People are talking about —

-- the negative remarks and hysteria over the ‘Aurat March’ that has been created by misogynists and how the courts have rightfully turned down requests to stop the march, while leaders of the Sindh government are also being lauded for supporting the right of women to voice their demands on their International Day celebration. People say organizers should also be careful not to create more animosity by chanting or displaying inappropriate slogans and posters.

-- the news that the government is mulling over allowing duty free smart phones into the country by international passengers after implementing a robust verification system to stop the misuse of this facility. People say if the present system is working well and to the advantage of the government, then why is it necessary to change the system so that the privileged can benefit because it is they who are the ones who use these devices and can afford to pay duty.

-- the decision by a popular television channel to cancel all deals with the misogynist writer and playwright who recently used abusive language against a female Pakistani political commentator, journalist and human rights activist. People say if all channels acted in this exemplary manner, especially the ones owned by women, there would be less of this distasteful and shameful behaviour on talk shows and other public platforms.

-- the deforestation of the F-9 park that visitors are witnessing as they observe women carrying stacks of wood and crossing the park’s walking tracks right under the nose of security guards. People say the trees are denuded and because no one objects to women carrying wood, they deliver their load to pickups and motorbikes near the park’s broken boundary wall at several places, while the trunks disappear later probably carried out by the wood mafia in the dark of the night.

-- the unauthorized building taking place within the boundaries of the protected Sirkap site in Taxila and how the authorities are turning a blind eye to the destruction of this national heritage tourist attraction. People say such illegal construction is allowed to go on by inefficient or corrupt officials and when finally taken notice of by the court and ordered to be destroyed, there are protests and ugly scenes, so the problem should be nipped in the bud before it spirals out of control.

-- the death of a constable during the filming of a video and how this is the second death recorded recently since this stupid trend began. People say the story of the constable’s death, as reported in the news, raises questions about how two female students were allowed to leave the hostel with ‘friends’ for an overnight stay and why the constable, who was one of the ‘friends,’ allowed the girl who accidently shot him to play with his gun. – I.H.