HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS URGE TO USE KIND WORDS, SHOW EMPATHY TOWARDS PATIENTS, ATTENDANTS

Mahtab Bashir
0333 53 63 248
mahtabbashir@gmail.com
Islamabad

Healthcare providers need to use kind words in soft voice and show empathy towards patients as people only go to the hospitals when they are in pain and require love and affection in addition to proper medical treatment, health experts said on Sunday.

“Kind words, soft voice and empathy is the perfect recipe for the cure and treatment of patients while arrogant physicians and healthcare workers lose their ability to effectively treat sick people”, Prof. Shahzad Ali Khan, Vice Chancellor, Health Services Academy (HSA) said while speaking at launching of thematic calendar titled ‘languages of love’.

The 25th thematic calendar titled titled “Mohabat Ki Zubanain” carrying introduction of 12 leading languages spoken in entire Pakistan has been prepared by the Jahan-e-Maseeha Adbi Forum (JMAF), an off-shoot of pharmaceutical firm PharmEvo and its launching ceremony was addressed and attended by renowned literary personalities as well as top healthcare professionals from Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

A Mushaira was also held at the unveiling ceremony of the thematic calendar, which was presided over by renowned poet Iftikhar Arif while several other poets including inam-ul-Haq Javed, Afzal Khan, Ajmal Siraj also presented their poetry and verses.

Prof. Shahzad Ali Khan maintained that pain and agony compel a sick person to go a healthcare provider but the patient equally needs empathy and kindness in addition to proper medical treatment of diseases.

 
“Studies have shown that kindness and empathy fuel recovery of the patients while arrogance, harshness and cold attitude by the healthcare providers often delay recovery and even result in deaths of the patients”, Prof. Khan observed.

Lauding the Jahan-e-Maseeha Adbi Forum and pharmaceutical firm PharmEvo for selecting ‘languages of love’ as the theme of their 25th calendar, he said there is a saying that hospital walls have heard more prayers then worship places including mosques, churches and temples and urged healthcare providers to talk softly to patients and their attendants who need encouragement and empathy.

He maintained that fine arts has an important connection with scientific innovations as most of the scientific innovations came from Eastern Europe which was hub of art and literature and urged doctors, nurses and paramedics to spare some time for studying literature, listening to music and indulging in some healthy activity.

Advising healthcare providers especially doctors and nurses to learn as much languages as possible, he said talking to patients and their attendants in their own languages also increase their confidence on healthcare providers, adding that nowadays people were losing their faith in doctors and healthcare providers due to their commercial attitude and approach.

Renowned poet and Iftikhar Arif lauded Jahen-e-Maseeha Adbi Forum for their efforts in promoting art and literature among Pakistani physicians as well as common people, saying it was commendable to see some people and organizations which are striving hard to promote art, literature, book reading culture, poetry and linguistics in the country.

“Jahan-e-Maseeha Adbi Forum is the off-shoot of pharmaceutical firm PharmEvo, which is promoting literature and poetry in the country. Creation of thematic calendars on diversified themes after months and years of research is a commendable effort”, Iftikhar Arif added.

He said launch of a literacy piece on the theme of uniting people of Pakistan through languages of lover on 16th December was a commendable effort as it will the nation to learn from the past mistakes.
Prominent poet, journalist and linguist Ajmal Siraj said after a year-long research, they had come up with a thematic calendar on the theme of Pakistani languages, saying their research revealed that most of the regional languages in Pakistan were not only stable but they were evolving and progressing with the creation of literature and poetry in them.

He maintained that Pakistani regional languages were playing an important role in cultural diversity and keeping the country united, adding that as a multi-lingual country, Pakistan was contributing to the high quality literature and poetry on globally.

Deputy CEO of the pharmaceutical firm PharmEvo Syed Jamshaid Ahmed said for the last 24 years, they were preparing thematic calendars, holding book fairs, publishing books on art, literature and poetry and holding Mushairas to promote the soft image of Pakistan and promote ethics in the field of medicine marketing.

“It is the 25th calendar in 24 years history of PharmeEvo. We started as a small company and now we are the 17th largest company in Pakistan, which believes in ethics, healthy competition and creation of a healthy society”, he added. He maintained that they were among only three companies which were WHO –prequalified and producing medicines of international standards.

He also felicitated the team behind creation of thematic calendar saying it takes several months and even years to conduct research for coming up with pieces of art and literature and added that they were trying to create a positive impact on the society.

UNBRIDLED SOCIAL MEDIA USERS & ELECTIONS 2024 IN PAKISTAN

Mahtab Bashir
mahtabbashir@gmail.com
ISLAMABAD

033 53 53 248

Amidst uncertainties and repeated claims of “level playing open field by the country’s establishment”, neither political parties nor the voters seem enthusiastic about the upcoming general elections scheduled to be held on February 8, 2024 in Pakistan. There, nevertheless, is a place, called X (formerly twitter) though which is still buzzing with fury, fumes and fires where one can see not only jailed Imran Khan, convict-free Nawaz Sharif, his video-famed daughter Maryam Nawaz and somewhere in between Zardari’s untested horse, Bilawal Bhutto spewing venom against each other. Don’t forget that kingmakers are equally busy on the X platform by reassuring to none other than Pakistanis that they will continue to stay “neutral”.

The witty, the wily and the wicked social media teams of PTI, PML(N) and PPP are posing quite a show on this cyber platform, which by all means seems to be dominated by team-Imran. Team-Maryam is not very far behind while our beloved inter services public relations (ISPR) remains more active than Bilawal’s brigade.

Interestingly, digital and social media in Pakistan has seen an unprecedented spike in recent years. According to a data portal, Pakistan had 98.2 million internet users, 53 million social media users, and 183.5 million mobile connections as of January 2023. The most popular social media platforms in Pakistan are YouTube, Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and TikTok. The digital media market in Pakistan is also projected to grow from $469.7 million in 2020 to $1,009.8 million by 2025, with video-on-demand being the largest segment.

According to a study done by Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT), Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was the most active and popular political party on Facebook and Twitter during the 2018 general elections, followed by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). However, since 2018, the reach and excess of PTI have almost doubled. Furthermore, after the change in government in April 2022, the popularity of PTI has reached a new zenith in the digital industry in Pakistan.

As per our latest random checks Imran Khan has a following of 20 million on X (formerly twitter), followed by Maryam Nawaz with 8 million and ISPR with 6.2 million while Bilawal carries 5.1 million. On the Facebook ISPR seems to be elading with 20 million followers while Imran is second choice of with 14 million while both Bilawal (0.26 million) and Maryam Nawaz (0.19 million) friends.

Imran Khan the nemesis of kingmakers remains an issue is in jail and Even Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), the supposed “pick” of the kingmakers for this round of election-saga is finding it appropriate to collect the “electable” than hold public rallies, while Peoples Party is quite content with holding on to its two-decade old drip on province of Sindh.

Amid the boiling political temperatures on these social media platforms, the heated or should I say hate-words have become a routine in particular between PTI and PMLN. PPP is visibly staying focused on attacking PMLN for having a deal with the kingmakers while handful of PTI followers are busy throwing their venomous words against PML-N as well as the establishment.

In recent times, social media has become a battleground for political parties in Pakistan, with supporters using pet names like 'Patwari (Nawaz Leaguers)' and 'Youthia (Imran followers)' to label and attack each other. These pet names are considered offensive by the followers of each camp hence is generating lots of hate spewing from both sides of the aisle.

Recently, this social media battle between PTI (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf) and PML-N (Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz) touched another pinnacle soon after the airing of a prime time TV anchor (Shahzeb Khanzada’s) interview with Mian Khawar Manika- former husband of Imran Khan’s current wife Bushra Bibi. Ever since, PTI supporters not only labelling Khawar Manika a person of dual standards but also uploading semi-nude pictures of Geo anchor Shahzeb Khanzada.

One of the consumers, after that interview in his post on social media retorts, “This person (Manika) does not belong to Manika Family but seems like belonging with Sharif Family (Patwaris). After a span of five years, he got to remember that Imran Khan used to visit my house to meet my own wife.” In response, a PML-N supporter says, “..and interestingly, five years ago, a person who used to visit Manika house to meet his wife, has now become a “spiritual father” of an educated class (youthians)”. Another PTI supporter jibed back, “A person who reckon Imran Khan an angel five years ago, instantly become “a father of Patwaris” after airing an interview.

Over the last few years and especially since the debacle of PTI-regime and May 9th incident (supposed burning of a Jinnah House by PTI supporters), the social media has become a significant platform for political parties in Pakistan to engage with their supporters and promote their ideologies either in positive or negative ways. Both PTI and PML-N have a strong presence on various social media platforms, and their supporters are often quite vocal in expressing their views.

PML-N leaders are using the social media to claim they have entered into a deal with the kingmakers and Mian Nawaz Sharif is set to be the next prime minister once again. This prompots a PTI supporter, who spontaneously, snaps back on Face book, “The one who has been asking people (of Pakistan): Mujhay kion nikala, wo bhi Pakistan ko mushkil se nkalane ki batain kar raha hay.” (A person who has been asking: Why have I been thrown out? is pledging people of Pakistan to get the country out of current turmoil”.

As far as the establishment is concerned, PTI supports are the only one currently criticizing Pakistani military establishment especially on the issue of May 9 chaos. Now that, majority of PTI parliamentarians has quit PTI condemning the May 9 incident and has joined Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP), yet the workers and supporters of PTI are apparently standing intact (at least by looking at the social media accounts and exchanges) criticizing establishment, because of the recent surveys which highlights PTI popularity graph skyrocketing while PML-N stands nowhere near rather has shown a declining trajectory.

Pakistan's military establishment is also not leaving these social media platforms unattended as they continue to use this platform to release new songs, motivational statements and even claims that they will stay neutral and let the political parties battle it out within themselves. Despite having directly ruled the country for over 35 years and at other times being accused of "political engineering," the ISPR every now and then comes up with the “neutral” statement just to stir the PTI camp to make mockery of such claims while PML (N) supporters to praise them for gallantry.

Former army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa, in a retirement speech late last year, even spoke of "constant meddling by the army in politics for the last 70 years." Bajwa went on to say that the military had changed its ways and was staying out of politics. But that did not placate Khan and his supporters, who blame the establishment for his downfall in a no-confidence vote in April 2022. Some of the PTI supports believe that "there is a growing perception, even in its historically most captive regions like Punjab, that the army oversteps its boundaries in the name of national security.”

The military and its civilian political allies have responded to such PTI bashing by organizing a full-blown PR campaign on ground as well as on social media. This includes pro-army rallies and events commemorating soldiers' sacrifices. A PTI turn-coat Dr. Firdous Ashiq who has joined Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) as Central Information Secretary recently was quoted in the media saying that the baseless and fabricated narrative constructed by PTI was actually the ‘conspiracy’ to destroy the roots of Pakistan—the narrative was set up to pollute the minds of the youth. Firdous said that the conspiracy was hatched to create chaos in society through incidents like May 9 riots.

The political crisis gripping Pakistan is anything but predictable. But with Khan seemingly on the ropes, establishment is getting on with its usual march to quell any spears thrown directly at them by making two recent moves to deter this trend. Major (rtd) Adil Farooq Raja and Captain (rtd) Haider Raza Mehdi, both former army officers with large following on YouTube, were handed 14 and 12 years of jail sentence respectively following their Field General Court Martial for “inciting sedition”, the military’s media wing said on Saturday.

In a statement, the Inter-Service Public Relations (ISPR) said both retired officers were convicted and sentenced “under the Pakistan Army Act, 1952 for the charges of inciting sedition among army personnel from discharge of duties and violation of the provisions of Official Secrets Act, 1923 related to espionage and acts prejudicial to the safety and interest of the state”.

Selection Before Elections in Pakistan?

Mahtab Bashir
mahtabbashir@gmail.com
0333 53 63 248
Islamabad

The return of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif to Pakistan has not generally been welcomed by masses as they keep buzzing the social media with interesting but logical quotes like “no one knows the exact date of general elections, but everyone knows who is the next PM”, or “Selection before elections is a norm not an exception”.

Former PM promoting peace to move forward

Amidst a chaotic political spectrum ever since the breaking of love-bondage between Imran Khan and the powerful military establishment in April 2022, return of court-convicted Nawaz Sharif from his self-imposed exile in London hinged mainly on Generals and partially on judiciary, and his personal safety.

Despite having a Constitution, an apparently functional judicial set up and an Election Commission, no one in the country knows when the next general elections will be held after dissolution of National Assembly in August 2023. Purportedly, the Constitution of the country claims that General Elections should be held within 90 days of dissolution of the assembly but the Independent Judiciary is busy defining the “hidden” meanings of the Constitutional ambiguous language. Election Commission is another Constitutionally Independent institution and is too busy to clarify the mist by claiming that they are working out the modalities to hold elections in the country.

 
Technically, Nawaz Sharif is an absconder in the eyes of Pakistani law (or at least he was until he decided to use a private jet to leave his controversial London Avenfield apartments). Yet, the rolling cameras showed that he received the protocol of a Prime Minister in waiting. All doors were opened for him, all courtesies were extended to him and it was nothing short of a red-carpet welcome. Even the courts, which were hostile to him and ousted him in what was dubbed as a judicial coup by Nawaz-camp in 2017, were ready to accommodate his ‘honourable’ return.

 
With Nawaz’s come back, on October 21, to some extent has categorically given the impression that he is going to be the next prime minister of Pakistan for the fourth and perhaps last time as he is once again the Army’s chosen one to take on his bete noire Imran Khan.

On the other hand, it is still believed in one quarter of society that, if Imran Khan is allowed a free hand in the forthcoming general elections, he would sweep the polls. In a recent Gallup survey, Imran soars over Nawaz in popularity and going by that account PTI would leave PML-N biting the dust.

 
However, erstwhile kingmakers seems to have found a magic potion from their storage facility to wipe off this ‘so-called’ Gallups and opinion polls by introducing Nawaz Sharif in a brand new packing.

Interestingly, there is no national reconciliation order this time because this engineered potion is helping the courts to see the new writings on the wall more clearly than ever before. The “Engineers” seems to have also collected flotsam and jetsam of PTI deserters—commonly known as ‘electables’- and corralled them together into the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) in Punjab and PTI-Parliamentarians in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P). Both these new parties led by two of Imran Khan’s closest lieutenants, Jehangir Tareen (once known as ATM of Imran Khan) and Pervez Khattak respectively. Both these parties are expected to fragment the verdict in a way that they would let the engineers ensure and to some extent hold the balance of power in the centre, Punjab and K-P.

 
Though the country’s military establishment (often called deep state on social media discussion forums) appears reconciled to seeing Nawaz Sharif back in the saddle by making all such arrangements but it remains a fact that it doesn’t trust him beyond a certain line and do not want him to go rogue once again and try to put the army in its rightful place. After all, in all his three previous innings, Nawaz Sharif was ousted because he got into a scrap with the Generals. His relations with all the Army chiefs he dealt with -- especially those he appointed himself -- have also always been strained. Nawaz has the habit of calling the shots and that s exactly what pits him against the military, which isn’t ready to submit to civilian authority.

The Army will therefore ensure that even if Nawaz lives by the ‘formula’ and gets a fourth term, he will be politically hobbled by being forced to head a coalition government, whose strings will be controlled by the GHQ in Rawalpindi. Normally, the life of coalitions in Pakistan ranges between 18 months to 32 months and even less so because it will have to take many really tough decisions to put the country back on track (at least economically).

Although questions will be raised about the legitimacy of any elections in which Imran Khan is not allowed to participate, but these questions are unlikely to bother the power players in Pakistan. Legitimacy is an overrated virtue in Pakistani politics where power brings its own legitimacy.

Former Balochistan Chief Minister, Aslam Raisani, had once famously said a graduation degree is a degree regardless of whether it is genuine or fake; similarly, in Pakistan, an election victory is an election victory regardless of whether it came from popular support or Engineering. There have been any number of elections in the past in which the dice was loaded against one or the other party. But that never stopped the victors from claiming legitimacy; nor did it make people rise up in revolt over their mandate being denied or stolen.

From Nawaz Sharif’s perspective though, problem is not so much about the legitimacy of the political process but it is about his and his party’s dwindling popularity. There is no denying the fact that he has a support base; but it also has become quite evident that it is no longer the powerhouse it was five years ago. He will need to rebuild this power-base, if he has to have any chance of governing even moderately well. His coming home party - the rally in Lahore - is seen moderately by many in terms of the crowd turnout. It wasn’t the largest collection of people at the Minar-e-Pakistan grounds, but it was big enough for the PML-N to claim that it is on the upswing with Nawaz having returned.

If Nawaz Sharif’s speech is anything to go by, he doesn’t really have a solidly worked out plan on how to fix the economy. There was all the usual stuff of what would be done but absolutely nothing about how it would be done. All he offered was generalities about the agenda of the party to revive the country, but there were no specifics. Even the agenda had nothing new to offer. It was more of the same, old and tired and tried slogans: Increase exports, bring about an IT revolution, cut government expenses and reform the taxation system, creating employment and reforming the public sector etc. All this has been spoken and promised countless times earlier with absolutely nothing to show for it. What will be different this time? No one really knows. In any case, Nawaz Sharif’s model of development is to go for big fancy projects that everyone can see and feel but zero fundamental reform. There is no reason to believe that he has anything different to offer in his fourth innings but he is the one to be owned. 

A VISIT TO A HILL STATION

A PAGE OF MY DIARY 

MUHAMMAD IBRAHIM MAHTAB

Aged 8
Class Two: Respect 
Islamabad Convent School, H-8/4, ISLAMABAD

At Pine City Waterfall: 20 Kms from Pir Sohawa, near Makhnial Village.

Yesterday, (Saturday, September 23), I woke up and I was so excited that today is my result day then I didn’t have time for breakfast. Me my mother and daddy all went to my school to pick up my result card. My grades were straight A‘s. My grandmother threw a party in the whispering pine resort on same day.

We ate some chips slanties and haleem. We also listened some music and some naats and hamds. We even watched a movie of emoji’s 🤪- the ending was supreme then I played volleyball with my daddy, uncles and cousins and then we went to sleep. In the morning I woke up and did wudu like usual and took breakfast and made wudu like usual and packed up my things and my uncle told me we are going to margalla falls so we went there. I took some pictures, ate some slanty and I also saw a black swallowtail butterfly and some hydrangea flowers and it was the most beautiful landscape ever.

With my loving Mom & Caring Daddy 

On our way back home to Islamabad, I obstinate them to go to haleem ghar. We ordered some kebab, haleem and chicken biryani. I also drank a shaheen afridi coke, spent some bonding time with my grandmother and she gave me 5000 pak rupees. Everyone went to their home. I am so happy about the party was the best experience I had in a lifetime. 

I would like to thank my aunts fouzia khala and Ayesha khala to show us the greatest landscape. I am also indebted to faheem mamu and usman mamu for their help to carry me to this fabulous spot. I am obliged to the youngest member of my family Haroon and my sweet sister Mehru for spending their quality time with me. My grandmothers role can never be measured through these words. I hope you liked this essay and thank you so much for your time._Ends.

COURT RULES IMRAN KHAN’S "DISHONESTY" HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED BEYOND DOUBT

On his way to imprisonment

* Captain behind the bars in Attock, no protester seen on the roads 

* Trial court sentences PTI chief to three years of imprisonment, imposes a fine of Rs 100,000 for concealing details of Toshakhana gifts

* Ex-PM technically stands disqualified from holding any public office for five years under Article 63(1)(h) of Constitution

There should be no political connotations attached to police authorities arresting someone who has already been handed a sentence by the countrys judiciary. If the former prime minister Imran Khan’s dishonesty has been established beyond doubt, to borrow words from a court order at the conclusion of a year-long trial spanning more than 40 hearings, he has clearly lost the upper hand. Like it or not, the 70-year-old cricketer-turned-politician was unable to furnish any credible evidence against misuse of his premiership. 

The Toshakhana gifts may have come with a heavy price tag, but Mr Khan has no one to blame for it but himself. Instead of being all cagey, his legal counsel should have fully cooperated with the investigation and brought forward any and every detail that could prove his innocence. But now that the dye has been cast, it would serve him better to wake up to the gross consequences of his (mis)actions flying in his face. According to Daily Times, no matter how many people have treaded down the rotten path before someone does not serve to give him the hallway pass. How does it reflect on his holier-than-thou banter where he kept ridiculing his political opponents as thieves and corrupt if he too was making merry on his way down the primrose path? 

A tweet from a (r) Major

The legal recourse is still open where Mr Khan can appeal his case in front of the higher judiciary. With the legal channels open, there remains no need for his leading men to stir tempest in a teacup. Pakistan is in no shape to afford yet another round of deadly chaos and, therefore, the masses too can only be advised to sort out their priorities. 

In the past, his charismatic banter has easily triggered a large group of disgruntled youth to become a law unto themselves and spread chaos at the expense of their state. Now that the astronomical surge of the superstar is nearing its end, the people too need to realise till when would they continue to play hitmen for the nefarious agendas of those who remain largely unharmed by the ignominies.

NATIONAL ACTION PLAN: PLUS ça CHANGE?

*January 2023 turned out to be the deadliest month in Pakistan since July 2018

The first month of 2023 became the deadliest month since July 2018 as the militants carried out 44 attacks killing 134 people and at least 254 injured in January.According to statistics released by an Islamabad-based independent think tank Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), the pattern of terror attacks continued. At the same time, the security forces foiled many attacks by arresting at least 52 militants, mainly from Punjab, and killing 40, mostly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Although the number of terror incidents slightly declined in January, the fatalities increased by 139 percent, mainly due to the Peshawar Police Line suicide blast.

A man stands in the rubble of the mosque. -Reuters

In January, overall, two suicide bombings were recorded, one in Peshawar and the other one in the Khyber tribal district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

According to PICSS data, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa remained the most affected province during January, where not only the militant attacks increased from 17 to 27, the resultant deaths increased from 17 to 116 compared with December 2022. At least 232 people were also injured in the province, most of them security forces personnel wounded in the Peshawar blast. KP Police was the main target of the militants. Lakki Marwat remained the most troubled district of KP, where the majority of the militant attacks were reported in January, followed by DI Khan and Peshawar. Militant attacks were also reported from Bannu, Charsadda, and Swabi. Southern KP has been facing a major militant offensive during the last few months.

The violence in tribal districts of KP (former FATA) declined during January. Only three militant attacks were reported from the erstwhile FATA region. In December 2022, PICSS recorded 11 militant attacks in this region. Intelligence Based Operations (IBOs) are stepped up in erstwhile FATA, which was the main reason militant attacks declined in the area. In erstwhile FATA, no violent activity of the militants was noted other than in North Waziristan and Khyber tribal districts during January.

In January 2023, militant attacks declined in Balochistan, where only nine militant attacks were reported compared with 17 in December 2022. The resultant deaths also dropped from 14 to 7, and wounded declined from 48 to 20. Bolan, Panjgur, Kalat, Khuzdar, Mastung, and Quetta were the affected districts during the month.

Four militant attacks were reported from Punjab in which three security forces personnel were killed, while two low-profile attacks were reported from Sindh in which one person died. The highest profile attack was carried out in Minawali district’ Makerwal police station by around two dozen TTP militants on January 31. The attack was repulsed but showed the numerical strength and ability to mobilize armed militants across KP and Punjab border. One attack each was reported from Rawalpindi, DG Khan, and Khanewal.

Source: PICSS 

ISHAQ DAR PLAYS POLITICS WITH ECONOMY, NAY WITH DIVINITY!

If a Muslim and a Non-Muslim goes out in the middle to play, God will surely help winning the one who plays the best!

 

When all else fails, divine providence is the most favourite mantra for politicians in Pakistan. Just one glance at the dark annals of history can help one understand why Finance Minister Ishaq Dar felt comfortable in tossing the ball to Allah’s court and asserting that He is responsible for Pakistan’s development and prosperity.

The Dar-ing minister seeks divine intervention to rescue sinking economy

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with this statement if coming from a hapless man walking on the street as he contemplates whether to pay for his skyrocketing electricity bill or spend his day standing in a queue outside a subsidised flour sale point.

 

A sitting member of a federal cabinet in a sovereign country, especially one brought to wave his magic wand and pull out the proverbial rabbit, on the other hand, skates on thin ice. The usual grace period of three months where every administration is allowed the breathing space to cry a river or two or place the blame of its harsh constraints at the doorstep of its predecessors ended more than a while ago.

 

Today, when Mr Dar or his colleagues refer to the tenure of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf to divert blame from his wrongdoings, he has no one else to fool but himself. This week started with an extraordinary power outage that had plunged the entire country into darkness and is ending with crippling uncertainties about petrol as dark clouds continue to hover over the currency market.

 

Think again, Mr Finance Minister. Wouldn’t it be better to rely on the pristine intellect Almighty bestowed upon you and carve up a revolutionary blueprint that helps avert disasters in the coming days? Neither your country nor your government has the stomach to absorb any more shocks.

 

After all, in the words of Maulana Zafar Ali Khan, “Khuda ne aaj tak us qaum ki halat nahin badli; Na ho jisko khiyal aap apni halat k badalne ka.” (God never changed the conditions of nations Till the desire of change is kindled in them.

Courtesy Daily Times  

CRISTIANO RONALDO GETS LUXURIOUS WATCH BY JACOB & CO WORTH 780,000 US$ (NOT TO BE SOLD)

Mahtab Bashir
0333 53 63 248
mahtabbashir@gmail.com
Islamabad

A football icon, Portugal captain and former Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo has been gifted £630,000 watch designed to celebrate his move to Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr.

Ronaldo has been gifted a one-off Jacob & Co watch that’s worth a staggering £630,000 (780,000 US$). The green coloured watch has been gifted in celebration of his move to Saudi Arabia.

Ronaldo’s new watch is green, the same colour as the Saudi flag, while boasting 338 ultra-rare gemstones. It’s also 18K white gold and 47mm x 15.85mm, hence the eye-watering £630,000 (19,000000 PKR) valuation of the timepiece.

The timepiece is worth £630,000 and is green in celebration of his move to Saudi Arabia

The striking colour of the watch was chosen as a tribute to Saudi Arabia, where Ronaldo relocated earlier this month after joining the football team Al Nassr.

Tsavorites are less expensive than their cousins but 200 times rarer, thus the watchmaker chose them rather than using emeralds to get its verdant tint.

The watch's 47 mm 18k white gold case, bezel, face, and crown are all set with 388 premium, baguette-cut tsavorites. While this might seem a little excessive, it gives the watch a stunning, all-green appearance that is difficult to forget. The strap is the only component of the watch that isn't coated in stones, yet even that is crafted from green alligator leather.

The calibre JCAA43 movement, which powers the watch, has bridges made specifically to suit the gem setting. At six o'clock, the hand-wound calibre powers the flying tourbillon for hours, minutes, and seconds. It contains 42 hours of power reserve and 216 components.

But while the watch boasts incredible value the vast majority of the world, to Ronaldo it’s merely a drop in the ocean.

The 37-year-old is earning a staggering £173million a year to play for Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia, making him the highest-paid star in world football.

A coveted gift to Pakistan's PM from MBS

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner is more than just a wonderful footballer though, with Ronaldo also being the most followed star on Instagram with 540million followers.

It is pertinent to mention here, the previous government in Pakistan sold a $2 million luxury watch gifted to Pakistan’s sportsman turned politician, Imran Khan from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, when Khan was a prime minister of Pakistan.

The Graff wristwatch was part of the gifts whose sale landed Imran Khan in a soup and subsequent politics ban.