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PTI at 22

05:24 PM | 25 Apr, 2018
PTI at 22
Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf, popularly known as PTI, but politically projected by the opposition as Imran Khan’s party, has turned 22. Its great number; even if we switch its digits, it's still 22.

However, 22 may be a very exciting and youthful age for a person, particularly for males; for a political party of PTI’s size and stature, it’s quite a coming of age.

On 22, its either our inadequate gender orientation or bad masculinity tilt, when we men hear someone say a number between 16 and 24, which is the official age-range of youth by the UN, not many think of gender-neutral youth. Most men think of you know who. And, men can’t be blamed for that because it’s the fault of the old poets who glamourized the sweet 16, then 18, then 22.

A person in Pakistan, boy or girl, hardly gets to see or say even one-tenth of what PTI has lived, seen and said in these 22 years.  On the last parameter, the party leaders of other two big parties (PML-N and PPP) have not said in the last 20 years what PTI chairman has in the last 4 years.

It’s the second largest party in Pakistan, if we consider the vote-count of 2013 elections. But, its the largest party in South Asia, if we look at its social media presence. It is the most covered-by-TV party in Pakistan as well.

It has learnt many lessons at very low social or political cost, as compared to PPP, or PML-N: who look remarkably pronounced losers when it comes to lessons learnt, and at what price!

Let’s look at the four major lessons PTI has learnt in the four elections since its formation, and assess how those might benefit it in the forthcoming elections.

Soon after its founding in 1996, the then PPP Government was dismissed by PPP’s very own president, and PTI faced the first elections when it had not even learned how to crawl.

But despite being a nascent party, it still managed to learn the best of the four lessons – it nominated ‘clean candidates’ and none of them won.

The lesson was that it’s not the cleanliness of reputation or personal cleanliness of candidates that can help win elections, it’s the number of votes.

PTI in the next elections is not awarding party ticket to any ‘clean candidate’ in constituencies it aims to win.

It will still nominate more clean candidates than the other two, in constituencies, it doesn’t like to win.

Similarly, since many of the ‘electables’ from the other parties have joined PTI, it is expected that the others may end up nominating several clean candidates for a change!

Second lesson PTI learned was in the 2002 elections, where ‘it was allowed to’ win only one seat, of its chairman. The lesson was, if the establishment, i.e., Pakistan Army, i.e., ISI doesn’t want you to win, you don’t win. So, in the next elections, that risk is fundamentally taken care of.

In 2008, elections, PTI learnt the third lesson when it boycotted the elections and others won.  The lesson was quick and obvious – if you don’t play, you can’t win.

In the next elections, the others may repeat this mistake on behalf of PTI, but PTI won’t.

In the 2013 elections, the fourth and final lesson was learnt, that is, even if ISI, i.e., Pak Army, i.e., the Establishment keeps its hands off the elections there still is another semi-establishment – the judiciary, i.e., the ROs (Returning Officers), who helped PML-N ‘win’ 25-30 seats more than the actual-vote-count would have them won.

Going into the next election, that risk is also well managed – but not as much by PTI’s political strategy, or Imran Khan’s tactical prowess, as much by Mian Saahb’s spicy follies.

With these four (2+2 = 4) great lessons in its bag, the next election is PTI’s to lose.

The only thing that Khan Sahb needs to watch, or those who watch Khan Sahb, must watch – is Khan Sahb’s affairs of the heart.

That is one area where PTI as a party and its founder seems to have the same age.

Arshed Bhatti
Arshed Bhatti

Arshed Bhatti is a typical Pakistani who operates at very high level of confidence with extremely low level of knowledge. Being true Muslim he believes the real life is in the hereafter and urges countrymen to take it easy, and ...

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Rupee below 290 against US dollar in interbank market

KARACHI – The Pakistani rupee on Tuesday continued its ascent, trading at less than Rs290 against the US dollar in the morning interbank market, primarily due to stringent measures in the financial sector.

The US dollar was valued at Rs289.78 around 9:48 am, as reported by the Forex Association of Pakistan, marking a decrease of Rs1.18 from the previous day’s closing rate of Rs290.86.

This ongoing rise in the value of the rupee follows the crackdown on illegal dollar trading initiated earlier this month, with strong support from the military.

In the open market, the rupee also made gains against the dollar, trading at Rs292 compared to the previous day’s rate of Rs293, according to the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan.

Saad Bin Naseer, the director of the financial services platform Mettis Global, noted that this marked the 16th consecutive day of appreciation for the PKR, amounting to nearly a 6% increase.

Naseer attributed this surge primarily to administrative measures, stating that it seems the government’s crackdown on speculative elements contributing to rupee depreciation is having an effect.

He also suggested that if this trend persists and the Afghan border remains closed, the rupee could continue to appreciate in the future. However, he emphasized the importance of attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) into export-oriented sectors for long-term stability.

Gold Rate in Pakistan Today – September 26, 2023

Today Gold Rate in Pakistan

KARACHI – The price of a single tola of 24-karat gold in Pakistan is Rs 210,100 on Tuesday. The price of 10 grams of 24k gold was recorded at Rs180,130.

Likewise, 10 grams of 22k gold were being traded for Rs168,730 while a single tola of 22-karat gold was being sold at Rs196,807.

Note: The gold rate in Pakistan is fluctuating according to the international market so the price is never been fixed. The below rates are provided by local gold markets and Sarafa Markets of different cities.

Today Gold Price in Pakistan - 26 September 2023

City Gold Silver
Lahore PKR 210,100 PKR 2,587
Karachi PKR 210,100 PKR 2,587
Islamabad PKR 210,100 PKR 2,587
Peshawar PKR 210,100 PKR 2,587
Quetta PKR 210,100 PKR 2,587
Sialkot PKR 210,100 PKR 2,587
Attock PKR 210,100 PKR 2,587
Gujranwala PKR 210,100 PKR 2,587
Jehlum PKR 210,100 PKR 2,587
Multan PKR 210,100 PKR 2,587
Bahawalpur PKR 210,100 PKR 2,587
Gujrat PKR 210,100 PKR 2,587
Nawabshah PKR 210,100 PKR 2,587
Chakwal PKR 210,100 PKR 2,587
Hyderabad PKR 210,100 PKR 2,587
Nowshehra PKR 210,100 PKR 2,587
Sargodha PKR 210,100 PKR 2,587
Faisalabad PKR 210,100 PKR 2,587
Mirpur PKR 210,100 PKR 2,587

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