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.
Wasim/Khurram,
I am glad you brought up the idea of national interest. This seems to be how nations interact at this point of human evolution. Within that framework, I just want to make the point that expecting the US to support/denounce Musharraf, as you see it, is not fair.
The reason Pakistan may not be hand over Osama/fight the Taliban may be that its people dont want that fight, its army is too indoctrinated to fight only India, or its a way to keep the aid flowing. But a word of caution – there may be flipsides to this. The long term being the insidious radicalisation of broader sections in your own society. Two, more near term, the US deciding that it needs to fight its own battle, either via a Musharraf or as a foreign invading force.
Personally, I believe, for longer term considerations, Pakistan should do everything to rid itself of the radical elements, including Osama, even if it happens to help/benefit the US. Not doing something cos it might be what a detractor/enemy wants will prove too costly eventually.
Anyway, my whole point is that dont chide the US too much for its moves. They interact based on what they want. You still have the onus to do the right thing for your own good.
FYI, I am not American.
just an FYI. The DT editorials are written by Khaled Ahmed and not Sethi. The Friday times editorial is written by Sethi.
@Diwana-aik: Which one is Pervaiz?
Anpe mohn mian mithoo,
Geo today,
Big claims, self accreditations, big lies,
logon ki ankhon mein dhool jhonkna,
Apnay jaraim chopana, aur dousron par thopna
to koii app say sikhay, Bravo
O ji !! appna media hay, jo chahay bolo,
Pakistanis are watching everything, their
memories are not that weak !
What state of paranoiad !!
USA has given some instructions to
Pakistani Election Commissioners
Doob maro, Doob maro chilo bhar pani mein
@khurram
Let me apologize in advance if my comments hurt you.
The whole issue currently is very straightforward. We have a dictator who does not have any morals, ethics and even not a human being. He is a mad bull who is bulldozing the whole nation.
There was no problem of any suo moto notices , or release of extremist or hurdles in war on terror. The one and only issue was that the General was being declared as disqualified to be president of Pakistan by the upright judges of the supreme court.
We have on one hand the mad General who will kill everybody who comes in his way, and on the other side we have heros like Chief Justice and his colleagues (both in Supreme Court and Hight) and people like Aitzaz Ahsan and his comrades (Lawyers) fighting for the supermacy of constitution in Pakistan.
We are witnessing history in making , the people who support the mad general even uncociously (like you said “this is not meant to be a defence of Musharraf” ) , will and should feel ashamed of.
Let me tell you this battle is being fought in the streets of Pakistan, the civil society of Pakistan , the poor lawyers, human right activists, students and everyone else fighting this battle may not won it in the short term, but they are creating a history.
I can see the future (2026) telling my son, how there were these Judges and the Lawyers fought for the democracy and how people of Pakistan snatched their fundamental rights from the dictator by giving their blood. I would proudly tell my son that the Part II of the constitution of Pakistan was not given to us as favor by any ruler but it were the people who got each of the right described in that chapter by giving their blood.
So please remember this is a question of “with us or with them” , and if in anyway you are not “with us” , then you are the same dictator whom we are fighting against.