ISLAMABAD: The political and media hullaballoo surrounding the Toshakhana gifts has put inflation, economic suffering and other crises on the back burner.
Most of those discussing the topic seemed to focus on “you mention my leader’s gifts, see, your leader’s gifts also came to light.”
While some are trying to prove themselves as ‘good cops’ by holding others guilty, others are firing salvoes on those who made away with relatively low-cost gifts.
In such a scenario, some people could be seen pointing out other aspects related to the gifts of Toshakhana.
One social media user Lehaz Ali said: “While stealing the Toshakhana (gifts), the rulers washed their hands on more than 1,200 watches, more than 400 cars, more than 300 pens, and many other gifts, including undergarments and bullock carts, but none of them bothered to pick up the nine gifted books. These books were sent to the library.”
When the books were not taken as gifts, many made scathing comments about them.
Abdul Sadiq wrote, “This happened because our rulers are overeducated.”
A minister commented, “if we were fond of reading books, we would have done this work.” Another social media user, Zia, wrote, “We are allergic to books.”
Many critics commented on ‘Nawaz Sharif’s taking a carpet for Rs50’, Maryam Nawaz and Fawad Chaudhry’s taking of ‘pine apple and date boxes’ free of charge from the Toshakhana.
When the commentators highlighted a ‘buffalo and a tractor’, many users pointed out that PTI President Pervaiz Elahi (even) did not deposit the money for gifts he received from the Toshakhana.
Sadia Mazhar wrote, “Sheikh Rashid deposited many gifts in Toshakhana, but for whom did he take away (the ladies’ watch) from one of the two watches he took away?”
On Sunday, the government made public the two-decade-old record of Toshakhana, detailing the gifts taken away by government figures, bureaucrats, and other civil figures, including the families of the rulers, who had obtained (them) at a throwaway price or free of cost.
