Recruiting the recruiter.

Hollywood actor Matt Damon in an interview once was describing a conversation he had with fellow A-lister Tom Cruise. Matt said he asked Tom about his Burj Khalifa stunt in Dubai during the filming of the Mission Impossible. Tom said that his security guy did not approve of the plan for him to do the stunt where he is tied with ropes and is seen jumping from the Burj Khalifa. Matt asks him what he did then. Tom replied that he hired a different security guy who did approve of the stunt. The rest is history.

I believe the Pakistani political leaders right now are doing the same that Tom Cruise did: bringing in the guy that would approve of their job. Maybe not the first time but the squad is choosing the captain. It is not unusual to argue that if one is not happy with an employer then one can decide to change the employer but in this case the employer on paper is the tax paying citizenry of Pakistan. The real one, however, is a very different citizenry. The good news is that the last ball is yet to be bowled.

Democracy is supposed to be about the people deciding over who would decide over issues. In Pakistan, however, it has been reduced, if it ever was elevated, to where people observe and cheer for their favourite politician to become successful in recruiting their recruiter. And from then onward, it's a walk in the park toward the throne. Nawaz Sharif is used to and notorious for putting the right umpire in place where he can orchestrate victory in his favour. Imran galvanising to achieve victory at the recruitment lottery flies in the face of his slogans for change.

For Nawaz, this may not even register a blip on his moral radar, provided one exists. Imran must realise that this is the low lying fruit forbidden to cornered tigers. The juice may not be worth the squeeze. Imran's victory comes from idealism not realism. His 1992 World Cup victory was completely idealistic. Pakistan did not stand a chance to even reach the Final, let alone win it...