STRAIGHT TALK by Hafeez Khan
It was early days of PTI and Chairman Imran Khan gave me the responsibility of organizing the Party. Mairaj Mohammad Khan, a political icon, at one time designated successor of Bhutto, was PTI’s General Secretary. Since he was based in Karachi, he was unable to spend time in Islamabad. Hence I had to fulfill this task as Party’s Central Vice President. It was daunting at first requiring strategy and ability to fulfill challenging circumstances. In the presence of big boys like PML(N) and PPP the entrenched elite of Islamabad and Rawalpindi felt we had no gravitas and treated us as new kids on the block. With Chairman’s approval, we moved to bring on board heavy weights having a soft spot for IK and PTI platform; the lowest hanging fruit.
Lt.Gen (Retd) Mujeeb ur Rehman was my first port of call for a variety of reasons. We had family ties; his elderbrother, Brig Rashid, a prominent political figure of Lyallpur, was friends with my father Dr. Abdul Hameed Khan. Mrs Mujeeb was a close friend of my eldest sister. My close buddy, Siraj Ul Mulk of Chitral worked closely with me in these efforts. General sb had all the right credentials. He was well known in corridors of power having served as information advisor to President Zia for an extended period. He had called out IK as future Prime Minister while he was still playing cricket. We got along very well and quickly started working on increasing our inner circle.
General Mujeeb brought onboard Mr. Abdul Sattar, a respected former foreign secretary. As well as Mr. Amir Mohammad Khan, an ex-VC Agriculture University, Lyallpur, an authority on Agriculture. All these folks agreed to join PTI’s CEC. In our extensive outreach one of the most impressive personalities we interacted with was retired bureaucrat Fateh Khan Bandial. Hailing from Khushab; derived from Persian words “Khush” – clear and happy; “ab” – water, he was full of rustic wisdom and extremely well versed in the intricacies of governance having served in key positions all over Pakistan. His words still echo in my ears “Putr painda auka ay par dil nahi chadna” translates “son it is a tough path ahead but never lose heart.” Something very close to IK’s oft-repeated words; “Ghabrana nahin.”
From the way current events have unfolded in the Supreme Court of Pakistan, F.K Bandial has inculcated his son, Justice Umar Ata Bandial with all the right kind of values. Soft spoken and unassuming like my friend from the area Tahir Malik; you don’t mess with sons of “Wadi Soon,” a valley on the river banks of River Jhelum. They are like tensile steel that gets stronger as you push them. Standing tall with his two brother Judges; they have blunted attacks on the Constitution of Pakistan and delivered a judgment that cuts through the hoopla and scores the bull’s eye. Elections have to be held in 90 days after the dissolution of an assembly.
All counter arguments revolve around technicalities. You discuss the route to a destination before you travel; not after you reach the destination. It is a national tragedy thatPakistan is being run by a convict and an abscondersitting in London. His dictations are being implemented to the fullest by mindless morons. It is like all frogs croakingafter their leader. Be it demanding the resignation of CJ;toothless resolutions of an imbecile National Assembly orthreats of a reference against the judges. One breaks out in laughter at Nawaz Sharif’s lament “why is law of necessity only used for dictators; why not for us?” You know the rot is complete when you see PPP supporting Sharifs when their founder, Bhutto was hung by Zia; Sharifs’ mentor and Godfather. They have lost their bearings and all moral grounds.
PDM is without a narrative and petrified of voters’ verdict. Their rude attacks on Judiciary are clearly their strategy to get disqualified and become martyrs; rather than get slaughtered at the polls. Shahbaz Sharif is likely the sacrificial lamb to clear the path for Maryam Nawaz. This onslaught on the judicial system, unfortunately backed by Trojans from within, is leading to a paralysis of governance.
Quoting Sami Ibrahim “caretakers have donned the robes of undertakers”; is exemplified by Ali Amin’s arrest despite his bail, because DPO has “orders from above”. It is paving the way for an unrest never seen before by this nation. IK’s solidarity with Supreme Court was seen by millions in 75 cities despite an illegal ban by PEMRA. IK is being blacked out by a subservient media; yet a convict’s bullying and lies are being broadcast on official and other media.
These heavy-handed fascist techniques are paving the way for vigilante justice like it was meted out to robbers in Karachi. The provincial elections are inevitable; Alhamdulillah IK is safe; attempts to disqualify him are falling flat. PML(N) has one last trump card; bring Nawaz Sharif back. He is coming to Jeddah to be joined by PM Sharif and Maryam for last ten days of Ramadan, likely enroute to Pakistan.
It appears that the writing on the wall is finally being read by the Establishment. They don’t want to see the ultimate falling out between the armed forces and people of Pakistan. So bring it on! Let Nawaz return to lead PDM’selection campaign. It will be the last nail in the coffin of Sharifs chokehold on Pakistani politics.
