Tug of war
There’s a tug of war going on between the Min of Fin and a would-be Min of Rev, which is half the former’s powerbase. No wonder the former is not in favour of the latter muscling in. But there’s more to it than this. It was a done deal with the would-be Min of Rev, scion of a Fauji Family, except that the gent said he would accept the office on the condition that he report directly to The Great Khan. The Min of Fin was having none of that, since revenue is his province. So the to and fro continues without a final decision.
Or else …
Through the years, intolerant rulers have demanded this or that journalist’s axing from newspapers, channels and other media, in return for the easing of restrictions and repression. This time, The Great Khan has the owner-editor of the country’s largest media group in his clutches and although the group is bending over backwards to please him, that is still not enough. We hear the latest demand, in return for the owner-editor’s release on bail, is the sacking of the group’s two most outspoken and popular correspondents. Either the group does the needful and obtains its editor’s release … or else …
Who needs vents?
Readers will have seen pics of a jumbo PIA plane, chock full of stuff meant for delivery to Uncle Sam. Press reports suggested there were “medical supplies” on board. Since the nature of the supplies was not specified, it was assumed that the cargo consisted of masks, gloves, hazmat suits and chloroquine. It turns out that a few hundred ventilators were also on board, to curry favour with the Trump admin. This was back in the day when we had no fear of widespread infection, shortage of hospital beds or ventilators. Now that COVID19 infections are growing exponentially, who needs vents?