"Imran Khan is very much here" - @MehrTarar beautifully reminds everyone

Courtesy: "Daily Times" (30 Sep 2012)
Source Link: http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2012\09\30\story_30-9-2012_pg3_5
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Et maintenant Imran?

By Mehr Tarar
Imran Khan is very much here and with an apology to all those who wish otherwise, there is no chance he is going anywhere quietly in the near future

You love him or you hate him, you cannot ignore him. He speaks and you listen — either to nod your head in starry-eyed adulation or to roll your eyes and change the channel, dimly bored, trying to figure out what to do when there is no T20 excitement to follow on the good old PTV. Is he the man that he is, the man people think he is, the man people close to him think he is, the man people who think they are close to him think he is, or is he the man according to people who want to see him disappear into political oblivion? Probably, he is all that, or maybe not, or perhaps much more than all that is known and apparent about him. The politician with the most Twitter followers in Pakistan and the politician who is one of the two for most who follow him or hate those who follow him: a messiah or the man who is the absolute worst thing that could happen to the very, very strange country called Pakistan. The cricketer-turned-philanthropist-turned-failed-politician-turned-the-next-expected-big-thing, Imran Khan is very much here and with an apology to all those who wish otherwise, there is no chance he is going anywhere quietly in the near future.

"The days of the jackals!" - Analysis on the leaders leaving PTI

Courtesy: "The Nation" (22 Sep 2012)
Source Link: http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/columns/22-Sep-2012/the-days-of-the-jackals
The days of the jackals!
An analysis on the leaders leaving PTI
By: Dr Haider Mehdi

A folktale in the villages of Punjab goes as follows: a jackal passing a village accidentally ran through a garment dyer’s workshop and got covered with blue dye. When the jackal reached the jungle, it looked all blue. Other animals had never seen anything like it and were curious to know what kind of animal it was and where it came from. The jackal realised the importance of his changed appearance and said its name was “Neel Kant”, and it was a rare and unique species of animal found only in remote jungles of a far-off place. Several days passed and the self-proclaimed “Neel Kant” jackal enjoyed its importance. Then one day it rained and “Neel Kant’s” blue colour washed away. The jackal’s real identity was exposed and the other animals realised that it was just one of the many jackals running around with the same common jackal mentality. So, “Neel Kant” was exposed and its myth was destroyed. The moral of this story is that changed appearances or manufactured identities only serve its purpose in a very limited sense. Falsehood is eventually unmasked and the result is loss of personal integrity, respect and self-esteem.

It occurred to me that the above tale and its moral serve as a perfect analogy to the political conduct of some of our traditional politicians. Those political actors, who are endlessly engaged in constructing their personal identities to conform to expedience and opportunism: they manipulate every possible chance for personal optimal advantages, irrespective of any ethical-moral or even commonly-accepted norms of political behaviour. Those politicians subscribe to no specific political ideology, doctrine or set of political principles - their driving force is to grab political power with the end result of personal gains, maintenance of the decade-old political status quo, and the preservation of the decadent political culture that has served their interests irrevocably.

Against this backdrop, the recent exodus of some of the politicians from Imran Khan’s PTI is a point of focus. In TheNation of September 12, a story, entitled Embarrassment for PTI, opined the following: “But now the PTI leadership is facing a new embarrassment. Those who had joined the party in the recent past have started going back. For example, Sardar Tufail has rejoined the PML-Q and been given ticket for himself and his son.  The Bhinders of Gujranwala, who had left the PML-Q to join the PTI, have parted company with Imran and joined hands with the PML-N. These departures amount to a serious setback for the PTI.”

"Mazloom" - Use of Govt funds for anti-PTI media campaign and Lifafa Journos

Courtesy: "Daily "Jang" (18 Sep 2012)
Source Link: http://e.jang.com.pk/pic.asp?npic=09-18-2012/Pindi/images/06_09.gif

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Disclaimer: This blog is not an official PTI webpage and is run by a group of volunteers having no official position in PTI. All posts are personal opinions of the bloggers and should, in no way, be taken as official PTI word.
With Regards,
"Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf FATA Volunteers" Team.

"Bardasht" - Javed Chaudhry's column about blasphemous film and Muslims love for Muhammad SAW

Courtesy: Daily Express (16 Sep 2012)

Link: http://www.express.com.pk/epaper/PoPupwindow.aspx?newsID=1101621002&Issue=NP_LHE&Date=20120916

By Javed Chaudhry

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Disclaimer: This blog is not an official PTI webpage and is run by a group of volunteers having no official position in PTI. All posts are personal opinions of the bloggers and should, in no way, be taken as official PTI word.
With Regards,
"Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf FATA Volunteers" Team.

"Maqtooleen-e-Karachi" - Heart-wrenching column by Talat Hussain about Karach Factory Fire / Massacre (by Bhatta Mafia and Muttaheda Qatil Mafia)

Courtesy: Daily "Express" (15 Sep 2012)
By: Syed Talat Hussain
Link: http://www.express.com.pk/epaper/PoPupwindow.aspx?newsID=1101620092&Issue=NP_LHE&Date=20120915

Courtesy: Daily "Express" (15 Sep 2012)
By: Syed Talat Hussain
Link: http://www.express.com.pk/epaper/PoPupwindow.aspx?newsID=1101620092&Issue=NP_LHE&Date=20120915



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Disclaimer: This blog is not an official PTI webpage and is run by a group of volunteers having no official position in PTI. All posts are personal opinions of the bloggers and should, in no way, be taken as official PTI word.
With Regards,
"Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf FATA Volunteers" Team.

"Shehr-Panah ka Darwaza" - Munir Baloch analyses desperation of Ch Nisar and PMLN

Courtesy: Daily "Dunya" (9 Sep 2012)

Link: http://e.dunya.com.pk/colum.php?date=2012-09-09&edition=LHR&id=53_96445186
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Disclaimer: This blog is not an official PTI webpage and is run by a group of volunteers having no official position in PTI. All posts are personal opinions of the bloggers and should, in no way, be taken as official PTI word.
With Regards,
"Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf FATA Volunteers" Team.

#WaziristanPeachMarch PTI North Waziristan plans warm welcome for Imran Khan

Courtesy: Daily "The News" (9 Sep 2012)
NWA PTI plans warm welcome for Imran Khan

MIRANSHAH: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Miranshah chapter president Naseem Dawar Friday said students and people of the North Waziristan Agency (NWA) would welcome the party chairman Imran Khan during his long march to Waziristan against the drone attacks.

Speaking at a news conference here, he said the number of the US drone attacks was increasing and killing mostly the civilians. He said that Imran Khan was the only leader who raised slogan against it and decided to stage the march to highlight the issue internationally.

A branch of the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital would also be opened in the area, he added.
Link Source:
http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-2-130775-NWA-PTI-plans-warm-welcome-for-Imran-Khan 

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Disclaimer: This blog is not an official PTI webpage and is run by a group of volunteers having no official position in PTI. All posts are personal opinions of the bloggers and should, in no way, be taken as official PTI word.
With Regards,
"Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf FATA Volunteers" Team.

"Javed Chaudhry Saheb ke Liye" - Young blogger's response to the "Intellectual" (via Saach.TV)

Courtesy: "Saach.TV" (7 Sep 2012)
Link: http://www.saach.tv/2012/09/07/javed-chaudhary-sahab-keley/

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Disclaimer: This blog is not an official PTI webpage and is run by a group of volunteers having no official position in PTI. All posts are personal opinions of the bloggers and should, in no way, be taken as official PTI word.
With Regards,
"Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf FATA Volunteers" Team.

State of Denial - On the media's undue criticism of PTI and Imran Khan (via Saach.TV)

Courtesy: "Saach.TV" (5 Sep 2012)
State of Denial
On the media's undue criticism of PTI and Imran Khan 
Dr. Ahsan Malik

Call this a rebuttal or an eye opener, the fact remains that many writers and ‘analysts’ penning down their (wrongly judged) thoughts with regards to their favourite political clan – PTI, often build their case by conveniently ignoring key facts central to PTI’s theme/strategy/vision/ideas. Let me quote some recent examples:

My favourite writer, a former army major Mr.Kamran Shafi in his recent piece about his perception of some recent interviews expressed displeasure at the unspoken, supposed invitation by Mister Tsunami and Doctor Tsunami to ‘join’ PTI. He also ‘wanted in’ on the secret of “…how Imran manages his household on Rs 50,000 a month…”. However, I am very pleased to relieve the honourable Major of his apprehensions since the invitation by mister & doctor tsunami to Dr.Aalim was explicitly to play his role in politics (just like every citizen should); the invitation was clearly not for joining PTI. Also, narration of the Rs 50k salary incident by Dr.Tsunami was set in the pre-2005 era when 50 thousand rupees had some considerable value; still, if someone wants to learn home economics: refer to the Rs10k earning labourer. Furthermore, if my Major has dreamt of Dr.Aalim joining PTI then he should revive his military-era courage and voice it openly. He may not meet disappointment (fingers crossed).

Another of his articles in which i found his arguments very interesting was where he made his case for convincing us to own ‘the war’. He was successful in eliciting praise from all but a few of my Indian friends, clearly shown by their expressive comments on the webpage where the article was published. The problem lay in basing his whole argument on the smokescreen of the ‘taliban’ and the Major’s inability to observe beyond the obvious.

"Najam Sethi se Mazrat ke Saath" - Response to the 'Intellectual' by a young blogger (via Saach.TV)

Courtesy: "Saach.TV" (2 Sep 2012)
Link: http://www.saach.tv/2012/09/03/janab-najam-sethi-se-mazrat-kay-sath/

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Disclaimer: This blog is not an official PTI webpage and is run by a group of volunteers having no official position in PTI. All posts are personal opinions of the bloggers and should, in no way, be taken as official PTI word.
With Regards,
"Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf FATA Volunteers" Team.

"PTI's Economic Vision" - By @Asad_Umar - a good analysis of what PTI Economic Policy stands for

Courtesy: "The News" (1 Sep 2012)
The PTI's Economic Vision
By Asad Umar

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf announced its five-year economic vision recently. There has been a varied response to it, but a recurring theme in many of the responses, including that in the editorial on the subject in The News, has been that the analysis of issues is spot-on but implementation-level details are insufficient. To quote from the editorial, “The PTI’s economic policy plan gets full marks for intention and vision.” High praise, indeed. It has never been lack of plans for detailed implementation which stops reform from happening. The roadblocks are lack of political will and unwillingness to take the entrenched vested interests head-on and compromises made for political expediency and self-interests. The second major hurdle is governance failure and weak institutions, and that causes even sincere efforts to fail. The economic vision of the PTI addresses each of these and takes a bold political stance on them.

The PTI’s economic vision is based on five national emergencies that have to be declared to deal with the core structural problems of Pakistan’s economy. The first is energy reform. The key elements of resolving the energy crises include changing the fuel mix, revamping the rundown low-efficiency generation and distribution system, fast-tracking new generation capacity and gas imports, incentivising exploration activity, developing the local coal reserves, harnessing the hydroelectric potential of the country, utilising its renewable energy potential and getting the regulatory and incentive structure right for the whole energy sector. Detailed work on most of these aspects has been done, and is underway in a couple of areas. Just the conversion of furnace-oil based capacity to coal would save approximately four billion dollars a year and we would be able to get rid of the circular debt crises by reducing the cost of power generation, instead of increasing tariffs. Recognising the importance of fixing the energy crises we have included 20 billion dollars of government investment in this sector in the five-year period. Private investment will be in addition to this.

"Courting change" - PTI Economic Policy and Media's Cynical Reaction to it (By Babar Sattar, The News)

Courtesy: Daily "The News" (1 Sep 2012)
Courting change
On Media's Cynical Reaction to PTI's Economic Policy
By Babar Sattar

It is hard to poke holes in the PTI’s economic policy which highlights and addresses pressing problems of economics and governance confronting us without telling us that milk and honey will begin to flow the moment the PTI is voted into power. Being the sensible and pragmatic CEO that Asad Umar has been, he has told us that there are no quick fixes to Pakistan’s maladies, but neither are they incurable. Essentially his party will try and enhance our resource pool, curtail state opulence and undesirable expenditure and use the money freed up to reduce budget deficit on the one hand and invest in basic citizen services (health, education and skill development) on the other. What is there to disagree with in any of this?

Yes, the devil is always in the detail. The PTI says it will come up with sector-wise specific policies that will include implementation plans. We should critically review the macro plan and the detailed policies. We should examine if these policies and plans address the problems that are holding Pakistan down. We should scrutinise PTI’s priorities reflected in these policies and determine who will they benefit. We should analyse whether they are pure rhetoric or can actually be implemented. We should compare and contrast them with the policies and performance of the other mainstream parties – the PPP and the PML-N. Why is it that we have seen none of this in the public debates since the release of the PTI’s economic policy?

The media’s perfunctory and cynical response to PTI’s economic policy is worrying. The problem is not that the media didn’t like the policy but that it is not interested. We are interested in the Swiss letter and whether or not the Supreme Court will send another prime minister packing. We are interested in corruption scandals and who all can be named and shamed. We are interested in conspiracy theories of all sorts, in gossip, in violence. We have ample time and energy to be cynical and dismissive, but none to be constructive. We love the blame-game but have no interest or patience to engage with the real issues. If the media sells what people buy, what does its lack of focus on problem-solving say about us as a society?

"Imran Khan, Nawaz Sharif aur Right-wing Voter" - brilliant analysis by Sajjad Ahmad (Awaaz Daily, 26 Aug 2012)

Courtesy: "Awaaz Daily" (26 August 2012)
Source: http://www.awaazdaily.com/urdu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2396:2012-08-26-01-28-16&catid=315:2011-01-13-13-04-45&Itemid=530

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Disclaimer: This blog is not an official PTI webpage and is run by a group of volunteers having no official position in PTI. All posts are personal opinions of the bloggers and should, in no way, be taken as official PTI word.
With Regards,
"Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf FATA Volunteers" Team.

Irony of Eid: PTI alone while Status-Quo felicitating as Pakistan burns (The News, 23 Aug 2012)

When Imran Khan says all Status-Quo forces will unite against PTI; some people seem to doubt it. Just read this news-item and get the real point. :)

.Courtesy: Daily "The News" (23 Aug 2012)
Source: http://images.thenews.com.pk/23-08-2012/ethenews/t-16962.htm
Zardari asks partners to be ready for polls next year

ISLAMABAD/KARACHI: President and Co-Chairman Pakistan People’s Party Asif Ali Zardari on Monday greeted the heads of political parties on the occasion of Eidul Fitr and asked the coalition partners to prepare for the general elections next year.
The president felicitated the Pakistan Muslim League-Q President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, PML-N President Mian Nawaz Sharif, Quaid-e-Tehreek Muttahida Qaumi Movement Altaf Hussain, President Awami National Party Asfandyar Wali Khan, Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) Amir Moulana Fazlur Rehman, Jamaat Islami Amir Munawar Hassan, JUI-S Amir Maulana Samiul Haq, President Pakistan Muslim League-F Pir Pagara, President Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (Pk-MAP) Mahmood Khan Achackzai, President National Party Dr Abdul Malik, President Balochistan National Party (Awami) Mir Israrullah Zehri and the heads of their own groups from Fata Munir Khan Aurakzai and Hameedullah Jan Afridi.
Spokesperson Senator Farhatullah Babar said the president, while greeting the party heads, wished them well in the months ahead, as the government nears completion of its term and braces itself for holding the general election as stipulated in the Constitution.
Later, leaders of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and Awami National Party (ANP) called on President Asif Ali Zardari at Bilawal House Monday and exchanged Eid greetings with him.
Those who met the president, included Dr Farooq Sattar of the MQM, Rafique Engineer of the PPP and Senator Shahi Syed of the ANP
Earlier, President Asif Ali Zardari on Monday offered Eid prayers here at a mosque near Bilawal House.
Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad Khan, Federal Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Dr Asim Hussain and Senior Minister Sindh Pir Mazhar ul Haq were also present on the occasion.
Meanwhile, President Zardari complimented Interior Minister Rehman Malik, all the law enforcing personnel of the four provinces and that of Gilgit-Baltistan and AJ&K for their efforts to maintain peace on the occasion of Eid.
In his felicitation message, the president said that it was a matter of satisfaction that no major untoward incident of law & order happened in the country during the Eid days, and people were able to celebrate Eid with their near and dear ones in a peaceful atmosphere. He said that this was made possible by the concerted efforts, vigilance and coordination among the law enforcing authorities in all the provinces.
The president especially complimented the interior minister for coordinating the security arrangements during Eid.
The president expressed the hope that the same level of vigilance will also be observed in the future for ensuring law & order in the country and to foil the designs of militants and extremists to threaten peace and security.
The president said that the government was determined to ensure safety and security of the civilians at all costs. He said that democracy was about exercising political options freely through the ballot and not under threat or coercion. He said that no one will be allowed to use force, coercion and intimidation in the exercise of political choices and options.
The president also complimented the personnel of the law enforcing agencies for rendering great sacrifices in the fight against the militants. He said that in view of the determination of the people and security forces, the nation was fated to succeed in this existential fight.
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Disclaimer: This blog is not an official PTI webpage and is run by a group of volunteers having no official position in PTI. All posts are personal opinions of the bloggers and should, in no way, be taken as official PTI word.
With Regards,
"Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf FATA Volunteers" Team.

"Raiwind ke Mandiron ki Daasi, Zard Sahafat" - Adnan Randhawa exposes PMLN paid columnists Irfan Siddiqui etc (SaachTV, 18 Aug 2012)

Courtesy: "Saach.TV" (18 August 2012)
Source: http://www.saach.tv/2012/08/18/raiwind-ke-mandron-ki-dasi-zard-sahafat/

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Disclaimer: This blog is not an official PTI webpage and is run by a group of volunteers having no official position in PTI. All posts are personal opinions of the bloggers and should, in no way, be taken as official PTI word.
With Regards,
"Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf FATA Volunteers" Team.

One more Khan Column - Adiah Afraz writes how PMLN used technicalities to fabricate crude lies against SKMH (The News, 12 Aug 2012)

Courtesy: "The News" (12 Aug 2012)
One more Khan column
Adiah Afraz

Just a few weeks ago I had the pleasure of being introduced to a fellow columnist. When he heard my name, he stood there with glazed eyes for a few minutes and finally exclaimed: “Oh! The girl who writes about the Khan!”

Now, happy as I was for having been referred to as a “girl” in the almost middle part of my life, the label “who-writes-about-the-Khan” sort of caught me off guard.

I mean, c’mon guys; I do write about stuff other than the Khan, don’t I?

But then I should have seen it coming. For although I have written only five or six Imran Khan columns in the entire history of the world, I am often told not to do this, or people will stop taking me seriously.

Well, for everybody’s kind information, nobody takes me seriously anyway. While on the other hand my last Imran Khan column generated more than nine thousand hits on the internet, and there are no prizes for guessing why.

Actually, if written with conviction, an Imran Khan column can launch you, put you on the map, and make you famous. You are splashed all over the social media, distant relatives call you to enquire about your health, you get candid emails from PML-N bigwigs and, the biggest of all achievements, your colleagues across the hall give you printing paper for free.

Now, if you don’t know what that means in today’s world of budget cuts and cost controls, then you’ll never know the power of an IK column.

"Tu Adliya ko Sambhaal, Mein Imran ko" - by Waqas Siddiqui (Saach.TV 7 Aug 2012)

Courtesy: "Saach.TV" (7 Aug 2012)
Source: http://www.saach.tv/2012/08/07/tu-adlia-ko-sambhal-mein-imran-ko/

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Disclaimer: This blog is not an official PTI webpage and is run by a group of volunteers having no official position in PTI. All posts are personal opinions of the bloggers and should, in no way, be taken as official PTI word.
With Regards,
"Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf FATA Volunteers" Team.

Baitey ke banaye Hospital me Qataar me kharaa Waalid - by Wasi Shah (Nai Baat 8 Aug 2012)

Courtesy: Daily "Nai Baat" (8 Aug 2012)
Source: http://naibaat.net/naibaat/ePaper/lahore/08-08-2012/details.aspx?id=p2_01.jpg

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Disclaimer: This blog is not an official PTI webpage and is run by a group of volunteers having no official position in PTI. All posts are personal opinions of the bloggers and should, in no way, be taken as official PTI word.
With Regards,
"Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf FATA Volunteers" Team.

"Kaptaan is way ahead of Zardari & Nawaz" - Rasul Bakhsh Rais writes "The Young Voter" (Tribune, 7 Aug 2012)

Courtesy: Daily "Express Tribune" (7th August 2012)The young voter
By Rasul Bakhsh Rais

It is not possible to make exact predictions about the voting behaviour of citizens according to class, gender, race, ethnicity, age or on the grounds of their locations. However, these are the very subjects of interest among elections experts around the world. True, it is possible to sketch some clear patterns of voting behaviour if some organisations establish data bank voter-exit surveys registering their profiles and asking questions about which candidate or party they voted for. By accumulating information over decades, pollsters and electoral analysts have formed patterns. However, these are just patterns with variations depending on economic circumstances, social equilibrium or instability and general stakes of citizens and the credibility of the candidates and parties in the run.What about the electoral behaviour of Pakistani voters? We know very little. Most of the things that we say about electoral behaviour are based on party positions and the number or percentage of votes the candidates obtained. There is not much for the exit polls except some efforts by Gallup Pakistan. The picture remains murky and may remain so unless our data bank of exit polls improves and Gallup or other organisations develop expertise for the long run.

Voting behaviour —the social, economic, political and personal factors or interests that determine an individual’s choice on the polling day — is an important subject to investigate for parties as well as for analysts. At the moment, we go by caste, creed, tribe, ethnicity and other social solidarity group analysis. The individual is always missing as we make two unfounded and unempirical assumptions about Pakistan. One, Pakistan has not changed or if it has, it is too slow and small to be counted. Second, individuals — no matter where they live, what they do or what social or economic mobility they have achieved — are first and foremost members of a larger social solidarity group. And the influence of those groups weighs heavily on the political choices individual makes.

Pakistan has changed over time and so we must change our lenses when looking at Pakistan. As we prepare for the next general elections, we need to keep in mind some important changes. About half of the voters are new, young voters under the age of 30. We don’t exactly know how they are going to vote but casting them in the old template will be as mistaken a view as believing that they will transform the electoral outcome. We don’t know much except information by neutral surveys from distant lands like the Pew Research Centre that shows the popularity of various leaders; the Kaptan is way ahead of President Asif Ali Zardari and Nawaz Sharif.

How the young voter is going to vote is the worst fear of the PML-N and the PPP, knowing well that their leaders cannot match the popular appeal of Imran Khan. Lacking that personal touch, President Asif Ali Zardari and Nawaz Sharif have groomed themselves as masters of elite-network politics — court electables and you will be fine. One of the most interesting things to watch from now until the conclusion of the next general elections is how the youth factor — which is apparently a PTI strength — will play out against elite-network politics that Imran Khan has also embraced belatedly. The young voter factor may not have uniform effect, though. It may have uneven impact in urban constituencies more than rural ones.

I cannot say if the old social solidarities and voting blocs will remain firm in infirm social and economic conditions and when the ‘mandated’ rulers have much to answer for their performances. Perhaps, more than that, passivity or activism of the youth may determine party fortunes.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 7^th, 2012.

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Disclaimer: This blog is not an official PTI webpage and is run by a group of volunteers having no official position in PTI. All posts are personal opinions of the bloggers and should, in no way, be taken as official PTI word.
With Regards,
"Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf FATA Volunteers" Team.

Read @FahdHusain: "Wanna know what it feels like to bite off more than u can chew - & then choke on it- go ask Kh Asif"

Courtesy: Daily "The Nation" (6th August 2012)

Khawaja Asif’s trainwreck

By: Fahd Husain

Khawaja Asif is an honourable man who has done a very dishonourable deed. Desperate measures in desperate times by desperate men usually end up badly. This is what has happened to the blistering but cringe-worthy attack on Imran Khan by the PML-N MNA from Sialkot. 
The allegations themselves will slowly fade away into political oblivion, but the wound will not heal so swiftly. Khawaja Asif will find it hard to live down this sorry episode. The attack aimed to maim Imran Khan will leave deeper scars on Mr Asif’s political stature, and affect his own party’s credibility.
So what was the good Khawaja thinking?
Pressure makes men do funny things. And pressure is what the PML-N is feeling. In many ways, the party leadership has made a mess of its politics. Flip-flopping on issues, blowing hot then cold against the government, threatening long marches and resignations and then retreating into hibernation, the party which was once seen as the government-in-waiting is now struggling to come up with a viable, coherent and clear message. 
In other words, the party is haunted by its own contradictions. What does the PML-N stand for today? Even within the party, many may not have the answer.
Add to this, the woes of performance anxiety in Punjab. Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif may be the hardest working politician of all, but he has precious little to show for his four-year reign. His men would list out forgettable achievements, but what stands out in public memory are disasters like Sasti Roti scheme. If governance pressures were not bad enough, fissures within the party have ruptured like a wound stitched up by a bad doctor. The very bitter and acrimonious divorce from the Khosas has dented the party more than it is willing to admit.
All is clearly not well in the House that Sharif built.