Popcorn Politician

Probably what the public of Karachi really  wanted besides having  16 hour power shortages,fuel as expensive as diamonds,rampant unemployment,slaughtered gunny bagged human bodies,and spurs of gunfire was another flaming speech by a politician.

On the fate less noon of this past weekend ,a well known Public Office bearer hurled towards the Press club to make a ‘significant’ announcement and what followed was an impressive display of oratory skills and dramatic (yet no less controversial) revelations that have rendered the already uncertain political scenario in a quagmire.What added the fuel to his fiery speech was not the fact he gave voice to masses by that have been oppressed by that ‘tyrannical party’, but it was  use of ‘the bells and whistles’ of swearing upon Holy Quran  to add credibility to his assertions (Which I thought was desperate and should be put down as a custom.But it was entertaining nonetheless) and his garnishing of humour here and there.

I guess there is some unexplainable relationship between the name ‘Zulfiqar’ and the flaming rhetoric that offends some and pleases others.Former Prime Minister  sharing the same first name bears testament to this hypothesis.So much so that I conclude that it was Bhutto’s unshakeable stance in his speeches that led the gentleman to his grave.What that achieved was revolutionary or not is another debate altogether.

Moreover the question arises what to do  of those political parties that demand separation from the state or resort to violence out of desperation and being deprived for along time .And what if these allegedly criminal parties have got considerable votes from citizens.Should the government let these join in to stabilize the government tenure ? As if they are left out of political process they would resort to violent agitation.

Should the government  employ a coercive use of force to succumb their demands or conduct army operation to eradicate and silence them once and for all to foster an environment of greater coherence/cohesiveness .If you choose one of the two options you must take into consideration the example of Tamils in Sri Lanka and Kurds in Turkey among others.We are in a similar juxtaposition.Add to that the experience of  previous operations in 1990s that added fuel to firebomb of hatred and ethnic segregation left to brew since then.Further add to these violation of human rights and immense psychological costs of violence on the populace  which has always been jaded by suicide bombings and terrorism in the first place.

However leaving everything aside what was interesting to notice during this speech broadcast was the bouts of pride and piety amongst the poor populace of Sindhi speaking people suddenly this Infamous feudal figure has been transformed into a heroic figure.We certainly love making commoners into the pinnacle of  Messiahs.An example to prove this was incident of former Foreign Minister who was deemed as an US agent earlier was later made a hero after he spoke ill of his own party led Government.It all boils down to another media extravaganza,another week or so of fruitless 'pseudo analytical’  babbling on TV.

While people from the other side of grass suspect this Minister’s speech for some ‘hidden agenda’ and foul play because of un-timeliness.I for one believe that although the Gentleman has immense amount of misdirected courage.His latest antic would not lead us(the general public) anywhere owing to the facts that both our ‘Rulers’ remain obliviously apathetic and the general public remains helpless and delusionary optimistic.Proof of it lies in the fact that there are more funny SMS being circulated  then prayers for stability and calls for concern.Summing up Ramadan this year: Amir Liaquat ki Ghalib, Altaf Bhai ka Haleem, Rehman Malik ka saib/kela ........... Bohat Nazuk Soorat-e-Haal hai :)