In a word; nothing. Because most likely aaloo gosht was part of the carry-on luggage on that British Airways flight of PM Shehbaz Sharif and the cabinet members that dashed off to London to meet their boss Nawaz. Imran Khan criticised this London pilgrimage that is signature of Pakistani politicians based on the possible use of public money used for the trip. Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal refuted the claim saying the trip and the stay were being paid for with their private money. Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb labeled the visit as merely “a private trip” to dispel any criticism.
Imran Khan is wrong about the noise of possible use of public money because that is tantamount to giving a loose ball to those who are highly skilled at dealing with these sorts of allegations and turning them into a beneficial argument for themselves. Khan is right about one thing though: the government of the country right now is going to London to meet with a man who is a convicted absconder. But isn’t that what happens in stories both real and fictional?
In almost any heist movie, the hardcore group plans for the heist with every move meticulously planned and alternative plans in place. After the successful execution of the job, the hardcore group does a meet at a favourable and discreet spot. They all converge secretly to come together and plan for the steps ahead.
Analysts are trying to analyse what this London meet could be about. While the details are carefully oozing out, we can do some work ourselves to weed out what wouldn’t be discussed at the meet: the rising fuel prices, an incentivised agricultural policy to curtail wheat import, and other fictions spun around by Marriyum Aurangzeb could be discarded by the process of elimination for the London meet.
It is a catch-22 situation for the PML-N right now. If they had allowed Nawaz Sharif to return to Pakistan for the meeting, that would have given fuel to the narrative that Nawaz was never this ailing leader trying to heal in London and that he was merely hiding from the justice system of Pakistan. By opting to travel to London for the meeting, the coterie of the convicted appears to be what they are: selfish men leaving their poor countrymen behind amidst an economic crisis with an untamed dollar rate, only to discuss the future course of action to win the coming election. The choice really was between concealing that reality or that of a healthy Nawaz Sharif. Well, for now, Pakistanis are being asked to shut one eye and one ear and deal with one lie only; that Pakistan is better with a Nawaz Sharif in London.
What could not be eliminated is that this meeting is about the next election because Shehbaz as well as Nawaz know full well that even with elections delayed, their government right now is merely for a short time. To keep avoiding corruption cases and to live in a country they want to rule over, they would have to not only win the election but also be on good terms with the establishment. Given that, it is only reasonable on part of Shehbaz and the rest of the PML-N that in order to beat the all popular Imran Khan at the ballot, they would have to send Nawaz into the battlefield. Shehbaz and others do not even stand a chance against Imran.
Given a level playing field, Nawaz can only be useful because that is the biggest attack dog the PML-N can unleash against a meaner and a stronger Imran. But we know it is never that simple. In many countries, the elections can be affected by foreign policy, meaning how the citizens approve or disapprove of their country’s foreign policy. Pakistan’s elections are affected by foreign policy too, except the citizens whose approval or disapproval matter are foreign citizens. Until that, stay tuned for more lies.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 12th, 2022.
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