STRAIGHT TALK by Hafeez Khan
Majha and Saja were in business together. Majha had lent money to Saja who kept reneging on his promises to repay. Majha got fed up and complained to area elders. They were summoned to the council (Pariya) in a nearby village. Both boarded a bus to attend. En route their bus was robbed by local goons who boarded waving pistols taking away valuables. Saja was carrying money to repay the loan if so ordered. Suddenly Saja tells Majha please take your money. Majha refuses knowing the looters would take it away. In this back and forth one of thugs saw the money and snatched it. They both lost out.
Something similar is going on in Pakistan on our political scene. PDM through their enablers at home and abroad were able to breach the defenses of PTI. They dislodged PM IK through devious machinations and blatant bribery. PM Shahbaz Sharif was crowned and offered the throne. Unfortunately for Shahbaz, it was a seat full of cactus thorns. He was handed a hot potato by 13 odd parties which is burning holes in his hands. It is too hot to handle.
PDM was cobbled together on a one point agenda; to oust Imran Khan. They had no plans how to run the country. They carried out a full throated propaganda campaign through their lackeys against PM IK about his inexperience and incompetence. They had pompously boasted about their capabilities and experience at governance. They claimed they will bring the runaway inflation under control within days. No such thing happened. Instead the economy is headed towards hyper inflation. Prices of commodities of daily use are going through the roof. Rupee is depreciating fast likely to hit the parity value of 200. The reserves built brick by brick by PTI Government have been depleted by more than 30% in a month. The value of the stock market is tanking. The prospects of economic survival are getting bleaker each day.
PM Shahbaz Sharif is emerging as a dunce, incapable and incompetent. PML (N), the senior coalition partner’s pretense of having the expertise to run the government stands utterly discredited. Anyone versed in economics and politics can decipher what is really going on. PM SS is a puppet with many puppeteers pulling his strings in different directions. He appears to be a disjointed figure with a broken back.
In my article in mid March I had warned that PM Shahbaz will be a proxy for the real Prime Minister, the convicted absconder Nawaz Sharif. A new icing on the cake is emerging. Miftah Ismail is finance minister in name only. The real guy is the runaway fraudster Ishaq Dar. London is the new capital of Pakistan. The whole cabinet was carted there to pay homage to the Supremo. We saw on media a replay of the movie Godfather. Like Marlin Brando, Nawaz Sharif stood in the corner of a room while his consiglieres offered grace by lowering themselves. I cringed watching one human prostrate before another human. It is not politics, it is Mafioso on display. What a sad day for Pakistan!
In all this Asif Zardari is sitting pretty. In media clips you can see he is unable to wipe his cynical smile. Rightly so. He engineered the entire no confidence move receiving instructions through Hussain Haqqani, his conduit to American masters. In one stroke he removed his arch nemeses, PM IK and opened up his arch enemies PML (N) to bear the brunt of Pakistani nation’s disgust and anger. He is cozy with his support from rural Sind undiminished; it will ensure his survival in politics unless IK breaks through. Be warned he will be the first to bail out of PDM.
What has this regime achieved so far? We have discussed the economy. The Indian media is celebrating the re-opening of trade. They call it breaking of “akar” or self respect. Kashmiri struggle for revival of special entity status has been abandoned. It is the first pound of flesh extracted by USA working to create India’s hegemony in the area. It was closely followed by the Indian announcement of building a dam on River Chenab; Pakistan’s lifeline for its agriculture.
Accountability has been scuttled. Investigating DIG Rizwan is no more. Open and shut cases against PM SS and his son Hamza of money laundering have been abandoned. Overseas Pakistani voting rights are on the chopping block. Everything along with self respect is open for fire sale.
Not so says Imran Khan. He is emerging as a juggernaut that is shining a light on the Mir Jaffars and Mir Sadiqs. It is no longer a PTI struggle. It is the Pakistani nation that is refusing to submit to this thuggery. The visuals from each public meeting shared on the media are having a snowball effect on the nation. It is like slicing a limb off these demons each time. The momentum is building to levels unseen in the history of Pakistan.
This regime and their sponsors are running out of options fast. IK’s agenda is clear and has been embraced by teeming millions. First time in history women, who are 50% of the population, are participating with full vigor along with their kids. This rising tide of support is unstoppable. To prevent a revolution, free and fair early elections is the only answer. “Jehad Fe Sabilillah” has begun. Establishment has to own upto its responsibilities.
