It seems that Mamnoon Hussain’s fully-sponsored trip to Makkah has paid off, as his latest comments indicate that he has seen the light. According to him, Nawaz Sharif is the "messiah" of the nation and he firmly believes that good times are just around the corner for Pakistan. It seems that for him, divine intervention was why Nawaz Sharif came to power, and now that he is here, the nation should sing praises for him because he has the power to magically remove the power crisis, fix the economy and eradicate terrorism from society. In the eyes of President Hussain, it seems Sharif’s mild manners should not be misunderstood, for under the guise of an ordinary looking man, lies a dormant power that when unleashed, will wipe away all debts outstanding, and the public will be shocked as plates of food spontaneously appear in front of them.
We are sure Hussain’s unwavering faith in the prowess of Sharif’s capabilities probably does not have anything to do with the fact that he was handed the President’s chair by his messiah. Maybe someone neglected to tell our President, a former PML-N member, that once the office is assumed, partisanship is neither allowed, nor in the best interests of the country. Displaying such an obvious bias for any party is a disgrace not only for this President, but the office itself as well. The only thing that remarks like this achieve is to incur the derision of the public and become bad punch lines for cheesy jokes. Any further ‘revelations’ that our President has would be best kept to himself and not revealed to the masses. If the President wants to be taken seriously for the remainder of his tenure, he would do well to maintain a semblance of dignity and refrain from statements which will be justifiably dismissed as nonsensical.
He is also recommended to cut a cheque upon his return, made out to the treasury, reimbursing the taxpayer for his "VVIP" hajj trip, along with 20-odd of his nearest and dearest family and friends. The President's spiritual succour should be paid for out of his own pocket, and not from the national kitty. The state-sponsored financial arrangements for his Hajj trip, and the gross advantage taken by the accompanying brigade of friends and family, cannot be censured too strongly. And the “messiah” must be asked, were this former President Zardari embarking on a state-sponsored Hajj, complete with a gaggle of relations, would Mian Nawaz Sharif have been as likely to remain silent?