While the media office of Nawaz’s winning party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, and the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) refrained from issuing a statement on the meeting, officials from both sides confirmed the meeting, terming it a positive step. They added that the meeting should be taken as a consensus on national issues by military and political forces.

Senior PML-N officials said the meeting was a regular congratulatory call, during which the chief of army staff met his incoming civilian boss. On the other hand, officials within military circles said the meeting between Nawaz and Gen Kayani was to send a message that the elected government and the military are on same page.

PML-N sources said the army chief’s visit to Lahore was a private one and that he arrived at Shahbaz’s Model Town residence in a private vehicle. The former Punjab chief minister had arranged lunch in his honour and invited Nawaz as well, they added.

The army chief stayed for over an hour with the Sharifs.

Shahbaz: the point man

Meanwhile, in another significant development, Shahbaz Sharif will be the focal person to deal with military-related issues.

PML-N’s top officials said Shahbaz Sharif had discussed all concerned issues with Gen Kayani, and during the meeting, briefed Nawaz on the issues of law and order, war on terror, important portfolios and so on.

In 1999, Nawaz’s father late Mian Muhammad Sharif often dealt with the army and is said to have played a vital role many times in the relation between former military chief Pervez Musharraf and the PML-N chief.

Compared to Nawaz, Shahbaz has had a relatively positive relationship towards the military, including the issue of Musharraf.

According to sources close to the Sharif family, Nawaz is eager to follow up on Musharraf’s trial in order to set a precedent of a general being tried under Article 6 of the Constitution. Shahbaz, on the other hand, wants to absolve Musharraf and let him flee abroad again.

Officials said the Musharraf case was also discussed in the meeting between the Sharif brothers and Kayani but in a ‘light mood’.

Analysts welcome meeting

Analysts perceive Nawaz’s meeting with Gen Kayani as a ‘bold initiative’ on the army chief’s part.

Defence and political analyst Imtiaz Gul, while talking to The Express Tribune, said, “The meeting should definitely be taken as a bold step on the part of COAS Kayani as he did the same back in 2008 when he himself went to congratulate then premier elect Yousaf Raza Gillani to assure him of the military’s support for democracy.”

Senator and information secretary of PML-N, Mushahidullah Khan, on the other hand, viewed the meeting as customary. He said there was nothing to speculate about since army chiefs always congratulate prime ministers as per tradition.

Hinting at the details of the discussion, Khan said that “the military leadership has been conveyed that the list of tribulations being faced by the nation is too long and people are expecting the PML-N to resolve all of them on an urgent basis.”

Lieutenant Gen (retd) Talat Masood said Pakistan is re-gaining its glory and the international community is taking these developments as a “positive sign for Pakistan”.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 19^th, 2013.

The humanitarian gesture follows weeks of tension between Pakistan and India over the severe beating of prisoners Sarabjit Singh and Sanaullah Haq and their subsequent deaths in the hospitals of Lahore and Chandigarh, respectively.

The decision was taken at a high-level meeting attended by federal law minister Ahmer Bilal Soofi, Sindh Chief Minister Justice (retd) Zahid Qurban Alvi and senior officials of the interior, foreign, law and justice ministries.

Khoso also expressed hope that the Indian government will reciprocate the gesture and release Pakistani prisoners being held in Indian jails. He directed the foreign ministry to initiate dialogue with India for the release of Pakistani prisoners and repatriation of Indian prisoners.

The prime minister was informed that 482 Indian prisoners were currently in Pakistani jails whereas 496 Pakistanis were in Indian jails. He was also informed that the government of Pakistan was awaiting the confirmation of status of other Indian prisoners.

Analysts believe the killings of Sarabjit and Sanaullah were part of a plot to derail the ongoing negotiation process between the two countries. Former ambassador Asif Ezdi said, “The release of fishermen from Pakistan is a good step and India should honour this step but honestly, I don’t see any positivity from their side as Pakistan has been taking such measures in the past with no reciprocation shown from the opposite side”.

Another defence analyst based in Islamabad pointed out that both countries’ officials were serving as slaves to their establishments, which is why they are not moving forward as much as they should.

Meanwhile, the foreign office is in the process of chalking out a plan to initiate dialogue with the Indian authorities for the repatriation of Pakistani prisoners. Foreign office spokesman Aizaz Chaudhry, said: “According to the prime minister’s directions, we have already taken up the matter with the concerned Indian authorities”.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 18^th, 2013.

Mustafa was associated with the 8 Punjab regiment while participating in a military operation in Khyber Agency’s Tirah Valley, which fell to the combined forces of the Tehrik-e-Taliban and the Lashkar-e-Islam. It is considered to be a crucial battlefield in Pakistan’s war against both foreign and local terrorists.

The wounds are still raw, but this brave woman dares to share her pain. “We are proud of his martyrdom; Allah granted him what he always prayed for. In accordance with Mustafa’s wish, I want to give my children a quality education so they can also serve their homeland just like their father.”

The valiant Mustafa who had served on key posts such as Siachen, South Waziristan and Swat, was born on September 19, 1978 in Faisalabad. He had joined Pakistan army in 1998 as a commissioned officer and was also part of United Nations peacekeeping mission for Congo.

Sadia said her husband was a brave soldier like his colleagues, adding that she calls up her husband’s unit officials on a daily basis to inquire about their well being.

A decisive operation has been launched against militants in the Tirah valley by Special Services Groups (SSG) forces along with regular troops, during which at least 23 troops have been killed along with local lashkar men. Scores of militants have also been killed.

According to statistics released by ISPR, around 2,400 personnel lost their lives and another 6,500 were wounded just in 2009-2010. In comparison, US/Nato forces in the region combined had a casualty figure of approximately 1,600. This shows the high price being paid by the Pakistani nation to eliminate terrorism. Sadly, it is a sacrifice that is rarely acknowledged and even in Pakistan, we rarely hear of the names behind the numbers.

One such name is of Captain Waseem -u- Din Razi. Just about a month ago, on the 5th of April, this brave son of Pakistan embraced martyrdom in the Tirah Valley.

Born 29 April 1987 in Karachi, Captain Waseem was a gutsy young commando of the SSG who, since his passing out, had participated in many furious military actions including the Swat operation.

As if guided by an inner intuition, Waseem this time paid a short visit to his ancestral home in Islamabad to seek permission for going for Jihad in the line of duty, before the last mission of his life. “It is binding upon us to seek permission from parents before proceeding for Jihad,” he had said. After acquiring that permission from his mother, he loudly said goodbye to all, briskly walked to the vehicle waiting outside his home, and never looked back.

He had promised his mother to call when he reached the operational area. When he did, his mother asked where he was. He replied, “I have reached the place where I was supposed to be”.

During the Swat operation, says his family, Waseem had moments where he questioned what he was doing: Is it okay to fight against our own brothers? He would wonder. But when he encountered the opponents on the ground, he found that the militants, who claimed to be fighting for Islam, were themselves violating Islamic injunctions. Waseem was disturbed at their brutality, their executions and hostage-taking and their acts of forcing young girls to marry them against their will.  Since then, Capt Waseem Shaheed very devotedly started seeking inspiration from the guiding principles of religion, and had a clear understanding of the concepts of martyrdom and Jihad. He knew that this was his war, and in the valley of Tirah, he gave his life fighting it.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 17^th, 2013.

The announcement was made by the caretaker information minister, Arif Nizami, at a news conference in Islamabad. He said the caretaker set-up should be given credit for holding elections on May 11 despite rumours of a delay in elections and the threat from elements hell bent on sabotaging the election process.

Two days after the historic elections, Nizami informed the media that in the next phase, sessions of the national and provincial assemblies would be summoned for oath-taking of elected representatives.

The minister said that a voter turnout of over 60% was a big improvement over the last elections and the credit goes to citizens who enthusiastically participated in the democratic process despite terrorist threats.

Nizami lauded the role of the armed forces and law-enforcement agencies, adding that even though violence was witnessed in the run-up to the elections, miscreants failed to derail the democratic process.

About reports of delay in the start of polling and rigging allegations, Nizami said the election tribunals would pass judgments on a case by case basis.

Anti-federation statements

Caretaker Prime Minister Mir Hazar Khan Khoso on Monday said that statements by any political group which provoke violence or foment anti-federation feelings are highly detrimental to the national integrity at this critical juncture of our history.

Urging all sides to uphold the Constitution, the interim premier expressed confidence that political parties and the people of the country would show restraint and ensure smooth transition of power to elected representatives in democratic traditions.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 14^th, 2013.

Startling shakeups

The first major upset struck Peshawar’s NA-1, where former railways minister and Awami National Party (ANP) candidate Ghulam Ahmed Bilour lost to Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan.

This constituency was believed to be a bastion of the Bilour family, and Bilour conceded defeat even before the results came in.

“People are not satisfied with the politicians in power and they want change,” he said. “They have rejected us and expressed confidence in the PTI … I congratulate Imran Khan.

Exceptionally still, the same occurred in NA-2, where Awami National Party (ANP) candidate Arbab Najeebullah Khan, was defeated by PTI’s Engineer Hamidul Haq.

Another shake-up occurred in NA-51, Gujjar Khan. Despite spending billions of rupees on development projects, former prime minister Raja Pervez Ashraf was trounced by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate Raja Mohammad Javed Ikhlas.

Raja had won this seat in 2002 and 2008.

Furthermore, despite their political lineage, the three sons of former premier Yousuf Raza Gilani could not win the seats they contested. Abdul Qadir Gilani lost in NA-151, Multan; Ali Musa Gilani lost in NA-148, Multan; and Ali Haider Gilani lost in PP-200, Multan. Yousuf’s brother, Ahmed Mujtaba Gilani, also lost his NA-152 seat.

In another twist, former foreign minister, PTI heavyweight Shah Mehmood Qureshi, lost two constituencies in Sindh and one in Punjab, but won NA-150, Multan.

A string of shuffles

Further unexpected, unofficial results revealed that PML-N’s Amir Muqam lost the NA-30 Swat seat to PTI’s Saleem Rehman. Similarly, Sardar Mehtab Abbasi of PML-N was defeated in NA-17, Abbottabad.

In the same vein, PPP heavyweight Firdous Ashiq Awan lost NA-110 and NA-111, Sialkot, and former chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, Nadeem Afzal Chan, could not claim NA-64.

Independent candidate Jamshed Dasti battled two prominent leaders – PPP’s Ghulam Rabbani Khar and PTI’s Nawabzada Iftekhar – for NA-177 and NA-178, Muzaffargarh. Dasti emerged victorious on both.

After a long wait, senior politician Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed re-captured his position in his hometown constituency, NA-55 Rawalpindi. Conversely, ANP chief Asfandyar Wali Khan lost his seat in NA-7, Charsaddah.

Outgoing deputy prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) President Chaudhry Pervez Elahi staved off unexpectedly stiff competition to win in NA-105 Gujarat II against a PML-N competitor.

Muttahida Quami Movement candidate, who recently jumped ship from the PPP won NA-246 Karachi. Jamaat-e-Islami’s Rashid Naseem was defeated.

Senior leaders of PPP in Punjab, Qamar Zaman Kaira and Ahmed Mukhtar, were vanquished in NA 106 and NA-105 respectively. Well known party-mate Manzoor Wattoo was also politically routed.

Moreover, Jhang’s stalwart politician, Faisal Saleh Hayat, was whitewashed in NA-87, while PML-N’s Sheikh Muhammad Akram defeated Maulana Muhammad Ahmad Ludhianvi on NA-89.

Seasoned politician, PML-N’s Liaquat Jatoi, was also defeated in the polls, although he did win a National Assembly seat from Multan.

Chaudhry Anwar Ali Cheema, a veteran politician who has been winning elections since 1985, ran out of luck this time. Correspondingly, Khurshid Kasuri and Sardar Assef Ahmed Ali also saw their own political downfalls during this electoral round.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 13^th, 2013.

Correction: An earlier version of the article incorrectly stated that Arbab Najeebullah Khan was PPP’s candidate. The error is regretted.

The GEM mission will monitor the polls with reference to women’s participation. Both organisations have already signed a memorandum of understanding on March 1. Under the agreement, 10 foreign GCI observers and 50 local observers provided by the Aurat Foundation will be deployed to their respective observation stations.

The main objectives of the mission will be the training of the regional staff, collecting lists of women candidates on general and reserved seats, monitoring the Returning Officers’ behavior towards female candidates during the nomination and scrutiny process, collecting information on how political parties are mobilising female voters, coordinating with radio stations to educate voters, monitoring newspapers and the social media and holding mock polling sessions with rural women voters.

Aurat Foundation president Naeem Mirza said that the demand for electoral reforms to address women’s problems was not new. Female disenfranchisement, he added, has been a blatant violation of rights in Pakistan, he added.

“It is common practice in Pakistan to exclude women from voting, usually through compromises and accords between political parties’ representatives in the region as well as family members,” he observed.

An ECP official said that the commission recommended that it be empowered to overtly deal with the issue of restricting women from voting. He added that results from polling stations where women are prohibited from voting or where less than 10% of the registered women vote will be declared null and void.

The GEM Mission will issue a preliminary report on May 13 and a final report will be issued within the next two months.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 11^th, 2013.

“She is spending a bulk of her time appearing on local and foreign media instead of visiting the women of the constituency she is standing from,” said Wagma, a local social activist.

Wagma also expressed reservations on behalf of the tribal women living in NA 44 from where Zari is contesting.

“Badam Zari’s candidature had sent a great message that a tribal woman from a conservative culture could become a public representative,” she said.

“Women of Bajaur were expecting frequent visits from Zari to explain to them as to how she is going to solve their problems,” Wagma said.

However, she claims Zari did not pay much attention to the locals and kept focusing on media appearances rather than actually working on the ground.

An official from the FATA secretariat who wished not to be named, told The Express Tribune that it was the media, which hounded Zari for interviews, that hampered her campaign.

He admitted that some people even doubt her sincerity and are spreading the word that Zari and her husband are trying to get attention through media appearances or are already being funded by some NGO or foreigners.

Aurat Foundation chief Naeem Mirza said all this was to be expected. She also said that if Zari skipped the door-to-door campaign it would have a negative impact on her chances in elections.

When contacted, Badam Zari said that “I made every possible effort to visit the constituency, but due to the significance of my decision (to contest polls), it was my moral duty to remove the misconceptions about Pakistan’s tribal region and to inform the world that the tribal women are far more courageous than perceived.”

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

Qamar Afzal, representing the former president, told a three-member bench of the apex court that the army is a recognised power in developing countries and cannot be stopped by Article 6 when saving the country is its main priority.

Afzal made his concluding arguments before the bench led by Justice Jawwad S Khawaja and comprising Justice Khilji Arif Hussain and Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan, which is hearing identical petitions seeking Musharraf’s trial for high treason.

Replying to the counsel’s comments, the apex court judges reiterated that the role of the army was well defined in the constitution and servicemen were required to remain with their domain instead of encroaching on civilian power.

Senior advocate of the Supreme Court Ahmed Raza Kasuri highlighted that a nation’s army is its strength. Taking the plea of separating of powers, Kasuri argued that the judiciary’s role is to deliver justice and not question the integrity of the country’s institutions.

Referring to earlier apex court judgments in the Asma Jillani, Maulvi Tameezudin and Zafar Ali Shah cases, Kasuri alleged that even the court had delivered different verdicts when hearing cases on the same subjects. Meanwhile, the bench observed that a petitioner’s counsel had asked the court to direct the treason trial of the former military dictator, arguing that Musharraf could then defend his actions under the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), which provided exceptions.

Voicing his objections, Kasuri said that no petitioner had locus standi against his client. Citing the July 2009 court verdicts, he further emphasised that the Supreme Court had not issued any directions against his client knowing fully that it was the federation’s prerogative to launch a complaint in the treason matter.

Justice Ijaz Afzal Khan observed that the court could issue directives to the federation if a government employee failed to discharge given duties saying it did not affect the merit of the case. Justice Khawaja in his comments observed that the petitioners in the case had argued that Musharraf’s decision had violated the constitution, thus suspending fundamental rights of citizens.

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

The data suggests that some 2,674 people lost their lives in 1,108 incidents of violence across the country. Violent clashes also left 2,386 people injured in the four months under review.

According to Pakistan Conflict Tracker’s quadrilateral report compiled by the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), the first four months of the year witnessed an unprecedented surge in political violence.

Accompanied by an unusual escalation in attacks on political parties’ offices and their candidates in the month of April, the ethno-political violence in Karachi, religio-political terrorism in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP), and nationalist-separatist violence in Balochistan continued to surge.

The data indicates that Sindh witnessed major loss of life during the last four months. After Sindh, KP turned out to be the second major hub of violence with the death toll of 418. Balochistan came in a close third with almost 403 people dead during the four months. Meanwhile, violence across Fata subsided significantly during the period in question.

A closer look into the casualty figures underlines that civilians bore the greatest brunt of violent acts with 1,542 fatalities.

Moreover, militants fighting against the state constitute the second largest group of casualties, with the toll pegged at 856, according to the data.

Clashes with militants, target-killings or ambushes of military convoys also left 276 security forces personnel dead, mostly recorded in the insurgency-infested areas of Fata, Karachi and Balochistan.

Furthermore, during the four-month review, as many as 12 Central Intelligence Agency-operated drone strikes were reported in different areas of North Waziristan Agency, leaving about 71 suspected militants dead. Between March 2012 and February 2013, 51 drone attacks had killed over 351 suspected militants. Meanwhile, continuing their sabotage campaign against state infrastructure, militants blew up 39 state-run and private schools in different parts of Fata, Balochistan and KP during the course of four months.

Major causes of violence

On the whole, target shooting topped as the major cause of deaths. Some 45 percent of all the violent incidents were of target killing in nature. Karachi suffered the greatest loss of life as a result of target killing. The deadly wave claimed over 701 lives in Sindh.

Meanwhile, bomb blasts were the second major cause of deaths with 405 persons perishing, including 343 civilians, 7 militants and 55 security forces personnel across the country.

The third major cause of fatalities were military operations. In total, 356 persons including 339 militants and 11 security operatives perished in these forms of attacks. Meanwhile, from January to April 2013, 241 dead bodies were recovered from different parts of Pakistan. Most of them were found in Karachi, Peshawar, Fata and Balochistan. Likewise, 25 suicide attacks left 168 civilians dead.

Moreover, the sporadic waves of sectarian and religio-political violence continued to pile misery on the country, with Shia Muslims based in Quetta and Karachi becoming frequent targets of sectarian terrorism. Shias belonging to the Hazara community in Quetta continue to live under the deadly spate of violence unleashed by Lashkar-e-Jhangivi this year.

A precise look into the trends of violence across the country highlights the fact that the law and order situation across Pakistan continues to deteriorate.

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

He told a press conference on Sunday that out of 180 million, 150 million ballot papers were already printed and sent to Fata, Sindh, Khyber-Pakhtunkwa and Balochistan. “The rest of the 30 million ballot papers, which need to be sent to Punjab, are still being printed but will be soon sent to the province,” he said.

The ECP secretary said that the poll body had received the final list of polling stations according to which 69,875 stations have been set up across the country.

He added that the ECP has so far received 313 complaints regarding polling stations. He also said that to register any more complaints people should contact their District Returning Officers by Monday.

Responding to a question, the secretary said that in keeping with the Supreme Court directive the electoral body has not made unnecessary changes in the list of polling stations used in 2008.

He added that the apex court had also asked the ECP to establish polling stations keeping in mind the distance it would take for the voters to travel. The SC had directed ECP to keep the polling station within two kilometres from each other.

The secretary stated that though the top court had asked the election commission to explore the feasibility of transport provision to the voters on the polling day, keeping in mind the budget estimates it was not a viable idea. However, he clarified that political parties are still restricted to arrange for the voters’ transportation.

Ahmed said, “there are chances that mobile service can be suspended (on polling day) as part of security arrangements as provinces are working on this in collaboration with federation”. He requested the voters to get their E-Tickets soon to avoid any inconvenience due to the ban on cell service on the polling day.

Replying to a query with reference to the Pakistan Peoples Party’s paid content being aired on news channels against Pakistan Muslim League’s leadership, he said that personal attacks were strictly prohibited. He added that chairman PEMRA has been directed to immediately put the said content off air and submit the expenditure report of these ads at ECP.

He told a questioner that security arrangements would be further strengthened for the high profile leadership, candidates, polling stations and ECP’s staffers in coming days.

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