Lets do the right thing.

"Why should I suffer, for what I have done? Because I did the right thing"; that must be ticker tape running continuously in the mind of Musharaf. Why does he think that he did the right thing? An officer follows orders, to him it is the right thing to do. No matter what madness is bestowed upon him by the high command, the officer will follow it. The officer always follows orders, because that what he learns and that is all he is good at; to him even the wrong becomes right. May be musharraf thought that pleasing the US while in charge was just like following orders; and it was the right thing. But alas, he was wrong. It would help if he gets out of this hypnotic state of denial and face the facts. The signs of that are starting to show, as he is visiting some high profiles, in the mideast and the west in a desperate attempt to impede the inevitable.

Despite of all the chaos being created by old school intelligentsia (and some group from Sindh), everyone is on a single note playing the funeral songs for the dictator. PMLN has also stepped in to counter this chaos and to reiterate what the objectives should be, I think that was a good idea. It is time when APDM should also step in and back PMLN, it would also help them to get some political leverage. May be it is time for PMLQ to wash away some stains, if they realize that it is an opportunity for redemption. Of course more chaos will be created by some high-elements in the government and others in Musharraf's buddy list but it is time to build and sustain a political momentum against him. But most of all, people must rise like they did for the Chief Justice, they must rise again for the country and for themselves.

Do the right thing, they say, it will gratify some people and astonish the rest. It is time we do what is right. The right thing is the trial and eventual "end" of the dictator. It is time we show that people rule this country not some army-men and political goofs following foreign orders. And when we have done the right thing, we don't stop.

[Is that too much to ask? or do I have what the call Utopian Syndrome]

Winds of change

Everything has a limit; and everything should reach it's limit to spawn a change. The dictatorship reached it's limit of oppression in the history of Pakistan and it's downfall was the sweet change that we felt in the air. But the people of Pakistan has a limit too, we have been watching our leaders betray us for quite sometime, we have been deprived of our basic human rights for decades. We have been living in deprivation for the past 60 years, 90% of our people don't live their lives fully. 10% of the people enjoys 90% of the countries resources. There is no difference between us and the drought stricken African countries; over there in Africa it is natural, and in Pakistan this deprivation of all sorts have been created by our leaders and agencies to suppress and control the people and to indulge us in little things so that we don't see the bigger plan against us.

And if our leaders don't understand our state and our frustration then we will reach our limit. And that day will be the day of Civil War, which will spawn another change for Pakistan and I think that change will be for the good and we desperately need it.

The murder of Benazir

Another negative, humiliating and sad breaking news involving Pakistan. Benazir, a controversial yet famous figure was killed in such a brutal way with a dozen other civilians. Benazir who lived a controversial life leaves the stage with another controversy surrounding her death. The silence and confusion in the air created by different people from PPP and the government is really making this matter complex and is not helping in the cause to find the killer. The government's irresponsible stance on her death is as ridicules as their security measures that were taken to safe guard Benazir's life. I will not get into a debate about Benazir's departure from Pakistan's politics as good or bad. But the way she died is inhumane and the killer must be identified and brought to justice to prevent such incidents in the future. There are several questions that create a lot of suspicion and may as well point fingers at the presumed innocent. I will say here that the following theory is my own so people may differ from it. The following are honest and unbiased questions that most of us are thinking of, so lets take a look at them.

1. Why didn't the killer try to shoot her when she was giving speech?
2. How did the killer know that he would get another chance to shoot her when she will be leaving?
3. How did the shooter come so close?
4. Did the shooter know about the bomb?
5. Why did her body was sent out for burial in such a haste?
6. Why was the crime scene wiped clean in a few hours and why wasn't the government stopped by PPP?
7. Why didn’t PPP go for an autopsy?
8. Why hasn't PPP united on one stand to find the killer?
9. Why PPP still wants to go for the election?
10. Who has benefited from her death?

Theory 1

If one looks at the videos released by the government and other agencies it seems that the killer knew exactly where to be and when to shoot. It was like someone told him to be there because Benazir will come out of the sunroof that is why he didn’t attempt to kill her when she was giving the speech. The killer knew that Benazir’s car is bomb proof and that the bullet is the answer to it. Benazir was his target so when he shot her, why did he or the bomber find it necessary to detonate the bomb to kill innocent people? After the shooting Benazir went inside the car so there was no way the bomb could have hurt her in anyway. It also makes me think that the shooter actually didn’t know about the bomb and the bomb was planted there and detonated to kill the shooter when he was done with his job. The bomb killed the shooter and wiped out the evidence with him.

Theory 2

The bullets that were removed from Benazir’s body are now gone because the doctors have changed their opinion from the bullet to the sunroof lever as the cause of death. Now one cannot clearly say anything about which gun was the murder weapon. Secondly if you see the video closely, you will find that after the first shot Benazir fell in the car and because the gun also would have recoiled the probability of another bullet hitting Benazir is low. But the doctors found two bullets from her body; it makes me think that there is a possibility of a sniper taking the shot and that the on-ground-shooter was a cover up to the whole thing just to deviate people’s attention to phantom Al-Qaeda. The sniper might as well have detonated the planted bomb to eliminate the evidence and to make it look like an act of terrorism.

The above theories, based on some hard facts, make the killing well planned and not an act of some terrorist organisation. Now lets take a look at who has really benefited from this incident. After this incident the popularity of Musharraf is at it’s all time low and PPP is popular like it was after the death of Zulifqar Ali Bhutto in 1978. The PPP now has the support of the masses, who after this incident have forgotten all about the deals and NRO etc. A lot of people have emotionally turned and now support PPP.

Lets take a look back again; the shooter came very close to the car in which Benazir was travelling and he knew where to be and when to shoot her. I think that some of the senior politicians of PPP and Benazir’s close aides were involved in the killing and they might have had the shooter to be on the right place at the right time. These politicians may have also cleared the shooter from the security checks. Obviously the whole thing must have been planned by some intelligence agency, domestic or foreign. The thing is that PPP didn’t even go for an autopsy, which should have been done. Benazir’s body was sent so quickly for burial and the crime scene was wiped clean before any preliminary investigation was done. The surprising fact is that PPP hasn’t rallied out and given a “hard” statement against the government yet they still want to participate in the elections that they themselves think will not be free and fair. PPP hasn't even tried to find a good politician from among themselves to be the next leader, instead they came up with Benazir's will. Some politicians in PPP has now a strangle hold on the party that has become even more strong after having Zardari playing his role and having an eighteen year old son of Benazir as chairperson who as a minor can easily be controlled. It has also stopped other competent people from heading PPP and has gained the support of Bhutto lovers. PPP is a party that thrives on sacrifices and if one sees, PPP has solely benefited from Benazir’s death and has satisfied Musharraf’s insatiable hunger for power. There is a lot more that can be concluded here but I will leave the rest on the readers. I’ll just end this article with a prayer that may God protect our country from enemies both foreign and domestic, Amen.

Swat

City of the dead at the end of another lost highway
- Green Day

Pakistan is a country that has various ethnic groups who have been living in harmony together for decades till today. Being a multicultural country Pakistan is a place where people with different beliefs, cultures and philosophies live together. When did it become right to tell an ethnic group that their beliefs are wrong? When did it become right to impose the beliefs of one ethnic group onto another ethnic group? When did it become right to suppress and even eliminate one ethnic group based on their beliefs? Whatever is happening in Swat is called “ethnic cleansing” by every definition and in every dictionary of the world. Masking the issue of ethnicity and beliefs with the label of terrorism is resulting in the deaths of innocent men, women and children. It is hard to understand why today any ethnic issue that has Islamic roots is tied to terrorism. I don’t know why is the struggle of one ethnic group to protect it’s culture and to live freely and survive with their own beliefs is considered wrong.

Pakistan as a country has lost its way, its ideology and (hopefully not) its future. We are going down a lost highway with misleading signs that will take us to disaster. Today one ethnic group calling itself “moderate” is taking over the entire country, tomorrow the other will strike back and it has already started happening. The show of moderation by the group in power can be seen in the blood of innocence at Swat. It is like the history repeating itself again and again and we are determined not to learn from it. We can look back and see what happened in Bosnia, we can recall and think over why Algeria never saw peace, and we can learn something from the Shah of Iran. The philosophy of “to live and let live” is straight out the window of our leaders who by living most of their lives in barracks learnt nothing but the philosophy of war and violence. How come these people know what human rights are when all they learnt is war tactics, “yes sir”, “left-right” and to follow orders. Power belongs to the people of Pakistan and not to these puppets pulled by strings in the hands of their foreign masters.

Swat, a paradise on earth now looks like a town of Bosnia, which is too much of a price to pay for ones beliefs. I hope the blood of the people of Swat breathes life in every Pakistani living in every part of Pakistan. I hope all Pakistanis rise up against this aggression and struggle for justice and their right to be free. It is a big ask that requires perseverance and constant struggle and this is the time to do it. We need to refresh our minds with the ideology of Pakistan; we need to recall once again the freedom that Quaid-i-Azam stood for. It gives me strength to see the people of Swat who despite of oppression still stand for their beliefs and I wish and I pray that they succeed and bring Pakistan back on track. And I wish we all make Pakistan the country that was once dreamt by Allama Iqbal.

Freedom doesn't come easy

dream the same thing every night
see a freedom in my sight.
- Metallica

I wake up at seven, have some breakfast go to work at nine, come home at seven, have some dinner and sleep at ten. Then I dream, I dream and do what I wanted in life and then wake up at seven again. To me my life is like a dream and my dreams bring me whatever I wanted to have in life. To me my dreams are real, my dreams are the reality and I dream of freedom every night. I wish it could be the other way round but when I wake up I push myself into neverland, a world that has no concept of freedom, and I offer myself to be controlled. I wish I could wake up and feel and smell the freedom in the air. Someone said that on average a man sleeps for twenty years in life and the average life of a man is sixty years. It makes me think that I am only free for the twenty years I sleep and live in imprisonment for forty. Why can't I control my own destiny, who takes away my freedom when I wake up? Life is more then waking up at seven and going to work at nine.

It is not divine intervention that grips me in chains and turns me into a zombie everyday. It is a manly force with manly shackles and the promises of freedom that carry chains with them. I think I can break these shakles but I can't break them alone. How many are there like me, how many like me lives freely for the twenty years they sleep. If we all join hands I don't see any reason not to taste the freedom we dream of every night. It is only the realization of the fact that we are in chains and the longing for the freedom in life.

So what is the right way to have that freedom? How many times have we tried? How many decades have passed and how many lives are lost? Now after all the struggles do we still think that the freedom comes easy? The answer is no. We should never allow anyone to rob us of our right to freedom and we should all go to every length to be free because we only live for sixty years and sleep for twenty.

Helen and the Trojan horse

The mockery in the name of elections is nearing; the stage is set for the crowning of the queen. The battle is on between the right and the wrong; the swords are out, thirsty and waiting behind the shinning armors. And we all know how just this battle will be; but then all is fair in love and war. The Trojan horse has done the damage; Helen is being rescued for the crowning. Maulana Fazal the modern Trojan horse has been used a lot of times by his master and he has stabbed in the back many times when the time was right. Maulana has proved to be one the most unreliable persons in today’s politics although he must himself think that he is a clever politician for some self satisfaction.

The way Maulana infiltrated the democratic alliance as a “friend” and stabbed everyone in the back, not even the Trojan horse of Troy could’ve done better. May be the whiff of power and the sweet smell of “halwa” the master is cooking is enough for the horse to be expecting a lot more to come in return for his services. The way Maulana has helped the cause of Benazir to be the next prime minister is just like the way the Trojan horse of Troy helped in the rescue of Helen. No matter how openly both parties point fingers at each other, both are meant to be together.

Although this union of selfish, opportunists and back stabbers is very dangerous for Pakistan but I am an optimist and the good thing that has come out of this is that one can now clearly see who stands with the people and who stands for vested interests. Now that we are days away from the crowning ceremony, Imran, APDM and others must feel betrayed but their principles must not change and resolve is now what is required from the true leaders of the future.

Who is he trying to fool?

After all that happened for reasons that are so obvious, our president still is in denial. His rationale is so flawed that even a child can see through the smokescreen of lies he is trying to build. In the last interview to a foreign television channel, which was full of his blatant lies, he claimed that majority of the people of Pakistan are with him and only a handful of people are trying to undermine him. Let’s see what he meat by a “handful” of people that he has dealt with after the imposition of Emergency. These “handful” of people include the entire judiciary and all the lawyers, these “handful” of people include all the political parties of Pakistan and their workers, followers and families (except for one he created), these “handful” of people include all the private independent media channels and all the journalists, these “handful” of people include all the civilians who protest against dictatorship. I don’t think we even need to count these “handful” of people to understand what he “really” meant. “One man against the entire nation”, a quote of Ihtizaz Ahsen that very well sums it all up.

It just makes me laugh when I listen to the president and his claims. So who is he trying to fool? It can’t be the people of Pakistan because we all know where our president stands. It can’t be the West and United States because US is playing with Pakistan for a long time to be fooled by such statements, secondly US is the sole beneficiary of his actions. So who is the real audience of such lies? May be he himself needs some self satisfaction, may be he is trying to make himself know that he is popular. May be the façade of lies are not for the people but for himself so that whatever he does against the interests of Pakistan he doesn’t feel bad. May be he is too arrogant to accept the actual facts and the “reality on ground” his favourite phrase that he uses very often in interviews.

It is a shame that after eight years of disaster where now Pakistan is on the edge of an abyss our president is still not taking responsibility for that. All the suicide attacks, the deaths of innocent people and the blood, all the lawlessness, all the hatred in the people of Pakistan for the army, all the compromises on national issues, all the heros of Pakistan thrown in jail and treated like terrorists, it all happened in his presidency and in his rule and still he is blaming others. It is time for our president to realise that he is a failure “a failed leader” and he should take responsibility like a man for what he has done with the country and resign. He should accept his fate and let the people of Pakistan choose their own destiny because we can no longer be fooled.