An Honest Person (Yes, In Today's Pakistan!)

I have been forced to return to writing after reading the news of an exemplary police man from Mengora, Sawat who has displayed astonishing example of honesty by returning a colossal amount of Rs 5.5 million. Such an honesty in this day and age and especially in Pakistan where our corrupt politicians have broken record after record of most debasing corruption playing around with the money that was not theirs.


Today in Pakistan there is a huge and blinding race of who earns more, without any thought of how he does. In today's Pakistani society we believe that the people who have not plundered or looted are actually those who, by a stroke of good luck, have not had a chance to do so. Everybody else has had their share of corrupt and dishonest earnings.


Ayaz Khan who is a police constable in Mingora found the huge amount lying by the road on his way home. He initially took the money home and began looking for the owner. In the meanwhile he heard the announcement on the loud speaker (of the local mosque, I believe) about someone saying that he had lost his money. After ensuring that the claimant was the rightful owner of his 'discovery' he returned home, brought the money back and handed over to whom it belonged. At this he was offered a prize money of Rs. 500,000 but he refused. Though I believe that taking the prize money would not hurt the standards of decency and morality yet his refusing has exalted  him above the rest of all of us.


We live in a society where looting and plundering is the way of life. People who do some mischief of a devilish standard gloat over their 'cleverness' and cunning. They recount their stories like they have done a marvellous deed and they deserve some Nobel prize for getting away with it.


But this man has upturned this notion and told the world and his own people that we can be as honest as our religion asks us to be and as our Islamic traditions demand. He has demonstrated the strength of character that is, for sure, hard to find these days among the people of his country. Ayaz Khan has proved that there are people of good character amongst us as well.


Ayaz Khan has not forgotten the lesson taught to him by his parents and his teachers. He, for certain, is held in high esteem by Allah and His beloved Prophet (sallallaah-o alaih-e wa aalihee wasahbihee wasallam). Salam to his parents who have raised such a human being with a heart of gold and the soul of a saint.


May Allah give us all 'hidaya' (wisdom to do good) and instead of boasting of our ingrained evils we feel proud in following him. He is indeed a great human being. May Allah bless him with the best of both the worlds.


Here is a post (Unique Pakistan) that will shed more light on our character as a nation and also highlight some of the acts performed by honest Pakistanis like Ayaz Khan.

Protests, Strikes And Death

Look at the newspapers today and what meets the eye is same old themes of pain, gain, insensitivity, death, hunger, strikes and drones. These days all the news revolve around these painful but powerfully throbbing with life motif- though ironic that most of them are directly or indirectly related to death - the grim reaper that is the harbinger of lethal sadness.


The saddest is the death of several Afghan civilians at the hands of NATO. This war on terror has claimed so many innocent lives that it has turned out to terrorise a huge population both in Afghanistan and Pakistan. We very dearly and sincerely condole our Afghan brothers and sisters and pray for the bereaved families who have tonnes of heartache to go through to be able to live it out.


Then comes the sad fact that the hunger-protest of the Teachers's Association of Balochistan has entred into its seventeenth day with a few of them had to be taken to hospital since their conditioned worsened. But what is glaringly shameful is that the government has neither shown any remorse nor offered any words of kindness. 

US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said that the US will not be "gouged" by Pakistan on the price it says it will charge for overland deliveries. In connection to this whatever has happened during the last two weeks is weird to many. Looking from that side the Pakistan government appeared very week and ready to give in to the pressure from the NATO. President Zardari was expected to announce the opening of NATO supply routes while in Chicago. Everybody was incensed back in Pakistan and huge protests had been planned especially by the Defense Of Pakistan Council which had to be cancelled when the President did not go forth with the announcement. Why he did this is something that only he can tell. But one thing is for sure that not making this announcement has brought a hiatus in all the angry voices that have been raging on against The People's Party.


The break that came between 'alliance' of Pakistan and USA has deepened with the sentencing of the doctor who helped capture Usama Bin Ladin. The court that issued the sentence obviously saw it is as a treachery to Pakistan and the Constitution. But all this has not in the least been able to heal the wounds caused by the killing of the twenty-four soldiers at the hands of NATO Forces that was the second incident owing to which the relations of the two countries plunged to the lowest.


Now the news that both the Tehreek-e Insaf and the Muslim League (N) plan to go to the Supreme Court against the ruling out of the PM's disqualification by the Speaker Dr Fehmida Mirza.


There are so many wars going on in Pakistan - war between the Pakistan and the USA governments on the price of NATO supply routes, war between the Pakistan government and the Teachers' Association in Balochistan, war between the Pakistan government and the judiciary, war between the Pakistan government and the masses about power shortage in the country and huge scale of unannounced 'load-shedding' and last but not the least war between the Pakistan government and the different political parties especially the Tehreek-e Insaf and the PML(N).


And the most shocking thing midst all this chaos is that neither the President nor the Prime Minister is seen utter a word of consolation to the people of Pakistan about the poverty, power shortage and the other injustices going on around the country. On the contrary Mr Gilani is seen speaking most of the time 'about' constitution. He has been reduced to defending his own position regardless of whatever happens in the country.

Another achievement by Pakistani Students

Another achievement by Pakistani Students

I happened upon this image on facebook. It has been taken from a newspaper - there is no indication as to from which paper. This piece of news states that a group of Pakistani students has prepared bio-diesel. All the ingredients are easily available in Pakistan videlicet: methanol, used and unused cooking oil (I bet: You are smiling! ) .


Here it is!

In order to take a look at the 'original' please click here.


Most of the comments seemed to celebrate it as an evidence of the Pakistani students' intelligence. Some thought that it was a fake news and they also said that the image was fake. One joked asking when they were going to the USA - hinting towards the brain drain that is happening in Pakistan.


The problem with Pakistan is that its citizens do not bring themselves up to practise the best ideas.


We all know the best of all the best ideas - submit yourself completely to Allah and He will overturn everything for you but we do not. We have the Quran, we have the Hadeeth but we are still 'down-trodden' in the World. Simply because we do not act out this best of the best ideas.


Pakistan has second largest salt mine, fifth largest gold mine, fifth largest coal reserves, seventh largest copper mine. Besides Pakistan is fifth largest milk producer, eleventh largest wheat producer and twelfth largest rice producer. Despite all these treasures we are a pauper in the world and our leaders go begging regularly.


In such a situation when Prime Mininter Gilani is asked by the CNN that one third Pakistanis want to leave Pakistan, the reply that our brilliant Prime Miniter has is, "And why don't they leave then? Who's stopping them?"


Watch for yourself! (It is a just-over 4 min long video clip. If you want to go exactly at the point I just mentioned please go at 1:26. Otherwise watch the whole clip and the second half of it shows Imran Khan in an interview on BBC in the program "Hard Talk". And you will see the difference between the two leaders.)


Please note carefully that after Mr Gilani said "Who's stopping them" there was pin-drop silence in the studio and our birdbrain and dimwit of the Prime Minister kept grinning from ear to ear, maybe thinking that he had turned the tables on the interviewer whereas he was making a mockery of himself and Pakistan.














So in a situation like this which idea this Prime Minister or his boss will help to materialise. All the world is laughing at us.


Please keep in mind that the disappointing interview of our Prime Minister should not keep our students from carrying on working hard and trying their best to achieve the best for this country.


The wealthy, in this case, should come forward and help these budding Pakistani engineers and the likes of them. As a nation we have to make it a do-it-yourself job. Our government will not help us!




Source:   The source of my statistics is an article from the homepage of the website: Potential Of Pakistan 

Terrorism

YouTube!

The Modern Pakistan

           I happened upon this video on YouTube. I watched it and had a mix of feelings.

If you want to watch this video on YouTube, click here!

We are bound to have clashing emotions and views after waching this video. It bares one of the core issues of today's Pakistan that is in the limelight for the past decade or so. We are a varied nation with as many different tastes as any other nation in the World. Some people might think that such rock-n-roll clubs with people dancing around like hippies, girls, half-clad girls to be exact (though there were no really half-clad girls in this video but that is what most of Pakistanis will call them) moving around, music playing at the top of the volume and DJ's dancing and changing songs like they have been doing it since they crossed the threshold into youth and last but not the least some youth saying that this is another side and meaning that a positive side of Pakistan as against bombings, drone attacks and Usama hiding in our country are really good for us. But most of the Pakistanis do not feel at ease in such an atmosphere.

Now there are a few points I want to make here.

First of all it is the thinking and the 'abrasive' side of Pakistan that is portrayed around the World in all the Western media without fail and without any thought to the negative repercussions it might have on the masses in Pakistan. There is so much hatred for Pakistan and Pakistanis. Here I think the problem is that we are compared to Indians. Since India is a strong (or at least so believed and projects the Westers media) country with a good economy, stable democratic institutions and a good number of people that (again this is what is believed generally and most of it is true) are literate. This plays a huge role in changing the mindset of our youth and at least some of them when they see such negativity about their country they tend to think why it is so and act accordingly changing to render themselves as 'good, fun-loving people'.

Second thing is many of the youth especially in big cities are going abroad to some part of Europe or America. When they see this culture there they inevitably are influenced. Some are so much 'impressed' by it that they completely change and do not for a good amount of time look back towards Pakistan. I personally call these youths twisted because in the heat of the moment they even drink. Some of them believe it to be a blessing that they are 'free' to do whatever they want. I personally know a few of such people at least who take great pleasure in clubbing and drinking.

The third but the most important factor in alienating our beloved youth are our corrupt-to-the-core politicians and the filthily rich people. They move around in big cars where the air-conditioner never stops giving cool air in the scorching and blazing temperature during the summer when the ordinary (using this word here since it conveys the meaning otherwise these are the most special people in actuality) people are literally dying of hot weather. Then there is the ever-deteriorating plight of our country where the facilities to lead a good happy life are near to none. Then there are corrupt institutions where the poor has no ear which hears them out and no tongue that speaks in their favour.

The fourth one is the media which at times is evil of all evils because the soaps they show, the morning shows that they happily deliver and the other programmes which are telecast FOR the masses has actually nothing - not an iota- to do with the masses. The values that our media expounds belong to the few filthy rich. They almost have nothing that meets the eye of an ordianry person and makes him say that it is about him.

There is another thing - a confusion- that comes to the fore when we compare other Muslim countries to Pakistan. It seems that they have adopted these ultra-modern ways. Whereas Pakistan is still in confusion as to what to do. This confusion is also preying on our youth.

Personally I did not like the video and what was shown in it.It is hugely troubling. More troubling because my humble eyes see the dreaded future of Pakistan in this video. We are fast losing the youth that believes in the Islamic values of humanity and trust, of hard work and honesty, of looking up to our religious leaders and leading a good life according to their sermons and above all the pure culture of seeking Allah and the love of His grand holy Prophet.

Although all is not doom and gloom. There are religious parties and the leaders who are working at it with all their heart. Among the principal ones I personally see are Da'wat-e Islami, Dr Tahir ul Qadri, the precious Professor Rafique Ahmad Akhtar and many more. These people are working untiringly but things are changing vary fast.

The last thing I want to say that even these people (those dancing their lives away in the video above) seem completely out of touch with the ordinary Pakistanis, they are Pakistanis as well. We cannot segregate these people and say that they do not belong to Pakistan. Though they are utterly modern yet they are as much Pakistanis as we are. So my request to all is that we should respect one another.

Siachen and our leaders

It is a week since Pakistan army suffered a dramatic loss when a huge avalanche swept over a base camp at Gayari sector in Siachen. Since then every body has been praying for a miracle that saves the 139 people, including 128 soldiers, who lay under the gargantuan mass of ice God knows in what condition. As yet no progress has been made in retrieving the precious bodies that are sacred enough to be cried for.

This giant tragedy has brought cries from all sides of demilitarizing Siachen which has engulfed billions of dollars and hundreds of precious lives since this seemingly useless standoff began with the Indian army in April 1984. This is ironically sinister since it is in April 28 years later when our brave soldiers lie there under giant body of cruel ice that can take life out of anything that is roaring with energy and activity only moments earlier.

The good thing is that many of these voices belong to the people who matter. The most prominent ones are Nawaz Sharif and Imran Khan. Nawaz Sharif has said without any hesitation that our government should not look towards Indian government waiting for what they do. He believes that we should do it on our own if the Indians are not willing to go ahead with the demilitarizing. This is good since he enjoys a lot of clout in Pakistan. This statement of his echoes 1997 talks between Pakistan and India as well as reminds one of nuclear tests that he carried in response to those made by India. It can be safely projected that if he wins the next elections in Pakistan he will be making a lot more effort than before to engage India in talks on various levels. This might include the eight-point agenda agreed with the Indian government in 1997 before he was ousted by Musharraf.

Imran Khan is of the view that this should not be a unilateral step. He must be seeing through the eyes of a captain and weighing the pros and cons of this 'move'. He seems eager for Pakistan army to pull out of this lethal adventure that is doing no good to our 'jawans' but only if the other side reciprocates our move. At the moment he is thinking as a strategist though the burden of this loss clearly weighs heavy on him like on every other Pakistani who thinks highly of our brave forces.

Another voice that I will call more important than the preceding two is of the General Ashfaq Pervez kayani who said that he is highly in favour of talks with India and a decrease in defense budget. He thinks that development and defense should go hand in hand. Defense as well as development along with spending on the people of a country is important for the strength at the national level.

Last but not the least the President's visit to India hold a lot of importance in its own right as well as in the context of what is happening now. It seems that the Nature also agreed with him and a sort of aided him on his tour to India by bringing about the fatal incident, enlarging the futility of Siachen to a proprotion that it can no longer be ignored by any of us.

This brings us to the conclusion that the leaders of Pakistan are heading towards a maturer look on different issues affecting Pakistan. It seems they have learnt from the past especially the most recent incident owing to which many issues have burst themselves onto the scene. A new era appears to be in brewing when the Pakistani masses will be the main focus of the policies our government make in the near future.

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.

"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.