Being punctual in Pakistan is extremely hard. 7 pm on shaadi cards implies 9 pm, every late comer’s most favorites excuses are on hand and many of you keep a track of where you’ve used what excuse so as not to get into trouble. Therefore, being a punctual soul in this land of habitually lates is a constant struggle that you have to go through.

In order to share your grief, here are some of the mainstream struggles that every punctual person has to go through in Pakistan:

1. You always have to tell people to show up at least an hour before the intended time for something because “aik ghantay ka tou chalta hai, yaar.”

2. A night before the plan has to take place, you message each one of them to sleep early so they can be on time. 

3. Since you are always the first one to show up, you pretend to seem busy on your phone while casually letting out a subtle laugh every now and then so people don’t think you are bored. 

4. When your friends finally show up, you have to hear them whine about Pakistan ki traffic, load-shedding and everything else that could be a possible reason for them to be late, for a solid hour. 

“Lahore/Karachi (or Pakistan in general) ki traffic bohat crazy hai yaar.”

5. You get accustomed to hearing “kapre istri nai thay“, “light nai aa rai thee, “couldn’t straighten my hair” all the time. 

6. You sometimes curse yourself for not being so casual with time because you were too afraid of getting late. 

And now you just look like a shapeless blob while your friends flaunt their freshly made hair.

7. When you’re waiting for someone you look for nearby malls/shops to roam around in and try on clothes that you have no intention of buying

“Bhai, try room kahan hai?”

8. You hate when you miss the qaumi tarana and all the trailers at a movie because your significant other couldn’t be on time 

9. You secretly love the 10 pm curfew on shaadi halls, with all your heart

10. And you start freaking out if your hosts don’t start on time. 

“Why aren’t they starting, 10 bajne walay hain? What if the dulhan ki side isn’t able to finish their dances on time?”

11. You spend most of your life worrying about your friends/siblings not being on time to their classes/exams/tests

12. And then having to deal with their anger outbursts for being annoying even though you were just concerned.

13. After all the mishaps, you promise yourself to be at least slightly late next time but you still end up being the first one.

Sigh!

Oh well, better to be on time than miss out on some rrreaalllly good stuff because you were too busy being late.