President Asif Ali Zardari and his entourage is all set to fly to London any time in a day or two but the very simple question is as to what necessitates the trip at this point of time and that too against so many odds and I very much doubt if the very government can justify the trip.
Does any one know if the so called trip is an official visit or a private one? Did London extend the invitation or it is initated by president himself is yet another an answered question? What is the agenda of the trip is also very much vague and uncertain? As per Dawn of to day (Sunday 1st August) our honorable president is to meet British Prime Minister David Cameron on 6th at PM's country residence in Chequers lying on the outskirts of London. Zardari is also to meet those MPs who are Pakistanis by origin and luckily they have been elected as members of British Parliament. Lastly he is also meeting Pakistani community in Birmingham.
Have we forgotten the principle of equivalence and precedence, may I dare ask, if not bitter and annoying? Asif Ali Zardari is none but head of state of an independent sovereign country and the simple courtesy demands that he must meet head of the state which regretfully is not the case at this point of time. The answer to such a baffling and awkward question could be either United Kingdom is without head of state or our president is not head of state. Queen is very much head of the state and hence the simple protocol demands that Zardari must meet her and her only but alas it did not strike to our top brass. How is he meeting PM who is head of the government and not head of state? Isn't it still the more much too much humiliating that or president is meeting UK PM at his country side residence as against his official office? Why and how President could stoop so low?
Newspapers have already flashed in red and bold that Asif and his entourage will be staying at the most expensive hotels in London which is very much resented and regretted. If the visit is official then the host country is to look after our president and in that case housing, food and transport etc is to to be taken care of by UK government and hence the very question of spending our money does not even arise. It reminds me of September 1995 when the then president Sardar Farooq Khan Leghari along with his big entourage consisting of ministers, politicians, businessmen and bureaucrats had visited Kuwait as per the invitation of then Amir of Kuwait late Sheikh Jaber Al-Sabah staying at Bayan Palace and luckily I was one of the officer conducting the trip of our VVIP. I seriously doubt if the same could be denied by London provided we had exerted and exercised our inborn prerogative.
Who knows, if at all some one knows, what could be the circumstances to orchestra such a trip and that too at the time when the same UK PM has uttered derogatory remarks against our country and there is lot of hue and cry on such indignation? What will Pakistan gain, or for that matter, what Pakistan will loose and our president does not meet the MPs and Pakistani community? In the past too our presidents and prime ministers have met such like entities and I have my reservations if Pakistan could benefit from such like meetings and interactions except media publicity. As an impartial person I opine that either our president meets the Queen and lodge very strong protest with her imputing David Cameron but if she refuses to meet our president then he should cancel his trip. I wonder less and ponder more as to why and how junior officials, equivalent to our BPS 21 grade from US/UK and other countries can meet our president and prime minister.
Had sky been split apart if we can enforce the principle of equivalence? I sincerely wish that I may be wrong in my apprehensions and assumptions and Pakistan must benefit from this trip unless we wish others to laugh and mock at us.
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With my honest and solemn prayers
Sincere Iqbal Hadi Zaidi / Kuwait camp Pakistan