What is an Error-Free voter list?
Pakistan is rapidly heading for another electoral disaster. It continues to retain its archaic and unnecessary electoral list-making process that can do no better than what it did last time. While it ended up manufacturing 37 million fake voters in 2008, the results will not be much different this time around. There are at least four types of flaws that call for immediate attention:
- Based on the 1998 census, Pakistan’s current population should be around 190 million people. Fifty-one percent of our population is above 18 years. This means there are 97 million Pakistanis who are eligible to vote. The voters’ list released by the Election Commission of Pakistan shows only 84.4 million voters. It simply means that there are 12.6 million eligible voters who are not included in the current voters’ list. Organisations such as the Free and Fair Elections Network consider the gap to be much higher.
- The voter list retains the names of those who are no longer alive. This number is close to two million, according to NADRA records, and 15 million according to many legislators who took up this issue in parliament.
- There is no easy way to estimate or correct those whose names appear in the electoral rolls but with a wrong polling address – another city or an incorrect location of the same city.
- Those whose names have not been included in the voters’ list despite their possession of national ID cards.
Taliban – A Holistic View
It has become even more critical that we clearly understand TALIBAN. There is alot of confusion out there and that was the main objective behind attacking Malala. Again i am not an expert but this is what i think: there are 3 broad categories of Taliban.
- Migrants: Taliban who came from Afghanistan when the US attacked Afghanistan.
- Local disgruntled groups: People in the Army and general public who have been in a way forced to take up weapons
- Puppets: Groups who are being directly funded and trained by the US, India etc.
Now the first thing which we need to do is clearly differentiate between the above in order to understand what Taliban is. The main difference between these three categories is that the Category 1 and 2 initially were PRO Pakistan and even today they are not attacking the general public but ONLY the armed forces and Police ONLY because they see America as an enemy and our forces as its ally. The 3rd category has never been PRO Pakistan and can never be in the future as well, they are being funded by the foreign elements to create uncertainty, anarchy in Pakistan and at the same time create this global confusion about TALIBAN. They have been successful in this unfortunately and today when we say Taliban we don’t have these 3 categories in mind. Another important distinguishing factor is that the only thing required to again make the 1st and 2nd category of Taliban PRO Pakistan again is that we distance ourselves from this US War on terror while the 3rd category will, like I said earlier, they are and will always be against Pakistan and continue creating these confusions.
Another important thing to realize here is that the American government and Army is OUR ENEMY. Anyone who has doubts about this is completely unaware of the ground realities and facts.
This post was submitted by Taimoor Mughal.
Imran’s Jehad for Peace
In the battle of Badr there was a boy of fifteen ‘Umayr who stood amongst the ranks of the believers. His heart was full of fear as he stood amongst the taller, broader, stronger and more experienced soldiers. But this fear was not of war nor of death. It was the fear of being asked to turn back to Medina because he was too young to fight.
This was the love and devotion that was deserved by the character of the Prophet Muhammed (PBUH). When the Prophet inspected the ranks he discovered this young man and as expected asked him to turn back. With tears the boy begged until the Prophet resigned to allow him to come. The young community of Muslims were after all outnumbered disproportionately 313 against over a thousand with armed superiority.
The love of the people is one of the qualities that defines a true leader. This is where we can appreciate Heaven’s role because not every one is destined to be a leader; let alone a true leader. This is a quality that in our time Imran Khan is blessed with. He is not a shrewd politician, nor is he cunning but what he has is the will and the heart to deserve the love of his people.
On saturday morning when my father woke me up for us to join Khan for the Waziristan rally my heart was in it but my self-preserving mind was against it. Along with my own back injury and an unrelenting chest congestion; my one year old first born son Isa had been ill all night with high fever and vomiting. At 6 am after not having slept all night I was told by my father that I should stay with Isa and not proceed to Waziristan. At first my mind gave in but in my heart I remembered little ‘Umayr who fought bravely at Badr. I trembled with fear that what if one day that boy was Isa fighting for the independence of our nation that his father had not stood up for. I leapt to my feet kissed my son and wife goodbye and with my mothers prayers set sail for Waziristan with Abu.
Is it not unusual for a young man of 28 with all the luxuries of a rich upper class background to be willing to; with full knowledge of the consequences; be prepared to give his life for a leader he believes in? This is the love that Imran commands. I have no reason or desire to give my life for anything; but I know very well that all my luxuries would be of no satisfaction without the dignity of freedom. I sent an SMS to my elder brother with my will written in it and decided to join the protest against the drones and boycotting our government’s silent licensing of it.
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This post was submitted by Waleed Zaman.
PTI Mails possibly being monitored by the Government of Pakistan
With the political situation heating up in Pakistan it seems every effort is being made by the establishment to monitor and track the Pakistani political Cyber Space – As off today some active PTI Social Media team members were shocked to log into their Insaf.pk / Gmail accounts to be presented with an alarming warning that it might be possible that the Govt of Pakistan / agencies might be monitoring their activities
WARNING: We Believe State-Sponsored Attackers may be attempting to compromise your account or computer
Google immeditely directs the user to a help file “Your account could be at risk of state-sponsored attacks” which helps explain that that state-sponsored attackers might actually be attempting to compromise the account or computer. They outline detailed steps on how to secure the respective accounts, but what is worrying that all these accounts that were being flagged by Google to be potentially compromised already use Google 2-Step SMS Verification system and take all the necessary precautions to ensure that their accounts are extensively secure
Digging a little further we came across a Google Online Security blog where an entry was posted as latest as June 5th 2012 ”Security warnings for suspected state-sponsored attacks” it is when Google has started to warn any of its users where they suspect the system might actually be compromised – the blog entry further explains the reasoning behind this red-warning displayed on top of their google accounts
We are constantly on the lookout for malicious activity on our systems, in particular attempts by third parties to log into users’ accounts unauthorized. When we have specific intelligence—either directly from users or from our own monitoring efforts—we show clear warning signs and put in place extra roadblocks to thwart these bad actors. We believe may be the target of state-sponsored attacks.
You might ask how we know this activity is state-sponsored. We can’t go into the details without giving away information that would be helpful to these bad actors, but our detailed analysis—as well as victim reports—strongly suggest the involvement of states or groups that are state-sponsored.
What this means?
This actually goes to show that it might be possible that the Govt of Pakistan is slowly and very determinedly edging closer to compromising personal security of all Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf communications. Possibly in an effort to compromise the political process as and when needed. Exposing this at this time is essential to bring to notice to the general public that such activities are being used. These warnings come despite the fact that the compromised accounts already have 2-step verification and are forcibly asked to change their passwords repeatedly.
PTI is fully aware of these threats and continues to take necessary precautions, but its important to document this incident which only goes to re-enforce the suspicion where we previously thought it was being done to more sound facts that they are doing it as a matter of fact
- Why PTI Peace March Matters:→
Malik Amin Aslam Khan writes an op-ed in The News on 2nd October titled Why PTI Peace March Matters — [EXTRACT] — The ‘peace march’ to Waziristan is intended to bring world focus on the innocent victims of drone terrorism who now consistently live under constant threat from the sky. It aims to speak for the silent but shattered families and scores of voiceless victims of imperialist terror. It endeavours to express grief and solidarity with the brave and unsung sufferers of the drone war in an earnest effort to comfort them that they are not alone, isolated and forgotten by Pakistanis.
Against all warnings, Imran Khan is daring to follow up the politically symbolic political gathering in Quetta by now leading the peace march to Waziristan. By doing so he is courageously going where no political party or political leader of any stature has dared to go before, hoping to redraw the rules of this unjust war. It is time to own up to this travesty of justice within our own country before the war-torn region gets irreparably engulfed with the air of revenge. The PTI peace march will aim to revive hope before it becomes too late for Waziristan – and for Pakistan. READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE → [1 Comment]
Third Tribune Article against PML Deleted “PML-N, ASWJ reach consensus”
Its ironic that we are reporting the third incident where a printed artcile from Express Tribune website may have been subjected to online censorship [First: PML-N’s – ‘Like’ my Facebook page News Item [DELETED] & Second: Express Tribune deletes another PML-N exposé News Item] an article that seemingly may have gone against PML-N has been deleted from the Express Tribune website – The original article was published on the 2nd page of 30th Septembers Express Tribune newspaper, was posted on the tribune.com.pk website but after people started sharing it on the social media it was deleted from the website in its entirely.
This is not the first time such an incident has happened, but infact the third time that I have noticed a similar tactic to actually notice that tribune has been quick to entirely remove a report that may possibly hurt the public perception of Pakistan Muslim League
I here with share the entire text of the article which should have been located at http://tribune.com.pk/story/444637/election-season-pml-n-aswj-reach-consensus/
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Nawaz Sharif’s Clueless Economic Plan for Pakistan
So utterly clueless is PML’s Economic plan, that it must be embarrassingly exposed. Nawaz Sharif in his interview to Hamid Mir said that he wants to REDUCE TAXES for the existing Tax payers in Pakistan from 35% to a minimum of 10%, with the “hope that it would inspire people” to pay more taxes,
Ironic is such a suggestion specially coming from an experienced politician like Nawaz Sharif whose party has effectively ruled Pakistan for approximately 18 years, is that, it positively shows that he has no clue what he might actually be suggesting, to suggest a reduction of taxes from an elite class of society that already eludes taxes means that the rich continue to get richer and the poor driven further into poverty
His vision would produce a country which would be a very harsh place to live for the poor and the middle classes which are easily around 90% of the country. It will also not work for those who are well off because with the social fabric frayed like it is, the ability of islands of prosperity to survive in a sea of desperation is very low indeed.
Its not just a casual remark about low tax rates, it is a totally different view of the world that leads to a country with a massive fiscal deficit, to easily say good bye to any hopes for rebuilding this nation
So clueless is Nawaz Sharif, that even after his party has intermittently ruled Pakistan for about 18 years, since 1981 when Nawaz Sharif first became the Finance Minister in Zia-ul-Haq era, he has still no idea of how to solve this economic crisis in Pakistan. This is just one example as to how ill prepared PML-N is even to this day.
Its truly your choice to distinguish what is good for Pakistan and what may actually be damaging if people select to vote for a clueless bunch of failed politicians from Raiwind ruin all over again, alternatively Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, to its credit, has presented FOUR visionary policies [Governance, Energy, Economy & Health] which shows the vision and a definite PLAN FOR A BETTER PAKISTAN.
Express Tribune deletes another PML-N exposé News Item
On 27th July – an article appeared on the back page of the newspaper titled Web presence: Punjab govt footing bill for PML-N social media revamp after it remained online for the entire day around 10pm that evening the article was suddenly deleted, and no explanation given as to why, the web editors of the Express Tribune chose to delete this post
Almost a month back on June 6th, Express Tribune had published an article titled PML-N’s – ‘Like’ my Facebook page News Item, after a few hours the web editors deleted the online edition without any reason. It seems there is a definite attempt by Express to be influenced by PML and its team of hired media houses to ensure that no bad publicity appears on its papers.
The focus of the article is on the hiring of the social media team, but what has not been exposed is the upsurge of all the TV ads & all the Newspaper adverts that have started populating the airwaves ALL are being funded by YOUR TAX MONEY positioned as Govt ads only to promote Sharif [PML] & Zardari [PPP]. One does wonder BOTH have made enough money in ALL their tenures combined that they could easily “invest” in their future turn of power – but their old corrupt habits continue. They use your money to reposition themselves as saviors of Pakistan for re-election.
An exposé of their activities was revealed at the Pakistan Social Media Gate blog which has a video and itemized screen captures.
For the sake of online posterity I hearby again reproduce the contents of the deleted article, so that the digital footprint does not disappear into oblivion
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- Politics of the youth bulge – Dr Maleeha Lodhi:→
Dr. Maleeha Lodhi’s op-ed in The News is worth reading Politics of the youth bulge. A few excerpts from the article are captrued here
Commenting on the changing electoral lists towards a more youth centric vote bank – Change in the next election therefore hinges crucially on voter turnout. This will likely benefit the PTI more than the two major parties. Indeed if the remarkably stable vote banks of the PPP and the Muslim League are to be eroded – or overwhelmed – it is higher turnout by young voters and other first time voters that can swing this.
Commenting on the Urbanization of Rural constituencies – This changing rural-urban landscape advantages the PML-N more than the PPP. But it also opens the opportunity for new urban voters and especially those from the growing middle class to consider the PTI as a serious alternative especially as it seeks to convince voters that the two major parties represent the past, not the future.
In conclusion she writes – The combined effect of these factors and voter disillusionment with the major parties, which are burdened by incumbency at a time of economic gloom, is to inject new, uncertain dynamics into the election scenario. This could produce greater surprises than generally presumed and offer a party that can convince voters it stands for change an unparalleled chance to make a mark. Read the entire article Politics of the youth bulge → [2 Comments]
PML-N & Nusrat Javed attacking but Failing Miserably – Exposed
An Urdu proverb is often used نقل کےلیے عقل چاہے “Nakal Kay Liyae Akal Chahye” [you need brains to cheat] for the past month it seems, I have begun to haunt a talk show anchor on AAJ TV called Nusrat Javed. You can start to read the development on the issue starting from #TwitterGate which was followed by a few of his glorifying articles where in one he accused me of running Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Social Media Karkhana [factory] and desperatly pledged to expose us.
His investigative reporting is so skewed that he has no idea that PTI does not hire anyone for social media and there is no office that we go to, we the official PTI volunteers a numbered not more then two dozen and are scattered all around the world and our office is our own computers volunteering our time for the casue of a better and brighter Pakistan under the leadership of Imran Khan
A few days after Nusrat Javed attacked we were delighted to scoop exposing the PML-N Social Media Team where some members were hired by the Punjab Govt, appointed within the Punjab IT Department using PUBLIC TAX MONEY, but were specially deputed by Nawaz Sharif to organize a counter offensive for PML-N’s Social Media against the rising PTI force on the social media. I have no idea who made the video, took the screen captures or created the blog, but Pakistan must indeed applaud the whistleblower to have shown the courage to expose the inherently corrupt PML where they have yet again proven their habits of expoliting public money for their own gains and for their own party, as if the Sharifs had not made enough money in their 17 years of ruling that they could not hire a social media team to do their dirty work, had if this been coming from volunteers or employees hired by their own money then it was understandable but when it comes at the expense of govt funding, then the public and we have the right to question
If you are interested to watch the expose the video is here or read the expose here
The Julian Assange Show: Imran Khan
TwitterGate & a Response to Nusrat Javed Sb
The fiasco started as #FamilyGate, turned into a #MalikGate, morphed into #MediaGate and suddenly I was thrushed into a weird fiasco which I choose to call as #TwitterGate. Unless you have been sleeping under a rock im sure you must have read Pakistans obsession with the “Gate fiasco” somewhere along the line, watergate to memogate etc etc, It seems Pakistanis are ready to rename all possible gates in Lahore and beyond
TwitterGate takes birth on the afternoon of 14th June 2012. When suddenly scanned copies of a Baharia Town documents appeared on the social networks, it listed about 19 top journalists to have been allegedly favored by the Bahria town owners in one form of the other, [this release comes hours after the off-air DunyaTV youtube video hits the social network hours earlier]. Noticing these images, I choose to share the image by ProPakistani at 4:05 pm on my facebook profile
The ProPakistani had actually picked it up from a twitter account of Abdullah Saad (@Kursed) who had actually posted this a status update on Twitter
Post Deleted
— Abdullah Saad (@Kursed) June 14, 2012
Upon talking to Abdullah Saad today he categorically says that the image was not posted by him, but instead was a ReTweet of a particular media personality, whose tweet he ReTweeted (new style), when “the media personality” deleted his own tweet, it actually resulted in Abdullah Saad’s tweet also being deleted. The name of the media personality mentioned by Abdullah Saad was given to me but I choose to with-hold the name until I can get his own point of view [I'm paying caution to the wind lest i be sucked in an another circus]
[Read an update at the bottom of this post]
My second facebook update was made at 4:31pm after I discovered that the ProPakistani had only one page [3rd page] and Meri Jan Pakistan had the entire 4-page set on their facebook page in an album titled #MediaGate
After this post almost 29 minutes after from my “first Facebook (ProPakistani) status update” I tweeted the following at precisely 4:34pm on 14th June 2012. This was then also the first time I shared this on twitter and by then twitter was brimming full of these documents, if for an example even Kursed himself had retweeted the particular update well before 4:05pm, to have been picked up by ProPakistani and then to have been re-shared by myself
19 anchors on MR’s Bahria Town land list – most will have a tough time to deflect this accusation #MalikGate on.fb.me/NAu2Wp
— Awab Alvi (@DrAwab) June 14, 2012, 4:34pm
- Kleptocracy in focus – Babar Sattar:→
Babar Sattar pens a very balanced article on the recent CJP crisis known as Family Gate, which involves Dr. Arsalan Chaudhry, the son of Chief Justice Iftikhae Chaudhry, Babar Sattar writes – The chief justice did the courageous thing by taking suo motu notice of the clandestine affair between Malik Riaz and his son Arsalan Iftikhar that had spread like wildfire through a crafty whispering campaign. And after putting the judicial wheels in motion to hold to account his son and Malik Riaz, and throwing his weight behind affixing the liability of the two in a transparent and impartial manner in an open court, he did the right thing by recusing himself from the cas – Read more Kleptocracy in focus – Babar Sattar → [1 Comment]
The Vice Guide to Karachi
PML-N’s – ‘Like’ my Facebook page News Item [DELETED]
Its hilarious at how PML-N is running confused on so many fronts, politically confused as to which side of the government does it want to be, sometimes it screams of protests from the side of Opposition, but the very next day it flips over and goes soft, in the online arena the abundant social media employed to counter the PTI Tsunami online also behaves like a headless behemoth, full of daily propaganda with no soul.
Today (6th June, 2012) Express Tribune printed a story on Page 2 – ‘Like’ my Facebook page, Shahbaz tells officials [404-DEAD LINK] which narrated a story as to how the Chief Minister has been asking Punjab govt employees to like his page & “remove PTI-related material from their Facebook accounts and not ‘like’ any PTI page”
PTI supporters started making funny jabs at how the Chief Minister was trying to rally Patwaris in the Punjab Govt to build “likes” for Shahbaz Sharif’s “political” page. In a very surprising development a few hours later Express Tribune deleted the article from their website. No explanation given, just a simple delete, was it under political pressure? Was the story misreported? We can only wonder what happened?
There is absolutely no crime in promoting your facebook page, social media experts world over do it all the time, so why a sudden embarrassed push to delete the story, so whatever the reason something did definitely bother PML-N and its supporters to force Express Tribune to pull the entire article from the website
So for whatever it is worth, I think its important to retain the contents for digital posterity, occasionally to rub the embarrassed PML-N noses to a shine for this gaff or for preserve this to question Express Tribune’s political bias for succumbing to political pressure and
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