It seems it was quite a long time back that Sheikh Rashid Ahmed was Federal Information Minister of Pakistan. The times were certainly those of General (r) Pervez Musharif’s. And it was before Mohammad Ali Durrani as full minister and Tariq Azeem as his deputy took control of the information Ministry.
I think it was more than a decade back. A decade is not a very long time, but so much has happened in the past decade that it appears it was ages ago that I had invited Sheikh Rashid Ahmed- the- then Information Minister to a function I had hosted in Islamabad in honor of my friend Taufiq Matlouti the founder of Mecca Cola, who had come from France to explore the possibilities of marketing his product in Pakistan. I had known Sheikh Sahib for years, and he had known me for years. But we had never been close.
I had invited most of my friends in that function from the world of the media as well as of politics. Conspicuous by their presence were Air Marshal Asghar Khan with whom I had spent most of my active political life in the past, and Imran Khan, with whom I had entered into a strong personal bond since 1998, on the basis of mutual respect and liking.
When Sheikh Rashid arrived, I received him at the entrance and led him to the table where Imran Khan and Air Marshal Asghar Khan were seated. After they exchanged Pleasantries, I accompanied Sheikh Sahib to his seat. On his way he leaned towards me and said in a semi—whispering tone: ” You have mastered the art of patronizing failed politicians Akbar Sahib”
“I don’t agree with you Sheikh Sahib”, I replied: ” Firstly I am too small a fry to patronise such wizards, Secondly, in my view, these two Khans personify all that is moral in our political history. The innings of Air Marshal Asghar Khan might have ended, but Imran Khan has a long way to go.”
Today this brief conversation has come to my mind just incidentally- having witnessed a photograph of Sheikh Rashid Ahmed standing just behind Imran Khan in a press talk.
Quite involuntarily a famous saying has flashed on my mind’s screen.
“The only thing permanent in life in impermanence.”
Politics is indeed the art and the science of the possible. Whatever is not beyond the ambit of possibility can happen.
This piece in not intended to cast any aspersions on Sheikh Sahib. He in my opinion is a remarkable combination of self- belief and sense of timing. His greatest virtue is his patriotism.
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