The writer is an author. MILLIONS of Pakistanis pay to watch their elected favourites compete in games played in our political national stadium. Politics here has been likened to cricket, especially after a professional cricketer was fielded as captain of the country’s team. That comparison does not hold: too many players on the pitch, too little respect for MCC rules of gentlemanly conduct, too frequent run-outs. No one is interested in keeping score, only in settling scores. Is it like football? Not really. Football requires dexterity, speed and control of the ball. Our political fixtures are nothing more than painful tackles, deliberate fouls, and own goals — overseen by a partisan referee who wields a truncheon shaped like a whistle.