Adil Najam
These are distressing times. But this is not a time to be depressed.
This is a time, as Owais reminds us in his last post, to reaffirm our hopes for the future. True defeat would be to give up on those hopes. I have put up the splash image (on the front page) that I have to reassert and to remind ourselves that ultimately Pakistan will be what we make of it. Emergency or no emergency, no one can snatch our Pakistaniat from us. Not until we ourselves surrender it!
Back in May, at a moment of similar desperation, I had written a post where I had sought “solace in the one place where I always find it. In poetry. Especially in Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s poetry.” The video clip I had used there is worth repeating here.
I had written then - and it seems even more pertinent today to repeat it:
Here is Faiz - in his own words, in his own voice. The second half has the same poem masterfully sung by Nayarra Noor. Enjoy this rare find of kalam i Faiz, ba zaban i Faiz. But more than that, think about what he is saying and how it relates to what is happening today.
What I had to say (including about US role) I said at length in an NPR Radio show today (or here). But what Faiz has to say is far more profound.
The words of Faiz certainly cut deeper than anything I can say. They are an invitation to action. But they are also an invitation to thought. An invitation to responsibility. An invitation to continuing the struggle no matter what. An invitation to keep moving onwards despite the odds. An invitation to celebrate the spirit of defiance of those who will not give up.
I had ended that post by reaffirming ATP’s committment “to celebrating all the diverse trials and tribulations of being Pakistan … the mundane as well as the profound; the sad as well as the gleeful; the immediate as well as the long-term.” It is time, today, to repeat that commitment.
This is our commitment to Pakistaniat. We love Pakistan not because everything is right in it. But despite that which is clearly not right. And with a commitment to make right that which has gone astray. Ameen.
@Daktar
I totally agree…
Saman
This is not the time to despair, this is time to be proud of Pakistan. I am very proud of the Pakistanis who keep demonstrating, writing against injustice, speaking out despite all the beatings and jailings and the extreme measures this givernment is taking. In the past in Pakistan and even now in many places, people just sulk and go quiet at much less, but in Pakistan the students, the journalists and the lawyers keep protesting despite the extreme injustice and hurt to them. This is something to be proud of, not to dispair. I remain proud to be a Pakistani more than ever. I am not proud of the generals but very proud of ordinary Pakistanis.
These days I am shying away from calling my self Pakistani. The sort of news that come across through news paper are not only depressing but also embarassing to own as a nation. I totally agree with the poem of Rafay Kashmiri this is the sort of Badmashi our forces are involved in these days. I believe illiteracy is the cause of all this, alas we are still no where near to be called a developing nation.
@The commentators,
My first Nazm ” Ye log” disappeared, alas I did’nt keep a
copy, this is my second, hopes for Democracy !!
Policy Dehrion ki ye hay, keh jhoot Phaiyla’ain
Sirf Zubani batla’in, sirf Natak hi racha’ain
Hath mein gar ajaiy inn kay iqtidar,
bheint Kazibon par sachai ki charhadain
Ikhtilaf kar nehein sakta koi inn say
kehein wo app ko Suli pay ne charhadain
Seh nehein saktay, ye sachai ki Zuba’n
kisi aur say Zuba’n, app ki ne katwadain
Syasat Pesha hay inka, ye kartay hein shikar
Kehein such bolnay walon ko, ye ne marwadain
Ghareebo’n kay bantay hein, ye Thekedar sabhi
Josh hi mein kehein Ghareebo’n ko ne marwadain
Nazariate ki jang ho, ya daulat ki
Insaniat ko ye kehein ne marwadain
people have always held his own political and human rights views - that is their right and no one can denounce that. Also, they are not forcing these views on any one - only venting out the same in a forum where people may agree or disagree with them. As for me, I see more pros and less cons in the present set-up.
The successive governments that our generation has experienced comprise of zia, junejo, bb, ns, bb, ns and musharraf. Of these, zia’s regime has always been termed as the dark period starting from coup against and hanging of bhutto - and if history is written rightly - that action was highly undesirable and fully deplorable. The successive governments, except junejo perhaps, were dismissed quite unceremoniously on (proven) charges of CORRUPTION - but there was no hue and cry from the human right activists and all those who are on streets now - presumably because a civil president (aka ishaq, laghari) has more ‘civil’ right to throw off an elected government than when the same crime is committed by a man in uniform - as in 1999. And I fully support the people who are of the view that he should not have done this - he should let have his PIA commercial plane, full of civilains, crashed somewhere off the Pak soil or should have landed in India as the mid-air dismissed Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan Armed Forces - a highly intelligent move mastered by the then PM. Please note that all this has been repeatedly mentioned in both electronic/print media and has been published in his official biography - and has never been denied by our elected PM or challenged in any national/intl court of law as an attempt to defame him - proof enough for intelligent people to accept that this, indeed, is the whole truth.
Again, coming back to comparison with those governments - those were dismissed on charges of corruption - the rulers, sorry, the elected popular rulers and the champions of civil rights (since Asma Jahangir and IA Rehman took to streets against those governments much less than now - that seems to be the only gauge available to most of the people) making their fortunes in English Palaces, through 10% commissions on high fund deals, through steel mills import rules, through swiss bank accounts, through yellow cab and Green Pakistan (etc.) schemes … the list is long and dirty. Much to the dismay of the civil rights champions and media hawks of Pakistan, the present regime failed to match their predecessors in the corruption race - am trying very, very hard to find something against musharraf that added to his personal assets and wealth, apart from the perks and benefits granted to him by army, huge and thorn for the same group of people mentioned above, but again unfortunately granted to him by the laws not set by him and are much less than the value of money held in a swiss account or the real estate value of Surrey Palace. At the same time, I am trying equally hard to find anything financial irregularity recorded against his huge cabinet - the result is the same. And when there indeed were some things, like the much touted Steel Mills case, the judicary stepped in and stopped that deal - and the government honored the verdict. So, for me at least, Musharraf is a clear loser in terms of high corruption standards set by previous rulers - and, to quote the idiot box, biggest loser jeetay ga.
Coming to judiciary - what has been done to them is definitely wrong - but I was really wondering why it was done to them??? When CJ was suspended in March, it was on charges of corruption, nepotism and misuse of authority. When he was reinstated by his colleagues in July - the only thing that was cancelled/overruled was the way of his dismissal. That was not the reference against him; the reference was on appointment of his son to an elevated post using his influence, the misuse of government resources (helicopter etc.), the wrong claims in medical and transport bills etc. I am still to hear any SC ruling clearing the honorable (ex) CJ of Pakistan of those allegations filed against him by the government. And when the gentleman was reinstated, his comments became more masala for newspapers’ front pages than any tinsel town news. I suppose his famous comment to Chairman PIA (one of the highest civil positions in Pakistan) that went something like, ’shakal se to aap parhey likhe aadmi lagte hain (you look like an educated man apparently)’, and many more similar comments to may other senior civil servants, made headlines but were conveniently ignored by the civil rights activists and lawyers and political parties and media hawks - probably because the civil CJP has the right to utter these things; a Martial Law Administrator should not dare say such rubbish. The chapter, unfortunately, does not finish here - the reinstated CJP and the SC suddenly woke from a long slumber and started taking suo moto notices of each and everything that was happening in Pakistan. There is no objection on why they started late - there is always a first time - but there is every reason to say that they were treading on both sides of the fine lines dividing judiciary, government and lawmakers. For any average sensible man, the language and actions of Mr. Chaudary since his reinstatement were clear indi cators that the gentleman has lost his impartiality and is no longer unbiased - the basic quality desirable in judiciary. He and his fellow judges can be made heroes and icons on their denial of oath under PCO - but personally, and I repeat personally, I believe that it would have been much better if they had taken the oaths and then took decisions on the cases pending in their courts as per law - it would have served the nation, if not them, muchbetter.
If memory serves us right, we may remember the reaction of the same lawyers outside Supreme Court against the same judges when the decision of allowing General Musharraf to contest the presidential election went against them and their candidate Mr. Wajih. There were demonstrations, slogan chanting, setting ablaze the court verdict, denouncing the SC itself - Namanzoor, Namanzoor, Yeh Faisla Namanzoor / Shame, Shame etc. - were some of the slogans I remember now. Again, the self-appointed civil rights champions and the ever-efficient media chose to look the other way when the SC authority was challenged – since that is freedom of expression of a civil society. The same crime when committed by a president-in-uniform becomes a sin with the whole world joining in protests against him and fuelled by the media itself.
And something on the much hyped ‘media in chains’ – if you remember, by ’99, there was only PTV with NTM turned STN and life was quite peaceful. Then, the General committed the mistake of creating an unchecked flow of channels into our lives – and it was never the same again. Turn on your TV set – it will be Hamid Mir bashing the government in one slot (the man speaks with such satire and attitude that he deserves a slap every 10 minutes or so till he is reformed ….. the only problem is that would be an attack on media freedom) or Dr. Shahid Masood giving his political views, almost always against the government, sometimes sharing the same with like minded cronies from the civil/lawyers/media rights champions (for all those impressionable viewers out there, the Dr. has been extremely successful in convincing them that the government has done nothing, and I repeat nothing, right in the last 12 years) or it is Kamran Khan with his analysis of the daily news (no problem with the gentleman till I saw him hanging up - yes, actually hanging up – on the serving Chief Minister of Sind while covering BB’s procession before the blast. The CM’s crime – he refused to speak the words Mr. Kamran Khan was trying to put in his mouth and said so on air as well – since he is a member of the government, he was cut off air; if the same thing is done to Mr. Khan – it would amount to an attack on his freedom of expression). I forget the name of this gentlemen who anchors ‘Jawabdeh’ – the program’s promo line is ‘log kehte hain ke mein badtameez hoon; shayad iss liye ke mein aik aam aadmi hoon’ (people say that I am rude; probably because I am a common man) – trust me, I am a common man myself but I am not and will never be that rude to any person I am talking to – no matter whatever is the amount of my differences with him or her. And then there is that ‘Hum Sab Ummed Se Hain’ – the program went from a decent presentation to a personal bashing chorus as the time passed. Totally oblivious of the fact that the program is being televised globally, the producers continued their downright humiliating portrayal of prominent personalities giving the whole world a chance to laugh at us and form their opinion about our country (and you ask why Pakistanis are not respected abroad?). I am not interested in how Americans portray their President or English make fun of their Prime Minister – all I believe in is that the President of Pakistan is a symbolic position and should not be humiliated just to ride the bandwagon of media freedom. Also, if one gets a chance to go through the much condemned PEMRA ordinance – all the paper asks for is to not to air any program that ‘defames the government, judiciary and military establishments’ – is it asking for too much? Probably yes because people like Shahid Masood, Hamid Mir, Kamran Khan, Mr. Jawabdeh and Dr. Younis Butt cannot take a second breath or speak a complete sentence without counting a government mistake – of which there are many – but at the same time the poor souls must have done something good as well during their tenure – please show that as well or categorically say that the Government has done nothing good and that will justify their all-time criticism of the government.
The lowest point in media journalism, meray mutabiq, came on 16/11/07 when the first headline news on GEO was ‘BB rejects the caretaker government’ followed by the second news ’Caretaker government formed. PM and cabinet take oath’ – if this is not indicative of a channel’s priorities and influence on its policies then I don’t know what is. I mean for God sake, I am a Pakistani sitting abroad waiting to know who is the next caretaker PM of Pakistan and the news I hear before his name is that BB has rejected the government – foul play somewhere??? My life has not changed much since closure of Geo – in fact though I am no longer hearing the 24 hour government bashing (and not missing that at all), I do get some time to hear some other news in a slightly better format and content. In fact going still lower, the channel almost completely ignored the brutalities of the extremists in Swat when they beheaded the people of Pakistan forces publicly and then mutilated their bodies but brought into limelight through all its discussions and views and news the ‘brutalities’ committed by Pakistan army against the ‘innocent’ civilians of Pakistan. Give us a break.
And finally the politicians themselves – imposition of emergency is wrong, PCO is illegal, jailing of leaders is inhuman – everything is agreed; the only question – where are the masses? Why they are not taking to the streets to show their support of the political system and parties and leaders? Where are the party workers themselves (except PPP jiyalas who were thrown out in heat once again when all hopes of reaching a ‘deal’ were shattered)? Don’t you think that the people outnumber the law enforcement agencies by a wide margin? If the masses want, the policemen cannot even get back to their vehicles with their clothes on. The problem - people are not willing to come out for these alternate leaderships. If General Musharraf is today in power, it is because of the parties themselves. PPP failed to join the APDM because its one-person leadership was busy in a secret deal with the President, Maulana Fazlur Rehman made the dissolution of NWFP assembly impossible because he is having promises from the Government, Nawaz Sharif was not able to gather even 10000 supporters for him when he returned to country after signing a deal to pardon himself and his family (for what?) and getting bailed out of Pakistan. Even now, when everything is clear, if these parties can join hands and get on one platform, the general can go out in a very short period; however it is a wishful thinking since the moment a bone of power will be thrown their way, they will just try to grab it over each others heads.
So concluding a very long post – what the media and the world wants from us:
1. That General should step down – agreed totally but why? What has been the harm to country’s progress and prosperity while he was a president in uniform?
2. That an elected Government shall come in power – no problem other than that PPP will claim that the elections were rigged if PML wins and PML will claim the same if PPP wins. As for others, they have always maintained that the elections were rigged. In short, except the ruling party, the results have never been acceptable to any other party and there are no chances history will not repeat itself again.
3. That democracy should restore – perfect, as long as BB can be held accountable for her scams during her tenures and NS can be asked to explain, if not all, at least his October 12, 1999 action of ordering a commercial plane with civilians on board to near crash.
4. That judiciary should be independent – it should be and it must start with either sentencing or clearing Mr. Iftikhar Chaudary of the charges filed against him in the now overruled presidential reference.
5. That media should be free – totally agreed. However, is there any moral or ethical (not legal as they hate this word) guideline that can be given to the anchors on how to speak, if not what to speak.
As an expat Pakistani, I am concerned with the situation in Pakistan like everyone else – the only difference might be that I am trying to find a practical solution for it (taking up arms is definitely not on agenda) and, unfortunately, have not been able to think of one so far!!!
Very moving poem and very timely. I also loved these words in the post: “We love Pakistan not because everything is right in it. But despite that which is clearly not right. And with a commitment to make right that which has gone astray.” Yes, that is our committment too.
Are we still walking “Pa bajolan” in the Bazar ??
BB, Asma Jehangir, & colonial leftists,
Congratulations, The master Raj Bahadur has
decided to expel Pakistan from Raj aur Raj ki
auladon chor’on ka Commonwealth if….. u know !!
Have envy for a Samba !!
felicidadeeeeeeeeeee