When Ghazanfar cried wolf
It was reported by Daily Jang (26 March 2018) that a young man stopped a moving train by signaling to it using a piece of red cloth near Kala Khatai, Sheikhupura district, and then fled the scene. The emergency stop alarmed the passengers of the train greatly. Police later registered a case against a man named Ghazanfar.
Game of Thrones
Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman of the JUI-F was quoted by Daily Jang (27 March 2018) as saying that in the coming elections, no party would obtain a majority, and that his associates would play a vital role – including when it came to forming the government in Sindh. The Maulana also stated that people in Sindh view his party as an alternative to the PPP.
On conspiracies
Imran Khan, according to Daily Jang (27 March 2018), was quoted as saying that one had the appearance of a bandit (daku), while the other was ‘Sharif’ only in name. He went on to say that in the presence of Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman, Asif Zardari and the Sharif family, there was no need for a Jewish conspiracy (Yahoodi saazish).
Security requirements
According to Daily Nawa-i-Waqt (27 March 2018), a lawyer for ex-President General (R.) Pervez Musharraf took the position that the former strongman could not rely on the Ministry of the Interior for security. In the absence of security arrangements that he found satisfactory, he could not advise Musharraf to return to Pakistan, and that this has been communicated to those in Pakistan who are close to him.
Holding the line
Daily Nawa-i-Waqt (29 March 2018) quoted leaders of the JUP (Noorani) as saying that every effort to turn Pakistan into a non-religious state (la-deeni riyasat) would be confronted firmly (datt ke muqabila kiya jaye ga).
Aiming for the stars?
Jamshed Dasti, leader of the Awami Raj Party, was quoted by Daily Dunya (30 March 2018) as saying that he would contest elections from NA-181 no matter what happened – and that he would win with a lead of 2 lakh (200,000) votes.
How to defeat the foreign agenda
The Deputy Secretary-General of the JUI, Maulana Amjad Khan was among the leaders quoted by Daily Dunya (30 March 2018) as expressing their view that America and Europe were busy in propaganda against madrassahs. In remarks attributed to him, it was stated that in a country made in the name of Islam, no foreign agenda will be permitted and that in the coming elections, religious forces (deeni quwwatein) would inflict a defeat on secular forces.
Making history in the Land of the Nile
Daily Nawa-i-Waqt (30 March 2018) reported that Abdel Fattah el-Sisi obtained 92 percent of the vote to become President of Egypt for a second term. The report also stated that despite the efforts of the government, turnout had remained low. Further, it was reported that at the time of filing the report, final results were yet to come in.
Manifesto?
Expressing his view of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, according to Daily Express (31 March 2018), Siraj-ul-Haq of the Jamaat-e-Islami stated that the restored political alliance sought to wake up the nation and strongly unite it (qaum ko bedar kar ke inhein wahdat ki zanjeer banana chaahti hai). Through this, he stated, the unholy objectives (na-pak azaaim) of the Jews and Hindus (Yahood o Hanood) under American leadership (Amreeki sarparasti) would be foiled.
Mouse hunt
According to Daily Dunya (01 April 2018), the alleged presence of a mouse on an Indian flight from Sharjah caused a delay of some 22 hours. This was the result of a claim by a member of the staff that a mouse had been spotted, which led to safety/security protocols coming into play.
Far from a uniform consensus
It was reported by Daily Dunya (01 April 2018) that a committee formed by the IG to look into the issue of a new uniform for the Punjab Police had been unable to reach a conclusive decision. Members were unable to agree on whether to restore the old uniform, adopt the design of the Federal Capital’s police or opt for a third design.