Part 1:
Part 2:
Part 3:
Part 4:
Tuesday 29 March 2011
Monday 28 March 2011
Sunday 27 March 2011
Crime, Cricket and Clothes
Last Sunday, Pakistanis woke up celebrating. Pakistan had beat the Aussies in the World Cup to secure the top spot in Group A. Revenge was sweet! After all, this victory came after 34 World Cup matches. Amongst this jubilation, however, there were some disappointed few who could not believe that a recently launched Lawn exhibition had been wiped clean its very first day. And amid this bitter-sweet feeling there was one little detail that didn’t catch the eye of many. At least 12 people lost their lives in different parts of Karachi owing to target killing. These are the three Cs that have dominated the lives of Pakistanis the past few weeks: Crime, Cricket and Clothes. And how diverse these three Cs are – from dancing on the streets as united Pakistanis, to dying on the streets as nameless citizens of a lesser God.
The leader of the opposition, who apparently boycotted the parliamentary address of the president, believes that Zardari spoke of a different Pakistan. I’m surprised that Chaudhry Nisar felt this disconnect now. This severed connection has been present since time immemorial and it’s not just the president’s inability to attach himself to his people. We are all part of this disconnect. Estranged and self-obsessed, our existence lays divided. And these are serious divisions. They are pulling us apart, separating us from our very own, and this time there are no man-made borders in between. The division lies within.
Our class-consciousness relegates us to the elite sidelines and keeps the less affluent at bay. Ask people – not from the world of news and politics – about Raymond Davis and you will be surprised to receive an ‘I-really-don’t-care’ response. It actually makes no difference to their life whether Davis goes or stays. For some, Davis is not the real cause of worry. Others feel that the rising prices of petrol, increased hours of load-shedding and general insecurity in the country is what keeps them on the edge.
Ask other Pakistanis about Earth Hour and they will mock the idea of switching off extra lights for an hour. ‘As if that’s going to help save the planet’! Yes, it isn’t much and awareness alone won’t achieve much - but that only means we should do more, not less. But stripping us off our social as well as personal responsibility are our leaders who have always encouraged divisions for their own benefit. Sometimes in the name of “Jaag Punjabi Jaag”, at other times in the name of “Sindhi Topi and Ajrak”, “Pakhthunistan” and more recently in the name of “Baloch Liberation”.
Political divisions are not an uncommon phenomenon. However, in Pakistan, these divisions are not just at a provincial or sectarian level, the dotted line exists between residents of the same city. So, if 14 people were killed in Karachi on a certain day, people across the bridge hardly noticed. They were too busy purchasing designer lawns. Or sitting in front of their 60-inch LCD screens enjoying the quarter-final between Pakistan and West Indies. A few miles away, many cricket lovers sat across a 14-inch television screen enjoying the match just as much however, the bullet sounds were too loud and too close for them to ignore. Undoubtedly, it’s cricket that binds this nation together. Unfortunately, pain and loss are always mourned alone.
Don’t get me wrong. I am a cricket buff myself and will not hesitate to attend a lawn exhibition. However, I am not immune to the pain of this city yet. I can see beyond the large billboards showcasing a certain lawn print to the Chipa and Edhi shrouds over dead bodies of those targeted for reasons that are only clear to political parties who cannot make up their minds about proposing or opposing the present set-up. How many more people have to die in our own city for us to give a damn?
Some intellectuals term it the resilience of this nation. But resilience is accepting the problem and not giving up your lifestyle because someone or something threatens it. At times, I fear Pakistanis have gone beyond being resilient to being plain indifferent and ignorant.
I would think of a fashion show being held in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul as an act of resilience. Knowing the threat of holding a so-called liberal event in the heart of the Taliban stronghold could be classified as an act of resilience. However, a similar fashion extravaganza in Karachi the same week as target killings reached a total of a 100 people in four days can only be described as insensitivity. Or to put it mildly, we’ve become used to it. This is reminiscent of the not so distant past when casualties in Kashmir would make headlines top of the hour on state-run television, till we reached the stage when our eyebrows wouldn’t knot up in concern anymore.
Resilient or indifferent, Karachi – the city of lights – is losing blood every day. Whether at the hands of the bhatta mafias, due to ethnic violence, or simply intolerance. The coalition government in power gives a 10-day deadline to the ruling government to set things right. Meanwhile, people die. The government’s other coalition partner in the city watches from the sidelines. And more people die. The ruling government manages to keep its coalition intact. But people continue to die. Notwithstanding the grave security situation in the city, the provincial interior minister stays indoors and enjoys the match. All the while the security around his house remains vigilant and the generator stays on standby. While Mr Mirza makes the most of a bad situation in the city, homes around his mansion stay safe too: perhaps the only nonviolent area in the whole of Karachi.
Unbeknownst to the violence raging in Karachi – perhaps due to an olive branch being extended towards him – in Islamabad, Imran Khan has decided to stage a three-day sit-in until the drone strikes end. Khan along with the Jamaat-e-Islami also led a protest against Davis’ release recently. That’s our problem right there. We want to address our Ds even before we manage to sort out our Cs. Alphabetical order please. Let’s get our own house in order first, before we take on the international big guns. It’s not always about saving the country – that is being taken care of by our powerful army – it’s about saving the community, the society and the people that inhabit it. And if crime remains the most dominating C; clothes and cricket would prove to be mere distractions that keep us from foreseeing our own destruction.
The leader of the opposition, who apparently boycotted the parliamentary address of the president, believes that Zardari spoke of a different Pakistan. I’m surprised that Chaudhry Nisar felt this disconnect now. This severed connection has been present since time immemorial and it’s not just the president’s inability to attach himself to his people. We are all part of this disconnect. Estranged and self-obsessed, our existence lays divided. And these are serious divisions. They are pulling us apart, separating us from our very own, and this time there are no man-made borders in between. The division lies within.
Our class-consciousness relegates us to the elite sidelines and keeps the less affluent at bay. Ask people – not from the world of news and politics – about Raymond Davis and you will be surprised to receive an ‘I-really-don’t-care’ response. It actually makes no difference to their life whether Davis goes or stays. For some, Davis is not the real cause of worry. Others feel that the rising prices of petrol, increased hours of load-shedding and general insecurity in the country is what keeps them on the edge.
Ask other Pakistanis about Earth Hour and they will mock the idea of switching off extra lights for an hour. ‘As if that’s going to help save the planet’! Yes, it isn’t much and awareness alone won’t achieve much - but that only means we should do more, not less. But stripping us off our social as well as personal responsibility are our leaders who have always encouraged divisions for their own benefit. Sometimes in the name of “Jaag Punjabi Jaag”, at other times in the name of “Sindhi Topi and Ajrak”, “Pakhthunistan” and more recently in the name of “Baloch Liberation”.
Political divisions are not an uncommon phenomenon. However, in Pakistan, these divisions are not just at a provincial or sectarian level, the dotted line exists between residents of the same city. So, if 14 people were killed in Karachi on a certain day, people across the bridge hardly noticed. They were too busy purchasing designer lawns. Or sitting in front of their 60-inch LCD screens enjoying the quarter-final between Pakistan and West Indies. A few miles away, many cricket lovers sat across a 14-inch television screen enjoying the match just as much however, the bullet sounds were too loud and too close for them to ignore. Undoubtedly, it’s cricket that binds this nation together. Unfortunately, pain and loss are always mourned alone.
Don’t get me wrong. I am a cricket buff myself and will not hesitate to attend a lawn exhibition. However, I am not immune to the pain of this city yet. I can see beyond the large billboards showcasing a certain lawn print to the Chipa and Edhi shrouds over dead bodies of those targeted for reasons that are only clear to political parties who cannot make up their minds about proposing or opposing the present set-up. How many more people have to die in our own city for us to give a damn?
Some intellectuals term it the resilience of this nation. But resilience is accepting the problem and not giving up your lifestyle because someone or something threatens it. At times, I fear Pakistanis have gone beyond being resilient to being plain indifferent and ignorant.
I would think of a fashion show being held in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul as an act of resilience. Knowing the threat of holding a so-called liberal event in the heart of the Taliban stronghold could be classified as an act of resilience. However, a similar fashion extravaganza in Karachi the same week as target killings reached a total of a 100 people in four days can only be described as insensitivity. Or to put it mildly, we’ve become used to it. This is reminiscent of the not so distant past when casualties in Kashmir would make headlines top of the hour on state-run television, till we reached the stage when our eyebrows wouldn’t knot up in concern anymore.
Resilient or indifferent, Karachi – the city of lights – is losing blood every day. Whether at the hands of the bhatta mafias, due to ethnic violence, or simply intolerance. The coalition government in power gives a 10-day deadline to the ruling government to set things right. Meanwhile, people die. The government’s other coalition partner in the city watches from the sidelines. And more people die. The ruling government manages to keep its coalition intact. But people continue to die. Notwithstanding the grave security situation in the city, the provincial interior minister stays indoors and enjoys the match. All the while the security around his house remains vigilant and the generator stays on standby. While Mr Mirza makes the most of a bad situation in the city, homes around his mansion stay safe too: perhaps the only nonviolent area in the whole of Karachi.
Unbeknownst to the violence raging in Karachi – perhaps due to an olive branch being extended towards him – in Islamabad, Imran Khan has decided to stage a three-day sit-in until the drone strikes end. Khan along with the Jamaat-e-Islami also led a protest against Davis’ release recently. That’s our problem right there. We want to address our Ds even before we manage to sort out our Cs. Alphabetical order please. Let’s get our own house in order first, before we take on the international big guns. It’s not always about saving the country – that is being taken care of by our powerful army – it’s about saving the community, the society and the people that inhabit it. And if crime remains the most dominating C; clothes and cricket would prove to be mere distractions that keep us from foreseeing our own destruction.
Tuesday 22 March 2011
Monday 21 March 2011
Sunday 20 March 2011
Islam Ki Aar Mein!
اسلام کی آڑ میں! ………ثناء بُچہ
چند ماہ پہلے کراچی میں میگڈلین نامی نرس نے اپنی عزت بچانے کی خاطرنرسنگ ہاسٹل کے تیسرے فلور سے چھلانگ لگا دی۔ زخموں سے چوراِس لڑکی کواسپتال میں داخل کرا یا گیا۔ ہوش آنے کے بعد میگڈلین نے اپنا بیان رکارڈ کرایا۔واقعات اور میڈیکل رپورٹس نے اس کے ساتھ ہونے والی زیادتی کو ثابت کر دیا۔ اس گھناوٴنے جرم کا ارتکاب کرنے والا ایک معزز عہدے پر فائز ایک سرکاری افسر ایم ایل او عبدالجبار میمن تھا۔یہ قصہ سامنے آنے پر حسب معمول میڈیا نے بھی اس ایشو کو اٹھایا، صوبائی اور وفاقی حکومتوں نے اس کا نوٹس لیا ، غیر جانبدارانہ تحقیقات کے وعدے اور ملزم کو قرار واقعی سزا کے دعوے بھی کیے گئے لیکن۔۔۔پھر ہوا کیا؟
میگڈلین صحتیاب ہوئی ، گھر پہنچی، کئی ہفتوں تک اس کیس کی بازگشت سنائی دیتی رہی،لڑکی خود بھی موصول ہونے والی دھمکیوں کا تذکرہ کرتی رہی اور پھر جانے کیوں اس کی یادداشت نے اس کا ساتھ چھوڑ دیا اور اس نے عدالت میں اپنے مجرم کو پہچاننے سے انکار کر دیا۔ کچھ نے کہا کہ شایدوہ ڈر گئی، کچھ نے کہا کہ بِک گئی۔کچھ پیسے اُسے صوبائی حکومت نے دیے، کچھ چیک اسے این جی اوز سے ملے اور یادداشت بھولنے کے لئے ایم ایل اونے خود بھی بڑی رقم پیش کر دی۔ذرائع کے مطابق اس لڑکی کو لگ بھگ چوبیس لاکھ روپے کھلائے گئے۔ پھر میڈیا ڈھونڈتا ہی رہ گیا۔ گھر پر تالے اور موبائل بند۔چونکہ اس معاملے کو دبانے کے لیے شریعت سے کوئی مدد نہیں مل رہی تھی اسی لیے یہاں دھونس اور دھاندلی سے کام لیا گیا۔ لیکن دھونس، دھاندلی اور لالچ کا استعمال تو اور بھی کہیں ہوا لیکن اس دفعہ آڑ اسلامی قوانین کی لی گئی۔
آج پھر اقتدار اورسیاسی ساکھ بچانے کے لیے اسلام کو قربان کردیاگیا ہے۔ قصاص اور دیت یقینا اسلامی قوانین ہیں، لیکن ہمارے ملک میں ان کی تشریح پربھی سوالیہ نشان ہے۔لیکن آج جب کہ ریمنڈ ڈیوس کیس کونمٹانے میں عالمی طاقتیں، ریاستی قوتیں اور اِن ریاستی قوتوں کے اوپر بیٹھےحساس اداروں کی مرضی شامل ہے تو ایک بار پھر اسلامی قانون کو اپنی ضرورت اور چاہت کے مطابق استعمال کیا گیا ہے۔اور آج لعنت ملامت کرنے کے لئے ہم سب کے پاس وہ اُنیس افراد ہیں جو فہیم اور فیضان کے ورثا ء کے طور پر سامنے آئے۔ لیکن ان انیس افراد کے دل کی آوازتو نہ ہمیں پہلے سنائی دی تھی نہ اب معلوم ہو سکی ہے۔پہلے اُ ن کی آواز غیرت لابی کے شور اوران کو کنٹرول کرنے والی قوتوں کے زور میں دب گئ ۔اور آج اُن پر کی جانے والی لعنت ملامت کی وجہ سے اُن کے گھروں پر ہی نہیں، ان کے منہ پر بھی تالے پڑ گئے ہیں۔
اس شور میں اگر کوئی آواز ہمیشہ کی طرح صاف سنائی پڑتی ہے تو وہ ہے اُس جھوٹ کی جو ہم سالہا سال سے سنتے آ رہے ہیں۔اور کیوں نہ سنیں، اس جھوٹ کو چلنے کے لئے اسلام کی بیساکھی جو تھما دی جاتی ہے۔ کبھی اس جھوٹ کی بنیاد پرامریکی مفاد کی خاطرسوویت جنگ کے لیے مجاہدین تیار کیے گئے، کبھی فرقہ واریت کا جن بوتل سے آزاد کیا گیا اور کبھی معصوم ذہنوں کو خود کش جیکٹس پہنائی گئیں۔اسلام جو امن اور سلامتی کا دین ہے اسے فساد برپا کرنے کے لئے استعمال کیا گیا۔اور جب تک اس سے من چاہے مفادات ملتے رہے مذہبی نعرے بلند ہوتے رہے۔لیکن مفادات کے حصول کی خاطر ہم نے اسلام کے دامن کو داغ دار کر دیا جس کے نتیجے میں آج اسلام اور اُس کے ماننے والے دنیا بھر میں مشکوک ٹھہرے۔ ہم نے کبھی امریکا کو منانے کے لئے، کبھی عوام کو بہلانے کے لئے اور کبھی خود کو منوانے کے لئے ، ہمیشہ ہی اسلام کا سایہ تلاش کیا۔ تو آج ڈیوس کی رہائی پر شور کیوں؟
اگر شور ہی مچانا ہے تو پھر اسلام کو بچانے کے لئے مچاوٴ۔ اس بات پر مچاوٴکہ سلامتی کے ضامن اسلامی قوانین کو امریکی مفادات کی خاطر کیوں استعمال کیا گیا۔ لیکن اس پر تو شور شاید اس لیے نہیں مچے گا کیونکہ”وہ “ نہیں چاہتے۔ اورجب تک”وہ “ نہیں چاہتے ، نہ اِس ملک میں کوئی ڈیوس پکڑا جاسکتا ہے نہ چھوڑا جاسکتا ہے۔ جب تک پس پردہ ہاتھ نے چاہا سڑکوں پر ہزاروں کا مجمع تھا۔ لیکن اب باہر نظر آنے والے لوگ کتنے دنوں تک ”غدار ہے ،غدار ہے“ اور”مردہ باد،مردہ باد“ کے نعرے لگائیں گے، یہ وقت ہی بتائے گا۔شاید چند روز میں یہ لوگ بھی غائب ہوجائیں گے اور پھر باقی رہ جائیں گے سیاست کو زندہ رکھنے کے لیے گرما گرم بیا نات۔
ڈیوس کا معاملہ سیدھا تھا۔ وہ تین جرائم کا مرتکب ہوا۔ پہلا دو اافراد کا قتل، دوسرا ناجائز اسلحہ رکھنا اور تیسرا حساس مقامات کی تصویریں بنانا۔ ڈیوس مقتولین کے ورثا ء کا ہی نہیں بلکہ ریاست کا بھی مجرم تھا۔ اگر اسے ویانا کنونشن کی روشنی میں استثنیٰ حاصل تھا تو عدالت اور مقتولین کے ورثا ء اس کا کچھ نہیں بگاڑ سکتے تھے۔اور ظاہر ہے اُسے استثنیٰ حاصل نہیں تھا ، اسی لئے اس نے دیت کی پیشکش کی۔ لیکن، باقی دو جرائم میں تو وہ ریاست کا مجرم تھا، تو ریاست نے مقدمے کی پیروی کیوں نہیں کی؟
اگر ڈیوس کا معاملہ اعلیٰ ترین سطح پر طے پا چکا تھا تو اُسے چھوڑنے کے اور بھی طریقے موجود تھے، شرعی قانون کی آڑہی کیوں؟ اس سے ہوا یہ ہے عالمی میڈیا پاکستان پرہی نہیں ، اسلامی قوانین پر بھی طنزیہ تبصرے کر رہا ہے اوراس کا قصور اُنہی پرعائد ہوتا ہے جو کبھی اِن اُنیس افراد کو اپنے مفاد کے لیے استعمال کرتے ہیں اور کبھی سترہ کروڑ عوام کو۔ لیکن وہ ”محب وطن “سیاستدان جو قومی حمیت اور جمہوری آزادی کے راگ الاپتے ہیں، لگامیں تو اُن کی بھی اُنہی ہاتھوں میں ہیں جو دور بیٹھے میڈیا ، مذہبی تنظیموں ، بیوروکریسی اورعدلیہ کی ڈوریں بھی ہلاتے ہیں۔
میں یہ نہیں کہتی کہ ڈیوس کے معاملے پر ہمیں امریکا سے جنگ کر لینی چاہئے تھی۔لیکن کیا یہی بہترین حل تھا؟ اگر امریکا کے ماتحت ہمارے حکمراں یہ فیصلہ کر ہی چکے تھے تو ڈیوس کو سفارت کار کا درجہ دینا کوئی ایسا مشکل بھی نہ تھا۔ لیکن ہائے رے مفاد!حکمراں ساکھ کیسے بچاتے، حکومت قرض کیسے لیتی ، حساس ادارے خود کو کیسے منواتے اور پھر امریکی انا کا بھی تو پاس رکھنا تھا۔ اتنے سارے مفادات کی خاطر اگر اسلام کے دامن پر آنچ آتی بھی ہے تو کیا۔۔۔
Wednesday 16 March 2011
Tuesday 15 March 2011
Monday 14 March 2011
Sunday 13 March 2011
True Lies
For Muslims, the day of Friday is blessed. It is the juma prayers that bring many Muslims to the mosque, clad in their freshly washed and starched shalwar kameez. Mosques in Pakistan witness their highest attendance on Friday – a good thing for the maulvis who lead the khutbah. The more people present, the more the impact.
Last Friday, there was reason to celebrate. Pakistan test fired its Hataf 2 (Abdali) missile that has a range of 180 miles – another feather in the cap of the armed forces and its engineers. Pakistan is safer today courtesy the latest addition to our weapons arsenal. Maybe there’s hope for hundreds of people who gather in mosques on Friday, or collect to offer namaz-e-janaza. Perhaps our nuclear capability will also offer some security to the minorities – may the Hataf protect them from false fatwas issued by clerics ordaining their death.
A few hours later India tested its Prithvi-II missile and burst my bubble. For us, our enemy is still across the border – and aren’t we glad Pakistan tested its ballistic missile first. Our powerful army has the India problem sorted. Bless them. But isn’t that what we thought in 1965, in 1971 and in 1999? The greatest threat to Pakistan security is always being ‘sorted’. And if the cause is so noble, then why are we fed lies by both - our political leaders and our military establishment?
In 1965, we read in our textbooks that India attacked Pakistan in the middle of the night for no reason or because some of their generals wanted to have a non-vegetarian meal at the Lahore Gymkhana! But then I grew up and found out that we started this confrontation by picking a fight along, what we now refer to, as the LoC. India overreacted by starting a war on international borders. Why is it so hard for us to speak the complete truth? The truth is that Pakistan believes that it has a legitimate right on Kashmir and history is rife with war attempts we have made to take over what is already ours. Then why not accept it? Why exaggerate the Indian threat and undermine our own confrontational policies.
The lies carried on in 1971. We had West Pakistan believe that we were on a winning streak till the 15th of December. However, on the morning of the 16th we had lost East Pakistan. We were also told that the Pakistan Army was up against just a bunch of mukti bahinis – however, truth be told, we were actually fighting against the entire nation of East Pakistan. Ironically, we were fighting against those in ‘71 who had helped build what we stand for since ‘47.
Come 1979 and we started living another lie. For ten years, we were told that Pakistan was just a source of moral support for the mujahideen waging jihad against the Soviets. The truth: we were creating an enabling environment for them to grow in. We were responsible not just for their recruitment but also their training. We were fighting a war against a superpower for another superpower, which we now identify as the greatest evil. Yet, she was our only companion through most of these lies. With the Soviet War ending, we decided to morally engage ourselves in “our jugular vein” – Kashmir. Again our ‘moral support’ included training camps, militant groups and a few operations, Kargil being one of them.
The Kargil War, we were told was initiated and fought by the mujahideen. Again, we were only ‘morally’ supporting them. Yet, hundreds of our soldiers were martyred – and there were brave men like Lalak Jan Shaheed who sustained serious injuries as enemies pounded the area with heavy mortar shells. It is these foot soldiers that protect us from internal and external threat. While the Pakistan government continued to harp on its “successes” in Kargil, Pakistani media – over the years – discovered that not only was Kargil Pakistan’s misadventure, but also a diplomatic disaster. And the world was no longer sympathetic to the cause of religious militancy.
That’s the power of an independent media. The truth finds its way to the people, as it did in the case of Kargil. However, in ‘65 and ‘71 there was only state-controlled media and we were made to believe what now appears to be only the partial truth. This evasiveness has led our Establishment to control our thoughts and speech. We blame political forces for diplomatic disasters, forgetting that the only constant throughout our 63 years of existence has remained our military establishment.
We drone on endlessly about drone strikes, sometimes blaming the US, at other times demanding explanation from our political leaders. However, when Major General Ghayur Mehmood gave his personal assessment to the media in Miranshah, hardly anyone noticed. In what he termed his ‘personal assessment’ the General said that most of those killed in drone strikes were “hardcore Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants”. Some media gurus demanded the General be court martialled. Not a whimper from the ISPR. The establishment needs to come clean on whether the drone strikes are indeed helping get rid of militants or killing innocent civilians. They shouldn’t allow the drones to continue in either case. But at least we should know who is the driving force behind these pilotless drones? They should not be allowed to fan the flames of extremism in the garb of their hidden ‘interests’.
These lies have helped create a nation with strange characteristics. We would go to war with India in an instant, yet just one Indian entertainment channel has more viewership in Pakistan than all Pakistani channels combined. We will continue to see our people die in bomb blasts and wonder where these ‘terrorists’ came from. No one concedes to the fact that these terrorists were bred for our own “national interest” and “strategic depth”.
Years and years of concocted lies, artificial or make-believe truth has led our nation to suffer from a multiple personality disorder and paranoia. We smell a conspiracy at every corner; blame the ‘foreign hand’ for all evil. Friday is believed to be the day when the sun rises best and the day when prayers are surely answered. This Friday, say a little prayer for Pakistan: God give us the strength to fix it.
Last Friday, there was reason to celebrate. Pakistan test fired its Hataf 2 (Abdali) missile that has a range of 180 miles – another feather in the cap of the armed forces and its engineers. Pakistan is safer today courtesy the latest addition to our weapons arsenal. Maybe there’s hope for hundreds of people who gather in mosques on Friday, or collect to offer namaz-e-janaza. Perhaps our nuclear capability will also offer some security to the minorities – may the Hataf protect them from false fatwas issued by clerics ordaining their death.
A few hours later India tested its Prithvi-II missile and burst my bubble. For us, our enemy is still across the border – and aren’t we glad Pakistan tested its ballistic missile first. Our powerful army has the India problem sorted. Bless them. But isn’t that what we thought in 1965, in 1971 and in 1999? The greatest threat to Pakistan security is always being ‘sorted’. And if the cause is so noble, then why are we fed lies by both - our political leaders and our military establishment?
In 1965, we read in our textbooks that India attacked Pakistan in the middle of the night for no reason or because some of their generals wanted to have a non-vegetarian meal at the Lahore Gymkhana! But then I grew up and found out that we started this confrontation by picking a fight along, what we now refer to, as the LoC. India overreacted by starting a war on international borders. Why is it so hard for us to speak the complete truth? The truth is that Pakistan believes that it has a legitimate right on Kashmir and history is rife with war attempts we have made to take over what is already ours. Then why not accept it? Why exaggerate the Indian threat and undermine our own confrontational policies.
The lies carried on in 1971. We had West Pakistan believe that we were on a winning streak till the 15th of December. However, on the morning of the 16th we had lost East Pakistan. We were also told that the Pakistan Army was up against just a bunch of mukti bahinis – however, truth be told, we were actually fighting against the entire nation of East Pakistan. Ironically, we were fighting against those in ‘71 who had helped build what we stand for since ‘47.
Come 1979 and we started living another lie. For ten years, we were told that Pakistan was just a source of moral support for the mujahideen waging jihad against the Soviets. The truth: we were creating an enabling environment for them to grow in. We were responsible not just for their recruitment but also their training. We were fighting a war against a superpower for another superpower, which we now identify as the greatest evil. Yet, she was our only companion through most of these lies. With the Soviet War ending, we decided to morally engage ourselves in “our jugular vein” – Kashmir. Again our ‘moral support’ included training camps, militant groups and a few operations, Kargil being one of them.
The Kargil War, we were told was initiated and fought by the mujahideen. Again, we were only ‘morally’ supporting them. Yet, hundreds of our soldiers were martyred – and there were brave men like Lalak Jan Shaheed who sustained serious injuries as enemies pounded the area with heavy mortar shells. It is these foot soldiers that protect us from internal and external threat. While the Pakistan government continued to harp on its “successes” in Kargil, Pakistani media – over the years – discovered that not only was Kargil Pakistan’s misadventure, but also a diplomatic disaster. And the world was no longer sympathetic to the cause of religious militancy.
That’s the power of an independent media. The truth finds its way to the people, as it did in the case of Kargil. However, in ‘65 and ‘71 there was only state-controlled media and we were made to believe what now appears to be only the partial truth. This evasiveness has led our Establishment to control our thoughts and speech. We blame political forces for diplomatic disasters, forgetting that the only constant throughout our 63 years of existence has remained our military establishment.
We drone on endlessly about drone strikes, sometimes blaming the US, at other times demanding explanation from our political leaders. However, when Major General Ghayur Mehmood gave his personal assessment to the media in Miranshah, hardly anyone noticed. In what he termed his ‘personal assessment’ the General said that most of those killed in drone strikes were “hardcore Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants”. Some media gurus demanded the General be court martialled. Not a whimper from the ISPR. The establishment needs to come clean on whether the drone strikes are indeed helping get rid of militants or killing innocent civilians. They shouldn’t allow the drones to continue in either case. But at least we should know who is the driving force behind these pilotless drones? They should not be allowed to fan the flames of extremism in the garb of their hidden ‘interests’.
These lies have helped create a nation with strange characteristics. We would go to war with India in an instant, yet just one Indian entertainment channel has more viewership in Pakistan than all Pakistani channels combined. We will continue to see our people die in bomb blasts and wonder where these ‘terrorists’ came from. No one concedes to the fact that these terrorists were bred for our own “national interest” and “strategic depth”.
Years and years of concocted lies, artificial or make-believe truth has led our nation to suffer from a multiple personality disorder and paranoia. We smell a conspiracy at every corner; blame the ‘foreign hand’ for all evil. Friday is believed to be the day when the sun rises best and the day when prayers are surely answered. This Friday, say a little prayer for Pakistan: God give us the strength to fix it.
Wednesday 9 March 2011
Tuesday 8 March 2011
Monday 7 March 2011
Sunday 6 March 2011
Wednesday 2 March 2011
Tuesday 1 March 2011
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