Pakistan unites against Taliban!

Moderate Madrassa Students protest against Taliban Extremism.
Photo Courtesy: The Daily Times, Pakistan. 20.06.09

Writer's Block: We fight to win! - Bushra Hassan

Rozan in Islamabad, needs helpers. It needs volunteers who will help them do whatever they aim to do for the IDPs. Rozan needs people like you and me, who have an hour or so free, to lend a hand in their work for the IDPs.

I’m sure Rozan is not the only organization that needs more support. The task at hand is enormous. From shelter, to rehabilitation, food and health issues. More than everything else, they need some one to just spend time with IDPs and care. The IDPs are like us, no different. Had Talibans actually reached Islamabad, as the media tried to portray, then we would be like them too. Forced to leave our jobs surviving on what little we have of savings, moving in with relatives we don’t necessarily get along with. It’s a test of human sacrifice, of patience, of resilience. But resilience we have plenty of.

“Forced to leave our jobs surviving on what little we have of savings, moving in with relatives we don’t necessarily get along with. It’s a test of human sacrifice, of patience, of resilience. But resilience we have plenty of.”




We’re a country that’s fought three wars, lost a significant part of it, undergone martial laws, civil rights violations, bans of various kinds, massive earthquakes and nation wide floods nearly every other year, and all this while living in an environment of poverty, corruption and political chaos. However, here we are standing firm and standing tall. Half the women survive legalized rape, domestic violence and lack of basic human rights, while the other half work in corporate offices, wear unisex clothes, speak their minds and outperform men in all walks of life.

Women strive for empowerment, the youth for liberty, and men for respect. Most importantly we strive therefore we understand, how we’re all the same, why our cause is the same.

The IDPs issues hit our very hearts because it latches onto our vulnerability of existence, and the IDPs remind us of our fight, of our courage and our daily misfortunes.

“The IDPs issues hit our very hearts because it latches onto our vulnerability of existence, and the IDPs remind us of our fight, of our courage and our daily misfortunes.”

Mostly they remind us of how blessed we are, better off, just plain lucky. As a result we can feel for them more, because we were spared this ordeal, and therefore, we wish to do more. We, the nation, are in this together. We’ve realized this through our survival over the decades. We’re all one, one nation, standing under one flag, reciting one kalma, and bowing our head to the same anthem.

“This is Pakistan, these are our people. From the shelter camps to the Oval Cricket ground, this is us, and we do not play to lose!”

This was never more obvious than last night, when the entire nation stayed awake till early morning to pray for and rejoice in the semi-final victory of the young men of our cricket team, who fought a heavier, mature, more accomplished adversary, not bowing out of fear or resolution to fate.



This is Pakistan, these are our people. From the shelter camps to the Oval Cricket ground, this is us, and we do not play to lose!

To Volunteer for IDPs: Call Zeest @ Rozan at 051-2890506-7 and 0345-8507181
Images courtesy: http://bariisiyobasto.wordpress.com/2009/06/11/images-of-the-idp-in-pakistans-swat-valley-region/
and http://cricket.yahoo.com/photos/Semi-finals-South-Africa-Vs-Pakistan_12453498364794#10

The Tell Tale Heart: Soul Jam - Mehreena Aziz Khan

In the last few days, many of my fellow countrymen have been posting videos from Coke Studios second season airing this month on Pakistani television channels. Sitting in my apartment unit in Sydney, Australia, the status updates and YouTube posts keep me well updated on what is happening back home, whether it’s the bewailing of another deadly bomb attack, jubilation over restoration of the judiciary, or the laments and joy over cricketing performances.

For one accustomed to chilling reportage of the Swat operation, shedding tears over fallen martyrs in the war against the Taliban or cringing at videos of young girls being flogged in public, the Coke Studio videos were a veritable breath, nay gust of fresh air.

For one accustomed to chilling reportage of the Swat operation, shedding tears over fallen martyrs in the war against the Taliban or cringing at videos of young girls being flogged in public, the Coke Studio videos were a veritable breath, nay gust of fresh air.

This is the Pakistan I know and the one I grew up in. Rich with talent both folk and pop, both classical and modern. Where talented music and video producers have the skill to conduct creative experiments and come up with top-notch productions despite meager resources and training. Knowing a lot of the people behind the project personally, I know for a fact that most never attended a musical academy or formally studied production. They just have raw talent and determination, while their skills are self-taught. Whether it was learning to strum the guitar or the keyboard keys through books, or learning the ropes of music and video production from the internet.

One by one, the performances began and ended with aplomb, with every performer putting their soul into it, and the jam sessions began to feel like a balm for the embittered Pakistani soul - a soul wounded by violence and internal strife. This is the Pakistan that easily married the glory and timelessness of traditional folklore with modern pop. Where globalization and modernization enjoyed a peaceful and respectful camaradie with the historical and classical.

When two girls from Peshawar sang timeless quatrains of Omer Khayyam at the melodious strumming of the rabab, they evoked nostalgia for the beautiful heritage of the war-torn mess Afghanistan and parts of NWFP have become. Before the time where girls had their faces burnt with acid, their schools shut down and their teachers shot. Before CD shops were burnt, before ancient statues were ruthlessly bombed and before classical musicians were issued death threats and boycotted into oblivion. If only we could manage modernization and progress while preserving our culture as smoothly as the adept synchronization of western percussion instruments with the classic rabab by Rohail Hyatt's team.

All the performances were marked with the same characteristic. Saieen Zahoor's melodious rendition of verses of ancient wisdom reminded one of the Sufi poetry and mindset that once helped spread Islam in the Subcontinent. A time when love, poetry, tolerance and a deep respect for human values was the mode for propagation of religious sentiments. How the scene has changed since then. And as Saieen's voice died down, a fashionably bearded Ali Noor and his brother Ali Hamza took up the tune… both dressed in western attire, both ably carrying the tune forward and representing the modern face of Pakistani music with a sensibility and respect for their musical heritage.

The performance evoked memories of Zia-era PTV when Muhammad Ali Sheikhi and Allan Fakir's "Allah Allah kar bhayya" became hugely popular as the original pop-meets-folk ditty. A time when the likes of Nazia and Zoheb were banned from television. The triumphant re-emergence of pop music after the end of the Zia era, when youthful raw talent like Vital Signs and Jupiters sang jubilant and hope-filled anthems on the eve of Benazir's promised era of liberalization.

When I had returned to Pakistan in 2004 after spending a number of years in Germany, I found a vastly changed media landscape in the wake of the satellite television revolution. But a stark dichotomy was visible in television content as one click would take you from devout rant of Aalim Online or bearded mullahs talking about the intricacies of performing ablution, to the tantalizing gyrations of the likes of Nimra or scantily clad local models at a glitzy fashion show. The neutral majority found itself feeling alienated by both.

When I had returned to Pakistan in 2004 after spending a number of years in Germany, I found a vastly changed media landscape in the wake of the satellite television revolution. But a stark dichotomy was visible in television content as one click would take you from devout rant of Aalim Online or bearded mullahs talking about the intricacies of performing ablution, to the tantalizing gyrations of the likes of Nimra or scantily clad local models at a glitzy fashion show. The neutral majority found itself feeling alienated by both. The Coke Studio performances on the other hand seem to symbolize a balanced middle ground between the two extremes. At the same time they are a quantum leap from the pre-millenium PTV era of uninspired performance clips featuring rubab, tabla and other folk instruments that would dot the broadcast back then.

So hats off to all involved with the production and that, along with the welcome news of Pakistan's victories in the Twenty20 World Cup at the moment, is what I want my news of Pakistan to keep on being filled of: feats in arts and sports rather than deadly bombings and floggings.

Until next time its cheers from Aussie mate!

------

http://www.cokestudio.com.pk/ for more on Coke Studio

Soap Box: The Power of One - Zahid Husain

Between 1944 and 1985, so much happened in the Motherland, some of it I was not part of, as I reacted to the dictates of the Government in power in 1972; I was stationed in Karachi, then with a young enthusiastic and politically aware spouse, who supported my view, that as Pakistanis we were NOT going to start speaking Sindhi just because we lived there! By the way we were not alone in this belief, Karachi was in turmoil then and curfew was imposed upon a free spirited citizenry. So we sold our belongings and along with a friend of the same ilk, we set out to face the Big Wide World.

We wandered where we fancied in Europe, taking in the Old World and all it offered and stood for, while taking for granted the spirit with which we were welcomed everywhere, we felt like we were at home, thus drawing out in us the best we had to offer our hosts, as proud PAKISTANIS; seldom did we look over our shoulder and regret our decision.

As I look back now, I recall, that all the while I was growing up in my Motherland, never once was there ever any mention or news of racial, sectarian, religious, caste, rich or poor or social tensions; we all grew up then as fellow Pakistanis, proud to be able to sing our national anthem, to stand when the Flag was displayed in a cinema hall, and to stand in silence with respect while the anthem played!

We were afraid of the policemen, when we rode double-sawari on a bicycle, one would jump off or he would take the air out of the two tires, while we stood sheepishly bye feeling very guilty, for having broken the law; and making sure we had lights on our bikes if we were going to be out in the dark!

In school, we had a class period, when our class teacher Mrs. Jamaluddin taught us moral science and character building! That subject is no more part of any curriculum or syllabus in any school I know of, in Pakistan

My point is that with all that in the background, we never once looked at one another as anyone else, as anything other than as being a Pakistani! We were then moving towards Nationhood, one people, one country, one PAKISTAN.

We had great Bengali friends, throughout school and college; never did we discriminate between each other’s backgrounds or beliefs, there was peace and harmony, till we got US-Aid, that’s when our real troubles started. And when our people started going abroad to work in the Gulf where they were brainwashed and discriminated against by the sharper, shrewder, cliquish Indians and Arabs, thus forcing us to adapt and adopt ways that were till then alien to us.

Over the past 25 years we have transformed in to our present selves, forgetting our oneness true Pakistanis, and descending into the pits of this strife ridden society as all sorts of people first and Pakistanis afterwards! We muster under numerous flags that we believe represent our being and our association and forget what our forefathers’ sacrificed their all so that we could inherit a Motherland called PAKISTAN.

You notice I steer clear of the how’s, who and whys of our situation, because we now need to steer ourselves back into the right frame of mind by discarding all those misguiding ways, beliefs and views of each other drop the provincialism to 2^nd level and bond together as One Nation under One Flag on the 1^st level as PAKISTANIS FIRST AND FOREMOST!

NO other flag counts or matters, they ALL must be shed, and we all MUST only look to the Green & White Crescent & Star as the only path to our salvation as a Nation! This is very simple to achieve, and the quickest way is to start with oneself, I mean YOU, yes! YOU; Believe you are a Pakistani first and ONLY a Pakistani, nothing else matters or counts Forever!

Then make or convince your own family to change their thinking process that they are ONLY Pakistanis. Then move to your inner circle of friends and make them understand that they are Pakistani first and ONLY Pakistani

And so on, if each one of us can do this every day, day after day, 365/12, we will just begin to build ourselves into a NATION as the Quaid e Azam envisioned. Our recognition around the world is that we are PAKISTANI and our salvation on earth, lies in building a strong, united, faithful and disciplined country called PAKISTAN, We will then automatically think first of our country, the MOTHERLAND, also then ask yourself what it is that you can and must do for your Motherland not what can the Motherland do for you!

May the Almighty give us all the strength to give up our old hateful thoughts and ways and accept Pakistaniat.

Have a great Day! Pakistanis, where ever you may be!

Remember “PAKISTAN hum sub ke Char-devaaree hai, is kee hefaazat hum sub key zimadaree hai” PAKISTAN PAINDABAD FOREVER!

Jerry's First Take: On Contradiction and Compliance.

So as usual Pakistan is at a crossroads, passing through the most critical phase of its history. Shahzad Roy had it right in his latest album. every 10 years we seem to be at the most critical phase of our history. If ever there was a country where the adage "history repeats itself" holds true its our motherland.

We crib endlessly over meals and tea, at tea stalls and drawing rooms yet very few of us do anything about it and those who do, do so in an individual capacity.

Now all 170 million of us have grown tired of this. Many have resigned themselves to this fate. Those who can have gotten non green looking passports as backups while very few continue to maintain this disastrous status-quo. We crib endlessly over meals and tea, at tea stalls and drawing rooms yet very few of us do anything about it and those who do, do so in an individual capacity. We blast governments of all hues and stripes and rightly so. Yet very few among us dare to introspect. Many among us lie and cheat regularly to make a quick buck. we have fake doctors and pirs. Our "conservative" merchants jack up prices of essentials just prior to the onset of Ramadan. Hoarding is common place. Treating traffic laws as a nuisance that's better ignored is more the norm than the exception. As a society we take great pride in calling ourselves an Islamic society yet we treat humans, animals and our environment with the utmost contempt.

Our "conservative" merchants jack up prices of essentials just prior to the onset of Ramadan. Hoarding is common place. Treating traffic laws as a nuisance that's better ignored is more the norm than the exception. As a society we take great pride in calling ourselves an Islamic society yet we treat humans, animals and our environment with the utmost contempt.

"safai nisf imaan hai" cleanliness is 50% of our faith yet our streets are filthy, our garbage strewn everywhere with open sewage creating a dream home for all those elements that make our lives a nightmare. Basically what I'm getting at is that we need to take not only ownership of our home but ownership of our streets, of our mohallas, of our cities and finally our Pakistan. little things matter. We worry about the American/Israeli/Indian conspiracy to break up our country yet we do nothing about the pile of garbage on our street corner that mind you, in addition to being an eyesore, is giving rise to a host of easily preventable health problems. We worry about the sheer incompetence of our politicians yet we vote them in time and time again.

So far I've been talking in the most general terms and that's because this is my intro post. I'm sure there are many of you out there who are actually doing something, who are taking responsibility and ownership. We need to spread this. We need to have an awakening, a renaissance. The status-quo wont do anymore. The incompetence of the politicians wont do anymore. We can no longer afford business as usual. The stakes have become just way to big for us to remain oblivious anymore and all of us can do this. We can make a difference.

We are the 6th largest country in the world, one of 7 nuclear weapon states, sitting at the crossroads of China, Central Asia, South Asia and the Middle East. We have, in spite of the efforts of various governments created a platform but now its time to truly achieve our potential because time is running out.

We are the 6th largest country in the world, one of 7 nuclear weapon states, sitting at the crossroads of China, Central Asia, South Asia and the Middle East. We have, in spite of the efforts of various governments created a platform but now its time to truly achieve our potential because time is running out. The extremist so called Muslims are here and (were, fingers crossed) making gains. but once these extremist thugs are defeated and they will be, then what? back to the days of political musical chairs amongst the two families? the biggest challenge to this country does not come from the extremists, at least not yet. Our biggest challenge is our demographic composition.

100 million Pakistanis are under the age of 25. approximately 3 to 4 million new jobs will have to be created each year for them to be employed. The highest number of jobs our nation has ever created is 2.5 million jobs in one year back in 2004-05. Now we have always had a law and order problem in our country. Apart from the extremists and sectarian problem, we have been plagued with street crime, robberies and dacoities since before i was born. Just imagine the pressure on this society, on this country if we fail to cater to the youth of this country in the coming years. Actually we don't have the luxury of even that. We needed to start catering to them yesterday. Apart from petty crime the ranks of extremists could easily be swelled by unemployed, frustrated youth from across the country. However there is a silver lining.

Whereas this happens to be our biggest challenge, it can also become Pakistan's biggest opportunity. These 100 million or so are our version of the 'baby boomers'. If most of them end up with jobs the amount of consumption these guys will undertake from buying homes, cars, electronics, eating out,planning vacations etc will drive our country from the third world into the first in one generation. Wishful thinking? Perhaps. but this has happened else where before and frankly what other choice do we have?

We must do what we can to make this country a better place to live. We must ensure that the political governments are held to account and that they actually start governing. We need to shake off our political apathy (and drawing room conversations are political apathy) and make our voices heard.

Finally in conclusion, all of us have to take ownership of this country. We must do what we can to make this country a better place to live. We must ensure that the political governments are held to account and that they actually start governing. We need to shake off our political apathy (and drawing room conversations are political apathy) and make our voices heard. Do a letter campaign, hold protests, come on the media, write blogs and/or for newspapers and do what we can to create awareness. If you know people who have access to the corridors of power, talk to them, bring about a change in their thinking and attitude. We need to get off our collective backsides because like i said before what other choice do we have?

Pakistan Hamesha Zindabad!!!

PS: Congrats to the Cricket Team and all of you on reaching the T20 semis!!

Timeline: 11/9 or 9/11, A date that has changed our past, present and our future! - Aabi Asif

What the world knows now to be 9/11 wasn’t what I knew of it when I was growing up. I never knew the extent of how one incident could entirely over shadow another in a way that not only would it change not only how we see our present, but also how we view our past.

Before the uneventful incident where planes hit the twin towers of the World Trade Centre, 11th September had a totally different value in the hearts of Pakistanis. 11th September 1948, was the day when our beloved founder Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah passed away, leaving the nation without a leader, a void that has perhaps not been filled to date.

As a child I remember that 11/9 was observed as a very somber day with the President and the Prime Minister along with the Governor of Sindh visited mausoleum of the Quaid the armed forces gave a 21 gun salute and they laid wreaths. It used to be a gazetted holiday and all the day through talk shows, interviews, documentaries and dramas based on the life of Quaid-e-Azam were aired. Special supplements of the newspapers were published with similar information.


As a result we learned a great of our history through the media. We had quizzes at school again based on history and on the life of the great leader; we sang national songs and were well aware of what the day was all about. Unfortunately for us, the significance of this day as a day of remembrance for our dear Quaid is no more.

Quaid-e-Azam was a man who had studied in London, and had the opportunity not to come back but he chose to come back to the sub-continent. He managed to create Pakistan for the Muslims because he wanted that we should be able to live in an independent state and lead our lives according to the teachings of Islam.

His speeches were filled with plans on how Pakistan should proceed. What our policies should be and how should we take Pakistan into a bright future? Treatment of minorities, taking the leaves out from the way the Khulfa-e-Rashdeen ruled adopting the Islamic rules to deal issues of all kind.

It is indeed a shame that his death was a big shock for the state but what did we do?
We have just placed his picture in all of the government and non government offices and printed millions of books on his life filled with his speeches but don’t bother to implement what he actually propagated.

After 2001, the incident not only affected USA and its citizens; it has had deep impact on people all over the world and in particular Pakistan.

First and foremost we had to side by USA in the War Against Terrorism. News channels, newspapers and the internet are filled with only the tragedy that struck USA that day and the death anniversary of Quaid has moved backstage.

It no longer is a gazetted holiday and the children of today only know of the twin tower hitting incident.

The other day in the school where I teach we had held a special assembly on the life of Quaid-e-Azam and students of grade 6 and 7 were asking what was the other event that happened besides 9/11.

It’s amazing how we have conveniently prioritized the events and have placed the events that will help our next generations to understand our history in the background and have given importance to dates that are significant for other countries.

Although progression and gaining knowledge of current affairs is good but I feel that we need to be strongly rooted in our history to grow strong in our future. For us to be real patriots and appreciate our country we need to make sure that we know where we hail from and how much was sacrificed to attain what we have in our hands today?

Pandora's Box: Introduction - Aabi Asif

Pakistan is a country fortunate to be blessed with many treasures. Four provinces that have diverse physical features - the plains and mountains of Sarhad, the coastal line of Sindh, the rich fields in Punjab the land of five rivers and the minerally rich mountain range of Balochistan.

Not only do these provinces differ in their physical features, they all have a world of their own with their special and unique culture. The food, dresses, music, life style, architecture all vary from each other and have added colour in our lives.

I look forward to exploring all of these wonderful treasures each week with you.

Pandora’s Box will include all these areas individually each week starting with the land of five rivers, Punjab. We will explore one area each week to add to our local knowledge.

Adios till next week
Aabi

Postcards from Pakistan: Badshahi Mosque - Faraz Niaz

Donate Blood!

What's your plan for the day? How about fighting along your troops and security forces? Or saving a life otherwise? It's sometimes very easy to forget the importance of donating blood.

Whether it's the sons of this soil fighting for your safety because they choose to or security forces getting injured inorder to save you from harm or our fellow countrymen fighting an unfortunate circumstance... You can make a difference!

Would you think twice before donating blood for those who are not thinking twice giving their life for you?? Find your local Combined Military Hospital (CMH) or Military Hospital (MH) and be the blood running through the veins of the Defenders of this nation!

Donate Blood. Be the Hero.