Daily Times

PTI chief Imran Khan is in jail in connection with the Toshakhana case. He might get bail in this case but a string of other cases confront him. Hence his participation in the next election seems suspect. Quite a few among IK’s inner circle are serious contenders for the PTI top slot. But who’s the most suitable candidate to replace Imran Niazi is a matter of opinion. Shah Mahmood Qureshi seems to be the right candidate to head the PTI. Many think he is too ambitious and always aimed at occupying the top position of the party but that may not be so.

SMQ only looks ambitious and a man in a hurry by nature. That’s his style. After all, he’s a politician and a good politician they say has many faces according to the audience he addresses. Qureshi possesses the right credentials to lead PTI after IK disappears from the political scene if the court disqualifies him in any of the numbers of cases against him. Unlike Imran Niazi’s arrogance and vindictive nature, SMQ is modest and radiates suspense when he speaks. Stating a puerile issue in a manner that would likely move the mountains is an intrinsic part of his personality.

Moreover, SMQ belongs to a Saraiki-speaking family of saints from Multan in South Punjab. His political nemesis Yosuf Raza Gillani also belongs to the same city with a similar saintly background but he may not be as suave as SMQ. Neither does Gillani possess the charisma of speech and talent that SMQ does. Besides, SMQ runs a rare romantic streak that Gillani could never think of. In other words, Gillani is a local species while Qureshi is an international brand. Recall when SMQ joined heads with the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during one of the meetings. Both smiled and seemed to relish the occasion. If Qureshi could win the admiration of Clinton, he could surely win most of the PTI followers with his magic wand. Of course, old aunties who zealously leaned toward Imran Niazi, may not like to follow SMQ.

Qureshi is expected to sit on the opposition benches happily and play his political role, unlike IK who dreamed of either winning two-third majority or no election.

Besides, SMQ has an amiable nature. He’s eloquent, and articulate and annoys nobody, unlike his leader Imran Niazi whose arrogance and vindictiveness seek no bounds. Neither does Qureshi use foul language that Niazi prided himself in using by name-calling his political opponents such as dacoits, looters and plunderers. During his stint as the PM, Niazi enhanced and sharpened the vocabulary of his followers through foul mouthing. There’s no comparison between IK and SMQ in this arena. The latter is widely read because as a foreign minister, he often involved himself in long discussions with diplomats of other countries. So he had to remain updated with the latest world affairs as part of his profession. Also, there’s hardly any corruption scandal attached to his career as a politician.

Qureshi may not have touched a bat or a ball but he knows his own subject – foreign affairs, better than, say, a googly or a bouncer or caught in the slips. Even though he would surely know another kind of bouncer and the duties he carries out. A bouncer, Qureshi would understand is a tall man with bulging muscles who performs his duty inside and outside a casino to handle the troublemakers and the rowdy ones inebriated more than they could handle. A bouncer’s huge build and muscles are mandatory for the duty he performs.

Neither does Qureshi believe in antics like black magic, including the use of human bones. He is a practical person who means business. If he leads the PTI in the next election and the party fails to win a majority, Qureshi should accept the results with grace. He is expected to sit on the opposition benches happily and play his political role, unlike IK who dreamed of either winning a two-third majority or no election. In all probability, Imran Niazi’s days as a politician are over at least in the foreseeable future. Nevertheless, the discredit must go to those who brought him into power and the nation suffered.

Lastly, SMQ is a seasoned politician having been part of one political party or the other in the past. People call such a politician a ‘habitual party changer’ or in a derogatory term a ‘lota’ but Qureshi thinks differently. He believes variety is the spice of life.

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