Off script
On some things it appears that The Great Khan is his own man, veering off script supplied by his Selectors. One glaring example is his adamant refusal to budge on Punjab’s head honcho. Another is his continued protection of his Secretary, whom his Selectors have been wanting to get rid of for months. Yet another is The Khan’s recent intervention in support of the two out of favour Pashtuns, members of Parliament, who were determined to attend their tribal elder’s big day across the Durand Line. That their exit from the motherland is banned was no secret, but they booked their tickets nonetheless and arrived at the airport to take their flight. They were not allowed to depart, says our mole, whereupon one of them tweeted exactly that. Apparently, The Great Khan picked up on this immediately and instructed his minions to facilitate their departure. And so it happened.
The two went to the Durand Line, where they were made to wait; The Khan intervened again it is rumoured, and facilitated their departure. Despite the fact, says our mole, that they had not made an application to be removed from the exit list, they were able to cross the Line, and attend their tribal elder’s big day in Kabul. All this has left political pundits wondering as to who had called the shots.
Going south
Readers will recall that not so long ago the cricket wallahs boasted that they would be inviting the premier “gora” teams to come and play on our turf. This was to be part of their drive to bring international cricket back to Pak. But in the end, all they could muster was a third rate team of amateurs billed as an “MCC Team”, the travel expenses for which were donated by Brit-Pak enthusiasts. Naturally, it all went south.