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

Pakistan—heading towards more crises by Senator A. Rehman Malik

 

We all are responsible for pushing our country quickly to the point of no return on national issues and we all are responsible for creating the crises ourselves and we are failing to counter serious challenges. We have been handling this country carelessly and immaturely without proper requisite planning. The adhocism adopted by successive governments and now PTI has brought us to the present situation, where our rupee has dipped to Rs 160 to a dollar. Let us view the most recent issues and mega scandals. The main challenge is the economic debacle that could not be rectified in two-and-a-half years. Now FATF has once again decided that Pakistan will continue to stay on the grey list for another four months, until June despite significant progress and meeting 24 out of 27 points in the action plan. The decision is highly biased and seemed to be influenced by anti-Pakistan propaganda. Instead of removing Pakistan’s name, FATF announced “Pakistan remains under increased monitoring”. 

I ask Mr Marcus Pleyer, President FATF; what was the need to praise Pakistan when FATF failed to take Pakistan out of the grey list? It is a hypocritical statement by President FATF whereas Pakistan has already lost $38 billion because of being on the grey list. Will FATF cover our huge economic loss because of its discrimination? 

The government should not start praising FATF to reciprocate their hollow praises as it is a trap to block Pakistan from reacting to its decision. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs must not take any credit for praises or not being placed on the blacklist but should react over keeping Pakistan on the grey list till June as the fact is that we will be further hammered under increased monitoring.

Let us pick the first fall of the rupee as this is very important as the devaluation of our currency from 124 in July 2018 to Rs 160 today has badly affected our economy and still, no reforms or policies have been brought by our government to get hold of this constant decline. Currency Mafia from Karachi to Peshawar is fully active in minting money. Whereas Inflation has jumped from 5.8 percent in July 2018 to a record high of 14 percent in 2020 making the life of a common man miserable. It is likely to increase further this year. More price hike is likely to hit the common man. Pakistan will be forced for more price hikes at the cost of the already crushed common man by the Government and IMF. The new price hikes and the additional coronavirus burden will make our lives miserable. The second tranche of $6 Billion has not been released yet by the IMF and even if they do, it is retained under the garb of debt servicing, more taxes, and inflation. Our government is trying very hard to receive the second tranche of about $ 500 million which has been put on hold by the IMF for a second review and the second review means compliance with more strict conditions.

Additionally, the fall of the growth rate of our country started dropping from 5.8 percent to a record low of -0.4 percent in 2020 which had started dropping from 1.9 percent in 2019 and -1.55 percent at the beginning of year 2020. It is feared that this year will bring further decline to the growth rate and the common man will be in more trouble. Now foreign debts have become the real national issue and as of December 2020, our public debt and liabilities were estimated to be about Rs44.978 trillion/US$283 billion which is 98.7 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) of Pakistan. Can the government now say that the economic indicators are improving; one can see these are declining on a daily basis.

Similarly, as of December 2020, the external debt of Pakistan has now skyrocketed to around US$115.7 billion. Pakistan owes US$11.3 billion to the Paris Club, US$33.1 billion to multilateral donors, US$7.4 billion to International Monetary Fund, and US$12 billion to international bonds such as Eurobond, and Sukuk bonds. About 15 percent of the external debt which is estimated at around US$17.1 billion (6.15 percent of GDP) is owed to China due to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and it is going to increase and we are unable to pay to the Chinese CEPC companies despite the sovereign agreement.

I will expose those who are responsible and who are pushing to bring the Chinese power companies to a dead end. I draw the attention of the government to make sure this non-payment may not become a major irritant in CEPC. It is needed to examine how many American passport holders are working in CEPC and who has allowed Indian and Jewish companies for major supplies and how they are retrieving important data for enemies. We are already facing international isolation and daily we are having setbacks, as Pakistan’s enemies already have managed to isolate Pakistan internationally. Our government, on the other hand, is doing nothing in its capacity to strengthen and improve foreign relations with other countries.

With each passing day, the government is failing to improve ties not only with neighbouring countries but is also driving our allies away due to incompetency and inefficiencies. We are losing our Arab friends too as in August 2020, when Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi blasted the 57-member Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, accusing the OIC of failing to support Pakistan’s stance on Kashmir. This infuriated officials in Saudi Arabia, which plays a key role in the OIC’s affairs and froze a $3.2 billion (€2.72 billion) oil credit facility and demanded that Pakistan repay part of a $3 billion loan. Similarly, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), chose India over Pakistan as the preferred guest at the OIC meeting. We have also failed to bring India under ICJ’s jurisdiction for its brutalities in Kashmir whereas India has time and again tried its best to allege us for terrorism which is evident from its successful orchestration of terrorist attacks in Uri and Pulwama which it blamed on Pakistan.

The European Union and the United States had already maintained a distance from Pakistan long ago. Our global condemnation and isolation are also visible today where the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has announced to keep Pakistan on the grey list. Where are the efforts of the foreign ministry to have avoided the further placement of Pakistan on FATF’s grey list and where is our foreign secretary hiding?

We are encountered with growing Daesh presence, whereas I have been advocating the fact that Daesh has been chosen by anti-Pakistan designers to move their agenda of destabilising the country, particularly KP and Balochistan. Unfortunately, certain political quarters in Balochistan gave way to these anti-Pakistan moves, which was quite upsetting, as they did not foresee the consequences for the country. After the arrest of RAW agent Kulbhushan Yadav, there is no doubt left as to how India is involved in destabilising Pakistan. India is already using Daesh and RAW in Balochistan, KP, and other parts of Pakistan to achieve its objectives.

Every successive Indian government has been actively involved in attempts to destabilise Pakistan via Balochistan. India has been conducting acts of terrorism through RAW agent and has strengthened its terrorist network which is run by Daesh now. India has adopted the model of killing the Hazara community members to instigate Iran on the Shia killings; it wasn’t to create sectarian riots in Pakistan. We are suffering because of our internal political polarisation and have no unity within political ranks. Political parties are more interested in ditching each other and enhancing their vote bank but no attention is paid to national issues. There is growing internal political polarisation in our country affecting our credibility and image worldwide. Our politicians play a dirty role to undermine democracy and damage the image of our country. Our politics is nothing but a race of deals and self-serving interests to get power or to facilitate destroying the democratic system.

The dangerous elements of hypocrisy should come to end. There is no harmony among our government and opposition, not even on grave national interests. The democracy in our country is humiliated by petty arguments, horse-trading, dharnas (sit-in), long marches, and by allowing the foreign-funded proxy wars. Let us not forget the tragedy of breaking away of East Pakistan from us which was also a politically motivated affair and India took advantage of polarisation within the leadership and the element of tolerance had evaporated. We should not allow repeating these mistakes in small provinces.

The article was published in The Nation on February 27, 2021. Link to the original article: https://nation.com.pk/27-Feb-2021/pakistan-heading-towards-more-crises