After wavering for what seemed like ages, and only forced by a set of circumstances well beyond his control, the prime minister on Wednesday finally sacked his bloated cabinet. Even here the prime minister was found coy in doing the needful in a straightforward manner, and to maintain appearances instead of getting fired the honourable ministers were shown the exit through en masse resignations.
Though none other than the outgoing ministers is going to shed a tear on the demise of not just the most oversized but also probably the most incompetent and corrupt of cabinets that this country has had the misfortune to suffer, the prime minister indeed was heart-stricken. Or so he said in his rather sentimental farewell to his ministers.
Not ruffling any feathers was apparently still of the essence in the belated exercise and the first among equals also somewhat surprisingly claimed a large degree of success in their endeavours over the past three years.
Had the times been happier and calmer, this crew of political opportunists would have gone on to make merry at taxpayers expense without even getting close to making a coherent effort to sort the mammoth issues confronting us. Instead each of them would have continued to contribute nonchalantly in exacerbating the situation to the point of no return. The economy and the energy crisis, the crippling circular debt, the lack of investment and the myriad socio-political issues would have remained unaddressed, as they were in the first three years of this PPP government.
It may have some saving graces, but these had little short-term impact. The too few and far between achievements of this tottering government, other than its obsession of hanging on to power (that too not without considerable help from the PML(N) and its supremo Nawaz Sharif), were the two amendments that bring some measure of equilibrium and stability to our much mangled constitution and resolving the contentious NFC Award issue with the consent of all stakeholders.
It is a tribute to the patient and painstaking efforts of Raza Rabbani at the committee level, where differences were ironed out amongst the parties that seldom agree on anything, that the consensus achieved meant that the two amendments sailed through the houses of parliament. And in fact Shaukat Tarin was the key person in hammering together the NFC Award deal, the straight talking finance minister who didnt last long confronting such formidable lobbies that backed the dubious RPP deals.
One thing is certain now. The incoming cabinet will be far smaller in size than the outgoing one. Whether it would have a more proficient, more focused and well rounded outlook remains a point of conjecture. Some of the loyalists from the last cabinet are likely to be retained, and of the new incumbents Raza Rabbani looks like a certainty.
Incompetence and patronage were not just the bane of our outgoing cabinet. Almost all our institutions suffer from them. At the core, the problem emanates from all the plum positions going to inept cronies of the high and mighty. Just look at PIA, once the proud flag carrier, Pakistans only multinational worth the name. Its advertising slogan said it all, Great people to fly with, and no one, not even its rivals, disputed the claim.
What a most sorry pass it has come to, and only because since 1985 when Air Marshal Nur Khan left, it has hardly ever had a competent hand in its corporate cockpit. Insolvent and near grounding, its unpaid bills have piled up to a whopping Rs 80 billion. The violent strike against the capricious skipper of the airline, Captain Ijaz Haroon, looks like the proverbial last straw. And the clueless captain is said to be untouchable, without even the least fear of accountability, because, surprise, surprise, he is said to be close to someone occupying a lofty position.
Similar is the case with Ijaz Butt, the monarch of our cricket for the last three years. And what triumphs have come in his rather eventful reign!
Prior to this more recent disgrace, in which our trio of cricketers were banned after their involvement in a spot-fixing sting was established by the ICC tribunal, Pakistan already stood in splendid isolation.
That the ICC took matters in its own hand after Butt had casually insisted on business as usual after the most damaging fixing incident since Hansie Cronjes in 2001 broke out at the fag end of last summer in England, may turn out to be a blessing in disguise. This may be a serious and painful blow to our cricketing sovereignty. But with the Butt dispensation singularly devoid of the ability to sort our affairs out with any modicum of propriety, this was the writing on the wall for quite some time. The other option, obviously far less palatable, was banishment from the cricketing fraternity.
It would take more than the ICC tribunals sentencing of our errant trio though it sends a clear message to their peers and successors, another of our failures when a legion of crooks held our cricket hostage from the post-Imran years to date to clean our crickets Augean stables, but a beginning has been made. The appointment of Subhan Ahmed, a clean-cut competent man who has risen from the ranks, as PCB COO may have been made with the intention of mending of fences with the ICC and other Boards as well as international bureaucracy. Or it may indeed have been forced down Butts throat by the ICC. Even though Butts hand at the helm remains firm, it is some movement towards fixing the corporate side of our cricket.
And if our now well-rounded team dazzled the way it has shown it can, despite the tender attentions of Ijaz Butt, Pakistan cricket may yet have some positive surprises on the field in store for us.
The writer is Sports and Magazines Editor, Pakistan Today.
