So it was in Parliament on Tuesday that Javed Hashmi, the estranged Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf
...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is
Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations....
leader, delivered a speech of his own that certainly put to rest all speculation about what side he is on.
Arriving in the National Assembly during a speech by
Maulana Fazlur RehmanDeobandi holy man, known as
Mullah Dieselduring the war against the Soviets, his sympathies for the Taliban have never been tempered by honesty ...
to a tremendous reception, Hashmi minced no words during his allotted speaking time on the floor of the house. He clarified that despite his differences with the partys high command, he was still PTIs democratically elected president.
At times Hashmi's speech sounded almost like a history lesson, as he recounted key points from the past: the secession of Bangladesh; his own time in prison; the time he advised Benazir Bhutto
... 11th Prime Minister of Pakistain in two non-consecutive terms from 1988 until 1990 and 1993 until 1996. She was the daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, founder of the Pakistain People's Party, who was murdered at the instigation of General Ayub Khan. She was murdered in her turn by person or persons unknown while campaigning in late 2007. Suspects include, to note just a few, Baitullah Mehsud, General Pervez Musharraf, the ISI, al-Qaeda in Pakistain, and her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, who shows remarkably little curiosity about who done her in...
against a safe-passage deal with General Musharraf; and, previous Nawaz regimes where, he said, the current PM had ample time to work for the countrys betterment but failed to do so.
His castigation of the prime minister for his aloofness from parliament rang true for most members and one could see that he meant it as his hands shook with rage (or possibly the physical strain given his frail health).
He defended Imran Khan
... aka
Taliban Khan, who who convinced himself that playing cricket qualified him to lead a nuclear-armed nation with severe personality problems...
and praised his ability to mobilise the youth. He also maintained that the PM should listen to politicians, referring to the premiers reputation for having his own way before announcing his resignation from Parliament.
Before the main event, however, the impassioned Aitzaz Ahsan took the government to task, moving from parables to specifics. He made it clear that his party is continuing to stand by the ruling party at great personal cost.
The speech from the oppositions side is technically supposed to come from the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly. But, perhaps taking advantage of his oratorical skills, Aitzaz was entrusted the task of making the oppositions views known.
He recounted their many sins, from Model Town to administrative arrogance and urged the treasury benches to do some soul-searching.
Other speeches, such as the ones from Fazlur Rehman, the MQMs Khalid Siddiqui and Mehmood Achakzai, were a mixed bag of criticism for both the government and the protesting parties, in roughly equal measure.
Chaudhry Nisar, however, was his droning self as he opened proceedings on Tuesday, repeating the same speech he has been making over the past few weeks. Indeed, his tale of the protesters broken promises was only interrupted when he stopped to apologise to the media for the police highhandedness.
While the sincerity of the apology may be the stuff of speculation, it was clear that the interior minister was quite anxious and often slid over to an equally pensive PM during other speeches on the floor of the house.
For a joint-sitting, the attendance in the house was quite thin and among the notable absentees was also the chairman of the Senate.
But the session ended on a conciliatory note, as Nawaz Sharif
... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf...
shook hands with Javed Hashmi following the latters tirade against the ruling party, indicating that there is still a great deal of mutual respect in both their hearts for each other.
But the real question is, will Parliamentary pleasantries translate into practical measures?