Express Tribune: Ejaz Haider: First we had Lucky Irani Circus; now we have Difa-e Pakistan Council. Except that Lucky Irani Circus was genuine while this DPC, well, you get my drift.
Look at the cast of characters. Apparently, there are 40 parties, from the right to the far right, reminding one of the story of Ali Baba. The main ones are Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan, Jamaatud Dawa, Ahle Sunnat wal Jamaat, formerly the democracy-loving Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan, Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Islam (Sami), the one-man Awami Muslim League, Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Pakistan, and veteran democrats, Ijazul Haq and Lt-Gen Hameed Napoleon Gul, retired but not fading.
So what does the DPC want? The ostensible reason for coming together is to defend Pakistan. And pray, against whom? The United States and India. That’s exactly what I also want to do. But in my case there’s a slight catch. While I’d like Pakistan to have viable interstate relations with all states in the world, in and outside the region, and to establish those relations on the basis of Pakistan’s interests defined and deliberated, I am not sure if this Council is the right platform for achieving that end. Consider.