Bismillahi-arrahman-arrraheem
After greetings and salutations to Rasool sAllahu ‘alayhi wa wasalam
We seek guidance from Allah (swt) to “The straight path”, we pray to Allah (swt) The Creator and Lord of the worlds, Al Hakim.
First Published 8th May 2014 - Charter for Change in Pakistan v1.0
The juxtaposition of Pakistan once again is where the possibility of Marshall Law is being discussed. This time there are a multitude of catalysts which pose a threat to The Nation of Pakistan. The most notable and inflammatory voices come from some senior members of the current government who utilised the privilege of parliament to viciously attack the armed forces of The Nation. The second notable watershed incidence comes from the Media which conducted a belligerent “Trial by Television”, of the head of Pakistan’s intelligence services, following an attempted murder of a Pakistani journalist.
This trial by television and the self-righteous manner in which it was conducted over many hours is the straw that broke the “camel’s back”. Very quickly the public rose in huge numbers in support of the Armed forces. The current government has miss-handled the whole situation. Furthermore, they have failed to deliver on even the basic promises they made to the electorate in 2013.
The facts for Pakistan and its 180+ million citizens is that, there is still nationwide terrorism, chronic breakdown of law and order, massive corruption at every level of society, daily load shedding of electricity, ever rising inflation in basic commodities, broken inadequate healthcare and an education system which is out of date and not fit for purpose for the 21st century. Extreme poverty and daily suffering afflict well over half of the Pakistani population. The “so called” rigged 2013 elections provide a hotbed of argument and counter argument, furthermore pervasive corruption, lack of law and order for the man on the street provides a dangerous recipe for mass unrest which could potentially lead to Marshall Law.
To compound matters further there are many foreign intelligence services, enemies of the State of Pakistan and enemies of Islam operating within the borders of Pakistan, spreading miss information via the media and spreading sedition via other means amongst the Pakistani population. These outsiders and some domestic collaborators are spending billions of dollars every year to subvert the ethos and purpose for which Pakistan was created by Dr. Alama Iqbal and The Great Quaid-e-Azam.
Against such a background the current active political opposition to the government have become frustrated and angry and announced mass demonstrations against the government on 11th May 2014.
Mr Imran Khan of PTI has patiently developed his party over many years. His diplomatic and collegiate approach to seek power has brought him and his followers a long way. Yet despite his faith in the judiciary and consensus building abilities he has got nowhere in getting justice for alleged massive vote rigging in the May 2013 General Elections. Listening to his interviews it is clear that he does not even at this late stage want to display a “naked hunger” for the top job in Pakistani politics. He appears to be widely read in leadership and power theories and practice. His powers of leadership and shear commitment on the cricket field are legendry. Yet despite this he has failed to show the decisive steely nerve which is required to take the top job and turn his dreams for Pakistan into reality. He wants a mass rally but without clear defined demands which will bring about the Tsunami of change he has talked about, but as yet not delivered. Asking the masses to come out and demonstrate in the heat of May in Islamabad can only be fair if Imran Khan is willing to deliver the Tsunami of change which the masses who follow him seek.
Imran Khan must note that the Great Dr. Gene Sharp the founder of the Albert Einstein Institution recognised that the man who has people power ultimately has the power to rule a nation (paraphrase). Dr Gene Sharp described the sources of some of his ideas as in-depth studies of Mohandas K. Gandhi. Noam Chomsky states that in a corrupt system the people in power will not give power to the challenger, the challenger must take power (paraphrase).
Off course the example of The Quaid-e-Azam and his incorruptibility, steadfast discipline and belief in The Nation of Pakistan is there to be followed. More importantly The Greatest and the last Prophet, Prophet Mohammed (saw) and his rightful Caliphs’ (pbu) have left a clear example and a blueprint for mankind to follow. Imran Khan must now clearly state his plan to achieve rapid democratic change on 11th May 2014. One way to achieve this is to join with other opposition groups in a peaceful common united front and agree to the basics of this Charter for Change in Pakistan and demand an Emergency Interim Unity Government.
Dr. Tahir ul Khadri of PAT, an erudite scholar of Islam and International affairs and head of Minhaj al Quran has shown that his long experience in Pakistani Politics and socio-economic development activities has given him an insight which is largely lacking in other political leaders in Pakistan. The political heavy weights duped Dr. Tahir ul Khadri to end his Longmarch in January 2013. To add insult to injury the vested political and commercial interests then proceeded to hold elections which were heavily rigged. This situation and many character assassination attempts via mainline media by the so called “electables” on Dr Tahir ul Khadri has lead to his demands for a revolution (inqalab) which he has announced will start nationwide on 11th May 2014. Pakistan is in very difficult position and does not need a revolution. More suitable and appropriate is a peaceful evolutionary process offered by uniting with the popular opposition and demanding the Charter for Change in Pakistan.
Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad of AML a veteran politician and a man of the people who has been the most vocal of the opposition in the Pakistan parliament and TV talk shows. He has announced he will be calling for the masses to join the 11th May 2014 demonstrations. He is a true patriot and someone who has the potential to get millions out to demonstrate peacefully throughout the country and in particularly in Rawal Pindi. Therefore, he has a key and crucial role to play in persuading a peaceful united opposition to adapt the Charter for Change in Pakistan.
The Prime Minister Mr Nawas Sharif and his government have failed to tackle terrorism, law and order, load shedding, corruption etc. To make matters even more acute Prime Minister Sharif has publically allowed his former political opponent Mr Asif Zardari to cosy-up to him, forgetting all his and his brother Mr Shabbaz Sharif pre-election promises to prosecute Mr Zardari and his team for corruption and miss-management. In turn Mr Altaf Hussain seems not to provide robust opposition to the government in the National Assembly.
The lack of strong and decisive government and failure to make significant inroads to tackle the main issues facing Pakistan have resulted in many vested interests to make a grab for more power, influence and money then is healthy for the nation of Pakistan. Pakistan a core bedrock constituency of the Muslim world is occupying a precarious position between Marshall Law and Democracy.
The peaceful mass protests planned for 11th of May 2014 pose a significant threat to law and order and economic well being of Pakistan. The disaffection and socio-economic issues of the demonstrators can easily be exploited by those who are currently trying to hold power amongst the half a dozen elite’s and also by those anti-Pakistan forces who are clearly now well established within the borders of Pakistan.
To make matters even worse, whilst Pakistan is embroiled in its internal politics the region is seeing many changes in which Pakistan is failing to actively engage and influence in a manner which is in the best interest of Pakistan and its people. Elections in Afghanistan, the rise of Hindu extremism in India and The Arab Spring warrant the full attention of a united and strong Pakistan.
International economic advantage is gradually moving to the east. The strategic geographical position of Pakistan in EurAsia regions provides a myriad of opportunities for commercial and political activity. The pivot to the pacific of America, recent Ukraine revolution and the accompanying Russia-phobic stance of NATO provides many challenges and key strategic and commercial opportunities to consolidate and improve the geo-political role of Pakistan.
To the uninitiated (many dilettante Pakistani politicians seem to be that) and those who are not familiar with tectonic movements of international politics in the last 50 years, these dangers to the nation of Pakistan maybe nebulous. Make no mistake, The State of Pakistan needs to act in concert with its population and institutions to protect its nuclear power status, its borders, resolve the Kashmir dispute and deliver economic well being to the population.
In addition Pakistan is today failing to address adequately the information and propaganda war which has been unleashed against it in the last decade. TV stations, Newspapers, book publishers, think tanks world–wide spew out anti-Pakistan and Islamophobic content round the clock. Pakistani politicians and its institutions urgently need to act in unison to tackle such challenges and full fill its potential as a core nation in the community of Islam.
Against such realities the mass protests planned for 11th May 2014 by Mr Imran Khan, Dr. Tahir ul Khadri and Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad need to, and must unite and aggregate their people power and seek a seismic change in Pakistani politics by demanding an immediate Emergency Interim United Government with the aim of achieving a number of strategically important objectives, which will assist to bring rapid relief to the population and develop a new robust electoral system which is free and fair and eliminates opportunity for election rigging by anyone in the future.
The Emergency Interim United Government (IG), should be established for a minimum of 7 months and consist of Khan, Khadri, Rasheed, Sharif, Zardari, Hussain, plus 3 heads of the other main parties who have been vocal in their role as an opposition, plus 3 members of the Pakistani population who are well known for fairness, honesty and commitment to the Pakistani state plus 3 non-resident overseas Pakistani’s who can make a significant contribution in this effort.
The agenda for the IG would be developing and implementing a framework of programs to end terrorisms, re-assert law and order, reduce and eliminate load shedding, streamline finance and economy, introduce strict rules and punishment for tax evasion, design and establish a new tamper proof electoral system, give a vote to non-resident Pakistani’s, reduce unemployment, design and implement a new healthcare system and any other urgent issues which are essential to enable Pakistan to rise and achieve its full potential as a nation and its peoples to have adequate food, shelter, healthcare, security, education and employment. The work of the IG can be enhanced by seeking advice from specialists and forming expert sub-groups.
The IG should prosecute with extreme prejudice an “elephant and flies”, policy to tackle corruption in Pakistan. The flies being the minor criminals who use the current system to impose corruption, low level bribery and extortion on the population of say 1,000 to 100,000 rupee. The elephants being the big fish who target multi-million rupee scams. This pincer movement from below and simultaneously from the top will shake the tree of corruption to its core. Many will offer their insider information or criminals will come forward who seek immunity in exchange for information, which the law and order authorities can then consider. A similar policy should immediately be applied to tax evaders and loan defaulters.
The IG should immediately announce a 40 day "honeymoon" window for overdue taxes, overdue loans, overdue utility bills to be paid in full. Thereafter, the IG should conduct a careful examination of tax evaders, loan defaulters and none bill payers and prosecute those found guilty.
The emergency nature of the IG should mean that if any head of a party refuses to join then they lose their position. The urgent workload means they should attend for a full days work, 6 days per week at The National Assembly in Islamabad. Other rules to deal with absences, illness or bereavement etc will need to be established. However, if any member of the IG fails to attend regularly without good cause then they will lose their position for good.
Each of the 15 members of the IG must select up to 7 specialists from their party members or from the general public to accompany and advise them in the National Assembly (suggestions are experts in: terrorism, economics & finance, law & order, international relations, healthcare, education, electoral system & reform, technology & IP). Such specialists must be selected on highest international standards. In order to attract high calibre of candidates their remuneration must be based on international standards.
The 15 member IG will each month select a Chairman for one single term of one month via a secret ballot. The chairman would be charged with running the daily weekly and monthly work load of the IG. The Chairman should act neutral and only casts a vote when there is no majority. Only the 15 member IG get a vote. The work of IG will be dissolved when most urgent of these essential tasks have been completed and a new elections should be held 3 months after the end of the IG.
The concept of the IG and its rules and regulation can be developed further to ensure its efficiency to lay a framework for the future Rise of Pakistan. There are many scientific methods which can be adopted to ensure issues are discussed precisely, rapidly agreed upon and implemented. The overall aim should be to allow IG members to become stakeholders in developing policy and solutions.
All Pakistani’s and friends of Pakistan must urge the Pakistani political leaders who are calling for mass protests on 11th May 2014 to unite with one voice and demand an Emergency Interim United Government. The current division amongst the vocal political opposition does not make sense, when combined their massive support amongst the population ensures that they will for the first time achieve free and fair elections in 2015.
Political party workers and the whole of Pakistani population and friends of Pakistan should demand an IG via social media, local notice boards, news media etc. Such mass mobilisation of people’s demands will encourage Khan, Khadri, Rasheed plus others to set aside their reticence and political self interest for a limited period and club together and achieve a greater change which is urgently needed in Pakistan. At the end of the IG term each can compete for power in the first free and fair election process in the history of Pakistan. Demanding an IG on 11th May 2014 and making it a success is a political act IG members will be remembered for with respect, honour and admiration for generations to come.
#RisePakistan99 is a concept which has arisen due to my undergraduate studies in economics in the 1980’s and continuous interest in economic development of nations and in particular of Pakistan, since my father (an ardent supporter and believer in Pakistan) and I over the decades regularly discuss the vast latent potential of Pakistan and its hard working peoples.
All that is good and righteous in this document is from Allah (swt) and any mistakes or omissions are mine. Tawwakalna ‘ala Allah.
Shafique M.B. Azam
Please Note -This is a first stab at the Charter for Change in Pakistan v1.0, if you have ideas and suggestions please send them for consideration and addition. A collaborative approach will allow this charter for change to become more relevant, more effective and more encompassing with a wide range of stakeholders.
The Charter for Change in Pakistan can be published, copied, posted, forwarded and translated into another language as long as you give credit to and provide a link to the original publication at www.ShariaTimes.com
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Azam is UK educated and attended Leeds Metropolitan University Post-Graduate Business School studying management and corporate strategy. He is a senior telecommunication, IT and IP manager. He is the former Regional Manager, Middle East for British Telecommunications International. For over 20 years he has worked with the Arab Top 100 corporates including designing, delivering and maintaining the first leading edge regional satellite broadcast printing network for Arab News, owned by HRH Prince Salman Bin Abdul-Aziz. From the late 1980’s Azam also worked with many of the boards and senior management of the Fortune 1,000 establishing leading edge technologies and networks for Wall Street, City of London, Swiss, Far Eastern based corporates (JP Morgan, Bankers Trust, Credit Suisse, Bank of China, Mitsubishi Bank, KDD etc.) . He is a serial entrepreneur and is the Founder of the free to use online venture www.Sharia.com which will be launched in 2015, InshaAllah. Sharia.com aims to reduce poverty via trade and commerce.
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