Personifying our second line of leadership.

It was not only too shocking but very much horrifying and traumatizing as well to read that some anti human people wanted to blow off none but parliament building on Saturday 31^st March, 2012 when it was in session and being addressed by President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari. It must be mentioned that it is very much ceremonial occasion simply because in practice President does not address the parliament even once a year though Zardari has addressed it more than what his predecessors had done but still it is not a regular activity in any case hence lot of pomp and show is added when Head of State addresses. Good news is that our Interior Minister has claimed that Islamabad police could very smartly lay hands on the gang and arrested them before they could attempt to cause unprecedented catastrophe in the history of the country.

I did not wish and I am not wishing even now and will not wish so in future as well to happen alike but at the same time would like to discuss the proposition purely from academic point of view and, therefore, it must not be given another color and interpreted otherwise. Our parliament is a bi-cameral entity whereby National Assembly being the lower house and Senate being the upper houses are its two integral constituents. National Assembly is a larger house and therefore it has 336 members while Senate is comparatively smaller house and therefore it has 105 members who mean that our parliament total strength comes to 441 men and women who not as  ordinary citizens of Pakistan but as parliamentarians must be attending the session. Practically speaking just a few could be absent either being outside the country or fallen sick but still very comfortably it can be said that around 424 parliamentarians in any case must be inside the building when President was addressing them. Then because of the presence of President, his personal staffs, the whole cabinet ministers, advisors, consultants and other high ranking officials were also supposed to be there to listen to Head of State. Chiefs of our higher judiciary are also supposed to be invited whereas armed top brass of our armed forces too are be inside the building and of course seniors from allied services like FC, Rangers, FWO, and PTCL, just to name few are also invited. Ambassadors of all foreign missions too are invited as a simple courtesy. Prominent citizens, educationists, former ministers and politicians too are invited to grace such like gatherings. Then whole media army should be there wherein all including global, public and private sector teams are also very much inside under the main dome. Teams like bomb disposal squad, fire brigade teams, medical emergency staff along with fleet of ambulances, paratroopers and commandoes are also necessarily at hand on such like event. Roughly speaking, the total may be around 650 men and women inside the parliament house when President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari was addressing the august gathering. It is quite but natural that the whole proceedings are to be shown live though out the wolrd.

What had happened, God forbid, if the accused had one way or the other succeeded in their nefarious plans, entered inside the main auditorium and bombed the building? None can figure out as to who had been killed, incapacitated, injured or spared but the fact remains that literally none but cream of Pakistan had been hit hard. It will be very much appropriate and demanding  of me to more proudly than happily to pronounce that one way or the other, we are certainly very much fortunate to have extra hands readily available all the time to augment any post or rank so we are totally alien and unknown to the concept of scarcity of leadership. However, what alternate leadership plans we have had then if our top brass had been killed, incapacitated or injured in the parliament building? Shouldn’t it be prudent on our part that we at least do a paper exercise and slot in probable names in case if the situation demands so that we can very clearly personify our second line of leadership which remains intact and becomes operative only in case if at all the hell falls on us and we need to be back on our feet without any delayed disruption. Needless to mention, war preparations are always done in peace time in each and every country on the face of earth in any case and necessary changes, if any, are carried out as per the actual operational situations.

 Long live Pakistan, its leadership and citizens, I sincerely pray and wish.

Iqbal Hadi Zaidi / Kuwait