Pakistan Forum is an Independent Open Forum to Discuss Political, Economic and Social Issues
South Korea’s National Assembly has ratified a free trade deal with India that promises to slash tariffs on goods and services between two of the Asia’s biggest economies. The bill will officially be known as Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.
The Bill is passed by a margin of 192-0, with five abstentions in the 298-seat National Assembly. The two countries will abolish or cut tariffs for 90 percent of Indian goods in terms of value and 85 percent of South Korean products.
Apparently it seems NRO (National Reconciliation Ordinance) will die its natural death. I believe the deadline for its approval from the parliament is November 28, 2009. If it is not approved by that date it will automatically become null and void.
This evening a high level meeting of Pakistan Peoples Party leadership took place in Islamabad and the news came that PPP has decided not to present the NRO Bill to parliament.
Earlier a meeting was also held between Yousaf Raza Gilani and PPP’s coalition partners in the Federal Government, namely MQM, ANP, and JUI-F.
PML-N, PML-Q and MQM openly and clearly announced that they will not support the bill in the parliament. ANP and JUI-F will announce their position tomorrow.
Present situation is that PPP don’t have the necessary votes to get this bill passed through the parliament. Therefore, they have decided not to present this bill to the house. This is this evening’s news. Situation will be quite fluid in the coming days.
PPP has been doing quite a maneuvering but it seems they have not been able to muster the support necessary to pass the bill.
Another rumor is that PPP is engaged in buying some members. But it seems very unlikely that they will get enough members on their side.
This ordinance (NRO) was issued by Ex. President Pervaiz Musharraf as part of political deal dictated by USA, UK, Saudi Arabia and UAE. There may be others but these are the names which have come out so far.
Our media is repeatedly blaming Pervaiz Musharraf that he was the proponent of the deal and the ordinance. Insiders know that this was America’s idea to bring the political process back to the arena and these were conditions put forth by Benazir Bhutto. In my previous post I have already mentioned the back ground of the NRO. Nawaz Sharif got the benefit that he returned to Pakistan three years ahead of the end of his contract.
No matter what the media say the facts remain the same.
Now we will have to see how the situation unfold. Theoretically all the cases of corruption and wrong doings (mostly financial) which will open up again and we will have to see who are going to be affected. The list of the beneficiaries is not known to public yet. But it seems it will be open.
First casualty may be Asif Ali Zardari.
Let us hope for good. It seems there is going to be some serious cleaning.
Today both of these leaders are going to meet.
Agenda: For the meeting – nothing. Both have hidden agendas.
Purpose: Zardari wants Nawaz Sharif’s support to get the NRO (National Reconciliation Ordinance) passed in the parliament and senate to legitimize all the wrong doings (mostly financial) of the politicians. Politicians of both parties are beneficiaries of this bill. At that time Benzir Butto was in the picture as main beneficiary. After her death Asif Ali Zardari got the benefit of his wife plus his own share. So he got double benefit.
A case against NRO is already in the Supreme Court. Zardari is afraid of Iftikhar Mohd Chaudary he may give the decision against NRO then the whole structure of present civil government will collapse, a big problem for PPP. PPP don’t have the capability to survive this shock.
Nawaz Sharif captured this an opportunity to pressurize Zardari to accept his agenda. Nawaz Sharif thinks if the case stays in the Supreme Court he would get a favorable decision that will go against Zardari. So Nawaz Sharif insists the NRO should not be presented to Parliament and Senate. On the other hand Zardari believes he will get the NRO god fathered easily (comparatively) in the parliament. So both leaders have their own agendas.
There is a third stack holder in this equation. That is USA, the main proponent of NRO. When the Pakistani media excited the people against Pervaiz Musharraf and created panic among the Pakistanis. There were some charges against Iftikhar Mohd Chaudary. So he started taking revenge by running his own government within a government by issuing suo motto orders against the government officials. Rest is history.
America was concerned mainly about Afghanistan war and extremism in Pakistan which according to America helping Taliban in Afghanistan. This was the picture at that time.
In this back ground America came up with the solution that keep Pervaiz Musharaf as president and let all the corruption cases against Zardari and Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif family be made null and void. S.M. Zafar the other day mentioned in a TV program that besides America, UK, Saudi Arabia and UAE were involved in this NRO deal.
PPP came to power but so far have not been able to get a handle on the problems. They have a lame duck prime minister. Dead parliament. Ineffective government bureaucracy. Highest corruption. No planning. Law and order out of control. No water no electricity. Extremists are running the country. Zardari has all the powers but no credibility.
Now there are people within the parliament and outside the parliament (people of opinion) who believes Zardari already don’t have the credibility if the parliament rubber stamp the NRO then parliament will also lose the credibility. In any situation Nawaz Sharif and other opposition parties will get the benefit no matter what the outcome is of NRO.
But the third stack holder do care about the outcome. America knows if NRO did not go through (what ever way) the present civil government will fall apart. And there agenda to fight Taliban in Afghanistan will suffer.
When all this turmoil was going on here in Pakistan, Kerry-Lugar bill got approved. Earlier it was Biden-Lugar bill but when Biden became vice president John Kerry took over as replacement proponent. First time in the history of Pakistan Army openly criticized a civil government on accepting such a deal. To cool the matters down John Kerry came to Pakistan and he had meetings with Army Chief and Chief of Army Staff. He also met Nawaz Sharif and only as a courtesy he also met president and prime minister. But his main target were Army Chief and Nawaz Sharif to mustard the support for Zardari.
Next week Hillary Clinton is visiting Pakistan. Main purpose is to put pressure on political actors to concentrate on American agenda of Afghanistan war rather than get tangled in NRO and related issues. So what I think is NRO will go to back burner for the time being.
There is a news that within the Parliament Committee which is reviewing the NRO bill majority of the members do not approve the bill. So the rumor says that Zardari/Yousaf are planning to change the members of the Committee.
Today, Yousaf Raza Gilani Prime in the press conference was with Turkish Prime Minister. In the back drop there was a big picture of Benazir Bhutto.
Should that picture be there?
Earlier Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s picture used to on the walls of government and national institutions. Now Banazir Bhutto’s picture was displayed at wall as mentioned above.
Benazir Bhutto was chairwoman of the Pakistan Peoples Party. She has no relation no comparison with our founding fathers of this country.
Same is the situation in President House and Prime Minister House. Many times we have seen the picture of Benazir Bhutto in the clips when they show foreign delegations visiting president or prime minister.
Before we were changing the names of roads and streets to the names of our national heroes. Now Peoples Party has changed the name of the founding father.
After the death of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, PPP did the same thing what they are doing now with Benazir Bhutto. They are trying to get some mileage out of their name. The time has changed now. I don’t think PPP has realized that. People wants to see the results not Benazir Bhutto’s picture.
Nation is asking show me the money not the picture of your wife.
When Zaradri addressed the UN General Assembly in New York last month he kept his wife’s picture on the podium. What he wanted to tell the world. The world only know him by two things. First he was also know Mr. 10 percent in the west. And second thing they know he was sending fake medical certificates to Swiss Courts that he is not mentally fit to stand trial. He was living in his apartment in New York with his dogs and his wife used live in Dubai. But when Benazir died all his illnesses went with her.
Today two gunmen riding a motorbike unleashed a hail of bullets as they ambushed a military jeep in Islamabad killing a Pakistani army brigadier and his driver. City police official Tahir Alam said the gunmen killed Brigadier Moin Haider and his driver and wounded one army soldier. He said witnesses told police that two men arrived on a motorcycle, opened fire and escaped after the attack.
Pakistan is in a civil war state. Obviously civilian government has failed. The government don’t know what is the root cause of this extremism and how to deal with it. Pakistan is a in mess and the government has no clue what to do other making statements against extremism.
You must have received and heard about emails telling you that millions of dollars are available to be transferred out of Nigeria or any other African country. And the sender seeks your help to transfer that money on your name and promise to share the wealth with you.
Then you know all those emails of airline accidents, sick with cancer lying on the death bed and they have no siblings etc. So they want to give you that money. Funny thing is that, always that money is in millions. Nothing less.
Now a new trend is appearing in these spam emails. And that is money left in Dubai. The subject is the same about money but the story will go something like this that the writer has run away from Dubai because the police wanted to catch him only because his name and somebody else’s name were matching. The other person owed money to banks etc. and blah, blah. The email sender has left millions of Dubai Dirhams there in the bank account. So he needs you help. Rest of the story you know it.
Spam is really is big problem. If you have found any effective way to deal with this thing please share with the readers of this website.
You have already heard the devastating news of two suicide bomb attacks in Islamic University of Islamabad today. So far 4 dead and 25 are injured.
After this incident, all the schools, colleges and universities in the Province of Punjab, Sind and NWFP have been closed. May be the institutions are also closed in Baluchistan but I have not seen the news tape about that. So the Government is so helpless or afraid of these Islamic or religious extremists that they have closed all the educational institutions. Extremists have shown their ability to chose their target and attack at their will.
Government has shown their helplessness and have surrendered to the extremists. We as citizens of this country want protection which present Government has failed to provide us. This was government’s responsibility to track the perpetrators and take necessary action. We have only heard very feeble voice of Asif Ali Zardari and Yousaf Raza Gilani in condemnation. Condemnation does not protect our lives.
During the last couple of weeks you know these extremists commonly known as Taliban or what ever you call them they have attacked first World Food Program’s offices in Islamabad, CIA offices in Lahore then in Peshawar. All these attacks have been very devastating. Quite a number of innocent people have died.
Now the million dollar question is where is our Government to protect the people of Pakistan.
It seems Talibans are ruling this country
Our President asked the international community to give him one hundred billion dollars to fight extremism otherwise he can not do anything. Peoples of Pakistan voted to Pakistan Peoples Party to run the country. It had nothing to do with international community to give one hundred billion dollars.
Do the present government knows what to do?
Do they have any action plan?
Unfortunately answer to these questions is NO.
Government is telling us that they have started military action in South Waziristan and that will bring peace to the country. Is it true?
No!
They also told us that Baitullah Mehsud has been killed so now there is going to peace every where. That turned out to be mirage.
We ran a survey at Pakistan Forum about the ability of present government to solve the problems facing Pakistan. We will run the results of that survey tomorrow.
What do think about the present situation in Pakistan? Speak up and write in the comments.
