This is with reference to reports about Indian media scandalising expensive clothes worn by our foreign minister on her trip to Delhi. She should have been briefed that Indian politicians usually wear simple Indian made clothes. Pakistan would be served better if our VVIPs on official visits attire themselves in clothes, shoes etc made locally.
It would be an interesting study to compare the cost of wardrobe, watches and shoes worn by Harvard educated President Obama of USA and our semi literate ruling elite, whose weekly wardrobe costs more than their total declared assets. Perhaps they have to make up for their intellectual deficit by flaunting expensive watches, handmade expensive shoes etc. As far as Hina Rabanni Khar is concerned, she is an educated lady having graduated from LUMS and done her master in hotel hospitality from Massachusetts University.
We live in a country where it is common knowledge that the VAT refund obtained by a powerful ruling family at London Heathrow was in the range of several thousand British pounds, which would be payable for purchases worth several hundred thousand pounds. Why blame our FM for wearing a glamorous outfit with accessories like a Birkin handbag, expensive watch, Cavalli sunglasses, diamond and pearl jewellery worth almost one third of her total declared assets, because she has spent her last few years, ever since she joined politics with likes of Musharraf, Shaukat Aziz, Yousuf Raza Gillani etc as her peers.
MALIK TARIQ ALI
Lahore
