A Quickie: I Know Which Foreign Element

Foreign elements involved in Karachi target killings: Qaim

Well, for once Qaim spoke the truth (though I am sure it was unintentional). Here is the ‘foreign element’ responsible for targeted killings in Karachi:

P.S. Can we drone Britain now?

Dawn Editorial: Is there more than meets the eye to the riots following the attack in Karachi?

“…It was initially thought that enraged mourners and their sympathisers had gone on the rampage, torching commercial buildings, police stations and vehicles to vent their anger. That was alarming in itself but there are now suggestions that there may be more behind the violence than spontaneous rioting….”

Another Zardari/Sharif Collaboration

With the NRO mess not going away, and more stories of corruption by Sharif Brothers making the news, more and more signs are pointing towards the two families (three if you can call MQM a family) joining hands to cover each others back.

First was the attack by PML-N stalwarts against Zardari detractors and today we learn the two are collaborating not only on NRO-Plus and plan to pass it unanimously, but have jointly written a script to blame someone else for their corruption in order to ‘prove’ all cases were ‘politically motivated’ and they are clean as a whistle:

PPP’s New Line:  “Jehangir Badr, whose prime target was no other than former President Farooq Ahmed Khan Leghari during the entire press conference, said that not only the NRO beneficiaries, but those who had to pay billions of rupees to banks should also be held accountable.”

PML-N’s New Line: “Punjab Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif Wednesday said it was Farooq Leghari who filed lawsuits against the leaders of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).”

Please remind me which is the ruling party and which one is the opposition?! And isn’t Shahbaz forgetting about Saif-ur-Rehman???

Note: No doubt I agree with Jehangir Badar that “Farooq Leghari, his son Awais Leghari and other members of their family, should be held accountable for their various corruption scandals such as cooperatives and PTCL scandals” but it should be done alongside the holding accountable PPP and PML-N and other NRO beneficiaries and not instead of it, as seems to be the plan. And why didn’t Badar think of this before???? Farooq Leghari’s corruption did begin when PPP was in power. Also, how is PPP going to deal with the fact that Zardari’s henchman Malik Riaz of Bahria Town is a business partner of Farooq Leghari?

I am surprised Badar left out the name of his colleague Senator Jamal Leghari, the elder son of Farooq, who is no less corrupt. That Farooq and Awais are guilty of corruption, there is no doubt about that either. It is a fact that Farooq Leghari (and Jamal and Awais jointly) had less than 1250 acres of land when he became president but today Farooq Leghari alone has acquired more than 12,500 acres of agricultural land (I have no clue about the acquisitions by Awais and Jamal Leghari but they have been on a land buying spree as well). And this does not include other property and bank accounts. Awais alone built his house in Islamabad at a cost of Rs 8 crore. His cousin Sumaira Malik of the ‘Cat House’ fame has spent twice that. Her sister Ayla Malik’s (these days with DunyaTV)   husband (now ex) Sardar Rind has bought another 12,500 acres in the same area as Farooq Leghari. Farooq’s cousins of course are not only among NRO beneficiaries but also big loan defaulters (but sitting pretty in the National Assembly or as Nazims)

Note: Let me remind Mr Badr that it was Awais Leghari who became Privatization Minister for a day to sign the sale of Pakistan Steel Mill (PSM), the sale that was over-turned by CJ Iftikhar and was the main and last straw that led to the CJ’s dismissal by Mush. I am sure Awais got offered a pretty penny to go along with that scam.

Musharraf’s Ghost: PML-N Gets in Bed with PPP/MQM

With every passing day we see PML-N trying hard to become more and more like PPP/MQM. Of course today is no different. Below are some of the latest actions by PML-N that make it seem it has no identity of it’s own any more:

#1: PML-N and Hafiz Saeed Release:

As reported earlier, Jamatud Dawa chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed was released earlier this week by Lahore High Court (LHC) observing “he government has no sufficient grounds to detain the petitioners for preventive measures.” This alone shows the government had no evidence against him and his arrest was just admittedly a “preemptive strike” without any grounds.