Astola Island

Astola Island 

here Travelling, especially in the season of winter is something everyone wants to do. A lot of people have long dream lists of different countries that they would like to visit at least once in their lives. During the preparation of these lists, we unfortunately forget the beautiful destinations which exist in our own country. This can be due to various reasons, among which security reasons and lack of exposure are on the top. Whatever the reasons are, we have to admit that we Pakistanis are so highly influenced by western tourist attractions that we completely neglect the wonders that exist within our own country. We have one of the highest mountain peaks in the world, endless deserts and spectacular heritage sites.

Astola Island is one of the spellbinding sites located near Pasni in the Gwadar District of Balochistan. It is also known as satadip or Island of the seven hills. Astola is Pakistan’s largest off-shore island and also the only significant one in the Northern Arabian Sea. The route to Astola starts from Karachi and enters Gwadar through the Makran Coastal Highway. The sub district known as Pasni is where there are motorized boats which take you to the Astola Islands. It takes about 5 hours to reach from Pasni under complete security.

Photographs of this Island will lead you to confuse it with Thailand until someone tells you that the island really does exist in Pakistan. Astola Island is mainly used by fisherman to catch oysters and lobsters. The Island occurs in an isolated location which helped maintain endemic life forms. There is a large breeding of green turtles which is the main attraction for tourists. There are many sea birds found on the Island such as gulls, plovers and sander lings. The remains of an ancient Hindu temple of the Goddess Kali, is also located on the Island. This is the reason why Astola Island is known to Hindus as Satadip. The island also hosts a prayer yard which is dedicated to the Muslim Pir Khawaja Khizr who was said to rule the oceans. Many believe that he occasionally visits the prayer yard to pray. The prayer yard is mostly used by the fisherman in the fishing season which is from September to May.

To promote this beautiful island World Wildlife Fund (WWF) launched a pilot of corporate sector eco-tour programme in 2010 in partnership with its Pakistan Wetlands Programme covering the Makran Coast of Pakistan. The newly launched ECO Travel Programme of WWF-Pakistan aims at exploring sites of ecotourism, provide opportunities to the general public and corporate sector and promote an environment that can sustain the effort in the long term. This programme also aims at raising awareness of corporate sector companies about the conservation needs of the sites of ecotourism. Their understanding and the investment potential of Corporate Social Responsibility Funds.

The main objectives in this regard are to boost tourism, preserve natural hotspots of the country, provide access to rare marine and terrestrial species, develop a sense of responsibility for reducing our ecological footprint, and provide opportunity to solicit support for conservation of the natural resources of Pakistan and community uplift. Attractions which WWF is offering include:

1. Boat rides
2. Exploring
3. Crocodile watching (seasonal)
4. Bird watching (seasonal)
5. Camping
6. Fishing
7. Sports
8. Activities at the beach.

Obama’s and Putin’s Plan

Obama’s and Putin’s Plan

Russian plan to put Syria’s chemical arms under international supervision has baffled US President Obama who is now saying that initiative has the potential to remove the threat of chemical weapons without the use of force. This has cool down the warmongering mood of President Obama as he is virtually looking failed to seek any significant global support to attack on Syria.

Antonio Guterres, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees has said that“A political solution to end this cycle of horror is urgently needed. There is no humanitarian solution to the Syrian crisis. Rather there needs to be a political solution that ends the humanitarian crisis.”

This is the voice of wisdom that has been raised by a UN official in the pounding of war drums by US lawmakers and President Obama who are adamant to conduct punishing military strikes on Syria. The option to attack Syria is so imprudent, premature and risky that no significant ally of USA is in favor except France and Canada whereas a stunning rejection of any military action in Parliament forced Britain, USA devoted and loyal ally, to pull out of any participation in operation to punish Syria for allegedly using chemical weapons. British Premier had to bear a defeat in voting in parliament who was striving hard on behalf of America, Israel and their Arab allies advocating regime change in Syria.

Despite, UN Inspection Team has yet to confirm the allegation of chemical attack is true or false, French President Francois Hollande expressed a warm backing for a possible American operation to hit Damascus regime, saying that “The chemical massacre of Damascus cannot and must not remain unpunished” but reluctant to attack Syria alone. Even Obama Administration has no other reason to strike Syria than use of chemicals weapons are “violation of basic standards of decency.” So far, Washington finds itself alone on strikes but looking for partners in its Syria mission, to form an international coalition that will act together.

What is making USA so hasty to attack Syria?

It is not easy to discover but I can assume that after the struggle of three years and spending heavy amount of Dollars, US fails to topple Bashar regime and support to Bashar is increasing in region whereas no significant opposition has yet come into being to replace Bashar regime. Their security agencies have virtually failed to seek a “rebel” from Bashar’s nearest teammates so it’s a frustration and a sense of humiliation more than wisdom to go to the option of attack on Syria.

What will be the reaction of Russia a great supporter of Bashar-alAsad Regime?

Russia is opposing any military intervention but not yet open how it will react in Syria if US invades. Keeping in view the strategic interest in region, it is expected that Russia will go to last extent to prevent any attack from USA and its recent initiative about Syrian’s chemical weapons may be an attempt to gain time. .

Will UNO allow USA to attack on Syria? Or Will a VETO from Russia or China bring a halt to USA?

In recent pasts, INO has never gone against USA intentions and always gave a path to carry on what USA demanded in Security Counsel. But if this matter is put up in Security Counsel for approval of Resolution to attack on Syria then it is expected that Russia or China can veto that resolution and a cold war will trigger among World’s strong nations until they agree on a mutual interest formula.

I still don’t understand why ousting Bashar will be beneficial for Syria or entire Middle East as there is no alternate leadership or opposition in Syria to take over the power in Damascus. Another point is that, it is the Syrian people who have to decide about their ruler, no outside forces have right to interfere in internal affairs of any country. In such circumstances, the attempts made by anti Bashar forces are nothing but to destroy Syria and put the entire region in fire of war. Those who want to see USA to jump over Syria are the enemy of USA. They want to put USA in a mess where finally a humiliation will be waiting for it.

I don’t think USA leadership and think tank so imprudent – certainly they all will be calculating and estimating the advantages and disadvantages of this adventure but eventually all those will be only estimations before entering into Syria. Once they (USA) are involved inside Syria, who knows what will be dimension of war and its outcomes.  One should not forget about other stake holders of this conflict – I mean Iran, Russia, KSA, Turkey and Israel. All they have their own interests and strategic objectives along side US-led any coalition. Any unexpected and undesired result for any stake-holder can turn the situation in Syria towards a big collision eventually moving towards a massive regional war not restricted within Syria but to other surrounding countries. This is a real threat to the region.

I have not seen any Western report that Syrians are standing against Bashar regime like Hosseni Mubarak in Egypt but if USA attacks Syria then anti-government reaction from masses may break out throughout the Middle East against monarchies supporting USA – that could create another turmoil and a new dimension to Syrian conflict and any that kind of situation would create severe difficulties for USA but would provide Israel a golden opportunity to bring forward its hidden agenda in Middle East that obviously is not possible in era of peace. Every kind of political turmoil and militarily disturbance in Middle East give Israel to move forward strategically that will make the situation more complicating and perhaps uncontrollable.

So as I expressed in my previous Article, military intervention is not a prudent option to resolve Syrian Issue. If USA can think to hold dialogue with Afghan Taliban then a comprehensive dialogue with Bashar regime will provide more meaningful peaceful political solution and stability in Syria. A respectable formula will make the situation easy for every party to think over rather than continue fighting and increasing sufferings of Syrians and hanging in the balance the future of entire region

Children Deserve a Few Tears

Our Children Deserve a Few Tears 

On 15^th December, the horrific murder of twenty children and six adults at a primary school in the U.S state of Connecticut made news headlines globally; it also reignited a raging debate over implementation of gun control and limiting arms sale to the general public. In the aftermath of the tragedy, an emotional Barack Obama shed tears of grief and vouched for meaningful action against an increasingly deadly menace.

Only a parent knows the true love for his or her child, it is one of the greatest gifts that Almighty Allah bestows upon his creation and there is an accompanying exodus of endless bliss and infinite joy. Every child is precious and deserves to be loved, appreciated, nurtured and provisioned for.

In this context, every conscientious human being shares the limitless grief suffered by the parents of the brutally murdered children in Newtown, Connecticut. Yet, there is an utterly befuddling paradox to tackle. When all children are as delicate as flowers, then why does the world shed tears when one set of them is brutally maimed and keeps criminally silent when another set is ravaged by bombs and drone attacks?

Why can’t Obama shed a single tear for a mutilated child in Gaza, Kabul or North West Pakistan? Is it because it is his hand that presses the missile trigger? Or were these children harboring some kind of a militant and anti-occupation intent?

On the 17^th of December, George Monbiot wrote a fabulously though provoking article in the Guardian, entitled “In the U.S, mass child killings are tragedies. In Pakistan, mere bug splats”. The term bug splats according to the author, first appeared in a rolling stone magazine report, and is used by the drone operators to label their victims. He also referred to a meticulously compiled; first hand researched report entitled “living under drones” released by the law schools at Stanford and New York universities.

This report makes for an eye opening and gut wrenching read, “from June 2004 through mid-September 2012, 474-881 civilians including 176 children were killed by drone strikes in Pakistan”.Evidence collected from extensively conducted primary research also reported wide spread hysteria and psychological trauma amongst the civilian populous as a result of twenty four hour hovering of drones. Ironically, in the first three years of the mellow hearted Barack’s presidency, 297-569 civilians including atleast 64 children were killed by drone strikes in Pakistan.

Not even Ban Ki Moon at the U.N shed a single tear of grief for them, perhaps these are children not made of flesh and blood, not made of twinkling eyes and crystalized laughter and boundless energy. Perhaps their parents didn’t wail and cry in utter despair and lost all meaning and hope that constitutes this ultimate gift of life.

Having said that; moaning and lamenting about the world not feeling our pain is a fruitless endeavor, as there are countless people amongst us who defend the collateral damage by arguing that these drone strikes also kill militants. In the process, they conveniently ignore the fact that a disgruntled victim might become the next suicide attacker and kill more innocent civilians in return, thus completing a vicious cycle of death that has no seeming end in sight.

To us the death of someone else’s child is an acceptable exception. We only choose to grieve for the killings that are widely reported and lamented in the media. This is not surprising for a country like Pakistan, where fifty precious lives maybe lost in a day yet hardly a soul sheds a tear or asks a question.

Our leaders non apparent vision may be blinded by their corruption laden, power crazy antics. But how come a U.S president who is a Harvard Law school graduate and seemingly embedded with all the intellect and vision in the world resort to such blatant double standards?

A few tears for our children too Mr. President!

Dogs and Indians Not Allowed

“Dogs and Indians Not Allowed”?

Clubs, as they are called, are for the elite. For those who can afford to be members. They should either be able to buy the memberships worth hundreds of thousands of rupees. Or, they should be spoilt rotten by multi-national companies who are willing to give them these memberships as the ultimate status symbols. Depending on the person’s financial standing, he has a membership in the upper rung elite clubs. And even among these elite clubs, there are levels and rankings. To attend the Annual Ball of the top most club, or to be able to mention that “I go to such and such club’s gym” is a social statement in itself. One has to go through a rigorous process of interviews and recommendations and what not to get admitted into these cliques.

Acceptable, somewhat, to this point. Go ahead and enjoy what you have earned, and flaunt it if you must. That, though, would be another debate as to what this flaunting does to the collective psyche of a nation that already grapples with economic disparity that is unprecedented in its own history.

So to this point, ok. People have to live with certain facts of life. Elitist mentality is one of those facts of life. But to everything, there have to be limits. And the list of rules outside certain clubs and specially their dining areas go beyond these limits.

To begin with, the dress codes. While women can come in any shabby unkempt state wearing the national dress (which, I think, is good because who can forever look like the Kardashians). But the men cannot come wearing a Kurta Shalwar unless they are wearing a waistcoat over it. So if you happen to go to this club, they will politely tell you to leave or lend you an over-sized waistcoat worn by countless other unfortunate souls who have found themselves in a similar predicament. A casual polo tee is apparently more “respectable” compared to the national dress. Sneakers are accepted in a certain club, but not Kolhapuri chappals or sandals without straps. In a nutshell, if you MUST wear the desi garb, take those stiff-collared waistcoats out of the closet (pun intended). Also, jeans are not allowed, but a dilapidated pant might be allowed.

Some might argue that the dress coding is indicative of simply the fact the clubs want to maintain certain decorum and a certain ambience. But the whole exercise reeks of a psyche not so simplistic. If something wildly provocative that might be offensive to certain sensibilities is prohibited, it would be understandable. But shalwar kameez and Kolhapuris? This is our indigenous dress that we are talking about. And this attitude of the clubs goes towards reinforcing the “gora complex” that has inherently been passed down in generations as a cultural aftermath of the Colonial era.

The rules like not smoking or not using mobile phone are still acceptable. But when it writes, specifically, that “maid servants are not allowed”, I inwardly cringe each time at this blatant show of imperialism in our society where a social hierarchy is carefully maintained. Any change that threatens to topple elitism is not welcomed by the crème de la crème of the social pyramid.

Whom are we to blame for this? The administrations of certain clubs that were formed in the Colonial era are milking the exclusivity they offer. This benefits the market value of the clubs. So it is not just the food and the sports facilities they are offering. What they are offering is that sense of smug satisfaction which people get when they announce which club they are a member of. I have personally had an educated girl say to me “what is wrong with these clubs? They are giving memberships to every Tom, Dick and Harry. Why, now even Sindhis get memberships! Har kisee ko de dete hain.” I cannot forget the look on her face when I casually mentioned that I am, in fact, a Sindhi.

Clubs, per se, are great facilities. Particularly in an unsafe city like Karachi where our children can no longer safely play on the roadside, clubs offer these safe havens. Food is good and reasonable. Sports facilities and other services are all available within the walls of the clubs. It is a luxury that is a need.

The problem begins when the acquisition of this luxury (or need) becomes a reason for us to look down upon others or to marginalize certain parts of society. It is time we rose above such complexes. The dress that is a distinctive sign of being Pakistani is acceptable and honorable. And the woman who is good enough to cook my bread and take care of my child surely deserves more respect than being categorically forbidden from entering an elite ghetto. The clubs will change their rules according to my and your attitudes. It is time.

I stopped my wife,,,,,...............!

I stopped my wife,,,,,...............!

I got married to my colleague in 2007, yes I married a working woman (no millions in guessing I am walking on murky waters).

The two leading newspapers of our time have been running endless blogs/articles where the miserable plight of the working woman is rigorously highlighted. How her typical Pakistani mentality husband has enslaved her within the Chaar- Deewaari of her house, how she is confined to a dish washing, bread making and baby chunking machine, how he makes her beg for pennies and, yes, the mother in law and Nandhs are always there to make her resemble the captive of a holocaust concentration camp. She was educated and had a shiny career, a life, an identity and was no lesser talented than her other half. With marriage all seems lost, staying at home becomes the ultimate disrespect.

Before I move on, let me clear out that I am no male chauvinist who wants to undermine the importance of working women in society. I am only here to tell the male version of this grave tale.

The arguments and plights sung in these articles for sure make music in my house, reading such lines my wife turns bitter, all the politeness and affection vanishes away like the K-electric claims and I brace myself for a long lecture on how I took away the essence of her life.

“My falah falah friend is doing this, coming on TV, going into commercials and here I am with lost confidence and identity. I can’t even look up and face people like I used to in the good old days.” (I assume all this sounds much familiar to my married friends).

Back in 2007 I asked my wife to stop working well before we tied the knot. Just why did I do it? Frankly, I don’t have one answer. Maybe I couldn’t digest the idea of her intermingling with male co-workers but that’s something I still enjoy doing. Maybe I was brought up in a house where I saw my mom battle the housework while father greyed his hair in search of work. Or maybe I wanted someone to take care of, someone to pamper, someone to love and perhaps wanted someone to look to me for all her needs. I still don’t know.

Women of Today’s Pakistan should be thankful to their stars, although a huge number still continue to face various social doldrums in our society, but to be brutally honest a large proportion enjoys much more freedom and workplace equality than they ever did in our history. We have had women bank presidents, media gurus, sports sprinters, spokeswomen for foreign office, law experts, pilots and the list is endless. In truth, one cannot find much wrong with this empowerment.

Agreed, I am a bad boy, I stopped my wife from working and by now all women NGO’s and fire-fighters hate me. Now please relax, take a sip of your well-brewed tea and listen to my defence. I would however, leave the honey-bee nest of Saas-Bahu-Bhabhi-Nandh untouched and allow the women to discover truce themselves.

I, like most Pakistani boys, ok ok men, sounds better, who belong to middle class educated families have been taught to respect and love their wives. We have seen our fathers do that their entire lives. From the day we bring that beautiful girl we madly fall in love into our lives, she becomes the central figure in our universe. What ever we earn, our prime objective is to give her the best we can afford. Yes we are not landlord material, we earn a respectable income and have to balance it out amongst family members, but come any occasion (Eid, Marriage, Milad) our wives are the first beneficiaries. I can bet dozens of my friends have bought glittering suits for their other halves this Eid and willingly compromised with used or ordinary dresses for themselves.

If we are not letting wives work doesn’t translate into our being disrespectful to them. We hate to see them chunk a heavier check or slam them in a dungeon. It’s just that our minds haven’t been trained to accept the change instantaneously. Asking you not to work, stay home and take care of our next generation is just our way of saying that we love, respect and cherish your presence in our homes.

Some women love it while others don’t, still the winds of change are already here. In 2007, I was just 27 and not too naive to think about the consequences, but as I grew older and wiser I realised that work life is important for my sweetheart and its time that I become a bit flexible. So much so that I have offered her to switch roles for a while.

As of today, I am the biggest supporter of women going out to earn while men take care of home, trust me I have done it myself and life rocks. With 10 cooking channels on your tele, you have the chance to make easy and mouthwatering delicacies each day and become the darling of your kids. Take them to playgrounds each evening gives you fitness incentives and yes that occasional homework is just a piece of cake. Trust me its much easier than negotiating the crazy traffic on roads, office politics and the worry of putting enough food on the table. Let the women take care of it while we relax and admire Turkish beauties on TV. Your friends might find this denting their machismo but once they see you in comfy bermudas all day long with that carefree smile, you will soon have admirers and followers.

The famous novelist Appa Bano Qudsia had said that a happy marriage is all about understanding and compromise. While men today need to understand and open up to the idea that more and more women simultaneously want a house and income, women need to stop looking at men as oppressors and dictators if we are to save the marriage institution. Otherwise just look to the west and you will need to look no further.

Studying not-so-hard,But.....!

Studying not-so-hard,But.....!

Today, we had a senior doctor specially invited to lecture us on the Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation. Holding our hearts, we sat on our chairs in the creepy lecture-hall in anticipation of learning new things from this celebrated personality. He was a humble man in his 50s – soft-spoken, always ready to explain.

 
While he was demonstrating the procedure, my four classmates came in the hall with disposable Gloria Jean’s Coffee cups in their hands. They rushed in, looked at the now-quiet doctor and hurriedly took their seats on the last row. The doctor digressed from the main topic and now talked about his own university days.

His face clearly showed waves of nostalgia rushing through him. He said, “Seems like you party out a lot, huh? I try to recall one time when I went out during my days and I can’t.” He smiled.

Then he suddenly said, “Oh yeah, I see. My colleagues once insisted me to give them a treat after getting my first research published. But I didn’t know how to give a treat” He laughed, almost chuckled. “So I took them to a local restaurant. We sat down in a silent, sweet disposition thinking about what to do and how to ‘party’. I ordered some kind of soup, seeing that I had enough money to pay for it. We sat there eating our food awkwardly, making sure we knew all our table manners. That is all we had for a treat.”

We grinned at him. “And now, those cups remind me about how much things have changed.” He pointed to the back of the hall. We all laughed away while he composed himself again to continue with the lecture.

Thinking about his words now, I too agree that university life has drastically changed. Apart from learning how to sleep skillfully during lectures or flatter the professor to get an extension on an assignment, we have also set many false standards. One of them is hanging-out.

All the year, all students tried and failed to maintain a crazy balance between studying and partying. Just at the start of session, all new-comers were planning and running out to hang-out like unleashed horses in a race only to “celebrate” that start of first year.

Then came birthdays of our colleagues. Almost every week, I got the news that my two colleagues have birthdays coming and half of my class was busy planning up a grand party for them either in the premises of university or outside at some awesome place.

When I logged into my social network account, the news-feed buzzed with the talks of the birthday girl or boy and the pictures captured that day. It’s fun and so absorbing that I myself, at times, got busy typing comments and hitting likes and buying gifts to wish belated birthdays. But soon I learned that partying aside; we students need to understand how to successfully juggle study and party with both hands.

I got to gradually observe some norms of university life, such as, if you don’t hang-out often with your chums, you are uncool. And if you spend excessive hours leafing through library books, you are what-they-call a nerd. If a new restaurant opened up nearby and you haven’t been there yet, are you living on the moon, like seriously?

When I had my birthday, I too went out with my group of buddies for the cake-cut ceremony. I was shocked to see so many of my university mates at the food court that at first, I thought the whole pack of them was secretly invited to join us. It was only later that my friends corrected me and said that they all had come on their own for their own reasons.

Blaming this hanging-out trend entirely would be wrong, but it surely is to be partly blamed for the fact that a lot of students flunk their semester exams eventually. While those who get away with a sad C or D – hallelujah! They just got another reason to ‘celebrate’ their not-flunking.

We, as mature students, need to learn that all play and no work is no sensible equation. Also, keeping our pocket-money in consideration, we should not act rash and party out recklessly. Perhaps, a lot among us cannot say no to a party-plan because they are afraid that they will lose their friends or will be tagged as uncool. But it’s high time that we should chalk out our own priorities rather than nodding a yes at every plan.

But yes, one good party for one good reason to get a break from tight-deadlines and burdensome studies is well-deserved. Let us never forget that!

News Channel in Pakistan

THE Tune-into any News Channel in Pakistan these days, you will watch and listen to nothing new but the same old breaking news, same faces, same speeches, sentences, deadlines, threats, demands at the same timings and at the same places.

The on-going DHARNA fiasco has been the central point of all news channels and the hot topic of all talk shows for the past 23 days. The wheel of the news programming is divided into three main segments i.e. Parliament speeches in morning time-slots, talk shows in noon/evening and the live Dharna sessions at night slots. Whereas, the news bulletins focusing all of the above are run throughout the day and night.

It is a fact that the on-going political crisis has significantly increased the eye-balls on almost all news channels and the viewership from the entertainment has shifted to news genre to great extent. Therefore, the cameras and reporting teams of these news channels are busy in covering special Azaadi and Inquilaab March transmissions 24/7. Whilst these transmissions going on, some of the channels must be charging premium from their advertisers and whereas, some news channels might even be sacrificing their revenues by dropping the commercial airtime in order to provide continuous coverage to the Dharna sessions because during such scenarios of live speeches and coverage, the broadcasters often avoid taking commercial breaks and thus lose business.

May it be PAT, PTI or the Parliamentarians or ruling bodies, everyone should be thankful to media and give credit to these news channels who are giving them more than enough coverage to spread their messages to the masses. It would not be an understatement if we say that Media is the actual strength of all the stakeholders here. If all these channels move their cameras away and stop giving them coverage, the situation will diffuse itself not within days but few hours. But, to our surprise, the batons, sticks and stones are now being used to attack the media. Consequently, some media channels have boycotted the coverage and some might have turned against these parties.

It all began with the harassing of the reporters and cameramen of Geo News by angry supporters of PTI due to the clash and boycott of PTI against Geo/Jang Group. They struck DSNG vans of Geo News with batons and had later barged into the offices of Geo, The News and Jang in Islamabad and pelted their building with stones.

Here, PAT couldn’t stay away and on September 1, 2014, the protestors armed with the sticks stormed the state-run channel, PTV, trashed their office and hindered their transmission by damaging the equipment and cutting off the wires in the control room. Later, the army had to step-in to expel the protestors and to clear the building.

However, it didn’t stop here. The Punjab Police have also joined this race of attacking on the media and crossed all limits. Around 28 journalists, cameramen and media workers were injured in an attack by Punjab police in Islamabad during the riots at Dharna. Police did not ruthlessly beat up the media workers including reporters, cameramen, DSNG Operators & Engineers and Drivers, but also damaged the satellite vans of a number of news channels.

Besides, one of the news channels had also reported that their team was attacked by few PTI protestors for recording Women abuse Scene at PTI Dharna. The protestors broke the camera and DV and also assaulted the team and threatened them. Another channel had reported that PTI workers had attacked its 4 crew members. They were brutally beaten by many workers of PTI with batons, punches and chairs.

All of the above incidents are on record and displayed by all these news channels. This has led to an extreme insecurity being faced by most of the media personnel.

I put a question to the torch-bearers of “Revolution” and “Change”… Does beating up the media workers and attacking the media houses do any good to you in your quest to bring about ‘Revolution’ and ‘Change’? I also want to ask the patrons of security (Police) whether beating up the media persons help you establish law and order or does it further aggravate the situation? At the end of the day, the journalists and media workers are just performing their duties.

Azadari in Muharram?

Azadari in Muharram?

Contrary to the popular belief by some who assert that holding Majlis is a rather contemporary tradition, the first Majlis-e-Hussain (AS) was organized by his sister Syeda Zainab (AS) whose veil was torn off by the assassins Prophet’s (PBUH) grandson.

Who is not aware of the history of Karbala? – of the tragic incident that took place after 60 years of the death of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Dialectics behind Karbala need no glossing over, but what does need to be highlighted is its influence on people over centuries’ span. From languages to countries, from styles to rituals, the Azadari transformed a lot and now while living in Virginia I’m conveniently listening the lectures and “Marsiyas” in English., at my own place.

Currently, people in all parts of the world are seen mourning for Imam Hussain’s death in destitution. The journey of Azadari traveled with his sister from Damascus to Karbala and to Medina. She returned with some family members which includes son and grandson of Imam HussainAS. His son and grandsons always encouraged the performance of Azadari but in their time it was performed in utmost secrecy as the regime was opposed to any remembrance of Karbala.

In 350s AH an Islamic scholar Sheikh As-Suduq became the first person after family of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) who started reciting extempore on Karbala’s history to his students. His students used to write his lectures to share it further in the community.  The first ever procession took place in 351 AH in Baghdad and Egypt, when hundreds of men, women and children gathered on the roads beating their chests and weeping for Imam HussainAS. The recitation of elegies started from there and became the part of Azadari, and then Azadari started with an entirely different style. Tamerlane, the founder of Timurid dynasty, introduced the institution of (Taboot and Alam) the icons of flags and coffins of Imam HussainAS.

Under the rule of Tamerlane’s grandson in central Asia, the Azadari went to sub-continent and deep rooted in the hearts of Muslims. Lucknow, one of the most developed, cultural cities of India, became the center of Azadari where many Indian poets started writing Marsiyas or eulogies in the remembrance of Karbala. These eulogies touched the peak by the hands of a famous poet Mir Baber Ali Anees. With Mir Baber many poets like Mir Moonis, Salamat Ali Dabeer, Mir Zameer, Ali Haider Tabatabai and Dr. Syed Ali Imam Zaidi wrote eulogies. In the earlier days, speakers and reciters used to read the eulogies and this is how Azadari started in Hindi or Urdu.

According to Muntazir Mehdi, the History Professor, in the era of 1930s, Maulana Sibte Hassan was the first to introduce Azadari in the form of lectures in Urdu and the mourners included eulogies, lectures, Nauhas (eulogies while beating chests) in one Majlis.

The people, who migrated from Arab and sub-continent to the Western world, started Azadari-HussainAS with the same style as they adopted in back homes. For many years, immigrants relied on the original eulogies (Marsiyas, nauhas) of their languages. But the second generations of immigrants who were born in West and whose original language was English were facing issues grasping the complexity of allegories, idioms and metaphors of other languages.

Therefore, parents of that generation started transferring the Azadari’s material in English. They started translating the Marsiyas of Mir Anees and many Persian elegies. Ali Abbas, an English Nauha writer and reciter from Maryland told me, “9 years ago, a scholar from London said to me that English has global reach, and has potential of influencing people of all communities; therefore, poetry in English will convey the pathos of the tragedy of Karbala more effectively.” He said, “Since then I am writing one Nauha every year”.

Ammar Nakshwani, a renowned scholar from London, said that Azadari in English brings Shiite community of different countries under one roof; English Azadari unites people of all countries and spread the message more effectively to other communities.

Ali Abbas believed that imam Hussain’s message is universal and his influence has truly been global as well. While quoting the example of Gandhi; when Gandhi took 72 people in his nonviolent protest against British Raj to mimic Imam Hussain’s 72 companions in Karbala; said that even those who don’t understand the religious significance of it relate it with personal courage, integrity, patience and sacrifice.

Now the youth who is born and raised in West is writing Nauhas on western rhythm which is a way of understanding the responsibilities of learning and teaching Azadari. The trend of writing elegies in English is growing but it will take time, but this transformation has proven one thing that Azadari will grow in different languages and countries. The way it has spread, many say that this is the miracle of Imam HussainAS that how everyone recalls his sacrifices every year in Muharram in different languages.

Needs to Tell the Story Right

Needs to Tell the Story Right

It is a battle for ideas, narratives and tales.

HERE ,Get your story straight. Get your story right. Even if halfway through you realize that you have chosen the wrong side or perhaps the less profitable one, don’t panic. All is not lost. Get up, brush yourself off and get your act together. Be better prepared and equipped to make a come-back that flashes through the dust of time. Present a story that sticks, a narrative that gels well with the stakeholders, and a tale that grapples the audience. Anything ranging from a heart wrenching confession from the past to an optimistic commitment for the future would work to excuse your behavior. The trick is to make it convincing to a level that the audience is completely and utterly drunk on the idea. And boom! You work is done. You’re back in the game.

The problem with Pakistan is that it has never been able to define a narrative for itself and even when it has; it never stuck with it long enough so that it settled with the public or with the international community. Case in point: Failure of project Jinnah which aimed at creating a positive image of Jinnah and ended up sparking an infuriating debate about the difference between Jinnah’s ideologies and actions.

We as a nation have been marred with a benign disease: the curse of confusion. A confusion that has deadened our spirits, scared our ideology, paralyzed our thinking, crippled our state machinery and blinded our public. From the question of the reason for the creation of Pakistan to its current status on terrorism to its future goals, we have been confused about everything. We don’t have to look far for examples; our frequent experiments with religion throughout our history provide a glaring testimony to that.

The only good thing out of this manifested confusion is that it provides a lot of grey area for our political leaders to move around. They secretly guard their loyalties and never openly declare who their friends or foes are. This provides them with ample room to get cozy with one, sleep with another and all along, flirt with all the available partners. It is a good gameplay for as long as it works but we have worn out our cards and exhausted this strategy. We have shifted our sides’ one too many times and there is a limit to how many times you can go back to your old partner without butchering your soul and completely diminishing your self-esteem. There comes a time, when those around you figure out your game and refuse to mingle with you anymore. Pakistan is at that stage of abandonment.

What changed?

The magnetic surge of internet and the subsequent boom of social networks have changed the way politics is done in the country. It has disposed immense amount of power at the disposal of the public. Anyone with a strong argument is immediately bought forward in the spot light and is made a stakeholder in the political arena. The already existing players are more vocal than ever and their differences are highlighted, magnified, and painted in the color of controversy by the rating (read profit) starved media. Couple up this entire mixture of variables with a heightened civic sense of the community and you’ll get the current state of affairs of Pakistan. The government is facing exuberant amount of pressure from all sides to clearly define its stance on issues of national and international importance. Pakistan has to realize the dangers of continuing with the war on terror in its narrative-less state. This is not a sustainable policy and if not rectified, it will backlash soon.

We have to make a decision, pick a side and then stick with it. We can’t continue to harbor the enemies while simultaneously condemn attacks on girls like Malala Yousafzai. We can’t make under table agreements to support drone attacks yet spread anti-American sentiments on the public front. We can’t let statements like that of Munawar Hassan discredit the efforts of hundreds and thousands of people who have lost their lives in this battle. You can’t have your cake and eat it too. The sooner Pakistan realizes this better it will be otherwise, it is only a matter of time till the catastrophic consequences of sharing the bed with both the enemy and the friend will take a toll on the health of the nation

License to Kill

license to kill

Karachi’s posh areas which remain immune to violence that devours scores of innocent lives every now and then do have a grotesque aspect of their relatively calm streets where big egos and arrogance eat human lives.

Here we don’t see heartless murderers, known only as target killers, unleashing death and then vanishing into the dingy streets of the city which is now home to at least 20 million people rather children of some influential people calling the shots with ultimate impunity.

We had hardly emerged from the tragedy that left 25-year old Shahzeb dead by a feudal’s arrogant son, Shahrukh Jatoi, a son of top police officer settles scores with a guy by leaving him dead after breaking into his residence this time around.

The news left me flabbergasted that a teen has killed another in DHA over some petty issue, which is still unknown due to some unknown reasons, while a poor policeman also lost his life in the ‘private’ exchange of fire that took place at the deceased’s bungalow.

The ‘killer’ who is 18-year-old along with five police guards of his father had ambushed the victim at his bungalow while he was preparing for his A-level exam. The attacker student also got injured in retaliatory fire by the victim’s guards.

Alright…we are at logger heads with each other…I don’t agree with you and so, you deserve a bullet! Is this the kind of moral training these kids are getting at home?

Or they think this is probably the best solution to every problem…even to a petty matter. Or they believe they will escape the claws of the law by committing such heinous crime.

Whatever it is, Shahzeb’s case has something that answers the question to some extent.

The entire nation was waiting for the justice to be served after vigorous campaign on social media and then main stream media for DSP Aurangzeb Khan’s slain young son.

And finally after six months it was served in the form of death sentence to the two key accused.

Sharukh Jatoi, the person at the centre of the episode chanted “Hum Jeet Gaye” and flashed victory sign to the TV cameras shortly after coming out of court room following his death sentence along with his aide.

The victory sign and “We won” was the answer to the abovementioned questions. His smile, mocking the nation, was due to the lacunas in the existing laws or their implementation. Though he is still behind the bars after being pardoned by the parents of the deceased as the court upheld his sentence, we doubt the accused will ever get punishment for his crime.

This abuse of power didn’t end here. Had speedy justice put fear of God in children of the powerful and the rich, another equally brutal murder of Hamza would not have happened following Shahzeb’s killing.

Hamza Ahmed, an O-level student, was killed allegedly by the guard of a fellow student, Shoaib Naveed who was the son of a businessman, outside a restaurant in DHA Phase-II on April 27 over a petty issue.

Provided the impunity with which such murders are committed, the already grim situation is likely to prevail, but the questions that batter my mind are… where are we heading now? Have they got the license to kill and while all this is happening, what are our lawmakers and law enforcers doing to curb the existence of such episodes, as most of them hint towards their own houses?

The police who have been running a campaign against illegal weapons in other parts of the city will ever dare to check the easy availability of heavy weapons to the kids of law enforcers.

Will our lawmakers, who are quick to introduce laws, ever bother to get them equally implemented for the poor and the rich?

Shahzeb, Hamza and Suleman Lashari’s murders are different to some extent from the other murders in the city as they point to the confidence of young murderers who draw it from the money, power and vulnerability of our law.

This nauseating mindset and trend need to be reversed at once. And it is not just the government, the laws or police that is responsible to get this job done. It is the society at large that must come forward to do what it must to set its course right.