National Tragedies and Faultlines by Senator A. Rehman Malik

 I have written this article a bit differently than usual as the Chinese character building and their crises handling management really impressed me. I was impressed by the number of questions posed to me as a speaker at their security university in Beijing. The big question was why Pakistan had failed to utilise its water, agriculture, tourism, and minerals. It is true; we have failed to explore these fields.

China progressed rapidly as the first letter they have taught to their nation is the value of honesty. They are the contributors to their personal character and their individual input. That is why I am jolting down my observations based on several interviews by me and my institute of research and reforms from various factions of society. I see dissatisfaction with the ongoing situation since people are living for a better hope but every morning brings more issues and disappointments.

The analysis shows that Pakistanis have not seen the real freedom of mind till now as we have to think with an open mind and work with honesty to take our country forward. This reminds me that we were under siege for more than a century during the British Raj in the Subcontinent from 1858 until the independence of India and Pakistan in 1947. Now that we are independent, we should behave like an independent nation and work like the people of China.

Our country was born through violence as the Hindu-Muslim partition of the Subcontinent witnessed hundreds of thousands of killings of Muslims during riots, ethnic cleansing, and cross-border migrations and these sacrifices should be enough to lead us to the right path of honesty to make this country stronger for our future generations.

Why do we still have violence and Muslim-to-Muslim fights; our internal clashes have become our trademark for power and greed. We are losing our moral values at the cost of our national loss to fulfil our greed of ill-gotten money and greed of power.

Even after getting a separate homeland for ourselves, we are confused about whether we are a secular state or an Islamic one. We need to clear this faultline. We claim to be Muslim but we hardly follow the principles of Islam as we do everything which is prohibited in Islam. We have a maximum number of cases of frauds, corruption and rape cases.

It is sad to note that Pakistan is now 74 years old and yet we are behaving like beggars as we still haven’t learned to work for Pakistan. China got independence right after us but look where China is and where we are. They have built their national character and directed the nation to the collective national interest whereas hardly learned to move collectively for the national interest. We have adopted horse-trading as we are not sincere to the house of parliament which is supposed to be free of dishonesty and corruption. Where are we heading? It is only due to no rule of law and is now treated as a privilege to break law publicly?

There is a conflict of interest everywhere which results in a hindrance in the way of true character building of our youth which results in unemployment. Our country under unemployment is a contributing factor for the youth to lose faith in the state.

Society is feeling insecure and confused as we don’t know what we actually want. Thus, the insecurity breeds a lack of confidence and self-assurance in our nature and character. The insecurity also breeds criminal activities. We keep looking for reasons and excuses to secure ourselves. We display double standards and in fact, we deceive ourselves to avoid criticism and we live in a fake society.

If we are poor or middle class and surrounded by peers who are well off and filthy rich, we want to amass wealth to match them and this tussle makes us forget all norms of honesty and we can commit any criminal act to grab money, ignoring its cost for the family and the country. This greed blinds us in marking the difference between legal and illegal, right and wrong; the trend is only to earn wealth to become rich overnight.

The greed and desperation to become rich bring in the factor of corruption as one makes every possible effort to upgrade his status in society by hook or crook. This negativity is the main reason for negative character building and one forgets his/her responsibility to himself and to the State. These directionless factions of the society start deviating from the national responsibilities as well as from their religion. The level of character and moral values can be well judged by the number of rape cases, child abuses, and increases in other crimes—despite stringent laws, these heinous crimes are increasing every day.

Are we heading towards some major destruction as the crime rate is on the increase and the rule of law has become a story of the past? When dishonesty overcomes honesty and grabs all the positive national space, then society cannot expect to correct itself and justice also disappears.

It is unfortunate to express that most of the share of justice goes to those who can afford its cost. I will not define the cost of justice for a poor man but if you take a survey of lower courts and urban and rural police stations, they can demonstrate the reality and then judge. What I am expressing is the voice of those who suffer in the hands of the obsolete social justice system and governing model.

The parliament is not meant for the entry of a common man as all rights are reserved for the elite and for generation-to-generation entries. Where are the main ingredients for national character building; I am sorry to say it is all missing in the planning and the agenda of the government. What are we doing for character building of the youth and every citizen of Pakistan to shoulder the responsibility as dutiful citizens?

Our politics has divided the country’s population under multiple political slogans for their political ends. We see leaders of political parties least bothered about their role in uniting communities as they are only seen pointing out wrong doings and the corruption of their political rivals.

As the Chinese say, that a big wall and tall walls cannot build defence or block the enemy’s attack; it is the character of the nation which blocks enemies. No tall wall of NAB will ever stop the corruption as it is only the national character that will root out crimes and make a crime-free society. Let us build our national character and not a big wall of laws that get buried under heaps of files in the police stations and courts.

Perhaps we need to change our system for better governance in order to give relief to the common man and his children.

The article was published in The Nation on March 30, 2021, link to the article is https://nation.com.pk/30-Mar-2021/national-tragedies-and-faultlines

General Bajwa’s great stand on Kashmir by Senator A. Rehman Malik

Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa.

General Qamar Javed Bajwa won the hearts of the people by keeping Kashmir on the agenda while offering peace to India. It was just immediately after the Pulwama attack in Indian Occupied Kashmir which was engineered by Indian PM Narendra Modi and his RAW and military that I decided to expose this inhuman act before the international community. Therefore I wrote a book “Modi’s War Doctrine”. In the book, the history of events carried out by the successive Indian governments for aggravating the anti-Pakistan hatred amongst the Indian nation thus exploiting their nationalism are amply covered. The book carries a history of RSS and its involvement in the terrorist activities being carried out against the Muslims and other minorities in India. PM Narendra Modi’s upbringing in RSS training centres and his growth in the ranks owing to his physical involvement in terrorist acts are also very briefly discussed in the book.

I would like to reproduce below a few abstracts from my book about the involvement of PM Narendra Modi in the Pulwama attack.

PM Narendra Modi is infected with the war syndrome against Pakistan; as he feels by escalating the war environment will be helpful to win the General Elections. The foolish initiative of airspace violation has exposed India as it has substantiated all doubts and apprehensions of Pakistan in particular and the war at large. The Pulwama incident was premeditated to gear the instigation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to advance his war syndrome. The target of the post-Pulwama incident was Pakistan to malign it involved in the incident without any proven evidence against the latter.

India will create the hype through the media and they would like to intensify the situation on various fronts i.e. trade, foreign policy, blockade of water, etc. India will try to isolate Pakistan internationally. India will generate massive propaganda against Pakistan as a terrorist state and the Afghan government may join India in this. India may lobby before the international community to damage Pakistan’s reputation in the FATF, the ICJ, and UNSC where important cases of Pakistan are discussed. India may go for limited escalation on LoC particularly in IIOK and may make some surgical strikes in the near future; as face-saving for the hard statements made by PM Modi. India may engineer some terrorist attacks via Afghanistan as they have good ingress both in Taliban and NDS. India has developed a massive cyberforce of IT professionals after the Indian cybersecurity policy 2013.”

Very shortly as per my prediction and assessment based on facts, PM Narendra Modi created a fake basis for justification of airstrikes in Pakistan as on 26 and 27 February 2019, India violated Pakistan’s airspace though India was defeated badly in the hands of Pakistan Air Forces but what PM Modi wanted to manage, he did. By inducing anti-Pakistan syndrome in the minds of the majority of the Indian public, he got forced victory in the elections and his Pulwama incident plan turned out to be of great success. Just after the Pulwama Attack, in a presser, I had categorically stated that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was using five tactics in his election campaign to win the coming polls. These were to escalate Pak-India tension at the border, to create a war-like situation, to instigate Hindu-Muslim clashes, to create an impression of surgical strikes, and to carry out a few Pulwama-like attacks to reverse his sagging popularity among the Indian voters.

In my book, I had mentioned that PM Modi very cunningly managed the Pulwama attack followed by fake surgical strikes and creating tension across the Line of Control (LoC) on the same pattern of Samjhauta Express for which also Pakistan was blamed. Actually, the Indian spy agency RAW carried out the Pulwama attack on the Indian military convoy to weaken Pakistan’s stance against its spy Commander Kulbhushan Yadav in the International Court of Justice. The incident had been planned and executed by RAW to influence Yadav’s trial in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) as the ICJ had a public hearing of the case on 18-21 February 2019. The very next day, I had questioned that it was wondering as to how a Vehicle laden with almost 350 kgs of explosives could come on the highway and attack as well—protected army convoy unless it was facilitated by those having information about the movement of the convoy. The move was certainly aimed at weakening Pakistan’s stance against India spy Yadav at ICJ. The movements of such conveyings are always highly confidential. How come someone knew in advance about the movement of the convoy to attack it later? India always issues highly biased and loaded statements after such incidents, leveling false allegations against Pakistan. The Samjhauta Express attack was engineered and executed by RAW on the same pattern only to blame Pakistan for it before the international community. DIG Hemant Karkare of India had exposed RAW and RSS in the Samjhauta Express episode before the Supreme Court of India but he was later assassinated by RAW agents during the Mumbai episode.

I experienced a few very strange experiences wherein firstly on the day of inauguration of my book, I was receiving calls to stop its publication, but I didn’t succumb to pressure and inaugurated in a highly impressive and simple ceremony. I even ignored some close friends who advised the same and the nation knows that the book has created a big stir in India and worldwide. But it will remain a mystery for me as to why some people wanted not to publish the book, exposing the reality of Indian PM Narendra Modi.

Second, I had gone to represent Pakistan in a high-level conference on counter-terrorism under the theme “Countering terrorism through innovative approaches and the use of new and emerging technologies” in Minsk, Belarus. The conference was organised by the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism together with Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and was attended by a large number of member states and international journalists and observers with local law enticement agencies. It was surprising that an officer from Pakistan based in the Pakistan embassy in Riyadh approached me and asked that there is a message for me not to raise the issue of Kashmir and not to bash Modi. I chose to speak on both subjects and I spoke with full force and expression on both subjects.

The third, when a delegation of Senate Foreign Relation Committee held a meeting on Kashmir where the members were arranged to visit the House of Lords London, I expressed my views that I will take on Modi on several issues including Kashmir but FM Shah Mehmood Qureshi requested me in the presence of Mushahid Hussain Syed not to speak anything against PM Narendra Modi but I regretted and informed him that I will take him on Kashmir, and if there are mandatory restrictions on the Senate Committee then I decline to visit the UK, hence I did not go with delegation as a protest and the episode was before Modi’s elections for the second tenure.

Similarly, I saw a number of unusual attacks against me on social media and some serious encounters, and even fake blame games to bring me under pressure. I still wonder who the alien hand was who continues to threaten me. These few displays of the situation before the election of Modi is enough to show how part of our government was mesmerised by Modi’s operators as no one was prepared to listen against Modi and the nation witnessed that I was the only odd man out who did not trust Modi and continued to expose him. There have been two attempts to poison me and my doctors are the living witnesses to this.

During this period, I was chased and attacked in London and the entry of three intruders at my residence on the second day of my arrival, which was blocked due to a timely alarm and the local police.

Obviously, if Indo-Pak relations normalise, then India will withdraw its forces from the western border to the China border to support the US if needed. The west must first resolve the Kashmir issue before inducting the idea to reduce the risk of nuclear-armed India and Pakistan for any misadventure. There is no doubt that Kashmir is a burning issue that may trigger war, but the tension factor between the two countries is Kashmir.

The country is happy and highly proud to see the great stance of our Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa who has stated as per the sentiments of his nation by offering the most appropriate offer of dialogue subject to the resolution of Kashmir. Gen Qamar Bajwa has offered an olive branch to India with his wise statement which has been appreciated by the masses.

The article was published in The Nation on March 25, 2021, link to the original article is https://nation.com.pk/25-Mar-2021/general-bajwa-s-great-stand-on-kashmir

Pakistan Day; national discipline and unity by Senator A. Rehman Malik

 

This day reminds us of the level of discipline and unity among our elders which enabled them to give us this beautiful country. Their freedom actions were based on unity, faith, and discipline and this is the time when unity has become even more important for the future and prosperity of our country. Hence, March 23 is a very important day in the history of Pakistan that teaches us to march unitedly towards the prosperity, integrity, and progress of Pakistan as per the guidelines of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. This is the day to affirm our commitment that we as a nation will work and march with a positive role rather than the negative and reverse order which has already created numerous crises for us. The day reminds us of our great founding leaders and elders who rendered numerous sacrifices to give us an independent country. To achieve the ‘Two Nation Theory’, our forefathers and great leaders not only struggled day and night but also rendered numerous sacrifices.

The history of the subcontinent was changed the moment ‘Pakistan Resolution’ was passed today on March 23, in 1940. It was the first time on this golden day, Quaid-e-Azam, Muhammad Ali Jinnah had formally demanded a separate homeland, Pakistan for us based on ‘Two Nation Theory’ which was based on the concept of the Muslim nationhood in his address at the Minto Park Lahore which is turned to be a historically important monument for Pakistan. The Resolution was moved by the then Bengal Chief Minister A. K. Fazlul Haq and Chaudhry Khaliq uz Zaman. Pakistan Resolution stated “No constitutional plan would be workable in this country or acceptable to Muslims unless it is designed on the following basic principle, namely, that geographically contiguous units are demarcated into regions which should be so constituted, … that the areas in which the Muslims are numerically in majority, as in the north western and eastern zones of India, should be grouped to constitute independent states in which the constituent units shall be autonomous and sovereign…” The resolution for the establishment of a separate homeland for the Muslims of the subcontinent was passed in the annual session of the All-India Muslim League held in Lahore on 22-24 March 1940; a landmark document of Pakistan’s history. On the first day of the session, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah narrated the events of the last few months where Muslims were mistreated by the Hindu extremists. In his significant speech, he presented his own solution to the problems of Muslims. He expressed that the problem of Indian Muslims was not an internal affair but an international one and must be treated as such.

To him, the differences between Hindus and Muslims were so immense that their survival under one central government was unlikely. They belonged to two separate and distinct nations as well as two different religions and therefore the only way out was to allow them to have separate states. Quaid-e-Azam vocally stated “Hindus and the Muslims belong to two different religions, philosophies, social customs and literature. They neither inter-marry nor inter-dine and, indeed, they belong to two different civilisations that are based mainly on conflicting ideas and conceptions. Their concepts on life and of life are different. It is quite clear that Hindus and Muslims derive their inspiration from different sources of history. They have different epics, different heroes and different episodes. Very often the hero of one is a foe of the other, and likewise, their victories and defeats overlap. To yoke together two such nations under a single state, one as a numerical minority and the other as a majority, must lead to growing discontent and final destruction of any fabric that may be so built up for the government of such a state”.

Based on the above-mentioned ideas of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and A. K. Fazlul Haq, the historical resolution was moved which has since come to be known as Lahore Resolution or Pakistan Resolution. It emphasised the principles relevant to the modern state system and the political context of British India. It made five specific demands.

- The Resolution rejected the federal system of government as envisaged in the Government of India Act, 1935 because it was “totally unsuited to and unworkable in the peculiar conditions of this country and is altogether unacceptable to Muslim India.”

- The Muslims would not accept any revised constitutional plan unless it was framed with “their consent and approval.”

- The adjacent territorial units should be demarcated into regions that may involve some territorial adjustments in a manner “that the areas in which the Muslims are numerically in a majority as in north-western and eastern zones of India “become “independent states in which the constituent units shall be autonomous and sovereign.”

- The resolution offered “adequate, effective and mandatory safeguards for religious minorities” in the Muslim majority units for the “protection of their religious, cultural, economic, political, and administrative and other rights and interests in consultation with them.” Similar rights will be given to the Muslims in “other parts of India.”

- The Muslim League Working Committee was asked to formulate a constitutional scheme on the basis of the principles outlined in the Resolution.

The Resolution thus offered a new course of action for the Muslims of British India as compared to the Muslim League position adopted on constitutional and political issues in the past. Today we happily breathe in an independent country for which our forefathers had sacrificed a lot and it is our national duty to uphold and defend it so that we can give a better Pakistan to our upcoming generations. The celebration of 23rd March aimed to pay our rich tribute to the father of the nation, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and his companions.

On this day, we must not forget the sacrifices of our armed forces, particularly the sacrifices of the Pak Army in defending the borders of the country and fighting against terrorists. Today the martyrs of the nation are in our thoughts and we salute them for their bravery and sacrifices for the motherland. I wish today all of us Pakistanis undertake that we will follow Quaid-e-Azam’s golden principle of governance ‘Unity, Faith and Discipline’.

Today Pakistan is passing through numerous crises and I would like to appeal to all political parties to forge national unity on vital national requirements i.e. defence, national security, and economy of the country in the larger interest of Pakistan and its people. As a nation, we must not forget high-handed and well-organised proxy wars already aggressively launched against Pakistan which is damaging our national cause and interests both at national and international fronts.

We must get rid of petty attacks on each other and direct our energies towards the betterment of our beloved country. We have to be steadfast in marching forward for the dignity, prosperity, and honour of our country and to struggle for our next generations.

The Article was published in The Nation on March 23, 2021 (Pakistan Day), link to the original article https://nation.com.pk/23-Mar-2021/pakistan-day-national-discipline-and-unity

Afghan peace talks—another attempt by Senator A. Rehman Malik

 

I just saw a picture of Asad Haqqani, son of late Jalaluddin Haqqani with Former President Hamid Karzai in Moscow during the Afghan Peace Conference. This meeting held on March 18, 2021 is an initiative by Russia which has resulted into a joint statement of the extended troika on peaceful settlement in Afghanistan. Pakistan also became a part of this peace conference. It has been resolved that the Afghan government and the Taliban must negotiate peace and the Afghan Taliban should not launch the spring offensive. It was also resolved that Afghan soil should not be used against any country.

The US and China also attended it and there was an undertaking by the US regarding the withdrawal of American troops. Now the next meeting on this subject will be held in Turkey in April. Time passes so quickly that now the same Taliban are coming into a position to dictate their terms.

After becoming the interior minister, upon my first visit to Afghanistan, I met Hamid Karzai, the then President of Afghanistan and delivered to him a letter from President Zardari. Hamid Karzai has termed Haqqani as a bad Taliban and was not prepared to talk to them. Time has its own power to take over the events that today Hamid Karzai had to warmly meet Haqqani to negotiate the settlement.

I feel that the US will not withdraw the American troops on May 1 as committed. This will again create huge gaps between the US and Taliban.

The US is expected to scrap any proposal or deal from Russia and we see the Afghan leadership today stands divided, which is detrimental for peace. Let us have a look at the recent history of Afghanistan which shows that peace has become a dream and everyone around the world hopes for peace, yet within months, it ends with more bombs and drone attacks in Afghanistan.

It was tragic to see the once modern city converted into ruins. I had seen these ruins and miseries of Afghan brothers when I travelled through Kabul during my exile to Europe and it was pathetic to see the condition and terror on the faces of the Afghan people. I am witness to fights that were ignited by the then President Rabbani and PM Gulbuddin Hikametyar. Both were installed by the US in a hurry and I remember all the meetings by all stakeholders in the Governor House, Peshawar. It was a mistake by the Americans to install the Afghan National government in a hurry which actually resulted in facilitation of the emergence of the Taliban and then Al Qaeda.

Along with a journalist friend of mine, I stayed in the city of Kabul inside the hub of the Taliban in a school where we slept on the hard floor for two nights under a stair gap.

The Pakistani Taliban (Punjabi Taliban) from the south of Punjab were there to fight the northern alliance after two weeks of training. During the last few days, I later shared my room with two Punjabi Taliban from Rahimyar Khan.

My statement as interior minister about Punjabi Taliban was in fact due to my personal interaction with them. I survived, as my face was not known to them and I was living among them under the guise of a journalist reporting from the Afghan war zone between the Taliban and the northern zone.

My purpose of mentioning this is to prove that Afghanistan is hosting multinational fighters under the garb of Afghan Taliban. Previously, these Taliban were operating under the command of Mullah Umer whom I had met in an official meeting along with General Naseer Ullah Babar, the then Interior minister before the fall of the PPP government.

There have been several tries to bring peace in Afghanistan by the world but the Afghans are determined to first oust the American troops. The “one step forward, two steps backward” saga continued until 2013, when the Taliban sent a message to Washington to reopen peace talks and also agreed to meet the Afghan Government with the efforts of Pakistan.

Through intermediaries in Qatar, the Taliban planned to open a political office in Doha dedicated to negotiations but again miscommunication took place as the Taliban leaders knew that the US and Afghan officials did not want to address them as representatives of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. But based partly on discussions with Qatari officials who had already agreed that they could use the title; when it opened, the office displayed the flag of the Islamic Emirate. The United States, on the other hand, were assured by the Qatari government that the office would not describe itself as part of the Islamic Emirate, and demanded that Qatari officials remove the flag, in response to which the Taliban closed the office and cut off all contact with Washington and Kabul.

The Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG), comprising Afghanistan, China, Pakistan and the US, took a much-needed initiative in December 2015 and became operational in January 2016 when it met officially for the first time. Just before the fourth round of QCG discussions in February, the then Pakistan army chief Raheel Shareef travelled to Doha to persuade all Taliban factions and groups to return to the negotiating table. The QCG also could not prove to be a balanced and efficient mechanism to bring lasting peace to Afghanistan like all other former breakthroughs as it effectively blocked Russia and Iran, two of the most important players in Afghanistan, from the negotiating table.

In December 2016, Russia hosted talks in Moscow on Afghanistan with both Pakistan and China followed by two further rounds of talks in February and April 2017 including India, Iran, the Central Asian states, and the Afghan government whereas the US refused to participate. These talks for future regional efforts to address the conflict also failed. Despite facing the various past setbacks, Russia again took forward the Afghan peace initiative it started a couple of years ago this year. The regional powers including Russia and China have genuine stakes and concerns regarding Afghan peace, stability and just like Pakistan they need to play a greater role to put an end to this decades’ long conflict making the poor people of Afghanistan suffer.

In October 2018, the newly-appointed US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad travelled to Doha to explore the potential for peace talks in a meeting with the Taliban. On October 25, 2018 Pakistan finally released former Taliban deputy leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar after nine years of detention as the Taliban emir appointed Baradar to lead peace talks and the group’s political office in Doha. Hence the US and the Taliban began overt bilateral negotiations in Doha, agreeing to discuss US/NATO military withdrawal, counter-terrorism, and a ceasefire while the talks continued for over the next eight months.

In August 2019, the US and the Taliban signed an “agreement in principle” on counter-terrorism and military withdrawal and an eventual ceasefire. There continued many ceasefire agreements between the Afghan government and Afghan Taliban until August 2020 when President Ghani declared he lacked the authority to release 400 specific Taliban prisoners and called for a Loya Jirga, or traditional national assembly; the assembly approved releases clearing the way for talks.

Finally, in February 2020, the US and the Taliban signed an agreement in Doha in which all foreign forces were supposed to quit Afghanistan by May 2021. The signing of agreement goes to the credit of General Qamar Javed Bajwa, the army chief and his key General Faiz Hameed, DG ISI. Taliban negotiation teams and the Afghan government gathered in Doha, Qatar, in September 2020 to commence peace talks meant to reach a political settlement to the conflict again. Only a few people know that Ashraf Ghani, Hamid Karzai and Zalmay Khalilzad were class fellows in Beirut University and supplemented support to each other in order to protect each other’s interests.

Ashraf Ghani came back and started his wholesale business in Dubai and the same was done by the Karzai family as well. Abdul Khaliq, the brother of Hamid Karzai, a genuine mujahid, lost his life, hence, Hamid Karzai was promoted as Mujahid and was supported by the US to be launched as President. He is a shrewd leader and has a role to play with his soft politics with a genius mind.

I met Ashraf Ghani last time in Istanbul and found him to be very humble and sharp, but he has been fully utilised. According to a new strategy and understanding, Maulana Gulbuddin Hikmatyar, with the training from General Babar, will use his influence on his Afghan colleagues and his personal friend Turkish President Erdogan. The Turkish President is from former JI Turkey, whereas he has been in the company of Hekmityar; let us hope that he will be able to come up with the right proposal. We in Pakistan want peace in Afghanistan and would like Afghans to lead peaceful lives. I hope Afghanistan brings fresh and young leadership with the ability to get the nation united.

I hope and pray that efforts of General Bajwa prove to be fruitful and he is able to win peace for Afghan brothers and sisters. It is the need of the time for all stakeholders in Afghanistan to demonstrate national unity for the larger interest of their nation.

The article was published in The Nation on March 20, 2021, link to the article is: Afghan peace talks—another attempt by Senator A. Rehman Malik

PDM versus PNA—stop the expected serious national crash by Senator A. Rehman Malik

 

The history of Pakistan is full of agitation and dharnas. I am privy to many such agitations in the capacity of a mid-level and senior officer of the FIA.

I observed that these agitations are always planted for a specific purpose hence it is easily concluded that the PNA agitation facilitated Gen Zia to hang Z.A Bhutto and it is a matter of the record that PNA movements were led by Mufti Mahmood, father of Maulana Fazl ur Rehman. These were engineered movements with a specific purpose to oust Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and leave him at the mercy of Gen Zia.

The first movement against Bibi was made by PMLN headed by Nawaz Sharif and what happened in Changa Manga is a part of history now. The second IJI movement was initially headed by Maulana Sami ul Haq and then taken over by Nawaz Sharif. I had investigated this matter and the entire sequence of events including the distribution of money and subsequent ouster of SMBB is now a matter of public record.

I made the facts public as director FIA as desired by Bibi and resultantly was put in Adiala Jail and was not produced before any magistrate. I remained a subject of further torture as I refused to become approver against Benazir Bhutto and Asif Zardari. This is a long, horrible chapter of my life and will disclose soon in my next book. How justice Sajjad Ali Shah bailed me out and the life attempt on me in front of my house is also part of the Margala Police Station records. My struggle for democracy with SMBB has not yet faded away from the minds of public.

Let me admit the fact that, in politics, there are no permanent friends or enemies. PPP still remembers how Yousaf Raza Gillani was sent home and who had filed that petition in 2012. The Supreme Court had given this verdict that ceased him to be Prime Minister of Pakistan in the petition filed by PML-N headed by Nawaz Sharif which demanded his disqualification. Nawaz Sharif had called upon Yousaf Raza Gillani declaring his government to be illegitimate hence they wanted him to be de-seated. Memogate was another attack with the help of the opposition, and how I handled it amicably is also known to me, Asif Zardari and Mansoor Ijaz. Our political history is very grim but let us forget as we all have short memories here. I am glad the strong opponents of yesterday with derogatory speeches against each other are friends today. I am glad to see we also forgot the ill-treatment towards SMBB and Asif Zardari who were fighting for the sake of democracy in view of the present emerging circumstances. Now at least, there is a face of unity being displayed.

PDM’s political game is now successfully being driven forward by the son of Mufti Mahmood, daughter of Nawaz Sharif and Grandson of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and it is a good omen that they have forgotten the past following the spirit of the charter of democracy. Let us hope that this new unity stays intact till they achieve their set targets.

As an investigator, I cannot digest the fact that the Deputy Chairman got 54 votes and it is because of the kindness of some of the PDM senators and I hope PDM orders an internal inquiry. If action is not taken then the same will be repeated in the forthcoming vote of no confidence to be moved by PDM.

This is the Pakistani political landscape and these politics of self-serving political interests will continue from both sides. In this long journey of politics, nobody remembers the interests of a common man. The children in villages and in provinces remain barefooted and underfed. Let us see how much relief is brought for a common by this government and PDM.

Let me write some detail on historical events of Pakistani politics of alliances as under.

The Pakistan national alliance (9 stars) against Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was a historic sit-in movement emerged in 1977 by the leaders of PNA (Pakistan National Alliance) after PPP successfully won the 1977 elections. They alleged the PPP government of rigging hence their agenda was to remove ZAB. The alliance consisted of 9 political parties including, Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI), Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan (JUP), National Democratic Party (NDP), Baluchistan National Party (BNP), Muslim League (Qayyum) (ML-Q), Muslim League (Functional) (ML-F), Democratic Party (PDP)and Communist Party (CPP). They staged demonstrations, sit-ins and boycotted National Assembly sessions etc and eventually, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was thrown in jail and Zia-ul-Haq came to power in July 1977. PNA was used against Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto to derail the democracy, hence, Dharna won and democracy lost and ZA Bhutto was hanged.

The Islami Jamhoori Ittehad (IJI) was a right-wing conservative alliance formed in September 1988 to oppose the democratic Pakistan People’s Party under Benazir Bhutto in elections that year? The alliance comprised nine parties, of which the major components were the Pakistan Muslim League (PML), National People’s Party (NPP), Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), with PML accounting for 80% of the IJI’s electoral candidates. In December 1988, Nawaz Sharif succeeded in forming an IJI administration in Punjab became the province’s chief minister and emerged as the most powerful opposition. It was from this power base that he waged the political battles that eventually led to his becoming prime minister in 1990 as BB’s govt was overthrown as explained above.

Pakistan Awami Tehreek against Pakistan people’s party. Following the year 2011, the cycle of these fiascos, long marches, sit-ins, and dismay started in 2013 when Dr. Tahir Ul Qadri of (PAT) Pakistan Awami Tehreek organised a sit-in at the D-Chowk for some days. Qadri led this Long March as a public protest against alleged corruption charges against the PPP govt. The march moved from Lahore to Islamabad between 14 and 17 January 2013. I handled this dharna and pressure built by me forced Dr TQ out of Isb as per the deadline announced by me. I gave him face-saving through Ch Shujhat Hussain through a piece of paper drafted by my friend Mushahid Hussain sitting nearby in a car. I handled him as per the roadmap decided between me and AZ.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf dharna against Nawaz government—Then came Pakistan’s longest marathon sit-in organized by PTI and its strong associates on 14th August 2014 in Islamabad holding the capital paralyzed for whole 126 days. Although the protest was named Azadi March but this so-called Azadi March in a literal sense kept the whole capital numbed for about 4 and a half months. I had played my role as the head of all political Jirgas and this Jirga managed through an agreement with Imran and Tahir ul Qadri to leave Islamabad. It is for the information of the public I was privy to PTI Dharna till the end and this fact is known to Imran Khan and President Zardari. One day it will be made public too. The Pakistan Democratic Movement is a political movement in Pakistan against the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan and the pattern and demands are the same that were made by Imran Khan during his dharna. This is being led by Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman, the leader of the Islamist Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F) and supported by the two main political parties and some small parties. The analysis further shows that the following regional parties were a part of the PNA movement as well as of IJI and now they are a part of PDM also. These parties include Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan (JUP) etc whereas JI is not part of PDM. It is interesting to note that PPP has always been a victim of these Ittehaadi Movements and Alliances as Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto fell victim of Pakistan National Alliance while Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto suffered in the hands of IJI and ultimately the harassment forced her to exile. If she was not forced to leave the country then she would have been still alive. She also suffered twice in the hands of these dharna movements. These are the historical facts that can neither be denied by anybody from the PPP nor by a common man.

The additional factor is Imran Khan whose government is being disputed and the tussle may bring uncontrollable mob stress which may eventually end the present system which will be a political setback to democracy. I feel that March in March may perhaps push the political system to March away and hence it needs to be handled with mature moves as an emotional approach might benefit the interests of external enemies’. The common man is suffering and this constant row between the opposition and Govt will bring further suffering for the public. Can the Prime Minster handle this issue with a mature political approach and try to sit with the opposition to come to some doable bargain to avoid further set back to the country? If the other political parties in PDM can forget their old feuds and become one force for their common political agenda then why can’t you Mr. Prime Minister sit at the table with PDM to resolve the issue by political give and take and avoid the institutional clash with political forces. This continued row will bring you an irreversible political loss and I advise both govt and the opposition not to force the Institutions to the dead-end as we all know what happens when the powerful are forced to point of no return.

Undoubtedly, the present senate election has further pushed the country to more political polarisation which is endangering the country every passing day.

Is there any way to resolve it amicably to stop the national crash? Please suggest stopping this political row amicably.

The article was published in The Nation on March 15, 2021, link to the original article https://nation.com.pk/15-Mar-2021/pdm-versus-pna-stop-the-expected-serious-national-crash

Farewell Senate: Memories for life by Senator A. Rehman Malik

 

The Senate had become like the higher institution where the admission of senators is subject to the permission of the concerned party head or with advance resignation of the said senator if his actions or services get out of hand. The Senate is a hall where we came to discuss the issues of the common man and to guide the government and the nation, but it is merely confined to be a platform of verbal discussions as senators are not given the authority to take actions respectively.

We are supposed to lead the nation here with our experience and wisdom, but I noticed more rows and crossfires. It is unfortunate to mention here that the ‘row agenda’ comes from concerned political parties from both sides; the opposition and treasury benches. The members have very less leverage in playing with independence. The opponents within the party get copies of the video speech to make some who are sitting behind to move the strings.

A research on the time spent in my tenure of six years will show that 1/6 of the time of a senator is spent on legislation, while the rest is spent over discussions to outsmart opponents, including a few physical fights. The National Assembly leaders, even with one vote, overpower senators as only parliamentary leaders are given a chance to speak on important issues in the parliament, even if it is a joint session.

Where are the parliamentary norms and values? A parliamentary leader provides the list as to who will speak from his/her party and the choice becomes quite visible in the senate sessions. The senate of Pakistan is not coming to the expectation of the public due to the fact that it has never been given the real status of being an upper house of the parliament. It will suit it better if the senate was named as the lower house since there is hardly any privilege given to it as an upper house of the parliament.

The Senate was supposed to look after the interests of all provinces including the small provinces. Statistically speaking, hardly 1 percent of the demands of small provinces might have been processed. My fellow senators are witness to it wherein they brought the issues effectively, but the federation failed to act effectively as per their directions. I will explain a few issues that we senators face, one by one briefly. I have the honour of 12 years’ experience of the senate house which I will always cherish like my school days. I took oath 12 years back and served this house as the Advisor on narcotics, Interior Minister, Chairman of planning and development and as Chairman of the interior standing committee.

I am proud to state that all of us in the interior committee performed as per the wish of this house and served the nation many times above our party politics. I worked and spoke as per the dictation of my conscience. Following are the reforms I need to present in order to enhance the effectiveness and legal status of this upper house.

We need to bring the Senate at par with the National Assembly. It should be mandatory to take suggestions from the Senate while constituting a budget. All senior conditional appointments must be vetted by the senate. The political divide in the Senate should be in the lower side. Abusive language should be banned completely. The Senate ruling and standing committee recommendations should be treated as a ruling and not merely as recommendations—as we see the documents of recommendations are later treated as “raddi” of the respective ministry. Moving towards the end of my tenure, I would like to demand the increment of pay of lower employees of the Senate.

 The article was published in The Nation on March 12, 2021, link to the original article is Farewell Senate: Memories for life by Senator A. Rehman Malik

Pakistani democracy and vote trading by Senator A. Rehman Malik

 

We claim that we have democracy in our country and people elect their representatives to run a given democratic system. It sounds well to everyone whereas we are nowhere near to real democracy as per its definition. We are only wearing the grand English hat of democracy, giving a cosmetic look of the democratic system. We have never practiced real democracy for which Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Quaid-e-Awam Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto struggled, longed and gave sacrifices. I ask every fellow Pakistani; do they really believe that they are living in a democratic country or are we just slaves to push the rich and powerful to bigger portfolios to rule us as their tenants and personal slaves. Unfortunately, we have different educational systems where we have government and private schools on one hand while on other, we have Madrassas where the educational system is entirely different from government schools which is further different from the syllabus of private schools. In one country, several educational systems exist and that is based on financial differences. The government educational system includes matriculation and intermediate while the other is the western educational system that includes O and A levels. Through differences in educational standards, a sense of inequality is being inculcated in the minds of students at a very young age. At the same time, equal opportunities are not provided for all the factions of society. We are witnessing that in the 21st-century world, in various areas of the country, human beings and animals are forced to drink water from the same dirty pond. And, we have also seen, our many fellow Pakistanis, in despair, and in agony over watching their children suffering long starvation are committing suicide. We have no proper National Health Service to provide equal, appropriate and adequate health services to all citizens and unfortunately, we have a deteriorated social justice system. This big economic gap between rich and poor coupled with an unbearable price hike is pushing us to the point of no return and a bloody revolution can be seen written on the walls. Injustice creates an irreversible pulse to create an uncontrollable emotional storm that will find its ways and means to justice. Let us wake up as a nation and put the system on the proper track to overcome the incoming crises. I still have great hopes from my people and the youth as the great strength of my country to overcome the crises.

Let us analyse the dark side of the democracy in our country which has been imposed on us as there is no rule of law which is an important regulator of real democracy. It is happening because of the lack of assessment of the public, fear of feudal lords (waderas), the greed for money and lack of interest in casting votes.

Our total current population is 223,784,370 as per the available official census. We have a 58 percent literacy rate in our country which means out of the total population, we have 42 percent of the population that is uneducated. A survey shows that they hardly know what the vote is and its value, what they know only is that there is a paper (PURCHI) and whatever is written on it, he is not supposed to follow it but he only knows that if he is taken to the polling station and puts it in a box as per the direction of his handler, then he has to get money for it. This is what an uneducated person knows about the vote and this has been happening in our country for a long time.

Among 50 percent of our population, some people find no attraction in casting votes as they know that political slogans and this vote will not bring any visible change except that they will see their MPAs or MNAs with big new land cruisers. That is why they never even bother to get their votes registered while the rest always skip being away from elections on polling day This is all because of the lack of education, faith in their votes, and awareness about the value of their vote. The world is progressing by leaps and bounds every passing day while in our country if you look at the voter’s turnout every 5 years, there is hardly any increase of only 1 or 2 percent. In fact, according to the numbers, there has been a drop from 2013 when turnout was the highest it’s ever been at 55.02 percent as overall voter turnout across the nation was 51.7 percent in the 2018 general elections. In the 2008 elections, the voter turnout remained 44.11 percent which means that in the last 3 elections the turnout stayed only between 45–55 percent, which is a huge setback for our educational and political systems.

It is unfortunate to note that even the literate population does not bother to cast votes as they find it to be a waste of time to stand in a queue and wait for their turn to cast a vote. The uneducated and poor lot proves to be a great asset for the candidates and parties as they can bribe them easily over a plate of the dish of Biryani or Rs.1000 for each person. Then there is feudalism that aggravates the situation. Most of our political leaders and party heads are feudal lords/elite class. They treat these masses like their slaves who can’t vote for anyone other than them. Feudalism has led our country to another main problem i.e. politics as their right. These feudal lords whenever see that things are slipping out of their hands, they rig the election process, bring their own candidate either their children or relatives, and don’t let a deserving person come into power and our present political system is very near to monarchy where the right of voice or vote is not made for a common man. The illiterate and poor people do not even know about their rights as there is a lack of really good leadership in our country. All the feudal lords and political leaders use them as per their own convenience. Unfortunately, most of our leaders are utterly incompetent and corrupt. The country has no clear direction, from the very day of our independence, we don’t know what we want. People with different languages, religions, and cultures constitute this country, the only common thing is Islam. Some people want strict Islamic laws while some have a different interpretation of Islam, and some want it free and secular. We are a victim of a serious identity crisis. When the followers (mostly illiterate) of religious-political leaders confront their secular or leftist opposition, they call them “kafir” and enemies of Islam which leads to violence and chaos, and as a result, the democratic government either shuts the country down or the protestors themselves create a state of siege across the capital making the lives of people miserable and this sectarian divide produced Taliban by the foreign masters.

The value of the vote is embarrassed every time whenever there is a general election in our country. The political sale has become so open that no remorse is seen on the faces of politicians involved. All laws and administrative efforts against floor-crossing failed and the political greed won. Let me be franker in saying that even most of our political leadership is involved in it. It is because our system is faultily enabling us to encourage this horse-trading. The politicians in the past and even now could not hold their grounds against the temptation of power hence they kept on presenting themselves for the sale in the political auction and the rest of the development are well known to the nation as to how the loyalties were negotiated and changed. This act of politicians is highly detrimental to democracy. This is what converts democracy into “noto-cracy”, one guided by ‘notes’. Our democracy looks to have gone into the hands of bookies and money is fixed on each vote and then traded from abroad with pride. Funds are paid through offshore companies. We are destroying this parliamentary system which apparently takes birth for five years but shortly gets scrapped before its constitutional spin of life.

We need to find ways and means to bring stable and corruption-free democracy.

I would like to suggest that immediate electoral reforms are required to create required checks and balances in the electoral processes. A commission is needed to be constituted to identify the real issues and black holes in the present way of Pakistan’s democracy and the parliamentary system. We need to seek a referendum under the law on the required changes for the improvement of electoral procedures. Also, it is needed to seek suggestions to improve the life of a common man along with their participation in the democratic system. In the end, I hope that as a nation we will be able to block the fast-track journey of “vote to note” as it is painful to see when we hear about the price that has gone up to the tune of Rs70 crores. The sale and purchase of votes are among the politicians at the cost of a common man who gets nothing out of it except for delusional hopes and promises.

The article was published in The Nation on March 10, 2021, Link to the original article: https://nation.com.pk/10-Mar-2021/pakistani-democracy-and-vote-trading by Sen Rehman Malik

"The Gujrat power saga and unopposed senators" by Senator A. Rehman Malik

 

I just saw the former Prime Minister looking very weak on the television screen and one could see his shining eyes disclosing the smooth and quiet deal for 11 Senators where PMLN, PPP and PTI were facing each other and there were hue and cry on the media about horse-trading at a large scale. The ruling party—PTI—and PDM were at daggers drawn, exchanged harsh words and cross statements but all of a sudden, the bitter political opponents settled their differences quietly and happily consented to this compromise behind the curtains. Mariam Nawaz however, refused to give her comments on the unopposed senators which means that she has some unexplained reservation.

This is the same city where PTI and PMLN seemed to be prepared for the crossfire out of hostility, but Ch. Pervez Elahi and Ch. Shujaat Hussain (first cousins but I refer to them as brothers) played an unmatched political game and got their Senator Kamil Ali Agha elected and others from PMLN and PTI including Dr. Zarqa also got elected; who is a special candidate as per the media? Now the future course of action depends on this unannounced understanding between PTI and PMLN & PML Q as the Lahore Senate Packet and according to Ch. Shujaat, they had the blessing of President Asif Ali Zardari too along with others. More importantly, Ch. Shujaat Hussain perhaps forgot the name of a common friend, an individual playing his invisible right shots who could be considered a political mastermind and this troika will play a substantive role like played in Islamabad seats. This was led by Ch. Pervez Elahi was made public by Ch Shujhat and I feel this is quite a political ceasefire and amicable complimentary political trading between the political parties, avoiding the allegation of horse-trading by the media. More importantly, the opposition leader of Punjab Assembly is also out of jail. Ch Shujaat Hussain’s statements had given the outlines of this Lahore packet.

While watching him having gone physically weak, I recalled young Ch. Shujaat of early the 80s when I was PSO of Ch. Zahoor Elahi who was a highly intelligent minister in the cabinet of Gen Zia ul Haq and that is where I met the young gentleman introduced by his father. Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed, now a minister of PTI, was earlier very close to Ch Zahoor Elahi and provided the longest services to PMLN. There are many more politicians and judges associated with Ch Zahoor Elahi.

I had many meetings with both the brothers, they even used to visit my house located in F-8, Islamabad. We always kept our friendship very honestly and later on I met both of them when I was in London. My meeting was held with prior permission from Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto.

I also served under Ch Shujaat in the FIA while he was briefly made the interior minister. I found both brothers to be highly active in politics and their politics reflects the true reflection of Late Ch. Zahoor Elahi.

It is a matter of record that Gen Zia-ul-Haq fell apart from Ch Zahoor and ordered an investigation against him. I was asked to become approver against him which I declined and thereafter I was summoned by General Arif—the second most powerful general of the Zia regime and declined him too.

This was the time when Gen Faiz Chishti had also fallen out with the Gen Zia regime over some major issues and he also had a lot hidden in his chest to share with the nation. A serious political clash had occurred between Ch. Fazal Elahi and Ch Zahoor Elahi while Gen Zia was still chief Martial Law administrator and Mr. F K Bandial was the Federal Secretary who was posted in Rawalpindi while I was also posted there. The clash between the two brought both of us under crisis but the strategy chalked out by Mr. FK Bandail and me resolved the matter as Gen Zia wanted to favour Ch. Fazal Elahi. The complicated issue was sorted while keeping the three stakeholders happy and then Deputy Martial Law Administrator played a positive role in it. More details can be read in my upcoming book “100 Investigations” to be released next week and also some other major incidents of the time are elaborated.

Ch. Shujaat Hussain has a very sharp memory that during his last visit on the condolences of my elder sister, we recalled our many memories and we also agreed to co-author a book. I pray he gets well soon so we can have few sittings as we share some beautiful old memories of his father and Khawaja Safdar, father of Khawaja Mohammed Asif.

It is matter of record that I was director FIA during the second government of PPP when I was asked by my then DG FIA to investigate few matters against the Choudhry family and arrest both brothers, but I had the moral courage to decline the investigation at the cost of the annoyance of my DG and then-Interior Minister. I have given this background just to highlight that I have seen very closely the political abilities of their father and both of them. I have always been respected by both the brothers including their third brother. Fast-changing time brought us as colleagues in the cabinet under Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani who is now our PPP candidate.

The above preamble has been given to indicate the abilities of Chaudhary brothers and the level of performance in the present senate elections.

They made it possible to win the deal from their staunch political opponents under the Lahore packet. I see their decisive role in Islamabad. My political and investigative senses are suggesting that they prove to be the might.

People have the thirst to know how this quite political deal from the politically fraught city of Lahore had smoothly happened and as to how it is going to impact the election of Sheikh of Shikarpur and our Syed of Multan. One can assess that the strategy of these two brothers and our common third friend and individual are the real movers. What is important and decisive secret, is the mind of these two political managers of Punjab politics and coalition partners with PM Imran Khan and hence it was done in consultation with PM and the higher leadership of other two parties and one can see the indication in the statement of Ch Shujaat. It looks that both the brothers can turn the table in the Islamabad Senate seat too and let us see how ‘the compromise of Lahore’ brings political turmoil in Islamabad or perhaps a peace solution. I foresee that predictions by many political pundits will fall apart as nobody can play the political chess of Punjab better than these two brothers. Let us see how the Lahore game will impact PTI and my party candidate.

The PTI and its partners have 180 votes that include 156 from PTI, 7 from MQM, 5 from PML-Q, 5 from Balochistan Awami Party, 3 from GDA, 1 from JWP, 1 by Shaikh Rasheed, and 2 independent; one by Ali Nawaz Shah and one Mr. Bhutani.

On the other hand, PDM has a total of 158 votes that include PMLN 83, PPP 54, MMA 15, Mengal 4, 2 Independent of Manzoor Pashteen group, and one ANP. As per the above strengths of both sides, it shows the difference of 22 votes, in this way Gilani needs 23 votes to defeat Hafeez Shaikh as per this numerical figure but PDM may bank and try to win over Aslam Bhutani, GDAs 3 members, Ali Nawaz Shah, & Dr. Fehmida Mirza for Gilani. Gilani may win the support of some MNAs through Jahangir Tareen but he may perhaps not openly oppose PTI. Some MQM members may perhaps compromise based on old time’s sake and may ask for two seats from Sindh. If Yousaf Raza Gillani manages to attract the allies vote, then he will make it.

The above analysis is subject to secret voting whereas my sixth sense says that any voting gap will have a direct impact of the Lahore pact on Islamabad under the great ability of political handling of the two Punjab political Pundits and a powerful individual who is political mover and shaker of Pakistani politics sitting in Islamabad. Let us see how the above vote strength works with a clear conscience while voting. Both sides must remember that there can be no disseating of voters for switching the side as per the present law which is equally dangerous for both sides. It is my independent and unbiased numerical analysis based on the research by my “Institute of National Reforms “Islamabad. There will be a surprising outcome on 3rd March for the general masses despite fast internal political provincial shuttling however Pakistan needs honesty in voting and free of horse-trading. I hope our leadership will demonstrate this moral fibre to regain the lost trust of a common man.

 

Note: The article was published in The Nation on March 01, 2021, link to the article: https://nation.com.pk/01-Mar-2021/the-gujrat-power-saga-and-unopposed-senators