Amir Mateen

ISLAMABAD: It was perhaps the most lackluster Presidential address to the Parliament ever–a constitutional obligation that everybody wanted to get over with as quickly as possible.

It took hardly 25 minutes for the whole ceremony to wrap up. No fireworks, tearing of papers, filibustering or constant banging of desks in protest. Actually, it was quite boring for those who had seen the late President Ghulam Ishaq Khan constantly being heckled “go-baba-go” amidst thunderous protest.

Farooq Leghari, Pervez Musharraf and Asif Zardari—all of them had to sweat their way out of Presidential addresses in the past. In contrast, it was a non-event this time around. A deadwood President Asif Zardari was perhaps not worth so much pain. Benazir was so right: democracy is the best revenge.

There was no aura of grandeur that was usually attached to this annual parliamentary ritual. Visitors’ Galleries were partially vacant. Many Parliamentarians did not care to turn up. Even PPP’s Parliamentary Party leader Makhdoom Amin Fahim was found missing. The President was given a half-hearted welcome, even by his own party members.

The whole spectacle reeked of irony. Here was the most powerful man in Pakistan, Asif Zardari, who may have seen his pinnacle and the only way from here seemed, well, down. How down—only time will tell. But it was obvious that he had fallen from grace. He did not have his customary grin or even that mischievous crackle in his voice.

It was such a sham listening to Asif mentioning about the plight of the missing persons in Balochistan. The whole episode took place while he and his party were in power and yet he had the audacity to talk about it. In fact, all his talk about the alleviation of poverty and protecting Pakistan’s sovereignty was so hollow.

The speech was more a defense of the PPP government than the annual Presidential appraisal of the government. Asif Zardari may have been right about the PPP contribution in passing the 18th Amendment, the NFC and the provincial autonomy. However, all of this got blown away by the tales of bad governance and corruption. No wonder he particularly mentioned about “fair” accountability. And for that, we are told, he proposes his sister, Dr Azra Pechio as the Chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee.

The other sister, in the same vein, could be appointed as the next chairperson NAB–even if the AGP has ordered inquiry into the audio tapes allegedly linking her to a major scam.

He also had the cheek to mention the ‘contribution’ of his two “able” Prime Ministers. For sure, the courts are keeping us much informed about their able contributions soon.

It was obvious that Asif Zardari still lived in fantasy land where, come September, he would retrieve the PPP support by leading from the front. The assumption is that the PPP lost the elections just because Asif Zardari could not lead it. Once free, Asif Zardari believes he will energize the party to its past glory.

The story misses the old and new cases that may open-up the day he loses his Presidential immunity. His coterie of friends also faces similar fate, if not worse, if the stories about the upcoming petroleum scam are half as true as they sound.

The armed forces chiefs, including General Ashfaq Kayani, must have been relieved to see, for a change, a smooth Presidential address. But then they looked bored. A colleague suspected that the Air Chief actually yawned in the middle of the speech. The Chiefs would have been more attentive had the President retained the infamous Article 58 2/B, which, among other things, gives him the power to appoint and remove armed forces chiefs.

The person who holds that power now, Nawaz Sharif, sat poker-faced in the front rows. It was difficult to say what he was thinking and who might be his next choice. All we can say is that the speculation about the next chief is prematurely doing the rounds.

Diplomats may have missed the drama of yester years. There was no meat in the speech. It was the usual rhetoric about the relations with China being higher than the Himalayas and the need-for-better-relations-with-India-Saudi Arabia speech. Those who expected to find some indication of the ongoing tension with the US over drones were obviously disappointed.

We are told the summoning of the US Ambassador to the Foreign office on the issue of drones did not go well. Ambassador Hoagland and our newly appointed advisor on foreign affairs, Tariq Fatmi did not start off on a good note. We can’t say whether Fatmi lived up to his reputation of throwing tantrums or, may be, the yanks are not accustomed to such demarches in the slavish Islamabad.

The air of gloom was confined not just to the PPP camp. Most Parliamentarians are found with longer faces. It’s hard to say whether this is because of the hot weather, the election fatigue or the enormity of responsibilities. The PML-N cabinet is far from celebratory mood. Even the otherwise jumpy Shahbaz Sharif, sitting in the galleries, seemed sober and reflective for a change.

The most serious of them all is Nawaz Sharif. Gone is that perpetual smile on his face or those Lahori ‘japhian-pappian.’ It makes sense as he is daily briefed that the energy crisis will not resolve in the time the party had promised in the manifesto or that the bullet trains and the motorways and metro buses will take a while.

He hopes that he is rescued by the courts by ordering the government to proceed against General Pervez Musharraf under Article 6 for treason. The newly appointed Attorney General, Munir Malik, should be handy for such assistance.

Funnily, the PTI is even more disturbed. The party seems rudderless without Kaptan. Javed Hashmi fails to lead and Shah Mahmood seems desperate elbowing his way out to fill the vacuum.

The real PTI worry is that its three-month deadline of laying down its basic plan is running short of time. With the coalition partners looking unreliable, Naya Pakistan seems stuck in old problems. It definitely needs a reverse swing from Kaptan.

The News

June 11, 2013