The question has been doing the rounds since the former Sindh
interior minister held his press conference on a sleepy Sunday
afternoon, last week. His denouncement of the MQM, a party he has never
really been fond of, took an entire nation by surprise.
Rarely before has a two hour press conference been watched with so much interest – or generated so much debate afterwards.
Since then, he has quit the party and been `disowned` by the PPP high command. The president is said to have recited a couplet to express his sense of betrayal.
Yet, the rumours and the question refuse to die down. People, columnists and commentators continue to speculate if Mirza`s Sunday performance was a bad cop routine, designed to send the MQM into the waiting embrace of good cop, Zardari.
Truth be told, such confusion is bound to prevail with the president`s style of politics.
A relatively unknown political entity at the time of his wife`s death, the president has won admiration from many for his political maneuvering. Holding together alliances; winning over coalition partners; isolating potential political rivals – he seems to have managed it all. No wonder then that PMLN leader Makhdoom Javed Hashmi recently remarked that one needed a PhD to understand Zardari`s politics.
But it is just not his political juggling act that has earned Zardari such `compliments`. It is also because of his ability to play his cards close to his chest and his sudden retreats and attacks.
From his on-again off-again relationship with the PMLN, to his stand on the judiciary (where he promised to restore it and then refused and then did it under pressure) to his dramatic alliance with the Muslim League faction he had dramatically dubbed the Qatil League after Benazir Bhutto`s assassination, the perception is that the president is persistent only in power politics.
Even his party members do not know what he is up to and who he is talking to and who is doing what at his behest.
So if Babar Awan makes a trip to Punjab and gives a hard hitting statement while the governor sitting there, Latif Khosa, makes an effort to reach out to the Sharifs (as he was doing when he was first made governor), no one knows if Awan reflects the president`s policy or does Khosa. Or perhaps it is both.
It was no easier earlier when Salman Taseer ruled the PPP roost from the governor`s house. Who can forget that for a while after his appointment first to the gubernatorial office, the media could not even figure out if Taseer was Musharraf`s choice or Zardari`s? General (retd) Pervez Musharraf was the president then and Taseer had even served in the caretaker government. It took a while for people to figure out what was happening and that Taseer was a solid PPP man.
In fact, Mirza`s earlier love hate relationship with the MQM was also reminiscent of the politics in the Punjab. Mirza was the interior minister and known to be a close friend of Zardari`s. MQM was an indispensable ally that was also high maintenance.
All too often Mirza would lash out at the MQM and the fragile peace (or interlude) in Karachi would go for a toss. Each time, Mirza would get his knuckles rapped but opinion was divided on whether or not his outbursts were orchestrated. He was the president`s close friend and his loyalty lay by the president. And let us not forget that the strategy was all too familiar as well. After all, the Punjab governor too was famous for his verbal attacks on the Sharifs at a time when they were allies of Zardari.
No wonder then that when Mirza held forth for two hours on Sunday, he left a lot of people confounded and confused. Was he following a script or striking out on his own?
People continue to wonder. But then the fault is partly theirs (Pakistanis are a conspiracy-loving nation) and partly due to the style of politics that they have witnessed for the past three years or so.
The mystery will clear up as time passes. But till then… there are few easy answers to be had.
Rarely before has a two hour press conference been watched with so much interest – or generated so much debate afterwards.
Since then, he has quit the party and been `disowned` by the PPP high command. The president is said to have recited a couplet to express his sense of betrayal.
Yet, the rumours and the question refuse to die down. People, columnists and commentators continue to speculate if Mirza`s Sunday performance was a bad cop routine, designed to send the MQM into the waiting embrace of good cop, Zardari.
Truth be told, such confusion is bound to prevail with the president`s style of politics.
A relatively unknown political entity at the time of his wife`s death, the president has won admiration from many for his political maneuvering. Holding together alliances; winning over coalition partners; isolating potential political rivals – he seems to have managed it all. No wonder then that PMLN leader Makhdoom Javed Hashmi recently remarked that one needed a PhD to understand Zardari`s politics.
But it is just not his political juggling act that has earned Zardari such `compliments`. It is also because of his ability to play his cards close to his chest and his sudden retreats and attacks.
From his on-again off-again relationship with the PMLN, to his stand on the judiciary (where he promised to restore it and then refused and then did it under pressure) to his dramatic alliance with the Muslim League faction he had dramatically dubbed the Qatil League after Benazir Bhutto`s assassination, the perception is that the president is persistent only in power politics.
Even his party members do not know what he is up to and who he is talking to and who is doing what at his behest.
So if Babar Awan makes a trip to Punjab and gives a hard hitting statement while the governor sitting there, Latif Khosa, makes an effort to reach out to the Sharifs (as he was doing when he was first made governor), no one knows if Awan reflects the president`s policy or does Khosa. Or perhaps it is both.
It was no easier earlier when Salman Taseer ruled the PPP roost from the governor`s house. Who can forget that for a while after his appointment first to the gubernatorial office, the media could not even figure out if Taseer was Musharraf`s choice or Zardari`s? General (retd) Pervez Musharraf was the president then and Taseer had even served in the caretaker government. It took a while for people to figure out what was happening and that Taseer was a solid PPP man.
In fact, Mirza`s earlier love hate relationship with the MQM was also reminiscent of the politics in the Punjab. Mirza was the interior minister and known to be a close friend of Zardari`s. MQM was an indispensable ally that was also high maintenance.
All too often Mirza would lash out at the MQM and the fragile peace (or interlude) in Karachi would go for a toss. Each time, Mirza would get his knuckles rapped but opinion was divided on whether or not his outbursts were orchestrated. He was the president`s close friend and his loyalty lay by the president. And let us not forget that the strategy was all too familiar as well. After all, the Punjab governor too was famous for his verbal attacks on the Sharifs at a time when they were allies of Zardari.
No wonder then that when Mirza held forth for two hours on Sunday, he left a lot of people confounded and confused. Was he following a script or striking out on his own?
People continue to wonder. But then the fault is partly theirs (Pakistanis are a conspiracy-loving nation) and partly due to the style of politics that they have witnessed for the past three years or so.
The mystery will clear up as time passes. But till then… there are few easy answers to be had.