Megalomaniac

Pakistan’s Opposition parties have finally come together and forged an alliance against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government. On Tuesday, Leader of the Opposition Shehbaz Sharif hosted a lunch in his chamber at Parliament House for other Opposition leaders. Interestingly, this luncheon meeting was attended by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leadership in full force. Former President Asif Ali Zardari and party chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, after meeting Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Mr. Sharif, announced a joint political strategy. Federal Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry termed this alliance an ‘alliance for the restoration of corruption’. He was alluding to the corruption cases against the leadership of both parties. Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was sent back to jail after another conviction last month, while the PPP leadership is facing cases related to money laundering and fake bank accounts. “The PML-N and the PPP are two sides of the same ...

On January 15, Prime Minister Imran Khan tweeted: “In a Parliament that costs taxpayers billions yearly, yet another walkout in NA by the Opposition shows that this is the only function they intend to perform. These are pressure tactics to seek an NRO & evade accountability for corruption in NAB cases not initiated by PTI.” PM Khan’s tweet comes a day after the Opposition staged a walkout in the National Assembly when Federal Minister for Water Resources Faisal Vawda started to respond to Leader of the Opposition Shahbaz Sharif’s criticism of the Mohmand Dam contract. In response to his tweet, many reminded PM Khan of his absence from parliament in the last few months. Others reminded him of his promise to have a Q&A session on a fortnightly basis in parliament, which has yet to materialise. This is not the first time that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government and PM Khan have backtracked on their ‘promises’. No wonder, PM Khan feels that one cannot become a great...

In November, a delegation of Indian journalists invited by the government of Pakistan to cover the Kartarpur Corridor groundbreaking ceremony met Prime Minister Imran Khan. Rajdeep Sardesai brought up the issue of Hamid Ansari, a young Indian who was jailed in Pakistan for illegally entering the country six years ago to meet a girl he befriended online. Mr. Khan responded that this was the first time he was hearing about this case. “Insha’Allah, we will do our best” was Prime Minister’s response. Mr. Ansari was released on December 17. In December 2015, was been sentenced to three years in prison. After he completed his term, the Peshawar High Court gave the government one month to finish the formalities. The government acted quickly. While Mr. Ansari was in Pakistani prisons, there were several people who helped him and fought for his release. Rukhshanda Naz, a lawyer and rights activist, was one of them. In 2014, Ms. Naz went to Nepal for a conference where author Rita Manchand...