Abid Sher Ali’s warning
According to Daily Dunya (29 May 2017), Abid Sher Ali of the ruling PML-N party, in response to critics of the Prime Minister, said that from now on, the tongue that speaks against Nawaz Sharif will not remain, nor its owner. He also stated, among other things, that the leader of the Awami Muslim League Sheikh Rasheed would be dragged through the street with his wig removed.
Khamenei on Saudi Arabia
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei was quoted by Daily Jang (29 May 2017) as saying that the United States was using Saudi Arabia like a milk cow.
Red alert…
According to Daily Dunya (30 May 2017), Senator Mian Ateeq of the MQM, on receiving a phone call from his wife, asked for his speech on the budget to be cancelled. He insisted that since he was very stressed in the aftermath of the call, he would find it difficult to proceed with his speech.
Maulana’s objections
Daily Jang (30 May 2017) reported that the leader of the JUI-S Maulana Sami-ul-Haq expressed his reservations over the declaration of the recent Ulema conference in Islamabad. He felt that the summit of US-Saudi leaders and then the Ulema conference in Pakistan represented an effort to create obstacles for jihad. He emphasised that in condemning terrorism it is vital to also highlight the importance of jihad. Maulana Sami-ul-Haq objected in particular to the fact that the declaration of the Ulema made jihad conditional upon the permission of the state. He stated that the rulers were imposed on us by others, and so they could never find the courage to declare jihad.
Fait accompli?
It was reported by Daily Jang (30 May 2017) that Indian police arrested yet another bride who kidnapped her groom – in this case the bride’s family took the groom away by force and held a wedding ceremony. When the police attempted to intervene, they were driven back by the bride’s family and forced to call in reinforcements.
Concessions
Khwaja Asif was quoted in Daily Jang (30 May 2017) as saying that electricity would be cut off for those who do not pay their bills, but that in Ramazan even these people would be provided with electricity.
A way out?
It was reported by Daily Dunya (31 May 2017) that the personal staff of Provincial Education Minister Rana Mashood, on finding that their route was not cleared, threatened police officers with dismissal. According to the report, an SHO was made to apologise on the street, and the matter ended only when he treated them to a meal at a local restaurant.
“Jhagra with Jhagra”
According to Daily Dunya (01 June 2017), PTI leader Shireen Mazari found herself in a verbal clash with Governor of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Iqbal Zafar Jhagra, over a parking dispute outside Parliament.
Five fails?
Sheikh Rasheed predicted that the rulers (“Pappu Hukm-raan”) were about to fail all five of their exams. Referring to the ongoing Panama investigation and the JIT, according to Daily Dunya (01 June 2017), the leader of the Awami Muslim League stated that the ruling party had prepared some people to be used as sacrifices when necessary.
Spare the fall from the roof, spoil the child?
Commenting on the recent incident where teachers allegedly pushed a ninth-grade female student off the top floor of her school building in Lahore’s Shahdara area, leaders of the Teachers’ Union stated that the matter was being portrayed in a one-sided manner and that this represented character assassination of the teachers in the absence of a formal inquiry report. According to Daily Express (03 June 2017), they advised parents to keep an eye on their children and that the approach of love rather than corporal punishment (maar nahin pyaar) had led to the new generation becoming wantonly free (maadar piddar aazaad) – which left teachers helpless in the face of their students.