The genius Albert Einstein said that the definition of insanity is “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”. By this definition, I am concerned that our intellectual elites have become insane.
There has been a steady drum beat over the past week among the nation’s self-proclaimed intellectual elites calling for support of Nawaz Sharif as an alternative to President Zardari who keeps forgetting to fail and fulfill the wishes of his detractors.
Ghazi Salahuddin’s column in The News is probably the best example of this insanity. Salahuddin not only expects Nawaz to act differently, he expects him to make a 180 degree change! A few days later he was followed by Shaheen Sehbai who tried to use alchemy to transform ‘the Mian brothers of Raiwind’ into the ‘Angels of Punjab’. What was especially funny about Sehbai’s article is how even while he says that Nawaz should challenge Zardari for ‘misuse of political authority’ he admits that PML-N is in the fire of the fake crisis that is the media’s own creation because it is PML-N who has the most trouble with fake degrees. Even take the words of Shaheen Sehbai himself:
If they push their principles too far, specially on the fake degrees issue, the PML-N gets the biggest hit in the Punjab with the likelihood of the Shahbaz government falling…
But fake degrees is not the only issue that is a weight around the neck of Nawaz and PML-N. While Mir Rahman and his gang of media political assassins continues to throw accusations against Zardari for corruption, aren’t the ‘Angels of Punjab’ also heavily criticised for their own corruption?
A fresh bank statement was also distributed in the press conference, in which it was claimed that the Sharif brothers’ Ittefaq Group was a defaulter of the BoP, National Bank, Habib Bank, United Bank, Muslim Commercial Bank, Punjab Mudarba Bank, Agriculture Development Bank, PICIC and ICP.
And what about the Hudabia Paper Mills case? Or the Ittifaq Foundry? Or the Raiwind Assets?
Why treat Nawaz Sharif differently than others politicians? If you want to know what it would be like with a Nawaz Sharif government, we don’t even have to wonder. This has already happened, so we must only look to the past. Do these elites really believe that they can do the same thing and get a different result?
Nevertheless, the Jang Group or Nawaz Sharif Supporters Club is not about to let any history or facts get in the way. Amir Mateen declares that Nawaz Sharif is the best hope for the future.
Nawaz Sharif stands taller as a political leader with his closest rivals, after Benazir’s assassination, placed at a distant second position. He has the longest tenure in power than Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Benazir Bhutto and even dictators Ayub, Zia and Musharraf. In his 27-year political career, he has been in power for 13 years — two years as Punjab minister, five years as Punjab chief minister and almost six years as twice prime minister.
Nawaz Sharif is not the future, he is the past. Even Amir Mateen tells of Nawaz’s long political career. He is what in Latin is called ‘Status Quo’ or what presently exists. If you want to repeat the past, Nawaz Sharif is your man. There is nothing wrong with this, of course. Perhaps some people liked the way the government ran under Nawaz. But if you want to repeat the past and expect a different result…well, then you are insane.
