Sectarian Emergency

A systematic & brutal genocide of Shia Muslims has now become a norm of today’s Pakistan. Though the killing of this community is not new, it is continued since last 3 decades of the country’s history, but it has increased dramatically during past recent years. Below are only few stats of targeted mass-killings of Shias in recent years:

• 28 Feb. 2012: Gunmen have killed at least 18 Shia Muslim bus passengers in a sectarian attack in the northern Pakistani district of Kohistan. [ bbc.com ]
• 17 Feb. 2012: A suicide bomb attack on a market in a Shia Muslim area of north-west Pakistan has killed 26 people and injured at least 50 others, officials say. [ bbc.com ] (Three more people died when security forces fired on crowds protesting against the attack.)
• 15 Jan. 2012: At least 18 people have died and at least 20 wounded in a bomb attack on a Shia Muslim religious procession in the central Pakistan city of Khanpur. [ bbc.com ]
• 4 Oct. 2011: Gunmen have attacked a bus carrying Shia Muslims in south-western Pakistan, killing 13 people and injuring 6 others, police say. [bbc.com ] (1 injured person passed away later, increasing the death toll to 14)
• 20 Sep. 2011: At least 26 Shia Muslim pilgrims have been killed by a group of gunmen who opened fire on a bus in western Pakistan, officials said. [ bbc.com ]
• 3 Sep. 2010: At least 50 people have died and almost 80 have been injured in a suicide bombing at a Shia Muslims rally in Quetta, southwest Pakistan. Pakistani Taliban militants say they carried out the attack. [ bbc.com ]
• 1 Sep. 2010: Bomb attacks on a Shia Muslim procession in Lahore city killed 31 people on Wednesday. [ bbc.com ]

.. these stats show only a little of a larger and graver picture.

Although the killing was systematic before this mass killing culture, but generally remained limited up to the “killing of individuals” only (excluding the scattered incidents of mass-murders), where the “individuals” were mostly the male qualified professional doctors of the Shia community. The evil motive behind the killings of male Shia doctors was to remove the bread-earner, and the head of the family, who was qualified as well. Consequently the deceased doctor would leave a helpless, unsafe, and financially weak family behind him, with an unsure future. Furthermore, on larger scale, killing of a qualified doctor means, to move the community towards a forced intellectual and educational bankruptcy. Whereas the individual killings of scholars, lawyers and other renowned Shia personalities was also continued in parallel.
But it seems that the evil forces were not satisfied with this individual killing method. Their thirst of blood is never ending, so now they’ve started an all-out genocide.

Role & Reaction of State of Pakistan

A sad and bitter truth is that, so far the state of Pakistan has played a negative role as far as the sectarian violence is concerned. It is important to know that any state itself cannot act, react, or take precautionary measures against the evils of society. They are the “organs” of a state, who are responsible to control evils of any society. So in this case, the “government” and its “institutions” (i.e. police, armed forces, intelligence agencies, etc. ) are supposed to react and eliminate the sectarian violence. But its useless to expect any just behaviour from a government, who not only itself, but its organs (Army, Police, Agencies, etc.) as well,  create/support religious-extremist-terrorist organizations.

Who in the world doesn’t know that to serve the US interests in Afghanistan during 1980′s, the then Pakistani Government, Army and intelligence agencies openly created & encouraged the Jehadi Groups. And of-course, it all happened with the consent of USA. The jehadi groups later converted into the terrorist organizations.
Who doesn’t know that the Nawaz Sharif lead political party PML-N, who ran the government two times during 1990′s, has strong ties with the terrorist organizations. How is it possible that a government run by such political parties would be interested in eliminating in religious-extremist-terrorist organizations ? And if left-wing parties like PPP come to power, they act so incompetently & get so much indulge in corruption that they never care about curbing the terrorist groups.

When governments and its organs/institutions become nurseries of terrorist groups, who will curb the evil ?

Role & Reaction of Media (print/electronic)

Media’s role is ironical. After each Shia killing incident (individual killing or mass killing), the media tries either to hide the news, or deliberately put the news between the later (or less important) part of news. Also, special efforts are made to deliver the news without specifically informing that the people who died, in-fact belonged to the Shia community. Furthermore, the death-toll mentioned in news are not accurate mostly, and reported lesser than the actual number of people died.

The following link is a good example of how the biggest news group of Pakistan reported the recent killing incident of 28 Feb. 2012. The incident occurred in Kohistan when several Shia passengers were brutally killed after confirming their identity using National Identity Cards. However the newspaper reported the incident without specifying that the people killed were actually Shia Muslims. Also, the number of deaths mentioned is less than the actual death-toll i.e. 18.

Journalism of a famous news group: http://jang.com.pk/jang/feb2012-daily/28-02-2012/u98225.htm

No need to say that the above link is only 1 example amongst the dozens.

However, during the large annual processions like on 10th Muharram, the deliberate concealing of such news becomes impossible. Consequently media has to clearly report incidents on such occasions.

Role & Reaction of Judiciary

The so-called free judiciary is credited for issuing several release/bail orders of notorious terrorists, who are leading members of banned terrorist groups. The persons released were involved in several killing incidents.

Any hopes from judiciary are vain, as the present higher judiciary is somehow perceived to be ideologically aligned (to much extent, if not completely) with those of the extremists.

Role & Reaction of Civil Society

As the majority of the population is consisted on Sunni Muslims, therefore generally the masses are un-responsive, and remain silent after the incidents of sectarian violence. Whereas the section of population that possesses extreme religious views, behaves coldly, insensitively, or rather feels happy regarding the killings of Shia population.

Bottom Line

Keeping the behaviour of government, its institutions, judiciary, media, and masses in mind, it seems fairly difficult that the situation could start improving in foreseen future. No serious attempts are made from any of the above mentioned units of the society to normalize the ever worsening situation. Though the security of the lives of all citizens has become unsure across the board, but the conditions are even more vulnerable for the Shia Muslims.

The Punjab Factor

ham k Thehray ajnabi etni mulaqatoN k baad
phir banein gay aashna kitni madaratoN k baad

It is the opening couplet of Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s famous ghazal “Dhaka se waapsi per” (on return from Dacca) written in 1974, after the fall of Dacca in 1971.

Forty years gone by. It was supposed that whatever was left remaining (after the loss, defeat, & ignominy) would be handled with care and with focused attention. Time tells a different story however.

Few years ago when I was getting aware of these happenings of past & politics, a word “establishment” was appearing time & again, and there was a great confusion in understanding it. Media and politicians were leaving an impression that the meaning of ‘establishment’ is “Army”. Or to be precise, the top brass of military; encompassing COAS, along-with the Corps Commanders and Chiefs of intelligence agencies. But this definition couldn’t satisfy me completely. The nature of past events pointed that some entities were still missing, and the puzzle remained unsolved.

What happened with Bengalis, guides to understand the ‘establishment’ to much extent. And after the fall of Dacca, the events occurred in the incomplete Pakistan, guides to understand the ‘establishment’ completely. After the independence of Pakistan in 1947, this shadowy giant succeeded to define its raw shape during the first decade. And with the arrival of Ayub Khan (the military dictator) in 1958, the actual shape & figure of this giant started becoming visible.

The inequalities done with Bengalis are no more hidden now, and Bangladesh is an evident evidence of those inequalities. From the discrimination of providing lesser job opportunities (civil & military), to the political manipulations (like “One Unit”), and to the minimal degree of development in their part of country, Bengalis were betrayed. The construction of Islamabad as the new capital also fueled their frustration. And in last, refusing their right of making government (after the general elections of 1970) proved to be the final nail in the coffin of national unity. Everything was recorded by history.

But who was going to learn lessons from history ? It gradually became clear only after the creation of Bangladesh that it was not the “West Pakistan” that was dominating “East Pakistan”. It was in-fact only ‘one province’ of West Pakistan that was dominating the whole (West & East) Pakistan. The jobs (civil & military) were only for that one province, the education was only for that province, the development projects were only for that province, the higher governmental positions were for that province, the quota system was made to facilitate that province, the law to distribute wealth (NFC Award) was made in favour of that province, the law for tax collection was made to prevent that province from paying taxes, and there is a never ending list of inequalities.

One could never understand the ‘establishment’ until s/he does not understand the Punjab factor. Its a factor that starts affecting right from the very roots of civil lives of each Pakistani. And the irony is that Punjab doesn’t acknowledge that it is getting undue advantages from the system. It never acknowledges that it ridiculously gets a lion’s share through NFC Award just on the basis of population. Whereas the fact is that 70% of the revenue of country is generated by Sindh. The grievances of Baluchistan is another long and saddest chapter. It is the most deprived, neglected and less developed province. The roots of its deprivation also lies in the Punjab factor. Most of the resources (economic, political or mineral) of Baluchistan are also consumed by Punjab. In short, it was this Punjab factor that first cut the country into two pieces, and now its up to break the unity of remaining part.

It is useless to clarify that most (not all) of the higher positions of bureaucracy, judiciary, or military, are occupied by the people belong to Punjab. So they are there to serve the purpose of their province. Similar is the case with Parliament. More than half of the National Assembly seats belong to Punjab (obviously on the basis of population). Using this majority, they make it sure that any legislation demanding Punjab to contribute its due liabilities could not be passed. Under these circumstances, even a Prime Minster that may belong to any other province, cannot protect the rights of other provinces just because majority of the parliamentarians belong to Punjab. The suggestions to make administrative divisions of Punjab in order to create balance & harmony (and to remove the discriminations with Southern Punjab) are always rejected in initial stages.

So it gradually became clearer that establishment is not the ranks of armed forces only. Establishment is the name of behavior of our system, and it mainly encompasses the top brass of Military, the civil bureaucracy, judiciary, and parliament (where pro-Punjab laws are tailored). And the aim of these entities/institutions is to work jointly to create, facilitate, and implement pro-Punjab policies in the whole country. From the induction of an individual to a civil/military vacancy, to the collection of tax, and to any kind of development work, the system/establishment makes it sure that Punjab is getting the most and giving the least.

Over the course of past 60 years, it seems as if “The Punjab Factor” has taken the shape of habits, behaviours, or a sort of mental-states for most of the Punjabis. They now think that they are the most patriotic citizens of Pakistan (while on the other hand they contribute the least). They think that they have the first right over all the resources, wealth, positions, assets, lands, waters and facilities which the country offers. And amazingly they are not aware that they are committing injustice. The ratio of unconventional Punjabis that admits the seriousness of real situation is dangerously low.

The writing is becoming longer, and the situation of “South Punjab” couldn’t be covered, which is another similar and longer story. Some other time may be ..

By the way, Faiz himself was a Punjabi, but an unconventional one !

Rabba Sacheya

.. probably another harsher piece of poetry by ‘Faiz’, and readers may find the last part an in-appropriate one, just as i am feeling. But somehow, it can be taken as a ‘shikwa’ that is put forward by a deprived human-being to his Lord.

.. and Urdu readers might find it difficult to read/understand (just as i found it difficult to understand ). Its the first Punjabi nazm that I am posting. Please read ..

Rabba sacheya

Rabba sacheya tooN te aakhya si
jaa oye bandya jag da shah hein tooN
saaDyaaN naymtaaN tayriaaN daultaaN nein,
saaDa naib te aalijaah hein tooN,
ays laaray te Tor kad puchhya ee
keeh ays numaane te beetiyaaN nein
kadi saarvi laee O Rabb-saaiyaaN
tayray shah naal jag keeh keetiyaaN nein

kitay dhoNs police sarkaar di aye
kitay dhaandli maal patwaar di aye
aenooN haDDaaN ch kalpay jaan mayri
jeevan phaahi ch kooNj kurlaundi aye
changa shah banaya ee Rabb-saaiyaaN
paulay khaNdiyaaN vaar na aundi aye

mainooN shaahi naeeN chahidi Rabb mayray
main te izzat da tukker magnaaN haaN
mainooN taa hung naeeN, mehlaaN maaRyaaN di
main te jeevan di nukker mangna haaN

mayri mannein te tayriaaN main mannaaN
tayri soNh je ek vi gall moRaaN
je eeh maaNg naeeN pujdi tein Rabba
fayr main jaavaaN te Rabb koi hor loRaaN

[ Faiz Ahmed Faiz ]
shaam-e-sheher-e-yaaraaN

 

Translation

My true God, it was you who said:
‘Go Man. Go forth and be King of the World’
All my bounties belong to you
You shall be my anointed and appointed on Earth.

Having given false promises
Have you ever stopped to ask
What happened to this poor soul ?
What this world has done to your king ?

Here, the excesses of Police and State
There, the extortions of Revenue collectors
My bones shake in this tortured frame
Like the shrieks of a crane, ensnared.
What a great King you made of me Lord
Insulted, humiliated, beaten with shoes

I don’t hanker for a kingdom my Lord
Just a piece of bread with dignity
I don’t need castles and mansions
Just a nook to shelter my head

Let’s strike a deal
If you heed me, your every command I’ll obey
And if this bargain doesn’t suit you
Then I’ll go and seek another God.

Translated from the original by
Sudha Bhuchar and Amarjit Chandan

 

 

 

 

ham ne chaha bhi, mager dil na Theherna chaha

Moin Akhter (late)

.. i was reading the following nazm of Faiz yesterday. The title ‘heart attack’ reminded me of Moin Akhter, whose untimely demise left his admirers speechless and empty-handed. And Pakistan has lost its finest gem of performing-arts.

He felt severe pain in heart on 22nd April, and passed away the same afternoon. May Allah bless the departed soul with eternal peace.

                    heart attack

derd itna tha k us raat dil-e-wehshi ne
her rag-e-jaaN se ulajhna chaaha,
her bun-e-moo se Tapakna chaaha
aur kaheeN door teray sehen mein goya
patta patta meray afsurda lahoo mein dhul ker
husn-e-mahtaab se aazurda nazer aanay laga
meray weeraana-e-tan mein goya
saaray dukhtay huay reshoN ki tunaabein khul ker
silsila-waar pata denay lageeN
rukhsat-e-qaafila-e-shoq ki tayyaari ka
aur jab yaad ki bujhti hui shamm’oN mein nazer aaya kaheeN
aik pal aakhri lamha teri dil-daari ka
derd itna tha k us se bhi guzerna chaha
ham ne chaha bhi, mager dil na Theherna chaha

Faiz Ahmed Faiz
(ser-e-waadi-e-seena,
nuskha-haay-e-wafa)

yaheeN azaab-o-sawaab hoga

.. hoping it would happen soon !!

nidaa-e-ghaib

her ek ool-ul-amr ko sada do
k apni ferd-e-amal sambhaalay
uThay ka jab jamm-e-ser-faroshaaN
paRein gay daar-o-rasan k laalay
koi na hoga k jo bacha le
jaza saza sab yaheeN pe hogi
yaheeN azaab-o-sawaab hoga
yaheeN se uThay ga shor-e-mehshar
yaheeN pe roz-e-hisaab hoga

Faiz Ahmed Faiz

Black-hole of ridicule & shamelessness !

.. expressing the most depressing thoughts sometimes acts as outlet. Expressions are virtual ointments. However sometimes it creates adverse effects as well when, while expressing, our minds remain in the same depressing state for longer durations. And hence we find ourselves in the midst of options i.e. whether to express the depressed thoughts to let them drain out, or to avoid thinking the same depressing thoughts to set our minds free. The condition becomes even more painful in such situations. I dont know whose couplet is this ..

aisay zakhmoN ka kia karay koi
jin ko merham se aag lag jaaye

.. the episode of Raymond Davis has left me in the same situation. I cant ignore the event. How can I, when i’m a firm believer of the forgotten ‘two nation theory’ ? But continuously thinking this event is now giving birth to rebellious thoughts in me. My faith in the country is now dropped to lowest.

Leadership ?

Before his release, the military (and its leadership) was probably the last ray of hope for the millions of Pakistanis. That hope too is dead after this. Whom to rely upon now ? Once you have lost your self-respect, no nuclear bomb, ballistic or cruise missile, tanks or fighter jets can save you from enemy. Because now your enemy knows that you can sell everything. They can now bid for our nuclear weapons as well. And we’ll see that at what price our leadership (civil & military) will finalize that deal too. It is just a matter of time now.

After this event, what could be the biggest morale-boosting factor for the nation in near future ? If i’m guessing it right, the cricket World-Cup Title could boost the morale. But what is the point of happiness in it ? What a Cup can do for a nation whose bowl of self-respect is already empty ? And to whom this nation wants to show the world-cup ? The community of nations already knows that you are for sale. Nevertheless, a nation that is lost in the black-hole of ridicule & shamelessness, will definitely celebrate it to prove its shamelessness, if God would give such a chance !


Raymond Davis is released

Raymond Davis is gone now .. shamelessly released yesterday (March 16, 2011) by an unmatched joint-conspiracy of establishment & the government of Pakistan. It would be unjust to blame USA here, because US did what was suitable for US interests. Furthermore, after the decades old ‘close’ Pak-US relationship, Pakistanis dont expect any just behaviour from USA anymore.

Raymond Davis, the CIA agent

However the mis-understanding that our leadership (civil & military) might take a firm stand on this issue, is removed now. Thanks to the whole national leadership to make Pakistanis realize that we are still slaves.

.. if i’m reading my feelings correctly (and if i am not exaggerating), my whole perception of ‘Pakistan’ is changing gradually since i have heard the news (release of Raymond Davis). I used to argue with people for hours who think that Pakistan is a client-state of USA. But now, after his release, i’ve started re-visiting my thoughts .. and the conclusion so far is, they were right ! The arguments that i used to give in favour of Pakistan’s sovereignty, were all false .. all were a bluff.

It seems that this event is going create long lasting effects on national level. It would silently leave an extremely negative impact on the collective psychology of nation i.e. the feeling of being a slave and ridiculed nation will get deeper. Socially, it will increase the hatred against USA to the point of no return. Politically, it has exposed the weakness & hollowness of national leadership. And geo-politically, it will fuel the terrorism.

Standing far away from national leadership and the super-power (USA), a common Pakistani is helpless, worried & frustrated. There is no way out ! The leadership is not offering any visible solution of the problems of a common Pakistani. So many factors are added up, and the situation is taking a shape of pressure-cooker, that can be exploded at any time. It would be hard to calculate the consequences once this pressure-cooker is burst.

A famous poem “khooN-baha” of renowned Urdu poet Iftekhar Arif, describes a somewhat similar situation that we’ve seen in the case of Raymond Davis. Who knows that who got the “blood-money” in this case, and under which circumstances ?

Anyhow .. here is the nazm ..

         khooN-baha
apnay sheh-sawaroN ko
qatl kernay waaloN se
khooN-baha talab kerna
waarisoN pe waajib tha
qaatiloN pe waajib tha
khooN-baha ada kerna
waajibaat ki takmeel
munsifoN pe waajib thi
(munsifoN ki nigraani
qudsiyoN pe waajib thi)
waqt ki adaalat mein
aik samt masnad thi
aik samt khanjer tha
taaj-e-zer-nigaar ek samt, ek taraf thi majboori
ek taraf muqadder tha
taayefay pukaar uTThay
“taaj-o-takht zinda-baad !
saaz-o-rakht zinda-baad !”

khalq ham se kehti hai, sara maajra likkhein
kis ne kis tarah paya apna khooN-baha likkhein
chashm-e-nam se sherminda,
ham qalam se sherminda, sochtay hein kia likkhein

Iftekhar Arif

.. some quotes of the Einstein !

.. who knows him not ?

Albert Einstein

Born: 14 March 1879

Died: 18 April 1955

Known For: Theory of relativity, and much more .. Got Nobel Prize for Photoelectric effect !

Some of his thoughts:

• A table, a chair, a bowl of fruit and a violin; what else does a man need to be happy?
• God does not play dice.
• Gravitation is not responsible for people falling in love.
• I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.
• Information is not knowledge.
• It is strange to be known so universally and yet to be so lonely
• Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.
• Pure mathematics is, in its way, the poetry of logical ideas.
• Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.
• The devil has put a penalty on all things we enjoy in life. Either we suffer in health or we suffer in soul or we get fat.
• The hardest thing to understand in the world is the income tax.
• The only source of knowledge is experience.
• The value of a man should be seen in what he gives and not in what he is able to receive.
• The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it.

jaisay chaand ki ThanDi lau

           jaisay chaand ki ThanDi lau

tanha aish k khwaab na bun
kabhi hamari baat bhi sun

thoRa gham bhi uTha pyaaray
phool chunay hein khaar bhi chun

sukh ki neendein sonay waalay
mehroomi k raag bhi sun

tanhaayee mein tayri yaad
jaisay aik sureeli dhun

jaisay chaand ki ThanDi lau
jaisay kirnoN ki kun-mun

jaisay jal-peryoN ka naach
jaisay paayal ki jhun jhun

Nasir Kazmi
(berg-e-nai,
kulliyaat-e-Nasir)

Nasir Kazmi

 

herf-e-nisbat [ naat ]

               herf-e-nisbat

un ki dehleez chhoo ker
jo patther tha pal bher mein paaras hua
un k haathoN se jo haath bhi mas hua
chaand taaroN ne us haath per bai’t-e-shoq ki
is zameeN per wohi haath saaya raha
ye falak bhi usi ka kinaaya raha

jis ne dekha unhein,
uski beenaayee k waahemay dhul gaye
us pe aafaaq k sab waraq khul gaye

jis ne maana unhein,
apnay paiker mein shehr-e-yaqeeN ho gaya
jis ne jaana unhein,
jehl bhi uska ilm-aafreeN ho gaya

jis ne DhoonDa unhein,
wo saleemaaN-qadam,
aalam-e-raaz ka sair-beeN ho gaya

jis ne paaya unhein,
wo faqeer-e-harum,
muaarefat  k hira ka makeeN ho gaya

jis ne socha unhein,
wo khuda ki qasam,
maawaraay-e-zamaan-o-zameeN ho gaya

jis ne likkha unhein,
uska muajjiz qalam,
shehper-e-Jibraeel-e-ameeN ho gaya

jis ne chaaha unhein,
uski chaahat baqaa ki nigaarish hui
us pe din raat phooloN ki baarish hui

jis ne chaaha unhien,
usko chaaha gaya,
uski dehleez tak her do-raaha gaya

Shabnam Romaani