It seems intrigue, interference in others’ work and plain old back-stabbing have become the hallmark of the PTI government. And Tabish Gohar, SAPM on energy till very recently, was no exception as he, too, was allegedly stripped of his credibility in front of the prime minister because a certain senior minister and confidant of the PM developed problems with him that nobody could understand.
Sources tell Daily Times that Minister for Maritime Affairs Ali Zaidi, who ironically enough also badmouthed Gohar’s predecessor Nadeem Babar and led to his premature departure, has been at it again. It’s as if Zaidi, whose own ministry is far removed from the concerns of the energy department, has a bone to pick with whoever advises the PM on this business.
Now, Zaidi’s been known to be a loose cannon of sorts and he’s brought embarrassment to himself, his party, and the PM on a number of occasions. Who can forget how he famously, rather infamously, caused a stir by offering his own free advice about how the dollar was expected to behave; even though it was not his business to comment on what was and is clearly a very important and sensitive matter?
He’s also lost a lot of respect among reporters and journalists since he’s developed a habit of reacting very angrily whenever he’s confronted with questions that he doesn’t like; often behaving like a child who throws his toys a round whenever he doesn’t get what he wants.
Perhaps it’s time for the PM to offer him some advice as well. He is, after all, one of the very players to have stuck with the skipper since the very beginning – if not the only one remaining. So maybe if the boss told him to keep his nose confined to his own ministry, it would do everybody in Islamabad a whole lot of good. It would, at the very least, ensure fewer interruptions in the special advice he gets on energy.
