I RECENTLY returned from Damascus, Syria, and my initial experience was breathlessly captivating. Syrian citizens were all so welcoming. Though poverty-stricken and a war-ravaged country, the impoverished civilians treated us pilgrims with utmost dignity.

All our affable observances of pilgrimage were, however, battered at the airport where the check-in counter computer systems collapsed several times and we hapless and tired passengers just stood there for hours, looking at empty expressions behind the counters.

Eventually after over an hour of struggling to get hold of our boarding pass, we entered the departure lounge only to encounter another appalling episode.

The immigration officers confiscated all our passports and refused to stamp ‘okay to board’.

They did this as they demanded cash – and a lot of it – to let go of our passports. This was insane. All this was going unchecked. It was only after their ‘demands’ were met that we were able to move ahead.

This, again, was not the end of our hardship. There were five patients on wheelchairs who were waiting to be chairlifted to the aircraft. We were assured repeatedly all along that a lift would be available on the tarmac, but once we got there, none could be found. The passengers were asked to manage it by themselves as there were no facilities for wheelchair-bound passengers. The impudence with which the officials lied and later misbehaved with us all along was undeniably a deceit.

The Pakistan ambassador based in Damascus should investigate the matter and find out what is going on. There should be an enquiry and the culprits should be penalised for behaving and taking advantage of handicapped passengers and indulging in corruption.

Tasneem Allibhoy Tharia
Karachi

DEUS EX MACHINA: While the political odds are against him, the prime minister’s perception of his invincibility seems unflinching. The situation is not lost on the man himself and his actions are grounded in his self-perceived unique personality or fainting hopes of a deus ex machina. Any miscalculated move, however, can be harmful to the country. The whole country is on the wait-and-watch mode.

Abdul Ahad
Lahore

A POSSIBILITY: As per the 1973 Constitution, the office of the prime minister is more powerful than that of the president. Thus, besides being more powerful, it is equally more vulnerable to no-confidence motion compared to the office of the head of the state. The current moves against the prime minister might decide the fate of the office of the president as well.

If the government falls, it will be difficult for the president to retain his office.

Mah-e-Kinaan
Peshawar

A NUISANCE: All sane Pakistanis are surprised at the mass gatherings by political parties in recent days. Are the elections going to be held soon? If not, why this sudden spike in the political rallies? It is obvious that a no-confidence motion is a matter in which the public has no role to play. It is all an in-parliament affair that has made the life of the common man miserable. The obscene amount of money being squandered on these ‘shows’ could have been spent on the welfare of the people.

Muhammad Saleem Kasmani
Karachi

POLITICAL VIOLENCE: I fully share the concern of many over the increasing polarisation seen in the run up to the vote of no-confidence against the prime minister. The residents of Islamabad are terrified and want the political parties to avoid playing their politics on the streets. If history is any guide, one would tend to share the apprehension that a breakdown of law and order will undermine the constitutional process.

Name withheld on request
Islamabad

Published in Dawn, April 3rd, 2022