Where life is not sacred

Pakistan has lost more than 80,000 people in the war against terror. The country’s top intelligence agencies and the security establishment along with the Saudi-CIA coalition are to be blamed for this. Their not so savvy strategic maneuvers have failed and rather resulted in creating the monsters that now kill left, right and centre. But killings do not have an effect on this region as much as the thought of glory does.

You can sell the idea of ‘glory in death’ to the people of this region very easily since they grow up on the Greek Hero cult. From teaching children how those who are killed in battle are never really dead to conditioning women into believing they will have a better life in hereafter if they forget they are alive human beings, we thrive on the death of humans, their dreams, aspirations, and thinking ability. Our politics too is played on dead bodies. A better political party has more ‘martyrs’ and not many good living politicians. We have replaced the Greek hero with the word ‘shaheed’ (martyr).

Death is the other name of our religion. If you are Muslim, you must decide which kind to get the permission to live and then die to get access to the royal suite. If you are not Muslim, forget your basic human right to live, let alone live with dignity. It all boils down to living as a Muslim and dying while trying to make sure others are Muslim too.

This is the reason why, even though thousands of people are dead in this country, and many continue to lose their lives on a daily basis, we are not bothered. Those who die are either the bad people like Shias, Ahmedis, Christians, or Hindus, or the good people like Deobandis, Salafis, and other Sunnis. The bad people are of course dispensable being sub-human and the good people are the exalted ones, the eternal ones, the immortal shaheeds.

Lack of respect for the existence of life on earth and desire for the never-seen, never-proven next life is responsible for chaos in most of the countries where the religion of peace is sacrosanct, and Pakistan is no exception. It is why millions of people flee from the regions where this religion is sponsored by the state. But it seems that the roundness of earth is catching up with this escape route as well.

Fighters of the religion of martyrdom are now making life unsacred even in the bowels of secure zones. They are leaving no place to run. Their desire for glorious death is all consuming. From 80,000 Pakistanis, to 250,000 Syrians, their appetite for blood is insatiable. They want to kill, and will continue to kill unless those who follow the same death cult, do not start loving life on this planet.

For that, we need a rigorous rehabilitation process, since abandoning the drug of glory will not come easy.

As a starter, instead of cherry picking, they need to stop reading the parts in their book that sanction death to the infidels, maybe the need is to even eliminate such writings, or add them to the list of redundant verses. Their barbaric literalism needs to be caricatured perhaps a lot more than it is done now. Hopefully though not at the cost of a few more lives in places like the ******* ***** office.

The missing bye laws and killer quakes

Last Monday, October 26, 2015 a 7.5 magnitude earthquake hit Badakhshan province of Afghanistan. While the epicentre was in Afghanistan at the depth of more than 200 kilometres, the effects of the earthquake were felt all the way till India. More than 390 people have died in the natural disaster, which triggered several landslides and a glacial lake outburst flood in the northern areas of Pakistan. The highest casualties have been reported from Pakistan with at least 272 dead and 2,123 injured. This is the third major earthquake to hit the South Asian region this year after the May 12, 2015 tremor in Nepal that killed more than 200 which followed the April 25, 2015 earthquake in Nepal that killed more than 9,000 people.
Earthquakes are a part of life for people who live on seismic zones. The only problem is that at times, the infrequency of tectonic activity gives people temporary amnesia and they forget to use the age old ‘disaster-resistant’ construction techniques and safety measures their forefathers mastered over millennia. Let’s forget the moral judgements for now, and focus on the scientific causes of earthquakes and how one can actually try to survive through such a catastrophe.
It is for the governments to enable people to understand the natural disasters that can befall and why. So the authorities need to conduct early study of geologic deposits, seismic monitoring and create early warning systems as a few of the necessary things to mitigate disasters. The second is to create awareness on safety measures necessary for each disaster.
Such measures include fire alarms, fire drills and ‘drop, cover, and hold on’ drills, public awareness campaigns, print and electronic media advertisements for public safety, and educating teachers and children about safety measure. Throughout my schools years, I remember having a fire drill only once, when internationally it is mandatory to have at least one fire drill in an academic year.
Installing early warning systems is also important. However, the problem with earthquakes is that they don’t give enough time before striking, unlike cyclones, tidal waves, tsunamis, hurricanes, and bushfires. So, while an early warning system may work to evacuate before a tsunami, hurricane, or cyclone, it would not work in an earthquake because earthquakes strike suddenly, almost always without any warning.
Therefore, people living in seismic zones, especially on fault lines must be aware of the looming threat of a simple shake when the earth desires.
Mostly, earthquakes do not kill people, buildings do. So it is important that building by-laws incorporate construction techniques that help increase friction in a building, which in turn will increase the time of ‘collapse’ allowing occupants to safely exit. In short, earthquake resistance needs to be taken into consideration when planning a city and designing any infrastructure and buildings in a seismic zone.
Incidentally, almost the whole of Pakistan is situated in a seismically active zone. And while we do have an active Pakistan Meteorological Department and a National Disaster Management Authority, both leave much to be desired.
The magnitude 7.6 earthquake that struck on October 8, 2005, was a major catastrophe to hit the nation. With 80,000 people dead and three million people displaced, the destruction was of epic proportions. The epicentre of the trembler was near the city of Muzaffarabad in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, which lies in the collision zone of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plate. This collision zone is also responsible for the giant Himalayan Mountain Range.

It seems Pakistan learnt no lessons from the catastrophe. Building bye laws still remain neglected, and while the governments, both central and provincial are keen on bringing in foreign investment in the real estate sector, working out the necessary technicalities is at the bottom of their priority list.

Does the state sponsor takfiris?

I quote from my previous blog I wrote about Sabeen Mehmud.

In Pakistan, bad is on loop. You get done with the death anniversary of someone or some incident every month, and a new tragedy is added to the mourning list.

So, this time it is the killing of 47, nay 43 Ismailis. Since killings are merely a number for us now. Yesterday (May 13, 2015) six gunmen surrounded a bus carrying Ismaili Shias in the biggest city of Pakistan, Karachi. At least 43 people were shot dead including women and children. Their crime? They were Muslims of a different kind who do not believe in violent Jihad. They preach peace and tolerance and interpret Jihad as the spiritual striving to attain nearness to God (minus violence unless their imam calls for it and that too not for imperialism). Life is sad and getting sadder with time. Sorry for the rant. But I just saw a few pictures of the bus filled with blood.

Can we say none of this would have happened if there were no rogue elements in our security agencies and our society? Will we continue to remain blind to the problems within our system and blame everything on US, India, and Israel? Those three countries are not responsible for mosques that preach intolerance and violence, nor are they responsible for the public rallies and 'ijtemas' that banned militant organisations hold in cities or anywhere else. These are matters for the state to resolve, not for foreign countries to decide. Has the state banned websites spreading hatred against minorities? Did the state take any measures against religious seminaries that train militants and suicide bombers? Has the state decided to shut down mosques where extremists congregate, hide and hoard arms and ammunition? Or these are matters for RAW to resolve and take action on?

The fact of the matter is that our state is part of the problem. Otherwise the expenditure of more than 3.5 percent of the GDP on military would have shown some results. Unless, that money is spent on creating more monsters to target those 'unseen' hands of US, India, and Israel, or to give a helping hand to Sunni extremists funded by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and their likes. Here's a flyer found at the massacre site: 

Leaflet left at the crime scene

The flyers (in English and Urdu) found at the crime scene, declare the Ismailis as Rawafidhs (an Arabic word that means "rejecters", and is used by extremist Sunnis to refer to Shia Muslims for their denial of the first three Khulafa-e-Rashideen's right to the Caliphate). Despite these flyers, an alternate discourse is being spread by the Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ) along with the state sponsored, ISPR dominated media. This discourse is interesting and part of the huge puzzle called Pakistani politics.

AWSJ condemned the attack on Ismailis by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM). Yes, ASWJ, that thrives in propagating violence against minority groups, especially Shias, is condemning the violence against the peace loving Ismailis. On some level it might even sound ironic, as ASWJ is known to be associated with Sipah-e-Sahaba, a banned anti-Shia, terrorist organisation. But knowing how much the establishment recently tried to bring Taliban Khan in power and how they failed, it is not a wonder...

 

Jamaat-ud-Dawa loves Pakistan army

This year in January, I wrote about Charlie Hebdo and then I stopped. I stopped because I felt unsafe. I thought of removing my writings from my personal blog because this country, where I chose to live, has no respect for me as a human, let alone as a free-thinking, outspoken, working woman. I did not blog for a long time. Not because there was nothing to write, but because I felt exhausted with dissent.

Is there any good left in Pakistan, I often ask myself, and before I find an answer, something bad happens ---again. In Pakistan, bad is on loop. You get done with the death anniversary of someone or some incident every month, and a new tragedy is added to the mourning list.

Last week on April 24, 2015, we lost T2F founder-director Sabeen Mahmud, who was allegedly shot by 'unidentified' assailants. Her crime, they say, is her involvement or show of solidarity with the Baloch, especially Mama Qadeer, who spoke about the missing persons of Balochistan at the T2F. It has been four days since Sabeen's murder. She has been buried and will probably be forgotten by the time the next tragedy hits us, but do we remember what we were doing in April last year after Hamid Mir was also allegedly shot by the ISI on April 19, 2014?

MQM-H protesting against Geo in front of 
the Jang Press at I.I. Chundrigar Road.

We were, as usual, divided in two groups. One who refused to accept that Hamid was shot by the intelligence agencies, and the other, who alleged that the only people to attack the journalist were the farishtas. Last year, on April 28, 2014, there were countrywide protests by Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), Mohajir Qaumi Movement-Haqiqi (MQM-H), Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ), Anjuman Naujawanan-e-Islam, Pakistan Forces Lovers Forum, Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT), and countless other groups, some even from Kashmir, against Geo TV and Hamid Mir. Their clout? One cannot accuse a Pakistani intelligence agency of shooting someone.

The protesters refused to accept that the security agencies of Pakistan could be rogue or even have any rogue elements operating covertly. Their slogan? "We love Pakistan Army: Jamaat-ud-Dawa". We can guess the rest. A humble letter accompanying a metal pellet.

Last year's tags: Christianity, feminism, Islam, men, Pakistan, patriarchy, religion, temptation, women, academics, Army, colonialism, elitism, feudalism, generals, imperialism, India, military, archaeology, architecture, bye-laws, culture, heritage, Moenjodaro, Pink Floyd, Pink Floyd in Pompeii, PPP, Sindh, Sindh Festival, UNESCO, injustice, leftists, liberals, rights, secular, workers, Karachi, Parachinar, Quetta, Shia, Sunni, takfiri, Deobandi, Balochistan, British, Kashmir, nationalism, separatists, colonizers, English speaking, sub-continent, academia, employ-ability, employment, higher education, jobs

Je suis Charlie or not?

Charlie Hebdo (was) racist, islamophobic, misogynistic, etc, to say the least of their so-called satire, BUT I condemn the killing of their cartoonists and other contributors, as well as the killings of the cops, especially the Muslim one. He died defending those who 'ridiculed' 'his' religion. Killing someone for not agreeing with our ideals is wrong, BUT one should not 'hurt' the sentiments of millions who revere the Islamic State Khaleefa, err...the prophet.

I condemn the killings of Charlie Hebdo, but what about the freedom of speech for the Palestinians who have been stopped from showing solidarity by the French government? It is wrong that terrorists (anybody who kills someone in the name of Islam does not have to be a Muslim) killed those who worked at Charlie Hebdo, but they should not have drawn the prophet (pbuh). If France cares so much about freedom of speech, why did it ban the advertisement showing Jesus as a woman? If France was not racist and had assimilated the 'Arabs' well, those two (killers) would not have done what they did.

These are some of the comments and ideas strewn all over my Facebook and Twitter timeline. I thank thee for such enlightenment. The 'if' 'but' arguments highlight the duplicity of the human race so beautifully. It is like a breath of fresh air, or the first shower after scorching heat. Call me callous, but I want to compare this moment of those with pens versus those with guns to the Palestinian youth throwing stones at the Israeli military. That is how unmatched the rivals were and are and will remain perhaps.

Deaths do not matter. Be them of cartoonists or those of killers themselves.

Actually, it is neither about the killings of Charlie Hebdo workers, visitors and the cops who were simply there at the wrong time, nor is it about those who killed a dozen people because of a certain mindset. None of this matters any more. What matters are the narratives and counter narratives. What matters is the fact that it is not as important to say Je suis Charlie as it is to say je suis 'so and so...'

It is about France inviting Netanyahu and Merkel to the solidarity rally, the banning of the veil in public, war in Syria and Iraq, Western hegemony against the Islamic world, their double standards and the right-wing narrative that will further fuel the anti-Muslim mindset in Europe.

Human deaths are no longer as valuable as today when all and sundry are looking to collect martyrs. As if the deaths of thousands of people of colour at the hands of Taliban, Boko Haram, al Qaeda, Daesh were not enough, the militant Islamists have given the European far-right the right number of martyrs to push for anti-immigration laws, job cuts, racism, and further reinforcement of the 'savage Muslim' idea.

And if that was not enough, there are people of the Pakistani Awami Tehreek in Peshawar, who are already paying homage to the killers Said and Cherif Kouachi; and Charlie Hebdo with all its activism for equality has actually died in the fight amid the far right Muslims, Jews, Christians, and their apologist leftists... Even if a cartoon on the cover says Je suis Charlie!

Highly educated unemployed survey

If you live in Pakistan, you are sure to have a few well qualified friends, who are unemployed because either they lack the right connections or they didn't get their degree in 'the right field'. I have a few too, and have been worried about the situation because it bodes ill for us as a whole.

Please go through the following form and help compile some data regarding the curse of unemployment and the abundance of over-qualification.

Interpreter offspring of the brown ‘goras’

Pakistan is a country for extremism. We welcome all sorts of extremes. Religious, liberal, educated, uneducated, privileged, under-privileged, the list can go on forever, but of all, we are best suited for the privileged. People who have money and belong to the upper class, the ones who can afford to live in a bubble which is hardly affected by inflation, bad public health, foreign policies, power failures, water shortages, etc. This bubble is well protected, having been reinforced by continuing with the colonial system, yes colonial and not post-colonial. The only difference is that the white supremacists have been replaced by their interpreter class. Whether that interpreter class comes from the Pakistani elite schools or consists of a bunch of foreign educated kids, who chose to return to the land of the pure, is irrelevant for the not-or-under-privileged.

They are the ones in whose hands the ‘goras’ left Pakistan in 1947. These brown descendants of the goras aspire to be ‘goras’. They are an alienated hybrid of this confused society which lacks an identity, or as it is said in Urdu; are suffering from “Dhobi ka kutta na ghar ka na ghat ka” syndrome. We have several words to identify them, including English medium, burger types, establishment, liberals, secular, etc, etc. It is our own hodgepodge of a feudal, capitalist, dash of Islamic socialist, colonial society.

"We must at present do our best to form a class who may be interpreters between us and the millions whom we govern; a class of persons, Indian in blood and color, but English in taste, in opinions, in morals, and in intellect," by Thomas Babington Macaulay (1800–1859) a Victorian historian, essayist, and parliamentarian. He served as a member of the supreme council of the East India Company from 1834 to 1838, where he oversaw major educational and legal reforms. These lines might be from early 19th century, but they still ring true for Pakistan. We hardly see any significant changes in our education, health policies. Simply because, it isn't beneficial for the interpreter class that, as mentioned earlier lives in a bubble.

The most beneficial for the interpreter class is to let the system stay as is. Or perhaps make it worse, as making it worse only affects the under-privileged who are already dispensable and ‘oh so corrupt’. Their only utility is their voting capability. The privileged decry all that is under-privileged. They occupy higher ground and perhaps intentionally or unintentionally without realizing their own role in maintaining the status quo, blame it on the have-nots. In a way it is understandable. It is not a matter of good or bad, wrong or right, rather it is about retaining privilege with which comes power, a vicious circle, where policies are not made by people who are not in power. And power is not owned by people who are not privileged.

We are conditioned from our cradle to be adapted within one of these categories of privileged or under-privileged, depending on what class we come from. Our opportunities and lack thereof depend on who our parents are or were. We can even classify it as the privileged and ones that do everything in their power to become privileged. The earlier has all that it takes to stay privileged, including ‘interpreter offspring’, while the other tries its best to break this circle of privilege by hook or by crook.

These interpreter offspring are often foreign qualified or local elite school graduates, who have more market value compared to the local public university graduates. Some will argue it is because of what these graduates have to offer, but the million dollar question is should access to education be determined by the amount of money ones family possessed? Probably at this stage many readers would be squirming to say, but nobody stopped the other people from getting the same level of education. That if ‘one wants’ nothing is impossible, and 10 children of a Pakhtun laborer working in Karachi can have access to education at the Karachi Grammar School. The laborer will only have to work ‘really hard’ to achieve this. And only ‘lazy’ people complain.

God and state are all just and fair when it comes to equal opportunities. And there are plenty of opportunities to be had if one is born in the right place, at the right time. Being born as an offspring to the ‘interpreter class’ means, having access to better schools, better education and at the end of it all, a better job, better working environment and a higher position that pays well.

It is part and parcel of almost everybody’s professional and practical life. Be it architects, doctors, journalists, teachers, etc. In the field of architecture the pay scale depends on the school one graduated from. A graduate of the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture will be offered a higher salary after graduation compared to the one who graduated from NED University, Karachi University or Mehran University. It is very easy to guess at this stage that the one to be offered the lowest salary would be from Mehran University. Hence, the never ending cycle based on privilege continues. Forcing many people to resort to unfair means to break this cycle and become more privileged, powerful, resourceful and ‘equal’ within the unjust system.

Let’s take the example of the media that is owned by people from political, industrial, banking sector and where most of the positions of power are held by people from elite backgrounds. Someone’s father owns a hospital, another’s is a bureaucrat, yet another is the nephew of a serving MNA, or is related to an industrialist. They all probably went to the Karachi Grammar School, later attended Oxford or some other foreign university privately or on scholarship is a whole new topic of debate, but they have a silent covenant to follow. These people are city editors, senior editors, if without a foreign degree sub-editors at desks, concessions are also made when a local university graduate proves his/her metal against the ones who belong to the higher echelons, especially if this ugly duckling did his or her O levels from City School, Beaconhouse, etc. However, reporting is majorly dominated by the ‘chhota mota’ background people; graduates of Peshawar University, Jamshoro University, Baluchistan University, etc.

How many of us realize that the mere use of internet and capability to write proper English is a product of our class based post-colonial society? Should good education be a choice dependent on money? How many of us actually step back and let a public graduate take lead instead of us, because oh we are so much for the equality of opportunities? The reason nothing changed in 65 years is that the blame ball is being tossed around among the privileged class, who are not separate but a single entity.