By Burhanuddin Hasan

A retired brigadier who was an unknown IB chief in 1992 suddenly appeared on the television and started spilling the beans about top secret information on the Jinnahpur scandal, formation of a political party named IJI by ISI, doling out of slush money to important political leaders to help overthrow Benazir’s government and pave the way for Mian Nawaz Sharif to win the election from IJI platform and the funds provided by ISI.

Brigadier (retd) Imtiaz became an overnight sensation and a star of prime time TV talk shows. He disclosed that the IJI plot was hatched by ISI under the guidance of the retired Army Chief Mirza Aslam Beg who secured an amount of Rs 15 crore from Mehran Bank managed by a known corrupt banker Younus Habib to create a slush fund to bribe influential politicians. He also disclosed the names of these politicians.

President Ghulam Ishaq Khan, who was annoyed by Benazir for various reasons, was also instrumental in the creation of IJI and Nawaz Sharif’s victory in the 1990 election.

It may be recalled that the second round of musical chairs, began when Mian Nawaz Sharif, the then Chief Minister of Punjab emerged victorious in the general elections held in November 1990. He had won a majority of the seats in the National Assembly to form a strong government and was hopefully expected to complete his five year term in office, but providence willed otherwise.

President Ishaq Khan addressed the joint sitting of the Parliament in December 1991. Sitting on the opposition benches Ms Bhutto, who had been badly mauled by the president only three months ago, was fuming with anger and poised to attack. As soon as the president stood up to speak, she and her party members launched a venomous attack against the president thumping the desks and shouting slogans, “Go Baba Go.” The president who had never before been subjected to such insults and humiliation in full view of the diplomatic corps and the national and international media, and in fact the entire nation, as his speech was being telecasted live on the national network, withstood the onslaught with courage for some time, but then he cracked up and started fumbling. Though all the microphones except the president’s were switched off the insulting slogans by the opposition were quite audible to the viewers. Nevertheless, he continued reading his speech till the finish.

Once again the slogan “Go Baba Go” was heard nine years later on March 11, 1999. In protest Ms Benazir made a parallel speech throughout President Rafiq Ahmed Tarar’s address to the joint sitting of Parliament while her party members continued shouting and hurling insults at the president. PTV showed this outrage live not only in Pakistan but in more than 37 countries around the world. Nobody could make out what the president or the leader of the opposition was saying, but everybody could see democracy being disgraced in the most disgusting theatrical demonstration by front rank political leaders. Ghulam Ishaq Khan was lucky to have escaped humiliation only after half an hour, but poor Rafiq Tarar had to suffer throughout his long rambling speech.

Then Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif had described the behaviour of the Leader of the Opposition as “undemocratic and immoral.” But only a few years after when he was in opposition, he and his followers did almost the same thing to humiliate ex-President Farooq Ahmad Khan Leghari with the added attraction of displaying banners and placards with anti-Leghari slogans all over the floor of the National Assembly.

So much for the democratic behaviour of Pakistan’s political leaders! Soon after the disclosure of Jinnahpur scandal, MQM chief Altaf Hussain in a tear jerking speech from London held Nawaz Sharif responsible for the military operation against Mohajirs in 1992 in which 15,000 innocent people were killed. He, however, did not mention the judicial killings of Mohajirs in 1993 and the Pakka Qila operation in Hyderabad to dislodge their families.

Nawaz Sharif’s spokesman, however, denied that anti-Mohajir operation was ordered by the prime minister. Having made a lame and rather damaging excuse that the operation was launched by the Army Chief Late General Asif Nawaz without the knowledge of the prime minister. Some observers believe that to open the Pandora’s Box against Nawaz Sharif was specifically designed to damage the popularity that he had gained after his successful long march in order to restore CJ Iftikhar Chaudhry and other judges of the apex court which were deposed by former President Musharraf. Sharif’s spokesman indirectly blamed that the government circles were behind the revelations made by Brig (retd) Imtiaz. They gave a 12 hour ultimatum to the concerned quarters to prove Brig (retd) Imtiaz’s charges but better sense prevailed and Mian Nawaz Sharif ignored the allegations. Sharif also promised unconditional support to the government provided it agreed to scrap the 17th Amendment and try General (retd) Musharraf for breaching the constitution.

In short, there is no doubt that most of our politicians and some military personnel are responsible for bringing Pakistan to the abyss where it stands today.

One also hopes that media would use its freedom judiciously in projecting the damaging revelations made by doubtful characters, off and on.

(The writer is former news director, PTV. E-mail: burhanhasan@hotmail.com)

{Source: The Nation}

By Kamila Hyat

Judging by the television talk shows, the newspaper columns and discussions on the street, plenty is happening on the political scene.

The issue of the trial of former president Musharraf, the demand from Mian Nawaz Sharif that it be conducted, the sugar scam, a new row between the Punjab Chief Minister and the provincial Governor, the conjecture of a split between the presidency and the Prime Minister’s office and even the question of a successor for Baitullah Mehsud figure almost daily in the debate. So too do questions such as that of the rental power projects or the future of the local bodies.

Most of these, perhaps all, have a degree of relevance. The matter of Musharraf’s trial extends beyond the immediate and possibly into the future. It could play a part in determining what forces dominate events over the coming years and whether a history of military interventions can give way to an uninterrupted experiment with democracy. The power issue too could play a big part in determining if public disgust with the incumbent government can be turned around. A growing number believe it is already too late for this to happen. For the present, it is apparent that people are fed-up, and just over a year and a half into the tenure of the PPP government are already looking for change. This, of course, is dangerous. The presence of such sentiment has paved the way for illegal interventions in the past; that could happen again.

While there is plenty of grounds on which to criticise the government, one must also accept that tackling the huge collection of problems we face as a nation is a Herculean task. Indeed there is reason to believe Hercules himself may have failed in the task. He is fortunate that it was not among the 12 labours he was assigned. Even hypothetically speaking, it is hard to say how problems can be resolved. But despite this, headway has indeed been made in some realms of national life.

The operation in northern areas is one of these; the extension of the Political Parties Act of 2000 to the tribal areas another. Just a few months ago, there was talk of the Taliban attempting to take Islamabad. For the moment, and for the first time in years, they seem to be a defeated force facing the possibility of disintegration. Media professionals – as has consistently been the case under PPP governments – report a distinct lessening in pressure and intimidation and so far, the temptation to crackdown against some has been resisted. There have been determined efforts to patch up relations with India and insiders say there is a genuine will to deal with groups such as the resurgent Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan, even if there seems to be some degree of confusion on how to go about this.

But the fact, too, is that over the last 18 months, people’s lives have grown tougher almost by the day. The price of almost every commodity has risen; many ordinary citizens struggle harder than ever before to survive. Despite the efforts of an unusually committed DG health to put in place a new healthcare policy and introduce other reform, there has been little immediate success in improving people’s access to basic services. This too is inevitable — change cannot perhaps be expected overnight. But the problem is that people have waited far too long and patience is now running out.

There is a sense that we are riding a train that will arrive nowhere and is indeed hurtling along without a destination in sight. Many feel the absence of any sense of direction; of any notion that our political leaders possess a map and are following it to arrive at a definite place. Instead, there is a sense of drift and of the chaos that often comes when there is no purpose and agenda. Certainly, the interests of people do not seem to figure anywhere in the plan and their distance from government has been steadily growing for months.

We have seen similar disillusionment and disgruntlement in the past. The excitement that marked the election of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto in 1970 or that of his daughter in 1988 has long faded. To remind ourselves of what it was all about it is necessary to look beyond our borders and over the Durand Line into Afghanistan. Here, as Hamid Karzai and his closest rival Abdullah Abdullah wait to enter in to what could be a run-off, the infatuation with democracy that we once saw has been evident. The expression of diverse views in the run-up to the poll, the enthusiastic coverage by a vibrant media of the rallies and meeting and involvement of ordinary people everywhere in the exercise suggests that the process of balloting and choosing leaders through the vote could play a key role in leading Afghanistan away from its violent past. This would indeed be a triumph for democracy. We must hope that some of the zest will spill out and influence other nations in the region – including Pakistan.

As the need to put Musharraf in the dock in order to protect democracy continues to be debated, political leaders need to realise that while this is significant, it is also vital that the goodwill of people not be lost. Eventually, people can protect democracy and all that it stands for far more effectively than any other force. But to do so, they must be convinced they themselves play some part in it and in the process of decision-making. At present, there is a sense of exclusion and a deep-rooted belief that leaders care only for themselves and not for those who voted them in. Accounts of grotesque corruption can be heard everywhere. It is impossible to say if these are entirely accurate. But people believe the stories and this perception is, in many ways, even more important than the reality.

If only to protect themselves and the democratic system that brought them to power, our political leaders need to demonstrate greater sagacity. They must sketch out before people a plan of the actions they intend to take, of the goals they hope to reach and how they intend to get to them. The elaborate, and impossible, promises of election campaigns are not needed. People indeed have learnt already that such words mean nothing at all. It is true that their dreams are modest – and in many cases consist of little more than access to the most basic of human needs, to some hope of social justice and to opportunities for their children, if not themselves, in the future. The government must make it a priority to ensure that some of these dreams can be met – and the gap between it and the citizens narrowed. Otherwise, no matter what happens on other fronts, we will have even less possibility of sustained democracy and stability over the coming months than we have now.

(The writer is a freelance columnist and former newspaper editor Email: kamilahyat@hotmail.com)

{Source: The News}

Editorial The News

The news report about the acquisition of a pair of Siberian white tigers by Suleiman Sharif, the younger son of the Punjab chief minister, is disturbing. The tigers rank among the world’s endangered species and their export is banned under international conservation regulations. It appears that the young Sharif – who apparently wishes to house the animals at the family estate on Raiwind Road in Lahore – is an enthusiast who has established a kind of zoo at the farm house.

But of course conditions there are unfit for so rare a species, which needs a different climate, expert care and plenty of space. It is hard to see the inhabitants of Siberia faring well in the heat and humidity of Lahore, even if cooling arrangements have been made. The fact too is that conservation rules exist to protect the biodiversity of our planet, rather than the welfare of animals at risk of extinction alone, and should for these reasons not be ignored. It is obvious influence was used to bring the beasts into the country and to bypass laws in this respect.

We must demand the issue be investigated. The PML-N has taken a hard-line on wrong doings committed by its members. Some have been forced out of the party.

This of course is something to be welcomed. But the same principles must be applied across the board, even when they involve members of the Sharif family itself.

So far, Suleiman Sharif has declined to comment on the tiger business, even though the story has broken in the media. He needs to offer an explanation. What is even more important is that the wellbeing of animals be safeguarded.

There continued survival is far more important than gratifying personal whim. Our own wildlife authorities too need to intervene and ensure the matter is dealt with as per the laws of the land.

-(Source: The News)-