by Arifa Noor in Dawn, Sept 27th, 2022
The writer is a journalist.
……..The institution: This year has also laid bare the crisis among those who cannot be named. Never before have their role been discussed so much and so loudly. And it is not just because of the hushed whispers of the differences of opinion within but more because of the events leading to the vote of no-confidence.
The popular explanation which has emerged since is that of Khan’s preferences for the November appointment — whether this perception has been created or is the truth is now irrelevant. The story is selling and it implies that the ones who can’t be named are now a shadow of their former self. For why else would a prime minister’s efforts to choose his apna banda (own man) succeed where all his predecessors had failed?
Pakistan’s history has been shaped by those who were brought in to be loyal to a politician but ended up being loyal to their mother organisation. But this time around, apparently, no one could count on it. So, has something changed within?
These bad thoughts refuse to go away. Since April, there has been unending speculation of what will happen in November — more of the same or tabdeeli? But the real issue is that one position has held hostage the entire country, its politics and its economy, and the organisation itself.
If this is a sign of strength, I wonder what weakness looks like. If a prime minister is elected, or another removed or one man silenced or not silenced, it is all linked to the ones who can’t be named and their internal politics. Will the Sharifs last or not, will Khan return or not, will there be peace with India or not; whatever the question may be, the answer is only one. To wait till November passes. And we are too scared to ask if this obsession is more worrying for us or for those who remain unnamed……
https://www.dawn.com/news/1712219/three-headlines-three-crises
Three headlines, three crises
by Arifa Noor in Dawn, Sept 27th, 2022
The writer is a journalist.
……..The institution: This year has also laid bare the crisis among those who cannot be named. Never before have their role been discussed so much and so loudly. And it is not just because of the hushed whispers of the differences of opinion within but more because of the events leading to the vote of no-confidence.
The popular explanation which has emerged since is that of Khan’s preferences for the November appointment — whether this perception has been created or is the truth is now irrelevant. The story is selling and it implies that the ones who can’t be named are now a shadow of their former self. For why else would a prime minister’s efforts to choose his apna banda (own man) succeed where all his predecessors had failed?
Pakistan’s history has been shaped by those who were brought in to be loyal to a politician but ended up being loyal to their mother organisation. But this time around, apparently, no one could count on it. So, has something changed within?
These bad thoughts refuse to go away. Since April, there has been unending speculation of what will happen in November — more of the same or tabdeeli? But the real issue is that one position has held hostage the entire country, its politics and its economy, and the organisation itself.
If this is a sign of strength, I wonder what weakness looks like. If a prime minister is elected, or another removed or one man silenced or not silenced, it is all linked to the ones who can’t be named and their internal politics. Will the Sharifs last or not, will Khan return or not, will there be peace with India or not; whatever the question may be, the answer is only one. To wait till November passes. And we are too scared to ask if this obsession is more worrying for us or for those who remain unnamed……
https://www.dawn.com/news/1712219/three-headlines-three-crises
Published in Pak Media comment