Vehicles
and a KFC burn in Karachi as police escort funeral of blast victims
in Islamabad (Below)
A Despicable
Check List of Musharraf's Pakistan
By
Visionary
LAHORE,
May 31: Does it matter that the American Consulate in Karachi
can kidnap any citizen, have him hauled inside, beat him black
and blue and than deposit him at a police station with threats
of dire consequences if he squeals about the matter, just because
his vehicle scraped the Consulate boundary.
I
hope Justice Osmani and Justice Memon realize that Diplomatic
immunity is not a licence of 007 (James Bond) to kill, kidnap,
rape or harass citizens of the country. (And while I'm at it,
could the Consulate withdraw from the land it has encroached upon,
making life miserable for the citizens of Karachi, and instead
strengthen their own walls within their legal premises.)
Does it matter that on the date when freedom of press is celebrated
all over the world, journalists were beaten up by the police in
Islamabad and a week or so later a renounced daily was threatened
to shut-up by withdrawing official ads.
Does it matter that a project of national importance “Raising
of the Mangla Dam” has been delayed and nearly jeopardized
just because minions fronting for the Chief Executive of the province
who through backdoor methods seem to have acquired the leases
of most of the deposits of limestone in the vicinity of the dam
and hiked the prices so high that the contractor nearly ran away.
Does it matter that in this land of once five flowing rivers we
have private armies that barge into factories with guns and tractors
and remove goods without any fear of the police or concern for
the stays of the courts and are bent upon harassing foreign investors
so that no new foreign investor dare invest a penny in the country.
Does it matter that in the world of Pakistani politics a husband
is about to cheat on a wife and a brother is about to stab a brother
so that they could wield political power under the watchful eye
of the Khaki.
Does it matter that all the political parties asking for return
of democracy are the least democratic within their own setups.
They have no elections. Their allegiance is to a personality who
is elected Chairman for life and even if they have an election
it is pure sham.
The
only people who are content to remain stagnant in any setup, may
it be corporate or political, are those who are either very poor/weak
or those who have personal agenda of making a buck through the
position they are in. Otherwise how can the likes of Amin Faheem,
Aitzaz Ehsan, Sardar Khoso and other men of substance just sit
by and watch the shenanigans taking place. The whole sham is about
creating personality cults and creating dynasties for their respective
families. If that be so than why fault the incumbent, who as it
is, thinks there is no one better than him.
Does it matter that to register the purchase of land, the lower
echelon of the tehsil still takes an amount equal to the official
registration fee.
Does it matter that an area which has a river flowing 10 kms from
it and a mountain with huge water reserves of less than 3 kms
away and still the womenfolk have to go on donkeys for 5-8 kms
to fetch water.
Does it matter that the steel pipes which were laid in the 40s
were removed and sold for scrap worth millions and replaced by
low quality cement pipes which collapsed within a month of replacement
and the people are without water and no one has been hauled up
for questioning.
Does it matter that an honorable retired bureaucrat who has achieved
a status of a pious man and to whom all and sundry flock for advice
and to whom came for advice one of his retired chaprasis who had
four daughters who were constantly harassed by the goons of the
neighborhood and who had used all his resources of police contacts
etc. All that this pious man could advise was to sacrifice one
of the daughters?
Does it matter that Imtiaz Sheikh against whom the Sindh Chief
Minister has made allegations of corruption galore and who is
now wanted for collusion in murder has been promoted to Senior
Vice President of the official PML. And may well become the Chief
Minister of Sindh.
Does it matter that after the bursting of the land and stock exchange
bubble and the hauling up of the officials of DHA Lahore, no one
has been booked for any crime.
Does it matter that with all the hue and cry for the promotion
of SMEs even now the loans by banks are being given to the haves
and the right-offs are for chronic defaulters like Ch Qasim. Try
setting up a small or medium industrial enterprise without 300
percent collateral and you would be shown the door.
Does
it matter that everyone is raising a voice against the feudals,
even the Chief of MQM lays fault at the doors of feudalism, without
once realizing that where it has been done away with without a
proper replacement, the vacuum has been filled by anarchism and
terrorism The methods and tactics of some ethnic and religious
groups in urban areas, and of the vacuum fillers in those rural
areas where the local landlords have been sidelined, are clear
references for study.
Does it matter that when one comes across senior bureaucrats or
members of the PMs team one is told that what one is writing about
and much more. Well if they know and still don’t do anything
about it then what right they have to strut around like proud
peacocks.
Does it matter that all those who previously stood for elections
as MNAs and MPAs are all proudly vying to be demoted to the district
and tehsil nazim slots. Why? Because that is where the buck stops.
Does it matter that no one in the entire country takes out a procession
against the Baglihar and Wullar but you have a huge march against
the Kalabagh. The only people who took it on themselves as per
news item were a group of Kashmiri freedom fighters who were on
their way to blow up Baglihar but apparently got caught by the
Indians, a typical case of bad planning and execution. Well so
was Kargil anyway.
Does it matter that both our allies (referring probably to US
and China) have abandoned us and left us high and dry and are
wooing Miss India?
Does it matter that some one has advised the President to have
his illustrious mother come on screen and voice her thoughts about
her son who presently rules the country. I had a chance to watch
one of her earlier interviews. The lady came across as an educated,
soft spoken, kind and above all elegant – an aspect of upbringing
fast eroding from our society.
I
also had an opportunity to meet Mr Zardari’s mother and
found her to be a woman of strong character, substance and immense
presence. But what better way to show love and respect to these
souls than by doing what is right … and by improving the
lot of the millions of sons of other mothers of this country.
Does it matter that an individual who is now 50 plus and has fought
the urge to make a quick buck and accept bribe may be on the verge
of breaking his life long principle just to bring bread to the
table.
Yes
it matters! It matters because one man of principles down is a
great victory for the corrupt, evil and manipulative Holy Trinity.
In
this era where consumerism, materialism, individualism is breaking
the very fiber of societies and religions and is further being
strengthened by the grip of corruption and nepotism which has
been unleashed by the media moguls of the New World Order.
It
matters that individuals who stand by values and principles and
what is right by society and religion who are presently dispersed
like straw need to be baled and looped.
It matters because they are the hope for the millions in this
country and billions in the world who are crawling below the line
of inhumanity and poverty.
It matters because throughout history it has been the individual
fighter, Mard-e-Momin, man of faith, man of vision who has changed
the course of history and has been the rallying factor for the
downfall of tyrants.
To
all those on the verge of collapse or who are in the grip of momentary
weakness stand tall and matter.
This
article was published in Pakistan's Daily 'The Nation'. Email:
Visionary_gndl@yahoo.com
