My friend Sardar Ayaz Sadiq made an interesting revelation last Sunday during a press conference with Khawaja Saad Rafique, he said; “We are playing hockey, not cricket. We will dribble, dodge and pass but will finally hit the goal post or the net.” In our schooldays I have played table tennis with Ayaz but not hockey. I do not even know about his credentials in this game of dribbling and dodging, and he may have learnt it after joining Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). Coming from a sports family we were told that, ‘Cricket is by chance, Football by power, Hockey by Chalaki ( deceit and dodging)’.
I respect his honesty, for indeed the Sharifs introduced this new trend in political arena, and before them the Chaudhrys of Gujrat had monopolized this brand of politics but at a smaller scale. At best Chaudhry Zahur Elahi, the founder of this dynasty, managed to become a federal minister for a few days while his son Shujaat Hussain remained a part of the Cabinet, finally landing in the position of the Prime Minister for a short period. Chaudhry Pervez Elahi rose to be the Chief Minister of Punjab. While the Chaudhrys have remained loyal to their benefactors and creators, the Sharifs have tried to outsmart them while continuing with their politics of self-interest. Agencies have dossiers on their corruption yet they dare to defy, hoping for a miracle to save them. Now they have openly admitted their game of Chalaki, which they play very well. Ever since Mian Sahib landed in London no one knows about his latest platelet count.
Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah played billiards, the game of gentlemen. As President of the All-India Muslim League, he delivered Pakistan through honest hard work. Singlehandedly he overcame the Hindu politics of chalaki. I.H. Ishpahani, who was the Quaid’s personal assistant, wrote that “Only when I worked with the Quaid, I realized that there could be honesty in politics as well”. The Father of the Nation must be turning in his grave at the current state of his party. Honesty and integrity were the hallmark of our politics, before the game of hockey was introduced into the political arena by the dictators and usurpers, and now their leftovers have the audacity to proclaim their deceit publicly on the electronic media and in the press conferences. Â Their Chalaki no longer sells, those days are over.
Where are the forwards? Mian Nawaz Sharif is in London, trying to get his lost platelets back, Shahbaz Sharif is in the jail for money-laundering, Zardari is avoiding conviction through medical reports and expensive lawyers, so this leaves the field open for the Maulana as both Maryam and Bilawal are yet to build the stamina for the leadership run. Will Comrade Aitzaz feed the ball to the Maulana to score?
Even by the standards of hockey, which is our national game, the performance of the PML(N) has been dismal. Instead of being led by goal-scoring spearheads like Hassan Sardar and Rashid Junior who were known for their skills once they had the ball in the circle ( ‘D’) of the opponent, their leadership has been scoring against their own nation through massive corruption.
Dribbling and passing without a centre-forward who can score is counterproductive, as has been the case in the land of the pure for the last 40 years. The Sharifs, Zardaris and the Maulana are used to playing with the help of the umpires, together with outside support which is no longer there for them. The entire opposition leadership stands exposed. Despite the lacklustre performance of the current government, no one is willing to support the corrupt. People feel that the country is moving in the right direction though slowly. Institutional damage takes time for its correction, it is an arduous task.
Recently one of the best grass hockey grounds (Jaffer Memorial) at Aitchison College has been coverted to astroturf. Chalaki in hockey has now given way to fitness and speed, and dribbling and dodging is a thing of the past. There was time when we were the world champions in our national sport. When Air Marshal Noor Khan introduced the World Cup, the final was played at Lahore between Pakistan Senior and Junior teams as they outclassed the others. It was a thrilling encounter at the Gaddafi Stadium. The Junior side was the first to score but then the Seniors equalized and won. Those were days of glory before the Zia Dark Ages engulfed the land of the pure with its third-rate political players who can only score against their own team. I suggest that Sardar Sahib should visit his school ground to get updated on the Astroturf game. The ‘Abba Ji’ brand of hockey is now history.
4 February 2021 will go down in history as a dark day for democracy. While the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) leadership met in the capital its elected members tried to disrupt the proceedings of Parliament. First they threatened to resign, when their bluff was called they resorted to hooliganism Gullu Butt-style. A bill can be passed with a simple majority, while a constitutional amendment requires a two-thirds majority, which the party in power does not have. What is the opposition afraid of if they have the votes? It seems the house is divided, and the politics of confrontation is not easy. Only the PPP understands the hurdles of this approach as it is the only genuine political entity within the PDM’s ranks, but perhaps hockey is not their game. Zardari once claimed to be a polo player, and he even kept horses in the Prime Minister’s House.
The Opposition has decided on a Long March in March. It will be interesting as the Maulana wants to take on Rawalpindi instead of Islamabad. As a very seasoned marcher, I see no potential or thunder in this march. The Long March of 2007 for the restoration of the judiciary was very ably led by Comrade Aitzaz Ahsan. He has a great political mind. So far he has not thrown his weight behind this ill-planned protest led by the corrupt and frustrated political players.
Nawaz Sharif has always led by proxy while the Maulana relies on hidden support. Chaudhry Aitzaz will be the man to watch, a lot rests on his strategy. In the game of hockey the centre-half position is very important as he feeds the forwards who then have to score, so he is considered to be the pivot of the game. I consider Comrade Aitzaz to be one of the most outstanding centre-halves of politics of our times. With no credible forward players to score, the game will played in the midfield only. In the words of Sardar Sahib, we will dribble and dodge till we can throw the ball into the net but for that to happen the five forwards have to be in position (left-out, left-in, centre-forward, right-in, right-out ) to score.
Where are the forwards? Mian Nawaz Sharif is in London, trying to get his lost platelets back, Shahbaz Sharif is in the jail for money-laundering, Zardari is avoiding conviction through medical reports and expensive lawyers, so this leaves the field open for the Maulana as both Maryam and Bilawal are yet to build the stamina for the leadership run. Will Comrade Aitzaz feed the ball to the Maulana to score? I don’t think so.
