Newsline Editor’s Note: September 2014
A poorly scripted TV serial would not have provided the Pakistani nation with more intrigue, drama, fireworks and sizzle than the events of the last few weeks
Rehana Hakim Karachi
And, what’s more, they have unmasked in “full glory” the faces of some of the lead players, warts et al, and exposed the vulnerabilities of a political system that has taken repeated battering from military interventions.
Firstly, this unfolding saga has brought to the fore the exceedingly tall ambitions of the rising star of politics, Imran Khan, and the lengths he is prepared to go to capture the throne. He joined hands with the leader of a religious group, a rabble-rouser who has no political constituency, to hold dharnas; held the country hostage to a singular demand;violated every norm in the book; abused and slandered anyone and everyone, from fellow politicians, to judges, to journalists to members of the Election Commission; and showed self-seeking adventurists – worse, jihadis – the way to dislodge elected governments with the help of a group of danda-wielding, stone-throwing supporters.
By arrangement with Newsline, Pakistan