Daily Times

Jim Carey and Jeff Daniels played the title roles of two demented friends in the 1994 Hollywood comedy hit, Dumb and Dumber. The two simpletons land themselves in a lot of trouble by indulging in honest bloopers. It sure seems like someone in Pakistan government was inspired by the aforementioned duo so much that they decided to create a blooper of their own at this critical time. It has opened a new page in our history, and trust me, it is one page that no one wants to be on, at all.

A meeting took place in the power corridor of Islamabad where a few including the respected prime minister; his younger brother, the chief minister of Punjab; the respected interior minister and a few others from the federal cabinet and security agencies were present. What was exchanged between the civil and security leadership is common knowledge. The leak happened from within, through a journalist of the largest and most respected English newspaper of Pakistan, Dawn, founded by Mr Jinnah himself.

As soon as this report appeared in the newspaper, social media went into overdrive with all kinds of reactions. I do follow the journalist in question on Twitter, and saw the ‘patriotic’ lot go after him with full vengeance, accusing him of so much nonsense that it is not even worth a mention. The naïve comments cracked me up. The neighbours and media around the world ran with this as it was the flavour of the day, so to speak.

Despite the strong reaction from the government or the others that were part of the meeting, nothing in the much-touted leak was earth shattering or truly a shocker. People who read reputable newspapers and publications of the world and social media would agree that nothing in that leak was unbelievable or incomprehensible. Anyone with average intelligence can easily deduce that chances are that someone from the civilians present in the room was behind the leak. The government in its infinite wisdom immediately denied the validity of any such incident. In a typical knee jerk reaction, they decided to put the name of the reporter on the exit control list (ECL). This created a flurry of tweets on social media, and people strongly objected to such a move.

When these lines are written, the journalist’s name has not been officially removed from the ECL. The publication and its editor clearly backed and categorically defended the story, its contents and their journalist. The journalist expressed his dismay over the restriction placed on his movements, which became the topic of discussion for the nightly ring masters. The denial and the subsequent explanations from the government have heightened the tensions between the two pillars.

The honourable interior minister has tried to clarify the position of his sensitive ministry. None of his explanations are making sense to the fairly informed media, and he is getting the usual reaction. One of the young TV anchors, famous for his nonstop 100-miles-a-minute commentary, has quoted from his sources the mood on the security side too. Their concern is clearly the source of the leak and not the messenger. This in essence rubbishes the denials that came from the government. The list of the attendees is fairly short, and out of those who deliberately shared the scoop with the journalist is the question begging a straight answer.

In every profession, there are certain rules and codes of conduct. In my profession, I am bound to protect the privacy of a client, so much so that I cannot personally acknowledge within close friends if one of them is my client. Similarly, a journalist has to protect his or her source, no matter what. Why would this new scoop be deliberately introduced at such a time poses a question in itself. The timing and its aftermath are not favourable towards the prime minister and his government.

A famous Senator from the Pakistan People’s Party had once said: “This government is its own worst enemy.” Perhaps you can understand my analogy of the Hollywood blockbuster a bit better now. The angry Khan of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has threatened to bring the capital to a lockdown with his dharna (sit in) 2.0 come October 30. When you view this latest folly in that context, you have to agree with the aforementioned Senator.

To the contrary, if it is supposed to be a slick move meant to signal to the rest of the world the limitations of the civilian dispensation, it is still a dumb one, at least in my limited knowledge. Repeating again, you are not telling anyone anything that they have not heard or read before. Grow up or if you are so constrained with these overly intrusive limitations, tender your resignation and walk away with dignity. To the pillar of security with utmost respect, when you seek a role in political dispensation with sincerity, please have the ability to endure some criticism as well. This comes automatically with this checkered territory.

The writer is a Pakistani-US mortgage banker. He can be reached at dasghar@aol.com. He tweets at http://twitter.com/dasghar