Live Updates of Azadi March

TS · September 26, 2014, 7:34pm

Re: Live Updates of Azadi March

Moeed Pirzada

5 hrs · .

Correction:- PM actually didn’t meet the Pakistani American community at all. The meeting in a small room at the 18th floor of Astoria Waldorf Hotel was only with select trusted PMLN party workers. Only 30-40 people from outside the hotel were allowed in; even most PMLN workers who had gathered outside the Hotel were not allowed in by security. Technically if you say PMLN workers are Pakistani community then PM did have a meeting but not the way a confident Nawaz Sharif - a public leader with huge following - would meet the Pak-American community. Usually such meetings are held in large halls with hundreds of people and Musharraf in his last few years had to face embarrassments when Pakistani Americans asked difficult questions or booed him.

But what does it tell us about Nawaz Sharif? It shows that he is “under-siege”. He has gone out to UN and New York to demonstrate his confidence and to show that he is over his political crisis and is in firm control. However the challenge he faces is that unlike Pakistan where his Police thugs can arrest people arbitrarily, Exec-Magistrates can send them to jail without the right of hearing and people can be beaten and taught a lesson and State Bank and Judiciary can come up with helpful tactical support against political opponents, no such facilities are available in democratic New York where Pakistani Americans will not be afraid of asking difficult question or booing because there is no Punjab Police waiting for them outside the hall. But for Nawaz to be so afraid of these slogans of “Go Nawaz Go” and difficult questions shows how uncomfortable he is with this political challenge and how insecure he is in facing up to criticism.

And we hear that Nirendra Modi - the Indian PM - is doing marathon public meetings and will meet series of international politicians and businessmen and top dignitaries. What is the difference? Modi despite all his difficult past is a natural born, self-made leader that has learnt to stand up to adversity but Pakistani PM simply does not have that leadership metal. Otherwise how important are few angry protesters inside a large meeting hall?

Phir Astoria Waldorf.
@Zafra