On Carpetbaggers - Anjum Niaz

Ah, the good folks of the mass media! In our instant news and hero-obsessed culture, what wondrous tricks they play with their viewers and readers. Chameleon-like, some editors, columnists and pinheads in TV talk shows change their colours and tunes with their projectile tongues giving us fresh portraits of the new president magically morphing into a powerful agent of change. They tender unsolicited advice to the president while amplifying naked admiration for his political adroitness and economic wizardry instead of investigative journalism. Anyone could have told them not to waste their breath because nobody in the Zardari camp is really interested in their dewy babbleothons.

Professor Ghazi Ahmad in his 'Sayings of Muhammad (PBUH)' cites our Holy Prophet as saying that there are three signs of a hypocrite: when he speaks he speaks lies, when he makes a promise he breaks it, and when he is trusted he betrays his trust.

Instead of singing President Zardari's hosannas, far better it would be for our intellectuals to group-think and outline the strategies for our survival that some wiseacre at the presidency may pick up and after dwelling upon it pass it on to the man whose task to save Pakistan was never more daunting than today. God has given Asif Ali Zardari a real chance to cleanse the skeletons rattling ever so loudly in his cupboard. Let him begin. But before he runs the marathon to save the present and usher in the future of 170 million Pakistanis, he must not allow favouritism, nepotism and cronyism to trip him and make him fall flat on his face.

All the king's horses and all the king's men won't be able to put Zardari together again!