IS IT THE END OF ROAD FOR DHONI?

pix courtesy: thehindu.com

In all probability, the 2019 World Cup in England will be the swan song of wicket keeper M.S. Dhoni. His unceremoniously omission from the Indian T20I team for the forthcoming series against West Indies and Australia later this year is an indication that Indian selectors have made up their mind as far as the future of Dhoni is concerned. Tongues have been wagging since Dhoni was not included in the two important series ahead of the World Cup. It is not yet clear whether Dhoni was dropped or rested. Though words have been spread that Dhoni himself wanted the younger players, specially Rishabh Pant, to be groomed into the keeper’s role, the selectors’ studied silence is worth many words. 

There is no doubt that Dhoni has lost his Midas touch as a bang-bang hitter and has been struggling with runs towards the fag end of the innings when the team requires him to step up the attack. On the contrary, several young cricketers like Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya have proved their mettle by going the aerial way neatly in the death overs. Rishabh Pant fits the bill perfectly as he is not only agile as a wicket-keeper, but has proved himself as a batsman who can plunder runs against any attack.

Perhaps Dhoni also realizes that he is not living up to his image as a player who could contribute with bat besides keeping wickets, giving the selectors the options to play with an additional bowler. It is because of this fact that he first recused himself from the Test cricket, solely concentrating on the shorter versions of the game. But sadly, his famed batting prowess has been a big let-down. In the last three years, Dhoni has played 62 matches and accumulated just 1341 runs with one century and 7 fifties. Interestingly, the sole century and the seven fifties came only last year in 2017 when it appeared that he had started regaining his form. But 2018 has been an eventless year as Dhoni made just 275 runs out of 13 innings of the 20 matches that he has played so far.  

There is no doubt that selectors will have to think beyond Dhoni who has already completed 37 years and it is high time that young players are groomed before India’s most successful wicket keeper takes a bow. But the selectors will do well to keep the veteran in the team for the World Cup as his experience itself is something that can’t be discounted. He is just one run away from reaching a historic milestone from reaching 10,000 ODI runs, second only to Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara in the world. As has often been seen, captain Virat Kohli always turns to Dhoni when situation seems run out of control. Dhoni is often seen making small field adjustments while giving directions to bowlers. 

Another reason why Dhoni is an important cog in India’s quest for World Cup is his sharp eye during DRS reviews. He has been almost accurate as far as taking DRS reviews is concerned.

At a time when the team is yet to find a perfect combination with newcomers performing in patches, Dhoni’s presence itself is a matter of comfort in the dressing room. With 14 years of experience, Dhoni knows how to conduct himself in varying situations. Moreover, nobody can doubt his keeping skills as none can match his agility behind the wickets. India just cannot afford to not have Dhoni in the World Cup.

GOVT IN A BIND AFTER CAGING CBI

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The image of India’s premier investigating agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), lies in tatters as the sordid drama involving extortion, bribe and corruption by top ranking officers unfolds. What is so scandalous is that the CBI, which is supposed to probe corruption charges, is itself seeped so deeply in unscrupulous dealings that the credibility of such an organization has become questionable. That the agency has been misused by successive governments as a Special Purpose Vehicle against their political rivals is not something that is a secret. But the rapid erosion of the agency’s image in recent years makes a mockery of its motto which is Industry, Impartiality, Integrity. Given the dubious image that the agency has earned for itself in recent years, its epigram should rather read Inertia, Immortality, Impropriety.

Had it been industrious and not inertial, the agency would not have received flak from the Supreme Court time and again over the shoddy investigations it carried out in various scams and corruption cases.  Had it been impartial in its probes, it would not have lost the confidence of the Supreme Court forcing it to denounce the once-famed elite agency as a “caged parrot” and “its master’s voice”. Had the CBI lived up to its integrity, the political class could not have mustered courage to arm-twist it for its cover-up operations. That the top leadership of the agency has allowed itself to be subjected to political influence shows that some of its officers are a willing party to dirty tricks and corrupt means for personal gains and official lollipops.

Never in the history of CBI has it happened that its chief and the number two were unceremoniously sidelined in a midnight coup and virtually rendered ineffective. The situation was warranted after the top two officers of the CBI were involved in ugly spat, and openly revolted against each other making a spectacle of once respectful and fearful agency. More drama followed as more than a dozen officers supposedly close to both the two top officers were transferred late night by an interim director, who is not even seen above suspicion. No guesses here, under whose orders he carried out mass transfers, that too, in the dead of the night. The murky drama did not end there as the following morning four men from Intelligence Bureau were arrested for allegedly snooping on the CBI boss exiled a few hours ago. What is more to this sordid drama is that there are also names of a senior Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) officer and a former Chief Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) doing the rounds in the imbroglio. So you have almost all the important security wings of the country, internal as well as external, involved in this spectacle endangering the national interests.

Was it only the turf war between the CBI chief Alok Verma and his deputy Rakesh Asthana, a Gujarat cadre officer, who was brought into the agency as a special director? There is something more than the personal ego battle between the two officers. While Alok Verma is seen as the protégé of National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Rakesh Asthana was handpicked by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Interestingly, Asthana was appointed as the special director of the CBI in October 2017, two months after an FIR was filed against him in a 3.8 crore rupee bribery case relating to Sterling Biotech. Is it not bizarre that an officer, whose name figures in the investigation in the Sterling Biotech case, is promoted to CBI? Alok Verma had opposed Asthana’s appointment as special director citing his alleged connection with the Sterling Biotech bribery case. But his objection was overruled. Did Verma not do the right thing by red flagging Asthana’s appointment? But could he go beyond a point if the government of the day refused to see anything wrong in Asthana’s case? Asthana backers, however, claim that he has not been named in the FIRs filed by either the Enforcement Directorate or the Central Bureau of Investigation though the diaries seized during the Sterling investigations had notings with initials “RA”.  A benefit of doubt for Asthana!

Why Asthana was the blue-eyed boy of the government or the Prime Minister Office in particular that all objections against him were swept under the carpet? Asthana, who is credited to have overseen several high profile cases like coal scam, AugustaWestland scam, black money and money laundering cases, has seen meteoric rise since he was moved to Gujarat at the height of the Godhra riots. It all began with his appointment as Inspector General of Vadodara and his territorial jurisdiction included Godhra. His appointment had raised several eyebrows then because there were many senior officers other than him who were bypassed for the post. His handling of the Godhra probe had brought him closer to the state establishment. That he would land a plum posting in the CBI if Narendra Modi became the prime minister was a foregone conclusion.

Over the years, India’s premier agency is being systematically deprecated by successive governments for fixing political opponents and tampering with investigation in several criminal as well as corruption cases. If the CBI finds today in profound mess, the governments at the Centre are to be blamed. Sadly, the image of the agency has been mauled beyond repairs that it is often referred to as the dirty tricks department of the government of the day. This does not augur well for India.

M.J.AKBAR SHOULD BE SACKED IMMEDIATELY

As stories about misconduct of flamboyant former editor and now minister of state for external affairs M.J. Akbar unfold with every passing day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi should not waste a minute in sacking him. The charges against Akbar are of very serious nature and demand his immediate expulsion from the cabinet. Stripping him (from power) will not only assuage those who have been subjected to humiliation at his hands, but will also embolden others to expose several other Akbars who continue to abuse their power. In order to make India clean, people with such abnormal and unacceptable behavior should be purged immediately.

courtesy: vocfm.co.za

What is baffling the most that he has been allowed to continue even though severe charges have been leveled against him? How can a pleasure-seeking person be allowed to attend an event on Mahatma Gandhi in Lagos, Nigeria? It can’t be more humiliating than this. What if the foreign media asks him about his glad eye for young women colleagues? Not only will he make a spectacle of himself, but will also lower the dignity of the country. He should have been recalled immediately and handed the sack letter which he would have done to many young girls who refused to give in to him.

There were many who looked upon him as a mentor who would guide them to make better and responsible journalists. But none of them would have dreamt that he would turn out to be a wolf in sheep’s clothing. The story is not over yet. I am sure that there certainly would be several more women journalists who would have suffered at his hands but are yet to muster courage to come out to speak against him.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. There are many Akbars in the media who have abused trainee journalists. But what disturbs the most is that in many cases, the management was aware of the deeds of such perverts. But it did not do anything and instead looked the other way. Had the management taken note of the issue seriously and acted immediately, the situation would not have come to such a pass? But the management allowed itself to manage the dirty affairs of the editor and instead conspired to make the victim a fall guy.

What has happened in the past can’t be undone. But the situation demands that the media as a whole should introspect and take concrete steps so that such predators are not allowed to have free run.

With the #MeToo campaign picking up in India, one hopes the Indian media will be purged of these undesirable elements. 

IMRAN KHAN IS THE PROXY OF PAKISTANI ARMY

Pakistan military’s penchant for ruling the country is not a secret. More than half of the 71 years since the formation of Pakistan, the military has directly ruled the country. But military regimes do not command the respect and recognition given there is an overwhelming opposition to military rule. Mindful of the dire consequences if it fiddled with democracy and took direct control, there has been a tectonic shift in Pakistani military’s strategy in recent years. Since independence, Pakistan military has been pulling strings behind the scenes regarding defence and foreign policy matters whenever any democratically-elected government came to power, and the latter pusillanimously put a stamp of approval without a little whimper of protest.

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But when three-time Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who enjoyed widespread support among the masses, decided to establish his authority, he was unceremonious ousted and sidelined. The Pakistani army used every dirty trick and even forced the judiciary to collude with it in first toppling Sharif from power on corruption charges, seen by many as a selective targeting, before sending him to jail. The army was miffed with Sharif who sought to assert civilian supremacy by imposing his government’s writ on internal and external affairs, in particular with his decision to improve relations with India. The generals had every reason to feel angry and cheated as Sharif-led Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) was the main beneficiary when it came to power for the first time in 1990, when the army engineered the defeat of the then Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) government.

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With both PPP and PML-N out of its favour, the army needed a third political force. Who else could fit the bill other than Imran Khan who was emerging as a potential prime ministerial candidate by promising a clean government and a welfare state in a country which had become synonymous with corruption? The army zeroed in on him and the first signs of future collaboration emerged when it gave its tacit support to his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) which along with cleric Tahir ul-Qadri took out a march to Islamabad to seize Parliament in 2014 in its bid to oust Sharif government.  That Imran Khan and Pakistani army were working in tandem was revealed by none other than the cricketer’s party president Javed Hashmi on the day of the seizure of the headquarters of the state broadcaster Pakistan TV. At a press conference, Hashmi dropped a bombshell by saying that Khan had told him that he was plotting with the army to oust Sharif government and that some members of the country’s top court were also involved.

It had by now become ample clear that there was no love lost between the powerful army and Nawaz Sharif and the latter was trying to come out of the shadows of his masters. The relations took a turn for worse when Pakistan’s widely read newspaper Dawn published a news story in 2016 citing a meeting where in the civilian government told the senior military officials to do more on the fight against armed groups following the mounting international pressure. The generals were told in no uncertain terms that the failure to take action against the armed groups could invite the country international censure as well as isolation. As expected, all hell broke loose and the military saw a vicious campaign against it by the Sharif government in leaking details of what was supposed to be a confidential meeting.

That proved to be the final straw. With writing on the wall clear, Sharif started taking on the army more aggressively. His accusation that the army was not only in the know but facilitated the entire operation of a terrorist attack on the Indian city of Mumbai that killed 166 people was a deliberate ploy. Sharif wanted to portray the image of his government as helpless and the military generals as main villains in the country’s inability to fight against the militant groups as demanded by the US and other countries in exchange of financial assistance. While Sharif’s attacks against military generals became shriller, he   committed the gravest mistake of his life by simultaneously opening another front against the judiciary following the Panama paper leaks in which he along with his family and friends were named for their links with offshore companies. As the proverb goes: “The enemy of my enemy is my friend”, the army and the judiciary joined hands to form a formidable alliance against Sharif, and it became clear that Sharif’s days were numbered!

Imran Khan smelled the rat and petitioned the court which ordered the formation of a six-member joint investigation team (JIT), which included four members from Federal Investigation Agency, National Accountability Bureau, Inter-Services Intelligence and Military Intelligence. With majority of the members drawn from Pakistani military and intelligence, it was a known outcome. As expected, Sharif was found guilty and disqualified for holding public office.

Unlike previous elections, Pakistani military, this time, decided to prop up a government which lacked a massive mandate and would always be dependent on it for running the affairs of the government. Had it not been the overt and covert operations by Pakistani army and the dirty intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence, Imran’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party stood no chance of emerging as the single largest party. Pakistani military’s interference began early this year when several lawmakers of Sharif’s party defected in Balochistan province all of a sudden and formed Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) along with independents. That BAP is the pro-military party is not something which is a secret in Pakistan.

As the elections approached, lawmakers of Sharif’s party were coerced into deserting the party with the threat of corruption charges. There were media reports of massive rigging during polls in favour of Imran Khan’s party. It was not as if the military leaders had any special affinity for Khan. Their primary interests lay in ousting Sharif from power.

As it turned out, Imran’s PTI emerged as the single largest political party but way short of the numbers to form the government on its own. Everything was planned to the perfect and the results suited the army generals. It took several days before Imran could stitch together a government with support from several political parties, including military-backed BAP, and other independents. 

With the sword of uncertainty permanently hanging over his head, Imran would have little time to go against the army. This is an ideal situation for the Pakistani army as it can dictate its policies on the incumbent government. The only difference this time is the army will have complete stranglehold on the government unlike on earlier occasions when it restricted itself to foreign and defence policy issues. In Imran Khan, the army has found a perfect lame duck prime minister who will provide legitimacy to the military-controlled government.  

DEMONETISATION IS A FLOP SHOW

The verdict is out. In the next three months, the government’s Great Demonetisation Drive completes two years. And the country’s top bank has made a startling fact that almost all (99.3%) of the 15.4 trillion rupees high currency notes sucked out of circulation have been returned. The Reserve Bank of India report is a damning censure of the ill-conceived government move, which was touted as the panacea for all the ills, affecting the economy as well as the country’s internal security.

The RBI disclosure punctures the government’s several claims. During the abrupt November 8, 2016 address to the nation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had compared demonetization to a “mahayagna”, saying it would purify the country from corruption, black money, fake notes and terrorism. 

 The government made people to believe that with one stroke the corruption will be wiped out from the country. Has it? With almost all of the so-called Black Money back in the system, the claim flies in the face of the government. Last year, the Transparency International report dubbed India as the most corrupt Asian country. With a bribery rate of 69 per cent, India led the dubious list leaving behind even Pakistan.

The government invalidated 500 and 1000 rupee notes on the surmise that the large denomination currency notes were being used to stockpile black money and evade tax. If one buys the government theory, then it defies all logic when it introduced even a bigger currency note of Rs 2,000. Which is the larger denomination currency – a 1,000 rupee currency note or a 2,000 rupee currency note? Won’t it be easier to stash black money in the form of 2,000 rupee notes than the 1,000 rupee notes? 

Therefore, the government’s reasoning was far from the truth. One can draw only two plausible conclusions behind this exercise. Either the government was ill-advised or it was a deliberate attempt to convert the alleged black money into white.

Did the new colourful but highly deceptive (some even compared the new currency notes with ‘churan wali pudiya notes) currency notes make any dent on the fake currency notes as was claimed then? The fake new currency notes continue to be printed across the border and smuggled into India as several government agencies have seized them from time to time. With regard to terrorism, the less said the better. The terrorism related incidents have only spiked in Kashmir since then.

The RBI disclosure is also a big setback as the government had sniffed windfall gains expecting that between 2 to 3 lakh crore rupees would never return to the banking system. To the contrary, the so-called black money, on which the government had planned surgical strike, became legit. This raises a serious question on the intent of the government. With so much hidden money back into the system, the banks will now be bound to pay interest on the money parked with them. In effect, the cash lying idle at people’s homes has also started earning interest.

In a nutshell, the move to demonetize higher currency notes does not seem to have the desired results as the government had tom-tommed. The country is still struggling to come out of the shock which has caused more pain than gain.

HOPE KASHMIR CEASEFIRE DOES NOT BACKFIRE?

Pix courtesy: youtube.com

HOPE KASHMIR CEASEFIRE DOES NOT BACKFIRE?

Ceasefire may sound good politically, but all political decisions do not necessarily lead to the desired results. Ceasefire is acceptable as long as both the warring parties agree to it. Holding a ceasefire unilaterally against the mercenaries is akin to waving a white flag. The Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government’s decision to announce ceasefire in Kashmir during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan is a well-intentioned move, taken primarily to please its partner People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Jammu and Kashmir with whom it shares power. One hopes the country does not have to pay a heavy price for this unilateral decision which has already been met with disdain by militant groups active in Kashmir.

Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba took no time in rejecting the ceasefire calling it a drama. And a day after maintaining a studied silence, the Kashmir-based separatist leaders – Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik too denounced the ceasefire. It is ample clear that militants and separatists don’t understand the language of peace and have little regard for the safety and well-being of the common people who are also falling prey in the process, and want Kashmir to be on the boil just only to please their masters sitting across the border. The separatist leaders are the biggest disruptive forces who have time and again shown their true colour by obstructing the peace process.

Now the big question is whether the armed forces were taken on board when the decision was taken? They are the people who have been staking their lives, making countless sacrifices since the militancy erupted in Kashmir in the late eighties. According to the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), 6,387 Indian soldiers have laid down their lives (till May 13, 2018) since 1988 when militancy raised its ugly head in Kashmir. During the same period, 14,828 innocent civilians had to lose their lives. In the last 30 years, Indian soldiers neutralised 23,423 militants. These figures speak for the valour of the security personnel who did not flinch in shedding their blood to bring normalcy to the troubled state. At a time, when the armed forces had been on the hot pursuit against the militants, mostly infiltrated into Kashmir from Pakistan, comes this shocker in the form of ceasefire.

Already 30 Indian soldiers have been martyred in Kashmir this year since January as against 72 militants. The figures show the militants have become more lethal, better armed and well-trained to cause maximum casualties. Any amount of leniency towards militants is bound to demoralise the forces which are up against all odds. Not only do they have to bear the brunt of the locals who offer themselves as shields to help escape militants, but often pelt security forces with stones to prevent them from launching any offensive against the militants. Can one understand the pain and agony of these security personnel who face humiliation at the hands of civilians on whose protection they are endangering their lives?

Did the government take into account the fears of security forces that the militants may recoup during the one-month period which may only allow them to re-energise? The militants have been on the back foot right now and lowering the guard against them seems to be a suicidal idea. Of late, several high profile militants have been accounted for, leading to vaccum in the leadership of several militant groups. Therefore, dropping the gun at a time when the security forces were having upper hand is beyond reason. The need of the hour was to maintain the hot trail against the militants whose morale is low.

siasat.com

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The government’s peace overtures have often been junked by the jihadi elements in the past. The fact was certainly lost on Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti when she made an appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take a leaf out of the book of the then Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee when his government announced ceasefire in December 2000. Her memory seems to be short as within one month of the ceasefire, a group of Lashkar-e-Toiba militants made an abortive bid to storm the Srinagar airport. In the gun battle that ensued, 11 people, including six militants, three paramilitary soldiers and two civilians, were killed. Is there any guarantee that such an incident will not be repeated, that too when LeT has already denounced the ceasefire.

Even one presumes that the local militants may adhere to ceasefire, there is every reason to believe that Pakistan-based militants will not? One such group has already made its intention clear. Summers are the perfect months when militants make infiltrations into Kashmir from the Pakistani side. Already there have been 48 infiltration bids from across the border till April this year, of which 24 attempts have been successful. Pakistan just can’t resist the temptation to push in as many militants taking advantage of the weather. Moreover, it will do all it can to force Indian security personnel to retaliate so as to put them into poor light. As long as Pakistan does not become party to the ceasefire and follows it in letter and spirit, these one-sided ceasefire offers will hold no water.

The fight against militancy can’t be successful with such knee-jerk reactions when the adversary uses it as a proxy war against you. In order to win the war against terrorism, one will have to keep in mind that militancy cannot be contained; it has to be stamped out completely. We have a perfect example in Punjab. Smarting under humiliating defeats, Pakistan first took advantage of the simmering situation in Punjab and played host to several Khalistani militants. Not only did it shelter them at its backyard, Pakistan financed and trained them militarily as well. It took a heavy-handed approach of the then governments which helped in wiping out militancy from the state.

Why can’t the same approach be applied to Kashmir? When its purpose was defeated in Punjab, Pakistan turned to Kashmir. Needless to say, there is an undeclared war in Kashmir. Thousands of people have been killed in Jammu and Kashmir in the last three decades in the name of the so-called freedom movement. The government of India just can’t and should not afford to be lenient to the mercenaries who are out to disturb the social fabric of the country. We just can’t let down our security forces.

GOVERNOR OF KARNATAKA OR BJP’S MAN FRIDAY?

Karnataka governor Vajubhai Vala administering oath to Yeddyurappa (Pix courtesy India.com)

Karnataka governor Vajubhai Vala not only made a mockery of himself, but insulted the constitution as well by inviting Yeddyurappa to form a minority government brushing aside the claims of the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) which entered into a post-poll alliance to form a government following a hung assembly. He further lowered his image by giving Yeddyurappa 15 days to prove majority on the floor of the house, giving him enough time to engage in horse-trading. His actions proved that he was not worthy of the post of the governor as his action was biased towards a party he belonged to in the past, namely, the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Was his decision prompted by the fact that he owed his present stint as governor of the state to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP president Amit Shah? So, he thought of paying it back to them by inviting Yeddyurappa to form the next government even though the latter did not have the sufficient numbers. Was he so naive to believe that his unconstitutional action would pass the test of the law? 

As expected, the country’s highest court intervened and cut down the 15-day period to just one day so that Yeddyurappa and his team could not engineer coup in the opposition camp either through purchasing votes or pressuring some of the newly elected MLAs to abstain during voting.

And when the moment of truth came, Yeddyurappa chickened out. Realising that his two-day government would not pass the test on the floor of the assembly, he resigned paving the way for the formation of a government led by JDS state chief H D Kumaraswamy, who has the support of the Congress party. 

It must be interesting to note that Yeddyurappa has never completed his full five-year term even though this was his third shot at the chief ministership of Karnataka. The first time when he became chief minister was in 2007 when he ruled for just seven days when the BJP’s then coalition partner JD (S) withdrew support. He became chief minister for the second time in 2008, but his stint lasted 39 months before he was arrested on corruption charges.

Now that Yeddyurappa’s fate has been sealed, the pertinent question is whether Governor Vajubhai Vala acted on his own! With such a long legislative experience in Gujarat, it is unlikely that he would not have thought about the repercussions of his action. Or was he coerced by the BJP which had anointed him to the coveted post? The suspicion is bound to be raised as of late the actions of several BJP-appointed governors have come under scrutiny.

There is no doubt that the Karnataka governor has caused immense damage to the dignity of the constitutional post he holds. If Mr. Vala wants to absolve himself of the sin, he should quit immediately maintaining the dignity of a governor.

DOES NAWAZ SHARIF SUFFER FROM DEMENTIA?

Did not Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif know about the presence of militant organizations in his own country? Did not he know who were responsible for carrying out dastardly Mumbai attacks? Did not he know that agencies in Pakistan were deliberately delaying the trial of the 26/11 attacks? Did not he know that any democratically-elected government in Pakistan never had any teeth? Was Mr Nawaz Sharif stupefied all through his three terms as prime minister? And finally, it has dawned on him after waking up from deep slumber that he must share the worst-kept secrets which he thinks the world does not know.

tribune.com.pk

“Militant organisations are 

active. Call them non-state 

actors, should we allow them to 

cross the border and kill 150 

people in Mumbai? Explain it to 

me. Why can’t we complete the 

trial?” — a reference to the 

Mumbai attacks-related trials which have stalled in a Rawalpindi 

anti-terrorism court.”

To be fair to the Pakistani people, this was an angry man taking on the ‘real’ establishment players and the judiciary for allegedly scuttling his chances of returning to power. Sharif feels deprived after the top court ordered his removal as head of his Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) this year following his disqualification from public office after a probe into his family's wealth following the 2016 Panama Papers leak which linked Sharif's children to offshore companies. Sharif, who could never complete his full five-year term as prime minister, sees political conspiracy hatched against him by the Pakistani army and the judiciary. In his previous two stints also he was unceremoniously removed – first in 1993 by a presidential order and second time when General Pervez Musharraf overthrew his government in a coup in 1999 which saw him jailed and later exiled.

Sharif, who is in the midst of a campaign for national elections due later this year, seems to have played his cards all wrong. Even political pundits in Pakistan are baffled over Sharif’s statement which seems to hurt his party’s chances more at the hustings. The opposition has latched on to his statement accusing him of pro-India. There is no doubt that his statement seems more at playing to the gallery in India rather than in Pakistan. India’s charges will gain currency in the wake of Sharif’s statements. India has repeatedly been accusing Pakistan’s army, its intelligence agency and the non-state actors for felicitating the attacks on Mumbai in which 164 people died and more than 300 were wounded. In the days and months to come, he will be pilloried in Pakistan by the opposition parties for compromising national interests. Moreover, he may feel intense heat from within his party as the opposition is bound to make it an election issue.

Smarting under Sharif’s criticism, the Pakistani army and the notorious Inter-State Intelligence would redouble their efforts to malign his image. That Sharif is not the favourite boy of Pakistani military is an open secret. Sharif’s dreams to nurture better relations with India have been repeatedly scuttled by the powerful army in the past. Sharif’s signing of the historic Lahore Declaration with the then Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee in February 1999 did not go down well with the military establishment which undertook a military operation in Kargil the same year. The army was miffed with Sharif’s decision to open up trade, liberalizing the visa regime and encouraging people-to-people contacts between Pakistan and India. Though Sharif has feigned ignorance in the past claiming that he was stabbed in the back by his own army over his decision to improve relations with India, several former Pakistani military leaders have maintained that he was in the know of the operation. The Kargil misadventure not only bloodied the nose of Pakistani army, but Sharif had to rush to the United States to seek its intervention to resolve the crisis.

Sharif’s decision to travel to India for the grand swearing-in ceremony of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014 and welcoming him in Lahore on the 2015 Christmas Day when the latter made a surprise visit to Pakistan from Afghanistan further anguished the Pakistani army. Is it a mere coincidence that Pakistan-backed militants carried out a deadly attack on the Indian Air Force base in Pathankot precisely seven days after the Modi-Sharif Lahore meeting aimed at reviving the stalled bilateral talks? This has been a regular pattern that there are dastardly attempts to scuttle the talks whenever the two countries try to mend ties.

Sharif seems to have made a tactical mistake by portraying the army and judiciary in poor light in the election time when Kashmir used to be the flavor of all the political parties in the past. Leaders of Pakistani political parties have been riding piggy back successfully on the Kashmir issue during elections. Sharif seems to be trying to inject a new narrative this season which may backfire. In the process, he has not only exacerbated his rivalry with the military and the judiciary, but stands to lose the support of the people as well.

WHY WOMEN ARE SITTING DUCKS IN INDIA?

One expected that the stiffer penalties introduced by the government after the fatal gang rape of a woman on a bus in Delhi in December 2012 would have deterred Indian men from committing crimes against women. On the contrary, there has been a sharp spike in violence against women. One of the main reasons is that there is no fear of law in the country as the conviction rate is abysmally very low.

courtesy:  independent.co.uk

According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) annual report in 2016, the crimes against women have almost doubled since 2007. The crimes against women every hour went up to 39 in 2016 as compared to 21 in 2007.  There were 40,000 rape cases registered in 2016, up from 25,000 in 2012, the latest data show. But these figures are far from truth as many women don’t report crimes, particularly rape or domestic violence, fearing societal pressure. The situation is worse in rural areas where rapes are committed by close family members as well as neighbours. Therefore, most of these cases are hardly reported. And in majority of cases, the culprits get away either by buying the silence of the victims or the use of muscle power.

The crimes against women every hour went up to 39 in 2016 as 

compared to 21 in 2007.  There were 40,000 rape cases registered 

in 2016, up from 25,000 in 2012, the latest data show.

With a conviction rate of under 19 percent and that too over lengthy trials which continue for several years if not decades, families of victims think not twice but hundred times before mustering courage to file cases against the culprits. Even if some dare to seek justice, the lengthy and tiring judicial process, which consumes both time and money, is a major deterrent. Though the government introduced the fast track courts to expedite such cases, the progress is far from satisfactory.

The shortage of judges is again something to be blamed for the judicial delays. In 2016, the then Chief Justice of India, T. S. Thakur, had pointed to the inadequacy of judicial strength as the main reason behind the delay in trials. He suggested that there should be 70,000 judges whereas the figure is just 17,000.

Often the police, which is supposed to protect the law, collude with the accused and make the case weaker which does not stand the scrutiny of the courts. The NCRB data show that only one-fourth of those charged with sexual violence are convicted because prosecutors fail to prove the case in the absence of concrete evidence leading to the freedom of the offender. This only emboldens the offender to repeat his crime, at times, even against the same victim. Police often coerce victims to settle the case with the offenders rather than approaching courts so as to keep their case diaries clean. One of the biggest problems women face in India is that the onus is on the victim to prove the crime. A victim has to go through the same pain as she is forced to narrate her trauma first to the police, then to her lawyer and finally in the courtroom. In smaller towns and villages, there is hardly any policewoman in a police station, which prevents many victims to approach the law.

courtesy: cnn.com

But, it is the society which is to blame for the crimes against women. Ironically, the girls have to face problems even before their birth. They are viewed as inferior to men and liability to the family. The inhuman practice of abortion of female fetuses shows the sick mentality of the society. Then they are subjected to child marriage, dowry killings and domestic violence.

Mere better policing and setting up fast track courts will not solve the problem. Until and unless we change our attitude towards women, the situation will not change. For that we, the society, has to change.

PAKISTAN GOING THE TALIBAN WAY!

Courtesy: thepolicytimes.com

With a Pakistani court giving legitimacy to the Milli Muslim League (MML) party formed by the Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), whose founder is notorious $10m bounty global terrorist Hafiz Saeed, and allowing it to contest national elections, Talibanisation of Pakistan looks imminent. JuD, a front of the banned militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), is blamed for the 2008 attacks in Mumbai that killed 166 people. The ruling of two different courts in as many days in favour of Saeed is perplexing, to say the least. In the first instance, Lahore High Court extended its stay against the possible arrest of Saeed. The next day came another shocker. Islamabad High Court annulled the October 2017 decision of the Election Commission of Pakistan not to register MML following objections from the interior ministry.

Until now, the judiciary seemed to be independent in a country where all the important pillars of democracy have almost collapsed. The twin decisions by Pakistani courts could prove to be the final nail in the coffin. In effect, Pakistani judiciary has found flaws in the orders of the United Nations and United States Department of the Treasury which had designated Saeed as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. So we are staring at a scenario when a global terrorist would enter the National Assembly as a lawmaker and who knows could well become the prime minister of Pakistan. Pakistan deserves it as its romanticism with the Taliban and other militant groups is so profound that it is even willing to sour ties with its erstwhile ally, the United States, and risk global isolation. 

So we are staring at a scenario when a global terrorist would enter the National Assembly as a lawmaker and who knows could well become the prime minister of Pakistan.  

It should be recalled that Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were the only countries to recognize the Taliban when it formed its government in Afghanistan in 1996 by displacing the then Burhanuddin Rabbani government. The United Nations refused to recognize the Taliban government. The entire world except these three wretched countries disproved of the Taliban government. Pakistan has the history of not conforming to world order and siding with the rogue elements.

The implications of the Pakistani courts’ rulings are very worrisome. In recent years, Saeed’s popularity has soared in Pakistan where political leaders are losing currency because of their involvement in corruption. Saeed has been steadily making inroads into rural pockets of the country through his seminaries. He became the darling of the masses when his seminaries provided financial and medical assistance in the wake of the devastating earthquake in Kashmir in 2005. Reportedly, he has a network of 300 seminaries spread across the country and runs several schools, hospitals and ambulance services. The public adulation of Saeed was in full display when he was showered with flower petals upon his release from house arrest last year.

 

Courtesy: aljazeera.com

MML may prove to be a disruptive force in the upcoming elections. In a by-election in the Pakistan parliamentary constituency of NA-120 in September last year, the MML-backed candidate had secured the fourth position with 5,822 votes, double than that of the main opposition Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Jamaat-i-Islami combined. The seat had fallen vacant when the then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had to resign, following his disqualification by Pakistan's Supreme Court. Sharif’s wife Kulsoom Nawaz Sharif won the seat comfortably.

Though Pakistan’s parties may be aghast at the prospect of MML making political entry, one thing is for sure that the latter and Saeed have huge backing of the Pakistani army and the Inter-Services Intelligence which are the de-facto government. These two agencies have trained the Taliban fighters and other militant groups in the past and continue to do so. There does seem to be an agenda of Pakistani army to create a new radicalized political force to further its own dirty interests. And if that happens, where will Pakistan be heading to? Any guesses!

AFGHANISTAN WANTS PEACE WITH TALIBAN BUT WILL IT COME?

The three principal characters in Afghanistan theatre – the government, Taliban and the United States – are in favour of talks to end the more than 16-year-old bloody war. But so deep runs the suspicion that the dominant parties do not want to enter into a direct dialogue. The Taliban is ready to talk to the United States but is opposed to dialogue with President Ashraf Ghani government. The US, on the other hand, does not want direct talks with the Taliban. It wants the Taliban to hold talks with the “legitimate” Afghanistan government. President Ghani has once again reiterated his government’s desire to hold talks with Taliban, but the militant organisation is not amused. So, where does that lead to?

afghanembassy.us

The US, which has renewed its offensive on the Taliban in recent months after President Donald Trump committed to an open-ended conflict in Afghanistan in August last year, would not like to be seen as surrendering and admitting defeat if it were to hold talks with the Taliban. In a marked departure from his call during presidential electioneering for an early US withdrawal from Afghanistan, Trump has sent more troops in recent months as he vowed “a fight to win” when he unveiled his administration’s strategy for the war-torn country. President Trump stands to invite ridicule if his administration jumps the gun and enters into a direct dialogue with the Taliban at this stage. Therefore, the US wants Afghanistan to do the bidding on its behalf. 

President Ghani knows too well that the US forces would not be there forever as there is increasing pressure from the families of the American soldiers and the people to make an early exit from Afghanistan. Since 2001, when the Taliban were dislodged from power, the Afghan war has cost 2,400 American lives and $1 trillion. Ghani has gone on record admitting that the Afghan National Army will not last more than six months if the US were to withdraw its forces. He even feared the collapse of the government. Aware of this danger, President Ghani is desperate to start negotiations with the Taliban. By offering to recognise the Taliban as a legitimate political group, proposing a ceasefire and release of prisoners and holding “unconditional” talks, shows his desperation.

forces.net

The Taliban, which is facing an onslaught from the US forces, wants an early ceasefire to have a much-needed breather. Since last year, it has lost several of its top commanders besides a large number of foot soldiers. It smells twin advantages if talks with the US became a reality. Not only will it escape the intensified fury, it will put the US on the back foot. For the Taliban, it will be a win-win solution as it will enter into dialogue with an upper hand. If the dialogue reaches its logical conclusion, it stands a chance to be accepted as a political group and who knows return to power. But if talks collapse, it will have enough time to recoup and recalibrate its strategy. Moreover, the Taliban does not consider Ghani government as a powerful adversary which it can easily run over in the event of US troop withdrawal.

It remains to be seen if all the major parties are prepared to shift their stance. And even if they do, the chances of an early solution look unlikely as long as Pakistan does not relinquish its support to groups like the Haqqani network.

(The article first appeared on Wionnews.com)

WILL KP OLI BE ABLE TO HUMOUR BOTH INDIA AND CHINA?

nepal24hours.com

As India and China vigorously jostle for influence in the tiny Himalayan nation, Nepal’s new Prime Minister KP Oli has a hard task at hand to do a balancing act. But his early days as prime minister indicate a tectonic shift towards China. Even during elections, he maintained an aggressive pro-China line so as to reduce dependence on India. He used nationalism as a major election plank, which many believe went down well with the masses who voted the left alliance to a comfortable majority, causing discomfiture in the Indian establishment. This was wary of the return of the communist regime. In fact, there are reports that China played a crucial role in ensuring the victory of the left alliance in the elections.

In keeping with his words during electioneering, Oli has dropped enough hints of his government’s pro-China tilt. In an interview to Hong Kong's South China Morning Post, he was more forthcoming when he said that he wanted to “deepen” ties with China and get more leverage in his dealings with India “in keeping with the times”.  The statement will certainly not please the Indian establishment which had sent its foreign minister Sushma Swaraj immediately after the election results to mend ways with the new government.

The crafty Oli seems to have made a well-thought-out statement to drive a hard bargain with India. The election manifesto of the left alliance speaks volumes about the intent of the new government. It says that the India-Nepal Peace and Friendship Treaty 1950 will be scrapped and a new treaty will be negotiated.  The two countries are deadlocked over the issue for several years whether to amend the treaty or replace it completely. 

The ties between India and Nepal deteriorated during Oli’s first stint as prime minister when he blamed India for the unofficial economic blockade which stopped essential goods from entering Nepal from India, a charge New Delhi denied.  An angry Oli then signed a trade and transit agreement with China with an aim to end India’s monopoly over Nepal’s supply of daily essentials which further created bitterness between the two countries. Oli was also miffed with India’s diplomatic intervention in the country’s constitutional process in 2015 when New Delhi sought to accommodate demands of the Madhesis who launched a violent struggle to have greater say in the federal system. He often blamed New Delhi for the circumstances which led to his resignation following the political crisis over the Madhesi issue.

Therefore, there is no element of surprise as Oli plays the China card shrewdly.  "We have great connectivity with India and an open border. All that's fine and we'll increase connectivity even further, but we can’t forget that we have two neighbours. We don't want to depend on one country or have one option," he said in the same interview. It should be recalled that Oli in his previous avatar as prime minister had inked a deal with China to extend Tibet rail network to Kathmandu and created special economic zones for Chinese firms, infuriating India.

Oli should realize that he can’t afford to keep all his eggs in one basket. He will need to be pragmatic to balance both India and China.  India is still Nepal’s biggest trade partner. In fact, the two-thirds of Nepal’s trade remains with India and the Himalayan nation is heavily dependent on the latter for its everyday needs. Therefore when asked how he wanted to work out relations with India, Oli said:  "We've always had excellent relations with India. There were some elements in the Indian establishment that caused some misunderstanding, but Indian leaders have assured us that there will be no interference in the future and we will respect each other's sovereign rights”.  There is no doubt that he is still smarting from his unceremonious ouster and yet to reconcile.

Oli is aware that both India and China want to expand their influence in the region and he would like to use this to his country’s advantage. The only difference is while India has always considered Nepal as a natural ally based on the close historical ties, China is ensnaring the region by dolling out lollipops to the world’s one of the most impoverished countries by building roads, and trade and transit corridors. But Oli would do well to be careful and understand China’s designs. In the past, several countries like the Maldives and Sri Lanka cosied up to China eyeing massive investments but ended up into a debt-trap.

Both India and Nepal need to reconcile and a make a fresh rapprochement to iron out their differences and bring the ailing relations back on track. Given the historic and cultural ties, the two countries can’t afford to be like oil and water.

KAJOL LENDS HAND TO MODI’S SWACHH BHARAT ABHIYAN

KAJOL LENDS HAND TO MODI’S SWACHH BHARAT ABHIYAN

HARD FACTS ABOUT INDIA'S POOR SANITATION

Poor sanitation leads to several health-related diseases and untimely deaths

India loses 6.4 percent of GDP annually due to poor access to sanitation

More than one billion of people still have no access to sanitation

NARENDRA MODI GOVERNMENT’S MISSION

To provide toilets to every household by 2019 

To make India Open Defecation Free by October 2, 2019

To improve general quality of life in rural areas

Bollywood actress Kajol lent a big support to Prime Minister Narendra Modi government’s ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’ (Clean India Mission) when she launched the ‘Swachh Aadat, Swachh Bharat’ programme at a function organized by Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) in Mumbai on January 10.

Hindustan Unilever Limited has launched the programme with an aim to realize the country’s goals of Open Defecation Free by October 2, 2019 when India will celebrate the 150^th birth anniversary of the father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi.

HUL has roped in Kajol as the advocacy ambassador of its programme to spread awareness about three habits – Clean water, clean toilets and washing hands with soap.

What makes the Modi government’s programme noteworthy is that several public sector as well as private institutions have joined hands with the government to make it a grand success. Many business houses have adopted several villages in this connection under the Corporate Social Responsibility.

The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, which is spearheading the campaign, has been joined by various other ministries, government departments and non-government organizations to spread the awareness of cleanliness.

Prime Minister Modi launched the biggest campaign for “SwachhBharat” on October 2, 2014 when he himself wielded a broom and swept the dirty streets of New Delhi. The campaign aims to end the wide-spread practice of open defecation, build more toilets and improve waste management, among other goals.

TRUMP’S TWEET RATTLES PAKISTAN

IS THE HONEYMOON BETWEEN PAKISTAN AND THE US COMING TO AN END?

It had to happen one day. Pakistan’s predicament reminds one of the famous statements of Abraham Lincoln: “You can fool all the people some of the time and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.”

And it took 15 years for a US President to realize that his country was being taken for a royal ride by none other than its strategic ally in the name of the so-called fight against terrorism.

''The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools. They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!,'' President Donald Trump tweeted, rattling Pakistan on the New Year day. 

asiasentinel.com

usatoday.com

The tweet sent shivers down the spine of Pakistan’s civilian and military leadership as they huddled to grasp its impact. Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi was forced to advance a meeting of the National Security Committee by a day which was attended by top cabinet ministers and military chiefs. In all likelihood, the National Security Committee met at the instance of the army chief as army generals had met separately before the all-powerful meeting. At the end of the three-hour-long meeting, the committee came out with a terse statement shying away from commenting on Trump’s tweet. The statement released by the prime minister’s office expressed “deep disappointment” at comments made by US officials over the past few months.

“Recent statements and articulation by the American leadership were completely incomprehensible as they contradicted facts manifestly, struck with great insensitivity at the trust between two nations built over generations, and negated the decades of sacrifices made by the Pakistani nation,” it said.

Earlier, Pakistan foreign office summoned U.S. ambassador David Hale and sought his explanation behind Trump’s angry tweet.

Pakistan has been on the boil since the storm caused by Trump tweet battered the country. Anti-Trump protests have engulfed almost the entire Pakistan with several political religious groups taking out rallies. Cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan too joined the issue by saying that Pakistan lost 70,000 lives and $100,000 billion due to the US war on terror. Khan, who once tormented the best of the batsmen in the world during his playing days, seems pretty weak on mathematics as the figure of monetary loss quoted by him is beyond the realms of possibility.

The US put the screws on Pakistan by announcing the next day of Trump tweet that it would continue to withhold military aid worth $255 million to its former strategic ally. The statement from the National Security Council spokesman was equally lethal. "The President has made clear that the United States expects Pakistan to take decisive action against terrorists and militants on its soil, and that Pakistan's actions in support of the South Asia strategy will ultimately determine the trajectory of our relationship, including future security assistance."

It appears that the Trump tweet storm is unlikely to die down soon and more is in the offing for Pakistan. The statements from US officials are self explanatory.  Following up on Trump’s tweet, the White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders accused Pakistan of playing a “double game” on fighting terrorism and said: “They can do more to stop terrorism and we want them to do that.” Earlier, the U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley said at the United Nations that “They work with us at times, and they also harbor the terrorists that attack our troops in Afghanistan.” At the State Department on Tuesday, spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Pakistan knew what it needed to do, including taking action against the Haqqani network and other militants. Pakistan needs to “earn, essentially, the money that we have provided in the past in foreign military assistance,” she said.

The writing on the wall was clear since Trump assumed presidency of the United States in January last. Even before becoming president, Trump had been dropping enough hints, but Pakistan failed to read the messages which were not only explosive by explicit as well. The rhetoric was soon replaced with stern warnings after Trump assumed power. But Pakistan continued to live in a fool’s paradise that the US could not bypass it as long as its forces remained engaged in Afghanistan. 

abcnews.go.com

 Afghanistan is proving to be a political liability for the US. If it stays longer, it faces strong backlash back home and if it withdraws, the country will fall to the Taliban.  It’s a classical case of entering a blind alley but not knowing how to come out of it. Whatever may be its political designs, the US has been sucked badly into a country where exit routes are not easy and not too many. Already the US has lost 2,300 of its men. And it has cost the US more than 110 billion dollars since its forces first landed in Afghanistan in October 2001. The US has been fuming over Pakistan’s alleged support for Haqqani network militants, who are allied with the Afghan Taliban. Afghanistan has time and again resented the presence of Afghan Taliban fighters in Pakistan who carry out deadly attacks in the war-torn country and return to the safe sanctuaries there. Whatever may be the political compulsions in the past, the new administration has realized that the Afghanistan war can’t be won as long as Pakistan continues with its support to the Taliban and Haqqani groups.

In fact, the US patience had started thinning since it found that the most-wanted terrorist and al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was being provided a safe sanctuary by Pakistan in the garrison town of Abbottabad. Pakistan should have smelt a rat when the US special commandos smoked out Laden in 2011 in an operation kept secret from the then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif government.  To add insult to injury, the then-Taliban leader Mullah Mansour was killed by a U.S. drone strike inside Pakistan five years later. No self-respecting nation can allow its territory to be breached in a manner as the US did. But Pakistan was forced to digest this humiliation, not once, but twice. But the lure of dollars far outweighed the heap of ignominy.

It remains to be seen whether the Trump tweet will bully Pakistan into changing its policy and withdraw support to the militant groups. Otherwise, as things stand today, the honeymoon between the US and Pakistan seems all over and it is a matter of time when the divorce will be formalized.