-- the disgraceful behaviour of political entities from both sides of the political divide during three days of the national assembly session to discuss the budget and how they made a laughing stock of themselves. People say after this commotion, the silence in the hall was palpable and the lengthy speech by the leader of the opposition had both TV viewers and elected representatives yawning, so there should be a time limit for speakers, especially if they have nothing relevant to say.
-- the retaliatory statement made by Chairman PPP when the son of one of his political allies was arrested and how it indicates the revengeful attitude of political entities. People say for him to threaten law enforcers with an ‘eye for an eye’ statement over the arrest is not the act of a seasoned politician and does give rise to the reason why many law enforcers may be afraid of carrying out their duties diligently for fear of repercussions later on.
-- the request by the government to the citizens to help it in catching tax evaders by asking for proper receipts and how it is easier said than done because evaders have a system by which they do business. People say it is a well-known fact that many service providers/shops have a dual set of books and the given receipt may not have a carbon copy, which may satisfy the customer but there will be no proof of any transaction or services rendered.
-- how more and more illegal structures are being discovered in the country, especially in Karachi where land meant for schools and parks has been occupied by powerful persons with the help of civic authorities who may have allowed them to do so either because they were afraid of the consequences, or for illegal gratification. People say the SC has done well to order their demolition but it’s not right that some influential persons are sympathizing with the encroachers.
-- the unnecessary manner in which a local showbiz star criticized a foreign social media vlogger because she pointed out that the pristine beauty of Hunza was being ruined by trash thrown by domestic tourists. People say instead of acting defensive, the artiste could have directed the same energy towards acknowledging the actual issue, which is that there are few to no waste disposal systems in our country and people don't care a hoot about littering, a serious issue that needs to be discussed.
-- the idiom, ‘the pot calling the kettle black’ and how the provincial governments, need to stop glorifying themselves and concentrate on fixing the many problems of the cities under their purview instead of criticising anything and everything that is going on in other parts of the country. People say with electronic media showing viewers the problems that citizen’s face, everyone knows the civic condition of the cities and how efficient or inefficient provincial governments are in keeping them liveable.
-- the new curriculum on biology being prepared by the present government and how persons with knowledge and an open mind are being replaced by those who are ignorant of facts and are known to only recommend what is ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ according to their way of thinking. People say Pakistan is not just in reverse gear, it is hell-bent upon moving backward as fast as possible. The kind of mixed-up, confused and ignorant generations PTI’s curriculum changes will produce in times ahead is frightening. – I.H.