Ali Malik's blog

Thank you Sir for leading Pakistan on the way to constitutional reform which has seen it get rid of legacy of decades of autocracy. Thank you for presiding over an economic restructuring that leads to more even distribution of resources between urban and rural and between north and south. Thank you for steering Pakistan though its worst economic years and worst energy shortages with minimum of damage. And Thank you for standing up against the terrorists while risking your own life. Thank you for your initiatives on women's rights. Thank you for your voice for minorities and thank you for being there for all liberal and freedom causes. Thank you for the vision and stamina to stick to the politics of reconciliation and thank you for demonstrating that a successful democracy is about inclusion and cooperation above anything else. Thank you for defending Pakistan against the terrorists and thank you for protecting its interest on international forums. Thank you for your efforts to re...

After an eventful day, Prediction Time. No inside info. Based on my analysis. Yousaf Raza Gillani will have the longest term of any Prime Minister in the history of Pakistan yet. #SC will not be able to harm President or the system on account of #MemoGate or #NRO. Army will feel compelled to protect the President in #MemoGate. In next 6 months, civil-military imbalance will have significant changes. In near future, there will be a party hostile to Chinese' trade surplus and influence in Pakistan. In near future, if it ever comes to showdown between US and anyone, in final tally Pakistan will be in US Column. Next Election is the last election in which #PMLN will contest with perception of a significant player. #PTI wave will be the strongest in Central Punjab and Army Belt (Attock, Khoshab, Jhelum, Chakwal). PPP-Sherpao will be the most significant player (significant may not be the largest) in #KP Imran Khan (PTI) might not be the largest Right-wing party by no of se...

As the elections approach, the talk of establishment's meddling in political system is resonating again. Only today, two statements by two of the leading political leaders of the country hint at establishment's (read security establishment's) role in country's politics. Both Nawaz Sharif and Ch. Shujat Hussain today hinted at hidden hands' intervention in political space. This follows a series of acquisitions that security establishment or elements in it have been at the center of Imran Khan's rise and PTI's successive political activities. This all is not only unpleasant and unfortunate but also seems a waste of energy on part of those trying to engineer politics. What Pakistan needs is to move beyond the existing notion of establishment to create a more broad based, all inclusive establishment. The new establishment will comprise a civil-military compromise on key national security issues where Army will have a decisive say in military, combat-security, an...

1951: A young man from a prominent, knighted Sindhi feudal family marries an Iranian merchant's daughter. Young man fears backlash from his father and to ensure secrecy relies on two of his closest friends then (One for sure was Ilahi Bukhsh Sumro, other I think was cricket commentator and business executive Omar Kureshi). Begins the story of Bhuttos. Young man was Z. A. Bhutto, the woman became Nusrat Bhutto. Mid-60s: Nusrat, compelled by traditions of the family, forces the daughter, Benazir, to wear veil on trip to family estate of Larkana. ZAB gets furious and categorically declares that his daughters will not wear veil. Coming from a family where his sisters were married to Quran, ZAB's most revolutionary act was to send his daughters to Harvard and Oxford. Sept 1967: ZAB is arrested by Ayub regime and it seems that the movement gaining momentum will die leaderless. Appears a tonga on Mall Road carrying 3-4 women. One of them was Nusrat Bhutto. People recognize her and f...

Good friend Aparna Pande's book hit the bookstalls in May this year. While I had been privileged to go through excerpts of it, it was an absolute pleasure reading this book. Explaining Pakistan's Foreign Policy - Escaping India, published by Routledge is among the most insightful of books on complexities of South Asian foreign policy. Book discusses how Pakistan's foreign policy has evolved over time because of fear of a large neighbor India with whom Pakistan has shared the blood-feud of partition. It discusses in detail how the desire to counter India has been at the fore of Pakistan's desire for an Islamist identity, its quest for strategic depth, its efforts for Pan-Islamism and having a mid-eastern identity, and its opening up to China. The strongest, and at least for me the most insightful, portion of book is the one that deals with analysis of how events before and soon after partition led to an increased insecurity vis-a-vis India. Dr. Pande has not let her Ind...

http://econowise.wordpress.com/2011/09/30/creating-jobs-in-a-structural-meltdown-reviving-us-economy/

Zulfikar Mirza's press conference has brought to fore the reality which everyone knew but no one wanted to spell. That MQM sits on top of a mafia and uses violence to further its political objective is a no-brainer. Also is no-brainer the fact that the other parties including ANP, PPP, Sunni Tehrik have resorted to organized armed wings in Karachi in retaliation to MQM's violent tactics. So, for all the obvious reasons, Mirza's press conference has been hailed by vast majority, Sindhis, Balochs, Pathans, Punjabis etc. Mirza is a hero of PPP voters in Sindh as well as PTI and PML-N voters and ANPers. And just when the Pandora has been opened, there are calls for Justice and cutting MQM to size. These demands for justice and fairplay, however, go beyond the realm of practicality for one simple reasons. They ignore the fact that MQM, apart from being a mafia is also a political reality having predominant support among Hindi-belt migrants and there will be strong political cons...

Imran Khan has been in Pakistani politics for good 16 years now. He, however, has never been scrutinized for his policies, his understanding of issues and his ideology. Probably the prime reason of this absence of scrutiny is the fact the he and his party never came with their position on key issues except for jargons and political rhetoric. Recently, however, for the first time, he was grilled on his views vis-à-vis War on Terror and Af-Pak situation in an interview in “Sirf Sach”. His views were also reproduced in an article on Afghan War by Jemima Goldsmith in Daily Independent. An in depth analysis of his understanding of the issue highlights serious flaws and contradictions in comprehension and reasoning. The key reasoning behind Imran’s regional view stems for an assertion that Afghans can never be ruled by a foreign power and the region somehow is a graveyard of empires. This narrative was promoted by Brits after their failure to conquer Afghanistan, probably to hide embarras...

I thought but never thought as much as I did for this piece. The patriot in me is asking me to stay silent but the human in me has forced me to write this.  Ever since the PNS Mehran attack almost everyone is convinced that the job was an inside job. The attack at the largest Naval Base of the country is no small affair. More so, the attack followed a similar attack at the heart of Pakistan's Security Structure on GHQ in April 2009. In between, the world's most wanted terrorist was killed in one of the largest cantonments in the country. These incidents raise serious considerations about Pakistan's capability to secure its strategic assets. What aggravates the matter is the fact that the threat comes from within. The world which already considered Pakistan a failed, rogue and volatile state seems even more convinced of dangers Pakistan poses. And what adds to world's fears is the fact that Pakistan possesses nuclear arsenal. Nuclear Arsenal in a fragile state, facing a ...

A few months ago, mostly accidentally, I happened to meet a few officers of Pakistan Army who have served in South Waziristan and other areas of FATA, the epicenter of war on terror. What I heard from them made me explore Army's view on War on Terror further. Coincidently, my inquiry into Army's view on War on Terror coincided with killing of Osama Bin Laden. An incident that has put spotlight on Army's role in War on Terror and its allegiances in the war like never before. On the onset, let me make a few things clear. My opposition to Pakistan Army's strategic doctrine and its repeated interventions in political system is well known. I think Army made a mess of itself and of the country when it assumed the role of national savior, policy-maker, a  and custodian of a pseudo doctrine of "Nazriya-e-Pakistan". Neither was it helpful for anyone but Army men, when the institute, which should have been a symbol of national pride, turned into a corporate machinery h...

Ever since Zahir Shah's dethroning led to a cycle of chaos in Afghanistan, no issue, not even 9/11, had the potential of impacting Pakistan more than what is happening in our West in the Middle East. A movement has spread from Iran to Morocco, shaking the very foundations of the order that has dominated the region for past century. The print and electronic media that blabbers day in day out on every non-issue has completely blacked out one of the most critical debates that should be taking place in Pakistan. The think tanks, pseudo intellectuals, and retired bureaucrats and generals are mum. And yet what is happening around has most far reaching consequences for Pakistan and calls for an open debate on a broad based policy formulation vis-a-vis the Mid-Eastern crisis. This piece is an attempt to discuss the guidelines of a comprehensive Middle East policy.  Whether what is happening in Middle East is a consequence of CIA conspiracy, as is alleged by Saudis, Iranians and others...

The pace of events in Middle East has caught many by surprise. It seems a matter of months if not weeks before the existing order in the Middle East will pave way for a new order. What shape will the new order assume is uncertain for now. However, theocracy or elected governments on sectarian lines are two very probable outcomes. Just when because of its strong political parties, Pakistan does not face the direct threat of Middle East style revolts, the ripples of the above-mentioned eventualities have dire consequences for Pakistan. We are already too late into foreseeing what could happen in the world around us and have paid a heavy price for being blinded. Yet again, the changes that are going to happen in our west are likely to be costly unless we take the necessary measures to control the damage. If there has even been a reason for Pakistani establishment to push for a secular, liberal democratic Pakistan, it is now. Asian Middle East is the only region in the Muslim world with Sh...

This piece is dedicated to Governor Taseer. A man who had the conviction in his belief and fought for it till the very end. A brave man whom, in the words of Shakespeare, the death took with pride. It is a death that should be mourned for the bravery and courage of the dead, and for the loss of  multi-faceted life full of positive energy that has been lost. My knowledge of Governor Taseer was of third person. In fact, I was not a fan of him when he became Governor and yet in few weeks, he made me his fan. His candidness, confidence, quick wit and analytical mindset coupled with his popular politics made him a trend-setter in the politics of Punjab which has been marred by pseudo, scripted, thoughtlessly conservative and tunnel-visioned politicians for most part. That he was a successful entrepreneur and business tycoon, a dedicated political worker, a successful political administrator (whom his opponents feared), and had a social circle spanning from cart-food owners to the ...

The events of Tunisia have stirred the whole world and have raised questions about the future of Tunisia, the Arab world, and the developing world's bastions of stability in the cyclical boom of 90s and early 2000s. As the events keep unfolding in Tunisia, the world awaits answers to four key questions. What Happened? Whether what happened was a consequence of something deep rooted or was it a knee-jerk reaction is yet to be seen. Arab world, rewinding back 4-5 decades or so, has a tendency for knee-jerk revolutions without any unifying agenda or leadership. Whether what happened this time was a repeat of 60s or is it a more aware revolution with a defined set of compatible and workable ideals is yet to be seen. Another perspective on events, and with significant credibility, is that the Army in Tunisia realizing that the anger on streets is getting out of hand decided to make Bin Ali the scapegoat. If this is true then the success of the revolution in achieving its objective...

A picture says it all!

Born and raised in a society of impulsive/emotional (and often wrong) responses, I, too, have this tendency to respond impulsive and this reflects in some of my posts on this blog too. When Benazir Bhutto got killed, my response was of anger and grief. I wanted to write so much on it here, driven by that anger and grief. But somehow something within me stopped me from writing immediately. I didn't realize it then what it was. My piece on that came good four days after the assassination and it was not driven by the impulsive emotion and had the impact of the reality seeped in well. When I heard the news of the assassination of Governor Taseer (may his spirit be in peace), my response was of anger, of grief, and of shock. And yet something, from within, stopped me from writing impulsively on this too. My inner voice says it is maturity. Similarity between Governor's death and BB's death doesn't end here. In case of BB, same anchors on national media tried to justify suici...