"They don't need zakat money, they say."
"Who?"
"The seminaries."
"That's a first in Pakistan. I don't know of any Pakistani who would voluntarily say no to money from any source shall we say. Why did they refuse?"
"Because they will be audited if they accept zakat money!"
"Who dares audit them?"
"The Government - it's a new rule."
"Well, that's not fair. Why can't the seminaries be allowed to do what they want with the money? As they always have done..."
"Don't be facetious."
"Well, if the politicians can sanction millions of our tax rupees for building their houses and purchasing fancy foreign cars for themselves, then why can't these poor seminaries do what they want with our charity money that, need I add, is collected as a tax as it is forcefully taken out from our savings."
"The Government says they need the fancy cars for two reasons - one security and two to make sure they present a good image to the world."
"Well, security or its lack thereof is of our own making so if we, the people, can't afford fancy cars, then they shouldn't be buying it out of our tax rupees. And excuse me, but I don't understand how they can go in their fancy cars to beg for more money."
"Didn't you hear the begging bowl has been broken..."
"No and neither did our Treasury."
"Good point but..."
"There is always a but with you."
"As there should be, but going back to the refusal to accept zakat by the seminaries, I mean they do need to be accountable for any zakat they receive!"
"So how are they going to spend the zakat money if the seminaries don't want it?"
"Well, I suggest that they get Edhi to spend that money on the needy. I mean the guy is doing some very good work."
"There was the number 2 marriage incident and then some of his staff was apprehended stealing money kept for the earthquake victims..."
"OK, so no one is perfect. But at least he got a divorce and fired those people. It's not as if he first established an accountability bureau, paid rather heavy salaries to his retired friends to run it and then charged them with the responsibility of catching those he wanted out of his life..."
"Good thing he didn't establish it while he was married to his second wife. Something tells me his first wife would then have been announced guilty of misusing Edhi funds."
"Ah, yes interesting that!"
"But we are human and the guy made a mistake so let's forgive him and move on."
"Indeed that is one thing we have learnt to do in this country."