Pakistan's Moment

Mr. Shahid Burki (KT Opinion “Pakistan’s Egypt Moment”) paints a very dismal yet quite realistic picture of Pakistan’s prevailing socio-economic crisis. The sordid and self-centered rulers of Pakistan since its creations and their inept governance today have pushed the country to the precipice of complete meltdown. Definitely a revolution seems imminent and could not be timed more perfectly. It has become more of a necessity than a mere possibility.

However, unlike the Egyptians or Tunisians, Pakistanis are much more diverse and divided when it comes to political ideology and democratic views. Much of this is credited to the ominous success of the various political parties, a dominant feudal system and poignantly regional and provincial differences. Differences are so strong that when it comes to safeguarding their identities and ideologies they leave no barrier broken and no limits crossed even disregarding humanity and sensibility. Also, unlike Egypt and Tunisia, a revolt against a military dictator seems much more plausible than against a complete political and democratic regime.

Nevertheless, UNITY was the core and essential element that drove a whole country to abrogate their decades of misery. Likewise, the only practical and possible element that could unify and combine the tragically diverse mindset of the people of Pakistan is ‘Religion’ and Faith. It is by far the only conjugational element left within each Pakistani that somehow links and bonds them together. This is no way a suggestion that an Islamic votary and his followers take up arms and start upon a killing spree. Nor is this to be confused or even fused with the idea of Islamic Militancy. These actions are in no way related to the basics of our religion. Those that do indulge in them are a mere manifestation of any other terrorist.

Though the experts do not predict such a revolt, however Pakistan being an Islamic Republic does have the will and history to rise with their religion and change the course of the waves.

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This blog featured in KT Letters to the Editor, 22nd Feb, 2011

Mukhtar Mai Weds Nasir Gabool

"He says he madly fell in love with me", Mrs. Mukhtar Mai Gabool, as we would now know her, said with a big laugh when asked what finally persuaded her to say yes. She finally put it out for everyone adding a little tinge of romance.

There have been several stories and even more opinions floating around with the recent marriage of Mukhtar Mai with her Guardian Constable Nasir Gabool highlighting several facts and intriguing stories (or rumors). Nevertheless, she again, has stood tall and against all odds proved wrong the prevalent stigma of narrow-minded Pakistani society.

I happen to watch her farewell (rukhsati) ceremony on Geo and was rather startled with the aura of her personality presence within the crowd. Though, a lot of credit is owed to her awe-inspiring heroism of her sadden tale, rather she is more shrewd than predicted. She was confident in her words, very much comfortable with the situation (given the fact that she is the second wife of Constable Gabool) and high in command of not only herself but also everything that surrounded her, inclusive of Constable Gabool and his first wife.

She made clear and definite statements on why and how she agreed to the persistent request from Gabool and his family. She made her future plans crystal clear identifying Gabool’s involvement and limitations on her decisions. Her comments were not to be questioned twice, if she’s made a statement that’s pretty much it. She certainly holds good command on her thoughts and has them very well defined and laid out. Regardless of the sympathies, I had always been fond of her audacious and undying will to fight-back and now I admire her strong personality trait.

With her strong and vehement personality, I wonder how competent Nasir Gabool would be in order to cope with her. In terms of a healthy relationship, it is believed that the husbands’ personality should be a touch higher such to empower his female counterpart in order to remain dominant in a relationship, not to torment and enslave her wife, but rather to achieve a balanced-married-life. However, it does not seem the likely case with Mr. Gabool’s second marriage. Evidently his counterpart is a much stronger personality comparatively and apparently already very dominant.

Having said that, she does attract global attention and I, again, praise her the way she has posed herself not only as a strong defiant woman of today fighting for her rights and justice, but a Pakistani women. Though her ordeal has struck some massive blows to the dysfunctional Pakistan society, globally, but it also has pulled a few strings and tarnished great awareness among the not-so-civilized parts of Pakistan.

JIHAD - understand it!

The on going War-Against-Terror by the US and its Allies in Afghanistan and Iraq and the troubled tribal areas of Pakistan by it well-fashioned army against the Al-Qaeda network has instinctively cultivated and further nurtured a great misconception and blemished one of the fundamentals of Islam – JIHAD. The Al-Qaeda fighters, termed as ‘Jihadis’ – the one who fights for the cause of Jihad, have deteriorated the very meaning of Jihad and convinced feeble minds in the west, and across the globe, in affirming the fallacy and delusion portrayed about Jihad and Islam.
JIHAD – commonly translated as the ‘Holy War’, however, recently it has become synonymous with a vision of marching band of religious fanatics with savage beards and fierce some eyes, brandishing swords and attacking infidels wherever encountered and pressing them under the sword of the sake of Islam. This awry and deceitful vision is the courtesy of those benefactors of ours who are engaged in an extremely unholy war to attain the mere joys of the worldly lure. Their fight and struggle is not for God but for their contentment and pleasure. They have manufactured regulations to deceive the innocent minds to take up guns and wrap explosive belts and justify their approach and confuse the understanding of Islam.
True Meaning of Jihad
Islam is neither a religion nor Muslims a nation since it nullifies the true essence of Jihad (which is known as ‘The best of all Prayers’). Islam is a revolutionary ideology and program which seeks to perfect the social order of the whole world and rebuild its conformity with its own tents and ideals. Muslim is a revolutionary party that is organized by Islam to carry into effect the revolutionary program. And, Jihad is a revolutionary struggle by Muslims to achieve this objective. The most nearest and correct meaning, in layman terms, would be “to exert one’s utmost endeavor to promoting a cause.” Islam established an ideology for the welfare of not just a common man, a community, a Nation but for the entire Mankind. Towards this end, to press all forces either speech, pen. Spending good, physical effort or, lastly, by the power of sword and a composite term for the use of all of these forces is JIHAD.
Conditions of Validity
Jihad is not merely a struggle, it is a struggle ‘in the way of God’, which is the essential condition that governs the validity of this struggle. Many have without a thought, sorted to the literal translation of the condition and have misled their mindset. However in Islam the expression undermines all such work done for the collective well-being of mankind and in which functionary has no vested interested other than to attain the pleasure of God. A person devoted to bring about a revolution in the system of life and establish a new system in conformity with the ideology of Islam, his / hers struggle should be free of any self-fish motives.
Current Scenario
The current scenario and misconception poses a great threat to the Muslims and if not rectified it shall eventually lead to a bigger hatred towards the Muslims. It has become the utmost responsibility and a paramount duty of all the Muslims to educate and spread the reality of Jihad not only to the far west but also, and most significantly among those feeble minded young enthusiastic Muslims - ready to lay their lives - trapped deep within a labyrinth of an unholy war manifested by those seeking only their equanimity. I hope my message reaches out to those far and wide and to those lost.

Pakistan engulfed in Terror War

The US led war-on-terror spilled over from Afghanistan into Pakistan as heavily armed US commandos ambushed a village near the Pak-Afghan border in elusive attempt to regain supremacy in the lost war and since then the drone attacks on Pakistan soil have become much consistent and even more dominating. The Bush administration appears prepared to lash out at its most cordial ally to war-on-terror, Pakistan, who it blames for the humiliating failure to crush Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. This current scenario is synonymous with the situation during the Vietnam War when after failure to contain the North Vietnam Army, US urged invasion of Cambodia.
Though the path leading to the end of the terror-war is no different than the Vietnam-War, the dear consequences of more US attacks on Pakistan soil can be far more catastrophic than being imaginable to any extent. Firstly, such attempts are counter-productive, on the contrary defy the very basis of cooperation between Pakistan and US and might further fuel the fire of hatred and violence Pakistani government is eagerly trying to diminish.
Secondly, these attacks would eventually result in widening the Anti-US war and merging it with Afghanistan’s resistance to western occupation. Also, Pakistan army might chip in for retaliation in view to preserve their national sovereignty and protect national pride.
Lastly, it might reignite the old irredentist movement to reunite Pashtun parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan into an independent state – Pakhtunistan, which will pose an even greater and more powerful threat to the US coalition forces.
The entire civilized human history, till date, has witnessed the catastrophes incurred by the use of force to gain dominance and reign supreme over the weak. There ought to be better thought out ways to tackle the insurgents residing in Pakistan and the war-on-terror and its eventuality be reevaluated before the world witnesses another setback to the great world power.

Omar's Ordeal

The latest developments to Omar Ahmed Khadr’s case have left the globe spinning in a sympathetic and emotional distress, either in compassion or in anguish. The video tapes narrate his unfortunate tale of disgust, cry and aggravation. His six years as an inmate at the United States prison of Guantanamo Bay and their uniquely derived method of interrogation has seen him transformed into anything but a villain in this story.

His tragic story does force me to reserve a soft corner for him, not only because he’s a Muslim and also a Pakistani, but when I am unable to differentiate his accused crime of killing Sergeant Speer with the killings of innocent civilians by the US air strikes in Nuristan province of Afghanistan or in Swat (Pakistan) under the banner of War-against-Terror. How can one label them as ‘accidents’ and accuse a 15 year old boy of throwing a grenade at an armed officer fully equipped with all his battle gears and guns ready to engage the enemy. How is Omar any indifferent from David Hicks (Aussie Taleban) or John Walker Lindh (American Taleban), who have now even completed their sentences even though being caught red-handed, with guns, fighting against the coalition forces with the Taleban.

As his story surfaces further and unveils the many hidden secrets to the war-on-terror, it also serves as an appeal to the International Community and everyone around the globe that when they hear his case, do think of him as a human, think of him as your 22 year old kid or sibling who has spent the last 6 lonesome years in a gruesome prison when you were enjoying the comforts of life. It also serves as an indefinite example that events like these are an avalanche in the making that are destroying the youth of today and transforming them into the Talebans of tomorrow.

Patriotism or Self-Prestige

The recent clash of personalities between the infamous National hero of Pakistan Dr. A.Q. Khan and the much despised and moderate-muslim President Musharraf is seeing Pakistan besieged in a new territory of egregious controversies in the international, primarily the western, media. On July 4^th, 2008, as the US marked its 233^rd Independence day, Dr AQ Khan unveiled the involvement of Pakistan Army in the ‘illicit’, according to the US, nuclear weapon technology transfer to Libya and Iran in an interview blaming President Musharraf of having complete knowledge on the transfer deals, which only saw him and Pakistan reap the sown seeds. His statement further diminished the flickering image of Pakistan globally and damaged not only his own reputation but also added concerns over Pakistan’s Army / Government and their ‘Official’ and ‘Confidential’ exercises, putting them under global scrutiny.

It seems that Dr. AQ Khan has sorted to avenge the humiliation he suffered on the hands of then Pakistani government who, although reasoned and pardoned him for the nuclear arms trade, had solely blamed him for this collective prohibited act of arms trade in the global economy.

I, on a personal note, regard highly of Dr. Khan and look unto him not just as a National Hero but an icon-personality of Pakistan merely for his tremendous contributions to the nuclear program of Pakistan, and also for his courage and determination with which he withstood against the odds facing his, and Pakistan’s, future and dispelled all opposing accusations and motives to sail the green flag even higher into the blue sky and embedding Pakistan as the only ‘Muslim-Nuclear-Power’ in the world. On the contrary, and comparatively, President Musharraf popularity has been on the receiving end owing mainly to his controversial decision on the US-Afghan war and the Red-Mosque (Lal Masjid) issues. However, with these recent claims; Dr AQ Khan has placed his personal vendetta with President Musharraf over National Pride, Prestige and Interest. People over the world have laid down their lives, sacrificed themselves borne pain and cruelty, either known or unknown, only to safe guard their national interest and sovereignty. Dr AQ Khan, though a novel personality even among his foes, has let himself down and imitated a great example of self-prejudice and poor illustration of patriotism. Though President Musharraf’s involvement might be justified, it occurs and at the same time hurts a common man (Pakistani) on how could a personal grudge surpass Pakistan’s interest and damage its image among the many scouting to have their share in its destruction. Surprising!!!

Would you like to have a Broccoli or a Brownie?

Recently I visited Al-Noor Hospital to seek some medical attention for my elder brother’s wife when I happen to read through a poster on the wall comparing a Cup of hot steamy, green, cauliflower-ish Broccoli to a square piece of soft, creamy, chocolate dripping Brownie for their nutritive contents and advantages. As evident as it could be, 1 cup chopped Broccoli had minimum amount of calories and fat per serving when compared to a square piece of Chocolate brownie, with chocolate sauce dripping from its side. I have managed to gather some nutritive data from http://www.nutritiondata.com/ and duplicate the bar-graph depicting the calorie vs. fat.

The very end of the poster read in big red fonts “... HEALTH MATTERS MOST, YOU DECIDE?” Well looking at that poster it really did not leave much of a choice for anyone to decide over a Brownie or a Broccoli. After going through the poster i was set aback onto why anyone would chose Broccoli over Brownie. Yet, I feel that I should bring about justice to this dilemma and present analysis on Health and Taste for you to decide.

Health Wise:

One could find enormous data on the internet and even contemplate themselves the nutritive advantages and disadvantages of Broccoli over Brownie. Since out of my experience, it is relatively easy to comprehend graphical data rather than tabulated valves, I have opted to use graphical notation to help you better understand and make sound judgment. From one of the sources over the internet (http://www.nutritiondata.com/) detailing the nutrient content is as follows:

Brownie:

A brownie of the Nutritional Target Map is located on the lower left hand-side indicating less nutrients and less filling, that is one would need to eat more brownies to have their stomachs filled and even more to fulfill their daily nutrient intake.

A brownie on the Caloric Ratio Pyramid is located on the Top right side indicating High content of Fat, Carbohydrates and Less content of Proteins, that is small serving shall fulfill more than your requirements of carbs and Fats.

Broccoli:

Contrastingly, a broccoli on the Nutritional Target Map is located on the Top Left Corner indicating More Nutrients and More Filling that is small servings can make up a complete diet and fill your stomachs too.

On the Caloric Ratio Pyramid it is located on the lower right corner indicating More Carbohydrates and Less Fats and Proteins, you can have as much broccoli as you want without being worried of getting fat.

Well this analysis is self-conclusive that a Broccoli out weights the Brownie is all aspects of complete nutrition, diet and fullness!

Taste Wise

This definitely is the least talked about yet highly imperative criteria that governs the dietary habits of anyone. The Taste effect has not been analyzed in any circumstances yet! I have made an effort to take it out to survey the ‘Taste Effect’ and developed a few statistics based on that.

The survey is conducted on different groups of people based on ethnicity and ages (the number of people from each ethnicity and age group were kept constant as a control) were quizzed a simple Question “Broccoli or Brownie?” and the results charted below:

Ethnicity Test
Out of the lot that was surveyed (Pakistanis, Europeans and Indians) by far almost everyone opted for having a brownie instead of a Broccoli. And surprisingly, the percentage of Indians that wanted a brownie over Broccoli was more than any other ethnicity.

Age Test

The results were then sorted with respect to age and even though the likeness for Brownie was less as the age was higher the percentage ratio was still high for Brownie rather than a Broccoli.

Final Verdict:

It definitely is ones free will; or rather right, to chose a Broccoli over a Brownie, however as statistics reveal most people would prefer to have better tasting food than a more healthier one. Thus, a brownie submerged in dripping chocolate sauce would be more preferred than a soft boiled steamy vegetable like Broccoli.