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Posts tagged with: Guest Blog
Sep 13, 2009    |       27 comments

A dinner invitation package by Air Chief Marshal

Open Letter to Air Chief Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman by Mr. Naeem Sadiq

Dear Air Chief Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman,

Thank you for inviting me and my wife for a dinner on 6th October 2009 at the PAF Museum. I deeply regret that I would be away from the city on that day, and would not be able to join you at the dinner.

The invitation is accompanied by a set of nine documents, plastic cards, stamps, envelopes and metal clips. These are:

  1. A map of the location and entry points
  2. A self addressed envelope for acknowledgement
  3. A four rupee stamp
  4. A printed card that has various options stated on it, such as I will come alone, with wife or will not be able to attend.
  5. A large invitation card stating that the Air Chief Marshal wishes to invite you for a dinner.
  6. A laminated plastic card that has my name printed in bold letters
  7. A small zip lock plastic bag containing a metal clip. This clip can be removed from the bag and assembled with the plastic card so that one may display one’s name on the chest pocket.
  8. A TCS envelope containing all these materials. (TCS charges Rs.50 for delivery within city and Rs.120 for delivery outside the city.)
  9. A yellow printed car parking ticket

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Aug 19, 2009    |       2 comments

Knee Jerk Patriotism

I kind of get puzzled by the reaction of people on the Independence Day. The celebrations, the road blocks, parade of bikes with mufflers (silencers) stripped off, the disproportioned flags, the aerial firing at midnight, all in the middle of a comedy of crises never witnessed in the history of this country; the water crises, the electricity crises, the hike of sugar prices, the political crises, and what not … though the public rejoices on 14th of August 2009.

Mushkelain itni pareen ke assan ho gain…? Or that was a blatant exhibit, a clear reminder to the world that we are still alive…? I doubt it, something is fishy here. Because the same crowd, probably, torched public and private property of hundreds of billions of Pak Rupees when one of their favorite politicians got assassinated in a suicide attack? Or when a European newspaper published the caricature of Prophet Muhammad (SAW)….? Or after some innocent illiterate children mistakenly sliced an Islamiat text book containing text from the Holy Quran?  … The same crowd? … or different factions hidden within our skins, each of which revealing their ugly face when ever their so called “holy gods” are desecrated, not when they do the same with their own hand but by those who they don’t considered qualified for it!
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Feb 11, 2009    |       28 comments

Deconstructing Human Conflict: My Thoughts

Guest Blog by Hassan Baig

Conflict has been one of the centerpieces of our existence since the dawn of the human race. Different millennia may have seen different markers of our species’ cultural and technological progress, the constancy of conflict has never fluctuated. And the present day is no different – us Pakistanis know that especially well. It is hence imperative that we understand the philosophy of conflict; for without such understanding, we cannot frame an untainted, objective worldview for ourselves and for our future generations. The following lines are my attempt to deconstruct conflict and to add a footnote in the affiliated discourse we see unfolding everyday in various media.

It is universally understood that all human beings are born with an innate sense of self-preservation. And this, in turn, has given birth to the mental constructs of The Self and The Other. These constructs pervade the entire species and promote self-centricism in every belief mankind has ever or will ever hold. A self-centricism which then manifests itself in terms of religious, social, political, racial, ethnic, capitalistic, egoistic, anthropomorphic etc differences – i.e. the faces of conflict can be many even though the core is shared.
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Aug 27, 2008    |       6 comments

Pakistan deserves better

Guest Blog by Amjad Malik

On Defence day of Pakistan elected representatives of Pakistan will choose their next head of state who is originally a figurehead, a ceremonial position but General Musharraf armed it with deadly powers of sacking the parliament and bossing the army chief. Looking at a few clauses relevant to such election Article 41(2) says as following: (2) A person shall not be qualified for election as President unless he is a Muslim of not less than forty-five years of age and is qualified to be elected as member of the National Assembly. Article 62 narrates qualification and clause (d) says that he is of good character and is not commonly known as one who violates Islamic Injunctions; and further more clause (f) says that he is sagacious, righteous and non-profligate and honest and ameen; (g) he has not been convicted for a crime involving moral turpitude or for giving false evidence; and Article 63 details disqualifications where clause (h) says that he has been convicted by a court of competent jurisdiction on a charge of corrupt practice, moral turpitude or misuse of power or authority under any law for the time being in force;
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Jun 3, 2008    |       6 comments

The Ex-Servicemen and Bureaucrats & Their Consicence

Guest Blog by Temporal from Baithak

Geo has been repeating that interview with retired gen. Kayani. Recently the ex-servicemen have been flexing their muscles. Troubling consciences are known to strike at men and women of good will at all times. Even ordinary mortals like you and me are troubled and stricken with conscience generated guilt and remorse at odd times.

But am intrigued with one odd phenomenon. All the recent public displays of conscience by the retired army personnels and bureaucrats have invariably been against the Musharraf administration.

Do you not find this odd? I mean, all these fine men are ex-servicemen (and bureaucrats) – “retired” after having “served” the nation – then they also served as parachuted civilian administrators in the higher echelons. I am sure they must have seen other wrongs and injustices perpetrated by the high and the mighty in the course of their “illustrious” careers. How come their conscience only bothers them about the Musharraf administration?

Or are they oblivious to the other ills of the society they lived in? How come they hold their peace and silence over other gave issues that we read about, that we discuss, that we notice everyday? Feudalism, karo-kari, watta-satta, petty jirgas handling out capital punishment, petty lords with armies and jails, the drug mafia, the parochial mafia, the vigilant arbitrariness, the suicide by mothers with their children, the collection of bhattas, pollution and increase in lung diseases, absence of schools and medical care in rural areas, their own “purchases” of plots of lands at throw away prices… this is a never ending list.

Why are the “ex-servicemen” conscience dumb stricken with other “issues”?

May 28, 2008    |       9 comments

Where is our parliament in all this?

Guest Blog by Amjad Malik

parliment-house-pakistanEconomy is nose diving in Pakistan and people with load shedding, wheat and oil crisis are forced to take law in their own hands and we saw people burning the robbers in Karachi and indecisiveness is breeding law and order crisis, apathy and decline where any thing can happen as a result and whatever happens is not at all in control of the human mind and may affect the best interest of Pakistan especially when foreigners are flying like eagles on our rear borders. Those who came declaring themselves the champions of democracy are solving constitutional matters outside the Parliament and democrats this time have made parliament a rubber stamp not the dictator, Judiciary is on the road, Justice Dogar is unacceptable to majority and he is facing extreme resistance by lawyer fraternity, CJ Iftikhar has a personality clash with the President, establishment is confused waiting for further instructions, Police is unable to enforce law, and people doing road justice by force in the absence of credible judiciary and Malik Qayum fame tapes are in the market spreading revelations about schemes to keep Sharifs out of election race. In these circumstances 10th of June Long March of lawyers have hidden stings in it which are many fold and they may attempt to put deposed judges back in the Supreme Court by might which may result in a successful lawful coup or it can be counter productive to invite a counter coup by President throwing his wrath on the parliament for their indecisiveness, breaching their pacts and neglecting to avoid the economy from decline or at best military intervention to stop this unrest multiplying reaching no where which all ends in the collapse of the 18th February popular mandate of the people of Pakistan and in the end so much so for the democracy of Pakistan and people’s vote.

I for one, feel that we all are bound to look after the best interest of the state and at best if this uncertainty is allowed to loom, it can be disastrous for the state economically, politically, and socially. As any constitutional package containing unpopular clauses will hardly get to the stage of royal assent at least for a year unless Q or N league supports, I feel lawyers as well as people of Pakistan are getting restless because of this hit and run politicians who are ridiculing the judiciary by the very delay in restoring them. If they are unable to reach consensus then there must be some confidence building measures to show their commitment akin to the circumstances where politicians supported Musharraf to get elected by abstaining to vote instead by remaining in Parliament and in exchange getting a hero’s welcome on 18 October and issuing of a National Reconciliation Ordinance by the President who swore to keep BB and Babu out at every cost. Though we all are the passengers of the same boat and none have the exact answer but I have the following few suggestions throwing some workable scenarios for the legal hawks to brain storm in case the time comes for possible solutions;
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