The Official Pakistan Politics thread

[Agent Nationaux]

Wondering if Khan is safe from getting bhutto-ed once he gains nationwide influence and becomes a threat to the current regime?

Nobody is safe, but Bhutto did something pretty dumb. I was at a relatives house and he was recounting the crucial moments of Bhutto and Zia as told to him by an advisor present at the time.

Bhutto had been put under house arrest by Zia. Zia came to meet him and tell him that once the nation had calmed down, he would let Bhutto resume office (or something to that affect). However Bhutto at that moment (during his house arrest) decided to threaten Zia (that he would destroy him after release). That marked the end for Bhutto and his execution.

 

[Agent Nationaux]

11.5 % inflation at the end of September 2011. It's a big concern at the moment especially since people are unemployed and suffering due to floods.

 

[Agent Nationaux]

Big problem is that the rupee is constantly losing value because nobody wants to invest in Pak (war on terror).

 

[Redbacks]

11.5 % inflation at the end of September 2011. It's a big concern at the moment especially since people are unemployed and suffering due to floods.

Run away inflation is a problem that feeds on itself. On the one hand there is initial jobs created by printing more money but it will certainly drive away foreign investment if they cannot forecast what their return on investment will be. (floods a major contributor on food price inflation)

You get an initial boost in prices as more people are bidding for the same amount of goods which may give the impression to businessmen that new investment in productive industry is now viable, only problem is that when you take away the inflation (grab the tiger by the tail) it causes massive problems.

As tough as it may be, getting inflation under control is important. With corruption being a problem, Government/Private partnerships to boost industry would be fraught with danger.

 

[Agent Nationaux]

Redbacks, I have seen you post a lot about economics. Are you an economist?

 

[Redbacks]

Redbacks, I have seen you post a lot about economics. Are you an economist?

Maths/Engineer, so I did a few courses in game theory, derivatives () and econometrics, but most of what I know is due to lodging in a share house with 1 Ass Prof and 2 PhDs in economics/political philosophy who work at the LSE for the past 8 months and I have asked them thousands of questions.

 

[smalishah84]

yeah the economy is a major problem BUT an even bigger problem is leadership which is not even willing to pay attention to these problems.

 

[smalishah84]

haha....PML-N and PPP MNA's bricking it on various news channels. Rana Sanaullah says only 18000 people were there and they came to see Strings and not Imran Khan

these clowns are just hilarious

 

[Agent Nationaux]

Maths/Engineer, so I did a few courses in game theory, derivatives () and econometrics, but most of what I know is due to lodging in a share house with 1 Ass Prof and 2 PhDs in economics/political philosophy who work at the LSE for the past 8 months and I have asked them thousands of questions.

Wow, lucky you. Are you still at uni or do you work? My brother also did Maths at uni. Do they ever get tired of you asking thousands of questions?

 

[Xuhaib]

early estimates suggests crowd of 150000-200000.One of Imran's strength as a cricket captain was how he went on a roll once he gained momentum a trait that has stuck with Pakistani sides even when they are playing poorly. for the first time he has got momentum on his side now time to keep it rolling.

 

[smalishah84]

actually one of the things that caught my attention about 6 months back was Imran telling a motley bunch in Karachi that I will win the elections this time around. He also said that before the 1992 WC he never said that he would win the WC and in 1992 he did. He said that he never said before that he would win the elections but this time he feels that he will win them. Let us hope for the best.

The crowd definitely seemed 100000+ from what i gauged in the videos. Too bad i was not in lahore otherwise I would have gone

 

[smalishah84]

The Sharif brothers are really panicking.Not so sure about Zardari.

Meanwhile that loser party in Karachi called the MQM took out a rally in support of Zardari

 

[salman85]

I saw Imran's rally on TV and i got goosebumps watching it.

A lot of my friends went to Minar-e-Pakistan for the rally,and it can't even begin to imagine the energy at the place.

The Lion Of Pakistan Has Roared

 

[smalishah84]

I am watching the video right now.....it is awesome

 

[Agent Nationaux]

150,000 to 200,000. That's a hell of a lot of people.

Imran won't take any PPP votes. He will split the rest of the votes with Nawaz. So Zardari is happy I guess.

 

[Xuhaib]

Imran surely needs to test out Karachi. MQM has lost a lot of support in Karachi from P.E.C.H.S onwards all the way to Defence & Clifton thats like 30-40 % of the city reckon Imran can make a dent in Altaf's vote bank.

 

[smalishah84]

I dont think it is that simple.

It is not that Zardari is very popular.

Once Imran moves into the PML vote bank, he will then target the PPP. The lion in him wont rest until he is the king of the jungle

 

[salman85]

After today,i won't put it past Imran to get some PPP votes.Sure,he won't do any miracles in Larkana for example,but he could hurt them in other areas.

And Zardari won't ever come into Pakistan politics again,Imran or no Imran.

PML-N is another case though.Whereas Imran winning over PPP supporters is hard,i think Imran will have a major impact in Punjab.I think he will win Punjab in the next elections,even if he doesn't win at the Federal level.I don't see him sweeping the elections the way Bhutto did,or even the way Nawaz did in 1996.But i think he will have a significant enough vote bank to become the head of state in a coalition government.

 

[Xuhaib]

kudos to the people who are handling PTI's PR, marketing and promotion this does come across as one of the best run campaign in Pakistan's history.

 

[smalishah84]

Imran surely needs to test out Karachi. MQM has lost a lot of support in Karachi from P.E.C.H.S onwards all the way to Defence & Clifton thats like 30-40 % of the city reckon Imran can make a dent in Altaf's vote bank.

awta.....MQM has suffered a huge dent in their vote bank......rightly so