Daily Times

It is time to take off to some place where the maximum daily temperature is lower than the minimum daily temperature in Lahore and where ‘load shedding’, when mentioned if at all, has a slightly risqué connotation, entirely unconnected with electricity of the utilitarian sort. Of course, I will be without good Pakistani mangoes but then I am told that decent mangoes are now available in some abundance in the land of the free. Nevertheless, the few days left before I leave will be utilised for some serious mango indulgence.

In the US I will meet friends and family, and spend quality time with my two years and something old granddaughter. Of course, consumption of adequate amounts of roast beef sandwiches and a few decent steaks will also be in order. And being in a place that is somewhat cooler and where the air-conditioning works except during the occasional hurricane is also worth looking forward to. An added benefit is the chance to figure out the intricacies of US politics up close.

It is also important to choose certain news stories that I will continue to follow while I am out of Pakistan. The first one is, of course, about load shedding and what happens to it over the rest of the summer. This I believe is the most important single factor that will determine the continued health of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government both in Punjab as well as in Islamabad. However, the only relatively ‘interesting’ aspect of this story will be how long the recently appointed ‘queen’ of load shedding lasts in her position. Whatever happens to her in the immediate future, she has indeed already made a greater impact on the ongoing narrative of load shedding than any of her predecessors. Her order that load shedding will not continue for more than an hour at any time is being ‘religiously’ followed.

However, something very interesting is happening. I wonder if I am the only person who has noticed this. If the power goes off at noon, it stays off for exactly an hour but, at one pm, the power comes back on for only five minutes, then goes off for 50 minutes, comes on for exactly five minutes again and then goes off for another hour. So, in essence, for the three hours between twelve noon and three pm, the power is on for only 10 minutes. Yet the power does not go off for more than an hour at any time! And her political masters can all get up and say without any doubt in their minds that load shedding is limited to only one hour at one time. Diabolically brilliant. No wonder she is the queen.

The other story that I will continue to follow very closely is about the tribunal trying to figure out what exactly happened on the fateful day when the Punjab police opened fire on civilians, killing a dozen people and injuring scores of others, just down the street from where our Chief Minister (CM) lives. Most of the basic information is available but the real question persists: who ordered the police to fire? So far nobody in the ’legal’ chain of command has owned up to it and whatever one might say of the ineptitude of the police, it does not open ‘fire’ on civilians without a direct command from the proper authority. The CM has of course insisted that he was ‘out of the loop’ and his minions have denied culpability. So the big story will be the identity of the person who actually ordered the firing with intent to kill.

The third story will be the ongoing army operation in the ‘frontier’ regions. So far it seems to be progressing as expected both on the ‘front’ as well as behind the lines. Whenever people from the land of the pure find time from fulfilling their religious obligations, they mostly seem to support the army action. The interesting part of this story is, of course, the unfolding response of the ‘anti-army commentariat’. They are intellectually stuck between the proverbial rock and a hard place. However much they might hate the army for ‘historical’ reasons, they also equally hate the people that the army is fighting at this time. Their response so far has been a pox on both their houses but it is indeed amusing to watch them squirm while they justify this attitude.

On par with the energy crisis, at least in its immediate importance, is the unfolding tragedy of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) whose number is slowly creeping up to a million. How the PML-N government handles this situation will also, to a great degree, determine what happens to its reputation as far as governance is concerned. The army and its ability to handle this crisis will also determine how it is perceived during and immediately after the present action. And in this matter, the reputation of Imran Khan and his party’s government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province is also on the line.

Then there are other lesser stories that need to be watched as they evolve. Of these, one of the more important ones is the fluctuating price of white potatoes. So far, thanks to India, the price evidently has been brought down to an acceptable level. We must remember that during the month of fasting, potatoes in different forms make up one of the basic sources of nourishment at both ends of the fasting period. You do not mess around with devout Muslims and their favourite foods at this critical time.

And, finally, since I will be travelling by Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), I hope the government does not suddenly privatise it while I am in the air or during the time I am in the US. That could indeed have unpleasant consequences for those of us that still prefer, for strange reasons, to patronise the national flag carrier.

The writer has practiced and taught medicine in the US. He can be reached at smhmbbs70@yahoo.com