اسی عطار کے لونڈے سے دوا
June 30, 2026
In his recent column which in effect is a sort of notice-appeal to the Minister IT, the columnist Muhammad Idrees Abbasi narrates the story of an Overseas Pakistani friend Muhammad Akabar who worked long in Canada, dreamed a house, built it and when came back homeland for a living he found he had no access to enter into his own house. The household items were lifted inside through the upper story window. The problem was a telecommunication tower right in the middle of the entrance door stood like china wall.
The house in question situates in village “Soot” District Murree which due to some documented design fetches jurisdiction both of Punjab as well as that of KP. He approached every Department of the two provincial Governments, authorities, Governors, Prime Minister, PTA and the IT Ministry but there was only one answer “out of our jurisdiction”. Now the columnist Muhammad Idrees Abbasi pleads to the I.T Minister to see the issue. This old is disappointed that the senior columnist while making this plea has not applied his mind that the I.T Minister whom he was pleading is the same who recently “temporarily” failed in getting in mine kitchen and in columnist bedroom telecom boosters installed refusing face Rs. 5 crore fine.
Senior writer ex Grade-22 Joint Secretary Finance in his column entitled “this be made a chapter of Pakistan Studies” on 19.09.2022 covered how an Overseas Pakistani found an electricity transformer installed right in the middle of his house in Islamabad. After failing from other Forums, he knocked at the door of Federal Ombudsman who asked the Islamabad Electric Company to do the needful. The company asked him to bear the cost of its shifting. He appealed to the Regulator NEPRA for waiver of these charges which, however, was rejected. Eighteen years phase of his struggle ended here.
The senior columnist and the senior bureaucrat then adds a very beautiful remark that
ایک اور مسئلہ بھی حل ہو جاتا ہے اور وہ ہے وفاقی
محتسب کا کردار!
The aggrieved finally went to the High Court. He was lucky in getting justice. The High Court ordered Islamabad Electric to shift the Transformer and pay Rs. 1 lac to the aggrieved as compensation.
Due to old age, Covid attack aftermaths, recent isolation-wardhospitalisation has affect badly health including momentarily memory loss. After hospital four months moved to bathroom with family members. Hence unable to trace from old record or recall exactly but out of many remember three cases the Federal Ombudsman getting poles or transformers shifted (1983-92). One failed to get electricity for a tubewell. Khawaja Asif recently said Rs. 80,000 were taken for replacing a transformer. This man was asked to bear personally cost of transformer, poles and wires since distance was beyond fixed limits. He agreed. After installation WAPDA issued demand notes to villagers. The man approached Federal Ombudsman that he bore cost hence WAPDA can’t give connections from this or it shared the demand notes money with him. Luckily it was 1983-92. The Federal Ombudsman termed this plea based on natural justice and issued orders accordingly. Such quality justice today even can’t be day dreamed.
Unlike journalist friend, this old would advise Akabar not to think of going to any Grievance Commissioner for Overseas Pakistani, Federal or two provincial ombudsmen as he would get nothing. Akabar must have often heard a sentence in our talk shows that it is generally said that don’t select costly black coat rather straightaway “
