27th December: When Democracy was silenced‏

It was a normal day, full of political activities. PPP and PML-N had their rallies. Political temperature of the federal capital was at its peak when suddenly a news channel broke the news about suicide attack in PPP’s jalsa in Liaqat Bagh hurting Benzir Bhutto seriously. Later the news of her demise appeared on television and it changed everything in moments. Apparently a politician passed away. Chairperson of a political party died. Felt like we have lost our voice, a window has been shut that let the light in, leaving behind darkness. But it doesn’t end here.

Late Benazir Bhutto, who was once referred to as “Daughter of the East” was murdered, that surely isn’t the way we treat our daughters. There were threats as she herself and other leaders of PPP have talked about and similar attacks on her convoy in Karachi earlier in October when she returned to Pakistan from exile. 

Everything was halted, this country kept on burning for three four days, something she might never have approved of in her life. It was a big loss for everyone for sure; all this corruption by current government is a by-product loss of that (she’d be so ashamed in her grave on her political successors). Politicians however encashed it well. There will be many seminars, memorials and tributes whole day tomorrow for her. Frankly I don’t think she need any of this, you can’t tell a moon what beauty is, and, for where she is, her deeds and our prayers can only do something for her. In my opinion, instead of talking about what happened and crying over it, we should better do what she was aimed to do, take her vision a step ahead and make things happen rather than ‘promising’ only. 

Now that everything is back on track as per governments’ reporting, I as a common man still have some questions. What happened exactly? Why only she was targeted? How could it happen? If our security forces can’t protect her from such an organized attack how can they protect a common man?  What progress is made in this case? If PPP leadership can’t get justice for their leader how can we expect it? They got elected in her name but doing exact opposite of what she hinted she’ll do. When she came back she sounded different, a mature and understanding politician with an aim of real change, but now all we see in incompetence, arrogance and corruption. What happened to that agenda she introduced? What happened to that charter of democracy? It is the same judiciary she fought for, but now we see ministers and PPP’s office bearers trolling judiciary. She believed in transparency but currently all we see is under-the-table deals. Every step is being taken for personal benefit and Pakistan is long forgotten. She gave the idea of a healthy economy, equality, justice, public access to basic necessities and education but all we see is exact opposite of that.

Dear PPP leadership and Bhutto family, we all know it’s a great loss for you. But so is for us all. You lost a leader, so did we. You lost a mother, so did we. You lost a voice, so did we. It’s about time to get back to her agenda and make things get better. If can’t deliver, at least try, she gave her life trying, a precious life. May her soul rest in peace and she gets all the blessings of Allah Almighty in her eternal life hereafter. 

Tsunami and Pakistan

So the much talked about tsunami finally hit the ground. As expected there were a huge crowd boys, girls, old people, families groups and what not. The zest and conviction was worth-watching. I wasn’t there; I watched it all over television. But it felt like some kind of remaking of that Manto Park rally in Lahore, 1940. Something that’s going to change the history, or will become history itself, amazing feeling it was. Felt as if I am witnessing a historical event. These emotions aren’t out of love for Imran Khan or PTI. It’s all about the public. It’s all about the participants that were present there with all their enthusiasm and courage and the faith that they have in the party and its leadership. I have never been a supporter of PTI, I have my own reasons. As Justice (Rtd) Wajih ud Din mentioned today our grandparents used to share with us their memories of that Rally at Manto Park in 1940 or memories of how Pakistan came into being. Now witnessing this so called tsunami we’ll tell our children or grandchildren that we witnessed making of a new Pakistan. Today I noticed some good things that I would like to share. 

Unity, Faith, Discipline:

Our beloved Quaid gave us the above lesson. I witnessed this in today’s rally. All the leaders individually mentioned it too. There were people from various ethnic backgrounds, social backgrounds, provinces races etc but all of them were united in their cause. There were Muslims, Hindus and Christians for one cause. This is what Pakistan always wanted. Unity: acceptance of other’s existence and respecting it. Faith, in their own-selves, faith of capacity to make something happen, faith that people had back in 1947. This nation was so undermined and cornered that they nearly lost all their self-confidence which is now backing into play. Thirdly, the discipline and the organization, it was so well disciplined. These are the same Pakistanis you’d see on streets and think they could never behave or they could never make a queue etc. As Imran Khan said “an idea, whose time has come”. It’s power of that very idea that made people to unite under one flag on a single platform. If I am not mistaken, that’s what the real change is. That long-lost “Pakistaniat” is returning back.

Concept of Equality:

When you claim to be against status quo, the first and foremost thing you need to ensure is equality, and that’s what we witnessed today. Different people from different social, economic, ethnic and religious backgrounds were equally treated. There were daily wagers and billionaires sitting in the same row. Then there were illiterate and PhD scholars, secular minded to religious ones. Everyone represented a different class and a different thought but all were equally welcomed and treated by PTI. This reminds me of Iqbal’s famous shair:

Aik hi suff mein kharay hogaye mahmood-o-ayyaz

Na koi banda raha aur na koi banda Nawaz

Zest, Enthusiam:

The enthusiasm and zeal & zest that were depicted at the site both by public and the leaders are infect the good news. Pakistani nation that everyone was predicting have lost the thrust of life hit back at large. It felt like Pakistan have won a world cup or have beaten India in a cricket match or that we’ve just had test nuclear explosions or that everyone has got surety of no-CNG/electricity load-shedding. Karachi, as rightly stated by Javed Hashmi, is in actual a Pakistan. It’s like a prototype of Pakistan. There was bloodshed, street crimes and what not but still people looked happy, they were full of energy and their body language conveyed a very positive message to everyone else in the country. If Karachi is smiling, we all will.

Public involvement in national matters:

People were so dis-connected with politics and all this idea of a revolution that they never really cared. But this credit goes to PTI that they’ve made people reconsider their options. People have started to care about national matters and are involving and engaging themselves in every possible way as if it’s not a national issue but their household issue. This is another positive sign; now people are ready change and accept the change. It’s about time to unleash the real agenda and take people into confidence, which Imran khan did during his address.

Innovation:

PTI has introduced innovation and gave a teaser of how un-orthodox its approach is. It can think out-of-the-box and can come-up with solutions yet unknown or unacceptable to public and politicians. The way PTI campaigned for this rally online and how the rally-site was well-equipped with latest technology was in itself a commendable organization also PTI’s belief in employing technology for its aid.

Empowerment and Accountability:

The concept of public empowerment and system that offers accountability is the need of time. Imran khan referred to ameer-ul-momineen’s style of governing. If he succeeds in pulling it off, Pakistan will be back on track in no time. They are empowering people now let’s see what do they do about accountability.

Conclusion:

I have always been criticizing PTI. But I was right in my opinion; I had my own questions that I got answered one by one.  Now that Imran Khan has got seasoned politicians on board and lot of public support, I would like to say that agencies or invisible hand can finance a rally, can make politicians join the party but they cannot make people love nor have faith in someone, they cannot make people to leave their homes for a cause. So, be it an agency’s idea but now it has become our national emotion, a national idea, a point of unification, people have chosen this and now Imran Khan and other leaders in the party aren’t left with any other option but to deliver.  So let’s look forward to it. Long live Pakistan.

President Zardari, Veena Malik and Pakistan

Today I woke up with a new energy, vision and passion. Woke up with no burden on my head, not any pending national issues, peace all around, everything under control and weather just being super nice, to my amusement when I turned on the heater the flame was as low as it could (due to smooth supply of gas), same happened while taking bath, but who cares if you take bath with chilling water in this freezing weather when you’ve got your “beloved” president back in the country.  Switched the television on to find out its ‘load-shedding hour’ but absolutely felt nothing bad about it and why should I? President’s back! That’s hell of an achievement for whole nation and load shedding is of no importance in comparison to the president.

Moving along with the day, found CNG load shedding and petrol shortage at a nearby petrol pump, but I can understand petrol must have been consumed searching Veena Malik. So I hired a cab to my further amusement the fare was almost double the cost of petrol might have been consumed taking a round trip of whole city. But now that we have democracy prevailing in the country you cannot challenge or question anyone. Reached the destination, while on way we passed 3 check posts, it felt like moving in a war zone. Had to visit a friend’s family member admitted in a government hospital. Ward was “astonishing” you can bet anything if you find hygiene there. But again that’s perfectly alright when our high-ups have to undergo treatment in American hospitals outside the country why should we waste our time and energy in renovating or cleaning up government hospitals.

Anyhow, as the day passed I continued focusing on the fact that there’s no unsolved problem in this country anymore. Everyone seems so contended with the recent developments. President’s back, Veena Malik found, memogate case almost wrapped up, democracy back into business with PM Gillani questioning armed forces. That is just perfect. Quaid-e-Azam, ZAB and BB would be so happy in their graves!

But life doesn’t end here, media/news channels have nothing to talk about, talk shows would become so boring, there would be no interesting trends on twitter and no “cross commenting” on Facebook. And life goes on,  by the way I forgot to mention, husband of our maid passed away due to expired medicines, a friend’s car stolen, fake pir-baba’s continued looting innocents and it goes on, but none of these is of least important when we have solved the most critical issue of all!

Woh leader hai, dharna de ga, jalsa kre ga

Ghareeb phir lutay ga, pitay ga aur maray ga

Respected politicians, media people/reporters/anchors, pls have a look at Pakistan's poor class who are dying out of hunger, poverty, diseases. May Allah guide us to the right direction

PTA Banned list: Causes and Effects

A man asked his servant to set the curtains on window, for he wants controlled sunlight for an indoor plant. Servant being over-efficient built a wall outside window, blocking sunlight completely, what happened to that plant is a separate story. I don’t know why and how, my mind relates this story to PTA banned list; its causes and outcomes.

I must say we all should commend PTA guys for such deep and detailed hard work. This list includes almost every word that we can use to abuse/curse. PTA played proactively this time by including many words that we might use as a backup for actual ones. There could be many causes which led PTA to take this step, as I think.

An obvious reason is that government wants a sober society where one shouldn’t be abused or humiliated, a very valid reason. Because how we communicate eventually becomes a part of our thought process and it develops in our heart and mind. There could be political reasons behind this which I cannot think of. What they think is right, no issues with that, but the question here is how they plan to overcome/address the issue isn’t right.

Apparently, so far, people only learned new words and are making fun of it. It’s like making someone drink water and telling him not to pee. This would eventually have unfavorable outcomes. PTA should have focused on the most basic things like why do people abuse or use cuss words? Why is this trend increasing? What’s the trade-off?

Generally people use such words in two states, when they are in good mood (with friends) and when they are under stress. It has become our national habit. Bollywood movies and our dramas are major inspirations for youngsters using such language while communicating among friends. For later, it is obvious that everyone is under-stress these days. Economic and political instability and social insecurity are catalysts. Everywhere you go you find problems, be it terrorism, inflation, load-shedding, corruption, racism and what not. People are so fed up and frustrated that they express their feelings or opinions in cuss words and feel good about it. Banning such words on text messages will end up frustrating them even more and people will start using these words socially and openly. 

If the idea is to counter this habit, we can counter by other means. These words should be banned socially (on social platforms) not in private conversations. You cannot teach ethics, people observe and learn by themselves. For this purpose, our so-called leaders should set the example (by behaving sophisticatedly). Humans need to exert excess energy and pressure to stay normal and perform.  Government, instead of banning cuss words, provide with some relief on any ground so they stay and act normal, abusing trend will start declining itself. Lastly, media should play its role by considering the impact of what they broadcast. Our youth follows media and glamour world blindly.

I would like to request government and respective authorities not to impose such stupid bans on our personal lives and how we communicate with friends because this would only increase the pressure and anxiety which would be exerted in other unwanted means.  And the true purpose will die the same way that indoor-plant died. 

Excuses are the nails used to build a house of failure.  ~Don Wilder and Bill Rechin

RED: Relationship Enhancement Drive

Published at: http://pakteahouse.net/2011/08/24/red-relationship-enhancement-drive/

To start with, I must quote Iqbal’s verses from “Shikwa” to make the basis of my idea.

Kyun ziyan kaar banoo, sood faramosh rahun

Fiqr-e-farda na karun, mehve ghum-e-dosh rahun

Naaley bulbul ke sunoo. Aur hama tan gosh rahun

Hamnawa mein bhi koi gul hun k khamosh rahun

Iqbal said why I should be at a loss and not capitalize on this opportunity. Just keep on observing and not think about future in these circumstances. Listen to this hue and cry and keep on enjoying? O my friend, I am not a flower who listens cry of bulbul and be silent.

Iqbal wrote these verses while he witnessed the worst condition of Muslims under British rule and wanted to motivate his countrymen to wake up and strive for the dream! A dream that eventually led to creation of a nation that was meant to be the focal point of muslim world. Now after about 75 years, with deep regrets I feel like re-using these verses!

The prevailing situation of Pakistan, specially Karachi and quetta is very alarming and heart-touching for every Pakistani who claims to be patriotic. Being patriotic doesn’t mean to have flag in your hands and running down streets shouting “Pakistan Zindabad”, for me it’s more like a faith that needs to be deep rooted in everyone and enables us to take every step towards common good for all, betterment for everyone.

News like “pathans” killed by “mohajirs” or “balochs” killed by “punjabis” etc are very disturbing and alarming for me atleast. For me, it doesn’t matter if you were born in Quetta or Karachi, or Peshawar or Lahore. As long as you share the green passport, I LOVE YOU! And that’s very logical.

Now the question is, if that’s logical then what makes us kill our brothers on basis of ethnic differences? What makes us consider each other as enemies instead of being brothers? I have such stupid questions and I keep on asking myself, because whenever I bring such a topic people laugh at me calling me an idiot with our national excuse “yaar kuch nae hosakta hamara”. so here are few questions I asked myself and their answers which makes sense atleast to me. But before moving on to these questions I want to clarify one thing. As our national time pass, I love to gossip about these events and end up with “Americans are behind this” or “its india for sure” or “Russia is taking revenge” and the list of excuses goes on. These reasons may be true I don’t know about it. What I know is a very simple thing, if there’s a thief in my house stealing something, whose fault is it? Is it enough for me to say “its him” and that’s it? Will this claim save me from the loss? Or make me a hero that I identified the culprit? For me, the first question is; how did he enter in the first place? How dare he? And why only in my house? The answer is very simple; ‘because I am the most stupid among all’ or ‘I am the easiest target’ or ‘I don’t trust people from inside and this outsider capitalized on it’. Now moving ahead, for whatever reasons, now that he’s in, how can I get rid of him without suffering the least? And that’s what our problem is. That’s what we Pakistanis need to do. Below are questions that I keep on asking myself and now I think I should ask others as well.

• Did I ever consider people from other provinces as trustworthy as from my own area? (Trustworthy in terms of keeping secrets, joining hands for initiatives or projects etc)
• Did I ever bother to listen what their problems are?
• I always wanted to learn foreign languages, did I ever tried to learn their language?
• Do I know about their culture more than I know about other countries?
• I know much about world history and their heroes, do I know all that about my own country?
• I always want others to contribute and keep on trying for immigration in Canada or USA, is it justified?
• I always want hospitals to be built in villages and same for schools and universities, but did I ever think of going there and serving my countrymen?
•  Did I ever express/told them that we belong to same soil, we share beliefs and lent them a hand in need?
• I love to visit foreign countries; did I ever travel to their places?
• I see documentaries on tv and feel pity or sometimes start hating them, did I ever try to interact with them and get to know the truth?
• I call them terrorists/traitors and worse, did I ever try to find out the reason behind this aggression?
• I consider myself to be heir of this country; did I ever acknowledge their sacrifices for this very country?
• In high spirits of patriotism I want foreign NGOs to support them, did I ever myself tried to help them?
• I blame india, America, Russia and Israel for whatever’s happening in the country, did I ever tried to find out why?
• I blame government for being corrupt, have I never committed corruption? No matter of what degree?
• I blame government for electricity, am I not an equal contributor?
• I blame government for inflation, substandard food items etc etc. is it mr. president selling goods or someone like me?

And the list goes on. It’s not that I am with or against government. Just that I want to establish the fact that If I am not ready to do it, how can I expect anyone else to do it for me? I as a Pakistani citizen don’t pay tax and want politicians to pay tax etc. In a training session, our trainer clarified the difference between the words “mine” and “ours”. “ours” seem a very nice words that sounds like a team etc but infect it provides you an excuse to put the blame on others, not taking the lead or responsibility. Its simply like “whose country is this?” ans: “ours” (means we all are responsible so even if I wont contribute, someone else will) but id asked “whose kids are these” ans: “mine” (means I solely have all the responsibility for their upbringing etc) so its “my” country, these are “my” people and its “my” problem and “I” need to be worried and “I” must contribute to get the things right.

We talk about revolutions. Revolutions don’t take place without a reason. And kind of reasons I see around, if there comes a revolution that would be here to destroy us! First and the foremost pre-requisite for a revolution is the ability and willingness for self-accountability, change one’s own-self and leading from the front (leading your own-self first only then people will follow).

To cut the story short, for me, below are some of the steps I think we can take now to stop violence and avoid any such situations in future.

Let’s start a movement, starting with “myself”. As I call it “RED-Relationship enhancement drive”. Because all we need is harmony! We need to get closer, to understand each other to speak out and listen.

Let’s get friends with ourselves, beyond provincial boundaries or castes or sects, lets come closer, lets know about each other, lets lend our hands, lets hug each other, lets spread the smile, lets spread the message of peace.

Let’s get united, lets stand by each other, lets love each other, lets talk! Its very simple, wear Pakistani badges for at least a week to  show that we are united, just make one friend, someone we don’t know, or we have never befriended. Someone who belongs to other ethnicity, someone who speaks a different language, let’s talk to him, lets know him, lets know about his culture, lets know about his land, lets know what he believes is, let’s ask him what he thinks, this will help overcoming a lot of misunderstandings, a start a relationship. It feels like knowing your own-self. Just imagine if only 100 people make friends with 100 people within Pakistan and share what they learn out of it, around 10,000 Pakistanis will know about each other, their own motherland. Something they never knew existed!

And remember, once we are friends with ourselves, no America, india, Russia or Israel would dare thinking about exploiting. This is just the step number 1, next we need to have a system in place that ensure no one from inside exploit. That would only be possible if we trust each other. (continued)

May Allah lead us towards betterment? United we stand! Long live Pakistan

Originally published at: http://pakteahouse.net/2011/08/24/red-relationship-enhancement-drive/

An Open letter to every Pakistani

Originally Published at: http://pakteahouse.net/2011/10/30/an-open-letter-to-every-pakistani/

While PTI and PML (N) are preparing for dharnas and jalsas, which they refer to as a turning point. I am a bit confused, turning point for what? And whom? Apparently it is to tell a bald man that he is bald. We all know he is bald, so what? Is it for Pakistan? Is it for common man? Is it for me? Is it for you? Will it solve all the problems and issues that we face? Will it produce electricity? Will it provide jobs to the unemployed? Will it provide quality education to our children? Will it bring peace in the country? Will it control the inflation and take economy to next level? If so, very good and if not, pardon me; you’re playing with us again!

Leaders will come, address the crowd, and tell us things that we already know. Identify who’s corrupt and whose not and what this government has done and that’s it. The concept seems more like social marketing of their own parties, their ideologies. As far as I know, democracy is ‘doing what everyone wants’. They all have “political agendas”, “political ideologies” and “priorities”. I wish any of them had a “national agenda” a vision and more, an action plan! Instead of telling us our problems, I wish they could tell possible solutions, way forward and shared their vision.

None of our political parties have such plans, all they want is power! If you’re so much sincere and passionate to contribute why do you need power? We can start anything on our own anytime we want. We can build schools, build hospitals, and provide vocational trainings to poor children so they could earn a living (not for political reasons but for humanity).  We can start research centers, we can fund universities we have international contacts that can help getting scholarships for our students and collaborations with international universities and their curriculums. Not for whole nation, least we can start with our own area, constituency.

I request all my countrymen to consider the  suggestions below and our leaders to think about them as well. Our future should be system dependent, not individual dependent. Whoever is elected, we need to be sure that sooner or later, we’ll hit the destination. I wish somehow we could get this included in law and make it a must.

Every candidate must know his/her area/constituency and its problems and submit an action plan/road-map for solutions

Each candidate must share how many hospitals/schools/parks/grounds etc are to be built and renovation required   

Candidates share action plan for security and street crime etc

Candidates share vision/mission for how they will enhance economic activity  in their respective constituencies

These individual plans then constitute a national agenda/plan for the party. And each party must submit a detailed plan/policy book to election commission prior to contesting for elections; this plan must be made public so that in case party/individual fails to deliver people can hold them responsible in court of law.

 Interior policy/plan:

Education plan (from how to enhance literacy to research and setting new universities and where etc)

Commerce plan (how they plan to enhance economic activity in the country, promoting entrepreneurship culture in country which itself will tackle the unemployment issue, which industry they will promote and how, foreign investment and access to international markets etc and how they plan to run money and capital markets)

Policy for state-owned Organizations (how they plan to turn PIA, Railway etc profitable, also the plan to deal with sports boards etc)

• IT Policy
• Agriculture Policy
• Domestic system (administration)
• Plan to deal with corruption
• Health Policy
• Security and prevention of street crime
• Policy to deal with energy crisis
• Innovation (like alternative energy board etc)
• Inter-provincial harmony
• Media/arts policy
• Tourism policy
• Cultural policy

• Foreign policy
• International relations
• International trade
• War on terror
• Scholarships for students and talent exchange programs

 Apart from this, each party must justify the profile of candidate for each portfolio. For example they must nominate someone from education industry’s background/experience for education ministry etc. Also, once a party is elected as government, it shouldn’t indulge in any political activity/campaigning/lobbying.

These steps will not guarantee a prosperous Pakistan in a  day but eventually things will get better. We will see a corruption-free government and a transparent system. Its like a journey and these political parties are drivers. They can choose the lane they want to drive on, but road must be chosen by us, Public.

Pakistan Zindabad

Originally Published at: http://pakteahouse.net/2011/10/30/an-open-letter-to-every-pakistani/

Step Towards Humanity

All my respectable frnds, a humble request. we keep on talking about change but do nothing for it! Whenever i come across poor people who are running after a piece of bread just to feed their kids, it brings tears to my eyes. I cant do anything all alone, i can just stir the silent water and pray to Allah for betterment.

just look around, how many people are going jobless and starving in pakistan. they are like us, they are our brothers and sisters and children.

its already been very late, we can't just sit and watch, else we'll become just like them roaming around for one bread to feed our childeren.

Whichever city you live in, whatever occupation u are, whatever cast is yours, as long as you are pakistani, its your national duty to do something for it. no rebellion, no political movement, no drama no nothing, just a step towards humanity on individual level.

My proposal is very simple. form groups among your friends, collect money on monthly basis (any amount that u can easily spare say Rs. 50) identify poor/deserving people and arrange food for them. (either contact some local small hotel in area to give them free food and you pay in advance OR provide poors with groceries, whatever suits you)

Next step is help them finding a job or business just to earn a living. Pls remember, if we dont do it for them, no one would do it for us as well.

Remember, "every thing starts with a decision to try"