I don’t say it often enough; thank you my readers, friends and supporters for such tremendous response to my articles. It is amazing to see such traction for articles written in English. It is a tonic to continue my efforts to say it as it is!
It was the plan all along. Use Nawaz Sharif as a poster boy to continue the Sharif family’s dynastic rule. NS lacks the oomph to meet the challenges of a rickety, leaky boat. Like an overcooked steak gone cold. Alternatively, “Showbaz” Shahbaz is malleable, easy to mould and capable of serving as “yours obediently”. NS got his pound of flesh by unleashing “talented daughter” Maryam on the hapless Punjabis. She will be walking on thin ice of stolen mandate, wearing pointed heels. As her rule falls apart under the glaring light of truth, it will take her down permanently.
I listened to a podcast by my university buddy Syed Ehsan Ullah Waqas who was deeply involved in these elections. The rigging techniques used in the 2024 elections were previously tested by Aleem Khan in local bodies’ elections in 2008. The then Presiding Officers submitted their equivalent of Form 45 to a private residence in Gulberg, Lahore where false equivalents of Form 47 were created. It took Shah Sb and his team 3 years in court to rectify this criminal activity.
The pot of unhappy public opinion shall continue to simmer
Despite a clear and resounding verdict by Pakistanis in favour of Imran Khan, the lackeys in bureaucracy and judiciary continue their heavy-handed techniques. PTI stalwarts like Umar Cheema, Mehmood Ur Rashid, Dr Yasmin Rashid, Ijaz Chaudhry and thousands of IK supporters continue to languish in jails.
In the latest round to placate the ruffled egos of Nawaz and Maryam, Ahmar Rashid Bhatti is being punished for his audacity of winning MPA’s seat for PTI in Jati Umra. His father Rashid Bhatti, a very dear friend of mine, is an icon in the area. Ahmar completed his education at a prime Canadian University and returned to Pakistan to appear and succeed in the competitive CSS exam. He served in the bureaucracy for a few years and exited; bitten by the bug for a change in Pakistan. He was inspired by IK and had inherited the genes of a revolutionary from his father. As MPA elected from a constituency his father had held multiple times, he was arrested to be taught a lesson for standing up to the Sharifs. He was humiliated and presented in the courts with his face covered by a shopping bag. What a shame.
Such tactics shall not work; they must realize that people are getting immune to their shock and awe techniques. They are overcoming fear of this reign of terror. Ponies can never become horses, no matter how much you dress them up. Look at the recent public humiliation of Hanif Abbasi and Khawaja Saad Rafiq by irate young ladies. The pot of unhappy public opinion shall continue to simmer till the rightful mandate of PTI is restored.
There is a change of guard amongst the politicians. Take the case of the MNA-elect from Ahmar’s constituency, my young and dynamic friend Rana Javed Umar. He, along with nearly 90 other elected MNAs of PTI, are not giving up their fight against this crass daylight robbery. They have the energy and drive to face up to these criminals in power. The enraged masses took their revenge on February 8th. They displayed tremendous maturity and loyalty never seen before in Pakistani politics.
People will continue to speak up. Stalwarts like my friend and companion of yesteryears, Javed Hashmi, despite his differences with PTI, came out openly to condemn this travesty of justice.
Suddenly, the respect for CJ is supreme. Another attempt is being unleashed to silence the most credible voice in the media, Imran Riaz Khan. CJ has lobbed yet another bombshell. It will cause religious discord. Our rulers must realize that for now, the resistance is from youth, women and patriotic Pakistanis who have some stakes. The suffering poor buying onions at Rs 250 a kilo are reaching their boiling point. For now, the resistance emanates from political beliefs. What will happen when the floodgates of anger based on hunger and deprivation burst open? The poor have nothing to lose but their chains of poverty.
The writer is the director of CERF, a non-profit, charitable organisation in Canada.The weiter can be followed on twitter @HafeezKhanPU