If you live by the sword you die by the sword...

Revenge politics has got you nowhere Mian Saheb... Stop living in the past... understand the new ground realities and don't be fooled any more...
It is high time you realised Mian Saheb that Allah does not like revenge. He says all the time "forgive as I forgive you". My father had issued an Eid Card once and sent to every body saying - Make forgiveness your creed.

The only constant in this world is change. So times change things change. One should realise that. Grasp the new realities. You were so transfixed on what Musharraf did to you in October 1999 that you could not grow beyond it and comprehend the new realities and opportunities to take advantage. Instead of doing something good for the country which you are fully capable of, you were stuck on revenge with Musharraf.

The result was Mr. Zardari took full advantage of you. He literally fooled you as is the universal perception. He got every thing and you got nothing. And now he has got your government dismissed. That was the height. Even now Mian Saheb, millions love you, try to understand the situation. The president is way too smart for you. I strongly urge you to play real politics, not revenge politics if not it will hurt you and your party more and more.

First forget and forgive then see The Pakistan situation in new light. There is a lot you can do. A lot. You must have new agendas. This judiciary thing is fine. Judiciary must be free and without judicial activism but you must have other important issues too Mian Saheb. Like what? Read on this blog I have written earlier, something on economy and let me briefly repeat here.

You have public appeal so do things for the public. One thing you must do is release the people of Pakistan from the yolk of the landlords and sardars. One way to do is to bring land ceiling. You see land is limited and people unlimited. Let there be more ownership of land. More people should be owning land than few. That gives self employment opportunity to more people. More people become affluent than few. With their new found wealth they want things. Don't import. Make them locally and give them. You set in an industrial revolution.

I propose no more than 60 acres per person including no more than 15 acres of irrigated land if under a canal. Under a dam more people should have access to water than few after all it is the nations wealth that is being used to build a dam. So why should only a few benefit from a mega project? Maximum number of people must avail of the facility that will also ensure better productivity. Mian Saheb campaign for it. You will sweep the polls from Kashmir to Sindh.

Mian Saheb campaign for making the economy a manufacturing one unlike the trading one the banker Shaukat Aziz made it. Make policies such that people are encouraged to manufacture and market it nationally and internationally. Give free land outside towns with roads, electricity and water and some export incentives then see how the economy booms. We may have to bring labour from abroad like in Saudi Arabia (but without their terrible laws of course).

Campaign for conservation of foreign exchange and import substitution. Give a few years of this dose, Pakistan will be the most prosperous country in the world. Then don't be selfish help others in need. Muslims all over the world need our leadership. You can then provide it and help them in so many different ways.

Lets pray he goes past 400

Let's pray he goes past 400...
When he does that he would have atoned for the fieldset and bowling changes he made on day 1 and 2 that allowed The Srilankans to plunder runs and reach a formidable 644. Even disregarding the dropped catch of Misbah Ul Haq he should have ensured the opposition did not score so much however flat the pitch may be. The field set was bad as was the fielding. The bowling was less than mediocre. We missed Shoaib Akhtar dearly.

I hope he survives the first hour and Kamran Akmal gives him a stand till the end. We pray he does not get sentimental nor repeats the mistake of Imran Khan who had declared Javed Miandad at 289. My whole family is praying for Younus Khan to go past 400. May Allah grant our wish and prayers. Amen. Summa Ameen.

Give the devil his due...

The vexed 60 year Kashmir Issue was almost resolved with backdoor diplomacy - Washingtonpost.
Don't get me wrong. I am no admirer of any dictator or any landlords purportedly to be leaders of the people of Pakistan but let's give the devil his due which our sense of fairplay demands. Was it this desire to etch his name in history and do something for Pakistan that he somehow wanted to complete his tenure and accomplish something before he left? Probably yes.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/21/AR2009022101714.html
It now transpires that he was close to a deal with India on Kashmir. I have posted the link above that will tell you all about it. Now this was no small achievement. It is terribly sad that a single mistake of Shaukat Aziz let this fellow down. This is a classic example of what happens when you are surrounded by not true leaders but cronies.

While he did a lot of good he was the victim of his own policies in so many areas, there is no denying that but one thing that hurt him most was the media that could not digest the newfound freedom granted by him. They started biting the master that freed him. So much of scorn was aimed at him so thoughtlessly that the thinkers in Pakistan were forced to think if it was not harming the national interests. Now it seems their fears were not unfounded.

The report says that there was going to be almost no border in Kashmir and Indian troops were going to be withdrawn. That was a huge success for the people of Kashmir. But then Musharraf's popularity spiralled down so much that India found it easy to wriggle out of it. One wonders how and when could we get to that point again.

It is fashionable to blame Musharraf for every thing but let's not ignore the good the guy did. His intense backdoor diplomacy that we now know may have been the factor he wanted to cling to power as long as he could and get some results. Apart from picking on him for overthrowing an elected government you can't much attack him. He was engaging India positively, dealing with the a Neocon President in Washington - wonder if any other president could have done any different and the country was cruising ok.

While there was growing insurgency in NWFP due to the Taliban and AlQaeda factor, the country was doing well economically. I bet there was more prosperity somehow. Foreign exchange reserves were swelling, dollar was holding around Pk.Rs 60, energy was not so expensive, law and order not as bad as now, Pakistan was attracting investment too. Then comes this issue of Judical Reference against Iftiqar M. Choudhry and all hell breaks loose.

What people do not talk about which I want to do now is the way he brought back the politicians into the country. If he wanted he could have carried on somehow with Muslim League Q etc. But he brought back Benazir and in the end even brought home Nawaz Sharif. They owe their political existence to him. You may argue adinfinitum on the merits or demerits of NRO but the fact remains he ensured free and fair elections and handed over the power to the politicians.

Pakistan media responsible for the current state of affairs... tolerance to gun toting.

Irresponsible journalism has brought us to this state of affairs... Musa Khan's murder should open eyes.
My journalist fraternity may not like it but this is what it is. Sorry. When the anchors, journalists and guests ensconsed in the comfort of their studios say any thing they want to quite thoughtlessly and regardless of the effect it is having on masses, the results are obvious.

When The media was just lambasting whatever the State was doing and siding with terrorists quite unwittingly and unawares this is what happens. Starting with 9/11 the analysis in the media in Pakistan was all misleading and one way or the other condoning the accused without going into the facts but dwelling on imagination and conjecture. They would not answer a question but raise more questions only. For instance they would not tell you who did 9/11 but say "how could we do it, we didn't have the means". We? Who? Are you one with the accused?

The one you are defending does not even consider you a Muslim. We have been so much on the receiving end for so long that we now suffer from a feeling of victimisation and unable to understand the real issues indulge in conspiracy theories. Conspiracy theory is like taking crutches when one is lame. We stray so much from the real issues that we start defending the terrorists. And this trend transcends itself in our national issues too.

When it was Lal Masjid we did not totally condemn it but by asking irrelevant easy questions caste doubts in public mind and quite inadvertantly sided with the terrorists. The reporters, anchors, guests and writers did not ask what was the business of weapons and bombs in a Masjid and a Madrassah? All this adds up to public opinion for or against.

On top of it I heard from those who have a soft corner for the terrorists that the State Machinery put those weapons and publicised. And even if someone gave you as you say, why did you accept it? The sad part was media did not show responsibility and restraint. They kept on bombarding the State instead of telling the audience and build a concensus against illegal weapons and their stand. They never talked of the Government restraint for months but said they should have done this and that. The reporting was so one sided. Sad.

Army takes action, some collateral damage takes place, the media instead of highlighting the benefits of action are critical of action and in some way glorify the terrorists. Then they bring some of the so called religious parties guys who will for hours give their point of view critical of State actions without any restraint from the channel. People don't know and swallow the information as news not as a point of view of a person. The TV Channels serve as free propaganda media for terrorists.

A guy comes on TV and advocates adnauseum to bring in Sharia and every thing will be just fine. He is never moderated and the anchor does not tell him that Pakistan law is already based on Sharia and who are these bunch of guys to tell us what to do? We have a democratic constitution, let's take people's views and decide. Media never takes the lead in being positive.

Instead of demonising the terrorists they demonise the State and the army. This is what is causing the problem and I think the media is aiding and abetting the crime by silence on issues they should otherwise be beating a drum about.

Sustained such trend has lead people to believe that The State and army is always wrong and bad and these gun toting illiterates supposedly wanting Sharia are good. Media did not communicate forcefully that they are traitors to take up arms against the State. This should have been brought home with utmost emphasis.

Musa Khan Khel has paid a heavy price and so have other brave journalists. Even now the media is not strongly condemning the terrorists and I did not see guys like Qazi Hussain Ahmed coming forward and condemning the killer in no uncertain terms. This is the saddest possible day for Pakistan in general and Pakistan media in particular. Not a corner must be given to the terrorists whether they be Taliban, AlQaeda, the residents of Lal Masjid or any one toting a gun.

Weapons must be with the State and State alone, only then can we expect rule of law. And if people want to change things they should take the democratic educated route. If it comes to that let's have a referendum and go by public opinion. But for Allah's sake surrender your guns and bombs first.

Deal in Dir is a bad precedent and an encouragement of militants...

Will the deal work, they have not yet put down their arms... can there be hope? Usually they are not amenable to reasoning...
Wonder if it is the second poor decision in two days? The first being the performance of Mr. Rehman Malik with reference to Mumbai. It is a sad day that The Sovereign State of Pakistan has capitulated to the demands of people who have fought battles with The Army of The Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Will any country allow this? No way.

If they were fighting a constitutional war with the due process provided legally without arms, yes we could have considered. We cannot negotiate with these people who have killed people by the hordes, demolished our entire infra-structure and schools and institutions. They have destroyed the most beautiful area of Pakistan. Why should we listen to these people who want to force a way of life on others.

This insurgency should have been put down by force, the illegal fighters disarmed, put behind bars and duely punished for taking up arms against the State. And if Sharia as they describe is an issue then a referendum must be taken and decisions made according to the real wishes of the people not a few weapons weilding illiterate lot. We are sending a wrong signal encouraging others to take up arms.

The way we have dealt with these terrorists is neither constitutional nor democratic. This is fascism, forcing a point of view against the wishes of people. Do we want to make this The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with no freedom of any kind? It is time The Government and Army of Pakistan shows strength and does what is best for Pakistan.

Hope they are not just buying time as they have done five times earlier. One good thing is The President wants results. Hope he is serious. If they don't lay down arms such punishment should be given that no one ever again dare to challenge Pakistan State.
Don't capitulate in front of illegal arms.

Pakistan succumbs to US threats of aid withdrawal...

Pakistan missed an opportunity to highlight Kashmir issue and simply played into Indian hands!
India makes mistakes and yet remains stubborn for 6 decades. Pakistan despite having a UN resolution in its favour cannot bring relief to the divided people due to the incompetence of the Heads of States, Diplomats and Media. Now from the blue this Bombay incident takes place and what we do: succumb. We could not make a lemonade out of lemon. There was no need for Pakistan to succumb to Indian demands as they have done today.

Here some people died. It was sad and condemned in no uncertain terms. Some non-State persons may have done it. It is quite possible given the injustice meted out to millions of people by India and governance against the wishes of the people. While every effort may be made to bring the terrorists to justice the world community must be made to look seriously into the root causes of the problem and eliminate the cause of the disease.

We did not ask from India the details of other terrorists. We did not even call for the DNA, finger prints etc. of Kasab and others or if we have, India has not so far obliged. The way Pakistan is buckling under the US and Indian pressure is really mind boggling. Why do we not ask of the hundreds of Indian army invasions on its people where thousands have died, just because India does not allow journalists or Human Rights activists to go and report atrocities from Kashmir.

I would call it the failure of Pakistani media first not to highlight the issues. If it did, pressure would build on The Government of Pakistan to do something which otherwise is ever so lethargic. If media does not play a role in shaping the policies of the country who will? Who will reflect the aspirations of the common man? Enmity with India will lead us no where. But when India makes capital out of a tragedy I see no reason why let go India free.

Just a few days back some RAW agents were apprehended but we made no issue out of it. We could have easily made a drama out of it. We did nothing. Our media is so weak that people do remember the name of Kashmir Singh the Indian spy who we released but no one remembers the names of dead bodies of persons who had gone to see a cricket match to India. Give our media to lambaste our own leaders who they do not fear, they make a great case out of it. They even get the guy ousted. Why don't they show the same commitment to our enemies?

Yes bringing the culprit to book and justice is fine but just don't be swayed by India. India has to account for death of hundreds of thousands of people in India. How many Muslims they have killed that has gone un-noticed and un-reported. She has killed people by thousands in Kashmir by The State sponsored Terrorism by a strong army of 700,000. Why isn't this army in UP or Bihar? They have a problem there, hence the forces. We must force a solution otherwise India won't do it.

Zero Tolerence for Lawlessness and Corruption

Zero tolerance for Lawlessness and Corruption and 100% tolerance for Religious Differences. That is what we need while reverse is true sadly. Can we as a nation strive for this please?

Is he The Messiah we have been waiting for... the next hero! Can he deliver?

Great day for Pakistan! He has finally spoken of Character... Hope he is serious!
It was heartening although very surprising. The Prime Minister has finally spoken of character today. He said something the whole nation has been waiting since the new guys took up office to run the country. He spoke of people having character. He said public memory is not short as generally promoted but people do remember if there is a scandal or if a reputation is tainted.

If Mr. Geelani sets the pace of character in public office he will be a hero for Pakistan we have all been waiting for since the Qaed e Azam - the first and the last hero of Pakistan. Mr. Geelani would be only the second hero. The nation does not give hero status to Ayub Khan, Yahya Khan, Z.A.Bhutto, Zia Ul Haque, Benazir, Nawaz Sharif, Musharraf and Asif Zardari. The military men are discounted for being dictators and the politicians for their mismanagement and corruption allegations.

Will Mr. Geelani campaign for zero tolerance for corruption and lawlessness and 100% tolerance for religious differences? Unfortunately presently the reverse is true. There is 100% tolerance to corruption and lawlessness and zero tolerance to religious differences. Efficiency like inefficiency percolates from the top similarly if there is no corruption at the top you can hope to have lesser and lesser corruption at lower levels.

Now that The Prime Minister is setting the pace can we hope that our children will usher in an era where there is fairplay with justice, zero lawlessness and zero corruption. Can we expect that there will be no favouritism and people get opportunities based on merit. Can we hope that our natural resources are shared by most citizen not just a few, that there is more equitable distribution of national wealth. Will he say bye bye to regionalism, nepotism and favouritism?

Once this happens see how Pakistan develops. It will be the choicest destination of every one in the world. People will invest massively, industries will flourish and tourism will bring in foreign exchange which we can use not for importing consumer goods but technology that will make consumer goods, export and provide more and more employment all over Pakistan. I hope somehow my message reaches the Prime Minister and he is steadfast in what he said. Amen.

Such approach to Kashmir is not effective...

If Kashmir is not at the center stage of world media, don't expect any solution... Kashmiris will continue to suffer...

If you want to continue to celebrate The Kashmir Day like this for centuries, then continue with what you are doing. But if you want to solve this problem and give relief to the Kashmiris under occupation then you have to do something else and a lot, lot more.

Today is the Kashmir Day. Is it news on a single international daily or news channel news sites? I have checked out. There is no mention of Kashmir in the entire world media. There is no lead story nor articles in any media. Sri Lankan Tigers, Karzai etc. have hogged the news today but not Kashmir. If any thing today Kashmir should have been the lead front page atleast three colomn story in the leading papers in the world. All news channels should have reported it. But none did. So much for your efforts.

Yes in Pakistani Channels I did see some good documentaries disregarding the pathetic comments of guys like Talat Masood and Munawar Hussain, Jamath e Islami spokesmen on Express News Channel. This does not help. We ought to have ensured that Kashmir dominated the world media today. It did not. I wish The Express Documentary is made in English and shown in the major world media sans Munawar Hussain and Tala Husain portion useless comments.

Today we ought to have reminded the world what great injustice has been going on for 60 years and how people have been suffering the attrocities of the occupiers. That is the important thing to do. We do not do what we should and love to blame the enemy. Please get over the seige mentality and don't blame the enemy when he is out to get you.

See what you are not doing. Do that. Just do not dwell in conspiracy theories that lead you to wrong thinking, analysis and hence wrong decisions for action.

We have a UN resolution in our favour but it is the failure of our diplomacy and successive governments that they have not been able to make India budge and let the Kashmiris have a life of their choice. When you fail, you analyse. So let's do it.

Where did we go wrong? Let me be brief. First we did not take advantage of the UN resolution in time. Our diplomacy failed. Our diplomats in the country and abroad just enjoyed their perks but never did the job they were supposed to. We did not build public opinion worldwide and force India in a corner. We never made the right noise in the media particularly after 1965.

The heads of State most of the time kept quite and never made the right moves, demands and announcements. They could not coin a single slogan that would get on the lips of the world leaders and media like India managed with their slogan "Cross Border Terrorism" when it was not even a border. Their slogan was repeated by our media and leaders too.

We could not even turn back and tell the world of their State Sponsored and Executed Terrorism. So much so that the terrible attrocities committed by a huge brutal army is not even duly reported in the world media. We did not do our home work and never did the important things. We did not bring to the world attention to the facts on the ground. We took it easy. The entire Muslim world took it easy. On top of it was branded as terrorism.

The problem is we never responded, never in time and never forcefully with all our diplomatic and media might. We never played the Muslim card. We never made a strong case for the world community. When our presidents and Prime Ministers meet other heads of states the first important thing they talk about must be Kashmir. They never do.

The embassies and consulates must be made to do their job and they should ensure that media in respective countries gave reports of attrocities in occupied areas. Just see how Indian media made a huge drama out of the Mumbai incident and hogged positive news for itself and negative for us. Our media has a lot to learn from it.

Now the media has grown a million fold. The task has become more difficult and more complex. Yet we have to make use of it. But how? Is the case lost? While the task is difficult, I think something can be done. What?

People of Kashmir have made huge sacrifices but they should not be expected to do so for ever. It is time now to take different actions and for all Muslim countries in the world to play a role. It seems sad when I see the actions of Jamath e Islami and guys like Talat Masood etc. who would dwell on conspiracy theories. For a starter they shoukd go t the Middle East and campaign for an economic blockade of India. This is just one action but will bring results.

The Pakistan media should play an important role and force Pakistan Govenement to act. If you build up pressure then only the Government would act. not otherwise considering the laid back and not a pro-active approach they have. Then rope in all the news agencies like Reuters and AFP etc. so that every single newspaper, magazine, site and news channel runs story on Kashmir. That is how it will get on center stage.

The world would be informed and aroused and then possibly the world would act. Not otherwise. And remember when India is a corner it will offer to negotiate and defuse a situation. I hope we don't fall for it.

It is high time we solve the problem rather than just celebrating a Kashmir day and wasting children's time of study. Instead of a holiday we should be working an extra hour on that day and register a protest by informing the world with that extra money donated.

You cannot negotiate with terrorists Sir, they must be stopped,

Who will you negotiate with Mr. Geelani?
I was amazed listening to The Prime Minister that he wants to have a dialogue with the destructive terrorists in Swat.

Mr. Prime Minister who are you going to negotiate with? Sir according to any law in the world including Sharia "any body, absolutely any body, other than the State, totting a gun or any weapon is a terrorist".

Are you going to negotiate with people who have taken up arms against the State and are fighting State forces. For the world they are not only terrorists but traitors. They are defying the State, the Law, the Constitution and every thing while making the life miserable for residents of the country.

Who finances them who supports them? Surely some body. Find out. Expose them. Let the world know who is behind them? If you do not do this then you are just falling a prey to the nefarious designs of the enemies.

They are destroying every thing, schools, colleges, hospitals, roads, bridges, buildings, you name it. Every thing is destroyed. What Sharaia are they talking about? They have destroyed the very fabric of society. Is this Islam? Is this Sharia? No. Never. This is personal gratification by force.

I appeal to the Prime Minister of Pakistan to act decisively and forcefully. You cannot talk to them until they lay down their arms. Inflow of weapons must be tightly plugged. They should be bombed into submission. No liniency should be shown to them at all. None. The law should take its course and the perpetrators brought to justice.

You negotiate with an elected body or some authority, not with a shadow. Who are these people to tell the State to do this and that. Who is not following Sharia? We are, according to our interpretation. Who are they to force us? There is no compulsion in religion. First let us do justice and hang the killers that they are.

How do they get arms and how do they get explosives? Is the police ineffective? Is the army ineffective? Are the borders porous? If so that is an utter shame. If you cannot stop them you have lost the right to govern the country. Don't even mention you want to talk to them. You must fight them tooth and nail and defeat them.
Don't talk just defeat them.