PML-N slams Pasha for backing PTI

slamabad: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has insinuated that General Shuja Pasha’s impending retirement will impair Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI).

Speaking outside the Parliament House Saturday, PML stalwart Chaudary Nisar Ali Khan said that General Pasha’s demise will jeopardize the growth of Pakistan’s major “Revolutionary Party”.

“General Pasha’s retirement will make a large revolutionary party orphan,” he said.

Speaking exclusively to Saach TV, on condition of anonymity, a senior leader of PML-N said that ISI’s outgoing chief General Pasha has been involved in abetting the growth of PTI across the country.

Making another startling revelation, he said that veteran politician Chaudhry Shujat Hussain had complained to the army Chief, General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani that General Pasha was involved in creating turncoats, who were offered hefty incentives to join PTI.

He further alleged the General Pasha maintained a grudge against PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif as the latter had castigated him in the All Parties Conference for his failure to avert the Abbottabad operation in which US forces intruded into Pakistan’s territory and killed Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.

He claimed that PML-N holds documentary evidence pertaining to General Pasha’s role in backing PTI, and will divulge it in a suitable period in time.

“Pasha’s ouster will bring an end to the political ‘Tsunami’ of PTI,” he added.

Information Secretary of PTI, Shafqat Mehmood emphatically refuted the claims of PML-N leaders, saying that the party is trying to conceal its own historical relationship with the intelligence agencies.

Mehmood said that there is unambiguous evidence that former chief of Mehran Bank, Younis Habib delivered money to Nawaz Sharif in person on behalf of the intelligence agencies.

Speaking about the role of army in the country’s politics, Mehmood commented that his party did not have any proof which could establish that intelligence agencies were currently meddling in the civilian set-up.

However, Mehmood assailed Nawaz for becoming an instrument of the military in the unpopular Memogate scandal. He further claimed that Shahbaz Sharif held clandestine meetings with the army Chief, General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani to mend relations with the army.

Renowned political analyst, Haroon ur Rashid said that there was no concrete evidence about ISI’s role in supporting PTI. He lauded the army chief for eliminating the role of the military in politics.

He admitted that General Pasha had said, in a high-level meeting, that he would personally vote for PTI in the general elections.

However, Rashid dispelled the impression that ISI was behind the pervasive rise of PTI.

He further claimed that Shahbaz Sharif met General Kayani six times during his tenure as Chief Minister Punjab to solicit support from the army which was never rendered.

Rashid said that PML-N’s history was fraught with examples in which it was abetted by the spy agencies; however, the army is loath to interfere in politics anymore.

Thin needs to stop being ‘in’

I love fashion and what it has come to represent in modern society- a widely accessible form of individualistic expression, the opportunity to communicate wordlessly from the outside what lies within and a universal, culture-defying form of art. And oh the divine ability to wear something  out-of-style with confidence and suddenly start a trend? I love that the most.

There is no doubt that one of Pakistan’s many gems is its fashion industry. As a Pakistani-American in love with both cultures and often finding myself having to choose between the two, I have no problem pledging my allegiances with the motherland when it comes to my wardrobe. Pakistani fashion is not only doable, it’s beautiful.

However when I peel my eyes away from the clothes and look at the models, all I see is stick-thin figures with jutting cheekbones and razor-sharp clavicles balanced on legs the width of a healthy person’s forearms, staring at the camera with a hungry look in their large, blank eyes. These girls are thin. I mean it. Many of them desperately need sandwiches.

The trend is recent, undeniably western, and inescapable – on runways, glossy magazine pages, and in music videos. The thin standard is an unspoken and largely visual rule, but our reliable-as-ever television hosts have no doubt used their spotlight to openly preach the virtues associated with maintaining a skinny frame as well.

I am sure most of us remember Shaadi Online from Geo TV and their hosts, flowing with pre-marital gems and advice to bestow upon their audience. My favorite (or least favorite) gem is one I will never forget. The wise uncle said:

“Chahey shakal surat ho na ho. rishtey ke waqt larki ka vazan zaroor dekha jaata hai.”

(It doesn’t matter if the girl is good looking or not, but her weight does matter at the time of the marriage proposal)

Nailed it.

Uncle couldn’t have spelled out the rule more plainly if he tried; become thin and you win a husband.

The message is clear: thin is attractive, modern, sophisticated. It is the ultimate beauty ideal for the Pakistani woman.

How surprising, sad, and utterly unrepresentative of the traditional South Asian physique. A look back a few hundred years will tell a different story of what it once meant to be as beautiful as a South Asian woman. Mughal artists painted the women of the day with soft, curving strokes- the silhouette of a hip, the bend of an arm.

The flowing lines outlining the women of the Mughal period convey messages of femininity, fertility, and the celebration of flesh. They juxtapose almost comically against the harsh angles of today’s ideal. Yesterday’s women, once seen as the epitome of beauty, would be viewed today as the stark opposite of it. If they existed today, these women who once served as muses would be told that they’re too fat and will probably never get married. ”Vazan zaroor dekha jaata hai,” they’d be informed. The latest of our people would have shunned the earliest of them.

So what do we gain when we lose our traditional standards of beauty and follow a western ideal? A whole lot of low self esteem, it appears.

A recent study was conducted in Pakistan on of both male and female university students in their early twenties. The study evaluated levels of Body Image Dissatisfaction (BID), in these young adults, and measured the findings against each subject’s level of exposure to media.

The results confirmed the inevitable: young Pakistanis with high levels of media exposure are more likely to have greater BID than those with lower exposure levels. What’s more, many young women with high exposure levels who took part in the study vocalized a desire to conform to the thin standard. They saw themselves as outside of it. Outside of the very ideal shoved down their throats through the television and magazines surrounding them.

Pretty ironic, that a country with some of the lowest worldwide rates of obesity is facing increasing rates of young women perceiving themselves as overweight.

In a perfect world, the media industry would be held accountable for the negative messages it conveys to its mass viewership. Instilling a widespread sense of paranoia, low self-esteem, and unrealistic weight perceptions, however subconsciously, can only open the doors for the growth of unhealthy epidemics among young people in and outside of Pakistan, including eating disorders and the reliance on harmful third-party substances to control weight.

It seems as though the obsession is already beginning to take its toll. Time Magazine recently reported on a wave of teenage girls posting their videos  on YouTube, seeking validation from complete strangers by asking bluntly-“Am I pretty or ugly?” In one clip, a girl says:

“I think I am ugly and fat, but all of my friends that are girls, they’re just like, oh you are so beautiful. I’m like ‘shut up, because I’m not beautiful.’”

It’s about time that the entertainment and media industry starts contributing to the prosperity of its viewership by presenting diverse, universal, and above all, realistic images of people conveying positive messages about health, beauty, and self-esteem.

In many countries, the media has stepped up to this challenge. In 2006, Spain banned models with an unhealthy body mass index (BMI) from walking the runway during Madrid Fashion Week as a response to the popularization of the rail-thin, “heroin-chic” look in models. The country continues its no-tolerance policy towards unhealthy images to this day.

There is no question that, like Spain, Pakistani media holds the power to affect change- the question is whether they will choose to do so, and if they do, whether the choice will be positive and accepting of the masses.

Can laptops save PML-N from Imran Khan?

Wary of the rising political capital of Imran Khan in the plains of Punjab, the provincial government led by the erstwhile Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has unleashed the most valuable weapon in its arsenal to target the urban youth who are, by far, the vanguard of Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf.

Carrying a price tag of three billion rupees, the laptop distribution scheme is supposed to benefit the brightest across campuses across province. The money earmarked to launch this laptop onslaught is meant for the development of the whole province, slicing it off from the Annual Development Programme (ADP) of the province.

The chief minister aides believe that the scheme would go a long way in attracting the bulk of the youth from the province who, at the moment, have put their weight in the favor of the promise of change by Imran Khan. Confidantes of the chief minister also believe that when these laptops – purchased by public money – go to students, the entire neighbourhood would sway politically in favour of PML-N. However, detractors of the chief minister are of the view that the scheme would miserably fail just like sasti roti, food stamp, yellow cab and Ashiana schemes. Critics also point out that the Election Commission must take notice of the misuse of public money in an election year.

Using laptops as a political tool is the latest attempt in the vehemently contested duel for supremacy between the PML-N and the PTI. Just a few months back, the PML-N launched Nawaz Sharif’s daughter  Maryam Nawaz to woo the students of the province. Maryam, while visiting campuses in the city, took the political temperature of the youth and is still active in spreading this youth appeal in the students. After the political heir-apparent Hamza Shahbaz was hit by one scandal after another, Maryam was the answer from the PML-N for the youth of Punjab. The initiative, however, after making early headlines is fading fast.

Unlike PPP and PML-N, the problem between PTI and PML-N is that they are both vying for the same vote-bank. Before Imran’s star started shining on the horizon, PML-N was the sole propertier of this very valuable bank. But more than the youth, it had its appeal in the urban trader and merchant class who were considered the home constituency for the Sharif family, while the youth associated with this class naturally fell to the Sharifs as well.

Now, however, the dynamics have become different. Imran, sensing his chance based on his unmatched chrisma and impeccable public service record, leapt to grab this mass of voters that was lying unclaimed. The youth, frustrated, given the torturous machinations of power politics, responded with zeal to the call, setting up stage for a long drawn out political tussle between the two parties. If you take away urban seats of Punjab from the PML-N, it immediately falls down to the level of minor provincial party instead of major national player that it has become now. And if Imran has to score big, he has to attract the urban middle class families and youth.

Interestingly, both the parties are not heading to the country-side which is largely considered PPP’s domain, though PTI would definitely strive at some point for those seats as well. Thus the GT Road, a road dissecting Punjab vertically, is bastion of PML-N and coincidentally, this is the area where Imran is fancying his chances. However, the fact of the matter is this coveted line has shown no signs of desertion in favour of Imran like some constituencies did in south Punjab. When someone like Rana Nazir, Rana Tanvir and Raja brothers from Jehlum defect for the PTI, that will be the time when the Sharifs would consider calling it a day.

As for PTI, Imran would continue to step-up the pressure on Sharifs and then countdown to see if the PML-N wilts. The stage is set, the battle-lines drawn, the up and the coming challenger is staring straight at Sharifs, let’s see who blinks first.

Change? What change?

In Pakistan, hope soars as quickly as it plunges. Take the expectation that this country is on the verge of a spectacular political change, of the sort that was witnessed in the early 70s when former chairman Pakistan Peoples Party Zulfikar Ali Bhutto caused the collapse of traditional politics and brought at the centre of political stage the comman man —‘Tonga wala’ and ‘Rikshaw wala’ as he used to call them.

Propelling the new-age expectation has been the sense that there is nationwide disappointment with the existing lot of politicians, who have ruined the country in the name of ruling it. As the economy suffers from the pains of stagflation and law and order worsens, the resultant frustration would swell into a tidal wave bringing old houses of power down. This is what Imran Khan calls the tsunami that would level the established political order to the ground and help the rise of a new Pakistan.

However, the recent political exercise in voting has punctured this ballooning hope. If you combine the by-elections with the Senate elections, the result is a complete victory of traditional politics without a trace or hint of change. Together these elections have endorsed the Pakistan Muslim League-N and the Peoples Party with the good old factor of ‘independents’ shining from behind the two, indicating the hold of the individual in certain parts of the country.

Moreover, these elections have been contested according to the time-tested formula that money buys everything, and the rest can be obtained through lavish use of state funds and by striking hard bargains with local interlocutors. The other component of the formula, the gridlock of families and clans on national politics too, remains tight and strong.

Look at Musa Gilani’s thumping victory in Multan. While Shah Mehmood Qureshi can twist and turn in his shoes as senior vice president of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and complain bitterly that bynot contesting the polls, the party has frittered away his constituency, the votes gotten by Musa Gilani are still astounding — in excess of 90,000, almost double the votes of his opponent.

The victory looks particularly striking considering that the prime minister’s son had all the attributes that a changed political mood in the country, theoretically, should have rejected. From ill-gotten wealth to misgovernance, the family he belongs to is in the eye of every storm of accusation that can be possibly imagined.

On top of it all, his father is facing the charge of contempt of the highest judicial forum in the country. But these elements that are supposed to form the basis of the defeat of traditional ruling elite came to nothing on the day the polling started. Eyewitnesses say that enthusiastic voters stood in long queues cheering, waving and dancing on their way to electing their man, Musa Gilani, to the National Assembly. Later on, the thrill of celebrations peaked as aerial firing pierced the calm of the city for hours reportedly killing a person — a small cost to pay for the great joys of life of the Gilani family.

In the Senate elections billions have moved through greasy hands into deep pockets. In Balochistan and Fata, each vote was chased with unrivalled determination. The amounts mentioned in these ‘democratic transactions’ run up to 350 million a person. The end result? The Peoples Party has become the single largest party just a few short of having simple majority in the Senate while the PML-N has doubled its strength through careful deals struck in the backrooms of national politics with the negotiating team deputed by President Asif Ali Zardari.

The spectrum of politics looks no different from the time when the two parties shared the spoils of office by taking turns at exercising power. In that decade of the 90s even the almighty hand of the Establishment with all the rigging and stealing of elections could not break the mode of politics that hinged on the League and the PPP. It is the same in 2012.

It is true that these elections should not be taken as a final yardstick of future electoral behaviour in Pakistan. This country is deeply frustrated. The public is angry. Millions long for a break from the practices of the past that have pushed them on the margins of existence. But still these elections are a depressing sample of the enormous capacity of the voter to side with the champions of traditional politics, who refuse to disappear and are determined to retain their power at all costs. Pakistan may be changing, but electorally for now it has decided to stay the same.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 9^th, 2012.