Li will not only be given a red carpet welcome on the ground, but also in the air: a squad of six JF-17 fighter jets, jointly produced by Pakistan and China, will escort his plane the moment it enters Pakistani air space.

This would be Li’s first trip to Pakistan since taking office in March, and makes him the first foreign head of government to travel to the country following the historic democratic transition that saw an electoral victory for the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz.

Once he arrives, Prime Minister Keqiang will meet President Asif Ali Zardari and interim Prime Minister Mir Hazar Khan Khoso. Li will also have a one-on-one meeting with Nawaz Sharif, who is widely expected to be the next prime minister, a foreign ministry official told The Express Tribune.

The two-time former premier will specially travel to Islamabad for this purpose on Thursday, taking time out from his hectic engagements in Lahore, where he is busy in the formation of his government, both in the Centre and Punjab.

A close aide of the PML-N chief said Nawaz will seek to further cement relations with China. “His focus will be on enhancing economic and trade cooperation,” he added.

Currently, bilateral trade between Pakistan and China stands at $12 billion a year.

“We will certainly want to push this figure to over $15 billion in next two years,” said the PML-N member.

According to the schedule, Li will meet President Zardari and Khoso today, after which a joint press conference will take place.

The caretaker prime minister will host a banquet for the Chinese premier in the evening, where he (Li) will be conferred the highest civil award of Nishan-e-Pakistan.

PML-N chief Mian Nawaz Sharif will call on the Chinese premier tomorrow (May 23). The Chinese Premier will also address the Senate of Pakistan and hold a joint meeting with the Senate chairman and the National Assembly speaker.

Regional security

The current regional security situation would also figure prominently in discussions between the Chinese premier and Pakistan’s new leadership.

The PML-N believes that China is an important regional and international player; therefore, its role is crucial for any peace deal in Afghanistan. The new government will seek a greater role for regional countries, including China and Russia, to bring long-term peace in Afghanistan.

The country’s powerful security establishment appears to also be on board when it comes to the role of China in Afghanistan’s endgame.

“Pakistan’s civil and military leadership may have differences on many foreign policy issues but China is one country where there seems to be a complete consensus among all the stakeholders,” said security analyst Fida Khan.

The Chinese premier will be accompanied by a high powered delegation, comprising Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Minister for Commerce Gao Hucheng and Chairman of National Development Reform Commission Xu Shaoshi, high ranking officials and leaders of the corporate sector.

Economic Corridor deal

Many important agreements and MoUs in the fields of economy, science and technology, space & upper atmosphere communication and energy will be signed during Li’s visit. “About a dozen agreements are likely to be signed during the visit,” a foreign office official said.

Pakistan has already given China a contract to develop and operate the Gwadar Port, and both countries don’t seem to want to stop there, and will work on deepening their economic and trade ties.

They are expected to set up the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which would turn Pakistan into a hub of regional cooperation. Under this programme, China will make large investments in Gwadar Port, including setting up an oil city.

The Federal Cabinet has given the go-ahead to the corridor, and Islamabad and Beijing are likely to ink a deal in this connection during Li’s two-day visit to Pakistan.

The two countries are also expected to sign a memorandum of understanding for cooperation in marine science and technology, between Pakistan’s Ministry of Science and Technology and China’s State Oceanic Administration (SOA). The Cabinet recently gave a go-ahead to signing the agreement.

As a follow-up to the accord, Pakistan and China will establish a joint marine research facility with an integrated observation station at Karachi with major assistance and support from Beijing.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 22^nd, 2013.

“Tackling the power crisis is definitely the first thing we will do,” said PML-N Secretary General Ahsan Iqbal. “However, reviving the economy and dealing with security issues are equally important and will also be given due importance,” he added.

The party is now set to implement the long- and short-term plans it has promised in its manifesto to overcome the burgeoning energy crisis. “We have already starting working along these lines [of the manifesto],” said Iqbal.

To a question about the upcoming National Assembly session, he said that those at the helm of affairs should summon the lower house session as soon as possible. “Federal budget will be announced in June and, for that, we need ample time,” he added.

According to media reports, the National Assembly session would be summoned on May 28. However, this was not confirmed by the National Assembly Secretariat. These reports came a day after caretaker Information Minister Arif Nizami and Law Minister Ahmer Bilal Sufi said powers would be transferred to the new government within 21 days, i.e. June 2.

According to a party official, the PML-N has decided to present a national agenda to all parliamentary groups for effective collaboration.

In this vein, he referred to Nawaz Sharif’s visit to the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital to enquire after the health of ailing Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan.

The official said that although PML-N has emerged as the majority party, it will not go in for a solo fight to steer the country out of the crises.

Recent reports indicate that the party is still short of 11 NA seats of the 137 required to form a government. However, the official expressed confidence that, unlike the previous PPP government which had to deal with several demanding coalition partners, the PML-N will be in a ‘comfortable position’.

He mentioned 26 independent candidates who had won NA seats, and how many of them had expressed their willingness to join the party.

According to election laws, an independent candidate has to decide within three days of his notification by the Election Commission of Pakistan regarding his affiliation with a party. The ECP has not issued notifications yet, but several independent candidates have already been contacted by the PML-N.

The ECP will issue notifications after the candidates file details of their election expenses in the prescribed manner. In this regard, the ECP has asked all winners to submit their details by May 21.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 16^th, 2013.

Nawaz Sharif is all set to form a Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government in the Centre for the third time, after his party emerged as the clear leader according to the unofficial results of the 2013 elections.

Millions turned out to cast their votes on Saturday, largely rejecting the former ruling coalition led by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). Many idols fell as Pakistanis voted for new faces in the National Assembly from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI), which has emerged as the second largest political force, surpassing the PPP and others.

Although, results are yet to be officially announced, Nawaz was quick to declare victory as he addressed his supporters outside his Model Town residence in Lahore. “We are thankful to Allah for giving the PML-N another chance to serve Pakistan,” he said in his brief address.

“Now, pray that we (the PML-N) get am absolute majority in assembly,” he said. The PML-N chief, however, indicated that if needed he would be willing to form a coalition with other smaller parties.

Nawaz also announced that he would forgive “all those who abused” him and his brother and former Punjab chief minister Shahbaz Sharif.

Nawaz served as prime minister from 1990 to 1993, before he was sacked by then president Ghulam Ishaq Khan. His second term lasted from1997 to 1999, when he was deposed by the Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf.

The province of the Punjab holds the key to the making or breaking of governments, owing to its 148 general seats in the National Assembly that were, this time,  dominated by the N-League. Nawaz Sharif’s party reclaimed almost all those seats won by the PPP in the 2008 elections.

According to  PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif won his NA-120 constituency, and Shahbaz Sharif won NA-129.

PTI chairman Imran Khan lost NA-122 to Sardar Ayaz Sadiq after a close competition. However, PTI’s Shafqat Mehmood and Hamid Khan advocate won NA-126 and NA-125 respectively. This makes the PTI Punjab’s second largest party.

The PPP did not fare as well, with many of its major leaders losing by large margins in some cases.

Saturday’s polls were historic not only for being the first democratic transition in the country’s history, but also in terms of the turnover, especially given the security situation in the country.

The polls’ interim results disproved all negative assessments about Imran Khan’s PTI, which performed beyond the expectations of many. Imran won his native seat from Mianwali, after defeating his arch rival, veteran politician Obaidullah Khan Shadikhel, by a margin of about 60,000 votes.

The PTI appears to be filling the gap created by the PPP and its allies, whose last five year stint was mired with allegations of corruption, mismanagement, economic downturn and lawlessness.

The PPP maintained a good record in its traditional stronghold – Sindh. Senior politicians Syed Naveed Qamar and Syed Khursheed Shah retained their respective seats with handsome leads. According to unofficial results, however, former ministers Imtiaz Safdar Warraich, Firdous Ashiq Awan, Mian Manzoor Wattoo and two-time winner from Sargodha Tasneem Ahmed Qureshi lost the elections.

With Qureshi and Afzal Gondals’ defeat in Sargodha, the PPP has lost its chances of winning any seat from the five seats of Sargodha district. Unconfirmed results suggested that the PML-N dominated the district, as well as Faisalabad district’s 10 contested seats.

However, not everyone in the PML-N was a winner. Some big names in the party, particularly ones from the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, failed to bag majority votes. Muhammad Shakeel Awan from NA-55 lost to Awami Muslim League (AML) leader and veteran politician Sheikh Rashid Ahmed; Hanif Abbasi was in tough competition with Imran Khan for NA-56, while the PML-N also lost one of its two previous seats in Islamabad, which was claimed this time by PTI’s Makhdoom Javed Hashmi, who defeated N-League’s Anjum Aqeel Khan by a big margin.

The fractured PML-Quaid, which boasted 54 seats in the previous assembly, was able to retain only a handful of seats. PPP ally, the embattled Awami National Party (ANP), which ruled Khyber-Pakhtounkhwa (K-P), was almost completely wiped out. All its central leaders, including its chief Asfandyar Wali, failed to retain their seats.

A significant number of assembly seats were won by independent candidates, who, according to unofficial results, numbered over 20. Political pundits predict that most of them would swing towards the majority party in the National Assembly – the PML-N.

Unofficial results

According to the unofficial results, in Sindh the PPP has won nine National Assembly seats; MQM has won seven; PML-F one, and JI has failed to win any.

In Balochistan, the National Party and PkMAP won two seats each, and the PML-N and BNP-Mengal won a seat each.

In Peshawar, PTI is leading in all four NA seats.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 12^th, 2013.

Addressing a press conference at 2am Sunday morning, Justice (retd) Fakharuddin G Ebrahim congratulated the nation and said, “People have manifested their power. Today, I am a happy man.”

The CEC made the first official polling result announcement in which Jamaat-e-Islami’s Sirajul Haq won the provincial assembly seat PK-95 of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P).

He praised the media for spreading awareness among the masses about the significance of voting, and also lauded the ECP staff for their “tireless efforts” in making arrangements for the 2013 general elections.

“It was a difficult task but officials have worked really hard,” he added.

Commenting on the results of the elections, he said good governance was the duty of the elected government. “They [elected government] must give us good governance.”

“The ball is in your [elected government] court now,” he said. The CEC also appreciated the arrangements made by the provincial governments, law enforcement agencies and the military for providing security on election day. “I had said on day one that if you give us law and order, we will give you free and fair elections. Free and fair elections would not have been possible in the absence of these arrangements.”

“If the journey [to holding fair elections] continues, the train will gain speed.”

He also announced that the commission would investigate and take action against those responsible for disrupting polling at several stations of NA-250, Karachi. It is the only constituency in which polling at around 40 polling stations was stopped. Re-polling will take place at these stations.

“Polling staff [in NA-250] was hijacked and we had to recover the staff,” the CEC said while announcing that the commission would examine the matter thoroughly. He did not however say who had hijacked the polling staff.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 12^th, 2013.

The polling started at 8am in almost all polling stations, but a few saw voting delayed because of the late arrival of polling staff and representatives of different political parties.

Significantly higher turnout was witnessed during this election as compared to 2008. At some polling stations, the turnout was well over 60 per cent, with some reports listing turnout as high as 75%.

A large number of apolitical youth and women were seen participating in the election. Although many of the youth have not being registered in the voters list, they were still enthusiastically taking part in the process, helping voters find their names on the voter list and convincing people to come out of their houses to cast their vote.

Over one million voters will elect nine of their representatives and send them to the National Assemblies — seven from Rawalpindi and two from Islamabad. There were over 50 candidates, including a large number of independents, in the race for nine seats.

Surprisingly, the people of Islamabad are usually not early riser but today there was hustle and bustle around every public school and college.

Senior citizens, some in their 90’s, and disabled people also came to cast their votes. Ejaz Shah, 70, a trader came to cast his vote at polling station No 185, G-9/1. Dr Bahadur Ali, a retired government employee was also very optimistic about the outcome of the polls. He was against change at the barrel of a gun, and said “the ballot is the only way out of the crises our country is facing.”

In NA-48’s Islamabad Model College for Girls (IMCG) G-8/2, a big crowd was seen at 8am with scores of families lining up outside, but the female polling officer arrived 15 minutes late.

Khalida and her family had come from G-8. She was standing in line and still contemplating who to vote for. While she contemplated her vote, The Express Tribune met around 60 women in the long line who admitted to being first time first timers.

Security arrangements

In Rawalpindi, security arrangements at some polling stations that had already been declared ‘most sensitive’ by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) were inadequate. No walk-through gates had been installed at some polling station, while the police officials on duty mostly allowed voters to enter the polling stations with minimal checking.

At Govt Shaukat Girls Elementary School in Saddar, Cantt SHO Murad Shah did not allow election observers or members of the media with ECP accreditation cards to enter the polling stations.

No adequate security arrangements were made in polling station 257 in NA-52 Rawalpindi, which was also declared ‘most sensitive’ by the ECP. Motorcycles and other vehicles were parked inside the polling station in clear violation of ECP rules, which said cars and motorcycles should be parked at least 400 metres away from polling areas.

Polling arrangements

At polling station number 220 Islamabad Model College for Girls (IMCG) Sector I-9/1, polling arrangements were inadequate. Only two polling booths had been set up for over1,500 registered male voters. The voting process was very slow, creating long queues. Only 200 votes were cast by 11:21am, and people began protesting against the slow process. The presiding officer said he had contacted the returning officer (RO) for additional booths, but the request was declined.

A similar situation was witnessed at female polling booths. Out of 1,300 registered female voters, only around 200 votes could be polled by 11:55am.

In NA-48 Islamabad-I, at 6:05am, a dozen of voters and Islamabad police personnel were at a male polling station set up at Government Model Primary School G-7/2.

At Dhoke Mangtal in Rawalpindi’s NA-55, severe mismanagement and lack of adequate security resulted in mayhem at the gate of the degree college, where seven polling stations were housed. Voters outside the college said they had been waiting in line for hours to cast their votes.

In NA-49 Margalla Town, polling had not started at Government Primary School till 8.30am. The polling staff turned out to be highly unorganised and was struggling to arrange serial numbers.

Code violations

Political parties workers were found violating code of conduct. Some polling staff members were even not aware of the new code of conduct framed by the ECP. Most of the political parties had set up camps less than 400 metres from most polling stations, aq violation of the ECP code.

Political parties’ agents were found taking ID cards from women voters at the gate of the polling station 260 Margalla Town. Police officials and some of the polling personnel at the polling station were not aware of new code of conduct. They failed to check people taking parchis/receipts from political parties’ offices.

Political parties were observed issuing chits with candidate’s pictures or party symbols on them. At polling stations 262 and 264 Rawal Town, the Jamaat-i-Islami election office was issuing chits with its candidate’s picture, while the PPP was issuing ones with its election symbol printed on them.

Neither the police officials checking people at the entrance, nor the polling personnel inside were able to check the use of chits, in fact, in F-7/4, some voters at a polling station were told by security staff to go back out and get chits if they wanted to vote.

One presiding officer admitted he was not aware of the new code and its chit ban.

In polling booth number 262, only PML-N polling agents were present and openly giving out party slips.

In NA-56 political parties have set up their election camps less than 100m away from polling stations numbers 95, and 99 at Govt Girls Degree College Rawalpindi and polling stations 102, and 104 Govt Johar Memorial High School in Dhoke Ilahi Bukhsh, a congested neighborhood of Rawalpindi. Sub Inspector Amjad Ali of Punjab Police said. “We cannot move the camps away because there is no space to put the camps anywhere else.”

Name throwing

There were reports of a lot of queue-cutting with little control, mostly by women. Reports were received of groups pretending to be chaperoning women on wheelchairs or the elderly, for whom there was a separate line.

On several occasions, the names and ranks of husbands and fathers were also heard being thrown around as a means to cut lines without security staff intervening. This left lines to move at snail’s pace and saw many women getting agitated. Surprisingly, things were far more organised at the far busier male polling stations.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 12^th, 2013.

Located next to Namal Lake at Rikhi, a remote village of Mianwali district, Namal college is affiliated with Bradford University, and is providing technical education along with a reasonable stipend. Yet, this very progress is the crux of the anti-PTI campaign here.

In Mianwali is NA-71, the constituency from where Imran Khan is contesting elections.

Modern vs traditional

“Boys and girls walk hand in hand in Namal College and we do not want such a change in our society,” Malik Ahmed Khan, a PML-N supporter, said and received a huge round of applause from the audience while addressing a rally at Rikhi, some 30 hours before Khan’s fall from a forklift in Lahore.

The rally was organised by the residents of Rikhi to express solidarity with Obaidullah Khan Shadi Khel, candidate of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) for NA-71.

After criticising the co-education system at Namal college, the speaker started complaining against the observance of meritocracy in award of admissions to students.

“Our children do not get admission at the college and Imran Khan has refused to allocate quota for the locals,” Ahmed Khan added. “If it was easy to qualify on merit we could have even sent our children to Lahore,” he added.

A campaign by a daughter to let women vote

In Mianwali, around 80 per cent population lives in villages and sticks to centuries’ old conservative traditions. The district also includes Paikhel union council where women have never been allowed to cast their votes as per decision of a jirga. But Ayla Malik of PTI has struggled and organised a jirga of local elders and has convinced them to allow women of this area to vote for the first time in their lives.

PTI’s campaign in this area is spearheaded by Malik, the granddaughter of West Pakistan governor Nawab of Kalabagh. Malik is going to every village saying “I am your daughter”. This being a tribal society makes it virtually impossible for anyone to refuse a daughter if she comes to your house for something, said a resident of the area. She is also utilising the influence of her family for campaigning.

Malik is on number three in PTI’s priority list of female reserved seats. She was warmly welcomed by the residents of Kalabagh on arrival. She addressed the rally and talked about change, promising to address their problems. Her native town still has issues though her family has always been in power.

The PML-N perspective

PML-N candidates are carrying with them a list of 14 demands for the welfare of the people signed by Nawaz Sharif.

“This is from PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif,” Shadi Khel told The Express Tribune. The demands include establishment of Danish School, declaring Mianwali a tax-free zone, provision of gas supply, plots for deserving and construction of a dyke for protection against River Indus.

“Locals have the right and they should be given admission in Namal college,” he told the rally and said “don’t you worry; there will soon be a cadet college here for your children.” Then he told the rally that PML-N chief has already given the commitment to fulfil their demands.

Though several speakers censured the opponents, Adil Abdullah Rokhari, a PML-N candidate from PP-44 who became youngest ever member of provincial assembly in 2012 after death of his father, did not follow the suit. “I am not fond of criticising,” Rokhari said while talking to The Express Tribune.

In the spirit of honesty, while addressing the rally, Rokhari said, “I will be honest with you; addressing 100 percent of your problems would not be possible but I can assure you that 60-70 percent of your problems will be addressed.”

Published in The Express Tribune, May 10^th, 2013.

An unusual summer

Mall Road – the road leading to GPO Chowk, the preferred backdrop for photo ops – no longer hosts throngs of visitors, parking lots are empty, and the multi-storeyed flats wear a deserted look.

While the number of tourists has decreased, political workers are ubiquitous.  Electioneering is in full swing, and has changed the very character of Murree. Political parties have even set up offices in restaurants and hotels at GPO Chowk. The PPP and PML-Q share the same election office, while others, including Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and PTI, have also set up their offices.

With most of the youths busy in electioneering and few tourists, local businesses are facing a crunch. “Our average trade during these days used to be around Rs30,000 to Rs40, 000, but currently it is around Rs8,000,” says a salesman at a small store on the Mall.

Murree Traders Association President Abdul Hameed Abbasi agrees with the salesman. “About 2,000 shopkeepers in Murree City and its suburbs have been affected,” he says. However, Abbasi is quick to look to the bright side.

“At least people are taking the elections seriously,” he says.

Change in the offing?

As Murree passes through the election progress, the buzzword of ‘change’ echoes through the hills. However, the PTI is not the only party at work here.

Qari Saifullah Saifi, Mutt­haida Deeni Mahaz’s candidate for NA-50, is very active. He has been knocking on every single door, promising to address the perennial problems of the region.

“People are dissatisfied with the performance of their previous elected representatives. They want change,” Saifi says, even though he is pleased that an elected government has completed its five-year term. “This is a good omen and after two or three elections, the system will mature.”

Saifi is a local cleric and says that Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazal, JI, and Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ) are supporting him. “Though our alliance is not like that of Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal in the past, the religious vote-bank will not divide,” he adds.

Advocate Zulfikar Abbasi, a practicing lawyer, says that although the PTI has generated enthusiasm among the youth, it has not fielded a strong candidate for NA-50. However, it is still bound to give a tough time to other mainstream parties.

Current political scenario

Today, there are 13 candidates in the race and the PPP and PML-Q have formed an alliance. PPP’s Ghulam Murtza Satti is contesting NA-50, and Sardar Saleem Khan is contesting PP-1. Both parties have not fielded candidates against each other.  Nawaz Sharif and Imran Khan have both addressed rallies in the area, and the presence of their parties is obvious. Nawaz has promised mega projects in health and education sectors.

PML-N’s Shahid Khaqan Abbasi is considered as one of the strongest contenders. He continues to meet people as eagerly as he did during the last five years. However, PML-N’s critics allege that Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan has shifted mega projects of the area to his constituency, including a 200-bed hospital.

Locals expect the turnout to be higher than the 2008 elections. “I will make sure that all 12 votes of my family are cast,” says a shopkeeper.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 7^th, 2013.

ISLAMABAD: Hitting out at his political  rivals in veiled words, PML-N President Nawaz Sharif said people will reject ‘khiladis’ (players) and ‘shikaris’ (hunters) on May 11 as elections are not a sport.

“Don’t take May 11 as a mere game. Take it seriously and decide who has a better team, which can deliver,” the PML-N chief said while addressing a gathering in Abpara, in Islamabad, on Sunday.

During his speech, Nawaz also seemed to borrow terms from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s election campaign.

“There would be a Naya Pakistan,” he said, asking people to vote for his party. “There won’t just be a change, there will be a revolution.”

His appeal for gaining votes, however, was swiftly followed by a clarification. “I am not asking you to vote for PML-N for my own sake but for the sake of Pakistan.”

“I am here to talk sense, not to speak like those who ignore the basic etiquettes of addressing rallies,” he said, as he continued taking hidden jabs at Imran Khan.

During the speech, Nawaz also recalled the work his government carried out in Punjab over the past five years.

He said the province not only out-performed other provincial governments but the federal government as well.

There were no allegations of corruption levelled against us, he said.

He also elaborated upon the issues he tackled during his two stints in power.

We carried out six nuclear tests in response to India’s, he said.

“I was punished with seven-years of exile for making the country a nuclear power.”

Nawaz also expressed his resolve to steer the country out of its present crises.

“I want to bring Pakistan to that stature again and for that to happen, you have to vote in favour of PML-N,” he said.

“We have struggled for the supremacy of the Constitution and rule of law,” Nawaz said, referring to the 2009 long march for the reinstatement of judges sacked by former president General (Retd) Pervez Musharraf.

He pointed out problems the country faces in the domestic sphere.

“Pakistan needs a strong government and cannot afford a coalition,” he said.

After the success of his metro-bus project in Lahore, Nawaz unveiled a unique plan to boost the transport system in the country.

“There would be a bullet train from Peshawar to Karachi which will cover distance in seven hours,” he said.

He pledged to revamp PIA into the best airline in the world.

People’s perspective

At the rally in Aapara Chock, support for PML-N superseded formal party affiliations.

People at the rally said, more than anything, it was the basic civic issues that compelled them to vote for the party.

“I am not a PML-N worker, but I think Nawaz is the only leader who can provide relief to the people”, said 23-year-old Saleem Khan from Attock district.

For the past five years, Pakistan Peoples Party gave us inflation, unemployment, lawlessness and injustice, Saleem said.

“Nawaz Sharif seems to be the person who could resolve these issues.”

People also backed PML-N for the projects it introduced in Punjab.

Schemes like Susti-Roti, the construction of motorway and metro-bus project in Lahore are examples of the work the party has done for the people, said a resident from Batagram Liaqat Shah.

“Nawaz Sharif is the last resort to give justice to the people of Pakistan,” he said.

When asked that others have promised to do the same, he said PTI was too young a party to work effectively.

“Imran Khan is an inexperienced politician and he would be given a chance to serve the country after five years – if Nawaz Sharif fails,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 6^th, 2013.

And in the heart of rural Punjab, you can’t win elections based on slogans and pretty manifestos. When it comes to constituency politics in these areas, it’s all about who can better negotiate the local thana and katcheri (local court) and provide people jobs. Party policies, if they matter at all, are not a priority and the ability of local notables to get the job done is what’s of importance. That’s why these local ‘fixers’, be they the Chaudhrys or the Maliks, become so important for political parties that when time comes to awarding tickets, they are given preference over life-long party workers.

“The existence of the thana-katcheri culture simply reflects the overall weakness of the system,” says PPP Senator Raza Rabbani. “The state has failed to deliver justice,” he says, adding that the common man does not have the ability to solve his problems on his own and thus has to approach the influential persons of his area.

“The political class is not the only beneficiary of this culture, but there is one particular segment which is portraying politicians as responsible for every evil,” he added.

Asked about a solution, he said: “Civil service reforms, police and judicial reforms are the answer to the problem.”

“Law enforcement is almost extinct [in these areas],” a former police official told The Express Tribune on condition of anonymity.

“The so-called long arm of the law is not strong enough and state institutions have almost become helpless as they lack power,” he added. Nature abhors a vacuum, and in the absence of the state, it’s the local power-brokers who reap the political benefits.

PML-N Senator Mushahidullah Khan lays the blame for this state of affairs at the doorstep of dictators.

Responding to a question about the cause of this culture, he said that democracy was in a fragile state thanks to several military interventions, due to which public institutions had been weakened.

While talking about his party’s future plans, he said “we will address these issues as several past initiatives, including increase in police salaries, did not yield desired results. We will pay special attention to the lower courts.’

But the PTI’s Senior Vice President Asad Umer seems to blame the political system itself for this failing.

“This culture is at the heart of our politics,” says Umer. “Power is grabbed and used against those who are not supporting you.”

He says only those who are willing to devolve power to the grassroots level will manage to eliminate this culture.

While referring to the PTI manifesto, he says the party has paid special attention to the revival of local government system and has pledged to depoliticise the state machinery.

“The same theme runs through every single policy of the PTI,” he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 5^th, 2013.

While Nawaz Sharif promised the business community in Islamabad “golden days that they have been yearning for”, Imran Khan vowed to make Balochistan “the most prosperous province in the country”.

The PML-N chief said being a businessman himself he was well aware of the tough times the business community has been through over the last five years and assured them he will turn the situation around.

“We will have traders, industrialists and workers on one side of the table and government functionaries on the other,” Nawaz said.

He added that his government would make efforts to control terrorism and tackle the energy crisis. The business community of the country is the backbone of our economy‚ he said, “but the previous government had neglected the sector”.

He said former military dictator Gen Pervez Musharraf ‘gifted’ load shedding during his tenure, while the PPP government intensified it.

While comparing the progress of all provincial governments‚ Nawaz said the welfare and prosperity in Punjab is unmatchable.

“I have been premier of the country twice and despite conspiracies which cut short the tenure of my government, I have many feathers in my cap,” he said.

The PML-N chief, in his speech which was cut short owing to the loud cheering by his supporters, said his party “has the agenda to steer the country out of crises.” Interestingly, there were more slogans against opponents, the PTI and Pakistan Peoples Party, than for the PML-N.

Terming the PPP an ‘incompetent lot’, Nawaz said the party was not sincere as it had not bothered to implement any recommendations proposed by the PML-N.

Taking a jibe at the PTI, he said, “I have played cricket but that is not all I have done in life. I have made the country a nuclear power too”.

Imran Khan, on the other hand, chose to give his anti-PML-N tirade a break, focusing instead on his rivals in Balochistan.

He said that he had come to Balochistan to liberate the masses from the clutches of Sardars and Waderas, and said his competition in Balochistan was not with lions.

The PTI chief regretted that the richest province of the country in terms of resources was so impoverished because of Sardars, Waderas and feudalists. “People sitting in Islamabad always deliver huge funds to Sardars, Waderas and feudalists rather than poor people,” he said, while urging people to use their right of franchise on the basis of ideology, not on the basis of language and sect.

Addressing public meetings in Loralai and Sibi districts of Balochistan, the PTI chairman vowed that if his party was voted to power, he would bring an end to military operations, not only in Balochistan but also in other parts of the country.

Imran assured that missing persons would be recovered, and the saga of mutilated bodies being found in Balochistan would also come to an end.

He said that the only one way to get rid of exploitative rulers was for the people to come out of their homes on May 11 and make the right decision.

“People should come out of their homes on election day and vote for PTI because this is fight for their future,” he said.

He said if the PTI was elected, it would introduce a new system in the country, bringing a local government system and shifting powers to the lower class. “The PTI will make Balochistan the most prosperous province in the country,” Imran pledged.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 2^nd, 2013.