Wish list
We hear General Bobby’s current sojourn to Uncle Sam’s redoubt is of his own making and not an invitation from across the Atlantic. Reliable sources say Bob has a wish list of stuff he wants from Uncle Sam amongst which is a new set of toys. These are the latest version of the jets we so love to flaunt, besides a generous tranche of greenbacks for the (selective) war on terrorism that we’ve fought. Uncle Sam is not likely to be magnanimous, given his insistence on nabbing the “good Taliban” and Gen Bob & Co’s consistent refusal to do so.
Fires of confrontation
The buzz is that The Man of Steel’s Talented Bro has been urging his senior colleagues to please, please, please concentrate on “bijli, pani” and good governance and not to “take on the khakis” again. That said, The Man of Steel has also been trying to douse the fires of confrontation that have been raging between his ministers. We hear he recently summoned two antagonists to a meeting over tea and talked things through. A fly on the wall told us that there were signs of a thaw after a direct exchange of grievances, mediated by The Man of Steel.
Black magic
Our mole in Bani Gala has revealed that earlier this year, The Great Khan was petrified that an evil eye was casting spells upon him. So convinced was he that Black Magic (kala jadoo) had been unleashed upon him that he resorted to a bizarre remedy. Our mole says The Khan began to follow a strict regimen at bath time: his staff made a paste of black gram (masoor ki daal) and he rubbed it on his body to ward off the black magic and then washed it all off, thus purifying and protecting himself. What next?