PPP contemplates ways to avoid rigging

The past week was full of activity. A PPP think-tank met under the chairmanship of its convener Jehangir Badr and discussed steps required to prevent electoral manipulations. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Dr Sher Afgan defended President Pervez Musharraf’s address to public meetings organised by the ruling PML. The Supreme Court Bar Association demanded the interior ministry allow exiled prime ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif to return to Pakistan and attend a convention of the bar. Sindh Chief Minister Dr Arbab Rahim visited the metropolis and refuted reports that the country was heading towards a presidential form of government. President Musharraf visited the Sundar Industrial Estate. And tiny Pakistan Democratic Party shrank further as some of its people joined the Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf.

The PPP think-tank met for the first time and remained in session for some six hours. The participants discussed the way the governments in the past have been manipulating election results. They prepared a set of recommendations to be sent to the party’s self-exiled chairperson.

The party has already submitted to the US ambassador, envoys of the EU countries and the Election Commission a 36-point document which elaborates how free and fair elections can be made possible. It’s not clear what additional steps have been suggested by the think-tank.

The meeting was important also because it was the first time that a PPP senator, who is also a leading lawyer, came up with a new point: If Gen Musharraf seeks re-election it will be for a fifth term, not second as being claimed by the ruling party.

This point is different from the stance of Ms Benazir Bhutto, who says that the term of the president will be completed on Dec 31, 2008 and Musharraf can seek re-election in 2009.

I discussed the matter with a PPP leader. He said the PPP wants that Gen Musharraf should not seek re-election from the present assemblies. If he seeks the vote from new assemblies, the PPP’s bargaining position will improve. Or, he said, a new controversy would start about the presidential term, which would be good from the opposition’s point of view.

Various opposition parties have been objecting to Gen Musharraf’s address to the public meetings organised by the ruling PML. They argue that the president is the symbol of national unity and thus is not supposed to be partisan.

Federal Minister Dr Sher Afgan came up with a different view last week. He says there is nothing wrong in the president addressing the ruling party meetings till the announcement of the election schedule and the installation of an interim government. Once the stage comes, it will not be appropriate for the president to do that.

The minister said, in fact, if invited, the president would be happy to address meetings of the PPP or of the MMA as well.

Both of them say that Gen Musharraf is not the constitutional president of the country and thus it’s hard to imagine that they will invite the general to their meetings.

The Sindh chief minister was in the city last week. He addressed a news conference at the residence of hitherto an unknown PML leader.

Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim contradicted the assertions of Pir Pagara that the country was heading towards presidential system. He said the parliamentary system was working quite satisfactorily and there was no need for the switch to the presidential system.

Pir Pagara never conceals that he is the GHQ’s man. If so, it must be looked into why he said what was attributed to him.

No political party, be it part of the ruling coalition or the opposition, calls for the presidential system. Then whose language is Pagara speaking? Is it an attempt to deflect attention from other issues?

The tiny Pakistan Democratic Party received a serious setback last week as party’s senior vice-president Rana Nazrur Rehman switched loyalty and joined the Imarn Khan’s party.

A press release issued by the PTI said that Rana and his associates had joined them.

Rana has been demanding that the PDP should be disbanded and its leaders and workers, if any, be allowed to join other parties.

He says the PDP had no future and should be given an “honourable burial.” But those at the helm did not support the idea. Hence the move to PTI.

Temperature in the metropolis went down last week because of the rains. While the rain was good for wheat crop, it was a bad message for the commuters of the city. Rickshaws and taxis, running without meters for several years, fleeced the passengers at will. With the rain returned an old refrain and the people were heard saying, a government which cannot check even rickshaws and taxis cannot be expected to effectively deal with terrorists and militants. —ASHRAF MUMTAZ

Bad times for Pakistan, but all’s not lost yet

The manner in which the Pakistan team performed during the recent tour of South Africa could give massive heart attacks to its fans and certainly no pleasure. And though there were moments where a few players did pull off some outstanding acts, their performances dipped in the very next game to its lowest which was sad to watch.

If Pakistan’s performance graph fluctuates like this during the next month’s World Cup, the heart specialists of our country are set to do some roaring business in the summer.

The bare truth is that Pakistan lost badly in South Africa and there could be no consolation for that whatsoever. But to draw, may be, just one positive out of the ill-fated tour would be the manner in which our team won their two matches – the second Test at Port Elizabeth and the second one-dayer at Durban. They were under extreme pressure then, not only of levelling the series but of restoring the dented pride after absolute thrashing from the hosts in the earlier games. Those two wins, I thought, were very convincing, both being emphatic replies. It is this very quality of bouncing back that restores my often dwindling faith in them and makes me feel confident that Pakistan can perform well in the World Cup.

Usually, when one looks for a yardstick one looks at a positive scenario. For Pakistan, that scenario is World Cup 1992. To jog a few memories here, we had just one manager in Intikhab Alam then and only one physiotherapist for the mega event Down Under. Today we have three physios, a team coach (who is a high-profile foreigner), an assistant coach and a manager. And just what have we achieved through them; a half a dozen injured players, brittle nerves, huge technical flaws and a batting flop to remember? It was such a sorry scene to see so many players flying in and out of South Africa, it became a joke of sorts that Emirates Airlines must be the only beneficiary of the tour.

Which wise man has said that the quantity of anything ever guarantees quality? In Pakistan’s case, the extended contingent of officials has had an adverse affect on the team and I have not an iota of doubt about it. I speak from experience when I say that one good physiotherapist can do the job adequately for a 16-man squad, simply because he can accomplish his task more independently, effectively and efficiently.

Fitness is the most important aspect of winning in any sport, especially in one day cricket. A player can run himself out if he is not fit or drop a crucial catch or give away extra runs near the boundary line. The fitness standards, to say the least, have been pathetic of late and in presence of so many fitness staff it is criminal and should be looked into.

To recall another key point from our ’92 World Cup triumph, when Pakistan top order began to wobble, Imran Khan promoted himself to the number three position and that paid off handsomely for Pakistan. With a champion like Javed Miandad batting at number four, it meant that Pakistan wriggled out of the initial hiccups, the innings was steadied and the late order guys were welcomed to chance around their arm and muster some handy runs in the end.

It is, therefore, essential for Inzamam to lead by example and bat at higher positions whenever the need arises. And with not one but two reliable batsmen in Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf batting at number three and four, Inzi has even a better middle-order to inspire others around him compared to Imran Khan in ‘92. For me, this is another one of the positives that Pakistan can look to cash in during the mega event at the Caribbeans.

Also, in 1992 Imran Khan was not fully fit himself and apart from Wasim, none of the other bowlers were world-class. Today, a fully fit Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Asif, Umar Gul, Abdul Razzaq, Rana Naved and Rao Iftikhar give so many options to the skipper. It is just a matter of giving them confidence and making them believe in themselves that they are match-winners. I am sure these bowlers can win it for us.

Similarly, in Kamran Akmal we have a wicketkeeper-batsman who has an excellent record but is currently struggling to maintain form and confidence. Now was it too much to ask that he be rested for a series or two to comeback with renewed vigour and top physique? Look at the Aussies who have done the right thing by resting Gilchrist for the New Zealand tour. They have selected Brad Haddin as the second-choice wicketkeeper and Gilchrist is set to return a hungrier player for the big show.

All this talk of World Cup ‘pressure’ is also getting to me now. What pressure are they talking about? In my opinion , all these people have fairly mixed-up notions about ‘pressure’ and ‘reality’. Pressure is what the poor people are facing for their survival, for their do-or-die efforts in trying to feed their families. There is no pressure in cricket compared to that. Yes, I know a victory in any big tournament can be tremendously difficult to pull off for any team or coach, even for those who are considered favourites. But that, in short, is their job; a reality that they know they will be facing in due course of time and they must prepare themselves well for it.

Here, I would like to quote a para from the famous philosophy book “The Art of War” which has been written by Sun Tzu. This is the book which FIFA World Cup 2002 Brazilian coach, Luiz Felipe Scolari gave to each of his players before the big match against England. It says at one point: “If you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles. If you donot know your enemies, but do know yourself, you will win one and lose one. If you do not know your enemies and donot know yourself, you will be imperiled in every battle.”

The person who needs to be most relaxed and confident at the moment is Inzamam-ul-Haq. I have this to say to Inzi: Don’t get bogged down by the fear of the unknown or fear of loss. Understand your strengths and weaknesses and understand the same about your opponents. Give out united challenges to all eleven players, be more attacking and adopt a positive approach. The World Cup trophy will be within your grasp.

I strongly feel that the best thing Pakistan players can do in the next ten days is to relax and chill out as much as they can. There is no denying that they have suffered mental and physical scars in South Africa which require time to heal. They can put the trauma behind them by enjoying a few weeks away from cricket and, may be start training in the West Indies one week before the World Cup. But that training, mind you, should be of the highest standard which completely tune-up their physical, mental condition.

Future is, as always, bright for Pakistan cricket. Slight changes like more attacking cricket on the field, positive approach and belief in their talent can do the trick. All these ingredients will go a long way in making Pakistan team the world-beaters once again.