WHAT Paulo Coelho wrote in one of his famous novels makes a lot of sense. “Anything that happens once may never happen again, but anything that happens twice will surely happen for the third time,” he wrote in The Alchemist.

This is true of so many things in life, especially of life in Pakistan, but every now and then something happens that brings this Paulo Coelho line to mind. Islamabad, the capital of the country, is considered the most organised, disciplined and functional city in Pakistan. Usually when we rate cities based on the facilities available, everybody marks Islamabad ahead of the rest. Reality might suggest otherwise.

A few months ago — three, to be precise — I was in the Karachi Company area on a Sunday, and went to withdraw cash from the ATM. I visited the ATMs of three commercial banks, one after the other, but all of them were out of cash. I tried the ATMs of two other banks nearby, and they, too, were out of order. I left the area thinking what a strange coincidence it was.

About a little over a month later — late September — I happened to be in the same area and needed to withdraw some cash, but had to go through the same experience. Trust me, I did.

Out of curiosity, and with The Alchemist line in mind, I went to the area again recently — Oct 30 — and there was no change in status. Well, Paulo Coelho stands vindicated.

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the regulatory authority, should advise the banks concerned to sort out whatever the issue is.

Salman Ajab Chitrali
Islamabad

Published in Dawn, November 4th, 2022