Finally, the Captain is in duty, as Prime Minister of Pakistan.

The umpire — in this situation the Army Chief — as always in Pakistan doubles up as the 12th man

and Imran Khan has selected, his full Cabinet or squad of 21 which has been duly anointed. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has welcomed the culmination of the democratic process in our neighbouring country and sent off a letter to his newly elected counterpart, a necessary diplomatic formality, in which he has iterated India’s desire for peace with Pakistan albeit in an atmosphere conducive for dialogue sans the menacing presence of (Islamic) terrorism emanating from that country’s soil. The background noise is the usual tune played when a new incumbent takes over in Pakistan — if India takes the first step Pakistan will take two steps etc ad nauseum. In sum, that’s about how far matters will go for the time being on the Indo-Pak front and anybody hoping for anything more from the cricketer-turned-politician and his backers in the Pakistan Army would be well-advised to contain their enthusiasm.

It is worth noting that 12 of the 21 members of Imran’s squad have served in key posts under General and later self-appointed President Pervez Musharraf. The crucial appointment from India’s point of view is that of Shah Mehmood Qureshi as the Foreign Minister. Qureshi, considered an intellectual lightweight despite flaunting a Master’s from Cambridge University, is a fully paid-up member of Pakistan’s political elite. He has also shown great flexibility in his political career having held high positions in both the PML(N) and PPP which appointed him Foreign Minister in 2008 till he had to quit over a conflict-of-interest scandal in 2011 and jumped into the welcoming embrace of Imran who needed a pedigreed in his team. While the chattering classes both sides of the Wagah Border have cast Qureshi as a peacenik, there is no eliding the reality that his first utterances after being appointed Foreign Minister for the second time in his career included both the K-word and the N-word.

Indeed, it would be safe to say that Imran knows that relations with India, on which anyway neither he nor his Cabinet can make a move without the Army’s okay, are a distant priority. For now, as long as New Delhi doesn’t get proactive militarily, it suits him just fine to focus on domestic issues ranging from health to infrastructure and education, and above all the economy, as he mentioned in his maiden speech as PM. His Cabinet comprises experts in these fields and reflects this priority as Pakistan needs a 12-18 billion USD bail-out to not become completely dysfunctional.

Writer: Pioneer

Courtesy: The Pioneer

Finally, the Captain is in duty, as Prime Minister of Pakistan.

The umpire — in this situation the Army Chief — as always in Pakistan doubles up as the 12th man

and Imran Khan has selected, his full Cabinet or squad of 21 which has been duly anointed. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has welcomed the culmination of the democratic process in our neighbouring country and sent off a letter to his newly elected counterpart, a necessary diplomatic formality, in which he has iterated India’s desire for peace with Pakistan albeit in an atmosphere conducive for dialogue sans the menacing presence of (Islamic) terrorism emanating from that country’s soil. The background noise is the usual tune played when a new incumbent takes over in Pakistan — if India takes the first step Pakistan will take two steps etc ad nauseum. In sum, that’s about how far matters will go for the time being on the Indo-Pak front and anybody hoping for anything more from the cricketer-turned-politician and his backers in the Pakistan Army would be well-advised to contain their enthusiasm.

It is worth noting that 12 of the 21 members of Imran’s squad have served in key posts under General and later self-appointed President Pervez Musharraf. The crucial appointment from India’s point of view is that of Shah Mehmood Qureshi as the Foreign Minister. Qureshi, considered an intellectual lightweight despite flaunting a Master’s from Cambridge University, is a fully paid-up member of Pakistan’s political elite. He has also shown great flexibility in his political career having held high positions in both the PML(N) and PPP which appointed him Foreign Minister in 2008 till he had to quit over a conflict-of-interest scandal in 2011 and jumped into the welcoming embrace of Imran who needed a pedigreed in his team. While the chattering classes both sides of the Wagah Border have cast Qureshi as a peacenik, there is no eliding the reality that his first utterances after being appointed Foreign Minister for the second time in his career included both the K-word and the N-word.

Indeed, it would be safe to say that Imran knows that relations with India, on which anyway neither he nor his Cabinet can make a move without the Army’s okay, are a distant priority. For now, as long as New Delhi doesn’t get proactive militarily, it suits him just fine to focus on domestic issues ranging from health to infrastructure and education, and above all the economy, as he mentioned in his maiden speech as PM. His Cabinet comprises experts in these fields and reflects this priority as Pakistan needs a 12-18 billion USD bail-out to not become completely dysfunctional.

Writer: Pioneer

Courtesy: The Pioneer