Shehbaz Sharif’s lunch at a glance
AT the very outset, before I touch on the caption itself, I must pronounce it quite clearly, distinctively, evidently and overtly devoid of any ifs and buts that this must be read and understood in its strictest sense and must neither be construed otherwise nor twisted and painted differently otherwise the very purpose of writing the article is not only lost but defeated to be honest.
Admittedly, I am pro-PM Imran Khan Niazi since 1993 when he came to Kuwait to collect funds for his cancer hospital but yet let me pen it very absolutely, categorically and emphatically without slightest shadow of doubt that such long affinity with Imran Khan Niazi does not give me any liberty or license to always tilt towards him or be anti to opposition for that matter and, therefore, my writing will be based upon the ground realities duly punctuated with hard undeniable facts.
On Saturday, 05 February 2022, Mian Shahbaz Sharif, MNA and honorable Opposition Leader in our National Assembly hosted an ambitious, bombastic, gorgeous and pompous luncheon party at his palatial residence in Model Town, Lahore in the honour of Asif Ali Zardari, MNA and his son Bilawal Zardari Bhutto also MNA.
PML (N) leadership headed by none but Mian Shahbaz Sharif himself along with Maryam Nawaz, Hamza Shahbaz, Saad Rafiq, Mariyam Aurangzeb, Hassan Raza Murtaza and Rukhsana Bangash very cordially, heartily and warmly welcomed the father and the son as they drove to the palace.
Hosting lunch or dinner or even breakfast is quite usual and normal and such like activity is continually being practised irrespective of the topographical location from east to west, south to north from time immemorial and I am not hesitant and reluctant to say even on my life that all of us, not most of us, had not only hosted but attended lunch, dinner and breakfast so from that perspective the lunch under the reference be treated as a normal event but, in fact, the extravagant event is nothing but a launching pad to overthrow the incumbent PM Imran Khan Niazi which is not at all a bad idea but it did lack in logistics to be honest which has been explained and elucidated by me in depth in the subsequent paragraphs.
Pakistan is a democratic country whereby our constitution bestows an inborn right on the Opposition to initiate and table a vote of no confidence against the incumbent government hence, from this point of view, the opposition headed by Mian Shahbaz Sharif enjoys a prerogative to at least attempt to throw PM Imran Khan Niazi by invoking the process so provided in our Constitution meaning by that the vote of no confidence against PM Imran Khan Niazi can be successful if majority of our parliamentarians vote against PM.
PML (N) headed by Mian Shehbaz Sharif is the second majority political party in NA, after PTI, but still, it is too short on numbers to succeed in such an attempt unless and until other political parties with their presence in NA join hands with PML (N).
PPP is the 3rd majority political party in NA and, therefore, whether Mian Shehbaz Sharif likes it or not, the hard undeniable truth is that he shall have to convince and request both Asif Ali Zardari and Bilawal Zardari Bhutto to reach each and every MNA of PPP to support the vote of no confidence as and when it is initiated otherwise it is nothing more than an un successful wish hence, both the father and the son, enjoy an extraordinary power and can be truly very much instrumental to reshape the governance.
Asif Ali Zardari had been none but Head of State (above Head of Government named Prime Minister) carrying the title of President of Pakistan during five years stipulated period from 09 September 2008 to 09 September 2013 while Mian Shehbaz Sharif had been Chief Minister of Punjab during 08 June 2008 to 26 March 2013 itself certifies that someone likes it or not, Zardari was much higher and above Shehbaz at that point in time.
As per international protocol which is the maximum possible in any case, when any head of state visits any country, then as and when the aircraft of the visiting VVIP enters the aerial territorial limits of the host country, then the jets of the host country encircle and escort the VVIP to the airport where the foreign dignitary is to be welcomed by his or her counterpart.
In all fairness, under the given circumstances, when vote of confidence against PM Imran Khan Niazi is a bit in the offing, Asif Ali Zardari should have been welcomed with full pomp and show duly tinged with grandeur and pageantry by Mian Shehbaz Sharif which was very much demanded and commanded but, alas, it did not happen alike.
Had sky been split apart if Shehbaz had sent his son Hamza to the residence of Zardari so that the Guest of Honour does not come at his own but duly escorted by Hamza to the palace in Model Town, I dare ask, if not annoying?
Furthermore, no denying the hard fact, had Zardari been welcomed so ceremonially with complete grandiosity as I have explained above, it is quite undisputed that then the Guest of Honor must have felt more dignified, honoured and pleased than eating the sumptuous, opulent and mouth-watering dishes at the lunch arranged in his honour.
What could be the rationale, if at all any, on the part of Mian Shebaz Sharif not to invite but ignore so many very important pillars of PML (N) namely (a) Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, former Prime Minister (b) Ahsan Iqbal, former Federal Minister and (c) Khawaja Asif, former Federal Minister (escaped the rest otherwise the list had been cumbersome) to come to Model Town to at least meet Asif Ali Zardari and Bilawal Zardari Bhutto? It will be quite unfair on my part not to point out that Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman who heads Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) basically and primarily formed to uproot PM Imran Khan Niazi too had been absent at the lunch for the reasons best known to Mian Shehbaz Sharif.
—The writer is contributing columnist, based in Kuwait.
