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Friday, March 29, 2024

The transformation of Shahid Khaqan Abbasi to The Incredible Hulk

Latest political developments and the emergence of Shahid Khaqan’s new rockstar-like attitude and performances has just taken the nation by shock.

It has been a very volatile political last year. From Nawaz Sharif getting a medical corridor till UK, to the releasing of Maryam Nawaz and the ins and outs of Shahbaz and his son. Then the making of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM). The good days of visiting Larkana, the claps on singalongs, the Jalsas in different parts of the country. The very calculated speeches of Bilawal and the Mola Jutt like speeches of Maryam while COVID kept running in the background.

As all this was happening, one man kept steaming up till the point he tore his shirt apart and grew into the angry incredible Hulk, former PM, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.

Things took a real bad turn when the former PM said to the sitting speaker Asad Qaisar ‘Main apko jootay maar ker bahir nikaloon ga’. It got uglier when the former PM hinted the same on to the chairman Senate. And when asked he said that such things happen in a democracy.

Was this the same Shahid we knew?

The Shahid Khaqan we knew was a calm content person who had all that what he ever wanted. Mr Khaqan is no ordinary man, he is believed to be a co-owner of a private Pakistani airliner Airblue. It was widely rumored that Mr Khaqan never used the PM house, not only that he was the Prime Minister when his son got married. It is said that he never used any sort of Sarkari support for his son’s wedding. It is also a known fact that he used his own cars and fuel as the PM too.

The PMO-staff also had good thoughts for him. They said that he was arguably one of the most hard working PM the office had seen. Usually on time, good with file work etc. You remember him being strip checked at an American airport?  Well, that was him being humble traveling in private capacity despite being PM, which backfired obviously.

But what happened to this Khaqan sb that everyone knew? These new images of Shahid Khaqan running after public in vengeance, obnoxious comments and zero tolerance for allies is the new Shahid Khaqan the public had never seen before.

Mr Shahid became PM as a result of the ousting of PM Nawaz by the Supreme Court in the Panamagate season. He stayed in power for around two years after which the new general elections were held. And, in that election, the person who was once the prime minister of the country, just a term before, just 2 months back, not only lost premiership but also his ancestral seat from Murree. He lost his home seat NA-57 to Sadaqat Ali Abbasi, a teacher by profession. That in my view was probably the most disbalancing factor that led us to this new Shahid Khaqan.

It wasn’t that bad even after being dethroned and de-seated, the humble Shahid Khaqan resonated quietly somewhere deep down inside. After losing in Murree, the Sharifs brought him to their stronghold – Lahore – and readied him to face byelection which he won later on.

The combination of the former PM’s return to the National Assembly, in by-elections and from another city worked as a catalyst in the changing of Shahid Khaqan Abbasi sb. That was when he tore up his shirt and became this aggressive man who isn’t ready to give one inch in an argument.

In my personal view, PDM lost its real course when the grand opposition alliance issued a show-cause notice to PPP leadership for asking for votes from BAP for Opposition Leader in Senate. I also think that the sole brain behind the idea of a show-cause notice was Mr Shahid Khaqan Abbasi. This makes him a major reason behind the disengagement of PDM.

Abbasi completely fell from grace when the nation saw the pictures of the former PM first timidly interacting with a supercharged political crowd and then running around grabbing people and throwing punches.

In a program with Kashif Abbasi when he was asked about his attitude towards the chair of the Speaker, he justified it by saying it was nothing unparliamentary. He said that even worse things happen in democracies. Kashif Abbasi not only bought his argument but went on to say members of different parliaments around the world even throw mics and resort to physical clashes. 

I beg to differ.

Different parliaments around the world are built on indigenous spirits of  traditions and cultures. Pakistan is a very cultured country. There is a culture to do everything. And in our culture respect carries more value than money. When you see Gora vloggers roaming around on the streets of Pakistan eating free food because of them being guests tells a lot of our culture. Imagine free food at food stalls in Paris, impossible! And reactions of tourists are evident.

In such a country addressing a chair – be it a teacher’s or a custodian of anything – the way Khaqan sb did is almost a taboo. The Speaker is the poster boy of democracy. Talking to him like that is like talking to the entire system like that. And all this coming from a former PM who is supposed to be the epitome of democracy, is mind boggling.

In a recent program with Hamid Mir he came up with another sweeping statement saying that “ask me about any minister of the current govt and i’ll have tales of corruption to tell about him”. The witty Hamid Mir took up the challenge and named Ali Muhmmad Khan, Minister for Parliamentary affairs. Khaqan sb was completely dumbfounded for quite a long while. Watch:

Khaqan sb should focus on his constituency of Murree more than any other thing. Most of his problems should find their way when he is elected back from his stronghold.

The Incredible Hulk is shown as a positive character and the unfolding of stories in movies sometimes justifies wrong doings too. But this isn’t Hollywood boulevard.

Imagine The Incredible Hulk sitting in the National Assembly of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Either you imagine the Hulk wearing a white Shalwar Kameez and a black waistcoat sitting in a civil manner behind his leader thumping a desk, or you imagine him in his usual attire and bad mood, wrecking cars on the streets with rage. You cannot imagine Incredible Hulk in the National assembly with his filmy bad attitude. Its just unimaginable for us Pakistanis.

May better sense of democracy prevail.

Ali TM
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Ali TM
Ali TM
Ali. TM is the Editor in Chief of othernews.pk platforms. He is a Pakistani journalist, documentary producer and teaches journalism at various universities in Lahore. He is a silver medalist in MPhil Mass communication and has reported and edited for a number of English print media organizations in Pakistan.
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