In our PM’s words: And why don’t they leave then?
A video showing the true colours of the Pakistani leadership is being passed around on the web. This time it’s our Prime Minister, Yousaf Raza Gilani, who has shown the world why Pakistan is in such a sorry state. For the initial five minutes of this video, our prime minister makes the usual excuses that have become the trademark of the Pakistan government. In the last 15 seconds, interviewer Becky Anderson tells Gilani about poll results that reveal that about a third of Pakistanis want to leave the country. This is when the video gets really interesting. Following this remark come ...
Read Full Post
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 ...
Read Full Post
The president’s immunity
The question of whether President Asif Ali Zardari enjoys immunity against criminal or civil proceedings requires an analysis of Article 248 of the Constitution. This states that: Article 248 (1) : The president shall not be answerable to any court….for any act done or purported to be done in the exercise of those powers and performance of those functions. The article goes on to state that: Article 248 (2): No criminal proceedings whatsoever shall be instituted or continued against the president or a governor in any court during his term of office. Article 248(3): No process for the arrest or imprisonment of the ...
Read Full Post
Photoshopping the prime minister
A photograph circulated by the Press Information Department across newsrooms recently had Yousaf Raza Gilani standing in the middle, chatting with General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and General Khalid Shameem Wynne, with his fingers stationed uncomfortably near his chest — a pose we normally won’t stand in. But then again he is the prime minister. A sub-editor’s journalistic curiosity and an acute eye for detail led to a legitimate inquiry. Experts were called in. Professional advice was sought. No one could figure out this enigmatic conundrum: What happened to the prime minister’s fingers? “They are hiding something,” screamed one over-worked editor. ...
Read Full Post
Islamabad diary: Things khakis would have you believe (done)
Only politicians leak; the military simply beams out a coordinated message. The military’s target may change but the story is always the same. Most military briefings on civilian politicians essentially amount to the same thing: look at these hapless men and what damage they are doing to the country. You can judge the amount of contempt and hatred the military has for Husain Haqqani, the former Pakistan ambassador to the US, by the fact that they continue to brief against him even after they successfully ousted him from office. Two versions of the same story were pushed out this week to ...
Read Full Post
Skeletons in the Cabinet: A reshuffle that makes no sense
After almost three years of unprecedented failures, the government finally overhauled the Cabinet this week. Or has it? The new and improved ‘small’ cabinet includes a lot of old faces but there have been plenty of surprises – and they have been shockers. Ministry for Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan, of heera mandi attack fame, who is often called to talk shows when a little ghunda element is needed has been given the Information and Broadcasting Ministry. Dr Awan is now responsible for ‘handling’ the media, and tactfully explaining the government’s policies and defending it’s mistakes. From now on, after every single cabinet ...
Read Full Post
Is Pakistan your heaven or hell?
On January 20, 2011 PM Gilani announced the inauguration of Parliament Lodges Phase II. The construction will spread across four acres of land and the initial building will cost Rs2.9 billion. The entire project is set to be completed in 36 months. The lodges include 104 residential family flats, a gymnasium, mosque, meeting rooms and five servant quarters. Earlier, Gilani also discussed reintroducing a proposal to construct a tunnel that led directly from the parliament house to the parliament lodges so that the security of parliamentarians could be ensured. Interestingly, in the same address he talked about Pakistan’s economic crisis. Our government ...
Read Full Post
Swati, Kazmi sacked: Three cheers for PM Gilani
For the first time in my life, I am actually applauding the Prime Minister for finally doing his job, the job being in this case, taking executive decisions and putting his house in order. For once, the PM said something and then actually followed up on that immediately. Now I am hoping and wishing that happens every time he says something, but I guess that’s just asking a bit too much – but this is a great start. To understand the significance of today, we need to understand its background. So as most of you are aware of the ...
Read Full PostAttention Mr Gilani: Things are bad
Dear Mr Prime Minister, I know you are a very busy man – so busy that you couldn’t find the time to write a few lines that could have averted yet another judicial crisis. I also know that you must be preparing your speech and I write to you because after two and a half years of listening to excuses I need to say my piece. Mr Prime Minister, your party is a product of a revolution. I missed the earlier revolutions of our political history. The first one I witnessed was the movement for the restoration of judges. I remember ...
Read Full Post
Was a fourth military coup averted in Pakistan?
Hardly. Better still, there wasn’t a coup to start with. Monday’s well-timed meeting between the so-called ‘troika’ – the President, Prime Minister, and the Army chief – is being widely interpreted as having averted a possible collapse of the elected Zardari-Gilani government. There is no word from the military’s media people on the meeting but the president’s media office took the liberty of releasing a statement renewing the commitment of Gen. Kayani, and that of the President and Prime Minister, to defending democracy. If there’s anyone who created a frenzy about an extra-constitutional [read: military-engineered] change, it is the elected government ...
Read Full Post1-10 of 10
