Even a 60-day stint as the prime minister of 210 million Pakistanis is a matter of great honour and pride. Restrained by the law to matters of routine banalities, you must have considered the dilemma of performing something different, creative and profound that would leave your mark on the pages of history.
A previous prime minister, suffering from a similar consideration, performed a very unusual task moments before finally stepping out of the Prime Minister’s House.
He went back to his office and signed documents that authorised himself and his friends to obtain five licenses each for weapons of prohibited bore. Clearly this is how some people perceive the meaning of ‘profound’ and ‘extraordinary’.
Instead of waiting for the last day, you took off to Swat on the very first weekend after taking over as the prime minister. You went to offer prayers at the graves of your parents and to meet your hometown friends and relatives. This was indeed noble, gracious and thoughtful. But you used an official helicopter and over 20 government vehicles to undertake this trip. Your trip was entirely personal and private but you made it look official and had it fully covered by state funds and tax-payers’ sweat.
Here is an opportunity for you to redeem the situation you have been trapped into by your overzealous bureaucrats: simply ask the Finance Department to send you a bill of all expenses incurred in this visit and refund the amount from your own pocket. This unique act of yours would shake the dead conscience of the state, kindle a new ray of hope for the 210 million gloomy Pakistanis and set a high standard for those arriving after you. You would have left behind a high moral tradition that would force all Pakistani rulers to differentiate between government funds and private vacations.
A previous prime minister, suffering from a similar consideration, performed a very unusual task moments before finally stepping out of the Prime Minister’s House.
He went back to his office and signed documents that authorised himself and his friends to obtain five licenses each for weapons of prohibited bore. Clearly this is how some people perceive the meaning of ‘profound’ and ‘extraordinary’.
Instead of waiting for the last day, you took off to Swat on the very first weekend after taking over as the prime minister. You went to offer prayers at the graves of your parents and to meet your hometown friends and relatives. This was indeed noble, gracious and thoughtful. But you used an official helicopter and over 20 government vehicles to undertake this trip. Your trip was entirely personal and private but you made it look official and had it fully covered by state funds and tax-payers’ sweat.
Here is an opportunity for you to redeem the situation you have been trapped into by your overzealous bureaucrats: simply ask the Finance Department to send you a bill of all expenses incurred in this visit and refund the amount from your own pocket
Here is an opportunity for you to redeem the situation you have been trapped into by your overzealous bureaucrats: simply ask the Finance Department to send you a bill of all expenses incurred in this visit and refund the amount from your own pocket. This unique act of yours would shake the dead conscience of the state, kindle a new ray of hope for the 210 million gloomy Pakistanis and set a high standard for those arriving after you. You would have left behind a high moral tradition that would force all Pakistani rulers to differentiate between government funds and private vacations.