Interview: ‘Sharifs have learnt little from history’ –Saeed Ghani

Extraordinary situations demand extraordinary decisions from leaders

The political situation in Islamabad, and indeed the rest of the count, remains interesting and intriguing. Operation Zarb-e-Azb has completed one year. And though there has been much to cheer – terrorist infrastructure smashed, etc – the enemy has displayed enough resolve to regroup and keep the government on its toes. Questions have also begun doing the rounds about the kind of information filtering from Waziristan. And how long it will take for the operation to make its way properly down to main cities?

On the political front the judicial commission runs its course and allegations and counter allegations of rigging continue to surface here and there. The PPP is also re-posturing, once again. Bilawal is back in play again. And soon the hierarchy is expected in Punjab to revive party fortunes. To make sense of these trends, and more things, DNA talked exclusively to Senator Saeed Ghani, a rising star in the Peoples Party.

Question: How would you evaluate one year of Zarb-e-Azb? Do you think it has gone some way in achieving the objective or is there any credibility to doubts that not enough information has filtered to the media?

Saeed Ghani: After completion of the first year of Operation Zarb-e-Azb, it is heartening to note a drastic decline in the incidents of terrorism across the country. Moreover, the areas under control of the terrorists have also been reclaimed by the army, which is another positive sign. However, since there are no independent sources to confirm the claims made by the army, we can’t make a judgment.

If you collect crime data of this year from all the four provinces and compare it with previous three or four years, you would find a major decline in the crime rate

The only source of information we do have is the press releases issued by the inter-services public relations (ISPR) which are of course satisfactory. But it is another fact that one year has passed since the operation was launched, which is quite a period for our soldiers to completely uproot the terrorist network, which is still not achieved. This however is alarming for us.

Q. When do you expect the operation to move to urban areas and apprehend extremist militant in cities? Also, what are your thoughts on links of certain political parties with outlawed groups, especially in Punjab? And does that affect the overall aim of the operation?

SG: I think provincial governments have done a lot of hard work to dismantle terrorists’ hideouts and smash their networks, especially in major cities and provincial capitals. If you collect crime data of this year from all the four provinces and compare it with previous three or four years, you would find a major decline in the crime rate.

Specifically, there is a major improvement in Sindh in general and Karachi in particular. Sindh police have been successful is not only pre-empting major terrorist attacks but they have also resolved major terrorist cases besides apprehending the masterminds of those incidents.

Yes, there is a major contribution from the Rangers who are also helping a lot in this regard but the lead role has been played by Sindh police.

While on the contrary, Punjab police have been banking on issuing mere press releases rather than pre-empting terrorist attacks or smashing terrorist networks. The level of crackdown against criminals we have seen in Sindh has not been matched in Punjab.

Q: How do you see the recent press release issued by the DG-Rangers, which is being described as a ‘charge-sheet’ against the Sindh government? Why did the Karachi operation stop after MQM? We were told it would be ‘all encompassing’. Do you think there’s more to come?

SG: It is unfortunate to see such press releases being issued. The institutions should work within their respective domains and they should not cross limits. The press release you have mentioned is, I suppose, about the apex committee meeting held on June 4. Now issuing a statement after almost eight days of the meeting is beyond comprehension.

The Rs230 billion worth of ill gotten money the DG-Rangers referred to is, I suppose, about the money grabbed by Mafias working in the city. Now, everyone who has been to Karachi and lived here knows about these groups. I suppose if the Rangers head wanted to inform the masses, there should have been more details. The things he shared are already known to the people here in Karachi.

So there should have been more credible evidence which the Rangers DG might have shared with the media or the government itself. But if the objective of the officer was to create an impression that all this is happening and the Sindh government is doing nothing about it, one may raise some questions.

First, these Mafias are not newborn and rather they have been active in the city for decades. So one may ask whether they have emerged after the PPP was elected to power or were they working for years? Who nurtured these vultures? The PPP is ready for accountability of its tenure but we also want other institutions and political parties to answer for their responsibilities and acts.

Q. How do you see the sudden ‘silence’ of PPP’s disgruntled leader Dr Zulfiqar Mirza? People say there is a deal between Dr Mirza and PPP’s high command. Do you think there is any behind-the-scenes effort through a ruler of a friendly country for a truce?

SG: Let me make it clear once and for all that there is no deal whatsoever with Dr Mirza. Actually, the court has silenced him. A case was filed in the court and Dr Mirza gave a commitment not to use foul language. However, when he again violated his commitment, Madame Faryal Talpur filed a contempt petition with the court which had again summoned Dr Mirza. Now he has again assured the court to remain silent.

I believe after his badmouthing, there is no way left for a reconciliation with Zulfiqar Mirza. His political career is over. Now it’s better for him to seek mercy, offer apologies and lead a quiet life.

Q. How does the PPP plan to remobilise in areas where it suffered in the ’13 election? Zardari sb tried to get the ball rolling in Punjab twice, with little success. Is there another plan?

SG: As far as the public mobilisation in Punjab by PPP is concerned, let me tell you that soon PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari would visit the province. He will hold rallies, meet PPP workers and would also mobilise them. That is the plan.

Q. What can we expect from Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari this time? Is he going to pay a more direct role in managing the party or is he still, as the co-chairman said, in his learning phase?

SG: Yes, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will spend more time in Punjab in future. There is no issue with his ankle now and he is fit, I suppose. He will play a key role in Punjab. He will soon visit Punjab.

When the PPP took over, we had to face seven critical challenges which are not being faced by the PML-N government

Q. Your party dismissed the recent federal budget as anti-poor. Your thoughts please?

SG: Coming to the federal budget 2015-16, it was anti-poor and it’s not a mere rhetoric. Let me remind you that the PML-N takes pride in claiming that it has a good economic team. However, soon after taking over the reins form the caretaker government in 2013, they claimed that since the exchequer was empty, they could not do anything with the budget. In next year’s budget speech, the finance minister claimed to stabilise the economy so no relief was given to masses. But again this year, no relief was given to the poor while all financial targets they themselves had set for this year were missed, according to their own reports.

Now, when the PPP took over, we had to face seven critical challenges which are not being faced by the PML-N government.

We had to face a global recession; we were being torpedoed by Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry; a major media group was against the PPP and every day a cut-off date was given by media for our government’s fall; Sindhi nationalist parties had ganged up against the PPP; and also terrorism was at its peak while energy crisis was also hitting new records. Moreover, we also had to face flash floods and other natural calamities.

Now, the PML-N government did not face any of these challenges. But still they are unable to deliver the goods to the people despite the fact that the oil prices are 50 percent lower than what we had to face. When the PPP was in power, we had to purchase one ton of furnace oil for Rs90,000 which is now available for Rs45,000. So we could not manage the required furnace oil to get the installed capacity of electricity.

But despite low prices, PML-N is unable to get the installed capacity of electricity. Moreover, they have also not brought in 50 percent cut in the electricity price which should have been done. So, rather than passing on relief to the masses, the government decided to bag more money. Rather, they are cursing the 50 percent less oil prices, saying that it leads to lesser revenue in terms of electricity bills.

This is despite the fact that the PML-N has increased general sales tax (GST) from 17 percent to 35 percent.

Moreover, despite all the challenges we faced, we always gave major relief to the public servants by increasing the salaries of government employees. On the contrary, the PML-N government refused to increase even a penny in their first and second year. Even this year, they have reluctantly incorporated an increase of 7.5 percent in salaries, which is just a joke.

Actually, the poor are not their priority and they only look after the interests of filthy rich. Neither are farmers a priority for the PML-N government, nor peasants, labourers, orphans or the poor. They have no intention of improving the lives of the poor and rather their focus is on improving the lives of their close relatives and friends. The only priority for them is to relax duty on import of airplanes. They have badly ignored the agriculture reforms while the PPP’s focus always remained farmers, poor, labourers and government employees.

Q. How would you rate the Sharifs’ third time in power? Most analysts say they have learnt little from their two previous misadventures. Yet they continue to survive and thrive. How do you feel about this term?

SG: I agree that Sharifs have learnt little from history. When a country is faced with an extraordinary situation, you have to make extraordinary decisions. Pakistan today faces a huge challenge and to get the country out of this quagmire, there is a need to take along the people and mobilise them.

But Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has a problem — he interacts with a very few people and mostly remains aloof. There is a flaw in his basic approach towards resolving issues. He does not share his feelings or thoughts. You can’t resolve such huge challenges by consulting only with your friends, relatives and cronies. Even those very close to him are pessimistic about the future.

I think the prime minister needs to get out of his shackles and get the country out of this quagmire of challenges. He needs to take all the political parties on same page to devise a cohesive strategy.