KARACHI: Amid the rifts between its various factions, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) has suffered greatly. The Senate elections proved that a divided MQM is one lacking power.

Despite Farooq Sattar’s efforts, and sacrifices, Kamran Tessori was not elected to the Senate. The Bahadurabad group failed to win more than a single seat. Even on the day of the Senate elections, members of both groups were divided – three MQM MPAs did not cast their votes, while 14 voted against their party heads’ decisions.

Despite its 38 members in the Sindh Assembly, the once powerful MQM won only a single Senate seat – Barrister Farogh Nasim. The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) swept the elections by bagging 10 seats. The last seat was won by Pakistan Muslim League-Functional, which has only nine votes in the assembly.
The party’s strategy in the Senate elections proved to be rather unsuccessful. Even though the heads of both factions – Bahadurabad and PIB Colony – held a joint press conference in Islamabad following the announcement of the results, neither trusted nor had confidence in each other. This was illustrated on the day of the elections – all the leaders of the Bahadarabad group sat in Leader of the Opposition Khawaja Izharul Hasan’s chamber and gave MPAs directions. The PIB group leaders sat in parliamentary leader Sardar Ahmed’s chamber.

According to sources, the factions’ differences came out in the open on election day. Sattar briefly visited Hasan’s chamber but spent most of his time in Ahmed’s chamber with Tessori and other leaders.

The sources revealed that both groups expressed concern when they received information that five female MQM MPAs – Naheeda Begum, Naila Latif, Shazia Farooq, Heer Ismail Soho and Sumita Afzal – cast their votes in favor of PPP leaders and left. Due to this development, consultation between both groups began once again.

While the consultations were underway, both the groups received news that an MPA from Sukkur, Saleem Bandhani, came to the assembly with PPP leader Mukesh Chawala and left after casting his vote. This prompted both factions to scramble to begin lobbying for their respective candidates. The Bahadurabad group started lobbying for Nasim, while PIB began campaigning for Tessori.

According to the sources, the six members of the MQM who cast their votes and left were contacted via telephone by both groups but they did not speak to them. The sources also revealed that Sattar told Kunwar Naveed that if the situation continued, they would not be able to secure a single seat. He asked Naveed to get the MPAs on his side to vote for Tessori, to which Naveed expressed dismay that he was still giving priority to Tessori. He also blamed Sattar for the situation, saying it was due to his poor decisions.

According to sources, confusion persisted amongst MQM MPAs, some of whom made a deal with the PPP. Around four members marked an X instead of voting for either candidate in protest.

The Senate election debacle widened the rift between the two factions. Some MQM MPAs told Express News that Sattar put the party at risk for Tessori. They said that they were consulting with other party members regarding the MQM’s political future. One group accused Amir Khan and Faisal Sabzwari of being responsible for the entire situation. They claimed that they want to take over the MQM.

Sources have said that in the coming days, MQM leaders are expected to hold important press conferences.

LAHORE: Lahore Police finalizes five-tier security plan for upcoming Pakistan Super-League (PSL) matches during a meeting chaired by Capital City Police Officer Amin Wains.

Wains said that they will implement a comprehensive standard operating procedure for the matches. For this purpose, project cameras will be used. He said they would add further improvements to the plan, in regard to which no leniency would be tolerated.

The five security checks include aerial surveillance of the venue, live monitoring through CCTV cameras, walled premises, physical frisking and walk-through gates where attendees will be checked with metal detectors. The five step security detail will be set up for Qaddafi Stadium as well as the player’s residence.

The team’s route from the hotel to the stadium, as well as the interior and exterior of the venue will be monitored through CCTV cameras. A control room will be set up at the Punjab Safe City Authority Qurban Line. Furthermore, the roads and streets leading up to the stadium will be cordoned off using barricades and barbed wires.

At least 10,000 police officials, alongside Pakistan Rangers, will be deployed for security. Every participant will be meticulously checked before they enter the venue. They will also be required to provide verification through bio-metrics and their CNIC.

A shuttle service will be used to transport cricket enthusiasts from the parking stand to the stadium. Five parking points will be established by the city Traffic Police at Punjab University, Jam-e-Shirin Park, Liberty Market, FC College and Muslim Mor.

ISLAMABAD: Heavyweights in Punjab chapter of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) are eyeing the coveted slot of provincial president which will be left vacant after the elevation of Shehbaz Sharif as the party’s central president on March 6.

PML-N’s Provincial Secretary General Raja Ashfaq Sarwar, Law Minister Rana Sanaullah, Speaker Punjab Assembly Rana Iqbal and Shehbaz’s son Hamza are among the candidates to head the N-League’s Punjab chapter, The Express Tribune has learnt.

In case the party leadership fails to finalise a candidate, Shehbaz might continue in his present role until a regular appointment is made, it is further learnt.

According to party sources, if Ashfaq gets elevated as Punjab president, the post of secretary general will have to be filled in, for which his brother and incumbent Joint Secretary Raja Attique Sarwar could be a potential candidate.

However, the sources believe it is highly unlikely that the top two positions in the party are occupied by two brothers. Therefore, a new race would start for the secretary general’s position if Ashfaq becomes provincial president.

Among the aspiring quartet, Sanaullah is regarded as a trusted aide to Shehbaz and thus rated as the most powerful candidate.

However, there are some groups in the party who oppose Sanaullah, blaming him for the emergence of split factions in the PML-N Punjab.

Provincial Speaker Rana Iqbal appears to be acceptable to many in the party given his ‘mild’ and ‘diplomatic’ style, while conducting the proceedings of the provincial legislature.

Party insiders believe that Shehbaz as the new central president would prefer a ‘harmless’ person like Iqbal in order to maintain control over the party at the Centre and in the province.

Hamza has long been regarded as an aspirant for the post of Punjab president. Back in 2016, Shehbaz also wanted his son to replace him. But the plan had to be dropped because of opposition from Kulsoom Nawaz and Maryam Nawaz, the sources said.

Again, some PML-N circles say it is unlikely that a father-son duo get the top party positions — at the Centre and in the province.

Party stalwarts at the Centre say that former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s wife and daughter agreed to Shehbaz’s rise as PML-N president, and in return a candidate from ‘Maryam’s lobby’ is being placed at the top of the party’s provincial chapter.

But the leaders in the provincial chapter deny the possibility, saying that Maryam lacks any support base in the party’s Punjab chapter because she focused solely at the Centre when her father headed the party.

Regarded as one of the most powerful positions in the PML-N, Punjab’s provincial chief wields more importance and ‘nuisance value’ compared to other provincial chiefs of the party because it is this province where the N-League draws its major political vote bank.

At present, the party leadership is considering choosing a candidate for PML-N Punjab chief, whose candidature is approved by the powerful groups in the party, discussions with informed party leaders suggest.

“This would be tricky,” said a PML-N legislator, who is also a party office-bearer in Punjab.

“At a time when the party faces serious challenges coming from within and without, in the shape of internal divide, grouping, tug-of-war between party lobbies as well as the court cases and legal references – we need a candidate who enjoys a great deal of acceptability in the party’s senior ranks in Punjab,” a source said.

The 2018 election season is heating up in Pakistan, and in a few months, millions of Pakistanis will cast their ballot in what is promising to be a crucial election in the country’s history. The stage has been set by the dramatic ouster of one of the most influential men in Pakistan’s political history, and the unlikely political movement and slogan that the aforementioned ouster has led to.

On the other hand, Imran Khan continues to be the wildcard choice to lead the country, should all elements come together at the right place and the right time. However, a string of crucial electoral losses, divisions within the party and various other controversies should alarm all the supporters of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) who hope to see Imran emerge as the nation’s next leader in this upcoming election.

The following reasons are just some of the issues that should give PTI supporters a cause for concern:

1. No clear winning strategy in Punjab

Since the end of the previous election in 2013, Imran has been demanding an early election. However, when posed with the obvious question of how that election will actually be won, PTI’s strategy gets muddled.

Let’s run some quick math to understand the issue. In the 2013 election, PTI won eight out of 148 available seats in the province of Punjab. If we assume that the election was rigged to an extent where half of the votes belonging to the PTI were stolen, and if we also assume that the PTI is twice as popular in Punjab today than it was in 2013, this would still mean a grand total of 32 parliamentary seats, or roughly 21% of the total seats available.

This problem is at the heart of Imran’s woes in Punjab, which is why the PTI is in flux over whether to support candidates that directly align with the party’s ideology, or to change the ideology of the party itself in order to rope in more “electable candidates”, especially in areas such as southern Punjab where the party fancies its chances. Either way, it is evident that there is no clear direction of how to mathematically win in Punjab, and the doubts over which election strategy to adopt while the election itself looms near is visibly hurting the party in the run-up to the polls.

2. By-elections and lack of momentum

After the historic Panama verdict was announced, it was assumed that Imran and the PTI would seize the moment and run off with the show after securing an incredible victory in the next election, given the emergence of a political vacuum. However, the tide has turned against the PTI since then, and the lack of a clear direction is hurting the party’s momentum going into the election.

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has won three critical by-elections that have been held since then, and that too by massive margins, and their victory in Lodhran has sent shockwaves in PTI’s camp. With only a few months to go before the general election, the PTI cannot afford to keep losing by-election after by-election, particularly in areas where it hopes to win only a few months later. It is critical to shift the momentum now before it becomes too late and yet another election season is lost by the PTI.

3. Divisions within the party

A common theme to have emerged in the party is the lack of unity at the local and regional levels. The PTI is a party that is now comprised of various groups and factions that have sometimes come from rival parties and families. While the national leadership is unified and presents a professional outlook for the party, matters are entirely different at the local level, where different groups are often fighting for electoral tickets and greater influence.

This culture has been cited as the prime reason for the shocking loss in Lodhran as well, as many members were split on the selection of Ali Tareen after his father had been disqualified by the Supreme Court (SC). Perhaps this is one of the prime reasons why the PTI has failed to hold any sort of intra-party elections in the last five years and has now formed a committee to review its constitution.

4. Lack of defections in PML-N

Against all odds and expectations, after over six months since Nawaz Sharif was disqualified, the PML-N has not suffered any major defections and has survived as a unified force despite being pushed around by some senior members.

Going into the election, it is critical to keep an eye on the political sphere and see whether the party ends up breaking into smaller factions, as some analysts have predicted. If it does, that could be the single biggest factor that determines the outcome of the next general election, and would also give Imran the best shot at securing his position as the country’s next prime minister.

5. Nawaz’s campaign

While Imran and his PTI are still trying to figure out election campaigns and strategies, Nawaz’s election campaign is already fully underway. Despite most people counting Nawaz out of the game, he has roared back with a catchy and effective campaign in the Punjabi heartland and is using the open playing field in front of him to cash in early.

Historically, Nawaz has done extremely well in Punjab. Now, with experience, incumbency, and influence to back him up, he is making sure that no chances are taken with the upcoming election. Within months, the attention has shifted from Nawaz being labeled a scandalous corrupt tsar, to a people’s representative who was thrown out of power unjustly. It is critical for the PTI to counter this narrative and to counter it quickly before they lose out yet again. The results of early campaigning by Nawaz can already be seen in the shape of Lodhran and other local elections, which should serve as a wake-up call for the PTI leadership.

However, all is not yet lost for the PTI and the recent removal of Nawaz as the head of the PML-N should reignite PTI and their efforts at establishing a popular narrative. Having a strong party that realistically knocks on the door of the status quo would be great for the longevity of Pakistan’s democracy, which is why we should all hope that despite the evident shortcomings, the PTI is able to come together and provide a real challenge to the PML-N in the 2018 election.

KARACHI: A young boy’s video of singing Atif Aslam’s song from Tiger Zinda Hai, Dil Diyan Gallan has been taking rounds of the internet.

Hailing from Okara, Punjab, Arshman Naeem is a 12-year-old boy, with his own Facebook page where he posts videos of himself singing. His latest being Dil Diyan Gallan with which he has done a tremendous job and garnered over 90,000 views.

While he might be stumbling at some parts of the song, Naeem does manage to sing very well for a boy his age. Unaware of if he has been trained or not, Naeem’s voice is very mesmerizing.

He has also sung covers for many other songs which he posted on his Facebook page.

With immense talent sprouting out from all parts of Pakistan, the nation should be proud. However, it must also be noted that such talent should be appreciated and encouraged for a more empowering nation.