He is up to something. No one knows what it is. Perhaps not even himself. Welcome to the deliciously mysterious world of Ali Amin.

The chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is a man people love to hate. And yet many admire him for navigating choppy political waters with admirable skills. The rumours of his political demise are exaggerated even as he grapples with friend and foe in a frustrating bid to get his leader Imran Khan out of jail.

He doesn’t have much to show for this. Except that he’s still holding on to his office. That itself is no mean achievement.

Especially knowing how many daggers are out for him from within his own ranks. If in doubt, just see what’s happening with the Mines and Minerals bill. Hawks within his party say the establishment wants the bill passed. Which, in their opinion, is a reason enough not to do so. Ali Amin disagrees. He has shrugged off the hawks’ emotional outburst with loaded taunts. The bill may yet undergo rigorous review, but Ali Amin has once again shown that he can exude disdain for pressure.

But power games are not always about disdain and dismissive attitudes. In the game that Gandapur is playing, he has to balance competing and contrasting pressures from the man in Adiala........

© Business Recorder