Daily Times

We get to listen to a lot of drivel in the name of analysis. Daily, for hours. One would think it would be hard to pick the worst from such a huge pile. Not quite. It is conspicuous for its arrant senselessness: Nawaz Sharif has matured! This was said before May 11, on May 11, immediately after May 11. That is understandable: people as desolated as us are prone to wishful assumptions. However, what is not understandable — and is disgusting also — is that it is still being said. How, in God’s name?

First things first. Maintaining that he has matured now is admitting he did not before. Very well, why did he not mature before? Easy: he was kingly, showed little will or ability to grasp situations, was vengeful, had an extremely narrow focus on Punjab, did not have the guts to decide big, listened only to a select group of people, sold state institutions to friends — well, the list is long but let us content ourselves with a manageable number of items.

Ready? We will be analysing the myth of maturity in the lines to follow. Hey, we are going to exclude the fact that key posts are being occupied by his relatives on an assumption. A very faulty assumption it may be but let us make it anyway: they are competent! Check the laughter, we have serious things to discuss.

Remember the hiring of a guy named Shujaet Azeem? Then his removal on court orders and his rehiring too? Okay, if that was not obvious enough for you to remember, there is something that is — a matriculate was appointed as deputy managing director of PIA, a post especially created for the purpose. His qualification other than matriculation? Loyalty — oh, to PIA you thought? To N League, dude! Then there is this ‘appointment’ to the highest office in the country: the presidency. Confused by the use of the word ‘appointment’? Think again; you will feel convinced. Not working? Consider the conduct of his presidentship since assuming office.

Ever heard of something called the Higher Education Commission (HEC)? It regulates higher education, they say. Sounds important, no? It is supposed to have a chairman, a considerably powerful and independent one, but has not had a permanent one for quite some time now. Nawaz did not think it important to appoint a chairman for the body. Or did he think it was, therefore he was searching for a loyalist? Apparently, the latter: he formed, dissolved, re-formed committees. Seven odd months lapsed. The court intervened once, then twice. Now the HEC has got its permanent chairman. Thank God, but can anyone please guarantee there will no efforts to curb his powers?

A renowned columnist has done a piece on something that is not very obvious. Its consequences are huge, nonetheless. It was a case relating to murky appointments. The SC ordered all future appointments in government and semi-government organisations to be made through a commission, not by the government directly. The Nawaz government constituted the Federal Commission for Selection of Heads of Public Sector Organisations and charged it with the responsibility to appoint the heads of 58 organisations. On second thought, it issued another notification reducing the number of organisations to 23 from 58. On second second thought, it excluded the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Competition Commission too from the list. Try to realise what it means to have the power to directly appoint the heads of corporate regulators. Cool! Super cool when you yourself happen to be a business tycoon.

Forget the appointments. What is the biggest problem the country is facing? Terrorism, of course. The second biggest? The faltering economy. Okay, here is what Nawaz is doing to deal with terrorism: pleading, appeasing and releasing terrorists. The whole focus is on saving Punjab, many are accusing; they say the Nawaz government is telling them: “We will not hurt you, do not hit Punjab.” Rana Sanaullah is the mediator, it is said. And yes, did you know Malik Ishaque, an accused terrorist, has been receiving a stipend from the Punjab government?

And the economy? In almost a full one year, Nawaz’s chief economic tweaker has only one thing to show — depreciation of the dollar. Hats off, sir! But how did you manage to do it? With a $ 1.5 billion shady, foggy, fuzzy, murky ‘gift’. And Eurobonds. Ah, that is very interesting. Interest rates in Europe are in the range of three to five percent. Pakistan is borrowing at 7.25 to 8.25 percent. If it has been done to give politicians with dollars in foreign accounts an opportunity to earn easy money, it is fraud and malfeasance. If done with honest intentions, it is still stupid.

Finally, something that may take precedence over everything else in the course of time: Nawaz’s relations with the military. What did Nawaz need the least in this tenure? A rift with the army! Exactly the thing he has gotten himself into — thanks entirely to his blue-eyed loudmouthed ministers. Wondering how a prime minister faced with mammoth sized challenges — the biggest of which he needs the army’s support to deal with — has chosen Khwaja Asif, a man with a known history, for the defence minister’s role? There is only one explanation! Asif belongs to a clan Nawaz has a strong liking for. And to Nawaz, belonging to a few clans and an equally few places means more than sensibility, competence — let us make it simple for ourselves — anything!

The moral of the story? Nawaz now is Nawaz then.

The writer is a freelance writer based in Lahore. He may be contacted at atifhussain40@gmail.com