(Disclaimer: this is a work of fiction. Learn to take a joke; you’ll live longer.)
UNDISCLOSED LOCATION – Joining humans, politicians, party loyalists and other natural, supernatural and supranatural species in their condemnation of Vanity Fair’s profile of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, the self-proclaimed third jinn of First Lady Bushra Maneka called out the piece for its ‘glaring factual errors’.
Talking exclusively with The Dependent from Bushra Bibi’s Bhootmobile, the third jinn who chose not to reveal their name, gender, colour, or intentions as to why they had summoned this scribe in what was frankly a haunting little vehicle, the jinn claimed that not only was the count of their species given in the piece inaccurate, their description was ‘misleading’ as well.
“The writer clearly forgot the first basic rule of ethical journalism, fact-checking and verification,” the jinn said while talking to The Dependent.
“For instance, the writer makes it appear as though Bushra Bibi has only two jinns, who eat cooked meat, when I myself am the third jinn who also happens to be vegan. Also, I can assure you that none of the jinns were approached by Vanity Fair for the piece – another journalistic blunder.”
Without explicitly stating whether there might be even more jinns at the First Lady’s disposal, living in perhaps a true multicultural, multilingual, multi-gendered, multi-political and multi-specie society that humans can only dream of, the third jinn said the piece’s ‘horrendous mistakes’ regarding the jinn community reveal how the article stood on flimsy grounds vis-à-vis humans as well.
“It was shocking to see that the harassment accusations against Ali Zafar weren’t pointed out – although to be fair, then the writer would’ve had to point out the same accusations against the man who was being profiled, and that would’ve taken the article into a whole new direction,” the jinn maintained.
“Also, as a supernatural species, existing in a physical dimension yet to be formalised by the human mind, I feel it’s a bit of a stretch to call Ali Zafar, Imran Khan’s ‘friend’”
Despite the jolting revelations The Dependent could not independently verify the number, designation, or the existence, of the interviewee who vocally self-identified as the ‘third jinn’ of Bushra Maneka.
