Songs of praise : ‘PTI govt more competent than predecessor’

Songs of praise : ‘PTI govt more competent than predecessor’

The report of a research organisation stating the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) led Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) government is relatively better than its predecessor led to a fiery response by members of opposition parties on Wednesday.
FATA Research Centre (FRC) released the report following detailed research, departmental reviews, media reports and policy evaluation. It concluded that the PTI government has managed to reduce corruption, give the public access to government departments and the right to information.
The report was made public during a programme titled ‘Interpreting the Change – Perceptions versus Reality’ at a hotel and revealed that most people were aware that jobs were on sale during the previous government’s tenure. However, it adds, the PTI-led government took necessary measures to eradicate corruption soon after assuming office.
Quoting different sources, including the media, it states that the provincial government has been doing much more for the education and health sectors, while working to reduce poverty levels by 50% in 2015.
“The government has not launched an economic policy as yet, but has introduced a number of financial reforms to increase the province’s own resources and tax to gross domestic product ratio,” the report reads, adding that reforms are still far from any realisation.
The government was lauded for the establishment of the K-P Revenue Authority, as it has been tasked to increase provincial revenues from Rs4.3 billion to Rs10 billion in the next couple of years. Moreover, the health budget has been increased from Rs7.5 billion to Rs19.1 billion in the 2013-2014 fiscal year.
“The most important step by the PTI government was the approval of a uniform education policy,” reads the report. “This is a crucial move to end the ‘education apartheid’ in the province.”
The report also states that PTI has not played a considerable role in public administration, except refraining influence in certain day-to-day matters, which also led to differences between the K-P chief minister and chief secretary.
Opposition members, including Bushra Gohar of Awami National Party expressed dissatisfaction over the report and termed it a ‘misconception’.
“The current government does not know what to do with available funds, because of which 80% of K-P’s budget will go to waste,” Gohar said, adding that the province had been plunged into darkness, while Punjab has taken over its resources.
Qaumi Watan Party’s Mairaj Humayun said they had been expecting a change, but the provincial government has not delivered, due to clashes within the leadership and with the bureaucracy, leading to the formation of the forward bloc.
“PTI had announced that they will not distribute development funds among parliamentarians, but now they are doing it,” said Mairaj, questioning how many standing committees were functional.
PTI MNA Shehryar Afridi said they will always welcome positive criticism, adding that the Sehat ka Insaf programme, Right to Information Act and soon-expected Ehtisab Commission have been widely admired by the whole country.
“In the past, the commissioner, deputy commissioner, district police officer and many other bureaucrats would never allow public in their offices,” said Afridi. “Today that has changed and everyone will see more visible changes in the next five years.”
“The most important thing PTI introduced is the Right to Public Service Act. It has panicked the bureaucracy, however, the government still lacks skilled people,” said Vice Chancellor Islamia College University Professor Qibla Ayaz. He pointed out that the police chief has admitted there is no political interference in his department and added that the University of Peshawar is also free of political influence.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 28th, 2014.

Dirty politics: PTI pressure group smells conspiracy behind Kohat rape case

Dirty politics: PTI pressure group smells conspiracy behind Kohat rape case


PESHAWAR: The handling of a recent rape case in Kohat where Deputy Speaker Imtiaz Qureshi’s brother was one of the accused brought fissures in Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) ranks to the fore in the provincial assembly on Wednesday.
The issue has become a rallying point for the party’s ‘forward bloc’, which has been silent for some time.
The pressure group was formed earlier this year, reportedly headed by the deputy speaker, to force the party leadership into removing corrupt elements from the provincial cabinet and halting central leaders’ interference in the province.
The issue cropped up when the house was about to start a discussion on law and order as requested by the opposition. The pressure group members entered the assembly together, donning  black armbands.
Two of the members, Qurban Khan and Javed Nasim, stood up and asked Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser to be allowed to speak on a point of order to which the speaker agreed. Qurban, in his speech, said the issue at hand was a matter of concern for the whole house. He said he had joined PTI after being impressed with its rhetoric of justice and truth, adding he was presently acting according to the party’s manifesto and will face the chief minister, his advisers and assistants if they come in the way of justice.
After emphatically quoting Pashto poet Ghani Khan, Qurban said the levelling of rape charges against the deputy speaker’s brother has made the speaker’s chair controversial. He said news channels ran the story for two days, causing the deputy speaker to suffer a stroke.
He said if the issue was not resolved immediately, they would not attend the budget session. After making this declaration, the MPA from Nowshera, along with other group members, staged a walkout from the house with opposition members following suit.
Minister for Information Shah Farman told the house there were no eyewitnesses in the rape case nor any circumstantial evidence or medical report to establish guilt, saying the entire episode seems to be based on mala fide intentions.
He asked the speaker to form a special committee to stem such incidents from happening in the future.
The speaker sent the house on a recess for tea break and asked that the disgruntled members be brought back to the house. The pressure group members then huddled in front of journalists where the deputy speaker alleged that a senior government figure was behind the incident.
The members then met the speaker inside his chambers to discuss the issue. Talking to reporters following the meeting, Qurban said they have agreed to investigate the issue through a 10-member committee comprising two members of their group and parliamentary leaders of all the parties. He said the committee will investigate and present its report before the budget, warning they would otherwise boycott the budget session.
Qurban said some senior government officials may be behind the rape incident in a bid to counter their group, adding they will boycott the present session to establish their seriousness.
On May 6, the deputy speaker’s brother Imtiaz Qureshi and his cousin Asmatullah Qureshi allegedly raped a young woman in Kohat after which the victim and her husband lodged an FIR against them at the Shakardara police station.
On May 10, the victim’s mother, Tajwar Sultana, told journalists that her son-in-law was forcing his wife to withdraw the case and settle the matter outside court. She alleged he had been influenced by the deputy speaker and thrashed his wife, forcing her to miss the court hearing on that day.
Meanwhile, the house adopted two resolutions, including one from Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl lawmaker Zareen Gul asking the federal government to pay outstanding amounts payable in lieu of the province’s share of water being used by other provinces since the Water Apportionment Accord of 1991. The session had not started three hours after the recess and till this report was filed.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 29th, 2014.

For a ‘tax-clean’ Imran

For a ‘tax-clean’ Imran



In the ‘new’ Pakistan that we hope to construct, and which Imran promises to deliver, can there be any room for tax cheats – past, present or future? Surely not! And least of all, amongst the very architects of change. There can be no ‘new’ Pakistan if this principle is even slightly compromised. This much is beyond negotiation.

That being so, I was a bit shaken to hear Imran inform us sometime back that he would be declaring his assets in a month or so. This of course he did, but I had thought that it should not take an honest taxpayer more than five minutes. Having paid my taxes diligently over the years, this is exactly the time I require – not only to disclose the exact current status of my very meagre assets but also the historical accumulation. Why then did it take the great Khan that long to compile simply a list of his assets?

Could Ch Nisar be right after all? I thought. He had alleged that Imran did not file any tax returns until the current millennium, and then too not accurately. I trusted he was wrong though. It cannot be that the Oxford educated Imran was so callous towards a critical national duty.

Imran however preferred to keep his silence than respond to the allegation – until the question was put to him point-blank in a recent TV interview (Jirga). He was asked to respond to the charge that though he started his professional career in the 1970s, he had not paid his taxes or filed returns. I would have instantly answered as follows: ‘absolutely wrong. I have been paying my taxes and filing my returns regularly and honestly and am able to present those to refute any suggestion to the contrary’. Imran responded differently: ‘The first thing is I was not in government. Two, my only income was from PCB and from county cricket, and tax was withheld by both at the time of payment.’

Well, I too am not in government and do feel stupid now (after hearing Imran) for paying taxes for over two decades. Should I be filing for refund? Perhaps best to wait until Imran heads the government. But let us in the meantime educate ourselves (and also Imran) on tax obligations. Imran may realise that things are a bit more serious than he thinks. To keep it simple, we shall consider the Income Tax Ordinance 1979 (which was operative until 2001 – i.e. the greater part of Imran’s career as a cricketer and beyond) and the Wealth Tax Act 1963 (which was only repealed in 2002).

Income Tax Ordinance 1979: This Ordinance created a distinction between individuals who were ‘resident’ in Pakistan and others who were not resident but earned income from a source in Pakistan. Anyone who spent an aggregate period of 182 days in Pakistan during the tax year, or even as little as 90 days provided he was in Pakistan for an aggregate period of 365 days over the previous four years, was treated as a resident. It is unimaginable that Imran (who played cricket for Pakistan, often participating in the domestic league as well, and was based in Lahore, where his parents lived) was not a resident in Pakistan – throughout the relevant period.

The Ordinance then required every person ‘resident’ in Pakistan to pay taxes on his worldwide income. This means that if Imran was resident in Pakistan during any of the years from 1979 to 2001 (the likelihood of course being that he was resident for tax purposes throughout this period), he was obligated to pay tax not just on income arising in Pakistan (e.g. payments received from PCB) but also income earned outside Pakistan (e.g. on account of county cricket). Under the Avoidance of Double Taxation Treaty between Pakistan and UK, he would have been given credit for tax paid in the UK, but subject to that even income earned in the UK needed to be disclosed in Pakistan and tax paid on it. It was not exempt.

Regarding the point that PCB (or its predecessor) used to withhold tax on payments made to Imran, one is not sure whether this was so, but even if tax was withheld, this was not final discharge of tax liability. The Ordinance in fact created different scales of tax liability. One needed to aggregate all the income from various sources, and then depending upon the scale one fell in, to pay additional tax over and above what may have been deducted at source.

In Imran’s case, he was required to aggregate his income from PCB, domestic cricket, county cricket, advertisements (remember Lipton, Pepsi, Wills etc.), interest income from bank accounts (unless of course he kept all his money in cash), the odd plot he got (which too would be considered income), any man of the match or man of the series awards from sponsors, and any other sources (such as income from commentating on cricket matches after retirement) to determine his final tax liability.

Besides, even if there was an odd year during which he may not have been resident in Pakistan for tax purposes, he was still required to pay tax in respect of income that ‘accrues or arises’ in Pakistan, after aggregating all such income. This alone would have been quite a handful, as listed above.

There was separately then the obligation to file tax returns. This applied even to non-residents who had a source of income in Pakistan. Indeed ‘every person’ whose total income exceeded the maximum amount not chargeable to tax, was required to do so. It cannot truly be Imran’s case that his total income fell below the taxable limit – throughout the relevant period at least. In any case, after 1997, even a person who may have fallen below the taxable limit but undertook foreign travel was required to file a return. (The only exception was individuals whose ‘entire total income’ came under the head ‘salary’ – but even they were required to file a certificate in prescribed form in place of the return together with a statement of wealth. Imran in any case fell outside this exception.)

One can therefore safely conclude that in the period between 1979 and 2001, Imran was liable to pay tax in Pakistan on income accruing in Pakistan and outside, and any tax that may have been withheld at source did not mean that additional tax was not payable. He was also obligated to file tax returns. The question of course is whether he did.

Wealth Tax Act 1963: Under this Act any ‘resident’ of Pakistan (defined as above) was required to disclose and to pay tax on the prescribed rate regarding all assets, including assets ‘located outside Pakistan’. Imran has admitted that he owned a flat in London. In fact one recalls that in the 1990s when Allan Lamb and Ian Botham had sued him for libel, he expressed concern that if he were to lose the case, he would have to sell the flat to pay the costs. So the flat was acquired a considerable time back. Imran was required to disclose this, and all his other assets, in wealth tax returns, and to pay wealth tax at the prescribed rates. Did he?

Imran seeks my vote on the basis that he stands for change. That he is clean, with zero tolerance for corruption of any and all kinds, which must of course include tax evasion. I take his call seriously but do feel entitled to ask him the following questions. I need to be reassured that he is ‘tax-clean’.

* When was the first time you filed an income tax return? Please give the exact year (or date, if possible).

* When was the first time you filed a wealth tax return? Again, please give the exact year (or date, if possible).

* In which years subsequent to the first, did you file income and wealth tax returns?

* When was the London flat acquired and was it and any other assets (such as bank accounts) outside Pakistan disclosed in the wealth tax return?

* Did you disclose to tax authorities in Pakistan income accruing outside Pakistan (e.g. on account of county cricket)? In which of the years was this done?

* Was income earned from advertisements disclosed in the tax returns? In which years?

Imran’s response may generate more questions but for the time being one does expect him to come clean on these.

Not that one can ever imagine Imran in breach of his tax obligations – not at all – but it is worth noting that ‘concealing’ income and wealth under the above statutes (failure to file obligatory returns does constitute concealment), is an offense ‘punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years, or with fine, or with both’. Indeed failure to file the requisite return alone is ‘punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine, or with both’. Imran of course has announced that when he is the prime minister, anyone guilty of having violated the law (be it General Musharraf) would be punished strictly in accordance with law. One does therefore expect him to order revenue authorities to go after all tax cheats – no matter who they may be.

It is also worth noting what the Constitution of Pakistan tells us about tax cheats: ‘A person shall be disqualified from being elected a member of the parliament, if he has defaulted in payment of government dues in excess of ten thousand rupees, for over six months, at the time of filing his nomination papers’. Government dues of course include taxes. This provision may not have been enforced strictly in the past, however one expects Imran to change that as well. But we jump too far ahead of ourselves. For the present, I do eagerly await Imran’s clarification. Please not through a spokesperson of the PTI though – these are questions directed straight at you Mr Khan.



The writer is a Lahore-based lawyer. Email: salman chima@gmail.com

Education | Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) is the second worst performing province

ISLAMABAD: Punjab is surging ahead of the other provinces in education with its 14 districts ranking in the top 20 in education, according to a report released by Alif Ailaan and the Sustainable Development Institute on Thursday. The report provides a snapshot of the education situation in Pakistan’s 146 districts, and shows how widely education standards vary across the country. It provides a tool to track the performance of politicians, administrators and education providers, and measures the progress that the provinces and districts are making. Like last year, the report said that Sindh, Balochistan, and FATA occupy the bottom of the rankings with Sindh making its first appearance at number 40 with Karachi. “This demonstrates a lack of commitment to follow-up on promises made by the provincial government. A recent example of this is the pledge that nine political parties made three months ago to ensure quality education for all the 6.1 million out-of-school children in the province,” it maintained. According to reports, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) is the second worst performing province despite the government’s commitment to improve the situation. This is owing to gender disparities as well as poor learning outcomes in the province. KP is followed by Balochistan which is at the bottom of the rankings. “The province has shown poor performance and is a matter of pressing concern, given that there are 1.76 million children out-of-school,” it said. In Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), the Poonch District has fallen from its top spot last year, and comes in the ninth position in 2014. AJK has shown an overall decline from second position last year to third position this year, the report said. Although there are success stories this year, with some districts improving their performances to rise in the rankings, the report shows that the overall quality and the availability of the facilities are still unsatisfactory. Chakwal, which ranks highest nationwide, has a net enrolment rate of just 83 percent, which is far from the promise of ensuring quality education for all. According to report, more than four out of six children in Chakwal who are enrolled dropout before reaching class eight.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/islamabad/23-May-2014/punjab-highest-in-ranking-for-education

عندلیب عباس کی کروڑوں کی کرپشن

The ACTOR


It appears that apart from being a great cricketer and philanthropist, two of his sides beyond question, Imran Khan is also a phenomenal actor. One is increasingly convinced that should he decide to take acting up formally as a profession, he will put Oscar winners to the blush. Professional actors learn scripts, practice expressions, gestures and maneuvers and still have the option to do multi-takes before the perfect shot is immortalized in film. Theatre artists have the benefit of countless rehearsals, though they perform to live audiences. But Mr. Khan performs almost every day, almost extempore and almost to perfection. He performs to television audience, and to live audiences. He has no time to rehearse or to learn dialogue by heart, yet he is peerless in the art of drama. Thus, I wouldn’t choose him to lead me or my country, but I would certainly choose him for the lead role of any film I were producing.
Consider: He thunders like the Lyssa, the goddess of raging madness, about the Jang/ Geo group having rigged the elections against him. And when he foams at the mouth, one can almost see the foam flying. It helps that his eyes remain pink almost all the time anyway. And in this spectacle he looks sincerely angry, and genuinely seething with rage. But of course, he knows, and you know, and I know that he cannot conceivably believe it possible for a television channel to conduct electoral rigging on any scale, leave alone on a scale to change results. What a media group, a newspaper or a TV channel can do however, is to report with consistent bias – in favour of, or against, a candidate. And that is unfortunately neither illegal nor ‘rigging’. And Geo/ Jang group certainly happens to be guilty of that, as do other media groups. And Mr. Khan knows it. And he also knows, that Geo consistently (and odiously for Khan’s detractors) favoured him over others for years – till he actually became a force to reckon with. Oh, and who knows which script or cue cards those Jang Group anchors and journalists were singing from when Imran was their darling. But you see, Imran Khan KNOWS all of this. He knows better than anyone else what this media group, amongst others, did for him. Yet, like Enyo, the goddess of destruction, he lashes out. He is so angry, because he is so wronged, that he wants to huff and he wants to puff, and wants to bring the entire house down. And eat up all the little piggies quaking inside the house. And my, oh my, is his ‘anger-act’ convincing, or is it convincing? Except, the cue cards, the talking points, give it all away. But that cannot be his fault, can it? He is still a brilliant actor.
He talks about speeches at 11.23 p.m or 11.26 p.m that cost him the PMship. And he does it with a straight face, rather a spittle-flying-in-your-face face. And the followers scream with hysteria; he probably marvels at his own ingenuity. Inside, one is sure, he chuckles because he knows. How can he not? A year on after the elections, and he suddenly dreams up that he lost the PMship because Geo ‘rigged’ the election. That is the script. It is just a tad interesting that he woke up to the fact only a couple of days after the Geo-ISI disaster broke loose. And just a tad stale that Mr. Khan actually thought, yet again, that he’d like to play Molly the Pretty Mare, in Animal Farm.
Those poor souls not aware of the grand puppet show on show, fall for the anger bit hook, line and sinker. But those who’ve been watching the scene for some decades like Orwell’s old donkey Benjamin, become die-hard fans of the next acting legend. They just wish they had the millions of dollars they are supposed to be “khoring” to produce the next box office hit starring the next big star after Marilyn Monroe. Except for his disciples, everyone knows the score; everyone knows the genius of his talent.
Mr. Khan must sit back and laugh heartily in his leisure and pleasure hours at his own artful accomplishments. He has managed to put on the back foot an entire organization (no saint itself) for leveling what he calls lowly, below the belt, personal attacks against him. He must have slapped his own shoulder red congratulating himself at putting them in the hot seat, all the while leveling far more
serious allegations of ‘treason’ at them, and lending credence to allegations of blasphemy by sitting in one-to-one interviews with every vulture in the media that has cast aspersions of blasphemy at Geo staff. It would be so funny if it weren’t so frightening: Mr. Khan fooling the masses with his straight-faced mantra of religion, morality, honesty and decency – when his own personal life stands up to not the shallowest scrutiny on these standards.
One has a choice: one can be bitter, or one can be hardy. One can cry, or one can admire. For the moment, Mr. Khan has the last laugh. And so do his puppeteers.

The writer is a human rights worker and freelance columnist.

Email:gulnbukhari@gmail.com

Tweets at:@gulbukhari

Sehat Ka insaaf | MERA JOOTA

30 children fall sick in Swat upon receiving measles vaccinations


SWAT: At least 30 children fell ill in Swat after receiving vaccinations for measles on Saturday, Express News reported.
A team of health officials had gone to their school, MR Model School in Mingora, where they were given injections of the vaccines. After which, the children fell ill and were taken to Saidu Sharif Hospital for medical treatment.
According to sources at the hospital, the children are out of danger.
The reason of the adverse reaction to the vaccinations is not known as yet.
On May 21, six children had fallen unconscious after being administered measles vaccines in Kohat district. A team of health officials went to a private school in Jangal Khel to vaccinate children against measles after which the students fell unconscious and were rushed to the Liaqat Memorial Hospital.
Two days earlier, at least 23 students of Government Girls Primary School in Dalan union council of Thal, Hangu had fallen unconscious after they were administered anti-measles injections.
The commonly known side-effects of measles vaccines range from the common ones which are fever, rash to the very rare ones such as mild seizures and deafness.

Shaken Law and Order | Bomb blast in bannu



بنوں:  اندرون منڈان گیٹ میں دھماکا ہوا، جس کے نتیجے میں 10افراد زخمی ہو گئے۔ پولیس ے مطابق بارودی مواد موٹرسائیکل میں نصب کیا گیا تھا جیسے یموٹ کنٹرول سے اڑایاگیا۔ دھماکے میں ایڈیشنل ایس ایچ او امین مروت سمیت 10 افراد زخمی ہوے ،زخمیوں میں ایس ایچ او اور4 پولیس اہل کاربھی شامل۔ پولیس نے علاقے کو گھیرے میں لے کر تحقیقات شروع کر دی گئی ہیں۔

http://www.naibaat.pk/?p=84696~86

کپتان میراتوبہ شکن


کپتان نے عدلیہ اوراپنے آئیڈیل منصف جسٹس(ر)افتخارمحمد چوہدری سے وارفتگی وشیفتگی کا جام توڑا اورایک مرتبہ پھر توبہ کر لی۔ کپتان ٹاپ کا کھلاڑی ،غضب کا شکاری ،بے لوث ،سماجی کارکن ،اعلیٰ درجے کا منصف ،ہزاروں نہیں لاکھوں دلوں میں دھڑکن کی طرح بساہواسیاسی لیڈرہے،اس کے باوجود ان کا مزاج شناس ہونے کا دعوی ہے نہ قربت کا ۔البتہ ان کے نت نئے فیصلوں ،ان فیصلوں میں تیزرفتاری تبدیلی دیکھ کروہ مے خوریاد آتاہے۔قصہ کہانیوں کا وہ کردارسر شام ساقی گل فام کی محفل میں جابیٹھتا۔رات ساغرومینا کے ساتھ اٹھکیلیاں کرتے ،شغل بادہ نوشی میں گزرجاتی ۔دن چڑھتا تو خوف خدا غالب آجاتا۔ضمیرکچوکے لگاتا توآئندہ کیلئے دخترانگورسے دور رہنے کا پیمان کرتا اورتوبہ کرکے شام تک میٹھی نیند سو جاتا۔ سرشام جب خمارکا عادی بدن ٹوٹتا توتوبہ ٹوٹ جاتی ۔ویسے ہی جیسے صبح اٹھ کرمارے ندامت کے جام ٹوٹا۔ہرروزکی توبہ اورجام شکنی کی اس مشق کے نتیجہ میں ان گنت مرتبہ توبہ ٹوٹی اوردریدہ جاموں کی تعدادکا توشمارہی ممکن نہ تھا۔شعرشناسی میں توخیرواجبی سی شدبد ہے،لیکن شعراکرام کے نام اکثرذہن میں گڈمڈہوکررہ جاتے ہیں۔کپتان کی سیاست کودیکھ کروہ بھولا بسراشعریاد آتاہے۔
جام مے توبہ شکن ،توبہ میری جام شکن
سامنے ڈھیرہے ٹوٹے ہوئے پیمانوں کا
کپتان نے کرکٹ کے کھیل میں توبے شمارریکارڈ بنائے ۔تھوڑے ٹیسٹ کھیل کرزیادہ وکٹیں حاصل کیں۔اپنے وقت میں تیزرفتارترین فاسٹ باؤلرکا ریکارڈ ،اپنی کپتانی میں ٹیسٹ اورون ڈے میچ جیتنے کا ریکارڈ، 1992ء میں پہلی اور تاحال آخری دفعہ ورلڈکپ جتنے کا عالمی ریکارڈ۔ کھیل میں لیکن مسئلہ یہ ہوتاہے کہ ایک وقت ایسا بھی آتاہے،جب قوی مضمحل ہوجاتے ہیں۔بھریا میلہ چھوڑکرریٹائرمنٹ لینی پڑتی ہے،ایک مرتبہ کھیل کے میدان کوالوداع کہہ دیا جائے تو پھر تیزی سے بنتے،ٹوٹتے ،ریکارڈ کے آگے’’ختم شد‘‘کا سائن بورڈ لگ جاتاہے۔آخرکارنئے آنے والے تازہ دم کھلاڑی، پرانے ریکارڈ توڑ ڈالتے اورپرانے ریکارڈ محض کھیل کی کتابوں میں ریفرنس کے طودرپرباقی رہ جاتے ہیں۔ کپتان البتہ خوش نصیب رہا کہ کھیل سے سبکدوشی کے بعد ،سماجی خدمت کے شعبہ میں چندے کے انباراکٹھے کرنے اوراس خطیررقم کی مدد سے پاکستان کا پہلا خیراتی اہسپتال قائم کرنے کا موقع بھی ملااوراس شعبے میں بھی کپتان نے کامیابی کے جھنڈے گاڑے۔ ان سب کامیابیوں کے باوجودکپتان کی زندگی اس شاعرکے شعرکی عملی تصویرہے،جس میں توبہ اورجام مساوی رفتار اور تعدادمیں مسلسل ٹوٹتے نظرآتے ہیں۔
اب سال اورتاریخیں تویادنہیں،البتہ یہ امیر المومنین ضیاء الحق کا زمانہ بادشاہی تھا۔کپتان نے اچانک ایک روز کرکٹ سے ریٹائرمنٹ لے لی۔دنیا بھرمیں کرکٹ کے دیوانوں بالخصوص خواتین پرستاروں کے دل بیٹھ گئے۔ایک روز کپتان کی مردمومن سے ملاقات ہوئی توکپتان نے کرکٹ کھیلنے سے کی گئی توبہ واپس لے لی۔شوکت خانم ہسپتال کیلئے فنڈز اکٹھا کرنے کی مہم چلائی توغریب امیر،خاص وعام ،دیہاتی ،شہری سب نے طورخم سے گوادرتک دل کھول کرچندہ دیا،اپنی محبتیں نچھاورکیں،سکولوں کے بچوں نے اپنا جیب خرچ تک جھولی میں ڈال دیا۔مقبولیت کی بلندیوں پرفائزکپتان نے ایک روز اعلان کیا کہ سیاست منفی عمل ہے ،لہذا وہ کبھی اس شعبہ کی طرف آنکھ اٹھا کربھی نہ دیکھیں گے۔کپتان اس بات پر زیادہ عرصہ قائم نہ رہ سکا۔1996میں بے نظیرحکومت برطرفی سے قبل کپتان میدان سیاست میں بہ نفس نفیس جگمگارہے تھے۔ ایک زمانے میں نوازشریف سے گہری دوستی تھی۔باغ جناح میں اکٹھے کرکٹ کھیلی۔پھردوستی چھوڑی اورسیاسی مخالفت کا راستہ اپنا لیا۔کپتان کوپہلے الیکشن میں بری طرح مات ہوئی۔الیکشن سے پہلے اس کی مقبولیت سے نفسیاتی طور پر خائف نوازشریف نے اتحاد کی آفرکی۔لیکن کپتان نے قبول نہ کی۔12اکتوبرکوپرویزمشرف نے اقتدار پر غیر قانونی قبضہ کیا توجناب خان ایک مرتبہ پھرامید سے ہوگئے۔وزارت عظمی کا پرانا خواب ایک مرتبہ آنکھوں میں بسالیا۔موصوف اولین ملاقاتیوں میں شامل تھے۔مشرف نے اپنے جعلی اقتدارکوجوازاوردوام بخشنے کیلئے ریفرنڈم کا ڈرامہ رچایا تو ’’خان‘‘ لیڈ سٹار بن کرسامنے آئے۔2002ء کے عام انتخابات میں یوں لگ رہاتھاکہ بس وزارت عظمیٰ تک رسائی میں بس ایک آنچ کی کمی باقی ہے۔شومئی قسمت صرف ایک نشست ہاتھ آئی ۔ظفراللہ جمالی ایک نشست کی اکثریت سے اسی منصب جلیلہ پرفائز ہوگئے ،جس کوعمران اپنا حق سمجھ بیٹھے تھے۔ وزارت عظمیٰ نہ ملی توجناب نے اپنے ٹریک ریکارڈ کے مطابق مشرف کی حمایت پرقوم سے معافی مانگی اورآئندہ کیلئے فوجی سرپرستی سے توبہ کرلی۔اس دوران نوابزادہ نصراللہ مرحوم نے اے آرڈی قائم کرلی توعمران خان بھی اس نوح کی کشتی میں سوارہوگئے۔اس سے پہلے وہ اعلان فرماچکے تھے کہ نوازشریف اور بینظیر بھٹو کے ساتھ مل کرکبھی سیاست میں حصہ نہیں لیں گے۔لیکن بیانات کا کیاہوتاہے وہ توہوتے ہی بھول جانے کیلئے ہیں۔ 2007ء کے انتخابات ہوئے تواچانک کپتان نے انتخابات کا بائیکاٹ کردیا۔اے آرڈی سے بھی الگ ہو گئے۔ ایم کیوایم کے ساتھ اٹ کھڑکاہواتوالطاف حسین کوکیفرکردارپہنچانے کا اعلان کرڈالا۔نہایت جوش وخروش سے ثبوتوں بھرااٹیچی کیس لے کرسکاٹ لینڈیارڈجاپہنچنے ۔کچھ عرصہ بعداس جہادکوبھول گئے۔ایم کیوایم نے جوابی کا روائی کی تو توبہ کرکے پیچھے ہٹ گئے۔اپنے دورسیاست میں ایک مرتبہ چوہدری برادران کوکرپٹ ٹولہ قراردے کران کو ایکسپوزکرنے کو اپنا مشن اول قراردیدیا۔
حسب معمول اس پربھی قائم نہ رہ سکے۔میاں نوازشریف نے عدلیہ بچاؤمہم کا اعلان کیا تواس کی حمایت میں کھڑے ہوگئے۔نوازشریف نے میلہ لوٹ لیا اورعمران خان ڈی چوک میں لانگ مارچ کا انتظارہی کرتے رہ گئے۔کسی زمانے میں ٹی وی پروگرام میں ہاتھ اٹھا کردعامانگی کہ اللہ ان کوشیخ رشید ایسے سیاستدانوں سے بچائے۔2013کے الیکشن میں یہی شیخ رشید ان کے سب سے بڑے اتحادی بن گئے۔کسی سعد لمحے میں اعلان فرمایاکہ وہ ایجنسیوں کی مددسے کبھی سیاست میں آئیں گے نہ اقتدارلیں گے۔پھران کے اورپاشاکے سمبھند کا گواہ ایک زمانہ بنا۔
پیپلزپارٹی کے پانچ سالہ دور اقتدار میں کپتان چیف جسٹس کے ساتھ کھڑے ہوگئے۔2013ء کے انتخابات ہوئے توامیدوں کے برعکس بہت کم سیٹیں ملیں۔وزارت عظمی کا خواب توپورانہ ہوا۔البتہ ایک صوبہ کی حکومت مل گئی۔ کپتان نے انتخابی نتائج کوتسلیم کیا۔
اعلان کیا کہ وہ مینڈیٹ تسلیم کرتے ہیں اوریہ کہ منتخب حکومتوں کو مدت اقتدارپوری کرنے کا موقع ملنا چاہیے لیکن اب انتخابات کے صرف ایک سال کے اندرانتخابات دھاندلی زدہ ،ٹی وی چینل ،نوازشریف اوران کے آئیڈیل جج افتخار چوہدری اس دھاندلی کے ذمہ دارنکل آئے۔وہی افتخارمحمدچوہدری جن کی بحالی کیلئے کپتان نے عدلیہ بچاؤمہم میں بھرپور کردار اداکیا۔
توبہ شکن کپتان ،حلقہ ارادت مندان پرویزمشرف ،طاہرالقادری ،جناب شیخ رشید ،جماعت اسلامی کے ہمراہ گیارہ مئی کو تخت اسلام آباد الٹانے تشریف لارہے ہیں۔ مسلم لیگ ق بھی سرگرم تو ہے، لیکن ابھی حتمی فیصلہ پر نہیں پہنچی۔ چوہدری برادران نے فیصلہ کر لیا تو اصحاب (ق)کے سارے نگ ایک ہی میگا سائز انگوٹھی میں جڑے نظر آئیں گے۔ یہ اتحاد سیاست میں کوئی طوفان برپا کر پاتا ہے یا نہیں، لیکن کپتان کے سامنے ٹوٹے ہوئے پیمانوں کے ڈھیرمیں ایک اورکا اضافہ ہو گیا ہے۔ ڈھیر مزید بلند ہو گیا۔

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