ecently Lahore remained in the grips of expected confrontational fever; patriotic, due to the much hyped `surgical strikes` by India and political, thanks to the Captain`s much vaunted march upon Raiwind.

The evidence for surgical strikes remains vague; the evidence seems to be towards an escalation in cross-border exchange of firing and shelling.

With hawks on both sides of the border unfettered, this appears to be very un-statesman like behaviour and display of provocative brinkmanship by India, in a highlycharged and nuclear armed theatre. Meanwhile, Raiwind remained the epicenter for political dissension.

You have to give it to the man.

He remains a crowd-puller despite his little thought-out rhet-oric and political strategy. Friday night Lahore came to a proverbial standstill. Despite the PTPs apparent support, its translation to the ballet box remains dubious: the recent loss of its seat in Taxila, a case inpoint. Perhaps the PTPs methodology might be questioned but the cause is valid.

What lies in store after the Muharram interlude remains to be seen? With all this happening in Lahore, one had an opportunity to attend a conference in Karachi. The venue was an older and at that time one of the more popular hotels. Located on the seafront it was once among the premium hotels In Karachi, including Metropole, Palace, Grand, Excelsior and the Taj.

With the changing landscape, the hub of entertainment shifting towards DHA, the hotel haslost some of its glory. Yet, its location remains enviable. Dining in the shade of palm trees, next to the sea, with mangroves clus-tered in the background, remains an enchanting experience. This experience is heightened by the one redeeming feature ofKarachi; its sea breeze, especially in the evenings. Unlike Lahore where it is still hot and the evenings remain uncomfortable, Karachi`s evenings are very pleasant.

The situation, weather-wise, will be soon reversed. While the breeze takes a break in Karachi during this month, Lahore`s weather becomes delightful. As to the city, its growth remains unchecked, both in terms of population and physical limits.

People from all parts of Pakistan continue to flock to it. By some estimates, the population has already reached the 2.5 million mark. Lack of mass transportation creates nightmarish traffic conditions, especially at peak hours. There are almost 1.7 million motorcycles alone. Water remains scarce and the city is strewn with garbage. There issome development but mostly unplanned and oblivious to its impact on those affected. Most of this is by private entrepreneurs and authorities.

The land acquisition in most cases, if not outright illegal, dubious. With the coming of the new chief minister, as part of an attempt by the PPP towards a makeover, there is much hustle and bustle. Most people consider this as a ploy towards consolidation of its position for the next elections. MQM`s situation remains fluid. According to most people, separating it`s leader from the party is a near impossibility;evenifthelocalleadership is willing to do so. This fact and the presence of manufactured breakaway party seems to indicate a lull before the storm. Some sort of struggle for dominance is on the cards. The security situa-tion has improved considerably thanks to the ubiquitous presence ofrangers-anotherareain which the government has ceded control. The funniest part was when Karachi-wallas praise the development in Lahore. Little do they realize that it is as illplanned and haphazard as in their city? The imperative behind it similar; showcase developments prior to the elections.

This is not a tale of one city but indicative of what is transpiring throughout Pakistan.

Apart from these `mega projects,` the absence of the government, federal and provincial, from its primary task of governance remains a serious concern for our, still floundering, democratic trajectory. Truly, much ado about nothing! AM Lahori (AmLahori@gmail.com)