Bloody Revolution - 20 - 25 Years from now!

محافظوں میں گھرے لوگ در بدر ہوں گے 

نہ جانے کل سرشمشیر کتنے سر ہوں گے 

عباؤں، وردیوں، شروانیوں کو جلنا ہے

بدن فصیل شہر پر لہو میں تر ہوں گے

تم اپنے چہروں کو نوچو گے اپنے ہاتھوں سے 

سیاہ ماتھوں پہ لکھے تمہارے شر ہوں گے

سروں کی فصل تو کٹنی ہے ایک دن سالک

جو بچ رہے وہی نقارہ سحر ہوں گے 

SELF INFLICTED PAINS

Posted on Facebook on 27-09-10


I don't know why we choose and listen to songs that slaughter us deeply and ruthlessly. We all miss someone in our life who deserves this song once in a while whether he physically exists or not. In fact it describes a character, not a person. A character that we don't find in these times of selfishness and materialism.

God bless you all with such a friend of character!

Poor, Hungry and Deprived Parliamentarians?

National Assembly served meals worth Rs11.5m

ISLAMABAD: Meals served to parliamentarians and journalists covering the National Assembly during the 2009-10 budget session cost Rs11.57 million to the national exchequer.

A budget session normally runs for 15 to 20 days and it has been a practice that the government serves meals during the session to parliamentarians and reporters covering the proceedings.

This time around, however, during the 2010-11 budget session journalists refused to avail the official luxury to avoid being pointed out as part of this practice.

In the audit report for the 2009-10 tabled in the senate on Tuesday the office of auditor general of Pakistan objected that funds spent for this purpose by the finance division were not allocated for such luxuries.

Moreover the AGP office also objected that the concerned authorities did not obtain competitive bidding as required in the Public Procurement Rules, framed in 2004 before giving the contract to a particular food outlet. In their response the concerned department stated that the practice was started four years ago on the directives of then finance minister. AGP remained dissatisfied with the reply and sent the audit paragraph to the Public Accounts Committee for further probe.

The audit report also pointed out another glaring irregularity whereby six luxurious bulletproof vehicles were used by non-government functionaries for more than two years and that their maintenance and repair was carried out from tax-payers’ money.

In its audit for the accounts of the cabinet division, it was pointed out that prime minister’s secretariat in a letter dated May 26, 2008 issued an order for returning 33 bulletproof vehicles held by the prime minister’s secretariat. However, these vehicles were not physically handed over to the cabinet division.

Six out of these 33 bulletproof vehicles, had been in the use of non-governmental functionaries for more than two years, the AGP said, adding that the use of these vehicles was open misuse at the public’s expense. However, the audit report did not mention the names of the persons who were allocated these vehicles.

In their response the cabinet division stated that the prime minister had allocated the bulletproof vehicles and thus no separate rules were required to regulate the use of such. It further said that the vehicles were provided to high level dignitaries in view of the law and order situation. The AGP office was once again not satisfied with their response and decided to send the para to the PAC for further probing.

The audit report for the year 2009-10, in which eight per cent of the accounts of a government department, on average, come under random audit, pointed out irregularities worth Rs2.5 billion in the accounts departments coming under the domain of the ministry of defence and the ministry of defence production.

The audit report said that they carried out an audit of 167 out of 3,579 formations under the Defence Division and 25 out of the 44 productions and procurement agencies of the Defence Production division on what the report called the “test basis” during July to October 2009.

The defence division, under the ministry of defence, administers matters relating to the army, navy, air force, ministry of engineering services, inter services organisations, military lands, cantonments and federal government educational institutions.

The defence production division under the ministry of defence production deals with production, procurement, research and development related matters of the defence sector.

The report said that a total of 454 “serious observations” were issued by the AGP office to principal accounting officers of concerned departments coming under these ministries. Out of these 428 were discussed in the departmental accounts committee (DAC) meetings while both ministries failed to hold DAC meetings on the rest of the observations despite repeated request by the AGP office.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 23^rd, 2010.

Source : http://tribune.com.pk/story/53556/national-assembly-served-meals-worth-rs11-5m/

The Plight of King-Makers!

A News item in today's press:

ISLAMABAD: Several commercial banks in the country wrote off loans totalling Rs50.84 billion over the past two years. 

According to information placed before the National Assembly on Thursday, over 200,000 people and companies benefited from the banks’ decision. 

In response to a question asked by Sheikh Salahuddin of MQM, the National Assembly was informed through a written reply by Finance and Revenue Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh that there were 2,12,114 beneficiaries of the write-off. The reply did not mention names of the banks or particulars of the beneficiaries. 

The Supreme Court had taken a suo motu notice of reports that the State Bank had quietly allowed commercial banks to write off loans of Rs54.6 billion under a scheme introduced by former President Gen Pervez Musharraf. 

The State Bank informed the Supreme Court that a mind-boggling amount of Rs256 billion had been written off in the country over the past 40 years. The case is still in the Supreme Court. Responding to a supplementary question, Minister of State for Finance and Revenue Hina Rabbani Khar claimed that the government had noting to do with the matter because the loans had been written off by commercial banks on their own. 

Why should these people not have their own houses

and cars or motor-cycles and a secure source of income?

These are the king-makers and kings don't give a damn 

about their welfare.  This is the real face of the 

democracy that Syed Yousuf Raza Gillani brags about.

Syed Yousuf Raza Gillani

 – Why should he resign? -

Majority of Pakistani Muslims holds all genuine Syeds (Aal-e-Saadaat – the descendants of Hazrat Imam Hassan and Hazrat Imam Hussain (Alaihemussalaam) in high regards for their superior bloodline.

My question is :  Can a genuine Syed be a liar and a pitiless, shameless person or a confirmed traitor of his motherland?

General Pervez Musharraf claimed to be a Syed and and what he did to this nation is not a mystery or secret.  On many occasions, he stubbornly lied to people of Pakistan.  He himself has confessed in his book that he traded many Pakistanis with the Americans for dollars.

I’m sure he wrote the truth.  His farm house at Chak Shehzad is just one proof of how much he been paid by his American masters.

However, a number of religious scholars had aspersions about his being a genuine Syed.

Now come to Syed Yousuf Raza Gillani.  His surname implies that he also belongs to a Syed family (genuine or not, I don’t know).

But, it is really very painful to state that Mr. Yousuf Raza Gillani has also been noticed telling lies openly.

One of his common statements, besides innumerable other lies, is that 16 million Pakistanis are behind him on so and so and so,bla bla bla.  Is he sure of his words?  What about the loyalists of other political parties and the silent majority as well?  Then why he repeats this statement obdurately or naively?  What should we call it - a political lie? But, lie is a lie.

Note : A few moments ago CNBC quoted Dr. Afia's sister Dr. Fauzia "Prime     Minister is lying about Dr. Afia Siddiqui". 17:00 24-09-10

He has appointed many corrupt and convicted persons on high posts.  Did he not take oath to fulfill his responsibilities honestly and protect the sovereignty  and integrity of Pakistan?  Is appointing criminals and convicted persons not violation of his oath as the Prime Minister of Pakistan?

If he is a genuine Syed, and I do believe that he is with a thin shadow of doubt, why is he behaving like a subservient scapegoat to protect his immediate boss in the highest echelon of power in Islamabad clearly and certainly knowing his crimes?

Does he not know the plight of poorest masses of Pakistan who have always been deprived of their basic rights? 

Is he sure that he is performing his official duties honestly and responsibly towards the poorest masses of Pakistan? 

Does he not know the level of corruption in the Benazir Support Program and other national projects?

Keeping all this in mind, what argument would he offer for not resigning as Prime Minister?

He is repeating the same crime for which he was sent to jail by the previous government.

Honourable Mr. Prime Minister, please think rationally and behave responsibly by quitting you job of a subservient slave to one of the most notorious corrupt mafias of Pakistan’s history or your name would also remain amongst the corrupt rulers in the history.

If you are a genuine Gillani, you must have read the story of the father of Hazrat Sheikh Abdul Qaadir Gillani and then of Huzoor Ghaus-e-Azam himself or at least stop writing Syed – Gillani with your name please.

It really hurts all those followers who have high respect for Aal-e-Saadaat to see claimants of being Syed to do commit acts of corruption, treason and violation of basic Islamic laws besides violation of Pakistan’s constitution.

Dr. Afia Siddiqui and The World in 2110

A VICTIM OF HATRED


The angel-faced MIT graduate has been sentenced by an American federal court to 86 year imprisonment without any cogent proofs or reliable witnesses.  Pakistanis started reacting to this biased verdict the moment they got the news on different television channels last night.  There would be protesting rallies, fiery speeches, American flag-burning and possibly some violent acts like damaging public property and clashing with police.  Will all this make the American government change its prejudiced stance against the Muslims or force the honourable judges to review their verdict?  No way.  It has never happened in the history and will never happen in the future.  Then why to destroy your own assets?  It needs some rational and cool thinking.

Most of the American people don't give a damn about what is happening in the world outside their sphere of personal interests.  What are their interests? Job, joy, women, fashion, music, wine and parties.  They do not bother their brains to think beyond that.


Yet, there is still one possibility that the Obama administration may hand over Dr. Afia Siddiqui to Pakistani government to save it from the obvious outcome of its defiant attitude towards Pakistani judiciary.


How many times have the American courts sentenced their own people with 86 year imprisonment and what were their crimes?


The biased verdict has added more agony and tortuous pains to us Pakistanis who are paying the price of utterly selfish and wrong decisions of our rulers, be they democratically elected or khaki-clad.


Dr. Afia Siddiqui has been going through the worst circumstances a highly educated woman can imagine for the last more than 8 years now.  This verdict is only to prolong her battle with her inner self that she has almost already won during her stay at Balgram.  She has overcome her fears, pains and weaknesses.  And, if nothing exceptional happens, she would silently join the majority in some of America's notorious jail.  Her children would grow up outside the shadows of her motherhood, learn about her from newspaper clippings or Youtube video clips to feel proud of her bravery and greatness.

People of Pakistan would only remember her when there would be a news about her, perhaps every year on 24th of September, in the print or on electronic media.  


Her mother and sister would continue fighting for her release from the American prisons till they enjoy the support of people.  Their interviews, statements and rallies may also keep reminding us that there was one Dr. Afia Siddiqui, an honourable and highly educated Pakistani citizen, a daughter, sister and mother.


The whole Siddiqui community of the world would be feeling pity for Dr. Afia Siddiqui for being unable to do something except expressing sympathy and sorrow.


Musharraf and Q-League along with Zoredari and his shameless cabinet would be enjoying life as usual without sparing a moment to think about Dr. Afia Siddiqui till they breathe their last either in exile, in jail or in the gallows! God knows better about their fate.


In 2110, none of us would be alive to see what people of that time know about Dr. Afia.  Today's U.S. may be transformed into The United States of Islamic America projecting Dr. Afia as a national hero (or heroine?).  Or the current American legacy would have devastated the whole world with its myopic vision and the wild uncontrollable might of a dying super power.


Pakistan, after a bloody revolution sometime between 20-25 years from now, may become a real welfare state with Kashmir as an independent state and enjoy better friendly relations with India due to Chinese mighty super power's overwhelming presence right behind it.


Things in 2110 would not be as they are today but history is recording every single occurrence of every moment on its mammoth hard disk to be displayed on the monitors of those who would be searching for the truth about 2010.  


Oppressors cannot erase their crimes and sins from the palm of time.


Still, nobody thinks or cares today in 2010.

Prolific Writing vs Excessive Thinking

Does thinking too much become an obstacle in writing?  I have been trying to find out the answer without success.  But, some questions arise in mind like :

1.  What is the case with prolific writers?  Do they avoid too much thinking and focus their minds only on writing?  If yes, how do they get ideas for their writings?  Perhaps ideas occur to creative thinkers only without exercising any exertion on their brains.


2.  If they think too much, how come that they manage to write too much to be labelled as prolific writers?  Is too excessive thinking (I don't say deep thinking.  There is certainly a difference.) a common factor among the prolific writers?


3.  Can every excessive thinker become a prolific writer in case he has a flair for writing?


If yes is the answer to each of the above questions, then I should have been a prolific writer because I seriously think excessively and deeply about everything and I also have a flair for writing.  But, unfortunately, whenever I get down to writing something I lose my concentration and feel as if all the appropriate words and phrases start abandoning me.


I don't know if all or most of the writers experience the same state of mind or the so called 'writer's block' like I am having these days.


What I have noticed is that a certain location, weather and ambiance is sometimes very much motivating for me and very strongly pushes me towards initiating some writing of my interest.  And, when I make up my mind to do so, a strange, inexplicable feeling overwhelms me raising a huge wall of lethargy, procrastination and swinging mood.

Most of my friends know that I battled with severe type of suicidal depression, all alone and overcame it without even consulting a doctor or a psychiatrist and deliberately avoided to take any medication.  Yet, I don't feel any hesitation or shame in confessing that I have lamentably failed to devastate the huge obstacle of the 'writer's block'.  I'm rather so embarrassed with myself for not being able to achieve my targets of writing.


Anyway, being an obdurate positive thinker, I'm still struggling and battling with this menace that has pushed me back too far that I feel every day is a new day of restarting the pursuit of my writing goals from where I left the previous day.  No previous day shows that I had moved even a single step ahead.


So, I daily start my day from the same zero point and find myself, at the end of the day, where I began my 100 metre dash.


Whatever opinion you might have gathered about me by now, you cannot deny that in spite of admitting some of my very personal weaknesses that usually people despise to share with others, I have succeeded in composing this post.


And, I do admit without bringing forth the shield of my ego, that this piece of agonizing truth is not the outcome of any excessive or deep thinking.  In reality, I did not even have an idea about what I was going to write about that proves that prolific writers do not think too much.  They rather concentrate and bend every effort to write more and more and more.


May be one day I could also do that.

No Direction - No Destiny?

What do you expect of me after reading the heading of this post?  It clearly says no direction - no destiny.  So, why do you think I should write on some specific subject?  The truth is I have no knowledge on any particular subject.  I know something about many subjects but not much about a single subject.  I consider myself a pseudo-thinker, pseudo-writer, pseudo-poet, and a pseudo-intellectual.

The problem with me is that I read too much just to satiate my thirst for something new, not to learn anything.  I think too much merely to satisfy my intellectual libido.  I talk too much not to impress others but to pacify my inner rage against the outer world.  People think I do it to make an impact.

I have been writing poetry not to be recognized as a poet.  Honestly not.  It is simply a matter of getting rid of the incessant pressure of  poetic thoughts on my mind.  I do not do cosmetic surgery on my poetry.  And I really don't know why some of my verses are highly appreciated by people.  I also don't know why and how I won at least one prize in each poetry contest that I entered during college days.

I'm astonished now just what special I wrote in the contest for selection in first year as Sub-Editor and in second year as Senior Editor of college magazine 'Manzil' (destiny) that captured the attention of our professor Iqbal Jafri, for it was never my manzil to become a writer?

Then what the hell am I doing here?  That's the point to be explored.  So, instead of putting you to pains, I admit, rather confess, that skipping aside whatever I did in the past I have decided to write for the sake of writing.  Should anybody think that it is not a crystal clear destiny, I don't mind at all.

Hence, no direction - no destiny in literary terms but writing itself is a singular direction and destiny as well in terms of fulfilling some empty space that is abundantly available and should not be left unfilled because The Creator does not want it so.

If you also belong to my type of species, then do write something for the sake of writing whether someone reads it or not.  At least time would not erase it from its palm.

Break the shackles of complacence and let the writer be freed even if he has no direction and no destiny because doing itself is a great achievement!

If you believe that I'm not a hypocrite, you should also trust my words that I was certainly not sure that I could write this post beyond 4-6 lines and more than one paragraph.

It is also a proof that writing for the sake of writing is not an impossible task.  You just need to sit down either with a pen in hand or before your Personal Computer, determined to create something out of nothing.  That is really a thrilling experience you should not sacrifice at the altar of any compulsions, hesitation, shyness and fear of not writing good.

Broken Dreams

by Chris Simpson

Through the pitchest dark of night,

I saw a ray, spot of light.

Shining through to break the still,

Give me strength, fuel my will.

As I stood upon my feet.

I felt the fire of life burning,

Flaming, pushing me..

When I walked, I saw my life.

Passing by before my eyes.

I made my way to the light

And discovered of all things

I had ever done,

This was my greatest fight,

This is the one.

I walked, I ran and heard,

Felt my heartbeat in my head.

Of all my strength, all life,

I just could not reach the light.

Then I looked, saw my fate,

Feel to my knees, crawled my way.

I could not, would not quit,

Mustered all to make this trip.

Finally, finally I reached my goal.

Yet, my light was ice stone cold.

Source : http://www.helium.com/items/904568-poetry-midnight-walk

Fear of Losing Sanity

Times have changed now.  Today is not like 70's or 80's when there were no suicide bombers, not much hyped security measures, no load-shedding for 8-8 and 12-12 hours.  No targeted killings and no mob-killings like the Sialkot incident. And, of course, no drone attacks.

Strolling in Anarkali in summer nights with a bottle of coke to be returned positively, on the Mall road in March nights, with two chain smokers on either side, to get a piece of beetle leaf (paan) from Mola Bux at Regal Chowk, cycling along the canal, alone in foggy nights with pocketful of peanuts or chilghoza,  was so pacifying that I badly miss it today.  My friends of 70's, who either left Lahore or went abroad, may also be going through the same nostalgic feelings.


Pak Tea House was always crowded and not our preferable choice though we missed the company of many famous writers and poets.  Now that seems to be an irreversible loss.  But then it's no use crying over spilt milk.

Lahore city still remains awake throughout night but not like those days.  An air of scare, uneasiness and uncertainty makes your subconscious restless inside.


The nuisance of Chinese three-wheelers, high beams of every single oncoming car, loud music, wrong parking and unbearable pollution has caused irreparable cracks in the peace and tranquility of Lahore.


Shifting out of Lahore seems to be the only solution but practically doing so is more agonizing for many reasons.

I, along with thousands like me, am either a complacent and lethargic creature or perhaps too emotional about Lahore to leave it.

Living under these circumstances is a continuous torture particularly when none of your old friends is available for late night company.  Finding people of congenial interests and making friends with them is like drilling through Mount Everest to make a tunnel.


Staying at home without a computer and internet connection is not a suggestible resolve as every person at home is busy either watching television, chatting on Facebook or doing something of not your interest.


I don't know whether Cafe Midnight is a back-doorway to escape from the realities of life or perhaps to get energized for another day of battling with the fear of losing sanity?  I have just created it with a view to expressing something very personal only to selected friends initially.


Seems as if we are fighting on one hundred frontiers, everyday, every hour and every moment, against deadly external and vicious internal forces.  To me, the most fierce and brutal combat is for protecting our sanity that we cannot afford to lose at any cost.  The weakest point at our end is that we don't get any reinforcements from any quarters.  Everybody is fighting all alone.  


The more sensitive you are, the more dangerous an enemy you have to encounter.  The fear of losing sanity is the real enemy and to overcome fear you don't need any drones, stealth bombers, nuclear-powered sub-marines or extremely trained forces loaded with heavy warfare gadgets.  


All you need is a will power, determination and an obdurate attitude to win.  That's exactly what I am doing at the moment.  You take care of your frontier and don't hesitate to sacrifice anything to protect your sanity.  Living in a state of fear is the worst thing a human being can accept to stay alive. 

Break the shackles of fear right at this moment.