Daily Times

A large majority of the people living below the poverty line have no interest whatsoever in the spy games, as these are called, played by the mighty. From the court case of the PTI chairman facing terrorism charges for threatening the judge and the police to the cypher inquiry, there is nothing for the majority of Pakistanis to hope for a better future. The lifestyle of the rich and the powerful is one-eighty degrees opposite to how the poor of the nation subsists.

Whether or not Imran Khan apologised to Judge Zeba Chaudhry and left himself at the mercy of the court, the court decided to dismiss the case, perhaps in view of the more important cases deserving the court’s attention. Now, the government wants an inquiry into the cypher imbroglio. A high-level inquiry by the FIA will investigate Imran Khan and his associates’ involvement in the cypher ruse. Was the cypher a subterfuge to remain in public view or did it have anything to do with reality?

Imran recently sought the allegiance of his followers to participate in the long march to the citadel of power to prove his public support. He sought his followers’ allegiance to march by raising his arm in the style typical of Hitler of Nazi Germany. Some even compare him with Hitler, which is most unfair to the German dictator. Hitler rose from the bottom to lead the German nation; Imran Niazi was superimposed on the nation from above. Hitler had a fully committed and capable inner circle.

A nation overburdened by billions of dollars of foreign debt must learn to live within its means.

For instance, could Fawad Chaudhry be compared with Joseph Goebbels? Both performed similar functions – media control and propaganda. Goebbels did for Hitler and the Nazi party what Chaudhry is doing for Imran and the PTI. But will Chaudhry remain as devoted to Imran Niazi as Goebbles was to Hitler until the end? Only time will tell. It would be a good idea for Imran Khan to improvise a Hitler-style uniform for himself when appearing in public. It would surely impress his followers and demoralise his opponents.

While the politicians play their games to cling to power, the reality on the ground presents a heartrending picture. The saddest part is that the 33 million who lost their homes and belongings due to the devastating floods don’t make as big news in the press as do the so-called spy games or Imran’s dire warnings and his intended long march. To arrange such marches require hundreds of millions. Who would pay for Imran’s long march if it is held? Will the KPK government or the Punjab government pay the massive amount out of their official funds, the people deserve to know. It is their tax money, after all. And why the hard-earned tax money be wasted on useless marches instead of spending it to alleviate the miseries of the flood-affected millions?

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has rightly advised the political parties to “hit the pause button” on their politics and make all efforts to help the flood victims. Besides Bilawal Bhutto, members of the ruling party must come forward with practical efforts to lessen the miseries of people suffering from the floods. It is no time to play politics or appoint more SAPMs whose strength now touches seventy-five. It is hard to understand why some ministers are without any portfolio. Why make them ministers in the first place? We must set our priorities right. We need a lean government and a small and efficient bureaucracy. A nation overburdened by billions of dollars of foreign debt must learn to live within its means. By observing the lifestyle of the ministers and senior bureaucrats, it feels as if we are an oil-producing nation. Will this country ever become a truly welfare state? A dream, too far.

Natural calamities do befall nations but what matters is how those nations behave under such circumstances. Most nations would shed their internal political differences and unite under one banner to face the disastrous situation to control the damage. There would hardly be a nation hit by the catastrophe of floods, resulting in the loss of lives, homes, and belongings of a large number of its people while its leaders played “cypher, cypher.” Or an overly ambitious adventurer wanted to play “elections, elections” when people were neck deep in flood water.

The writer is a Lahore-based columnist and can be reached at pinecity @gmail.com