Ali Malik's blog

With clock ticking to a NATO withdrawal end next year, the talk of talks with Taliban in Pakistan is diverting attention from a much needed military operation against militants. Confused by their surreal expectations, political opportunism, and lack of understanding of regional security paradigm, PTI and PML-N are pushing Pakistan to a security black hole. For one, those advocating the dialogue have got the diagnosis wrong. For successful dialogue, first thing worth knowing is the demand of the other party. And the advocates of talks seem to have no clue of Taliban or their intentions.  First things first, Taliban are not tribal Pashtuns. True, many Taliban are Pashtun tribesmen but then there are equal number of Punjabis in their ranks and then sizable number from South Balochistan (Jind Ullah recruits) and Kashmir. And then, of course, is the foreign element of Middle East and Central Asia. So bracketing their struggle with Pashtun grievance is a gross mistake, and with it ...

Pardon me for my language but I cannot help it. Chairman of PTI, the wizard of Wisdom said that killing of Maj. General Sanaullah is a conspiracy to sabotage the peace talks with Taliban. Conspiracy?, when the responsibility has been claimed by the Taliban officials.  Who conspired then? You offered Taliban peace talks. If they kill your men, that means they are not interested in peace and are bent on settling old scores. It is commonsense which probably is not taught at Aitchison and Oxford or may be someone was bunking the classes there.  Idiocy and idiosyncrasy cannot go farther than this. And when PTI is busy in this idiocy, Ch. Nisar was talking to Wazir-Mushir of Taliban, maulana Ansar Chief Justice Abbasi, that certain influential forces in the country (read Pakistan Army) are bent on creating misunderstanding between Govt. and Taliban. And the next day, Taliban oblige him by killing three Army men including a Maj. General? So may be another explanation to this ...

Today ends the presidential tenure of President Zardari. He leaves the presidency with a mixed bag of achievements, and with the strongest democratic credentials of any head of state yet. But it is the party in shambles he is returning to that makes the event more intriguing for the future polity. In my last post, I talked about the uphill task that is ahead of PPP if the party wants to revive her fortunes. Yet a very important question for that revival is whether the party should do it with President Zardari or without him? Put simply, is his innings over or not? So here are my two cents. For one, if PPP has to revive her fortunes, presently, no one can do it except President Zardari. He is the only central figure who has the capital (personal legacy and family link to Bhuttos) and the outreach and connection with party's base. More importantly, he seems most politically apt of the lot that PPP possesses. If this is not enough, he understand the policy agenda better than anyone...

The title says it all and highlights the flaw in the approach since Elections. In fact, it highlights the flaw in the approach for last few years, especially since 2009. And it is important to emphasize on this because after elections, PPP, and the progressive politics in Pakistan, has entered a zone where the dangers are eminent for it and for the broader social structure and political order. First things first, let me clarify one thing on the onset. In my view, the elections of 2013 were neither free nor fair, and in the event of free and fair elections and an opportunity to campaign freely, PPP had the support base to add 30-40 seats to its current tally. But having said that, what happened has happened and now we stand at a juncture where the future of this left-leaning, liberal, progressive party faces serious threats and challenges. And with this, of course, is in question the future of a progressive, federal narrative in Pakistan's politics. What the election results h...