STRAIGHT TALK by Hafeez Khan
Mirror mirror on the wall who is the greatest liar of them all? There was stiff competition amongst military leaders, poodle politicians and some parts of Judiciary and bureaucracy. The undisputed winner was CEC Sikander Sultan Raja. I recollect in early days of technology, latest musical gadgets were promoted as 3 in 1 wherein you play a cassette, a disc and radio. CEC Raja has exceeded that by being 4 in 1. He is the planner, executor, adjudicator, and enforcer; all combined in one evil person.
The darkest period in Pakistan’s history has prolonged for over two years. CEC Raja represents the worst portions of this blackness. Since the removal of PTI’s Government,the entire structure has been built on lies. It will take thisentire article and many more if I re-call all the events. Suffice it to say that they were based on the Machiavellian London Plan authored by General Bajwa and Nawaz Sharif. General Asim Muneer bought into it, hook line and sinker. Mastermind Bajwa made elaborate preparations to unleash their nefarious designs by poisoning the Americans against IK. He concocted false and evil chain of events about IK that never existed. CEC Raja was the central figure in implementing all the shenanigans.
This prolonged eclipse continues. All the Junta’s brutal suppression, torture, indiscriminate jailings, complete censorship, flagrant violations of the Constitution and prevalent law have failed miserably. One man surviving in spartan solitary confinement of a death cell of 8ft by 10ft has dominated Pakistan’s agenda. The recent photographs showing his living conditions is a slap on the face of the government. I have had the privilege of seeing IK’s spacious bedrooms in Zaman Park and Bani Gala and can make a comparison. His present conditions are shameful. It is an effort to humiliate and break IK’s spirit and resolve. Unfortunately, these myopic generals fail to recognize and come to terms with a simple fact, “this Mard-e- Qalandar” is way past the trappings of worldly comforts.
IK was removed from office based on an erroneous assumption of the conspirators that he will wither away into oblivion once out of power. Exactly the opposite happened. In his 26 years of political struggle till 2022, IK had succeeded in convincing Pakistanis that PDM leaders installed to replace him were a bunch of crooks. They have stolen the nation blind and such thieves were unacceptable. Their performance in PDM 1, PDM 2 and the interims in between, has miserably failed to give any relief or hope to the common man; their suffering continues unabated increasing with every passing day.
Efforts to malign IK personally, financially, morally, and legally have bombed; blowing up in the face of these lying rulers. It has created an unbreakable bond between him and an overwhelming majority of Pakistanis. It can be defined so simply; they love him, believe in him, and trust him completely. It all boils down to standing with the truth or surrendering to blatant lies. The verdict given by voters on Feb 8th was unambiguous. PML (N) has shrunk to 17 seats and PPP failed to make any breakthrough beyond Sindh. MQM and ANP have been wiped out. PTI got 182 seats. This count and various other criminal acts by ECP and bureaucracy have been confirmed by independent observers like FAFEN, PATTAN and international media.
Since Feb 8th General Asim and his coterie along with their partners in crime in SC and ECP have been desperately trying to sanctify this fraud. You tell one lie and you have to tell another hundred to justify the original sin. Hence our title today “sandcastles built on lies can’t last.” This Government based on fake form 47 has no legs to stand on. Three seats in Islamabad challenged in Election Tribunal is going to turn out as a test case. True facts are hounding these fraudsters and they have fled to take cover under the “liar-in-chief’s” wings. ECP’s expertise in committing fraud is unmatched. He will resort to every mean act to blunt the pursuit for truth by honorable justices in Islamabad. May truth and justice prevail.
While the Generals, PM Sharif, CJ SC and ECP are consumed by their burning desire to remove IK from the scene, they have failed to recognize the real elephant in the room. It is not IK; it is the economy. You cannot run a car on an empty tank. The residual fumes will make the car sputter and come to a grinding halt. PM Sharif is shuttling between capitals with a begging bowl without results. The reality is larger than life. We do not have money to pay interest let alone repayments of loan installments. The latest squeeze emanating from IMF dictates will make life unbearable as costs escalate.
We have a regime determined to perpetuate their dictatorship. They are deploying every coercive measure to further their desire. Here is a reality check; we are amongst the most indebted countries. We havediminishing inflow of remittances and declining exports. All the fancy dreams touted under SIFC have come to naught. It was a pipe-dream of General Asim which has flopped miserably. What other options do they have? Selling family silver will only take us so far. Without a real change and course correction we stand at the edge of the precipice. It is time for the masses to standup and enforce the verdict they gave on Feb 8th to save the future of our nation.
