Karachi; From Jamshid Nusserwanjee Mehta to Gangster Politics!!!!

Jamshid; an elected Mayor of Karachi for 12 consecutive years is known as the “Maker of Modern Karachi”. In comparison, today anyone attached with Karachi municipality is geared up to loot and destroy more than build. Political organizations leading the municipality affairs spend a fraction of budget to show off development and they get away with rest of the money, use gangsters, drug dealers, and land grabbers to further their loot and plunder.

Today, an ordinary citizen feels hostage in Jamshid’s city, their voice is silenced in the roar of guns. A city known for religious and ethnic harmony has plunged into ethno religious divide. Beautiful streets of Karachi tell tales of bloody combat, bullets, pain and cry.

Jamshid was the most wanted man, the most sought after person and everyone wanted him as guest at any function in Karachi. People believe that whenever they came in contact with him they instantly felt the strength of his character and he was not an ordinary soul.

A men known for serving Karachi, his selfishness played an important role in public life. He was one of the noblest sons of Sind and alas today we miss him more than over 60 years ago.

Famous writers believe that “The broad roads, beautiful parks, schools, hospitals, maternity homes, good sanitation, homes for the poor and other civic amenities which the citizens of Karachi enjoyed in those days were the result of the untiring efforts and dedicated Service of this great man. When the municipal history of Karachi is written, one of its most outstanding features will be the remarkable efficiency with which Jamshid faced every situation. It was he more than any other person who gave Karachi its character as the cleanest and best administered city in the Indo-Pakistan Sub-continent”.

In politics, Jamshid used to go to person to person and beg for votes. Today many candidates give all sorts of promises and use fair or foul to get elected but Jamshed did not give any promise or undertaking. On contrary he used to extract a promise from his helpers that they would remain absolutely fair under all circumstances.

His politics was all about social service, charity and self sacrifice and many writers mention that he was a millionaire but lived like modest and humble man. Today most of the political or not political charities are propagated through a well orchestrated media campaign but Jamshid’s charities were silent and private. Astonishingly after his death world came to know through his private secretary that he gave away USD 1.6 million at that time and no one knew about it.

In short a famous man said, "Jamshid was one of the finest men I have ever met. A terrific worker, a wonderful organizer, a great giver and a most humble man. He was conscientious and deeply religious, and as straight as a die. If only we had more men of his character today, Sind would be a different place".

Jamshid, Karachi misses you and I am sure you won’t be able to stop your tears when you see your beloved Karachi torn apart by political vultures, gangsters, drug peddlers, land grabbers.

Women Are Superior to Men!!!!

Tim Sebastian, famous BBC correspondents’ this week Doha Debate series was hilarious & thought provoking, it was not about politics rather topic was “women are superior to men”.

You must be wondering what is Doha Debate “The Doha Debates are a unique venture in the Arab world, providing a battleground for conflicting opinions and arguments about the major political topics of the region .They engage in time-honored rivalry – where the only weapons are words. They practice the art of peaceful disagreement: understanding and respecting different views”.

This time Doha Debate was bit hilarious, it talked about merits of men and women from beards to shopping to mother in law and everyone walked away with big laugh. Two competing teams were part of debate and topic was “women are superior to men”.

It was interesting that debate revolved around intriguing questions such as many women asked “why it was that behind every successful man was a surprised woman and why, when the doctors’ waiting rooms were full of women, the mortuaries were full of men”

Can you guess what debate conculsion was? Majority participants voted in favor of women’s’ superiority i.e., 67% vs 33%.

One of the participants was Maysoon Zayid, a Palestinian American actress she made a point that "Men," she reminded members of the evenly-divided male-female auditorium, "you wouldn't even be here if it weren't for us. We brought you into this world and we can kill you".

It is so true and she also explained that "men in the West have to beg women to marry them, men in the East have to pay them because no (woman) would do that voluntarily."

Another participant Usman made an awesome point that women are "kinder, nicer, gentler and smarter" than men. "They are more attractive and beautiful while men are...disgusting."

You know what made me laugh, when Usman kept mentioning that people believe that Muslim men are terrorists and oppressing women, he reminded such people to visit Muslim household!!!! They may find exact opposite “the woman is the terrorist and oppresses the man”!!!!

It was a pleasant surprise for me to see an open and candid debate in closed Middle Eastern society. It was awe inspiring and hilarious; Doha Debates have changed my perception of Qatar.

Acid Attack on Three Sisters in Balochistan!!!!

It was Saturday morning, I was getting my car fixed at Toyota motors, got an opportunity to talk to one of my close friends who lives in Quetta. As victim, we “Baloch” do not talk about parties, cricket match or fun and frolic but always end up talking about disappearances, killings and atrocities. My friend shared one the most gruesome incident of three sisters aged between 14 and 20 years old, two unidentified men on a bike threw acid at them and sisters suffered serious facial burns. As per reports political activists lodged protests and every one in Balochistan condemned this gruesome act. Few weeks ago an unknown group The Baloch Ghairatmand Group (The Honorable Baloch Group) claimed the responsibility. We fail to understand whose honor is this to throw acid on innocent girls; such acts in Balochistan had never been witnessed in the past. Another interesting story I came across, majority of people in Balochistan believe that anti Baloch groups are behind such action, goal is to malign the Baloch struggle for economic & political rights “for some its freedom struggle” As per BBC report, “same group warned Baloch women to wear hijab “head scarf” and not to visit markets unaccompanied by men from their families”. Historically, Baloch society had been tolerant, religion had always been part of culture, most of them honor BALOCH HONOR CODE. Politically Baloch have always been secular and leaning towards left during cold war. It is lament to see acid attack and women are forced/warned to wear hijab. Lately, I came across a report published in THE NEWS/Daily Tawar/Blogs, it says that “as per plan religious groups are deeply penetrating in Baloch societies to malign present political struggle and leave ugly footprints” ( also read Malik Siraj's article on same subject titled How Panjgur is losing the battle? ) I am not sure how true it is but people in Balochistan fail to buy the claims of so called The Baloch Ghairatmand Group (The Honorable Baloch Group). Whoever is behind such attacks, it is states’ responsibility to provide security to daughters of Pakistan. Is anyone listening??? Knock knock !!!!!

Karachiwala; a Subcontinent within a City!!

It was busy day at work; T2F is the place that provides food for thoughts . Last evening one of the stand up comedians Sami Shah performed there. I reached half an hour earlier and decided to explore books and then grab sandwich along with coffee. I was looking at books I came across an interesting cover page, a book written by Rumana Husain, graphically appealing and thought provoking title “Karachiwala a Subcontinent within a City”!! When I flipped few pages I came across an African descendent Baloch woman’s picture, each page had description such as name and ethnic group of the person in the picture. I came across a funny ethnic group name, it described African descendent Baloch woman as MAKRANI. To me it is funny that people end up writing books without knowing the basics of an ethnic group. However being a Baloch, my forefathers migrated from Makran to Karachi, born and brought up in Karachi, i am a truly Karachiite but deeply connected to my roots. When one looks at various definitions of ethnic group, it is described as “a group of people whose members identify with each other, through a common heritage that is real or assumed, sharing cultural characteristics. This shared heritage may be based upon putative common ancestry, history, kinship, religion, language, shared territory, nationality or physical appearance".  Markran is a place and people living in that area are called Makrani and ethnically they are Baloch. Similarly I can not call Karachiite an ethnic group, no one describes the ethnic identity of people living in Karachi as Karachiite. The African convert Baloch were once ethnically from various African origin tribes bought (during slave trade) by rulers of Muscat and various princely states of Balochistan. There was severe drought in Balochistan and African slaves “convert into Baloch; adopted Balochi culture and language” were freed. During 1850s modern port construction work started and most of the slaves got laborious jobs and settled near Liyari. Unfortunately, we as Pakistani do not interact with each other, don’t understand each others' background, psyche, history, norms, values and to large extent culture and we never try to explore the rich cultural heritage of Pakistan. At times I feel that in Pakistan we are alien for each other.

LUMS Dramaline; Fun, Frolic & No Substance!!!!

It was warm evening, exam pressure and day long study but late evening fun filled dramas/skits were respite. It was wonderful to see students using various platforms to express themselves. Dramas are one of the creative means used across the world and various themes talk volumes about issues or events happening across the society. First day, four dramas were presented, performances were wonderful, creative vigor and talent was worth noticing. They made everyone laugh and walk away with fun. However, as LUMS student, drama themes disturbed me a lot and made me think. All three dramas were fun packed but them talked about drinks. One drama was about a gay, it was neither ridiculing nor demonizing gay or supporting but performance was more of physical nature. Gay character was getting closer or sitting on the top of other guy, wearing female nightwear etc. Second drama was about junior student ragging, a student from Karachi facing seniors. It was shocking to me once senior asked naïve junior about his academic profile, reply was “Mein Nay Inter Ka Course Kia Hay”. It was way below the belt; I could never expect this from LUMS student.  Lastly, a drama on Sawat Taliban was presented; they depicted the other side of the story. A guy visits Sawat with his wife, forcefully abused & wife gets killed.

One thing always comes in mind that everyone knows about Sufi Mohammad (Taliban Leader in Sawat Valley) and it is obvious the way our security establishment propped Taliban to get foothold in strategic tug of war in regional geo-political milieu. Drama depicted Taliban as heroes; the extreme actions against women were the result of US drones. Furthermore, it was never realized that Sawat had always been a tourist resort, a tolerant society but messed by Taliban. Talibanization is neither Islamic nor Pashtun culture it’s the result of geo-political tug of war hurting men, women and innocent children. Performances were no doubt fun watching but lack of substance shows dismal state of our society. To me it’s the by product of our academic system, we teach distorted history, de-intellectualization is eminent, biased media and dominance of right wing forces in security establishment of Pakistan is deeply hurting our progress.

Diamonds are Forever!!!

Diamonds are forever, an advertisement tag line of DeBeers, a famous Diamond mining and marketing firm. No doubt, diamonds are precious, show uniqueness, relationship, love and bonding. A diamond as present always brings happiness. However, Chinese women segment surprised me, today I came across an interesting advertisement, to Chinese women it is an insult or considered rude if a guy gives them diamond as present and to them its vulgar display of money and power. Chinese women think that they are capable of buying expensive and precious things themselves, no matter how rich or poor a girl is!!!

They want to be successful, independent and treated equally with respect.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXnDAPOxIKw&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNzdATDjpoA&feature=related

Cultural Revival in Karachi; Musical Base Rock Café, Artistic Koel & Intellectual T2F

During 70’s Karachi was the cultural capital of Pakistan. Road side Coffee Houses used to provide a place for intellectual tête-à-tête .Over the period my city has evolved and at the same time global political issues & dynamics have also changed. After passing through transition, today Karachi has engulfed with range of cafes. Surge of cafés is not all about coffee and sandwiches but a new form of culture and entertainment is evolving. There are three cafes playing a pivotal role, THE BASE ROCK CAFÉ, CAFÉ KOEL & T2F. When I think about these three cafes, music, art and intellectual quest comes in my mind. I remember my Tokyo journey, while walking through upscale Ginza; I saw young girls and guys desperately waiting for local stars, right in front of a theater, similarly my New York trip to Broadway theaters and cafes talked volumes about the taste and artistic flair of the people. I could see intellectual artistic persona effect both in Tokyo & New York. When it comes to Karachi, I used to feel that my city is culturally dead, tasteless, heartless and completely de-intellectualized. After the influx of cafés in Karachi I am optimist & have strong belief that these cafés would eventually lead to the revival of 70s coffee houses with contemporary taste of music, art and intellectual freedom.  Base Rock Café (BRC) is a café cum musical oasis for culturally starved Karachi, BRC is not about coffee and music but it offers a launching pad for under ground music talent in Karachi. With best music system, it brings Karaoke, tribute to music icons along with live bands and music competition for music freaks.  Café Koel adds an artistic flair to café scene in Karachi, a café evolved from Noor Jehan’s artistic quest for traditional crafts. It lead to the revival of hand block printed fabric mainly Ajrak prints of Hala Sind. Café offers breakfast, lunch and dinner, one can enjoy meal under a tree or air-conditioned artistic indoor. There is an art gallery along with a boutique of exotic hand block printed fabrics. The Second Floor T2F is a café that provides food for thought besides coffee & sandwiches, an open place for intellectual tête-à-tête. It is run by Peace Niche, an NGO, and brain child of Sabeen Mahmud. It frequently arranges discussions, invites brilliant guest speakers, provides space for book launches and also house range of books available for reading and sale. I would love to see my Karachi, transforming from violence ridden chaotic city image to a fun filled, intellectual & artistic persona. 

Minority Report!!

Muslims are minorities in US & EU, when it comes to minorities in our own countries we are mostly silent; be it blasphemy law or equal treatment of religious and ethnic minorities in Pakistan. Yesterday, I was part of an interesting interactive session with Safiya; it was broadly on Muslims in West & minority rights. Safiya has most recently served as the South Asia policy analyst at the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) where she monitored violations of religious freedom in India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan and made policy recommendations to the Obama administration, the Secretary of State, and to the Congress with respect to matters involving the treatment of religious minorities. Interesting discussion initiated with the word minority, when it comes to us being minority in US, we talk a lot about our rights, at the same time Christians & other religio-ethnic minority groups are brutalized and violently suppressed with the sword of vague blasphemy law in Pakistan with tough punishments .  Everyone understands the way minority groups are mistreated but interesting outcome of the discussion was, 'a learning from US experience' , the way Muslim minority groups are using various mediums to voice their concerns to alleviate post 9/11 fury. In 60s non white immigrants were subject to discrimination in US and after 40 years a black minority immigrants son is a president.

As civil society in Pakistan, it is our responsibility to mobilize, create awareness at grass root level for minority groups rights; either through writings or using various mediums “media” to push political parties to repeal vague blasphemy law. At times I feel that as educated class, we do not question the authority and at times critical loyalty is looked down upon in Pakistan & people question one’s level of patriotism. Critical loyalty is the need of the hour to change social anomalies in Pakistan. Just like any other forum or any talk relates to extreme religious behavior in Pakistan often leads to blame game and we end up doing nothing. During the discussion, participants believed that its US's role during cold war resulted in Talibanization “extremism” in Pakistan; others believed that Pakistan army was equally responsible.  Question comes, how to deal with the monster, on the one hand religion is so sacred & religious parties are supported by establishment; how could one dare to challenge blasphemy law!!! Discussion outcome was simple, one may use religious logic to counter extremists using religion but it may be a rough ride. In the wake of all, at least educated middle class or so called civil society must gather around center left parties or so called pro democracy or anti establishment elements, to influence pro minority legislation or at least voice their concerns through whatever available medium. We can make a difference.

Must check out the following link about the state of minority groups in Pakistan;

http://www.speroforum.com/a/29393/Pakistani-Christians-raped-and-burned-for-refusing-conversion-to-Islam

A Case of Exploding Breasts in Pakistan!!!

The Telegraph published an astonishing report which says “Breast implants packed with explosives could be used to blow up an airliner” Report alleges that “Radical plastic surgeons could be carrying out the implant operations in the “lawless areas” of Pakistan, security sources are said to have warned”.

Report also mentions, Joseph Farah, a terrorism export, as per him “Women suicide bombers recruited by al Qaeda are known to have had the explosives inserted in their breasts under techniques similar to breast-enhancing surgery.” Report further mentions that “Plastic surgeons may also have inserted the chemical into the buttocks of would-be suicide bombers”. It is believed that scanning machine at airports may not be able to detect breast explosive. This will make travel cumbersome for female travelers from Pakistan, apart from naked scanning they may go through breast & buttock scrutiny!!!!! 

Here is Telegraph link for further reading;

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/terrorism-in-the-uk/7510350/Terrorists-could-use-exploding-breast-implants-to-blow-up-jet.html

23rd March; Let’s Celebrate, shall we??

23rd March (Pakistan Day) always reminds me of something, to me, it is a day of false promises (Day of Betrayal), and those were made in 1940s and thrown in dustbin. Today’s Dawn article written by Dr Pervez Hoodbhoy raises interesting questions; he writes “PAKISTAN is not a nation although it has been a state since 1947. Missing is a strong common identity, mental makeup, shared sense of history and common goals. The failure to effectively integrate flows from inequalities of wealth and opportunity, absence of effective democracy and a dysfunctional legal system”. He simply does not criticize but offers interesting solution. To him for Pakistan to succeed “it must want to become a normal nation held together by mutual interests rather than abstract ideologies. This is the only way to deal with the multiple civil wars that have started around us”. Lastly he raises an interesting question, it makes me wonder whenever I see politically and socially illiterate people labeled as educated, I fail to find out the reasons. I never knew that such apolitical and naive educated class suits State and to sustain abstract Pakistani ideology. Pervez explains well, to him “Schools teach children to mindlessly obey authority, to look to the past for solutions to today’s problems, and to be intolerant of the religion, culture and language of others. Instead, we need to teach them to be enquiring, open-minded, creative, logical, socially responsible and appreciative of diversity”.

The Young, Urban, Middle-class Pakistani’s Manifesto

Lately i had been reading, witnessing and encountering anti democractic, anti american, pro army and pro taliban attitude of Pakstani middle class.

Nadeem Paracha in his recent blog, explains it well for me and many others.

This blog was co-authored by Nadeem F. Paracha and Abbas Baloch;

The young, urban, middle-class Pakistani’s manifesto: 1. Asif Ali Zardari is the devil incarnate. 2. The Pakistan Army is the saviour. 3. The Taliban are resisting American imperialism. 4. We hate American foreign policy unless it suits us. We are against American imperialism if it means we have to ditch the Taliban as that would be against the aspirations of our founding father, Mohammed Bin Qasim. We will no longer shop at Marks and Spencer because they are somehow connected to Israel. However, that does not mean we will switch off our computers and cell phones whose chip technology has been made possible due to major contributions from Israeli scientists. 5. We don’t want to sell our honour for American money unless it is for our private hospitals, textile exports, NGOs, or for completing degrees at American universities. 6. It’s not just Zardari who is the culprit. It’s also Benazir Bhutto and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Fatima Bhutto is fine, though; she is dating George Clooney. 7. It was all milk and honey till Bhutto came along. Damn him for nationalising my father’s 15 mills, seven textile units, and 11 banks! I still remember the good old days when Nani ji, Dada ji and their friends brought hundreds of textile licenses from Gohar Ayub for US $ 200,000 a pop. There was no corruption and no labour unions until this Sindhi feudal and closet Hindu agent named Z.A. Bhutto came along and enforced his Zionist agenda and made all our urban serfs so uppity. 8. We are against feudalism unless the feudals in question do not support the PPP and allow us to rape the ecology of Sindh and the Punjab on our weekend hunting trips. Some crates of mangoes from their farms also help. 9. Some of us feel we know what’s best for the PPP, i.e. to banish Zardari and his kids and ditch the legacies of ZAB and BB. We have never voted for or supported the PPP (actually we never vote all!) but we still feel that we are in a better position to understand the party’s dynamics. Also, as educated, refined and objective leaders and captains of industry, we are against dynastic politics. However, we are fine with Fatima Bhutto, Hamza Sharif, Solaiman/Essa Khan, Monis Chaudhary as well as the privileged alumni of Karachi Grammar School, Aitchison and Pakistan Military Academy, Kakul, ruling us. Just as long as they are not descended from the Zionist agent Benazir and her corrupt husband, Zardari. 10. Democracy is a deeply flawed system that has destroyed the world. Totalitarian monarchies with entrenched security and bureaucracies are much better and in line with our Arab origins. Please do not compare us to India. We have nothing in common with them except our DNA, culture, cuisine, language, music, and geography. 11. Our ideal form of government is the modern day Caliphate, or, as we like to call it, the rule of technocrats. In this form of government, our posh uncles will pass stern orders in their clipped Oxbridge accents and Italian suits that will be supported by a medieval council of jurists whom we like to call the independent judiciary. 12. Lately, we have been reading some Chomsky, Klein and Zinn (all five articles) and appreciate how these believing Muslims provide us with the intellectual ammo on exposing how the perfidious Jews conspire to rule the world.

 13. We are essentially a good people who are suffering because the world wants to take over our nukes and is conspiring to destroy our country. They are using the Taliban, who themselves are essentially good people who are bravely fighting American imperialism.The Taliban just suffer from bad press, and we know who controls the press abroad. Here, the press is controlled by democratically elected anchors and media analysts who are fighting for justice and against corruption. 14. The Taliban who are killed in the drone attacks are simply pious Muslims who are doing charity work, such as digging canals in arid, mountainous zones – it’s called the Mars project. Also, the burning of Christian villages by Taliban affiliated and state-sponsored sectarian militias is a figment of the imagination of the liberal fascists. They are doing their best to curb crusaders of truth and justice such as Geo TV. The real problem is Blackwater/Xe, fools. 15. The Taliban are an expression of Pushtoon nationalism as they have done their best to cleanse the United Emirates of Peshawar and FARTA from pagan Pukhtoon influence. The Taliban are a legitimate resistance movement against the occupation of the United Emirates of Peshawar and FARTA by ANP, Shia parachinaris, Sikhs and, of course, female students. The only genuine Pathans are Imran Khan, Hamid Gul, and Zaid Hamid. 16. Sipah Sahaba, Jaish, Lashkar Taiba, Lashkar Jhangvi, Jamaat Islami … who the are they? Figments of the imagination of liberal fascists. We should be more concerned about the Ahmed Rashids, Kamran Shafis, Amir Mirs, Arif Jamals, Najam Sethis, Tarek Fatahs, Irfan Hussains, Pervaiz Hoodbhoys, Fasi Zakas, Ayesha Siddiquas, and Nadeem Parachas.… They are CIA agents. 17. India is stealing our water and is destroying the country via its Sindhi/Balochi/Pushtoon/Gilgiti/Hazara/Hingora/Makrani/Seraiki proxies. Damn this fifth column riff-raff. We brought them the glorious Islamic civilization from the latest Nasim Hejazi novel and look at how uppity they have gotten since. We gave them commerce (Gujrati), language (Urdu), and agriculture (Punjabi) and they still want to maintain their identities and celebrate their vernacular religious practices which our pure Arab background forbids. Feed them to the Taliban. 18. We, the members of civil society, are essentially a liberal lot who are imbued with socialist values. Our ability to engage in massive socialising (through Facebook) makes us socialist in the true sense of the word. Lately, we have also dabbled in Marxism at cafes where we blow off half a month’s average national salary on lattes and cappuccinos whilst we construct our neo- Marxism around the tacit acceptance of the Taliban’s superior Arab cultural identity. We salute Abul Ala Marx, Lenin Bin Laden, and Mulla Mao!

 19. These are difficult times for civil society. While the tyrant Zardari is destroying the country with a ‘progressive agenda’ (another Zionist conspiracy) that involves legislation about women’s rights and the enfranchisement and autonomy of minority provinces, our brave and independent judiciary is fighting a Herculean battle to free the champions of our true Arab identity like Hafiz Saeed, Maulana Aziz, and Masood Azhar. These tireless crusaders are fighting our battle against Hindu hegemony in Pakistan. We need to applaud the efforts of the Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court in exposing the Hindus. 20. As Zardari loots and pillages Pakistan via the nefarious use of his handle bar moustache and cheery demeanour, we have to appreciate how our Taliban investment is saving our economy by killing thousands of our citizens and costing billions of dollars in damages and lost investment and trade opportunities. We are a financially and arithmetically gifted segment of society that can expand US $66 million to $1,500 million if it means that we can lynch Zardari (and free Aafia). 21. While our existential adversary India is investing billions of dollars in Afghanistan’s infrastructure and municipal training, we are using our billions to create the ultimate strategic depth in Afghanistan: macho Islamist brutes who will eventually recreate the Islamic State that made Afghanistan the model of peace and prosperity from 1996 till 2001.In conclusion we would like to part with a speech from one of our greatest representatives, Zen Farman Wamid, which he made at the historic Dillee Kebab House. The topic of this grand speech was, “Today Dillee

Kebab House, tomorrow Delhi Fort”:

“Assalamualaikum, my dear and superior Muslim Pakistanis. By the grace of God, I am proud to announce from this wonderful kebab house that we are now ready to invade India. This invasion has taken a lot of planning and effort by my young upwardly mobile comrades and for this we would also like to thank our friends in the electronic media and inspirations such as Yahya Khan and Ziaul Haq. Dear muscular Muslim boys and petite Muslim girls, I had been planning this invasion for a very long time, even before my blessed birth when I was just a spirit floating over Pakistan – even before Pakistan was made. My spirit swooped down when it saw the great Muhammad Bin Qasim invading Sindh and defeating Hindu scoundrels as well as Mohajir, Sindhi, Balochi and Pakhtun nationalists. We will vanquish them in the Islamic Emirate Caliphate of Punjab … I mean, Pakistan. Damn those who say that Pakistan was made in 1947. That’s a lie, I tell you. It was made in the seventh century, when Kalashnikov Bin Qasim, Allama F-16 Iqbal, and Inzimamul Haq defeated a million-strong army of that secular tyrant and usurper Raja Bhutto and his side-kick Mohindar Singh Dhoni and announced the creation of the Islamic Caliphate of Punj … I mean Pakistan. So wake up, Pakistan, and let’s invade, loot and plunder like those great Muslim leaders, Mahmud Ghazni and Mr. T.

My next address to you all will be from Delhi Fort and anyone who disagrees is a traitor, a Hindu agent, or a student of the Peshawar University. Allah Hafiz! Punj … I mean, Pakistan, marhabba marhabba.

Faiz Ahmed Faiz in Indian Jungle!!!

Maoist rebels in India listen to Faiz Ahmed Faiz poetry on their iPod!!!

Rebel wants to establish a communist society in various states in India. Bloody struggle resulted in thousands of deaths. Armed struggle is the route they follow, they are called revolutionary Marxists, and some call them anarchist and social bandits. Dawn newspaper shares an interesting story “ Comrade Sukhdev asks if he can download the music from my Ipod into his computer. We listen to a recording of Iqbal Bano singing Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s ‘Hum Dekhenge’ (We will Witness the Day) at the famous concert in Lahore at the height of the repression during the Ziaul Haq years. Fifty thousand people in the audience in that Pakistan begin a defiant chant: Inqilab Zindabad! Inqilab Zindabad! All these years later, that chant reverberates around this forest. Strange, the alliances that get made”.

Here is Faiz's famous poetry Hum Dekhein Gay;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_EmyqTTHIY

India, Pakistan; You Don’t Deserve Heroes???

Why South Asian heroes are thrown out by own society? Be it Abdul Salam or famous Indian artist MF Hussain. At times one question haunts me, does South Asian society deserve heroes? Lately I came across news that MF Husain is contemplating Qatari nationality, he is no longer an Indian citizen. It is sad to see India’s the most celebrated artist hounded out and everyone looked silently and it was all in the name of religion.  If one remembers, 13 years ago Hindu hardliners attacked his painting of nude goddesses; well India is a secular country but fails to protect the most famous artists. Case of Sachin Tendulkar is also well known, the way extremist right wing Shive Sena threatened him. Abdus Salam, one and only Pakistani Nobel laureate, bullied and made an outcast on the basis of religious belief. Will South Asian society ever emerge as progressive global society without defeating the right wing narrow minded religious extremists in India and Pakistan????

Middle Class Needs Dictatorship in Pakistan!!!!!

 It was warm evening, after tiring day I felt like having coffee but I settled for facebook. I came across an interesting video link, Kamran Khan, Geo TV anchor playing the role of an economist. He compares inflation, atta, ghee, fuel prices along with dollar, sales tax rate and suicide bombing during Musharraf & Zardari era; through his hypothesis he tries to prove that dictatorship is the only solution. I was shocked to see our educated middle class on facebook, jumping with slogans such as Jeyee Musharraf, Zindabad (Long Live Musharraf) . It was the height of naivety; the way hollow economic rationale attracts our people It was funny, under the sun no one bothers to find out the exogenous variables causing the change in prices, no one asks about the reasons behind the inflation. If that is the case I can take the example of Saddam vs Noori Al Maliki and still prove that a dictator was the best answer. I can also prove that Mullah Omar (Taliba Leader) was the best answer than Karzai using random numbers or indicators!!!!!!! Even I can make Augusto José Ramón Pinochet look Hero through Knit Picking random economic performance indicators. It is sad to see no one questions that during Musharraf era, thousands of people disappeared, inter provincial rift increased??? Compare Balochistan & NWFP before Musharraf and during his tenure!!!! Energy prices have contributed a lot to inflation, prices gone four fold, what was Musharraf's energy investment?? No one questions that his lack of planning affected Pakistan!!! Everyone has forgotten what he did with judiciary and the way Steel Mill plundering was planned? Geo TV cites stock market, ugh, stock market….that was a bubble, I fail to understand, why these anchors play around with areas they do not know anything about i.e., Economics. I won’t be shocked to see Kamran Khan doing an analysis on genetic decoding & social influence!!!! or may be on Kinetic Engineering !!!!!! I wonder how come these anchors manage to talk about the cockroach skin problems to politics and genetic sciences. Has anyone compared the powers of military vs democracy (glorified municipality) to influence the course of events in Pakistan? Read famous books, Military Inc and also Military & Mosque. I would still say, let people vote him out instead of finding quick middle class solutions; else we need to declare that let men in Boots decide the fate of 180 million people. No wonder our middle class follows Zaid Hamid (an extremists in modern attires, with hollow slogans, to turn Pakistan into a caliphate)!!!!!

(My friend Jawaid wrote an interesting blog on same topic, worth reading)

http://paradoxesjawaidbaloch.blogspot.com/2010/03/road-yet-to-be-travelled.html

Killing; seems like a sport!!! Is it India, Jews or America!!!

Cricket, Hockey & Squash, all sports are on decline; there was a time we were known for these games. Over the years, killing game has become so popular that we have neglected other sports. Let me share a story, It was an exciting day, cool breeze and pleasant Karachi evening; I received a call from one of my intellectual friends to join him over walk .I left office around six to join him at Nisar Shaheed Park “it’s in Defense Housing locality in Karachi, Pakistan”. He was walking anti clock wise, to catch him I walked clock wise, i was about to meet him, all of sudden security personnel locked all the doors and directed us to get out of the park. I heard that some spooky person “may be a suicide bomber” entered inside the park. Men, women and kids all started running towards gate, completely terrifying scene. I came out and saw contingent of police surrounded the park. The next day we heard over 50 people killed in Lahore, series of small intensity bomb blasted in residential Iqbal Town Lahore. Everyday, series of suicide bombing or target killing takes place, mainly killing the innocent civilians. Today, I was driving for lunch along with a friend, she mentioned to me ‘ Imran its so easy for anyone, an armed personnel can kill as many people as possible and walk away’, it shows the level of aggravating security situation in Pakistan. Our media and leaders just say one sentence (All is Well), Down with America, its bloody Jewish Lobby, no….. its India……well it’s so easy to be apologetic and leave the responsibility on others. Isn’t it states responsibility to ensure the safety of people? Everyday we get to hear that one of our friends is migrating (safe) from Pakistan, even without knowing the career path and one may face abroad but right now everyone is running away safely. Even an optimist, person like Abdul Sattar Edhi “well know philanthropist” sees a gloomy future, as per him Pakistan is at the stage of make or break . The way remedial measures are progressing, I am afraid it may be too late. We may end up reading horror stories about Pakistani women and families in novels, the way Afghan stories are selling in US & Europe. Wake up......... before its too late !!!!!

Happy Women’s Day

Hey women….you face hardship, harassment, discrimination, disrespect, violence and abuse….. Yet you face all with courage, nothing stops you....you are unique and blessed with great capacity of love and capacity to feel the pain…….. Happy Women’s Day...

Marriage of Convenience, Contract & MOU!!!!

It was relaxing last day of the working week, one of my friends raised her eyebrows when I mentioned that marriage is a contract and engagement is Memorandum of Understanding. She felt my words were bit too crude.............Well it made me think. I still remember, back at business school, one of the Harvard School of Law graduate teachers used to mention that “In law, a contract is a binding legal agreement that is enforceable in a court of law or by binding arbitration. That is to say, a contract is an exchange of promises with a specific remedy for breach”.

Legal literature suggests that “all spoken contract should be called an oral contract, which might be considered a subset of verbal contracts. Any contract that uses words, spoken or written, is a

verbal contract”.

If one falls in love, shares feelings, verbally commits to a relationship, to me it’s just like any other contract, paper maybe missing "if comapred with marriage" but essence is same. On the other hand there are many who enters into "marriage" relationship, signs on legal documents yet get into infidelity.

A contract paper may have its value but to me relationship is beyond piece of paper, it’s all about honesty and commitment.

Many ‘including me’ believe that “marriage is a sacred contract, its like sharing your life with someone or giving yourself in a special way that we typically don’t do”. It’s like giving something to a partner that is only reserved for her or him.

India – Pakistan; Image Matters!!!!

It was cold winter in Lahore; at my business school heated discussion on branding the country dominated the class. Discussion was about the global product positioning and the image of a country. Consumer’s product preference is dominated by many factors but the image of exporting country is also important. Discussion followed by various video clips developed by tourism authorities such as Malaysia Truly Asia and Incredible India. For a while class discussed, what if we develop a video showing Amazing Pakistan to the world. Class was all in the favor of branding country but I was the only skeptic. My question was simple, when ground reality in Pakistan is different, terror attacks, suicide bombing, extremists and jingoistic media creating hatred all around, how we can fool people through creating a false image of peaceful and amazing Pakistan. First we need to fix the basics then talk of inviting people. Being Karachiite, I hardly feel secure on the busy streets, what to talk of inviting foreigners!!!! During my last exchange program trip to over 5 states in US, I heard unstopped praise of India, its culture, food, movies and history, so was the case during my interactions in Tokyo. We may blame others for our plight and sit around do nothing but people face the bitter reality. Today its Holi and whole world is glued to India, I came across this heading in a UK newspaper “From the lavish scenes of Bollywood to the rich spectrum of their cuisine, no other country in the world celebrates colors like India”. We are a confused nation, trying to Islamize whole world, becoming more Arab than Arabs; most of us do not know the historical facts, nationhood is teetering at the brink of disaster. Be it NWFP or Balochistan, Urban Karachi or Lahore, insecurity is all around. Can we think of positioning Pakistan???

Pakistani Diplomat; Your Name is VULGAR!!!

Pakistani diplomat in Saudi Arabia was refused over vulgar name translation. As per news report published in various papers, a Pakistani diplomat Akbar Zeb will not become next Pakistani Ambassador in Saudi Arabia. Report says Zeb’s credentials seem in order; he is the former ambassador to the United States, India and South Africa. He also held the position of High Commissioner designate to Canada. Lately he was nominated to be ambassador in Saudi, when his name was translated into Arabic, Akbar Zeb means “Biggest Dick”. News report emphasizes that Saudis stress a lot on modesty, particularly in public, they could not stand such a name. Media further reports that “in hopes of minimizing the use of the word in public, Saudi Arabia has refused to accredit Mr. Zeb for the position”. For me it is hard to imagine that name could be such a big problem on this level. If this is the case then I wonder how come they allowed DICK Cheney, what about various Pakistanis with surname BUTT. There could be many other words may have different meaning in other languages. I simply fail to understand, what is in a name????

Love Sucks!!! Guys are Asses!!!!

It has been a while I haven’t written anything on relationship & most of the guys even at times my female readers do not like my men bashing !!! Lately I came across an interesting article written by a LUMS student Mahreen Rehman, guys you may disagree or get offended but she has raised an interesting issue.

Missed your ex on valentines day? The deliciously red roses, scrumptious chocolates ‘with love in every bite’? screw you! the truth is, guys are asses! No, literally! You take away the short stubby legs, the poo slobbered tail and add some human limbs and what do you get? VOILA! A guy! Don’t believe me? Let’s do an analysis. Donkeys have fur, guy’s have fur (some girls do too but that’s irrelevant here.). donkeys stink, guys stink. Donkeys are dumb, guys are DUMBER! “oh, sorry was I supposed to call you?”, “am I 3 hours late? was with my boys.” And the list goes on n on.

 I guess what I’m trying to establish here is that we, the superior female species, should know better than to fall for dirty,stinky,hairy animals who think its allright to fart anywhere and everywhere they go. Now, you may disagree with me here and argue that your boyfriend or the guys you know are completely different. DO NOT BE FOOLED, naïve one. It’s all an act. They may outwardly seem gentlemanly but it is innately embedded in their hard drives to be obnoxious, perverted scum. They look at females like they’re pieces of meat, the more scantily dressed, the tastier and the more team testosterone kicks in. these cave men live by a certain code. They will never, EVER sacrifice their way of life for you so do not believe for one second when a guy looks into your eye and tells you he loves you. he’s probably checking out another girl’s reflection in ur glasses or pupils or whatever. The point is, guys are incapable of having deep emotions for a member of the opposite sex. Rule number one of the “stupid code of idiot guy life” is

Bros before hoes. Isn’t it weird how guys do not talk to each other on the phone for more than 10 minutes but once they meet up, their brains become reprogrammed and develop alzheimer’ic tendencies that cause them to forget that they have a girlfriend who is waiting up for them to get done with whatever it is that guys do when they get together. If, by any miracle a guy DOES remember that he is partially committed (in his view) to a girl and mentions this to his ‘bro’s’, they will either (a) discuss the geometry of her curves, (b) plan something in order to meet her friends and thus have access to more ‘meat’ or (c) make fun of how his girlfriend has him bound under ball and chain (even if the poor girl does not,) to such an extent that they will brainwash him into believing that he is being controlled by his (poor) girlfriend and when he does go back to her, he will most probably fight with and tell her that he has to put his foot down and that he needs more guy time with his friends and that he does not care about whatever she feels or has to say about it.

Secondly, WHAT is with this stupid football craze? You want to play the sport, fine by me. Go with your boys, play, have fun , COME BACK in a couple of hours. DON’T TAKE ALL BLOODY DAY! But what is with this stupid obsession of WATCHING football? Somebody please explain to me the thrill of having your eyes glued to the little ball on screen, following its every motion till you have a twisted neck for 2 hours and then the score is 0-0 ? this football match is then followed by pizza and ofcourse, a competition about who can eat the most pieces without puking FOLLOWED by another competition about who can burp the loudest followed by a public flatulence competition. They think it’s fun and funny and even congratulate each other for it . I mean…seriously? This is the species we want to marry? I’m not suggesting that we all become homosexuals. I am merely pointing out the fact that guys and relationships are over rated and Red Goodbye says it perfectly: “now that I’ve loved and now that I’ve lost, what I feel inside says Shakespeare lied”.

Okay so I might have gone a little over board in criticizing the male species. That wasn’t my intention when I started writing this article but I’m guessing the bitterness took over. The point I initially intended to make was that love is over rated. You get nothing out of it but heart ache and maybe a few stupid gifts and some memories that haunt you forever and ever and eat at your insides like maggots feasting on a dead corpse. Don’t fall for a guy who promises you the moon and the stars and the heavens and the earth and everything in between. You will only end up weeping you r eyes out and look horrible the next day. No amount of concealor and hashmi kajol will have you looking normal. Here’s how it starts, he says he adores you and asks you out. Flattered, you accept. You and your girls spend hours giggling over it on the phone and plan your outfit and everything else down to the minutest detail. He shows up before time and you have the most awesome date ever…roses, expensive restaurant and a guy who’s lost in your eyes…legen..DARY! (courtesy Barney Stinson). He drops you back, nothing can sweep the smile off your face for the next couple of days. He calls you all the time and texts you like crazy. He convinces you that he totally loves you till one day..SNAP! he starts calling you less frequently, doesn’t remember any of the stories you tell him, starts spending more and more time with “thE boys”, and when you confront him, you get the famous “it’s not you, it’s me routine”, in other words, “I’m bored baby, I need a newer version with more features*’ AHEM. So he goes off with his friends to ‘heal’ which lasts till ..hmm…let’s see, 2 mins, and your entire life is snatched away from you, leaving you drowning in your own tears. In the wise words of bart simpson, “ I never thought it was humanly possible, but this both sucks and blows”.

To conclude, Mahreen has raised an interesting question but I want to share guys response; “What about the woman's tendencies of being overly clingy, whiny, etc? Can you blame men for craving some space? Why does women's life REVOLVE around that expected phone call? And why does everything come crashing down when he suddenly forgets? People need space, and trust me; true love is not a slave to punctual phone calls. Or incessant text messages.

Men DO fall in love, passionately and selflessly, just as women claim to. And they DO go out of their way to please women they truly love. It happens, not just in chick-flicks, but in real life too. As much as you believe that it doesn’t.

And author just seem to have attracted with the wrong sort, friend! She should loosen up a little; she should know that every man is not a moron. Just like every girl is not a whore !!

Elite Business School Gone Anti American!!!!

It was cold night at my Business School dorm in Lahore, thunder, lightening and rain struck the campus but my thoughts were focused on one question “the wave of anti American sentiments across the campus”. On campus divide between teaching fraternities was evident on the basis of religious & liberal ideals. It is general belief that elite business schools in Pakistan are anti Taliban & they have better understanding of US , West & contemporary political dynamics. Lately I was surprised to see a protest organized by right wing religious party in downtown Lahore for the release of Dr Afia “ lately convicted by an American court”, scores of student of elite business schools participated , chanting anti American slogans along with Jamaat E Islami “ right wing political party” workers.

I am not questioning or taking sides as far as Dr Afia issue is concerned, to me it is worrisome to see elite business school students shoulder to shoulder with the workers of right wing organization. One may agree that it is easier to influence illiterate poor madresaah “religious seminary” students but lament to see educated middle class esp. elite business school students are being influenced by religious right & Imran Khan “an anti west leader of Pakistan Tehreik E Insaf, however married to a rich British girl & lived most of his life in London”. Today, number of educated youth inspired by an extremist Islamic caliphate revivalist TV anchor Mr Zahid Hamid.

I believed that in Pakistan, middle class is change agent but they are falling pray to Islamic apologetic rhetoric and being inspired by Military & religious right. I literally am into deep thoughts & fail to find answers to questions, does right wing politics provide answers or solutions to these elite youth or provide a vision or direction about future. Similarly most of the young pop singers have gone apologetic, pro Taliban & ironically they have influence over our youth.  During my recent US IVLP trip & interactions in US I got the feeling that US State Department wants to reach out to Muslims through dialogue & cultural interaction. Obamas Cairo speech and recent Farah Pandith visit, "USs newly appointed Special Representative for Muslim Communities” convinced us that US is interested in reaching out to Muslim world & serious in addressing the issue of extremism. It is high time for US to reach out to middle class youth in Pakistan; to me they are unconsciously falling pray to extremists. Middle class may not wage war but moral support & anti American feelings may strengthen the case of religious right.

A Brand New World!!!

Brands are becoming a new lingua franca for consumers all over the globe. One may like or dislike, brands are reality and no one can scape. Well, there are people around us including me prefer brands because it is all about quality. To an extent it is true, if more people buy brands better the quality becomes. Price equates quality and brand competition means continuous improvement. We are becoming so global, in spite of our likes or dislikes, it is a reality, falling trade barriers to regional trade integration, movement of people to telecom and internet boom. World is becoming truly a village, more we get connected more we become global citizen sharing common culture. Many people at Harvard University believe that "consumers look to global brands as symbols of cultural ideals. They use brands to create an imagined global identity that they share with like minded people. Global brands make us feel like citizens of the world and they somehow give us an identity". There are brand skeptics believing that brands are all about western culture but if we look at hundred of brands in terms of their value, Coke is number one "An American Brand" but Nokia, a Finish brand on no 5, Toyota a Japanese brand on no 8, Mercedes a German brand on no 12, Honda a Japanese brand on no 18, Samsung, H&M, Nescafe, SAP, IKEA, Sony, Canon, Nintendo, Reuters, Philips, L’Oreal, Siemens, Zara, VW, Nestle, Adidas, Blackberry, Rolex, UBS, Panasonic, Cartier, Allianz, BP, Nivea, Prada, Giorgio Armani, Lexus, Puma and Burberry all are non American brands.

Click here for best global brands list. We have to live in a global village and brands are reality, major question comes, it is fine brands are all about quality, they also create a global culture but the need of the hour is how much socially responsible organizations are?? To make world a better place, NGOs, consumers and human rights organizations' role has become more critical along with media. We have to collectively act as watchdog and consumers can use their buying power to punish socially irresponsible brands through product boycott. Let me share an interesting story about anti globalization and anti brand crowd, the other day I watched a video, most of the protesting guys were wearing branded shirts, Levis Trousers, Swiss Backpack, Apple iPods, Caterpillar Shoes, Police Glasses, Puma Shoes etc. Similarly anti west clerics in Pakistani helped KFCs Ramadan Iftar deal. It is need of the hour, we have to be more realistic and practical, on the one hand not ignoring our social responsibility and on the other hand saying no to mindless emotional outcry against brands.

Three Idiots, Caution; Jerks & Idiots Next 340403 Square Miles

An idiot produces bunch of idiots, contributing to the idiot population in villages, towns, cities, and successfully creating Idiotistan. Sounds familiar, isn’t it? At times I look at various academic institutions; only one thing comes in my mind “idiots manufacturing factories”. There may be exceptions but majority is producing parrots, good at remembering. I had been reading since childhood that our mind is a thinking device not a store room and I still believe it. Lately I came across an interesting movie “Three Idiots”, Aamir Khan is the lead cast, displayed diverse and humorous performance. Plot is borrowed from Five Point Someone-What not to do at IIT, written by Chetan Bhagat, one of the highest selling English novels published in India. Movie brilliantly depicts the family pressure, when it comes to a child’s career, forcing a kid to study Engineering vis a vis perusing his heart’s desire, be it photography, sports, music. It is so true, if one listens to heart, there won’t be any regret and career would be like hobby. In our society, even at brilliant universities, students are pressurized to memorize and live under the pressure of so called GPA. Even most of the teachers believe that they know everything, if someone challenges any thought or idea; it generally hurts teacher’s ego and end up taking revenge.  I still remember, at university I had always been one of the top students, asking questions and challenging was part of my academic pursuance, rarely cared for GPA, one of the teachers got offended with my challenging thoughts and he ended up failing me, first time ever in my life. I challenged it and got away with it. So called educated lot lacks basic social consciousness, esp. business graduates in my circle are like corporate zombies, hardly knows about Pakistani society, not much about indigenious people, history and geography . They prefer cramming books to graduate and earn a living, no need to have social consciousness, prefer having dinner with friends than buying a book. I seriously get disillusioned to see educated lot when they act uncivilized all around. Be it teachers, society or even parents, no one likes questions, challenging thoughts is considered rude behavior. You end up hearing sentences such as “How dare you challenge your parents’ ideas? “Tumhein abhi dunya ka pata hee kia hay??” How much have you seen the world? How many books have you read? At times I look back at colonial societies, I find, academic system in Colonial India was designed to produce low level clerks. Slaves or subjects had no right to challenge or question masters? Similarly such behaviors became part of family value system. Another interesting thing I came across was that in colonial societies, language was one of the tools always used for exploitation. Persian was the language of Kings & Queens & Darbar’s but common men used to speak native languages so was the case with English. Even today, language is used to exploit or keep majority under privileged, one may not deny the importance of English but it is used as entry barriers. Societies prosper and grow with the power of ideas and quality of thought, it is the mind that makes the difference and thoughts lead to prosperity. There is a famous saying “An idiot is a genius to another idiot”

Privacy is No Longer a 'Social Norm’ !!!

You must be wondering what the limits of privacy are, well, lately, Google COO Sheryl Sandberg publicly said that privacy is no longer a social norm. As student of social sciences I always come across the sentence that social norms change overtime. However it is also believed that core values hardly change over the period. On the one hand, when gadgets like IPod create social isolation, people end up saying ‘hey IPod stop causing social isolation’. On the other hand social networking mediums like Facebook and Twitter connect us, people end up saying “hey Facebook stop privacy invasion”.

There are people who are convinced that too much isolation and too little privacy are the biggest social problems of our time. Google COO believes that “People have really gotten comfortable not only sharing more information and different kinds, but more openly and with more people.”We have witnessed that our networking journey in cyber age, all the way started with basic chat site to video talk, personal information sharing on web to new phenomenon of blogging and social networking like Facebook & Twitter. These days people are asking questions "Is too much information available to public not an invasion of public privacy, enabling people to stalk and access all the information"? Well, on the one hand people believe that we have choice through privacy setting, what to put on the Facebook and what not? Who should be able to view and who should not!!! On the other hand people believe that Facebook makes people to make more personal information publicly available without realizing it.

There may be many views on privacy debate but one thing one should realize that as per Newyork Times, Google and Microsoft Bing has signed an agreement with Facebook, to allow people’s status updates to be indexed by both search engines in order to enable the search giants to provide real time results. Is human society redefining the social norms pertaining to privacy or we are going to face the maliase of no privacy, spread by social networking medium. Let us see, time will tell.

The Ghost of Mohd Bin Qasim in Pakistan!! Where are Balach & Chakar??

These days Whitechapel Gallery in London is exhibiting photographs from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. As per Guardian newspaper The Ghost of Mohd Bin Qasim “part of India, Pak and Bangladesh photo exhibit” photographs are getting visitor’s attention. When I heard the word Ghost, I got excited and read complete story. One may wonder what is the connection of Pakistan with Mohd Bin Qasim, well as per our history books he was the one who laid the foundation of Pakistan, later completed by Jinnah. Well he was an Umayyad Dynasty’s general who conquered Sindh and Punjab region along the Indus River at the age of 17. Historians believe that “Umayyad interest in the region stemmed from their desire to control the trade route down the Indus River valley to seaport of Sindh, an important link in the ancient Silk Road”. Apart from Mohd Bin Qasim, exhibition shows the most shameful period of Pakistani history “our history books are quiet” when we lost Eastern wing now known as Bangladesh. One of the famous Pakistani novelists, who visited the exhibition, described her feelings when she saw the atrocities of Pakistan Army, she writes” I turn to the Bangladeshi photographers in order to fix my gaze on that blood-soaked epoch. I don't even realise I'm doing this, at first. I think I'm looking at a man's head, cast in marble; the sculpture is cheek-down amid a cluster of stones, almost camouflaged by them. Then I read the caption: "Dismembered head of an intellectual killed 14 December 1971 by local collaborators of Pakistani army. Bangladesh." It is extraordinarily eerie, and sad”.

Guardian writes that “The Ghost of Mohammad Bin Qasim” shows the nation's attempt to create an official history, which focuses on Muslims in the subcontinent (rather than Pakistan's geographical boundaries), the Arab general Bin Qasim (712 AD) was lauded for being the first Muslim to successfully lead a military campaign in India – even though he did little to consolidate his position. In Abidi's photographs, a man in Arab dress is shot at different locations in Karachi, including the mausoleum of the nation's secular founder, Mohammad Ali Jinnah. The man is clearly Photoshopped in, deliberately so: he represents the attempt to graft a false history on to Pakistan, linking it to the Wahhabism of Saudi Arabia. It is ironic; nations fail when they try to manufacture a country’s foundation on the basis of false history. As Baloch and Pakistani, I lament to mention that as kid I never came across my Baloch childhood heroes ‘my elders used to share the stories about’ such as Balach and Chakar . But we were forced to read about Muslim invaders from desert land of Arabia and Afghanistan. When I was in US, came across various books on history, I realized that anyone who defends the motherland is a Hero. For a while I went back to my childhood and started questioning myself about Mohd Bind Qasim, Mehmood Gaznavi and Ghauri. Also the stature of Raja Dahir and Bhagat Singh rose high in my mind I also got my long awaited answer, now I know why Pakistani nation is confused!! I truly get to see Ghosts of Mohammad Bin Qasim, Tipu Sultan and Lord Mountbatten on the streets of Pakistan.

Crazy New Year Celebrations in Pakistan!!!

New Year’s Eve is all about celebration, parties and social gatherings. Whole world welcomes it with breathtaking fire work. Pakistani’s celebrate it with indiscriminate and random aerial firing, creating harassment, fear and resulting in injuring over 50 to 100 people. Youngsters march towards beach, display careless biking skills, harasses families esp. when they see women creature.

The other day I saw it on TV, Sydney Municipal Corporation hosts over 2 million people for firework display that lasted from 15 to 25 minutes followed by music shows on several stages throughout the beach. Imagine over 2 million people, how much revenue and positive image Sydney gets.

Forget about first world countries, lets look at Brazil, Rio beach hosts performance of popular bands and samba school. Over 2 million people thronged to the beach, over 28,000 hotel rooms occupied. One could imagine the amount of revenue this event generates for the city; it is an ideal time to position RIO on world map before Olympic Game in Brazil.

Oh I forgot, Pakistan and our Muslim population has problem with Christian holidays our Mujahid on the roads have issues if people celebrate it. Well fine, if we look at Muslim holidays, the way we celebrate UGH let me read a news report it says Town Admn imposed complete ban on fire crackers to be used for fire works on Shab e Baraat, in order to safeguard public life and property and to maintain general peace. The way we celebrate without realizing how much our celebration may cause inconvenience for others. At times I think only socially illiterate societies are engulfed with Cheapness!!!! 

Burning Karachi !! Points to Ponder !!!

Ardeshir Cowasjee writes “To be noted! Bomb blast at 4:30 pm at Lighthouse intersection. Shops set on fire at 4:22 pm with chemicals by gangsters for a length of 2 km till Bolton Market. City Government Fire Brigade reached after 4 hours. All shops closed but by 4 am in morning thousands of banners hanging in the city.... Pattern of selective targets is evident. Who gains by removal of old buildings & markets?”

Think about it !!!

Please Don’t Let Democracy Down !!!!

Bomb blasts, blame game, irresponsible media, insecurity, uncertainty, chaos, hopelessness, pessimism, confusion and emotions define current state of Pakistani affairs. Every now and then media tells us that PPP government is going to fell down in three months, six months, eight months, one year, blaming that PPP is the culprit, anti Pakistan, responsible for putting clauses against Army in Kerry Lugar Bill. NRO is going to topple Zardari government; he is the worst guy and Pakistan must get rid off of him. Pakistan’s ailment linked with Zardari and PPP, remove him and peace would knock on the doors. Our middle class leaning towards right wing, chanting anti American slogans, ironically no one condemns Taliban. They consider whatever attacks are being carried out in the name of Taliban; they are either Indian or Jewish agent. It is believed that middle class is change agent but in Pakistan they are conservative apologetic. Security establishment along with their supporters in the form of right wing religious parties are busy enough to dent the democracy, so is enlightened media with their biases and hollow analysis. Do you think removing PPP government is going to solve Pakistan’s problems? Let us assume if PPP government is removed, is there any other force that enjoys public support from Karachi to Khyber? Does alternate force present any strategic plan to address economy, deal with US, and peace talks with India, to deal with US pressure esp. war on terror ‘be it Quetta Shura or North Waziristan’? Does anyone have plans to address Balochistan issue better than PPP government? We have already seen decades of Zia, Musharraf military rule but everyone knows what they delivered!! To conclude, eminent columnist Nadeem Paracha’s words speak volumes “Remember East Pakistan? No uniformed strong man or a mard-i-momin can save a country as diverse as ours. Stop getting lost in the middle-class fantasies of powerful men and glorious conquests. Vote, and then wait to vote out whom you do not like. Stop falling prey to fascist escapades dressed as patriotism, uprightness and worst of all, akhlaq. I would again urge…. Please Don’t Let Democracy Down!!!!