The precious diamond necklace of the honourable first lady of Turkey became the subject matter of newspaper reports recently. Thank goodness that with the raising of this issue in the media, the necklace was finally traced. If this issue had not been raised in the media, its whereabouts would have remained hidden forever. It is obvious that the purpose for which this gift was extended had unfortunately remained unfulfilled. Now, since the necklace has been traced and before it goes into undeserving hands again, the only respectable course for the government to take would be to return the jewels back to the first lady of Turkey with thanks under a cover letter whose contents may be somewhat to the following effect. It may be made clear that to atone for the manner in which this gift was handled at our end, it appears necessary that the letter conveying the gift back to the donor should be shorn of diplomatic norms and should state nothing but the bare truth in the same awkward manner in which an accused is led to blurt out a confession.To,The honourable first lady of TurkeyMadam,We, the people of Pakistan, are well aware of your highly generous nature and your deep concern for humanity in general and for suffering Muslims all over the world. Your recent visit to Myanmar’s coastal state of Rakhine to express solidarity with the Rohingya Muslims because of their sad plight and extending them aid in food and other materials was widely appreciated by all the people of the world. This was also a symbol of the love and concern of the people of Turkey for Muslims everywhere in the world. We saw on television some very touching scenes of how deeply you felt for your brothers and sisters in their extreme distress, denied their home and hearth, and even their homeland where they had lived for centuries. You will kindly recall that on another occasion of distress faced by the people of Pakistan in 2010 due to wide-spread floods, you, accompanied by your illustrious husband, his excellency the Prime Minister (PM) of Turkey, paid a visit to Pakistan and as a gesture of goodwill and solidarity with the flood victims, you graciously donated your expensive diamond necklace to aid the suffering victims of the flood. This gesture stood as a personal token of your love and concern for the flood victims, which was perhaps more valuable than any monetary help from your country. It was obvious that you had intended to personally help the flood victims from the sale proceeds of this expensive gift. Initially, as had been intended by you, the government of Pakistan had plans to expend the amount from the proceeds of this gift for the relief of the flood victims.Alas, nature willed it otherwise. Man is humble and weak, and it quite often happens that what man wills, nature wills it otherwise. As fate would have it, this expensive gift could not be immediately disposed of as per your wishes. It was largely thought that the gift was so expensive that no man could possibly pay its price even if it was put to auction for the purpose of ascertaining its value. After the lapse of sufficient time, it was realised that the floods had subsided and the poor victims had already returned to their homes. Therefore, there appeared to be no more need to provide them any aid at that belated stage. The expensive gift also kept changing hands and places until it was decided that the most secure place for its custody would be the PM’s house. Hence, the necklace was secured in the safest place in the federal capital where it remained consigned, reminding our former PM of the great concern your people had for the people of Pakistan. For a further two years the necklace served the PM house as a memento of the close bonds between our two countries. Later, with the change of the government, the former PM, fearing that the expensive gift might get lost, thought it proper to keep it in his careful custody and, accordingly, took it along with him. In fact, it was bona fide believed by him that only he could safely keep the gift under his care as he alone knew the background of this invaluable gift. Thereafter, nothing was heard about the gift for a long time.It was only recently during a random stocktaking that the gracious gift of your honour came to the light of the present government upon which an enquiry was ordered at the highest level. The former PM was consulted on the matter. He stated that he was still keeping the necklace with him as a precious gift from a sister (your good self) to a brother, the then PM of Pakistan. Though his present statement deeply reflected the cordial relations between our two countries, it did not fit into the context of the floods for which this gift was presented. Some sections not patriotic to the country wove stories around the event like the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) auctioning the necklace and spending its proceeds on the marriages of girls from flood affected families, but then the question as to who had purchased such an expensive gift was still left open ended. Moreover, the disclosure by a former head of that department that on orders of the then PM the necklace was kept in the PM house, led our former PM to part with its custody with a heavy heart. Though the former PM seemed to retain its custody for an indefinite period on the presumption that under Islamic law a gift once made with delivery of possession is irrevocable. However, the legal minds in our government state that the validity of the gift hinges on the intention or will of the maker of the gift, which was to only help the flood affected people. In this background, the present government of Pakistan deeply regrets that the objective for which your good self had donated this precious gift could not be achieved. However, the government feels deeply relieved to have successfully traced its whereabouts. We acknowledge your deep, personal concern and love for the people of Pakistan but feel that it is high time this gracious gift was returned to your good self. We believe that its further retention in our country would not be free from some attending hazards. It remained with us but could not be put to proper use for which it was meant. The writer is a former member of the provincial civil service and can be reached at zafar.aziz.ch@gmail.com