PARTLY FACETIOUS: Raiwind is not a palace but…

“I heard that married couples begin to look alike as time passes.”

“How much time?”

“Really? That’s what got to you about my statement?”

“What I was thinking is can this be applied to long-time political adversaries – I mean once they come to power they seem to act or react identically…”

“Long-time political adversaries don’t live with each other – I mean there is Bani Gala, Jaati Umra and Bilawal Houses all over the place…”

“I take exception to that, why not Asifa House or Bakhtawar House?”

“Well, Bilawal took precedence as the first born I suppose.”

“Benazir was the first born – how come there is no Benazir House?””

“Times have changed – during Bhutto’s life time it was location that was critical – so 70 Clifton and Nine Zero.”

“But Bani Gala is a location too.”

“Because The Khan is from an upper middle class family and houses are not named after the heirs.”

“What about Jaati Umra?”

“Jaati Umra is not the location of the Sharif palaces as they are located in Iqbal tehsil Lahore but the father of Nawaz and Shehbaz Sharif named it after his ancestral town of Jaati Umra, Tarn Taran sahib near Amritsar in Indian Punjab.”

“So where does Raiwind come in?”

“Raiwind is a town located within the union council 149 (Dholanwal) in Allama Iqbal Town, Lahore and serves as headquarters of Tablighi Jamaat and hosts the annual Raiwind Markaz Ijtema.”

“Do the Sharifs refer to the palace as Raiwind palace?”

“Well Captain Safdar once did and I hear his monthly allowance was slashed…”

“Don’t be facetious.”

“No, no one with Sharif blood refers to it as Raiwind though I overheard Hussein Nawaz say once that Alhamdolillah Raiwaind is not a palace but a set of…”

“As I said don’t be facetious.”

“OK, but The Khan once he came to power started acting like Nawaz Sharif and Zardari sahib – cutting ribbons, sold on his own propaganda team’s propaganda that he himself set out, and thinking he is the only choice and the most popular man in the country and…”

“Ah but you cannot deny The Khan is better looking and taller than the two men…and therein lies the difference which is natural and sustained unlike the economy…”

“I thought the difference was in the degree of honesty or not.”

“Ha ha, or not.”

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022