In is column “Hadissa-e-Sehaat Aur Jan-e-aziz” {Health and own life) in daily Jang of 28.01.2004 the columnist Nazir Naji tells how all of a sudden he felt stomach pain and was admitted in Zayed Bin Sultan Trust Hospital Lahore. He says he does not like to publicize his personal difficulties. As such no body except his own home people were aware of this illness. In his he showed his surprise saying that despite that he is not aware how the Punjab Chief Minister came to know about the illness and not merely sent flowers but also personally phoned Nazir Naji. He got more surprise when Shaikh Rashid the Information Minister from Islamabad also sent flowers. Nazir Naji is surprised how sitting in Islamabad he came to know about it.
Nazir Naji’s such sweet innocence ignorance needs no comments.
Early January 2004 local and foreign media reported that General Pervaiz Musaraf had stated that Pakistan was ready to drop the plabestic question in Kashmir. Immediately government contradicted the news item saying that Genreal Musharraf was misquoted. Next morning all Pakistani news papers published this contradiction. There is no doubt as foreign press is always hostile to Pakistan it must had misquoted. But the wonderful thing was that the same morning when all newspapers including Daily Jang was carrying Government’s contradiction, the same Daily Jang was carrying Nazir Naji’s latest column of that morning praising the wisdom of General Musharaf in delcaring that Pakistan would discard plabestic question. Nazir Naji perhaps wanted to wind the race before any other could priase General Musharaf hence he immediately jolted down his column without knowing that when he was writing his column praising the General on misquoted statement the very government was writing its contradiction.
Nazir Naji should not have any surprise and should know, and I am sure he knows it well, that governments always keep themselves abreast of all such lifafa-connected columnists journalists in return of their speedy writings. Nazir Naji is a “Sadda Bahar”. He is the “guru” of sensing change in the air and keep relations with each new face. In his column eg 30.1.2004 in Jang he very proudly stated he had very near personal relations with late Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. He had in fact more close relations with Benazir, Nawaz Sharif. He is always very near to each government of time hence about Punjab Chief Minister or Shaikh Rashid sending flowers should not be any surprise as they know the only foundation of their governments is people like Nazir Najis and Qureshis etc..