A drama was staged in Islamabad on the so-called long march which climaxed with the visit of 10 stalwarts of the ruling class. Negotiation were held, some display of moving hands, hugs and smiles were seen from the glass window of the castle brand of container, signatures were made at PM house, cameras rolled, flashes splashed and mutually accepted agreement was done. Dr TuQ called it a success. The stalwarts called it a success. The leaders of the parties called it a success. The head of the state called it a success. But none described the element of success.
Success always has an element of gain; it has an element of accomplishment but in this case all remains hidden, unless of course it too is a secret like many other things. Sick people went home to their cosy homes. The nation glued to TV was disappointed. All bewildered and tried to dig out success or translate success factor.
PPP’s own not-so-stalwarts later came on TV and called it a useless piece of paper called an agreement. It reminded of a story I heard in childhood. Someone fooled the king by stitching nothing and called it a precious cloth which is invisible. The king walked through city crowd wearing that invisible cloth. At the end of a long procession a child stood waiting for the king. He immediately shouted to his mother saying:‘the king isn’t wearing anything’.
