Author: Dr Khalil Ahmad

Dr. Khalil is a political economist and a political philosopher. He cherishes a cosmopolitan spirit and considers himself a moralist and a rationalist. He founded the first free market think tank in Pakistan, Alternate Solutions Institute. He wrote/published hundreds of articles on the various aspects of political economy of Pakistan, and on a variety of issues.He is author of a number of books that include "Pakistan Mein Riyasati Ashrafiya Ka Urooj"; "Siyasi Partian Ya Siyasi Bandobast"; "Pakistani KashaKash" in Urdu; and "Charter of Liberty" and "Pakistan's Democratic Impasse" in English.

What’s hiding behind this Advertisement?

In The News of December 24, on page 5 there published an Advertisement. Here it is:
What does that Ad mean?
How come that suddenly 8816 posts emerge vacant in various organizations working under the Ministry of Interior!
What does this Ad as a whole amount to? 
On December 25, The News published Ansar Abbasi’s story, Desperate rush to recruit thousands en masse. This story reveals what may have prompted the publishing of that Ad!
Here is the link to this story: http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-13-19700-Desperate-rush-to-recruit-thousands-en-masse

In The News of December 26 published another story by Ansar Abbasi on the same issue. Here is the link: http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-13-19728-Desperate-rush-to-put-favourites-on-key-posts  

The same advertisement appeared in an Urdu daily, Express, on December 27. Here it is:
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State Aristocracy’s Pakistan – 5: Justice for the elite class

The News in its print edition on December 23 reported the following:
Bakery boy absolves CM’s relative, cops of torture

LAHORE: A judicial magistrate of cantonment courts on Saturday adjourned the hearing by January 9 of a case against Ali Imran Yousaf, son-in-law of the Punjab chief minister, eight others including seven officials of Elite Force. 
On Saturday, the court recorded the statement of complainant Irfan who said that neither the CM’s son-in-law nor elite force officials had tortured him. He said he had been tortured by unidentified persons.
After recording the statement, the court adjourned the case until January 9. 
Previously, the court had indicted the CM’s son-in-law and others including Zafar Hussain, said to be the bodyguard of the Punjab chief minister’s son -in-law, and Elite Force officials Riaz, Yousuf, Mohsin, Maqsod, Farid, Nawab and Khalil Ahmed. 
According to the case, an FIR was registered by Umer Hussain,
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Two Pakistans

Anyone can see that there is not one Pakistan. After more than 60 years the two Pakistans can clearly be demarcated. One is for the ordinary lot of the people, and the second one is for the elite classes. Pay a visit to the ordinary Pakistan, and experience the ordinary life there, have a taste of some basic social services available there, and you will realize how neglected is this ordinary Pakistan of the ordinary people of Pakistan. Likewise almost in every big city, there are two cities, one for the ordinary lot and one for the special elite. All other smaller cities including the vast rural expanse fall under the ordinary Pakistan.
Now roam about some areas of the elite Pakistansuch as GORs (Government Officers’ Residences) or Cantonments, and see the difference between these two Pakistans. In a number of cases, these two Pakistans
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Privatize Gas Fields or Nationalize the CNG Stations!

Ordinary Pakistanis are in the jaws of another government-created crisis: they are facing shortage of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) in their homes as well as in their vehicles. The other side of the coin is the industrial sector suffering a lot due to the shortage and limited supply of the CNG.
Years back caught in a fever of Greenism and making policies with no insight into the future, the government promoted CNG. When everything has gone Green, it was revealed that there was no more CNG to feed those who shifted to the use of CNG. Rationing started, and another venue for huge corruption opened. It is in addition to the bucks OGRA (Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority) and Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources are making.
In many a city, for most of the time factories are closed, and there are strikes by unemployed factory workers. And there are
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Hukoomat Maila

Please note: This post has been shifted to the Urdu Blog – Civil Pakistan. To see it, click the link below:

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State Aristocracy’s Pakistan – 4: PM appoints son-in-law as ED World Bank

Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf by, using his discretionary powers, has appointed his son-in-law, Raja Azeemul Haq to the prestigious post of Executive Director of the World Bank Washington.  The decision was taken despite resistance shown by Finance Minister Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, who tried to convince the Premier to change his decision, and told him that his son-in-law is “junior” for such an important position.
The Economic Affairs Division, the department which was asked to formally move the summary by the Prime Minister’s Principal Secretary Ayub Qazi, also opposed the move. The department suggested that a head-hunting committee or selection board should be formed under the Establishment Division to select a suitable candidate.
Raja Azeem is currently serving in the PM Secretariat as the Additional Secretary on a grade 21 post, a position that a civil servant usually gets after serving for two to three decades. Until a few
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Media and the Political Princelings

It is strange, rather outrageous that the same media, which is truly active and activist, as regards many a genuine issue, and in certain cases quite imbued with a fighting spirit, is all set to advance the cause of new young leaders of the political elite classes.
Ah, the senior and experienced media men, the editors, reporters, op-ed writers, and those who are known as political analysts, (and the established newspapers and TV channels), they are all avidly promoting the Political Princelings. Such as: Bilawal Zardari, Hamza Shahbaz Sharif, Moonis Elahi, Maryam Nawaz Sharif, Fizza Gilani, Aseefa Zardari, and all the progeny of political royalty of Pakistan.
How unfortunate for this nation!
In an older piece of writing, euphemistically titled as “Not an elitist media,” I tried to focus on this elitist role of Pakistani media. Here it is:
Not an elitist media!
If you attack the establishment long enough and hard
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The Rise of State Aristocracy in Pakistan – Reviews

This book was published by Alternate Solutions Institute in February this year. Originally it is in Urdu, Pakistan Mein Riyasti Ashrafiya Ka Urooj.
After the Media Release announcing the publication of the book was made, I sent its copies to prominent newspapers, journals, and eminent intellectuals and writers for the purpose of review. However, no one bothered even to acknowledge the receipt of the book except Dr. Tariq Rahman, who called me and told that he had received the book.
Here are the reviews done:
The day (February 21) the Media Release was issued, I received a call from Business Recorder. Its senior reporter, Mohammad Rafique Goraya asked me to send copies of the book; he wanted to review it in the Business Review. On March 3, a review was published.
In The Express Tribune, on April 23, Ali Salman in his article, Rental Power Saga
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What’s your qualification, Mr. Prime Minister?

How vacuous the speeches and statements of state dignitaries look!
But it is for them to inaugurate this or that thing, to make speeches! It seems that’s the only thing they can do, at least in Pakistan!  Maybe since they have nothing else to do, they like to be the chief guests at many an occasion so diverse in nature that they would never be able to go to were they not in that position.
The difficult part of this exercise requires them to deliver speeches. However, they are privileged – they have speech-writers. That makes their speeches all Greek to understand as the speeches delivered by their very persons. Almost as a rule they are all, again at least in Pakistan, not as qualified and cultivated, or in short so learned that they would naturally be delivering speeches as the occasions require.
So, as far as their speech-writers are
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Echoing Lal Masjid

Lal Masjid is once again making headlines. This time it has been resurrected by the Supreme Court. As a result of a hearing of a suo moto case of Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa along with a contempt petition filed by Maulana Abdul Aziz, and after the federal police failed to file a satisfactory report on the matter, a three member bench of the Supreme Court, headed by the Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry constituted a one-man judicial commission comprising Justice Shehzad Al-Shaikh, Senior Judge of Federal Shariat Court.
The judicial commission will ascertain: whether the State had paid compensation to the heirs of killed people; whether the bodies were identified and handed over to their heirs; whether the action has been taken against the people who are responsible for the tragedy; and whether the people who are responsible for the tragedy could be marked with the available evidences and
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