Still no sight of the tunnel's end

This is a post after a while.

After around four months.

A lot had happened since then. But nothing that could bring a smile or a sigh of relief. Each day had been worse than the day before.

It seems as if worst is not over yet.

There is an uneasy calm. Some sort of eerie quietness. As if it is brewing some storm.

But why is it that I am having these negative thoughts? Why am I being so pessimistic? But then, being optimistic till now had been any good for us? Didn't it only bring disappointment? Didn't we feel let down?

If one is at the top, the only way is to go is down below. But if one is already at the bottom, the only way to go is up above. I think our nation is at the bottom right now. If I am being pessimistic, any step towards the only available way would be a welcome relief.

However, one can choose to stay at the bottom. This would be too bad. But then, what if we decided to make the bottom deeper!!!

That's even worse!!!

They came and they conquered

It had been an unprecedented event in Pakistan's history. The only positive event to have taken place in Pakistan for a long time. That the people came out to support a principled stand in this era of national chaos and depression in applaudable. And as an icing on the cake, they succeeded in their mission. This was so gratifying to see because it showed that we as a nation are still alive and not dead. Most of us had thought like that but now we can keep our heads high in pride. Those at the helm of affairs should now realize the power of people. It can surely topple them now that people have felt what their power can do probably for the first time. So anybody who is even thinking of swindling this nation should think twice as this nation can now rise to the occasion.

I hope and pray that this is felt by everyone everywhere in the country and this should now force them to move in unity in one direction only - the right direction.

Who is the greater con artist?

Asif Zardari or...

...Bernard Madoff

There is news all over about the capture of Madoff and his financial frauds. The way he had swindled so many people and the cummulative total that he amassed and remained undetected for so long led someone to comment that he probably is the greatest con artist of all time.

I beg to differ.

I think they should study the portfolio of our own Asif Zardari. In case they don't know he is the president of Pakistan. Some time back he had been in prison for alleged money laundering amounting to billions and even murder cases. But he had been smarter than Madoff. The very fact that Madoff has been caught puts Zardari on top of the list of the greatest of all con artists.

"Mushardari" has to go

Finally it has happened. I must admit, until few weeks ago, I couldn't have imagined this in my wildest dream that one day our people would come out to follow a principle. To restore the prestige of judiciary is probably the most important thing to do at this juncture of our history. And to get someone as our head of state who is not a known plunderer is also as prudent.

So today we are seeing scenes that for me are moving. Now this should come to its logical conclusion. This is now or never for this nation. Zardari has to concede and he along with his hunchmen have to go.

The poster I have found very amusing. Zardari's picture doctored to look like Musharraf in uniform. Or is it the other way round....!

What a shameful day for Pakistan

Our heads hang in shame. Our eyes cannot meet any other eye. It is one of the darkest days among so many dark days hovering over our poor nation for quite sometime. That is March the 3rd, 2009 in the morning rush hour in the vicinity of Liberty Market in Lahore, we were unable to provide security to one of most important guests of the nation, the cricket team of Sri Lanka.

That they had chosen to tour Pakistan when all other nations flatly refused, we received solidarity from them when we really needed it. We should have cherished it and should have looked after them until they had left safely to their homes.

But we failed miserably. It was so pathetic to see the professional state of our security personnel. There seemed to be none!! Everyone saw what happened in those 20 to 25 minutes when every bit of national dignity was being drained out of us. A bunch of terrorists appeared out of nowhere armed with assault rifles, grenades and rocket launchers. They seemed to have a lot of time in their hands to spray bullets and fire granades and rockets at the thin security cordon and the players' bus with no back up of security personnel in sight ever. How they managed to reach there with all that stuff without being noticed is another mystery!!

Now how did that security lapse happen? Why there was inadequate security in the first place? Who were these terrorists? Why the terrorists spare the players when they could have easily killed any or all of them the way they liked and just chose to leave instead?Why not a single one of them didn't get injured or killed? Why no one in the administration has resigned accepting failure? May be we'd never find the real answer. We might only speculate and make an intelligent guess.

This is what Mukul Kesavan has to say who is a novelist, essayist and historian based in New Delhi. His article was first published in the Telegraph, Kolkata:

"Why did the Pakistan government roll the dice? Given the Marriott bombing, the troubles with the Taliban in recent times, why did it entrust the team's security to the Punjab Police instead of handing it over to commandos trained in some specialised way? After Mumbai, after Pakistan's own recent history, and given how much was at stake, why did the Pakistani state risk a replay of this familiar subcontinental tableau: untrained policemen being mowed down by professionally trained terrorists?

"There's something fundamentally unserious about this Pakistani dispensation. Its recent history reads like a soap opera about a banana republic: shady widower propelled to the presidency on the back of his bereavement gets pliant judges to disqualify his main political opponents. It's beyond satire. Some of this unseriousness seemed to have leaked into the security for this tour. It's as if the army has been the grown-up in Pakistani politics for so long that civilian politics has been infantilised."

Chris Broad, the match referee said plainly:
"I'm angry with the Pakistani security forces. We were promised high level security and in our hour of need that security vanished. There was not a sign of a policeman anywhere. They had clearly gone, left the scene and left us to be sitting ducks."
Simon Taufel, the Australian umpire didn't mince words either:
"I'm angry we were isolated, I'm angry we didn't get the same amount of security the playing staff got, and I'm angry that in our hour of need, we were left on our own.

"What I can tell you is we were isolated, left alone and unaccounted for. Looking at that footage, I can't tell you why we're here. I have absolutely no idea. I've seen reports to suggest they haven't caught anyone. I find that amazing. I don't know why."

These guys are well-respected and candid comments like this coming from them will grab attention. How long will it take for our politicians and leaders to wake up and do something for the country instead? If not now, then it will never be!

A stab in the back was really expected

This is the classic stab in the back. Nawaz Sharif and his courtiers were really naive not to have expected this from Asif Zardari. AZ must be a really good poker player and really good in hiding his true face. And his moves are reminding one of a chess grandmaster. Too bad I am forced to utter these praise-worthy comments for a person who really does not deserve anything except solitary confinement. This man is so dangerous; he would sell you without you being aware of it. So that adds another turmoil in my dear motherland. Too bad.

So, first AZ stabs NS in the back. NS cries foul. AZ offers "cooperation". NS says "go to hell". So AZ starts a rhetoric against NS. Now why should NS accept another offer for cooperation? When all he ever got in return (so far) have been broken promises. So why would he?

The decision of the Court is one thing. So Sharif Brothers have been disqualified from holding public office. That means Shahbaz Sharif was no longer Chief Minister of Punjab. So the next proper step would have been to let the Punjab Assembly elect another Leader of the House. That's democracy, isn't it? Then why on hell, Governor's rule had to be imposed? Simple. Leader of the House, had the democratic norms be followed, would have resulted in a Government in Punjab still in the hands of PML(N). But by bypassing these norms, they can now trample all laws of decency and impose a Government run by AZ (not PPP). So AZ will have the whole Pakistan in his hands a dream he must have seen while being in a jail 10-15 years back.

Good luck, Pakistan
Good luck, Pakistanis

So-called leaders

I just returned from annual vacation in Pakistan. During that time the Mumbai carnage took place. The Indians placed the blame very conveniently on Pakistan without explaining their own intelligence failure and lack of security arrangements. That is despite the fact that those terrorists had been staying quite comfortably within the same hotels for about a week. But the real point was the response by our so-called leaders. Those at the helm of affairs of our country went numb, thoughtless and speechless for a while. As if they were panicked. Then all of a sudden they just came out with such a response that was unbecoming of any true patriot. Whatever national dignity we had left soon fizzled away. And the Indians must have enjoyed pressing our throat with her feet while we had been prostrating and lying helplessly as a scared animal!! It was a relief that at least someone thought of looking into the eyes of the Indians (as an after-thought). Yes, it was really a relief. What else can the ordinary Pakistani do? If we have crooks like Zardari and Rehman Malik as our rulers, this has to be expected.

I really hope that this present PPP leadership really leads to its own downfall very soon so that someone even a little better (if not very much better) takes over!!