Govt gave nothing but destruction, says Nawaz

[Aragorn]

PESHAWAR – In a reaction, which some analysts describe as a sober one, to the ‘assault’ made by President Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Nawaz Sharif Friday said thousands of people had attended the funeral prayers of his father in Makkah.Talking to reporters in Peshawar, Nawaz said he paid a visit to the ailing Hakim Ali Zardari, the father of the president, in London and he still prayed for the departed soul. He recalled that he was not allowed to participate in the burial of his father.Nawaz said Pakistan was facing multiple crises and only those with a clear history could get the country out of the turmoil. He stressed that Pakistani airbases should not be handed over to foreign troops. He also called for holding talks with the Taliban without wasting more time.The PML chief said the United States should play a positive role in resolving the Kashmir dispute. At a public gathering, the PML-N chief blasted the government, saying it had only given destruction to Pakistan over the last four years.He said the government must link the restoration of Nato supplies with halting the US drone attacks, as he also demanded a full guarantee for respecting Pakistan’s sovereignty.“We should convey to the US in clear terms that we don’t compromise on our sovereignty and territorial integrity and this is the voice of each Pakistani living in the country,” Nawaz remarked while an addressing a big rally, organised to welcome the PML-Q provincial chief, Amir Muqam Khan, who has joined PML-N along with thousands of his supporters.PML-N Khyber Pk President Pir Sabir Shah, General-Secretary Iqbal Zafar Jhagra, senior leader Sardar Mehtab Khan and MPA Shazia Aurangzeb were also present on the occasion.Congratulating Amir Muqam for joining the party, Nawaz urged people to unite for the cause of Pakistan, which had been paralysed by terrorism, loadshedding and lawlessness.He held former dictators responsible for the problems of the country and said they always pushed the country towards Balkanisation and separatist tendencies, as he cited the example of former East Pakistan and critical situation prevailing in Balochistan. Nawaz also said that the personal interest of politicians also played a part in dismembering Pakistan.Nawaz said the pace of development recorded during his stints as prime minister was far better than that of neighbours.“Pakistan was self-sufficient in everything and the economy of the country was much stronger than India, while the government was considering exporting electricity to our neighbours.”He said several of mega projects were halted after the Musharraf takeover, adding that the PML-N had planned to extend the Motorway to the Central Asian Republics via Afghanistan.He asked the government not to compromise on national security and to decide every matter as per the wishes of the masses.Nawaz suggested the government to convey the US authorities not fix bounty on peaceful Pakistani citizens and provide evidence if Hafiz Saeed, the Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief, was found involved in any crime.In his speech, Amir Muqam said he had decided to strengthen Pakistan and Khyber Pk by joining strengthening the hands of Nawaz, who had the capability to restore peace in the province and rescue the nation from the curse of terrorism. He said he had no personal agenda and the move was based upon the decision of the masses.On the occasion, two PML-Q MPAs, Muhammad Rashid from KP-87 and Fazlullah from KP-88, also joined the ranks of PML-N. After the switch over by Amir Muqam, some other prominent politicians from Malakand Division are also now in the folds of PML-N.Nawaz also visited the house of former PML-N leader late Anwar Kamal Marwat and expressed condolences to his family over his sad demise.

Govt gave nothing but destruction, says Nawaz | The Nation

 

[Al Bhatti]

April 8, 2012

Unseemly tirade against Sharif

To divert attention from its dismal performance, Zardari is seeking to raise Pakistan's political temperature

President Asif Ali Zardari's brief visit to India today may have counted for more but for his failure to unite the country that he leads.

Ahead of the trip during which Pakistan's head of state is expected to meet with India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as well as visit the famous Muslim shrine in Ajmer, Zardari has launched a new political battle with his main foe.

Speaking to an audience in Lahore, Zardari chose to target Nawaz Sharif, the former prime minister and leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) with what could not be characterised as anything less than a tirade.

Ranging from a personal attack targeting Sharif for a lacklustre turnout at his late father's funeral some years ago, Zardari went on to claim that Sharif's political rise was possible only with Zardari's generosity. Zardari claimed that his ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is widely popular in the Punjab province of which Lahore is the capital.

Though Zardari's comments may be evidence of Pakistan having entered the season prior to the country's national elections which must be held by March 2013, his choice of words is clearly unacceptable. Coming ahead of his trip to India today, the first such journey by a Pakistani head of state in years, Zardari has clearly further vitiated an already tense atmosphere across his native country.

Expecting key members of Pakistan's present day ruling structure to be scrupulous in politics is hoping for the unlikely. The PPP-led ruling structure which came to power in 2008, just months after the tragic assassination of its former leader, Benazir Bhutto, has been dogged by more controversy than Pakistan's previous governments.

Ordinary Pakistanis just do not recall another regime which similarly became infamous for its failure to address popular concerns. In the 1970s during the high days of the PPP under its founding father, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, the party's slogans of roti (bread), kapda (clothing) and makaan (housing) stood at the centre of its ideological message.

Today, an apt message like bijli (electricity), gas (gas for cooking) and paani (water) could well be at the centre of the present day PPP's ideology, for these are in short supply and therefore at the centre of widespread popular lament. Under Zardari's watch alongside Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and the rest of the PPP, there has been nothing but a glaring failure in successfully addressing such challenges.

Though late in the day, the ruling structure appears to be angling to seek a victory in Pakistan's next elections. Plans for the future between now and election time reportedly range from handing out cash grants to giving rickshaws to unemployed youth, all supposedly to win favour at the popular level.

No credible reforms

Yet, these gimmicks and they are indeed nothing but gimmicks, will not change the fundamental gaps which surround Pakistan. The country's troubled economy and the major gaps in managing the public sector deficit, speak volumes about the inability of the ruling structure to begin reforming Pakistan in a credible way.

While in India, Zardari will likely portray himself as a peacemaker, seeking to end a chronic dispute which has run for more than six decades. While such overtures are clearly welcome in the India-Pakistan context, Zardari's main dilemma lies at home.

With widespread evidence of failure all around, he must first get down to addressing some of the key challenges faced by Pakistanis in their daily lives. But his tirade against Sharif ahead of his departure to India, only illustrates a deeply alarming trend. Left without much to show in terms of the ruling structure's performance over the past four years, the government and the top leaders now appear determined to raise Pakistan's political temperature.

By doing so, their hope is probably to vitiate the country's atmosphere further and slide to the next elections by portraying themselves as the best hope to consolidate Pakistan's democracy.

For the opposition too, Zardari's recent remarks present a dilemma. Sharif has time and again gone through opportunities to step up pressure on the government by choosing to agitate on the streets of Pakistan. But each such occasion has seen him back away from confrontation in the apparent hope of protecting and promoting Pakistan's young democracy.

But the circumstances which follow Zardari's latest comments may well prompt Sharif to action on the streets, snowballing into episodes of violence. For Pakistan, following the controversies of the past four years, stability may not be in sight for the foreseeable future.

Farhan Bokhari is a Pakistan-based commentator who writes on political and economic matters.

gulfnews : Unseemly tirade against Sharif

 

[Guvera]

ya zardari gave destruction and nawaz helped him out, that what u call professional team work.