From the foul-mouthed antics of a talking head of one party, let us now move on to another of the same breed but from another party. But somehow – and I can’t put my finger on the why — his case is a little worse. Danial Aziz.
First, a primer on the fellow: though the PTI would like to tell you otherwise, Danial Aziz is exactly the kind of person the party would love to have had on board.
A seemingly smart, presentable, former Musharraf man. Certainly does fit the PTI type. But it is his stint as the chief of the National Reconstruction Bureau that would have been the trump card for the PTI. For a party that has a bit of a complex about not having solid experience, comes a man who has a claim to be the architect of the Police Order, ’02, and the Local Government Ordinance, ’01.
But, things are what they are. The guy did the math and joined the PML-N. Therefore, he is (as all other politicians are) evil incarnate in the eyes of the PTI.
And on his part, he is also taking the bull by the horns. He is by now the most outspoken anti-PTI Leaguer, leaving Information Minister Pervez Rashid and former top rabble-rouser Talal Chaudhry far behind. In this vein, he has also come across as an uncouth and, at times, downright vile man. His extremely poor choice of slurs during the NA-122 by-polls, where he said a PTI campaigner looked like a chemotherapy patient, was something that even the most staunch of League supporters would have detested. Though he did apologise for it, later. Online readers can click on this link and skip to 10:58.
Aleem Khan is a man that even a lot of PTI supporters themselves dislike. But his being a cancer survivor is just about the only truly admirable thing about the fellow. Chemotherapy and radiation suck the life out of patients. In those tough times, the mere thought of other individuals having been through this hell and back is more heartening than any medication. Danial Aziz, in his infinite judgment, chose to make fun of a strength.
But it was his appearance on Geo’s Capital Talk that was something to be watched. Since about a week, old videos of his were doing the rounds on social media, where he is seen trashing the PML-N. It was only inevitable that someone would bring it up on TV. Therefore, we assumed that he would already have an answer prepared for such an eventuality.
Well, Hamid Mir turned out to be the one who played those clips. To his face. Aziz’s response: “I never talked about the PML-N.” Which was, of course, a farce of an answer. He might as well have said that this wasn’t him, but an actor pretending to be him.
Hamid Mir, however, did not let things go. When Danial shot a you’re-taking-things-out-of-context to him, the anchor played the clips again. Mir was out for blood.
Danial’s turtle-on-his-back convulsions were almost uncomfortable to watch. If, instead of the PTI’s Muhammad Ali, a more experienced politician had been sitting next to him, he would have completely destroyed the fellow.
*****
Opponents say Danial Aziz wants a ministry and is, therefore, more loyal than the king these days. Well, there is nothing wrong with wanting a ministry; politics is the pursuit of power, after all. But if being insufferably boorish almost all the time is the way you’re going to try to get a portfolio, you’re better off without it.
Fellow reporters speak of Danial Aziz’s rude behaviour during press conferences in Islamabad, where he calls out honest-to-God questions as planted questions by “PTI agents”.
For the love of God, man. Grow up.