Politicians must stand by their word

Politicians must stand by their word




By Kamran Shafi

SEVERAL readers have sent me emails asking what I meant by the term ‘Shamelessness Quotient’ in an earlier article. Let me clarify. Just as there is an Intelligence Quotient (IQ) in every being, denoting his or her or its intelligence, there is a Shamelessness Quotient (SQ) too, denoting the degree of his or her or its shamelessness. More about which later.

Straight to the establishment now and to its new mantra, mouthed ever shrilly by its agents and many good people too. And that is that there are matters other than the restoration of the judiciary (that was dismissed by a chief of army staff after he suspended the constitution, mark) that need the politicians’ attention. An action, mark again, the man himself said was “illegal and unconstitutional”.

These agents and almost-agents among whose number the largest political party in the country, a political party that spans the federation and which is considered by many including myself a national asset might soon be counted, also pour scorn on the PML-N and particularly its leader Nawaz Sharif for its/his ‘stubbornness’ in insisting on the resolution of the judges’ issue before anything else.

While it is absolutely right that the country has been left in such an unholy mess by the Commando and Friends (Pvt.) Ltd., that there is much wrong with it which demands immediate attention, why is sticking to one’s word now a matter of denigration? Are we that changed because of repeated interventions by the army that we no longer have any sense of right and wrong, honour and dishonour?

Or are we to think that it is correct for politicians to say one thing and do entirely another? Are we to consider, then, that the shifting stand of the PPP is correct and beyond reproach? That Asif Zardari was right when he said that the PPP had merely signed a political statement in the Bhurban Accord, not written Ahadees? And that Nawaz Sharif was wrong in standing by his word?

Why cannot those who criticise the politicians that stand by their promise to see to it that the judiciary is restored to its Nov 2, 2007, position, appreciate the fact that the real problem is the almost decade-long dictatorship that has to be got rid of in very many more ways than one? And that the real culprit in this whole drama is the Commando and his foreign masters aided and abetted by certain politicians and wannabe politicians, led ably by those that today lead the People’s Party’s leadership by the nose?

But what a tamasha has been made of our country, seen on YouTube too, that an official as high as the chairman of the Federal Bureau of Revenue, a former federal secretary, should be dancing nautch-girl style for his boss, the Commando, and an assemblage of upwards of 100 people including the Private Banker with the smarmy smile.

Whilst I agree absolutely with those who hold that people can do as they please in their private time and that it is not right to show their acts to the public, I have to say that when you are partying at government expense, it can’t be a private matter.

Which brings me to ask, when the agony of this country will end? What a sigh of relief many heaved last week when rumours of the president’s imminent departure were heard — it was as if a huge weight had been lifted off one’s shoulders.

Yet here we are still saddled with him, with the quite sorry-looking George Dubya Bush phoning his tight buddy and assuring him of his undying love and support. While Dubya himself is embattled and disgraced like never before as all of his lies and half-truths are caught out, the latest knife in his side coming from none other than his own former press secretary, he still has the gall to telephone the Commando and interfere so blatantly in Pakistan’s internal affairs.

We talked about the Shamelessness Quotient (SQ) earlier on, and while I had remarked some weeks ago that the Commando’s seemed higher than we thought, I have to say now that it must be very high indeed. The people of Pakistan want him out and yet he clings to his illegally attained (as admitted by himself) office.

More than which, he is now seen as more of a Bush stooge than ever before.Bushism of the week: “You know, when you give a man more money in his pocket — in this case, a woman more money in her pocket to expand a business, it — they build new buildings. And when somebody builds a new building somebody has got to come and build the building. And when the building expanded it prevented additional opportunities for people to work.” — President George W Bush; Lancaster, Pa., Oct. 3, 2007.

kshafi1@yahoo.co.uk