LAHORE: Well, it seems the monsoon has arrived. On Thursday, as a matter of fact. Karachi is still flooded. Assam has been too. But while Lahore isn’t exactly completely dry, it isn’t flooded either, as usually happens during a monsoon. The main sign that the monsoon has started would be the Army rescuing people (and the Navy in Sind).
I’m not sure how the humidity is supposed to affect the coronavirus; it’s either very bad for it, or very good. But I’m not sure we should rely on the weather. I mean, look where it has got us. The whole northern hemisphere hoped that virus would not be able to survive the heat of summer. Especially in Pakistan, where the summer is very hot, very dry.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t as bad as it normally is, which was obviously a conspiracy against Naya Pakistan.
However, that conspiracy has now been defeated, and while the credit obviously goes to Imran Khan, whose struggles against the coronavirus are matchless, some of the credit has been given to Usman Buzdar. Surprised? Not as much as Usman Buzdar. He still hasn’t got over the surprise of becoming CM in the first place, and to be landed with this honour.
There was apparently a move, one of the strongest yet, to replace Buzdar, and it had to be denied by Information Minister Shibli Faraz, and then Imran himself. I suppose Imran is impressed by his intellectual prowess. There is a rumour going around that he can do sums, not just any, but hard ones too, involving long division.
Ad her we thought Sardar Usman was reviving the glory days when Sardar Arif Nakai was CM. Sardar Arif was of Sikh ancestry, hence the ‘Sardar’. A collateral ancestress had married Maharaja Ranjit Singh, so he was the first Jat to rule Punjab (though there had been Sikh CMs in East Punjab, Jat by caste) since Ranjit Singh’s son Duleep Singh. Sardar Usman may be a Sardar, but he is a Baluch.
Why his rule is compared to the Sikhashahi, I can’t imagine. However, one can imagine the feast of reason and flow of soul when he and Imran have their meetings. Of course, both he and Imran would like to get over this and concentrate on the upcoming Eidul Azha.
One of the main concerns Imran has is the need to observe SOPs. He has actually admitted that they weren’t observed in Eidul Fitr, leading to a spike in coronavirus cases. That has got Sardar Usman conflicted because this was supposed to be his big day of the year. Not as CM, but for the sale of sacrificial animals, for in his spare time, he was one of the biggest livestock dealers of the province.
Speaking of the coronavirus, it has shown how tenacious it is, for the USA remains the leading country by the number of cases as well as deaths, though both India and China are catching up. That meant attention being paid to its president too. I’ve heard it said that he already looks like a tinpot dictator. There’s something to be said for that, nut I think he resembles nothing so much as an SHO of the old school, vast of punch and hard of hand. Only I’m not sure any SHO would have the guts to be so orange.
There’s even a commonality in dealing with problems. Trump has zeroed in on why so many cases were being uncovered– testing. If you don’t test, you can’t make a diagnosis. Like making sure the victim of a robbery says only four people committed it, instead of the eight who actually did, and that they weren’t armed. Otherwise, it’s a dacoity, and the SHO would have to trace the gang.
Trump would probably also like the solution an old-style SHO would have used to end the protests over George Floyd’s death: a lot of encounters. An SHO of the old school operates on the basis of a lot of prejudices, just like Trump. Why do you think coppers still divide society into castes: to identify the criminal castes. Even though so many are now represented in the ranks of the police.
Trump as SHO, or dictator?
Imrabs warning about SOPs for Eidul Azha
Buzdar not being removed Shibli’s guarantee
Sugar commission unleashed
Having fun…
Wheat
Ehsanullah Ehsan
