It’s not just Kh Asif
Kh Asif has never been known for his subtlety, to say the least. One would take
him for a straight, no nonsense, talker – as he puts it himself – but for his habit of
backing out of his tough talk on a very regular basis. Remember how he used to
thump his chest and swing his fists when the government though it had Gen
Musharraf cornered? And so long as momentum was on their side, he used to
rubbish the military regularly on prime time TV. But he never explained why the
bravado suddenly evaporated when the brass finally put its foot down.
The verbal slugfest with Shireen Mazari the other day, though in a very different
context, followed a vaguely similar path. He didn’t mind giving the PTI lady a piece
of his mind. But when pressure mounted he also didn’t mind tendering a written
apology to the speaker. He still wouldn’t apologise to Mazari personally, but let’s
see what becomes of the matter if pressure mounts. Even non-PTI legislators have
found Kh Asif’s antics in very bad taste. It’s one thing dirtying the political scene
with one’s insensitive remarks, but it’s quite another to bring this manner of
sexism into the House.
Of course such habits are not restricted to Kh Asif. Sh Rashid was visibly upset
with Asif, but surely he wouldn’t have forgotten his own smear on Bilawal Bhutto
not too long ago. Some years ago Sheikh sb used the same wit on Bilawal’s
mother, with immediate consequences on one occasion. With time, as these
politicians matured and fought constantly for ‘democracy’, one hoped they would
have learnt to respect the House, if not their political opponents as well. Such
hopes, obviously, were overblown.
