Dear President Mamnoon Hussain, We hope this letter finds you in excellent health. Time flies so fast. It seems like only yesterday that we saw you—on TV! A child pointed towards your face on the screen and asked his mother who you were. But as she was not certain, she told him you were just a man who lived in their television set. Sir, you were always a low-profile businessman. But who knew you’d be a low-profile Head of the State as well? That is not an easy achievement. Often, there are times when we completely forget about your existence. At other times, you cross our minds like an embarrassing childhood memory that is amusing to recount.
Long story short: we miss you!
We have tried putting together some memorable occasions when we spotted you performing ‘extra-curricular activities’ outside Aiwan-e-Sadr in the previous year. You were slightly more active than usual. But it didn’t take much of our time. So, let’s reminisce!
At Islamabad Traffic Police (ITP) Office:
We got excited beyond measure when you went to renew your driving license. We wondered what car you would be driving. But, mainly, we wondered exactly WHERE you were planning to drive it. Inside the Aiwan-e-Sadr or outside of it?!
On Pakistan Resolution Day:
Was the car seat not comfortable enough? Perhaps you would have preferred the one you got the license renewed for? Or maybe you are just not a very outgoing person. Whichever the case, you did not seem very pleased that day.
Also, we apologize for all the Vitamin D and ‘ dhoop lagwanay wale’ tweets. It is hard to control the excitement when you are seldom available. Your much-sought public appearance drives us Pakistanis crazy. N on compos mentis!
Flag Hoisting Ceremony:
Hoisting a flag must be a very confusing task. Especially, if you have to do it every year! Your expressions convey your innermost feelings. In fact, we are often reminded of an article by The Express Tribune back in the election year 2013, where it referred to you as “often photographed smiling, the 73-year-old Hussain“ . You are not 73 anymore. Is that the problem?
At the First OIC Summit:
At the 1st Speakers’ Conference:
It is hard to believe that you actually attended conferences like this, where you had to SPEAK.
At Seerat-Un-Nabi(PBUH) Conference:
At Inaugural Ceremonies:
And we can only suppose that remaining quiet and not raising your voice is your idea of bringing peace to the realm.
At Convocations:
Alas! All these convocations, and somehow still forgotten by the leading generation! Recently, at a well-known institute of Lahore, a lecturer of Software Engineering decided to prank the students and suddenly asked an off-topic question in the middle of the lecture. She asked if anyone could name the current president of the country ! Her thought-provoking question was followed by approximately ten seconds of pin drop silence, after which there was an uproar of blind guessing. One could say they need to pay more attention to the current affairs of the country. But we can hardly blame the students, can we? This is clearly a severe case of ‘out of sight, out of mind ‘ lurgy. So, Mr. President! We obviously cannot get enough of you. We humbly request you to take some time from your busy schedule this year and dedicate it to us. Hum apke bohat ‘Mamnoon’ honge. And if it ever gets boring at the Aiwan, you know where to find us! Yours faithfully(still!), The Pakistanis.