The tides are turning but in what direction?

The Supreme Court may go on delivering judgments but the unfortunate fact is that General Musharraf is in no mood to let Nawaz Sharif in the country, especially now that his deal with Benazir has moved out of the deadlock it was reported to be in a couple of weeks ago. Just today, Benazir has claimed that 80% of the modalities have already been settled. If all goes in musharraf’s favor, everything that happened in these last few months seems to have been in vain.

A military dictator is about to be given a new breath of life. What else does this augur except good tidings for future ambitious Pakistani generals? Someone who deserves to be tried for treason is being bailed out by a supposedly “democratic” party. And the sad fact is that no one’s coming out clear about the deal. Ex-senator Farhatullah Babar who appeared in a TV show as a PPPP spokesperson, conveniently appeared ignorant about the specifics of the Constitutional amendments package that the ruling party and PPPP are going to jointly present in the Parliament. All he kept on stressing on was the abolishment of 58-2b; no mention whatsoever of the cancellation of the two terms limit on the prime minister or (another surprise revealed by Khakwani-a PML-Q dissenter) the relaxation in the two years period condition for government servants to qualify for presidential or general elections. They probably think that the masses are politically naïve enough to not realize that deals are two way. And the list of favors on both sides goes on. No one talks about the indemnity being offered to the governments that were in place from 1988-1999 or about the proposals considering cancellation of the law that bars individuals convicted in absentia to take part in general elections. These conditions automatically imply acceptance from the PPPP side that there was some truth to all those corruption cases. After all, why would then they require such a guarantee especially with the kind of turn that the judiciary has taken this year.

On Musharraf’s side, he gets to be the president for another term if all goes well according to the deal and more importantly he lives peacefully, as is the norm, after having committed high level treason. Musharraf’s tone today when he said that the Sharif brothers are not coming back, gives an insight into his confidence level at this time. After having struck a deal with BB, he needs not be worried about the small fish. It has been running like this for eight years. It will do for some more.

It seems improbable that there could ever be some sort of “workable” working relation between Benazir and Musharraf but with the high level guarantors involved, as in the United States and some European countries as has been reported in the press, it may just work out. But at what cost?

Cost democracy, cost constitutionalism, cost civil rights, cost even Pakistan. As for Nawaz Sharif, it is clear that there WAS a deal and with the guarantors, it becomes obvious that he wanted to be out of this country too. Its being in paper or otherwise does not make any difference. If he was the peoples’ leader, he should have been truthful about it. How can one trust his sincerity to a democratic process once he returns to power? If he can buckle under pressure once, he can always run to the establishment or the military whenever he sees his political stature to be under threat. This happened in the 90s decade and if breaking away from that past is desired, then Sharif is certainly not a safe bet. Fazlur Rehman is easily the B team of the government. Barring all of these, just Imran Khan and Qazi Sahib are left. Where will they bring their candidates from?

Last bet; Supreme Court. In my view, it still has to go a long way to establish itself as a credible institution. The recent judgments being commendable are probably just that icing on the cake below which awaits a brewing storm. The tides are turning but they need to be given orientation. Who decides what direction they will take?

Also posted on http://chowrangi.com/

FM 89 graffitti

Nothing is real till it's gone...

I'm not crazy; Im a little impaired,u know!

tera ishq nachaya, kar thayyan thayyan thayyan

The way it's going, looks like I should keep an FM89 diary from now on...
happy crooning.

The tides are turning

And we all thought it would be the politicians who'll take the case forward. The lawyers notwithstanding, now the doctors have something to cheer about.. They have joined in, The silent majority is no longer silent. Pakistan, once known as a land of doctors and engineers has finally burst forth with its brightest sons challenging the social (dis)order on fronts they were hitherto reluctant to test their intellectual prowess on. The civil society is mobilised like never before. For the last few decades we had been used to seeing just political workers who had nothing to lose, as the most vocal section of society when it came to politics. Politics and governance were issues best left to the "specialists". The others could simply sit back and watch as the orchestarators of Pakistan's political scene played their acts with these dissenters being struck down whenever they raised their heads.

Now Pakistanis can feel the stakes in question. Now, they ahve something to lose. The control that they have just regained over their lives (in a collective sense) is too precious too be lost in the traditional apathy that has become a norm for the general society in Pakistan. Today, probably more than ever before, barring the wartimes, pakistanis from all sections of society are owning Pakistan. It is a feeling of patriotism that does not hinge on the self-appointed leaders and their proclaimed notions of self interest. This has to do with the individual in every Pakistani and his relation to a collective society and that is why everyone is so serious about democracy this time. people are relating to the political figures and see in military governance, a perversion, an utter distortion of civil norms.

So kudos to Dr. Anwar-ul Haq. He has taken the lead. Democracy waits for the rest of us to demand it. Today very difficult it will be to turn down the bellicose order.

Good Luck Pakistan. These doctors, lawyers, rairiwallahs, drivers, traders, political workers, journalists (writers :) ); nah we make you today. We turn the tides.

Just discovered some people are getting too paranoid or probably "someone" just doesn't like not being in the limelight anymore...or probably the dark was too frighteneing and it turned out to be the actual light.

aaaarrrgh..why cant we talk about "they"?
the blog business is taking away the social skills. and in this case the prospects are frightening.

Sher Afgan's blabber

It was disconcerting to watch a federal minister pour scorn on the judiciary with a zeal that could not be quelled even by reminders that his qualification for candidacy in the next general elections could be put under serious scrutiny, besides his almost certain sacking from the ministry. His words have hurt the sentiments of this rejuvenated Pakistan which idolizes the judiciary. The constitutional matters aside, the judiciary has struck a fine chord with the people through its verdict over the missing persons case. The release of two abducted men has proved the sensitivity of an institution towards the plight of the helpless and the downtrodden, and we have many of them in this country today.

It was reported that Sher Afgan had just attended a high level meeting when he was called on the TV show. Taking it from there, one can smell something fishy behind his statement. Why would such a senior politician (wouldn't call him seasoned, though) risk his political career in a bout of "sincere" and "honest" commentary on the Supreme court verdict? In my personal opinion, the government is probably preparing ground for some showdown with the judiciary. It can't afford to just reject the verdict in the charged atmosphere of Pakistan, as it is today and so it is relying on these sparks to let the people know that the government is not too happy with the judicial activism, as they like to call it mockingly. So as not to drop a bombshell on the masses, the government has resorted to this tactic to amke any disastrous step acceptable if not desirable. The government ministers are going to continue referring back to Sher Afgan's blabber about the judiciary being pressurised by the public and stuff like that and very conveniently disown it too, but nevertheless keep the issue alive. No wonder, Wasi Zafar also talked at length about Sher Afgan's remarks in the same tv show a few days later.

A retired justice of the Supreme court puts it a little differently. He opines that the Supreme Court's notice of Sher Afgan's contempt might be used as an excuse by the executive to take some serious action, emergency or worse, by terming it a tussle between the executive and the judiciary. Hope the conspiracy theories are just a farce and things continue to run in the favor of constitutionalism.

Anyways, the blabber was just sour grapes. As an advocate of the Supreme Court put it, the governement's case wasn't even worth a five minute hearing. Didn't we hear all eminent lawyers and former judges give their learned opinion on the matter before the case had been filed. Afterall, it's time collective wisdom says something too.

Also posted on http://chowrangi.com/

Nawaz Sharif’s return and Pakistani politics

With the Supreme Court verdict going in Nawaz Sharif’s favor, the nation awaits his arrival. There doesn’t seem to be anything that should delay his coming back to Pakistan. As Talat Hussein noted, his arrival after the presidential elections, particularly would cast serious doubts on his sincerity to the revival of democracy in this country, a movement that by now has managed to gather all sections of the Pakistani society through a common aspiration and goal. The very judgment that can help him consolidate his rising popularity in the country could very well signal an unceremonious exit from the political landscape emerging in Pakistan as the nation expectantly gears up for the triumph of constitutionalism and civil governance. The great expectations that have now been pinned on him, the only guard left standing after BB’s deal and Fazlur Rehman’s past record haunting him, could turn the tides either way.

Actually for a very keen observer, things have started changing. Nawaz Sharif’s tone has become more conciliatory. The usually flamboyant and unrestrained persona has taken a turn for the cautious and wary politician. He talks about national reconciliation now when earlier he would find it difficult to find his breath lambasting the Musharraf regime. His replies are filled with ifs and buts when asked about the destiny of the turncoats who abandoned the party. He is hesitant to mark out a timeline for his return to Pakistan.

Is there more to it than meets the eye? Does the government’s concern for the “third party” really carry some weight? Is the Saudi Government actually as seriously involved as the Musharraf regime had us believe? And how do they ascertain that there guarantee stands strong? Where do these guarantors stand now that the Supreme Court has allowed the Sharif brothers to return. If really there was such a deal or even just a verbal undertaking, then Musharraf would certainly find himself terribly wronged, and he would make sure to remind the Saudis of their promise.

The coming times will unravel the mysteries surrounding the deal and Sharif’s own credibility will be put under test. Many who were perturbed over the corruption charges against Nawaz Sharif had realized that democracy being the foremost issue in Pakistani politics today, he was the best bet in the coming elections with the Imrans and Qazis forming a formidable alliance. If now he turns out to be just a small fish in the gloated façade that we had been watching on our tv screens, that overwhelming increase in his stature will shoot down as rapidly as it climbed. And more than anything it will hurt democracy’s cause or probably the Pakistani people will find new heroes. The search is already on.

Also posted on http://chowrangi.com/

The maverick is the STREET POWER

"Most people believe they can rid themselves of social evils by common action...I do not subscribe to this view. The way to reform lies through discord and not through unity. Reformist ideals call for courage and perseverance of a high order. It is for the reformer to boldly violate the customs of his group...In this he will incur a lot of odium and popular disapprobation. But ultimately he will succed and win converts. Though he provokes opposition in the beginning, he is acknowledged a benefactor in the end.

I wish to point out to my countrymen the futility of condemning and cursing our social heritage in the privacy of our conclaves. It is vain to look for friends and supporters in the task of regeneration. On who wishes well of his people should come out in the open, break his own chains and put heart into others to do the same."

Words of an iconoclast yet a reformer, true to the wisdom spewing out of this sagacious statement. This is an observation of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, obviously coming from his own experiences.

Pointers to all the drawingroom intellectuals (*read* politicians for today's Pakistan)-who watch while others experience, who sleep while others guard, who relish what others salvage, who talk when others act. The "privacy of our conclaves" are never the battlefields.

The war will come to us too so why not preempt it and be counted in the STREET POWER.

P.S. Out there is my field too...Let it not be another "wasted passion" tragedy.

dilemma??? :O

glamor???
the buzz word today ain't it?

We have a habit of calling it glamor when it's the dearth of ideas that we are plagued with...hah!

GET ORIGINAL.

stumped!!

Shocks and surprises come my way this summer.

Just braved another one...ahhhh.

I am not liking it.

:( :( :(

National Character

Watching a talk show jointly produced by Indian and Pakistani TV channels in connection with 60 years of independence of both countries, I couldn’t help noticing the stark contrast between the orientation of both countries per view the national character. For one, a mature awareness, rather a proud assertion of national identity has developed over these 60 years while the other is still squirming over questions of ideology, ideals stretched between theocracy and secularism, between democracy and military hegemony; that is India and Pakistan, heirs to the destiny of one sixth of humanity, with over a billion having chalked out their course and 160 million still lurking in uncertainty.

One could easily notice the confidence of all the Indian speakers as they defended their case over Kashmir, their internal politics, and even the complex issue that the English language has become in our country at least. The Indian host so conveniently quipped that English was also an Indian language, and why not? Probably this is the sense of ownership that comes when national identity becomes the foremost feature of identity. Of course one can seriously argue over the limits of nationalism as required by human norms and morals, especially in context of the World Wars which were primarily conflicts of national interests between the powers of that time, and then it is the same “nationalism” that binds the Indian nation over the issue of Kashmir. But just the spectacle of cohesion that the Indian nation has become over a general consensus on the fundamentals of secularism and democracy is indeed impressive. One can argue over the nature of these two foundations of their country but very few will deny the existence of that sense of pride over their nationhood that all Indians share. They have long decided their national character.

We are still bickering over Pakistan’s foundation despite the fact that we were the ideological nation, not them. We are still confused over what that ideology meant. No one is ready to take on the challenge of amalgamating the diversity of this nation into a definable national character. Americans, from the rightist evangelicals to the extreme atheists, all cite the dreams of their founding fathers, the aspirations of the pioneers who fled religious persecution in Europe to find a new haven in the Americas; the Indians their secular democracy, and we look bewildered when confronted with the military-politics equation, the extremist and moderate label.
It’s not like these questions are unanswerable, or this issue insolvable in context of our peculiar circumstances. The problem is that we have been polarized deeply over fundamental ideological lines with the two sides unwilling even to sit down together and afford each other the basic courtesy of country-mates. We are polarized to a point where the religious right presents the seculars as anti-islam and the seculars on their part denigrate the other side of the divide by considering them outside the fold of general society, and therefore not worthy of any consolidations that would otherwise be commonplace for any fellow citizen. How can national cohesion even be a distant dream in such circumstances???

Despite all other irritants, military dictatorships constitute the biggest tragedy of Pakistan, which have bred these extremist tendencies and divided society to a point where both sides are at logger heads with each other. Military dictatorships, having little grass roots support rely on exacerbating ideological divides in societies to generate bigoted blocs of either extreme whose only concern is the stability of the ruling regime for the perpetuation of its “threatened” values. Islamisation was the war cry in Zia’s time, “enlightened moderation” a bait prepared by Musharraf. Also, besides being a planned goal, ideological rifts are inadvertantly created in societies when force is used by military dictators to enforce their personal inclinations on the society which causes alienation within ideologically divergent segments of the society. More than anything, it is these mantras that we are forced to believe have been revealed onto the chosen ones, that far from initiating a constructive debate deepen rifts by building on animosities. Democratically elected governments cannot afford to rely on brutal force and end up engaging the masses, whatever their inclinations, and engagement has always proved to be an emollient for extremist and violent tendencies. After all, how many Women Protection Bills could Benazir pass in her tenure, despite all the rhetoric only because the Pakistani sentiment, fortunately or unfortunately (requires another debate) could not and still cannot bring itself to terms with such reforms. Media, however can prove to be one of the debating grounds where probably some sort of consensus could be developed.

Besides the obvious need to rethink the military approach to solving all political problems that Pakistan faces, democracy itself besides being a convenient alternative also involves the populace, literally enfranchising them. No doubt even the Indian cart puller shouts Jai Hind, even though the same hindustan forces him to sleep on footpaths; the footpath holds glamor because he shaped it. The realisation of the Rising India dream may not reach him but he’s nevertheless a part of it. The impoverished in Pakistan would definitely not share this enthusiasm with their Indian counterpart. India is in the hands of Indians; Pakistan isn’t. It is and has always been in the clutches of some grade 21 servant of the state, gripped by the task of “redeeming” the nation. Democracy empowers individuals and just the awareness of common goal and aspirations builds on the feeling of nationhood. How wonderful it was to see the same zeal and zest in any city of the country the Chief Justice went to. Today the Paksitanis can actually boast of that struggle, take pride in it. The best thing about the APDM is that all those political parties that were being described as seperatists (another hyperbole to nationalists) are a part of it. But probably, within time we’ll want to move beyond this and involve the common man of this country in a more concrete process; of free and fair elections, of accountability, a time when it will be an accepted norm. If just this struggle can give some common ground to the unharbored diversity of ideology, race and ethnicity, imagine what part democracy could play in building the confidence of this nation.

Maybe some years down the road, our intellectuals, anchor persons and members of civil society in general won’t have to face the predicament of balancing loyalty with conscience. The Shahid Masoods and the Aslam Baigs will be able to denounce military dictatorships with all the moral authority behind their back.

Then will Pakistan really come alive with the potential of the rest of the 160 million people of South Asia.

Also posted on http://chowrangi.com/

Umeed-e-Subh

Pakistan celebrates its 60 years; 60years of broken dreams, of unfulfilled promises, of wasted passions; of quelled voices, of shackled minds; of pretentious religiosity, of “liberated” secularism, of national security, of boots and sherwanis, of the three As (Allah, America and Army), of anything BUT Pakistani (ofcourse considering what it was SUPPOSED to be).

Despite all that, (with JEEWAY PAKISTAN ringing in my background from the master of lies-PTV) I cant help myself swinging with patriotism. Despite PTV forcing me to believe that Musharraf was the best thing that happened to Pakistan, despite being reminded today by Chaudary Nisar that we are still stuck in deciding the role of the army in our country on a TV show today, despite the farcical economic boom being flaunted about, despite my father telling me how he had to pay Rs.10 instead of the regular Rs.5 for a trivial court routine just this very day, despite Mr. Durrani/aka ghalat bayani pretending to be some Paulo Coehlo or the Neitchze of Pakistani politics on a talk show today, despite PTV airing Sadr-e-Pakistan Zindabad as if that’s the most common slogan there is left today in Pakistan, despite the blatant disregard for environmental concerns that I witness everyday and am made to swallow the sight of the eyesore that Islamabad has become at the hands of a bureaucrat, unanswerable to the citizens of Islamabad, despite being reminded of the Lal masjid massacre today as I passed by it, the sorry sight of the debris of Madressah Hafsa with a few policemen enjoying lunch on the back veranda of the mosque, and now despite Musharraf bantering on about the Quaid’s dream and making an utter mockery of his vision of a democratic state, on PTV, I still have hopes.

Wasn’t that us who danced waiting for the caravan of the Chief Justice to catch just one glimpse of him? Why do we forget that some event just a few weeks back caused us all to jump around, distribute sweets as we heard the judgement of the Supreme Court? Afterall, didn’t the judiciary just secure its freedom? Aren’t we, for the first time in the history of Pakistan, hopeful that a military leader will be ousted through legal means? Don’t we believe it now when someone says that emergency and martial law have become orphans in this country?

Today the Pakistani is confident that his voice will finaly be heard; dictatorships will be quashed forever. I am excited because the very first time that I vote, I’ll be voting in a different Pakistan. My very first vote will count. I become legally adult in a rejuvenated Pakistan, in a Pakistan awake with the possibilities that it had set out to achieve. Despite the myriads of problems facing Pakistan, the hope of a democratic future which belongs to all Pakistanis, belies the harbinger in me. Our day is just around the corner. We’ll mend Pakistan. We’ll make it Pakistani.

Happy Independence Day.

(Forgive me for my optimism-probably it has to do with Jeeway Pakistan or the elections or maybe with just the apparent.
Or probably it is proving to be the refuge for the naive in me, desperate for the optimistic note...I like it anyways.)

aur uthay ga anal Haq ka naara,
jo main bi hoon aur tum bi ho.
aur raj karay gi khalq-e-khuda,
jo main bi hoon aur tum bi ho.

Also posted on http://chowrangi.com/

Secular vs Religious TO secular and religious

These days, some very intersting articles are appearing in newspapers in the backdrop of Musharraf-Benazir deal. Most of the seculars and more importantly self proclaimed "liberals", are pro-deal, citing it as the only solution for Pakistan's woes which seem to revolve around the threat posed by extremism. They opine that the current volatile situation of Pakistan demands that moderate, "liberal" forces join hands to sideline the extremists and forge a united stand against them.

So strong is the threat to secularism and liberalism in the country, they say, that democracy can be ignored, its ideals and principles just a banter that should not be allowed to hinder the formation of a "liberal", secular front. Well, then wasn't the religious right justified in its suppport for Zia? For them he was Marde momin, Marde Haq, the saviour of Islam in this vice ridden society of ours. The seculars will be as guilty of denying the common man of Pakistan his right to a democratic setup as were those maulvis in the 80s. They, just like the maulvis of yonder fail to realise that it’s military dictatorships that constitute the biggest tragedy of Pakistan, which have bred these extremist tendencies and polarized the society to a point where the religious right presents the seculars as anti-islam and the seculars on their part denigrate the other side of the divide by considering them outside the fold of general society, and therefore not worthy of any consolidations that would otherwise be commonplace for any fellow citizen. Recently, Abdul Aziz's lawyer went into a heated tirade on a tv show, zealously trying to shout down another analyst who had "sinned" enough to call his client a terrorist. This analyst, on the other hand though showing remarkable restraint, was commenting about these madressah students and their teacher in the same tone as do the American officials about the Guantanamo prisoners-irreconcilable, lunatic brutes who are better kept in protective custody away from general society.

Military dictatorships, having little grass roots support rely on exacerbating ideological divides in societies to generate bigoted blocs of either extreme whose only concern is the stability of the ruling regime for the perpetuation of its "threatened" values. Islamisation was the war cry in Zia's time, "enlightened moderation" a bait prepared by Musharraf. Also, besides being a planned goal, ideological rifts are inadvertantly created in societies when force is used by military dictators to enforce their personal inclinations on the society which causes alienation within ideologically divergent segments of the society. Democratically elected governments cannot afford to rely on brutal force and end up engaging the masses, whatever their inclinations, and engagement has always proved to be an emollient for extremist and violent tendencies. I would further state that even Benazir with all her rhetoric, once in power will be unable to tackle the "extremism" issue, the miliatry way. Afterall, how many Women Protection Bills did she pass in her tenure, only because the Pakistani sentiment, fortunately or unfortunately (requires another debate) could not and still cannot bring itself to terms with such reforms.

It would be better if all the political parties sincerely stepped into the movement ignited by the lawyers and strive for real democracy in Pakistan, which cannot afford any parleys with military heads whose constant intervention in governance created Bangladesh, the Balochistan insurgency, the Waziristan saga and the "red" Islamabad. For all the "liberals" out there, it needs to be understood that democracy is one of the most enlightened discoveries of the human intellect, in social behavior. It is high time Pakistanis had their share too, to amalgmate the secular and the religious, the moderate and the extremist, the right and the left.

and yeah-One has to be free of contradictions to be able to teach children the rules of life, to have anny influence on them. Since that is almost impossible for the fallible beings that we are, one should be able to conceal all those contradictions.

So for all the straight forward OAFS, learn to live with children-learn the art of guile, Doctrine of Necessity (too many, too notorious these days) as you may call it.

:{ I am already feeling sick.

and I am learning.

Learning isn't such a pleasant process afterall.

The identity issue

Yesterday I taught my 4 year old nephew how to write his name. Watching his excitement as he went over the A H M E D mantra over and over again, especially considering his initial unwillingness to sit still for even a few minutes and do something worthwhile with the pencil he had picked up from somewhere, I felt elated at being a part of his first sense of identity. Ofcourse he knew his name, he could recognise it and all, but there must be a special something with being able to put it down on paper where it remains or is atleast more permanent then the "uttered". I dont remember the first time I learnt those four letters that spell ME but wonder if my teacher (whoever it was) had nostalgia creeping over him/her as I jumped around with the excitement of having MYSELF in my grasp, literally at the tip of my fingertips.

I thought I was over-individualistic. God put it in all of us. That 4 yr old's world still revolves around his mother. He is scared of the Jinn-baba. Even his ambitions for tomorrow are filled with his mother and sister-Lolz ("mama and maryam will sit with me in my aeroplane and we'll fly off"). But, despite all that he has a very assertive choice in clothes , in food and ofcourse the future. He has plans ("I am going to buy nana abbu's car (here's the funny part)-when he asks me to"). He has his own personality-he's an individual in his own right and the name probably signifies that liberty from mama and maryam, from nanaabbu, from the domineering khalas (hehe-that's me). He is the son of a man (/woman-sexist ideals of an almost gone by age don't wear off that easily) and all sons (and daughters) of Man are INDIVIDUALS.

These days, I am having a go at disciplining young, impressionable minds. Do I see some faces going up in knots, sarcasm spilling out of some mouths-*GRINS* Lolz...I know it's funny, disciplining and me-I am not that bad though ;)