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Former finance minister Ishaq Dar and PML-N leader Ishaq Dar has claimed that he only owns a single property, which is his sole residence in Pakistan, and denied allegations of his property interests abroad.

Appearing on BBC's well-known programme Hardtalk, Dar said he was living in the United Kingdom because of medical reasons and could not return because he was still suffering.

After the PML-N leader denied allegations of corruption against him and boasted of a clean tax record, host Stephen Sackur asked him point-blank how many properties he and his family owned.

"It's all declared in my tax returns," replied Dar. "I have my main residence in Pakistan which has been taken over by this (PTI) regime. I haven't got too many properties."

When pushed by Sackur, he said he owned "one" property that was his only residence, and possessed no property in London. He said his sons who had been in business for 17 years owned a villa in Dubai but they were independent of him.

Dar was then asked why he didn't go to Pakistan and make his case before a court of law if his record was so clear and he only owned one property.

"Well the court of law my lawyers were there, I'm here for medical treatment, I have cervical issue," he replied, adding that he was still unwell after having lived in Britain for three years.

"And you couldn't possibly get back to Pakistan?" Sackur asked.

"Well let's see what's happening in Pakistan," replied Dar. "Where are the human rights, what's happening in NAB (National Accountability Bureau) custody where dozens of people have been virtually killed. There are human rights abuses."

Dar was declared an absconder by the Supreme Court in 2017 when he failed to appear before it since he was in London, reportedly undergoing medical treatment. Since then he remains in London.

Poised, wearing a minimalist black suit, Sajal Aly came on to the stage at this year’s Distinctive International Arab Festivals (DIAFA) awards and accepted the trophy for International Icon.

The awards took place this past weekend in Dubai and even before the actress had come on stage, local social media had started buzzing with pictures of her on the DIAFA red carpet. The hashtag #SajalinDIAFA popped up on Twitter and there were plenty of haywire fans posting about how excited they were.

Sajal is extremely well-loved, obviously. But it surprised me that this fact wasn’t quite so obvious to the actress herself.

Talking to her after her DIAFA win, she confessed to me, “Sometimes, I am just overwhelmed by my fans. I wonder if they truly are for real. After the DIAFA’s, I checked social media and there was such an outpouring of love from them. Different publications were writing about my award but more than anything else, my fans were so happy that they made the news even more of a big deal for me.”

She continues, “I have never believed in especially publicising myself on social media or getting my PR to put news about me in the headlines. I have always felt that my job is to do my work well and give it my best and if people like it, it will take me places without me having to emphasise on it. So it’s very special to me when I attend an international awards ceremony and all on its own, people get excited and start spreading the news.”

Attending the DIAFA’s was exciting for Sajal because she was being recognised on an international platform. “Most importantly, I was representing my country internationally and it’s just made me want to do more, work harder and bring more pride to Pakistan,” she says.

Was she nervous, especially considering that she attended the ceremony on her own, without friends or family from home with her? “Yes, my family wasn’t there with me but even normally, I get nervous very often,” Sajal confesses.

“Regardless of how confident I may be about my work, when the spotlight is on me and I am about to step on stage my heart starts hammering loudly. Even otherwise, when I get praised, I sometimes get flustered or just find it unbelievable.”

Speaking like the consummate actress that she is, she continues, “Fortunately, I have noticed that the fear and nervousness isn’t there when I am acting. The camera rolls and I just become someone else, some character that I am playing.”

We move on to what she wore at the DIAFA’S – a basic suit rather than the elaborate gowns that tend to be the outfits du jour at such ceremonies. “It was from my own wardrobe and no, it wasn’t designer wear,” says Sajal.

“I decided to wear something simple, something that I could wear again and again. This year has been strange for all of us and I am increasingly beginning to feel that we need to place less focus on material things like clothes. We need to start thinking about sustainability and prioritise what we consider important in our lives.”

Of course, an actress of Sajal Aly’s prowess doesn’t need clothing choices to define her work. She has an extensive, incredible repertoire of work as her claim to fame and masses of fans, all over the world, cheering for her and following her incessantly. Sajal – in all her refreshing modesty – may find their love to be unbelievable, but it certainly is there. The hype following the DIAFA’s was merely one example of this.

DAWN.COM Today's Paper | December 01, 2020 Eight months of a pandemic Arifa NoorUpdated 01 Dec 2020 Facebook Count Twitter Share

11

THE second wave of Covid-19 has been sacrificed at the altar of politics in Pakistan. The entire debate seems to be about the carelessness — or callousness — of the political parties; for each side, the other is at fault for campaigning in Gilgit-Baltistan, or holding big PDM jalsas or the government-organised events. It’s an endless debate.

But, the obsession over which of the two sides is leading more people to sickness and possible death also shows how far we have come since the pandemic first began. For the current focus on using the virus for political ends is different from the discussions in March when it seemed everyone and anyone only spoke about the pandemic rather than now when it is politics through the virus.

When the numbers first began to go up at the beginning of the year, the clamour for a lockdown was deafening. The entire debate revolved around just that — the need for a strict and immediate lockdown. The total number of cases in the country were under 1,000 when most of the provinces announced a lockdown — a word which will compete with ‘self-isolate’ and ‘social distancing’ for the word of the year for 2020 — towards the end of March.

That this is perhaps not the major debate now, as it was back then, is not just due to the political environment but also to what we have all learnt in eight long months since those lockdowns began. In March, the perception was that a hard, strict lockdown would eliminate the virus, as had happened in Wuhan. We would all — or most of us — hunker down, venturing out only for food, and if we did it well enough, the virus would be gone from our lives. (Those who argued that a lockdown was a temporary measure to prevent the health system from breaking down or ramping it up were ignored.)

   So much is unknown about the infection that views have changed rapidly about what needs to be done.

This ‘elimination’ seemed not only possible but also necessary because the projections of an exponential spread of the virus-spelled catastrophe for our overcrowded cities with limited, creaky healthcare. In those very early days, few made the connection between the younger population and the impact of the virus — healthcare professionals painted a scary picture of people collapsing in hospital corridors and even the roads, as we ran out of equipment and health workers to help them.

But as weeks passed, it turned out that even with limited testing and unreported Covid-19 deaths, the health system did not collapse as had been feared. The younger population helped; on the downside the elimination was not as easy as announcing a lockdown.

It also appeared — though a final judgement may still be awaited — that a lockdown is also not the panacea it promised to be. India’s example illustrated this. It has been argued by some that the sudden lockdown and the connected movement of the migrant workers may have helped spread the virus rather than curtail it. However, one must always be very careful of drawing too close a parallel between the countries because India has far more urban centres than Pakistan and the density in cities is directly linked to the spread of the virus. Second, India’s connectivity with the world means the virus may have spread more widely than in Pakistan’s case.

The point of this ramble is to say that with the pandemic so much is unknown that views have changed rapidly — within months — about what needs to be done and why. And this is true not just of the government but also health experts — the WHO itself changed its decision on the use of masks, which have now become the foremost tool to prevent spread; while in the first quarter of 2020, it was advised that masks be used only by health professionals.

Similarly, time and experience may also be one reason there is not so much pressure for a lockdown in Pakistan, even though the numbers have begun rising again — because we now know it’s not the magic wand we had hoped it would be.

Add to this two other factors; the provincial governments are perhaps more averse to a lockdown because of their experience of its impact on the economy.

This is not limited to Pakistan; even in Europe, this time around, the lockdowns were not as severe as the summer ones — for example, France went into lockdown in October; it shut bars and restaurants and non-essential shops but schools and factories stayed open. The north of Italy followed a similar route.

Second, the public at large is also less willing to adhere to severe restrictions the second time around — this has been a point of concern in Europe where governments were aware that fatigue had set in. This is also a factor in Pakistan; not everyone who had willingly imprisoned themselves at the beginning of the year has returned to a similar level of isolation. This is also due to a sense that the virus is now simply a part of life rather than a life-threatening short-term risk that would disappear if we suspended our lives briefly.

Perhaps this is why it is hard to even heed the health experts who are back on television, painting a gloomy picture as numbers go up. In March and April, their voice was impossible to ignore — now they barely register.

And this is why the virus has now succumbed to politics. Because in eight months, we (and the political parties) have realised that it’s not going away in a hurry and that the cost to our society and healthcare is not unbearable. So onwards with the jalsas and the conventions, and impatience to throw a government out.

One can only hope that our present knowledge of the pandemic is not as incomplete as it was eight months ago.

The writer is a journalist.

Published in Dawn, December 1st, 2020 Facebook Count Twitter Share

11 Read more Federal cabinet to discuss Covid vaccine procurement strategy as recommendations finalised Editorial: Political leaders are putting the people's lives at risk through their careless approach to the virus Opposition main hurdle to tackling virus spread, says Imran On DawnNews Comments (11) also submit to newspaper To submit your comment online and to the Letters Desk, enter your phone number/city below Your number will remain private and will be deleted from our servers in 48hrs 500 characters COMMENT MOD POLICY Tariq K Sami, MD. about 13 hours ago Covid-19 is the great equaliser. Turns out there might just be more people particularly in the Western world, who think Covid is a Hoax. Can we coin the word the Covid Deniers ? Tariq K Sami, MD. about 13 hours ago Triump lost the election because he was a Covid-Minimizer and a Covid-Denier. F Khan about 13 hours ago Thank you Khan Sb for this dirty politics where pandemic is mixed with vengeful political victimization. Read All Comments Latest stories I only own one property, living in London due to health reasons: PML-N's Ishaq Dar Pakistan hopes to procure Covid-19 vaccine by first quarter of 2021: Dr Faisal Sultan Saudi Arabia allows Israeli commercial planes en route to UAE to cross its airspace: senior US official LHC bars Punjab govt from arresting activist Ammar Ali Jan National Covid-19 positivity rate drops to 6pc even as cases increase, NCOC told Biden taps Yellen to lead barrier-breaking economic team dawn images site Most popular OIC asks India to rescind illegal acts in occupied Kashmir Bureau halts action after Mandviwala heaps scorn on NAB PM Imran briefed on national, regional security situation on visit to ISI headquarters Internal divisions Kaavan, Islamabad's lonesome elephant, starts new life in Cambodia Afghan peace prospects 'Selected will have to go now,' says Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari at political debut in Multan Weapon used in nuclear scientist's killing was made in Israel, says Iranian TV Shehbaz calls for national dialogue to end ‘crisis’ Must read If Aurangzeb advised Modi The ongoing agitation by the farmers sees recent laws as pro big business. 'A reflection of Benazir': Aseefa's political debut reminds some Pakistanis of her late mother A well-executed media policy is not enough to change the West's narrative about Pakistan Sometimes I wonder if my fans truly are for real: Sajal Aly talks about her DIAFA award Maliha Rehman The forgotten children of Ratodero Sumaira Jajja Opinion Eight months of a pandemic So much is unknown about the infection that views have changed rapidly about what needs to be done. If Aurangzeb advised Modi Jawed Naqvi The ongoing agitation by the farmers sees recent laws as pro big business. Lesser beings Dr Niaz Murtaza Progress requires new laws and strict implementation. Truth of the matter Owen Bennett-Jones Narratives are extraordinarily durable. Afghan peace prospects Maleeha Lodhi It is up to the Afghan parties to make the tough compromises needed to secure a settlement. Editorial 01 Dec 2020 NAB unleashed THE chairman of the National Accountability Bureau, retired Justice Javed Iqbal, has halted proceedings of the fake... 01 Dec 2020 Baba Jan’s release AFTER nearly 10 years of incarceration and an incredible struggle for justice, political activist Baba Jan, along... 01 Dec 2020 Kaavan in a better place THE World’s Loneliest Elephant might presently be the most famous too, enjoying near-celebrity status. Yesterday,... Updated 30 Nov 2020 Internal divisions EVEN as the Islamic world’s top diplomats met recently in Niamey, Niger, under the umbrella of the OIC’s Council... 30 Nov 2020 An overreaction PARANOIA followed by overreaction — that best describes how the Pakistani state views and responds to any form of... 30 Nov 2020 Moving from the margins THE recently reported story of Nisha Rao, Pakistan’s first transgender lawyer, is both heartbreaking and ... ‹ Weeping for Zion › Internal divisions