The horse-trading bit had Imran pretty agitated. He was willing to go to any length. A few jaws dropped, naturally, when he sided with N over the 22nd amendment. It’s not been too long, after all, since poor Nawaz could do nothing right if you asked kaptaan. But some hearts skipped some beats, especially in the PTI hierarchy, when the chairman picked up the cell and dialled Zardari sb’s number. Anything to stop horse-trading, right? Because anything for democracy, and naya Pakistan, and so on. But why did it sting some people so much, especially in the PPP? Why the fuss over ‘he called first’, ‘no, he called first’? Why not just appreciate a sincere gesture?
*****
Now the Horse and Cattle show is back, in case some Lahoris driving down the Mall a little late in the evening were wondering what the fireworks were about. The Sharifs prided themselves for bringing it back after more than a decade. And sure enough, we have them to thank for these spring festivities again. Sadly Nawaz couldn’t attend, though. So good Mamnoon had to play the lead. The prime minister had to rush to Riyadh instead. A ‘salaam sab’ to the Khadim-e-Haramain-Sharifain takes precedence, of course, over mundane issues like Horse and Cattle, or even Senate elections. No rocket since there, just plain Sharif understanding of priorities.
