“PDM, India, and Israel three sides of the same triangle: Shibli Faraz”
— News Item Press News Agency [October 25, 2020]
In an age when geometry is no longer being taught in schools, Pakistan information minister Shibli Faraz’s equating India, Israel and Pakistan Democratic Movement [PDM] with three sides of a triangle is bound to fill old timers (who as kids spent hours trying to comprehend what triangles were all about), with a deep sense of nostalgia. It could also well end up creating interest of the younger generation in geometry as it would give them the option of using an impressive sounding ‘QED’ instead of the curt ‘period’ to indicate the end of a discussion. But before that, let’s first demystify the ‘Faraz Triangle’.
India, Israel and PDM being three sides of a triangle is indeed an interesting analogy. However, Faraz hasn’t indicated what exactly is the type of triangle which these three devils incarnate (hereinafter referred to as ‘evil trio’) form and this makes the task of identifying the right type of triangle, which the geometrically inclined minister has in his mind, quite difficult. So, for better comprehension, it may be necessary brush up one’s geometry by quickly recapitulating that triangles are classified on either the basis of their angles (equiangular, acute obtuse, and right), or their sides (isosceles, equilateral or scalene).
Even though he has mentioned that each of the ‘evil trio’ forms one side of the ‘Faraz Triangle’ it would still be incorrect to rule out the possibility of this triangle being based on angles. Remember, there always used to be a catch in geometry questions, and the ‘Faraz Statement’ could well have one! So, let’s start the elimination process by first examining triangles on the basis of their angles to see if any fit the bill. Such an analysis leads to some surprising revelations because each of ‘evil trio’ entity that forms one side of ‘Faraz’s triangle’ has a definite ‘obtuse’ mindset, and suffers from ‘acute’ paranoia.
However, since all the sides of the ‘Faraz Triangle’ are involved in serious wrongdoings, the ‘triangle’ that the Pakistan information minister is referring to is certainly not a ‘right’ angled triangle. In addition, since all of them have unequal levels of complicity in bringing down the house called Pakistan, neither can the ‘Faraz Triangle’ be an ‘equiangular’ triangle (in which, all angles are equal)!
So, having established that the ‘Faraz Triangle’ has some properties of acute and obtuse angled triangles, let’s try and further unravel the mystery of this enigmatic geometrical three-sided object by examining triangles on the basis of their sides.
The easiest would be to conclude that it’s an ‘equilateral triangle’ (in which all three sides are equal). But doing so would imply that each entity of the ‘evil trio’ that represents one side of the triangle is equally complicit in orchestrating anti-Pakistan activities, and this somehow doesn’t sound very convincing because in real life there are no such congruences. Moreover, by equitably apportioning blame for fomenting unrest in Pakistan on three entities dilutes the enormity of this humongous crime and takes the ‘punch’ out of the blame game. Lastly, since this deduction neither suits Islamabad nor Rawalpindi, hence its prudent to rule out this possibility!
Next, we come to the isosceles triangle, in which only two sides are equal and this could be the ‘Faraz Triangle’ with India and Israel representing the two equal sides, while the third side is the PDM. This interpretation is a bit more convincing as it implies that India and Israel are working as agent provocateurs in concert and provoking the PDM to create political instability in Pakistan. This deduction also buttresses Islamabad’s allegations of foreign hands being behind the chaos in their country.
However, the conclusion that ‘Faraz’s Triangle’ is ‘isosceles’ has one major drawback- it portrays PDM as an innocent entity which is being instigated by the India-Israel duo and needless to say, this hypothesis would not be acceptable to Prime Minister Imran Khan who seems to be determined to see his predecessor and political arch rival Nawaz Sharif decimated. Moreover, blaming India for only one half of Pakistan’s troubles goes against the military’s view that New Delhi is wholly behind each and everything that goes wrong in Pakistan!
That leaves us with the ‘scalene triangle’ in which no side is equal, and this seems to be the closest match to the ‘Faraz Triangle’ since it has an inherent element of ambiguity that can be used to great advantage. The essence lies in not disclosing as to who represents which side of the triangle as this gives both the government as well as the military establishment ample flexibility to point fingers as well as accuse whomsoever they wish to and also change the target of their attack without being accused of capriciousness!
If Indo-Pak tensions flare up, the ‘RAW corollary’ can be applied to depict New Delhi as the longest side of the scalene triangle. Whenever the PDM becomes an unbearable pain in the neck for Khan or Gen Bajwa, it’s place can be conveniently switched with that of India with the simple use of ‘Panama Postulate’ along with the ‘Mehran Bank’ and ‘Hudaibiya Paper Mills’ adjuncts for greater effect. As far as Israel is concerned, use of the ‘Zionist hypothesis’ and Imran Khan’s recently expounded deduction of Tel Aviv’s “hegemonic design and approach” can easily be used to justify making it the longest side of the scalene triangle- as and when required.
So, in the final analysis, the ‘Faraz Triangle’ can be defined as “A unique ‘Scalene Triangle’, each side of which is unequal and formed by a different yet closely-linked ‘evil’ force acting in concert to destroy Pakistan. Whereas the entity of all side remains interchangeable, the sum total of the angles formed by their acute [paranoia] and obtuse [mindset] can never be either ‘right’ or ‘equal’”
QED!