Daily Times

What can one say of the times when an army boot is brandished in a live TV talk show and the holy book is brought in the parliament to prove one’s innocence? It is increasingly becoming difficult for ideological politicians to stay clean while remaining in the murky waters of present day politics. It was an all-time low for Federal Minister for Water Resources Faisal Vawda, a familiar face in the corridors of controversies, to bring a boot on TV only to outwit the two other panelists from the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N). The talk show lacked substance as the minister started criticising PPP and PML-N for voting for the Army Act. Instead of being grateful to the opposition for supporting a government-sponsored Act, the minister tried to paint the scenario as an outcome of either army’s role in legislation or opposition parties’ alleged backdoor love affair with the government. In either case, the stunt only damaged the army’s reputation as well as the minister himself. The anchor also exposed himself in the episode for giving lose deliveries to the minister, saving the tough ones for opposition representatives. Politicians should think thrice before going to programmes where they see an anchor as a panelist and not a moderator. In the boot show, both PPP and PML-N representatives left, which was a sane move. PTI should also think about its choice of representatives, who while defending the party, inflict damage to its image. This is not the first time the minister has turned himself into a laughing stock. He made headlines when he showed his grotesque desire to execute 5,000 people to make Pakistan corruption free. Once he appeared at a terror strike scene boasting a shotgun.

On the other side, in parliament, lawmakers have started bringing the Holy Quran to prove their point. This new normal was started by PML-N’s Rana Sanaullah who spoke under oath in the assembly that the drug case against him was fabricated and he had nothing to do with narcotics. He also provoked Minister of State for Narcotics Control Shehryar Afridi to prove his innocence by taking an oath on the holy book. The minister, who uses religious references frequently in his speeches and media talks, subsequently placed the Holy Quran in his hands to prove that neither he nor Prime Minister Imran Khan was behind the drug case against Sanaullah. Hopefully, next time the speaker will not let such things happen since it is assumed that lawmakers always speak the truth, at least in the house. *