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.
Sada, as far as your question that what wrong judiciary has done is concerned, the “rule of law” fever spread only few days ago. Otherwise, its the lawyers who will tell you how to twist law in your favor even in petty cases. Its their profession to twist the law. You yourself said people were missing, families went to SC and they got the orders of release. Unjust things happen, courts give relief, whats is the problem here. People were held in Guntanamo bay without prosecution, which court took suo moto? Who ask Bush to step down?
Anyway, do you think if Musharraf leave the office of army and president, the new parliament will survive its tenure? Will the next government, whoever makes it will be pious? DO you think next opposition will let the government work?
Mehmood, I cannot agree with you! You have given some good examples from US but you are forgetting the fact of minimum threshold of tolerance and performance. In America, there is a functional government, largely responsive judiciary and at a level of a street man justice is still a recognized notion regardless whatever has happened at macro level politics in case of Iraq war etc. In Pakistan, what wrong judiciary has done? If few cases have been taken up as suo moto action, it was totally constitutional as none of other state institution is affording any relief to the people. Suppose you are among the missing persons, where would your parents or family members go other than Supreme Court? There was and still there is no forum for remedy? No body hears you simply! If SC has ordered that for God sake, these are also human being, at least listen to them then heavens fall and Musharraf started usual stereotyping by raising terrorism argument. Have you followed the missing people case where it has established that a guy who attempted to marry a relative of a big gun in army was put behind the bars for some unknown period and then he has been released under SC orders! Is it not ironical that Muhsharraf and the government was telling to the SC and rest of the world that some key nationalist leaders from Balochistan and Sindh have gone for Jihad and thus they were
I think “political correctness” is good but as a Pakistani we all know the actuall ground reality. Constitution, rule of law, uncensored media, democracy are good slogans and ultimate goals, but nations do not reach there in a fortnight. Especially sentimental nations like ours. I think Musharraf was on chief executive seat for 3 years himself, he made a transition to a controlled democracy and like or not it was his army uniform that kept this parliament intact otherwise all so called democratic forces tried there best to bring down the government. The champions of democracy should know that opposition is one of the beautiful aspect of democracy, however it should not go to the level that the country falls in chaos.
Bush attacked another country, there is a huge financial set back to american economy on mortgage crisis, 30 million people america live below poverty line. Does judiciary start taking somotos? does media start make the life miserable for the government? Do people come on the streets? Becuase this is not the way democracy works. The way to bring the change is election.
No government can work in Pakistan until the opposition realize that there task is to criticize but not to the level that government cannot function. Three of the 4 government of 90’s failed because the opposition went too far. IMHO
some of the immediate benifits of “emergency plus” regime are starting up. HEC’s site states: The meeting which was scheduled to be held from 6th to 8th Nov. 2007 between HEC, USAID and Ministry of Science & Technology under Pak-US Joint Academic & Research Program has been postponed due to unavoidable circumstances.
ha ha ha, “unavoidable circumstances”!!!
We indulge too much in the present to look at the not so distant past. All that appears in recent memory is what has happened since March 9th. We need to look beyond that what got this country at this point.
Interesting read : Pakistan shakes off US shackles at Asia Times.