Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

• As prime minister Nawaz Sharif misgoverned and misruled

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (is a 2000 martial arts film, conceived and directed by Ang Lee. It features an international cast of Chinese actors, including Chow Yun-fat, Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi and Chang Chen. The film is based on a novel of the same name that is part of the Crane Iron Pentalogy, a martial arts series by Wang Dulu.

The film is set in 18th century Qing Dynasty China. Li Mu Bai (Chow Yun-fat) is an accomplished Wudang swordsman and Yu Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh) heads a private security company. Yu Shu Lien and Li Mu Bai have feelings for each other, but because Shu Lien had been engaged to Mu Bai’s closest friend, Meng Sizhao, before his death, Shu Lien and Mu Bai feel bound by loyalty to Meng Sizhao and have not acted on their feelings for one another. Mu Bai, after choosing to retire, asks Shu Lien to give his sword “Green Destiny” to their benefactor Sir Te (Sihung Lung) in Beijing. Long ago, Mu Bai’s master was murdered by Jade Fox (Cheng Pei-pei), a woman who sought to learn Wudang skills. While at Sir Te’s place, Shu Lien makes the acquaintance of Jen Yu (Zhang Ziyi), who is the daughter of a rich and powerful Governor Yu and is about to get married.

The film has won over 40 awards. It was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, including Best picture, and won best foreign language film (Taiwan), best art direction, best original score and best cinematography. The film also won four BAFTAs and two Golden Globe Awards, one for best foreign film. Along with its awards success, Crouching Tigercontinues to be hailed as one of the greatest and most influential martial arts films. The film has been praised for its story, direction, and cinematography, and for its martial arts sequences.

Somehow, the return of Mian Nawaz Sharif to Pakistan reminded me of the movieCrouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Tiger is the symbol of his political party. Some of his supporters are claiming that Nawaz Sharif has displayed courage by returning to Pakistan. The fact is that in 2000, Nawaz Sharif had chosen to beat a hasty retreat to Saudi Arabia to escape incarceration. He had been sentenced to twenty years in prison on charges of hijacking a PIA flight bearing General Pervez Musharraf and sacking him while he was in midair and trying to furtively replace him with a general of his choice. Nawaz Sharif had been unhappy because of the pressure mounted on Pakistan because of the Kargil misadventure, which he claims that he had no prior knowledge of. The truth is that Nawaz Sharif had been briefed about it but he failed to comprehend the gravity of it. Nawaz is known for his lack of concentration during formal briefings. He had even implicitly approved the operation but now pretends ignorance. If he was so upset at his handpicked army chief Musharraf, he should have had the courage of summoning him to his office and given him his marching orders but he chose to do so behind his back and suffered the ignominy of being ousted by Musharraf’s loyal deputies.

His sudden and unconditional retreat from Kargil, resulted in heavy losses in men and material. He never uttered a single world against Indian sponsored terrorism

Now Nawaz has returned because he had a ten day window to appeal against the Supreme Court verdict of sentencing him and his daughter Maryam Safdar. If he had not returned, he would remain fugitive for life and his daughter’s political career would have been cut short even before it started. He wants his progeny to continue to rule Pakistan. If Shahbaz Sharif comes to power, the baton will pass to Hamza Sharif and not his daughter.

As prime minister Nawaz Sharif misgoverned and misruled. For most of his five year tenure, he kept the important portfolios of defence and foreign affairs with himself and committed serious faux pas. The treasury is empty; energy shortage is proving to be the bane of society; water shortage is staring hard in the face of Pakistan’s thirsty millions. Hunger, disease, poverty, unemployment and most important law and order situation is dismally poor. On top of it Nawaz Sharif was caught with his hands in the till. The Panama Scandal was of his own making and he failed to provide a money trail but kept lying through his teeth regarding his sources of income.

Mian Nawaz Sharif talks vociferously of the sanctity of the people’s vote. Unfortunately, he is the one who has desecrated the people’s trust by cozying up to Pakistan’s arch enemy and the tormentor of Kashmiris and Indian Muslims, Narendra Modi. His treachery speaks volumes of disloyalty with those who sacrificed their life and blood for the survival of the mother land. Modi’s friends have no right to govern Pakistan.

The three-time prime minister, and himself a product of the khakis, a protégé of the dreaded military dictator General Ziaul Haq, Mian Nawaz Sharif has fallen out with each of the army chiefs he has appointed. He tried to denigrate the army through the “Dawn Leaks” and when caught in the act, sacrificed his minister of information to save his own skin. After being ousted, in sheer desperation, Nawaz Sharif declared the army to be responsible for the 2008 Mumbai Attacks. India has been desperately trying to apportion blame on Pakistan, but here a former prime minister “admitted” the “guilt” of Pakistan army publicly.

He is a convict established by the court on charges of having assets beyond means. He failed to make a credible case both in the law courts and in the court of public opinion. Therefore, there is no justification for glamorising him or making him a hero.

For the first time, state institutions i.e. NAB, FIA, Judiciary have done across the board accountability of a powerful entity.

Nawaz Sharif failed to turn up when the decision was being taken by the court making excuses of ill health of Kulsoom Nawaz, but after a week, he returned, forgetting his wife’s problems just to draw political mileage of the situation. He should not be given free hand to play the victim card.

Reportedly, some elements of the media have been paid Rs550 million to sing praises for him. Such a man does not deserve the sympathy of the people. Some of the charge sheet against him includes betraying the Kashmir cause by appointing a person like Maulana Fazlur Rehman as Chairman Kashmir Committee to keep the situation on the back burner.

His sudden and unconditional retreat from Kargil, resulted in heavy losses in men and material. He never uttered a single world against Indian sponsored terrorism in Pakistan and especially Kulbhoshan Jadhav. He remained involved in meeting secretly with Pakistan’s enemies like Modi and Jandal. He never spoke against construction of Indian dams, which are a clear violation of Indus Water Treaty (IWT). He negated the basic foundation of two nation theory while stating that border is just an imaginary line and India and Pakistan share the same culture. He reportedly employed more than 50 RAW activists in one of his sugar mills in Pakistan. Although MNS knows how extremist Modi and his RSS are against Muslims, yet he visited India to attend Modi’s oath taking ceremony.

His last media conference in London before coming to Pakistan and venomous propaganda against army and ISI shows his anti-state policies. To PML-N diehards, the “tiger” may be perceived to be crouching before its takes the leap to victory but in fact it is wounded and the hidden dragon will get to its jugular.