Nawaz Sharif’s Strategy to Handle Revelations About His Offshore Assets After Panama Leaks

As expected, the ball is back in the court of prime minister and we arrive back at square one. The Chief Justice of Pakistan has refused to form a ‘toothless’ commission with vague terms of reference to probe indefinite number of individuals over infinite period of time. Instead, the chief justice has suggested the government to reconsider the legislation to empower the commission and provide the precise names of individuals and companies to probe. Keeping in mind contradictory statements of his family members, would it be possible for our prime minister to form such a commission is yet to be seen.

Legendary Chinese philosopher and writer Lao-Tzu says ‘who amasses too much bears heavy losses’. Before putting on the cloak of a politician Nawaz Sharif was a businessman. Once in power corridors, financial growth of his businesses had been phenomenal. Over the decades he has accumulated too much which is stashed in different continents. Ironically, he is the premier of a nation which is heading fast to be the poorest one on this planet and direly needs investment. Contradictory trajectories are bound to cross each other at some point and that point has arrived in the disguise of Panama leaks.

Nawaz Sharif is the most experienced and the luckiest prime minister the nation have ever had. Heavens have showered kindness and mercy on him again and again. But his luck is  running out and we are witnessing the second part of an era which would be termed as ‘rise and fall of Nawaz Sharif’ in history books. Now it is the war of survival with at least two objectives: keeping the riches invested abroad safe and making Maryam Safdar a prime minister in future.

In early days of his third term he was reported for being bored in the Prime Minister House. It was even reported that he did not wish to be the prime minister at first place. But then he found some utility of his third term; to market Maryam Safdar as the avatar of Benazir Bhutto and train her as a future prime minister. Since then Sharif family ceased to cherish shared objectives.

Panama leaks came as a thunder from the blue at a moment when he had started to dream a renewed mandate in 2018. His initial response was a panicked one. Then he went for London and the nation was told that he needed urgent medical treatment. During that stay damage assessment was done and a multidimensional defense strategy was formulated.

In his state address on April 22, he preferred to look as a billionaire, who also happened to be a Prime Minister, fully determined to defend every penny of his wealth. He asked the Chief Justice of Pakistan to form a commission  to probe Panma leaks and lot more. This address was made on Friday evening, and the following day chief justice was scheduled to leave for a seven days visit to Turkey. To delay as much as possible is the very first pillar of his strategy. In the mid May we stand exactly where we stood on April 3, when first episode of Panama Papers was leaked.


The second part of his strategy involves distraction and infusing confusion. Hence the usage of vituperative language by PML-N leaders and revival of decades old mantra that democracy is in danger. Revelations of offshore assets are projected as a conspiracy against Nawaz Sharif,  who stands for democracy and development of Pakistan, and as a turf war where military wants more control over the affairs of the state.

  The third dimension of his policy requires himself to present as the promised messiah for the nation. Taxpayer’s money is generously spent for his image building through massive advertisement. While addressing public gatherings he announces glitzy projects and makes every promise that comes in his mind. If he survives fall from Panama, these promises would go to the trash bin. In the other case, these speeches could be used in future to remind people that Pakistan was about to be a developed nation when he was ousted from power.

  To rule, our leaders ask people for votes and beg international power players for support. On the fourth side, SOS messages must have been sent to international masters. Few signs of foreign assistance are perceptible. In the near future, some events may eclipse the revelations of Panama leaks and we may have no choice but to postpone the accountability issue. In this perspective, the delay of a single day becomes significant.

If everything fails and history repeats itself, it would be more beneficial to be a political martyr than an impeached prime minister. Just imagine, few years later, in an election campaign, Maryam Safdar telling people that ‘My father had not yet seen the marriages of his grandchildren when he was ousted of the PM house’. She would go to people as a sister awaiting justice. Our memories are short and traditionally we do not let a sister or daughter return empty handed. Thus sooner or later she will be the Prime Minister of Pakistan.

We would remember the year 2016 as a ‘year of leaks’. We are being told that even people like Imran Khan and Dr A. Q. Khan have had offshore companies in the past. World Bank says that Pakistanis sent $5 billion to India last year and in last 3 years it amounts to $14.36 billions. In last 5 years, Pakistanis have invested AED 30.64 billion in Dubai and are considered among top 3 investors. These days we are learning about those Pakistanis who own properties in Dubai but have not declared in their tax returns. In the days to come more leaks are likely to follow. Extraordinary times demand extraordinary measures and thus economic emergency should have been imposed. The real issue today is not the resignation of Nawaz Sharif but impartial and across the board accountability. By now NAB and FIA should have been working overtime. Ideally, the Prime Minister of Pakistan should be leading the war against corruption and tax evasion. But it is not happening. Rather he is standing on the top of a dysfunctional system and brandishing the flag of democracy. Unlike his previous terms, heavens have put him on the wrong side as the last obstacle on the way of accountability. He may win at the end, but it would be a personal victory. Well, it had always been personal..

This article was published in DailyTimes.
http://dailytimes.com.pk/opinion/17-May-16/nawaz-sharifs-strategy

Calling Cyanide Honey.

We start with a simple question. Cyanide is known to be one of the deadliest poisons, where a small amount is enough to change a living organism into a dead body. We assume that someone deliberately puts a label on the cyanide’s bottle, which reads as honey. The first question is that if we call cyanide honey, so does this name change affect the chemical composition and its lethal effects?

The answer to this question will be unanimous and undisputed. Even Imran Khan and Asif Zardari would agree that whether we call it honey or sugar, cyanide will continue to be cyanide and will kill anyone who dares to consume it. Unlike our democratic leaders and political zombies, it offers the same treatment to the rich and poor, industrialists and workers. Just like calling Nawaz Sharif Asif Zardari will neither change him as a person nor will it affect his hard learnt lessons in the sacred environment of Saudi Arabia, calling the poison a sweet name does not change its chemical composition and effects. It will play exactly the same role nature has assigned to it.

Now we come to the deliberate act of labelling the cyanide bottle as honey; either the doer of this act is psychologically sick, and in this case psychologists may add up a long list of technical terms. Or, in the other case, if he was well aware of the lethal properties of the compound, the doer must have some wicked designs, behind such a brutal act, which may vary from a poor housewife to our richest leaders, who represent the masses of poor and hungry.

Labelling the bottle, in simplest terms, is an act of communication, imparting of information. With the divine duty of guardianship, our democratic leaders communicate non-stop. What do we call them if they claim the existence of A, while actually it does not exist? What if they tell us that the substance in the bottle is honey, while actually it is cyanide?

Our respected and learned senators recently expressed their concerns about the democratic system and announced that conspiracies are being hatched against democracy. To understand the exact nature of democracy’s vulnerability, first of all, one needs to know the exact coordinates and physical features of our beloved democracy. Putting aside the state of democracy, I will appreciate if someone can confirm its existence in the land of the pure.

Long ago, as a student in junior grades, it was quite easy to learn its world famous definition: government of the people, by the people and for the people. This may be the case in other democracies but not in Pakistan. As an adult and having observed the state of affairs, the Pakistani version of democracy seems to be the government of the family, by the family and for the family. Before the government was the Zardari family and now it is the Sharifs’ turn.

Analyse the affairs of the state; Pakistan today will look like the ‘Islami Jamhuria Sharifia’. Nawaz Sharif serves his premiership for the third time, though he still needs to believe that he runs the show. Pray for his long life and he will never find anyone else to whom he may entrust the future of the nation. We still do not have a proper foreign minister because there is no family member available to fill the post. The people of Punjab have the honour to see Shahbaz Sharif as a chief minister, for a third time as well, and listen to his decade-old rhetoric day and night. Even if health does not allow, he is determined to continue issuing random and on the spot orders only to forget the previous ones. For the rest of Pakistan, since the supply of family members is limited, it could be left on its own. It is such a democracy for which the dictionary is of no help to understand the meanings of autocracy.

Four mainstream political parties run around one personality or family. The ruling party, the PML-N prides itself as the housemaid of Raiwind palace. The PPP, Bhuttos’ legacy, now resides in Zardari’s harem. The PTI is nothing but the shadow of cricket legend Imran Khan. And the Pakistani passport of Altaf Hussain is the top priority of the MQM. With such firm belief in the one man show, one wonders why we do not move towards the presidential system of government.

The journey of a democratic government starts from fair and free elections. The Pakistan Election Commission, in its nature and composition, can do anything except that. The funny thing about the general elections 2013 is that every political party complains of rigging. On May 11, Imran Khan lashed out at the government for its alleged role in rigging the 2013 parliamentary elections. He demanded the formation of a new and fully independent election Commission and vote verification in four constituencies. As believed by some, even if democracy is the name of impartial elections, what if the votes of citizens are hijacked? After all, no one can deny that political parties have developed hijacking people's opinion into a black art.

However, a democratic form of government is far more than this. Democracies prosper on some well understood and practiced values, attitudes, practices and principles. Adult citizens of a democratic government exercise power and civic responsibility directly or indirectly. Citizens are encouraged to shape their own future by the local government system. However, what an irony that the last time the elections for local government were held under the auspices of a military dictator. Consecutive democratic governments only found excuses to postpone having iron control on the usage of development funds. Thus, it does not matter if the citizens of Rawalpindi hate the so-called ‘jangla bus’; they have to suffer it as the Punjab CM needs a political show to prove him as a good administrator. It is nice to talk about the benefits of democracy on television shows and in the drawing rooms of Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi. Democracy is the government of a majority but in our country it has become the constant and putrid tyranny of minority.

We may call cyanide honey but we cannot ignore the pungent fact that the government and state have become a courtesan to one family. We all know the political credentials and statesmanship of our respected incumbent president. All key ministries are filled not by the virtue of merit, rather on personal relation and loyalty basis. The democratic system of government is best as it allows the collective wisdom of society to come into action for the common good. But, what we see is that family decisions trickle down to the masses. Lack of vision and randomness is the law of the day. In a democracy, one is free to call a terrorist a martyr and civil dictatorship democracy. But, we must not forget that by changing labels, cyanide does not become honey.


Published at Daily Times on May 24, 2014

The Need For Comprehensive Education Policy in Pakistan

Education plays a central role for the long term development and prosperity of any country. Only country with educated and skilled workforce can perform competitively in this modern age. On the other hand, a nation with poorly educated men and women is always bound to rely on the human resources and technical expertise of the other nations. However, policy makers of Pakistan - whose education system has been infected by many challenges and problems - are determined not to learn from the history of the world.

Budgetary allocations shows how much a government prioritize one sector from the other. Pakistani governments have a history of low education budgets and inadequate funding for the research and higher education. Some of the ministers are even heard saying that we do not need highly educated people because we do not have enough jobs for them. In the other words, the leadership of the Pakistan is still unaware of the importance of the promotion of education for the development of the country.

On the other hand, policy makers of the ministry of education are not willing to pay the due attention to make the things right. They do not bother to understand the ground realities prevailing in the towns and rural areas of Pakistan. Their policies are decisions are - most of the times if not always - for those students who are living and studying in major cities of Pakistan like Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi. They simply seem to be ignorant of the problems faced by the students of rural area. In addition, they do not seem concerned with the future of the hundreds of thousands students living and studying in small villages.

English is another problem faced by many students in the lengths of Pakistan. After matriculation, most of the text books are in English and the student - due to the poor quality of teaching in the rural schools - find it difficult to absorb the nuances of the theories of Sciences. It is said that the English has become an international language and the students must be taught in this language so that can move ahead with the international world. However, no one pays attention that if a student can not understand very well what a text exactly means then how can he perform well in the examinations and in the practical life.


Another problem of our education system is related with private colleges and academies. Now a day’s much of teachers are busy in their private academies and colleges. They teach their student in such a way to make them a dependent of their academies. If we see Top 30 positions in Gujranwala board then we will find that 27 out of 30 positions were achieved by the student of private colleges and the remaining 3 positions were won by those students who studied in academies . In the other words, it is a complete demise of our education system.


The point to be ponder is that there is a great number of those people who are sacrifices their needs just for only to educate their children. They dream to highly educate their children but due to the present educational system their dreams are never going to become a reality.


There is a need that all the political parties of Pakistan sit together and make a comprehensive policy on education. They must be enough increment in the budgetary allocations for the education sector. Policy makers for the education sector must be selected on merit and they must have a solid knowledge about the problems in rural areas. Our education system should be free of corruption we have to translate all our science books into Urdu. To save our education sector, the government have to discourage academies and private colleges and increase the standard of the public education institutions.

A Blog Written By Mr. Nasir Bashir




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