NA 55 Elections

By Awaam

There are a lot of things happening in Pakistan at the moment. However, every one’s attention seems to be directed towards the highly anticipated elections of NA 55. Today, on 24^th of February, 2010 people of Rawalpindi will finally cast their votes and decide not only the fate of the candidates but of themselves as well.

In the past few days Streets of Rawalpindi had been crammed by the fervor of the vigorous campaigning of some hopeful and many not-so-hopeful candidates representing several political parties. The 22 candidates belonging to PML, PTI, AML, JI, ANP etc and several independent candidates have tried their best to convince the people in these past few days. Now it is for people of Rawalpindi to decide who they want to chose as their next leader (for some time).

NA 55 is politically considered a crucial seat. There are 334,269 registered voters in NA-55, including 183,507 men and 150,762 women. 250 polling stations have been setup containing 597 polling booths. Therefore, we at V21 decided to conduct our own survey in order to get a picture of the entire situation. The survey was based on crude techniques for making general observations regarding electoral trends in NA 55. It included a sample of 25 (both male and female) and a self constructed questionnaire. We visited many areas covered under in NA 55 including Gawalmandi, Chota Bazaar Saddar, Chachhi Mohalla (residential area) and liaqat road.

The survey helped us get some valuable insights on the prevailing patterns of voting in the city.

Will people vote? The answer to this question is perhaps the most important. And so we asked.

Interestingly out of the few people (25) we asked, all except one told us, quite enthusiastically, that they were going to cast their votes. The reasons for doing it although were somewhat different for most of them. Yet this may still be a good sign considering the fact that voter turnout has always been a disappointment in Pakistan.

But why would they vote? The responses to this question were many and there were interesting differences among the male and female responses. Party affiliation continues to remain the leading deciding factor for most (40 percent of our sample with excessive majority of males). Female respondents were either reluctant to give their opinion or had simply not decided. It was a matter they had simply left for their husbands, brothers or fathers to worry about.  Not much has changed still. Or has it?

Interestingly, we think a little bit has. People of Rawalpindi city do realize that a lot of problems are symptoms of lack of governance. Hence, if they want to see change it needs to come through electing the right person. Hence, there were people (although only 32 percent of our sample) who had decided to cast votes based on issues they want to get resolved.

“Mehangai” dominates clearly among the major issues that people have. Shortage and high prices of electricity and gas was second on the list while many (mostly females) thought cleanliness of these areas was also crucial. Water is another problem that public needs the politicians to resolve. This includes shortage of water, bad quality of water and the high prices of water tanks and filters. People also want the government to reduce taxes. Other problems that were highlighted by the respondents included unemployment, lack of affordable medical facilities, affordable education, and security.

Hence, in light of above questions we asked people who they were going to vote. Majority of the respondents (56 percent) answered Shakeel Awaan. This however, was due to his affiliation with Muslim League Nawaz. Interestingly, most of the people admitted voting for him only because he was representing Nawaz Sharif. 40 percent of the respondents were with Sheikh Rasheed. On the contrary Sheikh Rasheed’s votes were mostly due to his popularity in the area.

From the general responses of public the competition is mainly between Shakeel Awaan and Sheikh Rasheed. However, since this was just a general survey with very small (unrepresentative) sample we cannot say anything with conviction.

And it is a close contest.

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NA-55 Elections: Results updates

According to the unofficial results from 250 polling stations of NA-55, Pakistan Muslim Leauge-N (PML-N) candidate Shakeel Awan is leading the race with 77309 votes. Awami Muslim League chairman Sheikh Rasheed is second in the race and he has secured 48222 votes. Dr Mohammad Kamal remained in the third place by securing 7,524 votes followed by PTI candidate Ejaz Khan Jazi, who could muster only 4,000 votes.

NRO Order, CJ or 18th Amendment

Barrister Amjad Malik

16 December 2010 Supreme Court order on NRO (National Reconciliation Ordinance) has shattered the ruling govt which was standing on the 4 pillars of this barter orchestrated by military & Pentagon , USA &UK and (PPP) Pak people party leadership which is clutching and hanging on to a straw now. Instead of whole heartedly, understanding the tenacity of situation and implementing the order by realigning politically based on reality, the leadership went for hit and run ditto of their predecessor General Musharraf who sacked the chief justice who was considering a petition on his Presidential election in military uniform.

The GlObal KaleidOscOpe- 15th Feb

Vision21

In an attempt to take a different approach from our previous article of GK, this time we have tried to develop a Pakistani context out of international events that followed last week.

We, Pakistanis are very emotional; not only as individuals but even as a nation. It’s not that we do not take pride in it. Our history, literature, movements, political decisions and patterns of social organizations all prove that we hold our emotions above everything else. On top of that we learn from our very early years both, the beauty and necessity of sharing. We find our strengths from creating these shared experiences of joy, grief, disappointments and fulfillment. They bring us together.

So it should not come as a surprise if we, Pakistanis are going through this collective experience of having a “national panic attack”. We have good reasons for it. Panic always stems from a threat to survival. With a growing food and energy crisis, dried out rivers, no employment opportunities and a disappointing government at our hands, can we really blame ourselves?…Read More

The GlObal KaleidOscOpe…DunyaNama

The world is constantly changing at pace that often leaves us bewildered. There are astonishing breakthroughs in science, new discoveries in technology and innovative advancements in our ways of communication every day.

However, where does Pakistan stand amidst all these new discoveries and developments? Are we following the world as it advances or have we lagged behind?

The purpose of our new weekly section “Global kaleidoscope … DunyaNama” posted on our website is to know and analyse this. We want to bring our readers’ attention to the ways of our global world. Hence, by reflecting on the global discourses propagated in form of news, articles, blogs and researches we will attempt to create a holistic picture of worldly affairs in a given week and the possible implications for our own development.

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8th Feb 2010

In today’s modern times we have a large plethora of information available to us, thanks to the worldwide web. Still, there were some articles that stood out. Some that forced us to think about where we’re headed. We plan to discuss them in our section of “Global kaleidoscope… DunyaNama”

We start by an interesting article that caught our eye. It was John Pilger’s “From Orwell’s World to Obama’s Oceania” posted on the author’s website (www.johnpilger.com). John Pilger is an Australian journalist, author, and documentary filmmaker based in London. He also writes a bi-weekly column in New Statesman, and is well known for his outspoken criticism of foreign policy of western countries and world leaders including American President, Barak Obama.

In this article Pilger describes how the entire political structure of United States of America, rests solely on shaky foundations of self-constructed lies. The war on Terrorism, world peace, Al-Qaeda and global consensus in support of the insurgencies in Iraq and Afghanistan are some of the many lies that US government has created in an attempt to create a history to justify its future.

But How does US manage to sustain and justify such big a lie?…Read More at our Website

For Every Decent Human Being

By Bilal Qureshi

Isn’t it time?

For every decent human being, it is sickening to see people being butchered the way human beings are slaughtered in Pakistan these days. Human life has no respect or value for barbaric animals responsible for these bombings and suicide attacks. And if the news of bombings and killing was not enough, I was horrified to learn that Lahore’s commissioner (incorrectly) blames India for these attacks while Punjab’s law minister (correctly) believes that the thugs being smoked out from Swat and Wazirstan are actually behind these attacks to force the government to back down. Isn’t it time for Pakistan to get united? Isn’t it time stop obsessing about India? Isn’t it time to be realistic?

HumorWise

 

from FreePakistan Newsletter published by Alternate Solutions Institute

STRANGE AILMENTS

[Dr Irfan Zafar, Islamabad]

The western world seems to be wasting all its energies and resources to find cure for so many diseases without realizing that there is an easy way to cure these ailments in a very short period of time. Our leaders are a living proof of this miracle whereas when under detention, a long list of ailments surface which enable them to spend their days in captivity in the comfortable VVIP wards of the Hospitals. However, the moment they come in power, all these ailments simply vanish as if they never existed. When will the western world learn from us to save millions of dollars spent on medical research. [Pakistan Observer]

ADVANCING CLOCKS

[Dr Irfan Zafar, Islamabad]

The government has announced that clocks will be set back by one hour on Nov 1. I request the government to advance clocks to the date when the present assemblies are expected to complete their five-year tenure. For a change let’s do something productive for the suffering masses. [The News]

PAKISTAN BEWARE – India’s thirst is making us all wet

Published in NewScientist 03 October 2009

New Scientist discusses how Water is being sucked up in North India at astronomical rates. This is having considerable negative impact on the height of water tables in the area. Considering there exists a serious water dispute between Pakistan and India, and that how India has used its ‘water muscle’ in the past in an attempt to choke Pakistan, this reading is alarming for Pakistan.

ONE nation’s thirst for groundwater is having an impact on global sea levels. Satellite measurements show that northern India is sucking some 54 trillion litres of water out of the ground every year. This is threatening a major water crisis and adding to global sea level rise.

The real issues in Pakistan

Dawn Editorial, 18 Sep, 2009

PEOPLE are dying queuing for grain in Pakistan. This is a country where food inflation is forcing parents to pull their children out of school – they can eat sparsely or be educated, not both. Lives are being lost to ailments that are easily curable. Street crime is rampant across a country where human life is worth less than a cellphone. Yet our political leaders appear oblivious to the misery that is everywhere. They seem to have no perspective, no grip on reality. Does a man who can’t feed his children really care whether or not Pervez Musharraf is tried for treason? Is a mother whose child has died of gastroenteritis likely to give much thought to America’s military presence in the region? Will a jobless person be impressed by the president’s much-touted ‘achievements’ during his first year in office? Our leaders have clearly lost sight of the core issues.

This is a country where religious minorities are targeted by Muslim mobs while the law-enforcers look on. Deadly attacks against Christians, in particular, are on the rise in Punjab. As is usually the case in such incidents, the violence has been triggered by unproven allegations of blasphemy. Robert Fanish Masih, who had been arrested last Saturday on blasphemy charges after Muslims went on the rampage in village Jaithikey near Sialkot, was found dead in his cell on Tuesday. The next day his family and community members, who had all been forced to flee Jaithikey, were prevented from burying him in their native village. And this heartless, inhumane act wasn’t the work of Muslim vigilantes alone. The local police also told the mourners to turn back, on the grounds that their presence could fan violence. In short the victims were punished, not the aggressors.

The Punjab government needs to take urgent steps to protect minorities in the province for the situation there is deteriorating. Its stance on minority rights will be gauged by its response. The centre, meanwhile, should start working towards the repeal of the blasphemy laws. For too long they have been used to settle personal scores, grab land – and to kill. These draconian laws must be struck off the books.

Update Swabi Camp

With every passing day the situation of the IDPs living in the camps is getting worse. The weather is getting warmer day by day  making it more and more miserable and affecting the health of the people  badly. The most vulnerable group are children and women (specifically the women who are pregnant). They are suffering the most and need urgent attention.

The average number of people visiting the medical camps has increased significantly, according to the medical assistant, Salma, working in the population welfare department.  She has told us that nearly fifty patients visit their camp daily, out of which 10 are women who are pregnant. She told us that due to insufficient nutrition they are weak and developing complications According to Salma there is no doctor available in the Population welfare department’s camp to see the patients. When we asked her that how do they treat the serious patients she answered that they refer them to the other medical camps serving in the colony.  Unfortunately these camps are hardly any better. 

The other depressing issue is that women are giving birth to children in an unhygienic environment. Due to this the new born are highly susceptible to infections. Another volunteer, Riaz Mohammad, who has been working in the camps for past couple of  months, informed us  that two infant baby girls died a couple of days ago due to heat and inappropriate healthcare services.

 Riaz Mohammad also observed that while initially there were numerous  relief activities and volunteers and  there was a steady flow of aid , the situation is much harsher now. He told that the activities have now slowed down with the passage of time and are not sufficient enough to meet the needs of the camp populations. While on the other hand the IDPs are more in need of help compared to earlier. He told that one of the three medical camps set up a month ago has been closed in the time when people need it more .  Riaz Mohammad said that there are other camps managed by the private organizations which are performing better. But again the problem is that the service is not sufficient for alleviating the problems of IDP

 The need now is to not let the ‘ donor fatigue’ set in. And help in any way we can. Vision 21 is now working on a plan to provide nutritional supplements and such for pregnant women and children.  

To help us deliver this please call us on  +92 51 250 5030 or email on info@thevision21.org.

 

Changing the way we have been By Ayaz Amir

( Comment by Awaam :  So long as men worship the Caesars and Napoleons, Caesars and Napoleons will duly arise and make them miserable—-Aldous Huxley )

The stakes couldn’t be higher nor the opportunity hidden in this hour of seeming distress more promising. Provided we don’t prove exceptionally unlucky once more — or exceptionally stupid — the crisis in which we find ourselves is an opportunity to change the face of Pakistan, change our direction and our established modes of thinking and make up for all the lost years — years lost to mediocre leadership, both civil and military.

It is not us who have created this moment of opportunity. Indeed it lay not in our power to do so. It has come our way through a combination of factors: America’s presence in Afghanistan; the growing Taliban threat within Pakistan; and Barack Obama as US president.

It is Obama’s approach to Afghanistan which has enhanced Pakistan’s importance — whether Pakistan’s inept leadership understands this or not. Crucial to any American success in Afghanistan — anything that enables the US to make a half-dignified exit from there — is Pakistan’s role or, specifically, the role of its army.

Vision 21

A Company Registered under Section 42 of Companies Ordinance 1984. Corporate Universal Identification No. 0073421

Vision 21 is Pakistan based non-profit, non- partisan Socio-Political organisation. We work through research and advocacy. Our Focus is on Poverty and Misery Alleviation, Rights Awareness, Human Dignity, Women empowerment and Justice as a right and obligation.

We act and work side by side with the deprived and have-nots.

We invite you to join us in this mission. We welcome your help. We welcome your comments and suggestions. If you are interested in writing on Awaam, please contact us at: awaam@thevision21.org

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