Javed Jabbar

political pioneer of the Muslim world

one remarkable instance, the Lahore High Court was obliged to dismiss a pending charge against Asif Zardari because the entire set of original documents related to the case had simply disappeared from the office of the Court’s Registrar.

The fact that there have never been enduring convictions in the legal process does not contradict the credibility of the allegations and charges.

Iqbal Akhund’s book: Trial and Error: The Advent and Eclipse of Benazir Bhutto (OUP 2000)

This is like going in there to get a tooth pulled out,” said Benazir Bhutto to this writer and a small group of persons walking with her.
The first Muslim woman Prime Minister of the world was walking through a corridor of the Parliament building in Islamabad on 13th February 1990 to appear for the first time to make a speech as the Head of Government in the Senate of Pakistan.

The mode of election for technocrats and ulema was similar to the general mode. This method required votes to be cast as secret ballots by members of the four Provincial Assemblies. Results were calculated through a formula of proportional representation/preferential choices. This meant that a voter would indicate first, second and third preferences amongst the candidates. Each tier contributes a certain number of points towards determining the total number of votes secured

Syeda Abida Hussain, the first woman in Pakistan to be directly elected to the National Assembly as compared to other women Members indirectly elected on reserved seats

With the electoral system not requiring the casting of votes to be a compulsory act as per the law in about 22 countries around the world — to make voting results truly reflective of public opinion, the turn-out (42.7 per cent) in a party-based election was less than the turn-out recorded in the non-party based polls of February 1985 which was 53.7 per cent.

At the risk of stating the obvious, and of offending her, I said, “Bibi, the route to Islamabad is via Lahore”. To which she unsmilingly responded, “The PPP has a national, Federal vision, Javed, not confined to one Province alone”. Which was also an obvious, self-evident truth. But this was a view which did not acknowledge the nuances and the precise needs of that critical period in history.

During such times of gravely distorted perceptions and instability, a bizarre attempt was made by the military Government to hold elections in East Pakistan. The aim was to produce results to show that there were credible popular alternatives to the secessionist Awami League. These alternative elements were assumed to want East Pakistan to remain part of a single Pakistani State comprising both wings. It was an eloquent yet deeply disturbing indicator of how far the PPP led by Z.A. Bhutto had moved from a recognition of realities. The PPP nominated candidates in the farcical elections held in East Pakistan in November 1971. Though the results of these elections did produce successful candidates who could be identified as non-Awami Leaguers, there was little or no credibility whatsoever to the outcome of these polls.