A NEW controversy has been started with the former President’s recent statements on Nawaz Sharif’s role in prompting him to issue a statement against the military establishment.

I do not think Mr Zadari was acting on Mr Sharif’s advice.

His narrative is that he made that infamous speech with the blessings of Mr Sharif, who later backed out and even cancelled the luncheon meeting. Well , well, we commit blunders and regret later.

Mr Sharif denied any agreement with Mr Zardari.

The Code of Conduct (C O D) was destroyed by both of them. How can Mr Sharif go against the establishment ? He was pampered by one military dictator and received nourishment in the other’s cradle.

He always had kept contacts through back channels.

This is a historic fact that cannot be denied by anyone. We must bear the consequences of our foolhardiness. Neither of them is so naive to understand what they were saying.

The role of the establishment cannot be ignored. We all must accept realities and serve our country.

Javaid Bashir
Lahore

Published in Dawn, May 4th, 2018