Of whispers & shadows
The Islamabad bureau chief of a famous US newspaper once said that in Pakistan “matters of state are conducted in the shadows”, meaning that they are certainly not conducted in the cold light of day. Whispers, shadows and opaque transactions. Nothing illustrates this tendency better than the current PanamaLeaks business in the top court. While one leading adjudicator at least is imbued with a messiah complex – and wants to mete out “justice”, no matter the evidence or the lack thereof – another seems to want to follow the letter of the law. Their other lordships are also keenly aware of the import of the moment, which makes this case a cliffhanger. We’re told that we can expect the final judgment in a week. And whispers abound about what The Man of Steel and his crew may do. Sources say that in a worst-case scenario, The Man is contemplating a retreat to Raiwind from where a protest movement will be launched, building up to the 2018 elections.
Spate of complaints
As hate campaigns continue on the Pakistani electronic media, some high-profile journos are gearing up to file complaints to OFCOM, the media regulator in the United Kingdom. The Office of Communications is a government-approved regulatory authority for the UK’s broadcasting industry. The GEO-Jang group recently won a landmark judgment against ARY Television in London, and was awarded millions in damages, followed by ARY declaring bankruptcy. Another channel has since then begun a similar hate campaign, also broadcast in the UK, and will soon be hearing from OFCOM.
Shifting alliances
As the 2018 elections approach, ever-new alliances are being made and old ones broken. We’ve heard that Wily What-ho, once the mainstay of the late lamented Big Ben’s party in the Punjab, is about to cross the floor to The Great Khan. If he doesn’t actually join The Khan’s horde, it is rumoured that he will try and effect an electoral alliance, contesting as an independent.