The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Monday again injected Rs 33.85 billion in the banking system for four days through a reverse repo (open market operation). Whereas on last Saturday the central bank injected Rs 19.95 billion.
The primary dealers have offered Treasury bills worth Rs 42.5 billion, but the central bank accepted bids of Rs 33.85 billion at 12.85 percent per annum.
The banking system is facing a liquidity shortage for the last few days because of higher outflows, the dealers said. The rupee has been supported by higher remittances sent home by Pakistanis working abroad.
According to SBP this week, remittances rose more than 24 percent to $4.531 billion in the first six months of the (July-June) financial year.
The dealers said that the rupee might further lose strength to more than 85 percent to the dollar if global oil prices start rising again.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Jinnah’s Pakistan as a rallying cry
Salmaan Taseer was a man of great moral clarity whether his detractors care to admit as much or not. He was from an increasingly rare breed of idealists who believed in Pakistan as envisaged by Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, i.e. a liberal democratic state where faith would be a personal matter. I submit that it was this belief in Pakistan’s destiny that drove Salmaan Taseer to stand up for the rights of minorities in Pakistan. Therefore, when his children write that their father died for Pakistan, Pakistan’s self-appointed guardians of ideology should take note and learn a thing or two. The need of the hour is for Pakistanis to stand up for that ideal, for this is our only homeland and if we do not save it, no one else will.
It is for these reasons that I found Ammar Rashid’s article ‘Moral medievalism and the state’ (Daily Times, January 13, 2011) to be most disturbing. At a time when Pakistanis should be united in realising that Salmaan Taseer’s death and the subsequent polarisation around the assassination is indicative of state failure and the state’s abdication of responsibility for its people, self-proclaimed intellectuals regurgitating a flawed interpretation of Marxist ideology are in the forefront of efforts to sabotage all attempts to gather the less fortunate on a platform against bigotry and hate. To begin with, the reasoning of the author is entirely muddled. Blaming modern information-age capitalism and its confluence with the historical memory and ‘logic’ of the Pakistani state is akin to making excuses for an abandonment of common sense and reason. The “historical memory” of the Pakistani state as it were is much warped and distorted. The great leftist historian Hamza Alavi examined the causes and the events leading to the creation of Pakistan in many of his works and rejected in entirety the state-sponsored narrative introduced largely during the Zia era. In his enlightening paper Pakistan and Islam: Ethnicity or Ideology, Hamza Alavi traced the formation of the ‘salariat’ or the secular Muslim middle-class, which became the engine for the Pakistan Movement. He showed how the basic ideas of Islamic modernism had moved into the sphere of conventional wisdom for this group. Therefore, far from arguing a moral superiority based on Pan-Islamic religious identity, Muslim nationalism as it emerged was the attempt of a nascent Muslim bourgeoisie in the subcontinent to secure a foothold economically and politically. It was also indicative of an internal struggle between the professional and secular-minded classes amongst Indian Muslims led by Jinnah and the clerical class that opposed them. This is what prompted Jinnah to declare in 1938, “What the League has done is to set you free from the reactionary elements of Muslims and to create the opinion that those who play their selfish game are traitors. It has certainly freed you from that undesirable element of maulvis and maulanas.”
Salmaan Taseer was the foremost symbol of the professional and secular-minded Muslim bourgeoisie that created Pakistan. He was a self-made man, a professional and a businessman. The late governor was the physical embodiment of the confluence of Pakistan’s genuine historical memory and modern, information age capitalism.
There is no reason why we should complicate a simple issue. I submit two points: a) all nationalisms are exclusionary and, as Eqbal Ahmad said, “the ideology of the other”, and b) states are duty bound to be above issues of identity and nationalism and this is precisely why we have constitutions. Secularism, historically, has developed from confessional societies, and pluralism is almost always a desired by-product. The example before Jinnah, as the creator and the first governor general of the new state, was Britain which he alluded to in his famous August 11 speech, which, mind you, was not the only speech he delivered where he outlined in clear terms his idea of what the Pakistani state should be. Great Britain’s history is defined by the protestant nature of its monarchy and the struggle between the clergy and the state. It has in its history seen gruesome violence on religious questions including blasphemy. In due course of time, however, the Protestants and Catholics did learn to live together as citizens of Great Britain.
So what is Jinnah’s Pakistan and why is it increasingly becoming the rallying cry of all Pakistanis who want to bring about a change? Jinnah’s Pakistan means a Pakistan where dialogue and constitutional means are the only available choice when resolving disagreements and discord. How then can today’s Pakistan be Jinnah’s Pakistan when the very essence of the man is sacrificed in the name of political expediency and the doctrine of necessity? Jinnah’s Pakistan will remain the only credible answer for positive social change because Jinnah represents something much more substantial than a dead secular politician. He is, for most Pakistanis, a deep structure of identity that remains on a higher pedestal for them. It is for this reason that Jinnah’s Pakistan remains the only viable option for this state to dig itself out of the hole it finds itself in. Without Jinnah, the liberals of Pakistan are like fish out of the pond.
It is for these reasons that I found Ammar Rashid’s article ‘Moral medievalism and the state’ (Daily Times, January 13, 2011) to be most disturbing. At a time when Pakistanis should be united in realising that Salmaan Taseer’s death and the subsequent polarisation around the assassination is indicative of state failure and the state’s abdication of responsibility for its people, self-proclaimed intellectuals regurgitating a flawed interpretation of Marxist ideology are in the forefront of efforts to sabotage all attempts to gather the less fortunate on a platform against bigotry and hate. To begin with, the reasoning of the author is entirely muddled. Blaming modern information-age capitalism and its confluence with the historical memory and ‘logic’ of the Pakistani state is akin to making excuses for an abandonment of common sense and reason. The “historical memory” of the Pakistani state as it were is much warped and distorted. The great leftist historian Hamza Alavi examined the causes and the events leading to the creation of Pakistan in many of his works and rejected in entirety the state-sponsored narrative introduced largely during the Zia era. In his enlightening paper Pakistan and Islam: Ethnicity or Ideology, Hamza Alavi traced the formation of the ‘salariat’ or the secular Muslim middle-class, which became the engine for the Pakistan Movement. He showed how the basic ideas of Islamic modernism had moved into the sphere of conventional wisdom for this group. Therefore, far from arguing a moral superiority based on Pan-Islamic religious identity, Muslim nationalism as it emerged was the attempt of a nascent Muslim bourgeoisie in the subcontinent to secure a foothold economically and politically. It was also indicative of an internal struggle between the professional and secular-minded classes amongst Indian Muslims led by Jinnah and the clerical class that opposed them. This is what prompted Jinnah to declare in 1938, “What the League has done is to set you free from the reactionary elements of Muslims and to create the opinion that those who play their selfish game are traitors. It has certainly freed you from that undesirable element of maulvis and maulanas.”
Salmaan Taseer was the foremost symbol of the professional and secular-minded Muslim bourgeoisie that created Pakistan. He was a self-made man, a professional and a businessman. The late governor was the physical embodiment of the confluence of Pakistan’s genuine historical memory and modern, information age capitalism.
There is no reason why we should complicate a simple issue. I submit two points: a) all nationalisms are exclusionary and, as Eqbal Ahmad said, “the ideology of the other”, and b) states are duty bound to be above issues of identity and nationalism and this is precisely why we have constitutions. Secularism, historically, has developed from confessional societies, and pluralism is almost always a desired by-product. The example before Jinnah, as the creator and the first governor general of the new state, was Britain which he alluded to in his famous August 11 speech, which, mind you, was not the only speech he delivered where he outlined in clear terms his idea of what the Pakistani state should be. Great Britain’s history is defined by the protestant nature of its monarchy and the struggle between the clergy and the state. It has in its history seen gruesome violence on religious questions including blasphemy. In due course of time, however, the Protestants and Catholics did learn to live together as citizens of Great Britain.
So what is Jinnah’s Pakistan and why is it increasingly becoming the rallying cry of all Pakistanis who want to bring about a change? Jinnah’s Pakistan means a Pakistan where dialogue and constitutional means are the only available choice when resolving disagreements and discord. How then can today’s Pakistan be Jinnah’s Pakistan when the very essence of the man is sacrificed in the name of political expediency and the doctrine of necessity? Jinnah’s Pakistan will remain the only credible answer for positive social change because Jinnah represents something much more substantial than a dead secular politician. He is, for most Pakistanis, a deep structure of identity that remains on a higher pedestal for them. It is for this reason that Jinnah’s Pakistan remains the only viable option for this state to dig itself out of the hole it finds itself in. Without Jinnah, the liberals of Pakistan are like fish out of the pond.
Pak-US: bridging the trust divide
President Asif Ali Zardari was in Washington to
attend the memorial service of US Special Envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke. At the service, US President Obama said, “Richard is gone now, but we carry with us his thirst to know, to grasp and heal the world around us.” Mr Holbrooke was a great advocate of Pak-US friendship and was of the view that for a viable solution in Afghanistan, the US would have to bring Pakistan on board. As Britain’s former foreign secretary, David Miliband, wrote: “The key [to success in Afghanistan] is, and always has been, a political settlement that can make withdrawal possible on terms that protect regional and global interests. Holbrooke is gone, but we must learn his lessons.”
Apart from attending Mr Holbrooke’s memorial service, President Zardari held a meeting with President Obama and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. According to Pakistan’s Ambassador to the US, Husain Haqqani, Mr Obama and Ms Clinton assured Mr Zardari that “the US will over the next few days find ways to strengthen Pakistan’s economic reform process, while taking into consideration social and political factors”. If the US wants to help Pakistan economically, it will have to use its clout to persuade the IMF not to cut off Pakistan because of the RGST imbroglio. The reason this government has not yet been able to implement RGST is political. Despite the fact that the RGST would in effect be good for Pakistan’s economy, most of our political parties are not ready to support the PPP-led government because of an anti-RGST sentiment amongst the masses. Without a political consensus, the government cannot move an inch on economic reforms.
The US is one of the biggest aid donors to Pakistan. However, there is a rise in the anti-American sentiment in our society. One of the reasons is because of the way the US abandoned Pakistan after the Afghan jihad in the 80s. The US has always been dubbed as a ‘fair-weather friend’ but it is imperative that now that the Americans do not have any plans to leave us in the lurch, cooperation in all fields is forthcoming. Through USAID and other such initiatives, the Americans have been giving developmental aid to Pakistan. In November 2010, USAID officials lodged a complaint with the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) after receiving a significant number of complaints about the misuse and misappropriation of funds by the NGOs under the Kerry Lugar aid package. International donors have been reluctant to give money to the government directly because of corruption charges and instead rely on local NGOs to disburse aid money. But this idealisation of NGOs and demonisation of the government is not without fault. This is not to say that all NGOs are dishonest, but donors need to implement a proper mechanism system to monitor aid money. It is also important that our government and media project the efforts by the US government in an honest manner so that all the positive steps taken by them are properly highlighted.
President Obama vowed to “continue to work toward building a moderate, democratic Pakistan, which is the strongest guarantee against the success of terrorists”. In the past, the US has supported military dictators like General Ziaul Haq and General Musharraf instead of democratic dispensations. Now that democracy has finally returned, the US and other countries must stress the importance of a democratic set up in Pakistan and in case of any undemocratic move, they must rally against it. Democracy in Pakistan is not just important for the local populace but for the international community as well. *
attend the memorial service of US Special Envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke. At the service, US President Obama said, “Richard is gone now, but we carry with us his thirst to know, to grasp and heal the world around us.” Mr Holbrooke was a great advocate of Pak-US friendship and was of the view that for a viable solution in Afghanistan, the US would have to bring Pakistan on board. As Britain’s former foreign secretary, David Miliband, wrote: “The key [to success in Afghanistan] is, and always has been, a political settlement that can make withdrawal possible on terms that protect regional and global interests. Holbrooke is gone, but we must learn his lessons.”
Apart from attending Mr Holbrooke’s memorial service, President Zardari held a meeting with President Obama and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. According to Pakistan’s Ambassador to the US, Husain Haqqani, Mr Obama and Ms Clinton assured Mr Zardari that “the US will over the next few days find ways to strengthen Pakistan’s economic reform process, while taking into consideration social and political factors”. If the US wants to help Pakistan economically, it will have to use its clout to persuade the IMF not to cut off Pakistan because of the RGST imbroglio. The reason this government has not yet been able to implement RGST is political. Despite the fact that the RGST would in effect be good for Pakistan’s economy, most of our political parties are not ready to support the PPP-led government because of an anti-RGST sentiment amongst the masses. Without a political consensus, the government cannot move an inch on economic reforms.
The US is one of the biggest aid donors to Pakistan. However, there is a rise in the anti-American sentiment in our society. One of the reasons is because of the way the US abandoned Pakistan after the Afghan jihad in the 80s. The US has always been dubbed as a ‘fair-weather friend’ but it is imperative that now that the Americans do not have any plans to leave us in the lurch, cooperation in all fields is forthcoming. Through USAID and other such initiatives, the Americans have been giving developmental aid to Pakistan. In November 2010, USAID officials lodged a complaint with the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) after receiving a significant number of complaints about the misuse and misappropriation of funds by the NGOs under the Kerry Lugar aid package. International donors have been reluctant to give money to the government directly because of corruption charges and instead rely on local NGOs to disburse aid money. But this idealisation of NGOs and demonisation of the government is not without fault. This is not to say that all NGOs are dishonest, but donors need to implement a proper mechanism system to monitor aid money. It is also important that our government and media project the efforts by the US government in an honest manner so that all the positive steps taken by them are properly highlighted.
President Obama vowed to “continue to work toward building a moderate, democratic Pakistan, which is the strongest guarantee against the success of terrorists”. In the past, the US has supported military dictators like General Ziaul Haq and General Musharraf instead of democratic dispensations. Now that democracy has finally returned, the US and other countries must stress the importance of a democratic set up in Pakistan and in case of any undemocratic move, they must rally against it. Democracy in Pakistan is not just important for the local populace but for the international community as well. *
Lest we forget
Qambar Chakar’s story begins on July 10, 2008 when he, Khurshid Baloch and Qayyum Baloch, then studying in Balochistan University of Information Technology and Management Sciences (BUITMS), began a hunger strike unto death to protest the discriminatory admission policy. Based on open merit for the entire Balochistan, it meant that students from backwaters could not even hope to enter BUITMS. Qambar and his protesting companions wanted the open merit to be devolved to district level to afford equal opportunities to all areas.
This university, then six years old, had some 3,000 students enrolled in five faculties. Seventy percent of the students were from Balochistan. Its stated policy, “Admission is purely on merit without any distinction of race, religion, colour or ethnic origin provided the learner meets the entry requirements,” was deceptively just and fair. Certainly, a student from Dalbandin could not compete with a Quetta elite school student.
Qambar Chakar and protestors believed it was aimed at excluding Baloch students from acquiring higher education. He elucidated his stance candidly: “Though 70 percent open merit is fixed for the entire province, 62 percent of the seats were secured by the Quetta city students where the majority of the population is that of the non-Baloch elite.” He added that only nine percent students admitted to the 2008 BUITMS Spring Programme were Baloch. He said this merit system deprived 70 percent of Baloch districts of higher education because those students, unable to compete with elite school students, would always remain deprived.
His co-hunger strikers also articulated the reasons for their extreme measure. Stating that the open-merit at the Bolan Medical College and the Engineering University in Khuzdar, both professional schools just like the BUITMS, had been devolved to the districts, thus giving opportunity to students of all districts, they demanded a similar policy at BUITMS.
When the condition of the hunger strikers worsened, they were taken to the Governor’s House by the protesting students on stretchers. The governor asked the representatives of the protestors to meet him but the protesting students demanded that negotiations should be held in front of everybody. He eventually came out to meet the protestors but rejected their demands and said a committee consisting of all political parties would meet and discuss it soon. The protesting students reaffirmed that if the Baloch students did not get the opportunity to study, they would not willingly allow others to reap the benefits. They were ready to sacrifice their careers as examinations were scheduled for July 21.
On July 21, after 11 days of fasting, when the condition of the striking students deteriorated further, Balochistan Assembly Speaker Aslam Bhootani and some members came with a notification and constituted a committee in which representatives nominated by the Baloch students were also included. They also agreed to change the existing system, so the strike was called off. They may have honestly promised change but they do not decide, so, to date, that policy remains unchanged.
Qambar Chakar was now a marked man as were other activists including Qambar Malik and Tariq Karim. These two were named in the FIR of burning of buses. Qambar Malik was arrested and later released while Tariq Karim went underground; unfortunately, he was arrested on October 21, 2010 and is still missing. His brother Asim Karim, a student in Multan, addressed a press conference in Quetta on October 26, protesting his brother’s arrest. On his way home from a wedding on October 30, he was injured by the security forces’ firing and taken away. His dead body was recovered from Khanozai area on November 1, 2010.
Qambar Chakar Baloch, 24, member of the Baloch Students Organisation-Azad (BSO-A) central committee, was an economics student at BUITMS. He was first abducted on July 10, 2009 in Quetta on trumped up charges of possessing a grenade, but released on April 22, 2010, after a long series of agitations and protests. You certainly cannot expect the tortured to sing paeans of their torturers. He was abducted the second time on November 26, 2010 from Shahi Tump Turbat with his cousin Irshad Baloch.
On January 5, 2011, the brutally tortured dead bodies of Qambar Chakar Baloch and Ilyas Nazar Baloch were recovered in Pedark near Turbat. Ilyas Nazar was also a journalist. The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) termed it an act of barbarism and said killings had made it almost impossible for Balochistan journalists to perform their professional assignments without fear.
The tragedy that the Baloch people face due to enforced disappearances of their loved ones came across ever more poignantly with the death of Qambar and Ilyas because a day before, when General Kayani had turned the Sui Cantonment to a military college, which he termed as a gift from the army to the Baloch people, making it even more permanent and therefore more disagreeable to the Baloch, Governor Magsi had surprised all, perhaps himself as well, by his demand that steps be taken for the recovery of missing people. He had said, “It is a very serious and important issue of Balochistan and should be resolved without any delay,” and asked, “Where are these missing people? It is the right of their families to know their whereabouts.” He stressed if they were in the custody of a civilian agency or with the ISI and MI, they should be handed over to police and tried in a court.
What message this appearance of two prominent activists’ bodies after his appeal was supposed to deliver could be better interpreted by Governor Magsi, but the Baloch think that it was meant to emphasise that no appeal is likely to be heeded. The issue of missing persons deserves attention and condemnation of all but is, sadly, ignored. No one, not even Governor Magsi, uttered a word about these killings. This horrible silence accords legitimacy of sorts to the atrocities.
Zakir Majeed, Abdul Hamid Jamal, Mehboob Wadhela, Faiz Mohammad Marri and hundreds of other Baloch — it is impossible to name all — are missing. The unrestrained impunity with which they are disappeared, tortured and then thrown along highways just shows the epoch that the perpetrators suppose they live in. The greater tragedy is that they have transformed it into a reality and can get away with it. The pain, agony and trauma of the missing persons and their families should never be forgotten. We all would do well to remember that:
This university, then six years old, had some 3,000 students enrolled in five faculties. Seventy percent of the students were from Balochistan. Its stated policy, “Admission is purely on merit without any distinction of race, religion, colour or ethnic origin provided the learner meets the entry requirements,” was deceptively just and fair. Certainly, a student from Dalbandin could not compete with a Quetta elite school student.
Qambar Chakar and protestors believed it was aimed at excluding Baloch students from acquiring higher education. He elucidated his stance candidly: “Though 70 percent open merit is fixed for the entire province, 62 percent of the seats were secured by the Quetta city students where the majority of the population is that of the non-Baloch elite.” He added that only nine percent students admitted to the 2008 BUITMS Spring Programme were Baloch. He said this merit system deprived 70 percent of Baloch districts of higher education because those students, unable to compete with elite school students, would always remain deprived.
His co-hunger strikers also articulated the reasons for their extreme measure. Stating that the open-merit at the Bolan Medical College and the Engineering University in Khuzdar, both professional schools just like the BUITMS, had been devolved to the districts, thus giving opportunity to students of all districts, they demanded a similar policy at BUITMS.
When the condition of the hunger strikers worsened, they were taken to the Governor’s House by the protesting students on stretchers. The governor asked the representatives of the protestors to meet him but the protesting students demanded that negotiations should be held in front of everybody. He eventually came out to meet the protestors but rejected their demands and said a committee consisting of all political parties would meet and discuss it soon. The protesting students reaffirmed that if the Baloch students did not get the opportunity to study, they would not willingly allow others to reap the benefits. They were ready to sacrifice their careers as examinations were scheduled for July 21.
On July 21, after 11 days of fasting, when the condition of the striking students deteriorated further, Balochistan Assembly Speaker Aslam Bhootani and some members came with a notification and constituted a committee in which representatives nominated by the Baloch students were also included. They also agreed to change the existing system, so the strike was called off. They may have honestly promised change but they do not decide, so, to date, that policy remains unchanged.
Qambar Chakar was now a marked man as were other activists including Qambar Malik and Tariq Karim. These two were named in the FIR of burning of buses. Qambar Malik was arrested and later released while Tariq Karim went underground; unfortunately, he was arrested on October 21, 2010 and is still missing. His brother Asim Karim, a student in Multan, addressed a press conference in Quetta on October 26, protesting his brother’s arrest. On his way home from a wedding on October 30, he was injured by the security forces’ firing and taken away. His dead body was recovered from Khanozai area on November 1, 2010.
Qambar Chakar Baloch, 24, member of the Baloch Students Organisation-Azad (BSO-A) central committee, was an economics student at BUITMS. He was first abducted on July 10, 2009 in Quetta on trumped up charges of possessing a grenade, but released on April 22, 2010, after a long series of agitations and protests. You certainly cannot expect the tortured to sing paeans of their torturers. He was abducted the second time on November 26, 2010 from Shahi Tump Turbat with his cousin Irshad Baloch.
On January 5, 2011, the brutally tortured dead bodies of Qambar Chakar Baloch and Ilyas Nazar Baloch were recovered in Pedark near Turbat. Ilyas Nazar was also a journalist. The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) termed it an act of barbarism and said killings had made it almost impossible for Balochistan journalists to perform their professional assignments without fear.
The tragedy that the Baloch people face due to enforced disappearances of their loved ones came across ever more poignantly with the death of Qambar and Ilyas because a day before, when General Kayani had turned the Sui Cantonment to a military college, which he termed as a gift from the army to the Baloch people, making it even more permanent and therefore more disagreeable to the Baloch, Governor Magsi had surprised all, perhaps himself as well, by his demand that steps be taken for the recovery of missing people. He had said, “It is a very serious and important issue of Balochistan and should be resolved without any delay,” and asked, “Where are these missing people? It is the right of their families to know their whereabouts.” He stressed if they were in the custody of a civilian agency or with the ISI and MI, they should be handed over to police and tried in a court.
What message this appearance of two prominent activists’ bodies after his appeal was supposed to deliver could be better interpreted by Governor Magsi, but the Baloch think that it was meant to emphasise that no appeal is likely to be heeded. The issue of missing persons deserves attention and condemnation of all but is, sadly, ignored. No one, not even Governor Magsi, uttered a word about these killings. This horrible silence accords legitimacy of sorts to the atrocities.
Zakir Majeed, Abdul Hamid Jamal, Mehboob Wadhela, Faiz Mohammad Marri and hundreds of other Baloch — it is impossible to name all — are missing. The unrestrained impunity with which they are disappeared, tortured and then thrown along highways just shows the epoch that the perpetrators suppose they live in. The greater tragedy is that they have transformed it into a reality and can get away with it. The pain, agony and trauma of the missing persons and their families should never be forgotten. We all would do well to remember that:
Three faces of love
Farzana Ahmad is a short story writer who is routinely published in leading Urdu periodicals. She is the wife of Feza Aazmi, a writer, social and political analyst, lawyer, journalist and poet of great repute. He emerged as the founder of a new genre of poetry, i.e. a series of book-length poems on major national and global issues in their historical and analytical perspective, and has written seven book-length poems on wide ranging topics. The book Poet, Beloved and Philosopher is Farzana Ahmad’s translation of the captivating and lyrical book-length ghazal ‘Shair, Mehboob aur Falsafi’ by Feza Aazmi. Here, I would like to mention that it is extremely difficult translating a book, and that too a good book, into another language and when the book involved is one of poetry, this difficulty increases manifold. More often than not, when people have taken up this crucial task, they have ended up either falling short of the original texts or exceeding them. However, Farzana Ahmad has done a commendable job translating this ghazal and has succeeded in keeping the lyrical formation and meaning of the original text intact.
The book begins with a few reviews by Dr Farman Fatehpuri, Sardar Zaidi and Anis Ahmad. I agree with Dr Farman Fatehpuri’s opinion that unlike all other professions, there is no qualification, no education and no training that can turn one into a poet. Poetry is an art that one is born with — you either have it or you do not — and good poetry is the result of uncontrollable emotional tumult and sensitivity, and not of deliberate effort or acquired knowledge. Dr Farman states in his review that Feza Aazmi is a true poet and has quoted some of the verses from his ghazals to confirm his statement. One of my personal favourites among these verses was, “Mujh ko bhi ho chala tha wafa’on ka kuch yakeen/ Lekin wo muskura diye ehd-e-wafa ke baad” (On her pledge of love, Almost convinced was I/ But for her parting smile, that was winsome but wry). This verse was unique in nature as it was marked with simplicity yet it carried a deep meaning. I have always believed that a good poem is one that brings a smile to your face, one that you might not even be aware of or have a reason for but you just cannot resist the urge; let me just say that this particular verse did the trick.
The poem Poet, Beloved and Philosopher can best be described as a philosophy of life where Feza Aazmi has taken up the role of all three, poet, beloved and philosopher and has explained life through the perspectives of a romantic, idealist poet, a teasing, tantalising beloved and a curious and rational philosopher. How he has brilliantly switched from one role to the other throughout the poem is commendable. As a poet, lost in his own world of fantasies, he writes, “Mein uske paas hoon aur woh hai mere pasih-e-nazar/ Haseen, shoakh, dilaawaiz, misl-e-shams-o-qamar/ Hazar baar who khoya hai mujhsay mil kar/ Woh kaun hai, yeh khayalon ko hai har aan khabar/ Magar nazar se nehaan hai ke chha raha hai kaun” (So close in proximity her I behold/ Like the sun and moon her enchanting allure and charm unfold/ She crosses my path often yet I fail to capture, to hold/ Aware is my heart of a luminous presence untold/ But woebegone! My eyes are oblivious/ Of that which my heart is desirous). As is evident from this verse, Feza Aazmi’s ghazals have been composed in rhyme and meter, yet he has not fallen victim to replicating his thoughts, which proves his mastery over the art of ghazal writing. His use of idioms, e.g. the sun and moon, to describe his beloved’s beauty is a quality that only a real artist possesses and, together with the way he has expressed his desire for her, without appearing even slightly vulgar, is a trait that distinguishes him from many other poets of his time. Moving on to the role of an iconic, elusive beloved, he writes, “Tujhe talaash hai meri tou mein ayaan hojaon/ Teri nigaah mein khursheed ka nishan hojaoon/ Wagar na kehtay rehkar hazaar pardon mein/ Teray khayal ki khatir teri zaban hojaoon/ Hayat-e-zauq-e-nazar ke siwa mein kuch bhi nahin” (I will reveal myself surely, if you so desire/ Dazzle your eyes like the sun’s blinding fire/ Or make myself obscure behind a thousand veils/ And let your pen weave magic in your tragic tales/ I exist not but, as a treasure-house of life’s yearnings entire). Here, Feza Aazmi has exquisitely described the behaviour of a beloved who is cajoling her lover into proving his devotion to her, to tell her how much she is desired and, in the end, she humbly accepts that she is everything beautiful that life has to offer. Then suddenly, he transforms into a rational but thoughtful philosopher and writes, “Meri nazar ko tamanna hai teri kurbat ki/ Meri khirad ko zaroorat hai teri soorat ki/ Mere khayal sulajh jaa’engay tujhe paakar/ Ke inko aaj talab hai teri haqeeqat ki/ Nazar ke vaastay tera shabab leloonga” (My eyes in their search crave your vicinity/ My reason demands you be in close proximity/ The aura of your presence will calm my turbulent thoughts/ My contemplations command you surrender before my majestic mind’s onslaught/ Your charisma youthful I will steal to be the cynosure of my eyes).
The book begins with a few reviews by Dr Farman Fatehpuri, Sardar Zaidi and Anis Ahmad. I agree with Dr Farman Fatehpuri’s opinion that unlike all other professions, there is no qualification, no education and no training that can turn one into a poet. Poetry is an art that one is born with — you either have it or you do not — and good poetry is the result of uncontrollable emotional tumult and sensitivity, and not of deliberate effort or acquired knowledge. Dr Farman states in his review that Feza Aazmi is a true poet and has quoted some of the verses from his ghazals to confirm his statement. One of my personal favourites among these verses was, “Mujh ko bhi ho chala tha wafa’on ka kuch yakeen/ Lekin wo muskura diye ehd-e-wafa ke baad” (On her pledge of love, Almost convinced was I/ But for her parting smile, that was winsome but wry). This verse was unique in nature as it was marked with simplicity yet it carried a deep meaning. I have always believed that a good poem is one that brings a smile to your face, one that you might not even be aware of or have a reason for but you just cannot resist the urge; let me just say that this particular verse did the trick.
The poem Poet, Beloved and Philosopher can best be described as a philosophy of life where Feza Aazmi has taken up the role of all three, poet, beloved and philosopher and has explained life through the perspectives of a romantic, idealist poet, a teasing, tantalising beloved and a curious and rational philosopher. How he has brilliantly switched from one role to the other throughout the poem is commendable. As a poet, lost in his own world of fantasies, he writes, “Mein uske paas hoon aur woh hai mere pasih-e-nazar/ Haseen, shoakh, dilaawaiz, misl-e-shams-o-qamar/ Hazar baar who khoya hai mujhsay mil kar/ Woh kaun hai, yeh khayalon ko hai har aan khabar/ Magar nazar se nehaan hai ke chha raha hai kaun” (So close in proximity her I behold/ Like the sun and moon her enchanting allure and charm unfold/ She crosses my path often yet I fail to capture, to hold/ Aware is my heart of a luminous presence untold/ But woebegone! My eyes are oblivious/ Of that which my heart is desirous). As is evident from this verse, Feza Aazmi’s ghazals have been composed in rhyme and meter, yet he has not fallen victim to replicating his thoughts, which proves his mastery over the art of ghazal writing. His use of idioms, e.g. the sun and moon, to describe his beloved’s beauty is a quality that only a real artist possesses and, together with the way he has expressed his desire for her, without appearing even slightly vulgar, is a trait that distinguishes him from many other poets of his time. Moving on to the role of an iconic, elusive beloved, he writes, “Tujhe talaash hai meri tou mein ayaan hojaon/ Teri nigaah mein khursheed ka nishan hojaoon/ Wagar na kehtay rehkar hazaar pardon mein/ Teray khayal ki khatir teri zaban hojaoon/ Hayat-e-zauq-e-nazar ke siwa mein kuch bhi nahin” (I will reveal myself surely, if you so desire/ Dazzle your eyes like the sun’s blinding fire/ Or make myself obscure behind a thousand veils/ And let your pen weave magic in your tragic tales/ I exist not but, as a treasure-house of life’s yearnings entire). Here, Feza Aazmi has exquisitely described the behaviour of a beloved who is cajoling her lover into proving his devotion to her, to tell her how much she is desired and, in the end, she humbly accepts that she is everything beautiful that life has to offer. Then suddenly, he transforms into a rational but thoughtful philosopher and writes, “Meri nazar ko tamanna hai teri kurbat ki/ Meri khirad ko zaroorat hai teri soorat ki/ Mere khayal sulajh jaa’engay tujhe paakar/ Ke inko aaj talab hai teri haqeeqat ki/ Nazar ke vaastay tera shabab leloonga” (My eyes in their search crave your vicinity/ My reason demands you be in close proximity/ The aura of your presence will calm my turbulent thoughts/ My contemplations command you surrender before my majestic mind’s onslaught/ Your charisma youthful I will steal to be the cynosure of my eyes).
Living in Karachi
Every evening in Karachi we hear bursts of gunfire. We sleep armed behind locked doors with guards and guard dogs patrolling the ‘moat’, which separates the house from the street. ‘Brinks’ alarms and ‘panic’ buttons in each room add not to the sense of security, but rather the contrary. Police patrols pass by now and then, but no one feels reassured because they are as likely to be filled with criminals as the police who, in Karachi, are often one and the same. Only the poor are safe because they have nothing to offer bandits.
Three houses in the neighbourhood have thus far been pillaged, at the cost of one dead, a chowkidar (gatekeeper), who was beheaded. The other two houses escaped comparatively lightly. In one the bandits had the wife of the owner cook them breakfast, as they were loading her generator on to the truck which they had thoughtfully brought along; and in the other they left with the belongings although not all because they returned some weeks later to pick up the rest.
Even the president is wary. Whenever he arrives to survey his properties, whole streets are blocked off and new forts spring up in our midst. When he moves, it is as if a war is ongoing. However, considering the speed with which he decamps the battlefield, this war appears to be yet another war that we are losing.
The killing of Benazir Bhutto and the havoc that followed her death made us Karachiites yearn for the democracy dividend for which she had so bravely given her life. And it was not long in coming, in the form of daily targeted killings of scores of city dwellers. The authorities had no explanation or none that were remotely plausible.
So now it is taken as a given that you can be shot at anywhere and hence must take your own precautions. One of which is that, before assaying out for work every day, we Karachiites phone each other to ascertain the score. If one side has lost appreciably more men than the other in the previous day’s killings, then those areas where the ‘victors’ live are best avoided lest one should get caught up in the ‘surge’ mounted by their opponents to even the score. Because, curiously in our kleptocracy, money is not the only item in demand; taking a life on whim, fancy, party and belief is more so. Actually, it is the vogue, nay it has become a fad. Pakistan, one is happy to announce, no longer has an image problem. We have finally succeeded in doing away with our image problem. It is reality, which is the problem now.
As there is no ‘image’ left to project, and because reality is better conveyed by embedded journalists, certain cost-cutting measures come to mind. The first of which is that scores of our embassies abroad that are meant to project a non-existent ‘image’ can be closed. In any case, all that they do is provide subsidised holidays for our diplomats. Why on earth, for example, do we have an embassy in tiny Ireland, which has more horses than people, and much better bred to boot, unless it is to ensure that Amin Fahim’s daughter appointed as a First Secretary out of the blue has a job. Or is it out of some kind of solidarity with the Irish, who, it is said, like us, never speak well of one another; or perhaps because the Irish too do not know what they want but are prepared to fight to the death to get it. But surely in these cash-strapped days that is a luxury, which we can ill afford.
At least 40 of our approximately 60 missions abroad serve very little purpose. Of course, the prime minister’s recent directive that henceforth Pakistani officials travelling abroad should, as a cost-cutting measure, kip down in embassies and consulates suggests that embassy buildings will double up as hotels and hostels. This has intriguing consequences, considering the rush of officials wanting to visit Rome and Paris, one of which is that hoteliers, rather than those versed in international relations, can now also be considered for appointment to our embassies. And why not, if convicted felons, shore-based admirals, amateur chefs and shrine devotees are already in situ or in the running for such jobs?
A corollary of mission closures would be to downsize the Foreign Office, which sports as many as 1,000 or more babus of all grades. If downsized by 70 percent, it would still be more than the strength that existed in 1971, when Pakistan was united and our population was very roughly the same. Anyway, having outsourced foreign policy to the military, there seems little justification for further expenditure on the Foreign Office. Such an exercise would account for savings of tens of millions of rupees. The moneys so saved could be divided up between our main cities with Karachi getting the lion’s share for obvious reasons.
One other benefit of living in a city like Karachi, which is run akin to a criminal enterprise, is the savings that could be made on security. Law and order in designated areas could effectively be outsourced to forces best able to establish their writ, which, as it happens, is not the police. Thus privatised, it would be more effective and cheaper. In fact, had the government not decided to retain the police force as an excuse to provide jobs for its supporters at the expense of the taxpayer, the proposal may have won acceptance. After all, the Karachi police today are armed mostly to protect themselves from irate citizens and fundos or from deserving candidates for police recruitment who were turned away for lack of patronage rather than to safeguard the common man. Hence, yet more millions saved.
Guarded and preserved for very different reasons by the Americans and the Taliban, Karachi could become a thriving metropolis. And with the savings thus effected, water, gas, oil and electricity could be had for the asking. There may even be some left over to ensure that the Edhi centres continue to run and the drug addicts wallowing in filth under the many underpasses be relocated elsewhere and be provided clean needles. And, finally, there would be a modicum of security for the hapless inhabitants to look forward to.
Three houses in the neighbourhood have thus far been pillaged, at the cost of one dead, a chowkidar (gatekeeper), who was beheaded. The other two houses escaped comparatively lightly. In one the bandits had the wife of the owner cook them breakfast, as they were loading her generator on to the truck which they had thoughtfully brought along; and in the other they left with the belongings although not all because they returned some weeks later to pick up the rest.
Even the president is wary. Whenever he arrives to survey his properties, whole streets are blocked off and new forts spring up in our midst. When he moves, it is as if a war is ongoing. However, considering the speed with which he decamps the battlefield, this war appears to be yet another war that we are losing.
The killing of Benazir Bhutto and the havoc that followed her death made us Karachiites yearn for the democracy dividend for which she had so bravely given her life. And it was not long in coming, in the form of daily targeted killings of scores of city dwellers. The authorities had no explanation or none that were remotely plausible.
So now it is taken as a given that you can be shot at anywhere and hence must take your own precautions. One of which is that, before assaying out for work every day, we Karachiites phone each other to ascertain the score. If one side has lost appreciably more men than the other in the previous day’s killings, then those areas where the ‘victors’ live are best avoided lest one should get caught up in the ‘surge’ mounted by their opponents to even the score. Because, curiously in our kleptocracy, money is not the only item in demand; taking a life on whim, fancy, party and belief is more so. Actually, it is the vogue, nay it has become a fad. Pakistan, one is happy to announce, no longer has an image problem. We have finally succeeded in doing away with our image problem. It is reality, which is the problem now.
As there is no ‘image’ left to project, and because reality is better conveyed by embedded journalists, certain cost-cutting measures come to mind. The first of which is that scores of our embassies abroad that are meant to project a non-existent ‘image’ can be closed. In any case, all that they do is provide subsidised holidays for our diplomats. Why on earth, for example, do we have an embassy in tiny Ireland, which has more horses than people, and much better bred to boot, unless it is to ensure that Amin Fahim’s daughter appointed as a First Secretary out of the blue has a job. Or is it out of some kind of solidarity with the Irish, who, it is said, like us, never speak well of one another; or perhaps because the Irish too do not know what they want but are prepared to fight to the death to get it. But surely in these cash-strapped days that is a luxury, which we can ill afford.
At least 40 of our approximately 60 missions abroad serve very little purpose. Of course, the prime minister’s recent directive that henceforth Pakistani officials travelling abroad should, as a cost-cutting measure, kip down in embassies and consulates suggests that embassy buildings will double up as hotels and hostels. This has intriguing consequences, considering the rush of officials wanting to visit Rome and Paris, one of which is that hoteliers, rather than those versed in international relations, can now also be considered for appointment to our embassies. And why not, if convicted felons, shore-based admirals, amateur chefs and shrine devotees are already in situ or in the running for such jobs?
A corollary of mission closures would be to downsize the Foreign Office, which sports as many as 1,000 or more babus of all grades. If downsized by 70 percent, it would still be more than the strength that existed in 1971, when Pakistan was united and our population was very roughly the same. Anyway, having outsourced foreign policy to the military, there seems little justification for further expenditure on the Foreign Office. Such an exercise would account for savings of tens of millions of rupees. The moneys so saved could be divided up between our main cities with Karachi getting the lion’s share for obvious reasons.
One other benefit of living in a city like Karachi, which is run akin to a criminal enterprise, is the savings that could be made on security. Law and order in designated areas could effectively be outsourced to forces best able to establish their writ, which, as it happens, is not the police. Thus privatised, it would be more effective and cheaper. In fact, had the government not decided to retain the police force as an excuse to provide jobs for its supporters at the expense of the taxpayer, the proposal may have won acceptance. After all, the Karachi police today are armed mostly to protect themselves from irate citizens and fundos or from deserving candidates for police recruitment who were turned away for lack of patronage rather than to safeguard the common man. Hence, yet more millions saved.
Guarded and preserved for very different reasons by the Americans and the Taliban, Karachi could become a thriving metropolis. And with the savings thus effected, water, gas, oil and electricity could be had for the asking. There may even be some left over to ensure that the Edhi centres continue to run and the drug addicts wallowing in filth under the many underpasses be relocated elsewhere and be provided clean needles. And, finally, there would be a modicum of security for the hapless inhabitants to look forward to.
What was he thinking?
Addressing envoys from various western countries in the capital on Thursday, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani seems to have forgotten a few basics when it comes to reassuring Pakistan’s donors about how we plan to spend their aid money. Urging donors to fulfil the pledges made to Pakistan after 2010’s devastating floods, the PM rather carelessly said that checking corruption would be like walking a “tightrope”. He further went on to elaborate that balancing matters like development activities, resolving outstanding national issues and tackling corruption simultaneously would be “difficult”. Now, it is common knowledge that the government has plenty on its plate that it must take care of, but was it really necessary for the PM to reiterate this to international guests whose job it is to assess whether or not Pakistan actually deserves the money it has been promised?
The fact that Pakistan received pitiful little after the worst floods witnessed in recent history spoke volumes about the lack of trust that western countries have in us. It is because of debilitating incidences of corruption that Pakistan, ravaged by extremists, plagued by natural disasters, depleted of natural resources and on the verge of economic collapse, has seen an international community that has not been generous in coming to our aid. In such a climate, for the PM to state that handling corruption would be a tough task is a very negative message to relay. It is worth reminding our incumbents that to remedy the malaise that has seeped so deep into the national fabric, it is corruption that has to be dealt a firm blow. Without corruption being minimised if not eliminated, development will suffer as all projects will be affected by siphoned off money.
One just needs to see the rulings delivered by the Supreme Court (SC) lately to understand just how pervasive corruption has become. The SC has ordered rental power companies to give back with interest the millions they had taken as advances from the government for their failure to initiate power generation projects. It is little wonder then that citizens live in the dark. The SC has also ordered three retired generals to reply to allegations concerning the leasing of lands belonging to Pakistan Railways allegedly for a pittance during the Musharraf era, costing the national exchequer an astounding Rs 25 billion. This case may have been a legacy of the previous incumbents but the problem has not stopped there. As the rental power case exemplifies and, whether true or not, the recent reports pertaining to the Hajj scam that point an accusatory finger at the PM’s own family only show that even the highest ranking officials in this country are not going to be easily trusted by international donors. Frankly, who can blame them?
The task, as stated, will definitely be a hard one. However, it is not impossible and it certainly is a task that needs a serious beginning to be made and demonstrated. Corruption may well prove the straw that broke the camel’s back if it is not wiped out. It was imperative that the PM, during this visit of foreign delegates, show how committed his government is to cleansing the system but, alas, they have been sent back probably even more sceptical than before. The ruling incumbents still have two years to implement some vestige of a policy to rid us of the corruption menace and to clean up their own act. We hope that they manage to convey such a commitment to the international community soon. *
The fact that Pakistan received pitiful little after the worst floods witnessed in recent history spoke volumes about the lack of trust that western countries have in us. It is because of debilitating incidences of corruption that Pakistan, ravaged by extremists, plagued by natural disasters, depleted of natural resources and on the verge of economic collapse, has seen an international community that has not been generous in coming to our aid. In such a climate, for the PM to state that handling corruption would be a tough task is a very negative message to relay. It is worth reminding our incumbents that to remedy the malaise that has seeped so deep into the national fabric, it is corruption that has to be dealt a firm blow. Without corruption being minimised if not eliminated, development will suffer as all projects will be affected by siphoned off money.
One just needs to see the rulings delivered by the Supreme Court (SC) lately to understand just how pervasive corruption has become. The SC has ordered rental power companies to give back with interest the millions they had taken as advances from the government for their failure to initiate power generation projects. It is little wonder then that citizens live in the dark. The SC has also ordered three retired generals to reply to allegations concerning the leasing of lands belonging to Pakistan Railways allegedly for a pittance during the Musharraf era, costing the national exchequer an astounding Rs 25 billion. This case may have been a legacy of the previous incumbents but the problem has not stopped there. As the rental power case exemplifies and, whether true or not, the recent reports pertaining to the Hajj scam that point an accusatory finger at the PM’s own family only show that even the highest ranking officials in this country are not going to be easily trusted by international donors. Frankly, who can blame them?
The task, as stated, will definitely be a hard one. However, it is not impossible and it certainly is a task that needs a serious beginning to be made and demonstrated. Corruption may well prove the straw that broke the camel’s back if it is not wiped out. It was imperative that the PM, during this visit of foreign delegates, show how committed his government is to cleansing the system but, alas, they have been sent back probably even more sceptical than before. The ruling incumbents still have two years to implement some vestige of a policy to rid us of the corruption menace and to clean up their own act. We hope that they manage to convey such a commitment to the international community soon. *
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