A large section of the public has apparently made up its mind. It thinks that Benazir Bhutto’s second innings should come to an end and Nawaz Sharif should wield the bat again. If there were elections today, the argument goes, Ms Bhutto would be run out by a yard.
But the game of politics is quirkier than cricket. The batting side has traditionally had the right to appoint its own umpires and set its own rules. Therefore, barring large-scale rioting in the stands or a radical change of heart in one or both of the umpires (both of which are highly unlikely to happen in the present circumstances), Ms Bhutto is not likely to walk back to the Pavilion of her own accord, continuing howls of Hozzat? by Mr Sharif notwithstanding.
If we have no choice but to sit out this game to its bitter end, we are at least entitled to get our votes’ worth. A review of Ms Bhutto’s score in the last two years, however, makes dismal reading. Except for a lofted drive or two in the direction of Washington and a few cheeky singles here and there to keep the mullahs on the trot, she has consistently played and missed. The irony is that if she had connected, she might have made mincemeat of Mr Sharif’s wayward and short-pitched bowling. What next?
Ms Bhutto desperately needs to change her batting line up. Her current cabinet is chockablock with flabby sifarashis. They must be told to quit so that batsmen of merit can anchor the team. If Ms Nahid Khan has got to be twelfth woman, there is no need for thirteenth man Asif Zardari to loom over the wicket as Ms Bhutto’s fleet-footed runner. Allegedly guilty of sneaking short runs, handling the ball and obstructing the fielders, Mr Zardari has become a red rag to the bullish crowd. If Ms Bhutto doesn’t want to provoke riots in the stands or sow disaffection in her ranks, she might discreetly pack him off the field and tell him to reappear, if he must, only when the drinks trolley is rolled in.
If truth be told, Ms Bhutto is the captain, vice-captain, opening batswoman, fast bowler and wicket-keeper of the PPP team. This is a recipe for disaster. Are there no competent people in her party who can be elevated into the team and told to deliver or else? Why must Ms Bhutto be forced to look at every file? Why must she personally take interest in the transfer or promotion of every Grade-18 to Grade 21 officer in government? If she were to raise a team on merit, she could allow her ministers to wield power and deliver results instead of constantly meddling in their ministries and thrusting unacceptable decisions upon them.
Mr V A Jafarey’s dilemma is a case in point. Here is a responsible and stolid player who can be counted upon to middle the ball if given half a chance to flex his wrists. But what can the wretched fellow do if his partner at the other end, the brusque but able finance secretary who has been inexplicably thrust upon him, keeps turning down his call because he wants to hog the batting? Mr Khalid Kharal is also a competent team-man but he has been singularly unfortunate in being lumped with the information ministry which has become a hideout of some of the most inept men in service. Poor fellow. First he had to contend with a high-flying secretary whose right hand didn’t know what the left one was up to and now he has to brave a no-nonsense MD at PTV. Mr Naveed Qamar faces the same sort of predicament. Left to his own discretion, Mr Qamar might have salvaged the Privatisation Commission from a plethora of deviant practices. However, constant “supervision” by Mr Zardari has put paid to that. The only gentleman who has survived Ms Bhutto’s histrionics is secretary Salmaan Faruqi but he cannot possibly take charge of all the ministries in Islamabad!
All said and done, therefore, it should be admitted that Ms Bhutto’s style of governance leaves much to be desired. The PM is said to work 18 hours a day but somehow this hasn’t translated into tangible results. She might be advised therefore to take a fresh stance in 1996.
Get rid of the flab, Ms Bhutto. Make your ministers accountable by getting them to recruit their own teams and deliver, or else. Keep Mr Zardari out of sight and tell him to keep his fingers out of every pie. Beef up the finance ministry and allow your advisor greater leverage over the DFIs and his own ministry. Ban high flying ministers from foreign junkets. Promote younger, more energetic bureaucrats and put the fossils out to pasture. Appoint a full-time cabinet ranker to coordinate relations with business and industry and provide timely feedback. Set up an autonomous, crisis-management team to anticipate and resolve unexpected problems. And so on. If the PM is thinking of a new year resolution, it can only be: I must put my house in order.