Despite Ramazan when Islamabad seemingly falls asleep, the rumour mills continue to churn in the city.
Dr Arsalan Iftikhar, the son of the former Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, is once again hogging the headlines and the talk shows. However, instead of his allegedly shady rise to fame and fortune, he is using the airtime to target the Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf Chief, Imran Khan.
Also read: Arsalan Iftikhar lashes out at Imran
Back in 2012, when Iftikhar junior first became news, he stayed away from the media.
He got caught in the limelight when Malik Riaz, a real estate tycoon, accused him (Arsalan Iftikhar) of making money by influencing pending cases in the Supreme Court, where his father was the chief justice.
At that time, it was reported that the son had become a successful businessman who was worth around Rs1 billion – something that raised many eyebrows. However, whatever the controversies and allegations, then Arsalan did not give any interviews.
This time around, however, he is not media shy. After a round of television interviews in which he spoke freely, Dr Arsalan has announced his intentions to file a reference against the PTI chief, seeking his (Khan’s) disqualification as a member of the National Assembly.
The doctor turned businessman has claimed that there is enough evidence to prove that Mr Khan is the father of an illegitimate child and consequently, attracts disqualification under Article 62 of the constitution.
His allegations, frankly speaking, are not an earth-shattering discovery. The scandal that Khan may have fathered a child whose mother he was not married to is old news. It was used to discredit Khan during the 1997 elections and it didn’t achieve much back then.
Which is perhaps one reason, people are asking why the former CJ’s son has gone after the Khan now?
Dr Arsalan argued that Mr Khan has repeatedly targeted his father for his (Iftikhar Chaudhry’s) alleged connivance with the ruling PML-N which allowed the latter to win the last general elections. In addition, Khan was one of the first politicians to kick up a fuss about Dr Arsalan’s appointment to the Balochistan Investment Board. The PTI chief claimed that the appointment was an award for the former CJ’s assistance to the PML-N during the elections, an allegation that the Balochistan government has since denied.
Later when the appointment became controversial, Iftikhar junior was compelled to resign, something he is not too happy about.
However, there are many who are not willing to buy this straightforward explanation.
PTI leaders and others can be found whispering (and even alleging loudly) that Arsalan Iftikhar has been ‘launched’ by the PML-N against the Khan.
“It’s not just PTI; go out in the streets and ask any ordinary person who the beneficiary of this smear campaign against Mr Khan is,” argued a senior party leader.
They are convinced that the PML-N fears the PTI which over the past couple of months has built up pressure against the government for electoral reforms, as well as a recount in four constituencies. The party has announced a long-march on August 14 in this regard.
The government, the PTI leader quoted earlier explained, was scared that even a partial success on this front would serve as a severe blow to the political authority and legitimacy of the Sharif brothers.
Partial success, according to more than one PTI leader, is linked to their ability in proving that even one of the four seats the PTI is demanding a recount on, experienced rigging that led to a PML-N victory. This discovery, they argue, could throw doubts on the credibility of the electoral exercise, which is what the PML-N fears.
Therefore, the government would try any trick possible to divert the PTI, including raking up past scandals of the Khan.
What lends this conspiracy theory more credence is the fact that the PML-N is known for raking up moral issues to embarrass their rivals – apart from their attacks on the Bhutto women in the 90s, the party also tried similar tactics with former Punjab governor Salman Taseer after 2008.
Another reason the PTI cites in support of its theory is the role played by a pro-government and pro-judiciary media house, which was “unnecessarily highlighting the controversy” surrounding Mr Khan’s alleged love affair.
“They are flogging a dead horse,” said a PTI leader.
Convinced of the fact that their party is being targeted by the federal government, the PTI has not focused its guns on Arsalan Iftikhar; instead it has gone after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
Earlier this week, two young PTI lawmakers announced their intention to move a reference against the prime minister, who they allege has concealed facts in his nomination papers about his conviction.
Though it is difficult to predict the end of this latest political saga, it is evident that the PTI-PML-N-Arsalan war of words is going to raise the political temperatures. And the bi-partisan, bi-cameral parliamentary committee which has been formed to recommend electoral reform may not be able to put an end to this ugly bickering.
No wonder then, rumours of an early election have begun to do the rounds again – winters or summers, political predictions are always the flavour of the month in Islamabad. .……..ends
Published in Dawn, July 11th, 2014