Daily Times

Which party exactly has formed the federal government? Is it the PML(N) as its president; Shahbaz Sharif, just took over as the Prime Minster? But doesn’t the N in PML(N) stand for Nawaz, the elder of the two Sharif brothers? How can it be PML(N) when there is no N? Is it the Pakistan People’s Party? Asif Ali Zardari is the new President so it might be the PPP. But that’s not the case either. There is little representation of PPP in the new cabinet. Barring the President’s office, PPP doesn’t seem to have any share in the government. So, a coalition government; PDM 2.0? There has been no declaration of such an alliance having taken shape before the elections or even after them.

Soon after the elections, PML(N) vowed to form the government despite not having enough numbers. As reality sunk in, PML(N) started dropping hints of reluctance as it felt betrayed. Just when the PML(N) started distancing itself from the government and the PTI started filling the vacuum that the election results had created, a few parties came together to vote for the PML(N) candidate; Shahbaz Sharif. The setup thus put together is far from organic and seems to have been put together only as a continuation of the caretaker government legitimized only by adding a few popular yet acceptable political faces at the top. It is therefore a government formed after the elections but not through the elections.

The only man in this entire saga who paid for everything yet got nothing for himself is Nawaz Sharif.

Asif Ali Zardari seems content with having earned back the office and protocol of the President while his daughter Asifa has taken up the role of the First Lady. Shahbaz Sharif is, on the other hand, comfortable having landed himself a full term in the Prime Minister’s office. In a demonstration of his authority, he appointed his favourite bureaucrat, Ahad Cheema as Minister of the establishment division. The only man in this entire saga who paid for everything yet got nothing for himself is Nawaz Sharif. With his political legacy run over by his ambitious brother; albeit in a respectful manner that is the hallmark of the family, he can take solace in the fact that his daughter, whom he might have envisioned as the Prime Minister one day, has finally become the Chief Minister of Punjab and that his sons have ended their self-imposed exile and returned to their home in Lahore.

The question, however, remains unanswered: Who will call the shots in a government that nobody seems to take responsibility for?

The answer to the question is straightforward: This is the most direct politically represented government of the hidden hands that have run this country right from its inception. The ones who did not like Ishaq Dar enough to trust him with the Ministry of Finance yet tolerated him enough to let him run the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Even as Foreign Minister, he has been given an advisor in the form of Jalil Abbas Jilani, who will hold and exercise the real power.

This government will be run by those who recently discovered a master of all trades in Mohsin Naqvi. From running a province to heading the world’s fourth richest cricket board and from there hopping on to the Federal Ministry of Interior, the powerful seem to believe that Mohsin Naqvi has the antidote for everything that ails various departments of the government. The other aspirant for the job of Interior Minister, Rana Sanaullah of PML(N), lost the election he seemed very confident of winning. He was not even “allowed” to be accommodated in the Senate. This government will be run by those who managed to convince the President of Habib Bank to resign from a multi-million job only to take up another that pays nominally.

With the ministries of Finance, Foreign Affairs, and Interior not under the effective control of the new government, how well do we expect them to function? The answer to this question seems clear those in charge do not require the ministries to perform much function. All this government is required to do is to manage day-to-day running of affairs, circumnavigating the omnipresent threat of default, and ensuring the inflow of loans from IMF and the rest. Business as usual, nothing new for this country.

Why was this needed? The powerful of this country had birthed and nurtured a demigod in the shape of Imran Khan. For years, he was used to threatening the elected governments, to campaign for a dictatorial referendum and to churn out populist narratives in favour of factions of extremists harboured by the state. Imran Khan did well in the job he was trained for. The youth of this country fell in love with him as did the elderly. Like the Pied Piper of Hamelin, he was followed by the youth wherever he went and in whatever he did.

All that went fine until the day he was handed the reigns of the government. Quite expectedly, the bully atop the container failed to do well in the office. Not only did he fall short on governance, but he also angered those who had built him up and ended up getting ousted from power through a vote of no confidence. The powerful do not have another demigod. Nurturing a new one will take years, maybe decades.

The situation is of a theatre play whose main character has suddenly disappeared. The current arrangement is temporary like the gap-fillers between acts, to keep the audience seated, to keep them interested, and to avoid chaos until the showrunners find a replacement. The performers of this temporary act do not have high aims or ambitions and are content with just being on the stage and getting paid for it. Being on the stage is the pinnacle of their careers, they do not expect more.

They will do what they can with whatever little potential they have but behind the curtains, the actual showrunners are looking for a new demigod.

The writer is a veteran journalist based in Islamabad. He writes on social, political, economic, defence and strategic developments across the South Asian region. He can be reached through on zm.journalist@gmail.com