Where millions of acres of land in Sindh has gone under flood waters, newspapers carried the photo of our President Asif Ali Zardari on front page showing him wading through knee deep water.
Perhaps he wanted to change the impression of his last year’s absence from the country during the devastating floods. The papers said that he had set aside the security and protocol to meet the marooned and affected people of his home town, Benazirabad. His press photographer, I think is a novice who showed his entire security cordon with two commandoes on his each side with loaded automatic weapons in the picture.
Except for his military secretary, chief minister and a couple of officials closely following him, rest all were protecting him from all directions. The so-called bazaar and the houses around were all deserted to provide fool proof security to the popularly elected president.
The news further said that the crowd cheered him and he shook hands with them. He must have shaken hands with the ghosts of the inhabitants of that area as one could not see even a single soul except his security people around him.
This photo session left a bad taste to the viewers as it projected a deliberate attempt to get popular with the masses. People are no more simpletons. Now they know how the rulers are looting the country and living a royal life of Mughal emperors, where millions of rupees are being spent daily on their maintenance.
MUHAMMAD AZHAR KHWAJA
Lahore
