Khan't be Don(e)!

Raju Korti
Speaking white lies and throwing dust in the eyes of the international community without even a pinch of conscience is an art honed and fine-tuned by the Pakistani establishment. It has gone on an overdrive once again in a script that has been played out before. Not surprisingly, the central character of the plot is Dawood Ibrahim.
Pakistan's feverish alacrity in trying to clear the non-existent mist on India's most wanted criminal each time the two countries are headed towards the negotiating table has all the trappings of a best-seller. Expectedly therefore, with the prime ministers of the two countries set for talks next month, Pakistan is getting its act together on the fugitive gangster.
While conceding Dawood's  presence on its soil for the first time, Shahryar Khan, Sharif's special envoy for improving relations with India, said ""Dawood was in Pakistan but I believe he was chased out of Pakistan. If he is in Pakistan, he should be hounded and arrested. We cannot allow such gangsters to operate from the country."
Khan's pre-emptive statement is pregnant with contradictions. He did not exercise himself with the likelihood of being asked why Dawood was not "hounded and arrested" when he was enjoying life king size in Karachi. Nor did he worry his head that someone from the Indian government would question him why Dawood was "chased out" instead of being arrested and if he was "chased out" to which country. It is not surprising that Khan carries such airy confidence. Indian authorities are not known to be comfortable asking questions on Dawood .
Interestingly, Khan was speaking to reporters at a pre-launch event organised by the Indian Journalists' Association for his latest book Cricket Cauldron: 'The Turbulent Politics of Sport in Pakistan' in London. "I think he is in the UAE. The Nawaz Sharif government is very much in favour of taking action against criminals who not only affect Pakistan but also any other country, whether it is India or Afghanistan or wherever. We cannot allow criminals to flourish in the country. If they come to us, we will take action. That is why I think he (Dawood) has left Pakistan." Apparently, no Indian reporter countered him when he was bullshitting them.
So what was Khan's surmise of Dawood holed up in UAE based on? Who chased him out? Pakistani police, the troops or the ISI? If he was chased out how does anyone not know where exactly? If the syndicate mastermind was wallowing in luxuries in his Karachi residence, why wasn't he "hounded and arrested" all these years? Is Khan obliquely trying to wash his hands off and point fingers at the army-ISI regime? The answers are as obvious as the questions are interesting.
Remember how during the Agra Summit, Gen Pervez Musharraf was apprehensive and guarded when asked about the presence of Dawood in Pakistan. His cultivated smile turned into a deep frown  when LK Advani, then home minister in the NDA alliance government, handed over to him a list of 20 India's wanted. To the crafty Musharraf, Dawood was a "chhota tactic" in the scheme of talks.
It would continue to suit the Indian viewpoint that Khan is playing the same shot with a cross bat. In Pakistan, Pakistanis oppose only Pakistanis. On Indians, they have one voice.
The l'affaire Dawood will run its course for how long is anybody's guess. But I suggest Khan write another book and title it "The Turbulent Sport of Politics in Pakistan."