Paved with good intent
The path to hell, they say, is paved with good intentions. When The Man of Steel went to see The Great Khan at his country house near Islamabad, to explain his “talks with the Taliban” strategy, it was to ensure that both leaders were on the same page. Although well intended, this is a Faustian bargain that both leaders have struck. While at The Great Khan’s, there was talk of another path – the one leading to The Khan’s home. The sorry state of the road was brought to The Man of Steel’s notice. We hear a spanking new dual lane was ordered there and then, and that work on it has begun.
In harm’s way
The Chinese are signing billions of dollars worth of MOUs with the government to build infrastructure projects. These will have a beneficial effect on the economy, no doubt, but they have to materialize for this to happen. The hurdle in the way is the issue of terrorism. We hear the Chinese have made it crystal clear to the government that they will not put their investment and workers in harm’s way and that they need to see a crackdown on terrorism before the MOUs can materialise.
Flying high
We hear the flags of banned extremist organisations are flying high on mobile phone towers in Southern Punjab. Militants belonging to these proscribed bodies have done a deal with the owners of the towers – we won’t bomb your towers if you let us fly our flags.