Hand-wringing
There is much hand-wringing going on in The Great Khan’s horde, principally about mistakes made in the recent by-elections which they lost, and by corollary, about The Khan’s famous personal decision which has cost him his image amongst the powers-that-be. It is believed that The Khan married his spiritual advisor (Peerni) on January 1, this year, in Lahore. If true, this would be his third marriage - and the lady being a mother of five, has attracted a lot of misogynist criticism. This decision also appears to have cost The Khan amongst Pakistan’s rural voters whose conventionality shuns breakages of families, and where patriarchy denies agency to women, especially those who decide to divorce a husband and move on according to their choice.
The Khan is being advised to keep his third marriage under wraps for the moment. Meanwhile, a tell-all book is about to be published, the author being The Khan’s second wife, whom he married in 2015, only to divorce her a few months later. The gossip is that the book, being published in the United Kingdom, has been translated into Urdu by The Man of Steel’s pen pushers for local consumption.
As far as the by-elections are concerned, the consensus in The Khan’s camp is that this time The Candidate decided not to dish out the cash in quite the same manner as last time, with the subsequent defeat.
Late, lamented
If there was one person who could speak her mind at all times to the late, lamented Big Ben’s Hubby, it was the late, lamented Asma Jehangir. And to give credit where it’s due, Hubby always listened patiently. He would joke that Asma would berate him for something or the other every time she spoke to him. He always retained his respect and affection for her, and it was this which prompted him to suggest to the Sindh Chief Minister that he should demand a state funeral for her. We would’ve been proud Pakistanis today if indeed Asma had got the send-off she deserved from her country.