LAHORE, March 8: Killer twine is slitting throats everyday and greedy people are illegally occupying the lands earmarked even for graveyards. Three cheers for the relevant government authorities for giving a free hand — or turning a blind eye — to the string makers and users and the land grabbers. These are certainly signs of a bright future for Lahore, a city of some seven million people.

The issue of deaths caused by razor-sharp and metal strings was raised in the Punjab Assembly on Tuesday by the PPP’s Rana Aftab Ahmed Khan and MMA’s Arshad Baggu and Dr Wasim. They sought a ban on the deadly sport, which has taken the lives of 12 innocent people from Feb 12 to March 6.

The MMA legislators even staged a token walkout to register their protest.

If someone dies or is killed, he has to be buried somewhere. But what if a family can’t find a place to bury its dead or doesn’t have the resources to buy land for a grave.

Long live the government which has raised the prices of land in graveyards. Now for the poor people dying, too, has become as difficult as living.

Many say that since the government is unable to ensure observance of the law, it should outlaw kite-flying, an annual feature which is spreading to other cities as well with the passage of time.

Yet, there are others who believe that if the law is enforced in letter and spirit the menace of reckless kite-flying can be got rid of. Ahmedabad in Gujarat, India is also a kite enthusiasts’ haven but no such casualties take place there.

The government is in no mood to ban kite-flying before the stipulated relaxation period ends on March 15. The Lahore nazim is reported to have claimed that 400 people have been arrested and four twine-making factories proceeded against.

Under the relaxation in the ban granted by the Supreme Court, kite-flying can continue till March 14.

Parliamentary secretary for housing and physical planning told the house on Tuesday that an area of eight kanals and six marlas had been earmarked for a graveyard in Quaid-i-Azam Town, Sector D-2, Block IV, out of which seven kanals and four marlas have been illegally occupied by various people. They have constructed their houses there. Among the constructions is also a shrine covering an area of 10 marlas.

This perhaps indicates how God-fearing the people of the area are. They know that since they have to die one day, they have shifted themselves to a place meant for the dead. In a way, they are the living dead — or perhaps dead while living.

Another aspect of the situation is that nobody liked to occupy the remaining one kanal and two marlas. Maybe, somebody will take the bold decision at a later stage.

MMA’s Syed Ehsanullah Waqas asked the parliamentary secretary as to where should the dead be buried when almost the entire area of the graveyard has been illegally occupied by land-grabbers. The secretary had the knack to say that graveyards in the adjoining areas should be used for the purpose. This man was certainly depriving his village of a fool.

The session was in progress when reports came in that former prime minister Mian Nawaz Sharif and former chief minister Shahbaz Sharif’s spokesman Farrukh Shah had joined the ruling PML and that he was holding a news conference in the company of Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi. The PML-N legislators first did not believe the report, but were shocked when it was confirmed.

The PML-N has already lost many of its leaders and legislators to the ruling party, and the chief minister is determined to bring even the remaining to his side — barring the exiled leadership.

Farrukh Shah has been working with the Sharifs since 1994. He has been a dedicated worker all through. But, now he thinks the Sharifs have no role to play in the politics of Pakistan. He also sees no chance of their returning to the country any time soon. “They have no plan or strategy to come back to Pakistan”, Farrukh says.

In his opinion the gulf between President Musharraf and the Sharifs is widening by the day because of which the PML-N and its leaders stand no chance in the foreseeable future.

He has advised his former leaders to see why their colleagues were parting company with them, one by one.

Farrukh says that he has joined hands with the Punjab chief minister because of the latter’s performance in various fields.