It has been more than three weeks now since the emergency was imposed. Television channels have come back on air - barring one, for which, rather conveniently, I work and, hence, have time to prattle - and the same tripe has returned to TV screens, minus gory scenes of torso-less heads attributed to suicide bombers of immatur age.
Politicians are singing the same songs, so are the members of the administration. The ballads and slogans are pro-poor....and promises abound. Civil society is also returning to its previous role of silent apathy, barring a few miscreants who defy commonsense and hold vigils outside press club praying for a return to democracy. (Seven people in all.....)
And the incumbents are out in full force, addressing mass rallies, influencing opinion, promising reforms and transperancy, and other things that no one really believes but listens to happily.
Even Nawaz Sharif has returned, for better or worse. After his aborted attempt around a month back, this time he came with the blessings of the Saudi monarch....and in his special plane. The sacred approval enabled him to land in Lahore.....and march back to his Model Town home, which had been given over to the social welfare department and had become a shelter for the homeless. Now those poor souls are back on the street.....as the government has taken reconciliatory measures and occupying abandoned homes isn't easy as laser transplants on the scalp and growing hair in marsh land. Let's see if the media follows their trail, or they are forgotten as quickly as our outstanding cases against politicians in power.
Though, Benazir says Nawaz Sharif's safe return highlights the effectiveness of "National Reconciliation Order".......hoping that cases against her will also be written-off.
It's like giving a woman married for nine months and happy with her care-free life full of fun, frolic and party two options: Either get babies or rabies.
Which is the course Britney Spears plans to follow. She is planning to adopt a pair of Chinese twins. To make up for the loss of parental custody of her two kids...and also losing visitation rights after endangering their lives after a cocaine binge. Cynics (me?) say the plan is to get good press afer Madonna and Angelina's success.
And that's why Altaf Hussain is also expected to return. After Benazir and Nawaz's successful return, although like Madonna, who got into trouble with Malawian authorities for trespassing certain laws, Nawaz, too, got into hot-waters with the Saudi king for sneaking out incognito. But this time, he didn't circumvent authority and will soon be sprinkling General Mushy with Aab-e-ZamZam and verses from the Holy Quran.
But will the return of the ex-persona no grata result in a political short-circuit? The equation stands changed now.
Benazir continues to loose chunks of her voter-base with every statemet she makes. She has already promised Pakistan to the Americans. She has also promised to wipe out extremists elements. She has also promised to purge the Army of extremist elements and send them packing back to the barracks, like a mule with the tail tied between the legs and bleeding from the ass. She also says that she will empower the poor, get women her rights, safeguard the minorities, provide provincial autonomy and everything other 'positive claim' that will make it into the news.
Nawaz has made similar claims....he has returned to the nation to save us...to save democracy...and save the poor from being short-changed by the leaders-elect or select.
Altaf Hussain has been making teh same claims from his cave in England...
Even Imran Khan has joined in the chorus, but he has a cancer hospital to his credit and a past that is free from acts of duplicity that was second nature to the three leaders mentioned before him.
President General Musharraf will soon become President Musharraf once he takes oath and takes off his uniform. While there will be no strip-tease, there might be a stripping of dignity as the politicians will attempt to reconcile differences and become part of an alliance....with the sworn in President.
The myth of unity of political parties will remain, however, as a distant reality. And each-other will be blamed.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Govt derails PPP's rally attempt
Rawalpindi has more army men then stones. And also eight suicide bombers. This was the reason why Benazir was placed under house arrest...for her own security, said the ISPR chief, or someone else from the quasi-militant agency that reigns atop the government hierarchy.
Police was stationed at the roads leading to the house of the BB and party-members were refused to enter the avenue and BB was denied the liberty to leave. There were scuffles and arrests ofcourse.
The government had already refused permission to hold the rally and with the emergency in place, I don't know what the ruckus is about. Either there is an emergency or there is none. If you can't weild the baton for good measure, than you should be baking bread at home, as the dominant chauvinist local maxim goes.
However, the baton was weilded to good measure and quite a few heads opened up. Open heads (or minds?) are also part of Enlightened moderation, don't you think?
The inspector general of Punjab had said that the law would run its course and it did; but isn't it part of the law that tear-gas shells are shot in the air and not aimed at protesting head? But thats how protestors are generally dispelled and we are only learning to master habits and this one needs to evolve further. Tear-gas snipping is next on the agenda but only if America pulls off another Iraq style invasion in Afghanistan and have busty GI babes train our lads.
Official quotes put the number of arrested PPP workers at 800 but that was by the morning of the day of teh rally. Once it was found out that the leader was under house arrest, the protestors intensity increased and there was further crackdown. The joining of hands of lawyers and students made things more difficult. Students at LUMS and BNU in Lahore and Quaid-e-Azam university in Islamabad were instrumental in holding flash protests to show their dissent.
But PPPs show of strength was spoiled as inspite of international pressure and Uncle Bush's phone call, the restraint order was not repealed until evening, and by then the winds had been taken out of the sails.
Cynics, though, claim that the aforementioned sail is in tatters and uncle sam is trying to provide the purple patch by bringing a reconciliation between BB and Mush.
Which is my fear. If, after all the protesting, most of which is yet to come, BB gives in to Machivalliaen deal, the blow that will be delivered to our spirits will be obscene.
The only option, then, will be to have Iqbal Hussain paint the nations portrait in his image.
Police was stationed at the roads leading to the house of the BB and party-members were refused to enter the avenue and BB was denied the liberty to leave. There were scuffles and arrests ofcourse.
The government had already refused permission to hold the rally and with the emergency in place, I don't know what the ruckus is about. Either there is an emergency or there is none. If you can't weild the baton for good measure, than you should be baking bread at home, as the dominant chauvinist local maxim goes.
However, the baton was weilded to good measure and quite a few heads opened up. Open heads (or minds?) are also part of Enlightened moderation, don't you think?
The inspector general of Punjab had said that the law would run its course and it did; but isn't it part of the law that tear-gas shells are shot in the air and not aimed at protesting head? But thats how protestors are generally dispelled and we are only learning to master habits and this one needs to evolve further. Tear-gas snipping is next on the agenda but only if America pulls off another Iraq style invasion in Afghanistan and have busty GI babes train our lads.
Official quotes put the number of arrested PPP workers at 800 but that was by the morning of the day of teh rally. Once it was found out that the leader was under house arrest, the protestors intensity increased and there was further crackdown. The joining of hands of lawyers and students made things more difficult. Students at LUMS and BNU in Lahore and Quaid-e-Azam university in Islamabad were instrumental in holding flash protests to show their dissent.
But PPPs show of strength was spoiled as inspite of international pressure and Uncle Bush's phone call, the restraint order was not repealed until evening, and by then the winds had been taken out of the sails.
Cynics, though, claim that the aforementioned sail is in tatters and uncle sam is trying to provide the purple patch by bringing a reconciliation between BB and Mush.
Which is my fear. If, after all the protesting, most of which is yet to come, BB gives in to Machivalliaen deal, the blow that will be delivered to our spirits will be obscene.
The only option, then, will be to have Iqbal Hussain paint the nations portrait in his image.
Street Fighting Man
Sang Mick Jaggers...allegedly after hearing Tariq Ali address an anti-war rally in London. Tariq Ali is Pakistan's preeminent student leader......back in the 60s when there was still life in nations.
Whether you like French fries or otherwise, you gotta admire their courage, although they dumped Vietnam on the Yanks and committed other fouls in the battle-ground of realpolitiks. But the people - with or without their fixation of cheese and wine....having been pioneers in movements of the mind...and hearts, too. 1968 is celebrated in campus history as the Year of the Barricades. The anarchist zeal of French students nearly brought down the government of France's most famous post-world-war-2 president: Charles de Gaulle. Anti-Vietnam protests in teh US followed.....and while in France intellect bloomed, in Yankee-land, too, it showed dissent. And thanks to that, we had the hippie revolution and hopes of sex, drug and rock n roll.
Even in Pakistan, there were protests against Ayub Khan.....whether masterminded by the executed Zulfi Bhutto is another debate.....but the student uprising alongside civil society was the major factor in Ayub giving up power. Tariq Ali's book, Street Fighting Years: Revolution in the 60s is a rather interesting read and makes one nostalgic for that age...when honest revolt reigned.
But lets snap and return to the present and the conundrum that our society is. Master Mush has made another promise....that general elections will be held by Feburuary 15, 2008 as promised. He has made quite a few promises in the past, too, to the people of Pakistan...and in particular to fellow stakeholders or political allies and failed to deliver. General Zia, the senior most dictator with 11 years to his credit, also pulled off similar deeds. Musharraf has pulled level with Ayub, who both have 8 years of service as head of all affairs under their belts.
Anyhow, the announcement, it is believed rather cynically and by me, has been made to appease international detractors. Condemnation of imposition of emergency was swift, as is generally the case...and Master Mush got a call from Uncle Sam's honcho and even PastMaster Bush said to reporters he was expecting return to normality in Pakistan. Britain, Germany, Norway and the UN were other nations that condemned the imposition of emergency and the black-out fo the media. Human rights groups were up in arms.
As it is, Pakistan is notorious for suicide bombings, honour killings, military coups, mass poverty, target killings, terrorism and increasing itnernational debt...and now images are flashing on screens of news-channels across the world of memebrs of civil society engaged in pitched battles with law-enforcement agencies. While civil war is unlikely to break out anytime soon, as Pakistan is more of a police-state than it is made out to be, and the population more pathetic than it is generalyl believed to be, there are still fears that this showdown can only get worse with time.
The lawyers have already been protesting for a while....ever since the CJ got sacked. They celebrated for a while when he was re-instated but now he is back under-house arrest and once again back to politicizing the entire campaign. So the lawyers are back protesting on the streets.
With the imminent elections, political campaigns are also underway....and with Benazir's arrival, things have heated up. The suicide bombing attempt at Benazir that killed nearly 150 people has only reaffirmed the victim mentality of the footsoldiers....and after Benazir was placed under house arrest yesterday to keep her from holding a scheduled rally and address in the army dominated city of Rawalpindi, the Jiyalas - as the die-hards call themselves - are all set for a showdown.
But the most alarming development, though some say the most lofty, is the gathering momentum of student protests. While governemnt universities have long been hotbed of political violence, the private campuses were rather sterile. But now it's students from these private universities only - that cream of middle class that aspires to work hard - has taken on themselves to emulate the Street Figthers of the 60s..
And while the politicians and lawyers are old hand - no judgements on the sincerity or nobility of their protests - and can submit to authority when facing the literal axe, the students are unlikely to show similar discretion. The student protests of '68 turned into an uprising when a student was shot-dead by the police. But then, the value of street-life wasn't rendered useless. However, now, it's a different story....and I fear martyrs, as much for them as for the legacy left behind.
Everyday, protestors are rounded up. Lawyers are already going missing. More than a 1000 PPP party-members were arrested in Rawalpindi....an attempt to puncture BBs hot air balloon. Public congregations are disbanded under the provisional constitution - section 144 being imposed, which entails that four persons cannot discuss anything in public. Civilians can be arrested and detained without a warrant....and the Army Act has been amended, which means civilians can be tried in military courts if the authorities feel the act was deterimental for the Pakistan Army. And as Master Mush is teh Chief of Army Staff, all protests against him are detrimental for the Army....meaning, I can be court martialled, too. Even you, if you read this and they trace your IP. I must go take a leak. I hope the the flush isn't bugged.
Anyhow, the confrontations are taking place. Everyday. Police is always beating up lawyers...though sometimes they show some balls, too...especially when students come to their aid. But if you are protesting, you are bound to be picked up. If you talk to the media, even than you are picked up. By people in plainclothes. Suddenly, from nowhere, 15-20 men will emerge in white kurta-shalwar, hold you by the scruff of your neck, and drag you off.
If you are in the middle of a protest, they will come running and surround you, pushing and shoving, lead you towards a police van. If you resist, they will beat you up. Even if you are a woman.
Though, today, it was made clear that even teh women force had been instructed to use brute force. Quite a few ladies had their heels broken, and one probably has a swolled jaw after a forecful slap that was captured on tape and will probably make headlines in international media once they catch on.
Otherwise, vocal protestors are isolated from the group and thrashed - whether the media looks on or not. Even foreign journalists have faced the heat. A canadian reporter got caught up in a baton-charge....but the agencies retreated as the white-skin intimidates. Which is rather sad....Aitzaz Ahsan, a lawyer of unquestionable talent and integrity, who also represented the Chief Justice and is a Senator of the PPP, is now in solitary confinement....and when he was leading a lawyers' protest against the sacking of the Chief Justice, the highhandedness of the plainclothes policeman was seen by the entire world. They picked him up and ran....to be out of reach of the following lawyers....The man is above 50 and highly respected. They treated him like a schoolboy playing truant.
Cricketers shouldn't blame. You never get due respect in Pakistan. Unless, ofcourse, your father is in the forces.
Whether you like French fries or otherwise, you gotta admire their courage, although they dumped Vietnam on the Yanks and committed other fouls in the battle-ground of realpolitiks. But the people - with or without their fixation of cheese and wine....having been pioneers in movements of the mind...and hearts, too. 1968 is celebrated in campus history as the Year of the Barricades. The anarchist zeal of French students nearly brought down the government of France's most famous post-world-war-2 president: Charles de Gaulle. Anti-Vietnam protests in teh US followed.....and while in France intellect bloomed, in Yankee-land, too, it showed dissent. And thanks to that, we had the hippie revolution and hopes of sex, drug and rock n roll.
Even in Pakistan, there were protests against Ayub Khan.....whether masterminded by the executed Zulfi Bhutto is another debate.....but the student uprising alongside civil society was the major factor in Ayub giving up power. Tariq Ali's book, Street Fighting Years: Revolution in the 60s is a rather interesting read and makes one nostalgic for that age...when honest revolt reigned.
But lets snap and return to the present and the conundrum that our society is. Master Mush has made another promise....that general elections will be held by Feburuary 15, 2008 as promised. He has made quite a few promises in the past, too, to the people of Pakistan...and in particular to fellow stakeholders or political allies and failed to deliver. General Zia, the senior most dictator with 11 years to his credit, also pulled off similar deeds. Musharraf has pulled level with Ayub, who both have 8 years of service as head of all affairs under their belts.
Anyhow, the announcement, it is believed rather cynically and by me, has been made to appease international detractors. Condemnation of imposition of emergency was swift, as is generally the case...and Master Mush got a call from Uncle Sam's honcho and even PastMaster Bush said to reporters he was expecting return to normality in Pakistan. Britain, Germany, Norway and the UN were other nations that condemned the imposition of emergency and the black-out fo the media. Human rights groups were up in arms.
As it is, Pakistan is notorious for suicide bombings, honour killings, military coups, mass poverty, target killings, terrorism and increasing itnernational debt...and now images are flashing on screens of news-channels across the world of memebrs of civil society engaged in pitched battles with law-enforcement agencies. While civil war is unlikely to break out anytime soon, as Pakistan is more of a police-state than it is made out to be, and the population more pathetic than it is generalyl believed to be, there are still fears that this showdown can only get worse with time.
The lawyers have already been protesting for a while....ever since the CJ got sacked. They celebrated for a while when he was re-instated but now he is back under-house arrest and once again back to politicizing the entire campaign. So the lawyers are back protesting on the streets.
With the imminent elections, political campaigns are also underway....and with Benazir's arrival, things have heated up. The suicide bombing attempt at Benazir that killed nearly 150 people has only reaffirmed the victim mentality of the footsoldiers....and after Benazir was placed under house arrest yesterday to keep her from holding a scheduled rally and address in the army dominated city of Rawalpindi, the Jiyalas - as the die-hards call themselves - are all set for a showdown.
But the most alarming development, though some say the most lofty, is the gathering momentum of student protests. While governemnt universities have long been hotbed of political violence, the private campuses were rather sterile. But now it's students from these private universities only - that cream of middle class that aspires to work hard - has taken on themselves to emulate the Street Figthers of the 60s..
And while the politicians and lawyers are old hand - no judgements on the sincerity or nobility of their protests - and can submit to authority when facing the literal axe, the students are unlikely to show similar discretion. The student protests of '68 turned into an uprising when a student was shot-dead by the police. But then, the value of street-life wasn't rendered useless. However, now, it's a different story....and I fear martyrs, as much for them as for the legacy left behind.
Everyday, protestors are rounded up. Lawyers are already going missing. More than a 1000 PPP party-members were arrested in Rawalpindi....an attempt to puncture BBs hot air balloon. Public congregations are disbanded under the provisional constitution - section 144 being imposed, which entails that four persons cannot discuss anything in public. Civilians can be arrested and detained without a warrant....and the Army Act has been amended, which means civilians can be tried in military courts if the authorities feel the act was deterimental for the Pakistan Army. And as Master Mush is teh Chief of Army Staff, all protests against him are detrimental for the Army....meaning, I can be court martialled, too. Even you, if you read this and they trace your IP. I must go take a leak. I hope the the flush isn't bugged.
Anyhow, the confrontations are taking place. Everyday. Police is always beating up lawyers...though sometimes they show some balls, too...especially when students come to their aid. But if you are protesting, you are bound to be picked up. If you talk to the media, even than you are picked up. By people in plainclothes. Suddenly, from nowhere, 15-20 men will emerge in white kurta-shalwar, hold you by the scruff of your neck, and drag you off.
If you are in the middle of a protest, they will come running and surround you, pushing and shoving, lead you towards a police van. If you resist, they will beat you up. Even if you are a woman.
Though, today, it was made clear that even teh women force had been instructed to use brute force. Quite a few ladies had their heels broken, and one probably has a swolled jaw after a forecful slap that was captured on tape and will probably make headlines in international media once they catch on.
Otherwise, vocal protestors are isolated from the group and thrashed - whether the media looks on or not. Even foreign journalists have faced the heat. A canadian reporter got caught up in a baton-charge....but the agencies retreated as the white-skin intimidates. Which is rather sad....Aitzaz Ahsan, a lawyer of unquestionable talent and integrity, who also represented the Chief Justice and is a Senator of the PPP, is now in solitary confinement....and when he was leading a lawyers' protest against the sacking of the Chief Justice, the highhandedness of the plainclothes policeman was seen by the entire world. They picked him up and ran....to be out of reach of the following lawyers....The man is above 50 and highly respected. They treated him like a schoolboy playing truant.
Cricketers shouldn't blame. You never get due respect in Pakistan. Unless, ofcourse, your father is in the forces.
Friday, November 09, 2007
Musharraf is the new Shah; Pakistan is Iran in the 70s
It's official now.......even right-minded American politicians think that Musharraf is behaving like a sulking King. Well, it's not official, because it's not Bush who made the statement. But a White House hopeful did....and the world is fast-catching on. Democrat Joe Biden was to make the statement while giving his address at some college. He wants US focus to shift from Musharraf and be directed at the people of Pakistan....as they have a strong democratic tradition. Someone needs to explain to Senator Biden that Pakistan has spent a greater part of its history under a military dictator - and will continue to do so as long as his great nation allows political expediency to supersede democratic or popular will.
However, his comparison surely is interesting....and make me hopeful. Can a popular student uprising hold American diplomats hostage at the American consulate? Who will be our firebrand clerical leader? Not Qazi or Fazl for sure. We need someone not tainted by petty politics. The two Islamist leaders have switched sides and flipped loyalties too often and too fast for anyone to believe in them for too long. (Long in Pakistan is realitively short.) In my head, there's only one solution: O-S-A-M-A! He's more popular in Pakistan than Musharraf...so why not?
And the senator's argument also makes sense. The moderate element, the same one with a strong tradition of democracy, will get fed up soon and join forces with the extremist and then we will have a scripted Islamic Revolution. Only we are already a nuclear power and Israel will be wiped off like Dresden and maybe some obscure jew will write his Slaughterhouse-Five or a day in the Kibbutz or something similar. There will be no nitpicking with IAEA inspectors and total destruction expedited.
However, his comparison surely is interesting....and make me hopeful. Can a popular student uprising hold American diplomats hostage at the American consulate? Who will be our firebrand clerical leader? Not Qazi or Fazl for sure. We need someone not tainted by petty politics. The two Islamist leaders have switched sides and flipped loyalties too often and too fast for anyone to believe in them for too long. (Long in Pakistan is realitively short.) In my head, there's only one solution: O-S-A-M-A! He's more popular in Pakistan than Musharraf...so why not?
And the senator's argument also makes sense. The moderate element, the same one with a strong tradition of democracy, will get fed up soon and join forces with the extremist and then we will have a scripted Islamic Revolution. Only we are already a nuclear power and Israel will be wiped off like Dresden and maybe some obscure jew will write his Slaughterhouse-Five or a day in the Kibbutz or something similar. There will be no nitpicking with IAEA inspectors and total destruction expedited.
Thursday, November 08, 2007
Our cricketing hero..es.
"O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done;
The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won;.."
Are the lines from a Walt Whitman poem....but I remember them chiefly because of 'Dead Poets Society", an academy-award winning movie. The poem was written to pay homage to the assassinated American president, Abraham Lincoln....and was also translated into Hebrew by an Israeli poet to be sung at Yatzak Rabin's memorial. But that's mere referencing from popular culture.
I also want to pay homage....to our cricketing heroes. To my captain, who has to be Imran Khan - also because it was his leadership that brought Pakistan it's most glorious sporting moment, and also because he is a class act with a personality that shines through even when quelching mud. Okay, that's a misplaced metaphor but I am in the mood of waxing poetic, and there's something called poetic license, too.
I am euphoric because Pakistan just pulled off its greatest run chase - and the glacier on the cake is that it was against our arch-rivals; our perennial-foes; the nation we have been raised to hate: India.
We had lost the first match like a circus lion doing the rounds......atleast I felt worse than the sprawling on the floor boxer knocked out by Tyson without having a chance to throw a punch even. We had put up a decent total in the 1st ODI....atleast by the standards of Gwalior....but the Indian batting line-up showed its superiority...and our bowling attack its mediocrity when fighting for a lost cause.
But today......chasing a mamooth 322......we showed class. Which was shown earlier by the Indian batsmen. Tendulkar was in blazing form. The way he accelerated the scoring rate remins one of the cliche 'form is temporary; class is permanent', although the man of every moment was rather unlucky to get out on 99 - for a third time. That's another unique record for the master blaster.
Umar Gul bowled with a lot of heart and was instrumental in putting the breaks on the Indian scoring rate by taking the key wicket of Tendulkar. All our bowlers chipped in and although Harbhajan blasted a quick-fire 35 at the end, we were able to keep the Indian total to a lot less than what appeared when Tendulkar held sway.
Our reply started off in jitters as usual, as we haven't had a stable opening partnership since the times of Saeed Anwar and Aamir Sohail. Salman Butt played some stylish shots but perished to a concentration lapse. But there was Younus Khan....who scored a majestic hundred, and though Youhana failed for once, 20-20 man Misbah finally put in a worthwhile ODI innings...but they both perished before completing the job. And in came the man who reflects the Pakistani temparent most honetly - the evergreen Shahid Khan Afridi...and for the first time in his life, he was able to hit the winning runs. A memorable win.......especially in context of the overall gloomy scenario that engulfs Pakistan, a state of emergency being imposed, and rumours rife that the Army Act can be amended. Which essentially means, dear unsuspecting chootyas(or civilians), that civilans can be court martialled. Our very own Guntanamo bay.
But returning to paying homage....to certain cricketers who are a mere haze in the head. I remember dozing off between deliveries as Pakistan battled England in the '92 world cup final. It was Ramazan. It was the most glorious moment of my life...too bad I was very young then.
But one year down the line......November 5, 1993: It was the Australasia Cup final, and Pakistan was playing the mighty West Indies...with its intimidating pace-attack. But out-stepped the indomitable Basit Ali ....relatively unknown but hailed in Pakistan as the next Javed Miandad...as much for his unorthodox playing style and the fact that he, too, hails from Karachi. He smashed a century of only 67 balls.....the second fastest at that time. But Basit Ali was destined to be a flash in the pan.....as his knock of a lifetime was un-done by Brian Charles Lara - who scored a magnificent 152....laced with a record 21 boundaries, emulating the great Viv Richards, which was later bettered by Saeed Anwar in his record breaking 194 against India.
But back to Basit...he was dropped for Shadab Kabir....a prolific batsman on the domestic circuit...but his first three innings fetched him three ducks and I don't think he ever got another call from the selectors. But that was the end of Basit, too, who was also mired in controversy after blaming certain team-mates of match-fixing. So Basit Ali vanished off the screen...but I still retain the memory of him bludgeoning the West Indian pace quartet.
While there are numerous stories regarding his sudden dumping by the Pakistan Cricket Board.....and the ethnic and sectarian preferences within the team, all I want to remember is him hooking and driving Ambrose all over the park. That is the memory in my head....all the rest is claptrap.
O Captain! My Captain! You should have been.
The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won;.."
Are the lines from a Walt Whitman poem....but I remember them chiefly because of 'Dead Poets Society", an academy-award winning movie. The poem was written to pay homage to the assassinated American president, Abraham Lincoln....and was also translated into Hebrew by an Israeli poet to be sung at Yatzak Rabin's memorial. But that's mere referencing from popular culture.
I also want to pay homage....to our cricketing heroes. To my captain, who has to be Imran Khan - also because it was his leadership that brought Pakistan it's most glorious sporting moment, and also because he is a class act with a personality that shines through even when quelching mud. Okay, that's a misplaced metaphor but I am in the mood of waxing poetic, and there's something called poetic license, too.
I am euphoric because Pakistan just pulled off its greatest run chase - and the glacier on the cake is that it was against our arch-rivals; our perennial-foes; the nation we have been raised to hate: India.
We had lost the first match like a circus lion doing the rounds......atleast I felt worse than the sprawling on the floor boxer knocked out by Tyson without having a chance to throw a punch even. We had put up a decent total in the 1st ODI....atleast by the standards of Gwalior....but the Indian batting line-up showed its superiority...and our bowling attack its mediocrity when fighting for a lost cause.
But today......chasing a mamooth 322......we showed class. Which was shown earlier by the Indian batsmen. Tendulkar was in blazing form. The way he accelerated the scoring rate remins one of the cliche 'form is temporary; class is permanent', although the man of every moment was rather unlucky to get out on 99 - for a third time. That's another unique record for the master blaster.
Umar Gul bowled with a lot of heart and was instrumental in putting the breaks on the Indian scoring rate by taking the key wicket of Tendulkar. All our bowlers chipped in and although Harbhajan blasted a quick-fire 35 at the end, we were able to keep the Indian total to a lot less than what appeared when Tendulkar held sway.
Our reply started off in jitters as usual, as we haven't had a stable opening partnership since the times of Saeed Anwar and Aamir Sohail. Salman Butt played some stylish shots but perished to a concentration lapse. But there was Younus Khan....who scored a majestic hundred, and though Youhana failed for once, 20-20 man Misbah finally put in a worthwhile ODI innings...but they both perished before completing the job. And in came the man who reflects the Pakistani temparent most honetly - the evergreen Shahid Khan Afridi...and for the first time in his life, he was able to hit the winning runs. A memorable win.......especially in context of the overall gloomy scenario that engulfs Pakistan, a state of emergency being imposed, and rumours rife that the Army Act can be amended. Which essentially means, dear unsuspecting chootyas(or civilians), that civilans can be court martialled. Our very own Guntanamo bay.
But returning to paying homage....to certain cricketers who are a mere haze in the head. I remember dozing off between deliveries as Pakistan battled England in the '92 world cup final. It was Ramazan. It was the most glorious moment of my life...too bad I was very young then.
But one year down the line......November 5, 1993: It was the Australasia Cup final, and Pakistan was playing the mighty West Indies...with its intimidating pace-attack. But out-stepped the indomitable Basit Ali ....relatively unknown but hailed in Pakistan as the next Javed Miandad...as much for his unorthodox playing style and the fact that he, too, hails from Karachi. He smashed a century of only 67 balls.....the second fastest at that time. But Basit Ali was destined to be a flash in the pan.....as his knock of a lifetime was un-done by Brian Charles Lara - who scored a magnificent 152....laced with a record 21 boundaries, emulating the great Viv Richards, which was later bettered by Saeed Anwar in his record breaking 194 against India.
But back to Basit...he was dropped for Shadab Kabir....a prolific batsman on the domestic circuit...but his first three innings fetched him three ducks and I don't think he ever got another call from the selectors. But that was the end of Basit, too, who was also mired in controversy after blaming certain team-mates of match-fixing. So Basit Ali vanished off the screen...but I still retain the memory of him bludgeoning the West Indian pace quartet.
While there are numerous stories regarding his sudden dumping by the Pakistan Cricket Board.....and the ethnic and sectarian preferences within the team, all I want to remember is him hooking and driving Ambrose all over the park. That is the memory in my head....all the rest is claptrap.
O Captain! My Captain! You should have been.
Monday, November 05, 2007
So it goes
It's bedlam in cuckoo-land once again. The army is the inherited clock that grandpa handed down as a reminder of better times, when shit had to be taken in a hole, and if water wasn't at hand, green-leaves did the job what tissues do till now for the white-rascals.
Actually, that's not how it is. What really has happened is a 'State of Emergency' has been imposed in Pakistan. President General Master Musharraf believes that the only way to save the country is by imposing emergency and so it goes, as was Vonnegut's catch-phrase. But more about the true master later. Let's first have a bird-eye view of political developments at home.
While Pakistan had been simmering with political apathy for too long, when the Chief Justice of Pakistan was brought in the firing line, the lawyers went bonkers. That resulted in a prolonged confrontation, and the CJ was reinstated....and while trying to get re-instated, he too carried out a full-fledge paraded campaign which resulted in a lot of collateral damage. But we don't talk about collateral damage and I will continue the tradition due to inherited dogmatism.....or carnal sloth, as you consider fit.
So, the CJ was hearing cases agaisnt Mush's regime and had a fair idea of cutting him down to size. High-ranking generals and police officials from Islamabad were summonded to the courts and made answerable for their actions and consequently censured. The case of missing persons, more than 200 documented cases, were also opened and slowly, but surely, the details of their whereabouts were coming to light. Newton's third law of motion, every action having an equal and opposite reaction, was holding true and Mushie might not be getting back as good as he gave, but surely his honchos were.
However, its Mushie who weilds the axe and the rest are barren trees with auburn hair and orange leaves.....or So It Goes.
While all this was happening, bomb blasts were taking place regularly over the scattered land mass of Pakistan. Swat, once a tourist haven, has now become a terrorist hide-out. Taliban style banning of barber shops and bombing of video-stores have become more frequent in the regions of the North West Frontier Province. Clashes between armed forces and terrorists also increased in frequency. While a stand-off had been achieved between lawyers and generals and civilians and forces (though civilians can only be credited with sitting down....their general stance on all issues of note); and the need of the hour became toe-ing a tough-line against militant insurgents, which some claim, is the creation of the Pak Army & ISI and has now turned into a twelve-head hydra or the sapola of fables.....
Anyhow, Master Mush got really upset with all the developments and decided to impose a 'state of emergency'.......the Chief Justice was once again fired, the constitution was abrogated, fundamental rights usurped and a dictatorship in place.
The ire of Master Mush was directed wholeheartedly at the Judiciary, who were blamed for creating such a scenario that had brought the nation on the brink of disaster. All cable operators were asked to shut-down all news channel and the only channel in operation is the state-run PTV.......
The media-folks were also blamed for not being co-operative with the government and giving rise to dissent. The terrorist issue was already a thorn in teh butt. Basically, most of the things were going wrong, and if he allowed it to continue, that would mean, the 'nation would be committing suicide', and being a pious muslim and a responsible Pakistani, he couldn't see that happen.....and so it goes.
As expected, there were scattered protests. The Lawyers came out in full force and were met wtih full force and ended up with bloody heads and broken toes. Human Rights Commission of Pakistan members were rounded up. Political leaders were rounded up. Political activists were rounded up. The government claims 500 people are in temporary confinment but even eternal optimists can't refuse a number of 5000...while cynics claim that unmarked graves are already being dug.
As I mentioned earlier, with all channels off-air, PTV had a field day. The national channel has received a lot of slack for never measuring up to it's competition and being a failure ever since it's monopoly was removed and other channels were introduced. It was PTV's opportunity...to have a few laughs of it's own....however, tehy failed to put the ball into the empty net, so to speak. It's bland transmission continued and updates about the coutry's situation were given through tickers...that eternal line at the bottom of your tv screen that sometimes provides momentary respite.
But PTV had it's coup d'etat. An exclusive interview of Master Mush addressing the masses...that would be shown live the world over. PTV had the opportunity to make up for its failures. But Victor Hugo said, history repeats itself....sometimes as a farce, and that's what the speech and PTV coverage more seemed like.
My personal observation was that the initial frame included Master Mush, Master Jinnah's hanging portrait (homage to founding father is must) and the national flag. While Musharraf ambled, Master Jinnah was slowly zoomed out, and then the flag, leaving the focus only on Musharraf and showing some nervousness and sweat. But his nearly 40-minute monologue lived up to expectations and lacked anything of substance. And we all returned to watching football matches as sports channels weren't taken off-air.
But back to the political scenario, Master Mush also introduced a temporary constitution,
or PCO (provisional constitutional order) which sounds more like a martial law.
Out fo the 17 judges of the supreme court, 7 called it legal. All were put under house arrest. 4 of them took oath under the PCO and one of them was appointed as the new CJ and the rest assured of privileges beyond expectations....or so the envious man is led to believe. For finding favor with clinging dictators has its perks, too.
America has taken up a rather soft-tone....with Condi Rice being most vocal, but she's caught up with the Mid-East process and can be spared. (Which reminds me: Apparently, the latest meeting of Olmert and Abbas in Annapolis is going to come up with a definite plan of compromise, says Condi. Chuckles or skittles, anyone?)
However, unofficially, Master Mush's honchos have claimed, rather smugly, in American newspapers, that whatever the American's think of the act, they will always opt for stability instead of democracy, as that meets the needs of political expediency.
However, there has been some murmurs that American aid to Pakistan might be come off...which was quickly discredited, though one mission that was set to visit Pakistan has been suspended. But we Pakistanis don't like Americans interfering and they can go to hell, says the Mullah on the street. And death to Israel, too. Unfortunately, our clergy is unlike that raised in Buddhist temples and will never know the meaning of peaceful dissent. And Jemima Khan said that Benazir isn't Aun Sung Suu Kyi - which is equally valid.
I would like to add my bit, too. Our people are unlike any other, too. We lack political consciousness and personal will. In an attempt to gauge the dissenting pulse...which sometimes I feel within me, too...I made my way to the Karachi press club. Media-men from all around were gathered...discussing ways of making themselves heard. Some of them had just gotten beaten up for raising anti-Mush slogans.....and a few arrested as well.
When I reached, the first rights of passage had been administered...and people were cautious. They were trying to devise a plan...but getting to the point where plans startedd being devised took sometime, too. Finally, squatting on the grass, numerous voices were heard. The young girls were vocal, the aunties were scheming, while the boys made jokes and the old men passed cynical judgements on the state of affairs.
There was no agreement on the form of protest, with the eventuality being that the protesters who a few minutes back were willing to court arrest, trickled out like milk from syrupy leaves...neither nourishing nor ....anything else, unless you're a banana planter celebrating 100 years of solitude.
But it was decided that there will be another protest tomorrow...and we promised to show our faces. Maybe we will come in the line of fire, too, Master Mush style, get baton-charged and have some scars to compete against martyrs.
While emergency rule continues, so do breaking news. Everything is suddenly of ten-times the importance. Shaukat Aziz says elections might be delayed. Mushahid Hussain, another one of Master Mushs honchos, says that he advised against the imposition of emergency and it could only end in a catastrophe. Benazir is saying a lot of things but as teh channels are off air, it doesn't really matter how she tries to tap on the emotional aspects of those listening agape.
Rest is fine. But we are ignoring what's happening on the world front, but I will hopefully return tonight with a comprehensive analysis of the Italian mafia chief who has been arrested and the Leftists fighting for their rights in isolated positions in far-off Indian provinces and American defense secretary visiting China...or teh reacting from Vladimir Putin's visit to Tehran.
All things are worth the money....so it goes, said Vonnegut. I want to write his obituary, you know. And Master Mushs....and Benazirs, too.....so it goes.
Actually, that's not how it is. What really has happened is a 'State of Emergency' has been imposed in Pakistan. President General Master Musharraf believes that the only way to save the country is by imposing emergency and so it goes, as was Vonnegut's catch-phrase. But more about the true master later. Let's first have a bird-eye view of political developments at home.
While Pakistan had been simmering with political apathy for too long, when the Chief Justice of Pakistan was brought in the firing line, the lawyers went bonkers. That resulted in a prolonged confrontation, and the CJ was reinstated....and while trying to get re-instated, he too carried out a full-fledge paraded campaign which resulted in a lot of collateral damage. But we don't talk about collateral damage and I will continue the tradition due to inherited dogmatism.....or carnal sloth, as you consider fit.
So, the CJ was hearing cases agaisnt Mush's regime and had a fair idea of cutting him down to size. High-ranking generals and police officials from Islamabad were summonded to the courts and made answerable for their actions and consequently censured. The case of missing persons, more than 200 documented cases, were also opened and slowly, but surely, the details of their whereabouts were coming to light. Newton's third law of motion, every action having an equal and opposite reaction, was holding true and Mushie might not be getting back as good as he gave, but surely his honchos were.
However, its Mushie who weilds the axe and the rest are barren trees with auburn hair and orange leaves.....or So It Goes.
While all this was happening, bomb blasts were taking place regularly over the scattered land mass of Pakistan. Swat, once a tourist haven, has now become a terrorist hide-out. Taliban style banning of barber shops and bombing of video-stores have become more frequent in the regions of the North West Frontier Province. Clashes between armed forces and terrorists also increased in frequency. While a stand-off had been achieved between lawyers and generals and civilians and forces (though civilians can only be credited with sitting down....their general stance on all issues of note); and the need of the hour became toe-ing a tough-line against militant insurgents, which some claim, is the creation of the Pak Army & ISI and has now turned into a twelve-head hydra or the sapola of fables.....
Anyhow, Master Mush got really upset with all the developments and decided to impose a 'state of emergency'.......the Chief Justice was once again fired, the constitution was abrogated, fundamental rights usurped and a dictatorship in place.
The ire of Master Mush was directed wholeheartedly at the Judiciary, who were blamed for creating such a scenario that had brought the nation on the brink of disaster. All cable operators were asked to shut-down all news channel and the only channel in operation is the state-run PTV.......
The media-folks were also blamed for not being co-operative with the government and giving rise to dissent. The terrorist issue was already a thorn in teh butt. Basically, most of the things were going wrong, and if he allowed it to continue, that would mean, the 'nation would be committing suicide', and being a pious muslim and a responsible Pakistani, he couldn't see that happen.....and so it goes.
As expected, there were scattered protests. The Lawyers came out in full force and were met wtih full force and ended up with bloody heads and broken toes. Human Rights Commission of Pakistan members were rounded up. Political leaders were rounded up. Political activists were rounded up. The government claims 500 people are in temporary confinment but even eternal optimists can't refuse a number of 5000...while cynics claim that unmarked graves are already being dug.
As I mentioned earlier, with all channels off-air, PTV had a field day. The national channel has received a lot of slack for never measuring up to it's competition and being a failure ever since it's monopoly was removed and other channels were introduced. It was PTV's opportunity...to have a few laughs of it's own....however, tehy failed to put the ball into the empty net, so to speak. It's bland transmission continued and updates about the coutry's situation were given through tickers...that eternal line at the bottom of your tv screen that sometimes provides momentary respite.
But PTV had it's coup d'etat. An exclusive interview of Master Mush addressing the masses...that would be shown live the world over. PTV had the opportunity to make up for its failures. But Victor Hugo said, history repeats itself....sometimes as a farce, and that's what the speech and PTV coverage more seemed like.
My personal observation was that the initial frame included Master Mush, Master Jinnah's hanging portrait (homage to founding father is must) and the national flag. While Musharraf ambled, Master Jinnah was slowly zoomed out, and then the flag, leaving the focus only on Musharraf and showing some nervousness and sweat. But his nearly 40-minute monologue lived up to expectations and lacked anything of substance. And we all returned to watching football matches as sports channels weren't taken off-air.
But back to the political scenario, Master Mush also introduced a temporary constitution,
or PCO (provisional constitutional order) which sounds more like a martial law.
Out fo the 17 judges of the supreme court, 7 called it legal. All were put under house arrest. 4 of them took oath under the PCO and one of them was appointed as the new CJ and the rest assured of privileges beyond expectations....or so the envious man is led to believe. For finding favor with clinging dictators has its perks, too.
America has taken up a rather soft-tone....with Condi Rice being most vocal, but she's caught up with the Mid-East process and can be spared. (Which reminds me: Apparently, the latest meeting of Olmert and Abbas in Annapolis is going to come up with a definite plan of compromise, says Condi. Chuckles or skittles, anyone?)
However, unofficially, Master Mush's honchos have claimed, rather smugly, in American newspapers, that whatever the American's think of the act, they will always opt for stability instead of democracy, as that meets the needs of political expediency.
However, there has been some murmurs that American aid to Pakistan might be come off...which was quickly discredited, though one mission that was set to visit Pakistan has been suspended. But we Pakistanis don't like Americans interfering and they can go to hell, says the Mullah on the street. And death to Israel, too. Unfortunately, our clergy is unlike that raised in Buddhist temples and will never know the meaning of peaceful dissent. And Jemima Khan said that Benazir isn't Aun Sung Suu Kyi - which is equally valid.
I would like to add my bit, too. Our people are unlike any other, too. We lack political consciousness and personal will. In an attempt to gauge the dissenting pulse...which sometimes I feel within me, too...I made my way to the Karachi press club. Media-men from all around were gathered...discussing ways of making themselves heard. Some of them had just gotten beaten up for raising anti-Mush slogans.....and a few arrested as well.
When I reached, the first rights of passage had been administered...and people were cautious. They were trying to devise a plan...but getting to the point where plans startedd being devised took sometime, too. Finally, squatting on the grass, numerous voices were heard. The young girls were vocal, the aunties were scheming, while the boys made jokes and the old men passed cynical judgements on the state of affairs.
There was no agreement on the form of protest, with the eventuality being that the protesters who a few minutes back were willing to court arrest, trickled out like milk from syrupy leaves...neither nourishing nor ....anything else, unless you're a banana planter celebrating 100 years of solitude.
But it was decided that there will be another protest tomorrow...and we promised to show our faces. Maybe we will come in the line of fire, too, Master Mush style, get baton-charged and have some scars to compete against martyrs.
While emergency rule continues, so do breaking news. Everything is suddenly of ten-times the importance. Shaukat Aziz says elections might be delayed. Mushahid Hussain, another one of Master Mushs honchos, says that he advised against the imposition of emergency and it could only end in a catastrophe. Benazir is saying a lot of things but as teh channels are off air, it doesn't really matter how she tries to tap on the emotional aspects of those listening agape.
Rest is fine. But we are ignoring what's happening on the world front, but I will hopefully return tonight with a comprehensive analysis of the Italian mafia chief who has been arrested and the Leftists fighting for their rights in isolated positions in far-off Indian provinces and American defense secretary visiting China...or teh reacting from Vladimir Putin's visit to Tehran.
All things are worth the money....so it goes, said Vonnegut. I want to write his obituary, you know. And Master Mushs....and Benazirs, too.....so it goes.
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