Grapevine

December 2024

A New Prime Minister?

A New Prime MinisterRumour has it that the Establishment has had enough of Shehbaz Sharif as prime minister and is now seriously looking for his replacement. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb have been shortlisted so far for the key position. At the same time, the last-mentioned seems to have more chances to assume the prime minister’s office because of his satisfying performance in the ministry. If the rumour turns out to be true, Aurangzeb would be more of a cloned version of Pakistan’s former prime minister, Shaukat Aziz, who had earlier served in the finance ministry before becoming the PM. To comply with the formalities, it’s now up to Muhammad Aurangzeb whether he will run for his election from the Tharparkar or Attock constituency. Success guaranteed!

Negotiations with PTI

Negotiations with PTIThe ongoing proceedings regarding negotiations between the PM Shehbaz-led government and the PTI leadership are still unclear. If the surprising move is to bring much-needed stability to the country, it should have done much before. However, as things currently stand, neither the PTI leadership nor the current government seems interested in moving further to end the political stalemate, severely hurting the country over petty politics. Be that as it may, one thing is clear: the self-attached aura of a savior would not allow PTI chairman Imran Khan to shed his overinflated ego and learn from his mistakes for the country’s greater interest.

Cricket Board Beyond Cricket

Cricket Board Beyond CricketThe evergreen Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), compared to the rest of the cricket boards operating worldwide, remains in the media headlines mostly for all the wrong reasons. This time, Jason Gillespie, now the former head coach of the Pakistan Test side, emerged as the whistle-blower, followed by the sacking of Tim Nielsen from his role as assistant coach and the resignation of Garry Kristine as Pakistan’s white-ball cricket coach. Mind you! Kristine left amid growing disagreements with the PCB hardly six months into his role in charge of the men›s T20 and ODI teams. Heaven knows when the PCB will get rid of its perpetual bureaucratic mindset, infesting Pakistan cricket like cancer.