What the PML-N got wrong
In the last eight months or so, the PML-N has done pretty much everything a party can do in an election year. They have dug up every road in Punjab, raised concerns about problems in other provinces and have even recruited avidly to beef up their party ranks. Effectively, they have prepared well for the upcoming elections. And even though the tsunami is coming for them, they are still focused on the real competitor. One would say that they are ready to go to the polls and seize power. However, all is not what it seems to be – my personal ...
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Is there a method to Sharif’s madness?
In a fiery press conference recently, PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif warned Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani to step down or face a long march aimed at dislodging him. Claiming the high moral ground, Mr Sharif said that since Gilani was convicted, he has lost all moral reason to continue in office. Sharif’s newfound love for the judiciary is well-known. Ever since he returned from exile, he has proved to be the most ardent champion of judicial supremacy and rule of law. If there are people around who want to talk about an obscure incident in a distant past where some PML-N ...
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PTI & PML-N: Saviours of justice or a national joke?
There is never a dull moment in the land of the pure. We have a special knack to turn even solemn things into national jokes. A few leading political parties of the country have tried to hoodwink gullible people by posing to be ‘saviours of the judiciary.’ Unfortunately, they have been doing so with complete impunity and have, so far, remained successful in their designs. The PPP-led coalition government has also been accused of hatching conspiracies against the independence of the judiciary. This spectacle began on January 19, 2012 when Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani appeared before the Supreme Court in a ...
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Mubashir Luqman, why can’t you appreciate something good?
Last week, Mubashir Luqman conducted a show in which he revealed the corruption of PML-N’s laptop distribution scheme. The videos of the show went viral on YouTube. People admire Mubashir Luqman because of his thorough research, but I’ll be straight here – I actually like his show because it is in favour of the PTI. In the past, when Luqman spoke about the MQM, nobody liked him. But since he is now against the PML-N and his allegations are in great favour of the PTI, he has turned into a national hero. Let’s come to the allegations ...
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Asad Umar: From Engro to Imran Khan
After all the negativity attached to our trembling politics, corporate tycoon Asad Umar’s addition to the scene is a welcome surprise. Who is Asad Umar? Asad has been with the Engro Corporation for the last 27 years in different capacities, before he finally assumed the position of company CEO and president in 2004. During this period, he played an active role in the complete transformation of his conglomerate, and converted it into a diversified industrial business, with interests ranging from fertilisers, foods, petrochemicals, chemical storage, energy and commodity trading. An amicable and intellectual personality, Umar has enjoyed a great reputation amongst his friends and colleagues. A ...
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A question of loyalty
Are flexible loyalties all that one needs to resurrect a political career? Are there ideological reasons behind such decisions or are they just a matter of profit and loss? Did any leaders who switched sides bother to take into confidence those whose votes helped them achieve the political stardom? Did they feel that they were on the wrong paths earlier in their careers? Or, perhaps, they are not answerable to anyone? The season, with elections inching closer, is ripe for more such announcements but there already exists a long list of these ‘awakened’ politicians. Hina Rabbani Khar, Jehangir Tareen, Javed ...
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Najeeb Haroon: A not-so-high-profile PTI founder
Who is the first person that comes to mind when you talk about the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf? My guess is Imran Khan. Believe it or not, a number of others were a part of the movement that started the party back in 1996. Let’s focus on another core founding father’ of the PTI, shall we? In June 1996, the first Central Executive Committee of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf was formed and included the following eight founding fathers: Muhammad Najeeb Haroon, Nazim Haji, Hamid Khan, Dr Parvez Hassan, Abdul Hafeez Khan, Owais Ghani, Dr Abdul Mateen, and Dr Mohammad Farooq. As of today, only Najeeb Haroon and Hamid Khan remain members of the party ...
Read Full PostFor PTI trolls: A lesson on bashing
If you are using any social media platform, you have probably come across the PTI troll. In most cases they make emotional arguments, repeating the same things posted on the PTI website or (worse still) basing arguments on the statements of their great leader. Frankly, I am quite tired of listening to the same arguments over and over again. So to escape the same buzzwords, I decided to help them out by writing a playbook for those senselessly bashing the Sharifs. I am laying out three good arguments that can be made by anyone who hates PML-N and not look like a fool ...
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Much frustration and resentment
I will be accused of coming down hard on political parties but wouldn’t be wrong in saying that on most occasions, there is a wide gap between what our political leaders say and what they end up doing. Ordinary Pakistanis are suffering from a myriad of problems in the country, yet we find our political leaders busy building castles in the air. Take, for instance, the slogan of the PPP whose credo for all its existence has been to provide Pakistanis with ‘roti, kapra aur makan’. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has a motto where it says that it will eliminate corruption within ...
Read Full PostPTI and Marvi: A love story turned sour
When the PML- Q joined hands with the current PPP government, Marvi Memon took a stand (along with some other MNAs and MPAs of her party) and decided not to join the federation. She even went a step ahead and tendered her resignation from the National Assembly. This move improved her image in the public eye and people began to feel that she will take revolutionary steps in politics; that she will use her political standing for the people of her country. Political analysts and critics were of the view that Marvi Memon will join the PTI after she left her parent party. But due ...
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