Posts by Adnan:

    NADRA is disrupting demographics in Balochistan by issuing fake ID cards

    August 16th, 2015

     

    By Adnan Aamir.

     

    National Databases and Registration Authority (NADRA) is the premier body of Pakistan for issuing nationality related credentials to citizens. Established in early 2000s, NADRA has earned praise for developing a huge database with a reasonable degree of security. Under-developed countries like Sri Lanka have also used the services of NADRA to develop their own nationality database. However, lately several officers of NADRA have been involved in issuing illegal Computerized National Identity Cards (CNICs) and that has resulted in serious problems especially in Balochistan.

    This week it was reported that 40 NADRA officials had been found to be involved in issuing CNICs to terrorists. High profile Al-Qaeda and Taliban terrorists, who were foreigners, possessed Pakistani CNICs. The report had further revealed that 22,000 fake CNICs were issued in 2014 and 64,000 in just seven months of 2015. Although fake CNICs have been issued all over Pakistan but Balochistan is the center stage of this practice where Afghan refugees are the beneficiaries.

    It was revealed in a meeting of District Council Chagai that incumbent Afghan President Asharf Ghani also holds a Pakistani CNIC. Member district council, Malik Dilmurad Hasni, presented documentary proof that a Pakistani CNIC was issued to President Ghani. This was shocking news and speaks volumes about the incompetence and corruption prevailing in NADRA Balochistan. President Ghani has never lived in Pakistan and therefore it’s simply unfathomable how he got a Pakistani CNIC issued in his name.

    NADRA in Balochistan was repeatedly blamed in the past for issuing CNICs to Afghan refugees. These blames were rejected as political rhetoric and mere allegations until NADRA employees confessed to this crime. In the beginning of this year an anti-corruption court in Quetta sentenced two data entry operators of NADRA, namely Manzoor Osto and Allah Baksh, to 21 years behind bars. They were found guilty of issuing thousands of CNICs to Afghan refugees. Last year, an accountability court in Quetta awarded seven year imprisonment sentences to two assistant directors of NADRA for the same crime; issuing fake CNICs to Afghan refugees after taking bribe.

    After conviction of half a dozen NADRA officials in Balochistan, Now it’s a fact that illegal CNICs have been issued to Afghan refugees in huge numbers. Druding investigation by Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) one fake CNIC racket admitted to have issued half million illegal CNICs to afghan refugees.

    Issuing fake identity documents anywhere is a crime and not good for the country. However it has greater importance in case of Balochistan. This province has a small population and different ethnic groups have their share in assemblies based on the population mix. Influx of millions of illegal Afghan Refugees with Pakistani CNICs would drastically alter the population mix of the province. The constituency allocation in the province would be affected and it will give rise to another conflict which would be catastrophic for the province.

    Balochistan has a Baloch majority population with a sizable population of Pashtun as well. Majority of Afghan refugees are Pashtun and that’s why it’s commonly believed that they would swell the population of Pashtun at detriment of Baloch community. It’s true that Baloch population is the primary victim of Afghan refugees with illegal CNICs but what is not known is that fact that Pashtun population will also suffer. The refugees will get the jobs and other opportunities form the share of Pashtun population. This means that NADRA, by issuing illegal CNICs to Afghan refugees, is badly affecting the interests of both Baloch and Pashtun in Balochistan.

    After conviction of its employees, NADRA has blocked CNICs of over 80,000 alleged Afghan refugees in Balochistan. This is not enough because NADRA officials themselves confessed to have issued millions of illegal CNICs, not thousands. According to official figures, Pakistan has 1.5 million registered Afghan refugees and another 1 million unregistered. Those refugees that have gained Pakistani CNICs are not a part of the aforementioned figures. So, blocking CNICs of few thousands of people is not the solution of this problem in context of Balochistan.

    Two things need to be done on urgent basis to tackle this problem before it becomes too huge to handle. Firstly, across the board governance reforms need to be introduced in NADRA. The internal controls of NADRA should be reviewed and all the necessary improvements should be made to close the door on illegal CNICs forever. All NADRA officials who have any connection with the practice of issuing fake CNICS should be held accountable and there should be zero tolerance for anyone.

    Second thing that needs to be done is the audit of all suspected CNICs issued in Balochistan in last ten years. NADRA has a sophisticated database and it will not be very difficult to identify the illegal CNICs issued to Afghan refugees. Having a genuine family tree in Pakistan should be the criterion for differentiating between genuine citizens and afghan refugees. At the same time, Baloch and Pashtun residents of Balochistan should not be harassed by NADRA in any way during issuing of CNICs to them.

    Afghan refugees had to leave their homes and flee to Pakistan in aftermath of Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. It’s a fact that they witnessed a lot of hardships in their initial years in Pakistan. Notwithstanding all sympathies that one should have with Afghan Refugees, they can’t be allowed to possess illegal CNICs and disrupt demographics in Balochistan.

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    Dr. Abdul Malik – A failed experiment

    December 30th, 2013

    Posted by Adnan Aamir.

    Courtesy: The Lahore Times

    General elections of 11th may were a ray of hope for millions of Pakistanis. The dark period of PPP government was finally over and a new government was about to takeover which promised to solve all the problems. Balochistan has been the most turbulent province of Pakistan since 2005, when dictator Musharraf started a military operation. People in Balochistan were also expecting an improvement in their lives after election. They thought that this dream can be achieved when Nawaz Sharif decided to Support Dr. Abdul Malik Baloch, a middle class politician, for the office of chief minister of Balochistan. What transpired after Dr. Malik’s assuming of office has badly disappointed the people of Balochistan. Dr. Malik can simply be classified as a failed experiment.
    Dr. Malik’s government is a coalition of 4 different parties and none of them have absolute majority in Balochistan assembly. These parties have different ideologies but there main ambition is to get hold of their favorite ministry. This attitude created the first setback for Dr. Malik’s government when it failed to appoint a cabinet for over 100 days. During that period, government machinery was almost paralyzed and bureaucrats were running the government. After more than 100 days and a lot of bargaining and series of failed negotiations, finally a 14 men cabinet was formed. No female or minority representative was included in the said cabinet. That’s the typical power game in Balochistan where politicians are ready to set aside their ideology for a ministry. Some might argue that this is not the fault of Dr. Malik, but of entire coalition. That’s right partly but He is the Chief minister, it’s his duty to convince everyone and get things started at soon as possible, which he failed to do.
    Likewise, Dr. Malik announced reforms in education sector. He announced establishing 5 new universities in the province and two medical colleges. This was a great news for the under privileged students of Balochistan. If this promise can be made good then it will prove to be extremely beneficial. However, soon after that announcement, University of Balochistan was struck by a lingering financial crisis. Salary was not paid to the staff of the university for three months. The protests of university staff association rang no bells in government quarters. As a measure of last resort, University staff started protesting outside civil secretariat with begging bowls and begging for their salaries. It’s primarily the duty of federally controlled HEC to fund the universities. However, after 18th amendment provincial government also have to fund the day to day expenses of the universities. Now, Dr. Malik announces to setup 5 new universities but can’t finance the biggest and oldest university in the province. There can’t be a bigger failure than this for any government. Now that crisis has been temporarily controlled after intervention of HEC.
    On 24th September this year, a deadly earthquake struck Awaran district of Balochistan. Around 1000 people lost their lives according to modest estimates. This created a human catastrophe of gigantic magnitude as thousands of people were displaced. Due to the prevailing conflict in Awaran local Aid and relief organizations failed to cope up with the enormous crisis. This required a request for help from international community in general and UN in particular. That’s what Dr. Malik exactly did but he couldn’t get his order implemented. Federal government declined to ask for foreign help and Chief Secretary of Balochistan didn’t issue NOCs to foreign NGOs despite directives by Dr. Malik. This speaks volumes about Dr. Malik’s authority and powers that he commands. Not having the required powers is not an acceptable excuse, even former CM Nawab Raisani used to make this excuse all the time. If he doesn’t have powers then he has no reason and the right to hold the office of CM.
    Federal departments and institutions working in Balochistan don’t treat the province in the appropriate way. Balochistan produces substantial amount of Gas but still the gas pressure is extremely low in even the few districts of Balochistan that have Gas facility. The electricity transmission lines in Balochistan can’t supply electricity more than 600 Megawatts even if there is no shortage of electricity in country. The slow progress of work on transmission lines and national highways are all major problems. Again, these departments don’t fall under the ambit of Dr. Malik’s government but He is the chief executive of the province and it’s his duty to fight against the wrongdoings in the province by aforementioned institutions. At present, He is only giving statements like an opposition figure that federal government is not giving us our rights and so on. Someone should tell him the He is in government and rather than making such statements in seminars, He should fight for Balochistan’s rights in Islamabad.
    Moreover, Dr. Malik couldn’t conduct a fair and free Local Bodies election free from government manipulation. In 18th amendment a blunder was committed which gave the right to provincial governments rather than ECP to conduct local body polls. Dr. Malik’s party and his allies namely PKMAP and PML-N manipulated the entire process to get their maximum number of candidates elected. The constituency delimitations in Quetta, a failed massive rigging attempt in Harnai district, the flawed laws of local bodies act are examples of abuse of power which Dr. Malik failed to prevent.
    The expectations from Dr. Malik were sky high and therefore he has to face more criticism then his predecessors. If aforementioned things were about Nawab Raisani then it was not a big deal because that’s what people expected from him. However, the case of Dr. Malik is different, He has been made the CM with a lot of hope and He can’t afford to let the people down. Rather than complaining about lack of authority and making statements like opposition leader, He should take concrete steps for resolution of problems of Balochistan. If he can’t get his entitled powers then He should gracefully resign and should not be a dummy CM. However it’s easier said than done and no one ever gives up power even if He is a middle class clean character politician like Dr. Malik.

     

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    Two Hidden Figures In Pakistan’s History

    May 22nd, 2013

    By Adnan Aamir.

    I recently finished reading autobiography of former politician Sardar Sherbaz Mazari, A journey to disillusionment. Its a very useful and informative book and can be considered as a chronological political history of Pakistan from 1947 to 1988. Apart from many other subjects this book also has historical information about Balochistan and Baloch tribes. During the course of reading this book, I found out two issues of paramount importance related to Balochistan that I want to share in this article. One is about Mughal emperor Humayun in Balochistan and second is the story of how Dera Ghazi Khan  and Rajanpur were acceded to Punjab rather than Balochistan.

    Mughal Emperor Humayun in Balochistan:  Humayun was the second Mughal emperor. He became the ruler of India in 1530 and after 10 years Sher Shah Suri defeated him and Humayun had to fled Delhi, capital of India, to save his life and fight back to retake his throne. In 1543, Humayun was wandering on different places in search of sanctuary and protection form his enemy Sher Shah Suri. He established his camp in a place which is Jhal Magsi area of present day Balochistan.

    Magsi tribesmen soon identified him as a stranger and arrested him. Humayun asked them to let him go because He was former ruler of India. They didn’t let him go and waited for the arrival of their chief who had gone out of Jhal Magsi. When the Magsi tribal chief returned He was informed about the arrest of a stranger who claims to be former ruler of India. When ruler of Kandhar who happened to be brother of Humayun came to know about this, He offered Magsi chief huge amount of wealth in return for delivering Humayun to him. Humayun’s brother was hostile to Humayun and was thirsty for his blood. So the Magsi chief was in a position to earn a fortune by handing over his prisoner, Humayun.

    Magsi chief being a Baloch followed Baloch code of honor which stated that anyone who seeks asylum in one’s area must be protected at all costs. He told Humayun that you are my guest and I am bound by Tribal traditions to protect you and safely escort you out of my area whenever you wish to go. Much to the dismay of Ruler of Kandhar, Magsi chief let Humayun go out of his area safely. Later in 1556, Humayun managed to defeat Sher Shah Suri and took back his throne . He was followed by successive Mughal emperors  till 1857, when British attained absolute control of India.

    If Magsi chief had not abide by Baloch code of honor and had handed over Humayun for Material gains then history of present day Indo-Pak would have been different altogether. This is an interesting historical incident which is unknown to most of the people.

    Accession of Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajanpur: 

    Historically D.G Khan and Rajanpur districts of present day south Punjab were a part of Kalat state. These areas inhibit Baloch tribes, such as Mazarai, Leghari, Khosa, Dreshak, Qaisrani etc. When British brought Kalat under their control, they demarcated its borders, Rajanpur and  D. G Khan were made part of Punjab.

    In 1946, Sardar Jamal Khan Leghari (Grandfather of President Farooq Leghari) along with Marri and Bugti tribal chiefs, wrote a letter to viceroy of India, demanding that these areas should be made a part of Kalat state. The volatile situation leading to partition didn’t allow their demands to meet with success.In 1948, Balakh Sher Mazari was appointed head of Inter Provincial tribal Jirga. Bureaucracy of Punjab manipulated him to demand for inclusion of D.G Khan and Rajanpur in Punjab. As other tribes were in favor of accession with Kalat state, so a mini-referendum was held to determine the future of these areas. Punjab’s bureaucracy backed Balakh Sher Mazari with its full force of state machinery and his opponent Sardar Jamal Leghari didn’t have such backing. Despite all the government support, by a narrow margin decision of referendum went in favor of accession with Punjab. In 1949, an official ceremony was held to mark the accession of these areas with Pakistan and its province Punjab.

    This is also an hidden part of History which many people are unaware about because of their lack of interest in history. If the bureaucracy of Punjab had not struck its nose in that mini-referendum then D.G Khan and Rajanpur would have been parts of Balochistan today.

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    CM Punjab A show Off

    July 15th, 2012

    By Adnan Aamir Sarparrah.

    Chief Minister(Cm) Punjab, Shehbaz Sharif and self-proclaimed Khadim-e-Aala(Chief Servant) has been doing unique protests. He has setup a camp office in the lawn of Minar-Pakistan in Iqbal Park Lahore in order to protest long hours of electricity failure. He is know to be a good administrator at times but his latest acts have proved him a Show Off.

    Shehbaz Sharif is the Cm of Punjab for the second time. Overall he has held this post for six years. He is second-in-command of PML-N, his elder brother Nawaz Sharif being its chief. He is a very strong Cm and enjoys full powers unlike rest of the CMs. He currently holds 15 ministries along with being chief executive of Punjab. He doesn’t attend Punjab assembly session regularly and don’t convene meeting of his cabinet. Shehbaz Sharif is running a one man show in Punjab in a dictatorial manner.

    Cm Shehbaz is a staunch critic of PPP government and President Zardari. He openly claims that He doesn’t endorse Zardari as President and vows to drag him in streets in order to hold him accountable. His latest outburst against government is due to load shedding of electricity. He claims that Punjab is suffering more that other provinces. However his rhetoric of protesting against load shedding is political in nature rather than caring for public.

    Load Shedding is a very serious problem for Pakistan     due to criminal negligence of successive governments. All the provinces are suffering and its not right that Punjab is suffering more. Actually the population of Punjab comprises of 60 percent of total population of Pakistan. This means that Punjab alone has more electricity demand than rest of three provinces combined. This implies that when there is load shedding then Punjab will suffer more hours of load shedding due to its huge demand. Total demand of electricity in Balochistan is 1230 Megawatt which is equal to the demand of Multan region alone. That’s why if 18 hours of daily load shedding takes place in Balochistan then how can be there less load shedding in Punjab. Cm is highlighting the issue of unjustified load shedding in Punjab for political mileage only and in reality his claim is baseless.

    CM’s camp office in Iqbal Park Lahore will not solve any problem. He already has couple of camp offices and all these are a burden on provincial exchequer. Cm often mixes up with people for the sake of Photo shots. He travels in public buses for few minutes, He once took a ride from a person on his bike. All of this can portray an image of him as a pro-people leader but in reality He has not brought any positive change in the lives of masses. He has spent excessively on cheap bread scheme, building flyovers in Lahore and Danish school system.Laptop Scheme started by him as a part of his Youth Initiative is also criticized for being a political stunt and carries the taints of corruption on it. Load shedding is not the only problem of people of Punjab, most of their problems are based on issues which fall under direct authority of Cm and he has failed to solve those problems.
    In a recent national energy conference it was decided that there will be uniform load shedding in entire country. This doesn’t mean that if there is four hours load shedding in Quetta, then same will be duration of load shedding in Lahore. Demand of electricity in Quetta makes up just 15 percent of demand of Lahore. So there will be more load shedding in Lahore for obvious reasons. Its senseless to demand same hours of load shedding for all the cities in Pakistan having different demand levels. After 18th Constitutional amendment provinces can also generate electricity, unfortunately CM Shehbaz has wasted funds on other projects and not generated even one Megawatt which exposes his concern for Load shedding and public.


    The government of PPP in center     is the most corrupt in the history of Pakistan. They are responsible for corruption of Rs. 8500 Billion in last four years. Its their duty to produce electricity and bring an end to load shedding. Currently installed electrical generation capacity is sufficient to fulfill demand of electricity provided huge funds are paid to power producers. PPP government doesn’t have the funds as they have gone in pockets of PPP ministers and sympathizers. Despite Show Off tactics of Cm Shehbaz, PPP can’t escape from the blame of long hours of Load Shedding. Shehbaz Sharif should focus on good governance in Punjab and solve the problems related to the provincial departments of Punjab. He is also urged to quit his childish acts and stop being a show off Cm. He will get the right to criticize PPP and hold them responsible for problems once He has brought his own house in order.

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