STRAIGHT TALK by Hafeez Khan
Ruthless pursuit of a goal for greater good is commendable. However, ruthlessness in achieving selfish goals by destroying all values, laws and norms of decency is despicable. That is what we are witnessing everyday; the scenes of mistreatment of Shah Mehmood Qureshi is the freshest wound. The way these depraved mercenaries pushed and shoved a greatly respected icon is a national humiliation. What is caught on camera is just part of the process to break honorable self respecting leaders. From accounts I have heard from other victims, what happens behind fortified walls and barbed wires is brutal and vicious.
What is the crime of the thousands of prisoners languishing in jail in sub-human conditions? They are seeking freedom of expression guaranteed by the Constitution. These violators of laws are suffocating democracy to subdue the will of the people to exercise their basic right to elect leaders of their choice. I am bamboozled by the silence of the so-called champions of democracy around the world. How they are letting one of the most populous countries slip from democratic dispensation to a brutal dictatorship is shameful. Where is media of the free world? The human rights champions of the world seem to be blind folded. It reeks of hypocrisy and selective conscience that picks and chooses only the violations that serve their purpose.
I was a kid when Ayub Khan’s martial law was imposed. The clout of the army emanated from their presence not from wielding their guns or sticks. I saw wire nettings come up in restaurants including my favorite “pakora” vendor close to our home. Zia’s rule was far more brutal. He went after Bhutto supporters in a big way peeling away most of the leadership. The masses did not get involved and the dictatorship was able to consolidate. Musharraf’s martial law was lot more benign.
April 2022 saw the start of a new phenomenon last seen in East Pakistan in 1970. Rather than imposing martial law the Establishment formed an alliance with corrupt and discredited politicians. PDM became the face directed by General Bajwa. All their energies were focused on dismantling PTI and forcing Imran Khan to abandon politics. Backroom conspiracies between Bajwa and PDM Honcho Nawaz Sharif morphed into what is known as the “London Plan”. The present Chief adopted it entirely owing his appointment by the Sharifs.
While this hybrid regime of conspirators moved ahead in ruthless pursuit of their objectives a huge new factor came into play. The people of Pakistan completely rejected these Machiavellian manipulations. Despite putting the country back on track that would have led to economic independence, PTI was running out of steam under the constant barrage of negative propaganda. There were major concerns within the party about local bodies elections scheduled for May 2023. The ouster of PTI proved to be the proverbial kick to the hunchback that straightened his back.
The slide in PTI’s popularity was a fundamental premise for this unholy alliance to remove IK. It rebounded in their faces like the Australian native’s weapon known as “boomerang”. Pakistanis rejected the regime change emphatically from the day PTI government was removed. Through all the brutality, illegal cases, character assassination attempts, the trajectory of support for IK has been upwards. The courts have been bullied; bureaucracy and police have become instruments of suppression and media is completely stifled. Yet IK’s resolve is unwavering; it is being rejuvenated by the unrelenting support of masses standing firmly behind him.
After tons of illegal and unconstitutional delays in elections, finally February 8th is the D day. However PTI is being pushed into a corner by most unethical ECP that we have seen in decades. Earlier incumbents in this position at least pretended to be fair. This person has come out blatantly and shamelessly. Look at the absurdity of singling out PTI out of the 175 registered political parties to reject their intra-party elections and taking away their election symbol.
Peshawar High Court’s staying this abomination by ECP is being attacked from all sides. ECP rather than focusing on holding free and fair elections is challenging this decision in Supreme Court and wasting time in conducting a contempt of court trail in Adiala jail. This nation deserves better than this unscrupulous man servant of Sharifs and the Establishment.
Much has been written about the Army Chief’s visit to USA. We are seeing some positive signs emerging from it. Tayyaba Shah, a dual citizen has been released. For the first time since the demand for free and fair elections, the army high command has announced that they will provide security for the “forth coming elections”.
This groundswell of support to PTI has totally unnerved all the political parties. Nawaz Sharif who was heralded as the savior has totally bombed. He and his henchmen are petrified of coming out to face the masses. The rejection by masses is a writing on the wall. Their lackeys are now openly demanding that the Establishment come to their rescue by either entirely rigging the electoral process or derail it completely.
They are yet again attacking the members of judiciary who are upholding the law. Why can’t they comprehend that elections without PTI will be totally meaningless? In this war of nerves someone has to blink. All the attempts to cow down IK are doomed to fail. Fairness and a level playing field is the only way forward for the sake of our country.
