From the pen of the Founding Editor of ‘The Miracle’
Sqn. Ldr. Nusrat Hussain (R)
It was raining cats and dogs as my dear friend / course mate Air Commodore Raja Aslam drove us to Bunigala, the residence of recently deposed Prime Minister Imran Khan. We were headed to attend a meeting arranged between Imran Khan and the veterans or retired military officers of Pakistan, arranged by Major Zafar Iqbal Gondal and Major Farooq Shinwari. My name was finally included, after going through the necessary and strict security and scrutiny measures of the officers attending the meeting.
I was attending in 4 capacities: a retired Air Force Officer, an overseas Pakistani, a journalist and the author of a book. I had requested to be able to present my book 'The Last Salute' to Imran Khan. The request was duly approved. Raja Aslam, amongst our close circle of friends, is known as a supporter of Nawaz Sharif and Noon League, but I discovered that he carried a soft heart for the politics of Imran Khan as well. Final few miles drive to Imran Khan’s residence was on a tight and an often broken road. Raja was highly observant of the road conditions and was astonished at the simplicity or the
incompetence of Imran Khan who despite being the Prime Minister didn’t bother to get this road developed on government expense. Imran Khan during his tenure as Prime Minister had never lived at the designated official Prime Minister’s house in Islamabad. I am not sure if his Bunigala’s personal residence was declared as his camp office or official residence. Ex-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had declared his personal residence at Jati Umra as his camp office and reportedly had spent millions of Rupees on the construction of a bomb proof boundary wall for his personal residence from the money drawn out of the public funds held by the government. Upon arrival at the residence; we discovered, there wasn’t any designated Parking space, but rather the small road leading to the main gate was crowded with parked cars on both the edges of the road. After security check and confirmation of names at the main gate, we had to walk to the entrance of the building where all cell phones and any electrical devices had to be deposited. The original plan to hold the meeting in an open lawn was hurriedly changed due to the rain into an aero plane style sitting of three rows on either side in a corridor. We were served with tea in paper cups and a small cake piece.
Only three retired officers from the Air Force were present in a gathering of around 100 people that mostly comprised of the retired army officers with the highestrank being Brigadier.
We had to wait for over an hour and a half when Imran Khan appeared wearing a casual track suit outfit directly after attending a press conference that was held in another part of the building. Before his arrival to the meeting, I overheard Asad Umar, Shabaz Gill and Shahar Yar Afridi discussing Mr. Khan's mood. Khan was angry due to the passing of NAB amendment bill by the Parliament. Amendments in the NAB bill now give a free hand to all the likes of Nawaz Sharif, Asif Zardari, Shabaz Sharif and many others accused of corruption and money laundering. And sure enough, Khan walked in with a serious and furious look on his face. After a short ceremony of recitation of the Holy Quran and some presentation of his portraits and a presentation of the key of a big Caravan vehicle for PTI’s election campaign by Flight Lieutenant Anwar and my book ‘The Last Salute,’ Khan came on the podium and after speaking for about 10 to 12 minutes, he left by thanking and without taking any questions. Words during his speech were similar to the words we have heard many times before. He spoke about corruption of the crooks who were installed at the helm of affairs running the present government. He also spoke about the army in a positive manner and was very clear that a strong Pakistan cannot exist without the presence of a strong army. Khan simply sat on a chair at a handshaking distance opposite to us as we were occupying the front seats. It gave me a chance to have a deeper look at his body
language as I was seated at a close distance from him. To me Khan appeared annoyed like a wounded tiger, but confident and determined to fight till the end. It is a popular belief amongst the public and the politicians that no government can come to the power or can be thrown out of office without the blessings of the Pakistan army. If it is considered true then it would be a valid argument to state that why would they let him come back to power if the army was involved in ousting him from the office?
It might appear wishful to some, but it is also not a bad counter argument to the above argument that the army wanted to get all the harmful job of fulfilling the IMF conditions done by the present government. Once the IMF funds are released then the army would ensure a call for an early and fair election that would most probably bring Khan back to the power and would also help in restoring the fast diminishing image of the army.
