03-

01-
2021

DAWNEDI
TORI
ALS&OPI
NIONS
Uneasyt
imes
Edi
tor
ial03Jan2021
WITHonl yaf ewweeksl eftbeforeDonal dTr umpexi t
st heWhiteHouse,t hesi t
uation
i
nt heMi ddleEast— par t
icularl
yt heGul f— remai nspr ecari
ous, wi thfearst hatt heUS
presidentmayup t heant ei nt her egi on int hef inaldaysofhi sadmi nistrati
on.
Accor di
ngt oat weetbyI r
anianFor eignMi nisterJav adZar i
f,theUSi spr epar i
nga
pretextforwarwi thhi scount r
y.MrZar if’sappr ehensionshav ebeenst rengt henedby
thef actthattheUSr ecentlysentt woB52bomber stot heregion,whi lespecul ations
arer if
et hatWashi ngt onmayst ri
kepr o-Tehranmi l
it
iasinI raq,orI r
ani tself.The
sit
uat i
onhasbeent ensesi nceAmer icaassassi natedt opIrani angener alQassem
SoleimaniandI r
aqimi l
iti
acommanderAbuMahdial -Muhandisay earagoont hisday.
Whi l
et het hreatofwarwasav ert
edaf teraf ew closecal l
s,t heunpr edictabl eMr
Trump maydel ivera par ti
ng shott hatcan dest abili
sean al readyf ragiler egion.
Mor eover,Iranhassai di twi l
lenr i
chur anium upt il
l20pc,f urt herabandoni ngi ts
commi t
ment st othe2015nucl eardeal ,anaccor dt heUSl eftuni laterall
y .Inr eaction
totheAmer i
canmov esi nther egion,MrZar i
fhassai dhiscount rywi ll“ openl yand
dir
ect l
y”defendi t
self .

Needlesst osay ,anyprovocati

onf r
om theTr umpadmi nistrationatt hisjuncturewil
l
beaf oll
yofthehi ghestorder,
thought hepresident’
sall
iesint heMi ddleEast—I sr
ael
andsomeoft heGul fArabs— woul dnotopposei t.Itwi llinstant l
yt orpedoany
chancesofar approchementbetweent heUSandI r
anthatJoeBi denmaybepl anni
ng.
Therefore,wiserel ementsinWashi ngtonneedt oensur et hatnobr i
nkmanshi pis
resort
edt oint hetransi
ti
onperiod.Letthenewadmi ni
strati
ont akeov er,andgi veita
chancet omendf enceswithIr
an.Meanwhi l
e,theIsl
amicRepubl i
cshoul dal sorefr
ain
from fur
therenr i
chmentandt r
yt oengagewi ththenewAmer icanpr esi dent.WhileUS-
Irani
anr appr
ochementi shighlydiffi
cult
,itiswor thtryingwhent heal ternat
iveis
confli
ct.

Publ
ishedi
nDawn,
Januar
y3r
d,2021

03493893229
 03-
01-
2021
Opposi
ti
onuni
ty
Edi
tor
ial03Jan2021
THEnewannouncementbyt hePaki stanDemocr aticMov ementt hati twi l
lpar ti
cipate
i
nt heupcomi ngby -pollsi sapr omi singi ndi catorofi t
smember s’abi l
ityt oshow
fl
exi bi
lit
yfort hesakeoft heal l
iance—andasi gnt hatt hegov ernmentshoul dnott ake
thePDM t hreatl i
ght l
y.Thatt he11- par tyal l
iancewi llcont esttheby -electionsont wo
Nat i
onalAssembl yseat sandsi xpr ovincialassembl yseat sdespi tesomeoft he
member sexpr essingr eservationsear li
ershowst hat,whi ledi fferencesofopi nion
existonsomekeyi ssues,t hePDM hast her esolvet ost ayt oget herandper sistini t
s
opposi ti
ont ot hegov ernment .Thedi fferencesar eobv i
ous.Maul anaFazl urRehmani s
ahar dli
nerwi thnot hing t ol ose;Mar yam Nawazi sr eel i
ng f rom t hegov ernment
onsl aughtonherf ami l
yandpar ty ;andt hePPPi shedgi ngi tsbet s.Butt hecommon
goal ,asev i
dencedbyt hePDM chai rman’ sspeechonFr iday ,isthatt hesepar ti
eswi l
l
nol ongert oleratethei nt er
ferenceoft hesecur i
tyest ablishmenti nmat t
er sofci vil
ian
gov ernance.Whi l
et hev ari
ousmember soft heal lianceusewor dsofv aryingdegr ees
ofsev er
itywhenspeaki ngoft hisal legedmeddl i
ng— somehar shandot hersl essso
—t hemessagesbei ngsentt obot ht hegov ernmentandsecur i
t yest ablishmentar e
from onest ageandpl atform.ThePDM hassev er alhur dlest oov ercomeandcr i
tical
i
ssuest or esol v
eint hecomi ngday s— r esignat ionsandt heSenat eel ect i
onsbei ng
thekeychal lenges— andi tsfut urewi l
lbedet ermi nedbyt heal l
iance’ sabi li
tyt obui l
d
consensusi napol iti
cal l
yuncer tainenv i
r onment .Butt hemov ement ’scommongoal
thusf arhasbeenauni fyingfact or.

Iftheal li
ancemanagest ost ayt oget herandmov ef or wardev enwi t
ht hecomi ng
challenges,t he gov ernmentand t he secur i
tyest ablishmentmustnott ake their
demandsandwar ningsl ightly.Thet hr
eatenedl ongmar ch,ifi tmat erialises,can
tr
iggeraseasonofdr ead.I twasnott ool ongagot hatt hecount r
y,especi all
ythe
cit
izensandadmi nistrationi nt hecapi tal,werebot hfixat edwi thandpar alysedbyMr
Khan’ sant i
-governmentdhar na.Al thoughhi skeydemandswer enotmetandt he
dharnawasev entuallycal ledof f,t
hepr olongedsi t-
inmadegov ernanceandsecur i
tya
hugechal l
enge.Thepol i
ticaluncer taintywaspal pableandi tseffectsont heeconomy
aswel last hemessaget ot hei nternat i
onalcommuni t
ywer esignifi
cant .APDM- l
ed
l
ongmar ch,givent henumberofmemberpar ti
esandt hesi zeoft hei
rralliest husfar,
willbeat hornint hegov er nment ’
ssi de.Dependi ngonwhatki ndofpowershowt he
all
iancecanpul lof fandhow l ongi twi l
lbesust ai
nedf or,itisnott ooear l
yt ot hi
nk
aboutwhi chsidewi llprev ail.

03493893229
 03-
01-
2021
ForMrKhan t othink t
hisis goi
ng tofizzl
e outand go awayis naiv
e.Int hi
s
envi
ronment
,thegovernmentmustendi t
spost ur
ingandref
lectont
hef al
loutofan
upcomingcr
isi
s.Di
alogueisawisenextst
ep.

Publ
ishedi
nDawn,
Januar
y3r
d,2021

Rs10m f
ine
Edi
tor
ial03Jan2021
THANKFULLY,t herear esomequar t
ersi nPakistanwi l
li
ngt ouset heirauthorit
yt o
signalt he unacceptabi l
ity off or ci
bly disappearing peopl e.Usual l
y,f ormuch of
offici
aldom,theissueofmi ssingpeopl ei st
heel ephanti nt heroom t heyhadmuch
ratherignore.OnFr iday ,theI slamabadHi ghCour tt ookt heunpr ecedentedst epof
slappingaRs10m f ineont heaut horiti
esf ort
heirfailureintraci
ngt hewher eaboutsof
Ghul am Qadirwhohasbeenmi ssingsi ncesixy ears.Just i
ceMohsi nKay anisingled
outt hedefenceandi nteriorsecr etari
esandt heSSPandSHOoft hepol icestation
concer nedast hegov ernmentf unctionariesatf aultint hemat t
er.Thecour tt hus
disposedoft hepet i
tionf i
ledbyMrQadi r’
sbrother,butwar nedtheaut horit
iesthatif
hewasnotr ecoveredi namont h’st i
me, theywouldf aceadepar t
ment alinquiry
.

Ithasof tenfallent ot hecour tstol endaneart othedesper atef amili

esoft hev icti
ms
andat temptt oshaket heaut horit
iesoutoft heirtorpor .Formerchi efj usti
ceoft he
Supr emeCour tI f
tikharChaudhr ymadeaconcer t
edef for ttoaddr esst hei ssue,ev en
summoni ngintelli
genceof fi
cial
sf orquest i
oning— whi chwasunhear dof .Howev er,
asf araspenal ti
esgo,t heRs10m f i
neist hemostsev erebyf ar.FinesofRs2m hav e
beeni mposedt wi cebef ore,alsobyt heI HC,inJul y2020andNov ember2018f orthe
samer easononr elevantgov ernmentf unctionaries.TheCommi ssi
onofI nquiryon
Enf orcedDi sappear anceswhoset wofoldmandat eistot racet hemi ssingandhol dthe
perpet rators account abl e has ut terl
yf ail
ed i nt he l atter function.Despi tei ts
consi der abl
epower s,thecommi ssionappear sindi f
ferentt othei mpor tanceofi tsrole
i
n cur bing enfor ced di sappear ances,t ot heangui sh oft hev icti
ms’f ami l
ies.Its
Nov ember2020pr essr eleasenot edthat6, 854casesi nt otalhadcomebef or ethe
commi ssion.Oft hese,4, 782caseshadbeendi sposedofbyNov30.‘ Disposal ’here
meanssi mplyt hatt hewher eaboutsoft hemi ssingi ndiv i
dual shav ebeendet er
mi ned.
Theent r
iesoft he21cases‘ di
sposedof ’inNov emberar etelli
ng:t heymani festno
attemptt ogett ot hebot tom ofwhyt hemi ssingper sonwasabduct edint hef ir
st
placeort opunisht heper petrators.Instead, t
her eisapassi veaccept anceoft hef acts.
Enf orceddi sappear ancesar eanegr egiousv iolati
onoff undament alrightst osecur ity

03493893229
 03-
01-
2021
ofpersonandduepr
ocess.Doest
hecommi
ssi
onhav
enodesi
ret
oseer
ealj
ust
ice
done?

Publ
ishedi
nDawn,
Januar
y3r
d,2021

Opi
nions
Gameoft
hrones
AbdulMoi
zJaf
eri
i03Jan2021
“
Wheny
oupl
ayt
hegameoft
hrones;
youwi
nory
oudi
e.”—Geor
geR.
R.Mar
ti
n

IFyourunapol i
ti
calpar t
yont hebasisofmy thsandmemor iesrathert
handeli
ver
y
andgov ernance,reali
tyoftenhasanunpl easantwayofst r
iki
ng.Wheni tdoes—
thr
ought hedi scoveryofabi l
li
on-
doll
arghostaccountr acketyouhav eall
egedl
y
abett
edandbenef i
tedfrom t
hroughyourdecade-l
ongcont
rolofapr ovi
nce—youhave
todigdeepintomy thologytokeepthi
ngsafloat
.

Whyi sthereanal l
egat i
ont hatadeadmani spay ingf orthecustomsdut iesoft he
vehicl
esyouhav edeclaredasy ourasset ?Becausewecar rytheBhut tolegacy ,and
havealway sbeenper secuted.Whyi si tallegedt haty ourthenf i
nancemi nisterand
now chiefmi nist
erappar ent l
ygav e subsi dies to a sugarcar t
ely ourf ami l
yhas
i
nterestsin?Because t he establi
shmenthat es the Bhut tos.Whyi s a company ,
all
egedlyownedbyy ou,hav ingameni tylandal l
ottedt oitinani ll
egalmanner ,af t
er
which itpartnerswith a pr i
vatedev el
operf ortheconst ruct
ion ofa sky scraper?
BecauseBhut toisthenamet heest abli
shmentt rulyfears.Whyi sital l
egedt hata
modelwasbei ngescortedwi thhalf-a-milli
ondol l
ar sincasht hrought heairpor tbya
for
mermemberofAsi fZar dari’sst
aff ,whor eportedlycalledRehmanMal ik’sbr other
whencaught ?BecauseBhut t
oi sthegr eatest.

Whent herearenoanswer stoquest

ionsofaccount
abi
li
tyandtroublel
urksar
oundthe
corner,youpostureagainstthesel
ectorsandthesel
ected,t
hreateni
ngt osi
dewi t
h
othersoutoffavour,gi
vi
ngt hei
mpressiont
hatyouwil
lbri
ngthehousedownf orwhat
i
sr i
ght.Butthen,whenreali
tyst
ri
kes,t
herearel
imit
swithi
nwhichy oumustoperat
e.

03493893229
 03-
01-
2021
Soyouridethet
ideofresistance,
andlookser i
ous.Yousitonast agewhen‘select
or s’
ar
enamedbyy ourall
ies,andt henf eignsur pri
seandi gnorancelat
er.Whent he
pr
essureri
sesbecauseoft henami ng,yout akeamont h-
longbr eaktocampaigninan
el
ecti
onsomef eelyouhav ebeenpr omi sedasacompr omise.Oncey ouhav elost
whatwaspromised,youreturnandshowgr eaterangerandf i
ercerpost
uri
ng.

Butiti salwayspost ur
ing.Afterall,i
fthenextel ect
ionswer etobef r
eeandf air,what
mor ewoul dy ougain?Thepr ovi
ncei sy oursalready,andy ourpopul arit
yout si
deofi t
minuscul e.Therearet woway syoucanachi evegreaterpower .Onei sbywayoft he
promi sey ouhav ereceivedf rom alli
esl i
keNawazShar i
f,whol eav eitt oyouand
othersi nthePDM t otaket heprimemi nister’
sseataf tert
hemov ementi sasuccess.
Fort his,notonl ywouldt hemov ementneedt obeanunpr ecedent edsuccess,y ou
would al so hav eto wi n againsta mor ef it
ting compromi se candi datef ort he
opposi ti
onieFazl urRahman.Andy oural l
ieswoul dhav etohol dt ot heirpromi ses,
whicht heyhav en’
talwaysdonei nt hepast .

I
tisal
wayspostur
ing.Af
teral
l,
ift
henextel
ect
ionswer
etobef
reeandf
air
,whatmor
e
woul
dyougain?

Thesecondwayi sbymar chingtot hedrumst hathaveal waysbeenpl ay

edint he
background.Thesel ector
shav er epeatedl
yshownt hei
rinterestinyouasback- up
candidat
ef ort hetopspot .A wel l
-spokeninher i
torofst atusfrom Si
ndh,withno
supportfrom theheartl
andofPunj abi saper fectfit
.Evenbet t
erthathecomeswi th
str
ingsattached,orwithpursestr
ingscaught .Whobet t
ertokeepwai t
inginthewings
asthegr eatKhangoesar oundaccept inghi
sl ackofunpr eparednesswhil
stsayi
ngno
oneshoul dbethrusti
ntogov er
nmentl i
kehi
spar tywas?

Butitmustal llookreal.Soy oui nv it

ey oural l
iest ot hegr avesofy ourev er-l
iv
ing
symbol sofopposi t
iontot heest ablishment .Youl ety ouralli
esspr eadgent leflowers
andgi veshar pspeeches.Andt heny our emi ndt hem ofr eal i
ty.Acent r
alexecut i
ve
commi tteesuddenl ybecomesr elev antin apar tyr un bymy thsand f amily.This
commi tteepointsoutthedi sasterthatt her esignat i
onswoul dbe, andhowt heSenat e
beingleftuncontestedwoul dmeanaf ull
-scal eassaul tont heConst itution.Whent he
CEC newsl eaks,your ubbishi tandaskf orev eryonet owai tfort heof fi
cialpress
conferencewher ethepost uringisr epeatedandt hei ntentexposed.Resi gnati
onswi ll
becol l
ected,butwewi l
lcont esttheSenat eel ecti
ons.Wear ewi ththePDM andt he
pri
memi ni
stermustr esign,butwewi llcont estanel ect
iont hePDM want sust o
opposebyr esigni
ng,becausei t’st heonl ywayi tfeel sthepr imemi nist
ercanbe
pressuredtor esi
gn.Hereist hef i
gleafwear epreparedt oof f
er.Becar eful—wedon’ t
haveapl entif
ulsupply
.

03493893229
 03-
01-
2021
Thisisther eal
it
yyoudealtwi t
hwhent heSenateelecti
onslastcamear oundandt he
chiefmi nist
erofBalochi
stansuddenl yneededt ober epl
acedwi thamanwi th544
constit
uencyv ot
es;whenthechai rmanSenat eneededt obeelectedandy oual
lowed
forthei ncumbentfrom withi
nt hedeepestf ol
dsoft heestabl
ishedorder;whent he
samechai rmanwast ober epl
acedandy ourmember swhost oodagainsthim hours
earli
erforgottovot
eagainsthimi nsecret
.

Formostpeopl
ewhoknowhowhar di tistobalancemy thswit
hr eali
ty,
itwasalway sa
quest
ionofwhen,noti f.Andwheny oupl aythegameoft hr
onesf orasl ongast he
PPPhas,your ecogniset hatr
eachingt het opspot,orev enkeepingy ourprov
ince’s
ki
ngdom needssacr i
fice.Experi
encet hent eachesyout hati
tissacr i
ficethethrone
demands— itdoesn’tcar eifyouoffery ourownort hatofothers.Becausewheny ou
pl
aythegameoft hrones, i
t’
sbesttowi nandl etother
sdi e.

Ift
helastt woy earsofthi
sgov ernmentandi t
sregardforparli
ament ar
ygover
nancei s
any mar ker,t hen forpr ov
inci
alaut onomy ,forconsti
t ut
ionalrule,and fort he
democr ati
cpr ocess,winterisapproaching.Onceagain,thef amil
ymemberwhol eft
thewindowopenandl etinthechil
listhePeoplesParty.Mary am mustst
il
lbeablet o
smellther osesshespr eadwi t
hsuchcar eatGarhiKhudaBakhsh.Shemustpr epare
tospreadsomemor eonhernar rat
iveburiedbyBil
awalandhi sCEC.

Thewr
it
eri
sal
awy
er.

Twi
tt
er:@j
afer
ii

Publ
ishedi
nDawn,
Januar
y3r
d,2021

PDM obi
tsar
epr
emat
ure
AbbasNasi
r03Jan2021
THEPaki st
anDemocr ati
cMov ement(PDM)hasbecomei neff
ecti
veforallpr act
ical
purposesandt hev astlydiff
eringagendasoft hecoalesci
ngparti
esarepul l
ingitin
dif
ferentdirect
ionswi thforceenought oteartheall
ianceapart
.Byandlargethisisthe
widelyprevalentvi
ewi nt hemedi awhich,throughtheuseofcar r
otandst i
ck,most ly
thelatter
,hasbeenco- optedbyt hehybri
dr egimeandechoest helatt
er’sstanceon
mosti ssues.Thisisn’ttosayt hatther
eisn’ttheoddanalystwhoactual
lybeli
ev esthi
s
tobet hecase.

Swimmingagai
nsttheti
detakescourageandst
rengt
h.Thi
scolumni
sthasneit
herbut
hastheaudaci
tyt
ol i
vedangerousl
y.SohereiswhatIthi
nk.Thi
slastFr
iday’
sPDM

03493893229
 03-
01-
2021
summi
tdeal
tef
fect
ivel
ywi
thwhatcoul
dhav
ebeenaser
ioust
hreatt
oit
suni
ty.

Ithasdemonstr
atedt
hatthecoal
escingpart
ieshavetheabi
li
tytol
istent
oeachother
andagreewitheachot
her’spoi
ntofv i
ewiftheargumentspr
esentedarecompel
li
ng.
Poli
ti
calaccommodation i
n any democrat
ic set-
up i
s heal
thy and mustensure
l
ongevit
y.

Evenget ti
ngt othispointwiththeunityi ntacti sani ncredi
blef eat.Remembert he
envir
onmentbef or ethe2018electi
ons,i nfact ,sincebeforet hef al
lingoutbet ween
themi l
it
aryandthePML- Nin2016.ThePTIdhar na(2014)andmuchl atertheTehreek
-e-
Labbaiksit-
ini
nFai zabadhadpower fulinstigators.Inther un-
upt ot heelecti
ons,i
t
i
snosecr ethowthemedi awas‘ handl
ed’ ,howweak- kneedy etelectablepolit
ici
ansin
southernPunjabwer eherdedtowardsonepar tyandhowan‘ account abil
it
y’courtwas
‘
managed’ t
odeli
v erperf
ectl
yti
medv erdictsagai nstthePML- N.

Allthatwasmadepossi blebecausenaïvelypro-
rappr
ochementPML- Nl eader
shel
d
back,r ef
usingtotaketothestr
eetsmeani ngf
ull
y,whenastut
epoli
ti
cianswoul dhav
e
str
uck,suchasont hedayNawazSharifandMar yam NawazShari
far r
ivedinLahor
e
aftertheirsent
enci
ng.

Unli
ke some opposi
ti
on mov ements ofthe pastwhere power
fulbacker
s were
dir
ecti
ngthepoli
ti
calpl
ay,thePDM isperhapsthefir
stinmanydecadeswherethe
sandbaggedf
acadeandthoseshelt
eri
ngbehinditar
ebothbei
ngtar
geted.

Af
terwar
dingof
fthr
eat
stoi
tsuni
ty,
ist
heopposi
ti
onanycl
osert
oit
sul
ti
mat
egoal
?

Theexter
nalsecuri
tythr
eatsthatPakist
anhasf acedfrom anumberofdir
ect
ionshas
meantan abnor mall
ylarge,well-
resourced,infl
uent
ial
,and shi
elded f
rom publi
c
scr
uti
nysecuri
tyapparat
usincludi
ngitsintel
li
gencearms.

Apol i
ti
calmovementt hatcall
sintoquest
iontherol
eofsomeoft heleadi
ngli
ghtsof
thatapparat
usindomest icpoli
ti
csdoessoagainstextr
emelyunf
avourabl
eodds.The
diceisloadedf ur
theragainsttheoppositi
onwheni tisslammedf orunder
mi ni
ng
nati
onalsecuri
tyandfurtheri
ngexter
nalenemies’agenda.I
tsact
ualcri
me:cal
li
ngfor
consti
tuti
onalr
ule.

Imaydi sagr
eewit
ht hePPPonmanycount s,buthonest
lyfeelt
hepart
ywasrightt
o
takethestancet
hatt hebattl
ehastobef oughtonmanyf r
ontsandnowalkov
ersbe
concededanywhere.Irecal
lalongconv
ersationwit
hBenazirBhutt
oin1988.

MsBhut todescri
bedtheMRDboycot
toft
he1985elect
ionsasamistakeandsaidby
announcingparty
lesspol
lsZi
asetatr
apf
ort
heoppositi
onandthelatt
erwalkedint
o
i
t.Nev eragain,shetoldme,woul
dherpar
tyrepeatthatmist
ake.Itmustsound

03493893229
 03-
01-
2021
i
roni
calt
oday,butshesubstantiat
edherargumentbypoi nti
ngt owardstheemer gence
ofNawazSharifasaleaderasar esul
tofthatelect
oralexercisewhen,despitehaving
beenint
hePunj abcabi
netsince1980,hehadbeenapol it
icalnon-ent
it
ytil
lthen.This
i
swhathappenswheny ouleav ethefi
eldopen,
shesai d.

Atthisjuncture,
resi
gningfr
om theassembli
escoul
dwellhavebeenasimil
armist
ake.
Constit
utionalexpertshavesaid even i
fev er
yopposi
ti
on memberr esi
gned f
rom
par
liament ,t
heelector
alcoll
egefort
heSenatewouldremainint
act
.Thatwouldgi
vea
walkovertot hePTIanditsal
li
es.

Aboy cottofby
-elections,andmor ei mport
ant l
yt heSenateelecti
ons,coul
dwel lhav
e
gif
tedt hePTIandi tsalli
essuf fi
cientnumer icalascendancyi naj oi
ntsessionof
parl
iamenttopotentiall
yreverset he18t hAmendment .Anysuchr oll
backwouldputan
untoldstrai
nont hef ederation’ sunity.Andy etpower fulelementsinthepower
equati
on conti
nuallyt ryand f ind argument s,largel
yspur ious,fora roll
back.By
ret
ainingit
sabi
li
tyt oblockt hat,theoppositi
onmayhav edonei tsdutybythepeople.

Afterwardi
ngoffthr
eatstoitsuni
ty,istheoppositi
onanyclosertoit
sulti
mat egoal?
No.Ithasal ongwaytogo.Iunder standthatthePPPi sgeari
ngupi tsorganisat
ion
andcadresforalongmar chtowardsRawalpindi
-I
slamabad.AsfortheJUI-Frankand
fi
le,whereMaulanaFazlurRehmanenj oysphenomenalsuppor tdespi
teattempt sto
createf
issur
es,anunquesti
onedfoll
owingwillbeready
.

Thequestionmar kisoverthevi
talPML-
Npr eparat
ions.Wi
thMaryam Nawazinthe
foref
ront
,thepartynar
rati
veisgaini
ngt
ract
ionamongsuppor t
ersi
nthestrat
egi
call
y
vit
alcentralPunjab.Thisis evi
dentfr
om t he cr
owds she i
s gat
heri
ng i
n even
unannouncedcornermeeti
ngs.

Thisisn’tt osayalliswell.Givenhowthepar tycededcontrolofi

tsLahorejal
salast
montht ot heJUI-Fworkers,questi
onshavebeenr aisedaboutit
sorgani
sat
ionalabi
li
ty.
A power fulnar r
ati
vewi l
lneedanor ganisati
onalst r
uct
urethatcangalv ani
seand
channeli
set hehugesuppor tt
hepartysaysitenjoy
s.

I
tmaywel lbewhatisneededintheev entofadecisi
veface-
off.CanthePML-N
r
einv
enti
tsel
ffr
om anel
ect
oralpowerhousei
ntoast
reetfor
cetoreckonwit
h?Li
keso
manycommentator
sIwi
shIcouldanswerthi
squest
ionassomuchhi ngesoni
t.

Whenev entopsecurit
yoffi
cial
sandtheiracolyt
est al
kint
ermsoft heneedf
ora
‘gr
andnat i
onaldi
alogue’thereisimpl
icitacceptanceoft
hev al
idi
tyofthePDM
nar
rat
ive.Thedeci
dingfact
orwi l
lbehow muchpuncht heal
li
ancecanpacktoback
i
tsnar
rativ
e.

03493893229
 03-
01-
2021
Thewr
it
eri
saf
ormeredi
torofDawn.

abbas.
nasi
r@hot
mai
l
.com

Publ
ishedi
nDawn,
Januar
y3r
d,2021

Atal
ossf
orwor
ds
Anj
um Al
taf03Jan2021
IRECENTLYv isi
tedpubli
chighschool
sintwov i
ll
agesinMandiBahauddi
ndistri
ct.I
wasimpressedbyt heinsi
ghtsofthei
rheadsont hemeri
tsofvari
ouslanguagesof
i
nstr
ucti
on.Theyr egr
ettednotbeingconsul
tedont hematt
erandIcouldn’tagree
morewiththem.

Ihadonei ncongruousvisuali
mpressi
onper t
aini
ngt ot
henamesoft heschool
sthat
mightseem per i
pheraltomany .Invi
ll
ageswi theveryst
udentanat i
vespeakerof
PunjabiandUr duthemedi um ofinst
ruct
ion,thenamesofschools,writ
teninboth
UrduandEngl i
sh,wer ecomprisedent
irel
yofEngl i
shwords— ‘gov
ernment’,‘
gir
ls’
,
‘
high’,
and‘school’
.

Iwonderifthisstr
ikesany oneasodd?I twoul
dbef i
net oref
ertoaschoolthusina
reportwri
tt
eni nEnglishbutshouldn’tithaveanindigenousnameaswel l?InIndi
a,
onecomesacr oss‘ kendr
iyav i
dyal
aya’andinIranIam suretherei
ssomeequi v
alent
of‘madressah-imarkazi.
’(Inconversati
on,i
tbecamecl eart
herewerenolocalt
erms
forheadmasterorheadmi str
esseither.
)

Wehaveper f
ectl
ygoodwor dsinUr duf
or‘
government’(
‘sar
kar’
)and‘
gir
ls’
(‘l
arkiyan’)
.
‘
Madressah’wast heter
mf or‘school
’exceptthati
thasbeenshunnedandl eftfor
i
nst
it
uti
onsi mparti
ngrel
igi
ont othepoor.Butwehav e‘maktab’asanalter
nat i
ve.It
wasonly‘
high’t
hatstumpedme.

Thelackofalocalnameforsuchavi
tali
nsti
tut
ionmademewonderwhatgoesoni n
themindsofparentswhentheysendthei
rdaught er
stoapl acecall
ed‘ Gover
nment
Gir
lsHighSchool’.Dotheythi
nkiti
sanal i
eni nsti
tut
ion,acoloni
allegacywithno
equi
valenti
nourowntradi
ti
on?

Shoul
dn’
tschool
shav
eindi
genousnamest
oo?

Perhapsnot.Idoubtifpeopler
acktheirbrainsoversuchquest
ions.Chi
ldr
enhav eto
got oiskool
/sakool,gormintorpryv
at e,andthat’sthat.But
,atanotherlevel
,the
questi
oni si
ntr
igui
ng.Itiscert
ainl
ynott hecaset hatther
ewasnoeducat ioninthe

03493893229
 03-
01-
2021
Punjabbefor
etheBr
iti
shandwehav eG.W.Leit
ner’
s1882bookHist
oryofIndigenous
Educati
oninIndi
atov ouchfort
hat
.Thei nst
it
uti
onsmusthavehadl ocalnamesi n
thoseti
mes—Isawr emnantsofpat
hshalasandgurukul
sandt
her
ewer emadr essahs,
ofcourse.

Thinki
ngal ongtheseli
nes,itoccur
redt
omet hatwehav enowordfor‘
coll
ege’and
al
though‘jamia’isaperfectequi
val
entf
oruni
versi
ty(
therei
stheJamiaMil
li
aIsl
amia
i
nDel hiandt he1,000-
year-ol
dJamiaAlAzharinCai
ro),wedon’templ
oythatter
m
ei
ther.

Thereismuchl essofal ossofwor dsinPersian— pri

mar yschoolisdabestan,hi
gh
schoolisdabirestan,col
legeisdaneshkadeh,
anduniversi
tyis‘daneshgah’
.Hindial
so
hasr ev
erse-engineeredt hevocabulary— vidyal
ayaforschool ,mahav i
dyal
ayafor
coll
ege,andv i
shvav i
dyal
ay af
oruniversi
ty.

WhenIl ookedupwebsi tesofi nsti

tuti
onsi nIranandI ndia,Isaw t heiri
ndigenous
namesal ongwi t
ht heirEngli
sht r
anslati
onswi t
hbot hdi splayedont hei
rrespecti
ve
l
ogos. Thus, Daneshgah- i-
Tehran ( Tehran Uni versi
ty), Jawahar l
al Nehr u
Vishvav
idyal
aya( Jawahar l
alNehr u Universi
ty),Bharatiya Praudyogikee Sansthaan
(I
ndianInsti
tut
eofTechnol ogy),Bharati
yaPr abandhSanst haan( IndianInsti
tuteof
Management ),
etc.Allhavewebsi t
esinthel ocallanguageaswel l
.

ContrastthatwithLahoreUniversit
yofManagementSci encest hatwasconceivedand
borninEngl i
shandhasnotf elttheneedt oinventalocalnameorof ferawebsitein
Urdu.(‘Lums,’ontheotherhand, hasenteredthevocabular
yasal ocalter
m whichled
toamer ci
ful
lyabort
edmov ebyt heuniversit
ytorenameitsel
f‘LumsU’ .
)

Allthisisint
ri
guingbecauseofthegreattradit
ionoflear
ninginthesubcontinentwit
h
l
andmar kcontr
ibut
ionstomathematics,astr
onomy ,
archi
tectur
e,phi
losophy,theol
ogy,
poli
tics,andsexualit
y.Thescholarshipint hesefiel
dsmusthav ehadi nstit
uti
onal
foundations.

Thef i
rsti nsti
tut
ionofhi gherlearningi nt hewor l
d,auni versi
tywithov er10,000
foreignst udents,wasf oundedint he10t hcent uryBCi nTakshila,now inPakistan.
Such gr eatnames as Char aka,Pani ni
,Kautil
ya,and Chandr agupta Maur y
a wer e
student satt hi
sinstit
uti
on.Whatwasi tcall
ed?Whenast udentsetoutforit,
wheredid
hesayhewasgoi ng?Nalanda,therenownedf i
fth-
centuryADmonast er
y-cum-centre
ofl earning,wascal l
edaMahav ihar
a.Theseuni ver
sit
iesmusthav ehadsubsi diary
i
nst it
utionswi t
hdi st
inctnames.

Iknowthisi
snotsomet
hingthatconsumesourTVchannel
sbutal
thoughIcan’tpl
ace
myf i
ngeronit
,Ihav
eaf eel
ingthatsomewher
e,deepdown,t
helossofwor dsmight

03493893229
 03-
01-
2021
mat ter
.Irespecttheopini
onoft hosewhor espondt hatlanguagesgr owbyabsor bing
newwor ds,t
hatoldnameswer enotnativeeitherbutbor rowedf r
om Sanskrit
, Per
sian
orAr abi
c,andt hatther
ereall
ywasnot raditi
onofmasssecul areducati
onbef orethe
Bri
tish.Butwhatoft helossofper fect
lygoodwor dsl ike‘ustaad’and‘ ustaani’or
‘
pirach’and‘piyali
’fort
hatmat t
er?Whatdoesourshr inkingvocabularysayaboutus?
Iti
sani ssuewor thathoughtonal azywinterevening.

Thewr
it
eri
saf
ormerdeanoft
heSchool
ofHumani
ti
esandSoci
alSci
encesatLums.

Publ
ishedi
nDawn,
Januar
y3r
d,2021

Bansal
eofaci
d
E.
N.Bandi
al03Jan2021
CHANDr aat2015,Karachi:i
nadi mlyli
tneighbourhood,anagitatedmancl encheda
vial
,asmoonl i
ghtrefr
actedthroughthetr
anslucentli
quidinsi
deit.Sti
ll
nessev ent ual
ly
brokewi t
hani ntensi
fyingenginegrowlandt yrescreechov erl
appingaspl ashand
i
ncessantwai l
ing.Themanhadsuccessf ull
yhur l
edacidathi st arget,19-y ear-
old
Raheela,andinadvertentl
ysplatt
eredherinfantnephew.Ast heaci dtrickl
eddown
thei
rfaces,ski
ncrumbl edanddissolv
ed,l
eavingscarsthatwouldhauntt hem f orever.

Today,Raheelalooksi
nt hemirrort
of i
ndtwopassagesi nsteadofanose,acr ooked
sl
itinsteadofl i
psandcont ortedski
n;shesuf fer
sf r
om v isualandot hersensor y
i
mpai r
ment sandbreathi
ngdi
f f
icul
ti
es.Raheel
aisoneof9, 340v icti
msofacidat t
acks
i
nPaki stanbetween1994and2018.Wi t
hescalati
ngacidv iolence,thegovernment
adoptedpre-andpost-
att
ackmeasur estocurbthecrimeandmi t
igatethel
ossest hat
surv
ivorsendure.

Effortstor ehabil
it
atethem wer emadet hr
oughpr ogrammesl ikeNaiZi ndagi
,andt he
Acid and Bur n Cr
imeAct ,2018,butdet er
ri
ng t hecrimei t
selft hr
ough increased
account abili
tyandext endedpr i
sonsent ences( 14y earstol i
fetime,undert hePPC)
wasi neffectiveasPakistan’sfr
ailcr
iminaljusti
cesy stem hasadi rtyhabitofelevat
ing
thei nfl
uent i
alabov et helaw.Vi ct
imsar edepr i
vedofspeedyt r
ial
sascasesar e
transfer
r edf r
om anti
-terr
orism tosessionscour tsanddeni edj usti
ceasl awsuitsare
ruthl
esslydi smissed,sentencesunfair
lyreducedandbai lswr ongfull
ygr ant
ed.

Oneofthecul
pri
tsinRaheel
a’scase,arel
ati
vel
yprivi
legedman,f
earl
esslyr
oamsthe
str
eet
sofKarachiwhil
eshehashadt orel
ocatewithherfamil
yinsearchofathr
eat
-
fr
ee li
fe.Power play
ing t
o discri
minat
e against powerl
ess women has been

03493893229
 03-
01-
2021
i
nsuf fer
abl
esince2000,whenaf ormerPunj
abMPAwasexoner atedafterappar
entl
y
burninghiswifewithacid,andagainin2018,whentheconst
it
utionalpeti
ti
onfil
ed
againsthim af
terhi
swif
ecommi tt
edsuici
dewasdisposedof
.

Themaj orit
yofacid-attackv i
ctimsar ewomenpuni shedf orhur t
ingmen’ segosby
tur
ningdownt hei
rpr oposalsorr esisti
ngt heiroppr essionandmi sogy ny.Fort hei
r
att
empt stoasserttheirri
ghts,promi sedunderr eli
gionandt helaw, theyaremut il
ated
—immer singthem inself-doubt
, ri
ddingt hem ofsel f-
wor thandi sol
at ingthem,thereby
sati
sfy i
ngt hei
ratt
acker s’urget oav enger ej
ectionandr egainpatri
ar chalchar
ge.Our
society’
schauv ini
sti
cv alues,promot ingaggr essionasameanst or epressandmoul d
women,r epeat
edlyr esulti n human r ightsv i
olations t hatourmal e-dominated
l
egislaturescursori
lycount er
.

Thecasualsal
eoft
hisl
iqui
dremai
nsaconst
antt
hreatt
owomen.

Itapprov edtheAcidCont rolCrimeandPr eventionAct,2011,amendi ngthePoi sons

Actt olicenseandmoni t
orsal eofaci d.Enteringbuy er
s’IDs,signat uresanddat eof
purchasemayf aci
lit
atet r
ackingof fenders,howev erther i
diculousr ecordingoft he
supposed“pur posef orwhi chi t(poison/aci
d)i srequired”i sasuper fi
cialshotat
controll
ingacidv i
olence,asr etail
ersar euntr
ainedt obearthebur denofdet ermini
ng
purchaser s’mensr eatocommi tacr i
minaloffence.Imposingf i
nesandpr i
sont erms
forunl i
censed orunaut horised sales and purchases was al so f eckl
ess as l ocal
mar ketscontinuedt ovendaci d,andf igur
esj umpedt oanest i
mat ed150at tacksper
year,settingarecordhighof210v icti
msi n2014.

Stri
kingwi thaneasi l
yacquir
edweaponsuchasaci dcausesi rr
ev er
sibl
edamagewi th
anef fort
lesst hrow,asopposedt ootherreadil
yav ai
labl
eweaponsl ikekni v
es,which
requireforcefulattackswithprecisi
on.Barri
sterKhadij
aSiddiqi,aknifeattacksurvi
vor,
says,“Ev en t hough t he att
ack traumat i
sed and shattered me phy si
call
y and
emot ionall
y,Iwasf ort
unateenought owitnessmywoundsheal ; aci
d-at
tacksur vi
vors,
ont heot herhand,hav etoacceptper manencyoft heirdi
sfi
gur ementandscar s.The
easewi thwhi chaci dcanbepr ocuredforaslit
tl
easRs80i sther eal
problem. ”

Sel l
ing thislethall iqui
di n Paki
stan fort r
ivi
alpur poses like uncl ogging drains
threatenst heri
ghtt ol i
feandsecur i
ty.Acknowledgingthatacidat tackski l
lorresultin
per manentdi sabil
ities,stripidenti
ti
es,andcausement alandphy si
calagony ,t he
cour tscondemnt hem asacr i
meagai nstthestate,abi ggercr i
met hanmur der,and
yett herootcauser emai ns.Over-
the-
countersalesandunl i
censedpr oduct i
on,impor t
,
transport,stor
ageanduseofaci dmustbest ri
ctl
ypr ohi
bitedandst r
ingentlyenforced.
Pr event
at i
vepolici
ngandawar enesscampai gnsonwomen’ srights,genderequi tyand
equal i
tyf orPakistanimenandwomenshoul dbel aunchedi nabi dt oabolisht he

03493893229
 03-
01-
2021
cul
tureofaccept i
ngbr utali
t yagai
nstwomen.Cr eat
inganegalit
ari
anenv ir
onment
basedoni mpart
ial
it
y,toleranceandr especti
svit
al.TheQuaidmayhav elef
tPakistan
wit
ht heideol
ogyofpr otectingwomen,butt oday,i
ndif
fer
encetowardsthesev i
cti
ms
ofviol
encetai
ntsPakistan’simage.

Thewr
it
eri
sal
awy
er.

Publ
ishedi
nDawn,
Januar
y3r
d,2021

03493893229