Wither Pakistan!

Has the state failed in protecting the very fundamental of rights i.e. right to life, of the two brothers in Sialkot? On the face of it, yes. But there is more to it then catches the eye. Rumours are that the local police along with the would be killers actually planned the whole thing in advance. And it is here the state has failed its citizens the most, to stop the predators before they strike the helpless pray. A state is composed of its institutions, and without them its nothing. What would you call a state whose police department was actually involved in planning this mayhem? A withering state, I say!

Mind sees what it wants to see

It is either our inability to distinguish between black and white or our habit of self-deception that we fail to distinguish between our wishes and desires from facts. It is this inability to confuse wishes with facts which further exacerbates our daily lives by making us feel more helpless at our present state of affairs. What do I mean by we cannot distinguish between our wish and what is real?

Wish: While we live in troubled times in Pakistan, but our children will live in a better Pakistan.

Fact: All social, economic and political indicators points towards the contrary. Matter of fact they predict that our children will live in more tumultuous Pakistan.

Wish: Asif Zardari is not sincere to Pakistan?

Fact: Asif Zardari is as sincere as any other political figure in Pakistan. He is neither an Israeli nor an Indian, but elected by Parliament and four provincial assemblies.

Wish: Asif Zardari is an accidental leader.

Fact: So was Benazir Bhutto thanks to her father and Nawaz Sharif thanks to Gen. Zia-ul-Haq.

Wish: This government is about to fall.

Fact: All stake holders have learned a lesson from their past and have decided not to rock the boat. Personal likes and dislikes are immaterial.

Wish: A Muslim is braver then a Hindu.

Fact: Stalemate in 1965 war, defeat in 1971 and another defeat in 1998-99 Kargil….. you do the math!

Wish: The war against terror will be won eventually.

Fact: May be but at what cost! It is not being won as of today.

Wish: Muslim countries should get together against the “infidels”.

Fact: Only recently Saudi Arabia has permitted the Israeli air force to fly over its air space to attack Iran, if need be.

Wish: If the tough gets going, Bhutto family will leave Pakistan but Sharif family will stay.

Fact: Remember the deal between the Sharifs’, Saudis’, Lebanese and the Musharraf government!

Wish: Nawaz Sharif is a simpleton while Asif Zardari is cunning.

Fact: Mr. NS kids’ gloves came off when his brother’s government was dismissed by Governor Taseer at the behest of Mr. AZ.

Wish: Gen. Kayani is apolitical.

Fact: Six secret meetings with Shahbaz Sharif and Ch. Nisar plus phone call for Iftikhar Chaudhary’s restoration…… I think not.

Wish: Both the PPP and PML have failed Pakistan.

Fact: The people of Pakistan have failed Pakistan by voting for these parties.

Wish: This PPP is not of Bhutto’s PPP.

Fact: Benazir Bhutto’s PPP was also not of Bhutto’s PPP.

Wish: Asif Zardari is corrupt.

Fact: May be but it is the investigating agencies in particular and our judicial system in general which gives births to Asif Zardaris’ of this country.

Wish: Bilawal Zardari is Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.

Fact: Since when have we started to take names of our maternal grandfathers as our family names!

Wish: Bilawal is being groomed for future leadership of Pakistan.

Fact: Reza Shah Pehlavi too groomed his son for the Persian crown but today he buys his own groceries in Northern Virginia.

In conclusion, mind sees what it wants to see!

Mian Sahib & I

If NYT is to be believed then Mian Nawaz Sharif has not paid his taxes for the past 3 years. Neither have I. Does that mean we're even? Well I would like to believe so but then the fact that he lives in mansion sprawling on 750 acres and I live in house just over 1 kanal, doesn't make us even, does it? Hmmm there's something wrong somewhere. Something's not adding up right!
O well!
Jevay jevay jevay Pakistan.....

Hallelujah

Bible says the meek shall inherit the earth. Guess what folks our very own meek Mian Nawaz Sharif has inherited the earth. Lord be praised! How? Well how else could you ever explain a former 2 time prime minister of Pakistan not paying his taxes for the past 3 years. Dahhhh.... well he's poor idiots. He makes no money and owns nothing which is taxable, yet he was PM twice.
Lord be praised again.....

Walking in the Rain

Mian Shahbaz Sharif walking in water pool turned streets of Lahore. What a joke! Is he their to clean up the mess or for photo op! If only the "intelligent brother" had banned the manufacturing and use of plastic bags, streets would have looked like streets and not tributaries of river Ravi.

Back to the Future

From ethnic cleansing in Punjab and Bangal in 1947 to recent genocide in Gujrat, simply nothing has changed in the this part of the world. With the same aggressor (Sikhs and Hindus' in Punjab in East and Muslims in the West)), and the same aggressed (Muslims in the East Punjab with Hindus' and Sikhs' in the West), we've simply refused to learn from history. The same landscape, same methods, same indifference by the authorities and the same and perhaps the worst of this madness; no hope of learning from our past for the sake of a better tomorrow.
The roots of Godhra, Gujrat, massacre however lie in the contents of Sacher Commission Report. Simply put, Muslims were butchered at will, however to date, I have yet to hear or read that someone was held responsible and as logic would demand was sentenced to death. Not one. We have refused to learn from our past.
In the light of the aforementioned, it is hard not to believe in the usefulness of the moth-eaten 2-Nation Theory.

Terror without Cause

In the backdrop of recent suicide attack at Data Sahib, I have come to the conclusion that Pakistani suicide bombers and their handlers are terrorist without a cause. Unlike the Tamil, Palestinian, Iraqi, and Afghani suicide bombers, often citing foreign occupation as the reason behind their suicidal attacks, Pakistani suicide bombers don't even have that as an excuse. They are loose canons, criminal thugs, if you will, perpetrating terror simply for the sake of terror.

Gordon Brown on Politics

"Universities, as you know, stand for integrity, objectivity, impartiality, and disinterested pursuit of truth, the objective search for knowledge-- all the qualities you have to leave behind when you go into politics!"

2-Nation Theory is Dead

"The Theory" was still born may be a subjective observation but if ever was there a doubt, the latest article in The Economist on Pakistan proves that a lot of 170 million even after more then 6 decades still struggles to define itself a nation. Islam which was to be the binding glue between the Muslim of Madras and the Muslim of Lakhnow has certainly not worked in all these years.
It is time for a new "Theory"!

Iranians have got it Wrong

Iran is on the wrong path and probably the war path. The Iranians have got it wrong. Myopic view of the world is not going to do it, neither obsession with Israel. This policy has already brought the Saudis' and the Israelis' even closer vis-a-vis Iran.
It is high time that Iran takes a lesson from the Turks and cast its net wide.

Turkey: Beacon of Hope

Read Hamid Mir's article in today's Jang. He quotes an Arab journalist praising Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and how he makes him wish that he was a Turk. After spending 4 splendid days in Istanbul recently, I wish I was a Turk as well.
The trick is in finding the right balance, and the Turks have found it.