More where this all came from
The prime minister is a mild-mannered sort. He’s usually the good cop in any scuffle, a role he has played well since 2008. He is a bit of a pacifist when it comes to politics and has been more likely to heal rather than offend himself.
That all has been thrown out the window.
The gloves are off and the barbs are flying not just from him but also from the highest tier on the other side as well. Not one for the Punjabi barrhak, the premier is usually more at home with Seraiki cordiality. Perhaps it is this reason why, in the spat being played out on the airwaves and on the floor of the house, he seems a bit awkward and clunky. But the novelty factor alone does the trick. He has stepped up his game.
On the other side, the Sharifs, and their leader of the opposition in the national assembly, Chaudhry Nisar, are not letting go. The premier does make an easy target, with allegations of corruption dogging not just him but his whole family. Though, the current imbroglio and the PM’s compromised position are not because of the Hajj scandal of one son or the Ephedrine scandal of the other; it is because of the contempt case.
In the tiring, perhaps puerile exchange of words, the elder Sharif warned of a long march to Islamabad. To which the PM’s reply was that the Sharifs can’t even hold a short march. Yes, the fare one can expect from neighbourhood kids fighting over the cricket scores of their tape-ball matches. The fine art of the squelch needs more skilled practitioners.
Meanwhile, the lawyers are all coming out of the woodworks and all of them have opinions. Split along two camps, predictably, there are those baying for clear deseating, what to speak of the office of the prime minister, and those arguing for the fact that due process is through the Speaker of the National Assembly and the Election Commission of Pakistan.
Expect to see the fireworks heat up in the coming days. If there ever was a bad time for low politics, with our relations with the US having reached a pivotal stage and the consolidation of militants in the country, as evidenced by the daring and, much worse, effortless, jailbreak in Bannu.
