ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – On the evening of Tuesday, 26 September, 2006, Pakistani strongman Pervez Musharraf walked into the studio of Comedy Central’s ‘Daily Show’ with Jon Stewart, the first sitting president anywhere to dare do this political satire show. Stewart offered his guest some tea and cookies and played the perfect host by asking, “Is it good?” before springing a surprise: “Where’s Osama bin Laden?” I don’t know,” Musharraf replied, as the audience enjoyed the rare sight of a strong leader apparently cornered. “You know where he is?” Musharraf snapped back, “You lead on, we’ll follow you.” What Gen. Musharraf didn’t know then is that he really was being cornered. Some of the smiles that greeted him in Washington and back home gave no hint of the betrayal that awaited him.

As he completed the remaining part of his U.S. visit, his allies in Washington and elsewhere, as all evidence suggests now, were plotting his downfall. They had decided to take a page from the book of successful ‘color revolutions’ where western governments covertly used money, private media, student unions, NGOs and international pressure to stage coups, basically overthrowing individuals not fitting well with Washington’s agenda.

This recipe proved its success in former Yugoslavia, and more recently in Georgia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan. In Pakistan, the target is a Pakistani president who refuses to play ball with the United States on Afghanistan, China, and Dr. A.Q.Khan. To get rid of him, an impressive operation is underway:

A carefully crafted media blitzkrieg launched early this year assailing the Pakistani president from all sides, questioning his power, his role in Washington’s war on terror and predicting his downfall. Money pumped into the country to pay for organized dissent. Willing activists assigned to mobilize and organize accessible social groups. A campaign waged on Internet where tens of mailing lists and ‘news agencies’ have sprung up from nowhere, all demonizing Musharraf and the Pakistani military.

European- and American-funded Pakistani NGOs taking a temporary leave from their real jobs to work as a makeshift anti-government mobilization machine. U.S. government agencies directly funding some private Pakistani television networks; the channels go into an open anti-government mode, cashing in on some manufactured and other real public grievances regarding inflation and corruption. Some of Musharraf’s shady and corrupt political allies feed this campaign, hoping to stay in power under a weakened president. All this groundwork completed and chips in place when the judicial crisis breaks out in March 2007. Even Pakistani politicians surprised at a well-greased and well-organized lawyers campaign, complete with flyers, rented cars and buses, excellent event-management and media outreach. Currently, students are being recruited and organized into a street movement.

The work is ongoing and urban Pakistani students are being cultivated, especially using popular Internet Web sites and ‘online hangouts’. The people behind this effort are mostly unknown and faceless, limiting themselves to organizing sporadic, small student gatherings in Lahore and Islamabad, complete with banners, placards and little babies with arm bands for maximum media effect. No major student association has announced yet that it is behind these student protests, which is a very Interesting fact glossed over by most journalists covering this story.

Only a few students from affluent schools have responded so far and it’s not because the Pakistani government’s countermeasures are effective. They’re not. The reason is that social activism attracts people from affluent backgrounds, closely reflecting a uniquely Pakistani phenomenon where local NGOs are mostly founded and run by rich, westernized Pakistanis.

All of this may appear to be spur-of-the-moment and Musharraf-specific. But it all really began almost three years ago, when, out of the blue and recycling old political arguments, Mr. Akbar Bugti launched an armed rebellion against the Pakistani state, surprising security analysts by using rockets and other military equipment that shouldn’t normally be available to a smalltime village thug. Since then, Islamabad sits on a pile of evidence that links Mr. Bugti’s campaign to money and ammunition and logistical support from Afghanistan, directly aided by the Indians and the Karzai administration, with the Americans turning a blind eye.

For reasons not clear to our analysts yet, Islamabad has kept quiet on Washington’s involvement with anti-Pakistan elements in Afghanistan. But Pakistan did send an indirect public message to the Americans recently.

“We have indications of Indian involvement with anti-state elements in Pakistan,”

declared the spokesman of the Pakistan Foreign Office in a regular briefing in October. The statement was terse and direct and the spokesman, Ms. Tasnim Aslam, quickly moved on to other issues.

This is how a Pakistani official explained Ms. Aslam’s statement: “What she was really saying is this: We know what the Indians are doing. They’ve sold the Americans on the idea that [the Indians] are an authority on Pakistan and can be helpful in Afghanistan. The Americans have bought the idea and are in on the plan, giving the Indians a free hand in Afghanistan.

What the Americans don’t know is that we, too, know the Indians very well. Better still, we know Afghanistan very well. You can’t beat us at our own game.” Mr. Bugti’s armed rebellion coincided with the Gwadar project entering its final stages. No coincidence here. Mr. Bugti’s real job was to scare the Chinese away and scuttle Chinese President Hu Jintao’s planned visit to Gwadar a few months later to formally launch the port city. Gwadar is the pinnacle of Sino-Pakistani strategic cooperation. It’s a modern port city that is supposed to link Central Asia, western China, and Pakistan with markets in Mideast and Africa.

It’s supposed to have roads stretching all the way to China. It’s no coincidence either that China has also earmarked millions of dollars to renovate the Karakoram Highway linking northern Pakistan to western China.

Some reports in the American media, however, have accused Pakistan and China of building a naval base in the guise of a commercial seaport directly overlooking international oil shipping lanes. The Indians and some other regional actors are also not comfortable with this project because they see it as commercial competition.

What Mr. Bugti’s regional and international supporters never expected is Pakistan moving firmly and strongly to nip his rebellion in the bud. Even Mr. Bugti himself probably never expected the Pakistani state to react in the way it did to his betrayal of the homeland. He was killed in a military operation where scores of his mercenaries surrendered to Pakistan army soldiers.

U.S. intelligence and their Indian advisors could not cultivate an immediate replacement for Mr. Bugti. So they moved to Plan B. They supported Abdullah Mehsud, a Pakistani Taliban fighter held for five years in Guantanamo Bay, and then handed over back to the Afghan government, only to return to his homeland, Pakistan, to kidnap two Chinese engineers working in Balochistan, one of whom was eventually killed during a rescue operation by the Pakistani government.

Islamabad could not tolerate this shadowy figure, which was creating a following among ordinary Pakistanis masquerading as a Taliban while in reality towing a vague agenda. He was rightly eliminated earlier this year by Pakistani security forces while secretly returning from Afghanistan after meeting his handlers there. Again, no surprises here.

SMELLING A RAT

This is where Pakistani political and military officials finally started smelling a rat. All of this was an indication of a bigger problem. There were growing indications that, ever since Islamabad joined Washington’s regional plans, Pakistan was gradually turning into a ‘besieged-nation’, heavily targeted by the American media while being subjected to strategic sabotage and espionage from Afghanistan.

Afghanistan, under America’s watch, has turned into a vast staging ground for sophisticated psychological and military operations to destabilize neighboring Pakistan. During the past three years, the heat has gradually been turned up against Pakistan and its military along Pakistan’s western regions:

• A shadowy group called the BLA, a Cold War relic, rose from the dead to restart a separatist war in southwestern Pakistan.
• Bugti’s death was a blow to neo-BLA, but the shadowy group’s backers didn’t repent. His grandson, Brahmdagh Bugti, is currently enjoying a safe shelter in the Afghan capital, Kabul, where he continues to operate and remote-control his assets in Pakistan.
• Saboteurs trained in Afghanistan have been inserted into Pakistan to aggravate extremist passions here, especially after the Red Mosque operation.
• Chinese citizens continue to be targeted by individuals pretending to be Islamists, when no known Islamic group has claimed responsibility.
• A succession of ‘religious rebels’ with suspicious foreign links has suddenly emerged in Pakistan over the past months claiming to be ‘Pakistani Taliban’. Some of the names include Abdul Rashid Ghazi, Baitullah Mehsud, and now the Maulana of Swat. Some of them have used and are using encrypted communication equipment far superior to what Pakistani military owns.
• Money and weapons have been fed into the religious movements and al Qaeda remnants in the tribal areas.

Exploiting the situation, assets within the Pakistani media started promoting the idea that the Pakistani military was killing its own people. The rest of the unsuspecting media quickly picked up this message. Some botched American and Pakistani military operations against Al Qaeda that caused civilian deaths accidentally fed this media campaign.

This was the perfect timing for the launch of Military, Inc.: Inside Pakistan’s Military Economy, a book authored by Dr. Ayesha Siddiqa Agha, a columnist for a Pakistani English-language paper and a correspondent for ‘Jane’s Defence Weekly’, a private intelligence service founded by experts close to the British intelligence.

TARGET: PAK MILITARY

The book was launched in Pakistan in early 2007 by Oxford Press. And, contrary to most reports, it is openly available in Islamabad’s biggest bookshops. The book portrays the Pakistani military as an institution that is eating up whatever little resources Pakistan has. Pakistani military’s successful financial management, creating alternate financial sources to spend on a vast military machine and build a conventional and nuclear near-match with a neighboring adversary five times larger – an impressive record for any nation by any standard was distorted in the book and reduced to a mere attempt by the military to control the nation’s economy in the same way it was controlling its politics.

The timing was interesting. After all, it was hard to defend a military in the eyes of its own proud people when the chief of the military is ruling the country, the army is fighting insurgents and extremists who claim to be defending Islam, grumpy politicians are out of business, and the military’s side businesses, meant to feed the nation’s military machine, are doing well compared to the shabby state of the nation’s civilian departments.

A closer look at Ms. Siddiqa, the author, revealed disturbing information to Pakistani officials. In the months before launching her book, she was a frequent visitor to India where, as a defense expert, she cultivated important contacts. On her return, she developed friendship with an Indian lady diplomat posted in Islamabad. Both of these activities travel to India and ties to Indian diplomats – are not a crime in Pakistan and don’t raise interest anymore. Pakistanis are hospitable and friendly people and these qualities have been amply displayed to the Indians during the four-year-old peace process.

What is interesting is that Ms. Siddiqa left her car in the house of the said Indian diplomat during one of her recent trips to London. And, according to a report, she stayed in London at a place owned by an individual linked to the Indian lady diplomat friend in Islamabad .The point here is this: Who assigned her to investigate the Pakistani Armed Forces and present a distorted image of a proud an efficient Pakistani institution?

From 1988 to 2001, Dr. Siddiqa worked in the Pakistan civil service, the Pakistani civil bureaucracy. Her responsibilities included dealing with Military Accounts, which come under the Pakistan Ministry of Defense. She had thirteen years of rich experience in dealing with the budgetary matters of the Pakistani military and people working in this area. Dr. Siddiqa received a year-long fellowship to research and writes a book in the United States. .

There are strong indications that some of her Indian contacts played a role in arranging financing for her book project through a paid fellowship. The final manuscript of her book was vetted at a publishing office in New Delhi. All of these details are insignificant if detached from the real issue at hand. And the issue is the deionization of the Pakistani

Military as an integral part of the media siege around Pakistan, with the American media leading the way in this campaign.

Some of the juicy details of this campaign include:

• The attempt by Dr. Siddiqa to pitch junior officers against senior officers in Pakistan Armed Forces by alleging discrimination in the distribution of benefits. Apart from being malicious and unfounded, her argument was carefully designed to generate frustration and demoralize Pakistani soldiers.
• The American media insisting on handing over Dr. A.Q. Khan to the United States so that a final conviction against the Pakistani military can be secured.
• Mrs. Benazir Bhutto demanding after returning to Pakistan that the ISI be restructured; and in a press conference during her house arrest in Lahore in November she went as far as asking Pakistan army officers to revolt against the army chief, a damning attempt at destroying a professional army from within.

Some of this appears to be eerily similar to the campaign waged against the Pakistani military in 1999, when, in July that year, an unsigned full page advertisement appeared in major American newspapers with the following headline: “A Modern Rogue Army with Its Finger on the Nuclear Button.”

Till this day, it is not clear who exactly paid for such an expensive newspaper full-page advertisement. But one thing is clear: the agenda behind that advertisement is back in action. Strangely, just a few days before Mrs. Bhutto’s statements about restructuring the ISI and her open call to army officers to stage a mutiny against their leadership, the American conservative magazine The Weekly Standard interviewed an American security expert who offered similar ideas: “A large number of ISI agents who are responsible for

Helping the Taliban and al Qaeda should be thrown in jail or killed.

What I think we should do in Pakistan is a parallel version of what Iran has run against US in Iraq: giving money [and] empowering actors. Some of this will involve working with some shady characters, but the alternative-sending U.S. forces into Pakistan for a sustained bombing campaign-is worse.” Steve Schippert, Weekly Standard, Nov. 2007. In addition to these media attacks, which security experts call ‘psychological operations’, the American media and politicians have intensified over the past year their campaign to prepare the international public opinion to accept a western intervention in Pakistan along the lines of Iraq and Afghanistan:

• Newsweek came up with an entire cover story with a single storyline: Pakistan is a more dangerous place than Iraq.
• Senior American politicians, Republican and Democrat, have argued that Pakistan is more dangerous than Iran and merits similar treatment. On 20 October, Senator Joe Biden told ABC News that Washington needs to put soldiers on the ground in Pakistan and invite the international community to join in. “We should be in there,” he said. “We should be supplying tens of millions of dollars to build new schools to compete with the madrassas. We should be in there building democratic institutions. We should be in there, and get the rest of the world in there, giving some structure to the emergence of, hopefully, the reemergence of a democratic process.”
• The International Crisis Group (ICG) has recommended gradual sanctions on Pakistan similar to those imposed on Iran, e.g. slapping travel bans on Pakistani military officers and seizing Pakistani military assets abroad.
• The process of painting Pakistan’s nuclear assets as pure evil lying around waiting for some do-gooder to come in and ‘secure’ them has reached unprecedented levels, with the U.S. media again depicting Pakistan as a nation incapable of protecting its nuclear installations. On 22 October, Jane Harman from the U.S. House Intelligence panel gave the following statement: “I think the U.S. would be wise – and I trust we are
• Doing this – to have contingency plans [to seize Pakistan’s nuclear assets], especially because should [Musharraf] fall, there are nuclear weapons there.”
• The American media has now begun discussing the possibility of Pakistan breaking up and the possibility of new states of ‘Balochistan’ and ‘Pashtunistan’ being carved out of it. Interestingly, one of the first acts of the shady Maulana of Swat after capturing a few towns was to take down the Pakistani flag from the top of state buildings and replacing them with his own party flag.
• The ‘chatter’ about President Musharraf’s eminent fall has also increased dramatically in the mainly American media, which has been very generous in marketing theories about how Musharraf might “disappear” or be “removed” from the scene. According to some Pakistani analysts, this could be an attempt to prepare the public opinion for a possible assassination of the Pakistani president.
• Another worrying thing is how American officials are publicly signaling to the Pakistanis that Mrs. Benazir Bhutto has their backing as the next leader of the country. Such signals from Washington are not only a kiss of death for any public leader in Pakistan, but the Americans also know that their actions are inviting potential assassins to target Mrs. Bhutto. If she is killed in this way, there won’t be enough time to find the real culprit, but what’s certain is that unprecedented international pressure will be placed on Islamabad while everyone will use their local assets to create maximum internal chaos in the country.

A dress rehearsal of this scenario has already taken place in October when no less than he U.N. Security Council itself intervened to ask the international community to “assist” in the investigations into the assassination attempt on Mrs. Bhutto on 18 October. This generous move was sponsored by the U.S. and, interestingly, had no input from Pakistan which did not ask for help in investigations in the first place.

Some Pakistani security analysts privately say that American ‘chatter’ about Musharraf or Bhutto getting killed is a serious matter that can’t be easily dismissed. Getting Bhutto killed can generate the kind of pressure that could result in permanently putting the Pakistani military on a back foot, giving Washington enough room to push for installing a

New pliant leadership in Islamabad.

Having Musharraf killed isn’t a bad option either. The unknown Islamists can always be blamed and the military will not be able to put another soldier at the top, and circumstances will be created to ensure that either Mrs. Bhutto or someone like her is eased into power.

The Americans are very serious this time. They cannot let Pakistan get out of their hands. They have been kicked out of Uzbekistan last year, where they were maintaining bases. They are in trouble in Afghanistan and Iraq. Iran continues to be a mess for them and Russia and China are not making it any easier. Pakistan must be ‘secured’ at all costs.

This is why most Pakistanis have never seen American diplomats in Pakistan active like this before. And it’s not just the current U.S. ambassador, who has added one more address to her other most-frequently-visited address in Karachi, Mrs. Bhutto’s house. The new address is the office of GEO, one of two news channels shut down by Islamabad for not signing the mandatory code-of-conduct. Thirty-eight other channels are operating and no one has censored the newspapers. But never mind this. The Americans have developed a ‘thing’ for GEO. No solace of course for ARY, the other banned channel.

Now there’s also one Bryan Hunt, the U.S. consul general in Lahore, who wears the national Pakistani dress, the long shirt and baggy trousers, and is moving around these days issuing tough warnings to Islamabad and to the Pakistani government and to President Musharraf to end emergency rule, resign as army chief and give Mrs. Bhutto access to power.

PAKISTAN ‘S OPTIONS

So what should Pakistan do in the face of such a structured campaign to bring Pakistan down on its knees and forcibly install a pro-Washington administration in Islamabad? There is increasing talk in Islamabad these days about Pakistan’s new tough stand in the face of this malicious campaign. As a starter, Islamabad blew the wind out of the visit of Mr. John Negroponte, the no. 2 man in the U.S. State Department, who came to Pakistan last week “to deliver a tough message” to the Pakistani president. Musharraf, to his credit, told him he won’t end emergency rule until all objectives are achieved.

These objectives include:

1. Cleaning up our northern and western parts of the country of all foreign operatives and their domestic pawns.
2. Ensuring that Washington’s plan for regime-change doesn’t succeed.
3. Purging the Pakistani media of all those elements that were willing or unwilling accomplices in the plan to destabilize the country. Musharraf has also told Washington publicly that “Pakistan is more important than democracy or the constitution.” This is a Bold position. This kind of boldness would have served Musharraf a lot had it come a little earlier. But even now, his media management team is unable to make the most out of it.

Washington will not stand by watching as its plan for regime change in Islamabad goes down the drain. In case the Americans insist on interfering in Pakistani affairs, Islamabad, according to my sources, is looking at some tough measures:

1. Cutting off oil supplies to U.S. military in Afghanistan. Pakistani officials are already enraged at how Afghanistan has turned into a staging ground for sabotage in Pakistan. If Islamabad continues to see Washington acting as a bully, Pakistani officials are seriously considering an announcement where Pakistan, for the first time since October 2001, will deny the United States use of Pakistani soil and air space to transport fuel to Afghanistan.
2. Reviewing Pakistan’s role in the war on terror. Islamabad needs to fight terrorists on its border with Afghanistan. But our methods need to be different to Washington’s when it comes to our domestic extremists. This is where Islamabad parts ways with Washington. Pakistani officials are considering the option of withdrawing from the war on terror while maintaining Pakistan’s own war against the terrorists along Afghanistan’s border.
3. Talks with the Taliban. Pakistan has no quarrel with Afghanistan’s Taliban. They are Kabul’s internal problem. But if reaching out to Afghan Taliban’s Mullah Omar can have a positive impact on rebellious Pakistani extremists, then this step should be taken. The South Koreans can talk to the Taliban. Karzai has also called for talks with them. It is time that Islamabad does the same.
4. The Americans have been telling everyone in the world that they have paid Pakistan $10 billion dollars over the past five years. They might think this gives them the right to decide Pakistan’s destiny. What they don’t tell the world is how Pakistan’s help secured for them their biggest footprint ever in energy-rich Central Asia.

If they forget, Islamabad can always remind them by giving them the same treatment that Uzbekistan did last year.

For a moment, let’s overlook ANP’s usual rhetoric of racial victimization, its historical opposition to the creation of Pakistan and its socialist lineage, and focus on bud of its criticism; i.e. Pushtoon are paying through their blood for the Punjab hatched conspiracy of supporting the Americans against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. Their rhetoric begs the question: what makes them think, Soviets didn’t had their eyes set on occupying Pakistan next?

Anyone cognizant of ANP’s habit of playing on both sides of fence (like the JUI-F) knows, had Soviets occupied Pakistan, ANP would have cried Bloody Mary over the spillage of Pushtoon blood, followed by signing a peace treaty with the Soviets; only to renounce it after a severe criticism. Then it would have blamed Ayub Khan’s government for the Soviet occupation, because Pakistan fought a war with India.

Ironically, both ANP and JUI-F who could have disrupted the Talibanization during its infancy, looked the other way and pretended everything was hunky-dory. Instead of dealing with the festering menace, both chose to concentrate on grabbing federal ministries and wasted their energies on inconsequential issues like renaming NWFP to Pushtoonkhawa. During their spare time or when Zardari asked, both bashed Punjabis. Of course, until the MQM and Sindhi Nationalists showed their true colors, Punjabis remained their punching bag.

Whether deliberately or otherwise both miserably failed to show the responsibility and leadership expected from them. Even when the monsters were knocking at their door they kept their heads buried in sand, or at best, chased federal ministries. When water ran over their heads, they ran pillar to post blaming any and everyone but themselves for their incompetence. For his part Musharraf with all of power and global support dealt with the Taliban with kids gloves.

Back to ANP’s current scapegoat; i.e. Zia-era support of Mujahideen against the angelic Soviets. Frankly, their rhetoric is plain and simple nonsense. The mistake wasn’t made when Pakistan joined CIA’s war; mistakes were made when every stakeholder disowned the Mujahideen immediately after the Soviets were defeated. Americans didn’t bother to say even goodbye, Saudis saw an opportunity to raise an unaccounted Sunni militia, Arab nations released their Jihadis into Afghan wilderness; and the Pakistanis occupied themselves with pulling legs of successive elected governments.

Instead of helping Afghanistan get back on its feet, whole world moved on to its business. Nobody bothered to rehabilitate the idly sitting army of Muslim fighters who were trained to fight guerilla warfare and nothing else. Not a single dime of financial aid was spent on social recovery projects, like building roads, hospitals or schools. Arab nations turned Afghanistan into a massive dumping ground for the banished, sort of Guantanamo prison on steroids. For example, Osama bin Laden was banished by the Saudis and Ayman al-Zawahiri was dumped in Afghanistan by the Egyptians. With no hope of returning to their native countries, the religiously charged extremists collaborated with the cash strapped locals to form their own style of government.

The dye was cast for the global terrorism. During the lost decade of 90s when Americans were basking in their sole superpower status and Pakistanis were experimenting with democracy, the forgotten religious zealists were looking for new enemies to fight. After beating the Northern-Alliance – raised and nurtured by the Indians, Iranians and Russians – the Taliban set their sights outwards to set the world straight according to their perverted vision. And rest is history.

No matter how hard we imagine: a problem sticks around till we fix it in reality too. The menace of Taliban is a manifestation of collective abandonment of people we used to fight our battles. Let the lesson be learned, never leave the battle ground without cleaning and restoring it first; or its ghosts will haunt, till the end of time. Why the architects of most productive Marshal Plan left the Afghans high and dry to fend for themselves is a trillion dollars question?

However, there is no sense in bickering over who should be blamed for the mess we created in Afghanistan. The responsibility to clean the mess falls upon whole civilized world. Sadly, there are no quick fixes to the problem. If today, we neutralize the Taliban leadership in concert with building roads, bridges, factories, electric power stations, hospitals, police stations, courts, city halls, airports, and most importantly, schools and universities, then hopefully 20 years latter, we could see the initial crop of civilized society in Afghanistan and Pakistani tribal belt.

If shifting blame could rescue the lost generation then there is no better party at the helm than the ANP. If it truly cares for the wellbeing of Pushtoon, then instead of hugging to the ministries tight and blaming whole world for their failures, it should start by bringing its leaders back to their constituencies. Then it should threaten to leave the Zardari coalition, unless the federal government guarantees unrestricted movement of the refugees throughout the Pakistan, including Karachi. Only opportunists take refuge behind racially loaded rhetoric.

When the British Raj was on its deathbed, its great champion Winston Churchill sneered that Indians would never be able to understand democracy. He thought that they would be a disaster and come running back to Mother England. I shall spare you the precise quotations; we don’t want you to get unnecessarily angry on a day when there is so much else to digest. He was not alone. In 1967, the Times of London, now the pipsqueak of a fading power rather than a thunderer of the Empire, wrote the obituary of Indian democracy. It survived.

However, there was a growing view that the 15th general election would leave behind just the kind of mess Churchill predicted.

The Indian voter has just proved once again that those who underestimate India do not understand India.

The most important result of this election is that the elimination of regional parties from national space has begun. This was the message in north, south, east and west where Congress expanded its space at the cost of both friends and foes. Chandrababu Naidu will survive to fight another election, but the votaries of Telangana have probably been marginalised out of reckoning. The Congress did better than Sharad Pawar, grew in Punjab, hammered the Left, aborted Mayawati’s national ambitions and checked Mulayam Singh Yadav. In fact, Mulayam Singh Yadav may face the humiliation of being the unwanted guest at the party for a second time, since the Congress can now afford to sniff at the support he offers. The two regional powers that triumphed, Nitish Kumar and Naveen Patnaik, won because of their individual qualities rather than because of the parties they lead. The Congress and the BJP, between them, will occupy two thirds of the seats in the next Lok Sabha. This is the real game-changer because the next general elections will be a straight contest between these two parties in most of India.

This election was a successful base camp for a much higher ascent. The true Congress summit is the achievement of a single-party majority in the Lok Sabha after the next general election. When this peak was outlined against a still bleak horizon during the Panchmarhi resolution years ago, it seemed a thrust too high, but its moment has come. Just as it did in this election, it will seek to grow at the expense of either ally or enemy. The Congress already had candidates in 14 seats in Tamil Nadu; the next time, it might contest all 39. It will pressurise Sharad Pawar to merge into the parent party or perish. Mamata Banerjee in Bengal might be more resistant, because she knows that she cannot dominate the Congress as much as she can her own party, and total power can be very alluring. But the Congress can live with a variation or two, as long as Mamata does not through self-inflicted wounds revive the Left in Bengal. In any case, there are great pickings elsewhere for the Congress.

It will of course hope to exploit the anti-incumbency factor in the BJP States in the North, particularly if the BJP goes into disarray after its second collapse from high expectations. The last time the Congress had a majority on its own was under Rajiv Gandhi.

The restoration will be in the hands of the son, Rahul Gandhi, who has earned his political legitimacy in this election. Mrs Sonia Gandhi’s role as leader of the party will ebb as the pace of transition speeds up. It is highly likely that at some point there may even be a transition in Government, with Dr Manmohan Singh making way for Rahul Gandhi. Dr Singh has already done more than anyone expected for the party, and he might prefer the comfort of retirement since he has had a serious heart attack.

Will the BJP, suffering from a second unexpected defeat, be able to resurrect its fortunes and face an aggressive Congress? Some things are apparent. It will need to choose the person who can lead the party into the next general election without much delay.

The BJP realised that development and governance were the decisive issues. But although its venerable leader L.K. Advani tried to define the party around modern needs, he was tripped by the rhetoric of those who thought that the country still wanted to hear the war cry of social conflict. The swivel moment of the campaign came when Varun Gandhi, in a flurry of immaturity, revived every toxic memory that Advani wanted the electorate to forget. He compounded the mistake by glorying in its aftermath. BJP leaders realised the danger. The Madhya Pradesh party publicly asked Varun Gandhi to remain in UP, and not bother about the neighbouring State. But the leadership merely distanced itself from the young man, when it should have disowned him.

This is the major lesson for the next leader of the party: India wants peace with prosperity because Indians realise that prosperity cannot come without peace. Narendra Modi may be a powerful and effective leader in Gujarat, but the stamp of one defect will always mar his future. He can be a successful number two at the national level, but will remain a divisive number one.

We have also just witnessed the last election of the older generation. Youth is not just arithmetic; you have to be young in your outlook, and be able to identify with the aspirations of those seeking a profitable place in the international economy, as much as the poor who feel that they are being marginalised in the domestic economy. It is difficult to span both edges of this challenge, but no one said that public life was easy.

Defeat can be a moment of transition, unless you succumb to despair.

The opposition has been urging the government to adopt a clear and transparent policy on war against terrorism without interference from any country in our internal affairs. The APC would be held at the Prime Minister’s House at 10am in which leaders of all political parties inside and outside the parliament have been invited. Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani would preside over the conference.

The Government has dispatched invitation to 43 national parties. Five Former Premiers of the country would also participate in the conference.JI Ameer Syed Munawar Hussain, PTI Chief Imran Khan, Ameer JUI-S Maulana Sami-ul-Haq and head of other religious parties have also been invited.

Quaid PML-N Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif and Chief Minister Punjab Mian Shahbaz Sharif would arrive Islamabad today (Monday) for participation in APC.The APC is being convened in consultation with the entire political leadership and in-camera briefing to parliamentarian over swat operation was also given to Parliamentary leaders of different political parties by Chief of the Army Staff and DG MO on Friday.-ONLINE

Words of Miller and ideas of Harrison were tearing into my flesh when I was returning from Lahore and Islamabad after some interactive sessions with Imran Khan, founder-chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. Much before visiting Pakistan, while I was in London, I had decided to taste the bud of heat and dust of Indian Parliamentary elections in its own backyard and the opportunity was knocking at my door due to one magnificent contender who had offered the chance to observe the rites and rituals of World largest democracy from his own backyard.

Here I was in the Indian Capital, hurtling to the city of Taj Mahal on the way to Firozabad and Kannauj, the two Parliamentary constituencies out of 543 across the country where its chief contender Akhilesh Yadav was expecting me. Both his constituencies, Firozabad, city of glass ware and bangles and Kannauj, were going to polls on 7th of May, the very day India only Nobel Laureate in Literature Rabindra Nath Tagore was born over 100 years ago.
The journey from New Delhi to Agra is less than 300 kilometers by train. The sweltering heat of May evaporated in smoggy evening of the city of Taj Mahal when Rajeev Yadav, maternal cousin of Akhilesh Yadav, received me with open arms. A six feet tall, lean, urbane and genial countenance, Rajeev has striking resemblance with a metrosexual or ubersexual Indian youth. Yet, he is different so much as his political consciousness is vastly mature in comparison with young freaks languishing in the cool confines of Coffee Café Day of urbane hot spots across the country. Over the years, he has carved his niche in construction business, and takes pride in saying, “Someone in the family should earn to support the political ambitions of other siblings”.

It was Rajeev who picked me up from Holiday Inn in Agra and escorted to dusty stretch of Firozabad Government Higher Secondary School where a huge crowd of people, from all walks of life, had assembled to receive Akhilesh Yadav. Akhilesh alias Tipu as he is hailed in affectionate band of swarming supporters, was about to land in his choppers from Kannauj. Just about as the chopper begun its descent on the landing pad amidst rising pillars of dust-storm, excitement amongst the crowd goes wild. A vast army of teen-age supporters of Samajwadi Party (Socialist) draped in red cap and green-red flag of the party with its symbol-Bicycle emblazoned on its heart—get into their acts, pushing and shoving for the glimpse of their youth icon. Nudging and pushing turns into wild screaming when Akhilesh gets off the chopper. He is mobbed by the crowd of supporters, more than half of them apparently would not be allowed to buy a cigarette as their countenance suggest.

Firozabad is just a 45-minute drive east of the city of Taj Mahal by car. Nearly half the population profess Islam in this glassware capital of India, which tempts with its striking hues of glass bangles and bracelets. Tipu chose the constituency after Kannauj more out of empathy than proximity to his native village of Saifai (It is further 30 kilometers west of Firozabad). Hundreds of thousands of workers in 300 glass factories polish and paint the glass bangles in a wretched circumstance. There was a challenge before him inasmuch as there was flood of entreaties from the huge mass of affected people to usher them in a new era. Akhilesh threw his hat in the ring, with solemn promise of bringing revolutionary change to lives of people who ‘don’t breathe air, but glass’, as the legend goes.

In the previous Assembly elections which Samajwadi Party lost to Maywati, the party lost all the seven Assembly seats in Firozabad. Taking the plunge also allows Akhilesh to exact a stifling revenge from his father’s principal rival in political battlefield of Uttar Pradesh.

There is shyness cloaking a determination in him, but he is up for the challenge.

He is of average height, Salman Khan height, swarthy in complexion, nose shrapnel-like beak redolent of his father! Getting into brisk strides, his khadi shalwar kameez soiled by thousands of embraces, yet he smiles radiating hope and reason. His pair of black shoes are covered in thick speck of dust, and he gives damn to them. From a close quarter he would appear blushing, but it can be misleading. There is no flush or pride or ego in his demeanour as he goes about the business of entertaining his audience.

Born a Scorpio, he shares his zodiac with two great Indian Prime Ministers of yore, Indira Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, and quite a galaxy of achievers, such as Pablo Picasso, Charles de Gaulle, Robert Kennedy, Theodore Roosevelt, Katharine Hepburn, Marie Antoinette and Richard Burton.

His father, once upon a time, was hailed as the Rafik-ul-Mulk for his unflinching defence of Muslim human rights in the face of relentless onslaught from fanatic Hindu hardliners. When Babri Mosque was demolished in the afternoon of 6 December 1992, Mulayam Singh Yadav had tears in his eyes, uncontrollable stream of tears. The secular press hurled upon him epithet of ‘Maulana Mulayam’.

Akhilesh is an environmental engineer by training. He learnt the green craft first at University of Mysore, and then at Sydney University, Australia. Ahead of entering the ramparts of university, he romanced with football and watermelon in orchards of Etawa, Saifai and green fields of Dholpur military school. In his political innings, he still has very green thumbs. He takes pride in producing some beautiful gardens, and loves to water with love and care in his white house at Saifai.

His father gave him a nickname—Tipu. Tipu hates to be rude, he loves people. Large crowds enthralls him as he breaks into his speech with all the gentle, easy manner of his father, working up the crowd in good-natured, pleasant accent of Awadhi. He doesn’t sulk. At times, he comes forth as incredibly naïve and gullible, but he talks his ear off. Like all love, beauty and sweetness and light, he throws the crowd in raptures when he roars in the Ferozabad town square meeting, “ A cycle can be found in every home of Firozabad and Kannauj, as much as in India, but an elephant will be luxury. Only a handful of privileged can afford them. In sizzling summer, all ponds are dry, so no lotus can bloom”.

His swinging of the metaphor drives the crowd crazy. Tipu is referring to election symbol of his party, Cycle, and then to his rivals, Elepahnt of Bahujan Samaj Party of Mayawati and Lotus- Kamal, of Bhartiyal Janta Party.

In the course of forty days of campaign trails, Akhilesh charmed the electorate by leading a cycle rally, with his young supporters of Samajwadi Yuvjan Sabha (youth brigade) leading the charge. In Firozabad, he was exasperated to find quite a few supporters cheering him on motorbike. His patience ran roughshod over their political in-correctness, as he takes them to task for breach of discipline. His cycle is not an ordinary cycle like hero ranger, but an imported Swedish one, which is quite a sight atop his Pajero when he is still ahead of hitting the roads.

As his caravan of cycle painted in red and green snakes through the lanes and bylanes of crowded bazaars of Firozabad, pints of perspiration hanging down his soggy head and heart doesn’t deter him from stopping on the way to hold a motley gathering of party managers and workers in tight embrace. The cavalcade of motor vehicles and bicycles is on its way to Saifai, his native village. The festering heat of May is enough to pickle one’s brains. Heat and dust of the campaign loses its slither and somber as Akhilesh enters the green environs of Saifai. Nowhere does the village looks like a village, as metalled road and row of concrete building belies the impression of a dusty village.

Saifai tells the tale of Samajwadi Party ascent into corridors of power over the years. The White House, a marble-stone structure with a sprawling green lawn which houses Akhilesh in his moments of recess is an architectural delight as much as it is environmental paradise. Under the horizontal foyer, a row of white plastic chairs are in place to seat the young contender for an audience with select group of party managers and a handful of journalists.

Unlike any other Indian politicians who have had a presence in Assembly or Parliament, there are no trace of scroungers and free-loaders in search of sweets and buns around Akhilesh. His poll managers and assistants are English speaking young guns, with laptop in tow to rattle out figures of every single booth out of over 3,000 going to polls. He doesn’t have stomach for gossip and tittle-tattle. With evening crimson sky fading away, cries of twittering songbirds-nightingale and cuckoo pierce the ears. Tipu enjoys the symphony as he points out he waits to hear the music in the early hours of dusk and the dawn. He has great appetite for these birds, just as he has for fluttering feathers of cranes (saras), the tallest flier who are disappearing fast from the wetlands of Saifai and adjoining regions.

Once upon a time the wetlands of Saifai and Etawa hosted almost sixty percent of the world cranes population. Alas, this tallest flying bird is an extinct species. Tipu feels this is another challenge to save the ecology and the environment in his hamlet, which has acquired fresh halo from its once non-descript existence. Farmers of the area consider cranes auspicious for their loyalty-unto-death to their partners, as the bird is still worshipped by newly-married couples. Cranes are glorious for living in pairs and never split till their death, nor do they change their partners.

Their story is quite dramatic in heart of political headquarters of India’s powerful Samajwadi Party and its heir apparent Akhilesh Yadav realizes the punch of simple, straightforward no-theatrics.

Akhilesh represents the New Democrats in the fast evolving politics of India in the New Century. Ideologically he can be a centrist and identifies more with more moderate social and cultural positions with neo-liberal fiscal values. Critics and admirers alike liken him to a perfect foil to rising Gandhi scion, Rahul Gandhi for the future battle of highest seat of the land. There are growing belly of undercurrents in UP politics, which suggest he is a contender to the throne and Congress general secretary will have to catch a tartar in him tomorrow. The only glitch is national awakening to the reality bites of Akhilesh Yadav style of politics, which can only be ensured with blanket presence of his Socialist party.

He doesn’t want to keep himself out of touch. He keeps himself abreast and in constant agitation to make sense of shift in economic policy and ideas of governance. Technology is no teaser, as he toys with the idea of wiring the party cadre. It was Akhilesh penchant for the software which put Samajwadi Party ahead of all the existing political parties in India in launching the web portals of the party in mid ‘90s though he was just a little over the age of a major. His party could beat even the BJP in putting its net act together and brighter, though the credit couldn’t go much to the party for apparent reasons.

He is his father’s son in many ways. He learnt his political craft under his shadow. However, Akhilesh swears by ideology of his idol, Ram Manohar Lohia, who enjoys exalted status in socialist folklore of India for moving the first no-confidence motion against the Nehru government, which had by then been in office for 16 years!

“My father initiated me into socialist ideals of Lohia since early days. It was my good fortune to contest my inaugural elections for Indian Parliament from Kannauj where from Ram Manohar Lohia was twice elected to Parliament”.

Tipu talks about the lethal influence Lohia has had on Indian psyche, espcially in the aftermath of Sino-India war. “He astounded everyone by calling for India to produce the bomb, after the Chinese aggression of 1962. He was anti-English, saying that the British ruled India with bullet and language (bandhook ki goli aur angrezi ki boli). High-caste, wealth, and knowledge of English are the three requisites, with anyone possessing two of these belonging to the ruling class can dream of utopian life”, beams Akhilesh, saying the definition still holds tight in modern India.

Lohia dreamt of a caste-free India, Akhilesh only feels more passion to carry the legacy forward.

Unlike Lohia, he would not want to abolish private schools. However, he would want to establish upgraded municipal (government) schools which would give equal academic opportunity to students of all castes. There is earnest desire in him to eradicate the divisions created by the caste system.

There was quite an uproarious scene in national media when election manifesto of Socialist (Samajwadi Party) was unveiled. The manifesto turned heads for comedy of errors where it was mentioned that the party wants blanket ban on use of computer and English education. It was a rude awakening to Indian middle class. Akhilesh was baffled over the printer’s devil impact. It was completely chaotic and nonsensical to band of critics. “The party is never against English education. I have studied outside, in Sydney University, know the importance of English. The party was only trying to underline that English shouldn’t become compulsory medium of instructions. Computer education is unavoidable, but it shouldn’t be at the cost of skilled labourers. I want uniform education policy for all Indians. Let all of them study the same medium, whether English or Hindi”.

The young Prince of Saifai is enamoured of The Third Way, a political position attempting to look beyond or transcend left-wing and right-wing politics, and rather advocates a mix of some left-wing and right-wing policies. Third Way represents a centrist compromise between Capitalism and Socialism or between market liberalism and democratic socialism.

Akhilesh claims, “Third Way represents a synthesis of these competing viewpoints, distinct from and superior to both of its sources, rather than simply a compromise or mixture”. The ‘Third Way’ approach has been adopted by social liberals and some social democrats in many Western liberal democracies

Like a Utopian Socialists, the one including Robert Owen, Tipu tries to find socialist factories and other structures within a capitalist society. He says Henri de Saint Simon, the first individual to coin the term socialism, was the originator of technocracy and industrial planning. The first socialists predicted a world improved by harnessing technology and combining it with better social organization, and many contemporary socialists share this belief. Early socialist thinkers tended to favor more authentic meritocracy, while many modern socialists have a more egalitarian approach.

He wants to improve the condition of every member of society, even that of the most favored. Hence, he habitually appeals to society at large, without distinction of class; nay, by preference, to the ruling class. Moreover, he wants gender equality to be supreme, with both men and women enjoying equal benefits and chance to harness their potential.

His public addresses in twang of local lingo talks about turning work into play. He envisages units of people based on a theory of passions and of their combination. Though his voice over phone sound a little silken, his silver tongues rolls in deep baritone over public address system. He speaks in husky tone and tenor. He is so glibly persuasive in crowd he can talk people into buying things they couldn’t possibly even use. He believes in laying his own foundation and building his own empire, major or minor as he didn’t solicit the support of his heavyweight father for campaigning in Kannauj and Firozabad. He walked straight with pride of building over two dozen bridges (The Bridge on the River Koli) and a state-of-the-art hospital in Kannauj where he won with over three lakh votes last time, enough to bring him glory, so has he been hassle-free in his thought of pulling off in Firozabad on his own.

He is consistent in reminding his people about his roots. More than his roots, he is very absolute in adhering to ideologies of his Socialist father and idols. He wish to imagine a society for his people where there is no money, no want, no poverty, no crime, no disease or ignorance in human society; virtually everyone works for the advancement of all humanity as well as the rest of the Federation.

In recent times, his party, Socialist Party, has earned some flak for its indiscriminate tilt towards glamour icons. Furthermore, quite a great deal of corporate influence is attributed to dilution in socialist agenda of the party. Akhilesh feels these are vagaries of changing times. Not much should be read into glamour spread, as nearly all the political outfits in India are vulnerable to the phenomena.

As a matter of fact, the original Socialist Party had its roots in the Congress Socialist Party (CSP), the socialist caucus of the Indian National Congress, which fused in 1948 with the Bolshevik-Leninist Party of India, Ceylon and Burma (BLPI). Hector Abhayavardhana of the BLPI became General Secretary of the new party. The Socialist Party was founded not long after India’s independence when Jayprakash Narayan, Basawon Singh, Acharya Narendra Dev led the CSP out of Congress. At the time, Congress’s leader Jawaharlal Nehru was a democratic socialist whose sentiments were widely admired by the rank and file of the CSP, but they objected to his apparent unwillingness to act decisively in favour of democratic socialism or to renounce his dependence upon the conservative Hindu wing of the party represented by Sardar Vallabhai Patel or C. Rajagopalachari..

Akhilesh swears to preserve the socialist and secular character of his party intact against all odds.

He treasures his maiden rendezvous with former US President Bill Clinton. “Meetign with Clinton was quite an experience. The Congress party launched an offensive campaign in order to dissuade Bill Clinton from visiting Uttar Pradesh. So much so that the party wrote a letter urging Clinton to boycott the visit, saying Samajwadi Party members are not good people. Clinton Foundation carried out its own research and agreed to visit UP. The people in Congress party were jealous. When Clinton learnt that I am a member of Indian Parliament, he was quite amused and surprised. He emphasized socialist politics is need of the hour”.

Being a youth icon and scion of a powerful secular leader of Uttar Pradesh, which is home to nearly half the Muslim population of India, he realizes he has greater challenges on hands. As the dust over Mumbai attacks settles down, he doesn’t fall in the trap of vilifying the Muslim community. Muslim youths adore him for his gentle manner and expressive personality. With Indo-Pakistan bilateral relation in the bind, he would like to do the needful to create the positive vibes. At a time when the world is watching with bated breath the mass exodus of people in Swat, Mingora and Dir, Akhilesh is warning the situation shouldn’t resemble that of Darfur and Rawanda, as it might affect our own shores.

In his techno-savvy style, as he maintains lively link with strangers and acquaintances rocking on social networking sites like Facebook and Orkut, not to mention his E 71 Nokia and Blackberry, the Generation Next in Indian democracy is looking up to his persuasive talks and debating skills to force more reason and hope in Indian Parliament. Akhilesh may have inherited wealth and political position and levers of influence, but he has seldom rested on his family laurels. He has proven he has the ability to stack up gold pieces on his own.

He is valiant and charitable in his socio-political pursuits without being naïve about them. At end of the day, he is a family man, as he prances around with his twin son-daughter duo, born out of his better half, Dimple, whom he married out of his choice. He has soft heart, but not soft-head. He dotes on legacy and memorials of Abhrahm Lincoln, the 16th president of America, and dreams of emulating his feats for millions of downtrodden who are still doomed to live like slaves in his state, let alone rest of the country, and who are called dalits. Like Lincolin, he is determined to fight fiercely for the cause. For him, dalits living in deprivation are heart of darkness, and it is his moral duty to wipe out these heart of darkness from not only Uttar Pradesh, but from entire country. He doesn’t tolerate people of low intelligence and limited compassion. Little wonder he is doing everything to bring shine to health and education barometer in his capacity.

He said the in-camera meeting has been organized to take the political leadership of the country into confidence on the real situation and answer their questions on the necessity of army action in Swat and the issue of IDPs. The Prime Minister said the country is at the crossroads of its history as militants are trying to impose their will through coercive measures.

He said the government had tried to resolve all issues democratically and peacefully. We had evolved a new strategy of 3-Ds to deal with the situation and Swat peace agreement was endorsed in the same spirit. He, however, regretted that sincere efforts of the Government to bring peace in the area were taken as its weakness. He said instead of decommissioning themselves, as agreed, the militants started challenging the whole system of governance and started spreading their influence to other parts of the country as well.

The Prime Minister said having exhausted all political and peaceful means, the government was left with no other option but to call in the armed forces to take stern action against the miscreants. The armed forces are carrying on the operation with full commitment and high degree of operational professionalism.

He said the army operation is not the permanent solution to the problem and political dimensions need to be incorporated to reach out consensus for guaranteeing lasting peace in the disturbed areas. He assured that the input of the meeting along with the suggestions and observations from the forthcoming APC will be incorporated in the national security policy to deal with the situation.

The briefing is attended by PML (N) Quaid Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif; Parliamentary Leader JUI(F)Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman; Chief Minister Punjab Mian Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif; Parliamentary Leader PML(Q) Ch. Pervaiz Elahi; Parliamentary Leader MQM Dr. Muhammad Farooq Sattar; Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Ch. Nisar Ali Khan; Parliamentary Leader PPP-(S) Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao; Parliamentary Leader FATA Munir Khan Aurakzai; Parliamentary Leader BNP(Awami) in the Senate Mir Israr Ullah Zehri; Governor NWFP Owais Ahmad Ghani; Chief Minister NWFP Amir Haider Khan Hoti; Federal Ministers Syed Khurshid Ahmad Shah, Babar Awan, Raja Parvez Ashraf, Qamar Zaman Kaira; ANP leader Muhammad Zahid Khan; Chairman Parliamentary Committee on National Security, Senator Mian Raza Rabbani; Minister of State for Economic Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar; PML(F) leader Pir Sadr Uddin Shah; Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Pervaiz Kayani; Coordinator Special Support Group Lt. Gen. Nadeem Ahmad; DG Coordination ISI Maj. Gen. Muhammad Zaheer ul Islam and DG Military Operations Maj. Gen. Javed Iqbal. NNI

Those Parties who don’t have representation in the Parliament house would also be invited in the APC, he said, adding that, the APC has been convened with consultation of Political leaders of different parties.

He said Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani in accordance with the announcement of Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani would brief the Parliamentarians on the operational sides of Swat military offensive on Friday (today) during in camera session of lower house. The joint meeting of PPP Central Executive Council and Federal council would be held on Saturday under the chairmanship of Prime Minister.

Meanwhile All political parties have lauded the Prime Minister decision to call All Parties Conference (APC) on May 18. In this connection, Senator Pervez Rashid of PML-N while talking to a private TV channel, said the decision was in precise time and the government needs to see in future instead of dealing the matters of the past. He said the country is passing through a crucial phase of its history and unrest going in Northern areas is affecting the whole country.

Pervez Rashid said it was the need of the hour to call APC to reach on a final conclusion about the country law and order situation. Responding to question about delay in calling APC, he said, “We should forget the past to concentrate on future and all parties should join hands to resolve the country’s problems”.

Talking to TV channel, ANP leader Senator Zahid Khan said it is a welcoming step to call APC. He said the whole nation should suppress rebel actions by supporting Pakistan army. “It was the long standing demand of Awami National Party from all political parties to unite against the militants”, he said.

Zahid Khan said they had signed Swat peace deal after consulting with political parties. He said when they learnt that Taliban were following another agenda instead of Nizam-e-Adl then the provincial government called Pak-army to handle the situation. “The military should be needed to clean the area completely of the militants because such operation could not be done repeatedly”, he said.

He further said time has come for all political parties to unite while keeping aside all the internal hostilities for the sake of country’s integrity. Meanwhile, leader of MQM, Haider Abbas Rizvi also appreciated the move of Prime Minister Gilani to call APC and said that Prime Minister had fulfilled the demand for All Parties Conference which will play a role in breakthrough of sketching a future strategy. He said the government needs to take solid steps for a durable peace in the country.

Input from Agencies

It is hearing eligibility case pertaining to the Sharif brothers as well as appeal of Nawaz Sharif against his conviction in 2000 under the military regime on plane hijacking charges. The bench adjourned the hearing till Friday. Abid Hassan Manto, counsel for Nawaz Sharif, argued that the order of Chief Election Commissioner of June 1, 2008 was legal and it could not be challenged.

He said that the tribunal was formed for a specific period and it had to decide the case within that time.

No extension can be given in date of election schedule during any phase, he said and added that under Section 11 (A) of the People’s Representatives Act 1976 only the Chief Election Commissioner has the prerogative to do so under any emergency situation.

Manto argued that Khurram Shah, a petitioner in the case, was neither a resident of the constituency nor a voter. He said that Khurram Shah was neither a contesting candidate nor affected directly. His status is like an informer, he added

Meanwhile A review petition seeking withdrawal of Supreme Court order restoring Shahbaz Sharif as chief minister Punjab was filed in the Supreme Court on Thursday. Shahid Orakzai filed the petition under Article 188 of the Constitution saying that the apex court had restored Shahbaz Sharif as chief minister Punjab despite it did not have any such jurisdiction under the Constitution.

“The SC order passed on March 31, 2009 restoring Shahbaz Sharif as Punjab CM has embarrassed and surprised the Constitution which has clearly drawn a line between jurisdiction and powers of the apex court in several articles, the petitioner said. The petitioner contended that Supreme Court was not empowered by the Constitution to convert one of its’ powers into a full fledged jurisdiction, adding the Constitution would be paralyzed if a power is converted into a jurisdiction.

He said Supreme Court could not invoke two distinctly different jurisdictions either at the same time or one after other. He said Supreme Court had already exercised its appellate jurisdiction on February 25, 2009 by disqualifying Sharif brothers to hold any public office.

“In the review petitions, the court was not asked to grant any interim relief for any person who was a member of the Punjab assembly and whose status had been questioned, the petitioner said and contended that any immediate relief to a party against an adverse order of the high court can be granted by Supreme Court strictly under article 185 than through any other provision or power”, it said.

He requested the court to withdraw its March 31 interim order and instruct Shahbaz Sharif to withdraw his review petition and seek the leave of apex court for filing an appeal in accordance with the Constitution and the Rules of Supreme Court.

input from Agencies

This demand was made by Central Secretary General, Iqbal Zafar Jhagra, Provincial President and Former Chief Minister of NWFP, Pir Sabir Shah and Senior Vice President, Haji Abdul Subhan and PML-N while talking to media men after a first meeting of Provincial Relief Committee here on Wednesday.

They said all the political and religious parties should join the demanded for National Conference for evolving a unanimous strategy in this regard. “The government should take immediate steps for ending problems in order to send the IDPs back to their homes”, the leaders said. They asked all the political parties to play their role in establishing national solidarity.

PML-N leaders urged the government to implement the unanimous resolution passed last year because it keeps many proposals about the country’s security. They said if the proposals given by PML-N Quaid to call APC was implemented on time then there would have been no need to conduct military operation in Swat.
They appealed the government and Taliban to stop war and adopt middle way for restoring peace in the area. NNI

He said that all political parties of the country should set aside their difference and support Pak-army against militancy. Pervaiz Elehi thanked Mr. Robert and asked him to support displaced people of Swat as they did during earthquake in 2005. “PML-Q had started fund raising scheme for the restoration of Swat refugees and he along with Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain will visit affected areas very soon,” he declared.

He said for restoring peace in Swat every possible step will be taken and Swat peace is very important for Pakistan’s sovereignty. He urged the religious scholars to come forward and take corrective measures for the presentation of true picture of Islam and also play their role for ending negative impression from the hearts of theses people. Norwegian Ambassador appreciated the role of Pakistan during war on terror and assured him to stand with Pakistan in difficult hour. NNI

Both Congress and BJP are promising for a secular and stable government; however The Third Front questions about the failure of successive governments in the field of economy and its various problems confronting the country. H.D Deve Gowda, once PM of India and now chief of JD-S urged citizen of India to vote for a democratic and secular government. CPI-M GS Prakash Karat addressed:

“This is a historic get-together of all the democratic, secular and Left parties to declare that we are all coming together to constitute a third force in this country,”

He added that a Non-BJP & Non-Congress government will bring a stable and secular government addressing all the issues of economic standouts and would fight for social justice and beneficiary interests of the large mass of Indians. He added “Today, we have come together because the country needs a new alternative”. CPI-M withdrew its support from the congress during the treaty of nuclear deal in July last year.

It raised the failure of the government in BPL area (Below Poverty Line), adding various statistical data like since, Independence 230 million people were suffering in poverty, 40 percent of children below three years did not have enough to eat, 50 percent of women were anemic and 39 percent of the people were illiterate.
It’s a definitive idea to have at least a Non-Congress government. The Third Front can be a deal. A BJP led government can bring religious disturbance or a Non-Secular government whereas economic threats are livelier in Congress regime. Industrial lockouts, Unemployment, detoriating condition of People Below poverty line are some issues that the present government is unable to address. (Survey “What People Want”).

Speaking of Industrial lockouts Prakash Karat said while speaking to CNN-IBN live

“Perceptions will change. In states where our coalition is running governments much development has taken place and industry has grown. I don’t see why industry or corporate should feel that this coalition will be less favorable or hostile to them” . Previously in an addressing session, Congress claimed the 9% growth in industrialization. This statement was attacked by Mr. Karat in an impressive way. He said “What does 9 percent growth mean for common man? We still have farmers committing suicide. We have shortage of food items, which makes life miserable for common man.”

Mr. Karat also added

“The government has been unable to tackle the growing crisis of economic slowdown. The Congress has failed to meet the aspirations of people. Under Congress rule the rich have become super rich and poor more poorer”

Criticizing the Third Front Ghulam Nabi Azad of Congress said that this Third Front would not stay alive in a long term since everybody in this front wants to become Prime Minister.

“I don’t think there is any leader or party in the Third Front who would not want to be PM. When the time comes to select the PM candidate, the Third Front will split.”

On this, Third Front Leaders like A.B Bardhan of CPI and H.D Kumarswamy expressed that “We would select our PM candidate later on “. However, Miss Mayavati is the most probable candidate for PM from the Third Front side.

TMC’s Mamta Baneerjee added,

“I request all the regional parties that they should not ally with CPIM as they are oppressors and they would finish the country so let them stay in their own grave.”

This fighting and collisions will go on and on. Every Front be it third front or BJP or Congress are trying to prove themselves. As a journalist, I want to remain neutral in this blog, but I would like to ask these parties can they address:
1. Secular and a stable government?
2. Economic growth benefitted by all?
3. Employment.
4. Food and education for all?
5. Protection to minorities?
6. Opportunity for all irrespective of their cast and creed and religion?
7. Education and improvement of Women conditions?
8. Fighting for Terrorism?
9. Maintaining good relations to neighbors?
10. Kashmir issues?
If they can address some of the above issues, then that front is the real front and really deserves to come into power . Otherwise in Hindi there is an old saying “Lanka main jo ae wahi Ravaan”

He said the government should deal with iron hand with those who are out to destabilize Pakistan and tarnishing the image of Islam as they have no link with Islam. He urged the government to request for a special session of the United Nations to discuss American drone attacks in tribal areas which are clear violation of Pakistan’s internal sovereignty.

Ms. Marvi Memon said that it is not time to blame government but to strengthen it to wipe out militants and terrorists who are challenging the writ of State. She said PML-Q will fully support the government to eliminate extremists who have become a challenge for the society. She said India and its intelligence agency RAW are responsible for destabilizing Pakistan and that does not deserve any favour in transit trade with Afghanistan.

Zafar Baig Bhatani said that the terrorists and traitors should be dealt with an iron hand. He said those who are out to damage Pakistan must be crushed ruthlessly as no compromise could be made against the sovereignty and solidarity of Pakistan. He suggested formation of Save Pakistan Caucus in the parliament to protect interests of the country.

Palwasha Bahram praised armed forces for defending Pakistan’s sovereignty and taking action against those who trying to play with the writ of State. She said Islam is religion of moderation and there is no room for extremism in it therefore there is need to take stringent action against those who are abusing Islam.

Jamila Gilani was of the view that military operation in Swat and other areas should be targeted and utmost efforts should be made to save innocent civilians. She urged all political parties and philanthropists to whole-heartedly support the internally displaced persons to fulfill their requirements.

Haider Abbas Rizvi said that MQM fully support the government in the current situation and backs armed forces to wipe out terrorists who are damaging the society and have become a threat for the country. He stressed the need for comprehensive madrassa reforms to eliminate extremism from the society that has no room in Islam.

Ayaz Amir was of the view that the parliament, government, the Prime Minister and the cabinet should assert their powers and come forward to control the situation and should settle all issues in political way instead of following GHQ. He said it is regrettable that the on-going operation is brainchild of GHQ that has been supported by Pentagon and this situation should not be tolerated as it undermines the supremacy of the parliament.

Syed Allauddin of PPP walked out from the House in protest for not giving him time to speak on the Swat situation being member from the area. The speakers from both sides supported army operation in Swat and adjacent areas and said army should be encouraged by the nation so that it could be successful in wiping out militants. They said government should ensure equitable distribution of relief goods among the displaced persons.

Some members were of the view that independent members should also be included in the Support Group for rehabilitation of displaced persons. They said the militants who have broken peace deal in Swat intends to destroy peace in the country and are working for destabilization of Pakistan who should be dealt with iron hand.

Those who took part in the debate include Engineer Usman Khan Tarakai, Akhunzada Chattan, Mehboobullah Jan, Nausheen Saeed, Akram Maseh Gill, Jamila Gilani was of the view that military operation in Swat and other areas should be targeted and utmost efforts should be made to save innocent civilians. She urged all political parties and philanthropists to whole-heartedly support the internally displaced persons to fulfill their requirements.

Haider Abbas Rizvi said that MQM fully support the government in the current situation and backs armed forces to wipe out terrorists who are damaging the society and have become a threat for the country. He stressed the need for comprehensive madrassa reforms to eliminate extremism from the society that has no room in Islam.

Ayaz Amir was of the view that the parliament, government, the Prime Minister and the cabinet should assert their powers and come forward to control the situation and should settle all issues in political way instead of following GHQ. He said it is regrettable that the on-going operation is brainchild of GHQ that has been supported by Pentagon and this situation should not be tolerated as it undermines the supremacy of the parliament.

The speakers from both sides supported army operation in Swat and adjacent areas and said army should be encouraged by the nation so that it could be successful in wiping out militants. They said government should ensure equitable distribution of relief goods among the displaced persons.

Some members were of the view that independent members should also be included in the Support Group for rehabilitation of displaced persons. They said the militants who have broken peace deal in Swat intends to destroy peace in the country and are working for destabilization of Pakistan who should be dealt with iron hand.

Those who took part in the debate include Engineer Usman Khan Tarakai, Akhunzada Chattan, Mehboobullah Jan, Nausheen Saeed, Akram Maseh Gill, Syed Allauddin of PPP walked out from the House in protest for not giving him time to speak on the Swat situation being member from the area. NNI

President Zardari said the terrorism is a world wide challenge of the 21st century as the terrorists are launching attacks everywhere including Spain, Britain, Saudi Arabia, Africa and the United States. The President strongly dismissed the impression that the extremists and terrorists will be able to inflict irreparable damage on Pakistan. He said one hundred and eighty million people of Pakistan are resolved to fight the menace.

To a question, the President opposed conditions to the US financial assistance for Pakistan. In an another interview with the Washington Post and News Hour Television Channel, President Asif Ali Zardari has urged the United States to provide sustained financial assistance and drones technology to Pakistan to curb extremism.

He urged the United States to provide a fleet of US aerial drones to Pakistan to strike Taliban and Al-Qaeda hideouts in Tribal Areas along the Afghan border. To a question, the President rejected media apprehensions about the safety of Pakistan’s nuclear assets and said that they are in safe hands under a foolproof command and control system. NNI

Provincial President MPA Sikandar Hayat Khan Sherpao, Central Leader Senator Haji Ghafran Khan, District President Al-Haj Fazal Wadood Khan, General Secretary Syed Khal Bacha, Provincial Joint Secretary Masood Jabbar, Vice President Abdul Malak Khan, Haji Muhammad Fazal Khan, Abdul Karim Khan, Iftikhar Khan Zahida and others were also present on the occasion.

Besides giving fifty thousand cash to the affectees, he handed over a truck load of essential commodities to the District Administration which was distributed among two hundred families.

Aftab Ahmed Khan said that Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani took the decision in haste and ordered the operation in Malakand Division. He said the option was in favour of the government, but problems could not be solved through use of force.

He said it would be better to debate the issue at the Parliament before the operation. He said the Nazam-e-Adl regulation was enforced after the debate in the Parliament which could not be withdrawn. He urged the government to resolve the problem immediately and convene All Parties conference. He also expressed sympathies with the affectees. NNI

“Because of Congress there are so many Slums in India….and that has given the great idea to make this movie…Jay Ho….”

UPA chief Sonia Gandhi is criticized by the BJP by quoting her a “Nehruvian-Edwina Mountbatten Congress (I)TALIAN” alternative. BJP also criticizes in its journal (mockfully) “it is just Benedict Brother Rahul and the Holy Mother Sonia who rule the sanctum sanctorum of the Congress (I)TALIAN. ” BJP takes advantage by saying Bank interest rates declined for the first time in history of India during NDA rule. BJP says in its rule price for the commodities are maintained throughout and which has totally failed in the regime of UPA government. It also mentions that foreign exchange rose to an unprecedented height. Kargil war “vijay”, Conspiracy by Nehru to border PoK and Aksai Chin and surrendering everything to Mr. Bhutto by Indira Gandhi are some of the important arms for BJP against Congress. Some Hindutva Dal also gives credit to BJP by pulling down Babri Masjid from the face of Bharat Mata. BJP says “BJP is free from the ruling family syndrome”. APJ Abdul kalam was given respect to the highest position during BJP regime.Though, controversial i would like to place some BJP thoughts against congress as follows :

> According to some, It was a local Congress member of legislative council who instigated burning of train at Godhra station. So it was Congress which was responsible for beginning of riots in Gujrat. What happened afterward was only a reaction.

> It was Mr. Nehru’s gaffe to go to United nations for a resolution of Kashmir issue in 1947.

However, Sudheendra Kulkarni, a key BJP strategists and a close ally to L.K Advani; the Prime-Ministerial says to NDTV “We don’t believe in political untouchability. If the country’s interest demands that BJP and Congress have to work together, we will certainly work together with Congress”. He also says Congress is not an ‘untouchable’ for BJP. Noting that India needs a stable government he adds “We can have a lot of ‘Tu Tu, Mein Mein’ (criticizing each other here) but now that we have entered the last stage of the election process, what the people want is not ‘Tu Tu, Mein Mein’ but ‘Tu’ and ‘Mein’ (you and me). We all have to work together, the political parties have to work together to form a stable government.”

Slamming the Rivals dialogues, UPA chief Sonia Gandhi says Congress and only Congress can provide a stable government under the leadership of Dr. Manmohan Singh. In her own language she says “The Congress party is the only party that can provide a stable government under the leadership of Manmohan Singh”. She added “The country needs the Congress..a strong government is the need of the hour and the Congress is the only party that can give a strong, secular government”, addressing their inputs against terrorism. She also attacked BJP regarding the Kandahar Issue. “It’s the BJP government which had released the terrorists as guests,” she adds.

Attacking the other third party fronts she added “Tarah tarah ke morche ban rahe hain desh me, par inka lakshya sirf PM ki kursi hai (there are many kind of political fronts being formed in the country, but their only aim is to become the prime minister),”

Pointing out, she says unlike the BJP, UPA is not creating any differences for the state of Himachal Pradesh, which run by BJP, and the state is getting all sorts of Aid from the central government.

Thrashing both BJP and Congress, Communist Party Of India (Marxist) leader Brinda Karat ruled out any possibility to join hands with the ruling Congress or Opponent BJP. She said “We have made it already clear that we are not going to do so (align with the Congress” . Prakash Karat said “There are a number of issues both with the BJP and the Congress. The issue of secularism is not safe in its (BJP’s) hands”.

According to Brinda karat, the Third front will bring up the next government. Senior Communist Leader like A.B Bardhan, Sitaram Yechury, Md. Saleem, Buddhadeb Bhattacharya (CM of West Bengal) are bringing up their policies to form a Third front, a Front without the flavour of BJP or Congress.

Whatever government comes up, India needs a secular policy, Equal rights for all and minority development aids, Power to fight with terrorism, Jobs for all, Food for all and strength to fight against the enemies. People are enough educated and intelligent to choose the right government.Till then let us watch the game!

He said that “I am not going to say thanks to the prime minister or any body else and any body has not played any role in connection with my visit to Karachi” he added. He regretted that the government was not allowing him to visit Karachi for two years.

He said he was going there to organize his party and his party workers were inviting him since long but due to government’s hurdles he was not able to visit the province and the city. He said that one of the aims of his Karachi’s visit was to inaugurate the diagnostic centre of Shaukat Khanum Cancer Hospital and also to raise funds for the hospital. NNI

Good Indians always take their time over weddings. Our funerals are faster. This is the obvious explanation for the Election Commission’s decision to drag the electoral carnival through six mind-numbing weeks. The results will be known next Saturday within six hours, bringing to an end one set of tensions and generating a new round of headaches. I sometimes feel that a stonemason should construct an Indian politician’s head. There is no other way to prevent headaches.

The relevant question, which cannot have escaped the reader’s traditional eagle eye and Einstein brain, is of course this: why have I pronounced the final rites of the 15th general election when there is still one round, with 86 seats (one more than the penultimate round) still left to deliver its verdict? If the results are obvious then an election is more or less over, isn’t it? I suppose apart from immediate kith and kin, and perhaps hardcore cadre, no one else in Tamil Nadu believes that the DMK is going to win this time. The Congress, which is the DMK’s principal ally, is obviously worried that it is going to lose big time in the state. You can see the depression on home minister P. Chidambaram’s face, and reporters are sending back stories that the candidate is snapping at voters with questions, always a bad sign (for the candidate, not the voters). It must be doubly depressing for him to imagine a scenario in which the Congress can form another coalition in Delhi, but there is no Chidambaram in the ministry. The Congress dilemma is reflected in the crisis created by Rahul Gandhi’s implicit overtures to Jayalalithaa. The overture might, or might not, be the prelude to a symphony after 16 May, but on polling day the atonal message will only echo in dysfunctional music for the 14 Congress candidates trying to get into Parliament from Tamil Nadu.

It is similarly obvious that the Akalis are under pressure in Punjab, and all the backroom boys with calculators have factored in Akalis losses as they project the numerical mix of the next Parliament. The one place where the election is far from dead is Bengal, where there are 13 seats still waiting to decide whether the state will drive on the left side of the road or the right. There used to be a theory that heavy polling indicated bad news for the ruling party, since it meant that voters had been energized by anger. But such certainties are vulnerable in Bengal, since it is one state where the party cadre can be mobilised. The Left knows that this is its toughest election since 1984, and it will certainly have maximised what is politely known as booth management. Two remarkable aspects, however, have already emerged from the pattern of voting. First, violence has been minimal, so intimidation has not kept voters away. Credit for this goes to both the voter and the Election Commission. Second, there has been an exceptionally heavy turnout of women. Women constitute the most powerful silent vote in the country. The Left has been worried about the shift in the Muslim vote, and may have underestimated women as a distinct and independent category. There was 75% polling in the second round, which must be a record for a May election.

The good thing about time is that it passes — or is that a bad thing? There is less than a week left for the czars of democracy to fidget. But now that there is just a day left for the last shreds of rhetoric to wend their way through tired airwaves and desolate print, the next set of propositions are being put into place. They are not necessarily as simple as choosing either the UPA or the NDA at the Centre. The Left’s priority now will be to break the alliance between Congress and Mamata Banerjee before the Bengal Assembly elections. The easiest way to do so is to support the Congress in Delhi. This would force Mamata to go towards the NDA. But what if the Congress decided to stick to its ally in Bengal and dared the Left to support the NDA if they could? That would throw some exciting loops into the game, would it not?

Will Naveen Patnaik stick by his new friend Prakash Karat if he does not get enough seats to become Chief Minister again? He could ask the Congress for support, but that would dilute his identity, which has been created on Congress space. Can Chandrababu Naidu accuse the Congress of destroying Andhra Pradesh and then help it in Delhi to destroy the country? That is what the logic of a decision to shift towards UPA would amount to. Of course the Third Front parties, shuffling on the horns of a dilemma, would like nothing better than to get the support of the Congress while they enjoyed a year in government. But would Congress support a Cabinet that sought to reverse its economic and foreign policies? There may be some substance in the view that the Congress and BJP have already decided that they will not support any concocted government.

I hope you see why one suggested that a stonemason would be the man of the hour in Indian politics. The headaches of the second half of May might turn out to be migraine proportions.

He said the government has started inhuman operation in the name to defeat Taliban on the US directives.
Qazi said this operation will turn the people of Malakand against the country and Pakistan will get no positive results but destruction and people casualties. “We should unite the people to get up against such operations”, he said.

He said the Prime Minister has announced a war against his own people. Qazi further said no country can displace its own people with his own hands. He said all the political parties should break this silence to play their positive role in this precarious situation. NNI

Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani, who chaired the meeting, later told newsmen that the Cabinet decided to institute Prime Minister’s Special Fund for Victims of Terrorism with initiall contribution of 200 million rupees. Members of the cabinet announced to contribute their one month salary to the fund for victims of terrorism in Swat.

He said Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) would be supported under Benazir Income Support Programme and a Cabinet Committees would soon be constituded for day to day monitoring of the IDPs issue and also for areas where action is being taken. The Prime Minister held out an assurance that there would be total transparency for utilization of the funds to be received for relief and rehabilitation of the IDPs, reconstruction of affected areas and capacity building of the law enforcing agencies.

In line with the policy of the Government to discuss all important issues on the floor of the parliament, the cabinet decided to summon the session of the National Assembly on Monday next at four in the afternoon. The house will discuss the decision of the Government to launch army operation in Malakand division.

The Cabinet also decided to contact all political forces and members of the civil society to hold peace marches in different parts of the country against terrorists and terrorism. Group of ministers would meet political leadership to gather their support for the cause which the Government is pursuing in the larger interest of the country. The cabinet paid tributes to leaders who have already extended their full cooperation and support in this regard.

To a question Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani said a decision to convene an All Parties Conference on national security would be taken on return home of the PPP Co-Chairperson from abroad.

He said as militants have no religion and boundaries, Ulema and Mashaikh would be contacted to present true perception of Islam.

Imam-e-Kaaba would also be invited to visit Pakistan to speak on the subject. Media would also be approached to help tackle the issue in view of the gravity of the situation. The Prime Minister said the Cabinet has decided to send delegations of Ministers and parliamentarians abroad to muster financial and diplomatic support of the international community so as to effectively tackle the challenge.

He said the delegations visiting abroad would sensitize the world community about the need for reconstruction in the affected areas where schools, hospitals, infrastructure and tourist attractions have been destroyed. To a question he said the government is committed to the three Ds policy of dialogue, development and deterrence but development is only possible when there is peace in the area.

Asked when he expects the operation to be over, the Prime Minister said it is not a normal war but guerilla war. It is resolve of the Government and army to ensure minimum collateral damage and the operation would be brought to an end as soon as possible.

The Prime Minister said the reports of the intelligence agencies on the security issues and terrorism would be shared with the provincial governments concerned. To a question he said the peace accord was concluded in line with the aspirations of the people but action has to be taken following violation of the agreement by the other side. He said this amounted to mutiny and the Government decided to review the accord which was linked to peace in the region.

The Prime Minister said the Cabinet has decided to concentrate on Balochistan issue, process of dialogue with Baluch leaders should be taken forward and steps taken to address the sense of deprivation of Baluch people.

To another question Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani said PPP has good relations with PML(N) and Mian Nawaz Sharif provided much needed support on different occasions. The party gave its fully support on issues of national security and interest.

About rejoining of the Federal Cabinet by PML(N), the Prime Minister said the party has some demands including repeal of 17th amendment and they would be asked to rejoin at an appropriate time. He said restoration of the judiciary was also a hurdle in this regard which has now been removed. NNI