| September 23, 2007 | Sunday | Ramazan 10, 1428 |
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Remembering Tabish Dehlvi
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Lines Area Project
Civil servants beating up citizens
Bridge collapse
Nawaz’s deportation
Begums at the helm
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LIKE many Americans I watched yet another diatribe by our president. This speech, after Gen Patreaus report on the surge, was about success, not victory as declared after mission accomplished was announced on the deck of a nice ship five years ago.
Let me try to explain this debacle about the war on terror from the perspective of a patriotic American who happens to be a Muslim of Pakistani descent.
We should realise by now that any wars fought should be based on our values. Our strength is in our values, not the killing power of our armed forces. The ultimate weapon, that is nuclear weapon, is pointless, as its use would destroy the world.
Both the US and Pakistan have such weapons but know better than to use them. Expensive and sophisticated killing machines like the B1B bomber and the Abrahams tank have been made obsolete due to the asymmetrical nature of today’s fighting.
In the 60s I was mesmerised by the lunar landing, Dr King and JFK’s eloquence and the magnanimity of the US consulate in Karachi with its myriad of books in the finest printing, binding available to anyone without any fee or registration.
The old British consulate, German Deutche were relics of the past and not hip any more. Some idealists were taken in by the Chinese revolutionary guards while others liked going to the Soviet consulate as the slogan “Workers of the world unite” was catchy. But the overwhelming number of Pakistanis admired America and I could park my Honda 50 feet from the consulate and wave to the Pakistani guard and be in the library within two minutes.
President Musharaff said initially but seems to have forgotten of late: “We have to fight this war on two levels.” Of course, you do not talk about philosophy with the Al Qaeda-inspired young man wearing his trademark belt! It is too late! You level the few buildings where the lonely, demented revolutionaries are putting together these belts -- but to use attack Cobra helicopters to destroy a building or buildings with every living ant in it because some Al Qaeda people may be having tea inside is just the opposite of what will stop this menace from getting worse.
After 9/11 we had the world’s sympathy but we have lost it all due to our actions. The first lawlessness started in the 60s with hijacking; that has been controlled but our wholesale cowardly mass killing of any and all who may not like us or have a demented view of Islam is what is feeding this hatred of the US and anyone who likes any of the western values.
Most Muslims still live in tribal cultures. You have seen the Marines entering homes in Iraq by smashing down the doors; is this the way to make friends? Liberate a people! Have you tried to put screws in after they were striped? If an innocent child is killed from my village, the whole village will want revenge!
We let the Saudis open these madressahs for poor youth where they teach this perverted view about the West. It is not enough to close them but we need to open enlightened schools like St. Patrick’s in Karachi where I was fortunate to study as did President Musharraf, PM Shaukat Aziz and even Indian leader L. K. Advani. If we need to fight any wars, they should be to educate every child on the globe and free them from malnourishment and able to get a decent job.
We need to have a foreign policy that reflects our values that “all people are created equally endowed by their Creator ……”. We need to give hope where there is gloom and the only way out is by blowing your wretched self taking as many of the wretched that you can.
Is it not strange that we have $10 billion per month to kill and maim but it would be unrealistic to come up with a 10th of that to educate, to win the hearts and minds of the Muslim masses?
Folks, we share the same human values, the same planet as the people of the Book, but many do not see a ray of sunshine or a future to live for. Let’s hope the US government will once again represent the common decent folk of America, the America that I fell in love with in 1960.
IQBAL QUIDWAI
USA
US official response to Pakistan’s internal matters is always twisting between two opposite poles. The latest statement by the US deputy secretary of state on Nawaz Sharif’s deportation has not come as a surprise to anyone even after an evident direct involvement in an internal matter of selecting future ruler for the country.
It seems the US wants all wishes to be fulfilled and at the same time disowning any acts necessary to accomplish them. The US decision to support Gen Musharraf and coalition with Benazir Bhutto shows a policy of favouring a weaker government internally that is more dependent on foreign support and is obliged to nod to every direction from outside.
At the same time the US government, experts and international community call for a politically stable Pakistan. I wonder how a man widely considered usurper among local masses can give political stability in coalition with the present imported and installed PM or with a not very popular leader which Ms Bhutto has recently become.
Putting aside the concern of the US, Gen Musharraf’ and the Chaudhry for a while, one can surely say that a transparent new deal with the PML-N, with Shahbaz Sharif as PM, can better guarantee a politically stable Pakistan at present.
This will also help resurrect the administration that is ruined due to weak control and policy of appeasement during the last seven years. An even better option is transparent elections under impartial interim setup, without any ‘deal’ or the shadow of military uniform.
Here, I would also request the US advisers to revise their policy in the light of the latest scenario developing in Pakistan. The latest socio-political conditions in Pakistan demand greater transparency and real democracy (public involvement). At the same time no one can ignore the recent reports regarding Pakistan becoming more dangerous for international security.
I must add here that the situation is becoming even worse for the state and people of Pakistan; though it has to be a matter of concern for others as well. Favouring a setup with non-democratic military head with a dubiously elected dummy government could have never succeeded in the long run for it lacked public involvement and confidence, thus badly missed public favour.
Another important reason of failure that has recently become evident is President Musharaf’s sincerity towards his commitments against security threats to Pakistan and the world. Noticing American discontent and displeasure, slumbering agencies become superactive killing around and arresting people. Such responsive actions are always carried out with unclear minds and can neither be well planned nor well targeted.Clarity of mission, sincere planning and precise targeting are all necessary for combating and uprooting security threats we have inherited from the Afghan war era.
Finally, Gen Musharaf himself declares aloud agreeing to the expert opinion that extremist and terrorist elements have never been as big a threat to national and international security as they are now. If security threats that the world is concerned about only grew during his seven years’ rule, what better is the world expecting from another five-year term?
IMRAN HOTIANA
Lahore
THIS has reference to Dr Rauf Parekh’s column, ‘Tabish Dehlvi and Pakistan Zindabad’ (Sept 18), in which the writer highlighted the personal life of Tabish and mentioned the historic incident that had taken place on June 3 at All India Radio (AIR).
I think there is much to be mentioned about literary and broadcasting life of a person like Syed Masood ul Hasan Tabish Dehlvi. He was a great lyricist, lexicologist, writer and broadcaster.
Tabish composed his first verse in 1926 at the formative age of 13. His first poem, Dilli (Dehli), was published in 1931 in the most leading literary magazine, Saqi, while his first essay regarding Fani was published in the monthly magazine, Burhan, in 1941.
His poetry fulfilled the requirements of the era he lived in. One could find all the colours of life and customs in his poetry. Tabish, who is considered the last classical Urdu poet, had created a place for himself in the field of ghazal when giants like Fani, Firaq, Yagana, Asghar, Jigar and Hasrat were alive.
His command over the Urdu language was remarkable. He was seen as an authority in defining the true meanings and nuances of words, their pronunciation and their usage. He had been truly described as a symbol of the refinement and sophistication of 20th century Muslim culture in the subcontinent.
Masood Tabish, as he was known in the field of broadcasting, joined AIR in 1941.Tabish had some historical and memorable events of his career as a broadcaster while in Dehli and later in Karachi. As a news reader, he had the honour of broadcasting many important events like the news bulletin announcing the establishment of Pakistan on Aug 14, 1947 from AIR and the death of the Quaid-i-Azam from Radio Pakistan.
He broadcast news for 23 years and was regarded as one of the best Urdu news readers of all time.
As an announcer, newsreader and an organiser of literacy programmes, he earned a name and respect of his colleagues like Krishn Chandr , N. M. Rashid, Shahid Ahmed Dehlvi, Rajan Mehra, Ansar Nasri and Sadat Hasan Manto and the people at large.
In recognition of his services to literature and broadcasting, Tabish received many awards at home and abroad during his lifetime, including Tamgha-i-Imtiaz by the government of Pakistan.
SHAHID SALEEM
Karachi
MY father had applied for his passport at the Sukkur office on Sept 3 on ordinary fee. The duration for receiving an ordinary passport is 12 days. The passport should have been received in Sukkur office by Sept 15 but till date (Sept 21) the Sukkur passport office had not received the passport, and informed further that lamination sheet for passport had run out in Islamabad.
I was surprised how lamination sheet was not ordered before it was finished. I contacted the Directorate-General of Immigration and Passports and it confirmed to me that lamination rolls had been finished.
I want to draw the attention of the authorities concerned to this grave issue and demand strict action against those who failed to put an order for the sheets in advance. The office of the directorate-general is not sure when they will receive lamination sheets. They should not be receiving passport applications and fees until lamination sheets are received in Islamabad.
ADNAN DAR
Sukkur
I READ with great interest the news report filed by Imran Ayub (Sept 7) on the Lines Area Redevelopment Project (LARP) for I lived in that area from 1947 to 1965 with my father, who was a government officer who had opted for Pakistan before its independence.
Not many people who lived in the Lines Area for many years immediately after independence and are now living in other parts of Karachi have the slightest idea of LARP details. I strongly disagree with the part of the report relating to a senior Sindh government official when he states that “large numbers of immigrants occupied the empty portions of Lines Area and it became very congested.”
According to him, the area was rendered uninhabitable by inadequate sanitation and health facilities. I would like to put the records straight. The Lines Area after partition was not occupied by immigrants. It was made a residential area for the government officers who were allotted quarters by the estate office.
The area was most decently looked after by the government in all aspects of health, sanitation, schools, mosques and hospital/dispensaries. The area was having no shortage of open places for the children of government officers to play.
It all started in 1973 when the Lines Area caught the attention of the then government of (late) Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and things went from bad to worse, forcing the Sindh government officials to call it the ‘worst slum in Karachi’.
LARP could not see the light in the last 30 years, yet the gentleman holds the view that it will be the first of its kind in Pakistan if allowed to be completed. One can only laugh at the wisdom of the senior government official.
I suggest that the CDGK, in addition to ceasing the office for reasons known to them, must initiate audit/inspection of LARP through a professional firm of chartered accountants to know the realities on the ground.
M. ASIF DAR
Karachi
WE all knew that the powerful can have their way in Pakistan, but today I really felt as if my country had let me down. I was driving on 26th Street in the DHA, Karachi, when a tinted black civic came racing out of one of the lanes onto the main road, almost hitting myself and the cars behind me.
When I stopped the car to yell at the guy driving, an armed guard with a police cap stepped out and walked up to me to tell me to sit in my car and go away. When I looked at this civil servant threatening me in this way, I decided I would have none of it and yelled at him to remember that he is a policeman and should remember his manners.
He then swung his semi-automatic rifle in my face to hit me with its butt when I stepped back and avoided his attempted assault. I could not believe what had just transpired and decided that I was going to take this guard to his master and give his master a piece of my mind.
I told the officials in the car I wanted to meet their boss to tell them what our civil servants are doing in the streets to the citizens when they said: “Yeah follow us and we will really show you this time”.
Not to be intimidated I did follow them to 59/1, 29th Street, DHA Phase V, where I noticed what looked like a large official Pakistani flag with a guard outpost filled with police guards. The civic came to a stop and four men got out and rushed to my car and started to push me around the moment I got out. I pushed back and told them that they were driving like . . . . . and that I wanted to see their boss.
They refused to allow me to ring the bell or even approach the house while more and more of them started gathering around me. The first one who swung his rifle at me then came back at me to swing another time and this time hit me across the palm of my hands, tearing the skin off.
Make no mistake, I was now under assault by at least 12 armed police guards who repeatedly beat me while I staggered up and down the street trying to regain my stance and control of the situation. I fought back using whatever little martial arts I knew and struck back fiercely at a few of them putting some fear back in their hearts.
They did back off now that they realised that this citizen was not going to take it lying down and although I was bleeding profusely and the entire neighbourhood was watching, I continued to demand to see their boss to confront him on this issue and they continued to refuse to allow me.
Then when they realised I would not budge and the situation could get very ugly, they finally made some calls and the PS to the minister came to the scene. They kept me waiting outside for 20 minutes while the minister received news from his men. They told me to sit in the chowkidar’s tent while the minister called me in, a request that I repeatedly refused and they started pushing and pulling me to get me to comply. I stood my ground in front of the minister’s main gate and refused their demand that I sit in the tent.
A few minutes later came some of the men from inside and they called me in. Two men, one of which I assumed was the minister, came and apologised to me. I told them that 10 of their men beat me outside his home and one of them used his rifle to beat me with the butt. I demanded that the key culprit be arrested and jailed, a demand the minister refused.
He called the culprit inside the room and told him to apologise, which he did. I was then told to leave. I want everyone to know what happened to me because this gross injustice cannot stand.
KHALIL YUSUF
Karachi
IT was extremely insensitive of the NLC to publish a full-page ad in the newspaper about its construction project in Karachi the day after the collapse of its bridge.
One would have appreciated a full-page apology from them but nobody is ready to take responsibility in our country.
IRFAN KORESHI
Islamabad
ON Sept 10, all hell broke loose upon the nation in the wake of an ill-fated move by the incumbent government which exposed the desperateness of megalomaniac Musharraf to cling on to power till the last moment.
The government did not give a hoot while defying the SC verdict and re-exiled Nawaz Sharif back to Jeddah.The treatment meted out to two-time PM was unfortunate. The security officials dragged him and forcibly made him enter the plane.
Although the blocking of the roads leading to Islamabad on Sunday evening and the arrest of PML-N top party leaders were indicative of the government’s intentions, still one could not imagine that the authorities would so flagrantly violate the order of the apex court.
Although Gen Musharraf has turned out to be triumphant in this round of confrontation but this will turn out to be a pyrrhic victory and a course has been set for his Waterloo in the final round of drama that will be played in the next two weeks. However the government officials must be ashamed of their behaviour!
NAUMAN ASGHAR
Punjab University
Lahore
A FEW years ago a Pathan boy was employed as a guard in a school operated by a begum. His services were terminated three weeks later. His cardinal sin being that he spoke fluent English.
When asked by other colleagues, she reported that she was fed up with his hard English.
History is replete with instances of women in power from the lady Pharaoh Nefertiti, Cleopatra and others.
The Begums of Awadh are another example. They amassed huge treasures by way of dowries and further inherited vast fortune when their menfolk died in wars.
They zealously generated their assets and governed estates from behind the veils. They even went to the battlefields perched on elephants and saw hundreds of their soldiers die.
In recent times the Begums of Bangladesh played a see-saw game of politics as did the Daughter of the East. In the meanwhile, a few Begums are waiting in the shadows to enter the political arena.
RAFI ADAMJEE
Karachi
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