Friday, 27 April 2012
تازہ بستیاں
مان لیتے ہیں کہ حکومت اپنے کام میں بری طرح سے ناکام ہے۔ اس کی وجہ نااہلی ہو، کرپشن ہو ، بددیانتی ہو یا ان سب کا مرکب، سوال یہ اٹھتا ہے کہ اپنی اور اپنے اردگرد کے لوگوں کی حالت زار کو بدلنے کے لئے میں نے اور آپ نے کیا کیا؟ بے مراد حکومت سے ہر شکوہ بجا کہ وہ وسائل مملکت کے رکھوالے ہیں، مگر پیہم ان کی کاوش بے ثمر پر اشکباری کرنے یا گلی کوچوں میں واویلا اور توڑ پھوڑ سے نہ اب تک کچھ سدھرا ہے اور نہ آگے سدھرنے کی توقع ہے۔ یہ دنیا دارالعمل ہے یہاں بن بیج کے برگ وبر نہیں ہوتےبن کوشش قومیں کیونکر سدھر سکتی ہیں۔
اب ایک ذرا سی مثال سے معاملہ صاف ہو جاتا ہے۔ ہم آئے روز مہنگائی کا رونا تو رو لیتے ہیں کیونکہ یہ عمل سے نسبتا سہل راستہ ہے۔ مگر ہم میں سے کتنے اپنے زور بازو پر بھروسہ کر کے اس مسلئے کا ایسا حل نکالتے ہیں جو نہ صرف ہمارے لئے بلکہ ہمارے اردگرد کے لوگوں کے لئے بھی مفید ہو۔ دوسری جنگ عظیم کے بعد انگلستان میں غذا کی شدیدقلت ہوئی تو حکومت نے لوگوں کو اپنے گھروں میں، صحنوں میں حتی کہ کھڑکیوں میں سبزیاں اور پھل اگانے کا حکم دیا۔ نتیجہ یہ کہ نہ صرف غذائی قلت قابو میں رہی بلکہ لوگوں میں خودانحصاری کا جذبہ بھی پیدا ہوا۔ جاپان میں لوگ اپنے گھر کے آگے کا معمولی سا حصہ بھی رائیگاں نہیں جانے دیتے اور کچھ نہ کچھ سلاد وغیرہ اگا لیتے ہیں۔
پاکستان میں بالعموم اور بڑے شہروں میں بالخصوص ہمیں اپنے ماحول اور قدرتی وسائل سے جنگ کرنے کی عادت ہے۔ رہائش سے لے کر خوراک اور پوشاک تک ہر شے چن کر وہ جسے ہمارےماحول سے دور کا واسطہ تو کیا مکمل ضد ہے۔گھروں کے ڈیئزائن کو دیکھیں تو پہلے ہم انہیں پکی اینٹوں اور کونکریٹ سے تنوروں کی طرز پر تعمیر کرتے ہیں اور پھر انڈسٹریل سائز کی مشینوں سے انہیں ٹھنذا کرنے کی فکر میں لگے رہتے ہیں۔ حالانکہ انسولیشن اورگرم و سرد ہوا کے فطری طرز عمل کو کام میں لا کر ہم گھروں کو گرمیوں میں ٹھنڈا اور سردیوں میں گرم رکھ سکتے ہیں۔ اور اتنی بات تو ہزاروں سال پہلے کا انسان بھی جاھتا تھا کہ گرم ماحول میں ہلکے رنگوں کے کھلے اور سوتی کپڑے مفید ہوتے ہیں۔ جینز آلودہ اور کوٹ ذدہ لوگوں کو مگر کون بتائے۔ ہم مذہب کا ویسے تو بہت نام لیتے ہیں مگر سادگی، قناعت اور فطرت سے ہم آہنگی کا سبق پتہ نہیں کیوں بھول جاتے ہیں۔ زندگی میں مثبت تبدیلی اپنے وسائل بڑھانے سے نہیں اپنی خواہشات کو قابو میں رکھنے سے آتی ہے۔
دراصل جن گھمبیر مسائل سے ہم دوچار ہيں طرز فکر اور طرز عمل میں بنیادی تبدیلی کے بغیر ان سے نپٹنا ممکن نہیں۔ یہ ٹھیک ہے کہ ارباب اختیار کی نا اہلی اور کرپشن سنگین مسائل ہیں مگر در حقیقت اصل خرابی خود ترحمی کے اس انداز فکر کی ہے جو اپنی حالت خود سدھارنے کی بجائے ہر کام خدا اور پھر ان مصلحت کوش حکمرانوں پر ڈال کر بری الذمہ ہو جاتا ہے۔ مثال کے طور پر بجلی کی قلت کے جن مسائل کا ہمیں سامنہ ہے اس کےپیش نظر ہم3سب کو اجتماعی، انفرادی اور رضاکارانہ طور پر ہر اس مشینری، ہر اس آلے اور ہر اس عادت سے پرہیز کرنا پڑے گا جو توانائی کے بے جا استعمال کا باعث ہیں۔ گرمیوں سے بچاؤ کی قدرتی تدابیر اختیار کریں۔ ہلکے رنگوں کے سوتی لباس، درختوں اور پودوں کی فراوانی گرمی کے اثر کو کم کرتے ہیں۔ گھروں کی بیرونی دیواروں پر سفید اور ہلکے رنگوں کی قلعی کريں، برآمدوں میں چقیں استعمال کریں۔ باہر کی دیواروں پر بیلیں چڑھانے سے قدرتی انسولیشن ہو گی۔ گروں کی چھتوں پر سبزیاں اگانے سے دوہرا فائدہ ہوگا اول گھر کی سبزیاں اور دوم انسولیشن۔ بارش کے پانی کے ضیاع کو روکنے کے لئے پرنالوں سے پائپ لگا کر اسے ذخیرہ کریں اور اپنے پودوں کو پانی دیں۔ جب ہم اپنے قدرتی وسائل کو بروئےکار لا کر قناعت پسندانہ زندگی جینے کا ہنر پا جائیں گے تب ہی اپنی آنے والی نسلوں کو ہم اس قیمتی متاع سے روشناس کر پائیں گے۔
Sunday, 7 September 2008
Sheep...
It’s not the fact that Zardari won the presidential vote that surprised me - that much was expected, it was the reaction of the ‘public’ that took me aback. For a moment I thought this was another place not Pakistan. The blast in NWFP and the scenes of jubilation in Lahore, Nawab Shah, Karachi and the rest of the eastern cities crystallised in an instant what is wrong with this country. Pakistan has never been a homogenous entity bar from the odd cricketing success mainly over India. However the divisive rift has never been more pronounced and dangerous as yesterday - of course an attitude that has developed over time and accentuated over the recent past.
As I looked on in disgust at the celebrations going on into the night I wondered what happened to the ‘atta’ crises, the judiciary crises and the sky rocketing cost of living. The ‘general’ public seemed surprisingly chipper for citizens of a country at war and under attack from NATO and its own misguided forces and militants. Are they hallucinating and simply hysterical, I thought? Leaders are merely a microcosm for the rest of the nation so it’s pointless criticising them. If anyone should be criticised it’s the people of Pakistan who for too long have allowed themselves the luxury to leave it to God.
I couldn’t help but ponder at the irony of ‘defence’ day coinciding with events ongoing both in the capital and up north. If the martyrs of ‘65 were still alive they will surely feel we are more defenceless today than back then. The nuclear capability far from being a deterrent has become a liability. NATO forces bomb and attack our land at will and we feel obliged to keep the supply routes open to them. The puppet government in Afghanistan has the audacity to threaten us with pre-emptive action against ‘our’ problem of militancy and infiltration.
The power wrangling amongst the politicians amounts to little more than petty criminals quarrelling over the crumbs from their master, while he clears off the real booty. The access to deep sea waters from the oil rich central Asian region goes in a straight line through Afghanistan, NWFP and Balochistan. The latter is also a useful deterrent to that ‘naughty’ nation of Iran next door (who also provide a direct route to the warm waters!) and a check post for the exploits further to the east towards Tharparker and the coal reserves. A unified, strong and above all austere and independent Pakistan is a great obstacle indeed. Sadly our ‘leaders’ are doing all they can to facilitate a ‘smooth’ transition to a solution by alienating our own countrymen, strengthening the tribal lords and joining forces with the foe to root out any real chance of resistance once the plan is put into action.
One can almost hear the rhetoric that’s about to be repeated. War on terror is sure to feature as is liberation of the Pakhtun and Baloch from tyranny and docile existence; the panacea of real change and integration into the way of life of the civilised world etc. It is of course easy to blame everything on the ‘American Conspiracy’ – this unfortunately has connotations of an institutional and nationalist movement by the Americans to do harm to people around the world. The truth of course is much more sinister, this is corporate warfare – the demonic face of capitalism that has truly gone astray. For if it was for the American people then the plight of the millions of American families who go hungry every day will have been alleviated by the ‘American Administration’ and the enormous and widening gap between the rich and poor in the USA would’ve been narrowed. It’s not the ‘nation’ as a whole that is at play here. It’s through the hands of the big corporations and institutions that the invisible arm of power flexes its muscles. It’s the philosophy of profiteering at all costs that transcends borders, nationalities and even faith to corrupt the proponents of this philosophy - blinding them from the realities of human suffering as a consequence.
We know from the Holy Scriptures and authentic history that nations and philosophies like this have always existed throughout the chequered history of mankind. The lifecycle follows a similar pattern as well. Popular sentiment of a group of people is first galvanised with ideologies and concepts that strike a chord with the impoverished. Then follows the strengthening of the group around these ideas and the path to achieving them is charted. So far the interest of the masses appears to be at the fore but here it starts to turn. To achieve the ‘goals’ liberties and loyalties have to be submitted to a smaller group of elite. As soon as the masses surrender their liberties the elite becomes the destiny of the masses, their decisions have consequences for all and their mistakes endanger the entire group. The elite will guide the group through the path to achieve their ‘goal’ changing course as they see fit and resetting the goals to keep the popular sentiment onboard. The wider group has now been reduced to a herd of sheep at worse or a subservient mob at best. Their wellbeing is now determined by the elite. The elite gain power and eventually pass this on to other members of this elite group to share or to have exclusively. Eventually nobility gives way to acrimony and deceit often through a semi subconscious process as they have swayed and altered the course so often that even if they started on the right path they have lost all sense of true direction. The goal now becomes the perpetuation of power over the group. In order to achieve this, the group must be directed to serve their (the elite) interests yet convinced that it is their interest as well. The new goal of can now be only achieved through innuendo, spin, conjecture and general glossing over with the occasional lifeline of reform thrown in when no amount of talking can alone will suffice. The feel good factor becomes the central cog of articulating to the group how happy and well they are. Fear is inevitably a tool used generously as well. The fear of extinction through the hands of a rival group – a group that is perhaps in the early stages of its formation – is embedded and programmed into the conscious and subconscious of the people. They are forced to give up even more of their liberties in order to safeguard against this ‘rival group’. The ‘war on terror’ and ‘threat from militancy’ are tools of fear the elite in the west and east are using respectively to ultimately keep their respective groups subservient and willing to give up even more of their liberties when the time comes.
What then becomes of these groups and more pertinently the elite - as their fate determines the fate of their group? We find the answer in the Quran in Sura Fajr (89: 5-14):
It’s not the creation of the city of pillars or carving rocks that caused the destruction of these nations (groups). It’s the transgression beyond bounds and the mischief upon mischief they caused to others in order to perpetuate their rein that eventually destined them to the scourge of chastisement. These nations like all other groups of people received initial guidance through God’s appointed noble elite (Prophets) and prospered by following this and God indeed is All Giving and Merciful. Once they achieved prosperity the subsequent generations of elite sought to perpetuate this prosperity and hence strayed away from the path.
We live in a similarly misguided world today where the Ad’s, Thamud’s and Pharoah’s have all somehow metamorphosed and found new identities and have become contemporaries. They are transgressing the boundaries again and they are heaping mischief over mischief – God is watching and when the time is right His wrath cannot be averted. The modes operandi of commanding power may have altered slightly the intentions haven’t. the people of faith the world over need to find allegiance and true purpose once again, stop being a sheep in a herd for when the storm comes the sheep trample each other and when the Shepard disappears in the dust they have no where to go.
OC
As I looked on in disgust at the celebrations going on into the night I wondered what happened to the ‘atta’ crises, the judiciary crises and the sky rocketing cost of living. The ‘general’ public seemed surprisingly chipper for citizens of a country at war and under attack from NATO and its own misguided forces and militants. Are they hallucinating and simply hysterical, I thought? Leaders are merely a microcosm for the rest of the nation so it’s pointless criticising them. If anyone should be criticised it’s the people of Pakistan who for too long have allowed themselves the luxury to leave it to God.
I couldn’t help but ponder at the irony of ‘defence’ day coinciding with events ongoing both in the capital and up north. If the martyrs of ‘65 were still alive they will surely feel we are more defenceless today than back then. The nuclear capability far from being a deterrent has become a liability. NATO forces bomb and attack our land at will and we feel obliged to keep the supply routes open to them. The puppet government in Afghanistan has the audacity to threaten us with pre-emptive action against ‘our’ problem of militancy and infiltration.
The power wrangling amongst the politicians amounts to little more than petty criminals quarrelling over the crumbs from their master, while he clears off the real booty. The access to deep sea waters from the oil rich central Asian region goes in a straight line through Afghanistan, NWFP and Balochistan. The latter is also a useful deterrent to that ‘naughty’ nation of Iran next door (who also provide a direct route to the warm waters!) and a check post for the exploits further to the east towards Tharparker and the coal reserves. A unified, strong and above all austere and independent Pakistan is a great obstacle indeed. Sadly our ‘leaders’ are doing all they can to facilitate a ‘smooth’ transition to a solution by alienating our own countrymen, strengthening the tribal lords and joining forces with the foe to root out any real chance of resistance once the plan is put into action.
One can almost hear the rhetoric that’s about to be repeated. War on terror is sure to feature as is liberation of the Pakhtun and Baloch from tyranny and docile existence; the panacea of real change and integration into the way of life of the civilised world etc. It is of course easy to blame everything on the ‘American Conspiracy’ – this unfortunately has connotations of an institutional and nationalist movement by the Americans to do harm to people around the world. The truth of course is much more sinister, this is corporate warfare – the demonic face of capitalism that has truly gone astray. For if it was for the American people then the plight of the millions of American families who go hungry every day will have been alleviated by the ‘American Administration’ and the enormous and widening gap between the rich and poor in the USA would’ve been narrowed. It’s not the ‘nation’ as a whole that is at play here. It’s through the hands of the big corporations and institutions that the invisible arm of power flexes its muscles. It’s the philosophy of profiteering at all costs that transcends borders, nationalities and even faith to corrupt the proponents of this philosophy - blinding them from the realities of human suffering as a consequence.
We know from the Holy Scriptures and authentic history that nations and philosophies like this have always existed throughout the chequered history of mankind. The lifecycle follows a similar pattern as well. Popular sentiment of a group of people is first galvanised with ideologies and concepts that strike a chord with the impoverished. Then follows the strengthening of the group around these ideas and the path to achieving them is charted. So far the interest of the masses appears to be at the fore but here it starts to turn. To achieve the ‘goals’ liberties and loyalties have to be submitted to a smaller group of elite. As soon as the masses surrender their liberties the elite becomes the destiny of the masses, their decisions have consequences for all and their mistakes endanger the entire group. The elite will guide the group through the path to achieve their ‘goal’ changing course as they see fit and resetting the goals to keep the popular sentiment onboard. The wider group has now been reduced to a herd of sheep at worse or a subservient mob at best. Their wellbeing is now determined by the elite. The elite gain power and eventually pass this on to other members of this elite group to share or to have exclusively. Eventually nobility gives way to acrimony and deceit often through a semi subconscious process as they have swayed and altered the course so often that even if they started on the right path they have lost all sense of true direction. The goal now becomes the perpetuation of power over the group. In order to achieve this, the group must be directed to serve their (the elite) interests yet convinced that it is their interest as well. The new goal of can now be only achieved through innuendo, spin, conjecture and general glossing over with the occasional lifeline of reform thrown in when no amount of talking can alone will suffice. The feel good factor becomes the central cog of articulating to the group how happy and well they are. Fear is inevitably a tool used generously as well. The fear of extinction through the hands of a rival group – a group that is perhaps in the early stages of its formation – is embedded and programmed into the conscious and subconscious of the people. They are forced to give up even more of their liberties in order to safeguard against this ‘rival group’. The ‘war on terror’ and ‘threat from militancy’ are tools of fear the elite in the west and east are using respectively to ultimately keep their respective groups subservient and willing to give up even more of their liberties when the time comes.
What then becomes of these groups and more pertinently the elite - as their fate determines the fate of their group? We find the answer in the Quran in Sura Fajr (89: 5-14):
Did you not see how your Lord dealt with the people of ‘Ad.
Of the city of ‘Iram’ - with loft pillars.
The like of which were not produced in all the land?
And with the ‘Thamud’ – people who cut out huge rock in the valley?
And with Pharaoh – lord of stakes?
These transgressed beyond bounds in the lands.
And heaped therein mischief (on mischief).
Therefore your Lord poured on them a scourge of chastisement:
For your Lord is as a guardian on a watch-tower.
It’s not the creation of the city of pillars or carving rocks that caused the destruction of these nations (groups). It’s the transgression beyond bounds and the mischief upon mischief they caused to others in order to perpetuate their rein that eventually destined them to the scourge of chastisement. These nations like all other groups of people received initial guidance through God’s appointed noble elite (Prophets) and prospered by following this and God indeed is All Giving and Merciful. Once they achieved prosperity the subsequent generations of elite sought to perpetuate this prosperity and hence strayed away from the path.
We live in a similarly misguided world today where the Ad’s, Thamud’s and Pharoah’s have all somehow metamorphosed and found new identities and have become contemporaries. They are transgressing the boundaries again and they are heaping mischief over mischief – God is watching and when the time is right His wrath cannot be averted. The modes operandi of commanding power may have altered slightly the intentions haven’t. the people of faith the world over need to find allegiance and true purpose once again, stop being a sheep in a herd for when the storm comes the sheep trample each other and when the Shepard disappears in the dust they have no where to go.
OC
Saturday, 16 February 2008
Lapsed Moments
Yesterday was a challenging and defining day for me in many respects as it called into question so many of the tenets and principles one assumes to have a strong subscription to - in such quick succession that allegiance became dependent on the circumstances rather than sound reasoning.
Anger is a momentary state of mind or at least the worst of it is over within a flash and begins to diminish in its intensity almost as soon as it starts. The brave amongst us have the power to haul this in at the outset and any bitterness resulting from the original event emancipates itself in less hurtful and long lasting ways.
One has to try to maintain the clarity of thought and vision at all waking hours to ensure events do not overtake you. A good way to combat some of the most destructive instincts embedded in us for our ultimate test is to place oneself somewhere in the line of one’s own fire to see how heated and unbearable it has the capacity to become.
No one would of course be convinced of performing a selfless deed especially if it involved some form of self-desecration for nothing. Nothing but the overpowering and ever-present thought of being answerable one day for every little bit of mischief to a higher power can stop you from going too far.
Anger is a momentary state of mind or at least the worst of it is over within a flash and begins to diminish in its intensity almost as soon as it starts. The brave amongst us have the power to haul this in at the outset and any bitterness resulting from the original event emancipates itself in less hurtful and long lasting ways.
One has to try to maintain the clarity of thought and vision at all waking hours to ensure events do not overtake you. A good way to combat some of the most destructive instincts embedded in us for our ultimate test is to place oneself somewhere in the line of one’s own fire to see how heated and unbearable it has the capacity to become.
No one would of course be convinced of performing a selfless deed especially if it involved some form of self-desecration for nothing. Nothing but the overpowering and ever-present thought of being answerable one day for every little bit of mischief to a higher power can stop you from going too far.
Monday, 19 November 2007
Na Samjho Gai
نہ سمجھو گے ابھی بھی تو بکھر جاؤ گے
تاریخ کے فقط ایک باب میں گذر جاؤ گے
اپنے گھر کی دیوار میں نقب لگانے والو
جو گر گیا یہ مکاں تو کدھر جاؤ گے
جو گر گیا یہ مکاں تو کدھر جاؤ گے
Wednesday, 7 November 2007
Kya Baqi Hai....?
کاش ميری قوم کا ضمير جاگ اٹھے۔۔۔
پاکستان کے ہر اس شخس کو سلام جو ظلم کے خلاف آواز بلند کر رہا ہے
کيا باقی ہے۔۔۔۔۔؟
اس ميکدے ميں اب کوئي ساقی نہيں ہے
ميرے بدن ميں اب روح بھی باقی نہيں ہے
اب زندگی کے دن ميں جبرا" گزارتا ھوں
کہ کوئی بھی اب ميرا ملاقاتی نہيں ہے
يا رب بچا لے مجھ کو گھر کے فرعون سے
یہ بندہ مجبور سہی پر تيرا شاکی نہيں ہے
جی چاہتا ہے اب تو تاروں ميں گھر بنا لوں
کہ ہمنوا کوئی بھی اب ميرا خاکی نہيں ہے
چلتے چلتے بستی والوں سے اتنا ہی پوچھ لوں
کيا اميد کی کوئی بھی کرن اب باقی نہيں ہے
عمر چوہدری
پاکستان کے ہر اس شخس کو سلام جو ظلم کے خلاف آواز بلند کر رہا ہے
کيا باقی ہے۔۔۔۔۔؟
اس ميکدے ميں اب کوئي ساقی نہيں ہے
ميرے بدن ميں اب روح بھی باقی نہيں ہے
اب زندگی کے دن ميں جبرا" گزارتا ھوں
کہ کوئی بھی اب ميرا ملاقاتی نہيں ہے
يا رب بچا لے مجھ کو گھر کے فرعون سے
یہ بندہ مجبور سہی پر تيرا شاکی نہيں ہے
جی چاہتا ہے اب تو تاروں ميں گھر بنا لوں
کہ ہمنوا کوئی بھی اب ميرا خاکی نہيں ہے
چلتے چلتے بستی والوں سے اتنا ہی پوچھ لوں
کيا اميد کی کوئی بھی کرن اب باقی نہيں ہے
عمر چوہدری
Tuesday, 6 November 2007
Time for Action
Below is a transcript of the letter sent to PTI, JI & Geo TV on 6th November 2007.
I plead to every pakistani and everyone who wants to see this country survive join the struggle to rid our judiciary from bias and influence and restore credibility in this institution. Anyway you can at least register your protest, it all counts - its only collectively that we can make a difference:
--
In the name of Allah the most Merciful & Gracious
We have no time to stand still, we have no time to rationalise, we have no time for self pity and we have no time left even for crying over our pathetic existence. The time is for action – action that is decisive, action that is unambiguous and action that does indeed speak a thousand words.
For too long in this nations’ history we have talked the talk now it’s time to walk the walk. How can any Pakistani sleep easily tonight or for any night for the rest of their lives when we are given reminder after reminder, chance after chance to mend our ways and yet we let them pass away as if they had never existed. Whether it’s Dr Khan or Justice Chaudhary and his heroic comrades we seem to have fallen into a habit of not only neglecting but humiliating our heroes.
Are we truly so powerless, so oblivious, so emotionless, so void of any national feeling that nothing moves us now. We suspect everything and everyone – maybe we have been stung for far too long by looters and plunderers – maybe I was the same as everyone else until this afternoon. Until this afternoon I was relatively cushioned from all the upheaval back home sitting comfortably in my centrally heated living room doing my bit for the nation by hurling the occasional abuse at random politicians and government functionaries.
However, I cannot sit quietly anymore I cannot let this happen without raising a voice of protest and if necessary a fist against a tyrant – it’s all coming back to me now - isn’t this the elevated form of jihad? Life was comfortable until this afternoon – until I saw a middle aged man helplessly crying – I thought it was just another white collar family man overcome with emotion over the recent price hike. This was cause for concern enough but I have no words to describe my utter disgust after learning it was no other than Justice Sharif. Justice Sharif who probably had a better than fair chance to be a Supreme Court judge had he bowed to the new orders.
Have we truly become so shameless that we can let this happen to anyone - let alone to an exalted judge? Why are we even looking forward to the elections anyway? To elect some or all of these known cronies, criminals, looters and plunderers? I assume there are some honest people in government or at least hope so and apologise for tarnishing them with the same brush.
Forget election, forget imprisonments, even forget media for now all of us need to do everything we possibly can in our powers no matter how little, no matter how insignificant to demand the restoration of the judiciary to the state it was in immediately prior to the proclamation of emergency.
We can choose to do nothing, we can choose to ignore, we can choose to pretend, we can choose to be moderate but if we do our very freedom of choice is at stake. We simply cannot let this happen.
I therefore ask you to continue to be honest about describing the magnitude of what the judges have achieved for this nation and raise the morale of the nation but more importantly jolt them out of this sedation, this sleep of oblivion. Nations face many cross roads during their lifetime and by God this is one heck of a cross road. Take the right turn and we may just earn ourselves the right to exist otherwise paraphrasing Iqbal – weakness is a crime and the punishment is elimination!
Long Live Pakistan
May God have mercy on us allSigned
Omar Qayyum Chaudry Pakistani
--
I plead to every pakistani and everyone who wants to see this country survive join the struggle to rid our judiciary from bias and influence and restore credibility in this institution. Anyway you can at least register your protest, it all counts - its only collectively that we can make a difference:
--
In the name of Allah the most Merciful & Gracious
We have no time to stand still, we have no time to rationalise, we have no time for self pity and we have no time left even for crying over our pathetic existence. The time is for action – action that is decisive, action that is unambiguous and action that does indeed speak a thousand words.
For too long in this nations’ history we have talked the talk now it’s time to walk the walk. How can any Pakistani sleep easily tonight or for any night for the rest of their lives when we are given reminder after reminder, chance after chance to mend our ways and yet we let them pass away as if they had never existed. Whether it’s Dr Khan or Justice Chaudhary and his heroic comrades we seem to have fallen into a habit of not only neglecting but humiliating our heroes.
Are we truly so powerless, so oblivious, so emotionless, so void of any national feeling that nothing moves us now. We suspect everything and everyone – maybe we have been stung for far too long by looters and plunderers – maybe I was the same as everyone else until this afternoon. Until this afternoon I was relatively cushioned from all the upheaval back home sitting comfortably in my centrally heated living room doing my bit for the nation by hurling the occasional abuse at random politicians and government functionaries.
However, I cannot sit quietly anymore I cannot let this happen without raising a voice of protest and if necessary a fist against a tyrant – it’s all coming back to me now - isn’t this the elevated form of jihad? Life was comfortable until this afternoon – until I saw a middle aged man helplessly crying – I thought it was just another white collar family man overcome with emotion over the recent price hike. This was cause for concern enough but I have no words to describe my utter disgust after learning it was no other than Justice Sharif. Justice Sharif who probably had a better than fair chance to be a Supreme Court judge had he bowed to the new orders.
Have we truly become so shameless that we can let this happen to anyone - let alone to an exalted judge? Why are we even looking forward to the elections anyway? To elect some or all of these known cronies, criminals, looters and plunderers? I assume there are some honest people in government or at least hope so and apologise for tarnishing them with the same brush.
Forget election, forget imprisonments, even forget media for now all of us need to do everything we possibly can in our powers no matter how little, no matter how insignificant to demand the restoration of the judiciary to the state it was in immediately prior to the proclamation of emergency.
We can choose to do nothing, we can choose to ignore, we can choose to pretend, we can choose to be moderate but if we do our very freedom of choice is at stake. We simply cannot let this happen.
I therefore ask you to continue to be honest about describing the magnitude of what the judges have achieved for this nation and raise the morale of the nation but more importantly jolt them out of this sedation, this sleep of oblivion. Nations face many cross roads during their lifetime and by God this is one heck of a cross road. Take the right turn and we may just earn ourselves the right to exist otherwise paraphrasing Iqbal – weakness is a crime and the punishment is elimination!
Long Live Pakistan
May God have mercy on us allSigned
Omar Qayyum Chaudry Pakistani
--
Monday, 5 November 2007
Lets Wake Up
In the name of God the Most Merciful & Gracious
As we watch in horror the shameful treatment of the respected members of the lawyer and journalist community in Pakistan by - the now by most accounts - tyrant regime of Gen. Musharraf I can’t help but gasp at the dismal performance of the so called political entities in and/or outside the country.
It seems that most political parties are void of any real strategy and intellect in the matters of charting out a viable approach to counter state supported crackdowns. The imposition of the emergency should hardly have come as a surprise to these elevated political leaders and if they truly believed in the rule of law they should have been better prepared - much much better prepared. Black sheep aside even the regime’s sworn enemies seem powerless to do anything to protest effectively against the imposition.
I am particularly disappointed with the attitude of the leadership from PML(N) & the MMA. It seems the leadership hasn’t learnt the lessons of the recent past when their leader was turned away from Islamabad mainly because there wasn’t a significant street presence to put pressure on the government. In a country and culture where prowess and right is determined by show of force a political strategy which cannot provide an efficient method of active popular protest deserves to be trashed.
I think most of the political leaders are quite happy to rule the country and ransack the treasury but are unwilling to stand up against the oppression and acts of tyranny. It seems everyone is waiting – waiting for that call from GHQ telling them what’s in it for them. I frankly feel sick and ashamed that our political leaders have lost all sense of righteousness. There are of course reasons for this attitude which can only be understood once one realises the perks of being in power – power over the powerless. It doesn’t surprise me anymore to compare the relative healths of leaders from the west and our country once they walk down the corridors of power. We see Blair’s health was effectively ruined over the 10 years in power with his heart troubles and thinning hairline not to mention the countless creases and contours adorning his countenance. On the other hand just look at our PM or for that matter any member of his cabinet or even an MP and you will see how their physical health improves dramatically once they drink from the stream of statehood and stress-free life style.
Our political leadership has failed the nation again and again and Musharraf knows this and he must also realise that people will not now come out for someone else’s sake as the nation as a whole is sedated and crumbling under the pressures of dragging a life in one of the most comparatively expensive countries in the world. The last time we saw people come out in force supporting a cause was the case of the chief justice earlier this year because they believed he was hard done by a regime bent on destroying the last grain of credibility left in any institution of note in the country. There is no one today who can claim this ‘oppressed’ status from within at least the political spectrum. So the country’s best hope resides with a dirty deal being struck between the like-minded forces to ensure the shameful act continues.
So in view of this is it surprising that no one currently holds the popular imagination and the public is not interested in getting beaten up or arrested only so that someone can get into power and continue to loot and plunder the nation. It’s a simple case of the devil you know and any political change of guard will merely be the changing of the master for the common man on the street.
I think far more important than any political turmoil in the corridors of power is the general state of the nation which is cause for real concern. We have repeatedly seen that through history any nation or tribe that falls into a sedate state of mind and becomes oblivious to how they are ruled is treated with indignity and eventually destroyed as a nation. We do hope and pray of course that we have a peaceful transition to a stable state of affairs where everyone has access to the basic amenities and a reasonable chance for earning an honest living. However with the way things are going the stage seems set for a group of people with enough group feeling among them and the ability to strike a chord with a section of an aggressive section of society may take over part or all of the country and then it will be left to their mercy as to whether their subjects are able to or allowed to carve out a living under them.
We are as a nation responsible for this state of affairs as we seem very content with the achievements of our forefathers and see it as our divine right to be free and able to enjoy the same rights as any civilised and modern society. Yet we have done next to nothing to reconstruct our intellectual thought and building our institutions based on the theology and history that is suitable for us and not a hotchpotch of imported democracy from the west that is not in line with our culture, people, demographics or political history.
We urgently need to as a nation become more active and realise that the alternative will not be dissimilar to Iraq or Afghanistan. We need to think for ourselves what is best for us and how we can survive as a nation and a group of people who tolerate each other and engage in scholarly discussion about our issues and concerns and not play into the hands of the few traitors and external game players. Everyone of us as an individual and a group must start to rekindle within ourselves the national and group feeling that is so very crucial to a nations survival. We are a diverse nation and made up of many tribes, provinces, casts and cultures we must thrive with this diversity and not attempt to amalgamate and destroy the heritage of any group of people as this will and has given rise to intolerance and oppression and has never culminated in a successful state in the past and neither will it ever do in the future.
Our nation and every member of this nation must learn to listen to its own conscious and not get bogged down with what our so called political leaders want us to hear. At this stage there are far more grave issues at hand instead of the issues being given air by the political leadership. Some of them talk the talk but none of them have ever walked the walk. The whole issue of political equality is a sham there is no democracy even within most political parties. We must not be under any illusions that neither the Bhutto nor the Sharif clan will be rooted out of their respective political spheres no matter how shambolic their performance will be. This is a form of political dynasty which goes completely against the philosophy of democracy and equality. Unless each and every person in this nation believes that they can make a difference and get to wherever they want to get to armed with their hard work dedication and without fear of oppression we as a nation will not survive for very long.
Our hope lies with the new generation coming through at this stage in our nation’s life where the second generation is paving the way for the third and fourth generations and one hopes that they have learned some lessons from the wider world around them and realise that being a politician is hard work and required dedication, research and commitment. We seem to have a culture where everyone and anyone that is involved with politics or even any governmental institution seem to have an aspiration to gain power at whatever level they can. This feeling has exasperated since politics carries a great deal of glitter. If our politicians were to serve the nation through politics in the way that they should be I am sure not many people will be queuing up to take office!
May Allah give us guidance and allow us to thrive as a nation for a long time to come (Amin)
As we watch in horror the shameful treatment of the respected members of the lawyer and journalist community in Pakistan by - the now by most accounts - tyrant regime of Gen. Musharraf I can’t help but gasp at the dismal performance of the so called political entities in and/or outside the country.
It seems that most political parties are void of any real strategy and intellect in the matters of charting out a viable approach to counter state supported crackdowns. The imposition of the emergency should hardly have come as a surprise to these elevated political leaders and if they truly believed in the rule of law they should have been better prepared - much much better prepared. Black sheep aside even the regime’s sworn enemies seem powerless to do anything to protest effectively against the imposition.
I am particularly disappointed with the attitude of the leadership from PML(N) & the MMA. It seems the leadership hasn’t learnt the lessons of the recent past when their leader was turned away from Islamabad mainly because there wasn’t a significant street presence to put pressure on the government. In a country and culture where prowess and right is determined by show of force a political strategy which cannot provide an efficient method of active popular protest deserves to be trashed.
I think most of the political leaders are quite happy to rule the country and ransack the treasury but are unwilling to stand up against the oppression and acts of tyranny. It seems everyone is waiting – waiting for that call from GHQ telling them what’s in it for them. I frankly feel sick and ashamed that our political leaders have lost all sense of righteousness. There are of course reasons for this attitude which can only be understood once one realises the perks of being in power – power over the powerless. It doesn’t surprise me anymore to compare the relative healths of leaders from the west and our country once they walk down the corridors of power. We see Blair’s health was effectively ruined over the 10 years in power with his heart troubles and thinning hairline not to mention the countless creases and contours adorning his countenance. On the other hand just look at our PM or for that matter any member of his cabinet or even an MP and you will see how their physical health improves dramatically once they drink from the stream of statehood and stress-free life style.
Our political leadership has failed the nation again and again and Musharraf knows this and he must also realise that people will not now come out for someone else’s sake as the nation as a whole is sedated and crumbling under the pressures of dragging a life in one of the most comparatively expensive countries in the world. The last time we saw people come out in force supporting a cause was the case of the chief justice earlier this year because they believed he was hard done by a regime bent on destroying the last grain of credibility left in any institution of note in the country. There is no one today who can claim this ‘oppressed’ status from within at least the political spectrum. So the country’s best hope resides with a dirty deal being struck between the like-minded forces to ensure the shameful act continues.
So in view of this is it surprising that no one currently holds the popular imagination and the public is not interested in getting beaten up or arrested only so that someone can get into power and continue to loot and plunder the nation. It’s a simple case of the devil you know and any political change of guard will merely be the changing of the master for the common man on the street.
I think far more important than any political turmoil in the corridors of power is the general state of the nation which is cause for real concern. We have repeatedly seen that through history any nation or tribe that falls into a sedate state of mind and becomes oblivious to how they are ruled is treated with indignity and eventually destroyed as a nation. We do hope and pray of course that we have a peaceful transition to a stable state of affairs where everyone has access to the basic amenities and a reasonable chance for earning an honest living. However with the way things are going the stage seems set for a group of people with enough group feeling among them and the ability to strike a chord with a section of an aggressive section of society may take over part or all of the country and then it will be left to their mercy as to whether their subjects are able to or allowed to carve out a living under them.
We are as a nation responsible for this state of affairs as we seem very content with the achievements of our forefathers and see it as our divine right to be free and able to enjoy the same rights as any civilised and modern society. Yet we have done next to nothing to reconstruct our intellectual thought and building our institutions based on the theology and history that is suitable for us and not a hotchpotch of imported democracy from the west that is not in line with our culture, people, demographics or political history.
We urgently need to as a nation become more active and realise that the alternative will not be dissimilar to Iraq or Afghanistan. We need to think for ourselves what is best for us and how we can survive as a nation and a group of people who tolerate each other and engage in scholarly discussion about our issues and concerns and not play into the hands of the few traitors and external game players. Everyone of us as an individual and a group must start to rekindle within ourselves the national and group feeling that is so very crucial to a nations survival. We are a diverse nation and made up of many tribes, provinces, casts and cultures we must thrive with this diversity and not attempt to amalgamate and destroy the heritage of any group of people as this will and has given rise to intolerance and oppression and has never culminated in a successful state in the past and neither will it ever do in the future.
Our nation and every member of this nation must learn to listen to its own conscious and not get bogged down with what our so called political leaders want us to hear. At this stage there are far more grave issues at hand instead of the issues being given air by the political leadership. Some of them talk the talk but none of them have ever walked the walk. The whole issue of political equality is a sham there is no democracy even within most political parties. We must not be under any illusions that neither the Bhutto nor the Sharif clan will be rooted out of their respective political spheres no matter how shambolic their performance will be. This is a form of political dynasty which goes completely against the philosophy of democracy and equality. Unless each and every person in this nation believes that they can make a difference and get to wherever they want to get to armed with their hard work dedication and without fear of oppression we as a nation will not survive for very long.
Our hope lies with the new generation coming through at this stage in our nation’s life where the second generation is paving the way for the third and fourth generations and one hopes that they have learned some lessons from the wider world around them and realise that being a politician is hard work and required dedication, research and commitment. We seem to have a culture where everyone and anyone that is involved with politics or even any governmental institution seem to have an aspiration to gain power at whatever level they can. This feeling has exasperated since politics carries a great deal of glitter. If our politicians were to serve the nation through politics in the way that they should be I am sure not many people will be queuing up to take office!
May Allah give us guidance and allow us to thrive as a nation for a long time to come (Amin)
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