Political economist, Dawn Op-ed writer, UC Berkeley PhD/exFellow. Progressive/secular. support new, upcoming left parties. against army forays in politics.
Pak global rank:
Army size Top 10
Defence exp/GDP Top 10
Defence exp/budget Top 10
Eductn exp/GDP Bottom 25
Health exp/GDP Bottom 20
Press freedom Bottom 25
Women's status Bottom 5
PTI ranks worst based on comparison on 20 key indicators over 3.5-4 yrs for the 3 parties. PTI also left behind most severe economic crisis. PML-N ranks 1st & left behind least severe economic crisis. PPP ranks second on both despite facing the most negative exogenous factors.
All that PTI is doing right now is verbal, psychological opposition; no dharnas, no violence, nothing else. And pindi and isloo cant handle even that and are panicking! dont have a clue on how to deal with even that limited stuff!
Myth is PPP/PML-N treat pak as their jagir. Reality: both quietly ceded power after losing, even when removed wrongly eg 2018. Meanwhile, PTI creates national crises even when it loses elections or VONC legally. Who treats pak as its jagir which only it must rule? Clearly PTI.
Its odd that PTI has uploaded form 45s for so many seats online for 2-3 days now but no media or civil society entity has reviewed them to confirm if the PTI claims are correct or not. It is important that they do so to reveal the truth and if PTI claims are correct to generate
There is no concern in Pindi about the impact of the recent 3 fake verdicts against IK on judiciary's standing, extremism and divisiveness in society, pakistan's reputation globally. all they can think of is how to get their target and destroy him completely. What tiny brains,
Pindi owes many more and bigger apologies to the nation and political parties than any politician or party owes to it. first priority is for pindi to apologize for nearly 60 years of atrocities.
Huge dilemma hard core PTI fans face when presented with solid proof of PTI failures. If they respond with abuse, they concede defeat upfront. if they enter into civil discussion, they concede defeat at the end of it. Heads i win, tails u lose!
Can we start a Me too movement of people who have directly been harassed by pindi? judges, bureaucrats, politicians, media, others, all coming forward to share their experiences publicly!
I am no PTI supporter, and in fact was its fierce critic while it ruled. But it is as clear as day light to me that what Pindi is doing to the party is unfair, disgusting and bad for pakistan's already pathetic democratic standards.which are of course bad mainly due to Pindi
PTI's social media team is its nerve center, like the sector commanders & hitmen were for MQM. Dismantle PTI's social media team & pti becomes a ghost of itself, like MQM sans its commanders. this pti nerve center may come under dubious establishment attacks soon.
Pakistan's biggest challenge is to end Pindi's oversized role in areas beyond its core defence function under the supervision of elected govt. Pakistan cannot become a normal country until this happens.
Among 4 reactionary parties produced by pak conservative middle-class, JI is near dead, MQM defanged, TLP quiet at least for moment. Thus PTI is the biggest threat to Pak democracy currently from this reactionary middle-class thinking. Shockingly, only bigger threat are TTP etc.
Strong evidence of political engineering happening in Balochistan and Karachi under Pindi supervision. and then the jerks expect us to be believe they have become neutral!
جہاں تک مُجھے یاد پڑتا ہے چیمہ صاحب آپ وڈیوز کی ایڈیٹنگ نہیں جانتے۔۔ چیف جسٹس قاضی فائز عیسیٰ خود وڈیوز بنا کر بھیجنے سے رہے وہ بھی “یقیناً” ایسا نہیں کررہے تو آپ کو یہ وڈیوز کون اور کس مقصد کے لیے “پروڈیوس/ایڈیٹ” کرکے بھیج رہا ہے؟ مُجھے تو معلوم ہے اِس کا بینفشری کون ہے لیکن میں
Pro-pindi media shamelessly spreading lies that some dissident judges have links with Faiz. lets be very clear-the judges which have the most links with agencies are the big bosses of the two courts on Unconstitutional Avenue, serving the current morons in Pindi. The 6 judges in
I was at Baloch camp to spend time with protesters & saw amazing grit. I talked to Dr. Mahrang Baloch & requested her to transform this precious political energy into a durable mass political platform to defeat pindi parties. They need our moral/financial help whoever can do so.
If ppp has any shame left, it should ask its governor not to sign the Punjab defamation law. Otherwise, it will be complicit to Pml.n autocratic act and its claims about supporting free speech will be deceitful.
PTI contradictions: It is saying ECP cant hear its case bcoz two top ECP posts are vacant. But PTI still wants polls soon. if ECP cant even hear PTI case due to 2 vacancies how will ECP hold polls?? Mind u, the vacancies exist only bcoz PTI didnt fill them!
I have a churriya sitting in the biggest court of the land these days, which is passing on interesting tidbits. It says that in recent seats cases, the 8 judges sent their combined verdict to the big Chief, who flew into a rage upon seeing it and refused to publish it. the 8
Pindi wants to try for sedition & terrorism ppl who stole a peacock from their lahore honcho's palatial house. But it released ehsanullah and hundreds of TTP men which killed thousands of civilians & soldiers & had captured big areas in FATA for yrs to establish a parallel state.
The first full-blown scandal has erupted involving 20 days old Shahbaz Sharif Govt, and one of Pakistan's most prestigious educational institutions, The Aitchison College in Lahore. This debacle stemmed from the actions of Governor Punjab, Beligh ur Rahman, who coerced the
Just a reminder to some. The year now is 2024 and PTI is no longer in power-in fact is now facing huge atrocities. There was a lot wrong with PTI's era but the right time to critique it was 2018-22. V r now in 2024 and Pindi's new partners r ppp/pml-n. It is another hybrid system
I have been calling on major media groups to check forms 45 and inform the public. Mansoor Ali Khan has done it at least for one NA seat and that too for a high profile one of Nawaz vs Yasmin Rashid. his analysis shows massive bungling. "1" added to Nawaz's tally for each form
there is an insect called jonk in urdu; i dont know its english name. but it sticks to the human body & keeps sucking its blood. the human bcums thinner & thinner. the jonk becomes fatter and fatter. Pindi is the jonk on the pak body.
Ok, so here is the complete list. Pindi is currently managing investment, economy, education, training cricket team and now also running NADRA. Any idea who is managing security?
Three seasons why Bangladesh is doing much btr than us. Army is out of politics now. Religion in politics is much less. They have not won a world cup yet!!
Focusing on Shahbaz's workaholism is useless, like ik's honesty. individual personality traits matter less than regime policies & outcomes. SS has worked on project-level with a strong majority in province. working on federal policy issues in a weak coalition is very different
Pakistan could have ended like this if PTI had stayed in power while still dithering on IMF deal. A populist megalomaniac like ik in power in that situation would have been very dangerous.
What a transformation! in 2013, PML-N partnered with nationalist liberal parties like PKMAP and BNP. In 2023, it is partnering with conservative, reactionary, pindi-pawn party BAP. In 2017, PPP had helped create BAP to topple PML-N govt. now BAP is helping N after ditching PPP.
Much mindless talk on treason cases on PTI on Mujib tweet. Mujib was no traitor nor any of long list of politicians accused of being traitors: Fatima J, ZAB, BB, NS, now IK. almost every major politician. Actually, real traitors were the dictraitors who violated constitution.
The main issue now is no longer the reserved seats but the regular seats before election tribunals which they will likely award PTI.
The main adversary is no longer PTI but judiciary which is giving correct decisions.
The main tools to be used against it now may no longer be
If Dar is now going to follow Miftah's policies, why not bring back Miftah? he will be a much more reassuring figure for markets, donors, economists and many people
@ZafarHilaly
pakistan's problems are not due to its illiterate masses but mainly due to its educated and well off elites. stop blaming victims, as with rape victims.
Second prime minister in south Asia to resign in 2 years before public protests. Any lessons for pakistan? Not so sure. In pak, the problem is not civilian dictators but actual dictators who rule thru civilian puppets. Pak needs protests to topple the real dictators and not their
The Punjab defamation Act is a very bad law which will stifle free speech and make govt and agencies unaccountable. Important to condemn it and for rights and media groups to challenge it in court.
PTI is misreading 360 degree mood against it. Masses, major forces within Pak & key external states all want political/eco stability in Pak & dont want the return of PTI's childish misrule realizing how bad it will be for Pak. So PTI can huff & puff all it wants but it cant win.
PML-N and PPP's contrasting ideologies r being well utilized in the new hybrid bootwalas led coalition in practice. as the left-wing party in the alliance, PPP polishes the left boot. As the right-wing party in it, PML-N polishes the right boot. perfect division of labor. no
Military rule is responsible for Pakistan's mess, including the poor quality of civilian rule. Proposing military rule as the solution for this mess is bad like jirgas forcing a rape victim to marry her rapist.
Pak standard governance formula of all parties plus pindi: keep as many elites as much happy as possible; kick as many problems into future as possible , borrow as much money as possible, do as little work as possible. PTI's unique addition to all this: lie as much as possible.
PTI is Pakistan's 1st pan-sectarian religious party. its vague religiosity appeals across sects as it lets ppl fulfill the strong hypocrisy in pak of many middle-class ppl wanting to feel religious without being religious & without having to worry that pti may impose harsh sharia
From charter of democracy to barter of democracy: the two parties that signed a compact for the Charter of Democracy in 2006 have seemingly now ‘signed’ one for the barter of democracy with Pindi to regain power through polls rigged against PTI.
Braveheats.
Isa must not let them down.
Cute Boy your time begins now.
Filming a judge’s bedroom or of anyone else for that matter is punishable.
Meanwhile, terrorists play havoc with lives of Pakistanis/Chinese whike you chill watching home made videos.
Shameful. Unacceptable.
Dynastic politics is truly bad. It means the most qualified person in ppp and pml.n dont become pm and cm. Quick question. Were ik and buzdar the most qualified ppl in pti (which claims to be non.dynastic) for pm and cm? Is dynastic hamza more competent or non.dynastic buzdar?
Economically, politically, socially, externally, security-wise: in every aspect, Pak situation is worsening day by day. anyone having any hope of progress in short or medium term is being naive as there is no change in the root cause of all this: establishment politics
This govt is less than a month old and it is already amply clear that it will be business as usual, anti-reform and elitist, like all previous govts b4 it. Another failed establishment experiment. Only genuine democracy can save pak, and that too not immediately.
The first
in 2006, ppp and pml-n signed Charter of Democracy; in 2023, they have signed Barter of Democracy-to Pindi in return for returning to power for 5 years thru rigged polls.
Pindi has had jail verdict given to ik but has also made sure that the verdict is full of so many problems that it can be easily overturned in future when the time to rehabilitate ik and make him ladla again comes. Much like with NS now, who is set to become dulha ladla for the
not only trials in army courts wrong for may 9, they r wrong even in anti-terrorism courts. may 9 was neither mutiny nor terrorism-it was assault, arson etc.
The important thing to see is not whether it is legal for Maryam to wear police uniforms or not but whether the PML-N govts in Punjab and Center themselves are legal.
Atrocious and contradictory Isa logics:
Logic 1. SIC cannot get reserved seats as it did not contest elections
Logic 2. Why did PTI independents not join PTI after polls? If they had, PTI could get reserved seats.
My lord, but PTI also did not/was not allowed to contest elections
The only thing missing from today's verdict is that it does not call the January 13 bat decision wrong. It just says that ECP misinterpreted it by excluding PTI totally from elections. Not sure if that is so. I think ECP correctly interpreted that the SC led by Isa wanted Pti
Watching ik on tv. Must say he sounds so convincing, passionate, sincere to simple minded ppl who cannot see thru lies, hypocrisy and contradictions easily. No wonder so many conservative middle.class ppl fall for him.
Pindi was very weak & isolated after VONC & govt had a golden chance to clip its wings & push it back into the barracks. instead they chose to lick its boots & gave it a chance to recover and exceed its previous powers. history will not look kindly at the govt parties for this.
@ejazhaider
@narendramodi
Asking universities to move to another country just bcoz one doesnt like the topic of an event reflects the same intolerant mentality that is driving the crackdown on intellectual freedom in india
Back at Baloch camp in ISB today. Great to see there is no reduction in the determination of people despite the rough conditions and the harrassment by police yesterday. Its only such grit and mass mobilisation that can bring genuine change.
No. he should not resign. he should write an official letter to NA speaker that these bills have forged signature; file FIA cases against forgers and fire them. and make sure that bills r treated as unsigned/go to court if necessary.
That is why he should resign; under a system where the President and Prime Minister are only dummies, a man of conscience should not continue in office. If he lacks power and authority, he should gracefully resign his office.
There is no clause in constitution or Election Act saying that ECP can take away party symbol if party polls r not proper. in fact even what proper party polls means is not properly defined in constitution or Election Act. it is totally arbitrary act of ECP to take away symbols.
pity that ppl with long struggle for democracy like Asma Shirazi r now focusing on these petty details rather than the overall and most critical issue that these r evil laws which must be struck down. Alvi's even half-hearted u-turn gives a chance to try to do so thru courts.
صدر عارف علوی کی ٹوئیٹ کا مقتدر ادارے بغور جائزہ لے رہے ہیں کہ انہوں نے کس طرح ایک نئیوکلر سٹیٹ کے امیج کو اپنی ذاتی انا کی بھینٹ چڑھا دیا ۔
@asmashirazi
The immediate problems in different parts of country may be different-disappearances in Balochistan, inflation in Kashmir, terrorism in KP, what prices in Punjab and Sindh and constitutional vaccum in GB. But the underlying causes r the same-elite state led by pindi. it is
There should be a complete ban on the practice of military establishment getting involved in business activities via supposed welfare aims or directly. military business interests are one of the many reasons driving the military's desire to control politics.
August 14, 1947 Pakistan free
August 15, 1947 india free
August 22, 2023 Pakistan struggles whole day to release 8 kids stuck in lift
August 23, 2023 India lands on the moon!
BB: jailed for yrs by Zia; exiled twice; father/2 brothers murdered; her govt fired wrongly twice; husband jailed for 10 yrs without trial/conviction. finally murdered herself. And ik has the nerve to talk of his 25 yrs political struggles!! can we have his list of struggles?
PDM has flunked big time on economy like PTI. But PTI flunked big in foreign security political and social spheres too. PDM is lesser evil in these areas. But neither is good enuf. One must consider smaller leftist parties seriously instead of these two.
Athar Minallah and Mansoor Shah are showing more concern about the issues in the letter. Isa is being defensive and showing little concern about the issues
This is a good step. polls must be held within 90 days as per constitutional requirement. no excuses based on delimitation. that is not a constitutional requirement.
ok-so it seems IK has two more bails to win before he can be out: iddat and cipher. Both are in IHC which is in a fiercely independent mode these days. So he may be out soon unless pindi does something drastic. He should be out as the cases are all fake. That is easy to see even
Israel is by far the main aggressor in that conflict & has committed horrendous abuses on Palestinians 4 long. But Hamas's attack today will just give Israel more ammo to commit more & bigger abuses on Gazans. Hamas cant win. Peaceful struggle is the right way in that conflict.
Ideological politics is dead. Stagnant patronage (PML/PPP) is now our main political form, vacuous populism (PTI) its main challenger, religious extremist politics (TLP) main wild card, and terrorist politics (TTP/BLA) the main spoiler, all due to Pindi. .
There's the good PPP & bad PPP. good PPP led by intellectual wing ppl like Rabbani, sherry, Hina etc gives good legislation, social programs & good external ties. Bad PPP led by the thuggish Zardari wing does the corruption, misrule & abuse. Bad PPP dominates, so i dont vote ppp.
there are protests, conflicts and fires burning in all regions of pakistan: the four provinces, GB and "Azad" Kashmir, all due to autocracy and heavy handedness driven mainly by Pindi.
Two types of ppl support pti
One those whose knowledge is largely only from social media, low quality tv shows & social gossip. Second those who have btr knowlege ignore it due to direct/indirect monetary benefits issues. Its not possible to support pti for any good 3rd reason.
any time u see someone using words like "chor, daku, lutaray, looti hui daulat, honest and sincere leader" u can safely assume that the person's knowledge about Pak economy and politics is near-zero.
Nawaz was fired wrongly. Pti was installed by rigging but removed legitimately, while it resisted illegitimately. Yet large sections of our educated middle-class r protesting the one legitimate act while supporting the 3 illegitimate ones. Shows how little they value rule of law.
Since 2000, Pakistan has absorbed billions of dollars of first US aid under Afghan war and Kerry Lugar funds and then Chinese billions under CPEC. Yet, it is now near economic collapse. It is now gearing to attract billions from a 3rd set of client states. the fate will be same.
Edifice of hybrid regime built in 2016 rapidly crumbling. IK out, Dar back, Maryam free, Nawaz soon, Big B to retire in Nov. F out of big post. Pak needs a new start where Pindi is out of politics & no politician is disqualified via false cases, incl IK. Defeat him politically
Likely Dar "grand" plan: Borrow/build $ reserves fast; spend big/cut fuel prices b4 polls even if it suspends IMF prg hoping reserves last; win poll & restart IMF prg. like fielders throw ball in air b4 going over boundary rope & then come back to recatch it. lets see if it works
The way MQM destroyed one generation of Mohajir youth by getting them into violence, PTI is doing Pak-wide by getting youth into verbal violence and abuse and devoid of intelligent discourse.
@AVeteran1956
So why did serving general give money to workers of a foreign created, treasonous group? Isnt that treason itself? Why did pm condole the death of its leader? Pls talk sense
Bad choice for PM. Kakar is close to pindi and is an active member of a party that will be competing in the next elections. he doesnt bring much to the table on economy, security, foreign affairs and is not even a political heavy weight. clearly the establishment got its wish.
Current crackdown on PTI exceeds anything i remember in decades under a civilian govt in terms of: i) number of ppl arrested, ii) forced to change loyalties iii) plans to political workers try in army courts, in such a short time. PTI is bad, now pdm is being worse. Shameful.
Politicians should smell coffee & realize pindi is entrenching itself fully. There is an urgent need for PML-N, PPP, PTI & other main parties to join hands to confront pindi & put it back in its legal domain.
QI's path is so strikingly similar to Iftikhar Chaudhry now--looked good initially, hounded by pindi, supported by lawyer fraternity and saved from firing; only to come back and be a huge disaster
Karachi is our biggest, most globally connected, most economically dynamic and highly literate city. yet look at its political choices: MQM, JI, PTI and TLP!
Noon/PPP-How's life-as pindi new puppets? how does it feel to be bigger boot polishers/lickers than PTI? what's the div of labor? who does left boot, right boot? feel any sharam or all dead? do they loosen leash a bit at night? Do write in detail how u like ur newfound (low)life!
Esa can't fix pak nor should he try to. but if he can fix SC & inject institutionalization there visibly, it will generate public pressure on other institutions to be institutionalized & accountable. The way this country is broken today- isa is huge boost for repairing it slowly.
Actual blame assignment for bills fiasco:
70%-Pindi for demanding such laws;
20%-PDM govt for passing them.
15%-interim govt for assuming deemed assent unconstitutionally & hastily;
5%-Alvi for not saying no clearly.
Blame assignment in some media circles: 100% alvi!