Darwaish

Its been more than four days since Martial Law and we are going through most difficult times of our history. Nobody knows how many more days and weeks and months this situation will continue.

Like most of the concerned Pakistanis, I felt so depressed and hopeless about the future of my beloved country specially during the first two days. Since the declaration of Martial Law (and please STOP calling it emergency!) on that Black Saturday Evening, like many other things we have also been deprived of basic human right of access to information which is most frustrating because we don’t know what is going on.

Owais Mughal

ONE: Let us go back to 1978

Let us go back in time. In 1978, Argentina was hosting two World Cup Tournaments. Hockey World Cup started at Buenos Aires in March 1978 and Soccer World Cup in June 1978. Pakistan won the hockey World Cup by defeating Holland in the final.

Throughout the hockey world cup, a wonderful Pakistan team managed by Abdul Waheed Khan and capatined by Islahuddin displayed a breathtaking attacking game. Crowd and connoisseurs got attracted alike.

Argentina’s soccer manager Cesar Luis Menotti became intrigued by Pakistan’s sublime technical skills. Midway through the hockey world cup, on a rest day, Pakistan manager Abdul Waheed Khan was informed that the manager of Argentine soccer team, Menotti, had arrived on his personal plane to see him. The Argentine chain-smoking coach always favored a stylish, attacking game based on skill and technique.

Menotti wanted to discuss in detail with Waheed, the tactics to penetrate packed defences. He watched a training session of Pakistan team with Abdul Waheed.

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.