Saying “no” to power
A well-known Lahore jeweler confessed that he found it impossible to say “no” to power. He spoke of various senior khakis who “bought” jewelry for their wives but either never paid up, or delayed payments for ages. Apparently, a former chief of those who go around NABbing people was an outright thug who never paid at all. And then another big gun, currently in high office, bullied his way through several transactions, paying paltry sums drop by drop, bullying and threatening when asked to pay, discounting the agreed price at will. The jeweler also said that in contrast, Bob’s begum is a welcome relief; she shops modestly and pays immediately. “What’s this guy made of?” asked the bemused jeweler, “he’s so different from his predecessors and peers.”
Friendless
That poor young woman who’s stuck in an Isloo lockup for trying to smuggle half a million greenbacks out of Pak, has no friends and supporters by the looks of it. But she should have many powerful people at her beck and call, given her connections in high places and her to-ing and fro-ing to a famous House in Karachi. Our mole reports that she was a courier for a rich and famous gent, whose sidekick was present when she was caught red-handed. They say RM 007 holds the key.
Graft & threats
At a recent top committee meeting in the city by the sea, the khakis dished it out to the provincial government. They quoted chapter and verse on the number of SHOs appointed for a maximum of a couple of months, with the obvious deductions. Someone right up there is selling thanas, and the khakis are asking how they can clean up the city under such circumstances. On another tangent, a follower of the embattled Quaid-e-Qiwam called a TV anchor and said, “army policies change with army chiefs but we never forget our enemies.”