Pakistan’s generals look increasingly desperate. Economist

Digital_Pakistani

Chief Minister (5k+ posts)

Nawaz sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League party (pml-n) is back in power. Following elections last month, the thrice former prime minister’s younger brother, Shehbaz, has been installed in the ruling post. His daughter, Maryam, is the new chief minister of populous Punjab. So why is Mr Sharif so glum? The 74-year-old “lion of Punjab” has said little publicly since the vote. Bunkered down in his mansion outside Lahore, he is said to be depressed.

He has reason to be. The pml-n’s success is much less than Mr Sharif was promised when he returned home last year. He had spent four years in exile in London because Pakistan’s generals—stage managers of its democracy—were against him. They rigged an election in 2018 in favour of his main rival, Imran Khan. But then they fell out with Mr Khan and reverted to the lion. A former cricketing god, Mr Khan is now in jail on graft charges. His Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (pti) party has been dismantled. pml-n was therefore expected to sweep the election and Mr Sharif to become prime minister for a fourth time. Instead, something unprecedented happened.

Despite the army’s myriad ploys to prevent Pakistanis voting for Mr Khan, it seems most did so. Standing as independents, candidates linked to his party swept the country. Early counting put them on track for two-thirds of Punjab’s seats and an overall majority. At which point the army intervened to a degree that might make a tin-pot tyrant blush.

Army agents were allegedly sent into counting stations with alternative tallies. Salman Akram Raja, a Supreme Court lawyer running as a de facto pti candidate in Lahore, had been informed that he had won by 95,000 votes. And then—whoops—that he had lost to the pml-n candidate by 13,500. Mr Sharif’s party would otherwise have faced oblivion. As it is, it won only 75 of 264 seats. It cobbled together a majority by striking a deal with the Pakistan Peoples Party, which is run by another fading dynasty, the Bhuttos.

This might seem like Pakistani business as usual. The country has been ruled by the army, directly or at varying degrees of remove, throughout its history. In a cycle that Mr Sharif has been through several times, the generals put a biddable civilian in power then, after he or she dares to act independently, switch to a different proxy or army rule. Thereby Pakistan has had four army dictators and none of its 20 civilian prime ministers has completed a five-year term. This helps explain why it is so badly governed. Having little prospect of a full term, Pakistan’s civilian regimes abjure long-term decision-making in favour of populist giveaways and graft. As recently as 2006, Pakistanis were better-off than Indians; now the average income in India is 60% higher than that in Pakistan.

A big question arising from this latest turn of the wheel is whether the army can maintain control. There are two reasons to think it could struggle. The first is Mr Khan. Perhaps unwittingly, given his erstwhile compliance with the army, he has channelled Pakistanis’ long-standing despond into anger at the military establishment. This has put Pakistani politics on new terrain. Had the army chief, General Asim Munir, responded to the vote count by calling a state of emergency, as his predecessors might have, he would have risked an uprising. “There is this sense that the gravy train needs to stop,” says Mr Raja, an old acquaintance of Banyan. “We can’t be forever governed by two families in cahoots with the powers that be.”

The second factor endangering the status quo is a protracted economic crisis. The inflationary shocks experienced in many countries have in Pakistan combined with the effects of long-standing malgovernance to deliver chronic inflation, joblessness and balance-of-payment problems. Mr Khan’s ousting in 2022 now appears well timed for him. Mr Sharif’s decision to let Shehbaz lead an 16-month-long replacement government instead of calling early elections looks like a major blunder. It has hung the crisis around his party’s neck. With Pakistan’s 24th imf bail-out set to expire this month, and a bigger loan urgently required, the new government will need to take measures that will make it even more unpopular than it is. Its prospects—and Mr Sharif’s hopes of rebuilding his party—appear dire.

The same could be true for the army-run establishment that Mr Sharif has unhappily rejoined. It may have got away with its latest election heist. But in the process Mr Khan’s supporters have made the army look desperate and vulnerable.
 

abdlsy

Prime Minister (20k+ posts)

Nawaz sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League party (pml-n) is back in power. Following elections last month, the thrice former prime minister’s younger brother, Shehbaz, has been installed in the ruling post. His daughter, Maryam, is the new chief minister of populous Punjab. So why is Mr Sharif so glum? The 74-year-old “lion of Punjab” has said little publicly since the vote. Bunkered down in his mansion outside Lahore, he is said to be depressed.

He has reason to be. The pml-n’s success is much less than Mr Sharif was promised when he returned home last year. He had spent four years in exile in London because Pakistan’s generals—stage managers of its democracy—were against him. They rigged an election in 2018 in favour of his main rival, Imran Khan. But then they fell out with Mr Khan and reverted to the lion. A former cricketing god, Mr Khan is now in jail on graft charges. His Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (pti) party has been dismantled. pml-n was therefore expected to sweep the election and Mr Sharif to become prime minister for a fourth time. Instead, something unprecedented happened.

Despite the army’s myriad ploys to prevent Pakistanis voting for Mr Khan, it seems most did so. Standing as independents, candidates linked to his party swept the country. Early counting put them on track for two-thirds of Punjab’s seats and an overall majority. At which point the army intervened to a degree that might make a tin-pot tyrant blush.

Army agents were allegedly sent into counting stations with alternative tallies. Salman Akram Raja, a Supreme Court lawyer running as a de facto pti candidate in Lahore, had been informed that he had won by 95,000 votes. And then—whoops—that he had lost to the pml-n candidate by 13,500. Mr Sharif’s party would otherwise have faced oblivion. As it is, it won only 75 of 264 seats. It cobbled together a majority by striking a deal with the Pakistan Peoples Party, which is run by another fading dynasty, the Bhuttos.

This might seem like Pakistani business as usual. The country has been ruled by the army, directly or at varying degrees of remove, throughout its history. In a cycle that Mr Sharif has been through several times, the generals put a biddable civilian in power then, after he or she dares to act independently, switch to a different proxy or army rule. Thereby Pakistan has had four army dictators and none of its 20 civilian prime ministers has completed a five-year term. This helps explain why it is so badly governed. Having little prospect of a full term, Pakistan’s civilian regimes abjure long-term decision-making in favour of populist giveaways and graft. As recently as 2006, Pakistanis were better-off than Indians; now the average income in India is 60% higher than that in Pakistan.

A big question arising from this latest turn of the wheel is whether the army can maintain control. There are two reasons to think it could struggle. The first is Mr Khan. Perhaps unwittingly, given his erstwhile compliance with the army, he has channelled Pakistanis’ long-standing despond into anger at the military establishment. This has put Pakistani politics on new terrain. Had the army chief, General Asim Munir, responded to the vote count by calling a state of emergency, as his predecessors might have, he would have risked an uprising. “There is this sense that the gravy train needs to stop,” says Mr Raja, an old acquaintance of Banyan. “We can’t be forever governed by two families in cahoots with the powers that be.”

The second factor endangering the status quo is a protracted economic crisis. The inflationary shocks experienced in many countries have in Pakistan combined with the effects of long-standing malgovernance to deliver chronic inflation, joblessness and balance-of-payment problems. Mr Khan’s ousting in 2022 now appears well timed for him. Mr Sharif’s decision to let Shehbaz lead an 16-month-long replacement government instead of calling early elections looks like a major blunder. It has hung the crisis around his party’s neck. With Pakistan’s 24th imf bail-out set to expire this month, and a bigger loan urgently required, the new government will need to take measures that will make it even more unpopular than it is. Its prospects—and Mr Sharif’s hopes of rebuilding his party—appear dire.

The same could be true for the army-run establishment that Mr Sharif has unhappily rejoined. It may have got away with its latest election heist. But in the process Mr Khan’s supporters have made the army look desperate and vulnerable.
Desperate NO WAY!!

For 75 yrs doing it

they are now dheet no shurum at all
 

Sach Bolo

Senator (1k+ posts)
for the 1st time in history, Pakistani Generals must be doing something real good for Pakistan which is scaring west and its zionist controllers!

we all know how welcome the west and America was to Auyub, Zia, and Musharaf who were nothing more then busy fulfilling their agendas locally. I still remember a Daily Show appearance for Musharaf was arranged while he was busy droppng bodies for Americans and west. He was ceberated by The Economist and likes.

Keep up the good work Hafiz saab...and continue your path... but please do not underestimate Jemima's Zionist and globally very strong Anti Pakistan Ahmadi lobby working against you.
 
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chandaa

Prime Minister (20k+ posts)
They are duffers! They fucked up country big time. From last 75 years they are making money and getting rich. Only Bengalis, Baluchs and Pakhtoons challenged them. Soon these pigs will be slaughtered for good and Pakistan will seek true independence!
 

Melanthus

Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
for the 1st time in history, Pakistani Generals must be doing something real good for Pakistan which is scaring west and its zionist controllers!

we all know how welcome the west and America was to Auyub, Zia, and Musharaf who were nothing more then busy fulfilling their agendas locally. I still remember a Daily Show appearance for Musharaf was arranged while he was busy droppng bodies for Americans and west. He was ceberated by The Economist and likes.

Keep up the good work Hafiz saab...and continue your path... but please do not underestimate Jemima's Zionist and globally very strong Anti Pakistan Ahmadi lobby working against you.
A bhikari country can not scare the west.Pakistan depend on the west for trade,loans and military equipment.Pakistan’s majors trading partners are EU and US .EU can easily cancel Pakistan’s GSP+ status because Pakistan has violated human rights.GSP+ requires human rights protection and good governance.
 

Allah_Ka_Banda

Senator (1k+ posts)
for the 1st time in history, Pakistani Generals must be doing something real good for Pakistan which is scaring west and its zionist controllers!

we all know how welcome the west and America was to Auyub, Zia, and Musharaf who were nothing more then busy fulfilling their agendas locally. I still remember a Daily Show appearance for Musharaf was arranged while he was busy droppng bodies for Americans and west. He was ceberated by The Economist and likes.

Keep up the good work Hafiz saab...and continue your path... but please do not underestimate Jemima's Zionist and globally very strong Anti Pakistan Ahmadi lobby working against you.
Hand on your heart, Allah ko hazir naazir jaante huwe.. can you say that whatever Bajwa has done and whatever Asim is doing, is haq and fair?
Please apni duty shift khattam honay se pehlay jawab dena !

Kabhi socha hai jab maro gay tou kya jawab dou gay Allah ko?

Iyya ka naabudu wa iyyaka nastaeen...! Samjhtay hona... !

Chalo apnay all powerful Asim se death avoid karne ki guarantee bhi lay lou !
 

patwari_sab

Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
for the 1st time in history, Pakistani Generals must be doing something real good for Pakistan which is scaring west and its zionist controllers!

we all know how welcome the west and America was to Auyub, Zia, and Musharaf who were nothing more then busy fulfilling their agendas locally. I still remember a Daily Show appearance for Musharaf was arranged while he was busy droppng bodies for Americans and west. He was ceberated by The Economist and likes.

Keep up the good work Hafiz saab...and continue your path... but please do not underestimate Jemima's Zionist and globally very strong Anti Pakistan Ahmadi lobby working against you.
tere dimagh me bi nimrod ki tara machhar guss gaya 🤣
 

Sarkash

Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
for the 1st time in history, Pakistani Generals must be doing something real good for Pakistan which is scaring west and its zionist controllers!

we all know how welcome the west and America was to Auyub, Zia, and Musharaf who were nothing more then busy fulfilling their agendas locally. I still remember a Daily Show appearance for Musharaf was arranged while he was busy droppng bodies for Americans and west. He was ceberated by The Economist and likes.

Keep up the good work Hafiz saab...and continue your path... but please do not underestimate Jemima's Zionist and globally very strong Anti Pakistan Ahmadi lobby working against you.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

A few days ago you were praising the Generals meeting Blinken in his office without an invitation 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

They must be doing REALLY well to beg for more money.

You prove yourself a mouth piece of inter pass duffers trying to portray them as larger than life.

No one gives a shit about those generals who get trained in US for 3-5 years before being appointed as generals.

Tandoori Chakka saeen thori bhe ghairat hoti tou doob kay mar jata tu 🤣🤣🤣
 

ranaji

(50k+ posts) بابائے فورم
ایف اے تھرڈ ڈویژن ڈفرز اپنے کام کے علاوہ دنیا کا ہر کام کرسکتے ہیں بس نا جنگ کرسکتے ہیں نا جنگ جیت سکتے ہیں یہ ثابت کر کے ہر جنگ زلت ناک شکست سے ہار کر اور نا ہی یہ ڈفرز ملک بچا سکتے ہیں
ہاں اسے توڑ ضرور سکتے ہیں اور یہ بات وہ ثابت بھی کرچکے مشرقی پاکستان میں وہ بھی ترانوے ہزار پتلونیں اتروا کر
 

thinking

Prime Minister (20k+ posts)
Agenda bara tha..RCO karwanay walo ke kae targets they..IK jesay true Patriot ko hatana..PTI ko khatam Karna..Sab choro ko aik plate form par Lana.. Establishment ur judiciary ki full support corrupt ko dena.. Pakistan ko Russia..China ke block se nikalna..Sab se
eham target Neutrals ki awam mein total respect , sakh khatam Karna.
Aur ye target bhi hasal ho Chuka.
Ab ap Pakistan ke lia dua karain please.
 

exitonce

Prime Minister (20k+ posts)
How to tag gandus of PMA KAKUL
Trans Day Of Visibility Gay GIF
LIKE THIS
 

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