ALL factions of the Muslim League are to unite under one entity. The news was exciting until the exalted names of the campaigners behind the move were revealed.

It turned out that Chaudhys of Gujrat and Zulfiqar Khosa were the moving spirit behind the unification plan.. Retired general Pervez Musharraf would head the party as its chairman. The party name -- Muslim League -- has had a special attraction for military rulers.

Ayub Khan had his own faction and so did Musharraf. While Ayub Khan left his mark in the shape of mega dams like Mangla and Tarbella, and industrialised the country to the envy of neighbouring countries, Musharraf did not bother to leave any such legacy behind. The nation only remembers him for fighting the war on terror that was essentially of his own making.

Of all other democrats trying to unify various Muslim Leagues under one banner, Zulfiqar Khosa has a unique distinction. He is a sitting senator of a party against whose top men he hurls abuses. Propriety demands he should quit his seat and then form a new party. When asked in a TV show why he didn’t resign, he said: “why should I when nobody but the people made me the senator?” Which people, Mr Khosa? Who elect senators?

Mehran Leghari

Lahore

Published in Dawn, September 20th, 2015

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