Daily Times

In South Asia, political gaffes are the norm. Pejorative words are uttered carelessly. Hence, the job of the minions begins with either defending the malice or doing damage control. A defence is put forth that the words should not be taken out of context, as though within the context they were innocuous. Similarly, a variety of excuses are advanced to mitigate the vitriolic tinge of the words.
At his swearing-in ceremony in May 2014, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi invited the leaders of the South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries, including Pakistan, and declared his priorities: He yearned for regional affability to see India prosper. Modi wanted to replicate his Gujarat model of economic prosperity for the whole of India through regional cooperation. Within just one year, Modi somehow became so disillusioned with Pakistan that on June 7, in Bangladesh, he unleashed a flurry of rancorous remarks meant to inspire hatred for Pakistan in the host country. Modi accused Pakistan of terrorism while boasting about his own role in the formation of Bangladesh, which used to be a part of Pakistan. However, immediately afterwards, efforts to do damage control were initiated. The pressure on Modi came both from home and abroad to acquiesce to peace and tranquillity in the region, instead of infuriating Pakistan. Modi had to submit to the pressure and made a telephone call to Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif, congratulating him on the beginning of Ramzan, the holy month of fasting. Moreover, 88 fishermen taken captive earlier were released by India as a token of goodwill between the two countries. Whether this positive message and the release of the captives will lessen the resentment in Pakistan or not, the damage had been done to the reputation of Pakistan, which has been disparaged in a third country for no reasonable justification. This shows that becoming the Prime Minister of a country like India and being a statesman are two different things.
On June 16, 2015, former President of Pakistan and co-Chairman of the PPP, Asif Ali Zardari, vented his feelings while addressing the oath-taking ceremony of the office bearers of PPP’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chapter. Zardari criticised the way in which the Rangers were carrying out their operation in Karachi. He warned the army that he would “expose everything” about the deeds of army generals if the alleged defamation campaign against his party did not stop. He said that army chiefs come and go after three years, but the political leadership was here to stay. He threatened that he would close Pakistan from Karachi to Khyber and used the words, “You have been warned” thrice to emphasise his stance. However, immediately afterwards, efforts to do damage control were started. Sherry Rehman and Qamar Zaman Kaira spearheaded the movement to salvage the name and reputation of both Zardari and the party. What Zardari meant and what he did not were described. Two interesting events followed: Nawaz Sharif cancelled his planned meeting with Zardari for the next day and made a phone call to the Chief of Army Staff, who was on a visit to Russia, and assured him of the government’s pro-army resolve.
This is how Sharif tried to cash in on Zardari’s political gaffe. Sharif could have met Zardari and rescued him from the fallout of the acerbic statements that he made against the army, even without acceding to any demands to end or limit the Rangers’ operation in Karachi. Sharif could have helped Zardari to save fave but he did not. Sharif left Zardari high and dry. In this way, a political blunder can lead to another political blunder, committed by someone else. Zardari came under pressure from both within and outside his party to take his words back. One effort to ease the tension between the PPP and the military was made by the Chief Minster (CM) of Sindh, when he gifted 9,000 acres of land to the army. Similarly, Zardari has said that he will not withdraw the FIR of Benazir Bhutto’s murder against the former military dictator, General Pervaiz Musharraf. In this way, Zardari has tried to show that his furious speech was directed towards the former military generals and not against the current ones.
Whether the Sindh CM’s message of benevolence and the repositioning of Zardari’s comments can serve their purpose or not, the damage has been done to the relations between the military and the PPP. Similarly, Nawaz Sharif has improved his own relations with the military by leaving Zardari in the lurch. These points show that being the former President of Pakistan and being a statesman are two different things. Modi may find several other ways to be magnanimous to Pakistan and divert the attention from his political blunder in Bangladesh. Zardari, on the other hand, has limited choices. Before embarking on his anti-military tirade publicly, Zardari could have availed himself of the opportunity of meeting with Sharif the next day. He could have convinced Sharif of his stance and the plight of his party, before going public. What has been lost by Zardari has been gained by Sharif.

The writer is a freelance columnist and can be reached at qaisarrashid@yahoo.com