Most observers had been thinking that she had crossed over to the Nawaz-led faction of Pakistan Muslim League. None of its 94 members of the PML-N attended the sitting on Friday. Their leader in the house, Chaudhry Nisar Ali, had announced a full boycott of the proceedings, unless ‘memogate-triggered’ issues of national security were discussed through a general debate in the National Assembly.
A few journalists told me in confidence that the PML-N legislators might not attend the house when its next session is called. On the coming Monday, Nawaz Sharif is expected to chair an important meeting of his party. The meeting would only focus on the question of “to resign or not to resign” from the National Assembly.
All hawks of the PML-N have closed ranks to forcefully put the demand of submitting en masse resignations by their members in the National Assembly, immediately after the end of Muharram. And also thanks to the influence of these very hawks, Nawaz Sharif had formally asked the Supreme Court to direct the federal government to put Hussain Haqqani on the Exit Control List (ECL).
Hawks within the PML-N insist that a powerful section of our national security outfit frantically desires that our former ambassador to Washington should be taken out of the ‘security cocoon’ that President Zardari is blamed to have provided him. They need to keep him in a ‘safe house’ to answer questions that have been aired to get nothing but the whole truth on ‘memogate.’
I have it from reliable sources that most security boys are convinced that there surely was a memo that Mansoor Ijaz delivered to Admiral Mike Mullen, apparently after being persuaded by Haqqani. They are certain of the trail after forensic chasing of the BBMs exchanged between him and Ijaz. From their point of view, now we only need to find out whether Haqqani acted on his own or ‘the boss’ in effect asked him to get a message delivered to the US military command.
Through nonstop whispers, many journalists have almost been made to believe that if not President Zardari, his do-gooder secretary general, Salman Farooqi, seemed involved at some point of the BBM conversations. Farooqi has firmly denied the damaging rumour already, but his enemies are not giving up.
As a news hunter, I have been dealing with Farooqi for many years. Although very polite but confident and delivering, he always remains too cautious even by the standards of a hardened bureaucrat. I have my doubts that he would walk into mess-creating traps so foolishly.
In this column, we first dropped heavy hints regarding the possibility of Ms Sherry Rehman going to Washington as Pakistan’s ambassador. The day after her appointment, one tried hard to tell the story that she was selected, exclusively by the civilian leadership. The conspiratorial drawing rooms of Islamabad have lost their capacity to take things as they appear, however. Various social media sites are rather flooded to drum the tale that her work at Jinnah Institute brought her closer to the ‘deep state’ and that helped her selection.
To disappoint the promoters of this story, let me humbly report that when tickers breaking the news of her appointment were being played on television screens Tuesday morning, Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir was sitting in the office of Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. Via a discreetly passed chit, the news was conveyed to the two and both were really taken by surprise.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 26th, 2011.
COMMENTS (5)
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It's doubtful H.H. or any diplomat wrote that memo of their own accord. There are certain code phrases a mere diplomat would use in writing such. These are absent. If H.H. wrote it he had to have been representing someone else.
If he didn't write it, then what is all the fuss about?
@MN: you'd need to go back to NJ's parliament diary in the 80s and 90s. Although different content now, the tone and style is exactly the same. There;s no specific topic. Its like journalists sharing gossip and rumours on all subjects from sources unnamed. By the way NJ was the only person who predicted Sherry's selection in this very paper ahead of anyone else; including that much trumpeted father of all prophecies Mr Sethi -an accomplished journalist in his own right.
Very truly, as always the writer is, "all over the place"
As if the nation is not alredy confused enough, lets keep airing conspiracies on top of conspiracies, half heard truths , un reliable sources feeding news to right , left and center. Lets all jump on the train and make the nation disillusioned as soon as possible.
It's impossible that he did it on his own. He didn't have the authority to make good on the conditions that were offered in the deal. Someone who could set those things in motion would have to logically be involved. Of course I'm speaking hypothetically. The details are too much of a mess to get a firm opinion on the entire thing.