People are talking about —

— the banning of media from examination centres and how this amounts to sweeping the dirt of cheating under the rug instead of finding a solution to the problem. People say no matter how hard organisations and individuals try to hide the truth by devious means, there is no getting away with this underhand behaviour because the media is more alert and looking to expose the culprits, who appear to have no shame or remorse when this happens but make excuses.

— the news that hundreds of tons of wheat lying out in the open have been destroyed in Punjab and Sindh due to the recent rains and what a waste of effort, time and resources this signifies. It is mind boggling that that after over seventy years of independence, none of the governments in power have made an effort to construct storage silos so that this wastage is prevented and poor quality wheat does not have to be imported.

— the frequent news items that citizens of different ages have fallen victim to indiscriminate firing by the police while they were going about their daily business in the streets of Karachi and other cities. People say police training academies need to concentrate more on this aspect of safety so the recruits are conditioned not to be as trigger happy as they appear to be and citizens do not feel insecure instead of safe when they see these law enforcers.

— the double terrorist attacks which have taken place in Baluchistan within a period of ten days and how right minded, peace loving persons are shocked at this brutality of killing fellow humans just because they belong to another caste or creed. People say while it cannot be ruled out that outside forces are involved so that the country is destabilized, domestic hate mongers are the prime suspects and patriotic citizens should unite to root out the menace.

— the endangered species of wild cat, the cheetah and how one died because there was no proper medication available with the wildlife authorities after it was rescued from a ditch it had fallen into, so it died anyway. People say while many persons do not attach much importance to animal welfare because they think even humans do not get proper treatment, we need to save our wildlife for the sake of the coming generations.

— the changes that have been made in the federal cabinet and how the country is abuzz with the why’s and wherefores of this action which is the right of the head of government but still draws a lot of criticism and comment both from supporters as well as the opposition. People say there may be other reasons for the change but one could be that if governance does not improve there is an option, according to analysts, that parliament can be dissolved.

— the appreciative remarks that were made by the visiting Sikh pilgrims about the arrangement made by the government when they came to celebrate Vaisaki at their holy site Gurdwara Panja Sahib in Hasanabdal. People say a little effort goes a long way to promote goodwill and harmony among persons of different faiths and those who are at the receiving end become ambassadors and give a positive image of the country to counter the negative image portrayed by the media.