The whole truth

On February 5, we were luckily enlightened by a new entry to these pages, the well-known S Rahman — who for many years in other publications, told us all what we really should have acknowledged and should now acknowledge.

He was, with justification from his side of the spectrum, duly critical of the media for its negativity in criticising “the latest peace initiative undertaken by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in all earnest …”, albeit criticism is only “by some people whose number, however, is not that large”. Of course, as he so rightly puts it, the peace committee has done a lot of spadework and is moving rapidly and confidently towards its “first and foremost agenda … appeasement, reconciliation and dialogue ...”. Now, who in their right senses is to argue with this, particularly the legion, who support wholeheartedly the Chamberlain strategy? We should all lend our shoulders to “the prime minister’s serious commitment to resolve this issue”. One must hope that the message has permeated through to those to whom it was addressed.

Writing again on his most usual beat, The News, under the heading “PM’s wise view of security” on February 9, S Rahman waxed eloquent on “the PM’s views”, on the “PM’s focus on supremacy of the Constitution”, on “Prime Minister Sharif’s vast experience as a statesman”, whose vision has been tremendously broadened, and how he speaks “like a seasoned statesman”, how “given the crux of experiences of the past with the idea of carving our destiny sagaciously, the disgruntled elements that are up in arms” should realise this and contribute to “collective strength” and “collective wisdom”. Again, can there be any argument to this impassioned expression of support for what is right and proper?

S Rahman’s sagacity cannot, of course, be compared with that of Mian Sahib, but in a lesser sense is most commendable. He has always been a stern supporter of the truth of the day, eminently sensible. Writing in 2012, he tore into Transparency International for its positioning of the then government on its report on corruption-prone countries. Quite rightly, he commented: “The PPP-led government is taking steps to combat corruption, the PPP-led democratic government has volunteered to present itself for accountability.” No one should dare bracket that government with the word corruption. Later that year, he commended PM Pervaiz Ashraf and his dedication to rid the country of polio, combined with President Asif Ali Zardari’s “inspiration” driven programme against the disease.

In January 2013, he wrote under the heading “Achievements of the PPP government”, which were leading us into a bright future. Well, here we are and we know how spot on he was. In February 2013, he informed us how the “Economy was growing despite hiccups”. Thankfully, we reap the benefits.

In March 2013, he explained the conviction of InfoMin Kaira and how “democracy is now well entrenched courtesy the sacrifices of the PPP leadership”. In June 2013, writing on “A pragmatic budget”, expressing the national feeling, he said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his economic team “deserve a pat on the back for accomplishing this gigantic task”. He explained why: the PML-N had worked “on a constant footing in in-depth study of the country’s political-cum-economic condition during its days in opposition” and the successful budget was due to “the pragmatic wisdom of Mian Nawaz Sharif”. Indeed, we echo this laudable sentiment, “a reasonable balanced budget with some “marvelous” schemes.

In 2014, in The News, S Rahman has always hit the nail on the head — take for instance, his columns entitled “PM’s wise view of security”, “PM’s wise move for lasting peace”, “PM firm about terror-free Pakistan”, “PM’s mission: Justice, prosperity and transparency”.

We must imbibe the truth. Let’s be thankful for our ‘brilliant’ governments, be grateful for small mercies.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 15^th, 2014.

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