PARTLY FACETIOUS: There are those who speak for Pakistan and there are those who don’t anymore

“So there was an inadvertent confluence of dates right?”

“Dates as in events occurring on a particular date? I mean given the history of the world it stands to reason that each day would have more than one important event that occurred in the past and so…”

“I ain’t talking the history of the world.”

“Only Pakistan?”

“Well there are those who speak for Pakistan and there are those who don’t anymore.”

“Ooooh that’s telling.”

“Sorry?”

“Well I guess one date is of significance to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf cause that party does not speak for Pakistan anymore. But I would like to state for the record that speaking for Pakistan is an honour, and it is an honour that many take as given though…”

“Stop right there. I hope you are not going to refer to the same-pagers!”

“Well, I was going to refer to the media personnel who purport to speak for Pakistanis, but seriously the basis of their claims are tenuous at best.”

“Oh! That I will let pass, but anyway I have a small complaint against our, how can I put it, vibrant media….how come the 40 plus news channels give live coverage to a government functionary even if he or she is addressing an event that is attended by loyalists that no more than a handful would like to watch.”

“The handful being members of his or her family?”

“Oh I will let that pass. But for your information there are some office holders who merit a national audience – and in my book that is public private partnership – the state run television covers the event as much as the private…”

“Stop while the going is good. Anyway you have the option of watching another channel. Going back to the confluence of important dates I would like to state that The Man Who Must Remain Nameless and Faceless was jailed on 5 August which is also the day that the Indian government revoked Article 370 of their constitution that had granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir….why are you shrugging?”

“The PTI should have brought the day of protest forward or delayed it by a day because the Kashmir issue is far more…..”

“Well, the call was given by a man who has been in jail for two years, and so perhaps he forgot the significance of the day to Kashmiris.”

“I am not sure.”

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025