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Puranay Masail Naya Pakistan

Now that the results of the General Elections are officially in, and it is clear that the Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), along with its allies, is going to form the government in the Center, Punjab, and KPK, people are waiting for the promise of change to materialize. It took Khan many years to get to the point where he is today. He has made big promises to the public regarding reforms in almost every area of governance including economy, health, education, police, judiciary, environment, trade and foreign policy. However, the fact of the matter is that the incoming prime minister isn’t going to have an easy time managing these things. The new government will face a lot of challenges.

The most important and severe of these challenges is the economic crisis. We are running an $18 billion Current Account Deficit (CAD), which means that we are losing $1.5 billion a month. This year’s CAD is 45 percent higher than last the year. The new government will have to rollover Rs 4 trillion worth of outstanding rupee debt over the following three-to-four months. Never in Pakistan’s history have we ever had a Rs2.2 trillion budgetary deficit. Given the magnitude of these numbers, Pakistan has to go to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for another bailout package – the 13th for the country since the 1980s. A recent report by IMF says that Pakistan’s external financing needs are expected to rise from $21.5 billion (7.1% of the GDP) in 2017 to $45 billion by 2023 (9% of GDP).

Another ordeal for the new government is the power shortfall. Lower power generation, because of less hydro-electric contribution and some state-owned power plants going off the grid due to faults, combined with a hot and humid weather and perennial line losses, have pushed the electricity shortfall up to 8,000MW. This has forced power distribution companies to observe around six hours of load shedding in urban areas, and over eight hours in rural areas across the country. According to the federal secretary of Water and Power Ministry, the situation worsened after some of its old power plants faced forced outages due to technical faults that these plants develop from time to time. This has caused a reduction in generation from 1,500MW to 1,800MW on average. Meanwhile, the maximum filling of Mangla reservoir, which normally completes by July or early August, didn’t happen, thus keeping generation restricted to 5,100MW.

Apart from these, another big task is managing the foreign policy, especially Pakistan’s relations with the US, Afghanistan, India, China, and Saudi Arabia. According to foreign policy analyst Moeed Yousuf, Khan’s victory wasn’t Washington’s preferred option. Much of what is said and thought of him is tied to his disparaging stance on the US war in Afghanistan and his sympathetic views towards the Afghan Taliban. Several columns written on him in the Western press since the elections have also tended to highlight his personal negatives. In this situation, handling the relationship with the US and being a mediator between Iran and Saudi Arab isn’t going to be easy for the incoming PM.

Other than this, ensuring accountability and ending corruption will also be a hard nut to crack. For this, the government has to empower institutions like NAB, FBR, FIA, and the police among others. Khan has vowed to make Pakistan a welfare state along the lines of Scandinavian countries. But given the country’s meager resources and the population explosion, this transformation will require bold and unpopular decisions, like wide-scale tax reforms, to actualize the promise of a welfare state.

Climate change is another frontier for the next government to fight on. On May 28, 2017, the temperature in Turbat, Baluchistan reached 53.5°C — an all-time high for the country and the world’s highest temperature for May — while the summer monsoon rainfall in the country was 22.5pc less than the long-term average. Acute shortage of freshwater, rising temperatures, shifting rain patterns, high risk of floods as well as droughts can affect millions and necessitate urgent action.

In addition, the education and healthcare systems are also in shambles. There is under-staffing and lack of proper training for the staff. It will require a lot of planning and effort to bring reforms in these sectors and make these services affordable for the public, while raising their standards. Another major issue is the management of civil-military relations which have not been so good in recent years. Khan will have a tough time dealing with the powerful military and its role in other areas including the foreign policy. Last but not the least, all these challenges come with a strong opposition comprising a multi-party alliance which is demanding a probe into alleged poll rigging. The new government does not have a simple majority and it can face trouble while taking unpopular decisions and carrying out reformist legislation. Khan will have to prove that he is different; a true reformer, political risk taker, bold, and as determined to change Pakistan as he has been in confronting the two political dynasties. Will he succeed? Only time will tell.

 

 

The writer is a student of BS Political Science at LUMS, Class of 2021.

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The Rise of Fakhar Zaman

20 June 2018. Pakistan vs Zimbabwe. 4th ODI. 37th over. 5th ball. Fakhar Zaman gets down for a slog-sweep-looking top-edge that somehow ends up as a six – like it always does *“India, are you reading” banners pop up*. And with it he brings up his 150. And with it his ODI series average crosses Zimbabwe’s total run count of 368 in the series so far. Comparing an individual’s average with a team’s cumulative total is a big no-no for English – faulty comparison fallacy if anyone’s interested – but Fakhar hasn’t been nice to English in the past anyway (ref. CT semi-final). Such is the brilliance of this brave, brutal batsman whom we know as Fakhar Zaman.

Fakhar was born in 1990 in Mardan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He grew up watching and playing and loving cricket. While he was always exceptionally well at the game and would have liked to pursue it professionally, he was dragooned by his father into joining the Pakistan Navy in 2007. After all, in accordance with our social norms, could Fakhar Zaman have continued being Zaman’s fakhar (pride) with a ‘substandard career choice’?

Becoming a professional cricketer was Fakhar’s dream, one that you see with eyes open, and the good thing about dreams this type is that you don’t forget them the other day – or even the other half a decade as in his case. In 2013, Fakhar finally, and thankfully, decided to advance from his naval career in pursuit of his childhood dream, and began appearing for multiple regional outfits including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Abbottabad Falcons. Journey from here wasn’t easy yet it was certainly worth it. After performing reasonably well in Pakistan’s thankless circuit, averaging 49 in List A, for over five years, Fakhar made his ODI debut on one of the grandest of stages, the 2017 Champions Trophy. There was no looking back after that.

With an average of 63 and strike rate over 110, Fakhar single handedly turned Pakistan’s batting fortunes in the Champions Trophy. He was bound to gain the world’s attention with his impressive knocks in the tournament but not many expected him to live up to the newly formed expectations, considering his unorthodox, maybe also luck dependent, technique. And they were right. Fakhar did not live up to those expectations; he surpassed them!

After big scores against mighty England and India in Champions Trophy, he gave remarkable performances, including an unbeaten 82, in New Zealand too, in an otherwise abysmal show from Pakistan which saw them being whitewashed 5-0. The on-going Zimbabwe series was the cherry on the cake – a two-pound cherry on a one-pound cake. The series was always expected to be uncompetitive, especially with some of Zimbabwe’s top players opting out, but no one expected it to be as ‘catastrophic’ as it has turned out to be. Zimbabwe Cricket’s invite to PCB for the on-going series is now being rumored of having a paragraph dedicated to Fakhar Zaman, asking him to come and shatter some long-held records. Fakhar has already managed to enter the elite double centurion club in just 17 innings, more than 400 innings earlier than the club’s founding member, the Sachin Tendulkar. He is also set to break Sir Viv Richards record of being fastest to 1000 runs, after more than 40 years. He only needs 20 runs in 3 innings for the feat, which, with his current form, should be a walk in the park – on a hoverboard, with turbo installed.

Fakhar is to 4s what Afridi was to 6s. He replicates Afridi’s boundary hitting ability and is yet substantially more consistent. He is fearless, and in control while not looking in control at all. Many batsmen slow down as they come close to achieving milestones like multiples of 50. Yet Fakhar was yesterday seen getting all those multiples – and there were four them – with 4s and 6s. His sincerity to the game and hard work is beyond question, and his composure during pressure situations sufficient to single handedly cause opposition to concede defeat.

What’s rather strange, and fortunate, is that Fakhar rose to fame just immediately after Pakistan, due to unfortunate events, lost its another key opener, who looked just as dangerous to the books of cricket records. As the nation grieved the loss of an apparently irreplaceable talent at his red-hot form, Fakhar Zaman emerged with a form even redder, and even hotter. A team that had collectively failed to play out 50 overs in the recent past, found an opener in Fakhar Zaman who could achieve the feat on his own. “Pakistan Cricket at its best. One minute down, next minute up.”

With his recent performances and records, he already appears to stand shoulder to shoulder with some of the giants of the game. However, is he really that great yet? Certainly not. Can he become that great ever? We will have to wait and see. Do you know which Pakistani holds the record for the joint second fastest to 1000 runs? Azhar Ali! And he never made it to the 2000 runs mark. After 50-odd innings, he failed to even find a place in the ODI team. Fakhar certainly deserves to be lauded for his double century but does it come even close to Tendulkar’s unbeaten 200 eight years back against a bowling attack comprising the likes of Dale Steyn?

What we can say right now is that Fakhar Zaman is a highly promising prospect and one hell of an entertainment – only hell if you are the opposition team’s supporter – to watch on his day. While many still fail to understand how he manages to get those big scores, it doesn’t take anything away from his brilliance. It’s his natural game; even if it’s wrong yet it works, it’s probably right. Indubitably, luck has been on his side too. However, while luck alone may take you to the famous (or infamous, depending on where you come from) Final, it takes much more to display a MoM winning performance on that day (like perhaps ‘assistance’ from world’s number one ODI bowler as of 21 July 2018’s rankings).

Will Fakhar get another century against Zimbabwe tomorrow? Will he continue to deliver just as well against South Africa and England? Can he do on 16 June 2019 in UK (Ind vs Pak WC match) what he did on 18 of the same month in the same country in 2017? Too many questions, too few answers.

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Pakistan’s Space Launch.

 

 

Pakistan has launched two indigenously built satellites into orbit, using a Chinese launch vehicle. The satellites were launched onboard a Chinese Long March (LM-2C) rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre located at the Gobi desert, China.

One of the satellites launched is a remote sensing satellite (PRSS1) – a dual-purpose Earth observational and optical satellite. With the PRSS1, Pakistan has become one of the few countries to have its own remote sensing satellite in the orbit.

The second test satellite launched is a PAK-TES-1A, developed by Space and Upper Atmospheric Research Commission (Suparco) to enhance satellite manufacture capabilities in the country.

The PRSS-I would provide continuing and improved data that would result in ample of benefits to the nation. The acquired earth observation data would have both public and private uses. The information obtained from PRSS-I can fulfill various purposes, ranging from planning, managing, monitoring and utilization of natural resources thereby improving quality of life.

The PakTES-1A, indigenously designed and developed by SUPARCO’s engineers, is equipped with an optical payload, Global Positioning System (GPS) and Geographical Information System (GIS).

According to Pakistan’ Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO), the 1,200-kg mass satellite PRSS-1 will operate in sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 640 km. The satellite is equipped with a high resolution optical payload that will enable Pakistan to meet its imagery requirements in the areas of land mapping, agriculture classification and assessment, urban and rural planning, environmental monitoring, natural disaster management and water resource management for socio-economic development of the country.

The satellite, which has a designed life of seven years, is equipped with two panchromatic/multispectral cameras, with a resolution up to a meter and a coverage range of 60 km.

Designers say the two cameras are among the best exported remote sensing cameras made by China. They can be used to monitor plant diseases and pests.

The successful implementation of PRSS-1 and PakTES-1A projects has further strengthened the space cooperation between Pakistan and China for future collaborations.

Amidst the chaos that we are in, achievements like this one bring hope of development and prosperity for the nation.

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A Tribute to Dr. Ahmed Bilal Awan

Two years ago, Dr. Ahmed Bilal asked me to take a seat in his office. He put aside a copy he was checking, and began to ask me questions about myself. He asked me about my childhood, and where I had grown up; where I had gone to school, and what it was like; about my major at LUMS, and what I thought of it; my other interests, my other hobbies.

As I spoke, Dr. Ahmed Bilal listened intently. In my head, I was taken aback: I had never imagined that at university a professor would ever take an interest in who I was, or in my story – let alone before I even enrolled in their course. But as I would soon learn, this was exactly the kind of personal interest Dr. Ahmed Bilal took, in every student he ever met.

I often felt, in my heart, that Dr. Ahmed Bilal didn’t fit in at a place like LUMS. In a world of grades, recommendations, publications, research, politics, and academic prestige, Dr. Ahmed Bilal had a weakness: he simply cared too much. About all his students, and his responsibilities to them – not as an instructor, but as a teacher.

Those who knew sir will affirm that sir’s office overlooking the central courtyard was a place of joy. When I went to see him, I would climb the stairs of the academic block, secretly hoping that I would find sir all to myself. Usually, I would hear the sound of laughter before I reached the door. Inside, I would find several students laughing, and sir wiping a tear from his eye. The joke was usually at someone’s expense, and even being on the receiving end of sir’s warm humour was an honour. It was one of sir’s candid ways of showing that he didn’t see you as a student, but as a friend, and an equal.

Sir’s office was also a place where time stood still, and moments of mirth would give way to ones of contemplation. Sometimes, Sir’s smile would fade and he would look out of the window, at the students rushing to their classes. He would wave a hand at the administrative paperwork on his desk, and the emails that needed sending. “If I could,” he said, “I’d spend all day with my students. Teaching isn’t supposed to be a job.” Dr. Ahmed Bilal was a romantic, who understood that the most precious gift you can give another person is your time. Dr. Ahmed Bilal gave so much of it to his students – I just wish he’d had more for himself.

“When we were students at government college, we never went to our classes. But we’d spend our entire afternoons with the same teachers whose classes we’d missed in the morning, sitting outside, discussing literature, drinking tea.” At this point, Dr. Ahmed Bilal would straighten, smile, and become his usual, cheerful self. “Just let this semester be over, and we’ll start having sessions where we can actually enjoy poetry. With chai. But not here,” he would say emphatically. “At the khoka”. To this I would laugh and promise, “I’ll be there.”

I meant it.

Somehow, Dr. Ahmed Bilal was able to teach me a lesson that no other course, classroom, or teacher ever has, especially at lums:

That it is okay to not know something.

Dr. Ahmed Bilal’s office was a place of learning – where you didn’t have to feel ashamed to admit your ignorance. You didn’t have to pretend to know, when you didn’t. It was okay to ask. It was okay to learn. It was a place where you could be comfortable: making mistakes; being vulnerable – being human. In Dr Ahmed Bilal’s office, I would struggle and stammer, and use big words I did not know how to pronounce. When I used a word incorrectly, Dr. Ahmed Bilal would offer a correction, but not before offering a gentle smile, and a biscuit.

Dr. Ahmed Bilal taught me, but he was also the only instructor who hugged me like a parent, and gave me a shoulder to cry on.

If you have any memories or experiences with Sir, please share them.

– Zain Hamayun, LUMS.

بہت سادا و معصوم ہو تم
خدا کرے کہ شہر کی ہوا نہ لگے

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Imran khan’s first speech as the PM

Twenty six years after winning Pakistan’s first and only cricket World Cup, twenty four years after building country’s largest Cancer hospital and ten years after founding Namal College, Imran Khan sat down a wooden chair with paper in his hand at his Bani Gala residence. It was a delightful day in Islamabad; PTI had clean sweaped the Federal Capital and Rawalpindi. PTI won from Lyari and nine zero in Karachi after winning a simple majority in KP.

Just like a jeweler puts pearls in a string, one after another to end up with a magnificent necklace, IK hopped from one issue to another ever so smoothly, to describe his vision for Pakistan. There was continuity, as if the words he was uttering didn’t require any thinking. It felt so natural and melodic. The pauses, the word stress, the highs and lows were perfect to milliseconds. He spoke from the heart. For a moment the whole nation was just happy to see such an eloquent person as their Prime Minister.

Eloquence is one thing, content is another. In his speech, Imran touched all the key issues facing Pakistan. And the values that the founding fathers had envisioned for this country.

For decades, Balochistan has suffered from oppression, poverty and terrorism. Pakistan finally got a Prime Minister who started his victory speech by remembering the brave people of this province. In an era, where the Muslim world looks perplexed in its own history and ideology, he reminded us of the Meccan welfare state. Pakistan finally got a PM who spoke openly for half of the population that lives below poverty line, a PM who emphasized on education, health and human development, a PM who emphasized on accountability and social justice. Pakistan finally has a Prime Minister, who has conveyed in his very first speech to the World that Pakistan wants peace. He extended a hand of friendship to India and talked about the real deal (Kashmir). A Prime Minister, who instead of falling in one camp, carefully balanced himself between Iran and Saudi Arabia while proposing a mutually beneficial relation with the US.

Earlier, he had started his speech by mentioning his twenty two year long journey from absolutely nowhere to the corridors of PM house; maybe he had been preparing this speech for twenty two years. How can someone so aptly squeeze the cure for seventy years of blunders in just one speech? Clearly, there is a vision, a purpose and most importantly a direction. Nations rise and nations fall, but too often they just need the right man at the right time with the right vision. Ata Turk, Jinnah, Mandela and the list goes on. Whether, Khan will make it to that illustrious list, we shall know soon. This speech will be remembered for a long time as a speech that gave hope to the nation in a hopeless time. Imran Khan has made it clear that this government will be rule of the common man; it will stand with the weak and hold everyone accountable of their actions.

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Fifa World Cup: Sweden vs England

Sweden vs England:

The Samara Arena prepares to host the third World Cup 2018 quarter final between Sweden and England at 7 pm (PST) today. From not being able to qualify for the last world cup to making it to the last eight this year; that too without their talisman Zlatan Ibrahimovich; Sweden has been a team to look out for. Similarly, it is after an absence of twelve years that England have reached this stage of the competition, and they are three games away from the World Cup glory that they last celebrated in 1996.

THE JOURNEY TO THE QUARTER FINALS:

In a challenging group where Germany finished last, Sweden battled against all odds to conclude as leaders before beating sixth-rank Switzerland 1-0 in the pre-quarter finals.

England qualified through their group, finishing second to Belgium, and just edging out Colombia in an all-dramatic enthralling penalty shootout.

HEAD TO HEAD SINCE 2000:

England 2 – draw 2* – Sweden 1

*world cup matches

WHAT TO EXPECT?

Expect a physical grind-it-out battle. Sweden is a strong team that likes to sit deep in defense and mostly rely on aerial play or set-pieces to score, one that England will find hard to penetrate. Harry Kane continues to be the star man for England. A goal glut is not on the cards. The game might go to extra time.

PREDICTED LINE UPS:

Sweden XI: Olsen, Krafth, Lindelof, Granqvist, Augustinsson, Claesson, Larsson, Ekdal, Forsberg, Berg, Toivonen

England XI: Pickford, Walker, Stones, Maguire, Trippier, Young, Henderson, Alli, Lingard, Sterling, Kane

PREDICTION:

England to win by one goal or penalties

Imagine Zlatan Ibrahimovic in an England shirt at Wimbledon.

 

Maryam Ahmad Kiyani

Class of 2021

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Fifa World Cup: Russia vs Croatia

Russia vs Croatia

It’s day 24 in Russia and the last quarter final match kicks off at Sochi’s Fisht Olympic Stadium. Football fans across the world are eagerly waiting for 11 pm (PST) to find out whether Russia will give yet again another surprising performance or will Croatia break the winning tradition of host nations at the World Cup.

ROAD TO QUARTER FINALS:

Russia finished second in their group after netting eight times in two games against Saudi Arabia and Egypt before being thrashed 3-0 by Uruguay. Then they produced an almighty upset against the heavy weight Spain, beating them on penalties.

With the exception of Belgium, Croatia is the only team left in the competition that has won all games. With the highlight coming against Messi’s Argentina, Croatia topped group D before edging out Denmark on penalties in a tough pre-quarter final show down.

HEAD TO HEAD:

Russia 0 – Draw – 2 – Croatia – 1

WHAT TO EXPECT:

Creating an upset by kicking out the 2010 champions, Cherchesov’s Russia is now beginning to believe in the seemingly impossible. They will step down in the field with high morale and passionate backing from the home crowd. Russia might be tempted to attack more than they did against Spain which would leave more space at the back to exploit.

Croatia are expected to dominate the game through possession with Modric and Rakitic dictating play.

PREDICTED LINEUPS:

Russia XI: Akinfeev; Fernandes, Kutepov, Ignashevich, Kudryashov; Zobnin, Gazinskiy; Samedov, Golovin, Cheryshev; Dzyuba

Croatia XI: Subasic; Vrsaljko, Lovren, Vida, Strinic; Rakitic, Brozovic, Rebic, Modric, Perisic; Mandzukic

PREDICTION:

Russia 1 – Croatia 2

 

Maryam Ahmad Kiyani

Class of 2021

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Female Participation In The General Elections

The 2013 General Elections, as eventful and intense as they were, highlighted many facets in Pakistan’s political system. Not short on high drama, they shed light on flaws in the legal system, unjust polling and voting standards and not to mention the tumultuous aftermath. However, one factor overlooked and often disregarded is the lack of female participation in the 2013 elections. According to the Election Commission of Pakistan, “over 95% of women voters in 17 national constituencies failed to cast their vote” (DAWN, Ifthikhar Khan).  Moreover, the female voter turnout was less than 10% in 800 polling stations across the country (Qurutulain Fatima, Project Syndicate). Women gained the right to vote about a 100 years even ago, and the fact that even today women remain barred from exercising this right of theirs, exhibits a society still rooted in misogyny, failing to realize that without the contribution of more than half of the population, progress remains a mere dream.

According to the Voter Turnout Database, an authoritative global dataset providing data on elections conducted since 1945, Pakistan ranks last in the world on female participation in national elections. The basis of such disappointing results is majorly the huge, and at times unbridgeable, gender gap. 54.5 million male and 42.4 million female voters. The 12 million rift in between spells the gender gap in Pakistan. This is partly to blame on a majority of women, mostly in rural areas, not possessing an NIC, a voting necessity. Due to not having access to proper facilities or simply never having felt the need to possess one, many women are unable to produce NICs at the time of elections leading to their failure to vote. What’s even more disappointing is that religion and culture still form the grounds for many of the hindrances that women face when it comes to voting. Women lack the resources and have no mobility in rural areas. Moreover, astonishingly the narrative of women voting being “un-Islamic” still exists. When women do vote, they may be inclined to act according to the wishes of their male counterparts. As rural people make up nearly 66% of the country’s population, such demographics end up having a huge toll on nationwide results.

According to the Elections Act 2017, it is necessary for political parties to allocate at least 5 % of their tickets to women on general seats of national and provincial assemblies (DAWN, Amir Waseem). However, with a sparse number of women on board as candidates it is quite evident that most parties are merely trying to fulfill requirements.

When women fail to get adequate representation on national and political levels, or fail to vote, they risk having their voices and input neglected. The entire system of democracy is built upon the input of the people. When a significant portion of the population remains deprived of putting forth their input where does democracy then lie? With the 2018 General Elections being right around the corner now( a mere week away!), democracy demands for all  females who have the ability and resources to vote, to not let this opportunity to slide and ensure that in the future gender equality prevails in the electoral system.

 

 

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The tragedy of Mesut Ozil

The World Cup was quite memorable for a lot of us, apart from being the first final for Croatia, it had the most penalties of any world cup, and including that wonderful strike by Pavard which won the Best Goal Award, there were some absolute bangers in there. Germany however was among those who would look back at the tournament as a dark time. With their worst performance in nearly 80 years, the 2014 world cup champions couldn’t even go past the group stage. Criticism came from many in Germany and the football world, but perhaps it was Mesut Ozil who received the most backlash, so much so that he recently retired from international football.

The 5 time German Player of the Year was under media scrutiny for quite some time now. This was because of his picture with the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his delay in “explaining” this action to the German media. Although, Ozil asserted that there was no political intent behind the picture, perhaps he got between the crossfire of bad relations between the two countries. The German government views its Turkish counterparts as antidemocratic while Turkey accuses Germany of harboring anti-Turkey terrorists. It was only in February of 2018 after all that Turkey released Deniz Yucel, a German-Turkish journalist accused of spreading anti-state propaganda, after pressure from Berlin. Thus, many Germans wanted Ozil to vindicate his German-ness perhaps.

But perhaps, there was an element of racism here too. Ozil claimed that he was German when the team lost and an immigrant when they lost. He also holds that he has been singled out when it comes to criticism despite poor performances from usual stars across the team such as Thomas Muller, Sami Khedira, and Joshua Kimmich. This isn’t something new in football, Ozil’s thoughts resonate with footballers such as Karim Benzema and Romelu Lukaku who felt they were French and Belgian when their team won but immigrants whenever they lost. Of course Ozil certainly was not ostracized by everyone involved in German football, Manager Joachim Low supported him and he also had sympathetic ears in the German President, Frank-Walter Steinmeier. At the same time, however, the German Football President Reinhard Grindel and Public Relations Manager Oliver Bierhoff criticized Ozil’s inclusion in the team. This criticism perhaps was misplaced because their reasoning started from the controversial picture and ended on his performances which is exactly the problem Ozil claims he faced: being German when the team wins and non-German when it loses.

It should be noticed that Ozil was not the only player involved in the picture, Manchester City player Ilkay Gundogan was also pictured. However, where Gundogan did give explanations, Ozil kept his silence on the matter, that is, until he gave an explanation in his retirement statement that he did not want to be targeted by the media in an immediate press conference and instead consulted with the German President and Reinhard Grindel and planned on releasing a joint statement with the German Football Association. Ozil’s postion was also different from Gundogan’s because Ozil has a much larger role in the national team than Gundogan so would have attracted more attention. Furthermore, as Ozil clarified in his recent statement, he wanted to stay true to his roots and pay his respects to the highest position in Turkish government rather than to give in to the trend of sour relations between the two countries. Therefore, the picture was never meant to have political meanings. Grindel’s public insistence on a statement from Ozil despite Ozil’s understanding with the Football Association, therefore, angered him. But, it was not this alone which contributed to Ozil’s decision. He had been subjected to abuse from fans as well as people in positions of power. The exact abuses, regretfully, cannot be published in this article. Not only this, but he had also received hate mail and phone calls to him and his family. Ozil’s father had said that he would have retired if he were in Ozil’s place, however Ozil still waited on making a decision. Seeing little support, however, maybe it should not come as a surprise to us that Ozil retired the way he did only at the age of 29.

It is indeed a sad state of affairs that racism and bad international relations permeate into the beautiful game of football. Although, the situation has improved, with fines being a usual punishment for racism between players, but there is no mechanism to protect players from racism and politics which transcend beyond just two players. Perhaps not in 2018, but it is hoped that we learn from this incident and prevent such instances in the future.

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Helsinki: A Milestone in International Relations

 

 

“I give you the ball Mr. President and now the ball is in your court,” said Vladimir Putin as he handed over the World Cup ball to Donald Trump. It seemed a light hearted gesture at the moment but had a far-reaching meaning. It indicated how Russia was now in a position to dictate the terms to an American President and how symbolically the ball was actually in Trump’s court. Just a few hours later, he had to face a barrage of criticism back home after making a fatal error during his conference. Helsinki was bound to be remembered for a long time.

It is not the first time that a US President held out an olive branch towards his Russian counterpart but Trump’s actions were completely out of the playbook. Trump has repeatedly called the investigations into the 2016 Elections a “witch hunt”. But never before has it happened that an American President chose to believe his rival’s words over those of his own establishment. That too when Putin said that “there had been no involvement from Russian state”; not denying any Russian involvement at all. Consequently, he was labeled with words like “Sold out” and “Traitor” in the media.

This pattern of reaching out to Russia and admiration for its leader is not something on Trump’s part. During his election campaign, he called Putin a “leader of people” at a time when Russia had just been expelled from G-8. Political commentators claim that Trump courting Putin is due to Putin holding some compromising evidence regarding him. This for obvious reasons forces him to reach out of his way to Russia. But I believe Trump thinks that with his eccentric Foreign Policy tactics he can manage to win over Putin and lead towards a new era of co-operation between Russia and US. This would open up new avenues in US international relations and give Trump the adulation that he so desperately craves.

Before taking a glance at Trump’s foreign adventures, a look needs to be taken on his global geopolitical vision. Trump’s foreign policy is an anomaly. During his election campaign he had asked his voters to put their trust in him as he would make America great again and set things straight. From the moment he took oath, it was evident that his tenure would encompass the most unprecedented era in 70 years of American global leadership. He believes that US is being drained by the very system it created and to overcome this problem a new system needs to evolve. He believes that America can envisage its new global role by projecting its unmatched strength overseas and using it to create a new balance of power. Adding to this his own personal thinking- his colossal belief in his negotiating skills, his undying admiration for strong men and his inclination for stirring up conflict – we come to picture his hit and miss diplomacy.

Trump’s track record in international relations is evident of all this. Over the course of the past two years, he has treaded an unfamiliar terrain. Putin is not the only dictator that Trump has been trying to win over. As mentioned earlier, he has a certain liking for strong autocratic leaders; he likes dealing with them and it gives him a sense of power. And he has repeatedly throughout his tenure negotiated with such people. The list includes people like Philippines’s Rodrigo Duterte, Saudi Arabia’s Salman and Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu.

Without a doubt, the most notable mention in that list is North Korea’s Kim Jong Un. Trump had begun his presidency by dealing with Kim with a strong arm. He hiked the military operations in South Korea and the Sea of Japan and labeled Kim as “Little Rocket Man”. Bound to get a response, North Korea threatened to let nukes loose on US. Along with all this happening Trump also tried to bring Kim to the dialogue table, much to the dismay of his some of his allies. He succeeded in 2018 and held a meeting with him in Singapore. In the declaration passed, he gave way too many concessions trying to win persuade Kim. He even moved back from US’s most fundamental demands from North Korea like inspection of nuclear weapons and abandoned military exercises with South Korea, one of its most trusted and loyal allies. And as per now, the agreement had been nothing but a time gaining tactic with no concrete progress.

This was not the only time Trump abandoned or attacked his allies. Trump has been known to threaten, exploit, ridicule and humiliate his allies throughout his tenure. He had declared before coming to the office that the allies were not doing enough for America and he would straighten it out. And moreover, he relishes overpowering and exploiting others. No event encapsulates all this more vividly than his current trip to Europe. In a single NATO summit, he embarrassed most of the Western leaders and declared European Union an “economic foe”. This fractured decades long Trans-Atlantic relations of trust and harmony. He then made a behemoth entry in UK. As a giant inflatable baby Trump balloon flew over London, he publicly criticized the British PM and cited her Brexit policy as weak and useless.

And days later, at Helsinki, he praised the leader that most of the NATO perceives as the biggest threat to world peace. This was not some coincidence or lapse of error on Trump’s behalf. All the behavior of bullying his allies and greeting the Russian dictator with open arms and a smirk is straight out of Trump’s foreign policy playbook. So the question arises what Trump hopes to achieve by moving closer to pariah states like Russia and North Korea and by alienating his allies?

As mentioned earlier, Trump wants to establish a new world order. He perceives China as a major economic threat. European Union though financially secure, is considered weak by Trump. He wants to ally with powerful nations to contain China, and Putin led Russia after the Crimean annexation is quite strong. In the 1970’s US aligned itself with Communist China to counter USSR; Trump sees this a mirror image of that ploy, with just sides switched

Such a radical change to American Foreign policy is bound to cause polarization and have consequences in different parts of the world. America’s NATO and West European allies have stood with it through thick and thin but it is said nothing precedes national interest. Trump believes that threatening them he would make them agree to his terms but they seem to have called his bluff. They are rapidly moving on from US; the most vivid example being the recently signed trade deal with Japan. It is the largest trade deal ever involving EU. Europe is also looking to form cordial economic ties with China who is itself struck with heavy American tariffs. All these are very significant changes.

All this reflects that the major powers have sensed a shift in global and are adapting themselves. Many of traditional American allies have given up hope from Trump and are moving towards its rivals. On the other hand Trump continues to draw towards dictatorships like Russia and North Korea who can never be fully trusted. This leaves US in a very precarious position devoid of friends and in murky waters. Looks like Trump’s hit and miss policies have finally borne fruit in the most extraordinary ways.