Contrary to public opinion, and PIA suspending two employees, it turns out that the national carrier was really not to blame for people chucking a sitting MNA and former interior minister out of the infamous Karachi-Islamabad flight a few days ago. Officials admit that there was an initial delay, which was communicated to Rehman Malik, who showed up in time for the adjusted schedule, and was escorted to the FIA special lounge while less prominent people went through the motions of boarding.
But when everybody was in place the ex-minister’s seat was empty, and stayed that way all the while the mercury rose. Malik, it is learnt, would much rather have been in the plane than the VIP lounge, if only his facilitator had informed him the plane was ready. In the end, it was a rare case of FIA-PIA miscommunication that kept Malik treating himself to FIA luxury as fellow passengers rolled up their sleeves to receive him. When he eventually walked up to the plane, and gauged popular fury, it appears the former interior minister employed that old, wise technique of survival: he who runs away lives to fight another day.
*****
Some matches are really made in heaven. Like the one that saw the son of a prominent former Karachi business tycoon – now settled in Dubai – take the hand of a similarly successful magnate’s daughter recently. The celebrations were something to write home about, and are still doing the rounds in the expat community and at home.
Spread over a week, the festivities graced Rome and Dubai, and boasted an impressive international audience. It was no less impressive in scale or glamour, it can be safely said, than the trumpeted George Clooney marriage soon to take place in Venice.
