized reports are now shared on MillatFacebook (www.MyMFB.com), the largest social network ever by Muslims. however, growing demands and a desire to institutionalise led to the formal inauguration in Lahore.

The keynote presentation covered the topic of “ISIS/ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and Al-Sham/Levant): Implications for Pakistan and the way forward, followed by contributions from distinguished attendees.

Many dignitaries including Mr hamid Khan, Mr Asad Umar and Sardar Asif Ahmad Ali moved their engagements to attend the event. honorable Dr AQ Khan sent his felicitation message for Millat Thinkers’ Forum in which he appreciated the endeavour and urged to continue the good work. Patrons Zaheer Ahmad Meer and Mian Khalid habib elahi shared the importance of research and reasons for formation of the forum. Asad Umar pledged his support saying that this forum has the potential to become the best contribution to changing the fortunes of the nation.

Overall the event was an astounding success and all dignitaries not only pledged their support but appreciated the high quality of the research, attendees and management. The keynote presentation on ISIS was particularly praised. g

C M YK

Sunday, 17 - 23 August, 2014

international

Israel is losing the long game

GeorGe Friedman

W

Stratfor

e have long argued that the Arab-Israeli conflict is inherently insoluble. Now, for the third time in recent years, a war is being fought in Gaza. The Palestinians are firing rockets into Israel with minimal effect. The Israelis are carrying out a broader operation to seal tunnels along the GazaIsrael boundary. Like the previous wars, the current one will settle nothing. The Israelis want to destroy Hamas’ rockets. They can do so only if they occupy Gaza and remain there for an extended period while engineers search for tunnels and bunkers throughout the territory. This would generate Israeli casualties from Hamas guerrillas fighting on their own turf with no room for retreat. So Hamas will continue to launch rockets, but between the extreme inaccuracy of the rockets and Israel’s Iron Dome defense system, the group will inflict little damage to the Israelis.

War Without a Military outcoMe The most interesting aspect of this war is that both sides apparently found it necessary, despite knowing it would have no definitive military outcome. The kidnapping and killing of three Israeli teenagers followed by the incineration of a Palestinian boy triggered this conflict. An argument of infinite regression always rages as to the original sin: Who committed the first crime?

For the Palestinians, the original crime was the migration into the Palestinian mandate by Jews, the creation of the State of Israel and the expulsion of Arabs from that state. For Israel, the original sin came after the 1967 war, during which Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza, the Golan Heights and east Jerusalem. At that moment, the Israelis were prepared to discuss a deal, but the Arabs announced their famous “three nos” at a meeting in Khartoum: no negotiation, no recognition, no peace. That locked the Israelis into an increasingly rigid stance. Attempts at negotiations have followed the Khartoum declaration, all of which failed, and the “no recognition” and “no peace” agreement is largely intact. Ceasefires are the best that anyone can hope for.

For Hamas, at least — and I suspect for many Palestinians in the West Bank — the only solution is Israel’s elimination. For many Israelis, the only solution is to continue to occupy all captured territories until the Palestinians commit to peace and recognition.

Since the same Israelis do not

believe that day will ever come, the occupation would become permanent.

Under these circumstances, the Gaza war is in some sense a matter of housekeeping. For Hamas, the point of the operation is demonstrating it can fire rockets at Israel. These rockets are inaccurate, but the important thing is that they were smuggled into Gaza at all, since this suggests more dangerous weapons eventually will be smuggled in to the Palestinian territory. At the same time, Hamas is demonstrating that it remains able to incur casualties while continuing to fight.

For the Israelis, the point of the operation is that they are willing to carry it out at all. The Israelis undoubtedly intend to punish Gaza, but they do not believe they can impose their will on Gaza and compel the Palestinians to reach a political accommodation with Israel. War’s purpose is to impose your political will on your enemy. But unless the Israelis surprise us immensely, nothing decisive will come out of this conflict. even if Israel somehow destroyed Hamas, another organization would emerge to fill its space in the Palestinian ecosystem. Israel can’t go far enough to break the Palestinian will to resist; it is dependent on a major third-party state to help meet Israeli security needs. This creates an inherent contradiction whereby Israel receives enough American support to guarantee its existence but because of humanitarian concerns is not allowed to take the kind of decisive action that might solve its security problem.

We thus see periodic violence of various types, none of which will be intended or expected to achieve any significant political outcome. Wars here have become a series of bloodstained gestures.

There are some limited ends to achieve, such as closing Palestinian tunnels and demonstrating Palestinian capabilities that force Israel into an expensive defensive posture.

But Hamas will not be defeated, and Israel will make no concessions.

Sovereignty and viability ProbleMS The question therefore is not what the point of all this is — although that is a fascinating subject — but where all this ends.

All things human end. Previous longstanding conflicts, such as those between France and england, ended or at least changed shape. Israel and Palestine accordingly will resolve their conflict in due course.

Many believe the creation of a Palestinian state will be the solution, and those who believe this often have trouble understanding why this selfevidently sensible solution has not been implemented. The reason is the proposed solution is not nearly as sensible as it might appear to some.

Issues of viability and sovereignty surround any discussion of a Palestinian state.

Geography raises questions about the viability of any Palestinian polity. Palestine has two population centers, Gaza and the West Bank, which are detached from one another. One population center, Gaza, is an enormously crowded, narrow salient. Its

ability to develop a sustainable economy is limited. The West Bank has more possibilities, but even it would be subordinate to a dynamic Israel. If the Palestinian workforce is drawn into the Israeli economy, both territories will become adjuncts to Israel. Within its current borders, a viable Palestine is impossible to imagine.

From the Israeli point of view, creating a Palestine along something resembling the 1967 lines (leaving aside the question of Jerusalem) would give the Palestinians superb targets, namely, Tel Aviv and Haifa. Given its history, Israel is unlikely to take that risk unless it had the right to oversee security in the West Bank in some way. That in turn would undermine Palestinian sovereignty.

As you play out the possibilities in any two-state solution, you run into the problem that any solution one side demanded would be unbearable to the other. Geography simply won’t permit two sovereign states.

In this sense, the extremists on both sides are more realistic than the moderates. But that reality encounters other problems. iSrael’S high-Water Mark Currently, Israel is as secure as it is ever likely to be unless Hamas disappears, never to be replaced, and the West Bank becomes even more accommodating to Israel. Neither of these prospects is likely. Israel’s economy towers over its neighbors. The Palestinians are weak and divided. None of Israel’s neighbors pose any threat of invasion, a situation in place since the 1977 neutralization of egypt.

Jordan is locked into a close relation with Israel, egypt has its peace treaty and Hezbollah is bogged down in Syria. Apart from Gaza, which is a relatively minor threat, Israel’s position is difficult to improve.

Israel can’t radically shift its demography. But several evolutions in the region could move against Israel. egypt could change governments, renounce its treaty, rearm and re-enter the Sinai Peninsula. Hezbollah could use its experience in Syria to open a front in Lebanon. Syria could get an Islamic State-led government and threaten the Golan Heights. Islamists could

overthrow Jordan’s Hashemite monarchy and pose a threat to the east. Turkey could evolve into a radical Islamic government and send forces to challenge Israel. A cultural revolution could take place in the Arab world that would challenge Israel’s economic superiority, and therefore its ability to wage war. Iran could smuggle missiles into Gaza, and so on.

There is accordingly an asymmetry of possibilities. It is difficult to imagine any evolution, technical, political or economic, that would materially improve Israel’s already dominant position, but there are many things that could weaken Israel — some substantially. each may appear far-fetched at the moment, but everything in the future seems far-fetched. None is inconceivable.

It is a rule of politics and business to bargain from strength.

Israel is now as strong as it is going to be. But Israel does not think that it can reach an accommodation with the Palestinians that would guarantee Israeli national security, a view based on a realistic reading of geography. Therefore, Israel sees little purpose in making concessions to the Palestinians despite its relative position of strength.

In these circumstances, the Israeli strategy is to maintain its power at a maximum level and use what influence it has to prevent the emergence of new threats. From this perspective, the Israeli strategy on settlements makes sense. If there will be no talks, and Israel must maintain its overwhelming advantage, creating strategic depth in the West Bank is sensible; it would be less sensible if there were a possibility of a peace treaty. Israel must also inflict a temporary defeat on any actively hostile Palestinian force from time to time to set them back several years and to demonstrate Israeli capabilities for psychological purposes.

The Palestinian position meanwhile must be to maintain its political cohesion and wait, using its position to try to drive wedges between Israel and its foreign patrons, particularly the United States, but understanding that the only change in the status quo will come from changes

outside the Israeli-Palestinian complex. The primary Palestinian problem will be to maintain itself as a distinct entity with sufficient power to resist an Israeli assault for some time. Any peace treaty would weaken the Palestinians by pulling them into the Israeli orbit and splitting them up. By refusing a peace treaty, they remain distinct, if divided. That guarantees they will be there when circumstances change.

FiFty yearS out Israel’s major problem is that circumstances always change.

Predicting the military capabilities of the Arab and Islamic worlds in 50 years is difficult. Most likely, they will not be weaker than they are today, and a strong argument can be made that at least several of their constituents will be stronger. If in 50 years some or all assume a hostile posture against Israel, Israel will be in trouble.

Time is not on Israel’s side. At some point, something will likely happen to weaken its position, while it is unlikely that anything will happen to strengthen its position. That normally would be an argument for entering negotiations, but the Palestinians will not negotiate a deal that would leave them weak and divided, and any deal that Israel could live with would do just that.

What we are seeing in Gaza is merely housekeeping, that is, each side trying to maintain its position. The Palestinians need to maintain solidarity for the long haul. The Israelis need to hold their strategic superiority as long as they can. But nothing lasts forever, and over time, the relative strength of Israel will decline. Meanwhile, the relative strength of the Palestinians may increase, though this isn’t certain.

Looking at the relative risks, making a high-risk deal with the Palestinians would seem prudent in the long run. But nations do not make decisions on such abstract calculations. Israel will bet on its ability to stay strong.

From a political standpoint, it has no choice. The Palestinians will bet on the long game. They have no choice. And in the meantime, blood will periodically flow. g George Friedman is chairman of Stratfor. www.pakistantoday.com.pk 13

C M YK

Sunday, 17 - 23 August, 2014

international

Why india’s blue water ambitions matter ritika katyal Foreign Policy

o

verlooking China’s past objections, india, Japan and the United States are conducting joint naval war games this month in the Pacific ocean, adjacent to the east China Sea. india’s decision to proceed with the trilateral exercise after five years of keeping Japan out, so as not to provoke China, indicates a new brand of maritime assertiveness. At the same time, both indian and Chinese navies are actively building ‘blue water’ capabilities – an ability to carry out operations much farther than their territorial boundaries, across the deep oceans. As india juggles the dual imperative to simultaneously befriend and hedge against an economically and militarily rising China, the outcome of its blue water quest will influence the balance of power in Asia for years to come.

Why Develop ‘Blue Water’ CapaBilities?

Almost unnoticed by the rest of the world, india has built one of the largest and most powerful navies in the world. However, there exist a number of drivers for further expanding its influence at sea. new Delhi has been growing uneasy about Beijing’s perceived ‘String of Pearls’ strategy in the indian ocean. Some see this as encirclement by China’s strategic alliances and building of maritime facilities in Sri lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar. With China developing its own blue water navy, india aims to not only secure its own territory but also be able to project power farther than its shores.

While Beijing grows its influence in the indian ocean that india sees as its backyard, new Delhi in turn targets a strong presence in the eastern South China Sea. Both countries aim to have presence in the strategically located Malacca Straits, where 40 percent of the world’s trade and more than 80 percent of China’s oil imports pass through.

While most of its wars have been fought on land and air, a strong navy with nuclear deployment capabilities gives india a much-needed strategic edge. As opposed to land and air, india is importantly at a relative locational advantage on the sea vis-à-vis China. The economist argues that india’s naval advantage might allow it to impede oil traffic heading for China through the Malacca Straits.

Further, india and China are projected to be the largest sources of energy demand in the future, and domestic energy sources would be insufficient for both countries to meet their growing demand. india is expected to import 90 percent of its crude oil by 2030, and its coal

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imports are expected to more than double to 300 million tonnes by 2040. india needs to be able to protect the energy routes to bring these resources to its shores.

The tremors of China’s increasing claims in the South China Sea are already being felt across Asia, giving the indian navy more reason to beef up its fleet. While it might not be a primary player in the disputed waters, india would not want to be excluded from exploring assets in the resource-rich South China Sea or elsewhere as it scours far and wide for muchneeded energy sources. Such fears are already starting to come true with China claiming control over the waters where an oil block was being explored by an indian petroleum giant at vietnam’s invitation earlier this year. in a rare assertion of maritime power, D.k. Joshi, former indian navy Chief Admiral, indicated last year that india is prepared to defend its interests in the South China Sea, though it does not expect to be in those waters too frequently.

A blue water navy would provide muscle for all these strategic imperatives, enhance regional power projection capabilities, more effectively protect india’s expanding energy and trade routes, and enable stronger defense and trade ties with other nations.

Why Does the rest of the WorlD Care?

There is a long list of nations keen on such partnerships with india. China’s deepening and persistent pattern of assertiveness in the South China Sea — including the release of a map last month that claims everincreasing areas stretching down to the coasts of Malaysia, vietnam and the Philippines — has set alarm bells ringing in a number of Southeast Asian countries. incidentally, the same map claims control over india’s northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, practically throwing it together with the Southeast Asian countries in indignation.

Countries such as vietnam, the Philippines and indonesia see increasing Chinese sea claims as a fundamental security and economic threat and would like india and other countries to step up and assume a stronger role in the region. in turn, india’s ‘look east’ policy of the 1990s has drawn it closer to the very same countries. india now holds joint naval exercises with several of these countries, including in the South China Sea. india and Japan are drawing closer and naval ties are the cornerstones of this strengthening defense relationship. in the first break from its self-imposed ban on defense exports since 1967, Japan is selling 15 amphibious aircrafts to india. Apart from the ongoing trilateral naval exercise with the United States, india and Japan will also carry out a bilateral exercise in the Pacific ocean this year. india’s new

pairing with Japan will surely have Beijing’s attention. next year, india and Australia will start carrying out annual bilateral naval exercises.

Finally, the United States is keen to balance China by diverting an increasing share of its naval fleet to the Pacific ocean under its so-called ‘Pivot to Asia’ policy. in light of its own shrinking defense budget, the United States realizes the difficulty in materializing its intentions of extending its own naval presence in the region. To overcome this constraint, a quadrilateral naval alliance of india, Japan, Australia and the United States has long been on Washington’s mind though the idea lost steam after China’s protests in 2007. A new rightwing government in new Delhi gives the United States the impetus to push ahead for india to take a larger role in the West Pacific ocean. india has been traditionally wary of forming strategic military alliances, preferring to play a solitary hand. This is particularly true when it comes to the tricky relationship with China, now india’s largest trade partner. indian policymakers have been reluctant to get drawn into matters that do not directly concern the country’s national interests. india is also wary of being the junior partner in a possible regional alliance — the country does not trust the United States to support it in a potential conflict, given its own complicated relationship with China and historically warm relationship with Pakistan.

However, this reluctance is not preventing india from forging new partnerships at sea, which are much less noticeable but just as important strategically.

Further, the new indian government is putting its head together with its naval establishment to come up with a coordinated strategy for the indian ocean, including ‘capacity building’ of other countries in the indian ocean. These developments imply a rare tactical focus from a country often accused of having a weak strategic culture.

the path to ‘Blue Water’ poWer india’s new Prime Minister narendra Modi visited the naval aircraft carrier inS vikramaditya in his first trip outside new Delhi since taking oath last month, in a move seen by many as signaling the importance his government places on defense might. Shortly afterwards, Arun Jaitley, india’s Defense and Finance Minister released the annual budget that showed a 12 percent increase in defense spending. According to iHS Jane’s estimates, india would become the fourth largest defense spender by 2020, only behind the United States, China and russia.

The indian navy’s share of the defense budget has increased in the last decade, though in absolute terms it is still smaller than the army and air force. The acquisition of the russia-made inS vikramaditya last year takes the number of indian navy’s aircraft carriers up to two, the most owned by any Asian country. Admittedly, one of the two is an ageing aircraft carrier that is reaching the end of its service. However, india is building its first indigenous aircraft carrier to take its place, which is expected for induction by 2018. The country’s first indigenously built nuclear submarine is undergoing sea trials. its induction would complete the country’s nuclear triad – the ability to launch nuclear weapons by land, air or sea. While india has a ‘no First Use’ policy, a nuclear submarine enhances its ‘second strike capabilities’. A sea-based nuclear deterrent would alter the region’s nuclear landscape in india’s favor. india also intends to augment its naval fleet. The indian navy now has around 145 warships, but many are due for progressive retirement. A senior official of the indian navy stated last year that india intended to have a 200-ship navy in the next 10 years – an ambitious goal. The navy’s approved shopping list runs into billions of dollars and includes deep sea rescue vessels, an indigenous anti-submarine craft program, israeli air defense

missiles, and anti-ship missiles from the United States amongst other planned acquisitions. all is Not rosy for iNDia’s ‘Blue Water’ amBitioNs The country has an aging naval fleet and replacement is often fraught with major delays.

For instance, the inS vikramaditya was delayed by five years, and an indian Comptroller and Auditor general report criticized the navy’s operational readiness, given 74 percent of its refits between 2005 and 2010 were completed with a total delay of more than 23 years. The indian navy is currently weak on submarine capabilities. Most of india’s defense equipment is imported (mostly from russia) and the country needs to develop its indigenous manufacturing capabilities. The navy’s allocation in the defense budget would force it to make crucial tradeoffs between developing one capability versus the other.

Added to this is the strategic disconnect between the defense forces and the Ministry of Defense. Cost effective and timely modernization would be critical to fully realize india’s blue water dreams. india has the allocated funds, locational advantage, time and the opportunity to form strategic alliances on its side. But it needs to avoid getting this agenda mired in bureaucracy, inefficiency and a lack of strategic focus. And as acknowledged by its policy thinkers, india does have a window of opportunity to forge ahead on building its naval capabilities while China is still preoccupied with the Pacific ocean.

Just like the sea, naval maneuvers seem deceptively quiet for the most part, but in fact conceal deep underlying currents. The outcomes of india’s blue water quest will subtly but surely impact the region’s long-term strategic calculus. g Ritika Katyal is pursuing a Master’s Degree in Public Affairs at Princeton University.

CMY K

Sunday, 17 - 23 August, 2014

Satire

Coloured 14 August flags sued th

Blue and red flags come under fire for plagiarism Independence Day celebrations, citing copyright infringement and plagiarism.

Pakistan stands accused of repetitively producing plagiarised decorative items and memorabilia, touted as patriotic goods, year in and year out. Come August the streets and markets are full of vendors selling all manners of flags from tiny pins for one’s clothing to large flags for their rooftops, and things were no different this year around.

The main problem doesn’t lie with any of the items that are coloured in green and white.

The issue lies with some decorative items in the form of small paper flags, known popularly as “jhandiyan”, which often sway from the traditional green and white colour to red or blue, as pictured below:

Fraudian Slip

The writer is a huge fan of celebrating independence days, whether it’s on the 14th of August or the 4th of July. You can email fraudian.slip@yahoo.com to further discuss the matter.

A

new controversy has presented itself as the dust settles on this year’s Independence Day celebrations. Officials representing East Turkestan and the country of Turkey sued Pakistan for its 14th August

‘Pakistan stands accused of repetitively producing plagiarised decorative items and memorabilia, touted as patriotic goods, year in and year out. Come August the streets and markets are full of vendors selling all manners of flags from tiny pins for one’s clothing to large flags for their rooftops, and things were no different this year around’

While many people feel that these flags are cute and help add variety to the decorations that are put up for Independence Day, not a lot of them ever bother thinking of what these flags represent. The red version, for instance is actually Turkey’s flag, while the blue is precisely the one used by East Turkestan to represent themselves.

The design is frighteningly similar to East Turkestan’s flag:

Officials are now threatening with legal action if Pakistan does not stop representing itself through their flags. “We do not wish to be associated with any celebration or legacy that the country is a part of. It has a terrible reputation no matter what context it is seen in, and we are better off as far away from it as possible,” said a diplomat representing East Turkestan. “We do not appreciate our flags being hijacked and will not stand for this, this amounts to propaganda,” he added.

And more famously, the red version which signifies Turkey

The notification for the plagiarism and copyright issue was first sent to the Pakistan foreign office. This has caused a huge row as the other two groups are tired of Pakistan’s plagiarising ways. “They have no respect for copyright or originality, they even copy another nation’s flag with no problem whatsoever,” shrieked one Turkish official, “Who do they think they are? They can’t just slap on their name ‘Pakistan’ and random slogans like ‘Pakistan zindabad’ onto our flags and pretend that they are theirs,” he continued.

Most of the red and blue flags will have some text or the other printed next to them which makes it appear as though the white space is only added so that the text can be supported, and not because it is meant to be a part of the actual flag. So the officials from both Turkey and East Turkestan are mistaken when they think that the white space is not a part of the flag. Their misconception was further fuelled by several human rights groups that have on occasion launched campaigns depicting the flag with

just the green part to outline Pakistan’s horrific track record with minorities. On other occasions the white area has been marked with red or black colour to emphasise torture or persecution of minorities.

Officials are now threatening with legal action if Pakistan does not stop representing itself through their flags. “We do not wish to be associated with any celebration or legacy that the country is a part of. It has a terrible reputation no matter what context it is seen in, and we are better off as far away from it as possible,” said a diplomat representing East Turkestan. “We do not appreciate our flags being hijacked and will not stand for this, this amounts to propaganda,” he added.

Pakistan’s foreign office was slow to react to the news as celebrations for 14 th August were already underway and he didn’t know how to tackle the problem during the public holiday. But once back in office the first statement released shows that the office does not see this as a large problem. “It’s just a little bit of colour, Holi per bhi tu rang se kheltey hain bachay, tab tu kisi ko bura nahi lagta,” lamented one of the officials.

“It’s just for children, and children do not know any better, they only know what we teach them and we have clearly taught them that the real flag is only green... and a little bit white. We apologise for any hurt that has been caused by this, but think of the children,” advised a senior Pakistani official from the foreign office.

At present a diplomatic solution is being sought to the problem with many wondering how the country brought itself to this point.

We will have to wait and see whether next year’s celebrations will be any different. g

Six lessons from the long marches over the weekend If you are planning on taking out a long march of your own, make it a point to go through these six tips to maximise the impact of your revolution

i

T’S the season of revolutions. Wear your Che Guevara shirt and storm towards the capital. It’s like Bastille Day. Come out of your prisons and march towards independence.

Or just ignore all that nonsense and waste your Sunday reading nonsensical columns like your very own The Horizontal Column.

You might not want to participate in the revolutions but you can’t possibly ignore them.

Immy’s Azadi March and TuQ’s Inqilab March as of 6:24 PM on Friday have given us very important lessons. Revolutionary lessons that would help anyone who wants to challenge the status quo some important pointers.

Here are seven of them: Book your marches in advance, if you want everything to be on schedule We were told that the Azadi March and the Long March would manifest themselves in all their glory and chaos on August 14. But since they couldn’t arrange everything on time, things got out of hand. When the two revolutionaries were scheduled to be bellowing in DChowk Islamabad, they had barely reached Azadi Chowk, Lahore. It’s like Murree during the summer holidays. If you don’t book your marches in advance, you might not get a slot. You don’t want to miss out

on all the fun.

Don’t announce your march if someone else has booked a slot The Azadi and Inqilab marches became competitors despite having the same goals.

This is only because the two baraats (to borrow Chaudhry Nisar’s word) were supposed to leave from the same place, reach the same destination and all this was scheduled for the same time.

The lesson is clear, don’t be a copycat and schedule your march for some other day.

PML-N has dangerous Butts They shatter cars. They throw stones. They are destructive and extremely dangerous. The entire superstructure of the current ruling party’s tenure rides on the pulverising shoulders of their Butt brigade. (Please note that any puns that you might have noticed were accidental and do

not bear semblance to any person living or dead) Your choice of breakfast has no bearing on your sense of revolution Imran Khan had a gluten free breakfast as his march took off, while Tahirul Qadri enjoyed halwa puri on his way to Islamabad. Such contrasting breakfasts prove that what you eat doesn’t define your tendency towards revolution. However if one goes by the saying that “you are what you eat”, then it’s Khan’s gluten free revolution versus Qadri’s fatty revolution.

Twitter is an integral part of 21 st century revolutions That’s certainly the biggest lesson that the Arab Spring taught us as well. What you can do is take lots of selfies during the long march. This would make you proud when you look back at your revolution with your grandchildren. However, more

importantly this gives the electronic media the fodder to cover your struggles in detail.

The media will make you feel more important than you really are. We promise you that.

Not all you-know-whos with mustache are mean You-Know-Who, not doing you-know-what at you-knowwhere, you-know-when proved that not all yous with mustache are mean. Our prime minister must be breathing a very high sigh of relief as things stand.

Unless You-Know-Who has summoned a you-know-what on Saturday. In that case just scratch anything and everything you’ve read in this piece. g The writer is a standup revolutionary and a long marcher for hire. All side effects of reading The Horizontal Column are the readers’ headache. www.pakistantoday.com.pk 15

kt

C M YK

Sunday, 17 - 23 August, 2014

sATIre

TELLING IT LIKE IT ALMOST NEVER IS khabaristan.today@gmail.com

Long march too long to march

T

GujranwaLa

Our revOlutiOn COrrespOndent

HE long march was too long to march, it has emerged. Both long marches spearheaded by Pakistan tehrik-e-insaf (Pti) chief imran khan and Pakistan awami tehrik (Pat) chief tahirul Qadri had been found to be too long and hence they took more than their fair share of time to march on thursday.

that the two long marches turned out to be too long in unison has meant that their combined length was even longer. this in turn has meant that the marches that were supposed to culminate in islamabad on august 14, were seen near Gujranwala around evening time on august 15. khan’s azadi March and tahirul Qadir’s inqilab March are going towards islamabad to topple nawaz sharif’s democracy, eradicate democracy and

summon the caliphate and martial law. Pti’s militant wing tehrik-e-taliban Pakistan (ttP) has dubbed the expected military coup as the first shariah compliant martial law in the country. Pakistan Muslim League-Zia chief ijazul Haq has taken strong exception to this claim, Khabaristan Today has learnt. talking exclusively to Khabaristan Today, imran khan on thursday said that he was happy that he was winning the

Rooney, a motivation for players wanting to become captains

N

Manchester

Our FOOtball COrrespOndent

EwLy appointed Manchester United Captain wayne Rooney is a motivation for all those players who want to become club captains and haven’t been able to achieve their goals thus far. it is believed that players who

16 www.pakistantoday.com.pk

are tired of being their team’s talisman without donning the captain’s armband are now looking to Rooney as their role model. English Premier League pundits expect a barrage of transfer requests from many players in the coming weeks to encourage their clubs to name their captains accordingly.

Veteran football pundit Martin tyler has acknowledged

Rooney’s status as a role model for aspiring captains.

“He’s set the bar now. all you need to do is put in a transfer request, maybe two – ideally two in fact or more – whine about the club not signing quality players, then whine about the club not giving you a starting position owing to the quality players superseding you, and a year later you become the club captain. it’s a winning formula,” tyler said.

Former Manchester United Captain Roy keane was surprised by Louis Van Gaal’s decision. “i thought it’d be Robin Van Persie, to be very honest.

He’s our best player by a country mile and Van Gaal really trusts him as netherlands’ captain. But if you want to keep Rooney happy you have to give him what he wants, be it the ball near your own penalty area or the captain’s armband. Else he whines and puts in transfer requests…” keane said. g

race against tahirul Qadri. “i’m like the hare from the Hare and Tortoise story, except that this hare would beat that tortoise. i’m really happy about being in the lead. i don’t need any pit stop. Hare khan would beat tortoise-ul-Qadri,” he said. when asked about the time it was taking for his march to reach islamabad khan said, “Freedom doesn’t get served on a plate. you have to snatch freedom. sometimes freedom has to fight goons in Gujranwala. sometimes

freedom has to eat gluten free breakfast. sometimes freedom runs out of hair gel ahead of Lahore to islamabad drive.”

Qadri responding to khan’s statement told Khabaristan Today, “khan sahib is a little delusional. it’s Dr tahirul Qadri that would win the long march contest. we will bring about the revolution before the Pti. Our revolution should be there 10 minutes before them at least. i just hope the kFC drive through doesn’t take too long.” g

Gullu Butt appreciates attention, thanks PTI, PAT leadership Lahore Our Gullu COrrespOndent

P

akistan Muslim Leaguenawaz (PML-n) leader and future prime minister of Pakistan Gullu Butt of Gta Model town fame has appreciated all the attention he has been getting in recent times.

Butt, recently released from jail owing to being the prime minister’s crucial man, thanked the Pakistan tehrik-e-insaf (Pti) and Pakistan awami tehrik (Pat) leadership for acknowledging his contribution in the current ruling party’s success of late. talking to Khabaristan Today, Gullu divulged that he had never enjoyed this much attention in his life.

“My previous seven generations combined haven’t received as much attention as i have received over the past month or so.

Especially over the last few days the love and appreciation has been incredible,”

he said.

Gullu added that he acknowledged the regular mentions in the media and was humbled by the approbation. “after i famously smacked all those cars in Model town, the attention i got was expected. i knew i had made my mark then and would get the acclaim. But my regular mentions in the political tug of war of late have been unbelievable. i think the only words (imran) khan sahib has used more in his life than Gullu Butt are drones and dollars. and i am not sure about the latter,” he added. sources privy to Gullu Butt revealed that he has been receiving special training in destroying containers and would be seen in action in future rallies. g