Begging, as a profession could well compete with many others considered oldest on the list, with very similar characteristics. The first clink of coins falling in the begging bowl takes away one’s self esteem and any left over reluctance for all times to come. From here on, there is no looking back. One ceases to utilise one’s own faculties and gets hooked on to the life of easy money. More creative and unscrupulous begging techniques are devised to draw greater sympathy from the charity giver. Interestingly, few beggars have ever become rich or said good bye to beggary. It is a an addiction that even psychiatrists find difficult to deal with. Cold turkey is often the only solution.
Sixty years of begging and borrowing have reduced Pakistan to an addicted state whose claim to fame is its own self acquired helplessness. It has said good bye to its own faculties, conscience and self respect. It is willing to find a million excuses to beg , but is not willing to take a single action to reform itself. It is not willing to save billions that it looses every year on its mismanaged state-run organisations like PIA, Steel mill or Railway. It is not willing to save on its army of ministers, whose only job is to roam around in Prados sponsored by the tax payer or foreign aid. It is not willing to save on its leaders eternally performing ‘umrahs’ or doing family junkets in foreign lands. It is not willing to save on its hundreds of bullet proof cars that are imported for its worthless leaders.
It is not willing to save on pointless UN investigations that must be done by its own people. It is not willing to save on millions that it spends every few days on newspaper and TV ads to compliment each other for doing nothing. Its rulers, (both in power and not in power) are not willing to bring back their own ill gotten wealth from foreign countries. It is not even willing to save on endless mausoleums and water fountains that massage the ego of the leaders but not the needs of the ordinary people.
The Kerry Lugar Bill is an American law passed by the American law makers. It is only applicable to those territories that fall under the US constitution. Pakistan has nothing to do with this humiliating law , its language or its conditionalities. They become applicable to us only if we volunteer to accept the dole. Except for any suicidal inclinations, Pakistan has no reason to accept this aid. The right to pass any law belongs to US, but the right to refuse any aid belongs to Pakistan. This cold turkey treatment could give the much needed hope, confidence and resolve to the people of Pakistan.
Comments
21 responses to “The Right to Refuse”
The Kerry Lugar Bill is an American law passed by the American law makers. It is only applicable to those territories that fall under the US constitution. Pakistan has nothing to do with this humiliating law , its language or its conditionalities. [Naeem Sadiq]
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Dear Sir,
Do we have the right to even raise the rhetoric of Dignity like you have above in view of this:
U.S. Aid to Pakistan by the Numbers
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/08/pa…
The history of U.S. assistance to Pakistan follows a predictable script: aid is tied to security imperatives that come and go, while the country’s political and economic well-being is effectively ignored. As an early ally in the cold war, Pakistan received nearly $2 billion from 1953 to 1961, a quarter of which was military assistance. The United States then suspended assistance during the Indo-Pakistan wars and following Pakistan’s construction of a uranium enrichment facility in 1979. Pakistan remerged as an ally in the 1980s during the Soviet Union’s occupation of Afghanistan and was again the recipient of aid. But following the withdrawal of Soviet troops in the late 1980s, assistance to Pakistan took another nosedive.
The Right to Refuse [Naeem Sadiq]
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Sir,
Refuse! with a Track record like this
" Foreign Minister Zafrullah Khan was more candid when in 1954, during a meeting with Governor Stassen asking for more aid stated, “It was Pakistan’s belief that the “beggar’s bowl” should never be concealed”.
Ayub Khan frustrated with slow pace of negotiations with US during his visit to Washington went to Henry Byroad’s office and told him, ‘I didn’t come here to look at barracks. Our army can be your army if you want us. But let’s make a decision’.
In 1950-53, a flurry of Pakistani officials landed in US asking for assistance. Prime Minister Liaqat Ali Khan, C-in-C Ayub Khan, Foreign Minister Zafrullah Khan, Foreign Secretary Ikramullah, Finance Minister Ghulam Muhammad, Defence Secretary Sikander Mirza and special envoy Mir Laiq Ali made US visits with main theme of getting aid. Each one of them believing that he is the most capable one who could do the job of getting American assistance better than anybody else.
Governor General Ghulam Muhammad during his conversation with Vice President Nixon, pleading for military aid stated that, “… were the US not grant aid now, especially in view of all publicity, it would like taking a poor girl for a walk and then walking out on her, leaving her only with bad name”.
Tale of a love affair that never was: United States-Pakistan Defence Relations Columnist Hamid Hussain analyses an ON and OFF affair.
http://www.defencejournal.com/2002/june/loveaffai…
How shamless this photo of President of Pakistan is ? He is standing with close hands beside President Obama, as if he is the most obedient personal servent of President Obama. We are neuclear power state in the world, but to our bad luck, our president is a very coward for his corruption.
Dear Raza Sahab,
Why single out only Zardari?
I have many photos of our Military Generals and Saudi Kings with several US Presidents in the same manner. For a start:
Islamic militancy is a foreign policy tool of the US and Pakistani establishments Download this article By Yousuf Nazar
http://www.yousufnazar.com/?p=777
Admiral Mike Mullen (first from left), the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Pakistani Army Chief Gen. Pervez Kayani (third from the left) and next to him, the ISI Chief Ahmed Shuja Pasha (then Major. Gen. and Director General Military Operations) aboard the US naval carrier Abraham Lincoln in Indian Ocean; in a secret meeting on August 26, 2008. Pasha was promoted to the rank of Lt. Gen. and appointed as the head of the Inter-Services Intelligence on Sept. 29, 2008. –
@It is only applicable to those territories that fall under the US constitution.
At present unfortunately we all fall under US constitution and Terror laws.
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Naem your article is well written and well intended.
My question is why present government accepted IMF and world Bank loan in the first place?
Where is the sacrifice of being a nuclear nation?
We have sacrificed only for to be the victims of our politics?
is Paksitan really capable of sharing Nuclear technology with the rest of the countries and does not know the secret of poverty elevation?
The question of the day is not Kerry Lugar Bill?
The question is do we really need USA?
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I beleive we should develop our realtions with China , Europe and middle east.
bycott all bloody IMF and World Bank.
We are an agricultural country we would not die of hunger and even if we do it would be better than to die of US bullets and spending time in Gitmo.
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Bycotting US means we would be free and would we stand?
us would not be able to manipulate and manouvere politicians.
—–Also imagine Pakistan without USA what a peace and relief it is.
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USA is the worst SUNAMMI happend to ASIA .Destablising ,K2 and the Mount everest .
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USA must learn from history as well be it Veitnam,be it deserts of IRAq or desolate land of Afghanistan ,Mountains of Pakistan, China,It is easy to rage war but impossible to win
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And Now they should know by using the anmosity and hostility between neighbours to create operation Desert Storms would not work either.
Even not for India and Pakistan…..
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People want to know why they must die?
BREAKING NEWS:
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Anjum Niaz (From The NEWS International.21/10/09)
The writer is a freelance journalist with over twenty years of experience in national and international reporting
Since all the worthy columnists have exhausted the KLB, the new name for the Kerry-Lugar Bill, I have nothing remarkable to add to their sound and fury. Let's instead turn to a small housekeeping matter like: is Foreign Minister Qureshi's son working for Senator Kerry? Zain H Qureshi's (ZHQ) business card is circulating the cyberspace these days. It says that he is a legislative fellow in Kerry's Washington DC office.
@Raza M.Qureshi
I guess you haven't seen the picture in which he is standing with closed hand behind TWO FM during their press conference. What can expect from the person like Zardari? He is not Imran Khan.
Agree with the main thesis of the post.
KLB is an American law to serve American interests. Sure Pakistan can refuse but it will not be easy… and there is no backup plan either.
we have right to refuse but do we have a courage to refuse?
You make it sound like the aid Pakistan's been requesting has been for no real reason at all. Maybe you dont realize the intense need for funds in our country; that we're suffering from a food shortage, energy crisis, terrorism issues and civil disrest all together, and that no country in the world can handle so much at one time – especially a developing country with limited resources to begin with. Stop calling the government beggars and what not – I cant believe at such a time of disaster, you're printing this bs, instead of something inspirational, encouraging, something that demonstrates support for our overworked, democratically elected governmnet! Your attitude is most disappointing!
we have right to refuse but do we have a courage to refuse [dr jawwad khan]
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Dr Jawwad has raised important question:
A Timeline of U.S. Aid to Pakistan
About Those Billions By Katie Paul | Newsweek Web Exclusive
Oct 21, 2009 http://www.newsweek.com/id/218932
Over the years, the U.S. has unloaded massive amounts of aid to Pakistan, including $7.5 billion more earlier this month. But the money doesn't always wind up where it's supposed to.
ANALYSIS: Empty rhetoric —Najmuddin A Shaikh
Friday, October 23, 2009
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=200…
In an earlier article, I had pointed out that the original bill had been passed in two versions by the House and Senate on June 11 and June 24 respectively and that there was nothing in the bill finally passed on September 25 which was not contained in these two versions. The time for complaint and for seeking rectification was the four-month period in which the two versions of the bill were being reconciled. A grand silence prevailed at that time on our TV channels and for the most part in our print media.
If we go back further, however, we would discover that what was deemed offensive in the Kerry-Lugar Bill had for the most part been American law since August 2007 when President Bush signed into law a “Bill for Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007”. This bill contained a special section on Pakistan (Section 2042) which states in its findings that “(4) Publicly-stated goals of the Government of Pakistan and the national interests of the United States are in close agreement in many areas, including…E) addressing the continued presence of Taliban and other violent extremist forces throughout the country.”
In an earlier article, I had pointed out that the original bill had been passed in two versions by the House and Senate on June 11 and June 24 respectively and that there was nothing in the bill finally passed on September 25 which was not contained in these two versions. The time for complaint and for seeking rectification was the four-month period in which the two versions of the bill were being reconciled. A grand silence prevailed at that time on our TV channels and for the most part in our print media.
If we go back further, however, we would discover that what was deemed offensive in the Kerry-Lugar Bill had for the most part been American law since August 2007 when President Bush signed into law a “Bill for Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007”. This bill contained a special section on Pakistan (Section 2042) which states in its findings that “(4) Publicly-stated goals of the Government of Pakistan and the national interests of the United States are in close agreement in many areas, including…E) addressing the continued presence of Taliban and other violent extremist forces throughout the country.”
Empty rhetoric —Najmuddin A Shaikh
The only conclusion that the world could draw was that no one studies things in Pakistan or, having studied them, deliberately keeps quiet until a false crisis can be created:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/print.asp?page=2009…
As if juicy tidbits about “Meera” aren’t bizarre enough already, staggering reports about Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi’s son, “Zain H. Qureshi” are a ‘special’ and hopefully ‘limited’ edition to tabloid journalism in the country. The intern who has been ripped to shreds for his internship at Senator John Kerry’s Office is alleged to have been complicit in drafting the controversial Kerry Lugar legislation in his capacity as “legislative fellow” during the period of his internship. So much for gaining pre-professional work experience prior to graduation! What is more amusing is the portrayal of this association between the FM’s son and the Senate Foreign Relations committee chair as being covert and classified, intensifying Pakistani suspicion about recently passed and highly controversial “Kerry Lugar Bill.”
http://ahraza.wordpress.com/2009/10/26/zain-hussa…
I wonder why nobody has replied to comments by Ria. She sounds like a PR consultant for the ruling bastards. I gues she may be related to "his excellency Hussain Haqqani".
off course we dont have the courage to refuse,because the people how have got everything for pakistan is busying licking others shoes for money in another country like Dr.ja.
till we have people like Dr.ja who think that money is everything and serving humans is nothing we will not have the courage.
I wonder why nobody has replied to comments by Ria. She sounds like a PR consultant for the ruling bastards. I gues she may be related to “his excellency Hussain Haqqani”. [Irfan Khan]
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Here is the reply!
Shaheen Sehabi, Jang Group & Definition of National Interest.
Mr Shaheen Sehbai is condemning PPP government particularly President Asif Ali Zardari for compromising on Pakistan National Security whereas Mr Shaheen Sehbai himself and journalists like him used to do the same in worse possible way while sitting in the USA not only that his present employer i.e. The Jang Group of Newspapers and its top management as well.
Read the details:
http://chagataikhan.blogspot.com/2009/10/shaheen-…
the whole debate is pointless. we are an extremely corrupt nation ,live in a extremly corrupt country where every thing is for sale.we have been so corrupt that we do not show hypocricy. we do it openly shamelessly.every one is corrupt nawaz shareef, fazlu bawa,asfandiyar,altaf along with king of corruption.
our water has been corrupted,our soil has ben corrupted, our air has been corrupted, crops,live stock,school,teachers,students,worker,lawyers,doctors,
farmers even fish in our rivers has been corrupted….
every one is corrupted…..especially @ALBERT and his sweet heart IQBAL.their corruption is unspeakable.(women and children below 18 are requested to leave)
we do it openly shamelessly.every one is corrupt nawaz shareef, fazlu bawa,asfandiyar,altaf along with king of corruption. [Dr Jawwad Khan]
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Dear Jawwad Sahab,
Why Jamat-e-Islami and Army is missing? JI shared power with Fazlu Bawa and Army's PML-Q FROM 2002 TO 2007 IN NWFP, AND BALUCHISTAN. Not only that JI was silent on Akram Khan Durrani, the then CM NWFP]'s visit to the USA and Pentagon.
Read about the visit!
US Elections: Republicans or Democrats.
http://chagataikhan.blogspot.com/2008/10/us-elect…
Friends in Pakistan, please stop calling yourself beggars. Better believe me that Pakistan and Pakistanis are not beggars. World especially USA give money to Pakistan to resolve its wars, its conflicts and problems with its enemies. Pakistan always assists USA and its allies needs in cold war against communists, us-ussr war in Afghanistan, gulf war, now anti terrism war. Pakistan gives its whole heated help to them. They uses our army, land an air. Folks it is only give and take situation
Respectful media, people please correct the whole terminology of this beggar . This is all business of give and take . What ever you feel dont let your nation down thanks