People are talking about —

—- the bill submitted by an MNA of the MMA titled, ‘The Sindh Compulsory Marriage Act, 2021’ to the Sindh Assembly which seeks to make marriage compulsory for people aged 18 years. People say the argument that early marriages will solve problems of moral depravity is ridiculous because these practices are carried out even by married men, besides which Pakistan is suffering from over population, so early marriages mean more births because women are expected to give birth within a year of marriage.

—- the crazy world of politics and the manner in which political entities behave, a case in point being the anti-government alliance, the PDM. People say after the recent action taken by two major political parties to leave the alliance because of differences in the matter of strategy, there were accusations and counter accusations with bad mouthing and the blame game in full swing, but now there is talk of conciliation; apologies and acceptance for the sake of political expediency.

—- the ‘boycott chicken’ campaign started on social media over the rising price of chicken meat. People say such campaigns only work if everyone is serious about the boycott but unfortunately such campaigns do not work here because there is a huge disparity between those who can afford to buy it and those who cannot, as well as the fact that we as a nation are generally divided on any and everything, even if it is for our own welfare.

—- the gruesome murder of two ‘informers’ by a gang of criminals and how the person who filmed the incident has put the video on social media where it has gone viral, because social media users are sharing it endlessly. People wonder where our humanity has gone that we film such scenes and then share them with others instead of helping the victims, or on the other hand, they say, the video may have been posted as a warning to ‘informers.’

—- the proposal by the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FPCCI) to sever electricity and gas connections of those commercial units who preferred to remain outside the tax net, while salaried persons are the only persons who are regular tax payers. People say it is a good idea because there are so many tax evaders, especially from high income business houses and drastic measures may be the only solution to solve the problem.

—- the research study ‘Health Implications of Smoking in Pakistan,’ published by the Centre for Global and Strategic Studies, which recommended that the government should introduce comprehensive reforms in its taxation and planning policies to curtail the growing use of tobacco as it causes 160,000 deaths yearly. People say the influence of the tobacco industry over legislative bodies is a major factor behind the delay in imposition of the tax levy and low taxes are contributing to the growing use of tobacco products

—- the noticeable fact that the very vocal Mariam Nawaz Sharif has suddenly gone missing from television screens and her brother in law appears to have taken over her spot. People wonder if this is a sign that not all is not well within the family ranks; a political strategy or something more serious as far as the political party they belong to is concerned as politics can divide or bring together those who are politically inclined for the sake of expediency, for example the PDM. — I.H.