March 16th 2009 marked a new day in the history of Pakistan. This was the day when a two year struggle by the civil society, lawyers, media and politicians produced significant gains. Judges who refused to accept illegal demands of civil and military dictators were reinstated through an executive order. Earlier lawyers from the PPP who were leading figures in the lawyers movement from 9th March 2007 took a u turn regarding their stance on the restoration of the judiciary. After getting senior positions in the government they started propogating their own views. They claimed that the deposed judges cannot be restored through an executive order. According to them the parliment has to pass a bill regarding the restoration of judges. However, lawyers like Aitzaz Ahsan, Ali Ahmed Kurd, Munir Malik etc. claimed that a simple executive order is enough for their restoration. The government adopted a divide and conquer strategy for restoring the judges of their choice. They asked some judges to take fresh oath. Majority of the PPP legislators decided not restore some of the judges. Even a few hours before the announcement those legislators kept on claiming that restoration of the CJ was out of question. Alas, truth prevailed and the judges are being restored through an executive order.

This did not deter the civil society, lawyers and media from fighting for establishing the rule of law. They fought relentlessly and were not scared of detentions, teargassing and other state atrocities. Hats off to them for thei valour and determination. This movement could not have succeeded without them. This movement would not have produced the desired results if either one of them had backed out.

At the same time I would like to express my gratitude to General Ashfaq Kiani and Lt.Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha who did not let the sytem collapse. They gave confidence to the Prime Minister and civil leadership that they can handle the affairs themselves. Ofcourse the played their role and perhaps even guided the leadership. However, they did not take things into their own hands. They have set a trend for the future military leadership who will only focus on their professional responsibilities.

Perhaps this was the most popular movement after the creation of Pakistan in 1947. We have proved to the world that we are not a failed state or a bunch of extremists. We believe in the rule of law and will fight peacefully to achieve our goal. Our success today does not mean that this is the end and law will be supreme. This is just the beginning. We’ll have to keep fighting with the same spirit and valour. We have realized that this is OUR country and only WE can put it on the path of prosperity. With a sincere desire to fight we can easily achieve our goals very peacefully.

Since the last few years Pakistan has been portrayed as a failed state. Our own supposed head of the states have portrayed Pakistan as a den of extremism where nobody can control the situation. They claimed that the stability of the country is linked to them being in office. Ofcourse, they had their own vested interests because of which they went around the world saying such stuff.

The last two years brought about a new unseen vibrancy in the Pakistani society. God bless Musharraf who tried to tame the judiciary which in turn led to one of the most popular movements in the history of Pakistan. This movement has been going on since the last two years, though there have been breaks at different stages and it appeared that the movement has died.Yet the lawyers, civil society and the media did not let the movement fail. 

When people were asked to donate for reducing Pakistan’s loans, they donated generously. After the 2005 earthquake people helped out their country men by donating food, cash etc and also worked for their rehabilitation. Youth organized relief camps even though they had no experience of doing such things.During the last two years Pakistanis have appeared in large numbers for expressing their anger towards the establishment. Pakistani youth have willingly spent time in jails their only fault being their desire to protest the state atrocities. Students from elitist institutions who were considered to be ignorant of the ground realities came out on the streets in a very organized manner. They made posters, wrote brochures, countless blog posts highlighting the need for establishing rule of law in the country and their desire to put our beloved country back on track. They realized that this is our country and we will work for its correction. The journalists and lawyers could not be stopped by police batons and teargas. They bravely fought them. Lawyers stayed in prisons, under house arrest for months. A senior lawyer  Munir A Malik was tortured so much that he started suffering from kidney problems. Yet he refused to budge from his stance. Private news channels were put off air, and anchors were not allowed to appear on the screen. But they came back with full enthusiasm. Section 144 was imposed at regular intervals yet lawyers, civil society, political activists came out on the streets with more enthusiasm. A sitting chief justice was manhandled by the police, illegaly put under house arrest with his family. With constant struggle he came back and delivered justice and tested the nerves of those who were in power. The movement for the rule of law has been going on since the last two years. It has taken down one of the most powerful generals the country has seen and now they are about to take on a civilian dictator. The movement started at a time when it appeared that the concience of the Pakistani society has died down and nobody has the will or the courage to fight for their rights. However different segments of the society have shown their unseen valour and motivation.

Can anybody claim that Pakistan is a failed, unstable state which cannot be controlled? My answer is NO. The Pakistani nation has proved to the world that they are the masters of their destiny. Anybody who tries to mess with them can miserably fail and will be made to pay for the conequences. They have taken down one of the most powerful generals the country has seen and can take down anybody who comes in their way. Our nation just needs a direction and a vision. They have the will, the motivation and determination to put their beloved country on the path of prosperity. May Allah grant us success. AMEEN.

On my way home in the afternoon I took pictures of the containers that had been placed on the Islamabad highway. For those of you who are familiar with Islamabad/Rawalpindi these pictures were taken at the Faizabad flyover. There were only three or four containers present at that time.

Ab kay yuun dil ko saza dee ham nay
Us kee har baat bhula dee ham nay

Eik, Eik Phool bohut yaad aaya
Shakh-e-gul jab woh jala dee ham nay

Aaj tak jiss pe woh sharmatay hein
Baat woh kab kee bhula dee ham nay

Shehr-e-jahan raakh se aabad hua
Aag jab dil kee bhuja dee ham nay

Aaj phir yaad bohut aaya woh
Aaj phir uss ko dua dee ham nay

Koi to baat hai uss mein FAIZ
Har khushi jiss pe luta dee ham nay..

Since the last few months there have been intense debates on whether the electronic media is becoming a monster or not.  Certain people are propogating the opinion that the media is playing a destructive role for the society. They claim that in the days of dictatorship it calls for democracy and later tries to destabilise democratically elected governments.  These people are following their own agenda and a free media is the only obstacle in their way, because it is the media only which can change people’s perspectives on certain things.  They are trying to silence the media through their propoganda.

One good thing Musharraf did was that he liberalised the electronic media. Many news and entertainment channels came up during his era. Later he himself looked for ways to curb the media when it started pointing his wrong doings and ill planned actions.  It was the media which helped CJ Iftikhar Chaudhry in mobilising people in his favour. The final result was February 18th elections which was the last blow to Musharraf.

While people talk about the media becoming a monster they tend to ignore another aspect of the electronic media’s growth. They conveniently forget the fact that private entertainment channels are slowly killing our culture. They copy Indian soap operas to increase viewership. Girls have stopped wearing full clothes. Exposing arms, bare skin is no more a no go area, infact they try to expose themselves as much as they can. Girls have forgotten modesty. Isn’t this the biggest crime the media has committed? Valentines day, basant etc are being imposed on us as a part of our culture as if we would be lost without them. Dramas are promoting infidelity, treachery. The concept of family entertainment has totally vanished. There was a time when we saw dramas like dasht, dhuwan, alpha bravo charlie tc. on PTV. Watching such fine productions now seems to be a dream. In the name of entertainment private channels are promoting a westernised society thus killing our own identity. People are becoming more materialistic and family values are being forgotten.

Looking at the above perspective of media, I believe that it definitely needs to be controlled but not because it exposes the wrong doings of our democratically elected leaders.

Over the years life has become very difficult for Pakistani tax payers. The issue is not of paying heave taxes. The issue here is of getting some comforts, benefits for our services to the country. After all we work hard for the money we earn and give the state as tax. The basic purpose of paying taxes is to help the state in developing infrastructure, provision of health care, education etc for the benefit of the common masses which in turn helps the development of the state.

Pakistan’s economic conditions have gone from bad to worse in the past 2-3 decades. Pakistan used to rely on agriculture as its main source of revenue. However, we are importing wheat and sugar which are two basic commodities. Either we are moving towards industrialisation or we are intentionally destroying our agriculture sector. Only our supposed policy makers know. People can be seen standing in long queues for hours just to buy a few kg of sugar or wheat? Isn’t it our right to get these commodities without any hassle at very reasonable prices?

In the last few years we used to hear some people claiming Pakistan’s economy is one of the fastest growing economies of the world.  Yet those people lagged the vision to add more energy to the national grid. Perhaps they thought that their statements alone will be enough.  They thought that the masses would be happy to hear that our economy is growing and would not worry about 12 hours load shedding.

Housing is yet another basic necessity of life for all citizens. Yet salaried class find it difficult to even pay their rents. On the other hand the affluent get plots alloted next to hills or on prime locations for their loyalties to the king makers. 

History is witness to the fact that the citizens cannot effectively contribute to the development of their state unless and until they get good quality education. Pakistan is a country which has three parallel education systems. The cambridge system is for the elite, the local system is for the average and the madressa system for those who cant afford either. Can the country prosper without a uniform quality education system which is available to all and sundry? Why does a salaried tax payer have to bear the frustration of not being able to send his children to the best schools? 

Being a salaried person my tax is deducted from my salary every month.  What bothers me is that I dont get anything other than frustration and humiliation despite the fact that I give a good part of my hard earned income. Wouldn’t it be better if I paid half of that amount to some ngo every month. That way somebody would benefit and I would also earn sawab from Allah.  I see people moving around in new mercedez benz along with dozens of heavily armed gun men. But I can be deprived of my cellphone or anything at any time. The law enforcement personnel would turn up only after they’re sure that the thieves have run away safely.  Dont I deserve some security as a taxpayer? Isn’t it my right to get a decent accomodation, affordable meals, health care just because I give the state a good part of my income? Isn’t it a shame that Pakistan was created in the name of Islam yet Pakistan is not a welfare state? I’m sure this was not Quaid-e-Azam’s idea of Pakistan.

Since 9th March 2007  the concept of Independent Judiciary has become very popular. Some people say our country cannot prosper without an independent judiciary some say it is not needed, there are other things that we need more. An independent judiciary is always needed to strengthen a country. Without justice people feel insecure and are not able to fulfil their responsibilities towards the state with the required dedication and enthusiasm.

Pakistan is a country where “Doctrine of Necessity” has allowed every tom, dick and harry to do anything he wants. What was the necessity here?Corruption, abuse of power, politically motivated kidnappings and murders? Isn’t the judiciary responsible for ensuring such things dont happen? After all justice delayed is justice denied.

Last year the country witnessed the worst ever inflation. At the same time one group was talking about an independent judiciary as well. Another group said we are fine as long as we can afford two meals a day. Both groups blame each other for working on their own vested interests without caring for the masses.

If we look into the recent history of Pakistan we will see that inflation has also occurred due to hoarding. I dont remember from which class I’ve studied in different subjects that agriculture is Pakistan’s main source of revenue. Lets look at the stock market crisis of March 2005. The market crashed all of a sudden even though Pakistan was one of the world’s fastest growing economies. What happened then is beyond my understanding. Who suffered in the end? Small investors, pensioners who were trading just to support their expenses. A supposed inquiry by SECP did not yield any results. All those actively trading know what happened. Back in 2006 a sugar crisis erupted. The crisis led to the increase in sugar prices from Rs.22 o a little over Rs.40. The then government supposedly took very quick action and imported sugar. What I fail to understand over here is how can we rely on agriculture if we are importing sugar? NAB had started an inquiry against some sugar mills but it was ordered by the then President Musharraf to stop. What I fail to understand is why did the President stop the inquiry? After all he wanted to establish good governance in the country. The wheat crisis is another example. We initially exported wheat and then imported it back. Will such things happen if perpetrators of these crimes are dealt with an iron hand? Will anybody have the courage to hoard any commodity if he knows that he will be punished for his crime? Why is it so that influential people get away because of NRO yet the common man has to go around in courts and prove his innocence just because he cant buy witnesses or influence somebody’s election?

In the past few years we have seen many state entities getting privatized. Most of them were generating good revenues and were sold at throwaway prices. After all they were state property and belonged to the tax payers of this country. However, only one such entity was saved by the Supreme Court. Who will investigate their sale at such low prices and punish those who sold them at such low rates? Isn’t this corruption as well?

People often blame CJ Iftikhar Chaudhry and his associates for the murder of 40 innocent citizens in Karachi on 12th May 2007. How can you blame them? Did they go out on the streets with guns in their hands and kill people? Or did they hire mercenaries who did the job? If they are guilty for those deaths how about putting them in a court of law and proving their link with those murders? At the same time it is necessary that those responsible for the murder of innocent children in Lal Masjid should also be tried.

This reminds me of a great statement by Winston Churchill “All the great things are simple, and many can be expressed in a single word: freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope. ” In Pakistan what is the one great thing a common man gets. A common man here only gets frustration. Being a tax payer it is my right to be given justice, dignity, freedom of speech. Yet I dont get anything. If I go into a government department for getting something done I will not be helped unless and until I dont empty my pocket. As a consumer what rights do I have? Who will compensate me if I buy a new car which turns out to be crap? What is the use of paying so many taxes? Wouldn’t it be better if I gave the money to an ngo which has a trackrecord of using the donations efficiently. Taxes are benefitting those who have huge properties and armies of guards.

We have to make a choice here.Do we need roti or justice? What will we fight for?Which fight will give us a better result in the long term?The choice is yours.

Pakistan became a free country in August 1947.Ever since we’ve faced alot of problems. Initially we didn’t get our share of money and weapons from the British. Alot of countries refused to recognize
Pakistan as an independent state. Not to forget India, occupied some states which were meant to be a part of
Pakistan. Then there were refugees coming in who had to be given food ,clothing, shelter etc. A year later Quaid-e-Azam died and we needed a leader who could handle the delicate situation boldly. A few years later we needed a constitution. And the list goes on.
Pakistan’s problems have never ended. Successive governments paid attention to different things like economy ,constitution, law and order, foreign policy etc .But none looked at illiteracy as a problem. Governments thought that all we need to do is align ourselves with the Americans, buy weapons for armed forces, take blessings from the GHQ etc but none thought of making
Pakistan an educated country. Everybody chose to ignore the fact that
Pakistan can never prosper if the masses aren’t educated. The fact is that they thought that educated masses would never let them carry out their personal agendas.Various scholars, politicians, analysts have identified a number of problems. Each claiming that this is the root cause for all the problems in our country. Some claim it is dictatorship, mismanagement of economy, wastage of funds, wrong foreign policies, lack of genuine leadership etc. But I don’t remember hearing anybody say its illiteracy. I believe illiteracy and our current education system are the root cause of all our problems.It is a miracle that despite such a pathetic state of affairs
Pakistan has produced scientists like Dr.Abdus Salam, Dr. A Q Khan etc. But the sad thing is nobody recognized their talent over here. When they went abroad and started excelling in their fields they started gaining prominence. But their own country had nothing for them.Until the 1990’s we did not have a lot of universities which were producing world class MBA’s, engineers, IT professionals etc. Most of the universities then offered programs from Bachelors to Doctorate in physics, chemistry, mathematics etc. A person having a Masters degree in some subject was considered very educated. Those who could afford went to
USA, Europe etc for higher studies. This started the brain drain in our country. Now most of them are well known or settled in their respective fields. Some want to come back and help
Pakistan but know that it wont be easy at all. The primary reason being lack of opportunities in various fields of science and technology.The military government appointed a prominent chemist Dr. Atta-ur-Rehman as minister of science and technology in early 2000. Currently he is the chairman of HEC(Higher Education Commission). He introduced some good reforms in higher education. A number of universities have been given charter and the students have been given alot of incentives to do research in various fields of science and technology. Now we have 4-5 universities in almost every city which are offering degree programs in various fields of management, information technology, engineering etc. But the question is how many are producing MBA’s who are employed by top multinational companies? How many IT professionals are we producing who are needed in silicon valley? I’m afraid the answer is very few. Most of the universities are producing degree holders and not competent professionals. Very few universities are offering world class degree programs. In this regard HEC has introduced ranking system for all the universities. Universities have been rated for their laboratories, libraries, student facilities, teacher to students ratio etc. But so far the ranking system has not helped. HEC should help universities in introducing better curriculum, give modern equipment to laboratories etc. Universities should be penalized for not improving their rankings. And HEC should work with them accordingly. In rural areas the situation is pathetic. Alot of schools don’t have proper class rooms, furniture, buildings etc. Children have to walk hundreds of kilometers to go to school. The result being children don’t get any benefit from going to school. It is more of a burden. Government of
Punjab has launched “Parha Likha Punjab” program but what has it done to appoint more qualified teachers, improve learning conditions for children? I guess nothing. Such programs are just a waste of time and resources. Waiving of fee, providing stipends, giving free books aren’t enough. It is better not to do anything like that unless there’s a proper vision, plan.In
Pakistan there are three different education systems running in parallel. One is the British Cambridge System, second is our own Matriculation System and third is our Madressa System. People who belong to the affluent class send their children to schools which offer the British system. People from middle class send their children to schools which follow our system. The poor and down trodden who can barely make both ends meet send their children to madrassas. The result we are producing a confused generation who look down towards people who come from different systems. We have to streamline our education system. There can be only one system which has the good features of all the three systems mentioned above.

The government needs to take concrete steps for promoting education in our country. The ministers of education, science and technology need to be competent professionals of their fields. A retired general cannot do anything about it. They need to produce world class brains that can help
Pakistan in achieving Quaid’s dreams. The current brain drain has to end. Bringing in foreign investment in industries is useless if you have illiterate masses. If you talk about best investment climate, also talk about the best available research facilities in various fields of science and technology. We need to do something about education fast, before its too late.

After the 2002 elections  there was alot of political uncertainty.No party had a clear majority.The government could have been formed only after an alliance between PML(Pakistan Muslim League) MMA(Muttahida Majlis e Amal),PPPP(Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians) PML or the PPPP and MMA.But none of the parties were willing to form an alliance and after alot of horse trading the PML formed a government.At that time rumours were rife that Makhdoom Amin Fahim of PPPP would be made PM(Prime Minister) and his son would be made Governor Sindh. However something went wrong at the last minute.Apparently Benazir had some reservations on sharing power with General Pervaiz Musharraf.Consequently the Parliament saw a very strong opposition one of the strongest in recent history.

Its been more than 4 years since PML became the ruling party.During these 4 years the sustained democracy introduced by dictator General Musharraf saw three Prime Ministers.Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali was the first PM.Later he developed some problems with the President because of which he was told to leave his office.Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain President of PML was made a care taker PM.Shaukat Aziz the then finance minister was nominated PM and he was unable to go to the office immediately because he was a member of the Senate.After a few days he was elected through a bogus rigged election.This is a clear indication of the fact that anybody who wants to be PM should have the consent of the Army Chief.It doesn’t make a difference whether you dont have a constituency.After all elections are held to be rigged.

Last years local government elections saw the worst ever rigging.International observers condemned the whole process but what matters is that our worthy General’s loyalists came.They are loyal to the General therefore they are loyal to the country.

Elections of 2007 are fast approaching.All parties have started some sort of preparation, though on a very limited and small scale.After showing the worst form of corruption, nepotism etc the PML thinks that it has lost popularity.The fact remains that the lotas could have never come to power if the elections were free and fair.But free and fair elections are just a dream for Pakistan now.

In its preparations for next year’s elections the PML is working out seat adjustments with different parties and what are the possibilities.They are afraid they wont be able to get as many seats next time.As a part of the elections strategy they are looking at alternatives.Their current partner MQM doesnot have any significant importance.MQM’s vote bank is restricted to afew parts of Sindh only.But they need a party which has a following all over Pakistan.The mullahs of MMA are too rigid and can create alot of problems.Nawaz Sharif’s PML has lost most of its leaders to the lotas PML therefore there isn’t any use of talking to them.And secondly they are very much against the present regime.The only option left for Musharraf is the PPPP.They are moderate and reasonable people.Musharraf wants to retain both his uniform and Presidency.For that he needs to legalize his stay through another constitutional amendment after the 2007 elections.But he needs a majority in the Parliment.The last hope for him is the PPPP.

Afew days back in a statement Musharraf admitted that the government was negotiating with PPPP.Some senior leaders of PML are also of the view that PPPP is their last hope.Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed who is a close aide of the President also said that they were in regular contact with the PPPP leadership.However this has been strongly denied by the PPPP leadership.They say that any sort of deal with the Government is impossible.A reason cited for their denial is the Charter of Democracy which was signed by Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif.According to the charter no party will carry out any deal with the military government.

Details will unfold as the elections come closer.A deal between PPPP and General Musharraf cannot be ruled out under any circumstances.However there is a strong possibility of a deal after some time.

Since the last few years the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has been running under an adhoc setup.The people at the top have been non professionals with no experience in cricketing affairs.First it was Lt.Gen Tauqir Zia (R) a general and then it was Mr.Sheheryar Khan a former diplomat.Tauqir Zia was appointed chairman following the unofficial rule, generals have a cure for everything.However the wisdom behind the appointment of Mr.Sheheryar Khan is known only to the Patron in chief of PCB President General Pervez Musharraf.Mr.Sheheryar Khan resigned as Chairman PCB a few days back.He was appointed in place of Lt.Gen Tauqir Zia (R).Since quite some time the Mr.Sheheryar Khan was under fire from former cricketers for his handling of the Oval fiasco and the events after.But Younis Khan’s sudden and shocking resignation as captain made him resign.The former chairman said that he couldnot take it anymore. Within hours Dr.Nasim Ashraf was appointed.Dr.Nasim Ashraf was already a member of the adhoc setup.It is for the third time that a person with a non cricketing background has been appointed PCB chairman.Hours after his appointment Dr.Nasim Ashraf reinstated Younis Khan as captain.

Throughout the Oval fiasco and the subsequent ban on Inzamam ul Haq the PCB’s role has been limited to that of a silent spectator.For unknown reasons Darell Hair wasn’t sued even though we had a very strong case against him.He brought the Pakistan team into disrepute.This just shows that the top brass of PCB lacks a vision to lead.

The fact remains that PCB needs a proper, professional setup after full restructuring.The recent drugs scandal surrounding our two key fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif show that PCB has not enforced or doesnot have any checks and balances to check drug usage by players.The management should take steps to ensure player fitness and that the relevant rules and regulations should be followed in this regard.PCB needs alot of attention.Otherwise it might badly affect the Pakistani cricket team and bring down international rankings.