Let us make Kashmir an election issue
Economy as an election issue is out because the military government and the multilateral aid agencies have between themselves taken care of the issue by agreeing to continue with more of the same for the next five years. Being the junior partners of the military government, the incoming elected “rulers” will have no say in the management of the economy and in shaping its direction. Foreign policy, too, is likely to remain out of the ambit of the election campaign because the government of President General Pervez Musharraf and the US have between themselves taken care of this policy as well by agreeing to cooperate closely in the unending war against international terrorism of all kinds. And again being the junior partners the incoming elected government is hardly likely to be allowed to tinker with a policy which its senior partner, the military junta, has already finalized.
So, the only thing that would be left for those opposed to the military regime to talk about in the election campaign would be the LFO itself. Political parties, led by the PPP (People’s Party Parliamentarians) and the PML(N), are likely to make this as the most important election issue promising to discard, if elected, all those LFO-related amended constitutional articles and clauses which provide the Army the needed legal cover to continue to mess with the nation without the fear of being made accountable under Article 6. The King’s party, the PML(Q) to be precise, and all those political pygmies, gathered in the Grand National Alliance, are likely to serve as the mouthpiece of the President and give voice to his self-serving and disingenuous argument that in order to keep the Army out you have to bring it in! And they might even go one up on him by claiming that in order to keep poverty out, you have to bring it in. Indeed, that is exactly what the IMF prescriptions are doing in most of the developing countries!!
While the opponents of the military regime will be barred from questioning its new foreign policy directions which threatens to rob the country of its legitimate claim over the whole of Kashmir for all times to come, the King’s party leaders would, perhaps, be allowed to criticise the PPP chairperson, Benazir Bhutto, for proposing a social alliance between India and Pakistan without first resolving the Kashmir conflict. The regime is likely to allow this in order to undermine the growing popularity of the PPP even in the central Punjab where the issue of Kashmir normally evokes extreme anti-India sentiments. And this is likely to provide the PPP and PML(N) the needed excuse to focus on the President’s increasingly ambiguous position on Kashmir. In Agra he had taken the position that he was not prepared to talk to India about anything other than the core Kashmir issue. After September 11 he said he went with the Americans against international terrorism in order to protect the national assets, including Kashmir where a freedom struggle was going on. But after the second visit of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, he started condemning all forms of terrorism.
And after a couple of visits by the US Secretary of State, Colin Powell and his deputy, Richard Armitage, Musharraf announced he would not allow Pakistan to be used by anybody to mount wars against other countries. Pressed further he said nothing was happening on the LoC. One cannot interpret this ambiguous statement to mean anything other than an assurance on his part that official abetment of cross-LoC infiltration has stopped. Today India is not accusing him of doing nothing but doing not enough to dismantle the “terrorist infrastructure” inside Pakistan. The US is convinced that the official sponsorship of infiltration has stopped otherwise Armitage would not have said that the residual infiltration was taking place unofficially. Pakistan does not protest to the US when US Assistant Secretary of State Christina Rocca describes the forthcoming elections in Kashmir as the first step towards resolution of the longstanding dispute. This is totally against Pakistan’s historic position on Kashmir. We say elections are no substitute for plebiscite. But Musharraf seems to have failed to convince his friends in Washington that the election route would lead to nowhere. India has already held a number of bogus elections in Kashmir. The forthcoming elections, too, would be no different. But how can a person, who himself is holding fraudulent elections in his own country to perpetuate his power, condemn similar moves by India in Kashmir or try to argue with friends in Washington about it not being acceptable to Pakistan?
It is not yet clear if the President’s political mouthpieces would have any convincing rebuttals to these questions if they are raised by the PPP and the PML(N) leaders in their public speeches. No matter who wins this debate on Kashmir, the very fact that the ground realities of the situation would get aired in a transparent manner, would make it possible for the nation to get to know who has been exploiting the Kashmir issue all these years and for what purpose and what really is to be expected if one entered into dialogue with India on the issue once an election is held in the occupied territory no matter how questionable and when even our long time allies seem to be tilting towards New Delhi. The situation for Pakistan today is much worse than what it was when Bhutto went to Simla for talks with Indira. The US appears really serious to see complete elimination of all chances of a conflict between South Asia’s two nuclear neighbours. On the other hand, India appears to be succeeding in playing on this concern of the US rather effectively by keeping its troops amassed on the borders. If we enter into talks with India at this point New Delhi would start with demands on Azad Kashmir and Northern Areas and end up withdrawing them in return for making LoC as the permanent border between the two Kashmirs. And the world would applaud India’s “magnanimity” and its sense of “fair play”.
Musharraf has already stopped insisting that he would not talk to India on anything other than the core issue of Kashmir. Lately, he has been saying that he was ready to discuss with India all issues including the core issue of Kashmir. In order to get out of the trap he has walked into. He would now need to go back to the tactics Bhutto had used during Simla talks to save Kashmir being gobbled up by a victorious India. Bhutto had made Indira to agree to put Kashmir on the back burner while the two countries tried to resolve other less contentious issues in a step by step manner. This is the only way Musharraf can save Kashmir from being wrenched out of Pakistan’s hands today by India with the help of the international community. Benazir Bhutto has provided the President with the most ideal option available to him under the circumstances by proposing a social alliance with India. This is exactly what our all weather friend China has done with India. It has put its territorial dispute with India on the back burner and is strengthening bilateral socio-economic relations with New Delhi. China has not gone to war with anybody over Taiwan. And mind you if China had remained what it was in 1947, no one would have even thought of handing over Hong Kong to it, agreement or no agreement. Can’t we do the same? Can’t we wait for our day. Let us first empower our people, strengthen our economic sinews, become a country to look up to by the downtrodden of at least South Asia. It is only then that we could stake our claim on the whole of Kashmir with full knowledge that nobody would then challenge our claim.—Onlooker
Political activities gain momentum
POLITICAL activities have gained much momentum since the filing of nomination papers for NA and PA seats and their scrutiny being carried out. Although the ban on electioneering ended on Sunday, parties and eminent candidates are yet to launch their formal election campaign with public meetings. In the meanwhile, like-minded parties are busy making bargains on seat adjustments but no significant development has so far taken place in this regard.
The BNP (Mengal) and the JUI, which are old allies and have worked together in coalition governments since Balochistan was given the provincial status as far back as in 1970, are reportedly making a joint strategy in some parts of the province — mainly in central and western parts where the two parties have enough influence and won the NA and PA seats in the last elections.
Since the JUI is part of the MMA, it will have to take its allies in the MMA into confidence before concluding any deal with the BNP or any other party in order to oust the pro-establishment party from specific constituencies. There are reports that both the parties have reached an understanding on two NA seats in Balochistan, NA Kalat in central Balochistan and NA Panjgur- Kharan in western parts of the province. The former NA seat will be going to the BNP and the latter to the JUI nominee if the understanding is converted to an agreement.
Similar arrangements are being discussed by leaders of the BNP and the Pakhtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party for the NA and PA seats in the provincial capital where the two parties have very significant support.
In many of the elections in the past these parties bagged 50 per cent seats. If there is a seat-to-seat adjustment between the two nationalist parties, the grouping will offer a very tough fight to the PML (QA), considering Quetta as their political base.
But the power and influence of the PML (N) could not be underestimated in this provincial capital. A significant number of settlers, though residing in Quetta for seven to eight decades, are still supporting the policies of the PML (N), considering Nawaz Sharif as their leader.
This political trend is a big challenge to the PML (QA) leaders, particularly those who have defected and joined the pro-establishment party for one reason or other. Naturally, there will be no smooth sailing for those who changed their loyalties.
Some eminent politicians, who happen to be tribal chieftains and elders, are not contesting the elections — they cannot because they are not graduates. Although they have lost interest in their personal constituency, political or tribal cocoons, it is proving to be more beneficial for them and their respective parties. They are covering the whole of the province, making their presence felt in numerous constituencies where they have considerable power and influence over the voters. In other words, they will be helping their party candidates in remote areas.
In regard to the election trends in the Sibi-Kachhi plains, or the hilly tracks of Marri Bugti tribal areas overlooking this plain, there is no visible change predicted in the foreseeable future. The old power brokers are retaining their respective constituencies under one political banner or other. The Rind- Magsi concluded an electoral accord virtually dislodging the rival Raisani from the political scene. This combination is deadly effective for three Provincial Assembly seats and one National Assembly seat, leaving no chance for outsiders.
Similarly, the Jamali-Khosa alliance will help the old tribal-cum-feudal figures retaining their political power with the support of the administration. They too are not facing any challenge from any other grouping or party.
However, the interesting electoral battle is being fought in Makran where former education minister Zubeida Jalal has been able to turn the political table in her favour after resigning from the federal cabinet. She enjoys tremendous support from the notables, tribal elders and influential people commanding the vote banks. She has rather unnerved parties which regard Makran as their political base. There are reports that some parties are planning to put up a joint candidate against Zubeida Jalal in order to block her way into the National Assembly through a popular vote.
She has launched her election campaign with the slogan that she is seeking votes on her performance and selfless service to the people by undertaking massive development work in the whole of Pakistan, particularly in the constituency from where she is contesting. She got a good response initially and influential people are extending support to her in the Oct 10 elections.
The whole of Balochistan will watch the interesting electoral battle in the Gwadar-Turbat constituency where the contest is virtually political. However, there was another important development. A large number of people
have defected from other parties and joined the BNP (Mengal), making its political strength significant. The BNP (Mengal) will be a potential challenge to the power and influence of Zubeida Jalal.
Maj Jamil Dashti is the nominee of the BNP. He retired from military service in Muscat and joined the BNP recently along with hundreds of others, all notables. He is the lone candidate commanding significant votes in Turbat, Gwadar, Buleida and scattered parts of the Kech valley. Political pundits are predicting a straight fight between Zubeida Jalal and Maj Jamil Dashti.
Why I love Gen Pervez Musharraf
YOU remember the Dawn report (Aug 22) according to which Yvonne Ridley, the British journalist captured in Afghanistan last year, wanted to convert to Islam? The report quoted her as denying that she was converting because she was suffering from what is known as the Stockholm Syndrome.
Now, Stockholm Syndrome is said to be an affliction in which kidnap victims begin in time to love their kidnappers. So I know now that I have been suffering from the Stockholm Syndrome ever since I was kidnapped, together with the entire nation, by Gen Ayub Khan. I fell hook line and sinker for the great military commander and there came a time when I used to pray for life-long captivity.
The day the great field marshal left, as he then was, I cried like a baby. People, other people, wanted to get rid of my beloved, were even jailed for their failure to fall in love with the field marshal. You see, this Stockholm Syndrome does not infect everyone. Many, many people develop immunity against it. Anyway, life for me was pure hell without Ayub Khan. I began to lose interest in people and places around me.
Even Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was no help but mercifully, my long night of misery came at last to an end when Wadero Zulfikar was given the boot by Gen Ziaul Haq and the nation was kidnapped once again. The days of captivity began all over again. I quickly forgot Ayub Khan. My new beloved had arrived. My Stockholm Syndrome was reactivated and I lost my heart to the great soldier of Islam. I became his slave, and a willing slave I was, too. I was ecstatic and I used to pray, please God, let my days of bondage never end.
Cruel Fate had willed it otherwise, though. My beloved general left me for ever in August, 1988, and I was once again a slave without a master. I was bereft of all reason. I was mad without a master. My years with BB and Mian Nawaz Sharif and before them with Muhammad Khan Junejo were spent in utter misery. But Allah be praised! Prime minister Nawaz Sharif attempted a coup in October, 1999, against his own chief of army staff who thwarted his nefarious designs. In a masterly counter-coup, COAS Pervez Musharraf overthrew the thrice-accused Mian and I was immediately re-smitten by the Stockholm Syndrome. I had been kidnapped yet again and it didn’t take me long to fall head over heels in love with Gen Pervez Musharraf and my joy knew no bounds when the rest of the people endorsed his plan to continue for another five years in a referendum only a matter of months ago.
So now you know why I love Gen Pervez Musharraf. I was born a slave and have never wanted to be free but there are bad people who yearn for freedom. Like the devil they do! There was a time when all Germans contracted the Stockholm Syndrome and their lord and master was Adolf Hitler. How they all worshipped him.
But all this is a matter of individual choice. There comes a time when a slave wants to become a slave-driver. What about a team of courageous ISI men sneaking into India? Their plan should be to kidnap K.L. Advani and George Fernandes. They should hold the two in captivity in a secret hideout, keep them in reasonable comfort and feed them well. They should take with them the virus which causes the Stockholm Syndrome. Once afflicted, I am sure both Advani and Fernandes will fall in love with their ISI captors and will willingly be smuggled into Pakistan.
The Stockholm Syndrome can be used to great advantage in other matters, too. For example, it would be fun to kidnap Madhuri Dixit so that she can ultimately fall in love with you and do your bidding. Again, we could kidnap the Indian cricketers now touring England. They will of course fall in love with us and tell the Indian high commissioner in London that they won’t return home unless they are allowed to break journey in Pakistan to play a series of Test matches with us. That would be great fun, don’t you think?
Choosing people one wishes to kidnap can again be a matter of choice. For instance, if I had the choice, I would at once select the Indian cricketers, particularly Sachin Tendulkar and leave Madhuri Dixit and similar other stuff to you. I would love to see who gets Sachin out on Pakistani wickets which give enough time to a batsman to select the shot three times before the ball reaches him. All in all, then, this Stockholm Syndrome has limitless possibilities provided you could kidnap the victims of your choice.
I HAVE been reading Khushwant Singh’s autobiography, Truth, love and a little Malice. It was published this year. According to Ravi Dayal, the publisher, the book “was to have been published in January 1996, but for reasons briefly explained in the postscript, which the author added in November, 2001, the text of the book remains substantially as it was when originally completed in 1995.”
He begins by recalling his early childhood in Hadali, a village close to the Khewra Salt Range. The account is so familiar that I am sure I must have read it elsewhere, especially his last visit to the place in 1987. Anyhow, he is brief and can be read even if you are doing it twice.
MS Robeena Tahir who is a friend’s daughter, has contributed the following piece:
IT WAS our last evening together. We sat chatting and sipping our room-made tea from the electric kettle in the glow of the lamp light and our new found friendship. As my gaze musingly wandered around this eclectic group, I was thankful yet again for being here.
I had come to Colombo to attend The New Asian Creative and Critical Writers Conference organized by the ethnic studies department and British Council. My short story, My Daughter’s Dilemma, had been selected and I had been the only participant representing Pakistan.
In the corner, propped against the double-bed sat Mala, an associate professor at the Bombay University. She had her ‘glass’ of tea cupped in her hands and was thoughtfully reflecting on a statement made by Fakhrul, who unlike her, had his glass of tea precariously perched at the edge of the arm rest. They had all sneaked their drinking glasses from their rooms to join me. The very act of ‘brewing’ tea in this clandestine manner seemed to make us one another’s confidantes.
Mala was a quietly dressed, softly spoken woman of my age. Her words were measured, thought-out and meaningful. Dr Fakhrul was from Bangladesh and taught at the Dhaka University. His critical paper on the translations of Tagore was brilliant. A definite reflection of his own scholarship and learning.
On the other side, by the TV cabinet sat Razia and Dr Deena, both were professors and teaching at prestigious universities in Bangladesh. Deena was clad in her newly acquired Sri Lankan blue and white batik pyjamas and tops and Razia in her usual elegant printed silk sari.
Getting up to switch on the electric kettle for a second round of tea, I took out the tea-bags and sat hunched near the kettle waiting for it to signal me.
The voices became louder to facilitate my hearing, but I sat engrossed in my own thoughts. Had it only been three days since we had all met? Surely not? It seemed as if all of us had been able to squeeze years of sharing in this concentrated time together. A loud laugh broke my reverie. I smiled. It was Abhi. He was a true poet who played with the music of many words and possessed that most coveted quality of all — humour. The oldest in our group, his laugh and his whimsical manners had endeared him to all of us in no time. Shahjahan who was seated in one of the two armchairs was sharing a private joke with him. Shahjahan was working for the American Embassy in Delhi and was a scholar by hobby. His knowledge and command over literature, religion and history had left us all totally flabbergasted and truly impressed.
Throughout the three days of the conference and the last day when we had all played hookie and taken off to Candy, we had immensely enjoyed one other’s company, had been surprised at our similarities and were deeply respectful of our differences.
This was our last evening together. Our discussions had ranged from the highlights of the conference to the Sri Lankan hospitality and culture and then crossed to our individual borders and topics related to them.
In the span of a handful of treasured hours we had exchanged many experiences. We discussed our educational systems, our water shortage problem, our politics, the increasing traffic and pollution; September 11 and, of course, cricket.
Why have I told you all this? This was all that I had only shared with the closest of my friends. One or two of them had endeavoured to motivate me to write about my ‘Colombo experience’, but I had somehow been slack in responding. There was never the right time, never the right mood — the inclination to put pen to paper wasn’t really there.
And maybe I would never have shared this Colombo ‘encounter’ had it not been for an encounter of another kind.
After attending Arundhati Roy’s two talks — one at Pearl Continental, Lahore, on August 15 and the other the following evening at Kinnaird College something struck the deepest and most sensitive chord in me.
Yes, she was right. If there was to be any hope for peace or reconciliation, we must rid ourselves of abstractions and generalizations about the ‘others’. We must ‘share our stories’. There must be greater interaction on the human front and lesser dependency on the political ones. Yes, she was so right. The more we are able to share our personal stories, the greater understanding and compassion there will be between people living on separate sides of a border.
For even in the most difficult mathematical equations, the answer that is arrived at is always basic and simple.
An if in the equation of humanity the answer is not for its betterment then maybe we are working on the wrong sums altogether.
Yes, Arundhati Roy couldn’t be more right. We are all ambassadors in our own right. Not only ambassadors of our nation but also ambassadors of the human race.
NOTE: The last few paragraphs have been left out for want of space.
Nightmares that haunt: KARACHI FILE
Here we have been conditioned to react to the prospect of elections with an amalgam of enthusiasm and awe. Or you might say, a strong mixture of hope and dismay. For most people this time round, it is time more to reminisce and reflect than to look forward to October 10. How to arrest thoughts and prevent them from going back some years to this city’s youthful enthusiasm in supporting Miss Fatima Jinnah, set to fight a Field Marshal? Regardless of consequences (young people tend to behave that way), Karachi made no bones about what it thought of a military ruler.
As was to happen again and again thereafter in Pakistan, the ruling Field Marshal lost in Karachi — and won almost all over the rest of the country. More out of bloated vanity than wisdom, the victorious Field Marshal chose to celebrate his triumph at that one spot where he had to bite the dust. No apologies for recalling that belligerent celebration. Karachi has never been the same after that. The wounds have left indelible scars on the memory and strains on the psyche.
Zulfikar Bhutto’s volcanic victory was soon to turn out to be a pyrrhic victory for Karachi. It brought in its gift basket the ‘talented cousin’ of the great victor. What followed is as difficult to describe as it remains hard to erase from a lacerated memory. Once again it has to be said that Karachi has never been the same again. Imagine how small minds can cause mighty injuries that human ingenuity and endurance simply fail to heal. It would be grossly unfair to blame ZAB for what happened. But it may be said that ZAB should have known better.
What happened to Karachi after Karachi’s own son Zulfikar was so diabolically eliminated is a tale of woe. As was the rest of the country, Karachi was subjected to the most excruciating kind of humiliation. A manipulator of monumental villainy injected into this city’s chemistry a virus that has over the years proved to be cancerous. He held an election that is destined to go down in our history as the blackest blot yet. But long before those elections he had done more than enough to blight and contaminate politics of this city.
From the ashes of the Zia dictatorship rose a kind of democracy in Pakistan that has all but convinced most of us in this city that unless a miracle happens, election is an ill wind that blows nobody any good in Karachi. Those four elections, and two prime ministers revelling in pulling each other down to dust, have left this city in a state of numbness. A daughter of Karachi, Benazir brought a warped attitude to bear towards Karachi because this city had chosen not to vote for her. This was Karachi’s second encounter with petty vengeance, the first one was a Field Marshal’s revenge.
Goaded and pushed by his patrons, Nawaz Sharif trounced Benazir. His problem with Karachi was almost exactly the same as Ayub had, and later Benazir had with it. Karachi had remained disinclined to kow-tow to supercilious power wielders from afar. Nawaz Sharif gave Karachi the “Operation Clean Up” that cleaned nothing and fouled up a lot. It deeply polluted the political environment. Not the least unsettling is the recollection of a series of incidents like the elimination of Hakim Saeed, a man of medicine, education, philanthropy and, above all, peace. How is one to consign to oblivion some of the statements Nawaz made after that gruesome episode?
When memory transports Karachi to the second coming of Benazir, the emotion is simply overwhelming. Her obsession with law and order in Karachi led her to frightening extremes. In the ears will ring for ever her Interior Minister General Naseerullah Babar ordering police in this city to “Shoot at sight”. Nothing of this kind of organized terror from the side of the government of the day was ever experienced by the people of this city. Whoever heard of “Shoot at sight” in civil situations — except indeed the people of Karachi.
So we are poised to find ourselves plunged into an election cauldron. But this time it appears to be the very opposite of what has been witnessed in this city in the past. In years gone by, election in Karachi was an explosive affair, leading more often than not to crisis, violence and at times some killing as part of aftermath of the process. Yesterday was to be the beginning of the election season.
Nothing suggestive of an election enthusiasm was witnessed anywhere in this otherwise volatile metropolis, home to an assorted family of over 13 million from all over the country.
It certainly did not start with a bang. Not even a whimper was heard. How very unlike Karachi.
Keeping the city clean
The cleanliness week planned by the city government experienced a minor hitch last week when all of a sudden the skies above decided that enough was enough and they opened to let loose on the city a very heavy downpour. A couple of days after the rain, the city looked as if it had been dipped in a gigantic bucket of mud and grime.
The city government said that only the areas under its jurisdiction would be subject to this special ‘cleaning’, meaning that neighbourhoods that came under the Karachi and Clifton cantonment boards would be excluded. Soon enough, t he CCB and the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) issued an advertisement in newspapers saying that they too would be carrying out a cleanliness week and that residents should “cooperate” in this regard. Now the point, as far as the CCB and the DHA are concerned is that why would residents not cooperate if a municipal agency finally realizes its responsibility and gets down to doing its job.
Frankly speaking, residents of these areas (the writer included) are sick and tired of various so-called campaigns that the CCB and the DHA take in the areas of their jurisdiction. What also seems to annoy many the residents is the ad hoc and arbitrary nature of these programmes, because never are the views of the residents taken into account. The Defence Residents Association might say that it interacts with the DHA but then the true representative nature of the association is unclear because not everyone who lives in Defence and Clifton even knows about it. And in any case, why should a resident of a particular neighbourhood need the support of a ‘residents’ association’ to force the local municipal authority to, say, place manhole covers when that job is a routine part of any civic agencies normal operation.
In any case, whether it’s the city government or the DHA or the CCB, why will they ever get out of this mindset of conducting weeklong ‘clean-the-city’ campaigns? Surely, that’s something so vital that it needs to done on a daily basis. If it were done regularly and in a professional manner, perhaps there wouldn’t be a need even for holding such mindless campaigns.
A friend is a self-confessed lover of animals. She says she is often pained to see the complete lack of concern most of us show towards animals in distress or in need of help. Recently, on the way home from university she says she had a very disturbing experience. And she starts it off by quoting a line from Eulogy on the Dog: “Gentlemen of the jury; the one absolute, unselfish friend that man can have in this selfish world, the one that never deserts him, the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous, is his dog!”
She writes: “Nowadays we always complain about how humans are to each other but nobody ever pays any attention to the suffering animals, especially in our part of the world. Here, there is simply no room for any sympathy for sick or dying animals.
“I was returning home from university in my van when we came across a dog that had obviously been hit by a vehicle. The dog’s blood was splattered all over the road and sidewalk. It was alive and seemed to be in great pain as it was groaning. It was around 2 o’clock in the afternoon and Sharea Faisal was as usual, full of traffic. However, there was not one passing vehicle that even slowed down to check on the bleeding animal.
“When we passed by it, every head in the van turned at first in shock at the sight of all the blood and then in sympathy at the obvious pain of the moaning dog. After a while, a couple of us asked the van driver if he could stop to pick the dog. He, of course, scoffed at the idea. Our request seemed absolutely ludicrous to him. Where would we take the injured animal and the blood would dirty his precious van. This upset us because if the animal died? We pleaded as much as we would, but to no avail. I suggested that there was a vet on 26th street who could be of help but he said that 26th street was not on his route.
“Another girl also suggested that she would pay him extra. However, nothing seemed to appeal to his emotions. After a moment’s silence one of the girls spoke up, only to say that it was just as well, since the smell of the dog and the bloody sight would probably make her throw up. Another agreed and two more girls nodded, silently acquiescing. I tried to be logical with them, since emotional pleas were obviously not having any effect; I said that she could sit in the front and next to the open window, and that there was plenty of empty space in the back that could be used to take the dog to the vet.
“The van driver had by this time driven far from that spot and by that times my friends in the van had given up. So, in the end there was nothing we do to save this dying dog. Which might make sense since we don’t even tend to care about other humans, so why bother about animals.
If you’re not particularly keen on having your leg pulled, you would do well to avoid loitering around near Empress Market. For several years now, a mentally disturbed beggar has positioned herself at strategic places in the vicinity to harass unsuspecting pedestrians with her unique approach to begging. What she does is to grab the legs of passersby and refuses to let go until you pay up. Her grip, many victims will testify, is remarkably strong. If you struggle to break loose, the woman simply embraces your leg more warmly and continues to demand money.
Watching her operate can be quite fascinating — as long as you keep your distance. What is most embarrassing for her victims is that crowds soon begin to gather around them, as they become a source of free entertainment for the thronging mass of humanity in the vicinity. The epic struggle of people trying to break free from a beggar is the favourite tableau currently being played out on the corner of Daudpota Road.
People react to her tactics in the strangest ways. Her favourite victims pay up instantly to gain freedom and depart with some of their dignity intact. Others start abusing her and try to break free by force. Yet others try to reason with her politely and try to convince her that her behaviour is not in the best of taste. The stubborn and not so easily embarrassed just stand their ground in a test of wills, hoping her resolve will waver. It never does.
These days, many regulars to the area tip off potential victims by warning them of her presence in advance: “Paon pakarne wali aage baithi hai!!!” they scream civic-mindedly. If such spoilsports cause a downturn in her business, and too many people zigzag away from her on approach, she simply moves to another area nearby. The steps to the overhead pedestrian bridge were once her favourite haunt — a dangerous place which she eventually abandoned because people were tripping down the steps much too often for comfort. Others had concluded that it was a safer bet to shun the bridge and cross the road, throwing their lives at the mercy of buses commandeered by homicidal maniacs rather than be caught in her deadly embrace.
Last Thursday it was twelve years since... well, since something significant happened to somebody, so a colleague says. And why is she talking in riddles? A riddle almost anyone who would have driven on Defence’s Zamzama Boulevard or Khayaban-i-Shamsheer last week would have tried to figure out.
She says that these roads had been decorated with coloured banners screaming out messages of love to “someone special”. In addition to that, residents in this area received in their letter boxes four specially-designed cards, neatly enclosed in a bigger envelope. A message inside read: “Take care of your loved ones. Don’t wait, let them know today that you care.” The cards were blank so whoever got them could use them in future. The pictures on them and the messages inside were both cute and funny.
Something like this happened last year and the year before that too. The banners are a new thing which started last year when they were taken down in the evening by the cantonment board. This year they were ruthlessly torn or pulled down around noon by presumably some spoilsports who couldn’t stomach them.—By Karachian