Daily Times

Mirror mirror on the wall, who is the greatest liar of them all? There was stiff competition amongst military leaders, poodle politicians and some parts of the Judiciary and bureaucracy. The undisputed winner was CEC Sikander Sultan Raja. I recollect in the early days of technology, the latest musical gadgets were promoted as 3 in 1 wherein you play a cassette, a disc and radio. CEC Raja has exceeded that by being 4 in 1. He is the planner, executor, adjudicator, and enforcer; all combined in one evil person.

The darkest period in Pakistan’s history has been prolonged for over two years. CEC Raja represents the worst portions of this blackness. It will take this entire article and many more if I recall all the events. Suffice it to say that they were based on the Machiavellian London Plan. Mastermind Bajwa made elaborate preparations to unleash their nefarious designs. He concocted a false and evil chain of events about IK that never existed. CEC Raja was the central figure in implementing all the shenanigans.

This prolonged eclipse continues. All the brutal suppression, torture, indiscriminate jailings, complete censorship, flagrant violations of the Constitution and prevalent law have failed miserably. One man surviving in spartan solitary confinement in a death cell of 8ft by 10ft has dominated Pakistan’s agenda. The recent photographs showing his living conditions are a slap on the face of the government. I have had the privilege of seeing IK’s spacious bedrooms in Zaman Park and Bani Gala and can make a comparison. His present conditions are shameful. It is an effort to humiliate and break IK’s spirit and resolve.

Without a real change and course correction, we stand at the edge of the precipice.

IK was removed from office based on an erroneous assumption of the conspirators that he would wither away into oblivion once out of power. Exactly the opposite happened.

Efforts to malign IK personally, financially, morally, and legally have bombed; blowing up in the face of these rulers. It has created an unbreakable bond between him and an overwhelming majority of Pakistanis. The verdict given by voters on Feb 8th was unambiguous. PML (N) has shrunk to 17 seats and PPP failed to make any breakthrough beyond Sindh. MQM and ANP have been wiped out. PTI got 182 seats. This count and various other criminal acts by ECP and bureaucracy have been confirmed by independent observers like FAFEN, PATTAN and international media.

You tell one lie and you have to tell another hundred to justify the original sin. Hence our title today. This Government based on fake form 47 has no legs to stand on. ECP’s expertise in committing fraud is unmatched. He will resort to every mean act to blunt the pursuit of truth by honourable justices in Islamabad. May truth and justice prevail.

They have failed to recognize the real elephant in the room. It is not IK; it is the economy. You cannot run a car on an empty tank. The residual fumes will make the car sputter and come to a grinding halt. PM Sharif is shuttling between capitals with a begging bowl without results. The reality is larger than life. We do not have money to pay interest let alone repayments of loan installments. The latest squeeze emanating from IMF dictates will make life unbearable as costs escalate.

Here is a reality check; we are amongst the most indebted countries. We have a diminishing inflow of remittances and declining exports. All the fancy dreams touted under SIFC have come to nought. What other options do they have? Selling family silver will only take us so far. Without a real change and course correction, we stand at the edge of the precipice.

The writer is the director of CERF, a non-profit, charitable organisation in Canada.The writer can be followed on twitter @HafeezKhanPU