The Official Pakistan Politics thread

[Faisal1985]

See my response to Sanz above.



No, he lost the case by default when he didn't show up to contest it. It was obvious why he didn't though - she is his daughter and he has quietly acknowledged this now since Sita White passed away.

Come on Fusion! Zardari over Imran.....let me bribe you on that one...

So he is the actual father....i see...well **** happens i guess...but Monica also happened to Clinton..so whats the big deal...but I agree he should have been man enough to admit to his mistakes..

 

[Xuhaib]

Imran is of the very few politicians who openly condemned the killing of Salman Taseer, he is one of the very few who has made a formal plan for the minorities if he comes to power. Imran opposes drone attacks because he has seen first hand how these drone attacks kill lot more civilians then these terrorist. Imran does not wish to go soft on these elements he just wants to bring them to table he feels millitary action is the last resort and we are making the same mistake as we made in Bangladesh or what Musharraf did in Baluchistan no harm in trying out his option since the first options has already yeilded very few results. Just because he does not sit at the feet of US & co like Zardari that does not make him a Taliban sympathizer.

 

[Faisal1985]

Imran is of the very few politicians who openly condemned the killing of Salman Taseer, he is one of the very few who has made a formal plan for the minorities if he comes to power. Imran opposes drone attacks because he has seen first hand how these drone attacks kill lot more civilians then these terrorist. Imran does not wish to go soft on these elements he just wants to bring them to table he feels millitary action is the last resort and we are making the same mistake as we made in Bangladesh or what Musharraf did in Baluchistan no harm in trying out his option since the first options has already yeilded very few results. Just because he does not sit at the feet of US & co like Zardari that does not make him a Taliban sympathizer.

And..he wants to bring Baluchistan into the mainstream politics where they will actually matter....

I personally think Fusion's opinion is misplaced in saying that his policies are dangerous....His policies are different for sure and I think it was time we reviewed our policies after such chaos in Pakistan...we are ahead of only 3 countries in the most poorest nations now...what could be worse than that...

 

[smalishah84]

Come on Fusion! Zardari over Imran.....let me bribe you on that one...

So he is the actual father....i see...well **** happens i guess...but Monica also happened to Clinton..so whats the big deal...but I agree he should have been man enough to admit to his mistakes..

awta

Imran is of the very few politicians who openly condemned the killing of Salman Taseer, he is one of the very few who has made a formal plan for the minorities if he comes to power. Imran opposes drone attacks because he has seen first hand how these drone attacks kill lot more civilians then these terrorist. Imran does not wish to go soft on these elements he just wants to bring them to table he feels millitary action is the last resort and we are making the same mistake as we made in Bangladesh or what Musharraf did in Baluchistan no harm in trying out his option since the first options has already yeilded very few results. Just because he does not sit at the feet of US & co like Zardari that does not make him a Taliban sympathizer.

awta

I personally think Fusion's opinion is misplaced in saying that his policies are dangerous....His policies are different for sure and I think it was time we reviewed our policies after such chaos in Pakistan...we are ahead of only 3 countries in the most poorest nations now...what could be worse than that...

I so agree with this.

 

[smalishah84]

Its not only Imran saying that...recent news has shown that Hillary admitted that ISI helped them talk to some of the strongest wings of the Taliban and again now Hillary wants a dialogue with Taliban...

Imran has an issue with the double game of U.S. When Pak tried to do a dialogue on its own with the Taliban to end the suicide bombings in Pakistan, U.S. establishment was all over Pakistan for doing that where as they are constantly making efforts to have Taliban lay down arms via dialogue and join the Karzai government. Imran is rightly against this type of double attitude of the U.S.

Moreover, he is not talking Anti-West at all, he is talking about equality. He said in his speech that we will be friends with the U.S. but on basis of equality and mutual respect.

He is also seriously against the drone attacks in Pakistan which come with a great number of collateral in terms of innocent lives. Almost over 150 children have been killed because of these strikes.

According to Imran, if Pakistan can tighten the loose ends in collecting tax and make sure that tax revenues are properly collected and accounted for, Pakistan's requirement for foreign aid will significantly drop and Pak will actually be able to pay back the principle amounts on its debts.

Moreover, according to him our power plants currently are only operating at 25 - 30 % of their capacity in Wapda, If he can only get them to run at 70% the load shedding and power outages would be cut down significantly as well.

Whether his theories and strategies are correct or as accurate or not, at least the man is talking about issues that matter for the general public.

He is big on accountability and independent judiciary as well as independent police force.

He also said that he would implement the American system of how they elect their sheriff in Pakistan to elect the Police head.

He is talking sense which no one has ever talked about since Bhutto...he is at least listing out real issues....that is enough for me to vote PTI...

Agree with most of what you have said.

Not sure if you are asking me that question or the general public. My response is that Imran is superior in many respects to the choices we have – he’s not corrupt, he’s obviously intelligent, and I think he actually cares for Pakistan. Sadly, I can’t think of many other politicians in Pakistan that possess these same qualities. However he fails in crucial areas which prevent me from supporting him. As long as he’s soft on terrorism and associates himself with extremists, I can’t support him. I would grudgingly support a Zardari before Imran. While he may be looting the country’s coffers, at least Zardari’s party is secular and willing to take on the Taliban. Sure, they may be doing it to appease the Americans and not because it’s the right thing to do, but since it is the right thing to do (IMO of course), I’m just happy it’s getting done.

Ouch. Fusion, how much do you want people to really suffer? For a party that has been in power thrice and every stint is worse than the last why not have some change.

I know you have made it clear by saying that you believe looting the country by the Billions is less of an evil than trying to work out a political solution with the Taliban but I find it so difficult to believe. Maybe the fact that you have been living outside of Pakistan for a long time has made you forget how bad it can get on the ground when the govt just stops doing its job let alone caring for the people.

As Faisal pointed out Imran is the only one who actually talks of issues which actually affect the people. Nobody even talks of these things.

 

[salman85]

Just noted the 'Imran has gone soft on the Army and MQM' off late,and the ever present criticism of his support for the Musharraf coup.

Let's just get one thing straight here : Imran was a novice when he supported Musharraf.That was a mistake.Also,for those who did not know,when Jamali was ousted as the PM,Imran was offered the post but he rejected it.Holding Imran's support for Musharraf against him is naive,since he later went on to become one of his strongest critics.Imran has clarified his stance on the coup many times.

Coming to MQM,Imran knows that you cannot be successful in Pakistani Politics if you go slamming people left right and center.Also,he would need support in Karachi if he ever comes into Power.Also,being the ISI's blue eyed boy is imperative for anyone who comes into Power,and Imran is doing all of that now.He may not like the ISI,he may not like MQM,but he realizes he needs to have a working relationship with them to come into power,and that is what he's doing.It's not called selling out,it's called playing your cards well,and that is something Imran has learned now.

 

[salman85]

PS.My friends told me there was some PTI rally or something in Karachi 2 days back.Apparently they stormed Zamzama among other areas.

 

[smalishah84]

stormed meaning? I hope they didn't vandalize?

 

[smalishah84]

Just noted the 'Imran has gone soft on the Army and MQM' off late,and the ever present criticism of his support for the Musharraf coup.

Let's just get one thing straight here : Imran was a novice when he supported Musharraf.That was a mistake.Also,for those who did not know,when Jamali was ousted as the PM,Imran was offered the post but he rejected it.Holding Imran's support for Musharraf against him is naive,since he later went on to become one of his strongest critics.Imran has clarified his stance on the coup many times.

Coming to MQM,Imran knows that you cannot be successful in Pakistani Politics if you go slamming people left right and center.Also,he would need support in Karachi if he ever comes into Power.Also,being the ISI's blue eyed boy is imperative for anyone who comes into Power,and Imran is doing all of that now.He may not like the ISI,he may not like MQM,but he realizes he needs to have a working relationship with them to come into power,and that is what he's doing.It's not called selling out,it's called playing your cards well,and that is something Imran has learned now.

btw what is this news of ISI supporting Imran. Any credible source for it other than the PML mouth pieces

 

[Agent Nationaux]

Fusion did ask of Imran's soft stance towards MQM after him going for Altaf in the UK. Well Fusion, Imran received death threats by the MQM, and was probably advised that it wasn't worth his life to waste time on Altaf, especially since the British government would not prosecute him.

 

[Agent Nationaux]

Yeah I agree with Samli, in the hope that they did not vandalise.

 

[smalishah84]

Kaptaan The Movie (2012) - Official Trailer - PakistaniCinema - YouTube

A movie on the life of Imran Khan..........this looks terrible tbh......

 

[G.I.Joe]

Kaptaan The Movie (2012) - Official Trailer - PakistaniCinema - YouTube

A movie on the life of Imran Khan..........this looks terrible tbh......

Yeah, it does.

 

[smalishah84]

Yeah I agree with Samli, in the hope that they did not vandalise.

Who is this that you are agreeing with?

 

[Agent Nationaux]

You, you ****

Yeah that trailer looks ****. More like a parody of his life. Lol at the women playing Jemima.

 

[smalishah84]

haha.....yeah.....looks like they couldn't afford a British actress resembling Jemima so they tried to get an Afghan version lol........she doesn't even look British

 

[G.I.Joe]

The actress is apparently based in New York, so I don't think finances were the issue.

 

[Fusion]

Fusion did ask of Imran's soft stance towards MQM after him going for Altaf in the UK. Well Fusion, Imran received death threats by the MQM, and was probably advised that it wasn't worth his life to waste time on Altaf, especially since the British government would not prosecute him.

Ah so that's what it takes to get the courageous Khan to abandon a principled stand. Maybe the United States should threaten his life and Imran will soften his stand against them as well!

 

[smalishah84]

Ah so that's what it takes to get the courageous Khan to abandon a principled stand. Maybe the United States should threaten his life and Imran will soften his stand against them as well!

They won't threaten, they will just carry it out

 

[Fusion]

Let's move the discussion away from the merits of Imran for a moment to discuss what his chances of getting elected are. I think Agent has it right that it's very unlikely that Imran wins the 2013 elections. His support base is largely in Punjab where he will take votes away from PML (N). This will only help the PPP. I don't see Imran challenging the PPP/MQM in Sindh or the ANP in Khyber-Pakhtunkwa. In effect, I don't see any significant changes in the makeup of the next government. The opposition will probably look different, with Imran being a significant player on the opposition benches. Thoughts?