And the Khan’s divorce
Chinese President Xi Jinxing was treated like royalty when he arrived in Britain for a four-day state visit. I happened to be in London and witnessed the pomp and show perhaps reserved only for monarchs of yesteryears.
Xi was treated to an overdose of pomp, including a carriage procession, a 103-gun salute, a state banquet and the honour to address the House of Commons. The Chinese leader happened to be the house guest of the Queen at the Palace. What a singular honour and vindication of Beijing’s growing economic clout and burgeoning military might.
David Cameron hailed the visit as “a golden era” in China–UK relations. Why wouldn’t he have? It’s all for the sake of money in the end analysis. According to media reports, trade deals worth more than 30b pounds and some 3,900 jobs have been created as a result of the high profile visit.
I was intrigued, albeit not surprised, by the alacrity with which western powers butter their toast. The same David Cameron annoyed Beijing as recently as 2012 by meeting the Dalai Lama. Now both the queen and prince Charles were at the beck and call of the Chinese president.
Back home, we in the media are in the habit of castigating our governments for ostensibly running failed foreign and security policies. And, of course, many a times we are mostly right. But we are also reluctant to give credit even where it is due.
David Cameron hailed the visit as “a golden era” in China–UK relations. Why wouldn’t he have? It’s all for the sake of money in the end analysis
Pakistan’s China policy is spot on and both the Sharifs – Nawaz and Shehbaz — deserve credit for it. Similarly, former President Asif Ali Zardari aggressively pursued Pakistan’s China policy. In fact the cynics criticised him for visiting Beijing too often, implying deals on the side were being cut. In fact Zardari correctly sensed China’s increasing clout.
Thankfully, unlike India or relations with the USA, Pakistan’s China policy has been enthusiastically supported by the military. In this sense Pakistan is way ahead of its Asian neighbours in pursuing close economic and strategic relations with the People’s Republic.
Islamabad is the pivot of China’s road and maritime Silk Route. The China-Pakistan economic corridor (CPEC) is a culmination of that policy.
Good things are happening on other fronts too. Take the case of Zarb-e-Azb. Finally Islamabad has a handle on its existential war against terrorism.
Even on this count after initial dithering the civilian and military leadership is on the same page. Analysts are loath to give credit to the PML-N for overseeing and creating a better security environment.
True, without the military establishment’s change of heart, the war against terrorism would not have been possible. After all, during the six-year stewardship of General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, the army was reluctant to fight the TTP and take the war on terror to its logical conclusion on one pretext or the other.
It was under General Raheel Sharif as COAS that the military finally shed its inhibitions about ‘the good and the bad Taliban’ and also decided to rid Karachi of criminals and terrorists.
Sharif is being castigated for kowtowing to the military. But he deserves the credit for creating an enabling environment.
Actually, without formation of apex committees at the federal and provincial levels a seamless partnership between the civilian setup and the military would not have been possible. Combating terrorism in a meaningful way would have proved far more difficult without such an arrangement in place.
Of course there is a trade-off when nations face existential threats. Human rights activists are worried about the expanding footprint of the military in civilian affairs and restrictions on civil liberties in the name of nabbing terrorists. Rightly so. But extraordinary situations demand extraordinary measures.
Being once bitten twice shy, Pakistanis cannot simply ignore past history of numerous coup de tats and prolonged military rules. Thankfully, the military under its present leadership seems to be well aware of the pitfalls of overtly ruling the country. It knows that governing is not its cup of tea.
Unfortunately, it is again the politicians that are running the country aground. Imran Kahn, despite numerous setbacks, is still badly stuck in the ‘dhandli’ groove. Corruption and rigging have become a broken record that he is fond of playing in his not too infrequent media interactions.
Recalcitrance is good politics only if it is measured. Unfettered opposition without positivity or policy alternatives is a recipe for disaster. Unfortunately, the country is inexorably moving towards the politics of the zero sum confrontation of the nineties.
Of course there is a trade-off when nations face existential threats. Human rights activists are worried about the expanding footprint of the military in civilian affairs and restrictions on civil liberties in the name of nabbing terrorists
Hopefully better sense will prevail before it is too late. With the PPP licking its wounds after its abysmal defeat in the 2013 elections and being consistently at the wrong end of the ubiquitous establishment, the onus is primarily on Sharif and the Khan to salvage the system.
In less than a year after his marriage with the former BBC weather girl Imran Khan needs to do a lot of introspection at a personal and political level. His marriage was so much on the rocks that he had no recourse but to divorce his new wife just a day before local bodies elections in Punjab.
In choosing his second wife and his present style of politics Imran Khan has shown poor judgment. He should spend a few days away from the humdrum of political durbaris and reinvent himself both politically and personally.
It is no mean feat that in less than three years he has singlehandedly built the edifice of the second biggest political machine in the country. Taking a cue not from cricket but hockey: the ball is in the D, but in order to score a goal the PTI chief needs something more than the third umpire. Cerebral thinking.
I was credited with breaking the story of Khan’s marriage to Reham last year before it happened. Unfortunately I also earned the discredit of revealing in this paper and on my TV program DNA that the marriage was over.
After this, I vowed not to delve more on the Khan’s personal travails despite having a blow-by-blow account. Blow-by-blow literally, as Reham is an aggressive woman and unlike a lot of men she is known to be a husband basher.
Hopefully, the PTI chief will move on in life and figure out reasons for the lapse of judgment on his part? Why was he unable to cross check the past of the former weather girl that post marriage he had to rely upon intelligence reports about her real intentions?
He should also run a background check on some of his political associates. He might end up finding a few Trojan horses.