Adil Najam
The media is abuzz with petty pontifications about the likely meeting later today between Mr. Asif Ali Zardari and Mr. Nawaz Sharif.
By the time many readers read this, the talks may already have transpired and, then, the media will be abuzz about what they talked about. Here is hoping that what these two will talk about and whatever we will be talking about after their talks will not trivialize the historic existential threat that we are living through today.
There is much that these two have to talk about - the fate of the NRO, the fate of the Kerry-Lugar Bill, the fate of the 17th Amendment, the fate of Messers Zardari and Sharif, the fate of democracy in Pakistan. But more than all of this, what hangs in the balance today is the fate of a Pakistan at war.
Some 9000 Pakistanis have been killed by violent extremists this year alone. And the year is far from done. Pakistani territory has been snatched out of Pakistan’s control. Pakistani military is being attacked. If this is not a threat to Pakistan’s sovereignty, an attack on Pakistan itself, then what is?
Here is hoping that our leaders our getting together to speak with one voice and with great force on this existential threat to our sovereignty, to our future, and indeed to our present.
But to do so, they will both have to become as big as the moment. That, if that were to happen, would truly be news. All else remains, and will remain, mere chatter… not even worth hearing in the din of the war we cannot and must not ignore.
They should be talking about the real issues:
1. Fighting terrorism and eradicating extermism
2. Winning hearts of people in FATA and Balochistan and establishing law and order there.
3. Improving governance and stoping dependency on foreign loans.
4. Improving taxation, labour laws and governance systems to eradicate corruption.
5. Strengthening law inforcement agencies.
Instead they will be discussing:
1. How the new aid will be distributed and how much will both parties get
2. How PMLN will continue friendly opposition and PPP will continue to ignore sugar and wheat stocking/smuggling.
3. How the members of both the parties will keep on looting and deceiving the nation.
” Yaroo Mujeh muaf karoo meiN Nashe meiN hooN ”
Zardari
” Je akaal naiN te Maujaan E maujaaN”
Nawaz Sharif.
im hoping ” Will you make fransheep with me”
Not sure how Zardari can face NS and how later can trust former after what he did on his back earlier this year (inelegibility by Dogar courts, Overthrowing Punjab government, Salman Taseer as Governer, Backing out promises on 17th amendment and reinstatement of judges).
I think they will say
Ham dono do premi dunya chor chalay
they need to see eachother face to face for a long time, and then we will see how long the pro-democratic forces can keep them together.
Some comments from the ATP Facebook Page:
- “sirakti jai hai rukh sey niqab..aahista..aahista :-(”
- “Zara chehra to dikhaao…aur thora sa muskuraao…”
- “Very good writeup. But I have no hope in these two or anyone else. The problem is that Pakistan is full of idiot TV anchors and people who still make excuses for Taliban even as they murder Pakistanis and then there are all out traitors like Zaid Hamid who want to destroy Pakistan and are Taliban stooges. These are the real enemy of Pakistan.”
- “Nawaz: Zardari Bhai, Aaj Kall British Pound bara mehnga ho gya hai! Meri investment double ho gai hai UK may!!
Zardari: Nawaz Bhai, mujhay kuch zyada maloom nahin kyonkay meri investments Dollar aur Dirham may hain!”
- “nawaz: hey bro, let me rule for a lil bit?
zardari: naaaah. k thx lol”
- “zardari: main har kisi sy sy 1 sec ky 1 lakh lyta hun tum sy to 10 lakh loon ga
nwaz: lpc”
- “aeenn aeenn aennn……..
Zardari: Pakistan Khappay “Punjabi wala” :D”
Very well said. I was thinking the same.
We are making all this fuss about these things when such a great qiamat is happening. 1.5 billion or not, the KLB is of no consequence in front of what this murdering taliban are doing, and yet people are more interested in jumping up and down about that and some TV anchors are still supporting Taliban actions.