Asia Cup Final

I must say that I am a greater fan of Bangladesh Team from now on. The way they played, the resilience they showed, the way they fared so well, the way they tackled the pressure and the way they played against the top teams in the game is simply amazing. It has taken many by surprise. They used to do one or two upsets here and there but this time they simply thrashed the Indians, the Sri Lankans and the Pakistanis. I will call it thrashing that they did not let Pakistani batsmen stand on the crease and when it came to batting after the initial slow start they played like good batsmen. Then in the end they could not speed up. But if we look at the required run rate and the overs available towards the end it is clear that despite losing the match they still fared well. The world has seen what a brilliant team they are turning out to be and with the same hard work they can no doubt be one of the top teams of the world in 3 - 4 years.

Though as a Pakistani I prayed for Pakistan my heart goes out to our Bengali brothers. My full support is with them.

Now coming to Pakistan - the winners of the Asia Cup 2012. Winning this title was so important for Pakistan as a whole for so many reasons. There has been so much going on in Pakistan and the Pakistanis as a nation have been going through so much all these previous years that winning this tournament is a ray of light for them. This people - they are so excellent, so passionate, so loving, so sacrificing, so hard working, so hopeful and so special that it is in their destiny to live their lives as they are doing at the moment. Allah has predestined for them to live through the test after test and still come successful at the end. Terrorism, corruption of their leaders, inflation, joblessness, complete failure of electricity and so many other things have made them 'a bit' tense. They really deserved to have this moment of happiness and celebration. Only these are the things due to which we specially wanted to win this final. And thank Allah we did.

Another reason that Pakistani people are feeling miserable is the lack of cricket at home. We are THE cricket-starved nation. Some would argue about why we are so passionate about this game. I do not want to go into the details here. But our people do need a break from so many things going on in Pakistan and at international level concerning Pakistan.

Now a few words on our team - one of the most brilliant teams in the world, I must say. Our players have their incompetence in a few ways, they do lack one or two things which I hope they and their coach and management will work on. But looking at this event they played some good cricket and they won. Well done team Pakistan!

So as a Pakistani I prayed for Pakistan though I am still feeling for Bangladesh. They are a happier nation, they do not have the problems that we do. They will have their many other happier moments especially in cricket. O yes they surely will. The way their team played today it is phenomenal and giving the same hard work they are bound to come up as a world class team.

May Allah bless us all! Amen!

Bangladesh Cricket Team

It is amazing how Bangladesh cricket team has come to be playing the final of Asia Cup against Pakistan. It is  a comparatively new team and surely a less experienced one. BC rose through the ranks in the recent years heading its way slowly but steadily to the top. Even if they do not win today I personally put them among the top teams playing today. Beating world class Sri Lanka and India is not to be ignored.

Though they did not fare well previously (having won only two out of the last twenty-nine games before they entered this tournament) but in this tournament they being a home team has shown their commitment and confidence in a way that have left two big teams - India and Sri Lanka wondering what went wrong with them and why they could not defeat the bengalis. The way the Bangladesh team has conducted themselves in this event is amazingly blissful for their fans.

What remains to be seen now is how they perform against Pakistan? Will their batting and bowling be able to hold together and complement each other? Will their players be able to live through the pressure of playing against Pakistan and more than that playing in one of major finals? Will they make sure they do not lose again this time in the final? All these questions are to be answered today.

The Bangladesh team may not win today but even coming this far is also an achievement for them. This tournament will surely boost their confidence and do wonders to their commitment to the game as well as their courage to take on other great teams in the world of cricket.

Parliamentary Committee and Their Recommendations

I have been wondering since the events of Tuesday as it turns out that they have surprised many people across the globe and especially in Pakistan. It is really interesting to note that a parliamentary committee has weighed in, with unusual suggestions, to support the country-wide held view that the government should stand up to the USA like sovereign governments do and not bow to 'commands' by Americans.

The parliamentary committee headed by Senator Mian Raza Rabbani demanded that Pakistan should be offered an "unconditional apology" over the martyrdom of twenty-four Pakistani slodiers by Nato forces; further adding that tax should be levied on all the goods that are transited through Pakistan which is by no means asking for the impossible. The other things that the committee recommended include the demand to stop the drone attacks in tribal areas, the USA review its "footprints" on Pakistani soil, "no hot pursuit or boots on Pakistani territory", and all the activities of the private security contractors be made transparent and in accordance to the law of the land in Pakistan. Another notable point is the recommendation that Pakistan should also try to reach deal like the Indians are doing with the Americans, making sure that security of Pakistan is also not compromised. There are similar, around forty, points that have been noted in the report read out to the Parliament.

Now the question is what will the government do. Only on this hinges the success for Pakistan in the future. All these recommendations if agreed to in full and to the letter and implemented like they should be done will have far-reaching healthy effects on Pakistani government, society at large and on the reputation all over the World which is, to tell the truth, is in tatters and need a full fledged overhaul which will not come unless harsh decisions are made and implemented in their true spirit with religious zeal.

If this is done it will have severely bad effect on the economy of Pakistan. But when has it been better? Pakistani nation has experience spread over decades of living in poverty and unfavourable economic conditions. Everybody knows full well how many sanctions Pakistan had to go through to become a nuclear power. These sanctions and hard times will certainly squeeze the common man but there is no other way out for our country.

What is required now is the voice from all various forums in Pakistan and around the world for the support as well as demand of Pakistani government to push ahead with these harsh but just recommendations made by the parliamentary committee.

"Saving Face"

It is in the news that the governments of Punjab and Azad Kashmire have decided to punish men who throw acid on women. It is a good news.

"I was sleeping at my mother's when he came in threw acid on me..... He didn't take a second. In one second, he destroyed my life."

These are the words of the main character of the documentary that won Pakistan her first ever Oscar. These words are as shocking and as haunting as they are straight. Anyone who has got even an ounce of sensitivity whether that be for humanity in general or as a Pakistani for Pakistan, will surely feel the pain. These words will not (would not have in some cases) let him sleep for some time.

Some of us out there are arguing that this win has actually debased Pakistan by bringing it in highlight; as if before this we were really respected around the World.

This documentary is a turning point for us all. So much claim many of us make that we are a literate, progressive society, but actually we are not. This movie is a big clarion wake-up call which we must pay attention to and respond to positively. This horrendous crime is going on in our midst and we cannot rather do not do anything to stop it. I feel shameful at these act of ours. I do not find a place to hide my face because this is atrocious. It is not a Muslim's act. It is not the doing of a person who speaks of Islam so much. We have fallen in deep pit that we need to move out of.

At the present Pakistan is going through a number of problems. Most of them are of our own making. They can be very easily solved if I and you take the step forward.

Whether it is Waheeda Shah, whether it is the decision of a 'jirga' to brutally murder two women, whether it is honour killings, whether it is rape of vulnerable women, whether it is beating of two boys at the hands of brutal animals in Sialkot or whether it is the cowardly act of throwing acid on a woman and the list goes on and on; it is I and you - the individual - who is responsible for all this.

Punjab and Azad Kashmire governments have taken the decisions to make the perpetrator of these brutal acts pay. It is a good news.

What remains now is to see whether these governments can establish law and implement it in its true sense. Because implementing a law has always been a problem for Pakistan. Unfortunately we are not a law-abiding nation.

The Fickle Minded Kamran Shahid

"Aap kisi ki maan ban rahi hn, aap logon ka dukh le rahi hn aap Mother Teresa hn?"

(You are trying to be a mother and taking on the publics problems. Are you Mother Teresa?)

This is what the brilliant and suited-booted Kamran Shahid had to say to Maya Khan when she explained why she had gone to all the trouble about helping out the people.

Now in order to do someone a good turn do you need a certificate to be Mother Teressa? This behaviour is what constitutes as "point scoring". Talk of Increasing ratings!  Even when Maya Khan explained and gave details of what had transpired ACTUALLY and produced witnesses. Which witnesses by the way? The very people who acted in this staged program which was put together to raise awareness among the parents of teen and tween girls about the dangers of letting their daughters go unchecked and undisciplined. In addition, all this happened in response to all the complaints that the SAMA TV received. Still Kamran Shahid kept having a go at her and even asked her for "an unconditional apology". Shame! Do you have any concept of the word Mr Smart Aleck?

This is utter shame that this sort of fickle minded people who lack the ability to make decisions promptly on seeing some evidence, are working in Pakistani media. Though he looked clearly confused after he saw the evidence and heard her out, yet he did not say that the evidence showed her faultless.

Earlier while speaking about what the general public had said about her in various forums, he himself named Facebook and then realizing that the fact that she was called names and thousands of obscenities were hurled at her and her familiy will tilt the balance in her favour, he said "leave what was said on Facebook".

On another occasion he stopped just short of saying that the political anchors who did programs without asking her to explain her position did wrong. Instead he said something like "people will ask them" or something to that tune.

These two things just show what sort of moral fibre he has got.

Similar sort of writer is this Jahanzeb Haque who after watching the program did not understand what he had seen. Dull minded Haque who rambled "apology not accepted" ranted on about her without anything worthwhile.

Readers please pay attention: program pre-planned, Maya's pictures not what they have been purported to be and with the witnesses on stage in front of the camera what else is the proof that these people need.

This sort of people had the public in all this battle of emotions  This even is not the "mara hua chooha" (dead rat) that comes out in informal discussions in our society when nothing worthwhile is found. This is just NOTHING. Nothing at all!

All this uproar that has been going on for a while was for nothing at all. Maya Khan's name has been smashed around, her husband and she herself, their other family members were made to receive all the trouble for what was just a planned program.

This is as clear as the day that there are people out there who are simply jealous of her and all the work that she has been doing and all the attention that she has been having for her good work. They cannot digest it. They have been losing sleep over it. Or they are taking aim at her simply because at the moment she is down and vulnerable. They are doing it just for point-scoring and to increase the ratings of their programs. There can be no other explanation of this irrational behaviour.

The role that the Management of Sama TV played in all this is sickening. They knew all along what happened and still failed to stand by her.

The future historian will never forgive all these thick skinned people.

Do check out this link: Maya Khan

Maya Khan

Today I am feeling like writing about what happened to Maya Khan - a child star of the past. I have a hazy recollection of how she used to be a presenter for a children's program with a co-presenter who was a boy. But I do not remember who it was. I had forgotton even Maya until around three years ago when I saw her in a program. Seeing her rang a bell but I did not remember. I just asked myself why it seemed that I had seen her somewhere. But since she was on TV I did not give it much thought.After all we see many people on TV. Then one day I did remember. How? That is unimportant - for you all. After that I have been keen to watch her programs.

And then one day this bombshell came. It baffled me what everybody was saying. Yes, everybody. We Pakistanis showed shockingly openly to what depths we could fall. Everybody plunged in this filthy campaign to malign her, defame her, curse her and I would call to 'oppress' her.

I am perfectly aware of what she did. To tell the truth, one part of me says whatever she did was perfectly right - as right as it can be. But when I see that the privacy of the people was breached I start feeling like it should never have happened. After all we are out in 21st century. It is our right that we, behind the back of our mothers, fathers and especially sisters (the boys should feel the force of this last noun if they have an iota of shame) take someone else' sister and go dating and whatnot and whatnot. It is our right that we play truant to feel manly. Shame, utter shame!

We do not think for a moment what we do. How could we when we want to make a Paris out of Karachi? We did not think that we were debasing the very person that we claim to 'Love'. Until now I have been under the impression that love is a pious feeling. I thought it was the same love that takes us from 'Majazi' to 'Haqeeqi' love, the one that makes the Lover be in the presence of Allah in a second. This is the love that helps us earn 'sawab'; when we indulge in it we get near Allah and earn the shafa'at of the Holy Prophet.

I never for once thought that this love is so COWARDLY, TIMID, SELFISH and  SATANIC that it will make those who claim it hide behind the bushes or go in parks where there is no one else.

Then followed the depraved violation of moral values that is unprecidented in Pakistan's history. We wanted to show that we were free, liberated and emancipated in inverted commas. Free we are - free from any morals, free from any shame, free from any values, free from even our parents (after all they gave us birth; that's enough; let's do the rest ourselves). We are free to utter any sort of four letter devilish monstrosity and filth on social forums that comes to our mind so easily and efficiently as if we have done nothing else all our lives except mastering this reviling art of Satanism. How happy our master would be today! Well done O slaves!

What it all boils down to is we are corrupt - of the first water. We as a 'nation' (Oh we are a nation as well! Are we? 'Nation of the Quaid') are corrupt - corrupt of morals, values, hardwork and so on.

I will not comment much on what anchors and those who participated in their programs said because it is your own personality that comes out in the open. So they can be seen in the light of their discussions.

The problem is we do not know that we are as corrupt as our leaders. Only that our corruption is different. We all seem to be following our filth-drinking leaders. Most of the people say why she did not go into high-class clubs to see what was happening there. So we do agree that we are following our filthy 'high-class' leaders.

I will request parents especially mothers to please teach your children. Whatever they do is the true reflection of how you brought them up, what sort of food you put in front of them and what are your own concepts. I know that the parents of most of those involved are innocent. It only happened that they closed their eyes from what their children were up to.

Do check out this link: The Fickle Minded Kamran Shahid