CITY NOTES
I suppose the Kashmiri people should be grateful that Donald Trump did not bring them up when Indian PM Narendra Modi came visiting, because if the solution to the Kashmir issue is anything like the one he proffered for Gaza, it would involve first emptying Kashmir of all its people, then letting the US take it over, and develop it into the Alps of Asia.
There would be two questions about the Kashmiris: first, where would they go? and second, what about the Kashmiris who have already settled all over India? One would have to see how Israel gets rid of the Palestinians in the West Bank. And then the Arabs with Israeli citizenship.
But while Trump plans to move the Gazans to Jordan and Egypt, I wonder where he would move the Kashmiris. Maybe the Atlas Mountains in Morocco? Somewhere in the UAE?
I wonder if that is how he plans to solve the Ukraine-Russia problem. Maybe by moving the Ukrainians out somewhere, probably to some select European destinations (as they probably wouldn’t agree to go to either Egypt or Jordan. Ukraine could then be converted into the Riviera of the North-West of Europe.
What Trump has not put on the table is an offer to have the refugees come to America. After all, he’s getting rid of all those illegal immigrants, so he can’t very well open up another route for their entry.
These days he has to be careful. Even as he sends back Pakistanis and Indians, Pakistani young men are striking out in ever greater numbers, some to brighter future abroad, some to drown, as they did off the Libyan coast last week, which followed the drowning off the Moroccan coast.
I wonder how a meeting between Trump and Malik Riaz would go down? And then to have Abdul Aleem Khan walk in to have a cup of tea? But maybe this project is something that Rajiv Singh, the richest Indian property dealer, worth Ind Rs 789 billion, which is about $9 billion. Which is slightly more than the $1.4 billion that Malik Riaz is estimated to be worth. Singh has also diversified, going into retail, insurance and hospitality. Malik Riaz, it seems, has gone into politicians, and not just from one side of the fence.
Modi might be waiting for the Trumpian decision on Kashmir, but while he waits, he must be happy that the Director of National Intelligence is Tulsi Gabbard. She is a very rare beast: an American Hindu. Her parents apparently converted, and she continued. Modi would probably have preferred her to be named Komal, the lotus which is his party symbol, but I’m sure he’ll take what he can get. No one seems to know her caste, which means that we don’t know if she will support the BJP.
Meanwhile, a non-caste issue arose between Fawad Chaudhry and Shoaib Shaheen. Apparently, they don’t like each other.
After an exchange of pleasantries outside Adiala Jail, Chaudhry slapped Shoaib so hard that Shoaib fell down. That must have been an attempt by Chaudhry to get back into Imran’s good books. Maybe Chaudhry saw himself as the replacement for Sher Afzal Marwat, who shot to fame after beating up on live TV someone who criticized Imran, but who has since been expelled.
