Dubious doublespeak

One has to give it to both Islamabad and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for taking diplomacy to hitherto unfathomable lows. The singular intention of the bravado that emanates from across the border is apparently meant to save their faces back home, and perhaps be in the good books of their global ‘friends’. The double-edged sword that PCB dangles every other day stems from apprehensions about complete isolation. Even more dramatic is the remarkable finesse with which the mandarins do a U-turn.

PCB chief Shahryar Khan is an ‘honourable’ man especially for the suave manner he dovetails his masters’ agenda. The latest instance of his verbal turnaround comes within a span of 36 hours. He exposed his, and in effect the PCB’s, desperation on Sunday when he virtually pleaded with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to pave the path for resumption of a bilateral series. Stung by the adverse reactions from a revered icon, the former diplomat on Tuesday came up with a face-saving “we are not running after BCCI,” rhetoric that ought to be read between the lines and certainly not at its face-value.