Recent Appearances...

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Recent Appearances...

India-Pakistan

Why Nawaz Sharif failed to win Pakistan election despite tacit army support

2024-02-13

[Al Jazeera] When Nawaz Sharif, the three-time former prime minister, emerged on the balcony of his party’s headquarters in Lahore on Friday night, fireworks went off as he was given a rousing welcome by the crowd of nearly 1,500 people.

Sharif started out with what has now become the staple of his public addresses, asking the crowd of his Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PMLN) supporters, “Do you love me?”. The response, “We love you!”, echoed among his adoring audience.

Yet, more than three days after Pakistan voted in general elections, there is little evidence that the sentiment of Sharif’s core supporters is shared by the wider public in the nation of 241 million people that stunned analysts in their voting patterns on February 8.
[insert definition of insanity here]
For weeks before the elections, the PMLN was viewed by experts as the favourite to secure a clear victory that would give the 74-year-old political veteran another chance to rule Pakistan. Once targeted by Pakistan’s military establishment, Sharif appeared to have won the favour of the generals for the 2024 vote.

So confident were Sharif and the PMLN of their win that they had scheduled a victory speech from their leader for Thursday night, barely hours after polls closed. Then, the results started coming in, and the bubble was burst.

“As the voting patterns emerged, it shocked and surprised the party, forcing a rethink which is why they were in complete silent mode for nearly 12 hours,” said Majid Nizami, a political analyst, and a specialist on elections.

When Sharif finally addressed supporters on Friday, he claimed victory, but acknowledged that his party had failed to secure a simple majority and so would need coalition partners to form a government.

“This was not the result the party was expecting. They thought they would achieve more than 85 percent of seats from Punjab province, but initial trends showed they were barely getting 50 percent of seats,” Lahore-based Nizami told Al Jazeera.

Almost all of the remaining seats in Punjab, the bastion of Sharif’s PMLN, went to candidates backed by former PM Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) — a party that experts believed had been decimated by targeted political and legal attacks in recent months.

WHAT WENT WRONG?
As the dust settles on the election results, the PMLN has emerged with 75 seats in the national assembly, trailing PTI-backed independent candidates by 20 seats.

The PTI alleges widespread manipulation and tampering, insisting that it has been denied a far larger majority and that their mandate has been “stolen” to benefit Sharif and his PMLN.

So, what happened to the PMLN, a party that, as late as early 2022, was leading opinion polls in popularity over PTI and was considered the strongest party in Punjab, Pakistan’s most populous and electorally important province?

For Lahore-based political analyst and editor Badar Alam, the roots of PMLN’s disappointing performance in the polls can be traced back to April 2022 when Imran Khan, the PTI chief, and then-prime minister were ousted through a parliamentary vote of no-confidence.

At the time, Sharif was in self-imposed exile in the United Kingdom, after a series of corruption-related convictions. His party allied with the country’s other traditional political force, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and others under what was called the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), to topple Khan’s government.

They succeeded. But, said Alam, “once Shehbaz Sharif, Nawaz’s younger brother, took over as prime minister, his attention went towards removing all the cases and convictions against his elder brother.”

These are cases that have haunted the Sharif brothers for three decades. The elder Sharif, who ruled the country twice in the 1990s, has been dogged by corruption allegations since then. In 1999, he was ousted in a military coup. His third term in power, after the PMLN won the 2013 elections, was marked by intensifying rivalry with Khan, who eventually won the 2018 election, backed at the time by Pakistan’s powerful military establishment that has ruled the country directly for more than three decades and has influenced politics from behind the scenes for much of the rest of the country’s existence.

Yet, since relations between Khan and the military soured, and he was ousted in 2022 — with the military now seemingly backing the PDM government — Pakistan has been through torrid political, economic and security crises.

Salman Ghani, a political analyst who has been covering the PMLN for a long time, said that as the leading party of the PDM, the decisions of that government hung heavy around the Sharif brothers’ necks.

“The 16-month rule of PDM caused almost irreversible damage to the PMLN. The tenure saw massive inflation, hitting the public everywhere, including their own vote bank,” Ghani told Al Jazeera. “Theirs is a party of development and the economy; people support them for delivery, not for ideology. That perception was destroyed in that time.”

Pakistan was on the verge of defaulting on loans last year, with its foreign reserves depleting to less than $4 billion dollars, and its rupee depreciating rapidly against the US dollar. A $3 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund helped stave off a default temporarily.

Sharif returned home from his exile three months before the elections. Many analysts believe that Sharif’s return and the subsequent change in his legal fortunes — with convictions against him dropped and restrictions against contesting elections removed — were made possible only because the military had decided to back him in the 2024 vote.

Meanwhile, Khan has been charged in more than 100 cases; was jailed in August and barred from contesting in the elections; and was sentenced in three separate cases just the week before the February 8 polls.

His party faced a crackdown — senior party officials were arrested, many were apparently coerced to leave his movement, and the PTI was barred from even using its election symbol, the cricket bat, in the elections. Its candidates were forced to contest as independents.

But the PTI wasn’t the only party that suffered. The PMLN and the military, seen by many ordinary Pakistanis as being behind the crackdown, made the mistake of underestimate popular support for Khan, said Ghani.

“When a person is oppressed, their support increases massively. We saw that in the case of Nawaz Sharif himself. Those who are pushed against the wall, they are the ones to retaliate the most. PMLN did not understand this,” he added.

Alam, the Lahore-based analyst agreed.

“Not even once did they [the PMLN] condemn the violence and persecution of the PTI; in fact, they played their part in fully subjugating them. This made PMLN a victimiser, resulting in public anger against them,” he said.

A party leader acknowledged that the PMLN had been blindsided by the recent election results.

“PMLN is on the defensive; Nawaz Sharif is on the defensive,” he told Al Jazeera on condition of anonymity.

The insider also blamed “sycophants” within the party, whom he accused on focusing on their own interests, for the PMLN’s failure to adapt its messaging as public opinion started to swing against it.

“Nawaz Sharif used to be very adept at handling media himself, but now that isn’t the case,” he said.

While the PMLN supremo, in his speech on Friday, did name other parties the PMLN might seek alliances with to form a government, he did not mention the PTI.

Alam said that PMLN and Nawaz Sharif must show some “grace”.

“PMLN came in as a party that was a government-in-waiting. PTI and Khan were in survival mode, but they upset the predictions. The country is in crisis, and it is imperative for Sharif, if he thinks he is a statesman, to concede and ask PTI to form a government,” Alam said.

Lahore-based Ghani said that the election risked compounding the country’s political, economic, and security challenges.

“Countries, when they hold elections, their objective is to bring stability. Democracy functions when it holds elections, and a mandate is earned. In our country, the election result is causing further instability,” he added.

Ghani said that Sharif, in his Friday speech, ought to have acknowledged the support of voters for Khan and the PTI, and indicated a willingness to “reach out to them”.

But what about the party’s own support base and future? It’s not looking very good for the PMLN, said Nizami, the analyst.

“Their strength and hegemony were in central Punjab area, from where they used to sweep the number of seats. It was unthinkable for them to lose votes. Yet, they have been losing ground to PTI and are unable to stop the rot,” he said.

“They have much to ponder now.”

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India-Pakistan

'Breakthrough' for PML-N as PTI candidate withdraws in favour of Maryam Nawaz

2024-01-22

[GEO.TV] In a "breakthrough" for the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz ahead of the nationwide polls, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidate Mehr Muhammad Waseem announced withdrawing in favour of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senior Vice President Maryam Nawaz from Lahore’s NA-119 on Sunday.
Wonder how much that cost.
The election campaigns of all political parties equipped with mollifying manifestos and promises are in full swing across the country ahead of the February 8 vote. PML-N and PPP are eyeing the premier’s office and desperately swaying voters to elect them to power.

The PTI ticket holder met Maryam and announced to withdraw in her favour besides announcing to join PML-N along with his supporters.

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India-Pakistan

PML-N, JUI-F hit back at Bilawal as electioneering picks up pace

2023-11-22

[GEO.TV] The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) have hit back at Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari after the latter raised concerns over upcoming general elections' transparency and the “denial” of the level-playing field to all political parties.

Addressing a press conference in Lahore on Tuesday, senior PML-N leader Rana Sanaullah said he would not resort to using Bilawal’s language to respond to his criticism, Geo News reported.

The PPP chief in his recent public addresses launched a tirade against the PML-N leadership, calling it “mehangai [inflation] league” and accusing its supremo Nawaz Sharif of receiving preferential treatment from the caretaker government.

Bilawal has also cast doubts on the transparency of the upcoming general elections, claiming that no one would accept the results of the polls if results were manipulated in favour of any political party.

“The PML-N does not want to increase bitterness that’s why we are not responding to Bilawal’s [criticism] in his own language,” Sanaullah said in today’s media talk.

Despite adopting anti-PML-N rhetoric, the former security czar said the ex-foreign minister would not be able to woo anti-PML-N voters by “heaping praise” on the PML-N.

Besides Punjab, he said the PML-N would secure a majority from other provinces as well in the upcoming elections.

The PML-N stalwart also emphasised the need for working together for the country’s betterment. “We have to work together If the country has to move forward.”

Sanaullah said that his party exercised restraint as both parties were allies in the previous coalition government led by the PML-N.

Fazl advises against political bitterness
Meanwhile, speaking to the media after meeting Nawaz Sharif, Maulana Fazl said his party would not adopt an aggressive stance against the PPP and would maintain contact with other political parties as well.

“There is a difference between the thinking of an elderly person and a child. This difference is visible in the statements of Bilawal,” the JUI-F chief said referring to his statement that youth should be given a chance to lead the country instead of the elderly.

Fazl called for promoting reconciliation and harmony in order to avoid confrontational politics during the election campaign.

He also advised against casting aspersions on the transparency of polls saying that the country cannot afford the disputed elections.

The JUI-F said his party has decided to work together with PML-N in the future and would also enter into seat adjustment with its ally.

Political activities are on the rise in the country after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), following the Supreme Court's intervention, announced that the polls in the country will take place on February 8, 2024.

Link

India-Pakistan

Nawaz Sharif has no plan to return to Pakistan soon: Khursheed Shah

2023-08-28

[GEO.TV] Contrary to a recent claim made by former prime minister Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) senior leader Khursheed Shah has said he doesn’t think Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif will return to the homeland in October, citing his health-related issues.

Addressing a press conference in London on Friday after the meeting with Nawaz, Shehbaz floated a new date for his elder brother’s homecoming. Flanked by the three-time prime minister, the PML-N president had announced, “Nawaz Sharif will return to Pakistan in October [2023] and lead the election campaign.” He, however, did not confirm a specific date of Nawaz’s homecoming.

Nawaz went to London in November 2019 for medical treatment after he was convicted by an accountability court in graft cases and he has been living there since then.

Talking to local media on Sunday, Khursheed Shah said that Nawaz has no plan to return to Pakistan soon. “Nawaz Sharif’s health is not good, he might not come.”

Responding to a question, the PPP leader further said, “Nawaz Sharif’s health can deteriorate in the last moments.”

In 2016, Nawaz stepped down as the prime minister after the Supreme Court disqualified him for life for concealing assets. Later, the PML-N supremo was convicted in the Al-Azizia and the Aveinfeild Apartment references filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) which emerged in the aftermath of the Panama Papers leak.

His appeals against the conviction are currently pending in the relevant courts.

Link

India-Pakistan

Imran kicks off 'long march' to Islamabad

2022-10-29

[AA.TR] Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday kicked off a "long march" to the capital Islamabad in an attempt to press the government for snap elections.

Thousands of Khan's supporters massed in Lahore, the capital of northeastern Punjab, which is governed by his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and an ally political party, to join the march amid stringent security.

Khan donned in white shalwar-kameez (loose trousers and shirt) and a black waistcoat, standing on a specially designed truck with other party leaders, waving to the charged crowds who chanted anti-government slogans repeatedly.

As the march kicked off, marchers chanted in unison, "Imported government unacceptable."

"This (march) is not politics. This is aimed at saving the country from loot and corruption of this government," Khan said while addressing his supporters.

He asked his supporters to remain peaceful despite "provocations by the government."

According to the schedule released by the party, the march will be joined by rallies from several districts on its way to the capital. The march will take six days to reach the capital, where it will be joined by party supporters from northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkwa province, which is also governed by the PTI.

Although it is unclear how long the marchers will remain in the capital, Khan has asserted that the march will be "totally peaceful."

The marchers are unlikely to face any obstacles until they reach the borders of Islamabad, thanks to the PTI governments not only in the two bordering provinces of Punjab and KP, but also in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and the northern Gilgit-Baltistan region.

The real showdown is expected in Islamabad, which has literally been turned into a fortress. Hundreds of empty containers have been placed along main and feeder roads to block marchers from entering the capital, particularly the "red zone," which houses the offices of the president and prime minister, parliament, the Supreme Court, and other important government buildings.

Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah stated that the government has deployed three layers of security, including army troops, to maintain law and order.

Over 1,300 police and paramilitary troops have been deployed in and around the capital, with an additional police force dispatched from southern Sindh province, which is ruled by Pakistan Peoples' Party (PPP), the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz's (PML-N) second-largest coalition partner.

The coalition government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has repeatedly refused to cave in to the demand for early elections, which are otherwise slated to be held in October next year.

Link

India-Pakistan

Opposition Leader Files ‘Attempted Murder' Case against Ousted PM Imran Khan

2022-10-24

[Khaama] Fuckery is about!
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Mohsin Shahnawaz Ranjha on Saturday registered a case of "attempted murder" against ousted prime minister Imran Khan, according to sources.

This came a day after Ranjha was attacked outside the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) office in Islamabad, where PTI supporters were protesting disqualification of Khan in the Toshakhana case.

The case has been registered at the Secretariat police station in Islamabad, reported Geo TV.

In the First Information Report (FIR), Ranjha mentioned that he was attacked when he appeared as a plaintiff in the Toshakhana case at the commission.

As he stepped outside the ECP, the PML-N leader was attacked with the "intention of murder" at the "behest of PTI leadership", reported Geo TV quoting the FIR. He alleged that attempts were made to break into his car by smashing its glass.

The FIR also said that the Sri Nagar Highway was blocked at the behest of the PTI leadership during which the party’s workers vandalised and pelted stones.

Link

India-Pakistan

Pak: Maryam makes bail

2021-03-25

[PUBLISH.TWITTER]

The Lahore High Court granted interim bail to Pakistan Muslim League-N vice president Maryam Nawaz ahead of NAB on 26th March in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case.https://t.co/AwrBgOsi1p
— Daily Times (@dailytimespak) March 24, 2021

Maryam Nawaz Sharif, also known as Maryam Safdar, is the daughter of former Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif.

Link

India-Pakistan

Osama bin Laden used to support, fund Nawaz Sharif: Abida Hussain

2021-02-07

Why is she saying this now?

[DailyTimes.pk] Pakistain’s former ambassador to the United States Abida Hussain

...second gen. politician in the Pakistan Muslim League, diplomat, and socialite, though unlike Papa she’ll never be made honourary colonel in the Indian army (pre-split, of course). She accomplished quite a list of political firsts for women in Pakistan, including making Haq-Nawaz Jhangvi so angry by beating him in an election that he stormed off and founded his eponymous Deobandi jihadi group, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, and put her name on LeJ’s hit list. Wikipedia believes that’s why PM Nawaz sent her to faraway America as Pakistan’s ambassador...

Saturday revealed that the late Osama bin Laden
...... who doesn't live anywhere anymore......
had supported and funded former prime minister Nawaz Sharif
...served ~~two~~ three non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf, then by the courts...

Link

India-Pakistan

Capt Safdar arrested by Punjab police

2019-10-22

[DAWN] The Pakistain Moslem League-Nawaz said on Monday that retired captain Mohammad Safdar, son-in-law of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif
...served ~~two~~ three non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf, then by the courts...
, was arrested by Punjab
1.) Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard
2.) A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers
3.) A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots....
police late on Monday night.

According to PML-N front man Marriyum Aurangzeb, Mohammad Safdar was arrested on a charge of "hate speech".

He was arrested on the motorway while he was returning to Lahore from Bhera.

Police had started the paperwork but haven't done much else against him on Oct 11 for speaking against state institutions.

Ms Aurangzeb, condemning the arrest, said the "fascist
fascist

...anybody you disagree with, damn them...
government" of Prime Minister Imran Khan
...aka The Great Khan, who who convinced himself that playing cricket qualified him to lead a nuclear-armed nation with severe personality disorders...
had stooped too low to suppress the voice of the opposition. "First Imran Khan should be arrested for making a series of hate speeches," the PML-N leader added.

She said the government was losing its nerves with the approach of "Azadi march".'

Link

India-Pakistan

JUI-F threatens road blockades if marchers stopped

2019-10-21

[DAWN] As major opposition parties, including Pakistain Moslem League-Nawaz, Pakistain Peoples Party and Awami National Party
founded by Abdul Wali Khan in 1986. Part of the PPP-led cabinet 2008-13. The ANP is considered left wing, advocating for secularism, democratic socialism, public sector government, and economic egalitarianism....
, have decided to join the Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam
...a Pak religious party. It is usually part of the govt, never part of the solution...
-Fazl’s Oct 27 Azadi March in Islamabad, the government has formed a ministerial committee to propose response to possible mischief from protesters.

The decision was made during a multiparty conference at the JUI-F provincial secretariat on Saturday.

Besides others, Qaumi Watan Party, Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party and other political groups also attended the event, where JUI-F provincial chief Maulana Attaur Rehman was in the chair.

The participants finalised a joint strategy for the Azadi March and decided that the processions from southern districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa would proceed to Islamabad via Kohat-Fateh Jang Road on Oct 31, while marchers from Beautiful Downtown Peshawar

...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire.
, Malakand, Mardan and Hazara
...a grouping of Dari-speaking people of Sino-Tibetan descent inhabiting Afghanistan and Pakistain. They are predominantly Shia Moslems and not particularly warlike, which makes them favored targets...
divisions will enter Punjab
1.) Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard
2.) A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers
3.) A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots....
via the Grand Trunk Road.

Mr Rehman said the provincial leaders of ANP, JUI-F, PML-N, PPP, QWP and their political allies would lead processions to the federal capital.

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India-Pakistan

‘Don't Forget Kargil's Lesson', Musharraf Warns India

2019-10-06

[Tribune.PK] ISLAMABAD: All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) Chairman Pervez Musharraf has cautioned New Delhi against war rhetoric against Pakistan, saying that India should not forget what the lesson taught to them in the Kargil war.

I don't know how he chooses to remember the darn thing, but all we learnt was - don't let 'em just leave even when they're running.

The former military ruler was addressing party workers on the APML's founding day in Islamabad via telephone from Dubai on Sunday.

He said that Pakistan's desire for peace should not be seen as weakness, adding,"The Pakistan armed forces are ready to give a befitting response to any Indian misadventure."

Musharraf slammed Indian politicians and military commanders for ramping up tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours with their "irresponsible statements."

He referred to the battle of Kargil back in 1999, in which he claimed India was compelled to seek US mediation to end the conflict.

The former president said Kashmir is in the blood of Pakistani nation. "We will continue to stand by our Kashmiri brethren no matter what."

Link

India-Pakistan

JUI-F chief won’t be able to exploit ‘religious card’: PM

2019-10-06

[DAWN] Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday said Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman would not be able to exploit "religious card" against the government at the behest of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N).

Talking to a select group of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leaders who are frequently seen in TV talk shows, the prime minister expressed no fear of the JUI-F’s call for Islamabad lockdown on Oct 27.

“The prime minister was of the view that PPP and PML-N are pretending that they are not taking part in the lockdown programme, but in fact both parties are backing him [Maulana Fazl] and providing him money to meet their own designs,” a close aide to PM Khan told Dawn after the meeting.

According to him, the prime minister lamented that Maulana Fazl was using innocent children of Madressahs (seminaries) against the government, but he [JUI-F chief] should realise that after the victory of the government’s stance on the Kashmir issue in the recently held United Nations General Assembly session, he would not be able to exploit the “religious card”.

The PM’s aide quoted Mr Khan as saying: “The government believes that students of seminaries are our own children, but they are being misguided by people like Fazlur Rehman.”

According to him, the prime minister said the PPP and PML-N were not directly joining the lockdown move because if it failed they would not be blamed, but the JUI-F. He said the meeting agreed that Maulana Fazl had received a heavy amount of money from both PPP and PML-N to fulfil their agendas against the government.

Talking about news of a possible deal between the government and the opposition, the prime minister reiterated that no concession would be given to those who had plundered national wealth. “Khan Sahib will never go for any deal with former rulers,” the PM’s aide said.

The prime minister apprised the meeting of his forthcoming visit to China on Oct 7-8, which will mainly focus on the revival of stalled projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

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