All bureaucrats and business executives retire after reaching the age of 60 years. But for politicians, there is no retirement age. Two such politicians, Sardar Zulfiqar Ali Khosa and Mustafa Khar, from southern Punjab are in their 80s, but they are still politically active and even changing parties. Khar had been in the PPP during Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s government but when Benazir Bhutto became the chairperson of the party, he left the PPP. Khar tried other parties until Imran Khan chose the gem for his PTI. Khar recently boasted that after Quaid-e-Azam, there is no leader as big as Imran Khan.
Khar’s contemporary Zulfiqar Khosa from neighbouring district Dera Ghazi Khan recently met Asif Zardari and assured him of joining the PPP, although he is a sitting PML-N senator. Imran Khan thinks Khar is a great asset, so does Asif Zardari about Khosa. But in reality, both the aging doyens are mere passengers and no assets for any political party.
Tariq Khan (Lahore)