There was a political figure by name of Sheikh Rashid during Bhutto’s era. He was also billed as a leader of socialism. There is another Sheikh Rashid also who is quite chummy with the PTI’s chief these days though time was when he was a blue-eyed boy of General Musharraf. In the not-too-distant past Nawaz Sharif had also kept him on his right side. Sheikh Rashid is notorious for making off-the-cuff remarks. The other day he made yet another gaffe when he said one had better not annoy journalists, generals, judges and surgeons. Had he included patwari too in this list, his statement would have become more comprehensive or should one assume that he was unaware of the tremendous clout that this lower rung official enjoys in our society.
When Nawab of Kalabagh Amir Mohammad Khan took over as the Governor of the then West Pakistan one of his assistant who used to look after his landed property suggested to him that if agrees he would stop one bag of wheat and one tin of pure ghee which they have been sending every month to his patwari halqa since long. The reasoning which he gave to the Nawab was that Nawab Kalabagh is the governor now and the halqa patwari has become his subordinate so there is no point in obliging him anymore.
Farsighted and shrewd as he was the plea of his assistant didn’t cut ice with him. The Nawab told his assistant that sooner or later he has to leave the Governor House and return to his village. If he would annoy his
Halqa patwari , he can , in return, tamper with his revenue record and in that case he would not be able to right the wrong committed by the patwari
unless he knocked at the door of the apex court which is quite lengthy and costly affair in this country. The better course, therefore, he advised his assistant was to continue supplying wheat and ghee to the patwari in question as he was a necessary evil.
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