Sir: It is raining ‘condemnations’ after Nawaz’s statement on the Mumbai attacks, but it is of no use as the damage has already been done. No funny business this time. This was neither a slip of tongue nor pen. Unsurprisingly, Indian media and its pundits mean business. Why not? That such a statement was made by a three time Prime Minister of Pakistan is a dream come true for India’s Modi regime. Needless to say, Pakistan’s narrative on the Mumbai attacks has been deeply damaged. The implications of Nawaz’s take could be more far-reaching than many of us may assume. For a moment let’s leave speculations aside and ask ourselves why he made this statement. What has pushed him to touch the establishment’s ‘red line’? The answer is he is tired. He has tried and tested it all but people are not buying his story about all the cases against him being nothing but a worked-out conspiracy to throw him out of the political ring. Lack of public response has thwarted his hopes of being awarded a clean chit from those who are, according to him, the conspirators. Thus he has stopped relying on his fellow countrymen, and began to woo foreign powers. Taking a quick glance at his political career, Nawaz has worked with five army chiefs in total and his relation with all of them was without positive chemistry. “Civil-military” tensions have made headlines in all of his tenures. This explains that Nawaz can’t stand the thought of power-sharing. He always yearns for absolute authority. This is the first time since the beginning of his politics that he has to face the music of genuine accountability and this is how he wants to get away, by blackmailing the state. This is the last thing one would expect from a man who has been chief executive of the country not once, not twice but thrice. VASDEV Tharparker Published in Daily Times, May 17th 2018.