Starving Nation and a 20 Crore Wrist: The Ugly Joke of Luxury in Pakistan

There is a strange heat in the cold winter winds of Lahore right now. This heat is not political; this is the heat of the rage burning in the hearts of the common people of Pakistan. Look at the scene. On one side, there is the common man of Pakistan who is risking his life for a single bag of flour, who is forced to contemplate suicide after seeing his electricity bills. And on the other side, in Lahore, a wedding celebration is underway where money is being shed like water. This is the wedding of the Sharif family. The wedding of Maryam Nawaz's son, Junaid Safdar. And the biggest headline of this wedding is not a ritual, but a wristwatch.

This watch has made a complete mockery of Pakistan's poverty. A picture went viral on social media in which a member of the Sharif family is wearing a watch whose price will sweep the ground from beneath your feet. This watch is the 'Franck Muller Vanguard Revolution 3 Skeleton'. This is no ordinary watch; it is a specimen of engineering featuring a Triple Axis Tourbillon. Its price is 685,000 dollars. If you convert this into Pakistani rupees, the amount comes to 20 Crore rupees. Yes, 20 Crore rupees. On just one wrist.

Initially, there was a noise that Maryam Nawaz wore this watch. The opposition raised a hue and cry. But the truth is that this watch was worn not by Maryam, but by her brother and Nawaz Sharif's son, Hasan Nawaz. Hasan Nawaz, who lives in London and conducts business there. Technically viewed, this might be his personal earning. But ethically viewed, it is a crime. When your father has been the Prime Minister of the country three times, when your sister is the Chief Minister of the country's largest province, Punjab, and when your party is in power, you do not remain a private individual. You become a symbol. And the symbol Hasan Nawaz has shown is a symbol of 'Loot and Insensitivity'.

Look at the contradiction. Pakistan is roaming the world with a begging bowl. It is rubbing its nose before the IMF to get a few dollars so the country can be saved from default. The government is telling people to drink less tea, eat less bread, and save electricity. And the son of the family running that very government is flaunting his glory wearing a 20 Crore watch. In 20 Crore rupees, any government hospital in Pakistan could have been provided medicines for a full year. In 20 Crore rupees, the fees of thousands of poor children could have been paid. In 20 Crore rupees, millions of hungry stomachs could have been filled. But no, this money was spent only to see what the 'time' is.

This is Pakistan's 'Marie Antoinette' moment. When the Queen of France said that if people do not have bread, why don't they eat cake. Today, the Sharif family is implying the same: if you don't have flour, look at our watches and be happy. This is an ugly display of wealth. This is like rubbing salt on the burnt stomach of a poor man who is unable to provide two meals a day for his children.

Hasan Nawaz may have worn the watch, but he perhaps forgot that this watch tied to his wrist will not be able to stop the time that is being written against him. This watch tells the time, but this incident is telling that the 'moral time' of Pakistan's rulers has long expired. The public is watching everything. They are fighting hunger, but they are not blind. This shine of 20 Crore is deepening Pakistan's darkness. This is not just a watch; it is the time bomb of Pakistan's misfortune that is ticking.