ELECTIONS in Pakistan have become a thriller film, where the clichéd twists just never stop, and those watching do not know whether to be scared or to laugh at the predictability. On Sunday, barely had the palpitations over the Senate resolution asking for a delay in elections subsided when news arrived of yet another press conference.
This time around, no one turned up to denounce May 9 and/ or announce retirement from politics (or shake hands with leaders of the Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party). Instead, it was Ijazul Haq, who recently had his papers rejected and then accepted, announcing yet another save-the-nation front.
Haq — who can be described as, at best, a less-entertaining version of Sheikh Rashid (before the latter discovered the magic of chillas and found inner peace and outer silence) — appeared out of the blue to announce that no one (among his ilk) cared for the people and how he and his companions were now going to be their saviours. He was flanked by (surprise, surprise) Usman Buzdar, the man for whom the powers that be had had their hearts broken by Imran Khan. There was also Amin Aslam, but he did not really cause any hearts to flutter, either earlier or with his Sunday appearance.
The PTI now has as many breakaway factions as there are sequels to Mission Impossible. One can only guess why this latest faction or group has come to the fore, even though it was packaged as a........