Amidst Democracy

By Engr. Hadeed A Sher

* Based on published interviews, books and news reports.

Prior to October 12, the most flabbergasting issue floating on the political surface of Pakistan was the Kargil fiasco. A lot has been written on the Kargil fiasco and despite the fact that during the Kargil misadventure it was Mian Nawaz Sharif who was held responsible for the "defeat" of Pak army.  Later on, after few years, when the dust settled it was revealed that Gen Musharraf and his triumvirate was responsible for the deaths of thousand of Pakistani soldiers across the LoC. The inane operation in the mountains of Kargil however, created a lot of misunderstanding between the bloody civilian government and the pious military clan.

In late September '99 Mian Nawaz Sharif went to Quetta on a visit where senior officials welcomed him. Among those officials was the corps commander of the  XII corps of Pakistan Army, Lt. Gen. Tariq Parvaiz. Gen Tariq Parvaiz was the cousin of the PM's cabinet member and it was made famous that he requested to meet the PM while his stay in Quetta. According to the interview of PM Nawaz Sharif, conducted a few years later, Mian Nawaz Sharif categorically denied that he never met Gen Tariq Parvaiz that day but the CoAS Gen Musharraf forced resigned the Lt. Gen Tariq Parvaiz on account of meeting the PM without his approval. While doing so Gen Musharraf forget how he met the PM on a single call from the PM house in Oct 1998, that too without getting approval from the army chief. It was evident that a tension is going on between the premier office and the GHQ. Parvaiz Musharraf also transferred the Corps Commander Mangla Lt. Gen Saleem Haider on the charges of leaking the information of corps commander meeting to the PM. News reports tells us that Mian Nawaz Sharif felt embarrassed on the press release about the cause of retirement of Lt. Gen Tariq Parvaiz. According to an interview, later published in a book "The Traitor Within", Mian Nawaz Sharif said that it was an insult of the democratically elected PM of Pakistan, after all Tariq Parvaiz in Quetta, if it is considered true, met the Pakistani PM not the Indian". Later the PM was told that an official negation will be published in the national newspapers about this issue. But it never happened since, Gen Musharraf left for Siri Lanka the next day. The CoGS Lt.Gen. Saaed ul Zafar tricked the Sec. Defense Lt. Gen (R) Iftikhar by saying that he is not in contact with the CoAS. It should be kept in mind that according to the PM Nawaz Sharif, Gen Musharraf use to abuse him in private meeting and two months prior to Oct'99 , in a meeting he said about PM that I will Sort this bastard out.

The issue of sacking the Chairman NADRA Tariq Malik is circulating in the political circles of Pakistan nowadays. Three days before, at mid night a news waved across the country about the dismissal of Tariq Malik (Later reinstated by the IHC). According to the news reporters he was threatened and pressurized by the Punjab law Minister for a possible voter verification in NA 118, Lahore.  This news has some lessons to learn particularly for the ruling PMLN and generally by all the political parties inside and outside the power corridors.

The very first reaction of the removal of Tariq Malik was amplified because of a government which is lacking an active Information Minister. The social media which always looks for catchy stories, at the drop of the hat, started bashing the PMLN government. The issue of Tariq Malik was the nation wide top trend on twitter, soon after the news erupted and all the PTI supporters joined the bandwagon to "curse" PMLN. The absence of information minister from the scene was similar to the Kargil crisis when after the meeting of PM Nawaz Sharif and US President Bill Clinton, the proprietors of dreams to capture Srinagar opened their mouth guns on Mian Nawaz Sharif. The issue of Tariq Malik, however, was portrayed like he was the one who was about to expose the "rigging" of GE'13, which otherwise were declared justified by neutral international observers. PTI who is constantly alleging its defeat in GE'13 as part of a "big game" cashed the situation and circulated that the chairman NADRA is an upright person and that he was not willing to surrender before the "unconstitutional pressure" of PMLN. They claimed that this person was going to unveil the "massive rigging" in Punjab, where PTI was literally knocked down despite the financial investments of Aleem Khan (EOBI scandal) and the Jahangir Tareen (The Sugar Mafia). Tariq Malik consulted the Islamabad High Court the very next day where he was reinstated by the court in the first hearing (Courts however never liked such rapid actions by the national assembly). As a counter measure the federal government filed a case in Supreme court of Pakistan, thus challenging the decision by the Islamabad High Court. Later on after the debates inside the National Assembly the minister In-charge of Interior Affairs Ch Nisar Ali Khan came to the house and presented the curious case of Tariq Malik. The speech of Ch Nisar had such information that the case of Tariq Malik turned out to be a real can of worms.

The first lesson in this story is that never believe on the glitters of our media for false political mileage. The shallow work of our media once again exposed badly in this saga. After proving Tariq Malik the hero standing in between the "dictatorial PMLN" and Pakistan, the very next day media came to know that actually Tariq Malik was a political gimmick and was appointed to this sensitive post just because of his close relationships with the PPP mainstream leadership. Just in one day our so called "investigative" journalist portrayed their shallow depth of work. Therefore everything these "investigative" journalists say, we must take with a pinch of salt.

The second lesson hidden in this issue is the timing. I mean how bizarre and suspicious it looks when late night orders are given to fire a person who is Chairman of a sensitive organization. Back in 1999, it was the same issue of timing when instead of waiting Gen Mushrraf to come back to Pakistan, he was fired midst Colombo-Karachi Flight (That issue was highlighted time and again as a proof of military coup). I am unable to understand that what would have happened if the issue of Tariq Malik was resolved during the daylight. It happened many times that PMLN was right in the case but the mistiming backfired and they were bashed by the media. For the military coup and KARGIL crisis the issue turned in favor of Mian Nawaz Sharif almost after 6 years. Luckily the issue of Tariq Malik is quite known to the people within a weak, although the "naive" information Ministry cut short the broadcasting of speech by an important member of federal cabinet. Hopefully the issue will be amicably resolved in the next few days and will be taken as a lesson that in this Pakistan the late night jackals type actions will never by welcomed by anyone.

تحرير: عامر نواز خان*

پاکستان میں جمہوریت کو پنپنے میں ایک عرصہ لگا۔ ایوب خان کے طویل آمرانہ دور حکومت سے لوگ اکتا گئے۔ ایسے میں ذوالفقارعلی بھٹو میدان میں آئے اور جمہوریت کا علم بلند کیا۔ سانحہ مشرقی پاکستان میں کیا ہوا اور کون سے عناصر ملوث تھے یہ ایک الگ بحث ہے مگر بھٹو نے عالمی سطح پر پاکستان کے وقار میں اضافہ کیا۔ ملک میں صنعتوں کا جال بچھایا گیا۔ عالمی اسلامی کانفرس منعقد ہوئی۔ ایٹمی پروگرام انہی کے زمانے میں شروع ہوا۔ بدقسمتی سے ذوالفقارعلی بھٹو سے کچھ سنگین غلطیاں ہوئیں جسکا فائدہ انکے مخالفین نے اٹھایا۔ نظام مصطفیٰ کا نعرہ لگا کردوبارہ ایک آمر کا راستہ ہموار کیا گیا جنہوں نے میرے عزیز ہم وطنو کی آڑ میں پاکستان کو ایک ایسی دلدل میں دکھیل دیا جسکا خمیازہ ہم آج تک بھگت رہے ہیں۔

جمہوری طاقتوں کا دوسرا دور ٨٠ کی دہائی سے شروع ہوتا ہے۔ محترمہ بینظیر بھٹو ١٩٨٦ میں پاکستان واپس تشریف لائیں۔ اس زمانے میں میاں نواز شریف پنجاب سے ابھرتے ہوئے سیاستدان تھے۔ چونکہ دونوں اس وقت عالم شباب میں تھے اور سیاسی ناپختگی کی وجہ سے ایک دوسرے کیخلاف استعمال ہوئے۔ بینظیر کو یہ باور کرایا گیا کہ آپ بھٹو شہید کی سیاسی وارث ہیں اور اقتدار کی اصل مستحق جب کہ نواز شریف کو یہ تاثر دیا گیا کہ آپ پنجاب سے ابھرتے ہوئے پہلے رہنما ہیں۔ یہی وہ وقت تھا جب دونوں رہنماؤں کو مل کر جمہوریت کے لیےکام کرنا چاہیے تھا مگر افسوس ایسا نہ ہوسکا۔ اس وقت خفیہ اداروں میں چھپی کالی بھیڑوں نے نواز شریف کو بینظیر کیخلاف استعمال کیا۔ ٨٠ اور ٩٠ کی دہائی میں ایک دوسرے کے  خلاف محاز آرائی اور پے درپے واقعات کے بعد دونوں رہنماؤں کو اپنی غلطیوں کا احساس ہوا اور اسکا ازالہ میثاق جمہوریت سے کیا گیا۔

*پہلے یہاں شائع ہوا 

http://bit.ly/1blW6pL

Written by Hadeed Ahmed Sher

So if your bomb isn't lethal enough, and the weight to kill ratio of your indigenous bomb is low then here are Pakistani media standing right beside you to help you out. No wonder how pathetic is your design, even if you use the techniques used in fireworks, we bet our guidance will boost the lethality of your thussss bomb.. All you need is to continuously tune in and watch the Pakistani EXPERT media right after a bomb blast. Alternatively you can read newspapers where the explosives experts of police, in trying to get coverage in national media, explain in detail all the investigation process. However, there is a third way, Yes! You can purchase this Rs 10 guide which has all the solutions to your illness. Kill innocent people with the small but effective bomb. So here we go.

We know that before the start of the Afghan War, the knowledge of how making effective time exploding devices was almost at zero level. It was the "blessing" of Gen. Mushraaf who introduced the astable private media channels. The main income source of these media channels is based on suspense and in winning the rat race of "Breaking News". In trying to do so, they blatantly spread information on how agencies investigate and what caused the damage so high. This leakage of investigation methods is a direct help to the terrorists and banned outfits in the country. Interestingly our media gurus feign to be omniscient but fail to recognize this important aspect. These organizations may not have a central unit for Technology Transfer but our media is efficiently working for their cause by spreading all the necessary information via live footages and interviews.

Before the advent of private electronic media in Pakistan , ball bearing was used only in the shops of lathe machines and in the maintenance of machines. It happened one day that people were told that if these ball bearings are used in a bomb it can devastatingly increase the casualties. The stupidity of media not stopped here but continued as they informed us further that the size of ball bearings matter and when the bomb explodes they burst with the supersonic speed and goes into the eyes, ears, nose and can cause the death of a person. So this tip was effectively used  by the terrorists and caused a lot of damage.

It is also worth explaining here in this Rs10 guide that the use of iron nails can further enhance the capabilities of a bomb. I mean what the hell is wrong with this media... Why on earth we as a NATION or they as an AGENT wants to propagate the techniques or composition of a lethal BOMB. Damn it !! Tell us the information where the heck they are from, LOUD AND CLEAR in a MANLY way doesn't like that they are from a "Banned OUTFIT". This nation is more INTERESTED in getting to know who is their real enemy and media should name the enemy without trepidation. They want to hear the death tolls and about the damage state has incurred with these attacks. NOT WHY THE DEMAGE IS HIGH....

During the time Gen Mushrraf was crushing the State of PAKISTAN under his heavy boots, he was targeted in a planted bomb attack in Jhanda Cheechi Bridge Rawalpindi. The investigative method was kept secret, until those who were involved in that attack were arrested. Months later, when the dictator of Pakistan revealed his book entitled "In the Line of FIRE" aka "سب سے پہلے پاکستان " the investigation procedure was narrated in that book. At first sight it seems to be an impressive effort in reaching to the mastermind of that attack, but if we stop here and think of a while the question is HOW MANY ADDITIONAL COPIES OF THE BOOK WERE SOLD DUE TO THIS SAGA OF THRILL AND ADVENTURE. Perhaps a few dozen or maybe a few hundred. But the impact was shocking. That package was of vital importance for the extremists and years later it was seen that the terrorists involved in an attack on SRILANKAN cricket team used not only different SIMs but also different Mobile sets to avoid detection by the security agencies. The same day again to win the race of breaking news our media told the whole world that the cricketers were brought in a helicopter and showed the helicopter flying. It was a miracle that the terrorist does not have the RPG else they could have used that to shoot down the copter..

The nonsense media continued their stupidity during the rescue operation carried out by Balochistan Police and Frontier Constabulary (FC) after the terrorists took charge of the Bolan Medical college. The media teams of various TV channels showed the sniper positions of the forces. But in order to tell the people that how daring and careful they are, they announced that the footage of live ACTION is not live but delayed. I WISH I could tell these idiots that even then you cannot show the positions of the security forces.

So guys if your bomb isn't lethal enough, and the weight to kill ratio of your indigenous bomb is low then here are Pakistani media standing right beside you to help you out. I am sure that you too are discombobulated with the devious behavior of media on matters of national interest. Instead of spreading ribald stories media should address the situation more maturely else they will soon find themselves bereft of people's support. Media as a stop one solution must repress their boundless high spirits of "breaking news" especially in case of a suicidal attack or a law and order situation.

This violent attack on the judiciary was so shocking that it acted as a cistern of anti Mushraf movement. The democratic forces of the country put hands in hands with the bar associations and councils of the country and a massive movement was erupted on the streets across the country. The pressure within the army ranks forced Gen Mushraff to hand over the commanding stick to Gen Ashfaq Parvaiz Kiani. It was clearly seen that Gen. Musharraf cannot bear the pressure anymore and will step down as the President. On May 12, 2007 amidst movement to restore the judiciary, riots erupted in the financial capital of Pakistan, Karachi. During those riots dozens of vehicles were burnt, hundred of people were wounded, killed and arrested most of them were political workers of opposition parties. The same night the self conceited person sitting in the presidency called it a SHOW OF PEOPLE’s POWER. Later on during the election campaign the chairperson of Pakistan People’s Party was killed in a bomb blast in Rawalpindi. After the elections 2008, Gen Mushrraf resigned and left the country.

During his stay in London, he formed a new political party and named it All Pakistan Muslim League and announced that he will return to Pakistan before general elections. However, he was nominated in several high profile cases including the gruesome assassination of Former Governor and CM Balauchistan Nawab Akbar Bughti. He was disqualified for the elections and later on house arrested for legal cases filed against him.

On 24th of June 2013, the newly elected Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif announced in the National Assembly that Musharraf will be tried under article 6 of the constitution of Pakistan for violating and abrogating the constitution twice. This policy statement was widely hailed by the democratic forces present inside and outside the National Assembly.

Not many would have bet that Prime Minister Of Pakistan would announce to invoke Article 6 against Dictator Mushraf but yes miracles do happen and dreams do come true. Pakistan seemed to have detracted from the Quaid vision of "Civilian Supremacy" and a country where civilian will take the driving seat, take key decisions on interior and foreign policy but alas down the road we lost that dream and "State" became a ping pong between "Dictatorship and Democracy". Dictators ruling the country in the name of larger interest and indirectly meddling in civilian matters even when they were not in power, end result Pakistan State heading towards economic bankruptcy, Sectarian chaos, Institutional collapse and breeding ground for terrorist activities..

It's a fact intermittent "Coups" and hatching conspiracies against civilian rules caused lots of damage to the state, only one Institution was able to prosper and stand on its own was "Pakistan Armed Forces" and I think that's where they remained successful and able to rule because of their superior institutional depth and resources available to them. They were able to manipulate the system and turn horrendous acts like "Kargil" in their favor and hence were able to sent packing a sitting Prime Minister who won by 2/3 majority. Sitting Prime Ministers were jailed, hanged and exiled, literally leaving a black dot on Pakistani history. 

But miracles do happen and history took a new turn, Judiciary historically worked as a subordinate institution to establishment and validated their illegal acts, hanging one sitting Prime Ministers and Life imprisonment to the other on orders of their masters, found a new lease of life when "Justice Iftikhar Ch" took over as "Chief Justice Of Pakistan" and started making few independent decisions in dictatorial regime, threatened by his powers, Dictator threatened him and asked him to resign from his post, Iftikhar Ch for once wrote his name in Pakistan's Judicial History with stood the pressure and said no to Dictator, starting the beginning of a new struggle, ending in historic long March and his reinstatement, importantly laying foundation of a judicial institution.

Secondly Credit must be given to "Nawaz Sharif", standing by the judiciary and leading that historic "Long March" ending in Judges Reinstatement. But he didn't stop here, remained very vocal about Democratic values and his commitment to Parliament as an institution. He was the sole reason "Zardari Regime" was able to complete their term because he was very clear in his mind that people of Pakistan trusted PPP and voted them to power, his popularity which skyrocketed after Long March, took a big hit and allowed Imran Khan PTI to emerge as a force. But Nawaz Sharif believed in people's wisdom, turned down every opportunity to topple Zardari Regime unconstitutionally and unlawfully, stuck to the Democratic and Parliamentary norms, acted as a Statesman, in the end he was proved right, his perseverance with Democracy, trust in the people of Pakistan paid, was elected by simple majority by people of Pakistan and literally wiped off PPP from Pakistan and restricting them to a regional party.

Pakistan Print Media and Social Media acted as a rumor factory, many senior and renowned journalists talked about NRO 2, many political activists started promoting the idea that Nawaz Sharif winning of GE was part of the deal and giving Mushraf's safe passage was mandatory according to that deal. Columns written and stories were broken on a daily basis in print and Social Media, whispers were heard about electronic Media as well. This was more or less the same group who was declaring 2013 GE rigged ones and finding excuses for their disastrous predictions regarding Polls despite every survey declaring PMLN front runner with PTI a force as well but still a long way from getting a simple majority. Unfortunately people were bombarded with "Tsunami" rhetoric's to such an extent that PTI voters believed in PTI victory, their emergence as the second biggest party in elections was not enough for their young and exuberant supporters because they were told all along about the Tsunami and the clean sweep. PMLN won the GE and one started to hear NRO 2 again, daily rumors of Mushraf leaving the country, stories of "Saudis and Americans" breaking the deal but in the mean while Courts kept on doing their job and it was a business as usual. Nawaz Sharif kept his cards close to his chest until the Supreme Court during the hearing asked the then Care taker rulers about their position on Article 6 and imposition of emergency on 3rd November but Care Takers remained mum and elected Government had to take the decision. Nawaz Sharif stunned everybody and announced to invoke Article 6 against the Dictator, puncturing rumors of NRO 2, impressing everyone with his decisions and wisdom.

Now let us come to the very important point why on earth Mushraf left a peaceful self exiled life in the UK and came back. There are two reasons, he was fed wrongly that he was very popular, his Facebook got a million likes and thousands add to daily. Secondly he was of the view that current Establishment will bail him out and he be allowed to contest Elections, his Face book likes will materialise into a big victory, despite the fact that current Military Regime led by General Kiyani asked him many a times to stay away from Pakistan but General Mushraf seems to be an arrogant man, as I still remember his famous saying "Mein Aik Commando Hoon, Mein Darta Werta Kisi Sey Nahi Hoon", another saying "Those who haven't taken the Oath are no more judges of Supreme Court and High Court", rubbishing all the warnings and coming back, infect threatening Establishment that if he was not protected he will name many and Military as an Institution will pay the price of his wrong doings, his Lawyers are already talking about opening up a Pandora's Box by invoking Article 6 against Mushraf as many will go down with Mushraf.

Now one should hope and pray that the Establishment will take it as an act of one individual, think in the larger interest of the country. General Kiyani seems to have learned a lot and under his Command things have definitely taken a turn and moving in the right direction. The Pakistani Nation must rejoice the true emergence of another Institution "Parliament" under the leadership of Nawaz Sharif , must not be carried away by the events because it is a big step forward to lock a dictator and impeaching him under Article 6, it doesn't matter what is the outcome of the case but history has been made and many have been proved wrong.