Daily Times

He roars. He bites. He frowns. He fights. He eats. He sleeps. He is powerful but lazy. He possesses the talent but vengeance drives him crazy. He is special and royal even though he is a son of the soil. He rules and commands but still keeps his charms. He is stubborn like a mule, lazy like a lion and has the memory of a camel. He does not forget, does not forgive and certainly does not move on. His issues are personal; his policies are disputable and actions are indictable. He does not soften up, does not tone down and stands in one place for years to come. This is how I know him — the leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-N: Mian Naraz Shareef (this is a typo).

The politics of Mian Naraz Shareef (MNS) since his mysterious return from Saudi Arabia has consistently been Musharraf (the ex-commando)-centric. Even though General (Retd) Musharraf has left the presidency and resigned as the Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) a long time ago, MNS has continued to act as his loyal and genuine opposition. Apart from that, he has only focused on ‘conspiracies’ of the establishment against President Asif Ali Zardari (AAZ) and how he has outmaneouvred each one of them to protect his presidency. On all other pertinent issues, like the genie of inflation, the wraith of corruption and the safety of the citizens, he has limited his role to only lip service.

The people of Pakistan have clearly not approved the current army-centric politics of MNS and he is rapidly losing his voters in Punjab. This assertion can be verified by his dwindling popular support in the recent Gallup polls. The reasons for their disapproval are evident and fathomable. Firstly, they still sympathise with the Pakistan armed forces and do not want them to be criticised all the time. Then, they despise MNS as the only (former) reliable partner of AAZ. They believe that the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP)-led current coalition government was able to plunder the country only because of the covert and indirect support of MNS. They resent his role as a weak opposition leader and consider his party as an accomplice in the ransacking of Pakistan.

Their dissatisfaction has therefore developed with both the leading political parties of Pakistan and is not only limited to the PPP. It has also created a political vacuum in the country that Imran Khan (IK) has rushed in to fill successfully. As a result, IK has become the opposition of the opposition and a real hero.

As early as 2009, IK realised that AAZ did not need a strong opposition from him because the latter was extremely unpopular and then the Pakistan Army was also doing its job astutely. IK also recognised that he just had to convince people that MNS was on the side of AAZ in order to gain political momentum. Therefore, he kept on pounding the Mian brothers for the last two years in every talk show, until this strategy paid off.

While MNS stood behind AAZ against all conspiracies in these years, he also took care of his wife’s back problems in London at the same time. He devoted himself unconditionally to preserve the political system nationally and his marriage personally. He spent weeks in the United Kingdom during each visit and remained oblivious that a gigantic problem had developed behind his own back in Pakistan: Imran Khan.

Typically, as soon as he returns from the UK, MNS delivers a couple of statements in a press conference against the PPP-led coalition government. Immediately, after this brief criticism, he starts his mantra, once again, against General Pervez Musharraf, the formation of a Kargil Commission and the coup d’état of 1999. He later on flies to his destination city in a helicopter. During these aerial journeys, people look up to seek support from him, and he looks down on them for their votes.

The politics of his younger brother, Main ‘Aya Baz’ Shareef (MSS), also known as ‘Nadim-e-Aala’, is a little different. He is both apologetic and cordial towards the establishment. The actions of his older brother embarrass him profoundly and he even tries to hide his identity when he ‘officially’ meets with the COAS, which usually transpires in the dark. His secretive yet widely reported meetings are strange and unprecedented. The only parallel to his actions in the recent history of Pakistan is Maulana Abdul Aziz in a female head-to-toe cover — burqa — when he was trying to escape and hide his identity from the security forces.

Cautiously yet diligently, MNS appointed his insider in the establishment, Chaudhry Nisar Ali, as the Leader of the Opposition; and to represent his party on the floor of the House. Chaudhry Aitbar (typo) turned out to be a lousy choice as he started wrangling with the chief of the ISI, General Pasha, at a personal level. Unfortunately, the general retorted in an equally embarrassing manner, and both of them started quarreling with each other, like two immature and emotional wives of a polygamous husband.

In this controversy, there was only one loser: the PML-N. The winner the PTI, meanwhile, pocketed all the goodwill; it rallied successfully in all major cities and let MNS safeguard the last one year of AAZ’s presidency.

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