Islamabad’s Victory (Part-1)

“Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past. ” — George Orwell After hearing of the postponement of the long march to Islamabad by Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf, I posed an honest question to myself: who was controlling our past and present during these eight decades, and who will control our future? I laughed at the stupidity of my question and rejoiced over Islamabad’s victory in foiling two long marches this month. Hafiz Naeem, the current Amir of Jamaat Islami, is no match for the late Amir of Jamaat, Qazi Hussain Ahmed, in agitational protests, politics of alliances, and the skill of rubbing shoulders with Afghanistan’s Mujahidin. Similarly, the young Chief Minister of KPK, Muhammad Sohail Afridi, could not match the political dexterity of his predecessor in reaching Islamabad. The nation was on tenterhooks to witness the conclusion of this ordeal. KP Excise Dept seizes 240kg hashish in Swabi The PTI friends say that the long march has only been postponed for a few days as part of their strategy to tire out the Islamabad authorities. They will give a fresh call for the resumption of the long march. Meanwhile, they will try to woo Moulana Sahib to take part in the final push to Islamabad. They are sanguine that the Moulana will join their peaceful long march. The JUI Sindh, under the leadership of the Soomro brothers, remains at a distance from PTI Sindh. Maybe they wait for a nod from their leader. The question is: why should Moulana burn his fingers in this fire ignited by someone else? KP CM inaugurates new hybrid buses, Pink Bus Service for women Rashid Soomro has taken over the mantle of his slain father, Senator Khalid Soomro, who remained the Secretary General of the Jamiat for many years, enjoying the trust of Moulana Fazal ur Rehman. Moulana Taj Muhammad Amroti remained the ceremonial head of the Jamiat in Sindh. The Soomro brothers have imbibed their father’s skill for mobilising seminary students and teachers. This is the real strength of the Jamiat from Pashin to Kashmore and Multan. Obviously, this is a temporary relief for Islamabad. The arrangements made by the authorities to secure Islamabad would remain in place until 4 October, with bridges, roads and highways blocked by containers, and the capital littered with makeshift accommodation for police forces borrowed from all three provinces, AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan. Rangers have been deployed all over Punjab. The KPK police will be conspicuous by its absence from this grand convergence of forces. Assuming that there is no progress on the demands of the PTI and there is a fresh call for a long march from the second week of October, the capital city will remain besieged throughout the month of October, to the amusement of the world. TTPA delegation invites PPP to APC We claim to be a democratic nation; we claim our country is governed by democratically elected leaders; we claim that the party in power genuinely enjoys a majority in Parliament; we claim our courts are independent and free from any pressure from the executive; we claim sanctity for the Constitution. We claim to follow the rule of law. No democracy bars people from peaceful protest; no elected leader is afraid of people; no majority party loses confidence in the wisdom of democratic exercises by the people. No independent court finds itself helpless to enforce its verdict; no constitution affords thoughtless and person-specific amendments. KP govt spending significant amount of resources on security: Muzzammil Ambassador M. Alam BrohiThe writer is a former member of the Foreign Service of Pakistan and has served as Ambassador for two terms. He is the author of five books.

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