Last week's column, carrying the same title, was not a chronicle of complaint against any authority of any country, but merely a narrative of a particular event.

If there is any complaint to be aired, it is against the leadership and citizens of this country who have brought us to this pass. It illustrated the extent of the dislike and distrust of Pakistani citizen and the consequent treatment meted out to them even by those of our brother Islamic states, members of the OIC (which acronym is read by some as 'Oh, I see').

The misery of Pakistani travellers, and of the people of Pakistan in general has recently been aggravated and augmented by the results of the October elections, by what they have thrown up, and by what the make-up of the consequential cobbled government is likely to be. During this past week, messages have come in relating other experiences suffered by our citizens.

The root cause is, to repeat: We have built for ourselves an 'image' which depicts us as being what most of us are not. 'Prejudice' or 'bias' notwithstanding, we have to improve our image. This entails our evolving into being regarded by the peoples of the rest of the world in which we live as rational and reasonable - and this will not only take a long time, but it is an extremely tall order. It is not impossible, but improbable, that it will happen during the lifetime of most of us. To make literate and to profoundly educate over 150 million people is no joke with a birth rate such as we have - ten births per minute.

A couple of weeks ago, my subject was the whiteness of our driven snow, in the context of the new kingmakers, the Chaudhrys of Gujrat. I have since been corrected in my statement that the father of the clan, Chaudhry Zahoor Elahi, began his journey up the ladder as an officer of our police force. To accord to him even further due credit, the fact is that he started out as a mere police constable. A retired police officer of high rank who briefly tried his hand at politics, Rao Rashid, has clarified. (He is now living quiety and happily in Lahore, and is at work on his autobiography which should make interesting reading).

Chaudhry Zahoor Elahi, Rao has gathered from friends from Gujrat, was enlisted as a constable in the Punjab Police in the late nineteen thirties. There were allegations of corruption against him and he was dismissed from the department after some years. The late Makhdoom Sajjad Hussain, former governor of Punjab, once told Rao that when his 'baraat' arrived at the house of Nawab Ashiq Hussain (the father of Sadiq Hussain, former governor and chief minister of Punjab) for his nikah ceremony with the daughter of his brother, Maqbool Hussain (who was killed in the Quetta earthquake), Zahoor Elahi, as a constable, was posted at the Nawab's gate on traffic control duty.

It is related that in Ayub Khan's time, Zahoor Elahi was sufficiently ambitious to aspire to the governorship of West Pakistan. Nawab Kalabagh, the incumbent governor, on hearing the rumour, twirled his moustache and jokingly told his friends that if Elahi were not careful, he would put him in his proper place and reinstate him a constable.

On the subject of another of our political characters, this time round not elected as he is safely incarcerated either in prison or in hospital, came an e-mail from a citizen of Islamabad who quite rightly, not wishing to lose either life or limb, has asked that his name not be revealed. He poses some highly valid questions, and I quote:

"My condolences to the Zardari family over the demise of Mrs Zardari. As a tax-payer I am at a loss to understand the logic in the government's change of heart for Asif Zardari, who for the last six years has been behind bars being accused of various crimes. My amazement is especially at the official PTV coverage given to his mother's demise. On the day of her death, the Khabarnama announced the news in its first five minutes of the bulletin. Her burial was also covered by PTV and, worst of all, our president's condolences were also conveyed over the official channel.

"Is this the reward for a person who is being prosecuted by the state for the last six consecutive years? Should this honour serve as a good example to others accused by the state? Was my tax money on prosecuting Asif wasted?"

If for any reason Zardari is exonerated by our courts and makes his way back into the politics of this country and finds himself being sworn in as prime minister or even minister for law and justice or perhaps finance or, for that matter, minister for education or communications or any other lucrative portfolio, then in all fairness the gates of all our prisons should be thrown open, Saddam Hussein fashion, and their inmates set free to pursue their normal professional activities.

The temporary leader of Zardari's party has also been the subject of comment via e-mail from another citizen of Pakistan who also does not wish to reveal his identity as what he relates is hearsay. However, having had confirmation of the hearsay from various members of the Sindhi fraternity who say the practice is common and widespread, the message is worth a quote, as if it is a fact, it is a dread warning to us all of the mindset of the leadership of what is supposed to be the most 'progressive' party of the country.

"I have heard that Mr Amin Faheem's four sisters are married to the Quran - the custom that waderas have in Sindh by which they refuse to marry off their women in order to keep family wealth intact. If true, it is appalling. It indicates the sick mindset typical of such waderas. How can we expect a man like this to be able to make progressive policies for the poor womenfolk of our country who desperately need uplifting? People need to know this. It is very disheartening to see the parade of illiterate bigots on our television channels, day and night, vying for slots in the government, each for his own agenda."

Yesterday morning, we saw our President General Pervez Musharraf taking his oath as President of the Republic of Pakistan, sworn-in by Pakistan's Chief Justice. The trumpet fanfare was missing, as was any semblance of a smile or expression of joy on any of the faces of the assembled dignitaries, high officials and officers of the armed forces.

An hour and a half later, we saw the honourable members of the National Assembly meet, and after a bit of huffing and puffing form the members-to-be and some firm handling by the dignified grey-haired presiding former speaker of the National Assembly Elahi Bakhsh Soomro, taking their combined oath. This was followed up by the lengthy calling out of the names of the members and their walk up to the podium to sign in. There was also an absence of joy in this spectacle. However, let us hope that the many young women who now sit in the House will liven up the place.