Articles of the year 2016

The Army Chief, having done a great job in the NAP, bringing the northern areas, and Karachi under control, weeding out large numbers of target killers and extortion mafia to book. Now with the finish line in sight, the last stage is a cleansing of the political parties. This has brought Gen Raheel to a grinding halt .The Pakistani people do not understand, that after such a successful cleanup of the most dangerous criminals, how this campaign could stop. When the politicians were very much part of the criminalization of our society. Each party had target killers in their pay, and extortionists were part of the political system, and have confessed as much in their statements. These parties should have been banned after their confessions. The crimes committed are horrific,–one person Saulat Mirza admitted to killing 129 persons on instructions ! And yet this party has been allowed to function, and to continue functioning.

The COAS has achieved all of this without compromise, and without being compromised. However as his retirement is due in a few months, the people will face a return of the criminals. Who will bring a term of revenge to make up for their lost earnings. This will cost the people much in blood and money, to reassert their influence. Can the COAS, put the people of Pakistan through this trauma? Surely not.
General Raheel cannot allow Pakistan to slide back into the chaos that existed in the past. Gen Raheel must see his assignment through to the end. The rogue politicians must be got rid of. Democracy does not mean criminality. Except for Imran Khan, all the other politicians are corrupt and should be dealt with under the relevant laws, which is not possible with the present legal system in place, as the lawyers will start to challenge this decision to maintain the status quo. This will negate all the good work done by the team of Gen.Raheel.

It is important that the General ensure that his work is not left unfinished and the foundations of a new clean Pakistan be put in place. The politicians have already decided not to resist, and they would feel lucky to escape with jail sentences. Gen.Raheel must realize, that he has no option, and cannot leave Pakistan at the mercy of these criminals. They are more brutal than any foreign enemy, and will endanger the very integrity of Pakistan itself. It is important that Gen Raheel calls for a referendum if need be to bring the people on board.
This referendum would legalize this decision, and could be backed by the Supreme Court of Pakistan. Under the present circumstances this is the only viable option, probably the least painful. The only other option is a call to the people which could be very bloody, and then as in any revolution, the outcome is unknown.
People do not understand, that after such a successful cleanup of the most dangerous criminals, how this campaign could stop. When the politicians were very much part of the criminalization of our society. Each party had target killers in their pay, and extortionists were part of the political system, and have confessed as much in their statements. These parties should have been banned after their confessions. The crimes committed are horrific,–one person Saulat Mirza admitted to killing 129 persons on instructions ! And yet this party has been allowed to function, and to continue functioning. The National Assembly membership consists of people who are not qualified, or stand disqualified, for non disclosure of assets, or have been involved in massive corruption.

Except for Imran Khan, all the other politicians are corrupt and should be dealt with under the relevant laws, which is not possible with the present legal system in place, as the lawyers will start to challenge this decision to maintain the status quo. This will negate all the good work done by the team of Gen.Raheel.
The Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has to date maintained a studied non-interference in the Army action, while claiming credit for the successes in the Northern areas,and then in Karachi and parts of Sind Lyari and Malir. However the Army action was prevented from entering the Punjab. Leaving the PMLN top dog in the largest and most powerful province of Pakistan. Nawaz Sharif has emerged as the strong man of Pakistan. This raises an additional question. Is Nawaz Sharif, a part time Prime Minister who dislikes attending office, and prefers to work through remote control. Can the Prime Ministership of Pakistan be conducted in this haphazard manner and through Ishaq Dar – Finance, acting Prime Minister be entrusted to run the affairs of Pakistan, while we are being encircled by the Indian supporter regimes. With no Foreign Minister at hand, Pakistan is indeed fortunate that the Chinese have managed to thwart the Indian encirclement of Pakistan. With no input from the Pakistanis. We are indeed lucky that the Chinese are such steadfast friends, and also that the Pak-China project is so big and that both countries have such a huge stake, that the Chinese cannot and will not allow this project to fail.

The biggest mistake made by Nawaz Sharif and his predecessors is completely ignoring production of goods. Today textile production is down by 40 percent. Leather and leather goods a similar 40 percent. A Nation is known by its industrial production. The drop in textiles and leather shows that our skilled labour is unemployed, with no other source of income. Nawaz Sharif has concentrated too much on infrastructure roads and bridges. Which are useless if there are no products to use these facilities. The top priority should be to raise the textile production – a product that we have excelled at in the past, but one in which we have been edged out by Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Due to the Governments failure in not anticipating the Power problem. Again the part time Prime Minister must address all these issues and not concentrate on the roads at the cost of industry. Working part time is not good enough. It is high time ALL the issues are tackled together. The empty Ministerial slots should be filled with competent Ministers, and not relatives.
The prime Minister must realize that the Chinese are building their China corridor to move goods produced in China. They have achieved their industrial growth, and are now expanding their infrastructure, and not the other way round. It is Industry that is the hallmark of a great nation, and not roads.