Ali Malik's blog

We live in a world that sits on the brink of a world war. Never has there been more volatility in the world since early twentieth century. The volatility is of the magnitude that gave birth to two world wars and ended with the emergence of a new global order of post-colonial era. Of a few possible flash points of this imminent conflict, the most serious are Af-Pak and Indo-Pak issues. Pakistan Army, marred by a series of internal and external changes on ground, has to take this factor into their calculation when they devise any strategy in their bid to hold on to the absolute power, they have enjoyed in Pakistan in last five decades. Army in part created and in part allied with conservative fundamentalist elements who drew their strength from either religion or a perceived Ideology of Pakistan or a combination of both. It had done this historically against a strong liberal leftist movement, having special attraction among poor and among people of smaller provinces. In fact, Pakistan A...

The cat is out of the bag. Pakistan is heading for the most decisive moment of its political history. The issue at stake is not merely the survival of PPP government but also of future direction of Pakistani politics, foreign policy and social fabric. What bothers me the most is that all the debate around this bill is mere rhetoric. The opponents of this bill in Pakistan are playing on rhetoric and have no substance to offer. Not even one article or discussion has actually pointed to the sections of the bill on which the opponents of the bill have objections. The usual buzz words of ghairat, sovereignty etc are used without substantiating the points of contention in the bill. In fact, the whole line of attack of the opponents of the bill is absurd and opportunistic. Shaheen Sehbai, Kamran Khan and PML-N etc a week ago were saying that US does not trust the present civilian setup of Pakistan and thus will not give them any aid. Now once the aid is here, the same elements ar...

Below is complete text of Kerry Lugar Bill. The fuss about the bill has been that it's a sellout of national interest to US. I don't think anyone criticizing the bill has actually read this bill. So I invite the readers to read this bill before commenting on it. First and foremost, the civilian aid has no strings attached to it. The only conditions are on military aid (which is not part of $ 1.5 billion/ yr). Even these strings are far from sellout that our right-wing fundo toddies are bound on telling us. What are the conditions? In Section VI of the bill they are stated as: (c) Certification- The certification required by this subsection is a certification to the appropriate congressional committees by the Secretary of State, after consultation with the Secretary of Defense and the Director of National Intelligence, that the security forces of Pakistan-- (1) are making concerted efforts to prevent al Qaeda and associated terrorist groups, including Lashkar-e-Taiba and Ja...

A section in Pakistan media has raised a storm in a tea cup about Kerry Lugar bill and has called it a sellout. Looking at it rationally it seems the best deal Pakistan got get and has got in its history. In the 1980s the US congress passed the Pakistan Aid Bill for US $ 3.2 Billion over a period of 5 years and the Bill, which required 10-12 Presidential Certifications (at different times) every year including on restoration of democracy, human rights protection, nuclear non proliferation and drugs control. In the 2003 Congress again passed Pakistan Aid Bill for US 3 billion over a period of 5 years and that too included Presidential waivers certifying Pakistan is moving toward restoration of democracy, nuclear non proliferation, countering terrorism etc. Kerry- Lugar Bill is the first Pakistan Aid Bill that does not carry Presidential certification every year. However the Secretary Of State has to certify that Pakistan is moving on path to democracy, nuclear non proliferation and...

Our media pundits always portray Nawaz Sharif as the sole leader of Punjab and PML-N as the dominant political force in Punjab. A closer look at the facts and figures and one can find out that this too is an eye-wash created by the media. For its limited nationwide penetration, PML-N needs steroids of the media to rally its limited base. For this a lot of myths have been created about it, the biggest being its dominance in Punjab. If results of 2008 elections are anything to go by, N is no where close to the dominant status that we are made to believe. We have taken NA results as a benchmark because the larger constituency size makes them more representative of a district. Here are the facts: Of 36 districts in Punjab, N one at least 1 seat in 26 districts, PPP won at least 1 seat in 24 districts. N has more than 50% of seats in 11 out of 36 districts, PPP has more than 50% seats in 9 of 36 districts. N swept 4 districts, PPP 2. Of 5 big cities of Punjab, N is far behind PPP in term...

The establishment which had our country in her grip for decades is exposed as a result of their infighting. But most surprisingly, the "independent media" is desperate to cover their beloved elements of the establishment (read Nawaz Sharif). Anchors, columnists, spin doctors of PML-N and media in their attempts to cover this mess are creating stories at par with Alif Laila and Kissa Sote Jagte Ka . This Kissa Sote Jagte Ka has signs of their desperation and changing times. It all started with Supreme Court's hearing of petition against Nov. 3 actions of General Musharraf. Supreme Court, partly riding on vendetta and partly on the quest for limelight, in one of its observations on July 29th proclaimed that if Cromwell's skeleton can be hanged after his death, it is time to punish the violators of the constitution in Pakistan. (Below is an image of Express News' next day coverage of Daily Express). Next day, Supreme Court had a complete change of heart ruling they...

Gossip circles of the power centers of Pakistan are ripe with the buzz of a "minus-one" formula aimed at removing President Asif Ali Zardari from country's political map. This might be a wishful desire on part of the regressive circles that have dominated this nation for decades and are responsible for most of its miseries in economic and geo-political realm. From where I see, there is no reason to remove Mr. Zardari. More so, despite the wishes of many to get rid of the widower of Benazir Bhutto, there is no way he could be removed from the presidency or political scene. And if at all, the vultures succeed in removing him, the repercussions for the nation and our social order will be nothing short of a fiasco. So let us look at the reasons first. Some junk polls, published by some US think tanks are continuously trying to build an impression that Zardari is an unpopular figure. Now to the best of my knowledge, US agencies do not conduct these surveys themselve...