

Regular Abdools wear Shalwar Kameez not shorts like these in Biddah photo.anupmisra wrote:judging by the way the others are dressed, shaved and overall presented, this voting booth is likely to be in the safest and poshest part of garrison-e-'slummabad.Falijee wrote:Surprise No Security For Raheel ,In Town, Casting His Vote, Standing In Line And Chatting Like An Aam Abdul , Short Leave From Yemen Front
About 80% of the universe is dark matter and dark energy, but we can’t see it. So how do we know it exists?
Well, you go the other way. Consider that the visible matter in the Universe, which includes, you, me, the Earth, planets, the stars and galaxies accounts for only five per cent of the cosmos, there must be something out there that constitutes the rest of it. We can’t see it, we can’t touch it, we can’t feel it — but we know it’s there.
In political terms, the equivalent of dark matter and energy, is the deep — dark — state, or the establishment. An entity that exists, permeating throughout history, throughout the state and throughout every institution of that state. We can’t see it, and we certainly can’t provide tangible evidence, but we know it’s there. Or in other — simpler — terms, what is not democracy, must be the deep state.
The concept of plausible deniability and Deep State are related !Hameed Haroon, the CEO of the Dawn media group was asked to provide evidence of the deep state in Pakistan in an interview with the BBC. The question was not valid because it is asking to prove an intangible phenomenon with tangible evidence.
Every nation has an Army. In Pakistan, The Army has a country !Several international observers have called the upcoming elections in Pakistan dubious to say the least. DW featured an analysis that concluded the Pakistani military is adamant that Nawaz Sharif’s party loses. The Human Rights Commission came out with a scathing report, so did the Financial Times, which called the 2018 polls the “dirtiest election in years.” What is happening in Pakistan is not without precedent however. But, the scale at which it is happening is. The endgame is near. The civilians — the democratic anti-state minions — have also, to an extent, come full circle. But it is the establishment that has really learned, honed its skills over more than 70 years of heavy political engineering, and has decided to go for the jugular after perfecting the art.
In politics timing is everything . This was the right time to bring up the matter.What is the jugular? It is the union of civilians and its manifestation into electoral politics — it is the existence of political parties. First the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) goes down with its leaders convicted in a shambolically weak judgment where the law was turned on its head to benefit the prosecution instead of the accused. Now, corruption cases have been filed against Asif Ali Zardari, the co-chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). Are we to believe that both Zardari and Sharif were not corrupt five years ago? Or ten years ago? What has changed now?
The foundation of this "artificial entity" itself was shaky . Firstly, the creation itself was a fluke and a shock to D'Jinnah the founder. Secondly, it was considered a gift from Allah. Thirdly, its citizens and its leader kept on receiving "free lunch" from USA and the landed property, and other assets robbed from the frightened and fleeing Hindus and Sikhs at the time of partition gave the (wrong) impression that the country's belief in Malsi was enough for its existence. No hard work and self sufficiency was needed . The strategic location was enough !Over the course of the country’s muddled history, one in which popular democratic leaders have been maligned, deposed, jailed, executed, and assassinated; there is one constant that does not seem to change with the other variables. Any party — or individual — that becomes popular enough to be able to form a majority government on its own terms, not begging for support, by default becomes a ‘threat’ to national security. That is the logic behind everything that has happened in Pakistan’s political history. Once someone becomes an enemy, the goal is always to neutralize the threat. How that is done has changed over time, and has sometimes required direct intervention by the military.
Bhutto himself never respected the verdict of the people . When he rigged the elections, he gave concession after concession to the Mullahs to hold on to power. Later, he himself was hanged by the Deep State !Overt action is usually required amidst fears of a comprehensive victory by an ‘enemy of the state’ at the time. General Yahya Khan was required when Sheikh Mujeeb swept East Pakistan and was constitutionally eligible to form the government and become prime minister of the country. In 1977, General Ziaul Haq was required when Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto had become too popular. Two decades later, in 1997, Nawaz Sharif led his party to win the absolute majority forming the government on his own in Islamabad. In the in-between periods between coups, like the ‘90s, the deep state exerted influence by supplanting the elected governments — with a combination of planting puppet presidents and promoting an alternative party. The alternative is the King’s party, and that role has been played by almost all the current actors of Pakistan’s political theatre. Nawaz Sharif excelled at it himself when he was pitted against Benazir. And, the otherwise explicitly secularly democratic Awami National Party, along with various religious fronts, played their parts in the Pakistan National Alliance (PNA) against Bhutto in the ‘70s. Today, the role is still active, and Imran Khan has been cast to play it.
Mujib was called an "Agent of India" . Nawaz is also called an Agent of India by Deep State and Imran Khan !Pakistan was formed in 1947, but had its first general elections in 1970. There were nine in total, but the ones in 1985 and 2002 were held during periods of Martial Law, and for the purposes of building an analysis are meaningless given the absolute impunity with which they were influenced. Most of you reading this may know all of this already, but it’s a good idea to revisit hard facts and reassure ourselves that we are making a sound judgment.
1970:Sheikh Mujeeb-ur-Rehman — the one-time supporter of Fatima Jinnah in her opposition against the dictator General Ayub — leads the Awami Muslim League to a monumental victory. 151 seats are required to form the government without a coalition; Mujeeb manages 160, recording a sweeping win in East Pakistan.
IMO, the electorate is not maturing . In this day and age of globalization, the Deep State still plays the card of Malsi and hatred of India and Hindus to keep the country together. It may take generations to start with a clean slate if peace is to prevail !My scepticism, fortunately, is only for the establishment’s well established naiveté. Despite all attempts to subdue civilian authority, the electorate is maturing and we may yet be surprised to see the people bring back from the deepest pits, their ostracised leadership through the infinite power of the ballot.
IOW, a perfect representative of Al-Bakistan .SBajwa wrote:A druggie (Charsi as he is called locally) that takes 6gm of cocaine daily, alcohol and is sexually deviant is going to become PM of a bakistan with nukes.
LAHORE – Thousands of transgender voters could not exercise their right of the franchise in Wednesday’s general elections due to lack of proper sex identification in the computerized national identity cards (CNICs), according to a rights activist
Majority of trans voters shied away from male polling booths out of fears of being harassed
Moreover, majority of the transgender voters – who are registered under gender ‘X’ – shied away from the polling stations in their respective places of birth to avoid facing their relatives.
yensoy, that is so very true.yensoy wrote:As for the elimination of hate and the jihadi narrative... It wouldn't be a stretch to say that every time there has been an apparent rapprochement in ties, there is some kind of asinine Pak Army action that leads to war or war-like conditions. . . . Stating this differently, it is my claim that Kargil or Gibraltar were Pak operations not primarily directed at India, rather at ensuring the Paki military's supremacy in their own country.
using a puppet like IK, the PA has entered the legislature and any dealings that the GoI has to do now will be direct with the paki army, just like they have been waiting for the longest time.SSridhar wrote:OK. one technique the Deep State has adopted this time was to throw out the agents of PML-N & PPP during counting process!!
Just a small point, his (or any one else for that matter) becoming PM has nothing to do with the Nukes. They always were and always will be under the sole control of the uniformed Jihadis.SBajwa wrote:A druggie (Charsi as he is called locally) that takes 6gm of cocaine daily, alcohol and is sexually deviant is going to become PM of a bakistan with nukes.
Just need to be sure we aren't the first country to turn the invitation down.SSridhar wrote:Immy would copy the Modi template and invite South Asian leaders for his inauguration.
Yensoy wrote: As for the elimination of hate and the jihadi narrative... It wouldn't be a stretch to say that every time there has been an apparent rapprochement in ties, there is some kind of asinine Pak Army action that leads to war or war-like conditions. . . . Stating this differently, it is my claim that Kargil or Gibraltar were Pak operations not primarily directed at India, rather at ensuring the Paki military's supremacy in their own country.
There is no line wine....SSridhar wrote: Finally, I do accept your last statement but I would also say that there is only a fine line between 'anti-India operations' and 'maintaining local supremacy within Pakistan' and that also blurs in the giant sea-like swell of 'jihadi Islamism' within Pakistan because one reinforce the other in this circular causal nexus.
What do you have against Tendulakryensoy wrote:Just need to be sure we aren't the first country to turn the invitation down.SSridhar wrote:Immy would copy the Modi template and invite South Asian leaders for his inauguration.
Send Tendulkar instead. He is also a cricketer, highly decorated and a member of Parliament. Should be more than equal=equal for IK.
While all the local political parties - and the Paki Media - are crying foul over the whole (s) election process, the "idiots" at the EU Election Observation Mission have given their so-called "stamp of approval" based on visits to 300 polling stations (probably pre-selected for them) where things were probably "fixed" !ISLAMABAD: European Union (EU) Election Observation Mission to Pakistan (EOMP) Chief Observer (CO) Michael Gahler has said that the general elections in Pakistan were satisfactory.Gahler said, “Our observers visited as many as 300 polling stations in 87 constituencies and I have personally visited four polling stations, there is improvement compared to the previous election held in 2013.”“We will release our preliminary report on Friday and a detailed report will be released later after assessing the overall situation,” the EU EOMP CO added.The EU EOMP had forwarded 50 electoral reccomendation to Pakistan following the 2013 elections and the country has included 36 out of 50 in its electoral law, he also said.
Pakistan appears to have strongly rejected hardline Islamist parties, including terrorist Hafiz Saeed-backed Allahu Akbar Tehreek (AAT), going by the latest counting trends as reported by newspaper Dawn.
In counting for 272 seats, Dawn's results table shows zero candidates leading or in second place from the AAT, which fielded some 50 candidates.
As for the Tehreek Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), the Islamist group that brought Islamabad to a standstill last November, it does feature in the results table, showing as trailing - on precisely one seat. This party -- whose raison d étre is the protection of the blasphemy law - was formed as recently as in 2015 and it fielded a whopping 152 candidates.
If these trends hold strong AAT and TLP would draw a blank in the 272-seat Pakistan National Assembly.
MMA as kingmaker?
To be sure, leading in nine seats is the religio-political parties' alliance -Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA)- which comprises the ultra-conservative, Islamist, religious, and far-right parties of Pakistan. But consider that this lot put up candidates in as many as 173 constituencies and are leading in only fewer than 10.
This party though, even if leading in only nine seats, could be the one that props Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Party (PTI), which might fall short of an outright majority, which is 137 seats. PTI is said to be leading in 113 seats as of Thursday noon.
If PTI does join forces with the MMA, the all-powerful army could gain an upper hand.
"Imran's is (the) largest single party but without a majority by himself he'll depend on independents and small parties' support, almost certainly MMA - which will follow military instructions. Which means if he does things the military considers out of line, support can be pulled," analysed Congress MP Shashi Tharoor.
Still, it’s some comfort in a nation beset by terror - both as perpetrator and victim. In the months leading up to the election, it was feared the Saeed-backed AAT and the TLP would gain big ground. The TLP and MMA (and to some extent AAT) fielded more candidates - relatively speaking - than many parties who've been active in politics in the country for decades and decades, reported Dawn last week.
Hafiz Saeed circumvents law
26/11 Mumbai terror attack mastermind Saeed - the chief of terror outfits Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed - who roams freely in Pakistan fomenting hate and inciting terror, couldn't field candidates directly through his political outfit Milli Muslim League (MML).
After widespread condemnation by the US, the Pakistan election commission early in June rejected (for the second time) an application to register MML as a political party. What did he do then? The 200 candidates backed by the MML contested the election under the banner of the Allah-o-Akbar Tehreek, which was already registered with Pakistan's election commission.
For all their machinations, their first political outing looks like a big fail.
The blasphemy law party
Of all the Islamist groups that contested, it's the TLP's rise that was most troubling.
TLP was formed as late as in 2015 and shot to prominence last November when more than 2,000 of its members and supporters staged a three-week-long sit-in at the intersection of the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, crippling life in the region.
They were supported by another hardline group called the Pakistan Sunni Tehreek. And the heated protests were on the issue of what was called the 'Khatm-i-Nubuwat declaration'.
That is, they were protesting a small change - which the government soon called a "clerical error" - to the oath taken by parliamentary candidates. What was altered was that a candidate need just say they "believe" rather than "solemnly swear by" the fact that the Prophet Muhammad is the final prophet.
This was blasphemy as far as the TLP was concerned. It was enraged. The TLP not only demonstrated but also instigated clashes in which half a dozen people lost their lives and more than 300 people were injured. Another casualty was the then law minister Zahid Hamid, whom the TLP declared a "blasphemer". He had to resign.
Well, if electoral trends hold strong, that resignation was their last victory for a while.
What's so wrong with this woman?Falijee wrote:Jemima Goldsmith
22 years later, after humiliations, hurdles and sacrifices, my sons’ father is Pakistan’s next PM. It’s an incredible lesson in tenacity, belief & refusal to accept defeat. The challenge now is to remember why he entered politics in the 1st place. Congratulations @ImranKhanPTI
Glutton for punishment + Stockholm syndrome + low self esteemSSridhar wrote:What's so wrong with this woman?Falijee wrote:Jemima Goldsmith
22 years later, after humiliations, hurdles and sacrifices, my sons’ father is Pakistan’s next PM. It’s an incredible lesson in tenacity, belief & refusal to accept defeat. The challenge now is to remember why he entered politics in the 1st place. Congratulations @ImranKhanPTI
If euphoria is to be believed, this has happened !Pity Pakistan. In recent weeks it has suffered one of its worst ever terrorist attacks, with 149 people blown to bits. The rupee is crashing as the economy teeters on the brink of a debt crisis. And the country has been put on an international financial watchlist because of its failure to take action against terrorists.Worst of all, Imran Khan is about to become the country’s next prime minister.
For readers with only a passing interest in this turbulent country, Khan’s likely victory in Wednesday’s general elections may seem like no bad thing. In the UK he is presumed to be a good’un: a glamorous, anglophile cricket-star playboy who talks a good game about fighting corruption. His politics are presumed to be as liberal as his private life.
So, Prime Minister Imran could come as quite a shock for many people.
Not for nothing he is AKA Taliban Khan !For one thing, he’s no liberal. In fact, he spits out the word “liberal” as an insult, often combining it with the word “fascist” to describe those Pakistanis who think there should be a zero-tolerance policy towards the Pakistani Taliban, one of the most indiscriminately lethal terrorist groups in the world. Khan is the group’s highest profile apologist. At the peak of the Taliban’s terror campaign in 2014 Khan was pleading for them, saying they were “confused”. He thought the Taliban should be given an office in Peshawar from where they could parlay with the government. He bitterly opposed a military confrontation with the group, saying it would only fuel more violence.
As things turned out, Khan was wrong and the liberal fascists were right. After much foot dragging, largely caused by Khan’s noisy opposition, the army finally assaulted North Waziristan. The rate of Taliban violence fell precipitously.![]()
He is still sucking up to extremists. The provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa controlled by his party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), has funnelled taxpayer cash to the madrassa run by Sami-ul-Huq, an infamous extremist cleric known as the “father of the Taliban” because he taught so many militant leaders. Khan describes the insurgency against the elected, internationally-recognised government in Kabul as a legitimate “resistance”.
The Kaptaan just might need the support of these extreme religious parties to come to power, so it makes sense from THAT point of view !More recently Khan has been pandering to the country’s Barelvis, the community once regarded as benign Sufis but which have become murderously radicalised in recent years over the subject of “blasphemy”. A particular Barelvi obsession is the Muslim Ahmadiyya Community, a tiny sect they regard as heretics. But anti-Ahmadi bigotry is popular. Khan has gone out of his way to emphasise his support for the laws that criminalise Ahmadis for following their religion as they wish.
And on top of that, he has promised to make Pakistan, "a Norway like Islamic Welfare State" !!! ( where is the money coming fromIf Khan’s thoughts on extremism and militancy are dangerous, his solutions for Pakistan’s economic problems are childish: elect better leaders (ie, Khan), put corrupt politicians in prison and recover their “looted” wealth.
In Pakistan, the local auto industry is mostly "import and assemble" job. No indigenous production of parts and engines . That is NOT the case in India ! This is a country, that after 70 years has not even product an A to Z home made bicycle , IMO !To pick one example, Khan has had nothing of substance to say about how to fix the country’s awful automobile sector. The entire market has been carved up by just three companies. No competition means terrible cars at high prices, low production, fewer jobs than there might be and big profits for the owners. The cheapest car in the country is something called a Suzuki Mehran, a dismal contraption that according to 2011 research was 32 per cent more expensive than the same model in India (where it has now been phased out).
Khan likes to promise quick results, famously saying he will “fix corruption in 90 days”.But Pakistan has spent decades digging itself into a hole of cavernous proportions. It cannot escape in a single leap.
The Army will not allow this to happen . They are the so-called guardians of Paki Ideology !The only conceivable way the situation might be rectified involves the slow and steady entrenchment of democracy. Successive cycles of free and fair elections would allow politicians to gradually stop worrying about the next coup and instead concentrate on delivering for the people. Governance would improve. The enfeebled institutions of civilian rule would grow stronger.
Unlikely to happen, IMO !At some point civilians would do what has long been unthinkable: grapple back control over foreign and defence policy, two areas the army think is its exclusive domain. That could lead to the end of the incredibly expensive and pointless 70-year conflict with India (and the army-backed Islamists used in that conflict). Cross border trade and human happiness in a region of 1.5bn people would boom
For a time it seemed Pakistan was moving in that hopeful direction after the country’s last military ruler, Pervez Musharraf, was turfed from office in 2008. The two main parties – Sharif’s PML-N and Benazir Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party – struck an agreement to jointly resist any efforts by the military to undermine civilian rule. Most importantly, they vowed never to conspire with the army to bring down a government, as Sharif had done in past. Then, in 2013, history was made when one elected government replaced another for the first time.Alas, Khan has scuppered that positive trend.He has treated parliament with contempt, despite an extraordinary 2013 breakthrough when he came within a squeak of being the second largest party. The result was not good enough for Khan. He refused to accept the result and peddled conspiracy theories that the election had been rigged, even though international observers declared the poll the cleanest in Pakistan’s history.
When the Election Commission duly investigated and found no evidence of systematic cheating Khan took to the streets. For four months in 2014 Khan held the capital, Islamabad, to ransom. He marched thousands of his supporters into the city and parked a re-purposed, air-conditioned sea-container outside the National Assembly. From there he harangued the “cursed” parliament. He said he would not leave unless Sharif resigned. He scarcely concealed his hope that the standoff would provoke a crisis that would force the army to intervene on his behalf – “the umpire will raise his finger” he promised the crowds.
On September 1 Khan unleashed his mobs onto key government buildings. Khan’s supporters invaded and briefly took over the state broadcaster PTV. They swarmed onto the grounds of parliament. It did not precipitate the crisis he hoped for. But it did help normalise the practice of mobs descending on Islamabad threatening violent confrontations.Khan’s behaviour during the current election campaign has been even more disgraceful.
He has had nothing to say about an industrial-strength campaign of “pre-poll rigging” orchestrated on his behalf by the Pakistan Army. It is not that the army particularly love Khan. But they are desperate to knock out Sharif, a man who obstinately believes in civilian supremacy, peace with India and accountability for former army chiefs who instigate coups.
The army has gone to extraordinary lengths to neutralise Sharif, who was until recently the odds-on favourite to win. Media deemed favourable to Sharif have had their distribution choked. Non-compliant journalists and bloggers have been threatened and kidnapped. The media’s coverage of the election has been so one-sided that at times it has seemed as if only the PTI is running.
Army intelligence officers have compelled some PML-N candidates to jump ship to Khan. They have used crude threats and, astonishingly, the promise of positions in Khan’s government. Dozens have indeed defected. International election monitors have been prevented from entering the country in time to do their work properly. Sharif himself has been knocked out of running after Pakistan’s increasingly wild judiciary disqualified him from office for a minor breach of electoral law based on evidence provided by the army’s intelligence wing. Crucial indirect elections to the upper house of parliament were manipulated to prevent Sharif’s party from gaining a majority.
Imran Khan, the great hope for a “Naya (New) Pakistan”, has not called out any of this. Not the bashing of the media, not the kidnapping and torture of dissident bloggers, not the dodgy legal rulings, not the menacing of politicians by the deep state. He has stood by whilst the elections have become the “dirtiest, most micromanaged in the country’s history”, according to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.
As predicted, he has won! ( not officially, as of this writing )So, if Khan does win on Wednesday it will be a hollow victory. His power will be heavily constrained, both by the coalition partners he will likely need to govern, and by the deep state whose electoral engineering he has embraced.
Worse, millions of Sharif’s supporters will not accept Khan as a legitimate prime minister. By failing to stand up to Pakistan’s deep state, Khan has been complicit in damaging the country’s most important institutions: the government, the judiciary, the media. Also, ironically, the army: recent days have seen unprecedented demonstrations outside the headquarters of the ISI in Islamabad and scattered anti-army protests in normally pro-military Punjab.
Even before he has taken power, Imran Khan has set his country back decades.![]()
Wasn't it the Peerni who predicted his victory provided he married her?anupmisra wrote:Has I'm the dim congratulated peerniji yet for having faith and trust in him?
She promised him victory provided he married her. She also made him partial to sufism. One of those self-fulfilling prophesies. Win-win situation. He becomes PM, she becomes moral-in-charge.SSridhar wrote:Wasn't it the Peerni who predicted his victory provided he married her?anupmisra wrote:Has I'm the dim congratulated peerniji yet for having faith and trust in him?
I think we used to call them non-playing captains.SSridhar wrote:Anyway, Kaptan will soon find that there is a super Kaptan and his name is Qamar Javed Bajwa.
On Kashmir
"Kashmir remains our biggest contention. It is unfortunate that Kashmir, which is the core issue between the two countries, has suffered immense human rights violations at the hands of the Indian Army in the last 30 years {This is not a good way to start the relationship. We must cite this single statement to refuse talks with the Dummy.} . The leadership of Pakistan and India now need to come to the table to resolve this and end the blame games. We are stuck at square one," he said.
On ties with India
"If leadership in India is ready then I will want to strengthen the relationship between the two countries. The strengthening of ties between the two nations will be beneficial for subcontinent as well."
"If India comes and takes one step towards us, we will take two steps toward them. {Haven't we heard this before?} Right now it is one-sided where India is constantly just blaming us," he said.
On trade ties
"The trade ties between India and Pakistan should improve for not only the benefit of the two countries but for South Asia as well. If we want to have a poverty-free subcontinent then we must have good relations and trade ties."
"I am that Pakistani who believes that to improve economics in the subcontinent trade between India and Pakistan is important," he said.
On Indian media
"It pained me to see the way Indian media portrayed me in the last few months. I was depicted like a villain in Bollywood movies. I am one of those Pakistanis that wants good relations with India."![]()
"It seemed like India feared every thing bad would happen if Imran Khan came into power. "
"As far as India is concerned; I was disappointed with how Indian media portrayed me in the past few weeks. As a villain. I am that Pakistani who has travelled through India because of my cricket," he said.
On his familiarity with India
"I am a person who arguably knows the most people in India because of my days in cricket. We can resolve the poverty crisis in South East Asia {South East Asia did you say, dummy?}. The biggest problem is Kashmir."
Striking resemblance with Kejriwal!NEW DELHI: The sprawling homes of Pakistan's Prime Minister will be dedicated to the people and turned into an educational institution. The official residences of Governors will be part of the sweeping austerity measure -- they will be turned into hotels or any other revenue-generating venture and the proceeds to go towards lifting the economy, said Imran Khan in a victory speech this evening even before the results of yesterday's elections were announced.
"I feel ashamed that I will be staying in the Prime Minister's palace. I will stay in a smaller house," Mr Khan said, writing off the sprawling mansion where the heads of state have been living since 1970s. "My promise to you is to fix public spending, end the economic crisis," he added.
Raja Ram -ji : Some background on the "sufi Mullah" ( favorite of Mush and Immy )Raja Ram wrote:What happened to the Qadri fellow? Did he not contest in these (s)elections of Pakistan?