Handpicked politicians of a politically impotent denomination are flying away towards foreign skies to promote the Kashmir cause in the world--------Leghari, Ferrari, Wasim Sajjad and other octogenarian politicians who earned a degree from Oxford at least twenty years ago are the privileged members of this diplomatic coterie. There is no novelty in the exercise nor is it going to provide any succor or leverage to the flawed Kashmir policy; not only is the pantomime lacking in innovation but sadly is a replicated version of a previously failed endeavor.

During BB’s tenure multifarious Kashmir committees were promulgated with a foreign travel package as a thank you gesture to her allies (Chatta, Nawabzada, Fazl-ur-Rehman) for supporting her as Prime Minister. The only time the old crone Nawabzada, Father of democracy didn’t work towards derailing democracy: through press conferences, tea parties at five star hotels, behind closed door consultations, sending smoke signals via his hoka and loosing more elections than winning was during this period; when he was made to head the Kashmir committee and bequeathed the latest Lexus from the foreign office fleet and not to forget his first passport ever-------- let this be a hint to Mushraff on how to deal with the truant Nawabzada. BB’s Kashmir committees besides emptying the exchequer achieved nothing. The present frolic is also nothing but a thank you gesture to these one-seat-party politicians for supporting Musharraf’s shameful referendum.

On anecdotal data it can be easily envisioned and conjectured on how these foreign escapades will be conducted. There are two main methods employed by our embassies abroad to give credence to these diplomatic repetitions in futility: Dinner at the ambassadors residence where an unimportant personage of a balding and graying government department will be invited for a free drink and good desi food. Our politicians on the occasion will do all the talking while the representative will listen quietly while helping himself generously to the food and drinks; the next day the representative will perfunctorily write a report which will go nowhere. The after dinner gup-shup between the ambassador and the politician (after the representative is carried out inebriated to his car) is usually of the utmost importance; at this point the ambassador will try to get personnel with the politician for the furtherance of his career--------in the land of the pure you never know who might trundle into power. The politician all to familiar with the panegyric will appropriately query the ambassador as to where the popular tourist sights of the land are, not forgetting the shopping centers and before calling it a night, the politician will request the ambassador to place the official car at his disposal the next morning-------so he might visit the places that were sycophantically mentioned by the Ambassador. Let it be noted that the non-khandani type Ambassadors (not all) are known to make money off these official dinners by bumping up the expense report a few thousand dollars higher, all paid by the government of Pakistan; no wonder our foreign office wallahs abroad exude such uninhibited fervor on preparations for Pakistan day celebrations. The second method is that the embassy will try to get an appointment with a bigwig politician or bureaucrat; which is usually denied; the situation is salvaged by taking the politician to a lower personage of rank at an appointed hour for a tete-a-tete diatribe.

All this Zubani-Jamay-Kharch on Kashmir is futile; the key to promoting anything these days is through the corporate media channels, which can be achieved only via sustained lobbying. This is where the expats could come into the picture; it has to be a private endeavor, the government lacks prescience and innovation. But the costly Kashmir Tamasha has gone on for too long; it doesn’t need promotion or demotion but a complete retirement; which a military regime is incapable doing (sorry Mush). Consequently this might trigger early retirements of some of our expert analysts on PTV; I hear Kala Kola is looking for older models to promote their line of hair dye products.

A Sadat/Gorbachev type figure is needed and it doesn’t matter whether he/she comes from India or Pakistan; someone has to take the first step; must be free of any religious motivation and must be ready to sacrifice his life or political career (& PTV analysts) for a humane, peaceful and hopefully a richer future. Well some of BB’s recent statements are quite refreshing, which Pakistani’s were quick to dub as unpatriotic but then again she has been of an unreliable disposition; not forgetting naively corrupt.

All said and nothing done, the question is what should be done presently? Definitely sending two-penny politicians on a shopping spree abroad is not the optimum solution. Unequivocally Musharaff is a well intentioned chap (so was BB) and is a good-man-the-lal-tan, he is the most welcomed fluke to have happened in the history of our country; but Musharaff’s entire sex appeal lies in his booting the politicians and mullahs. The public presently feels cuckolded by his courting the politicians; letting the Mullahs walk after a few days behind bars; Attaturk rhetoric alone is not enough, action is needed. Musharraf is a fauji and is expected to use his boots; he should stop wasting his time posing in a sherwani.

In politics being good is not necessarily good enough; especially when the entire citadel of goodness rests on a single mortal. What happens tomorrow, if Musharraf is no more? Presently the world community is ready to look the other way if a few fanatical rodents are fumigated; it will make things much easier for the future political setup; even if Mr. Musharraf survives a terrorist assault, there is always a probability that he might slip in his marbled bathroom (state guesthouse: green marble & gold fixtures) and bang his head on the k-mode; so Mr Musharraf what are you waiting for?