The eternal conspiracy

Mushahidullah should have known better than to air a story that was going to be immediately denied by all concerned

The legacy of the dharna period in 2014 continues to poison the atmosphere and it is time to move on for all concerned, not least those who choose to indulge in the national pastime of conspiracy theories. There are conspiracies at every turn of the road, under every stone and probably inside every jar of jam. The latest to break surface has somewhat unusually led to a minister of the sitting government falling on his own sword. It was PML-N Information Secretary Senator Mushahidullah Khan who, on August 17, officially tendered his resignation to the prime minister. He steps down as federal minister for climate change just as the country wilts under its worst effects. Hardly the best of timing to say the least. The reason he walked the plank was an interview he gave to BBC Urdu Service, which claimed that the former ISI chief, General Zaheerul Islam had plotted to bring down the government during the PTI sit-ins in 2014. The claim was quickly taken up by the social media and conspiracy mode clicked on in every media platform.

This newspaper has no intention of commenting one way or the other as to the veracity of the claim that Mushahidullah Khan made, but what is worthy of comment is the fact that a government minister made such a comment to a global news provider. The civil-military balance in Pakistan is never anything other than delicate to say the very least; and with the country still in transition from a period when military rule dominated the political agenda — it is a boat easily rocked. The murky world within which intelligence agencies operate is fertile ground for tales such as that parlayed by the minister to the BBC on the first anniversary of the start of the dharna. He should have known better than to air a story that was going to be immediately denied by all those concerned and feed directly into the fevered minds of a media — and a populace — that craves conspiracy as they crave food and drink. Think twice before opening your mouth.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 19^th, 2015.

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