The Official Pakistan Politics thread

[smalishah84]

I never thought things might come to such a pass that there could be a thread for dirty politics but here it is.

Fire away folks. Discuss your favorite politicians and the upcoming political scenario. Expect a lot of politician bashing too

Actually this is more in anticipation for a change in Pakistan politics. PTI has called for a HUGE rally at minar-e-pakistan at 2 pm tomorrow. Let's see how many people turn up.

Political observers will be watching this closely because this might mark the coming of age for PTI something like the PPP in 1970

[Flem274*]

Judging by the cricket team, this is gonna be good. *grabs popcorn*

In all srsnss, how likely is Imran to get in power?

[smalishah84]

haha......actually it is kind of grab pop corns.

The fact is that the political system is extremely corrupt and the masses are now sick and tired. The current lot have been in power for the last 25 years (most of that time) and things have only gotten worse under them.

Of late Imran's popularity has soared and currently he is ranked as the most popular political figure in Pakistan and leading the opinion polls in most urban areas in Pakistan.

The thing that is stopping himself at the moment is that his party does not have figures as well known as himself and if he is able to get a few more honest and popular figures like himself, he will definitely be a strong contender for PM in 2013.

Having said that tomorrow can be a watershed in Pakistan's political history depending on how many people show up. Tomorrow afternoon Imran will flex his political muscle and we'll see what exactly his standing is among the masses.

[Agent Nationaux]

Imran Khan forever

Looking forward to one of the great moments for Pakistan in the 21st century tomorrow.

Imran won't win the 2013 elections but will be a serious contender. His aim is to win the elections in 2017 because by then his support and political power will be huge.

[Agent Nationaux]

It would also be beneficial for Imran and Pakistan if Imran comes into power when the US had withdrawn from Afghanistan (less tension and problems), so again 2017 is better than 2013.

[Agent Nationaux]

For 2013 I wouldn't be upset if Nawaz wins, because then the Pak people will realise that both Nawaz and Zardari are garbage that we shouldn't recycle.

[smalishah84]

I think should know that by now lol

[smalishah84]

Imran will already be 60 by the 2013 elections. It would be better for him to come in 2013 and (hopefully) have 2 or 3 full terms at the helm. Should be able to turn around a lot of things IA

[Daemon]

Mods to move this to Lame Jokes Thread

[salman85]

The cricket fan inside me wants to see Imran come into Power.But the realist inside me doesn't see that happening.Yes the rally in Lahore is going to be huge,but Imran's popularity is primarily based in Urban areas,where the majority of our educated class lives.Other small areas,which constitute a much larger political playground as far as the vote bank goes,are dominated by PPP and PML-N,and the political formula followed there is based on the primitive ancestral thing.These people have been supporting their respective parties for ages,and there is no way in hell that Imran will convert a significant chunk of them into PTI supporters.

Nevertheless the rally in Lahore today is going to be great.Imran has promised that atleast.I'm in Karachi for a few days but had i been in Lahore i would have definitely attended.A lot of my friends are already there.And well,if the rally goes as well as Imran intended,then things might change.

Over the last few days i've heard a lot of political analysts speak about the PML-N and PTI rallies in Lahore,and they all seem to say : "When Lahore Changes.Pakistan Changes".Apparently Bhutto's movement for change also got it's first major burst when he came Lahore via the Railway.I don't know how much of this is true,and how much it will change things,but let's hope for the best.I'm a huge Musharaf supporter and i've always been in favor of Military rule,but i might shift to Imran soon

[smalishah84]

Dawn reports that there were already 5000 people there at Minar-e-Pakistan with lots of supporters blocked coming from Gujranwala. The people from KP are to reach there as well so it seems that yeah it will be big. Hopefully

Agree with you that most of the vote bank lies in the rural areas but people EVERYWHERE are just sick of th ruling mafia

[smalishah84]

as an official member of PTI I have a right to post this here

Videos – The Express Tribune

Imran's party definitely going from strength to strength. A HUGE attendance for this gathering (the largest ever for PTI and quite big as you can guage from the video) and definitely something for people to sit up and take notice.

I think Imran has marked his arrival on the big stage of Pakistan politics after 15 years in political wilderness

[jan]

Wondering if Khan is safe from getting bhutto-ed once he gains nationwide influence and becomes a threat to the current regime?

[Prince EWS]

Imran's politics seemed pretty scary to me when I did some research on it a while back; surprised to see so much support for it here tbh.

If a supporter would care to give me a run-down of his main policies and general ethos that'd be awesome.

[smalishah84]

Ok, here is my attempt to summarize Imran's policies

His party's name translates to Movement for Justice. His agenda is mainly based on having a free, fair, and independent judiciary. An independent judiciary would (hopefully) mean that there is accountability and less abuse of power and public money. He wants accountability in the system.

Regarding the war on terror Imran wants to start a dialogue with the Afghans as well as the Taliban. He believes that the problem is political and does not really have a military solution. According to him in any case a military solution should be the final step and not the first one.

He wants an education emergency in the country. Wants to decrease defence expenditure and spend more on education. Wants more investment on the public. Where will he get all the funds that he wants from?

One of the most important components of his agenda along with judicial reforms and anti-corruption is a whole new progressive tax structure. Pakistan has the one of the lowest (if not the lowest) tax to GDP ratio in the world. He wants to make the tax system more progressive and accountable doing away with the centuries old patwari system.

He also wants to start exploiting the coal reserves in Pakistan (which run into hundreds of billions of dollars) and exploit the minerals and metals in waziristan and balochistan (which according to him we cant do because of the war on terror going on in full force in that area)

He is the only politician who actually touches on issues such as these. Others dont even talk about them.

And yeah he wants an end to foriegn loans which according to him are feeding the corrupt ruling mafia and not funneling down to the grass roots.

In a nutshell that is Imran for you.