Zaheer Bhatti
FORMER ISPR Chief Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor is on
record presenting concrete evidence of Manzoor
Pashteen’s meeting with key enemy operatives and intelligence officials in Afghanistan, which was never denied. This support was glaringly evidenced when the American installed President Ashraf Ghani being covertly used by India against Pakistan, protested over Manzoor Pashteen’s latest arrest for sedition by authorities in Pakistan. That the credibility of any such ruler in Afghanistan is pathetic, it was time Pakistan stopped extending the olive branch to such nobodies, who under Indian tutelage were trying to apply spanners in the recently concluded US-Taliban Peace Agreement paving the way for peaceful American withdrawal. It was also time the US cut its puppet down to size asking him to stop making stupid preconditions over exchange of US-Taliban prisoners, and warn India against its spoiler role.
As for Pakistan, it is beyond comprehension allowing Indian and Afghan mercenaries Mohsin Dawar and Ali Wazir of the PTM; a group thrown up in northern Pakistan a few years ago for so-called Pashtun rights, to visit Kabul for the swearing in of the stooge Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, while earlier granting bail to their leader Manzoor Pashteen; all of whom ought to have been charged and sentenced for high treason after leading an attack on an Army checkpost in Waziristan, openly instigating revolt against Pakistan’s defence forces, and dishonouring the national flag; their VIP handling and reception by Afghan Intelligence notwithstanding.
After the highly billed clearing of North Waziristan over a year back, resurgence of terror incidents, resurfacing of terror hideouts and retaliatory attacks on Army patrols are no coincidence but a strong pointer to the sinister involvement of Indian-backed Pushtun Rights Movement and the Afghan puppet intelligence playing in enemy hands. In this backdrop what is the Pakistani Government and its Judiciary up to, and who are they vainly trying to impress with their large heartedness when the Afghan apple cart itself is in such disarray and a laughing stock for the outside world; with two contenders concurrently taking oath of office as country’s President following an engineered election with a pathetic turn-out and its result announced after several months of the polls, which in itself is a big joke. World oil prices take a tumble but the Pakistani Government instead of conserving cheap stocks and providing instant relief to the common man, their Prime Minister as usual holds out assurance to mitigate their suffering but insults their intelligence by declaring no more hike in the prices of essentials including gas and electricity; meaning that the already created hikes would not be reversed but merely arrested, while on the quiet allowing increase in prices, raise in water charges by over 400%, Pak Rupee further devaluing by another 5 Rupees against the US Dollar and the Pakistani stock-market plummeting down the worst in history. Does one congratulate the PM for untiringly blaming past rulers for mess, always advising people ‘not to worry’ and forever quoting his Shaukat Khanum example which is irrelevant in context of running a country.
The otherwise well-meaning Khan making impact at the UN needed to consolidate the gains by abandoning his idiosyncrasies, getting out of political isolation at home and shunning ill-advice; the recent example being appointment and instant removal of a famed bureaucrat Tauqir Shah as Secretary Health who was the right person with his success management of Dengue virus, and now the pandemic challenge of Corona Virus coupled with re-emergence of polio which the untiring officer had buckled down to grapple. Removing such an outstanding officer at a time of his dire National need simply because he had served as Principal Staff Officer to Shehbaz Sharif when Chief Minister Punjab, is pathetic. Despite the President making a solidarity visit to China and the PM and his Foreign Minister always quoting the Chinese example be it for alleviation of poverty, revival of economy or tackling the deadly Corona Virus, the Government has miserably failed to emulate it; refusing to rally support of the entire political spectrum to evolve a coordinated approach on a war footing which is already critically delayed. All this reflects poorly upon the man at the helm of affairs who refuses to rise above petty ego; equally to blame being the Opposition which loses no opportunity to play politics even in the event of national calamities. The tumbling world oil prices is an opportunity to regain some of his fast receding popularity by immediately providing relief to the common man and lowering gasoline prices which should instantly impact prices of all consumables. Importing and conserving oil for crunch situations, discouraging wasteful consumption of petrol and kerosene by providing decent public transport en-masse as being done in all developed and most developing countries should have been on cards, but alas!
This nation is seized of non-issues like the recently conducted women’s rights march by the small but vocal so-called progressive and liberal segment of the Pakistani Society, rather than drawing inspiration from Muslim social values in which the female enjoys an unmatched position as enshrined in the Islamic faith meant to be adhered throughout one’s life. They see nothing beyond a Women’s Day, a Mother’s and Father’s Day, a Human Rights Day capped by a Valentine’s Day; whoever he was. The International Women’s Day this year was sadly stretched to its absurd limits with some women, young and old holding detestable banners saying,“ My body my choice,” betraying total lack of grooming as Muslims who ought to know that only Providence has the right over every soul leave alone body, which He has created. In the Islamic Republic of Pakistan as in various other Muslim countries, things have come to such a pass due to continued apathy to the edicts of their faith and distancing from the Holy Quran; the embodiment of a complete code of life for the entire mankind which others are increasingly taking to, but the followers of the faith sadly abandoning.
—The writer is a media professional, member of Pioneering team of PTV and a veteran ex Director Programmes.
