I have returned
True to his word, Dr Tahirul Qadri is back
The writer is Editor of The Express Tribune
True to his word, Dr Tahirul Qadri is back. On Friday, he addressed a rally of his Pakistan Awami Tehreek in Lahore where he called the Sharifs responsible for the 2014 killing of 14 PAT workers in Lahore.
This time round, Dr Qadri called upon army chief General Raheel Sharif to provide justice to the victims of the tragedy through military courts. Dr Qadri reminded his audience that it was General Raheel on whose intervention the government had registered an FIR of the incident and “it is General Raheel who alone can give us justice.” What we may be seeing in the year ahead is another round of political activity.
In the meantime, Pakistan continues to be ruled by remote control. Our prime minister recuperates in London following his heart surgery while the cabinet meets and carries out his orders which are delivered through Skype to Islamabad.
If we look at it, many of the main political figures of the country all seem to have melted away. Former president Asif Zardari now lives abroad, while MQM chief Altaf Hussain has spent about two decades in exile. Imran Khan is usually in and out. Former president Musharraf, who left Pakistan due to his deteriorating health, is also abroad but has promised to return. The Sindh cabinet meets regularly in Dubai.
How can a country function this way? This level of absurdity cannot continue. The only person who seems to be very much around and on the ground is the army chief. He travels to Peshawar to condole with victims of the Torkhum firing incident and to the troubled tribal areas to be with the troops. One can only wonder where the rest of the leadership is.
Coming back to Dr Qadri, his arrival in Pakistan may signal the resumption of pressure on the Sharif government. As things stand, it seems that the Sharifs have been let off in the Panama Papers scandal. The body language of the PM and his key ministers suggest that this will not lead to a change of leadership.
The departure of the PM to the UK and subsequent political events seem to suggest that the worst is over. But has it? With the end of Ramazan, Dr Qadri is expected to step up the game. Possibly that is why he has been brought back. The ToRs game is not gaining the traction is should have.
What is feared is that with political acrobatics, the real issues will again be left behind. The biggest challenge that Pakistan faces right now is the worsening situations on its borders.
Barring ties with China, the rest of our neighbours are increasingly unhappy with us. The latest has been the situation on the Torkhum border. The construction of a gate and a wall to bar free movement of people we are told has resulted in the violence we saw this week.
Looking at what has happened, one can ask what are the long term implications of deteriorating relations with Afghanistan? There is talk of sending back the Afghan refugees who have set up home and hearth here.
A whole generation has lived in Pakistan and it is unrealistic to expect them to pack and go at a moment’s notice. What we are seeing in our media is how the Afghan community are being targeted for no fault of their own. It is not a good situation. The worst to suffer would be the Pashtun-speaking population on both sides of the border.
Pakistan has the ability to turn a victory into a defeat. Given that we have close ties with Afghanistan and that we have allowed millions of Afghan nationals to live in peace and honour on our soil for nearly three decades, it can be only very short sighted government policies that could result in deterioration of relations with that country. There used to be a lot of goodwill for Pakistan in many parts of Afghanistan. Now that is no more.
We have to work more actively to counter the initiatives taken by the Indian prime minister who has visited countries in the region in such a short timeframe. But who will do this? Our PM is abroad while we don’t have a full time foreign minister. How do we move ahead in such circumstances?
Published in The Express Tribune, June 20th, 2016.
This time round, Dr Qadri called upon army chief General Raheel Sharif to provide justice to the victims of the tragedy through military courts. Dr Qadri reminded his audience that it was General Raheel on whose intervention the government had registered an FIR of the incident and “it is General Raheel who alone can give us justice.” What we may be seeing in the year ahead is another round of political activity.
In the meantime, Pakistan continues to be ruled by remote control. Our prime minister recuperates in London following his heart surgery while the cabinet meets and carries out his orders which are delivered through Skype to Islamabad.
If we look at it, many of the main political figures of the country all seem to have melted away. Former president Asif Zardari now lives abroad, while MQM chief Altaf Hussain has spent about two decades in exile. Imran Khan is usually in and out. Former president Musharraf, who left Pakistan due to his deteriorating health, is also abroad but has promised to return. The Sindh cabinet meets regularly in Dubai.
How can a country function this way? This level of absurdity cannot continue. The only person who seems to be very much around and on the ground is the army chief. He travels to Peshawar to condole with victims of the Torkhum firing incident and to the troubled tribal areas to be with the troops. One can only wonder where the rest of the leadership is.
Coming back to Dr Qadri, his arrival in Pakistan may signal the resumption of pressure on the Sharif government. As things stand, it seems that the Sharifs have been let off in the Panama Papers scandal. The body language of the PM and his key ministers suggest that this will not lead to a change of leadership.
The departure of the PM to the UK and subsequent political events seem to suggest that the worst is over. But has it? With the end of Ramazan, Dr Qadri is expected to step up the game. Possibly that is why he has been brought back. The ToRs game is not gaining the traction is should have.
What is feared is that with political acrobatics, the real issues will again be left behind. The biggest challenge that Pakistan faces right now is the worsening situations on its borders.
Barring ties with China, the rest of our neighbours are increasingly unhappy with us. The latest has been the situation on the Torkhum border. The construction of a gate and a wall to bar free movement of people we are told has resulted in the violence we saw this week.
Looking at what has happened, one can ask what are the long term implications of deteriorating relations with Afghanistan? There is talk of sending back the Afghan refugees who have set up home and hearth here.
A whole generation has lived in Pakistan and it is unrealistic to expect them to pack and go at a moment’s notice. What we are seeing in our media is how the Afghan community are being targeted for no fault of their own. It is not a good situation. The worst to suffer would be the Pashtun-speaking population on both sides of the border.
Pakistan has the ability to turn a victory into a defeat. Given that we have close ties with Afghanistan and that we have allowed millions of Afghan nationals to live in peace and honour on our soil for nearly three decades, it can be only very short sighted government policies that could result in deterioration of relations with that country. There used to be a lot of goodwill for Pakistan in many parts of Afghanistan. Now that is no more.
We have to work more actively to counter the initiatives taken by the Indian prime minister who has visited countries in the region in such a short timeframe. But who will do this? Our PM is abroad while we don’t have a full time foreign minister. How do we move ahead in such circumstances?
Published in The Express Tribune, June 20th, 2016.