Nawaz Sharif, except when he is doing battle with food, is the very picture of an exquisite dullness.
The only other time his zest betrays itself is when he selects his Army Chiefs. Unlike the masterful prowess he displays on the dining table, he has never done quite so well with these selections.
In the recent past though, all his energies have been concentrated on becoming Prime Minister of his unfortunate country for the fourth time. And because old habits die hard, he has not been able to discipline his compulsion to pick the Army Chief yet again.
Because the task had become two-fold, he drafted Maryam to help him out. She was expected to bring to the table sound judgement, which she first exhibited when she chose Safdar for her husband!
But blocking their joint dreams was the immovable and irksome problem of Imran Khan, behind whom, it seemed, stood the whole of Pakistan, and also a better part of the army. And no matter what they tried, like a bad penny, Imran Khan kept coming back ever more popular. So, common sense suggested that Imran Khan be done away with. This was the Gordian Knot to be cut. And once cut, the way would be clear for the old royalty to saunter in and take their seats in Jati Umra once again; and take up their old staff and drive it once more where they had left it dangling the last time they were at the helm.
But instead of giving the assignment of removing Imran Khan to Asif Zardari, who had done such a superb job of removing Murtaza Bhutto and Benazir, among many others, they chose instead to do it themselves. They would not share this with Zardari, because then they’d have to share the spoils as well.
The transition from being a sleaze queen to becoming a hitwoman was never going to be easy. They learned no lesson from the Arshad Sharif disaster. They went ahead with a hit on Imran Khan anyhow. And they missed him.
This reminded me of poor Z.A. Bhutto who tried to have Ahmad Raza Kasuri put out of the way three times, and got the wrong man each time….so much like Nawaz Sharif selecting his Army Chiefs!
How sloppy this father-daughter team has been, may be gathered from taking one look at Mr Tasneem Haider Shah. Allegedly they chose this don of Gujrat to deliver them “shooters” to do in Imran Khan. Instead, he went and reported the matter to the police! Had it been Pakistan, they would have threatened, cajoled, bought, or overpowered the police and got rid of the irritation. But they are dealing with London police, who do not behave like police should. And this ought to be a cause of concern for this convicted [but miraculously free] father and daughter team. For a start this time the platelets count will really begin to fall, as the flatulence being constantly created wells up, should London Police come to some nasty conclusions. And if they land up in jail, it will be in UK, and they won’t be able to look forward to shabdegh from home. O the joy of being jailed at home!
What they’ll get to eat will be mashed potatoes with worms peeping out. And what they’ll get from brother criminals in jail I’d rather not describe beyond saying that some of their orifices may come in for a fair degree of strain.
God knows what happens now, but two things are almost certain whether they see the inside
of a jail or not:
- Nawaz Sharif and his lovely daughter are not coming back to Pakistan in a hurry.
- And if they ever do come back, they should be prepared to be lined up in gun sights of some serious “shooters”. They have crossed a red line in politics. They must now be prepared to reap the whirlwind.
We know at least a part of what they have taken away from us. And now this is what they are giving back in return….the sleaze industry and a new dimension in politics of violence.