Another good article by Jawed Chaudry. http://www.express.com.pk/epaper/PoPupwindow.aspx?newsID=1101429938&Issue=NP_LHE&Date=20120120  

Photo Credit: PAKISTAN TODAY

1. Basement extended under frontarcades
2. Basement extended into adjacentplazas without LDA approval 
3. Building projected onto road sidefrom first to top floor
4. Steel structure projection tocreate balcony, place electric sub-station in rear balcony
5. Arcades on front side raised 
6. Encroaching rear arcade byconstructing wall and placing generator.

These are all very clear reasons and genuinebuilding code violations. If it was any other building it would be an issue butjust because the owner has recently joined PTI this whole case has been given apolitical face. It is at this point I would like to explain how PTI and itssupporters are being duped by their own party and its new members.

Photo Credit: Insaf.pk

Another good article by Jawed Chaudry. http://www.express.com.pk/epaper/PoPupwindow.aspx?newsID=1101420620&Issue=NP_LHE&Date=20120108  

Raza Habib Raja

Imran Khan has been generating a lot of buzz lately and consequently a lot has been written about him in the print media and covered in the electronic media. And add to it the social media, where Imran dominates more than anyone else.

Completely in line with our emotional character, the rise of Imran Khan has been accompanied with a strange type of polarization where at one end he is hailed as a Messiah and on the other end he is being called a Taliban Khan, an Establishment tout or someone who is completely naïve.

I have seen extraordinary reverence of Imran by some of his internet “jiyalas” who refuse to listen to any criticism on Imran. They get defensive, emotional and even abusive when someone points or even raises a question. Of course not every one of his supporters is like that.

The fact Mr Khan has no real plan somehow or the other does not matter to his hero worshipping supporters. The fact, that Mr Khan has dubious links with the military and intelligence apparatus also does not matter. The fact that Mr. Khan projects misplaced hyper patriotism  and the fact that Mr. Khan has filled his party with all turncoats also does not matter. Above all the fact that a party is much more than a single chrismatic individual also does not matter. The ardent supporters of PTI will give a justification no matter how unconvincing it is. And yes they know how to abuse and a huge majority of them are expert trolls!!!

Now while the overzealous reactions of the PTI “jiyalas” do provide amusing and at times even  laughable sights, with due apologies some (not all) of his critics also do not lag behind. Just calling someone as Taliban Khan, or totally dishonest or a complete establishment tout without giving credible evidence is hardly convincing. Likewise calling all the supporters of Imran Khan, many of which are highly educated and even moderate people also, as completely impressionable reactionaries and then expecting them to change their mind about Imran is plain stupidity.

Political realities exist in the shades of grey. These are not in black or white and this fact has to be remembered by both the ardent supporters of Imran as well as his fierce critics.

Now there are many diehard supporters of Imran who have made their decision and no matter what, will not waiver. However, a substantial number of people who view him favourably still can change their minds.

My advice for those who think that Imran’s rise needs to be checked because he is a reactionary is that they should try to be credible in their claims. Yes, their arguments will not be heeded by diehard emotional Imran’s fans but a substantial majority has only recently started to look at him in favourable light and will listen to their arguments provided they make credible criticism.

Right now critics are calling him Taliban Khan and expect his supporters to listen to this allegation. The huge problem with this is that while Imran has given apologetic defense to Taliban monsters but has never clearly endorsed their suicide bombings. Yes, the right way to argue is that this kind of appeasement is wrong as an approach to dealing with militancy but blatantly calling him Taliban khan is frankly stretching it too much. And by the way apparently Taliban even denounced him when he called himself a “liberal”. However, the statement given by the TTP denouncing Imran was simply ignored by his critics who want to stick to their black and white appraisal of Imran.

Second is the allegation of using Islam for political mileage. Well here the problem is multifaceted.  First the majority of Pakistanis like references to Islam and considers it a part of their identity. Now I may not like this fact but this is a reality. Second and more importantly almost all the parties (barring very small fringe parties like Pakistan Communist Party or
some regional parties), have whipped up religion.   Unfortunately the critics forget that in Pakistan the so called liberal parties were involved in framing of 1973 constitution which made Pakistan an Islamic republic. Worst they were also involved in passing of the second amendment which declared Ahmedis as Non-Muslims. And during all these years, they have done nothing to repeal it. If the critics are equally harsh on these parties only then they can have a credible case against Imran. However, so far I have not seen that and therefore their arguments are further weakened. I personally think that a better criticism would be to highlight the difference in extent to which Imran whips up religion compared to the mainstream parties rather than saying that PTI is nothing but a good looking Jamat-i-Islami!

The argument that PTI is the one man party is a valid criticism but not something which will find acceptance. The major problem with the argument that “If Imran were to die what would happen to PTI and hence it is proven that it is a cult” is that unfortunately all the parties in Pakistan have risen through the same personality driven trajectory and worst still have evolved into family dynasties. On this basis alone you cannot call any party a mere cult. If a Sharif or a Bhutto is bigger than his/her party then what is the point of complaining about Imran being bigger than PTI. Yes you can argue that this makes PTI no different but unfortunately in Pakistan, at least in this aspect, you cannot be different.

Raising questions about PTI manifesto is important and valid but once again why critics have so much urge to ask for PTI manifesto when they know that majority of the party workers of PPP and PML N also don’t know much about the manifestoes of their parties. When you seldom raise this issue with respect to voting pattern of mainstream parties then in some ways it actually appears strange that manifesto assumes so much importance on the pretext of determining the “difference” of PTI. And why now? Why this question was not asked before?

Most importantly the critics have to understand as to what is the real source of Imran’s surge in popularity. It is  not solely because of “establishment”,  or its manipulated electronic media or due to naivety of his supporters (yes some of them are naïve) but because many people are getting sick of the performance of the two mainstream parties. Yes Imran may not be right choice but in despair human beings have the tendency to clutch at any straw of hope. In their eyes since Imran is financially credible so therefore he wont “betray” them. This emotional expectation may be somewhat misplaced but has genuine basis.

Yes I do not support Imran due to his overall ideological orientation but at the same time his rise cannot be checked unless the mainstream parties do some honest soul searching rather than blaming establishment and ISI for everything under the sun. Yes Imran may be propped up by establishment but at the same time people are also getting behind him. Establishment alone cannot fill in huge venues like Minar-e-Pakistan and Mazar-e-Quaid nor can it produce favourable ratings in polls conducted by reputable international polling firms like PEW research.

And lastly be credible and acknowledge his positive statements when you are ready to pounce on his negative ones. If he is apologizing to people of Baluchistan then have a heart and acknowledge it even if it is “hollow”. If his rhetoric is softening (and it is softening) as more people with eclectic ideological orientation come into his party, then kindly acknowledge it.

Criticism looks appealing only when it is credible.

Husain Haqqani: Pawn in a larger game?

There are numerous issues besides ‘Memogate’ that directly affect the people, like the shortage of gas, electricity, clean drinking water, housing, healthcare, employment and so on. But the issue gains significance because so far, no democratically elected civilian government in Pakistan has ever been allowed to complete its tenure and hand over power to the next one through democratic elections (as I outlined in this paper). There were hopes that this government would be the first to do so – a critical step towards the continuation of a democratic political that is necessary to move the country away from the military-dominated politics of the past – something, as it is now all too apparent, is not a thing of the past after all. In this context, it’s important to understand the current situation and its dangers. Myra MacDonald sums it up in an analysis for Reuters. Some insights were posted to this blog earlier (here and here). Additional facts are laid out in a document received today (reproduced below) that outlines some facts about Husain Haqqani and ‘memogate’. Also read this important article, ‘Treason? Under what Constitution? in the New Pakistan blog, which dissects the ‘memo’ contents and notes that each item in the document falls under the constitutional purview of the federal government…

Issue at hand: Former Ambassador of Pakistan to the US, Husain Haqqani, is currently a virtual prisoner as his life is under danger both from the extremists and from the security agencies. He is residing for his own safety at the Prime Minister’s residence. The Supreme Court of Pakistan imposed a travel ban on him on December 1, 2011 restricting him from leave the country. His wife, Member of Pakistan’s Parliament, Farahnaz Ispahani’s life is also in danger, which is why she is currently in the US where she had come for medical checkups.

This situation arose after the false allegations by an American businessman of Pakistani origin, Mansur Ijaz, who claimed that the Ambassador and President Zardari had sought American help to prevent a military coup in Pakistan. Ambassador Haqqani has flatly denied these allegations. Further, Ambassador Haqqani knew Admiral Mullen very well and could have contacted him directly anytime; it defies understanding why he would need Ijaz to convey a message to Admiral Mullen.

A history of false claims: Mansur Ijaz is well-known over the years for self-promotion and false claims. During the mid-1990s he claimed that he had close ties to the Sudanese government and would be able to help the Clinton administration get Osama Bin Laden. However, both Clinton NSA Sandy Berger and the 9/11 Commission that interviewed Ijaz found no credible evidence in what he said. In 1999 Ijaz claimed to be the American envoy to India and Pakistan to help resolve the Kashmir dispute but in the end neither side found him credible or someone who could deliver. In 2004 Ijaz claimed that chemical warheads were being smuggled into Iraq for an attack on American troops which he later denied.

The ‘memo’: Former US national security advisor General Jim Jones conveyed Ijaz’s memo to then Chairman US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mullen. Gen Jones in an affidavit has sworn that he believes Ambassador Haqqani had nothing to do with the memo. According to General Jones the language of the memo was akin to what Ijaz wrote.

Ijaz claims that soon after he wrote an OpEd about the ‘memo issue’ on October 10, 2011, Pakistan’s ISI chief, Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha flew to London, met him and examined the evidence and found it credible. However, Admiral Mullen has stated that when he received the memo from Gen Jones, he did not find it credible and took no action on it.

Threats: Asma Jahangir, leading human rights advocate and counsel to Ambassador Haqqani, has stated that Ambassador Haqqani is under threat from his own intelligence-security agencies. In this context Admiral Mullen in one of his final testimonies stated that Pakistan’s intelligence service, ISI, and the Pakistani military have often lied to the Americans, and provide support to the extremist groups, including those who kill Americans.

Action required: Ambassador Haqqani needs to have his passport returned to him and have his name taken off the Exit Control List (ECL) so he can travel. The due process of law must be applied.

Background: The government’s opponents – in the media, political parties, military-intelligence establishment – have used this opportunity to attack the government and try to make Ambassador Haqqani a scapegoat. Some worrying facts:

• Opposition leader Nawaz Sharif (who in 1999 had Ambassador Haqqani imprisoned and tortured for writing OpEds against his regime)  is the leading petitioner before the Supreme Court.
• • The Supreme Court took up Mr Sharif’s petition instead of sending it to a trial court first.
• The Supreme Court ignored due process of law and immediately placed a travel ban on Ambassador Haqqani without letting him or his counsel appear before court.
• The head of the ISI himself conducted a forensic investigation and the army chief and head of ISI have stated in their affidavits that they believe the ‘memo’ was genuine – which points to an attempt to frame the Ambassador by institutions that have never agreed with his views.
• A political-media trial and witch-hunt has been ongoing since Ijaz’s OpEd first appeared in the Financial Times.

Detailed Background and Information

Background of Memo: The origins of the memo are in dispute. On October 10, 2011 an American businessman of Pakistani descent, Mansur Ijaz, wrote an OpEd in Financial Times alleging that in the aftermath of the Osama Bin Laden raid of May 2, 2011, he was approached by a senior Pakistani diplomat to pass on a memo to enlist the US military’s help to head off a feared military coup, in exchange for overhauling the country’s powerful top security leadership. He said he gave the memo to former NSA Gen (retd) Jim Jones who passed it on to then Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen.

In the ensuing weeks Ijaz claimed that Amb Husain Haqqani was that senior diplomat and that he and Amb Haqqani corresponded by Blackberry messenger messages, phone conversations and emails.

Amb Haqqani flatly denied these allegations. Admiral Mullen stated that he had received a memo but he did not find it ‘credible.’ According to Mullen’s spokesman “I have said this before and am saying again today. Nothing about that letter had the imprimatur on the Pakistani Government. It was not signed. And the contents of it Admiral Mullen did not find credible. So he took no action on it.” (November 22, 2011)

Amb Haqqani returned to Pakistan on November 19 and tendered his resignation in order to ensure a free and fair inquiry into the issue. The civilian government, while supporting Amb Haqqani’s account accepted his resignation. His passport was confiscated upon his return to Pakistan.

Supreme Court action: December 23, former Prime Minister and leader of the main opposition party, PML-N, Nawaz Sharif filed a petition in the Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) claiming that under article 184(3) of the Constitution, the SCP could take up any issue of public importance which relates to fundamental rights. SCP accepted the petition along with other petitions.

On December 1, 2011 the Pakistan Supreme Court placed former ambassador Husain Haqqani on the Exit Control List (ECL) barring him from being able to leave the country, without giving the former ambassador or his lawyer to appear before the court. So due process of law was not followed and Mr Haqqani’s fundamental rights were violated.

Gen Jones in his affidavit to the Pakistan Supreme Court stated that while he did pass on the memo he does not believe Amb Haqqani had anything to do with the memo.

On December 30, Pakistan’s Supreme Court set up a 3-member judicial commission to investigate the issue. According to the SCP judgment a petition seeking an investigation into the affair had “succeeded in establishing that the issues involved are justiciable.” The court also upheld the travel ban on Amb Haqqani. Further, the court has ordered the attorney general of Pakistan, Foreign Ministry and the Pakistani High Commissioner in Canada to approach the parent company of Blackberry, Research In Motion (RIM).

The government maintains that since Pakistan is a parliamentary democracy the correct forum for any such inquiry should be the parliament. The Parliamentary Committee on National Security was already looking into the case and that should be the proper venue not the Supreme Court.

Counter arguments by Amb Haqqani’s lawyer, Asma Jahangir: According to Ambassador Haqqani’s lawyer, leading human rights advocate, Asma Jahangir, the verdict was the “darkest day for the judiciary because the apex court has subjected fundamental rights to national security.”

Terming the court’s judgment ‘disappointing’, she said, “today we feel that the military authority is superior to the civilian authority. Today, the struggle for the transition to democracy has been blocked.” And, “I am forced to think if it is the judiciary of the people or the judiciary of the establishment.” Ms Jahangir also expressed her deep regrets and said she was totally unprepared for this reward of sacrifices rendered by lawyers’ fraternity, as the Court ‘dimmed even a fraction of ray of hope’, while providing the petitioner with relief beyond what they had sought.

Ms Jahangir said the decision was against the rule of law and had compromised a citizen’s right to justice. The verdict reflected undue supremacy of national security and integrity over human rights. “When order came on 1st December, Husain Haqqani was not heard. He did not even have a lawyer,” she said. “Saying that there is a memo and linking it with Husain Haqqani are two different things, it’s more of a media trial that got hyped after Supreme Court’s order”.

DG ISI Shuja Pasha and Gen. Kayani: quick to accept Mansoor Ijaz's claims

Amb Haqqani’s lawyer and others have pointed to the role of Pakistan’s security services, especially its intelligence agency. Both the head of Pakistan’s intelligence service, ISI, Lt. Gen. Ahmad Shuja Pasha and Pakistan’s army chief, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, submitted petitions before the Supreme Court insisting they believed the memo was genuine and needs to be investigated. Significantly, according to Mansur Ijaz, Lt Gen Pasha travelled to London in October and ascertained that the memo was genuine. Why was Lt Gen Pasha so eager to travel to London and agree with what Ijaz said? Whose permission did he obtain before doing so? Is he the person who should perform a forensic investigation? Mr Ijaz also alleged in an interview in December that soon after the Bin Laden raid Lt Gen Pasha travelled to the Gulf to muster support for a military coup.

Imminent danger to Mr Husain Haqqani: A media trial has been ongoing since Mansoor Ijaz’s OpEd published in FT in October. The involvement of opposition parties and their leaders in this political-media witchhunt.

The judiciary seems to be ruling on the basis of national security ideology instead of constitution and law.

All those individuals who are speaking out in Pakistan for democracy and human rights are being silenced one by one. Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, former Governor Salman Taseer, former Minister Shahbaz Bhatti were assassinated. Former Amb Haqqani and his lawyer have received serious death threats.

On January 1, 2012, Ms Jahangir announced that she was quitting the case as she did not have faith in the commission been set up by the Supreme Court. According to Ms Jahangir, the Supreme Court’s decision on the petition was a victory for the country’s establishment, and it was being used to transform the country into a ‘security state.’

Ms Jahangir further stated that her client, Mr Haqqani, was under threat from the security agencies. She feared that the security forces-intelligence agencies would try to coerce a statement out of Mr Haqqani. That is why he first stayed at the President’s House and is currently residing at the Prime Minister’s residence.

(ends)

Elections are not scheduled to take place until 2013 but the race for the power seat has already begun.

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No kidding.

On 25th Dec, Imran Khan conducted a huge rally at mausoleum of Quaid, Karachi. It was estimated that over 1,00,0000 people showed up there. Though it’s a different issue altogether that the mausoleum has capacity of 50K to 60K people. It is also said that Imran Khan managed to gather a crowd bigger than that of Lahore’s. Again, it’s a different issue that Karachi IS bigger than Lahore (by all means), and people from all over Pakistan, travelled to attend the rally, so they were not just Karachiites. Anyhow, the rally was a marvelous success. And the PTIans can now bask in success.

But behind every successful rally, there is a long list of people to thank. And in the case at hand, MQM tops that list.

Anyone without bias and with a pinch of neutrality, would agree to it. Because deep down inside, we all clandestinely admit that, if MQM hadn’t wanted it, it would never ever have happened, not even in thousand years. Imran Khan could hold a rally, because MQM let him. Imran Khan’s rally was a success, because MQM let it be.

For those, who would refute it and argue that it would be MQM’s loss, had MQM created any hurdles. I would first advice them that you are lucky, now is the winters. Kindly avail this awesome opportunity for yourself and eat almonds. Because you really need to. It will improve your memory. How in the cruel world, can you for 12TH MAY 2007? Your trite and boring but a supposedly winning argument?

It was the time when MQM supported the leader, whole Pakistan hated. It was the time when didn’t pay heed to baghi-s (rebels) like Aitizaz Ahsan ( where is he now BTW? Attending a wedding? I head he is writing a autobiographical, “baghi se baghbani tak”) , whole Pakistan was following.It was the time when MQM scorned the Cheif Justice, whole Pakistan was worshipping. And it all resulted in, the city’s—that MQM rules–roads being blocked and well, being blood baths. Needless to mention, how conveniently everyone jumped on the bandwagon and blamed MQM. I won’t argue here, that one needs to be extra ordinarily stupid to create mayhem in his own governance. Anyways, so ranging from TV anchors to print media to street opinion, it was MQM-didn’t-let-CJ-to-hold-the-rally. The anti MQM sentiment went to another level and even beat the anti American sentiment prevalent in Pakistan. MQM was to Pakistan what Muslims are to America and what America is to Muslim countries.

*Fast foward*

So elections in 2008 took place (precisely after 8/9 months of the incident) and whoa, guess what? MQM won a landside victory from the City of Flyovers ( exactly 21 seats from Karachi). And 12th May talk goes on.

The fact is, the voter of MQM is loyal and won’t shift for three reasons. 1, Mustafa Kamal. Name is enough. 2, They have seen and heard about horrendous operation clean up against Mohajirs. 3, Mohajirs have (rightfully) this being cornered mentality.

So, no matter if it is 12th May or IF it WAS 25th Dec, nothing could/would effect MQM’s votebank. Karachi belongs to MQM, and always will.

Therefore, Imran Khan should not be stingy and insecure and should thank MQM, for its bounteous goodness, open mindedness and welcoming behavior.

Having said that, I wish IK all the luck in the world. I am pretty impressed by their demonstration and campaigning. And I am pretty confident that IK would win from Punjab and Khyber, the two provinces badly need some change and some development and some flyovers and some REAL malls.

Best of Luck Imran Khan.

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PS: I apologize in advance if anyone’s offended, I was just trolling. Been a while.

Is Imran Khan a gifted conjurer whose fans are too enamoured by the spectacle he produces to even consider the smoke and mirrors that share the stage with him?

On Eve of 25th December, I just want to say to the soul of Quaid e Azam Muhammed Ali Jinnah that Baba, we are ashamed that after 11th September, 1948, we lost our unity, we lost our dignity, people around the world recognized us as terrorists, culprits and incompetent. Baba, you freed this homeland for [...]

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So now we know what IK means when he speaks about “change”. He means that EVERY ol’ and tested politician would be CHANGING his/her party with PTI.