Asim Munir & The Houbara Bustard

Pakistan is uniquely malleable and predictably ductile.

- TBG NETWORK

The only Muslim nuclear power in the world was recently paid a visit by none other than His Highness Mohamad bin Zayed Al Nahyan (MBZ), President of UAE. Shehbaz Sharif and Asim Munir were both eager to pass it off as an official visit. Islamabad was locked down. Flags of UAE and Pakistan fluttered all over the city of Islamabad. The media was told that this visit would result in investments, an IT revolution and massive energy deals and Pakistan's days of misfortune would finally be over. On 26th December, MBZ landed at Nur Khan Air Base. He sat for a couple of hours with Pakistan's Army Chief Asim Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and then, as social media whispers would have us believe, left for Rahim Yar Khan. The Houbara Bustard is a migratory bird. When it migrates to Pakistan in winter, so does Arab royalty. The meat of the bird is considered an aphrodisiac. The hunt is annual and brings precious foreign exchange, and sometimes infrastructure, to an almost-bankrupt Pakistan. Rahim Yar Khan is one of the few areas where the killing happens.

When recently US Secretary of State Marco Rubio thanked Pakistan for offering to provide troops as part of the International Stabilisation Force in Gaza, no one was surprised. This job also consists of forcibly disarming Hamas and other elements.