Recipients of ISI monies

...Rs10 million were given to Mir Afzal in NWFP province, Rs3.5 million to Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif in Punjab, Rs5.6 million to Lieutenant General (rtd) Rafaqat for advertisement on media, Rs5 million to Jamat-e-Islami, Rs1 million to Begum Abida Hussain, Rs0.5 million to Altaf Hussain Qureshi and Mustafa Sadiq, Rs3.3 million to small groups, Rs5 million to Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi in Sindh, Rs5 million to Jam Sadiq, Rs2.5 million to Muhammad Khan Junejo, Rs2 million to Pir Pagara, Rs0.3 million to Molana Salahuddin, Rs5.4 million to small parties, Rs1.5 million to Humayun Muree, the son-in-law of Bugti, Rs4 million to Jamali, Rs1 million to Kakar, Rs0.7 million to Jam Yousuf, Rs0.5 million Bazinjo and Rs1 million were given to Nadir Mengal.

Source: The News (August 27, 2009)

The mindset of Hags

- Zaid Hamid - An exemplary hag

Jindoun Punjabi mai day banday nain duujee beevee lay aandee, tay mai tapee hoee kehndee ay: "Zaroor oas dain nain koi jaadoo toanaa keeta hoiga!"

When a Punjabi hag's husband brought home a second wife, instead of trying to find fault with herself or seeing her husband as the wrong-doer, she immediately began to curse the new wife:

"That witch must have cast a black spell on my husband," she reasoned.


These few words highlight the mindset of many Pakistanis. One cannot even argue that it is the uneducated who revel in conspiracy theories. Browse through any forum on any site related to politics and social issues and these "hags" have seizures against the West, Zionists, and even Nestle. Ironically, most of these "hags" are based in the West and intentionally thriving off the very conditions they vehemently criticize.

Blaming the West for our problems has become a past time.

Knowledge about the intricacies of conspiracies has never really helped anyone other than massage the ego. If anything, delving in such tabloid nonsense can prevent people from spending the efforts in finding solutions to their own problems - problems that have no link nor are a result of the policies of the West.

For example, if we focus on Pakistan, what is preventing the country from achieving 100% literacy? Why has health care not been a priority? Why is most of the population still denied a clean glass of water? Why are cases of polio on the increase in Pakistan? Why does the Army absorb the largest chunk of the budget? What is preventing Pakistan from becoming an integrated nation-state even after 60 years of tumultuous existence? Why is it that throughout these 60 years, components of the states want to break away?

Even a cursory analysis will reveal that the rot has everything to do with Pakistanis themselves rather than anyone else.

For example, Baluchistan faces massive injustice from the Pakistani rulers. Chairman Khan has continuously highlighted the numbers of 300 billion rupees of gas being extracted from Baluchistan while the province's budget is only 18 billion. By some figures 15% of the federal taxes are raised from Baluchistan's resources. This approximately 15% (some figures state 17%) contribution by Baluchistan is not in dispute like the figures of Sindh's contribution by virtue of Karachi being the port of entry. Yet, despite these contributions, Baluchistan gets less than a third back from the federal pool! Whatsmore, before the money is redistributed to the provinces, around 50% of the federal money is used to pay interest, build up the Army and pay salaries. Why should the Baluch not question how the federal budget is being used for the military? What is the utility of spending so much money on the army for the Baluch? What has the Army given the Baluch? If 75% of all armed force recruits come from Punjab, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that such figures will harden the perceptions of injustice in the smaller provinces.

Natural gas from Sui, Baluchistan was discovered in the early 1960's. Rawalpindi was connected to this resource in the same decade. Quetta first began to benefit from Sui natural gas in 1995. Similarly, while the gas in Sui began to be extracted much earlier, is there any rationale to giving Baluchistan the old rate of 22 rupees per KG of gas whereas Punjab's natural gas earns it 110 rupees and Sindh 185? Point is, with such drastic numbers before us, is it any wonder why the Baluchis should seek out right independence?

And in relation to this article, do foreign powers accused of having an 'evil eye' even need to do anything more to convince the Baluch they are better off independent? Yet, unfortunately many are more concerned to project and portray foreign intervention as the cause for secessionist movements and all other major ills the nation faces. These 'conspiracy theorists' hurt Pakistan by taking away our focus from the real problems which in turn cripples the vision to find solutions.

In short: when we no longer wish to be held accountable, why expect the politicians to be held accountable? We are an educated lot and should be cognizant of distraction tactics by those who insist that the real cause of Pakistan's mess lie outside its borders.

It is fine to seek possibilities of who else is making use of the problem - but the source and the solution to the problem lies only in us. The futile obsession with conspiracies supposedly emanating from the West is detrimental to the health of society. For every one such external conspiracy, there are 100 real internal causes of instability. Time would be better spent trying to fix the myriad of internal causes rather than entering analysis-paralysis by illusions of problematic external stimuli.

A haggin' hag never helped anyone's cause. Pakistan has been kind to hags giving them ample air time and turning them into celebrities. Dr. Shahid Masood took off with his program 'End of Times' and currently TV1 is entertaining Zaid Hamid as the supremo hag whose diatribe offers no solution and no return. While television is a business and there is nothing wrong with enjoying the tantrums of these Jerry Springers/Pat Robertsons/Rush Limbaughs of Pakistan, as politically aware individuals of a country that has self-destructed, we should be seeking solutions rather than myopic explanations of these depressed individuals.

Riding with the leaders of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf

By Fraz Shafique [Courtesy Insaf Action Committee (IAC)]

www.insaf.pk

November 21, 2008

We arrived at the Lahore Airport with Punjab President Ahsan Rashid and former ISF Lahore convener Mohammad Madni. Madni had his task cut out for him as he was receiving non-stop calls on his two mobile sets from Lahoris wanting to join the party during the membership campaign.

"It takes me around 5 minutes to finish one call and by then there are a dozen missed calls in my phone log," stated the firebrand activist.

As we approached the arrival section a dozen ritalin-alert military men, with raised rifles ready to pull the trigger at the hint of danger, emerged surrounding a short man dressed in a suit and wearing sunglasses. My first thought was why a seeming bureaucrat deserved such a heavy security dedication.

"Who would waste time trying to do anything to him?" inquired Ahsan Rashid.

Turns out, the VVVIP was the defense minister of the country. While the PTI Punjab President had a point, the minister had built a resume of consistent gaffes that at the very least warranted a slap or two from the general populace. While we were still weighing the basis for the unbelievable security provided to the defense minister, Chairman Imran Khan walked out by himself, without any fanfare - other than the excited porters who ran toward him for a hand shake. Chairman Khan would be shaking a lot of hands today.

We got into Ahsan Rashid's car with Information Secretary Omar Sarfraz Cheema taking the driver's seat. Lahore President Mian Mehmood ur Rashid and Political Secretary Saifullah Niazi completed the passenger list. Mehmood ur Rashid briefed the Chairman on the incredible success of the Lahore membership drive as we headed toward our first of six camp stops across the metropolis of Lahore opposite the General Hospital on Ferozepur Road.

"Allah has really helped us with this drive," humbly stated Mehmood ur Rashid.

"But Zardari has also been a big help," observed Chairman Khan in a tone not so much thankful as helpless.

"People are so fed up of his government and that factor is also reflected in the big numbers we're seeing join PTI!"

We arrived at our first camp and were quickly surrounded by Chairman Khan's admirers. One of the massive floats began blaring patriotic songs while PTI flags proudly rose into the air.

Throughout the journey, the phones of the PTI leaders kept ringing.
"Khan sahib, you must have dinner with us!" declared Mehmood ur Rashid.

"Yes! Sooner the better - I am famished!"

Mehmood ur Rashid called up the owner of Butt Sweets family restaurant at Laxmi Chowk and ordered chicken karrahi to be prepared for the team.

"Make sure the chicken you slaughter is no more than 1.5 years old!" thundered Mehmood ur Rashid for the xth time to the owner of Butt Sweets. Chairman Khan laughed and readily agreed with the Lahore President's taste.

In spotless Punjabi, the Chairman heartily declared: "Sanu buddha kukarr naeen langda!"

Our next stop was Chuhngi Amar Sadhu further along on Ferozpur Road. This was one of the camps that wasn't planned but due to the euphoria, residents emerged and insisted they too wanted to take part in the growth of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf in Lahore. This is an area of the city seldom frequented by the media but bustled with the general laborers and transporters. The camp was also the most organized in terms of crowd management and the scenes of supporters seeking to have their membership cards signed by Chairman Khan were less chaotic.

After an appraisal of the camp and congratulating those who had taken the initiative to launch it, we left for the stop off College Road. Located in Township, it was in the middle of an extremely congested market. The location also offered the most rewards in terms of memberships obtained. It was manned and run by Dr. Shahid Siddiqui who has been active in assisting with welfare activities in the city. As we left the bustling localities leaving behind the loud sloganeering in favor of the PTI leader, Mehmood ur Rashid wiped his forehead and revealed an interesting tidbit political adversaries were spreading, perhaps indicating a sense of panic in their ranks.

"The latest word on the street is that the Jewish lobby and ISI are supporting Tehreek-e-Insaf," informed Mehmood ur Rashid.

"That's certainly news. Why would ISI want to support us if this government is proving to be more than sufficient?" responded the Chairman.

Mehmood ur Rashid had ensured that PTI membership drive came in with a bang and while it continues, there is bound to be a reassessment of the party by the opposing forces. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf was a tide that could only rise. How does an opposing party deal with an entity that can go nowhere but up? To repeat a phrase voiced during the Presidential election in the United States, "How does one fight a movement?"

"I have ordered another 40,000 membership forms," said Saifullah Niazi after stating that the initial ones had run out in under one week.

The issue of resources cropped up - it was bound to. Although well managed and within the limits specified by PTI Lahore, the amounts add up once the rest of Pakistan is brought into the picture.

"If we had the resources the other parties have, we could have done so much more," stated Ahsan Rashid. However, he highlighted that for each member PTI takes in, it will translate into on average four additional household votes. Therefore, if PTI Lahore manages to secure 150,000 members during the two week drive, it will mean a whooping 700,000+ votes securely placing PTI in position to win the most seats from Lahore in the next elections.

"Furthermore, since we're seeing that 80% of the members are from among the youth, we have secured a solid vote bank that is most aggressive about seeking change as their future directly depends on it."

We arrived at the Icchra camp to loud cheers and supporters sprinkling flowers at the Chairman and his accompanying leaders. At this camp Irfan Hasan, another young firebrand member delivered his speech imploring members of society to join PTI. PTI Vice President Ejaz Chaudhary was also persent to prop up the workers of the party.

Often times during the trip Ahsan Rashid seemed preoccupied with the future strategies for the party - financial and logistical - as the Lahore membership campaign had proven to being exceptionally well executed and was delivering results in the main Punjabi city.

"Go for Rawalpindi next. We've got some good workers there like Sadaqat Ali Abbasi and the Islamabad team can assist as well," was the suggestion of the Chairman. "Faisalabad needs a proper ground force first."

For Ahsan Rashid, the cities to target in Punjab were many. Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Sialkot, Gujranwala and Multan to name a few. While the PTI leaders were confident of sweeping NWFP, Punjab's status had been unclear until this membership campaign perhaps due to the role of the largest party in the province.

As we disembarked from the Allama Iqbal bridge we entered the heavily populated outliers of Old City Lahore. This was a hardcore constituency of the provincial government. It was at least. Billboards, flags and posters were plastered in the area with pictures of the Chief Minister and his son who had gotten elected unopposed. The Lahore city's apparatus was unhappy seeing PTI launch this campaign but Ahsan Rashid had gotten the permission from the CM, who perhaps did not realize the PTI campaign would be so successful and launched with such methodical execution. The success of the campaign in the heart of the political capital can set the example and pave the way for the other cities of the nation to replicate.

Unfortunately, and it was bound to happen, the PTI leaders were stuck in a horrendous traffic jam. Chairman Khan informed us that he had not had lunch and was extremely hungry now. Tempers also flared up with at the visibly poor behavior of the traffic which had turned a small road that could barely handle two lanes, into one with five lanes.

"Why don't the traffic police go down the line and fine anyone who breaks the rules. That way there won't be any of these jams!" sensibly reasoned the occupants of the car. Mehmood ur Rashid looked vexed that so much time was being wasted. His mobile phone battery ran out while he was trying to ask someone at the destination camps for an alternate route.

In the meantime, different topics were discussed such as making PTI a strong institution by having elections within the party in a few months time. Chairman Khan was adamant about internal elections as this was the only way to establish permanent change. Omar Sarfraz Cheema gave some damning statistics about the results of the emerging water shortages due to the Chenab river being dammed by India. Millions of acres of arable land would be effected he revealed. There was also an emphasis on ensuring proper media coverage of the rally to conclude the campaign on December 1.

After half an hour the traffic began to move at a crawl and we turned toward Misri Shah from the 'Do Moriya Bridge', beyond which the Old City begins. The camp at Misri Shah and in Shadbagh were both run by Usama Rana who along with his boisterous supporters brimmed with confidence and courage.

"I promise PTI will sweep this part of Lahore," he declared without any hesitation.

After the upbeat tours of the last two camps, Mehmood ur Rashid insisted that Chairman Khan devout one day for the heart of Lahore, 'undruun city' - the Old City, in the last day of the campaign before the December 1 rally. This has been the call of many PTI Lahore activists who know the symbolic significance of winning the walled city region. The 'undruun city' is to Lahore what Lahore is to Pakistan.

It had been a long day - perhaps longer for Chairman Khan as he rapidly emptied the containers of raita and mint chatni with a spoon while waiting for the karrahi - but an equally rewarding one. As the PTI leaders drove through the metropolis into the congested alleys and streets, the seeds they had planted, were beginning to germinate.

"If Muhammad can't get to the mountain, the mountain will come to Muhammad" - with the launch of the membership drive, PTI has gone to the masses. The dedicated workers of the party have shown determination during the most difficult of times and stood by their leaders. We often hear of Chairman Khan inspiring the workers. But as this campaign continues, it is the workers who are inspiring the leadership.

Curbing army's role

Until and unless the army is made subservient to the civilian governments, the option for backdoor entries to power will remain.

It is unfortunate Musharaf wasn't tried for committing treason at least twice. There were a number of other charges he could have been tried on. For example, admitting to 'sell' Pakistani citizens to the USA or having them 'disappear' under the excuse of WoT.

Trying Musharaf was the proper thing to do and would have been popular.

Zardari's strategy to completely shut the Army out seems over ambitious and could prove fatal for him. Here's what it looks like:

1) Isolate the establishment and the Army by leaving them without any collaborators. Thus the logic behind making an alliance with the MQM, ANP, Q-League, and an uneasy one with N-League in Punjab.
2) Keep the Pakistan Army busy in the western border regions
3) Show the western powers, particularly the USA, that he is their most reliable ally
4) This isolates the Army both internally and internationally.
5) In this situation, sign a deal with India on Kashmir.

Once Kashmir no longer remains an issue, it'll destroy the basis for keeping a large Army. That will lead to justification in budget cuts for the armed forces.

Zardari has completed the first four steps. Let's see if he can complete the strategic plan.

Turkey: The model for Pakistan

It is no secret that the Turkish people have an enormous reverence for Mahomed Ali Jinnah or Cinnah as written in Turkish, honoring him with Cinnah Avenue, a major artery in Ankara. It should not be surprising as both Jinnah and the founder of modern-day Turkey, Ataturk, were modernist Muslims educated and tailored in the western traditions. Both dedicated their lives to uplift the economic and political cause of their people. The similarities between the two men also include both being members of minority communities within the religion of Islam. Jinnah was an Ismaili-Shia, a community following Imam Agha Khan while Ataturk, born in Salonika, was a Muslim of Albanian-Macedonian parents. Their roots outside of mainstream Islam were significant in determining their modernist, secular ideology which was accutely aware of the 'tyranny of the majority' and desiring of equal rights for those whom demographics did not favor.

But more than this, it was the economic degradation of their communities that encouraged them to lead their people.

In pre-1947 India, the Muslim population was primarily illiterate with little or no significant role in commerce, which was almost exclusively owned by a non-Muslim majority. Jinnah however, was part of the coastal Ismaili Muslim community which unlike most Muslims, was more interested in enterprise and bourgeoise professions and thus could grasp the need to set up a state - be it within the Indian union or without - whereby the members of his Muslim community could have opportunities allowing them to gain a stake and representation in the economic system.

In similar respects, the Young Turk movement, of which Ataturk was a member, also aimed to establish a state where the Muslims held economic power. Due to the abhorent decadence of the Khilafat-e-Usmania, the Muslim community had become the equivalent of 'white trash' of the Khilafat while the minority communities like the Armenians and Greeks prospered as they opted to adopt western legal codes. The biographies of Ataturk and the early 20th century indicate how the non-Muslim Ottoman neighborhoods were well lit with paved roads and had the best schools and hospitals. It was Ataturk's desire to see the majority Muslim community achieve the same modern life style denied to them - a denial he and many of the Young Turk movement linked to the Khilafat's archaic legal codes and traditions.

Unfortunately, while Turkey has stuck to the ideals of Ataturk, Pakistan has quickly forgotten Jinnah's almost single-handed struggle to build a prosperous nation. While the Islamic-bent AKP party of Turkey today ferociously supports Turkey's union with the European Union as part of Ataturk's modernist legacy, Pakistan is fraught with internecine civil war, religious bigotry, a self-destructive obesession against India, and whose Army is now wrecking havoc against its own people in the FATA region, for a war fought on someone else's behalf. Whereas Turkey has always stood up for its national interests and been the only country to militarily attack Europe since WW II (through a military assault it forcefully occupied 40% of Cyprus in the 1970's) and refused $25 billion in aid from the United States to assist in the war against Iraq, Pakistan has capitulated in a dramatically tragic manner to the whims of foreign powers.

While Jinnah and Ataturk had many similarities and would not mind enjoying a glass of Turkish wine if they met, there is a massive gulf between the leadership of Pakistan and Turkey today. What can Pakistan learn from the successful model adopted by Turkey? What does modern day Turkey have to teach us?

Prime Minister Erdogan's AKP party started its journey assisting the poor members of the urban Turkish landscape. One of the projects was to offer bread at break-even cost to the poor who were severely effected by hyper inflation. The scheme became so successful, that private bakeries went out of business. More importantly it catapulted the AKP party (then known as Welfare Party) into the mainstream of Turkish politics.

In a similar attempt, Chairman Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf is also attempting to find resonance amongst the urban poor of Pakistan who are the suffering from exorbitant food inflation. Thus the Sasta Tanduur project has been set up in much the same fashion as the Turkish party's. However, the Sasta Tanduur project goes a step further by offering subsidized roti which results in each tanduur incurring a daily loss. This loss is expected to be fulfilled by the appeal for donations voiced by Chairman Khan.

Aside from aggressively reaching out to those bruised by faulty economic policies, the other major example to learn from the Turkish Republic is to stand up to foreign powers. Completely redefining the war we are currently fighting is critical as persisting with policies in which our military is massacring our own people will lead us down the path of self-destruction.

Finally and most importantly, the fact that Turkey has pursued a pro-development economic policy beneficially tied to the West without forfeiting its sovereignty is worth emulating. Today, Turkish consumer electronics firms rank among the top three in terms of sales in many of the household product lines.

Standing up for the poor and against foreign powers are the hallmarks of good leadership which Chairman Khan has shown and which our nation needs to adopt. While we cannot be a replica copy of the Turkish Republic, the fundamentals of standing up to western powers and focusing on the have-nots of our society deserve to be copied so that one day, Pakistan too will mirror the glorious image of its founder, Mahomed Ali Jinnah.

Published for www.insaf.pk

Faiz Ahmed Faiz

Trips down memory lane…was recently asked, ‘What made you interested in Faiz?’ a question that can easily be answered by replying with the renowned ghazals one has heard, or the ‘hum daikhain gay’ chant of Iqbal Bano members of all sections of society happily claim to uphold. Lots of usual reasons. Though I’m gradually losing confidence in my mental archives, I did manage to trace two possible starting points for the love affair of Faiz’s poems.

Did one instance occur before the second? Or was it the other way round? Whatever the case, the thing that I can be reasonably sure of is that it doesn’t matter. The fact is I was 14 years old, in love with Christina, had just given Junoon’s Album1 one final chance and didn’t know what to take to class as part of the ‘bring something about your country’ assignment.

In Junoon Volume 1, the song ‘jeeain’ begins with a poem by Faiz…a memorable set of lines, but one which weren’t entirely understood until many months later when I’d read the complete poem. However, it was the other poem which marked a turning point.

I normally didn’t ask dad questions related to studies. I always ended up further confused. But this was a last minute thing and I needed help. So I asked him as he was rushing out for his field work in Wad Madani (we were in Sudan). He quickly took out the first book that came off the shelf which happened to be Faiz’s ‘nuskhaha-e-vafa’ and chose the first poem that came up – it was called ‘Kuttay’ (Dogs) and without considering my obvious displeasure at the selected title went on to explain in detail the underlying theme.

The seeds were laid then and I admit that though not know that well, it is among the best poems of Faiz I’ve read. And for all intents and purposes is responsible for the ideological shift I’d taken, on who I’d select as my heroes and who I would not.

Yeh galiyoun kay avara baykaar kuttay,
Keh bakhsha gaya jin ko zoaq-e-gadai,
Zamanay kee phatkaar sarmaya un ka,
Jehaan-bhar ke dhatkaar un kee kamaii…

[These filthy wandering street dogs,
Who have been blessed with unending poverty,
Life’s aimlessness is their only investment,
The world’s merciless kicks are their only earning…

And after describing the unenviable, poverty-stricken masses who have seemingly no hope, Faiz ends the poem with the imploring lines…

Koi un ko ehsaas-e-zillat dikhladay
Koi un kee soee hui dum hiladay…

[If only they realized the extent of their humiliation,
If only they could be awoken from their slumber…]

Praising Robbers

Hai ahl-e-dil kay liyay ab yeh nazm-e-bast-o-kushaad,
Keh sang-o-khist muqayyad hain aur sag azaad.

-Faiz

Traveling through the lanes of time, we are offered many signs and pointers. Because we all have our own unique comprehension patterns, how we each understand these signs and pointers is what makes each of us an individual.

In Hazrat Sheikh Saadi's (RA) story, a poet tries to impress the chief of the robbers by writing a eulogy in the hope of receiving a reward. Upon hearing the poet's lyrics, the chief orders his men to strip the poet of his clothes and kick him out of the cave. The bewildered poet asks the reason for this unexpected reaction.

"This will teach you not to praise a robber!", responds the Chief.

The naked poet is kicked out of the cave into the cold snowy terrain and quickly finds himself being chased by dogs. In desperation he tries to pick up stones to ward off the canines but the stones are frozen in the ground, leaving him to ponder the circumstances of a land where dogs roam free and he is defenseless.

The lines by Faiz mentioned above were inspired by this tale and aptly capture the confounded state of existence of the people of Pakistan today.

The school book tale's relevance is difficult to ignore today. How often we set aside our standards of right and wrong not because we are convinced by a change in their contextual relativity but because we are unwilling to struggle otherwise, unwilling to upset the semblance of order we've established in our own desperate lives.

In October 1999, when a new chapter was opened in the tragic epic of Pakistan, there was hardly a voice criticizing the coup of the dictator. Instead, the act of treason was showered with praise and many an analyst, including myself and our party's leadership, predicted of good days to come. We all wholeheartedly said good riddance to the elected parliament and reared hopes whilst in the lap of a usurper.

In only a matter of months, a vast number of those celebrating the coup found themselves not only vulnerable to attack, but unable to defend themselves or be heard. The robbery of the nation of the past nine years was unprecedented, much of it excused once the lines between speculative profiteering and crime became conveniently blurred. In the absence of an independent judiciary, there was no one and no reason for distinguishing between the two.

Yet even during this period, there was a choir of many an intelligent economist and analyst who could not reject the conjured figures and preferred to proclaim that the economic managers of the dictator were worthy of respect and the fort of the nation was strong, a lack of vision, respect for law or institutional absence notwithstanding. Nor were they moved when thousands of workers of political parties including Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf were chased around and thrown in jail if caught for no reason other than their desire for an independent judiciary and justice.

Today, as hunger chases people through the unlit alleys of cities and villages, the grandiloquent speeches declaring the nation being on the verge of an economic miracle ring horrifyingly hollow. The praise of robbers comes to haunt us.

Then we witnessed yet another miracle of an election held under the same dictator in which familiar faces of yesteryears appeared in gowns of saviors and promises of a better tomorrow. We wasted no time in singing praises for them and the revolutionary deeds they would surely engage in to honor the confidence of the people who put them there.

Unfortunately the dawn of a new day has quickly turned dark. Once again we find ourselves left betrayed and defenseless with little recourse for justice. Robbers old and new continue to lay claim to the thrones of power. Sycophants new and old emerge bombarding them with praise. The few fabrics of Pakistani society have been torn apart and half the country has been turned into a no-go area as spirited movements of resistance fortify, some deriving inspiration from injustice dealt to them, and an array of opportunists such as the Taliban terrorists promising swift archaic laws that bury any move toward institution-building that caught fervor on March 9, 2007. In this bewildering state of defenselessness with everyone screaming to be heard, international super powers naturally smell blood and willingly seek to pull and tug to ensure their voice is heard the loudest.

Perhaps we had ignored the lessons Saadi elaborated upon centuries before. Or perhaps the frailty of the human mind in the face of existence nurtures hope in even those who un-repentantly offer more without having delivered anything before.

To be fair, many have learned their lesson. Chief Justice's rejection of Musharaf's dictation being the first example. The collective disgust of the nation on how those sitting in the parliament are handling the judicial issue being another. But will these actions and reactions be sufficient to avoid our praise of future robbers that find their way into the corridors of power? Will these lessons prove to be sufficient when political re-alignment demands the embrace of criminals and crooks?

I don't know if Hazrat Sheikh Saadi (RA) was a fortune teller. Perhaps he had seen in his time, the display of men praising their leaders who in return treated their subjects with scorn and contempt. Whatever the basis of this tale, it gives us plenty to reflect upon and maybe ponder before we engage in the next charade of hope and despair.

Our actions of the past have scorched our land rendering it far away from the gulistan dreamed by our founder. Hazrat Sheikh Saadi’s (RA) stories may not offer a project plan for fixing the broken dreams, but they do reveal some pointers. They are not a revelation. Maybe not even something of an inspiration. They are just some signs there for us to interpret and hopefully not ignore this time.

- Fraz Shafique