So we have a new government in place. But the proceedings so
far don’t seem too promising. Is the new government ready for the
innumerable changes ahead?
Among the elections campaigns, we heard a lot about PML-N being
the target of criticism for having a soft corner for Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ)
terrorists but just before the elections it masterfully silenced the issue. Now
when they have the government in the centre and Punjab will they order a full-fledged
operation against these terrorists? The Hazaras of Quetta and Victims of Abbas
Town, Karachi want justice more than the Metro Bus Service. Asghar Khan case is
still a skeleton hiding in the closet, will the government act to punish the
culprits or will we see a petition submitted in the Supreme Court soon urging
the government to take action against these culprits? Pervaiz Musharaf is
another issue which demands sensitivity. Will Nawaz Sharif, who has been
accused of taking a soft stance against him recently, come out strongly against
the man who over-threw his government in 1999?
It will be good for PML-N government to learn from its own
mistakes of the past and those of the PPP in the last few years. Nawaz Sharif
will have to curb the tendency of claiming to be a caliph of sorts in order to gain
popularity among rightists. He will also have to stop hiding terrorists in
Punjab and start taking serious note of those in the province accused of
terrorism. And, unlike the beginning of his rule, he will have to stop
strengthening the Ziaul Haq-inspired laws, which have made the lives of
minorities and women hell in this country.
His biggest challenges will be dealing with terrorism and
the generation of power. The first will be very difficult since he, too, has
been insisting in the past that this is not Pakistan’s war. And in this, Nawaz
Sharif needs the help of Imran Khan. If there is one man who can convince
Pakistanis that the war against the terrorists is their war, it is Imran Khan.
Will Imran rise to the challenge or will he discredit Nawaz leading to five
more years of random explosions?
Bushra
23:24 hours
Saturday 8 June 2013
Bushra
23:24 hours
Saturday 8 June 2013
