Afterthoughts from the Indian PM
According to Daily Jang (22 April 2018), Indian PM Narendra Modi claimed that Pakistan had returned captured pilot Abhinandan Varthaman before the ultimatum given by India expired. Further, he claimed that India had abandoned the policy of backing down to Pakistan and asked whether Indian nuclear weapons were kept for Diwali.
Marriyum Aurangzeb’s assessment
TThe PML-N’s Marriyum Aurangzeb was quoted by Daily Jang (22 April 2019) as saying that PM Imran Khan could go ahead and jail everyone, but that he ought to deliver on promises of bread, 5 million homes and 10 million jobs. She further opined that a Captain with a rented team and no vision, policy or planning could only make noise. Moreover, she claimed that the Pakistani people were crying before God and asking to return to Purana (old) Pakistan.
Inspirational
Daily Jang (22 April 2019) quoted PM Imran Khan as saying that when he started playing cricket, he was made fun of (mazaq uraya gya); when he made a hospital, he was made fun of; when he stood against the two-party system, he was made fun of. He went on to say that people thought he could not accomplish things, but through his hard work, he proved them wrong.
Race against time
It was reported by Daily Jang (23 April 2019) that in order to cover up for alleged corruption in the Billion Tree project, the Forestry authorities in KP sent thousands of trees via trucks to be planted in Bannu before the parliamentary committee could arrive there to investigate the situation.
Tabdeeli goals
PM Imran Khan, on his visit to Iran, according to Daily Jang (23 April 2019), opined that Naya Pakistan needed a revolution like that which took place in Iran.
On administrative ‘tamasha’
The Jamaat-e-Islami’s Siraj-ul-Haq, according to Daily Dunya (24 April 2019), opined that the government had become a spectacle (tamasha) and that people everyday waited for its latest jokes (loog har roz hakoomat ke naye lateefon ke intezar mein rehtay hein).
Naya Pakistan, Naya Humour
Commenting on PM Imran Khan addressing Bilawal Bhutto Zardari as “sahiba”, Federal railways minister Sheikh Rasheed was quoted by Daily Express (26 April 2019) as saying that Bilawal was easily irritated by anything (chirchirahat par naraz ho jata hai). The minister went on to express his view that if there was no technical problem (fani kharabi) with Bilawal, then he ought not to take the Prime Minister’s statement seriously.
Rise of the smaller parties
Daily Dunya (27 April 2019) reported that Ayesha Gulalai was claiming leadership of an alliance of around 200 smaller parties by the name of Pakistan Patriot Democratic Alliance, and announced her intention to lead a dharna protest at Islamabad’s D Chowk after Ramazan.
Waiting it out
Chaudhry Nisar, according to Daily Express (28 April 2019), stated that he could become part of any government but that he had no desire for power. He went on to describe his situation as being in a state of fasting, and assured the people that when it was time to break the fast, it would be enjoyable (jab iftari hogi tou mazza aaye ga).
Imminent?
Salman Safdar, the lawyer of General (r) Pervez Musharraf, was quoted by Daily Express (28 April 2019) as saying that the former strongman wanted to return to Pakistan by the 1st of May – and that his family, too, were desirous of his return.