Why our VIPs don’t know protocol?

This has reference to the group photo flashed today Sun 17^th

 March, 2013 in The Frontier Post which shows 4 Chief Ministers and 1 Governor being photographed with Prime Minister in Islamabad. PM has called meeting on all CMs to discuss about dissolution of provincial assemblies which is quite but natural and therefore all provincial chief ministers had flown to Islamabad to discuss the subject with PM but very much surprisingly the group photo taken on the occasion published in the esteemed daily quite regretfully but blatantly exposes us so far as official protocol is concerned. As a matter of fact in this particular there are many pitfalls so far as official protocol is concerned. How and why such cardinal principles of protocol are not known to our worthy PM, Governor and Chief Ministers is really very baffling and mind boggling question to be honest. One should not forget that as and when something like is flashed it is seen by many foreigners particularly diplomats of many countries posted in Pakistan who must be clapping and laughing at us.

First of all Governor Baluchistan should not have come because it was CMs meeting which as such excluded governors. Just for academic discussion even if we say that since there was governor rule in Baluchistan so governor was acting chief minister also but that rule had ended a couple of days ago in any case so he had lost his dual capacity at this point of time when he attended the meeting. CM Baluchistan was very much there in the meeting proves that the right person is very much there to represent his province so the question does not arise for anyone else to be there representing the province of Baluchistan.  Baluchistan governor should not have come under any circumstances and if at all he had come then PM should not have allowed him to attend the meeting but PM had no guts to be so blunt. I am as sure as death that if late ZA Bhutto had been the PM then neither the governor had not dared to come nor ZAB had allowed him to be inside the meeting room while he was meeting 4 CMs.  ZAB pretty well knew what to do and what not to do. Moreover presence of one governor out of 4 governors has belittled the importance of other 3 governors if PM realizes. 

Secondly there is a codified law as to how to photograph on official event like this and it is not up to anyone where to stand in the group photo. PM being the senior most is to be in the center and then there are protocol ethics as to who should be on his right and left but alas such basic official decorum is flouted like. Didn’t PM did know it or 1 Governor and 4 CMs also did not know the same? In the 1^st instance Governor

 should not have been photographed at all since it was meeting with CMs but ever since PM had accepted him to attend the meeting then protocol demands that Governor being the senior most should have been on the right of PM but CM Punjab is standing in his place instead. The next most senior should have been on the left of PM where Governor is seen instead. Now in case of CMs the most suitable protocol is that they should stand as per alphabetical order of the province simply because they are not there in their personal capacity but on behalf of the province and therefore Baluchistan CM had been on right of PM while on his left should had been Pakhtun Khawa CM and then Punjab CM had been next to Baluchistan CM while Sindh CM had been next to Pakhtun Khawa CM.

It reminds me that once on my ambassadorial evening being held at my residence the then Tunisian ambassador brought one visiting Tunisian businessman with him to my house and I was surprised to see an uninvited guest since I had invited none but ambassadors. I pointed out to ambassador but allowed him to join the evening. However I did not ask the businessman to sign my invitees’ book which was signed by all ambassadors while I excluded him from ambassadorial group photo as well. All ambassadors noticed it but I simply could not trample the codified official protocol demanded of me. Next morning Tunisian ambassador called me and apologized.

My goodness! PM Raja on foreign official trips too had not adhered to official protocol which I had pointed out and flashed in newspaper as well but no improvement at all.

Iqbal Hadi Zaidi / Kuwait