The PML-N brains trust

Not really inspiring, indeed

“Round up the usual suspects” was the refrain from Captain Renault in the culminating scene of the 1940s classic movie Casablanca. The post election attitude and performance of the PML-N brain trust leaves an oddly familiar taste in the mouth, sort of like leftovers from a banquet warmed over three times.

We have seen these same faces for decades, their smug arrogance when they ruled and their belligerence when out of power. We heard them ad nauseum, on the television talk shows, their “tau tau mein mein” giving no hint of any real intellectual acuity. And these are the people who are going to drag Pakistan out of the mire and turn it into a thriving modern state. Please, please, give us a break. A wise person once stated: “Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.” Well, most of the time these people discussed people, some of the time events. Ideas were startlingly absent.

So where do we now stand? All the pre-election rhetoric of wiping out load-shedding in months is gone. Even though the circular debt has been mysteriously repaid in one fell swoop, load-shedding continues. Security has suddenly become a provincial matter after five years of deriding Rehman Malik. The bullet trains are to be started by a professional politician minister who wouldn’t know a bullet train if it stared him in the face. The only PML-N leader who forgoes rhetoric and mudslinging and speaks with a creative mindset is the elder statesman, Sartaj Aziz. He has been retained by Nawaz Sharif as his advisor on foreign affairs and defence. By background, an agriculture economist, Sartaj commands worldwide respect and is close to the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Much of the government’s planning will come through the sharp, incisive intellect of Mr Aziz for the simple reason that there is no one else. It might be that Sartaj might be found to be irreplaceable as advisor to the PM and yet again miss out on his quest for the president’s office. That would indeed be a shame. The last time PML-N came into power, he had been replaced at the last moment by Rafiq Tarar.

The command structure of the PML-N might be a cause for concern. The party is basically a family run affair with all the key posts taken up by kith and kin. The PM and CM Punjab are brothers. The finance minister a close relative by marriage. The party positions are also dominated by relatives. So, when Mr Sharif holds forth on the evils of nepotism, it is clear that it does not include his own family.

What may be the weak link in the Nawaz Sharif government could be the decision-making process. One very senior columnist who for a stretch was a party insider has commented on the culture of total subservience, with the stress on extreme loyalty to the top leadership. In other words, anyone questioning the views of the boss will be looked down upon as disloyal and worthy of disciplinary action. This lack of communication and discourse can be a recipe for disaster and there are plenty of examples of harebrained schemes that have sailed through the system without a dissenting voice. The few who did express their opinion quickly knew that it was either their way or the highway. Sadly, many otherwise credible people had to compromise on their principles.

So who are these people who will be responsible for bringing about this revolution. We have Ch Nisar, the minister for Interior. He will be in charge of bringing about peace in the terror-ravaged country. It remains to be seen whether he will adopt Rehman Malik’s style or will he continue with his reticent manner of doing business. Nisar has no obvious credentials or training in this field, unlike his predecessor and the best that he can hope for is to run a tight ship and hope for the best. Ishaq Dar is a chartered accountant and is expected to revamp the economy. There is a world of difference between doing a company’s books and running a country’s finances. He will need all the luck he can get. Ahsan Iqbal, who heads planning and development, talks smart but his job too is cut out for him. Khawaja Asif is the Petroleum and Natural resources man. He has made an unprecedented climb down from claiming to reduce load-shedding in six months prior to elections to hoping for improvement in a few years after assuming office. An ex-officer in the controversial BCCI, his experience at middle level banking is not going to stand him in any stead at all in this highly technical field. It remains to be seen whether the suave minister will learn to distinguish between voltage and amperage. The list goes on and on. The information minister, who did not exactly distinguish himself over the past five years, will have his hands full handling the rampaging opposition leaders who will highlight every broken election promise.

Perhaps it is the fact that these people are tried and tested in the past and found wanting, that creates such a feeling of despondency.

Nawaz Sharif will also have to deal with the other pillars of state, the judiciary and the defence forces. The judges have been seen to be quite supportive of the Sharifs but when you let a lion out of his cage, there is no guarantee that he will not turn around and make a meal of you. The army is still smarting with what they perceive as a letdown in the Kargil operations. Many officers, now retired, privately insist that the PM was properly briefed about the operation and that a unique opportunity to gain a decisive edge was lost. They say that this area was Pakistan’s prior to 1971 and if India could move into Siachen why could Pakistan not return the favour? The army will also be keeping a close watch on the government’s overtures to our Eastern neighbour.

In the run up to the elections, Nawaz Sharif had been categorical about stopping the drone attacks. The first attack on his watch resulted in the US Charge D’Affairs being summoned to the foreign office and a protest lodged. Unfortunately, that might simply not be enough. If Nawaz, egged on by an aggressive opposition, decides on taking the extreme step of shooting down a drone, then this could open a serious can of worms. There could be a tit for tat response on one of our air force fighters and then things could really escalate. Such decisions should be taken only after consultation with the defence forces.

Besides, the drones are not causing much collateral damage. They are trying to hit people when they are in cars and traveling rather than to hit houses. It is because of the drones and their ability to pick off Al Qaeda and Taliban leaders that the Al Qaeda operations have increasingly been moved to Yemen, Mali and North Africa. It seems that the Americans have decided that they are better off withdrawing their troops and fighting Al Qaeda/Taliban with the drones. The billion dollar question is whether they will vacate the Bagram and Kandahar air bases.