Speaking of Washington DC’s role in Pakistan, Hussain said governments in Islamabad come and go. However, Washington’s information is two steps ahead of the world and four steps ahead of Pakistan. “The Americans are the best informed”, she said. PHOTO: ONLINE
Sharing insights of her personal and political life, Hussain also details deterioration and erosion of the country’s institutions. “There are things that should had not been done” said Hussain while discussing Pakistan’s embroilment in Afghanistan.
Politicians, diplomats, academia and journalists packed the hall at the Pakistan National Council of the Arts as Hussain spoke about Pak-US relations, the Afghan conflict and the Pakistan Army.
A thick book with a cover of her recent profile photograph, salt and pepper hair concealed in a veil shadowing her old picture as a bride, Hussain’s book cannot be judged by its cover. It is based on her personal notes and diaries and recorded events that have resonated with her or in which she had some part to play.
A politician, horse and cattle breeder, agriculturist and diplomat, Hussain was the first woman to be elected to the National Assembly on a general seat. She has been the Jhang district council chairperson, Pakistan’s ambassador to the US, and a federal minister with different portfolios in the 1990s.
The author highlights key political events of the country and their impact on her life. “I was taken for a ride” she said while looking back at her political career.
The narrative covers the author’s privileged childhood, her entry into politics and the hurdles she faced along the way as a woman politician in the male-dominated society of rural Punjab with her life often under threat and her career in politics interrupted and prematurely curtailed. “I was a Shia and a woman, it was a double whammy for me” she added.
Hussain met a general once who kept looking down at his nails. When she questioned, he said he could not look at a woman. “I was quiet, and we can forget the rest of it,” she said with a laugh.
Talking to The Express Tribune, Hussain said women in Pakistan who wish to pursue a political career must join a party and work towards the betterment of the country.
About Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, she said, “He is a man with zest and a kind heart”.
Of Nisar Ali Khan, who has been mentioned a couple of places in the book, Hussain smirked and replied, “Nisar is a friend. He is a very serious person who always wins his elections. He is at a tough assignment at the moment where his smile could be misunderstood.”
Speaking of Washington DC’s role in Pakistan, Hussain said governments in Islamabad come and go. However, Washington’s information is two steps ahead of the world and four steps ahead of Pakistan. “The Americans are the best informed”, she said.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 13th, 2015.
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