STRAIGHT TALK by Hafeez Khan
In the sixties tractors and trawleys were rare. “Gud” a bull drawn wooden carriage, was used to move produce. Wheat crop after harvest would be thrashed manually and grains bagged. Farmers would be in a hurry to move these bags to safety of a storage to prevent unforeseen weather changes. As kids we would be onlookers of this entire process. After loading the “gud” to its capacity, we saw some workers would try and fit a few more bags to move things along.
The beast of burden, usually a bull or a bullock, when goaded to pull an overloaded cart using a whip, had a novel way of protesting. It would move a few steps and sit down. No amount of beating or goading through feeding,would make it move till the weight was reduced. I foresee that form of protest from the common man when the full load of the budget is downloaded after July 1st. Without a full-blown protest jamming all the highways by the public, these callous rulers will continue to squeeze the last drop of blood from the already bleeding poor.
Since April 2022 Pakistani nation has been jinxed, living in darkness of a prolonged solar eclipse. Things have gone from bad to worse with every passing day. For over two decades Pakistanis were fed facts and details about the corruption of the two leading political contenders, PML(N) and PPP. In 2013 elections the electorate started to react. The third-party contender, PTI, gained huge traction and was on the verge of upsetting the apple cart. That is when the guiding hand of omnipresent General Kayaniintervened leading to allegations by Imran Khan of “35 punctures”.
It was repeated again in 2018 by the biggest conniver of them all, General Bajwa. PTI support had grown tremendously and electorate was outraged by disclosures in Panama Papers. Going with the flow, Bajwa and his tool of choice, ISI, let IK build his momentum. However, the planners decided that this independent minded leader shall not be permitted outright majority. When PTI was coasting towards it, the computers crashed and results were manipulated to allow PTI to be the biggest party but reliant on Army’s puppets to form a government.
Despite these handicaps, IK led his government to cope with COVID pandemic, recover from inherited economic challenges and serve the masses through health cards, EHSAAS program and similar initiatives. He challenged energy crises head-on by speeding up hydro-electric projects. Internationally Pakistan grew in stature and remittances and exports surged. Bajwa, despite getting an extension, felt his control was slipping so he conspired with Nawaz Sharif and poisoned the well against IK,especially misleading USA.
IK was ousted in April 2022 based on now infamous “cypher” through the Machiavellian “London Plan”. Army had learnt their lesson; they did not impose martial law, they continued with “Kayani Doctrine” of ruling through proxies. Nawaz was petrified from returning to jail so he put forward “tabiadar”, “obediently yours” Shahbaz to lead a government of known crooks. The worst kind of suppression and brutality was unleashed against PTI which got accentuated after change of guard at army’s helm. General Asim’s ruthlessness knew no bounds, yet IK refused to submit and his popularity amongst Pakistanis grew by leaps and bounds.
February 8th 2024 will be known as day of silent revolution in Pakistan. Despite every form of coercion voters gave PTI a two third majority. It was unacceptable to General Asim and his coterie. They forged documents and gave “tabiadar” a fake majority. These results were denounced by Pakistanis and outright rejected by impartial international observers. Since then, the outrage against such blatant fraud has only grown.
It has led to severe political instability in the country where an overwhelming majority of Pakistanis considers the present Government as fake. It has strained an already fragile economy teetering on bankruptcy. All our international friends and stakeholders question the legitimacy of this government and emphasize the need for political stability. The recent US Congress bi-partisan resolution #HR 901 passed by 368 votes in support and 7 opposed calling the elections flawed and seek an impartial investigation. It is a game changer. It will have far reaching effects. Loudmouth Khawaja Asif and Ishaq Dar have called it “external interference”. Did they have marbles intheir mouth when the actual intervention happened as per infamous “cypher”?
The dispute has reached the Supreme Court before a full bench. It is outrageous how CJ Qazi and his coattail carrier Afghan J act like “babe in the woods” demanding behavior by the book in extraordinary circumstances prevailing prior to February elections. They should listen to advice given by their colleague Justice Mandokhel to IK stating “when the house is on fire you don’t differentiate between halal or haram water”.
The spine shown by important parts of judiciary and unrelenting support of the masses is dismantling this fake and fraudulent regime brick by brick. I am certain that General Asim and his “wise” team must have realized the flimsiness of the jokers they are trying to prop. Do they really believe that 60% of Pakistan living in Punjab will be enamored by the screen beauty of a scripted and crafted CM obsessed with Tik Tok? People need respite from bludgeoning inflation and uncertainty. It can only return through rule of law and army’s end to political interference. These band aid solutions will not work without IK’s and other political prisoners’ immediate release.
