From Edgeware Road to Bani Gala!

The year 2007, was important in London politics. Now London used to give a scene outside the Islamabad Parliament. Pakistani politicians were seen in every cafe. Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif’s presence in London was a delight. New alliances were forming. New dreams were being sold. Benazir Bhutto was working secretly with General Musharraf on secret deals with Condoleezza Rice and Mark Royal Grant. Nawaz Sharif’s camp was happy. He knew that the day Benazir Bhutto will return, no one could stop him from returning. In those days, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, with a file in his hand was often seen waiting outside Rehman Malik’s house at Edgeware Road, waiting permission from Benazir Bhutto to come in, so that he may get the approval of the names of dozens of PMLQ’s MNAs who were ready to leave General Musharraf the PPPTime is very strange that Rehman Malik was an FIA employee and used to visit the house of Home Minister Aitzaz Ahsan just to oblige him whereas now it is otherway round that now the same Aitzaz Ahsan sitting in the lawn outside Rehman Malik’s house in London keeps waiting for the door to be opened and he gets an entry to meet Benazir Bhutto who used to stay there.

Benazir Bhutto was not willing to accept anyone to join her party. Shah Mehmood Qureshi was also told that how could Benazir Bhutto allow General Musharraf’s colleagues to join her party as it may defame PPP. On the other hand, negotiations were being made between General Musharraf and Benazir Bhutto that General Musharraf will remain president of the country in uniform and he will take the vote before the end of the term of current assembly. However, Benazir Bhutto was not willing to vote Musharraf in a uniform. Therefore, it was agreed that PPP will boycott the assembly at the time of president’s election and Musharraf will be elected as president with PMLQ’s votes for the next term while Benazir Bhutto will be elected as New Prime Minister.

By this way, Benazir Bhutto will get a face saving and could work with General Musharraf as President while she will be Prime Minister, then what was wrong with her because Musharraf was re-elected as President in 2007 whereas she had to win 2008 elections to become prime minister. That is why when Benazir Bhutto rejected when she was given a list of Q-League MNAs who had arrived in London to board a new PPP plane, after enjoying Musharraf’s five years in power and now they wanted to enjoy the next government as well. Actually, Benazir Bhutto gave the impression of being a democrat and said that she would not take the people who accompanied Musharraf, into her party because it would be un-democratic to accept the dictators. She did received its credit but very few people knew that Benazir Bhutto understood that if she will accept dozens of PMLQ’s MNAs from General Musharraf, then who would vote for General Musharraf to become president with a uniform in parliament? The PPP will not vote, so if General Musharraf was to become president under the deal, then the vote would have to be made by the Q League. Therefore, Benazir Bhutto did not take any MNA of the PMLQ in his party and the file was returned to Shah Mehmood Qureshi.

A friend of mine Tanvir Malik told me that Firdous Ashiq Awan arrived in London and met Benazir Bhutto through Rehman Malik and joined the PPP. It was a big favour of Rehman Malik to Firdous. Perhaps the reason for this favour was that Rehman Malik and Firdous Ashiq Awan were both from Sialkot. Benazir Bhutto accepted Firdous Ashiq Awan only under the pressure from Rehman Malik. Benazir Bhutto had dozens of recommendations for different people, but she did not accept any one. However, she could not refuse Rehman Malik and if any MNA from General Musharraf’s party was included by the PPP that was Firdous Ashiq Awan only. Now Firdous speaks against Rehman Malik and has forgotten his favours.

Only because of Rehman Malik, she was issued the MNA ticket and later became the Minister of Information. Rehman Malik favoured at least Firdous Ashiq Awan. Whether or not the PPP has done anything else, it honoured Firdous.

Then, when Firdous Ashiq Awan was left the PPP, it was reported in the press that she had taken many things from the Minister House which was not her personal property. Then the news came that she had parked ten buses to the NGO at his house. Then came the news that the NAB has prepared a corruption reference against them. When the Supreme Court printed the list of mega-scandals, it was named seventh. Then the news-came that NAB has given her the usual clean chit. The favour was given to her by the “laundry mill at Bani Gala” and Jahangir Tareen’s house, and now Imran Khan is seen paying tribute to them. PTI tweeted that the arrival of Firdous Ashiq Awan will affect PTI politics in Punjab. What a dirty politics ……???

Now when Imran Khan is praised by Firdous Ashiq Awan at Bani Gala, I remember she used almost same glorious words for General Musharraf and Zardari, She has forgotten the favours of Rehman Malik, his brother Khalid, the basement of Edgeware Road, London. The same stories were read in the glory of the PPP which are now being read in praise of Imran Khan. General Musharraf was replaced with Benazir, then Benazir was replaced with Zardari and now Imran. The same script, the same speech, and the same tribute – the rutted speeches didn’t change the full stop and comma.

How quickly humans forget kindness, but that’s another thing, don’t forget about the cruelties and excesses that have been committed to them. How sensible are these political people – they are not unemployed at all times, their political employment is always kept up. These politicians salute the “RISING SUN”, that may be General Musharraf, Zardari or Imran Khan. These people know the art of staying in power. If one was bad or he was corrupt then she would have left the party when she was a minister. Let’s see what will happen next. Every five years, a new party, a new leader, but the same story about the glory of this new leader!

(Published in Monthly Tribute International on 01-07-2017)