Saturday, February 4, 2012
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Looking For An Autocrat
BY
Lt Col (R) Tariq Mahmood Butt, TI (M)
Every quandary in the Pakistan US relation is followed up by a reverberation of the clause, “Pakistan aid be linked to its cooperation”. Comical as it seems, what else the US would need. Does it expect us to crease our integrity and put it to sleep or should we roll back our nuclear program and lay bare in pretense, allowing every Tom, Dick and Harry to simply cross over, rule us for a decade and leave us hapless and abject as Iraq and Afghanistan or does it want to create an anarchy to the extent that we face as big a predicament as Tunisia, Libya or Egypt. What are the Americans looking for?
Needless to mention, that the entire Arab read Muslim world has been going through cataclysmic events since the beginning of 2011. The first political conflagration broke out in Tunisia, ending with the ouster of a long governing dictator through the action of the brave citizenry of that most secularized North African country. Then came Egypt’s turn, after having suffered under three successive military regimes since 1952, the masses rose up and acted on the slogan, Kifaya, i.e. enough of Hosni Mubarak. No sooner had Mubarak left Cairo for an unknown destination, the winds of amends moved westward. This time, the bonfire was at Libyan Jamahiriyya, the unusual Arabic nomenclature for “republic” invented by the semi-rational Colonel Qaddafi. (The normal Arabic word for republic is “jumhuriyya,” with its equivalent in Turkish, “cumhuriyet”).
“And the vibrant PTI chief Imran is seen calling for civil disobedience in every public address. Pakistan cannot withstand the impact of a revolution – not at this stage – do you really think that the west read US is going to sit back and watch—they will quote yet another memo and try to step in”. For the alienated US cum west, rest assure that Pakistan is not an easy tablet to swallow. Despite the existing political, sectarian and socio ethnic divide, the nation stands united with its armed forces to sentinel any intervention and give a befitting response. For Imran, why look for more trouble and provide opportunities to the west for intervention. It is valued that desperate times call for desperate measures but they should not be hysterical to the extent of losing everything.
The beneficiary of Egyptian dilemma came out to be Islam as predicted by Walid Phares, a Mideast expert and adviser to Congress who commented, “The Arab Spring has failed in Egypt, and the Muslim Brotherhood may turn the most populous nation in the Middle East into an Islamist state within months, and if the Obama administration doesn’t alter its flawed strategy in confronting this threat, the entire region could be in turmoil by this time next year. At the end of the day, it is really the Muslim Brotherhood who is taking advantage of the process and we may end up seeing an Egypt, a few months from now, next year, as an Islamist state”.
In another yet fascinating expansion, the start of this year saw several predominantly northern Nigerian Muslim states introducing Shariah Law. The referred Shariah law had triggered a wave of violence described by President Obasanjo (a US crony) of Nigeria as "the worst incidence of bloodletting" that the country had seen since the end of the Nigerian civil war in 1970.
“and Allah is best of Schemers” Ale Imran verse 54 - Al Quran.
Consequential to the dreadful drone strikes, a legacy of Musharaf era, the relationship of Pakistan and US has been utterly dysfunctional and inherently unstable. Sadly so, the killing of innocent and miscreants alike were acknowledged as ok, keeping in mind the no of militants killed, according to certain statistical opinion makers, where as ground realities suggest differently. A total of 2,659 people have been killed since 2004 in 306 predator strikes. There is a strong likely hood for a number of human right violation stories cum campaigns emerging as a result of the referred strikes and GWOT as soon as the Americans leave Afghanistan (maligning Pakistan and not the Americans). Reservations in this regards have already cropped up in a recently published CMC (Conflict Management Centre) report.
The uproar in Pakistan on back to back episodes of Raymond Davis and the killing of Osama bin Laden should have been more than enough proof of just how fragile things really are. And as we were just trying to perk up from the referred shocks, they give us yet another bashing at Salala and for no reason at all. Although we are somewhat financially dependent on US aid, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that we would always grin and bear it whenever our patrons anger us.
In her recently launched hardback, “No Higher Honour” the former US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice acknowledges out rightly her, read American role in brokering a deal between Shaheed Benazeer and Mushharaf. Appealing to note are her mention of short time discussions with President Bush in which she is always pleading her case for supporting democracy and holding elections by some sort of a power sharing deal between the two moderates (Musharraf and Benazeer), while the American President is always supportive of Musharraf. An excerpt of the referred book goes, quote, “Mr President”, I said. “I’m on the hook for him to take off his uniform and allow Bhutto to run for Prime Minister. He (Musharraf) made a direct promise to the secretary of state of the US. If he backs off that now, we will have no relationship at all in Pakistan--- even if we have one with Musharraf.” She continues. The only other people in the Oval Office were the Vice President, Steve and Josh Bolten, so we could be very direct with one another. President Bush replied, “I don’t want people to trash him.” The vice president added that Musharraf was essential to the war on terror.
Historical particulars propose that American’s interest in Pakistan or elsewhere are best looked after at the hands of an autocrat. May it be the post or pre cold war era, or else the psychological conversion of a nuclear armed Islamist Pakistan to an enlightened and moderate country. A critical forensics of the much talked about memo gate scandal suggests that Americans were perhaps looking for another autocrat who should sail them through the final transition of their Afghanistan dilemma, but to their surprise and God willingly, The Army and Civil Government, both behaved pretty maturely and in best National Interest.
Needless to mention, that the entire Arab read Muslim world has been going through cataclysmic events since the beginning of 2011. The first political conflagration broke out in Tunisia, ending with the ouster of a long governing dictator through the action of the brave citizenry of that most secularized North African country. Then came Egypt’s turn, after having suffered under three successive military regimes since 1952, the masses rose up and acted on the slogan, Kifaya, i.e. enough of Hosni Mubarak. No sooner had Mubarak left Cairo for an unknown destination, the winds of amends moved westward. This time, the bonfire was at Libyan Jamahiriyya, the unusual Arabic nomenclature for “republic” invented by the semi-rational Colonel Qaddafi. (The normal Arabic word for republic is “jumhuriyya,” with its equivalent in Turkish, “cumhuriyet”).
“And the vibrant PTI chief Imran is seen calling for civil disobedience in every public address. Pakistan cannot withstand the impact of a revolution – not at this stage – do you really think that the west read US is going to sit back and watch—they will quote yet another memo and try to step in”. For the alienated US cum west, rest assure that Pakistan is not an easy tablet to swallow. Despite the existing political, sectarian and socio ethnic divide, the nation stands united with its armed forces to sentinel any intervention and give a befitting response. For Imran, why look for more trouble and provide opportunities to the west for intervention. It is valued that desperate times call for desperate measures but they should not be hysterical to the extent of losing everything.
The beneficiary of Egyptian dilemma came out to be Islam as predicted by Walid Phares, a Mideast expert and adviser to Congress who commented, “The Arab Spring has failed in Egypt, and the Muslim Brotherhood may turn the most populous nation in the Middle East into an Islamist state within months, and if the Obama administration doesn’t alter its flawed strategy in confronting this threat, the entire region could be in turmoil by this time next year. At the end of the day, it is really the Muslim Brotherhood who is taking advantage of the process and we may end up seeing an Egypt, a few months from now, next year, as an Islamist state”.
In another yet fascinating expansion, the start of this year saw several predominantly northern Nigerian Muslim states introducing Shariah Law. The referred Shariah law had triggered a wave of violence described by President Obasanjo (a US crony) of Nigeria as "the worst incidence of bloodletting" that the country had seen since the end of the Nigerian civil war in 1970.
“and Allah is best of Schemers” Ale Imran verse 54 - Al Quran.
Consequential to the dreadful drone strikes, a legacy of Musharaf era, the relationship of Pakistan and US has been utterly dysfunctional and inherently unstable. Sadly so, the killing of innocent and miscreants alike were acknowledged as ok, keeping in mind the no of militants killed, according to certain statistical opinion makers, where as ground realities suggest differently. A total of 2,659 people have been killed since 2004 in 306 predator strikes. There is a strong likely hood for a number of human right violation stories cum campaigns emerging as a result of the referred strikes and GWOT as soon as the Americans leave Afghanistan (maligning Pakistan and not the Americans). Reservations in this regards have already cropped up in a recently published CMC (Conflict Management Centre) report.
The uproar in Pakistan on back to back episodes of Raymond Davis and the killing of Osama bin Laden should have been more than enough proof of just how fragile things really are. And as we were just trying to perk up from the referred shocks, they give us yet another bashing at Salala and for no reason at all. Although we are somewhat financially dependent on US aid, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that we would always grin and bear it whenever our patrons anger us.
In her recently launched hardback, “No Higher Honour” the former US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice acknowledges out rightly her, read American role in brokering a deal between Shaheed Benazeer and Mushharaf. Appealing to note are her mention of short time discussions with President Bush in which she is always pleading her case for supporting democracy and holding elections by some sort of a power sharing deal between the two moderates (Musharraf and Benazeer), while the American President is always supportive of Musharraf. An excerpt of the referred book goes, quote, “Mr President”, I said. “I’m on the hook for him to take off his uniform and allow Bhutto to run for Prime Minister. He (Musharraf) made a direct promise to the secretary of state of the US. If he backs off that now, we will have no relationship at all in Pakistan--- even if we have one with Musharraf.” She continues. The only other people in the Oval Office were the Vice President, Steve and Josh Bolten, so we could be very direct with one another. President Bush replied, “I don’t want people to trash him.” The vice president added that Musharraf was essential to the war on terror.
Historical particulars propose that American’s interest in Pakistan or elsewhere are best looked after at the hands of an autocrat. May it be the post or pre cold war era, or else the psychological conversion of a nuclear armed Islamist Pakistan to an enlightened and moderate country. A critical forensics of the much talked about memo gate scandal suggests that Americans were perhaps looking for another autocrat who should sail them through the final transition of their Afghanistan dilemma, but to their surprise and God willingly, The Army and Civil Government, both behaved pretty maturely and in best National Interest.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Pakistan a welfare state – what dreams may come?
By
Lt Col (R) Tariq Mahmood Butt, TI (M)
While brooding on the decades passed it gives me real bliss on the exciting life I have had in being a Pakistani. My years of contentment and fulfillment are amplified by the very fact that I remained affiliated with an organization which stands for providing and safeguarding its national interest against any internal and external belligerence. From cadetship to becoming a general, every step you take is filled with pride, every action you take is with a lot of responsibility and the most important of all is one’s social conduct. Being a martinet in every aspect, social conduct takes the lead. Mostly referring to the way one behaves with others and in their presence, this attitude, specifically includes the behaviour in relation with very close family members, but in general it relates to the people, one is not very close with and with strangers. For example it may include behaviours in very wide range of settings such as while travelling, in offices, in a Masjid, while visiting people or entertaining guest, in work environment and so on. These codes, established ways, etiquette, formalities, manners, morals, policies, practices, principles, protocol, rites, rituals, routines, rules, social conduct , standards, way of life are so deeply in grilled in the Army Way of Life, that it becomes virtually impossible to walk astray, well, exceptions are always there in any assemblage.
Most of the societies have fairly well defined code of conduct and etiquette covering different type of social conduct. However, these rules do not govern every situation and are not very detailed. Further, a person needs to practice individually and develop skills for the right demeanor. The social conduct of individuals is mostly influenced by their personality traits. Like some people are introverts while others may be extroverts. Similarly, people possess different traits like being friendly, aggressive, talkative, submissive, which affects their social behavior. These traits tend to embellish towards the negative side with sense of uncertainty and insecurity due to lack of social arrangements designed to assist people when they are in need through factors such as illness, unemployment and dependency through youth or old age. Now who would provide for this lacking? Naturally, “The State”. Thus the concept of a welfare state which refers to a concept of government where the state plays a key role in the protection and promotion of the economic and social well-being of its citizens or a government that undertakes responsibility for the welfare of its citizens through programs in public health and public housing and pensions and unemployment compensation etc. In pursuit of its objectives the government undertakes large- scale actions such as to launch a set of institutions and welfare programs to assist people when they are in need through factors such as illness, unemployment and dependency through youth or old age and to ensure the provision of social goods and benefits. These institutions and welfare programs are usually provided at public expense with little or no cost to the recipient of the services.
Now, where to find an ideal welfare state, I for one as a Muslim would vouch complete security to introduction of a “welfare state” in accordance to Islamic principles, what else could be a better system then the one dictated by the Lord through His Last Messenger Himself in word, spirit and in person. Many quarters including the so-called “Muslims” who are actually Islam Liberals par excellence, would dispute this statement and make ridiculous claims about the proposal, ranging from skepticism, “it ain’t just possible” to mockery without any understanding about the concept of welfare in an Islamic State.
Before moving on to modern practicing models, I would very briefly touch upon the concept of social welfare in Islam, in a nutshell, it can be summarized as follows:
In Islam, the basic concept is that sovereignty belongs to Allah and that mankind, is vested with authority in certain spheres, as a trust, for which they are answerable and accountable to The Lord. The Holy Prophet (Peace be upon Him) said: “Every one of you is a steward, and every one of you is accountable for that which is committed to his care”. The ultimate ideal of a state in Islam is a universal federation, or confederation of autonomous states, associated together for upholding freedom of conscience, for maintenance of peace and for cooperation in promoting human welfare throughout the world. In pursuit of this ideal, the Islamic State, established by the Holy Prophet, spread rapidly westward through Egypt and North Africa to Spain, and eastward through Iraq, Iran, and Central Asia to the confines of China. It instituted a single citizenship entailing overall allegiance to a single head of state, the Khalifa, who was guardian of the Pax Islamica and was responsible for the welfare of all sections of the vast populations united and inspired by common ideals. Finally, Islam seeks to create a system where justice, not profit reigns supreme. Islamic economics has two primary goals: to combat poverty and provide for a just and equitable distribution of wealth. The Islamic state does this through a variety of voluntary and mandatory mechanisms. For example, Zakah, a powerful redistributive tool, transfers money from the hands of the rich to the hands of the poor through charity. The abolition of riba prevents unfair lending schemes which penalize the poor. In addition, the state is required to provide each citizen with a minimum standard of living. As the Prophet (Peace be upon Him) said: ‘Any ruler who is responsible for the affairs of Muslims but does not strive sincerely for their well-being will not enter Paradise with them’. Yet, at the same time, Islam achieves balance and maintains economic freedom by securing the individual’s right to private property. For those who think this is a utopian dream and not feasible, think again….it was practiced during the reign of the second Caliph, Umar Al-Khattab (RA). The purpose of such economic redistribution is not total eradication of poverty but is to ensure that wealth is shared by all. The goal of the Islamic state is therefore not to abolish inequality but to minimize it.
If you study different concepts of practicing welfare states it would be evident the concepts stem generally from the base line, “to provide each citizen with a minimum standard of living” (as enunciated in teachings of Quran and Sunnah), and the New World order is a shadow of universal federation, or confederation of autonomous states (missing the primary fundamental - sovereignty of Allah).
Some models of a modern welfare state are:-
The United Kingdom: It envisages three principal elements.
• a guarantee of minimum standards, including a minimum income;
• social protection in the event of insecurity; and
• the provision of services at the best level possible.
In Germany the concept of a 'social state', is rendered as a 'social market economy'. The first, central principle is that economic development is the best way to achieve social welfare. Social benefits are earnings-related, and those without work records may find they are not covered for important contingencies. Less clear, but probably even more important, is the general concern to ensure that public expenditure on welfare is directly compatible with the need for economic development and growth. Second, the German economy, and the welfare system is developed through a corporatist structure. This principle was developed by Bismarck on the basis of existing mutual aid associations, and remained the basis for social protection subsequently. Social insurance, which covers the cost of health, some social care and much of the income maintenance system, is managed by a system of independent funds. Third, there is a strong emphasis on the principle of "subsidiary". This principle is taken in Germany to mean both that services should be decentralized or independently managed and that the level of state intervention should be residual - that is, limited to circumstances which are not adequately covered in other ways. Higher earners are not covered by the main social insurance system, but are left to make their own arrangements.
Social protection in France is based on the principle of solidarity: The idea refers to co-operative mutual support. Some writers apply the term in relation to 'mutualist' groups (friendly societies) and emphasise that people insured within national schemes are called to contribute and benefit on an equal footing. Others stress that relationships of solidarity are based in interdependence. Solidarity is usually understood, in this context, in terms of common action, mutual responsibility and shared risks. The French system of welfare is a complex, patchwork quilt of services. This kind of arrangement is relatively expensive. The main areas of concern are not dependency or unemployment, but pensions, because of the special privileges accorded to particular occupational groups, and spending on health care, where the stress on independent, market-led services presents considerable problems in cost control.
The Swedish model can be seen as an ideal form of 'welfare state', offering institutional care in the sense that it offers universal minima to its citizens. It goes further than the British model in its commitment to social equality. Sweden has the highest level of spending on social protection and the lowest proportion of income left to independent households - less than half its national income.
The United States is sometimes described as a ‘liberal' welfare regime, in the sense that it represents individualism. It does not, however, have a unified welfare system. Federalism has meant that many important functions are held by the States, including public assistance, social care and various health schemes in practice, the US is pluralistic, rather than liberal. There are significant departures from the residual model - e.g. state schooling, social insurance, or services for military personnel, veterans and their families, which provide for more than 60 million people in addition to federal and state activity.
The central problem of the developing countries is poverty. According to the World Bank, half the world's population lives on less than $2 a day; the line is arbitrary, but it shows that many people are not part of a formal economy. Economic development is essential to welfare. It produces material goods. It promotes integration and interdependence, and extends people's entitlements. It has clearly beneficial effects on social welfare: the last 40-50 years have seen spectacular improvements in longevity, infant survival, access to basic amenities like water supplies and fuel, and the provision of services like health care and education. Although economic development is fundamental, it does not guarantee social protection. Several countries have introduced social security schemes, often tied to the status of particular categories of workers. In some of these only a small minority receives effective protection, but a few countries have made considerable advances in covering their populations, often over a relatively short period of time.
By and large the best model in present day world is that of Great Britain which places its social welfare objectives on top priority and it remains to be a permanent feature of electioneering. Although the social changes during the Victorian era were wide-ranging and fundamental, leaving their mark not only upon the United Kingdom but upon much of the world which was under Britain's influence, during the 19th century, but the contribution of democracy cannot be set aside. May it be the Liberals of yesterday Lloyd George and Tony Blair of recent past or Conservatives of 70’s, Margaret Thatcher and Cameron of today, right from the time of late Lord Beveridge, formerly Sir William Beveridge, the author cum architect of what remains to be contours of a welfare state in Britain, every successive government has done its best to provide its people with tumultuous welfare opportunities and social reforms. But with welfare comes responsibilities of the ones being governed, cheating is not an option, every individual without fail, whether British born or otherwise is tuned to the system of governance and fulfill their moral cum ethical obligations to the state and its inhabitants. With a bit of racism still prevailing (which is guarded against very strongly by state institutions), the inhabitants follow every single rule being dished out by the state. The actual strength of Britain does not lounge in their asset management; political infrastructure or being a super power but their real strength encompasses in the systems they have developed over a period of time. Their true assets are the strength of the social conduct, self discipline, tolerant culture, mutual respect and last but not the least an effective judicial system.
“O Ye who believe! Be ye staunch in justice, witnesses for Allah, even though it be against yourselves or (your) parents or (your) kindred, whether (the case be of) a rich or a poor man, for Allah is nearer unto both (than ye are). So follow not passion lest ye lapse (from truth) and if ye lapse or fall away, then lo! Allah is ever informed of what ye do”.
Surah/Chapter 004 –An Nisa, Verse 135
“O my people! Give full measure and full weight in justice, and wrong not people in respect of their goods. And do not evil in the earth, causing corruption”.
Surah/Chapter 011 –Hud, Verse 94
Such is the importance of good social conduct in Islam that it is half and half of your deeds one would be tried for on the judgement day, the first half covers the call to Faith and Divine Unity or in other words the rights of Allah upon a believer and his duties in this regard, while the second half envisages the obligations towards mankind and other creatures as to the social responsibilities in moral and practical spheres of life to those who have accepted the Call. The second part is rather tough as if we waver in this i.e. infringe on rights of anyone, the Lord rests the wrongdoers forgiveness in the hands of the one wronged.
“And there may spring from you a nation who invite to goodness, and enjoin right conduct and forbid indecency. Such are they who are successful”.
Surah/Chapter 003 –Al e Imran, Verse 104
“They believe in Allah and the last day, and enjoin right conduct and forbid indecency, and vie one with another in good works. They are of the righteous”
Surah/Chapter 003 –Al e Imran, Verse 114
In a Hadith, narrated by Abu Hurairah (R.A.) the Prophet (Peace be upon Him) says: "Whoever may have done an injustice to a brother, or defamed him or transgressed against his rights in any other way should set right the affair with him on this very day, in this very life- before the day of Judgement-when he will 'have no Dinars and Dirharns (money) to settle the claim. If he will possess a stock of good deeds, the aggrieved will be recompensed from it in relation to the injustice done to him. And in case he is empty-handed in the matter of good deeds, the sins of the aggrieved will be thrust upon him. (thus justice will be done that Day)."
I had long listened to the stories of how organized and socially well behaved are the British, my wife (a frequent traveler to London- her mother and the entire maternal family settled there) always acclaimed that I would fall in love with England on my very first visit. I always censured her being biased and just wanting me to visit my in laws. As luck would have it I had to visit London in connection with a job requirement. Very upset at the long journey ahead I boarded the plane with a firm commitment to me that it would be my first and last ever visit to England, come what may. But it is said that seeing is believing and just after a few days I realized that I had landed in a dream country. Everything in such an order, one can only imagine that such a reality exists. For the next 10 days I was awed at every step I took and impressed with every individual I met, the behavior, the mannerism, the etiquette, the respect and care in public dealing. The train services the tubes the rush hour and the easy going hours and yet so ordered. The respect and care meted to the elderly and sick. The public health facilities, the parks, the entertainment, the preservation of the cultural heritage, the housing, the pension benefits, the women rights, the children rights the animal rights, the cleanliness, the organized garbage bins, the traffic discipline, the right of way, the beauty, the weather the waiting for your turn attitude and the queue, may it be a mega mall in central London or a tiny grocery shop in any of the suburbs, you got to wait for your turn and with a smile. The hall mark is the attitude of the individuals in that society, tolerant, non arrogant, smiling, helping and welcoming.
“And nearest among them in love to the believers wilt thou find those who say, “We are Christians:” because amongst them are men devoted to learning and men who have renounced the world, and are not arrogant”
Surah/ chapter 005- Al Maidah verse 82 – Al Quran
The meaning Is not that they merely call themselves Christians, but they are such sincere Christians that they appreciate and practice Muslim virtues, as did the Abyssinians to whom Muslim refugees went during the persecution in Makkah. They would say:”it is true we are Christians, but we understand your point of view, and we know that you are good men”. They are Muslims at heart, whatever their label may be.
Now I can give quotations about the features of each and every social conduct mentioned above from Quran and Sunnah with stringent implications for not practicing them, in this world and the world hereafter but that would require an additional 5 to 6 pages. And the experience which I had, I have no ingot in saying that we are Muslims in faith but the “Gora” is a practicing Muslim.
During my stay at London, every night after the usual Zikr, I prayed from the core of my heart that may The Lord in his absolute mercy transform every Pakistani into a self disciplined individual and grant our leadership the wisdom to head this nation in the fashion ordained by the Lord and His Last Messenger(Peace be upon Him).
As discussed above social welfare and social conduct are complimentary and as branded, the situation of social welfare in Pakistan is quiet appalling. For every wrong done, one has to go media and the highest individual approachable for justice. By the grace of God Pakistan is coming up fast in this respect, thanks to a vibrant media, the active Supreme court and the civil societies but there is a dire need for every successive government to take positive steps in providing a sense of security to its people by providing them timely yet affordable justice, a minimum standard of living to include basic amenities, some protection from hardships resulting from unemployment, sickness, disability, and old age. Simultaneously, stringent measures are to be put in place to up bring the quality of social conduct in the people. Hopefully, with a combination of strict active measures, and with tremendous potential of understanding, vis-a-vis their religious background Pakistanis would come up to be some day a welfare state envisaging the fundamental, “Sovereignty belongs to Allah”.
As fascinating and exceptional, and visually breathtaking, my stay at London had come to an end. I boarded PK 786 with nostalgia and what an orgainsed boarding it was. With a long journey ahead I took a mild sedative and dozed off – still having the achieve of the brilliant stay in London I walked into a dream --- the flight attendant is extra nice, I’m in the lounge the airport staff is exceedingly polite ---hmmm, I see a guide map for Islamabad – there is no rush at the immigration and none at the baggage claim, smiles everywhere -- vow! I‘m in Pakistan, it seems my prayers have been answered –, I am in the streets of my lovely country, greetings of Asalam o Alaikum from every passerby, the traffic so organized, the shopkeepers so decent, the police so mannered, and Oh My God I see a queue, everything so orderly --- when suddenly somebody calls out,”Mr. Butt get up we have landed”. Befuddled with the violent wakeup call I reached for my hand baggage dismounted the aircraft and boarded the bus to the lounge. Still yawning, I stepped out of the bus to receive a bump from a passenger rushing towards the immigration and then everybody else reciprocated, virtually banging into each other trying to get ahead in the queue fighting for a place nearer to the desk officer. It was just moments, before a brawl initiated sequel to an exchange of abuses. Then we witnessed a couple of civil dressed staffers walking to the immigration officer for out of turn stamping of passports, another exchange of harsh words, and another mess. I was shocked at the state of affairs and the stunning change in attitude for attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference. Out of sheer curiosity I questioned a very sober person standing next to me, so as to why a decent crowd at Heathrow has turned into an aggressive, uncontrolled mob at Islamabad – he replied, ”you know how the saying goes ‘do in Rome as Romans do’ so this is how it works in Pakistan” – with nothing more to add I and a few others didn’t leave our queue and politely requested every one violating to follow rules, some gave us a shut up call while others listened with humility and followed. Fully conscious and wide awake; I realized that it was just a dream, a dream foreseeing a brilliant future of Pakistan, a future for social welfare, good conduct, freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, and hope.
Lt Col (R) Tariq Mahmood Butt, TI (M)
While brooding on the decades passed it gives me real bliss on the exciting life I have had in being a Pakistani. My years of contentment and fulfillment are amplified by the very fact that I remained affiliated with an organization which stands for providing and safeguarding its national interest against any internal and external belligerence. From cadetship to becoming a general, every step you take is filled with pride, every action you take is with a lot of responsibility and the most important of all is one’s social conduct. Being a martinet in every aspect, social conduct takes the lead. Mostly referring to the way one behaves with others and in their presence, this attitude, specifically includes the behaviour in relation with very close family members, but in general it relates to the people, one is not very close with and with strangers. For example it may include behaviours in very wide range of settings such as while travelling, in offices, in a Masjid, while visiting people or entertaining guest, in work environment and so on. These codes, established ways, etiquette, formalities, manners, morals, policies, practices, principles, protocol, rites, rituals, routines, rules, social conduct , standards, way of life are so deeply in grilled in the Army Way of Life, that it becomes virtually impossible to walk astray, well, exceptions are always there in any assemblage.
Most of the societies have fairly well defined code of conduct and etiquette covering different type of social conduct. However, these rules do not govern every situation and are not very detailed. Further, a person needs to practice individually and develop skills for the right demeanor. The social conduct of individuals is mostly influenced by their personality traits. Like some people are introverts while others may be extroverts. Similarly, people possess different traits like being friendly, aggressive, talkative, submissive, which affects their social behavior. These traits tend to embellish towards the negative side with sense of uncertainty and insecurity due to lack of social arrangements designed to assist people when they are in need through factors such as illness, unemployment and dependency through youth or old age. Now who would provide for this lacking? Naturally, “The State”. Thus the concept of a welfare state which refers to a concept of government where the state plays a key role in the protection and promotion of the economic and social well-being of its citizens or a government that undertakes responsibility for the welfare of its citizens through programs in public health and public housing and pensions and unemployment compensation etc. In pursuit of its objectives the government undertakes large- scale actions such as to launch a set of institutions and welfare programs to assist people when they are in need through factors such as illness, unemployment and dependency through youth or old age and to ensure the provision of social goods and benefits. These institutions and welfare programs are usually provided at public expense with little or no cost to the recipient of the services.
Now, where to find an ideal welfare state, I for one as a Muslim would vouch complete security to introduction of a “welfare state” in accordance to Islamic principles, what else could be a better system then the one dictated by the Lord through His Last Messenger Himself in word, spirit and in person. Many quarters including the so-called “Muslims” who are actually Islam Liberals par excellence, would dispute this statement and make ridiculous claims about the proposal, ranging from skepticism, “it ain’t just possible” to mockery without any understanding about the concept of welfare in an Islamic State.
Before moving on to modern practicing models, I would very briefly touch upon the concept of social welfare in Islam, in a nutshell, it can be summarized as follows:
In Islam, the basic concept is that sovereignty belongs to Allah and that mankind, is vested with authority in certain spheres, as a trust, for which they are answerable and accountable to The Lord. The Holy Prophet (Peace be upon Him) said: “Every one of you is a steward, and every one of you is accountable for that which is committed to his care”. The ultimate ideal of a state in Islam is a universal federation, or confederation of autonomous states, associated together for upholding freedom of conscience, for maintenance of peace and for cooperation in promoting human welfare throughout the world. In pursuit of this ideal, the Islamic State, established by the Holy Prophet, spread rapidly westward through Egypt and North Africa to Spain, and eastward through Iraq, Iran, and Central Asia to the confines of China. It instituted a single citizenship entailing overall allegiance to a single head of state, the Khalifa, who was guardian of the Pax Islamica and was responsible for the welfare of all sections of the vast populations united and inspired by common ideals. Finally, Islam seeks to create a system where justice, not profit reigns supreme. Islamic economics has two primary goals: to combat poverty and provide for a just and equitable distribution of wealth. The Islamic state does this through a variety of voluntary and mandatory mechanisms. For example, Zakah, a powerful redistributive tool, transfers money from the hands of the rich to the hands of the poor through charity. The abolition of riba prevents unfair lending schemes which penalize the poor. In addition, the state is required to provide each citizen with a minimum standard of living. As the Prophet (Peace be upon Him) said: ‘Any ruler who is responsible for the affairs of Muslims but does not strive sincerely for their well-being will not enter Paradise with them’. Yet, at the same time, Islam achieves balance and maintains economic freedom by securing the individual’s right to private property. For those who think this is a utopian dream and not feasible, think again….it was practiced during the reign of the second Caliph, Umar Al-Khattab (RA). The purpose of such economic redistribution is not total eradication of poverty but is to ensure that wealth is shared by all. The goal of the Islamic state is therefore not to abolish inequality but to minimize it.
If you study different concepts of practicing welfare states it would be evident the concepts stem generally from the base line, “to provide each citizen with a minimum standard of living” (as enunciated in teachings of Quran and Sunnah), and the New World order is a shadow of universal federation, or confederation of autonomous states (missing the primary fundamental - sovereignty of Allah).
Some models of a modern welfare state are:-
The United Kingdom: It envisages three principal elements.
• a guarantee of minimum standards, including a minimum income;
• social protection in the event of insecurity; and
• the provision of services at the best level possible.
In Germany the concept of a 'social state', is rendered as a 'social market economy'. The first, central principle is that economic development is the best way to achieve social welfare. Social benefits are earnings-related, and those without work records may find they are not covered for important contingencies. Less clear, but probably even more important, is the general concern to ensure that public expenditure on welfare is directly compatible with the need for economic development and growth. Second, the German economy, and the welfare system is developed through a corporatist structure. This principle was developed by Bismarck on the basis of existing mutual aid associations, and remained the basis for social protection subsequently. Social insurance, which covers the cost of health, some social care and much of the income maintenance system, is managed by a system of independent funds. Third, there is a strong emphasis on the principle of "subsidiary". This principle is taken in Germany to mean both that services should be decentralized or independently managed and that the level of state intervention should be residual - that is, limited to circumstances which are not adequately covered in other ways. Higher earners are not covered by the main social insurance system, but are left to make their own arrangements.
Social protection in France is based on the principle of solidarity: The idea refers to co-operative mutual support. Some writers apply the term in relation to 'mutualist' groups (friendly societies) and emphasise that people insured within national schemes are called to contribute and benefit on an equal footing. Others stress that relationships of solidarity are based in interdependence. Solidarity is usually understood, in this context, in terms of common action, mutual responsibility and shared risks. The French system of welfare is a complex, patchwork quilt of services. This kind of arrangement is relatively expensive. The main areas of concern are not dependency or unemployment, but pensions, because of the special privileges accorded to particular occupational groups, and spending on health care, where the stress on independent, market-led services presents considerable problems in cost control.
The Swedish model can be seen as an ideal form of 'welfare state', offering institutional care in the sense that it offers universal minima to its citizens. It goes further than the British model in its commitment to social equality. Sweden has the highest level of spending on social protection and the lowest proportion of income left to independent households - less than half its national income.
The United States is sometimes described as a ‘liberal' welfare regime, in the sense that it represents individualism. It does not, however, have a unified welfare system. Federalism has meant that many important functions are held by the States, including public assistance, social care and various health schemes in practice, the US is pluralistic, rather than liberal. There are significant departures from the residual model - e.g. state schooling, social insurance, or services for military personnel, veterans and their families, which provide for more than 60 million people in addition to federal and state activity.
The central problem of the developing countries is poverty. According to the World Bank, half the world's population lives on less than $2 a day; the line is arbitrary, but it shows that many people are not part of a formal economy. Economic development is essential to welfare. It produces material goods. It promotes integration and interdependence, and extends people's entitlements. It has clearly beneficial effects on social welfare: the last 40-50 years have seen spectacular improvements in longevity, infant survival, access to basic amenities like water supplies and fuel, and the provision of services like health care and education. Although economic development is fundamental, it does not guarantee social protection. Several countries have introduced social security schemes, often tied to the status of particular categories of workers. In some of these only a small minority receives effective protection, but a few countries have made considerable advances in covering their populations, often over a relatively short period of time.
By and large the best model in present day world is that of Great Britain which places its social welfare objectives on top priority and it remains to be a permanent feature of electioneering. Although the social changes during the Victorian era were wide-ranging and fundamental, leaving their mark not only upon the United Kingdom but upon much of the world which was under Britain's influence, during the 19th century, but the contribution of democracy cannot be set aside. May it be the Liberals of yesterday Lloyd George and Tony Blair of recent past or Conservatives of 70’s, Margaret Thatcher and Cameron of today, right from the time of late Lord Beveridge, formerly Sir William Beveridge, the author cum architect of what remains to be contours of a welfare state in Britain, every successive government has done its best to provide its people with tumultuous welfare opportunities and social reforms. But with welfare comes responsibilities of the ones being governed, cheating is not an option, every individual without fail, whether British born or otherwise is tuned to the system of governance and fulfill their moral cum ethical obligations to the state and its inhabitants. With a bit of racism still prevailing (which is guarded against very strongly by state institutions), the inhabitants follow every single rule being dished out by the state. The actual strength of Britain does not lounge in their asset management; political infrastructure or being a super power but their real strength encompasses in the systems they have developed over a period of time. Their true assets are the strength of the social conduct, self discipline, tolerant culture, mutual respect and last but not the least an effective judicial system.
“O Ye who believe! Be ye staunch in justice, witnesses for Allah, even though it be against yourselves or (your) parents or (your) kindred, whether (the case be of) a rich or a poor man, for Allah is nearer unto both (than ye are). So follow not passion lest ye lapse (from truth) and if ye lapse or fall away, then lo! Allah is ever informed of what ye do”.
Surah/Chapter 004 –An Nisa, Verse 135
“O my people! Give full measure and full weight in justice, and wrong not people in respect of their goods. And do not evil in the earth, causing corruption”.
Surah/Chapter 011 –Hud, Verse 94
Such is the importance of good social conduct in Islam that it is half and half of your deeds one would be tried for on the judgement day, the first half covers the call to Faith and Divine Unity or in other words the rights of Allah upon a believer and his duties in this regard, while the second half envisages the obligations towards mankind and other creatures as to the social responsibilities in moral and practical spheres of life to those who have accepted the Call. The second part is rather tough as if we waver in this i.e. infringe on rights of anyone, the Lord rests the wrongdoers forgiveness in the hands of the one wronged.
“And there may spring from you a nation who invite to goodness, and enjoin right conduct and forbid indecency. Such are they who are successful”.
Surah/Chapter 003 –Al e Imran, Verse 104
“They believe in Allah and the last day, and enjoin right conduct and forbid indecency, and vie one with another in good works. They are of the righteous”
Surah/Chapter 003 –Al e Imran, Verse 114
In a Hadith, narrated by Abu Hurairah (R.A.) the Prophet (Peace be upon Him) says: "Whoever may have done an injustice to a brother, or defamed him or transgressed against his rights in any other way should set right the affair with him on this very day, in this very life- before the day of Judgement-when he will 'have no Dinars and Dirharns (money) to settle the claim. If he will possess a stock of good deeds, the aggrieved will be recompensed from it in relation to the injustice done to him. And in case he is empty-handed in the matter of good deeds, the sins of the aggrieved will be thrust upon him. (thus justice will be done that Day)."
I had long listened to the stories of how organized and socially well behaved are the British, my wife (a frequent traveler to London- her mother and the entire maternal family settled there) always acclaimed that I would fall in love with England on my very first visit. I always censured her being biased and just wanting me to visit my in laws. As luck would have it I had to visit London in connection with a job requirement. Very upset at the long journey ahead I boarded the plane with a firm commitment to me that it would be my first and last ever visit to England, come what may. But it is said that seeing is believing and just after a few days I realized that I had landed in a dream country. Everything in such an order, one can only imagine that such a reality exists. For the next 10 days I was awed at every step I took and impressed with every individual I met, the behavior, the mannerism, the etiquette, the respect and care in public dealing. The train services the tubes the rush hour and the easy going hours and yet so ordered. The respect and care meted to the elderly and sick. The public health facilities, the parks, the entertainment, the preservation of the cultural heritage, the housing, the pension benefits, the women rights, the children rights the animal rights, the cleanliness, the organized garbage bins, the traffic discipline, the right of way, the beauty, the weather the waiting for your turn attitude and the queue, may it be a mega mall in central London or a tiny grocery shop in any of the suburbs, you got to wait for your turn and with a smile. The hall mark is the attitude of the individuals in that society, tolerant, non arrogant, smiling, helping and welcoming.
“And nearest among them in love to the believers wilt thou find those who say, “We are Christians:” because amongst them are men devoted to learning and men who have renounced the world, and are not arrogant”
Surah/ chapter 005- Al Maidah verse 82 – Al Quran
The meaning Is not that they merely call themselves Christians, but they are such sincere Christians that they appreciate and practice Muslim virtues, as did the Abyssinians to whom Muslim refugees went during the persecution in Makkah. They would say:”it is true we are Christians, but we understand your point of view, and we know that you are good men”. They are Muslims at heart, whatever their label may be.
Now I can give quotations about the features of each and every social conduct mentioned above from Quran and Sunnah with stringent implications for not practicing them, in this world and the world hereafter but that would require an additional 5 to 6 pages. And the experience which I had, I have no ingot in saying that we are Muslims in faith but the “Gora” is a practicing Muslim.
During my stay at London, every night after the usual Zikr, I prayed from the core of my heart that may The Lord in his absolute mercy transform every Pakistani into a self disciplined individual and grant our leadership the wisdom to head this nation in the fashion ordained by the Lord and His Last Messenger(Peace be upon Him).
As discussed above social welfare and social conduct are complimentary and as branded, the situation of social welfare in Pakistan is quiet appalling. For every wrong done, one has to go media and the highest individual approachable for justice. By the grace of God Pakistan is coming up fast in this respect, thanks to a vibrant media, the active Supreme court and the civil societies but there is a dire need for every successive government to take positive steps in providing a sense of security to its people by providing them timely yet affordable justice, a minimum standard of living to include basic amenities, some protection from hardships resulting from unemployment, sickness, disability, and old age. Simultaneously, stringent measures are to be put in place to up bring the quality of social conduct in the people. Hopefully, with a combination of strict active measures, and with tremendous potential of understanding, vis-a-vis their religious background Pakistanis would come up to be some day a welfare state envisaging the fundamental, “Sovereignty belongs to Allah”.
As fascinating and exceptional, and visually breathtaking, my stay at London had come to an end. I boarded PK 786 with nostalgia and what an orgainsed boarding it was. With a long journey ahead I took a mild sedative and dozed off – still having the achieve of the brilliant stay in London I walked into a dream --- the flight attendant is extra nice, I’m in the lounge the airport staff is exceedingly polite ---hmmm, I see a guide map for Islamabad – there is no rush at the immigration and none at the baggage claim, smiles everywhere -- vow! I‘m in Pakistan, it seems my prayers have been answered –, I am in the streets of my lovely country, greetings of Asalam o Alaikum from every passerby, the traffic so organized, the shopkeepers so decent, the police so mannered, and Oh My God I see a queue, everything so orderly --- when suddenly somebody calls out,”Mr. Butt get up we have landed”. Befuddled with the violent wakeup call I reached for my hand baggage dismounted the aircraft and boarded the bus to the lounge. Still yawning, I stepped out of the bus to receive a bump from a passenger rushing towards the immigration and then everybody else reciprocated, virtually banging into each other trying to get ahead in the queue fighting for a place nearer to the desk officer. It was just moments, before a brawl initiated sequel to an exchange of abuses. Then we witnessed a couple of civil dressed staffers walking to the immigration officer for out of turn stamping of passports, another exchange of harsh words, and another mess. I was shocked at the state of affairs and the stunning change in attitude for attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference. Out of sheer curiosity I questioned a very sober person standing next to me, so as to why a decent crowd at Heathrow has turned into an aggressive, uncontrolled mob at Islamabad – he replied, ”you know how the saying goes ‘do in Rome as Romans do’ so this is how it works in Pakistan” – with nothing more to add I and a few others didn’t leave our queue and politely requested every one violating to follow rules, some gave us a shut up call while others listened with humility and followed. Fully conscious and wide awake; I realized that it was just a dream, a dream foreseeing a brilliant future of Pakistan, a future for social welfare, good conduct, freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, and hope.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Guarding against misadventure
BY
LT COL (R) TARIQ MAHMOOD BUTT, TI (M)
The horrendous attacks on the United States on September 11th had generated an intense debate and a search for answers not only in the US but also around the world. The resultant “Global War on Terrorism” unleashed against Afghanistan shaped new curiosity about Afghanistan and its already troubled neighbour Pakistan. Once the mainstay of United States in the Cold War Era, and the bastion for breeding, feeding and harbouring the Mujahideen movement, Pakistan’s support was consequential in breaking up the formerly bipolar world and solely responsible for the orchestrated New World Order, Pakistan once again stands alongside to their former allies and rest of the world against the menace of terrorism.
The hunt for Osama Bin Laden – one man, took more than a decade for the entire world put together. Being the primary contention for invading Afghanistan and killing of thousands of humans, innocent or otherwise, The United States now feels necessitated to pull out its forces from Afghanistan. They now want a negotiated settlement with the Taliban (whom they consider non al-Qaeda), which they now believe is need of the hour. Fresh questions require answers.
“What is going to be the nature of the new regime in Afghanistan?”
“Are we to believe that US is now agreeing to include the so called barbaric faction of extremist Taliban in the new setup?”
“Is US going to give way to the foundation of a new anti- imperialist Islamist regime, will Israel agree? ”
“If not, how would Taliban react to it? A bunch of friendly Taliban may be put in place for face saving, but rest assure that won’t work”
and the most important question of all “What is to be done in this historical epoch?”
As a prologue to the ‘Great Game’ US has so far technically succeeded in forming an imperialist armed ring against the Central Asian Oil Republics —stretching from Yugoslavia to Afghanistan, the target, of course the oil resources of the former Soviet Union. The formation of such competing military-political-economic blocks is an inherent feature of monopoly capitalism. The capture of sources, raw material and commodity markets has been the basis of two world wars. Every imperialist power must expand or face the threat of being swallowed by another more rapacious imperialist power. Lenin referred to this propensity as the Law of Combined and Uneven Development of Capitalism. This intensely competitive struggle for resources leads to militarization and war. In other words, war is an integral feature of the imperialist system. The most aggressive and ravenous is none other USA, utilising their enormous propaganda machine to disguise and camouflage each particular step as a different campaign. The “war against terror”, the war against “greater Serbia”, Chechnya, Daghestan, and so on, are all part of a solitary objective to consolidate their Global Hegemony.
Carter’s National Security Adviser, Brzezinski, admitted that the US intervened in Afghanistan before the Soviet Union. He said: “The US began aiding the Islamic Fundamentalist Moujahadeen six months before the Russians made their move, even though we believed that this aid was going to induce a soviet military intervention...the secret operation was an excellent idea. It had the effect of drawing the Russians into the Afghan trap...the day that the Soviets officially crossed the border, I wrote to President Carter: we now have the opportunity of giving to the USSR its Vietnam War.’
(Blum Rogue State, by William Blum, pages. 4-5).
But who were the sufferers, naturally, the Afghan people who were subjected to so many years of war at the behest of the American imperialists and are still not to see peace, not in times to come I presume. The worst to suffer and still does is Pakistan and its innocent people who are subjected to unprecedented terrorism both at the hands of suicide attackers and drone attacks by their so called brethren in Islam and Americans respectively (the number of innocent people killed in targeting a single al-Qaeda suspect has no justification as in both Wars against Iraq and Afghanistan).
One of the validations offered, by the former President Gen Musharraf and present leadership is, “all this is being done to save Pakistan and guard it against any misadventures of United States”.
The Iraqi invasion yet another misadventure of US was based on wrong or lets be precise alleged/make-believe information about weapons of mass destruction. It was amply discussed with clear recommendations by IAEA that Iraq has no such capability, to be proven later as a ground reality. A Hollywood block buster movie titled “Green Zone” starring Mat Dammon tells you all.
The initial war against Iraq was a sequel to Saddam’s attack on Kuwait (with the consent of the then American Ambassador to Iraq) and its occupation. Then US attacked Iraq along with coalition forces and freed Kuwait. Saddam’s contention was his claim on Kuwait to be an integral province of Iraq. US invasion of Iraq and Iraq's attack on Kuwait were based on falsehood, thus they both stand to be immoral. On the gravity of immorality, the facts point towards US invasion of Iraq. It was based on wrong information on weapons of mass destruction and terrorists in Iraq. Majority of international community was against this war. The number of civilian casualties in invasion of Iraq was so high that it makes one scream out loud. The fallout is even worse because it continues to kill more every day, not to mention the regional instability and continual terrorism.
Ambassador Chas W. Freeman, Jr., in his superb tome titled “America's Misadventures in the Middle East”, gives a devastating critique of American grand strategy in the Middle East. Commenting on “the American way of war", and in particular on Washington's failure in recent decades to plan for a stable and satisfactory political end-state for the wars it wages. The author calls the Iraq war as a military triumph and not a political success. On war termination strategy – on how to get the other side to acknowledge its defeat and make the concessions necessary to relieve it of further pressure. So in the case of the first Gulf War and in a sense the invasion of Iraq as well, the United States did not know what to do once it had won militarily. Adding further he opines that in the case of the first Gulf War Saddam Hussein was never forced to confront the reality of his defeat or to acknowledge it politically. He, therefore, was able to turn his continued survival into a point of political strength rather than weakness and to carry on for many more years. It resulted in great suffering for the Iraqi people and eventually led to a war designed primarily to dislodge him from power, which was its only accomplishment. The mistakes that the United States has made: too much reliance on the use of force, the use of military campaigns as a substitute for strategy, the tendency to go at it alone, the building of coalitions of camp followers rather than serious military and diplomatic partners, and the inability to deal with the regional context of much of what Americans were doing. That last point lays in part because of US incapacities with respect to Iran, but more broadly their inability to engage, in the case of Iraq, the various countries on the periphery effectively – Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Iran, Syria, Jordan and Kuwait. In Part IV he assesses the impact that America's policy failings in the Middle East have had on its ability to continue leading the world in the same way it did in the half-century following the end of World War II. "Why not try diplomacy?" is the title of one chapter there. But it could be seen as the leitmotif of the whole of Part IV, or indeed, the whole book.
The actions of United States in bringing peace to the world as acclaimed has a single line ambition, “Rule The World” by any means whether it be pseudo wars or use of diplomacy as persisted by Chas Freemen. A vivid example and case in point is the constant denials by United States covering decades about perceived Indian role of policing the South Asian region and the envisaged China Containment Policy, which was finally accepted and unveiled by no less than the Secy of State herself during a recent visit to India.
At times one is forced to imagine as to “Who is the actual architect of American policy after all?”
“Chas W. Freeman, Jr., author of America's Misadventures in the Middle East hit the headlines in the early weeks of the Obama administration when Director of National Intelligence Adm. Dennis C. Blair named him Chair of the National Intelligence Council, citing his "diverse background in defense, diplomacy and intelligence." News of Freeman's impending appointment met a firestorm of criticism from numerous strongly pro-Israeli commentators, who lambasted him for the view he had often expressed that the U.S. needed to maintain an even-handed stance between Israel and the Arab countries. In early March 2009, Freeman withdrew his name from consideration for the position and issued a statement, laying the blame for the campaign against him on a network of pro-Israel activists”.
The attack and occupation of Afghanistan and its annihilation is nothing short of a crime against humanity and genocide against a defense less people.
What is to be Done?
It is clear that outside powers have meddled in Afghanistan’s internal affairs far too long. Therefore, all peace loving individuals cum nations must work concertedly and exploit their last bit energies to expose the grimy role of the ruling classes of their respective countries for global harmony and milieu of peaceful coexistence as contemplated and laid out in the charter of United Nations.
"It is Pakistan's stated policy that it will not allow its soil to be used in terrorist attacks against any country," the Pakistani foreign ministry said. "Pakistan's political leadership, parliament, state institutions and the whole nation are fully united in their resolve to eliminate terrorism."
Pakistan's struggle to root out terrorist strongholds and training camps, coupled with a unilateral U.S. effort to use drone strikes to combat al- Qaeda on Pakistani soil, have stoked mutual distrust between the two countries. The incursion of U.S. forces into Pakistani territory to kill bin Laden have further strained relations. Remedial measures are being taken to limit the damage done.
Though serving a mutual interest, Pakistan with its limited resources has done much more than expected and suffered profoundly, both in terms of human and economic resources. The impact of being a front line ally on GWOT has profusely effected the overall security situation in Pakistan. But the American leadership is still not satisfied. In an interview to the CNN on the tenth anniversary of 9/11, US Vice President Joe Biden remarked, “Pakistan has been an unreliable ally of the US in the war against terror and failed ‘on occasion’ when forced to choose between Washington and the al-Qaeda”.
What else do the Americans expect from Pakistan as a trusted Ally?
Or is this just an added reason to make grounds for another yet greater misadventure?
Pakistan Armed Forces have till date contributed tremendously towards GWOT and played its part surely in every eventuality, to safe guard National interest and integrity of the country. The LEA’s, intelligence community and media have also done their bit and so has the incumbent democracy. The episode of US misadventure and the covert raid killing Osama Bin Laden was a direct blow on the sovereignty of the country; it had virtually traumatized every Pakistani. The hard-hitting reaction from the entire Nation was rightly called for. The setback in bilateral ties with US is slowly and gradually thawing, but have we really learned from it? Are we really ready to guard against any future misadventures? American intent is quiet clear as proclaimed by the President himself on the night of the referred raid, quote “Over the years, I've repeatedly made clear that we would take action within Pakistan if we knew where bin Laden was," Unquote. They won’t hesitate in furthering their misadventures in Pakistan, may it be our nuclear assets for fear of seizure by Taliban, the Baloch imbroglio or any other imaginably protracted reason.
The hunt for Osama Bin Laden – one man, took more than a decade for the entire world put together. Being the primary contention for invading Afghanistan and killing of thousands of humans, innocent or otherwise, The United States now feels necessitated to pull out its forces from Afghanistan. They now want a negotiated settlement with the Taliban (whom they consider non al-Qaeda), which they now believe is need of the hour. Fresh questions require answers.
“What is going to be the nature of the new regime in Afghanistan?”
“Are we to believe that US is now agreeing to include the so called barbaric faction of extremist Taliban in the new setup?”
“Is US going to give way to the foundation of a new anti- imperialist Islamist regime, will Israel agree? ”
“If not, how would Taliban react to it? A bunch of friendly Taliban may be put in place for face saving, but rest assure that won’t work”
and the most important question of all “What is to be done in this historical epoch?”
As a prologue to the ‘Great Game’ US has so far technically succeeded in forming an imperialist armed ring against the Central Asian Oil Republics —stretching from Yugoslavia to Afghanistan, the target, of course the oil resources of the former Soviet Union. The formation of such competing military-political-economic blocks is an inherent feature of monopoly capitalism. The capture of sources, raw material and commodity markets has been the basis of two world wars. Every imperialist power must expand or face the threat of being swallowed by another more rapacious imperialist power. Lenin referred to this propensity as the Law of Combined and Uneven Development of Capitalism. This intensely competitive struggle for resources leads to militarization and war. In other words, war is an integral feature of the imperialist system. The most aggressive and ravenous is none other USA, utilising their enormous propaganda machine to disguise and camouflage each particular step as a different campaign. The “war against terror”, the war against “greater Serbia”, Chechnya, Daghestan, and so on, are all part of a solitary objective to consolidate their Global Hegemony.
Carter’s National Security Adviser, Brzezinski, admitted that the US intervened in Afghanistan before the Soviet Union. He said: “The US began aiding the Islamic Fundamentalist Moujahadeen six months before the Russians made their move, even though we believed that this aid was going to induce a soviet military intervention...the secret operation was an excellent idea. It had the effect of drawing the Russians into the Afghan trap...the day that the Soviets officially crossed the border, I wrote to President Carter: we now have the opportunity of giving to the USSR its Vietnam War.’
(Blum Rogue State, by William Blum, pages. 4-5).
But who were the sufferers, naturally, the Afghan people who were subjected to so many years of war at the behest of the American imperialists and are still not to see peace, not in times to come I presume. The worst to suffer and still does is Pakistan and its innocent people who are subjected to unprecedented terrorism both at the hands of suicide attackers and drone attacks by their so called brethren in Islam and Americans respectively (the number of innocent people killed in targeting a single al-Qaeda suspect has no justification as in both Wars against Iraq and Afghanistan).
One of the validations offered, by the former President Gen Musharraf and present leadership is, “all this is being done to save Pakistan and guard it against any misadventures of United States”.
The Iraqi invasion yet another misadventure of US was based on wrong or lets be precise alleged/make-believe information about weapons of mass destruction. It was amply discussed with clear recommendations by IAEA that Iraq has no such capability, to be proven later as a ground reality. A Hollywood block buster movie titled “Green Zone” starring Mat Dammon tells you all.
The initial war against Iraq was a sequel to Saddam’s attack on Kuwait (with the consent of the then American Ambassador to Iraq) and its occupation. Then US attacked Iraq along with coalition forces and freed Kuwait. Saddam’s contention was his claim on Kuwait to be an integral province of Iraq. US invasion of Iraq and Iraq's attack on Kuwait were based on falsehood, thus they both stand to be immoral. On the gravity of immorality, the facts point towards US invasion of Iraq. It was based on wrong information on weapons of mass destruction and terrorists in Iraq. Majority of international community was against this war. The number of civilian casualties in invasion of Iraq was so high that it makes one scream out loud. The fallout is even worse because it continues to kill more every day, not to mention the regional instability and continual terrorism.
Ambassador Chas W. Freeman, Jr., in his superb tome titled “America's Misadventures in the Middle East”, gives a devastating critique of American grand strategy in the Middle East. Commenting on “the American way of war", and in particular on Washington's failure in recent decades to plan for a stable and satisfactory political end-state for the wars it wages. The author calls the Iraq war as a military triumph and not a political success. On war termination strategy – on how to get the other side to acknowledge its defeat and make the concessions necessary to relieve it of further pressure. So in the case of the first Gulf War and in a sense the invasion of Iraq as well, the United States did not know what to do once it had won militarily. Adding further he opines that in the case of the first Gulf War Saddam Hussein was never forced to confront the reality of his defeat or to acknowledge it politically. He, therefore, was able to turn his continued survival into a point of political strength rather than weakness and to carry on for many more years. It resulted in great suffering for the Iraqi people and eventually led to a war designed primarily to dislodge him from power, which was its only accomplishment. The mistakes that the United States has made: too much reliance on the use of force, the use of military campaigns as a substitute for strategy, the tendency to go at it alone, the building of coalitions of camp followers rather than serious military and diplomatic partners, and the inability to deal with the regional context of much of what Americans were doing. That last point lays in part because of US incapacities with respect to Iran, but more broadly their inability to engage, in the case of Iraq, the various countries on the periphery effectively – Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Iran, Syria, Jordan and Kuwait. In Part IV he assesses the impact that America's policy failings in the Middle East have had on its ability to continue leading the world in the same way it did in the half-century following the end of World War II. "Why not try diplomacy?" is the title of one chapter there. But it could be seen as the leitmotif of the whole of Part IV, or indeed, the whole book.
The actions of United States in bringing peace to the world as acclaimed has a single line ambition, “Rule The World” by any means whether it be pseudo wars or use of diplomacy as persisted by Chas Freemen. A vivid example and case in point is the constant denials by United States covering decades about perceived Indian role of policing the South Asian region and the envisaged China Containment Policy, which was finally accepted and unveiled by no less than the Secy of State herself during a recent visit to India.
At times one is forced to imagine as to “Who is the actual architect of American policy after all?”
“Chas W. Freeman, Jr., author of America's Misadventures in the Middle East hit the headlines in the early weeks of the Obama administration when Director of National Intelligence Adm. Dennis C. Blair named him Chair of the National Intelligence Council, citing his "diverse background in defense, diplomacy and intelligence." News of Freeman's impending appointment met a firestorm of criticism from numerous strongly pro-Israeli commentators, who lambasted him for the view he had often expressed that the U.S. needed to maintain an even-handed stance between Israel and the Arab countries. In early March 2009, Freeman withdrew his name from consideration for the position and issued a statement, laying the blame for the campaign against him on a network of pro-Israel activists”.
The attack and occupation of Afghanistan and its annihilation is nothing short of a crime against humanity and genocide against a defense less people.
What is to be Done?
It is clear that outside powers have meddled in Afghanistan’s internal affairs far too long. Therefore, all peace loving individuals cum nations must work concertedly and exploit their last bit energies to expose the grimy role of the ruling classes of their respective countries for global harmony and milieu of peaceful coexistence as contemplated and laid out in the charter of United Nations.
"It is Pakistan's stated policy that it will not allow its soil to be used in terrorist attacks against any country," the Pakistani foreign ministry said. "Pakistan's political leadership, parliament, state institutions and the whole nation are fully united in their resolve to eliminate terrorism."
Pakistan's struggle to root out terrorist strongholds and training camps, coupled with a unilateral U.S. effort to use drone strikes to combat al- Qaeda on Pakistani soil, have stoked mutual distrust between the two countries. The incursion of U.S. forces into Pakistani territory to kill bin Laden have further strained relations. Remedial measures are being taken to limit the damage done.
Though serving a mutual interest, Pakistan with its limited resources has done much more than expected and suffered profoundly, both in terms of human and economic resources. The impact of being a front line ally on GWOT has profusely effected the overall security situation in Pakistan. But the American leadership is still not satisfied. In an interview to the CNN on the tenth anniversary of 9/11, US Vice President Joe Biden remarked, “Pakistan has been an unreliable ally of the US in the war against terror and failed ‘on occasion’ when forced to choose between Washington and the al-Qaeda”.
What else do the Americans expect from Pakistan as a trusted Ally?
Or is this just an added reason to make grounds for another yet greater misadventure?
Pakistan Armed Forces have till date contributed tremendously towards GWOT and played its part surely in every eventuality, to safe guard National interest and integrity of the country. The LEA’s, intelligence community and media have also done their bit and so has the incumbent democracy. The episode of US misadventure and the covert raid killing Osama Bin Laden was a direct blow on the sovereignty of the country; it had virtually traumatized every Pakistani. The hard-hitting reaction from the entire Nation was rightly called for. The setback in bilateral ties with US is slowly and gradually thawing, but have we really learned from it? Are we really ready to guard against any future misadventures? American intent is quiet clear as proclaimed by the President himself on the night of the referred raid, quote “Over the years, I've repeatedly made clear that we would take action within Pakistan if we knew where bin Laden was," Unquote. They won’t hesitate in furthering their misadventures in Pakistan, may it be our nuclear assets for fear of seizure by Taliban, the Baloch imbroglio or any other imaginably protracted reason.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
DIRTY DICTATORS- With Regrets
By
Lt Col (Retd) Tariq Mahmood Butt,TI(M)
The word dirty implies, unclean, grimy, filthy, soiled foul, sullied polluted and grubby. Were Gen Zia and Gen Musharraf all that? Gosh, we had almost 19 years 9 months of all that. Irk--- that is really depressing. I looked towards the collage on my wall and found that many of my Army career pictures, which I once cherished to see and share with pride were suddenly filthy, I started hallucinating manure pouring out of my one dearly held memories. A group photo with Gen Zia on my passing out parade. Really good photos with Gen Musharraf on exercises and a commendation on my book of poetry. Dam I even got my promotion at his hands not to mention the encrypted Tamgha-e- Imtiaz.
Correct me if I ‘am wrong. Does filth produce filth? Well if that is true, at least two major share holders of today’s parliament are products of Zia and Musharraf respectively. Can they deny it? Its all part of history, but wait there is a lot of talk nowadays on rewriting and abolishing certain portions of South Asian history. The other day I read an article titled “Revisiting Sheikh Mujib-ur Rehman” by Javed Qazi dated 21 March 2010. The author argued on rewriting South Asian History. History, I believe is usually a chronological record of events, as of the life or development of a people or institution, often including an explanation of or commentary on those events. The formation or determining of actual history takes a long time. People tend to write their beliefs and viewpoints as factual information, when that is not always the case. It can be very difficult to determine what is true when different people are presenting different "truths." Time passes, people read these things, and believe them to be true, as the authors believed them to be true. The huge problem is, oftentimes we really don’t know what the actual fact is. Current events in our case, ‘The lawyers Movement’ and Musharraf’s stepping down are being observed by us, we are aware as we are reading opinions. But at some point in time someone's opinion turns into history. The dilemma of Erstwhile East Pakistan is all part of history. Changing known facts is definitely an Interesting opinion....one, I think that is actually far more complicated the more you think about it! But my humble opinion is, it should never purposefully be rewritten because the best shot we have at not repeating history is to be aware of it and aware of what failed as well as what worked.
Coming back to the “Dirty Dictators” the web is filled with the chronology of what all these dictators did. We got to remove them as well. I wonder why they skipped Field Marshall Ayub, was it becoz he gave them Islamabad? Now Islamabad can’t be dirty, you know the parliament is there and many other things etc. etc.
All gloomy I went to the web to get a list of all the dirty dictators of the world --- to my surprise the word dirty has been used so extensively that I was feeling all better. In Punjabi culture(American as well), a bigger abuse depicts a greater personality, affiliation and realtionship. The funniest part, topping the list was a blog http:// www.dirtydictators.com titled “sweet dreams”. Clicking the address I found picture of Dr Mahmoud Ahmadinejad hugging another dirty chap. With no text written I cliked once again and found Eurythmics singing “Sweet Dreams”. A lovely song I couldn’t resist singing and dancing along. The lyrics went about some corruption and abuse of power etc. But hey! what if 2 of my ex services Chiefs were dirty and why the hell should I listen to sweet dreams I ‘am more then contended with Amir Khan’s Three Idiots version of, "ALL IS WELL "
Lt Col (Retd) Tariq Mahmood Butt,TI(M)
The word dirty implies, unclean, grimy, filthy, soiled foul, sullied polluted and grubby. Were Gen Zia and Gen Musharraf all that? Gosh, we had almost 19 years 9 months of all that. Irk--- that is really depressing. I looked towards the collage on my wall and found that many of my Army career pictures, which I once cherished to see and share with pride were suddenly filthy, I started hallucinating manure pouring out of my one dearly held memories. A group photo with Gen Zia on my passing out parade. Really good photos with Gen Musharraf on exercises and a commendation on my book of poetry. Dam I even got my promotion at his hands not to mention the encrypted Tamgha-e- Imtiaz.
Correct me if I ‘am wrong. Does filth produce filth? Well if that is true, at least two major share holders of today’s parliament are products of Zia and Musharraf respectively. Can they deny it? Its all part of history, but wait there is a lot of talk nowadays on rewriting and abolishing certain portions of South Asian history. The other day I read an article titled “Revisiting Sheikh Mujib-ur Rehman” by Javed Qazi dated 21 March 2010. The author argued on rewriting South Asian History. History, I believe is usually a chronological record of events, as of the life or development of a people or institution, often including an explanation of or commentary on those events. The formation or determining of actual history takes a long time. People tend to write their beliefs and viewpoints as factual information, when that is not always the case. It can be very difficult to determine what is true when different people are presenting different "truths." Time passes, people read these things, and believe them to be true, as the authors believed them to be true. The huge problem is, oftentimes we really don’t know what the actual fact is. Current events in our case, ‘The lawyers Movement’ and Musharraf’s stepping down are being observed by us, we are aware as we are reading opinions. But at some point in time someone's opinion turns into history. The dilemma of Erstwhile East Pakistan is all part of history. Changing known facts is definitely an Interesting opinion....one, I think that is actually far more complicated the more you think about it! But my humble opinion is, it should never purposefully be rewritten because the best shot we have at not repeating history is to be aware of it and aware of what failed as well as what worked.
Coming back to the “Dirty Dictators” the web is filled with the chronology of what all these dictators did. We got to remove them as well. I wonder why they skipped Field Marshall Ayub, was it becoz he gave them Islamabad? Now Islamabad can’t be dirty, you know the parliament is there and many other things etc. etc.
All gloomy I went to the web to get a list of all the dirty dictators of the world --- to my surprise the word dirty has been used so extensively that I was feeling all better. In Punjabi culture(American as well), a bigger abuse depicts a greater personality, affiliation and realtionship. The funniest part, topping the list was a blog http:// www.dirtydictators.com titled “sweet dreams”. Clicking the address I found picture of Dr Mahmoud Ahmadinejad hugging another dirty chap. With no text written I cliked once again and found Eurythmics singing “Sweet Dreams”. A lovely song I couldn’t resist singing and dancing along. The lyrics went about some corruption and abuse of power etc. But hey! what if 2 of my ex services Chiefs were dirty and why the hell should I listen to sweet dreams I ‘am more then contended with Amir Khan’s Three Idiots version of, "ALL IS WELL "
Thursday, April 1, 2010
REPHRASING HYENA CULTURE
REPHRASING HYENA CULTURE
(THE PAKISTANI PERSPECTIVE)
Contributed By
Lt Col (Retired) Tariq Mahmood Butt
The Hyena is a vaguely sturdy build, high shoulders, and long muscular limbs. It has a large head, broad, rounded ears. The Hyena is parasitic and borders on laziness. Being unproductive, doesn’t use its brain, thus its capability to think and cultivate honest ways of survival is barely negligible. Of the three species of hyena, none is found in our beloved country, as in their usual self but we do have their replicas in human skin generously spread all over Pakistan, with large concentrations in the headship encampment.
With intelligent hunting skills, the Hyenas surround a toothless old hyena at the edge of the thorny hedged cattle kraal and bite it so hard that the only escape is to push through the sharp thorns. Once an opening is created; an army of fierce hyenas will go into a meat grabbing spree. Mostly associated with cowardice, hyenas will bite off cows' udders and goats' bowels before they even seek to kill their prey. They would go to the extent of also scavenging for food from graves and feed on the leftovers by lions and cheetahs. But sometimes the pride(group of lions) turns back and attack. This is exactly what happened with Mr Zardari. Knowing well that the swiss case is likely to come up, the Party and all coalition parteners pushed him into the cattle kraal, not at all expecting for the pride to turn back. To their utter disappointment, the pride did turn back (Judiciary and the media)… Who all are on the spree? Is an easy guess to make.
The most vicious type is the smaller, and even shyer brown hyena (Hyena brunet), which of course is the deadliest as it seems to be the most humble but yet the most corrupt. Corruption in Pakistan has surged by whooping 400 percent in the previous couple of years, said National Corruption Perception Survey 2009 carried out by Transparency International. The National Corruption Perception Survey 2009 (NCPS 2009) indicates that the overall Corruption in 2002 has increased from Rs 45 Billion to Rs 195 Billion in 2009. Police and Power maintained their ranking as the top two most corrupt sectors.
Our Great Quaid and old chiefdoms made relentless efforts and our predecessors(men,women and children) shed a lot of blood for independence and creating Pakistan. On their departure, the sincere and loyalist left a big carcass that we literally refer to as government. Employing the hyena strategy and armed with axes and machetes, the elites have been fighting over the carcass left for over 63 years now. No time has been spent by Pakistanis on sharpening hunting tools and moving deep into the forest to get their own animals. They have all taken up the hyena instinct of scavenging what is left behind and what the so called friends still feed them.
The most horrifying part is that a young breed of hyenas is springing up and learning the art of circling old ones for another meat-grabbing spree! The crime rate has soared as unemployed youth and elderly seek unconventional means to hunt for riches. The outlook is not promising when one considers the fact that Pakistani youth are sinking deeper in the menace of modernism in the name of so called “enlightened moderation”. It is opined that cultural invasion is much more dangerous than a religious inveigh. Being trapped in material pleasures, the DVD madness and openly devoting songs to sweet hearts on media was not meant to be and cannot be envisaged in moderation, not in this country, definitetly not in our religion or culture.
As political elites fight for spoils in government, the future of our nation is on the verge of total collapse with no where to go. Imagine what would happen if the majority of the young begging for a place in society got hold of loaded AK-47s and machetes, what would be the result? As if to add fuel to the fire, companies are being taxed to help run expensive programmes, forcing them to lay off another team of professionals. The mix is a time-bomb! In an already troubled and terrorist threatened atmosphere
Faced with a financial crisis and economic slowdown, countries that command 85 per cent of global economic output keep on coming up with strategies to safeguard their interests. To paraphrase US, EU, World Bank and the policies of their cronies are the real threats facing Pakistan. Not a single penny was given as aid, all loans, another thermal plant was promised; why not a nuclear plant to get rid of the menace of power shortage, why not waive off all our loans and the beauty is no body raised an eyebrow. The time is up for Pakistan to defer those who simply bring home meat from a carcass. Too much focus on external assistance has destroyed local investors by driving the majority to informality and forcing our minds to neglect our abilities to harness nature to our advantage.
If Pakistan does not take quick steps, the country will be faced with two types of future leaders: those who watch too many TV soap operas and movies and who become mere celebrity political leaders; and those voters hooked on demanding kinde. The kinde and celebrity leadership will provide a perfect avenue for the country to be sold in exchange for exotic whisky, mirrors and guns. In such a scenario, an external hyena need not use an old guard to gain entry (as has been done in the past) it can simply walk in and grab yummy meat!
This must serve as a wake up call to our 'hyena culture'. So fixated are we on looting and collaborating with those who plunder Pakistan that instead of pushing for productivity and cutting down on lavish expenditure on political elites, we simply play hyena games on people's earnings. Taxes are increased not to offer services to Pakistanis but simply to feed the carcass-chopping frenzy. Let us get rid of the hyena culture and save our motherland.
Finally, a Hyena's giggle is not actually laughter, but a sound of frustration or call them fighting words. Until now these squeaky cackles were not well understood by scientists. Researchers recorded the sounds and did the first ever acoustic analysis to understand how the calls vary between individuals, and when they are used. The scientists found that hyenas usually make these noises when they are fighting for food, or in some kind of social conflict. "When a group of hyenas is feeding upon the prey you hear a lot of these giggles, especially, during conflict between two individuals,"
The mere giggling of our leaders while commenting on every aspect of the state of affairs makes me nauseatic. Is this giggle out of frustration? a social conflict? sheer desperation; or do these squeaky cackles indicate the greed for fetching every bit and piece of the final kill.
(THE PAKISTANI PERSPECTIVE)
Contributed By
Lt Col (Retired) Tariq Mahmood Butt
The Hyena is a vaguely sturdy build, high shoulders, and long muscular limbs. It has a large head, broad, rounded ears. The Hyena is parasitic and borders on laziness. Being unproductive, doesn’t use its brain, thus its capability to think and cultivate honest ways of survival is barely negligible. Of the three species of hyena, none is found in our beloved country, as in their usual self but we do have their replicas in human skin generously spread all over Pakistan, with large concentrations in the headship encampment.
With intelligent hunting skills, the Hyenas surround a toothless old hyena at the edge of the thorny hedged cattle kraal and bite it so hard that the only escape is to push through the sharp thorns. Once an opening is created; an army of fierce hyenas will go into a meat grabbing spree. Mostly associated with cowardice, hyenas will bite off cows' udders and goats' bowels before they even seek to kill their prey. They would go to the extent of also scavenging for food from graves and feed on the leftovers by lions and cheetahs. But sometimes the pride(group of lions) turns back and attack. This is exactly what happened with Mr Zardari. Knowing well that the swiss case is likely to come up, the Party and all coalition parteners pushed him into the cattle kraal, not at all expecting for the pride to turn back. To their utter disappointment, the pride did turn back (Judiciary and the media)… Who all are on the spree? Is an easy guess to make.
The most vicious type is the smaller, and even shyer brown hyena (Hyena brunet), which of course is the deadliest as it seems to be the most humble but yet the most corrupt. Corruption in Pakistan has surged by whooping 400 percent in the previous couple of years, said National Corruption Perception Survey 2009 carried out by Transparency International. The National Corruption Perception Survey 2009 (NCPS 2009) indicates that the overall Corruption in 2002 has increased from Rs 45 Billion to Rs 195 Billion in 2009. Police and Power maintained their ranking as the top two most corrupt sectors.
Our Great Quaid and old chiefdoms made relentless efforts and our predecessors(men,women and children) shed a lot of blood for independence and creating Pakistan. On their departure, the sincere and loyalist left a big carcass that we literally refer to as government. Employing the hyena strategy and armed with axes and machetes, the elites have been fighting over the carcass left for over 63 years now. No time has been spent by Pakistanis on sharpening hunting tools and moving deep into the forest to get their own animals. They have all taken up the hyena instinct of scavenging what is left behind and what the so called friends still feed them.
The most horrifying part is that a young breed of hyenas is springing up and learning the art of circling old ones for another meat-grabbing spree! The crime rate has soared as unemployed youth and elderly seek unconventional means to hunt for riches. The outlook is not promising when one considers the fact that Pakistani youth are sinking deeper in the menace of modernism in the name of so called “enlightened moderation”. It is opined that cultural invasion is much more dangerous than a religious inveigh. Being trapped in material pleasures, the DVD madness and openly devoting songs to sweet hearts on media was not meant to be and cannot be envisaged in moderation, not in this country, definitetly not in our religion or culture.
As political elites fight for spoils in government, the future of our nation is on the verge of total collapse with no where to go. Imagine what would happen if the majority of the young begging for a place in society got hold of loaded AK-47s and machetes, what would be the result? As if to add fuel to the fire, companies are being taxed to help run expensive programmes, forcing them to lay off another team of professionals. The mix is a time-bomb! In an already troubled and terrorist threatened atmosphere
Faced with a financial crisis and economic slowdown, countries that command 85 per cent of global economic output keep on coming up with strategies to safeguard their interests. To paraphrase US, EU, World Bank and the policies of their cronies are the real threats facing Pakistan. Not a single penny was given as aid, all loans, another thermal plant was promised; why not a nuclear plant to get rid of the menace of power shortage, why not waive off all our loans and the beauty is no body raised an eyebrow. The time is up for Pakistan to defer those who simply bring home meat from a carcass. Too much focus on external assistance has destroyed local investors by driving the majority to informality and forcing our minds to neglect our abilities to harness nature to our advantage.
If Pakistan does not take quick steps, the country will be faced with two types of future leaders: those who watch too many TV soap operas and movies and who become mere celebrity political leaders; and those voters hooked on demanding kinde. The kinde and celebrity leadership will provide a perfect avenue for the country to be sold in exchange for exotic whisky, mirrors and guns. In such a scenario, an external hyena need not use an old guard to gain entry (as has been done in the past) it can simply walk in and grab yummy meat!
This must serve as a wake up call to our 'hyena culture'. So fixated are we on looting and collaborating with those who plunder Pakistan that instead of pushing for productivity and cutting down on lavish expenditure on political elites, we simply play hyena games on people's earnings. Taxes are increased not to offer services to Pakistanis but simply to feed the carcass-chopping frenzy. Let us get rid of the hyena culture and save our motherland.
Finally, a Hyena's giggle is not actually laughter, but a sound of frustration or call them fighting words. Until now these squeaky cackles were not well understood by scientists. Researchers recorded the sounds and did the first ever acoustic analysis to understand how the calls vary between individuals, and when they are used. The scientists found that hyenas usually make these noises when they are fighting for food, or in some kind of social conflict. "When a group of hyenas is feeding upon the prey you hear a lot of these giggles, especially, during conflict between two individuals,"
The mere giggling of our leaders while commenting on every aspect of the state of affairs makes me nauseatic. Is this giggle out of frustration? a social conflict? sheer desperation; or do these squeaky cackles indicate the greed for fetching every bit and piece of the final kill.
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