Famous & fervent
Having led him on, and brainwashed him over a period of time, a famous and fervent Maulvi of Rawalpindi, disassociated himself completely from Mumtaz Qadri when the chips were down. We refer to the trial in court of Mumtaz Qadri who assassinated the then Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer, while he was assigned to him as a police guard in 2011. The said maulvi gave an affidavit in court washing his hands of Qadri, saying he had nothing to do with him and had no influence over him etc. He clearly stated that Qadri assassinated the Governor wilfully, entirely of his own volition and he, the Maulvi, had nothing to do with it. It was shocking, therefore, to see the same Maulvi presiding over Qadri’s funeral when he was given the death penalty earlier this week, exhorting mourners to follow in Qadri’s footsteps, and playing quite the VIP throughout the burial rites.
Been there, done that
Recent visitors to Kabul are of the unanimous view that although President Ashraf Ghani won the last elections, and has been duly installed in the Presidential Palace in Afghanistan’s capital, the real ruler of the country is someone else. Someone who’s already “been there, done that”. None other than the former President, Mr Kay. Citing insecurity, they say Mr Kay has commandeered a part of the Presidential Palace and lives there permanently. We’ve also heard that the cabinet regularly kow-tows to Mr Kay and seeks his advice. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Eid card
We hear the Agencies remember all those who served in their upper echelons and work hard to maintain their contact. One Brig Gen (as they were then known) served at the top of one such agency with distinction in the first half of the 60s. He regularly gets an Eid Card from the boys, and this is all the more touching because he passed away in the early 70s.