President Zardari in Lahore – by Ahsan Abbas Shah
صدرِ مُملکت کا دورہء لاہور
تاریخی شہر لاہور اور زندہ دِلانِ اہلیانِ لاہور سے آصف زرداری کے خطاب نے بھٹو شہید کے جیالوں کو خون ایک مرتبہ پھر گرما دِیا۔بے شک ! زرداری صاحب نے اَ پنے آپ کو اچھا پنجابی مقرر ثابت کیا، جہاں عوام کا جوش و خروش قابلِ دید تھا وہاں پپلزپارٹی پنجاب کے عہدہ داروں کی پھُرتیاں بھی دیدنی تھیں۔ پنڈال میں داخل ہونے پر نعروں اور تالیوں کی گوُنج نے شریک چیرمین کے چہرے پر جو مُسرت بکھیری وہ اہلِ پنجاب کے لیے قابلِ فخر بات تھی، کیونکہ یہ وہی گورنر ہاؤس تھا جہاں سے زرداری صاحب کو رات کے اندھیرے میں بے گُناہ گرفتار کیا گیا، اور پھر اِسی گورنر ہاؤس سے ببانگِ دہل ایوانِ صدارت میں ایک جیالا بٹھانے کا اعلان کیا گیا تھا۔
شریک چیرمین نے اَپنے خطاب میں بہت سی اَہم باتیں کیں، سب سے اَہم بات کارکُنوں کی وہ آواز تھی جسےپپلزپارٹی پنجاب نےپہنچایا یا نہیںمگر شریک چیرمین تک وہ آوازیں پہنچی بھی ہیں اور اُنھوں نے پارٹی ورکرز کو دربار سجانے کی خوشخبری بھی سُنائی۔ اِس خطاب سے پہلے بحیثیت صَدرِ مُملکت زرداری صاحب نے پنڈال سے ملحقہ گراونڈ میں عوامی منصوبوں کا بھی افتتاح کیا
اُن منصوبوں کی کا تعلق پنجاب سی ہی تھا مگر مُسلم لیگ ن جو کہ پنجاب کی بڑی پارٹی ہونے کی دعویدار بھی ہے اُن کا کوئی وزیر وہاں موجود نہیں تھا، شاید خادمِ اعلٰی کی نُمائندگی وہاں پنجاب پولیس کر رہی ہوگی یاپھر مُسلم لیگ ن کی قیادت نے ٨٨والی سیاست سے سبق نہیں سیکھا۔
حیرت کا اَمریہ ہے کہ خوش خُوراک اور مہمان نواز ، نواز شریف نے تو میزبانی کا حق بھی ادا نہیں کیا۔دونوں لیڈر اگر لاہور میں بیٹھ کر سری پائے اور سستی روٹی کھاتے تو اِس سے پنجاب کی جمہور پسند عوام کے لیے بہت حوصلہ افزا بات ہوتی۔ بہر کیف ،میاں صاحبان نے حقِ میزبانی جس طریقے سے ادا کیا نہ وہ آئینی تھا اور نہ ہی اِخلاقی۔
لاہور کی مصروفیات میں سے ایک مُلاقات سینئر صحافی اور اَخبار مالکان سے بھی ہوئی جِس میں بحیثیت صدرِ مُملکت پاکستان کے بنیادی مسائل پر تبادلہء خیال بھی ہوا اور مُُختلف سوالات کے جوابات بھی ملے۔
گویا کہ زرداری صاحب کا خطاب لاہور کی تنظیم سے تھا مگر اِس میں مُختلف شعبہ ہائے زندگی کے افراد نے شرکت کی اور پنڈال میں موجود اَفراد سے کئی گُنا زیادہ لوگ رسائی نہ ہونے کے سبب اپنے قائد کی جھلک کو دیکھنے سے محروم رہے۔
زرداری صاحب کے خطاب سے کارکُن نہ صرف مطمئن تھے بلکہ زرداری صاحب کے ہر مہینے دورہء لاہور کے فیصلے کو بہت سراہا گیا۔ عوامی رابطہ ہی لیڈر کی طاقت ہُوا کرتی ہے اور پپلز پارٹی اِس طاقت سے مالا مال رہی ہے۔ گو کہ سکیورٹی مجبوریاں اب قائد اور عوام کے درمیان حائل ہو گئی ہیں، لیکن پپلزپارٹی کی کارکُنوں کے دِل کی آواز گڑھی خُدا بخش سے ہو کر زرداری صاحب تک پہنچ رہی ہیں، تبھی اُنھوں نے وزراء کو کارکُنوں کے سامنے بٹھا کر مسائل حل کروانے کی بات کی۔
لاہور پپلز پارٹی کا قلعہ ہُؤا کرتا تھا ، اور اب بھی ہزاروں جیالے پاکستان کے دِل کو پپلز پارٹی کا قلعہ بنانے میں سرگرمِ عمل ہیں ۔ اہلیانِ لاہور بخوبی جانتے ہیں کہ کون شیر ہے اور کون گیدڑ؟ مبجھے یقین ہے کہ شریک چیرمین کی قیادت اور شہید بی بی کی مفاہمتی پالیسی مسلم لیگ ن کے رویے میں تبدیلی لائے گی اور اُن میں برداشت ، صبر اور مفاہمتی سیاست کی سوچ اُجاگر کرے گی۔
سید احسن عباس رضوی
(احسن شاہ)
President pledges frequent visits to Lahore
By Zulqernain Tahir
Friday, 15 Jan, 2010
LAHORE: For the first time after becoming the president of Pakistan some 15 months ago, Asif Ali Zardari ensured a large gathering of PPP workers at the Governor’s House on Thursday that he was well aware of their grievances and would personally take interest in redressing them.
“I will regularly visit Lahore and hold meetings with you to redress your grievances. I will bind the ministers to listen to your problems. I know the workers are not getting jobs. I will remain in touch with you,” Zardari assured the party workers.
A large number of PPP workers had gathered early in the day outside the Governor’s House to listen to the address of their party co-chairman. Owing to a strict security check, a good number of workers could not enter the venue. They showed their anger by raising slogans against the security staff and the party’s local leadership. Some of them tried to scale the gate.
Many of those who managed to enter the Governor’s House were also not happy with the provincial ministers. A group of PPP jialas started raising slogans against PPP Secretary-General Jehangir Badr, Punjab Senior Minister Raja Riaz and Lahore PPP president Chaudhry Asghar the moment Badr made a welcome speech.
Punjab PPP president Rana Aftab Ahmed, secretary-general Samiullah Khan, Chaudhry Asghar and Lahore information secretary Azhar Mughal requested them to stop sloganeering. However, the group of charged workers paid a deaf ear to the request. They appeared disinterested in speeches of other leaders sitting on the stage.
In view of the charged atmosphere, President Zardari was requested to address them before Governor Salmaan Taseer, Rana Aftab, Raja Riaz and a guest from the Gulf.
The president’s assurance that he would personally listen to their grievances pacified the workers. “I know your opinion is not given weightage. I will spend a week in a month with you in Lahore,” he said.
The estranged PPP leaders, Senator Safdar Abbasi and Naheed Khan, have also been calling the party leadership for quite sometime to spare time for the workers.Unlike some previous occasions, the main focus of the president’s speech was the masses and workers’ problems. He did not criticise any of the ‘elements’ which he had referred to in his recent public addresses.
Asif Zardari delivered the speech in Punjabi. “As the governor has put a turban on my head I think I should better deliver a speech in Punjabi.”
He went on to say that he knew the problems of the masses, but it was not possible to overcome them in a span of three to six months. “I visit China, the US and other countries only to seek help for the poor of my country. If we commit mistakes, the next generation will suffer,” he said.
The president said the PPP government was strengthening institutions. “We have to strengthen democracy. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto had sacrificed their lives for democracy. We will continue their mission. We have empowered women in accordance with the vision of Benazir Bhutto. The launch of Benazir Income Support Programme is also a step to help the downtrodden.”
He said the government was developing a number of dams anticipating water crisis ahead. Meanwhile, President Zardari inaugurated five projects at the Governor’s House.
They are Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Idara-i-Kissan, Pattoki; Neeli Bar Agricultural Research and Training Station, Burewala; Bio-remediation Institute Green City, Lahore; Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nayhan Medical and Dental College, Lahore; and Gujranwala Tool, Dyes and Moulds Centre.
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/pakistan/06-ppp-wants-state-institutions-respect-zardari-rs-03
President Zardari should give one “tohfa” to the people of Punjab in the disguise of Kalabagh dam. Believe me whole country will benefit from it.
A confident president
Contrary to what certain sections of the media would have us believe, President Asif Ali Zardari’s visit to Punjab and interactions with media persons and party workers indicate some welcome developments. In the wake of the Supreme Court’s judgment on the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO), the president exhibited a confident posture for the first time and his tone was reconciliatory rather than shrill, as it was during his visit to Sindh last month. He talked maturely on a range of national issues and pledged to address the grievances of PPP workers, who had gathered at the Governor’s House to listen to him. He and his party colleagues appreciated PML-N leaders Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif’s foreign engagements and expressed the intention to invite them and the Punjab cabinet for dinner. The media was told that the president’s next stop will be Peshawar and other insurgency-hit areas in NWFP. The image of an embattled president, bunkered in his presidency, has been replace with that of a statesman, capable of delivering in crisis.
Several things explain this new-found confidence of the president. The campaign to remove him post the NRO verdict appears to have fizzled out. Sections of the media and political parties who had overcooked their estimates in pinning hopes on mid-term elections are now on the defensive, as the president and co-chairperson of the ruling party reacted defiantly. But it took more than defiance to mute his opponents who felt certain of victory. The president’s spirited statements in support of the military recently, visit to Kashmir and talk of fighting a thousand years’ war over Kashmir are strong indicators of the assurances the other party has extended to the leader in crisis. One can rule out military intervention to derail the current set-up. All the hopes of the Zardari-bashers have crashed to the ground.
GHQ remains an important factor in Pakistan’s politics and success in taking it on board is a major achievement of the president. It seems to have come as a result of a major shift in the government’s approach towards India. Delhi’s unrelenting stance post-Mumbai seems to have convinced the Pakistani leadership that there is no need to bend over backwards to appease an unappreciative neighbour, which is not interested in mending fences. Hence the ambitious peace offensive undertaken by the government at the cost of the military’s fiercely held strategic thinking has been put on the backburner, which has had a salubrious effect on civil-military relations within Pakistan. This must be welcomed.
The current atmosphere of bonhomie between the presidency and the armed forces bodes well for the country. The expression of mutual support was critical not only for the government, the military needed it urgently too. It is in the middle of a deadly war against insurgents. It needs all the support it can get, particularly political will and consensus for its campaign against terrorism. General Pervez Musharraf’s public speaking skills notwithstanding, his dictorship was never able to bridge a completely divided polity and build public opinion against the militants. A considerable part of the government machinary, security establishment, political forces and the media had either a soft spot for the Taliban or were openly supportive of them. Credit is due to the civilian democratic dispensation led by the PPP for the sea change in public opinion. The force of this argument is now so strong that closet Taliban within the media and political parties find themselves on the backfoot, and religious parties are hardly visible. The boost of morale the military received with public support has had a dramatic effect on its performance. The unity of ranks that we need to win this war is in the making, thanks to the coming together of the two sides of this equation. Although civilian supremacy has still not been firmly established, these developments are good for democracy and a continuation of the system, which seems the best course for the country.
http://dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\01\16\story_16-1-2010_pg3_1
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By M. Amjad Rashid
ASIF ALI ZARDARI THE MAN OF PUNJAB IN PUNJABI PAGRI
The shock for the POLITICAL ACTORS & ESTABLISHMENT DONKEYS
&
GREAT JOY for the JIYALAAS
Asif Ali Zardari
The Man of Pakistan
The Man of PUNJAB GAVE HIS HISTORICAL SPEECH in PUNJABI LANGUAGE IN HIS PUNJABI PAGRI in the HEART of the PUNJAB, THE GREAT LAHORE.
It is the historic visit of President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari of PUNJAB of 10 days.
“AAP LOGON KI JIYALAON KI AWAZ OR GHAREEB KI AWAZ AEIWAN E SADAR TAK MUJHAY AA RAHI HAIN MAIN JAANTA HOO K WORKERS TANG HAIN MAGAR SABAR SE KAAM LAY KAR APNA MISSION JAARI RAKHAIN MAIN AAP SUB KI AWAZ HOO” was indeed a great joy for the workers of PUNJAB PPP and you can clearly see the joy of workers and poor public on this statement by their passionate clappings.
ASIF ALI ZARDARI is proving himself as one of the greatest leaders in the history of Pakistan & Asia & the whole world.
His speeches are fantastic and there is no answer in the pockets and minds of his opponents.
The charming personality and smiling face of ASIF ALI ZARDARI is winning the hearts of people of Pakistan day by day.
The most terrible scheme to demolish democracy and to remove Zardari is now losing its shape, power and validity in PUBLIC.
Asif Ali Zardari is making the attacks of POLITICAL ACTORS, ESTABLISHMENT & PRESSURE GROUPS useless by his great POLITICS.
PAKISTAN GOINT TOWARDS PROGRESS.
صدر زرداری کا دورہ لاہور انتہائی کامیاب دکھائی دیتا ہے۔ یہاں سب سے اہم بات جس پر ہر آدمی افسوس کرتا دکھائی دے گا وہ ملک کی دوسری بڑی پارٹی یعنی مسلم لیگ (ن) کا غیر جمہوری رویہ ہے۔ مجھے بہت دکھ ہوا جب اس جمہوریت کی دعویدار جماعت کا کوئی نمانئدہ صدرِ پاکستان کے استقبال کے لئے موجود نہیں تھا۔ بلکہ اسی پارٹی کے کئی لوگ صدر صاحب کے دورے پر غیر سنجیدہ بیان دیتے نظر آ رہے ہیں۔ خادم اعلیٰ کی ٹیم کے تیور ہی بدل گئے، کیونکہ وہ سمجھ رہے تھے کہ لاہور شہر صرف ان کی جاگیر ہے۔ صدرِ مملکت کی آمد پر لاہور کے باسیوں نے جس گرم جوشی کا مظاہرہ کیا ہے وہ قابل تعریف ہی نہیں بلکہ اس کی مثال نہیں ملتی۔ پاکستان پیپلز پاڑی اور اسکی اعلیٰ قیادت نے یہ ثابت کر دیا ہے کہ وہ نہ صرف عوام کی امنگوں کی ترجمان ہے بلکہ غیر جمہوری قوتوں کے لئے موت کا نشان ہے۔ میں سمھتا ہوں صدر صاحب کے دورے سے لوگوں میں ایک نیا جذبہ پیدا ہوا ہے۔ اور ہاں مسلم لیگ (ن) نے اگر اپنی پالیسی یہی رکھی تو فائدہ انہی عناصر کو ہو گا جو ملک میں بد امنی، ڈکٹیٹرشپ کے خواہاں ہیں۔ خدا را اپنے رویوں میں تبدیلی لے کر آئیں اور جمہوریت کو پنپنے کا موقع دیں۔ شکریہ
’کچھ لوگوں کو عوامی صدر سے تکلیف ہے‘
عبادالحق
بی بی سی اردو ڈاٹ کام، لاہور
ایسے منصوبے بنائے ہیں جن سے تین برسوں میں بجلی ، پانی اور زورگار کی کوئی کمی نہیں ہوگی
صدر آصف علی زرداری نے کہا ہے کہ کچھ لوگوں کو اس بات کی تکلیف ہے کہ اسلام آباد میں عوام کا صدر کیوں بیٹھا ہوا ہے۔
انہوں نے بات پیر کو پنجاب کے دورے کے دوران فیصل آباد میں نیشنل ٹیکسٹائل یونیورسٹی میں ترقیاتی منصوبوں کا افتتاح کے موقع پر اپنے خطاب میں کہی۔
صدر آصف زرداری نے پنجابی میں خطاب کرتے ہوئے کہا کہ وہ وقت آنے والا ہے جب تمام چالیں ناکام ہوجائیں اور عوام کو سستا پٹرول، بجلی اور گیس دیں گے۔ انہوں نے کہا کہ کتنی بھی شازشیں کر لی جائیں انہوں نے ایسے منصوبے بنائے ہیں جن سے تین برسوں میں بجلی ، پانی اور زورگار کی کوئی کمی نہیں ہوگی اور وہ سازشیں کرنے والوں کا عام انتخابات میں مقابلہ کریں گے اور ان کو جواب دیں گے۔
انہوں نے اس عزم کا اظہار کیا کہ ملک سے غربت کا خاتمہ کریں اور ہر پاکستانی کو روٹی، کپڑا اور مکان ملے گا کیونکہ یہ ان کے قائد ذوالفقار علی بھٹو کا وعدہ ہے۔
صدر زرداری کا کہنا ہے کہ عوام کی طاقت کے ذریعے سوات میں دہشت گردی کا خاتمہ کیا ہے اور وزیرستان میں بھی دہشت گردی کو شکست دیں گے۔
ان کے بقول جیل غیرت، قوم، ملک اور نظریات کے لیے کاٹی جاتی ہے اور عوام کی طاقت کے ذریعے انہوں نے جیل کاٹی ہے اور اسی طاقت کی وجہ سے وہ پہاڑ سے ٹکڑاتے ہیں کیونکہ سب اسی عوامی طاقت سے ڈرتے ہیں۔
انہوں نے کہا کہ وہ موت سے ڈرتے نہیں بلکہ موت کے پیچھے بھاگتے ہیں اور پیپلز پارٹی کے کارکنوں کو بھی کسی سے ڈرنے کی کوئی ضروت نہیں ہے۔
انہوں نے کہا کہ وہ موت سے ڈرتے نہیں بلکہ موت کے پیچھے بھاگتے ہیں اور پیپلز پارٹی کے کارکنوں کو بھی کسی سے ڈرنے کی کوئی ضروت نہیں ہے
انہوں نے کہا کہ ان کی پنجاب کے ساتھ بہت سے یادیں وابستہ ہیں کیونکہ انہوں نے سات سال تک پنجاب میں جیل کاٹی ہے اور جتنا پیار انہیں پنجاب سے ملا ہے کہیں اور سے نہیں ملا۔ صدر آصف زرداری نے کہا کہ صدارت اور حکومت کے لینے کا مقصد یہ ہے کہ ذوالفقار علی بھٹو اور بینظر بھٹو کے مشن کو پورا کیا جائے
http://www.bbc.co.uk/urdu/pakistan/2010/01/100118_zardari_faisalabad_sen.shtml
Accountability for all
Monday, January 18, 2010
Asif Ezdi
The writer is a former member of the Pakistan Foreign Service
It is not often that information ministers have something to say that one can agree with wholeheartedly. Kaira’s passionate speech at the inauguration of the Hafizabad Press Club on Jan 3 was one of those rare occasions. He said the PPP wanted a transparent system of accountability for all those who had plundered the national exchequer and that judges, generals and politicians should all be held accountable, not just the PPP workers and leaders.
Kaira was absolutely right in demanding accountability for everyone, without exception. The National Accountability Ordinance promulgated by Musharraf had exempted the sitting president and governors, military personnel (other than those who have held a civilian post) and judges from its ambit. The new accountability law presented to the parliament last April does the same. There was never any valid justification for letting them off in the old ordinance, and there is none for continuing this immunity in the new bill.
The ostensible reason for not making the accountability law applicable to a serving president and governor is that they enjoy immunity from criminal proceedings under Article 248 of the Constitution. But even if one accepts for a moment that this immunity – which is only for the duration of their incumbency – should be allowed to stand, it does not justify putting them above the accountability law. Because what it means is that a president or governor who misuses his office for personal profit does not commit an offence under this legislation and cannot be prosecuted even after he leaves office.
There is just as little justification for excluding military personnel and judges from the application of the anti-corruption law. The reason given for making an exception in favour of the military was that the military has its own system of accountability. But this is only half-true.
Military procurements, both within the country and abroad, provide plenty of temptations for kickbacks, but the only known recent case of a high-profile armed forces officer having been convicted is that of former admiral Mansurul Haq. His case was investigated and prosecuted by NAB, not by the naval authorities. Clearly, the navy’s internal system of accountability failed to catch him. Besides, the penal law of the land must apply equally to all, whether they are civilians or from the military.
That is also true for judges of the superior judiciary. The Supreme Judicial Council can only recommend the removal of a judge. It has no powers to investigate corruption cases, to sentence the guilty or order the return of ill-gotten wealth.
After having demanded accountability for all, Kaira quickly retracted his statement the next day. This is not surprising. The government’s priority is not bringing the corrupt to justice, but helping the accused, especially PPP leaders, evade justice. This is clear from the new accountability law and the government’s stalling in investigating and prosecuting old and new corruption cases.
In a TV interview on Jan 8, Gilani himself tried to defend Zardari against corruption charges. It was an excruciating performance. Gilani advanced clumsy excuses of the kind one expects from Taseer and Fauzia Wahab but which are unbecoming of a prime minister. He said that since the people knew about corruption charges against Zardari when he was elected president, it would now be an insult to the public for anyone to say that their decision was wrong. Such arguments by the prime minister are actually an insult to the high office that he himself happens to be holding. If his twisted logic is accepted, it would mean that anyone who gets elected stands cleared of corruption charges against him.
Gilani did not stop there. He said also that if the demand to probe loan write-offs was accepted, no one would be spared. But that is exactly what the people of Pakistan are clamouring for, Prime Minister. What is your problem with that?
And why, Prime Minister, has your government not ordered investigation into cases of alleged kickbacks paid to Zardari in the Agosta submarine deal, as reported by a French newspaper, and the land deal in which hundreds of acres of land in Islamabad were sold to him at a fraction of the market value? The press has been reporting about many other cases of alleged corruption by the high and mighty and those who are well-connected. But, strangely, the government’s own agencies are either ignorant about them or are trying to hush them up.
And will you please tell the public, Prime Minister, why documents in the Swiss money-laundering case implicating Zardari have been left in the custody of our high commissioner in London who is himself an accused in a corruption case? And what do you have to say to reports that the government is replacing NAB prosecutors with party loyalists who would be tasked to work for the acquittal of the accused, instead of their conviction?
The new accountability law that was introduced in the parliament last April is another sign that the government’s policy seeks not to fight corruption but to condone it. The government has yet to explain why an entirely new law was required in place of the NAB Ordinance. True, the ordinance was misused by Musharraf, as the Charter of Democracy asserts. But the answer to that would have been to amend the law in order to strengthen the independence of NAB, not to repeal the ordinance. It should also be brought in line with the standards of the UN Convention against Corruption, to which Pakistan is a party.
The fact is that under cover of a new accountability law the government has furtively introduced many corruption-friendly clauses. Under its latest version, pending corruption cases will also be tried under the new law, which is heavily tilted in favour of the accused.
The crux of the matter is whether Zardari will stand trial for corruption. He occupies the highest office of state and the number of cases in which he stands accused, as well as the amounts involved, outstrip by far those for any other individual. He has declared that his ministers and party members will now defend themselves in the courts. But he himself refuses to face trial and is taking shelter behind the constitutional immunity enjoyed by the president.
It is clear that the accountability process will border on a farce if the star performer does not feature in the show. It will also be a travesty of justice if the small fry get caught in the net but the biggest of the big fish escape. That will only discredit the political system in the eyes of the public and invite ridicule and contempt for our institutions. With Zardari mired up to the neck in corruption cases, his presidency has become a huge liability. The country is being distracted from focusing on the many urgent external and domestic challenges left by the Musharraf dictatorship and exacerbated by mis-governance and non-governance during Zardari’s time in the seat of power. But his exit must be brought about through political process, not by disqualification under some questionable constitutional clauses of dubious provenance.
Three steps are required.
First, a proposal should be tabled in the parliament – but, please, not in the Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional Reform – to limit the president’s immunity from criminal proceedings to his official acts only, as under Article 213 of the 1956 Constitution.
Second, resolutions should be moved in the Senate and the National Assembly urging Zardari to give up his immunity and face the courts. No exception should be allowed to the principle that everyone is accountable under the law for their deeds and misdeeds. If Zardari is acquitted, he would be vindicated. If convicted, he would automatically lose his job.
Third, all opposition parties should give the assurance that they do not wish to topple the PPP-led coalition at the centre and do not seek mid-term elections.
http://www.thenews.com.pk/editorial_detail.asp?id=219282