So, Javed Jabbar has finally come out about his association with the Pakistan People’s Party and with Benazir Bhutto. In BB’s first government in the late 80s, Javed Jabbar served as Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting and later as Minister of State for Science and Technology. He has recorded with relish the times in his political memoir ‘But, Prime Minister…’
Javed’s association with Benazir Bhutto, covered a 20-year period. The writer reminds readers in the narrative that the memoir represents his personal view and is not a study of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) governments of the 1990s.
As such, the memoir is based on the writer’s time in the PPP and his interactions with BB. In fact, Javed was in touch with BB almost to the time of her assassination in 2007.
Interestingly, the book’s title comes from an observation of a senior bureaucrat, Saleem Abbas Gilani, who noted that Jabbar was one of the few in the cabinet who did not hesitate to make his views known, even if they were opposed to those of the prime minister.
The author tells about his experiences in Bhutto’s first government. He had been a member of the Senate as an independent since 1985, and offered his services to the PPP in 1988, when the party was elected to power in the National Assembly but did not have a presence in the Senate.
In those days, Benazir needed all the help she could get and Jabbar was a useful ally. He was not a jiyalaa but did a lot more than jiyalaas for Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and her Party.
The book opens a window to turbulent times. In those days, JJ attempted to introduce private TV channels but says he was discouraged by bureaucrats. The TV and Radio moguls did not like how Javed Jabbar operated but he did bring in more balanced coverage. There was even a time when news editors did not welcome his presence in the TV studios.
When Jabbar became frustrated and offered his resignation, the Prime Minister gave him the position of Minister of State for Science and Technology. Not to be deterred, JJ set about giving a new verve to the heretofore marginalized Ministry of Science & Technology.
It is true that Javed Jabbar worked very hard in the first BB government - harder than many others who were acclaimed PPP die-hards - but was not even offered a ticket for re-election to the Senate.
The author says that he advised former president Gen Musharraf (he was a federal minister in Musharraf’s cabinet) to open a dialogue with Benazir and did not know that such talks had indeed been secretly initiated. That these did not go well became clear only later after her shocking assassination in December 2007.
Javed Jabbar has had a front-row seat, from time to time, and has witnessed working of the power play in Pakistan rather closely. This work is important reading for all those interested in knowing how the first woman prime minister of the Islamic world and Pakistan’s first female head of government ruled and what obstacles she encountered.
Javed Jabbar is a key asset for Pakistan. Prime Minister Imran Khan faces so many problems. He could have done well to include JJ among his advisors or to give him a key position though not necessarily make him a member of the PTI. The rich body of experience that Javed Jabbar would bring to the table would be invaluable.
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