Daily Times

The war of words between the government and the politicians from the opposition has gone on for the last many months. The political situation is more likened to a seesaw that children play to amuse themselves. Figuratively, on the national political scene, the same game is being played on a large scale by ambitious members who represent the public. The pivot of the seesaw is the fulcrum in the middle on which the plank is mounted.

The fulcrum that supports the seesaw is essentially neutral, so we are reminded. It has no intention to manipulate which side of the seesaw tilts because of the weight of its occupants who finally declare themselves the winners. Since the vote of no-confidence against the prime minister is in motion, he is fighting his last-ditch battle. In his address to the PTI audience on Rawalpindi parade ground, he came up with a novel idea. He held a piece of paper aloft, claiming it to be the proof of an international conspiracy against him. He construed that conspiracy to remove him amounted to conspiring against the state. Other than the conspiracy theory, the contents of the rest of his speech were no different than what we had been hearing during the years of his premiership.

Holding a press meeting, Federal Ministers Asad Umar and Fawad Chaudhry claimed that Nawaz Sharif was involved in the conspiracy hatched by the international establishment to stage a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Khan. Both leading lights of the PTI also considered it a conspiracy against the country. Fawad Chaudhry even claimed that Nawaz Sharif had been meeting with Israeli diplomats.

One hopes PTI diehards won’t attack the parliament if the PM lost the game of numbers, like the Trumpians.

The Government spokespersons’ accusation of involving Nawaz Sharif with the international establishment looked most preposterous. The incredulous statements reminded me of reading Guardian columnist Owen Jones book “The Establishment: And How They Get Away With It,” published in 2014. This establishment never acts as overtly as to produce a letter that PM Khan publicly presented as proof.

In fact, PM Khan emulated Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto who had hoisted a similar letter decades ago, claiming that the US conspired to remove him from power. Bhutto had gained much credibility on the international scene during his stint as foreign minister and later as prime minister of the country. Compared to Bhutto’s political acumen and understanding of diplomatic affairs, PM Khan seems a novice.

More importantly, ZAB had vociferously pronounced that “We’ll eat grass but build the bomb.” He had a laudable mission at hand. His quest for a nuclear bomb had its own perils. He was aware of the challenges he had to face to make Pakistan a nuclear power. Hatching a conspiracy to dissuade him from developing the nuclear project was understandable. But PM Khan has no such mission to his credit for a foreign power to conspire to remove him from office. In fact, even the CPEC considered a game-changer for our economy was put on the back burner during his premiership.

Now that many think PM Khan is fighting a losing battle, where is his great comrade of dharna days – the indomitable Prof Allama Tahirul Qadri? Had the PM shared the stage with Prof Qadri and allowed him to handle the letter issue, Allama’s performance would have been simply magical. He would have held the audience spellbound and turned the piece of paper into a thriller of great suspense. PM Khan lacks the Professor’s eloquence and élan. Some compared PM Khan to Donald Trump. One hopes PTI diehards won’t attack the parliament if the PM lost the game of numbers, as did the Trumpians by storming the Capitol building when he lost the presidency.

However, in this game of numbers, Punjab CM Usman Buzdar is the first casualty. No chief minister in our political history tendered his resignation as subserviently as Buzdar did. The PM had plucked Usman Buzdar from total obscurity to the utter surprise of not only the PTI’s top leaders but also the tribal community of Dist. Dera Ghazi Khan. PM’s decision to appoint him chief minister of the most populated province must have surprised the Sardar from village Barthi to no end. His face neither showed lines of deep thought nor anxiety throughout his stint as CM. Punjab will never have a gem of a CM like him again. We’ll miss him.

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