The Golden Touch

It was probably the coldest evening of the winter; sun was almost set to disappear in dark mountains. The whole valley was covered with heavy snow; the world around me was quiet but for the wind tickling the ears, and the ice breaking under her feet when she walked towards me for the last time. Cloaked in a maroon warm shawl, she had wrapped her arms around her. Standing in front of me she closed her eyes for a while to let the frigid wind of December play with her shawl to unveil her brown hairs, the tiny invisible crystals stung her rosy cheeks and nose. She breathed calmly and softly, her chilled breathe was creating a cloud under her nose. She was feeling the magical moment as if the chill of winter was descended upon earth only for her. She opened her eyes and gazed at me, her face had softened, she smiled, it was the real smile which I could never feel in those beautiful days together.

We talked to each other for a while; discussing problems, solutions, dreams and emotions. Suddenly she took my hand in her hand and put something wrapped in a piece of cloth in it." It is a gift from me, will make u remember me but please do not see it until we get apart" She asked. We held each other’s hands for a while, here hands were getting colder from warm. I gazed at her, her face had turned pale, her garnet lips were shivering and her eyes were wet. A tear from her eye touched the darkest corner of my heart and lit if forever.

The Sun had set and the darkness had covered the valley, warm glow of candles and the log fire gleaming through the windows was the sign of arrival of a long and dark night. She stepped back and disappeared in darkness.                                
                                        _________________________________________

                  

It was a hot evening in rain-less droughty summer, there were few people in the market, but everyone looked in a hurry as if a war was just to begin and they had to buy before market getting out of stock. For a while I stood on the empty corner of market with my hand resting on the reeling to see the people rushing to the counters. When I turned back to go down, my eyes caught her staring me standing in the corner of the market. For a while I just took off my eyes but they caught her again. Clad in a yellow dress she walked towards me. Standing in front of me she gazed me from head to feet, as if she was trying to make her believe that I was standing just close to her. Her dark eyes were glittering like a diamond, her garnet lips had turned crimson, and her brown hairs had turned dark. She looked into my eyes, her face got softer and brighter. She took a long breathe and smiled, the smile which I could never felt when we were together. Time stopped for a while, my heart was about to stop beating, traces of sweat coming out of my forehead in fully air-conditioned market were making me feel confused. Then I gazed at her, she had not changed a little, shy, beautiful and full of excitement like she used to be. We did not talk much as if we had nothing to say after so many years. She accompanied me to the outside and then waved her hands to say me good bye and smiled, the skies had turned crimson.

                              ______________________________________________

The sun had almost set, atmosphere was hazy and hot, she called me, “could you please meet me somewhere?" she inquired." sure, why not but when'? I replied. "Right now" she requested.

Sun was playing hide and seek with clouds before setting in darkness, when she reached. Clad in Pink and Black, she was looking like a teen, excited and happy. Her eyes were glowing, her rosy cheeks were about to catch fire, and her hands were shivering with excitement. Standing in front of me, Breeze was playing with her dark hairs across her shoulders and her scarf was fluttering. She peeped into my eyes, her face turned soft, her crimson lips were shivering, and her eyes were full of dreams and excitement. She came closer to me and pulled an envelope out of her bag. "I am going to get married next month, it’s my invitation card. You must come, I will wait for you" She informed me in excitement. "Sure, I will come" I pledged.

Before stepping back she took my hands in her and asked “would you always remember me and love me like you do now"?

"Love happens without reasons but it needs reasons to survive" I replied. I gazed at her, her face had turned pale and her eyes were wet, a tear from her eye touched my hand and disappeared deep into the darkest corner of my heart.

Sun had set, darkness had covered the sea shore, flickering light of nearby restaurants were sign of the approaching night, dark and long. 

Sharif vs Captain: The Funny Side

Campaigning for the upcoming general elections 2013 is in full flow in the biggest province of Pakistan where

PTI and PML-N are working day and night to gain the clear majority to dictate the terms in other provinces. In other provinces the campaign is yet to start due to self imposed restrictions by the parties who have already completed their term, citing the ongoing terror attacks. Targeted attacks on some parties and their reaction reminds me of the childhood days, when we used to play cricket with borrowed bat and ball and the owner of the ball and bat would get first turn on batting and bowling by default. If he got out early he would take the ball and bat and go home, to avoid this we had to give him the second turn and deploy our worst bowlers to give him some batting and hence to continue the game.

Taking about cricket, the game is getting much attention and notable mention during the political campaigning with the entry of Imran Khan. Every day Imran Khan is making claims that he would take two or three wickets on one ball. In turn Nawaz Sharif a passionate fan of cricket also reminds him that he had also played cricket and he would dispatch his bouncers to boundary. It is interesting that Nawaz Sharif is a passionate cricket lover, he used to play club cricket in Lahore and also played one First class game against PIA in 1973. Here I want to narrate an incident to show his love for cricket, the incident was mentioned by Imran Khan in his book Pakistan: A Personal History.

On the morning of 04^th October, 1987 before a warm-up match of cricket world cup 1987 against WI , team management got a call from chief minister house that Mian Nawaz Sharif, then chief minister of Punjab would be leading the team against West Indies. Imran Khan writes that he was astonished but thought that his role in the match would be more like a spectator watching from dressing room. But before the start of the match Mian Nawaz Sharif appeared in the dressing room in white kit. More shocking news was yet to come as Mian Nawaz Sharif accompanied great Vivian Richard to the ground and tossed the coin, for a while Richard himself was himself shocked when he got to know that it was chief minister. For making the thing more funny and shocking he turned back to pavilion put his pads on, took a floppy hat and smiled to Mudassar Nazar and said “are you ready to start the innings”? Imran Khan writes

“None of us could believe what we were seeing; he (Nawaz) was going to open the innings with Mudassar Nazar against the West Indies, one of the greatest fast-bowling attacks in cricket history. Nazar wore batting pads, a thigh pad, chest pad, an arm guard, a helmet and reinforced batting gloves, while Sharif simply had his batting pads, a floppy hat – and a smile… I quickly inquired if there was an ambulance ready”

West Indies had a fearsome bowling attack those days and were famous for breaking jaws and crushing toes, it was fortunate that Nawaz Sharif got out first ball duck. He did not stop there and played another warm-up match against England and fortunately got out after facing just 5 balls. After 30 years Imran Khan is desperate to do what Mian Nawaz Sharif did , lets hope he could stand up against more dangerous and deadly demons waiting for him.

The castles of love

They were the oldest living couple in our Muhalla, probably in late 80’s or 90’s. We used to call them Nani, Nana. Nani would sit on roof of her house since early morning and talk to every passerby, mostly about her health, Nana would tell children the stories from his glorious past. As children we always enjoyed the interaction with Nani, Nana. Sometimes we used to tease Nani by asking her about her romance and love marriage with Nana, She would get a little shy and look like a beautiful woman even in 80’s while discussing about her beautiful life.

Despite of their lively and loving attitude they never looked really happy or peaceful. I always asked my mother why Nani, Nana looked so lonely and restless even if they had children and grandchildren? She never told me. Mother often used to send dinner for Nani and always advised us to be there until she had finished the dinner. I could never understand why mother used to do that as their family was quite well-off.

Days passed, Nani, Nana both died in a short period and after their death started the disastrous days for their family. Nana’s son-in-law developed a fatal heart problem and left his job thus they were deprived of the only source of income. Suddenly two of their children got serious diseases and the left over saving was looted by the doctors. As if it was not enough, earthquake put their house to debris and all the signs of their past glory were buried under mud. Life never stops and it did not, their problems got bigger and bitter, one of their younger daughters died of disease leaving behind a cute little daughter. One of their sons’s been declared incurable for a fatal disease and is on the death bed. And the saddest part of this story Nana’s son-in-law died of heart condition he developed earlier.

The family's disastrous life afterwards may or may not be linked with the death of their parents but there was definitely a link between the prosperity, happiness and them. If a father finds the love of his children as the purest and dearest gift of God, every mother starts a new life with the birth of her child. The love of our parents and grandparents are the castles built around us against the evils and ills of the tough life. No matter how big we grow up, how much education we get, how strong and successful we become we need these castles built firmly. No one can claim he/she made any achievement without the support and love of the parents and grandparents, their love and pray brings the success and happiness. But In the race of better future we forget that those weak hands and wrinkled faces need a loving touch nothing more than that.

Who Won At Sher e Bangla Stadium?

A K Fazlul Haq with Quaid e Azam

Exactly 72 year ago on this day in an historic session of Muslim League, a seasoned politician from Bengal presented the Resolution, later named as Lahore resolution or Pakistan Resolution. It is believed to be the most significant resolution in the history of Islamic Republic Pakistan, the only country in the world founded in the name of Islam.

After 72 years of that historical meeting at Lahore an entirely different meeting was taking place at Sher e Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur where Pakistan and Bangladesh were fighting for the title of Asian Champion in the final of Asia cup cricket tournament 2012. Before this match Bengalis have defeated India and Sri Lanka to force both out of tournament. But this match was a special match for them. This was the biggest moment for 160 million Bengalis, signified by the presence of two bitter rivals in Bengalis politics Prime Minister Sheikh Haseena Wajid and former Prime Minister Khalida Zia together in the stadium.  Bangladeshi president Zillur Rahman and former president HM Ershad were also in the stadium to cheer the tigers. In the end Pakistan won the tense match by two runs leaving 160 million people heartbroken. Bangladeshi players were so upset that some of them started weeping after the defeat.

The final match was played on Sher e Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur the ground which was named after the great Bengali politician Abul Kasem Fazlul Huq. A K Fazlul Huq was the man who moved the historic Pakistan Resolution in the meeting of Muslim league in 1940. He later became the chief minister of Bengal, interior minister of undivided Pakistan and governor of East Pakistan. When army took over the political and administrative control of Islamic republic of Pakistan in late 50’s Bengali politicians were seen as a threat. A K Fazlul Huq with many others was labeled as a traitor by our military establishment. What happened later is a bitter chapter of our history.

Today nation is celebrating the 72nd anniversary of Pakistan Resolution 1940 which was moved by A K Fazlul Huq. The scenes in Sher e Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur after Bangladesh defeat were telling the different story of that resolution. Bangladesh has lost the highest number of matches by a test playing nation in recent times but I have never seen Bengali players so upset after losing a match. What made those scenes more painful was the fact that they were upset on losing again to West Pakistan. Who won and who lost is a question which will keep haunting our generations for long no matter how much we exaggerate the history.

I wonder whether there is any significance of celebrating Pakistan day if Pakistan Resolution was moved by a traitor.

The Media of Minority

Media portrayal of minorities, how media presents actions, aspirations, and problems of minorities in a particular country had been a highly sought after subject of research throughout the world for many decades. Most of the researches on media and minority reveal that media does not represent minorities positively and they are often negatively stereotyped , causing exploitation of their rights. Some researchers proved that minorities had been presented as criminals, thugs and rebels.

In Pakistan situation is contrary to the world, here minority is victimizing and exploiting the majority. Pakistani media especially the electronic media is now the most feared institution of country often termed as the thanedar or prosecutor. Here a minority has hijacked this powerful institution. This minority is totally alien to our masses, they don’t know the norms and values of our society, they do not respect the privacy of common man, they do not even believe in the basic rights of the poor people of Pakistan. They believe in only one thing how to get a better rating of their program, a better cost of their show; no matter how embarrassing is it? Mostly these people belong to upper classes or influential backgrounds, often to a specific ethnic minority. Most of these anchors and hosts have no proper training or education and have no or very limited prior exposure and experience of media. They are intentionally or unintentionally victimizing the majority of Pakistan.

While I was writing these lines I watched a headline on a channel “Meri Izzat pe haath kyun dala, Bhabhi ne dewar ko mar dala”. This small news item tells us that how they bluntly declare anyone as culprit without taking into consideration the drastic repercussions for others attached to him/her. They intentionally harass, exploit and disgrace us and make us think the way they want us to. The worst case of media victimization in past was the Lal Masjid tragedy, most of the media channels and newspapers pressurized the sitting government to kill the thousands of student and just when the government started the operation media changed its previous stance and started opposing it.

The other tragic incident was the killing of Salman Taseer and Shahbaz Bhatti, media was the main source of inciting people by airing programs on blasphemy issue thus resulting in these killing. Some channels quoted him saying blasphemy as black law but no one ever managed to produce the proof. A woman anchor went to such an extent that she openly prosecuted Salman Taseer in her show and declared him as the sinner, later she was sacked but she is selling the same manjan on another channel.

Another example of media victimization was the news and analysis on flogging of a girl by Taliban in Swat. It was a hot issue for many days giving our media a lot of fun and they enjoyed it by portraying the majority as the people who loves to see young girls openly disgraced and flogged. Later it was revealed that it was a fake video made by an NGO to support the operation rah-e-rast.

Recently a female anchor of a channel crossed all boundaries of ethics and law and chased people in parks investigating them; international media coined the term moral policing for this. The channel had no one with a brain to decide what havoc would that program bring in the lives of those young couples and their families? It’s good to see public reaction on that stupid show which proved that we are not a radical or conservative society as portrayed by our media.

Since early 2000’s, Pakistani television has evolved rapidly and exploded from a single state owned television to more than 80 private owned channels now. Facing stiff competition from other channels hosts always rely on populist measure. The morning shows exploiting the privacy of people often disgracing them; the political drama shows, dramatized crime shows and self defined investigative shows are some examples how media people try to increase their ratings. No doubt electronic media has totally transformed our society since the start of 2000 decade; they have made some very positive changes in common man’s life. But on the other hand they have given them the self defined right to play with the lives of people by exploiting house hold issues and family matters. They have misused their power more than often on issues of national interest.

With increasing instances of media exploitation of public rights, it is now a need of time to press for media consumer rights movement. We need to regulate our media, although we have a regulatory body like PEMRA to have a check on media but unfortunately it is totally government driven authority. If we gave the right of regulating the media to government it would cast us the freedom of speech. Media giants should themselves chalk a code of ethics and conduct for them to avoid the incidents of harassing people and declaring them as culprits. Internationally the media laws are very effective and strong and their media abide by them. Here in Pakistan we also have some media laws and PEMRA ordinance which to some extent prevent electronic media from jeopardizing the social values and public rights. The need is to create enough awareness among public that they can defend themselves against any exploitation. If we did not pay heed then we they will get into our bedrooms and would ask “Do you have the nikahnama”?

Imran Khan in the wonderland

Pakistan was facing the early exit from world cup 1992 after being bowled out for 74 against England, when God answered the prays and rain came to rescue them. After sharing the points with England and winning 3 of their remaining 4 matches, nation was again praying for Australian victory against West Indies. Again God responded and Pakistan progressed to semi final and won the highest sporting event, the World Cup for the first time in history.

 At the final presentation ceremony captain Imran Khan spoke his mind in these words,

"  I want to give my commiserations to the English team but I want them to know that my winning this world cup, personally it means that one of my greatest obsessions in life which is to build a cancer hospital, I am sure that this world cup will go a long way towards completion of this obsession, I would also like to say that I feel very proud that at the twilight of my career finally I managed to win the world cup" 

No doubt, Imran Khan was the man who united a team, lifted their spirits and led them to achieve that feat. But it is a reality that despite of his brave effort with the bat, his personal performance in the world cup was poor. On the other hand Wasim Akram was man of the match in final, Mushtaq and Aquib were brilliant, Javed Miandad and Inzamam were the outstanding performers, and Rameez, Sohail and Moin made crucial contribution. But the leader, Imran Khan forgot all of them and even forgot to thank almighty who helped them all the way. For the annoyance of mates he did not forget to tell the world that he was building a cancer hospital, and WC win would help him. Some players allege that he donated all money and prizes which were given to them on WC win, to his cancer hospital and deprived his team mates of their share.

His speech after winning final itself speaks a lot about ideas, attitude and approach of great Imran Khan. People who know him would know about his tussle with other players, the most disgusting of which was his disagreement with Miandad. For some it was a rivalry between Lahore and Karachi as both represented two separate ethnic entities. Yet when Miandad joined Imran Khan in the 92 final on 24/2 both put aside the differences and built 139 runs partnership without taking in perspective, who will be benefited most with the win.  

Imran Khan is arguably the most famous cricketer of Pakistan. He is to cricket as Waheed Murad was to film industry, both are highly respected and loved by people especially the youth. Media gives him extra-ordinary coverage wherever he goes. Ironically, he decided to join the dirty pool of politics in Pakistan and overwhelmed by the desire of making him more popular created a political party.

On the political front his position had been miserable and unexplainable. In his early days he joined hand with Political Maulana’s and raised the slogan of death for USA.  In 2002 elections he managed to win only one seat throughout Pakistan. Then under the influence of Maulana’s Brigade and non-political actors he boycotted the 2008 elections where he could have done some goods for Pakistan if he had wanted.He also fought some personal battles with Altaf Hussain, Asif Zardari and Sharif brothers before taking a u-turn.

Recently his public rallies have attracted millions of people, and suddenly he has been seen as a next big thing in Pakistani politics. Realizing the opportunity many Mir Jaffers of Pakistani politics joined hands with him and made him proud. His team members, who supported and followed him during the struggling times, are one by one leaving him and they are replaced by these feudal. For me it was the picture of the century, Imran Khan sitting on the stage with two arch-rival Hashmi and Qureshi on either side.


His political strategy is as poor as his decisions; it always makes me smile when in TV appearances while answering the questions about his manifesto, he always quotes the example of Cancer Hospital and Namal University, as if he thinks running a country is as simple as running a hospital.

No doubt he is a hero for our younger generation, and people love to see him, hear him making all those idealistic claims, he is making these days. It may be good for a nation who dreams with open eyes, who are obsessed with the slogans of revolution and promises of change. But in reality Imran Khan is the wrong person to attach our hopes with.People should realize that Ruling a country is not as simple as marshaling a team to victory, or running a hospital or a university. A man who is such a self-centered and egoistic, who believes in "Me" instead of 'US", who represents a certain class instead of masses, who is an idealist, who changes his goalposts every fortnight, may be a charismatic hero but not a savior.

Mujhe chhor de mere haal par tera kya bharosa hai charagar

Teri yeh nawazish e mushtasir mera dard aur barha na de

The King of Kings: Colonel Muammar Gaddafi

Hanging of Saddam Hussain on the day of Eid ul Azha was a sad scene to watch on TV for most of the Muslims, but the killing and disgrace of the dead body of Colonel Gaddafi by rebels was far more disturbing. Whatever happened is a sad episode carrying a lesson for the rulers who rob the wealth of their people for centuries and consider themselves as the owners of their people's lives and fate.

Colonel Muammar Gaddfi became the master of Libyan people's destiny through a military coup in 1969 by throwing out the King Idris.The era in which Gaddafi took over was an era of dissent, hopelessness and disappointment for most of the oil rich Muslim countries in Arab as whole Arab were not able to defeat Israel. Arabs and African Muslims welcomed the leaders who raised the slogans against USA, Britain or Israel; Muammar Gaddafi was one of them. He received overwhelming support from people in Africa; therefore he assumed himself as the leader of whole Africa and started a campaign against each and every small country in his neighborhood which did not comply with his leadership. I recall a quote from some great personality "Authority does not make us cruel but exposes our cruelty" the same was the case of Gaddafi. In quest of king of kings title he started a brutal war with every one whom he considered as an enemy, attacked neighboring countries, killed opponents and banned any opposition in country.

Libya has a very large area with a relatively small population of nearly 6.6 million (a mere 150% of Azad Kashmir's population), population density is 50 person per Sq KM; its oil reserves are largest in Africa and 9th largest in the world. Moreover it is a beautiful country situated on the bank of Mediterranean sea attracting millions of tourists yearly boosting the economy to a good extent but Gaddafi's rule almost shut the doors for tourists. Having so much treasure, if it had been ruled and managed properly by a sincere leader then Libya would have been a leader of the world’s economy and its people would have been enjoying the highest life standards, but it’s an irony that in enmity of USA and Israel Muslims always supported wrong rulers and faced more humiliation. People will blame US and allies as always for all the ills faced by Libyans and other Muslims throughout the world, but it is the time to accept that our own people are more responsible for our miseries.

Gaddafi and Pakistan

I don’t know how many people in Libya would know about Pakistan or its leaders but in Pakistan there is a lot of debate on Gaddafi after his killing. On facebook, twitter, blogs and some newspapers people are trying their best to portray him as a hero and true leader of Muslims. Many people argue that he was a great supporter of Pakistan and gave the money required for our nuclear program. It is strange that we never let our poor dictators to rule for more than 12 years but still we enjoy the luxury of supporting the dictator who was thrown out of power by his people after 42 years.

Colonel Gaddafi might have supported Pakistan when Bhutto was a ruler as he had personal relations with Bhutto, he also visited Pakistan in 1974 and we named a stadium for his honor. During those days he was planning to acquire latest available weapons, for this he had some expensive deals. From Pakistan he was expecting a nuclear weapon as he knew that Bhutto was planning one. Unfortunately Bhutto was arrested and killed by Zia's operation fair play in 1979 and his plan failed. The same year Soviet's invasion of Afghanistan made Zia a darling for USA and a villain for Gaddafi. According to some sources he actively supported Al-Zulfiqar against Zia, latter he enjoyed good relations with Benazir Bhutto's governments.

I wonder what would have been the condition of Pakistan if Gaddafi had ruled it for 42 years with all his female bodyguards? a thought for Gaddafi lovers.

Who Ruined The Quaid's Dream (1977-1979)

Ziaul Haq, Who Was He?

Before taking over as Army Chief General Zia Ul Haq had been famous for leading a Jordanian Army Division during operation black September against Palestinian fighters and being involved in killing of over 10,000 (official numbers) Palestinians living in camps in Jordan. It was interesting to note that Jordan’s military was a powerful force but they choose Zia ul Haq to spearhead the operation known as black September by Arabs. It is an open secret that King Hussian was a puppet of USA and He was more loyal to USA than Arabs, therefore most the Jordanians did not like him; instead there was abundant support and sympathy for Palestine Liberation Organization which was fighting against Israel. As a result, when PLO started attacking Israel from Jordanian Camps, they gained overwhelming support from Jordanians; King Hussain backed by USA decided to suppress PLO. Most of the Jordanian commanders denied fighting against the PLO and Palestinians, so King Hussain asked Pakistani government to help them and Major Zia ul Haq was sent to help them in operation. Zia led the Jordanian military in a series of operations known as black September, as a result thousands of Palestinians were killed and PLO was crushed. Later Zia ul Haq was awarded the highest Military rank of Jordan for his services in pushing Palestinians out of Jordan.

July 1977 Coup:

Bhutto’s autocratic rule enraged his rival politicians; in 1977 elections Bhutto’s government did record rigging as a result violent agitation started after elections. In July 1977 amid unrest and agitation on pretext of restoring law and order, Zia Ul Haq dismissed Bhutto and imposed martial law on July 5, 1977. He addresses the nation and promised to hold free and fair elections in 90 days. Nusrat Bhutto, wife of deposed Prime Minister filed a case in Supreme court challenging the legitimacy of July 77 coup, supreme court for the second time validated the doctrine of necessity and ruled that given the unstable political condition of country the coup was legal. Contrary to Ayyub Khan, who fooled the nations with a slogan of development, ending up breaking Pakistan into two. Ziaul Haq took hold of pulses of nation by raising slogan of Islamic revolution. The masses who had so much affection for Islam were behind a military dictator again.

Hanging Of Bhutto 1979:

Instead of holding elections ex Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was arrested on September 17, 1977 under martial law orders on charges of ordering the murder of Nawab Mohammad Ahmed Khan. The trial was started at Lahore High Court against the law depriving Bhutto of a chance of appeal. Most of witnesses were under imprisonment from most of the time after Zia’s coup so there impartiality was impossible; to prove that one of the alleged assassins (approvers) retracted from his initial testimony and declared before court that the testimony was extract from him under torture and threat. Bhutto was awarded death punishment by Lahore High Court on 18th March 1978. Bhutto filed an appeal in Supreme Court; Initially 5 out of 9 judges were in favor of Bhutto but Chief Justice Supreme Court justice Anwarul Haq (who presided as acting president under Zia once) delayed the trial till Jul as one of the pro Bhutto judges was to retire in July. Supreme Court of Pakistan withheld the decision of lower court with a clear divide of 4-3. Amid protests and appeals from world leaders, Zia overturned the clemency appeals from all over the world, and Bhutto was hanged on April 4, 1979. It is believed that Zia was not in favor of any trial against Bhutto in the beginning but when Bhutto visited Lahore after dismissal, the reception he received from people was terrifying for Zia, so he did not hold the election due to fears of of PPP wining the elections. Zia was such a coward that he did everything to win the case against the Bhutto. Brisk transfers were made, chief justice was changed, and judges having bias against Bhutto were included in bench hearing his case. Maulvi Mushtaq (a Bhutto hater) the chief justice of LHC once rejected the post of Supreme Court just to take revenge from Bhutto, people who know Maulvi Mushtaq would know very well about the punishment he received from God. The judges who were in favor of fair trial were made to retire, some were sent on long leaves and the Judges who had personal grudge with Bhutto or personal relations with Zia were appointed for the trial. The decision of hanging Bhutto marked the darkest period of our judicial history.

The Politics of Divide and Ethnicity:

Before raising the slogan of Islam, Zia introduced the politics of Divide and ethnicity to tackle the influence of Bhutto in Pakistani politics. In Punjab Zia introduced an industrialist Nawaz Sharif and in Sindh he helped Muhajirs setting their first political party. Nawaz Sharif raised the slogan of Jaag Punjabi Jaag, while Muhajirs had Jiye Muhajir as their political slogan. Moreover Zia also helped nationalists in Sindh to build their political stature. These all actions were a clear indication of the mindset of a coward army general, who was so fearful of the political influence of a man who had been hanged but not killed. This mindset can still be traced in our establishment and military leadership which never let evolve any political culture in country. Coming back to politics of divide our agencies and military under Zia openly supported this agenda by giving the politicians funds and lands. In Punjab Nawaz Sharif and in Sindh Altaf Hussain did it very successfully blocking way for PPP but giving rise to a divide on ethnic and lingual basis. The evils of ethnicity and divide we are facing is a legacy of Hazrat Ziaul Haq.

Who Ruined The Quaid's Dream (1966-1977)

Mujeeb’s Six Points (1966)

On 6th February 1966, Awami League presented their famous six points agenda which stirred a great divide between the West and East Pakistan. Through this agenda Mujeeb demanded separate currency, dedicated foreign exchange account, separate militia and power of taxation and revenue. Six points program was the base from where Bengalis started the struggle for their independence. Bengalis were deprived of their legitimate economic and social rights, thus Mujeeb’s demand for greater autonomy under the six points program received overwhelming support and the denial of Federation to accept these greatly supported their resolve.

Agartala Conspiracy Case (1968)

Government was under pressure from the protests and demonstrations by over 60% of the population as there was little public support with the military rulers even in West Pakistan. In those critical circumstances in 1968, GOP filed a conspiracy case against 35 prominent leaders, servicemen and security officials of East Pakistan for secretly organizing an armed revolt against the government of Pakistan. Bengalis took it as another attempt to push them to wall, therefore a mass protest campaign started against the Government. Adding fuel to fire one of the accused was shot dead by security personnel during confinement inside the army cantonment. The news of the killing led to the violent agitations, protesters put many important state buildings on fire. Although the conspiracy was real but the case was poorly handled by then military government. To much of the surprise, after fueling worst violent and turmoil, government of Pakistan withdrew the Agartala Conspiracy Case on 22 February 1969. The very next day Sheikh Mujeeb Ur Rehman vowed to struggle for independent Bangladesh in a great public gathering in Dhaka.

Yahya Khan The New King (1969)

Ayub Khan was responsible for most of the miseries Pakistan faced during his era; he banned political parties, gauged media and deprived the common man of the legitimate rights. After serving Pakistan in every field he made his worst decision of making a mockery of his own constitution and handing over the powers to a drunken old man Yahya Khan (who is also known as Rangeela Badshah). Yahya Khan inherited the legacy of dissent, revolt and exploitation; he had to transform a country which had been under one man rule for the last 11 years to a democratic country. After a military rule of 12 years general elections were held in December 1970, Awami League of Sheikh Mujeeb Ur Rehman swept the East Pakistan with 160 seats while PPP led by Bhutto got 81 seats in West Pakistan. In provincial elections Awami League won 288 seats and PPP got 144 seats. The elections drew a distinct line between East and West Pakistan, as PPP and Awami League failed to win a single seat in East and West Pakistan respectively (both provincial and national elections). After securing big victory in elections Mujeeb ur Rehman’s Awami League was the only contender to form federal government. But both military and politicians from West Pakistan were suspicious about Mujeeb, they did not want to hand over the control of the country to a politician, who had earlier been held for conspiring against state. Bhutto was in the airspace of East Pakistan returning back after the talks with Mujeeb when army started operation, the end result of which was establishment of Bangladesh. It is widely believed that Bhutto and Mujeeb had come to a settlement of power sharing but Military establishment did not agree. The operation resulted in East Pakistan war, India learning a lesson from operation giberalter infiltrated trained Bengali and Indian guerlillas with the anme Mukti Bahni. The war resulted in over 30,000 deaths (officially) international media believed that they were more tham 500,000. Paksitani Army surrendered and suffered heart breaking humiliation in a land which was their's some time ago.

Bhutto The Dictator (1971-1977)

Bhutto was a charismatic personality; he held the pulses of poor people of Pakistan. Soon after taking control of a divided Pakistan he promised to make a new Pakistan from the remains of broken one. During hsi regime Bhutto made many fatal mistakes; the first one of them was the nationalization policy through which industries and institution were put under government's control. On pretext of nationalization supporters of PPP occupied the precious industries by force, thus destroying the economic backbone, shutting the doors for private investment. At political front ironically Bhutto became a dictator he ordered revenge from those who opposed him, suspended thousands of civil servants and established a ghunda force called Federal Security Force (FSF) to control his opponents. Later he was hanged on the charges of ordering the murder of a political rival through FSF, Director General FSF Masood Mahmood became the approver in this case. Bhutto tried to find his friends in military forces by appointing General Zia as chief of army staff superseding 7 senior generals. He held the general elections in 1977 after opposition started an anti Bhutto movement under the banner of PNA. 1977 elections were heavily rigged and manipulated; therefore the movement of PNA intensified and resulted in the ouster and later hanging of Bhutto.

Hamood Ur Rehman Commission Report (1974)

After the fall of Dhaka Bhutto constituted a commission under the supervision of chief justice Supreme Court Hamood ur Rehman to investigate the reasons of East Pakistan fall and surrender of army without the orders of central command. Commission worked hard and submitted final report in 1974. Report examined the situation in detail and recommended the public trial of many senior army generals including Yaha Khan. Bhutto did not want to make army an opponent therefore he did not made the report public, hence no one was punished for breaking the country. It remained under cover until August 2000, when an Indian Newspaper India Today published the report (No one ever bothered to find out how the top secret document reached India). An army which was created to protect the boundaries of Pakistan was criminally involved in anti-human acts in East Pakistan including killings, rapes, smuggling and torture. If Bhutto had shown the courage and punished the responsibles, he might not be murdered judicially. The unpunished generals never regretted their crimes and in less than 7 years of East Pakistan debacle they were back to fulfill remaining task.

Balochistan Operation (1973-77)

Balochis common man is as exploited as the Bengalis were in 1970, when Bengalis got independence, Baloch nationalists took is as an opportunity to get independence from federation. The insurgency grew stronger in Bhutto regime as NAP has formed the government in Balochistan comprising of nationalist parties with strong nationalist roots. Provincial government demanded more autonomy for the Balochis but federal government did not accept this demand. In the same year federal government foiled a rebellion effort and the provincial government was dismissed. After the dismissal of the government, nationalist insurgency exploded into widespread civil disobedience. Bhutto sent army to crush the insurgency and maintain law and order. A full fledged battle started between Baloch nationalists and Pakistan army which lasted for 4 years, as a result thousands were killed from both sides. The result of this operation was more rebellion and hatred and after 30 years of their struggle Balochis are still fighting. Why Balochis are fighting? Is a big question, but I think they are not fighting as most of them do not even think beyond a bottle of water or a piece of bread which is a rare commodity in the region. These are the Sardars and Waderas who want more shares in terms of money from Federal government. Federal government's policy regarding Balochistan have always been disastrous, they deal with the Sardars and pay them their share to silence the common Balochis, who have been deprived of basic necessities of life even in the 21st century. If we want not to experience another tragedy like East Pakistan we would have to address the needs and rights of the poor Balochi people. India is actively playing their role in fueling the nationalist movement, our agencies need to foil the links between these two.

Saleem Shahzad's Murder and PNS Mahran Attack

Saleem Shahzad Murder

The dead body of Syed Saleem Shahzad, the Pakistan Bureau Chief of Asia Times Online, who disappeared on May 29, 2011, from the F-6/2 area of Islamabad, has been recovered from Sarai Alamgir. He was on his way to the studios of Dunya News channel to particiate in a program to discuss his latest report on the attacks on PNS Mehran when the producer made the last contact with him. Before abduction Shahzad had published an article on Asia Times Online regarding the attack of Al-Qaeda on PNS Mahran and links between Al-Qaeda and Naval soldiers. It is strongly believed that he was under threat from intelligence agencies for quite sometime as he wrote extensively about the Al-Qaeda, Taliban and their supporters in Pakistan.

Saleem Shahzad had strong interaction with Al-Qaeda and Pakistan Military; he published some exclusive stories about Taliban movement and Al-Qaeda. In October 2010 he was (according to him) investigated by ISI for publishing a story about the release of a Taliban leader by Pakistan to facilitate talks between Taliban and security forces. He published his much awaited book ‘Inside al Qaeda and the Taliban: Beyond Bin Laden and 9/11’ in May, 2011.

The major cause of his murder is told to be the story published in Asia Times Online ‘Al-Qaeda had warned of Pakistan Strike’, in which he claimed that Al-Qaeda carried out the attacks on PNS Mehran in Karachi after negotiations had failed between the navy and Al-Qaeda regarding the release of naval officials held by navy intelligence for their links with the terrorist organization. He wrote that some officials of junior cadre of Navy had been strong supporters of Al-Qaeda and they have been planning to attack US officials and experts working at base. They were caught and held by Navy for interrogations to find out to what extent teh militancy had crept into the naval ranks. The attacks on Naval buses earlier were warning calls by Al-Qaeda to release the linked officials.

The details of Attack on Mahran base provided so far confirm the report released by Shahzad, as it is not believable that only 6 terrorists engaged whole Navy, Army Commandoes and Rangers for 17 long hours killing 13 soldiers without the helping hands from inside. Who killed Saleem Shahzad will remain a mystery for ever as in a country where the murderers of its first PM had never been exposed, what is the value of a journalist, but the courage and grit he showed to expose the corruption within the military sytem will be remebered. God bless his soul the eternal peace and his family with the courage and determination to bear this great loss, ameen.

PNS Mahran Attack

Pakistan is under threat from all corners of the state; extremism and terrorism has paralyzed our nation, in these testing times Pakistani Military is the only hope left for most Pakistanis. But in a month the military has suffered the worst ever damage, first presence of OBL in Pakistan for more than 5 years undermined the efficiency of our intelligence agencies. Afterwards operation by US forces inside Pakistan proved incompetence of our army, now Mahran base attack has exposed the security and professional capability of our Air Force and Navy. Taliban and Al-Qaeda will definitely have links with military in Pakistan, as some former services chiefs still support them openly. Soldiers from lower ranks have strong affection with Islam, and it is obvious that they will not be happy for fighting against their own men for the sake of USA. We can expect some deep rooted dissent among the military officials, it needs to be pointed out and corrected otherwise we will not be able to get out of this mess.

In the last I would like to pay tribute to the soldiers killed in the Mahran Base attack for their sacrifice. I would also like to share a message sent by one of my college friends who is now a soldier at Pakistan navy. He told me that his colleagues in navy were very disappointed with the role of media in making a single person, Yasir Abbas hero out of 13 personnel martyred in the attack. I explained him the reasons why media was running such campaign, I fear I would not be able to share it here. Personally I am surprised to hear the News that Prime Minister has advised president to confer Nishan e Haider on Yasir Abbas for fighting bravely with the terrorists. What does it mean that the others who were killed did not fight bravely, or they were supporting the terrorists? His mother told a news reporter that he was on phone when blast happened so he disconnected the call. It clearly shows that he was even not aware of the attack until he heard the blast of terrorist attack on a nearby naval plane.

The martyrs should be respected and saluted but conferring the highest military medal to a soldier who was killed in their own den in such shameful security negligence would not only undermine the prestige of the award but would also be mockery of our proud military traditions. Common Pakistanis have always loved, supported and faced poverty for our military, but now the time has changed we can not worship them like the sacred cows if they would not be loyal and faithful to the poor nation. It is a need of the time to make a thorough investigation to cleanse our military from the people who are not loyal to our national interests.


Note: I was away for sometime therefore i was not able to update the series who ruined the Quiad's dream, i hope it will be completed soon.

Who Ruined the Quaid's Dream (1958-65)

Political Debacle (1948-1958)

Failure of Pakistan Muslim League after assassination of Liquat ali Khan gave rise to a long lasting political crisis which prevailed until General Ayyub Khan took over and banned all political activity in the country. Muslim League failed to counter the problems because of the lack of capable and enthusiastic leadership. Although there were some faithful associates of Mohammad Ali Jinnah to guide the country but they were not able to resolve their own differences. Personal rivalries, power struggle, ethnic differences and regional bias resulted in a forgettable period of Pakistani political history. In the first ten years of its establishment Seven Prime Ministers, Four Governor Generals and a president had been tried but most of them failed to deliver. The other major reason behind the political debacle was the fact that country had two culturally, politically and socially distinct parts East and West Pakistan. Bengalis were economically weaker but politically more mature than the West Pakistanis, they did not want to accept the hegemony of West Pakistan. Ethnic and lingual divide between two halves gave rise to difference which remained the centre of politics in the country. In East Pakistan the darkest chapter of our politics was written when on Sep 21, 1958 in an assembly brawl deputy speaker Shahid Ali Jan was killed and many assembly members were injured. This incident highlighted the political turmoil which invited the military to take control of affairs

Military Take over (1958)

Ayyub Khan was made the commander in chief of Pakistan army superseding two senior officers in 1951 by then Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan. Ayyub Khan had strong links with the political leadership in the country. In his autobiography he has revealed some interesting facts about the role he played time to time in the early politics of the country. How he described the politicians (even Quaid’s associates) is a clear indication military mind set about the civilians. It is an open secret that he had a strong backing from USA and other anti-USSR countries; in fact he was made the C-I-C after a strong support from Anglo-American forces. Ayuub Khan joined the active politics when he became the Defense Minister in the cabinet of Mohammad Ali Bogra in 1954. Iskandar Mirza took over as Governor General ousting Ghulam Mohammad; he had deep rooted ties with Ayyub Khan. In 1958 he declared martial law in country citing the fragile political situation. Ayyub Khan was made chief martial law administrator, who later toppled Iskandar Mirza and became field martial.

U2 Incident 1961 (US used Pakistani Airspace)

It is a million dollar question these days who was the first ruler in Pakistan who gave USA the permission to play with the sovereignty of Pakistan. It was in late 50’s when Pakistan gave them the air and land space to fight their enemy no 1 USSR. In 1960 a US spy plane was shot down by USSR for violating its territories. The incident intensified the ongoing cold war between US and USSR and world was on the verge of first nuclear war. It was later discovered that the spy plane was flown from an air base in Peshawar, which was given to USA. This event enraged the Soviets who were already seeing Pakistan as an enemy for siding USA. This event signified that Pakistan had given the USA authority to violate its territory and use its space for carrying spy operations. Afterwards Soviet Union turned against Pakistan and helped India to break the country into two.

Fatima Jinnah Defeated (1964)

Ayyub Khan introduced basic democracies system and got elected as a president through a poll by basic democrats. He used every possible opportunity to wrest his control on power. During his regime political parties were banned from any political activity and strict bans were put on already inept press. In these circumstances Ayyub introduced a construction in 1962 which was a big failure as the nation rejected his self created document. In 1964 he announced elections for President under new constitution to legitimize and prolong his rule. Opposition was able to persuade Fatima Jinnah to contest the elections. Fatima Jinnah was highly respected personality fro her role in supporting Quiad e Azam in his great struggle. Ayyub Khan had an agenda on his hands from foreign powers so he made the worst rigging in elections and won it by a clear majority. This election is an important event in the history of our nation. Results of the elections divided the country among two as Fatima Jinnah gained majority in East Pakistan and Karachi but in other parts of country there was no contest between the two. Bengalis were outrageous on the manipulated elections and protests started in different parts of East Pakistan. The year after the elections Sheikh Mujeeb Ur Rehman announced his famous 6 points which was considered as the document of separation.

Operation Giberalter (1965)

Kashmir issue was thrown into cold due to the domestic turmoil in Pakistan in early days of Pakistan. India gave Jammu and Kashmir an autonomous entity through their constitution in early 50’s thus rasing fears in Pakistan. There were worrying signs in Jammu and Kashmir as no major appraisal opposition was seen there, Kashmiri’s main leader Sheikh Abdullah was released and was in some dialogue with India. Pakistan was having full support of US due to cold war situation. Sino-Indian war of 1962 has put China and Pakistan in close relations. The news of disappearance of a holy Relic (holy hair of Hazrat Mohammad PBUH) in 1965 had given rise to dissent and revolt among the Kashmiris on the Indian side. Ayyub Khan considered it a real opportunity to get hold of Jamuu and Kashmir, thus a program was designed to infiltrate the civil and military guerillas into Indian Occupied Kashmir and liberate the remaining area. The operation named Opreation Giberalter was started in 1965, Pakistani forces aided with civilian fighters crossed into Indian Occupied Kashmir and captured many areas of great importance. India was on the verge of loosing Kashmir therefore they attacked Pakistan from the Western front Punjab. Both countries have made considerable advancement into each others territory, when USSR and USA come to rescue and a ceasefire was arranged. Ayyub Khan and Lal Bahadur Shastri signed Tashkent agreement in 1966 to put militaries from both countries to pre war positions. Given the situation in Pakistan facing worst ever political and economic turmoil operation giberalter was a luxury which Pakistan did not afford. The operation put the morale of already suffering nation to ground and we were not able strengthen ourselves when India designed the same operation in East Pakistan top deprive us from half of our land and people.

Who Ruined the Quaid's Dream (1947-1958)

Pakistan is a country which was established in the name of Islam, where people from all religions and sects were envisaged to live with honor, dignity, peace and prosperity. But after 64 years of it establishment it has turned into a country with worst law and order, terrorism, racial discrimination, sectarian hatred and ethnic divide. There are many factors which contributed to take Quaid’s country to such a miserable condition. The country has not plunged into this catastrophe overnight; there are events in our history which put us to current situation. I have tried to sum up the most significant events from the history of Pakistan in shortest possible text.

Quaid’s Death (1948)

In the early days of Pakistan Death of Quaid e Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah was an unfortunate event. After Quaid’s death Pakistan Muslim League which had almost been hijacked by then landlords and feudalists failed to carry on the mission of our leader. Muslim league had no economic and social reforms policy therefore in a few years the founding party of Pakistan was a story of past. Inability of civilian leadership to run a country which had a lot of inherited problems lead to the civil-military conflict which afterwards paved the path for the breakup of the Quaid’s country.

Rawalpindi Conspiracy (1951)

Pakistani military planned its first coup on civil government when chief of general staff General Akber Khan was arrested along with many of his communist minded companions who were later tried and jailed. The most unfortunate aspect of the coup was the timing as in those testing times no one expected such an act from inside the military. The coup also showed that big powers would not let us live freely even after the independence and they did so.

Liaquat Ali khan Assassination (1951)

Liaquat Ali Khan was assassinated at Company Bagh Rawalpindi (Liaquat Bagh), the same year he made a visit to USA which kick started our ties with an anti-communists country. The murderer Sad Akbar, an Afghani national was shot dead at the spot therefore no one could ever find out who killed him. The murder signified the fact the enemies were among our own people. We have always blamed India for our failure and turmoil but actually they are far less dangerous for us then our Afghan neighbors. Pushtoon rulers in Afghanistan were a part of a great conspiracy of creating a pushtoon country including Afghanistan, NWFP and Pushtoon majority Baloch areas. It would be surprising for many that when West Pakistan was made one unit Afghan government officially protested the decision and broke all diplomatic ties with Pakistan. What could be more unfortunate that the party which was the part of that conspiracy is a part of our government after 64 years?

Bengali Language Movement

Benagalis were 45 million out of the total population of 75 million at the establishment of free Pakistan. Most of the prominent Muslim League Leaders like Liaquat Ali Khan, A K Fazlul Haq, Khwaja Nazimuddin, Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy and Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhasani were from Bengal. Bengalis should have been declared as the state language given the majority of Bengalis but it did not happened. In 1948 Quaid e Azam visited Bengal and declared Urdu as the national language, as a result the nationwide movement for Bengali as the national language started. The situation become worst when riot broke out on the issue, police opened fire at Bengali students killing many of them. The outcome was evident from the results of first election for East Bengal Provincial Assembly held between 8 March and 12 March 1954, The United Front (comprising of Awami League, Krishak-Sramik Party and Nezam-e-Islam) won 215 out of 237 Muslim seats in the election as compared to 9 seats won by ruling Muslim League. Most of the prominent leaders had left PML therefore it was completely wiped out in the election of 1954.

Khwaja Nazimuddin’s Dissmissal (1953)

Khawaja Nazimuddin became prime minister after the murder of Liaquat Ali Khan, and a western minded bureaucrat Ghulam Mohammad became governor general. Ghulam Mohammad was a puppet in the hands of foreign powers specially USA, it was a mistake by Nazimuddin to leave governor general seat for him. It is painful fact that on Octocber 17, 1951 when LAK was assassinated Ghulam Mohammad was at US Embassy to get assurance of his accession to top position. As expected after a shot term as PM, K Nazimuddin was dismissed by Malik Ghulam Mohammad on pretext of law n order situation and food crisis in Punjab. Bengalis had already been protesting for the declaration of Bengali as the National language, this act further enraged Bengalis. Khwaja’s tenure was full of trouble due to internal turmoil and movements. Anti Ahmdis movement was the most significant, which was lead by Mian Mumtaz Daultana, then chief minister of Punjab. Those events widened the gulf among Punjabis and Muhajirs (especially Bengalis), which played a significant role in the separation of East Pakistan.

Maulvi Tameezuddin vs Justice Munir- the Doctrine of Necessity (1954)

After dismissing Khawaja Nazimuddin Ghulam Mohammad dissolved the legislative assembly which was almost given final touch to the constitutional draft. Justice Munir’s judgment on the legality of dismissal of constituent assembly by Ghulam Mohammad was a judicial coup which altered the path of our politics. Maulvi Tameezuddin then the president of the constituent assembly challenged the decision of dissolution of assembly, Sindh High court ruled in favor of Maulvi Tameezuddin. The Federation challenged the ruling in federal court where chief justice Munir invented the doctrine of necessity and gave the ruling in favor of Ghulam Mohammad. The impact of this decision is long lasting; it bowed the judiciary before executive indirectly paving the path for martial laws. It also ended the politics of Muslim League and threw the country into a long run constitutional crisis. There were also significant political repressions of the verdict, as it widened the gulf among the Punjabis and Non-Punjabis specially Muhajirs.

Accepting SEATO and CENTO (1954)

Given the fragile democratic government in early 50’s Pakistani Military and civil bureaucracy was at the helm of affairs to a greater extent. Ghulam Mohammad a Bureaucrat was himself a puppet in the hands of these powers, as his actions proved. An era when world was bi-polar, India was trying to form Non-Aligned forum, Pakistan decided to side with USA and signed the agreements like SEATO, CENTO and Baghdad Pact. This was the start of a long lasting slavery which was bought in return of dollars. These agreements not only made USSR our enemy but also provided an opportunity to India to side with USSR despite of being an active member of Non-Aligned Movement. The nation is still facing the repercussions of this one-sided love affair. There is no doubt that these agreements were made by our Military establishment as the civil leadership was totally inactive in those days.

Establishment of One Unit (1955):

National Assembly under Chaudhry Mohammad Ali passed the one unit resolution on September 30, 1955. One Unit resolution was claimed to be a move to eradicate the ethnic and racial differences among different provinces of West Pakistan. Bengalis felt this act as an attempt to undermine their numerical superiority by West Pakistan. Protest broke out in East Pakistan against the one unit formula, when situation got out of order Military Chief Ayyub Khan took this opportunity to seize the power in 1958. Bengalis who had already been very active and conscious about their rights, started a movement which turned into an armed struggle in 60’s and ultimately resulted into separation of East Pakistan in 1971. When General Yahya Khan found out that the purpose had been fulfilled, he dissolved the one unit on July 1, 1970. It was surprising that Dr Jabbar Khan (brother of Bacha Khan) was appointed first Chief Minister of one unit. Dr Khan was the leader who remained loyal to congress even after the establishment of Pakistan and he opposed Pakistan movement throughout his political career and it was widely speculated that his party was conspiring to include NWFP in greater Afghanistan.

Killing of Osama Bin Laden: Lessons for Pakistan

Osama Bin Laden the world’s most wanted man has been killed by US authorities in an attack in Abbotabad near Pakistan Military Academy Kakool. Since his killing, this NEWS is the centre of all debates running on Pakistani and international media. Although the operation for OBL killing is still under suspicion for most of the analysts but the follow-ups are proving that he has been killed in the operation. Osama was the man who waged the holy war against US and allies across the world. It is a disappointing fact that most of our Muslim brothers use name of Islam to fight against evil but they end up causing long lasting damages to Islam and Islamic countries. Osama a Saudi billionaire casued the worst ever destruction to an Islamic country Afghanistan, now his killing has brought Pakistan to the most dangerous era of existence. His killing has left us with more questions than answers.

The worst part of the OBL episode was a complete collapse of civil-military co-ordination in Pakistan. There was no official announcement from military days after the operation. A military that is known for its professional brilliance did not have a clue that OBL was residing at half KM distance from their training academy and less than 100 KM from their military headquarters in Rawalpindi. They were completely uninformed about what had happened there on Sunday night. Civil government was busy in oath taking of new ministers (whom once they termed as their worst enemies) in the name of national reconciliation. It seemed that Zardari government has no interest in the military matters, they put the ball in the court of military leadership. These signs are worrying for citizens of Pakistan.

In the follow-up, it is obvious that Pakistan would face the worst repercussions of OBL killing as we have already been facing from Taliban and Al-Qaeda for last many years. Time has come to decide who is our foe and who is the friend? We have to decide whether we want to live in a civilized world or a world ruled by Taliban and Al-Qaeda? We need to clarify our policy on Taliban and Al-Qaeda fighters in Pakistan. The war against terror might not be ours but the situation has changed, we have lost thousands of soldiers and civilians in this war. We should not let the terrorist, who waged a war against innocent citizens of Pakistan rule the people. Now this is the war of the sovereignty, integrity and survival of our homeland. No one has the right to fight against others from our territory; those who want to take up Jahad against enemies of Islam should use their own bases.

Our Military fought everywhere in the world, we fought for Arabs against Israel, we fought for Jordan against PLO and we fought for Saudis. We were the largest franchise of US war against soviets, now we are fighting against the same people whom once we trained for the sake of Dollars. We should not suspect the intent of our military fighting against the terrorists throughout country but it is a fact that we are not fighting them for our own sake instead we have been paid to do that. We never fought purely for the national interest of Pakistan whenever it was required whether it was 1965, 1971 or 1999. Now it is time to fight for our own safety, integrity and sovereignty. The elements in our military and civil bureaucracy who supported these militants in past should realize that the world has completely changed after 9/11; we can not afford to support the people who have no respect for humanity, Islam and Pakistan.

Government should immediately call a grand meeting of all political parties, civil society activists, Pakistan military leadership and other prominent civilian leaders. The meeting should workout a complete policy framework for safeguarding the national interest. Moreover they should come out with an official statement regarding the operation to clarify the suspicion and fears.

Long Live Pakistan.

The story of my mother - Last Part

After getting paralyzed, mother was compelled to spend all the time on bed without any activity, but she never missed her prayers and wazaif. In the meantime she gave me the permission to go to Karachi to carry on my education and to help my family. She is such a courageous woman that She did not showed any sign of worry, grief when I left instead She smilingly said me good bye with a lot of advices. That day I was more than happy to have an opportunity to transform the challenges into success and find the solution of the problems facing my family and my mother. Life passed amid disasters and problems, I found a better way of life in the beautiful city of Karachi. The only worry was my father, who was very ill when I met him after so long. I took him back with me when I visited my village. He was ill, tired, feeling guilt and looked like a defeated person when we reached home. I have no words to write about the feelings I had when my family met my father after so long. Here I must say that He was welcomed with complains and questions, unasked questions which he never managed to answer. The situation got better within days and our family was happy at least to have him back. My sister's marriage was arranged later which was held without much fuss. I came back Karachi and afterwards father also came back with the promise to fight and not to submit to the circumstances.

It was one of the hazy days in the Holy Ramazan , when I came back from my work and saw my father vomiting blood. I was shocked to see that because He had never told me about this (although I knew he was not well). Later I checked his briefcase and found some reports from doctor to find out that he was having a lungs cancer. Mother was not in a position to bear this tragic news therefore I had no courage to tell any of my family members. But unfortunately in a few days my father's disease had left him on bed, so I decided to send him back home where at least some treatment and care was possible. Mother found out about his disease the very first day but she did not get panicked. Every possible effort was made to save him, but unfortunately, he did not survived instead of a lot of recovery from illness. Most of my siblings were too young to bear this tragedy, it was my mother who stood up for us and gave us the much needed courage and strength to fight. I still remember that I had just arrived back to Karachi when I was informed, I telephoned my mother from Karachi, She said " Son, you are a brave boy, you can do whatever we expect from you, all of us are looking for you so don't come back, stay there as you beloved father has been buried. Stay there to make your family survive this difficult phase".

Life passed on after demise of my father mother stopped taking any medicines for joints pain, she attached herself wholeheartedly with Allah (the merciful). Anybody in her role would have given up but she never did that, she gave us light in the darkest days of our life. Allah helped her getting some control over her disease. He opened new paths for our family, blessed us with better life, a life with more joys than sorrows. Mother got operated for knee replacement and was able to walk again after a long break of 8 years. It was an important day in our lives when she resumed some activities of life. Doctors were astonished as they had the opinion that the disuse of feet for last 8 years might not let her walk, but she made it possible with her passion for life.

Everything was right back on track when a quake jolted the whole area and in a few seconds millionaires had become beggars. My mother was in her room when the earthquake of 2005 stuck, thanks God one of my brothers was at home who saved her from getting buried under the debris of the demolished house. It was raining heavily; people were staying in open fields under temporary shelters when I arrived the village after earthquake on 10th October at around 10 PM. Our house along with all households was totally demolished in the earthquake; mother also was in a tent house. That was the first time in life when I wanted to shout, to cry loudly, and to weep like children. Mother again gave us hope and helped us to regain what we had lost. She is such a great manager that in a small income with the help of construction aid given by government she inspired us to build our house back.

Worst days are over, earthquake has passed, mother is now able to walk. She has a new life with grand children, in-laws and new relatives. But her eyes still remain wet; I still find her crying with pain and grief whenever I wake up in night. At the end I must say that she is not only great because she fought the tragedies of life bravely but she is great because she has the highest degree of love, passion and enthusiasm for life and happiness. She considers life as the most beautiful and precious gift of God for human being. God bless her with life longer than ours as we may not be able to fight the tragedies of life without her.

The story of my mother - Part II

  The 90's decade was a decade to forget for most of my family members. In 1991 we were very young when I visited Karachi in the winter vacations with my family, which was one of the most memorable visits. My father was doing business in the city so we were quite rich in those days, city was peaceful, life was good and we were very happy. Mother was passing through an age which is probably the most enjoyable part of life for most of the women. She had no financial worries, her children were getting young, her husband was supporting her and she was probably very happy despite of her aching and swollen joints. It was during that visit when she was first time informed that she might not be able to walk or live normal life in the coming days as the disease was spreading day by day. We were too young to know or understand such situation, but I found my mother a bit unhappy even in those happy days.
  The days passed, we returned back to our village. Soon the time changed, a dreadful operation was started in Karachi, and soon city of lights had turned into a city of fear. That operation had badly affected the business in the city, so our father's business was in serious loss amid the daily killings, unrest and violence. We were not much informed about the situation in Karachi as the only source of news was PTV, so we were dependent on the information from our people there or father's letters. Father's business was shut down but he never informed us, instead he cut off from family. We were worried about the safety and health of our beloved father; mother was in serious trouble as most of us were studying either in college or school. The life was getting tougher and tougher day by day. Mother never expressed her grief to us. Once in the night when I was awaken to listen to the commentary on a cricket match being played in West Indies I noticed her weeping and crying with pain. Then I realized how much pain was she passing through. I may never be able to forget that single event which completely changed my perception about life and its colors. Due to uninformed disappearance of father and bad financial conditions most of our relatives had left us. In the meanwhile father had returned to village with all the bad news of his business troubles and looting. During those days we had no means of earning other than mother's salary.
  I and my elder sisters had passed the SSC, so we had to go to college but there was no college within the limits of 20 KMs, which meant we had to get admission in colleges located far away in Rawlakot city. In a city like Karachi it may not be considered as a distance but in a village it was long enough to scare us. It was a risk sending young children specially daughters to a city far away with no proper means of transport amid the financial crisis we were passing through in those days. Our mother was courageous enough to send us to college even when most of the close family members were not in a favor of this decision. In the meanwhile Mother was having a treatment from PIMS Islamabad; therefore she had to visit the doctor at least once in a month. This was a near impossible work to do in those days with such miserable financial conditions, but she never lost the courage. Those were the days, when disease had almost defeated our mother, father had returned to Karachi to find some alternative means of earning. As a young boy I had a lot of dreams to help my family and do whatever my mother wished for her family. I was very frustrated with the prevailing situation. I was no more interested in my studies, so I decided to leave the college and earn money to help my mother and siblings. But I did not manage to run away from studies as it would have ended any chance of my sisters completing their education.
  My mother was in great stress and pain but she did not show any signs of frustration or depression instead she always encouraged us to do well at college. We used to leave for college very early in the morning and return very late sometimes in the evening. Despite of her ailing joint she was always there with freshly cooked food for us. She used to ask us about the day’s events and happenings, and always advised us to stay focused on education. Our financial crisis went to such extent that one by one all of the precious household items were sold to meet the daily needs. Father was passing through a horrible period of time; he again went missing as probably he was not able to face us because of his inability to help us. This time the disappearance was longer than the previous one. We were under a burden of huge debts; none of us was young enough to earn the money to return those loans.
  It is the irony that in good days every one helps and support you but in bad days even own shadow does not accompany you and you are left alone. Same was the case with us mother was almost paralyzed as she was not able to walk freely or do work on her own and most of the family members had turned strangers for us. Thanks God my grandmother and Khala were always there to help us through those days and always strengthened us. My mother got another blow from the fate when she was forced to take an early retirement from her teaching job because of disease. It was in 97 when she last time went to the school on her feet, afterwards she had completely lost to the disease and had never been able to stand on her own. It was the time when all of us were in the middle of our education career amid father in disappearance and family in worst ever financial turmoil. I often think what would have happened if mother had lost the courage in those testing times?

The story of my mother - Part I

It is a well known quote “Behind every successful man there is a woman”, I strongly believe in this fact as my ideal is a woman, my mother who is behind the success of hundreds of people. Today I was doing an interview of her for a community magazine coming soon. I would like to share a summary of her interview as I think it may be interesting for most of us.
  My mother, Miss Manzoor Fatima, belongs to a very educated and religious family of a remote village of District Rawalakot, Azad Kashmir (Pakistani administered Kashmir). My nana was a well known religious scholar who completed his education from India; my Nani was also a great spiritual personality. Both of them are like saints for the people in our town as they taught people how to live and die as a Muslim. I have very little memories of my Nana, only thing I still remember is that he had a large pocket sewn at the inner side of the sherwani where he used to keep sweets for children, whenever any children met him he would have asked “what is your father’s name?” and would ask him/her to recite the first kalama or bismillah. After that he would distribute some sweats or biscuits to the child and kiss him on forehead. The only thing he believed in was love, the love for humanity.
  My mother’s family was from Deobandi sect, but none of them was fundamentalist or rigid like most of the religious people these days are. My mother completed religious education at very early. She had a dream to get formal education. My nana allowed my Khalas and my mother to study at boy’s school till 5th grade as there was no girl’s school at that time. It means, she had to say good bye to the education after 5th grade. But she did not loose heart and continued to study privately with the help of family members and teachers of boy’s school most of who were from other areas and used to stay at my nana’s grand house until the week end. After early education she started teaching girls and boys at my Nana’s house as she always dreamt to. That was the start; soon with the help of my grandfather she was able to persuade the government that there was a dire need for a girl’s school. The school was established and a new era for the girls of our village was started. It was a great achievement for woman of an area where the only purpose of women was thought to be looking after animals and giving proper meal to men. Soon women started giving response and slowly and gradually they showed more interest in education, it was a start of a new era.
  Then she move to the adjacent village and gathered the girls and started teaching them instead of sticking to a government job at home village. People back home were very critical of her for going and teaching in other village (where people from other cast lived) but she did not paid heed because she had the full support of my grandfather. After a hard work of almost 8 years, she was able to establish a government funded school there with the help of the people who helped her very much. Later she moved back to native village where she started teaching as a government teacher. Two of the schools established due to her efforts are now high schools and one of them an intermediate college where hundred of girls are getting education.
 Most of her children in those days her were infants, so she had to take care of us too. She used to take us school with her, therefore at the same time she had to work as housewife, a mother and a teacher. People who know the village life may find it impossible as how she managed to go to another village daily and teaching the children without any compensation, while three of her infants were also with her but she made it possible. She had to perform her duty in heavy rains of July, thunderstorms of April and heavy snowfall of January and February. The only thing which kept her stuck to the mission was her passion and dream to educate the poor women of village.
  At home she had to look after her house as she had got a separate house after 5 years of marriage. She had to get us ready, prepare a meal for us, and take care of my beloved cow. She was so much passionate about her mission that she never took care of herself even in very critical days of her life; the result was the Rheumatoid Arthritis (a disease of joints which paralyze the patient). Infected with this disease in late 80’s she was down to knees in early 90’s.

Democracy is the greatest revenge

Public flogging in Zia's era

It was one of the greatest moments of Pakistani politics; a young woman entered one of the strongest and powerful houses of public representatives in the country with the biggest democracy. The house was full of members, all them stood up in praise and appreciation for the efforts she did for the revival of democracy in Pakistan. It was her first offfical visit of USA in 1989, She started her address amid continuous clapping and closed her speech on these words

“We set as our focus reconciliation not retribution some claimed to fear revenge, revenge against the murderers and the torturers revenge against those who subverted constitution but ladies and gentlemen there was no revenge for them and the dictators across the world "the democracy is the greatest revenge".

These were the words of one of the most influential women of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto; those who know her can never deny her contribution towards the restoration of democracy and civil rights in country after a long and terrible period of dictatorship.. She fought a long battle after her father's hanging by fascist elements of our society, lost her brother, faced bitter imprisonment during dictatorship, was forced to leave the country but all these could not stop her from fulfilling her promise to the people of Pakistan. She became the first ever women prime minister of Pakistan at an age of 35, she faced opposition from all corner of our country. Our military did not like to salute her as she was a woman, our politicians hatched shameful conspiracies against her, she was mistreated by bureaucracy but she denied bowing against the evil forces.

I loved her, liked her for not being the prime minister but for her courage and the struggle she did for the betterment of Pakistani society. But she failed miserably, so strong women, a graduate of Harvard, who single handedly defeated the strongest dictator of Pakistan, could not defy the forces of evil? What a shame for democracy and what a joy for the dictators across the world? Her failure became the failure of democracy in our country. Today her husband once a cinema owner addressed the third annual session of national assembly; TV channels are analyzing his failures, failures and failures. He looks miserable as a party leader, as a president, as a husband of the most influential woman of our country but is he so bad? He would be as, he is alleged to be the main reason behind the failure of Benazir Bhutto.



Aerial view of destroyed Jamia Hafsa

But what lays ahead is worse than this, another coup, again promises for rebuilding, a long and unending military dictatorship and the end result more misery and failure. The democracy has become the greatest revenge for the poor people of Pakistan but it is time to think about what has the long military rule given to our beloved country? Killing of our Muslim brothers and sisters in Bengal, The breakup of East Pakistan, killing of thousands of soldiers at the hands of Indian forces, brutal and inhumane rule in the name of Islam, division of Pakistan on ethnic basis, Bomb blasts, Talbanization, Target killing, suicide attacks. If I kept adding the list would get longer and longer, what not have the military rules bestowed on us?

Can anyone tell if the democratic forces have ever done with our country what the military rulers did? God forbid they are again getting ready for another coup to serve our homeland, let us say no to them and strengthen the hands of democratic forces as I personally believe in the idea that “worst democracy is better than best dictatorship”.

Ab mere dosray bazoo pe wo shamsheer hai jo
Is se pehle bhi mera nisf badan kaat chuki
Usi bandook ki goli hai meri samt ke jo
Is se pehle bhi meri shahrag ka lahu chaat chuki
Phir wohi aag dhar aye hai meri galyuun mein
Phir mere shehr mein barood ki boo pheli hai
Phir se tu kaun hai mein kaun hoon aapas mein sawal
Phir wo takraar mayan e man o tu pheli hai
Is se pehle bhi to aisi hee garhi aye thee
Subh e wehshat ki tarah shaam e gharibaa’n ki tarah
Is se pehle bhi to paimaan e wafa tootay thay
Sheesha dil ki tarah aina e jaa’n ki tarah
Ab magar aisa nahee aisa nahee honay dena
Aye mere sokhta jaano mere dard ke maray logo
Kisi zaalim, kisi jaabir kisi hakim ke liye
Khud ko taqseem na karna mere saray logo


Ahmed Faraz