The ever-growing ‘hall of fame’

By Saeed Minhas

ISLAMABAD: Instead of bringing the UN commission's report to the floor of the same House which adopted a resolution asking UN chief Ban Ki-moon to initiate an inquiry into Benazir Bhutto's murder, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi reiterated his mandated love for India by telling the House we will not get anything by blaming our neighbours.

Enjoying the fortunes of democracy and pointing fingers at the Musharraf-regime, Shah Jee from Multan showed remarkable guts to claim all the credit for things done during the dictatorial days of the "Quash League", including the opening up of trade routes, starting a bus service across the LoC and taking the Hurryiat leadership of Indian-held Kashmir onboard during dialogues with India.

Shah Jee, who seems to have forgotten the bitterness he had to taste during the race for the premiership, touched the peak of magnanimity by telling the House that the water shortage was not because of the Indians, but our own mismanagement. Which side Shah Jee is on at such a juncture in his political career, questioned one of the old comrades of the People's Party while listening to the gesture-packed eloquence of his political hubby since Ziaul Haq's partyless days.

Certainly there is no harm in developing good relations with our neighbours, but the cost of these relationships has to be considered as well, chipped in another political pundit from Shah Jee's hometown.

Regardless of his new-found mandate vis-à-vis our neighbours, Shah Jee must now be looking towards "Raja Rental" for at least initiating some water reservoirs, so that over 15 million acres feet which are wasted every year can be utilised for our growing irrigation and power needs.

But why should we blame "Raja Rental", as his entire focus these days is not on water, but on the "commitments" he had earned from at least eight confirmed foreign investors for bringing their rental thermal power generators to help him bail out of his misery. To cling on to his ministry and save his skin, Raja sahib is learnt to have shared the burden of the "earned commitments" with a top man by taking two investors on a tour of southern Punjab.

Any venture by Raja sahib in Punjab remains a dream, as the Sharifs have leaked it out through their lobbyists that investors might find them in double jeopardy if they make any "commitments" with Raja sahib now since they are the party-in-waiting. For this, the Sharifs are pushing their old buddies from all right-wing parties to come out on the roads to protest against the increasing power outages, fuel price hikes and governance. As we all know Mian sahib loves to hire horses like Barrister AA to go on a short or long march - that too after getting assurances from some Chaudhrys and Khans of Chakwal and Pindi - therefore, he would prefer to enjoy his freedom of speech and movement right now.

Our moles remain unaware whether the rallies of the Jamaat-e-Islami or other banned organisations on these issues in the coming weeks is a coincidence. What they, however, are sure of is that if the Sharifs can get immunity from Operation Midnight Jackal to the formation of IJI and from Osama to Taliban, then please don't knot them in this latest tangle developing around the PPP-led coalition. A friend of those in the black robes intervened at this point to mention that the possible threat investors are facing from our "lords" should not be forgotten, although Raja sahib had tried his level best to ensure them that the ADB-approved projects would not be referred back to such as the LNG case. But chaos is taking its toll and none of them seems to be listening to Raja's pleas or of his fortified friend in the top slot.

Meanwhile, investigations into Benazir Bhutto's murder might not be leading anywhere, but following the UN commission report, a couple of federal ministers, some bureaucrats and may be a serving general may be having sleepless nights.

That's not the only concern for these beleaguered few at this time, as they have just joined the "hall of fame", where prominent personalities such as Raja Rental, US Haqqani, LNG Qamar, Briefcase Waqar Khan, Finance Shaikh, Silk Tareen, some Sindhi and Punjabi bajis - along with their spouses and families - and, last but not the least, the man on the hilltop seem to have entered in the last couple of years.

Consequently, the Sharifs, after causing Punjab to go financially bankrupt; the MQM, after cornering the PPP-dominated Sindh government; the ANP, after loosing grip and placing their top leader in the Presidency's safe havens; and various factions of the Quash League are not letting any opportunity go by to rub salt into the wounds of premier Gilani's reconciliation policy.

After spending more than Rs 25 billion of subsidies of flour, sugar and cheap roti, the Sharifs - with empty coffers - are vying for a diversion so their excellent performance remains obscure, while the PPP's in-fighting in Sindh has let an organised MQM ride on their nerves. Despite calls from the khakis, the ANP is not ready to take administrative control of the militancy-cleared areas such as Swat and Malakand, thus adding to the overall confusion and complexity in our national polity. Where will all this lead to? The question will be answered in our next episode.