The Daily PakistanPolitics Feb16-28, 2018

• Feb22-2018--Nawaz Sharif has no options left but to go home and become what he is a pathetic looting industrialist...another option would be some sort of constitutional amendment to remove or dent articles 62 and 63 and declare that parliament is above the constitution and its acts cannot be called into question in any court of Law...That would require a major concession to the PPP say giving them all the Punjab national assembly seats or the Punjab provincial government in the next elections...however the constitution has several safeguards and changing all of them would really be a big problem...another option would be allowing a PPP government which would be bound to amend the constitution and follow the PMLn's advice...Theoretically the court has closed the door to any major amendments and Nawaz Sharif would do best to replace himself with his daughter or brother or other placebo and control things from behind the scene...Since there are several NAB cases around he would need a amendment in NAB laws too ...all this points to curtains for the almost 70 year old industrialist who has spent his life wheeling and dealing and doing no work...for someone whose origins are the streets of Amritsar's red area that is still a major achievement...many recall that his first run in with the military was making parts for the Nishan jeep in the late sixties and early seventies...his father a lohar from jullunder apparently dug tubewells and was known as Mian Chawani(25 paisas)...he used to pay government clerks 25 paisa for easing his files thru for tenders...!he probably institutionalized corruption in those early days of Pakistan...!
  
• Feb22-2018--Sheikh Rashid has moved NAB against Shahid Khaqan Abbasi for irregularities in the 2013 LNG agreements...LNG can almost easily be ordered on the internet from a commodity dealer in Singapore...!
  
• Feb22-2018--The SC in a landmark decision straightened out the rubber stamp parliament and cancelled the amendment to the Elections Act, 2017 in which they had said that a disqualified person can be made the head of a major political party...The court made clear that no criminal or criminally minded or disqualified person could head a political party...They also said that all steps ordered or taken by Nawaz Sharif since his disqualification stood cancelled...the CJ and other judges clarified that they had not referred to Nawaz Sharif as a thief, mafia boss, godfather or sicillian killer which were mentioned however in other contexts...This has brought the curtain down on the illegal acts of the PMLn in opposing the SC decisions...questions are being raised on whether that kicks out Shahid Khaqan Abbasi as primeminister as that was ordered by Nawaz Sharif too...legally the primeminister could survive or even loose a no confidence motion...however the PMLn has come across as a party of goons and no intellectual or party confidence has been demonstrated...This has left Nawaz Sharif as a " choon choon ka marabba"...he had nothing to say apart from the fact that he could change his name...there were no technical matters in this decision apart from the fact that the parliament and its decisions or amendments have to follow the constitution...theoretically a disqualification now means that they are not allowed to participate in politics ie. elections, appointments and political leadership positions in or out of parliament...That only leaves one decision in this agenda that of the period of disqualification...however in probably a sop to Nawaz Sharif they allowed his sugar mills to operate in south Punjab as other mills were not buying sugarcane...
  
• Feb17-2018--Pakistan Army says they destroyed an indian army post killing five soldiers after they had attacked a student van
  
• Feb17-2018--The SC has ordered stoppage of all commercial activity in residential areas...all 45 cantonments in Punjab have thus ordered the shut down of all private educational institutions...The order was passed on 24th Oct, 2017...There are 1600 private school/colleges in Lahore cantonment and 15000 in all punjabs cantonments and 30000 in the entire country...
  
• Feb17-2018--USA again says it is unfriendly to pakistan saying that it does not believe that pakistani has correct counter terrorism methods even though they have defused al qaeda and Taleban in their own country to a very large extent...what JUD or Falah insaniat have todo with the USA is unknown...
  
• Feb17-2018--Rao Anwer refuses to obey SC orders as does Nawaz Sharif...
  
• Feb17-2018--Maryam Nawaz should have realized who was vilifying whom when her entire party and ministers were vilifying Imran Khan and threatening the court...even now they vilify Imran Khan but also protest what the court has done or said...It is the court that has constitutional protection against contempt not the PMLn...!All their lawyer should have said when the court questioned them was that no dacoit, thief or extortionist would be made the head of the PMLn and no disqualified person either...The standard for all parties and mna's cannot be different...!judicial decisions are not the same as politics...whatever the thick nawaz sharif head makes of it...
  
• Feb17-2018--Senate and NA up in arms over sending troops to Saudia...Parliament should have realized what the army was upto after several army chief visits to the countries in the region and recent joint pak-saudi exersizes...many have questioned the need of such a huge army when Pakistan does want to fight their own or anybody's wars...!
  
• Feb16-2018--Army says that it is sending troops to KSA...This has come about after several army chief visits to KSA and other places in the region... and the recent joint saudi-pak exersizes in which troops were shown landing on a beach...!Earlier Raheel Sharif wanted to take 5000 troops with him...however the shiite minded army and regime had refused earlier requests which supposedly included 100 pilots...!however it is supposed that under Raheel Shareef and an earlier general the army had refused to have anything todo with troop transfers..Nawaz Sharif was also said to have turned against the saudis and had said that they should use negotiations however his half hearted attempt to engage the yemenis and iranians had not succeeded...apparently now the number of troops is said tobe less than 20000...!The iranians or shiite supported Houthis from whom our ismailis are descended have fired several missiles at saudia which were blocked by patriots...the houthis apparently used iranian missiles and fired them on their advice too...The army chief also advised the iranians to solve issues thru negotiations...Qatar which is trying to build an advanced airforce with at least 75 planes composing of F-16's, Rafales and Tornados...was accused by the saudis of supporting taleban style violence...That has caused the formation of a qatar, turkey and iran alliance...pakistan having a dubious military/political agenda is now unable to play a powerful nuclear armed state controlling other countries in the region...and the army chief seems tobe trying to play all parts of the regional divide...since pakistan is now allied with everyone it hardly makes any difference whether it has troops in one or the other...pakistan should realize that afghanistan, india, iran, qatar, saudi arabia and Turkey have differing perceptions about emerging realities or problems...With such a large force pakistan would probably have to defend against a houthi invasion if the saudi group collapses in yemen...