Appeal

Restoration of Judiciary: Restoration of Hope?

March 16th, 2009. The day that the judiciary of Pakistan was restored. The day that the deposed judges of the November 3rd Emergency were restored. The day that the 2 year struggle of the lawyers was awarded. The day that Ch. Iftikhar was said to be reinstated as the Chief Justice of Pakistan on 21st of March, 2009. The day that the long march, rallied on and muscled on by lawyers, political activists and civil workers brought fruit to the cause. The day that Nawaz Sharif probably ended with a gloating smile the boundaries of which might not be measurable. His party had gained immense ground.

Apart from the obvious political inferences in this entire event, the restoration of the judges does at a level also go beyond the personalities involved. It goes beyond Musharraf, Ch. Iftikhar, Nawaz Sharif and Zardari. It stands as a symbol for the people of Pakistan. It stands as the point where people might just restore hope in our nation. In the future of our country. In the direction in which we can be headed. It stands as the symbol for the people and by the people, that if pushed, a revolution will not be far. This long march and the eventual restoration of the judiciary stands more for this than anything else in my opinion.

The fact that Ch. Iftikhar will once again be the Chief Justice of Pakistan holds little meaning to me unless he upholds the faith put into him by the supporters and strugglers of this cause of the past 2 years. It holds little meaning unless he actually works in the good benefit of the country, rather then putting it into further turmoil.

What is important in my opinion is to see that people did rise. They didn’t rise for their love of Mian saab. They didn’t rise for the love of Ch. Iftikhar. But rather for what these 2 individuals and their mandates stood for. What they symbolized. That we the people of this nation are capable of holding “democratic’” or “undemocratic” dictators accountable. That all the leaders of this nation must realize, that we are no longer willing to be pushed against the wall. We have the ability to rise for our better fortunes. We have the ability to fight for our rights. And we will not be made victims under a false pretence of democracy.

I hate almost all the political leaders of our nation, because more often then not, 90% of their agenda is selfish, rather then selfless devotion to the cause of a country, to the cause of prosperity of Pakistan. These ‘leaders’ come from all parties, PPP, PML-N, PML – Q, MQM etc etc etc. (let us not forget the Qazi Hussains and the Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehmans). They have all proven time and again they work only for their own personal agendas and their own personal gains.

However in the present event case, I think the PPP was not completely to blame. It wasn’t the PPP going back on the ‘Charter of Democracy’ or the agreements made with the PML-N over the restoration of the judiciary. It was rather the actors and forces which had quite conveniently hi-jacked the party in the name of their slain leader. It was the man I am sure many do believe was against reinstating Ch. Iftikhar because of the consequence that might have on the controversial NRO.

But at last, the party has also shown to have broken the shackles of this hi-jacking. PM Gilani announced what everyone wanted to hear. Even if not for the sake of Iftikhar, but perhaps in the hopes that this will signal the end of Zardari, the end of political instability. Sherry Rehman’s resignation over the handcuffing of media was courageous and principled. Zardari was doing all the things that a year ago he quite conveniently was blaming Musharraf for. Being a dictator.

Even Mian saab to be honest, in this particular issue, that of the judiciary, was taking principled stands. Although I have no doubt he was doing so because he had something to gain from it, but at least it was the right stand.

I’ve been against embroiling this nation in the judges issue for such a long time because well I knew it would drag on for such a long time. I knew there would be resistance from the top to bring back Iftikhar. And there were (and still are in my opinion) far more pressing and threatening issues in this country. Like the situation in the north and the continuing uncertainty in the country affecting the economy. And at the end, lets be honest, Nawaz Sharif is the last person you would think of being in so supportive of an independent judiciary. After all, he has deposed judges as well. Almost everyone has. But now, the judiciary and more importantly the people have stood up and said “enough is enough. no more playing with our lives” .

Though Nawaz Sharif was behind the long march and threw the weight of his party in support of the lawyers’ movement, even he must take this as a strong message “No more”.

In the end, it is my wish that this restoration of the judiciary, this historic moment for Pakistan, does actually bring fruits to our nation. That it brings a restoration of the hopes of our nation, the hopes of the 170 Million people living in Pakistan. That it is indeed a blessing for Pakistan.

For now all we can do is pray, and hope…….. the actual results and aftermaths of this decision are yet to be scene. Till then , all we do is hope and pray.

The Northern War & Nawaz’s Rant

There are certain sections of our society which are oblivious to the fact that there is a war going on in the northern parts of Pakistan. That there is absolute chaos and disarray for the residents of the Swat Valley and others. That this is not just a ‘phase’ of militant and terrorist insurgency that we are experiencing. It is a cancer which is gripping our nation and we need to battle hard to fight it. That the pattern which the world saw almost 2 decades ago involving the Taliban is being repeated in the same form of brokering peace deals by giving in to the demands of the extreme militants. It happened in Afghanistan as well. The Taliban came and then there was ‘”peace” from all the fighting.

We need to wake up to the reality that this is actually happening. The Taliban are actually winning in their purpose of escaping the writ of the Government and getting their own control and way in those areas. The situation might be so dire that it requires such measures, in order to stop the bloodshed. But what about the long term? What are we going to do to eliminate this cancer? We inherited this cancer from our policies of yesteryears and the war with the Soviets, but now how do we deal with it? Containing it is not an option because it doesn’t work and only turns out to be worse. We are the victims of trying to contain it. And let’s be clear. It is Pakistan on the front line of this war. Not anyone else. We are not carrying out any other country’s agenda when we talk about dealing with this situation. It is a threat to our existence and our survival as a sovereign nation, not anyone else’s.

However like I said earlier, some parts of our society are acting completely oblivious to the fact that we are in fact at war right now. Which is why they are hell bent on carrying out marches and launching attacks on the center of Pakistan. While I am not a fan of the government and the way things are being ‘handled’ in running this country smoothly, I do believe this is not the time to further any divides and further weaken the position of this country in the face of threats that currently exist and are practically knocking on our doors. Hell they are even some way past the door.

The lawyers are continuously leading me to believe that their agendas are highly questionable and that they are doing nothing other than playing out political card tricks. Nawaz’s declaration of supporting them in their march and sit in and then immediately after also launching an attack on the government and our president is somewhat proof of my opinion. Like I said, I am not a fan of the government either. But anyone who has the nation’s better interests in mind wouldn’t at this current point in time start up with political wars, the kind we saw in the 90s. And I am sure we all remember the 90s very well. The era of short lived governments. The era of consistent instability.

We don’t need this. Nawaz’s rant should have perhaps come when Zardari was being elected. Or should have come before that even. But not right now. Not when the situation in the NWFP gets more and more worse and dire. This rant was not instigated by any blind love for the nation. Rather it is because his ‘political’ career was seemingly being pushed down the drain and cut off.

This nation is consistently being made a mockery of by those we call our ‘leaders’ and still we haven’t wised up to them or their card tricks. We still haven’t realized on a whole that these so called leaders are akin to poker faced card players who live by the hand they have. It is the people who are paying for these ‘hands’. They are paying for it with their lives and their freedom. The Swat Valley was once the most beautiful place in Pakistan. Now, at least for the people living their, it is hell.

 

And what do we do? We condemn the acts of the Israelis in Gaza, we take out long march processions to get judges restored and we launch attacks on the federal government of Pakistan. 

‘Wake up and smell the coffee’. That’s what we need to do. If we don’t wake up even now and don’t realize the situation and boiler that we are in, then there is little chance for any bright future any time soon, or later either.

The end of our journey – To all the Grads of ‘08, CBM

Well, yesterday we were all rewarded. Our hard work of over the past 4 – 5 years was rewarded. We all got our degrees. Some masters, some bachelors. But we all had that same feeling of saying ‘FINALLY!’

We all got bored by Dr. Shamshad, but then… we were also all reminded of all the times that we’ve spent in CBM by our valedictorian.

I want to elaborate on that. Since he probably couldn’t fit all of the memories in that short space of time. For he was smarter then the good doctor .

I remember my first day at CBM. I and my cousin started together. And unlike the new tradition, we had our orientation on the first day of our classes only and not on the Saturday before the first day of classes. Talib Karim – TK – promised us a lot. He promised a journey of academic enlightenment. Well, he half delivered … that too not because of his own doings. We had a journey alright. The academic bit, I would rather not start on. I got ragged, I made a new friend, and I even got the feel of how I would set myself in this new endeavor of life. And from that day on, it’s been a journey of never looking back, even for all the mistakes and mishaps in between. No regrets.

The next four years, I saw myself, and my friends, slaving over reports, presentations, quizzes, last minute assignments, mid-terms, finals etc. How we learned through the 4 years on how to master the reports that we are working no matter what the subject. We became well versed in the art of making a good report. Making it presentable. Putting in the right information whether copy pasted, or derived from interviews from various managers in various companies. We learned how to deal with different subjects differently. We learned how to plan out our group studies in order to do well in exams. We learned that certain areas we need help, and in others we need to help. And we did. We all helped each other. In one way or the other.

These 4 years, I also saw how drastically we changed in our registration planning. Not by choice thou, but by need. Because of the overwhelming population increase each year, courses started to become full more quickly every semester. We went through phases of different ways to register thanks to CBM. We saw long lines, flying tempers, 6 hour + waits, and still not getting the right courses. We saw blood and broken glass even. That was a sad day. We saw luck, by going and standing in line on the first day, at 7 A.M. and getting the EXACT courses we want with the EXACT teachers. We saw having to stand in wait to argue with TK and company to get our courses because we couldn’t get it through their thick heads that those were the only courses we had left!!

The last 4 – 5 years, we’ve seen ourselves change as well. In the way our personalities have developed. In the way we have made our friends, groups, social circles. In the way we have increased in our confidence to handle varying situations. From presentations to breaking the ice with the opposite gender (owing to the fact that some of us came from non-co educational backgrounds). We learned (especially marketing majors) that bullshitting is quite a handy art, regardless of where it is used. If used correctly this art can bring you unprecedented success in both work and social networking!

I know I am not even going into half the details of all that transpired in our journeys in CBM. But I think what is important is that I’ve remembered, that we were all in it together. We all took each other’s support. We all shared biryanis as neeraj put it, from Hanif Rajput (or the umpteen new caterers of our canteen) and still didn’t like it. But had it everyday nonetheless.

Remember all the cafe times. The extreme rush hours when there would be no space, ANYWHERE. And then came along the subway area, as a hint of relief.

The emergence of the guitar culture. Sitting down, jamming some tunes and eventually playing all the well known songs that everyone would join in on and have a great time. Brilliant memories.

The talent shows, the Jashn-e-Bahara’s or the other basant festivals we have had. The dramas. The society work! My Lord I can never forget that. I simply cannot. The achievements we made during our events and seminars that we worked and arranged for. And getting all the sponsors.

The car pools that a lot of us had. And the Van partners that most of us had! The early morning traffic and getting late for the morning class every single day! And ironically all the traffic belonging to IoBM students!

The bake sales. The teachers. Some of the funny ones. Some of the frustrating ones. Some of the non-caring ones. Some of the caring ones. Some of them that you still have a lot of respect for. Some of them from who you actually learned something. Something that you could take through to the rest of your life.

There have been so many memories. There have been so many people who are a part of these memories. If nothing else, CBM gave us these memories. Some good, some bad. It gave us friends. Who we will probably never forget.

If not in academic terms, at least CBM gave us a forum where we were able to determine a direction for ourselves.

Yesterday was the highest point of our journey of the last 4 – 5 years. For it was the completion of it. And the beginning of a new one. Or at least the official beginning (For all those who have already started working)!

Cheers and Congratulations to all my fellow 2008 Graduates, Bachelors and Masters alike. We made it guys.

Gibberish…of a drained mind…

Imagine … violins playing in the background. They are touching just the perfect note for this moment. Completely defining my state of mind. Imagine that sound of music, so perfect.

The dark grey sky complimenting the violin strings … the drops from my eyes blending with those from the sky. The strong wind a perfect excuse to make it difficult to keep my eyelids open.

Gloomy weather for a gloomy mood. Its the perfect combination. Makes it a little easier to get through pain when it can easily blend into the surroundings and go unnnoticed as just another result of the weather.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this. I was supposed to be happy right now. But …. I am just thankful for the weather. I don’t have to look at my tear drops. I don’t have to look at pitiful sympathetic faces. Most of them saying something they cannot even comprehend.

‘I know what you are going through’ …. ‘I’ve been through exactly the same thing’….’I understand’ ….. ‘I can imagine’ …. ‘I know how you feel’ .

Poison words. Because you are not me .. .and you cannot possibly know how i feel. You cannot imagine what ‘I’ am going through because you are not me and don’t know and can’t know how I feel because you are not me.

I wish people would just not say anything instead of this irritating line. Every person is different. Hence every person’s experiences become different by that virtue even if everything in the situation is exactly the same.

They don’t know a thing.

I feel trapped. This music helps me. This violin helps me. But I still feel trapped. Nowhere to go, nowhere to run. Nowhere to place my shoulder to. I have to carry my own burden…. carry it by myself. No one else can share it with me. It was mine to carry anyways. And besides… everyone has their own share of problems.

I can’t think of what to do. I can’t think of the perfect solution. I am already grim and the easiest solution can only make my grimmer. Not to mention a goliath of life long scar.

I envy actors….. they hardly ever have to be who they really are. Who everyone really is.

Bastard coated bastard with bastard filling.  – Dr. Perry Cox. (SCRUBS)

I am losing sleep over losing myself and yet I am drowning in the same. The distance has grown… and the way is lost. Lost completely in my already drained mind.

Important: This post was not supposed to make any sense.

The Long March, The Generals and the Dark Prince

I admit first of all that i have taken the liberty of borrowing the ‘Dark Prince’ nickname given to Mr. 10 % from elsewhere, but one has to admit. It suits him.

OF the last month or two, one thing which has become more evident then ever before is that we as a nation are obsessed with politics, even if it is just so that we can unload a bag full of curses and let out steam. So much so, that our media, has more coverage of the Political Leaders in their news then of our national leaders. One can easily tend to forget that Mr. Gilani is actually the Prime Minister of Pakistan. President Musharraf of course is cursed with being in media time and again of late with something being thrown against him, so he is there, but not so much so in the capacity of a president but rather in the capacity of being a victim of Character Assasination attempts.

Nawaz Shariff has found a second wind in putting down the ex-general, and what’s more, this time he has brought along some of the other ex-generals along for the ride. We have been given a dose of ex servicemen, mostly Generals, coming on various platforms, revisiting Kargil, and calling for the trial of treason for the ex-COAS. Of course these were the very same generals who were there side by side at the time of the said event. And were just as much a party to it as anyone.

The army, has always I maintain been a solid institution overall, minus some of the top brass taking over national affairs from time to time in the history of our country. This was proven, when after these generals came out with their so called ‘opening the pandora’s box’, some of the other ex-servicemen, not those who have taken any FAVORS from Musharraf in the past, came out with logic, and evidence and blasted the likes of Gen. (R) Jamshed Gulzar and comapany and of course Nawaz Shariff.

It is sad to see the Army, the foundation of this solid institution of country, crumbling towards politics like this. Not those still in service, but those who are retired. And even if they are retired, they still hold a duty to all that they have served and to this country to maintain and uphold that spirit of the armed forces. Especially those who have served in senior positions. No good can come from bringing your own country’s and your own establishments name in great doubt. If these Generals, DEMAND the arrest and trial of General Musharraf, than let us not forget, as the respected Governer said, these generals have files of themselves as well. And these can be brought in front of public. Anything they accuse Musharraf of, will go without question for themselves as well.

Coming back to Mian sahab. He has turned his focus soley on getting his revenge, and soley proving that he is still just as big a moron as he was before. I feel pity for those honest souls who get fooled by him. His great showing at the long march in Lahore, just to give one speech and then return to his humble abode… was shameful. Chotay Mian is acting much more sensibly one feels. I’ve said it once before and I would like to say it again, and especially DEMAND an answer from Nawaz Shariff. How, and a complete and elaborate explanation beyond just the puffy words of this country’s integrity and spirit etc, just HOW is the restoration and this struggle for the restoration of the Pre Nov 3rd judiciary ensure the solution of the much more ongoing crisis of the economy of the country, like inflation, and poverty and power and water shoratges? Does he actually expect us to believe that the moment the judges resume duty eveything will be solved, magically ? I am mentally tired of this Focus on the Politics and Power ( controlling not energy) issues in the form of judicial crisis and all springing up when all the budget announced for combating the poverty level really was to announce giving 1000 Rs. to the poorest of the poorest families. How the hell is the judiciary more important than that crisis? How?

And finally, coming to the Dark Prince. I must admit, he has learned a lot in his time away and in prison. He has learned how to play his cards. Mr. Zardari is currently the Big Boss man, flying off to Saudi accompnying our Premier, holding sessions of the cabinet of Sindh and of course time and again holding press conferences. He’s not even a part of the government. He’s not a national leader, he is a political leader. A political leader of theatrical misfortune. Fortune for him, misfortune for Pakistan and some and trust me a rare breed of commendable politicians (note: Makhdoom sahab). He’s biding his time, for I do sincerely believe he is simply carrying out for a greater plan at hand, working in the background. One can’t help but feel that there some great foul play at hand in all of this. You just don’t feel right about anything to do with out country’s system and working at the moment. Like I said earlier, one can almost forget that we have a PM by the name of Yusuf Raza Gilani.

May Allah’s mercy stay with the people of this nation. Ameen.

Black Moon

Life, experiences a multitude of things. Love , anger, hate, lust, calm and panic. Just to list a few.

Of late,, night fall seems to be more intense. The sleeplessness always present. My imagination splattered in front of me. The darkness almost talking to me. Telling me ‘Stay calm, we will come soon’. And surprisingly that doesn’t scare me. In fact I’ve been sleeping after that. Almost as if I took valium.

But in all the suppressed calm and peace, I know in my heart, in the deepest corners of my sub concious that something is amiss. And this becomes more relevant when I look at the moon. I see a face in the moon. I can sense it being a familiar face, yet I don’t recognize it.

There was a deep sense of acknowldgement through the corridors of my heart for the face. And yet I can’t place this seemingly close person. I can sense hurt, sadness in me. I can sense an undeniable pain and still the face has no recognition.

I recall something of a crushing feeling, an emotionally crippling feeling. I want to cry and I want to scream. I start getting uneasy.

I feel myself going mad. Obsessed with an unknown desire. I see the face still without recognition. But I also remember the feelings of love, passion and happiness.

And then suddenly my memory train starts to go back. I remember. The face. The face of my love. My obsession. Our relationship. My turmoil. My tumutous overbearing passion and emotional wreckage. The hollowness between us. Then I see the moon go black. I see gun shots. I see bodies lying on the floor. Cold. Still. Laying in the static of the night. A black night. I see her face. Still. At peace. But dead. And the next, I see my own. Laying still. Static. In agony even without life. I see the black moon now, setting upon me.

The Madness Within

It truly now seems like an eternity that man has gone through various, humoungous changes in his own self, in his mental state, in the development of the environment around him. Changes that he has brought about himself through the great tool that is called Science. But also through the impending laws of nature. Yet for all of his adaptive achievements, there are still some areas he has not dominated. One of them, is of course the struggle to understand the human mind. The emotional boiler room, the intrinsic workings that generate the passion, the pathos, the soulwork.

And so we continue today, standing like small little specks in the midst of a huge concrete jungles which dress the surface levels of the earth. The metropolitans, the super cities. New York, London, San Francisco, Chicago, Tokyo, etc etc. Oh and of course Dubai. You realize that you are just a small little speck in the midst of billions of specks, spread out through out the earth. But for the life of you, the emotions boiling inside you, seem so much more bigger than yourself, and those around. Because, whatever they say in regards to your emotions, seems like a lost cause. So you take the support of mostly your own self made paranoia. Isn’t that just the peachiest thing to do. The self absorbing, consumed states of mind that takes over is like a black and blue bruised eye that has been set to stare at you for all of eternity, and you know what? … That’s not really a very pretty sight.

One can go on to try and distract himself. Watch some shows or movies or sports again and again. But at some time you will run out of those things. Or you will grow tired of them. Which is not surprising, because after all, with all that has been said about the mind so far, it’s obvious that it will grow tired of routine. It needs change. It wants change. It’s essential for it’s survival. Yet in some parts, change is exactly what it doesn’t want. You want you environment to change. But you want your safety and security to remain exactly the same. Similarly, your emotions as well. You want the loving feelings to be there, always, throughout. You yearn for that bliss. But, like almost every other entity, thought, living being on this planet, that also changes. This world and this life is made of change. But the madness within doesn’t change. You promise to change, to make things different. You promise to be stronger. But guess what ? That guy in the mirror is still you. You just might have become more older, there might more wrinkles and less hair, but it’s the same old you buddy. And that rage, that conflict, the madness … is still the same. And why? Because all people, all humans, are saps.

Arsenal : ALL HAIL THE GUNNERS

We yell, we scream, we turn a 60,000 strong stadium into an army more fiercer than the White Sorcerer’s army in Lord of The Rings. We paint our face, we wave our flags, we chant our anthems, and we stead our mast. We are ready. We are here to welcome those little devils with the faces of glorius past and present and most importantly .. the all conquering future.

Sure, we have not with us the King no more. But we have with us instead, a young one in the making , and in fact half done before time. So ready we are. Our focus  is there, our goal is clear. No Knight from ye SCOTLAND can do nothing to the tactician from FRANCE.

All HAIL GUNNERS … WE ARE GUNNING FOR GLORY THIS SEASON… WE ARE GUNNING FOR YOUR HIDES, AND WE ARE GUNNING FOR THE SILVER. ALL HAIL THE MIGHTY GUNNERS !

All i needed…

All i needed was the touch of love… a pair of eyes posing some sense of understanding towards me. Someone who could see through me. A moment of truth that might do me some good. I am not supposed to be here . I am not supposed to be just another person. Not a nameless face. I am supposed to be on a higher plain. I can feel it. I can feel things bigger than who I am right now. I can sense them hanging in the air just above me , sense their wait. I can almost feel it, in my blood, in my thoughts, but that’s where it ends. I can’t see it. I don’t know what it is. But I know it’s there.

I need to keep believing. I know, there’s more out there. What’s there, I don’t know. Many people think the exact same way I do. They even know what they are thinking about. Perfection. The moment that defines who we are. Of how we either fight or take flight from our fears. How we rise from our falls. How we pretend to be someone we are not , and then one day, face ourselves and stand tall to our challenges and ourselves.

All i needed was this faith, this intrinsic hope , that i was special. That i was above normal. That i had a role to play, in the forging of time into the words of history. All i needed was, something more than myself…