Now there is a lull which, of course, predicts a storm. The PTI is going to assume power in a province which is full of drug barons, arms merchants, Nato supply contractors, millions of Afghan refugees and a hostile border.

While trying to implement his agenda of good governance, Imran Khan will suddenly feel uncomfortable because his team is full of old wine in new bottles.

Then there is the bureaucracy, which will create hurdles in the implementation of his agenda. There will be very little or no support from the centre which will be expecting him to fail and fall.

In circumstances as such, he is advised not to fall into the trap of re-polling, re-counting and sit-ins. Instead, he should concentrate on how to begin the five-year tenure.

If he is dragged into street fights with any other political party, the latter will gain because they have nothing to lose. This is my advice to my favourite captain who won us the one and only World Cup.

MOHAMMAD IQBAL
Karachi

Advice to PML-N chief

THE people have given a clear-cut mandate to the PML-N with representation from every federating unit. The PPP and its coalition partners, especially the ANP, have suffered a humiliating rejection from across the country.

The ANP has been wiped out by the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa because it failed to deliver. The people who had suffered for five years gave their verdict on poor governance, rampant corruption, lawlessness and disregard for lives and property of citizens of Pakistan who elected them in the hope that they will the serve masses and fulfil their manifesto promises.

It should serve as a lesson for other political parties that the electorate can no longer be fooled and they will be judged by their performance and not by promises they make. The PML-N has benefited because of better governance by Shahbaz Sharif in Punjab.

However, now that the PML-N has been given a clear-cut mandate, the party will have to prove its worth by delivering to the people. With a free media, the PML-N will be closely watched for its appointments on merit to various state-owned corporations, which under the PPP-led coalition had been destroyed by corrupt politicians.

The PML-N should have asked itself for recount of votes in two constituencies, namely NA 122 and 125, so that its credibility remains intact. The defeat of two controversial PML-N candidates contesting for Punjab Assembly seats from Lahore should open eyes of those who think the people can be fooled, or public memory is short.

SHAHZAD KHALIL
Lahore

Pro-people agenda

NAWAZ Sharif will be making history by becoming the prime minister for a third time, but I would advise him not to indulge in fantasy of grandiose schemes like the promised bullet train. We first need a second railway line, then the bullet train.

Besides, he needs to put right the institutions which have deteriorated or been destroyed like PIA, Pakistan Railways and the Steel Mills.

He should not give any ministerial post to any member of his family. He and Shahbaz Sharif are enough because if he doesn’t do this, he will create factions in his own party.

He should be magnanimous towards those who have been hostile towards him during the election campaign. By that I don’t mean that he should forget the ones involved in Haj, ephedrine and other scandals.

Also, he should remember that the armed forces, at whose hands he thinks he suffered, are the only viable institution left in this country. Please don’t play with them because they are patriots par excellence just like him.

Nawaz Sharif should pay attention to primary and secondary education and discipline in them.

Also, he should try and ensure that the Higher Education Commission is not destroyed. Such an institution is for our own good even as they are a threat to hypocrites, liars and cheats.

Nawaz Sharif should also not think of becoming ‘amirul momineen’. We get sick of our leaders within three to four years.

These are just food for thought for him besides the other major issues on his plate, i.e., law and order, terrorism, electricity, finances and the abject poverty of the absolute poor.

S.M. KHALID
Peshawar

Nawaz Sharif on India

RECENTLY, PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif issued a statement that he and his party would not let Pakistani soil to be used against India for incidents such as the Kargil war and the Mumbai attacks.

While everybody wants peace and nobody wants a conflict in terms of foreign policy with any country, it needs to be emphasised that the peace should be on equal terms from both sides.

I have not heard any statement from any Indian premier after coming to power that he/she would not let Indian soil be used against Pakistan for events such as the 1971 war, the Siachen invasion of 1984 and the Balochistan unrest. A general goodwill gesture regarding the wish to maintain peace with India would have been good enough.

REHAN SOHAIL
Karachi

Anti-thesis

BRAVO to Pakistanis on a stunning display of commitment to democracy. People, despite dismal performances by federal and provincial governments, have reposed their confidence in the democratic process. Irrespective of results and controversies, democracy has won the day.

There was a great sense of deprivation among expatriates over the Election Commission of Pakistan’s indifference towards their right to vote. Elections, in essence, are anti-revolutionary and the most effective tool to provide an opportunity to the people for catharsis. Elections also give an opportunity to antithesis to develop and grow.

If we look back to 1970 elections, we notice that the emergence of the PPP was actually a development of an antithesis against pro-establishment decaying politics of the Muslim League. In the post-Zia scenario, Pakistani politics was thesis and antithesis of politics by Zia-inspired elements and the PPP politics which took a very interesting turn after 2008 when both thesis and antithesis merged in the name of reconciliation, this development naturally created a room for an antithesis.

We all then witnessed the rise of the PTI in Pakistani politics as antithesis. Status quo forces of thesis joined hands to check the development of antithesis and with their control over absolute structures of power, they have managed to hold back antithesis for a while but the river of history has to flow. Penetration of the PTI everywhere in the strongholds of major status quo parties is a manifestation of strong antithesis phenomenon.

This clearly indicates decay in present political narrative across the country and craves for fresh air. The return of the PML-N, PPP governments in the centre and provinces would further fan the flame of the PTI. This development is healthy for Pakistani politics.

The PML-N has got the power once again with all its baggage. The real challenge for the party would be to either perpetuate status quo or incorporate people’s aspirations by developing democratic institutions to grassroots levels like encouraging student politics and local government system or continue with the old style of politics based on the police and revenue. Let us hope for the best.

ATIF MAJOKA
Melbourne, Australia

To make funeral arrangements and to accommodate the visiting mourners, the road opposite to Binoria Town mosque was closed initially for three days. But the road remained blocked even after three days, creating traffic jams and hurdles for shopkeepers to do their business smoothly.

As I write this letter, the road is still closed for vehicles and pedestrians and it appears that it will now remain permanently closed. No doubt Binoria Town mosque has produced religious scholars of high stature and they are spreading the message of Islam not only in Pakistan but also in other parts of the world.

Binoria Town mosque is also famous for dispensing fatwas on religious, social and day-to-day issues. I would like to question the learned scholars of Jamia Binoria if it is legal and permissible in Islam to block or encroach upon a road in the name of security for their own safety, thus putting the lives of other people in danger?

If not, then I expect the mosque administration to remove all the barricades raised outside Binoria Town mosque immediately and pave way for free movement of traffic and pedestrians. One person’s pain can never be other person’s gain — at least not in Islam.

M. RAFIQUE ZAKARIA
Karachi

The top leadership of the PPP is responsible for their electoral rout in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Balochistan. After all, who was responsible for the choice of selecting highly controversial men like Yousuf Raza Gilani, Dr Asim Hussain, Raja Pervez, Ahmed Mukhtar and the likes of them with a known track record for financial impropriety?

Can anybody justify the impotence of the state in apprehending a man like Tauqir Sadiq, allegedly accused of plundering Rs82 billion from the national exchequer, or the protection given to those who committed the well-publicised murder of Shahzeb in Karachi?

Hundreds of thousands left homeless by floods in Sindh were left at the mercy of elements, while the president considered it appropriate to visit his castle in France.

The apathy of this government to thousands of victims of Haj scam was unfortunate, to say the least.

Thousands of innocent citizens of Pakistan were killed in targeted killings, not only in Fata, but in Karachi, the financial hub of Pakistan, and not a single murderer caught for the sake of political expediency.

Tax evaders instead of being caught were given a series of amnesties, in a country where the tax-to-GDP ratio is alarmingly low.

The PPP, which over the years had developed a constituency among the poor, lost it because of discriminatory policy of selective loadshedding that had caused unemployment for millions of workers laid off by industries shut down even in areas where electricity and gas bill payment was over 80 per cent, while it ensured uninterrupted supply to areas where electricity payment was as low as 45 per cent.

Although the PPP was never known as a provider of good governance, it was never reputed for selling jobs to highest bidder, nor for sending on forced premature retirement regular permanent employees of state-owned corporations to appease the whims of a few such as happened in PIA, Pakistan Steel and NICL

MALIK TARIQ ALI
Lahore

Poor governance

THIS is apropos of the statement made by President Asif Ali Zardari about the defeat of the PPP in the recent elections. He is certainly a very astute politician as he managed a full five-year term for the PPP by taking timely and correct actions to keep the coalition parties with him.

As your editorial “Zardari’s regrets” (May 21) rightly suggests he should have relinquished the office of the president and led the election campaign for the PPP. He could end up with better results for the PPP.

However, I am sure, if he gets the loss thoroughly analysed, one of the major factors for his party’s defeat, that would emerge, would be ‘poor governance’.

ABDUL QAYUM KHAN
Karachi

The overall turnout, especially of women and youngsters, show their understanding of the spirit of democracy. However, elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were not duly covered by the international and national media.

Also, the Pukhtuns’ democratic and progressive approach was neither projected in the media.

It was crucial to use this occasion to project the tarnished image of the Pukhtun, but sadly the entire coverage of polls focused more on the PML-N victory in Punjab, as well as on rigging in a number Karachi’s constituencies.

These news reports were significant but so was the fact that the youngest emerging political party in Pakistan will be forming a government in a terror-stricken province like Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

For almost 10 years the people of KP had been labelled pro-Taliban, though they remained deprived of social and civic rights at the hands of militants.

The recent elections were an eye-opener. It showed the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa people have a deeper understanding of democracy than others in the country.

The media should have highlighted the positive aspects of Pukhtun society and its impact on mainstream politics. They elected progressive representatives to lead them, voting out fundamentalism and self-proclaimed liberals.

The media should have also projected these optimistic traits of our people.

Also, the social media seems to be buzzing with sarcastic comments over the mandate of the people of KP, stating that they are clueless and experimenting with their future by electing new parties in every election.

To tell the truth, the KP people elect leaders who promise to deliver. If they are unable to do so, there is no reason why they should be re-elected.

Here is an evidence from the political record of the past two decades in KP: they voted for the PPP in 1993, then in 1997 they voted for the PML-N, in 2002 they chose the MMA, in 2007 the ANP and now in 2013 they chose the PTI.

Pukhtuns do not believe in blindly following the conventional politics, nor do they believe in feudal-infused political system. They believe in the true essence of democracy.

SHAHID IQBAL KHATTAK
Peshawar

Education and health should always be a top priority so that human progress could be achieved to make the country stronger in the future. There should not be any compromise on merit in appointments of top slots to run each and every organisation of the country.

People are despaired as a result of constant sufferings in the face of inflation and insecurity owing to the breakdown of law and order. The new government should try hard to check the prices of essential commodities and deal sternly to restore the law and order to provide security of life and property to the people.

ANWAR HUSSAIN
Karachi

The MQM, which has a huge following in urban centres of Sindh, has about 50 seats.

Recently, there has been a debate going on in political circles about which party’s representative should be made the chief minister of the province.

Being the clear leader, the PPP wants its representative to be the chief minister.

However, in that case, this would be rather unjust for the urban population of Sindh which has given its mandate to the MQM.

I would like to draw my attention to the party leadership of both the MQM and the PPP and request them to make an understanding among themselves and divide the five-year tenure proportionately according to the number of their seats. In that way, both the mandates of urban and rural Sindh would be duly respected.

CITIZEN OF SINDH
Karachi

What is required is not only money but also electricity to run a bullet train which may not run on a dream. Unless and until a mega hydroelectric dam is not built to provide cheap power, a country plagued with 12 to 16 hours of loadshedding, cannot dream of a bullet train. The only possibility for cheap hydel power is the construction of the Kalabagh Ddam which can generate 3,600 MW of cheap power.

The other alternative, the Diamir Bhasha Dam, is only a gleam in the eye due to insurmountable problems of long distance from consumers and lack of funds by the World Bank due to objections by India being located in a disputed area.

The first groundbreaking of the Bhasha Dam was done in 2006, i.e. seven years ago, with no prospects of further tangible progress. Even funds for preliminary works of the dam were diverted by Raja Pervez Ashraf to build roads in Gujjar Khan. We would need another Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan to build a mega dam to provide ample power for a dream train.

The Grand Coulee Dam in the US was built during World War II which helped to win the war by generating cheap power that made it possible to make aluminum for fighter and bomber planes that tilted the balance of war against Germany as did the atom bomb against Japan. As such, first things first, we require a mega hydroelectric dam in Pakistan before we dream of a bullet train. Even the first electric train from Lahore to Khanewal could not be maintained due to lack of power and the poles as the overhead power lines were also pilfered by thieves.

We may have grandiose ideas but in order to translate these into reality we need to set priorities to do first things first instead of dreaming like Sheikh Chilli who broke his eggs in a fitful dream.

DR M.YAQOOB BHATTI                   
Lahore

Weighing the priority

THIS refers to Nawaz Sharif’s statement (May 4) about running a bullet train from Karachi to Peshawar. As a common man, I am not against such projects.

I had read a lot of criticism about the Motorway project, as well as about the Metro Bus Service of Lahore. One may not agree with all those objections but it is a fact that the Motorway project is not being used to the maximum capacity for certain reasons and so it is not business-efficient transaction.

In my opinion, the first priority should be to run the present railway system efficiently and, secondly, the new project of bullet train should be prioritised on the basis of overall economic conditions.

MIR TABASSUM MAIRAJ    
Islamabad

There is nothing unusual about paying a courtesy call by the army general to prime minister-designate Nawaz Sharif, the chief of the PML-N.

But given the history of Pakistan it is indeed not desirable that an army chief should congratulate the chief of a political party on his/her success in a general election.

An army chief should ideally remain impartial to the political colour in Islamabad.

For the sake of democracy, the army shall always be subordinate to an elected government.

Can we expect — or will the media equally highlight — similar gesture from the cabinet secretary?

Apart from this, an extension in the service of an army chief would prove to be a bad omen for Pakistan. It is an unsuccessful tool for a political party to keep an army chief in good humour. This often produces a Frankenstein, not to speak of the genuine discontent among the next eligible persons in terms of seniority.

SANDIPAN KHAN
Kolkata

During his next term as prime minister I can foresee him:

1. Curtailing rampant corruption.

2. Building good relations with all its neighbours giving priority to Pakistan rather than be a proxy in trying to solve problems of other countries before his own.

3. Doing free trade with all his neighbours, with all of them listed as Most Favoured Nation.

4. Curbing militancy by consensus, counselling and negotiating rather than by the barrel of the gun.

5. Ensuring that awards, grants, funding, etc., benefit the people at the grassroots level.

6. Paying attention to the energy crisis and bringing in cheaper energy by promoting green energy in the country.

7. Bringing peace to Balochistan by offering business and job opportunities to the deprived youth and the downtrodden rather than by the barrel of the gun.

8. Conducting detailed geological exploration in the country, specially in Balochistan, and assisting and offering subsidies to the locals, empowering them with technical support by the government to enable them to take up mining activities themselves.

9. Paying attention to the processing and upgrading of minerals and their export. Supporting mineral – based industries for value – added end products.

10. Resolving the issues between the Tethyan Copper Company and the government of Balochistan that can change the fate of the province and the country.

11. Making Balochistan a haven for foreign investors in terms of minerals, renewable energy, tourism and agriculture and ensuring unrestricted travel of foreigners/foreign investors to the province.

The opposition, therefore, should adopt a positive approach and make valuable recommendations to benefit the people and the country.

ABID S. MUSTIKHAN
Karachi

Karachi situation

PEOPLE are out on the streets in small numbers now and perhaps the crowd will get bigger to ask for the change Karachi needs; now is the time for the new central and provincial governments to take steps as soon as they come into power.

Regardless, the political temperatures need to be brought down otherwise undesirable situations will develop that will hurt the people and the country.

Time is now to change the attitude and focus on the country’s progress.

M. HASAN
Karachi

This letter is about one of the important predicaments of our society.

In the early 1990s the then government changed the weekly public holiday from Friday to Sunday because 90 per cent of the world, save a few Muslim states, observe Sunday as weekly public holiday and, of course, to keep in sync with the world markets and businesses. Pakistan also turned to Sunday as weekly holiday.

The irony remains that over two decades passed and changing the course of holiday proved futile. Our economy did not show any positive effect with this change.

To add insult to injury, over 80 per cent of wholesalers, retailers, religious schools observe Friday as holiday and are likewise open for business on Sunday.

The government had introduced daylight saving time.

Almost 90 per cent of the people were observing old time whereas officially clocks were turned one hour ahead, there was chaos all over and mosques and shopkeepers kept talking about ‘naya (new) time’ and ‘purana (old) time’.

The new government needs to consider the pros and cons of weekly holidays which, in the best interest of the country, should be Friday and Saturday.

A working day means seamless flow of work and serious business only. One hour of break in a business day is far enough.

FARRUKH SAFDAR
Karachi