Happy new year?

On the way back from a tiring flight and being stuck in traffic for the past couple of hours as people are out on the roads celebrating New Year, got me wondering why these exuberant Muslims are celebrating so hard? What diffrence change of Gregorian Calendar date makes in anyone's life? It would be great to find a rational answer to this enigma of life that why we celebrate this date change? What change, change of date brings to anyone's life. Pretty much like celebrating birthdays notwithstanding the fact that clock ticks forward whereas individual life clock is set on a countdown. Quite ironic? Absence of logic may not be as painful as presence of absolute nonsense like being on the road the activities visible are:

1. Loud music mostly Indian.

2. Pindi biker boys cutting across from every side.

3. Fights & abuse due to 'influence'

4. Fireworks, really? We go out to beg for money & we so proudly burn money in firecrackers.

5. Traffic violations galore. Seems like a matter of social pride and moral obligation to break the rules.

And those much awaited new year parties planned well ahead of time to celebrate 'something' for unfathomable reasons.

If the indifferent and emotionless needle of time has ticked over one more second, minute, day, month and year, what have to really done to go berserk with rowdy celebrations? Or have sober party? Or have a decent party? Or get slushed for what? But if you still insist you deserve to express your celebrations through any of these ways, go ahead. Have a great night. Have another pointless celebrations for achieving nothing. Advance apologies to liberal extremists for a spoiler. However, for better understanding of everyone, next Christmas besides asking Santa from where does he bring all those gifts, do ask him about reasons of festivities at the turn of the year. 

India Today - Part 1

Hindu Extremism is on the rise. Hindu nationalists are xenophobic and love war-mongering. It serves Modi's 'successful' political model of Gujrat really well. But will it work? Is India resilient enough to withstand current tide of extremism? Before we probe into this, lets see how Pakistan fared through dire straits of extremism.
Now brace yourself. Pakistani nation is the most resilient nation on God's earth. It has been tossed around between worst dictatorships & even worse political regimes. There is serious competition between the both for being worst than the other. Politicians joined the bandwagon of dictotors and juiciary bowed to the laws of necessity. Particularly three darker decades (1985-2018) when politicians were born & bred in dictatorships,  on every given opportunity that had fiascos of corruption besides hitting each other where it hurt the most. Yet, this nation weathered the storms of darkest dictatorships and darker democratic reigns.
Pakistan is surrounded by Far Right Governments all around. Whereas, despite continuous hullabaloo of extremism for past three decades, Pakistani people resisted, fought & overcame the menace. Because this nation is not bonded by something as fragile as Secularism. Though we badly mismanaged ourselves, ransacked our own ideology but both people and ideology has the strength to resist and recover.
Starting from China, a one party communist government and a shade of extremism. Afghanistan is synonymous with Taliban extremism, whereas, Iran is epicenter of shia extremist form of government. And India's mask of secularism is giving way to its ugly hindu nationalist extremist face. In North, we have Himaliyas and in South Indian Ocean. So its extremist form of government, people and geography all around us. All these shades of extremism have attacked us from all sides but none lasted for long. Such is the strength of this nation.
Second term of BJP will change India forever.
Wait for part 2 on India's current wave of extremism, its impact on us and future.

Happy Birthday Muhammad Ali Jinnah

Happy Birthday sir, thank you for the miracle you pulled for us. Though most of us spent last 72 years undoing this miracle yet it stood the test of time. Because if it didn't, it would have defied the very spirit of a miracle. So its here to stay only to shame us that we failed to play our due role. But hope is the fuel of life. Good leadership besides other wonderful traits exudes hope for others. Today, should we not make an endeavor to take a leaf out of Quaid's life? 

It is terrifying to imagine, what would be it like without your leadership before partition. And after partition, we have seen what can become of a nation without credible leadership. Only if this leadership didn't have a small issue of 'integrity', we could have pulled more miracles. On the other hand, there is not a single lie anyone could associate with Muhammad Ali Jinnah. What most people miss out that he was a specimen modern Muslim. He had the knowledge of the world and times in which he lived in sync with organic knowledge of Islam. His attire was up to date and his spirit was Muslim to the core. Hence, difference of human evolution between MAJ & Mullah was that of 1400 years. Both in knowlege of deen & duniya, he outdid Mullah. 

Modern liberals have gone step ahead of religious orthodoxy. Modernity has been seriously misinterpreted by current lot. To them it is selective adaptation of current modern civilization. Not its principles but lifestyle, outlook & attitude in the wrong sense of the word seems to have become our definition of modernity. As if slavery of a century was not enough, this false sense of modernity has further confused the confused. Resultantly, kids don't have role models to follow, young don't have organic knowledge of Islam, middle age don't have clear mission statement and old age don't finally become those role models which kids needs to learn from and follow in every household. Let's take away one thing for every age from glorious life of MAJ. 

For kids his legacy is to gain knowledge of the world through education.

For young his legacy is to be the best in respective domains and rise above self. 

For middle age his legacy is to make difference in others' lives through ideology (of Islam). 

For old age his legacy is of being a leader of character and hope because every elder is a role model at least for his own family. 

May Allah keep his blessed soul in highest of places. Ameen

 

The Flip Side - Note 5

I wore uniform for the best part of my life. I swallowed saline water of Arabian Sea when dipped in for training purposes and ran like mad on its shore sands. I treaded mountains in North. I was your sentinel. Carried loads more than I could. Fought sleep, hunger & thirst. Built my spirit for a bigger cause. Walked with sores and blisters in my feet. I negotiated storms and blizzards. At eighteen thousand feet, I could barely breath but kept my spirit and spirit of my comrades alive. Walked under live fire through snow capped mountains, moving glaciers and devouring crevasse. In scorching heat of Choolistan and Thar, drenched in my own sweat, I walked with pride and honor. I dodged bullets of unknown and looked death in the eye. I knew, I was going through these rigors for a cause, for my homeland made in the name of Allah. My sacred duty is done. My days of strength are behind me. Have the guts to put the noose around my neck because I feel distraught that I gave my best years for people like you who kept so much spite for uniform. You hate uniform that is not a secret. Just because you didn't hate them as much and every terrorist, every marauder, every thug got away from your office and thence from the grip of law. I don't hate you. I didn't toil, sweat and bleed for you. I was doing my thing i.e. Soldiery. You wouldn't know a thing about soldiery. You don't even know your own trade. The disdain you have for soldiers reflects your limitations in grooming, education and knowledge. Your insecurities are not my problem. You are ungrateful. I don't expect anything from disloyal prophets of hate. You loath me, hence you don't qualify to call me a teaitor. So hang me. I would rather brace death with dignity. I'm Musharraf after death display my corpse for three days at D Chowk. I dare you little spiteful mouse with whig and pen. Hang me too.

Asad Jamal at 06:24

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The Flip Side -Note 4

 I hate Pervez Musharraf for what he did to stay in power. It was all lame but I am equally disgusted on death sentence handed over on high treason to him. He was anythig but a traitor. 

 Surely a judgment by Kangroo Courts and a moment to rejoice by affectees (Noon League and Indian Media). I would not call them bitches of riches as US paper dubbed them.

Nawaz Sharif kuddoos (Hussan & Hussain) were never dished punishment in absentia but PM was.

I'm struggling to explain to my kids that how could we manage to give death sentence to a decorated war veteran on death bed while convicts are being granted bails on health grounds for treatment who have been seen lunging like rabbits in downtown London. What a mess? 

Probably these judges were once 'advocates' and we saw their worth just last week.Keeping future of sitting COAS in limbo and Chief Justice mocking Pervez Musharraf by raising fists reflects his deep-rooted spite for army. Most of these advocates are rejected by every respectable institution and  profession before they end up selling notary seal for Rs 100 on Kachehry phatta (plank). Those rejected from ISSB then make it a lifelong mission to strike against army whenever and wherever they can. Towards the twilight of his tenure, it feels CJ's disdain for army just came to fore. Mala fide would be a perfect description for this kind of stunt.

It is so hard to keep compoure and choose right words for situations like this.

16 December - A day to mend our ways

16 December came and went again with usual rubbing of salt over two gross wounds of this nation. They say 'change or perish', we better change our ways or brace to perish because a nation created on lofty ideology must learn from its past or be an example for others to dread. 
Dismemberment was ugly and painful to this day. Ideology of Pakistan didn't perish but a part of it did. In the end, Bengalis chose to be Bengalis but it was never a happy marriage. No matter how much we blame India and no matter how much schizophrenic modi takes pride in 1971 debacle, let's admit it was our societal decay particularly self proclaimed high handedness of West over East born out of slave mindset, a dark legacy of gora sb. Secondly, political shortcomings which led to an embarrassing military defeat and dismemberment of the country. What kind of arguments would change that? Let's accept, we all failed. After Jinnah, we never had political leadership which could manage current crisis with an eye on future challenges.
Second rather fresh wound was APS Peshawar. Again we all failed. Terrorism was running riot in this country for over a decade and there was again dearth of leadership which could have envisaged such a calamity. At the turn of the century, it was Dictator Musharraf (under trial for high treason), Zardari (under investigation for corruption of billions) & Nawaz Sharif (convicted in corruption) which says a lot about the quality of leadership at the helm of affairs during build up years of terrorism in the country which led to heart wrenching cold-blooded genocide of our children. Again leadership failed, intelligence gathering failed, intelligence interception mechanism failed, QRFs failed, LEAs failed, interior ministry failed, entire political & military hierarchy failed. We all failed to protect those little angels. It was a calamity worse than what Bani Israel had to bear at the hands of Pharoah.
Little salt in old wounds on a day like this is a stark reminder for us to learn as a nation. But are we learning? Lately, like hoctchpotch of extremist nationalist hindu theocracy across borders, we are also becoming intolerant of everything. May it be ideas, individuals or groups, we are eager to settle the issue there and then whether its home, office or life in general. Politicians whether in power or in opposition ooze hatred for each other. Hitherto noble, revered and educated professionals like doctors & lawyers are at each others' throats.
Are we waiting for another disaster to hit and ravage us like above narrated two? This has to stop. First and foremost is Prime Minister who has to check his arrogant and disdainful language for opponents, then his team of bullies, then opposition, then media and then rest of us. In the end, when we fail, all of us fail then why not change our ways before another collective failure is added to our resume
Only Allah knows the whole Truth. 

On World Human Rights Day Today...

 On World Human Rights Day

Our cabinet discussed bail of a convict who needed to tend her convicted father on bail in London. Whereas, her absconder brothers and her sister who happens to be the daughter in law of another absconder in London are already there. Not only that, there are number of daughter in laws, son in law (an unmatched gem stone no where else to be found) and a brigade of grown up third generation brats but none of them matches the care little MissAdventurous could provide. Secondly, she is being exiled to London because she being architect of Dawn Leaks is deemed responsible for current situation of her father and family. And reason for this considerate view by our competent & compassionate cabinet is that all of them are just billionaires, if they were trillionaires they would have been dealt with severely. Literally, poor sharif people of pureland. 

We can proudly tell the world that as far as Human Rights are concerned, banner holders of State of Medina have today surpassed every other state in the world.

Thank God we lived to see this day.

May be just a little mention of over four months curfew & sevety two years of Indian subjugation of Kashmir, 57 thousand other patients in jails, women and their kids born in jails, 10 thousands Pakistanis locked up in jails abroad, women degradation in Thana and Kachehri for lack of money, pending cases in courts other than Mariyam Nawaz who forwarded bail application on Saturday & on Monday, court asked Govt to consider it and today on Tuesday cabinet  did what it could do best, clean water in Thar, Cholistan, Balochistan etc, jobs, health, education, susti roti (if at all someone thinks these are human rights), underage orphanage girls in Lahore being coerced for sex by influential, Model Town, Sahiwal victims, and so on might have made it look like an overarching view on human rights but fierce discussion on release of Mariyam Nawaz was still enough to reflect our seriousness towards human rights.

Sometimes the facts of this fiction called Govt in Pakistan are beyond my ken and no wonder if these are beyond comprehensible limits of any sane mind.

Distraught would be an understatement because all above sarcasm doesn't really change anything nor does it alleviate pain that comes with it.

Before you ask what next? I can only tell you to keep the faith, mayoosi gunah hai.

Only Allah knows the whole Truth. 

Incompetent team PTI

 The only potent opposition in our politics is incompetence of Team PTI. Their consistency reflects continuous ghoof ups throughout the term. Will they successfully axe their foot, remains to be seen? May be someone from PTI could predict it better because the axe is in their hands.

Now whether it was an insurance policy or totally wrong decision yet someone had to advice Mr Novice on correct procedure. And its very easy to separate culprits on this issue from a group of nincompoop ministers & obdurate bureaucrats. Law Secretary who would have advised Law Minister & Principle Secretary of PM who is supposed to be an all knowing guy on procedures, had to advice PM on this issue. One out of these missed the trick for incompetence, lethargy or purposeful negligence, hence a storm in the tea cup on COAS' extension issue. 

Indians & their mouthpieces in Pakistan are having a field day. Never been a supporter of extensions because 'compromise' is the byproduct of such gratifications ppl call extensions. And there seems sufficient poetic justice in the situation. Let's see how soon the situation returns to normal. 

Every thug gets bail. Every decoit gets away. No decision is made in absentia against mega money launderers. However, Pervaiz Musharraf's decision is ready to be announced. Literally, no love lost for retired general, he is a shame on military not for evicting Nawaz Sharif but for hanging on to power for so long against the constitution. But law should be same for everyone. And what could we comment on the honorable courts? Are they honorable at all? At least, Virginia's Newspaper doesn't say anything about honor in its caption on Pakistani Courts. And rightly so. Awaken from deep slumber, CJ forcefully converted an application to his first suo moto and that too on a non issue. Really, is this the only issue that merited CJ's personal attention? General Bajwa will get extension & continue as COAS, for next three years but the untimely intervention of courts will definitely add to inglorious history of justice in land of pure.

Pakistan is not one for anyone. Niether justice, equality, nor education & health. And icing on this rotten cake is incompetent team of PTI.

May Allah ease it for us. 

Godbless Pakistan.

Weekend Recommendation - Diriliş: Ertuğrul

May God speed you 
May the sun not burn your skin
May the rain not make your soul cold
May stones be away from your foot
Go like water,
And come back to your tent like water

A prayer line from dignified romance between Ertugrul Bey & Halime Sultan.
Dilliris Ertugrul is addictive for good reasons. A far less interested and cynical viewer like the scribe went on a binge. Allah's name is mentioned in every second dialogue which is a true reflection of our culture. It is the genesis of resurrection of Islam in pre-renaissance era. A piece of proud Turk history and a piece of art. Resurrection series will not disappoint you when in the age of fictional super heroes, you get to exprience real heroes no matter how much dramatization has taken the better of reality. We have grown up watching Hollywood 'truths' which were much worse.

Spiritual sprinkling of Ibne Arabi Andalusi add value to the settings. 

Muslim culture's strengths were never made more visible on TV screens as this series. That is the kind of production decent Muslims yearn to see. It has a bit of everything viz drama, adventure, action, history, spiritual angling, cultural richness of Muslim Turks, loyalty, betrayal and last but not the least, a dignified romance. Subtitle reading could be a bother but worth every bit. 
This would be fun. Find time to watch this series with kids & family.
Blessed weekend.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSCHrDLjlO9sZk6iLEAuE0w

Good politics is what we need

There is so much rumor mongering in political circus and media is their mouthpiece. Their job is to keep you divided and keep building false image of political gods keeping them relevant. And politics is a game of hate because it is so easy to sell hate. So media politicians alliance successfully keeps us confused, curious and hateful. Last thing you expect from them is truth. So lets try and cut through the noise what actually none of them are trying to tell us.
Army is not taking control, it is just trying to keep mandate of the people to where it belongs.
Realistically speaking, stereotyping in politics is history along with stereotypes. The only good change is that the old political model is creaking under the weight of its failings. NS, Zardari & Maulana brand of politics has no future Whereas, PTI is here to stay. We might wanna look for a fresh & better alternative of PTI because existing opposition is no opposition at all. Opposition with its baggage & poor decision making is fighting for a face saving exit. Do they have the guts to out maneuver Imran Khan? If they could, they would have but that's not happening.
Does that bother me what happens to corrupt politicians and who will do the opposition instead? Not at all. I don't care just like them when they didn't care about Pakistan & rest of us in their four decade long reign. They invested in mafias & reaping the returns, fait accompli. What bothers me is that there is no opposition to politically challenge PTI's misgovernance, economic mess and poor team.

And for (some) courts, News Virgina's headline, 'Pakistani courts are bitches of the riches', might not change their approach towards their noble profession yet an overarching one liner. Needs no further comment. 

By being politically charged partisans we are missing on mobilizing ourselves politically and bringing in a fresh political force. Good politics has changed the fate of many nations. Good politics is what we need.

Only Allah knows the whole Truth. 

Misguided victory sign

Noon League supporters are in their own league. They have been making victory signs✌️ for the past yr & a half.

April 2017, they made victory signs on formation of Panama JIT.

July 2017, they made victory signs each time Nawaz Sharif was disqualified & NAB was told to make references.

July 2018, Mr & Mrs Safdar Awan convicted then released in September & again the victory signs.

December 2018, Nawaz Sharif sentenced for 7 yrs in Al Azizia but acquitted in Flagship, hence victory signs.

October 2019 & yesterday's bail again prompted victory signs

During his 100 plus court hearings & jail visits by family & party members, there were victory signs.

What victory really? Against the system of the country he ruled over four decades? Against judicial & executive of the country who caught him for stealing & released him as well? Against people who made him PM thrice whose money was laundered ruthlessly & shamelessly?

Problem with these victory sign supporters is that their moral compass is made in China, which points towards the leadership instead of the truth & that is the plight of every political worker & an ongoing nightmare for the country.

Rabi ul Awal Mubarak

This Rabi ul Awal, let's cherish being Muslims. What is so great being a Muslim or why we continue to be Muslims? There are some really cool provisions in this religion e.g. we don't have to be perfect and as long as we are  playing our roles, that's all we are expected to do. It has no conflict with achieving excellence in everything we do. Its just that, since perfection is out of question, it saves us exhaustive pursuance of being perfect.
It is so logical to have placed an Ideal Man (Peace & Blessings be upon Him) to allow the rest space for being anything below perfect. Sometimes, you may use your imperfection 'Privilege Card' & be imperfect for the love of the life because we are the only creatures who has been taught how to seek forgiveness by The Teacher swt himself whenever & however we falter. The way out for conscious & inadvertent mistakes or failings is one sincere call of forgiveness and you are clean.
Perfection was not a simple bestowing. There were no preconditions for selection it had phases. The preparation for receiving Quran through open heart surgery in the desert at Haleema Sadia's. Then that defiance of time & space (beginning of which is still an unresolved mystery for science) when He (PBUH) sat on his space craft (Burraq) presumably traveled through a black hole where time froze & space became irrelevant. And then the moment of truth which thumped seal of perfection on His (PBUH) human self, that One on One meeting up there. He PBUH had to be perfect because He PBUH is the only human who saw perfection in person.
Here we must thank scientific advancements in the west which supplement our belief system through their continuous push for excellence. Our generation of late 20th Century was born in times of intellectual inquiries based on logic and sense perception. Science bolstered our beliefs further by explaining Quran to us much better than Ulema of tafseer for examole first three verses of Al Najm settle the issue of black holes.
So this model of Perfect Super Being (Allah swt) & Perfect Human Being (Prophet PBUH) as role model explained through a flawless Manual (Al Quran) makes much better sense & absorbs many 'isms' like theism, idealism and so on. It is so cool to be a Muslim in any age and time and our time is no different only if we endeavour to bring it up to the speed with modern times. Dr Allama Muhammad Iqbal stands out to be the only reformer in religious thought in past five centuries. We need more of these.
Only Allah Knows the whole Truth. 

The Flip Side - Note 2

11 May 2013, General Elections NA-235 Sanghar II, a presiding officer called on my cell and reported massive rigging. As per constitution/ election rules, I asked him to requisition Army to move in as he had powers of Magistrate Grade I. He replied, 'Sir, you will leave after election duty and reporting this matter officially will endanger my family's lives'. Note that as per elections terms agreed by all political parties, Army had to stay outside the polling station and that was where the match was fixed. 
Cometh General Elections 2018, Army was given access to inside of polling stations after unanimous consent of all political parties. Naturally, it minimized chances of rigging inside polling stations. Consequently, unfavorable result for traditionally strong political entities who 'managed' election in past four decades because they were well entrenched in the system and their cariographers were anything but inept. Now, for face saving exit of grand opposition from Azadi March/ dharna, as an excuse of their political failings and loss in elections, these low lives are blaming Army for engineering last elections. Army doesn't do anything else wrong including floods, quakes, disaster relief, resettlement & rehab of displaced, development works in far-flung areas of GB, Kashmir, KPK & Blochistan except when its role conflicts with vested interets of political thugs. An anti Army narrative just continues to sell well among stented minds & parasites of status quo. Whereas, last general elections, PPP got more seats in Sindh & Noon nearly made govt in Punjab. For poor conduct of three dictatorships & shameful meddling of three odd intelligence heads in entire history, scapegoating Army for all their shenanigans by some politicians is despicable to say the least.
For Army, it shall continue its pursuit of excellence & that is the best answer to baseless propaganda. Already the difference & distance in terms of professionalism & institutional strength from the other state institutions is beyond comprehensible capacity of these pea sized brains. 

Maulana has arrived - what next?

Maulana has become an enigma. In fact, I never in my wildest dreams imagined writing and deciphering Maulana but he takes full credit for attracting such attention. What is he up to? What next? Is govt going to wait & watch, negotiate & reconcile, budge & bend, exasperate & affront? So many unanswered questions have really spiced up otherwise a politically dull environment due to toothless opposition mired deep into corruption hole. There are serious issues of governance, teetering economy (particularly alarming areas are inflation and unemployment) but there is no political force to up the ante against the govt failings.

Islamabad drawing rooms are very complacently dubbing Azadi March and Peshawar Mor sit-in as Alien Invasion. Insafians obviously (and ironically) abhor the whole activity which they did not so long ago. Geo is showing what ARY used to show not long ago. Govt big mouth bullies are showing uncharacteristic restrain after hurling volleys of nonsense at Maulana and his March. ISPR in an unnecessary engagement issued clarification on Army’s role in elections and reaffirmed its ‘support’ to the democratically elected govt, thereby, adding to Maulana’s already growing weight (both political and physical).

However dislike people may hold for Maulana, he is not a political amateur. Through a brilliant political maneuver, Maulana brought himself into the political spotlight, casting serious shadows on slapdash Bilawal and politically impotent Shahbaz Sharif. In fact, both mainstream opposition parties have been badly exposed for their inability to mobilize people as if termite of Zardari System and wisdom of father and daughter was not enough for their demise notwithstanding the fact that they were never interested to mobilize people for Maulana to steal the credit at this point in time.

I spent last few days on decoding Maulana’s politics. His political career is laden with ‘result oriented’ political posturing without breaking sweat. Willy-nilly, one has to accept that the guy is very intelligent in his own right, eloquent and logical in order to achieve his political goals and adaptive in nature i.e. he supported Taliban until they became redundant and at one point requested US Ambassador to Pakistan Ann Patterson to support for his premiership. He takes religious route to his voters’ hearts but his objectives like every other political leader are unambiguously political in nature. Though he did lose some political ground in last elections but he knows how to stay relevant. No matter how much disdain and insult is brought to his name at the social media, most of his supporters and voters don’t even use internet neither does he bother to clear the air nor does he need to. Since death of his father, he maintained and grew in political signature. He is a political reality. And in current political vacuum, he sees his chance to come to fore. He just saw an opportunity to achieve some relevance towards twilight of his life and political career and there seems no real harm in the attempt.

Such expensive march across the length and breadth of the country and current dharna is not Maulana’s political style. He has not only executed a near perfect Azadi March with unprecedented discipline and clinical precision but is also giving govt ultimatums. He has not crossed any lines yet. If he or his allies do cross the lines, they will be dealt with very severely. Although, Noon and PPP would dearly want a showdown between Maualna’s baton Army with nation’s LEAs but this wish will also not see fruition. The moment Maulana felt being offered favourable terms and conditions for a face saving exit from current situation, he will take it. But for that govt has to play very smart which could turn out be an unrealistic expectation. Finally, will he succeed in forcing IK to resign is not happening. So relax everyone, enjoy your weekend because nothing significant is coming to pass except temporary disruption in lives of Isloo dwellers.

Only Allah knows the whole Truth.

Saintly Coke Studio-Wohi Khuda Hai

Kudos to Coke Studio for raising the level of music from devilish to divine and nothing more qualifies this than Hamd (حمد) Wohi Khuda Hai by Atif Aslam.
No wonder, music appealed locals of Hindu tradition. Saints were intelligent preachers than their successor Mullahs, they took path of music to people's hearts. They were on a mission and they were sincere missionaries. Mullah just loves to take post on his pulpit. And to stay relevant, he pulls every emotion on human inventory like hate, anger, love (if they needed).
Then it happened like this that we forgot the ways of the saints. Instead of spreading their mission, we began dancing on their graves on music & lyrics they used to change people's hearts. We hit another low when we began to dance on demonic tunes. If musical abyss had any bottom, it would be Indian love songs. Imagine how bad our music taste had become, rock bottom would be an understatement.
What Coke Studio is doing is that its reconnecting us with tradition of Sufi Saints. Overall, quality, impact & message of contemporary music had become so mundane that such high quality themed video Hamd was bound to stand out. Good standard of music & animating vocals are essential to convey powerful message crafted by the master craftsman Muzaffar Warsi. Wrapped in this package, propelled by Coke Studio platform, words of this Hamd has all the ingredients to touch hearts with its powerful message. Here, it must be mentioned that just becauae of the quality of lyrics, all those who sang this Hamd in past including the poet & Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan made similar impact in the past as well.

The end with Darood Sharif underlines place of Aqa Muhammad PBUH in the whole equation. Whoever, will listen and enjoy the quality of music & vocals must be compelled to look into the meaning of lyrics & ending with respects to The Prophet PBUH. This work will touch hearts. It may change hearts. It is a saintly work of Coke Studio.

Despite being a commercial venture, certain Coke Studio songs seem to reenact the works of saints and Wohi Khuda Hai stands right up there

Team Misbah versus Team PTI

Except diplomatic victory that an international series took place in Pakistan, on performance front, poor team selection & a whitewash is the outcome.There are unccanny resemblances between Misbah's first series incharge & Team PTI's first year in office. He tried to build the team around his winning formula of Islamabad United pitching Faheem along with Shadab. Pretty much the same selection process seems to have gone in PTI' Team selection. Bacteria of Ahmed Shahzad, Umer Akmal & Faheem Ashraf took two games to be removed but along went the series, too little too late. Let's see how soon PTI takes an antibacterial drug or procrastinate till the series is lost. Misbah is calm & longterm for which he did well in longer version of the game whereas, shorter version is quite the opposite, T20 is fast, fluid & aggressive. You blip & you flip. Plus its good to be overrated in younger age, one can learn but being overrated at middle age is not only end of the road as far as learning & improving is concerned, it is seriously detrimental to people & organizational output. Or do we have to wait for Misbah to complete his on job training like Team PTI. And captain on the field talks too much like our minnisters & deliver too little.
There is a dissimilarity between Misbah's 1st series incharge & PTI's 1st yr in office that  people still have some genuinely measured hope assocciated with Captain PTI than great Sir Misbah ul Haq who does seem to have felt some heat of the hot seat. Its hard for him to get results in shorter format & if he has to stay like Bhai Jan Buzdar then we may have to get used to be on the losing side more often than not.
Similarities between Team Misbah & Team PTI outweigh the dissimilarities. But dissimilarity of Team Leaders alone outwieghs all similarities.

PM's General Assembly Speech and beyond

General Assembly speeches make headlines and Imran Khan's made some real good headlines today (the following day). Despite making headlines, these UNGA annual heads of state speeches fizzle out before creating any effect in tangible terms but does IK's speech break that barrier, remains to be seen. However, whatever has transpired so far, is unprecedented. A speech well articulated in diction, manner & message having all ingredients for considerable impact in short and long term. PM set the tone of Kashmir issue by taking the bull by the horns. 
Was he posturing well? Hell yes and why not, he is a leader who likes to stay a move ahead of his enemy. Muhammad Ali Jinnah was the greatest exponent of it. He would unfold Hindu's next move before execution. He saw through them. He was at the top of his game. Its no comparison, just a leaf out of Jinnah Sahab's repertoire.
Back to the speech.
Was it brankmanship? Big fat yes and why not, if there is remote possibility of being pushed against the wall, preempt. There are no other rational alternarives in the face of an enemy who is going berserk with newly found Hindu fanaticism. Hindu Extremism is on the rise. Hindu nationalists are xenophobic and love war-mongering. It serves Modi's political model really well. Is India resilient enough to withstand current tide of extremism? Doesn't look like that and time shall tell. 
People in general don't seem to understand or don't want to understand that that current Kashmir situation may have serious consequences. There are two possible scenarios:
One that 370 is revoked by Indian Supreme Court but under RSS mentorship, extremist Hindus have developed a taste for mob lynching. As if this nation needed more extremist traits. Was it not enough that they carve stones & wood and worship them. In this time and age athiest have a better line of argument then Hindus admitting that they can't disprove God's existence either.  Under the circumstances, no judge would risk being lynched. In fact, no one in India can withstand current typhoon of Hindu hooliganism.
Why are they so insecure? Hindus experienced freedom after a very long time. Barely 72 years of freedom after over thousand years of slavery, mostly ruled over by Muslims before British. It seems there are deep, deforming scars on Hindu soul, hence the monster of extremism is running wild.
Two that sooner or later, Kashmir explodes. May sound like a doomsday scenario but nothing short of it meets the situational criteria. If state of India doesn't budge from its stance which it won't in any case, then what choice is left with Kashmiris? We can't control their reactions. Things will escalate, even if Kashmiris don't escalate, India can repeat Pulwama type episode. In every scenario things are more likely to escalate than not. And if that be the case, we need to go all out to prepare for it. Wherein, speech was just one little step in the right direction. I would have liked PM to have directly addressed Indian nation for once not to play with fire. This might just have been an attempt to segregate fanatic RSS ideology from few normal people in India.
Way forward is obvious, remain one step ahead of the enemy, expose his plan before he executes it. However, unlike, situation before partition when all stakeholders had political solution in sight, current scenario may go beyond political domain. We should brace ourselves for that.
Only Allah knows the whole Truth.

Time - Thinkers interactive session Saturday, 21 September

After my best Ramadan ever, it was not possible to detach from Al Shajr House & all the good activities that take place there:
https://asadjamal32.blogspot.com/2019/05/my-best-ramadan-ever.html?m=1

Lately, a wonderful program primarily designed for teenage boys (though there is no restriction on attendance by boys/ men of older ages) is underway for past three weeks. Brother Abid Ishaq is conducting some amazing interactive sessions with the teenagers every Saturday from 5:30 - 7:00 pm. Remaining details are covered on the poster attached. My teenage son is totally excited & upbeat about each session.
The idea is to get teenagers thinking right from this age. Every successful person, I came across in life, attributed his success to the time, person, incident or institution that got him thinking. May be down the years, few successful youngmen point towards these sessions for agitating their gray matter & it would be worth every bit to be part of this effort.
This Saturday, on request of Al Shajr administration, I shall be conducting the interactive session on 'Time' to include everything about time i.e. its beginning, its never stopping tiktak, its relative nature, value of time & its management and prioritization & its end (if any).
Please encourage teenage boys (13 & above) of your family to benefit from this opportunity. May Allah make this session beneficial for everyone in attendance.

PTI's poor performance in power

Signs of PTI's performance shall be visible by fourth year in office, we should give it time. So did we because many friends and others did not approve of any critique on toddler govt for their newly found passion for politics and PTI. They saw PTI as a fresh breath of air and their hopes were kindled. But staying quiet anymore seems unfair to Pakistan. Hope must stay alive but a sweet false hope is much more dangerous than a bitter reality check. Before we have a reality check on PTI's output, another unfortunate stark reality of our politics is that there is no political opposition nor the presence of an alternative political force to challenge PTI. Being on 'one page' is also doing us no real good. Establishment-PTI romance is like overprotective grandparents spoiling their third generation who eventually turn into insolent brats.
Now the reality check. PTI govt or should we say Imran Khan because PTI is one man party like other political forces. Hence, every good & bad thing reflects on his leadership. For his army of nincompoop ministers & brigades of advisors, again he gets the blame because at some slots he intentionally didn't choose strong men like Punjab & KPK CMs and on other ministerial portfolios he didn't have much choice. Collectively, they are like an obedient herd of sheep, no leadership traits whatsoever. Because first leadership trait has to be difference of opinion particularly when things are this bad. Unfortunately, if anyone had a thinking mind or difference of opinion was shown the door e.g Hafeez Sheikh for Asad Umer whereas economy is still doing bad, was a poor decision whatever the political compulsions were at that time. Its like economy is not doing well, ok then throw Asad Umer under the bus. 

PTI has only done well on foreign front for two men: an active foreign minister and an amatuer PM across the wall. Had Chai-wala not committed blunders of 27 February and 5 August, there virtually would have been nothing to show on PTI's report card.
One would have thought that 'nabbing' political opponents through limited top down approach would have worked its magic for two reasons: one that corruption would be checked & two that it would bring back looted money. Selective 'justice' limited to opposition's top leadership is principally a flawed strategy which is unlikely to recover amounts that may alter the economic fate of this country.
Is there any need to elaborate economic blunders like unreal inflation, spike in exchange rates, plummeting stocks, skyrocketing tariffs, growing unemployment, faltering businesses, snail paced CPEC, increasing interest rates etc. Not a single positive economic indicator to show for niether in sight.
PTI came to power at the back of KPK govt's experience of complete term. It got votes on reforms' slogan. No reforms are in the offing through legislation because there is no majority in both houses, hence the option of presidential ordinances seems to be choice of the hour. But that too has backfired on withdrawal of cess gas ordinance. In the hindsight, the only thought process that seemed to have gone in was how Razzaq Daud and his accomplices could safeguard their business interests through this ordinance.
Bad governance of past & Medina brand governance of PTI used to be the top electioneering slogan. It turned out to be a slogan only. Is there any need to elaborate shambolic state of governance, particularly in Punjab. On political issue of Brexit, two PMs of Britain have been changed and fate of the third still hangs in balance but Usman Buzdar (Waseem Akram plus (Made in China)) cannot be changed. We often hear PM raving about UK's system of governance but political rhetoric is one thing and action is another. Probably, reverting this decision seems like fulfilling Imran Khan's definition of U-turn. Rest all U-turns including cess gas seemed to fall short of that criteria or were those U-turns at all? 
Every minister including PM has opposition's corruption to blame for every question pertaining to their inability to deliver. Pretty much a patwari mindset. PM has one speech to deliver whether its his inauguration, Capital One Arena or face-off with India in same tenor & tone; a clear sign of intellectual incapacity to tailor things to occasion.
The biggest disadvantage to nation is absence of political opposition. Surely, PML (N) & PPP have failed the test of time. Political vacuum is so bad that even Maulana is sweating to gain few points by asuming lead role of the pack of wolves. Imran Khan seems to have accepted the role of boy of the 'boys' as Cyril Almeida of Dawn Leaks would put it. Situation is so ludicrous that twats like Cyril began to sound prophetic. Probably because honey-moon of being on 'one-page' has served both sides well. Govt is not delivering & army chief despite 41 years of exhaustive service to nation, willy-nilly crowned to be the unofficial king of the country for another three years (no pun intended). Establishment could still do much better by pointing out the problem areas since jitters of extensiin are out of the way. 
Mulling corrupt leadership of other political parties & bad mouthing their past inadequacies was ok in first year of PTI's govt. In second year, there should have been some signs of promised 'change'. The nation is in quandary. On one side fantasy of change & on the other side the deep sea. But we must have some way out of it. We need an alternative political force better than PTI, only then politics in this country can flourish through which the country may progress in the right direction. The alternative political force must also refuse to sit in the lap of establishment. A political force that defies status quo and does not hide behind Armored protected sheilds.
Those who believe that change has come to pass must know that its a continuous process because everything is permanent except change.
Only Allah knows the whole Truth.

Extension & civil military blame game

As nation, we committed mistakes that's why we are where we are today. All of us are responsible for it. Singling out army for mistakes that take root in civilian chief executive's decisions has become a fashion and a quick way to catch attention. Out of merit army chiefs & extensions are not initiated by the army though no one declined such offers either. Who would? Why only Army is blamed when things go haywire? Why don't we trace the cause of things going wrong? Nation suffered under dictatorships, more so army itself. Army has learnt to stay away from active politics and credit goes to General Raheel Sharif for setting the bar so high. Just two assemblies completed their full time & 'change' came to pass through democratic process (about which losing political opposition would always whine) .
Violating Army's merit might have worked for civilian chief executives but on the whole it brought more ills than goodwill for the nation & army in particular. All military dictators of our history were appointed out of merit by the civilian CEs of the time. Extensions are also born out of political compromises and how current extension is any different from General Kiyani's, needs to be seen. Before that a quick recap of where it all started rather how those dictators usurped the power and hung on to it through courts and politicians, none of whom could be absolved of their share of mistakes.
Major General Ayub Khan, commissioned in 1928, with just 23 years of service was appointed Commander-in-Chief of Pakistan Army despite the fact that his name was not included in the nomination list. General Ayub's appointment set the precedent for promoting C-in-Cs out of turn, ostensibly because he was the least ambitious of the generals in the line of promotion and the most loyal to civil government at that time. Army merit was violated by civilian CE for political gains and entire nation paid the price.
Lieutenant General Zia, ul Haq, as Corps Commander at Multan in 1975, invited Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto as the Colonel-in-Chief of the Armoured Corps at Multan, using his tailor to stitch the Blue Patrols of his size. The next day, Bhutto was requested to climb a tank and engage a target, where the target was quite obviously hit. Shortly after that on 1 March 1976, PM ZAB approved General Zia as COAS. This promotion again was ahead of a number of more senior officers. This promotion was highly controversial but had political motives for Bhutto, who saw Zia as firmly religious and an apolitical military figure who had distaste of politics. Again army merit was violated by civilian CE for political motives. 
PM Nawaz Sharif had same motives in 1998 who promoted General Pervez Musharraf as COAS based on his apolitical nature, but met the same fate as Bhutto in 1999 (except that he was not executed). Pervez Musharraf was third-in line after Lieutenant General Ali Kuli Khan, a graduate of PMA and RMA, Sandhurst, who was an extremely capable officer but was seen as close to the former COAS Abdul Vaheed Kakar; and was not promoted. The other was Lieutenant General Khalid Nawaz Khan a hardcore soldier & hard taskmaster who was bypassed due to oozing wisdom of CE of the country. Yet, again army merit was violated by civilian CE and entire nation paid the price.
At the back of stinking NRO and unfortunate killing of Benazir Bhutto, came the reign of 'reconciliation' under Asif Ali Zardari. Security & operational environment of the time necessitated that short one year extension in COAS' term which was not better than his early three years. In the hindsight, should have not happened at all. Another mistake initiated by the civilian CE and perfected by the military chief. Somehow, CEs failed to respect army's merit despite being the only organized, disciplined & reliable institution in the country. 
How current extension could be any different? Current Army Chief was not appointed by the current CE. Army's operational performance, regional presence, global outlook, inland disaster relief, February 2019 showdown with India & looming Kashmir resurgence warrant an extension? Not enough reason besides it disrupts Army’s system of promotions. Both Govt & Army have been on one page much longer than scribe's prediction. Continuation of the same setting is quintessential to stable Pakistan.
Although PM has had serious reservations over General Kiayani's extension & beefed up his arguments with examples of rotation of army chiefs during WWII yet he took another U turn because current security environment is no where near as bad as WWII. Nontheless, one can only hope it turns out good for the nation & the army, though history is not on our side on this one. But much has changed in recent times who knows this jinx may also be broken if not then you know who is to be blamed. 

Only Allah knows the whole Truth.

I am a young Chinar tree

I am a young Chinar tree. In August, I draw my blood-red from hues of nature and not from innocent blood. Blood is your sport. I don't even have blood in me. But as nature's sentinel when I see it, I have to report. Standing in the middle of nature's wonder, as I look around, the captivating beauty of Kashmir brings involuntary blush which you see as red in my leaves. My sensuous red is fading under unbearable gun smoke and resulting mourns of mothers & screams of kids. For centuries, my ancestors have seen these Pheran robed people of Kashmir, struggling for a breath of 'free air'. Rest of you can breath that free air but they can't. Even laws of the wild don't usurp the right to free air. I don't understand your discriminatory laws. Besides adding to the beauty of the land, I discharge fresh breathing air every day without discriination of dharam and ideology of those who inhale it. I don't ask for color or creed of inhahlers before letting a part of me to reach your lungs. I don't understand your biases. Don't confuse me with your sense of everything. Don't confuse me with your knowledge of the world. I will not buy your shady logics for I come from the flora of a Valley you call heaven. Heaven is not meant to endure sufferings of earthlings. Heaven dwellers are the special ones but you have revoked their special status. These Pheran robed heaven dewellers have sufferers alot. I may not be able to change your mind but as duty bound sentinel, I will stand as witness to atrocities of some & inaction of others.
I am just a young Chinar tree in the Valley.

Kashmir: What next?

There is discomfort over Kashmir situation; particularly on what next? We might have to objectively look at what India & Pakistan are doing, what they can do & worst case scenario (if things spiral out of control).

For the moment, just start paying tax & that is the best you can do for Kashmir Cause, specially Mullahs who have a feel for business in brewing situation. State should handle Kashmir with open mind. There is resentment inside India both among opposition & liberal literate Indians who are for certain a minority. Fanatic nationalist are not only in numbers, they are riding a high tide of hate augmented by extremist religious beliefs and fantasy of Mahabharta. Like ours, religious bigotry is easy to sell in India as well. But the direction is less ideological more political in nature.Modi's political game hinges on fuelling Hindu extremism & in doing so inciting nationalistic jingoism. It already got him second term despite failures & amateurish policies. Extremism & jingoism feeds on hatred. It sells fast & produces results in a society of nearly 300 million illiterate adults, enough votes to win elections. And their media dances only on war tunes. No where in the world media is as hysteric as India. Like ours, media is also a sold out. But political polarization in India on current Kashmir situation has left them no choice but to share opposition's disaporoval of it. Our greatest advantage is that abolishing special status of Kashmir & annexing Ladakh has put India in an internal political quandary. India is not united. There is word that indian Supreme Court may annul the legislation but when it comes to Dharam, ISC has repeatedly failed to keep its judicial integrity particularly when Indian Muslims are at the receiving end.

On foregn front, India is being exposed and incidentally, we have an active FO & a proactive FM. Seek them out on every forum. Yes, it didn't make any difference in past 72 years but this time we are taking no prisoners.

Those in hurry for war should take a deep breath. I'm also suggesting the same with an overarching domestic and foreign ploicy imperatives along with exploiting internal Indian discord on the issue even if we have to go till the bitter end. 

Celebrating this 14 August as Kashmir Banay Ga Pakistan Day sends a strong signal across. PM deciding to spend Azadi Day at AJK also gets two thumps up. Whether situation spirals out of conrol or not nation must look united. Opposition political parties in Pakistan are crippled, so if anyone is worried that opposition not being on board  makes any difference they are wasting their time. Opposition had one wise move to gain any political mileage in given situation i.e to stand with the Govt on this sensitive issue but their desperation is letting them down. Does it matter if Maraym Nawaz is behind the bars, she still can make substandard leadership calls from there. Likewise, Bilawal with Zardari's baggage is a dummy.

Those disapproving Govt Tweets as limiting the war to social media should understand, social media is the battleground. We have to dig in there as well. We must out maneuver Indians on social media. Our job is easy, just share the truth in the face of Indian lies blatant lies & propaganda of normalcy in Kashmir & elsewhere. Tweets like appeal to Sikhs & Punjabi soldiers not to take part in atrocities against Kashmiris can be effective. 

This time we should not need Mullahs at the front line of Kashmir issue. State should take the bull by the horns on every front. 

Time is ripe to fuel ethnic/ separatist movements in India. Situation in Kashmir demands we up the ante from moral support to next level, they deserve it. They have been wrapping their fallen in Sabz Hilali. What kind of loyalty is that? More than political, I guess its ideological.When political goals fall within the ambit of Islamic ideology, its like an elephant in the room. Its not just the reality to deal with but an obilgation to fulfill. 

So basically its Modi's pathetic short term political gimmickry versus Kashmiris' ideological struggle. Kashmiris already outweigh Modi's politics. 

Probability of things spiraling out of control is low. We might expect some adventurism from Modi Mindset in last year in office, not in first. Pakistan should remain proactive on exploiting Indian vulnerabilities and extremely vigilant to react with force where needed. One calculated move like 27 February air combat feat & Indian bubble will bust.

There is an opportunity in every challenge, we need to seize this opportunity and use it to our advantage. 

Only Allah knows the whole Truth.

Eid ul Adha Mubarak

Thoughts on this Eid ul Adha were triggered by a thoughtful quote picture suggesting that real sacrifice took place in the conversation between the Father (Ibrahim AS) & the Son (Ismail AS), the Ram was just the redemption. And like we have reduced the spirit of so many things to rituals, we do 'sacrifice' animals every 10 Zil Hajj but seems to have forgotten the conversation which gave birth to this great Islamic tradition.  Allah swt didn't need blood of Ismail AS nor does he need the blood of billions of animals sacrificed in keeping this tradition alive. He swt just wants to benefit us by remembering the story of two peerless Men (AS) in human history. In those glorious moments, Father & Son (AS) set the standards of 'Belief', 'Sacrifice' & 'Obedience' & no wonder if any tradition that needs to be kept alive & cherished for the rest of the time, it had to be this unparalleled readiness of sacrificial father & unconditional submission of the son to the will of Allah. Since Quran is the epitome of perfect speech, in few precise words, The Owner of Heavens & Earth has taken us to the greatest sacrifice scene in His Kingdom between Mina & Jamraat where that (somewhat forgotten) conversation took place:
Allah SWT said:

فَلَمَّا بَلَغَ مَعَهُ السَّعْىَ قَالَ يٰبُنَىَّ إِنِّىٓ أَرٰى فِى الْمَنَامِ أَنِّىٓ أَذْبَحُكَ فَانْظُرْ مَاذَا تَرٰى  ۚ قَالَ يٰٓأَبَتِ افْعَلْ مَا تُؤْمَرُ  ۖ سَتَجِدُنِىٓ إِنْ شَآءَ اللَّهُ مِنَ الصّٰبِرِينَ
"And when he reached with him [the age of] exertion, he said, O my son, indeed I have seen in a dream that I [must] sacrifice you, so see what you think. He said, O my father, do as you are commanded. You will find me, if Allah wills, of the steadfast."
(QS. As-Saaffaat 37: Verse 102)

Revisiting this amazing moment may add some value to our sacrifice. Bearings have to be correct to keep the direction right. Qurbani at Eid ul Adha is not just a ritual or bakra selfie fest or a social show off, it is commemoration of unprecedented sacrifice, so loved by Allah that we celebrate it every year for a good reason.
May we keep the spirit of this tradition alive.
May Allah accept our sacrifice. Ameen
Eid ul Adha Mubarak

Senate Circus

Replacing one Baloch with another was apparently a balancing act but it turned into a horrendous circus act by the political thugs. Except some political face saving there was nothing in it. Equation of Senate was otherwise due to change in favor of the govt in next turn over. So for few months putting a Chairman Senate was a move made in despration which reflects political bankruptcy of opposition.
In retrospect, instead of fretting about loss in Senate, political thugs should have darned the hole in political process i.e secret ballot when they were in power to do that in past four decades. Despite their protracted tag team rule over this country, thugs in opposition looked small in front of thugs in power. Politics is among the noblest of professions but our politicians have turned it in to pooh. To Govt coalition, those brave fourteen are روشن ضمیر and for combined opposition they are ضمیر پروش. Truly, an insult to party based politics, as PM put it in his 'victory' Tweet, but its quite naive of him as he is Chief Executive of the country & he is pretending nothing has happened or at least he has nothing to do with shady Senate circus. Whereas, his big mouthpieces are celebrating this as their greatest success. Our messy politics just got messier.
Anyway, way forward would be that all these political thugs should immediately legislate this secret ballot out of Senate election process. However, they will keep harping about dishonesty of fourteen or their miraculous enlightenment between show of hands in favor of the motion & casting the secret vote behind the curtain.
But they wouldn't change the law of secret ballot. They just love bickering because its easy & they abhor legislation because it takes some doing.
Politics today has achieved her highest low.

Discover Pakistan with Umar Ahsan

Meet Umar Ahsan an accomplished creature of the wild. A discoverer.A survivor. A past soldier. A PhD in Brain Development Program. A daredevil of MM Alam family. He runs MM Alam Discovery Foundation in Karachi & runs wild into Karakoram, Himaliyas, plains, deserts & coastline of Pakistan.
In a brief meeting with this dynamic package called Umar Ahsan, I was convinced to share his work with you. 

Last year, he discovered highest lake in Pakistan, at 15,641 feet altitude in Skardu, Ghanche naming it Paristan Lake.

Also discovered a new peak naming it Weasel Peak at 21000 feet after spending a night in a cave also inhabited by feisty weasel. Discovery of this amazing animal weasel also goes to his credit.

This year, he discovered three lakes at higher altitude than Paristan Lake bagging honor & record of discovering, four highest lakes in a country. These include:
1. 17,0,77 Feet, Highest Lake, MM Alam Lake

2. 16,390 Feet, 2nd Highest, Lalak Jan Lake

3. 15,983 Feet, 3rd Highest, Omar Ahsan Lake.

After so much of work, did he not deserve to keep a lake to his name? 

But what really struck me was his passion & love for Pakistan. This is a brilliant equation. Pakistan is the most amazing land on God's earth, it deserves to be loved with this kind of passion and nothing less. Besides, acknowledgement of Umar Ahsan's inspiring work, we need to chip in with our bit.

Death: Loss of 21 grams or else?

Flight of soul is just a loss of 21 grams or else?We can disagree whether its realism or pessimism to talk about death on any given day let alone this humid weekend. But we cannot disagree that death is the only reality of life. Some would argue that life is so beautiful, so cherish it till death do us apart. But time stands like a monster which was born with a bang & will end with a bang; yet only a relative term. For as long as time existed & may exist, in relation with origin of life, the total existence of a septuagenarian homo sapien sounds ridiculous & pointless unless we are able to correctly identify purpose of our sojourn on earth. In this purview, death is bigger than life. Billions of years before & billions after our brief seventy years on earth, death rules. Death seems to have an upper hand over life ironically on the issue of longevity. In the analogy of life like a flowing river, if death is evaporation then reincarnation starts to make some sense but its farfetched, fictitious and felonious. However, river culminating at the ocean where droplets of melting glaciers, morning dew, springs & brooks, sweet wells & sour saline reservoirs; all return home. Ostensibly, death is divorce of soul from body, in real, homecoming. Divorce is niether desireable nor smooth but legal. So its not divorce rather homecoming which should come about as seamless fusion. And it doesn't end there. From here on, its perpetual life; an answer to unanswered human quest for eternal life via alchemy, holy grail etc

The only thing we could ask for is smooth transition from this to next world because transition is inevitable but the question remains would it be smooth? The answer depends totally on how we lived.
We have experienced life & we know death because its the distance between The Creator & the creation. He keeps creatures humble by guaranteeing them death. So we can say that we know death; its when life ceases. But we what we are not familiar with is the transitory phase from life to death. Transition is not the same for each individual, it cannot be the same. Humans die from the embryonic state to few minutes & hours after birth to as long as Centenarians & counting. The death exprience of each human being has to be different from another because in cosmic settings every human is a unique entity. His sense of self never grows old, only his body grows old. This sense of self is totally unique set of preprogrammed instructions, all written within the range of his freewill. What a master stroke !!!
It is only but logical that transitory phase of each individual will vary for its uniqueness. The better the quality of soul the smoother the transition from this to next world.
For as beautiful as life is, it deserves to be cherished but then it also deserves a smooth transition & a brilliant follow up till eternity. This sounds like a perfect plan not just physical loss of 21 grams. 
Only Allah knows the whole Truth.

Last word on Cricket World Cup

It was probably the most exciting ODI ever & a fitting finale. Cricket won for the most part  but its rules lost. In the hindsight, very harsh & unfair to Kiwis.
241=241 tie
15=15 not tie
Match won/lost by Zero runs. Ridiculous, to say the least. 
Deciding World Cup on number of tournament boundaries is totally absurd if that was the case they should have decided it by the end of  England's innings instead of going into Super Over. Its a One Day knock out game, it must be decided on the day on the performance of the day not on anything achieved on any other day niether run rate nor boundaries. For solution, one option could be that if the scores are tied after Super Over, share trophy & equally distribute the reward money. Both deserved to keep it for two yrs each. There might be even better solution to this problem but it seems that current set of rules have robbed New Zealand of its share of glory which it deserved no less than England. Take nothing away from England, they battled really hard till the last moment. In 27 May 2019 blog entry, England was dubbed my favorite team for championship but the final match itself belonged nothing less to New Zealand.
As the excitement of the match is receding; preposterous rules, shady umpiring and cruelty of luck against Kiwis is picking up.
In retrospect, English lifted the Trophy but Kiwis are the real Champions. There is something about this little island nation of less than 4.8 million; dignity & composure. Whether Kane Williamsons or Jacinda Ardern, they carry themselves with enormous amount of dignity & undeterred composure.
#respect

The British problem & solution

Came across tiktok videos wherein UK police was protecting PTM leadership from angry patriotic Pakistanis. It triggered a loaded train of thoughts.
Why is it UK, now & ever whether Ahmadis, MQM, Ishaq Dar etc? It turns out that anyone who contradicts with the very ideology of Pakistan & Islam gets protection by UK govt. So any kind of looters (Sharif family including son-in-laws, father-in-laws, nephews, nieces, grandchildren & great grandchildren), marauders (Altaf & his accomplices), murtads (Ahmadis & Maloon Rushdi etc), traitors (Bugtis, PTM goons, Malala (this will enrage hopeless liberals but she falls in this category) & politically incorrect leaders (all politicians) who could physically, financially, morally, spiritually & every other ally do any amount of damage to our core ideology gets official patronage by the govt of UK.
Do we have the guts to question Gora Sahab's consistent hypocritical stance against us on official forums? Or is it too tricky a quandary for the self proclaimed state of Medina? But our wise ruler would not put his ex in trouble & cause stir in social life of his sons. Besides, his holidays with his offspring would be marred by controversy. And those UK based deep pocket desi rich friends could be offended.
Obviously, those who live in UK for 'better life' wouldn't appreciate the idea of dissension nor would diplomatically correct people would see anything wrog with the scenario.
But lets quickly recap. They snuck into subcontinent through trade. They colonized us. Then they sucked out every bit of natural resource & stole our wealth. Then they forced our people to fight their bloody big war during which Churchill instructed his Viceroy in Hind to let them die of famine & to divert those resouces to war effort else where. Human rights activism would call it brutal cold blooded mass murder. Towards mid 1940s, when they couldn't hold on to the 'Jewel of the Crown', they let us go (some would argue they gave us independence & others would claim we got our independence) with loads of unresolved issues. In 60s, they needed people for menial jobs, plane loads of Sub-continentals reached there to do what British didn't like to do for themselves. Still many desire that gloomy, rainy, prejudiced & unrealistically expensive place and one can only wonder why? They tax so much that middle class & lower middle class working Sub-continentals age much faster than those in this part of the world. Desi kids raised there get the worst of the both worlds & their title BBCD (British Born Confused Desi) says it all. And last but not the least, regular echoes of that sweet title, 'Oye Paki', can anyone ever get used to this or learn to live with it? And if they do, at what cost? May be its not all that hopeless or may be my lenses are foggy on this one.
Despite all that glorious past & magnificent present storyline of onesided love affair, they never miss out on any opportunity to let us down & we never miss any opportunity to polish their tasteless apple. Unbelievable consistency of disregard on their part & unfathomable pedigreed pet like loyalty on our part.
Is there any rational demand cum outcome of this piece? Yes, there are few. Admit that there is problem. Govt must take this up that Queen Regina Elizabeth the Second must officially apologize for centuries of looting (including return of Koh-e-Noor on special request of Science Minister) , marauding, colonozing & stealing; likewise UK govt be asked to apologize for years of sponsorship of looters, marauders, murtads, traitors of/from Pakistan.
Only Allah knows the whole Truth.

Can Pakistan beat India Today?

This is the question of the day. Invariably, every Pakistani cricket follower would be interested in finding an answer to this.
Short answer, basing purely on capability, would be' yes, they can', if it doesn't rain - washed out would be tasteless, besides we need more than a point. But can they perform to potential is difficult to call because anwer to this falls into the corridor of uncertainty like those length off cutters on off stump. Their unpredictably sometimes makes bookies sweat. Mostly, they don't take to the pitch with hunger for win. During the game, you look at Sarfraz' face, you don't have to look at the scoreboard. Captain loses composure way too early. Instead of changing strategy, he keeps changing shades of purple on his face. We have long been basking in the glory of Champions Trophy win couple of years back and tend to totally ignore two humiliating defeats by India in Asia Cup last year. India is balanced & in form team.
Still, its a new day, new game.  You never know which shade of mercurial may turn up today at Old Trafford. A telltale sign of winning mood is when they throw themselves around in the field & take catches; know that they are in for the kill. That team better show up today to break the jinx of illusive World Cup victory over India. Literally, that Moqa Moqa song has become the life story of my generation. May be today is the Moqa those decades long held up fireworks go of instead of going back to the storeroom for another four years.
Victory is important to stay in the tournament and if it happens at the expense of India, it would be double the fun. Otherwise double time grief: loss to India, top four out of reach & early flight home. This picture is way too gloomy for any optimism. We would rather ride our lucky stars & hope for win. Hope is after all, the fuel of life no matter how mercurial is the bet, losing on Pakistan would be worth losing & wining - infinite joy.

Say no to holy cows

Its time we start thinking like Pakistanis. No stupid affiliations. No jiala, no patwari, no insafian, no religious political worker without opinion is worth it anymore. And the opinion is Pakistan. It has to be Pakistan. 

If Sharifs & Zardaris are facing the music, be fully prepared to take IK & his incompetent team to task as well. No military establishment, no plain cloth warriors, no generals, no judges; nobody is above the law. 

Law has taken its course in this country in recent years. Already a deviant justice of Islamabad High Court has been shown the way home. A brigadier & a scientist involved in espionage are being hanged & a lieutenant general who was a step short of being COAS is sentenced for 14 years. 'Sea change' is there. We have started saying no to holy cows. 

Whosoever he is, whosoever his father is/was , whatsoever he has done, if he is unable to justify means of his or his family's asset, he is not above the law. No more holy cows. Mr Faiz Isa must be a great judge. He must have an impeccable record. But allegations change it. If allegations are wrong, the accused comes out strong & vice versa. Unfortunately, instead of clearing his name through proper judicial channel, he is purposefully politicising the issue. Being an insider, he is playing around with the law. All his greatness & impeccable judicial background is at work to make the whole system look like a joke. Instead of facing the law, he intentionally leaked his letter to media. How pathetic that a person cribbing about leakage of information is himself leaking his letter to president which is supposedly an official and confidential correspondence. References filed against him could be wrong or ill intentioned but its niether above nor beyond the law. If he doesn't trust or is unable to answer his own judicial system, why he is on judicial system. Best form of protest could have been stepping down from the holy berth. Men of integrity have done such things in the past. If a judge in highest office or his family has properties in posh areas of London and USA, why can't these be justified. He needs to answer because holy cows is a thing of past now.

Only Allah knows the whole Truth. 

Sighting mischief in moon

Allah SWT said:

يَسْئَلُونَكَ عَنِ الْأَهِلَّةِ ۖ قُلْ هِىَ مَوٰقِيتُ لِلنَّاسِ وَالْحَجِّ ۗ 
"They ask you, [O Muhammad], about the new moons. Say, They are measurements of time for the people and for Hajj.
(QS. Al-Baqara 2: Verse 189)
This is an executive order. So there is no doubt left that our measurement of time has to be aligned with the moon. But if there is little space of doubt in tradition,  void in scientific reason or an opportunity to create hegemony, we the land of pure make a meal of it.
Was there not enough confusion on Eid Moon courtesy Mr barely seeing Muneeb & Mr ever disagreeing Popalzai that now Mr totally non serious Fawad Chaudhary is introducing a new tradition of predetermined Lunar Calendar. It would be a relief that this issue is settled once and for all but unqualified Minister of Science & Technology both on religion & technology, as a matter of habit, may only be trying to stay relevant in news. With his tongue-in-cheek approach, he can barely be trusted with sincerity of purpose to resolve the issue. Its more likely, he is just enjoying the discord he has been able to create with his idea of fixing Eid dates beforehand.
On the other hand, let's see if Mr Muneeb keeps the tradition of moon sighting alive and after years & years of government funding for his moon fest, this time he pays from his own pocket. Let's see if he compromises on five star accommodation & puts up in a lesser hotel. In which case, like every other mullah, he may show the propensity of finding sponsors to create more 'fasad' & confusion, in grieving moments of lost TA/DA. Let's see if government saves proclaimed expense of Rs four million without much fuss.
And Popalzai, he is just another hegemonic mullah. It is weakness of state that mullahs have been calling the shots. Can he announce to step back from his activity because it divides nation rather than uniting it. But he won't give an inch of a space he created for himself over the years among the common folks of KPK. His legacy of different moon tradition has become his identity over the years & this mullah would not let go of the popularity he 'earned' through the divide he successfully managed overtime. 'Fasad' is favorite sport of mullah.
Addition of new moon tradition by Minister of everything but Science & Technology is as insincere & hegemonic as Mufti Muneeb's telescope and as mischievous & divisive as Popalzai's network of moon sighting.
Only sincere leadership can stop mischief. Government should have had opened up a debate on national media, followed by debate in Parliament & could have made a consensual law on the issue. But hang on, if they debated issues & promulgated laws in Parliament then what will be roles of Murad Saeed, Khawaja Asif & Murtaza Wahab type speakers who create such diversions with their eloquence that real issues never surface at relevant forums.
Only Allah knows the whole Truth.

Pakistan versus PTM

Don't attach too much attention to ethnicity card being played by Anti Pakistan elements home & abroad. They have tried their luck in the guise of TTPs, BLAs,  Kalbhoshans, sectarian violence, ethnic separatist, lingual parties even frontline political parties but it didn't work. PTM's cause of ethnicity stands no chance against cause of Pakistan which transcends geographic boundaries.
Before we bulldoze smallness of paid ethnic separatist, lets examine enormity of Pakistan's cause first. Foundations are soundly laid on Islamic ideology though we messed up overtime because we have been bad managers without good leadership. But as it stands, this region has a big role to play in times to come before end of times. Though we cannot be completely certain that its going to be us or others after us. Or may be end of times is much farther away & may be some other folks ruling this region get to play this role. Yet, hope is there & we should all contribute in that cause by bracing ourselves & equipping our next generations with power of Quran. Hope is the fuel of life & hope must remain alive.
This country has survived against the odds, it will continue to survive In sha Allah.
A bunch of thugs with their ethnic cause bear no significance at all. Government institutions should play their legit role & put the genie of Pathetic Thugs Movement back into the bottle.
This government may have been falling short on economic front. And being blackmailed by its allies in absence of any opposition & could not put together a competent team: still has shown strength on diplomatic front (Feb 2019, post Pulwama events) & internal security issues like handling of TLP. PTM issue in comparison appears a non issue.
Insafians are short tempered & believe they hold the battlefield of social media. A new type of political extremism is brewing. They don't realize we have to identify problems to incompetent government team & kick them to work. This government and its team purposefully wastes time in Parliament by 'launching' guided missiles like Murad Saeed & others. PM barely visits Parliament, is he any different in this regard from NS. We can't afford any alternatives. Current set of rulers will mend their ways, apply corrections & deliver.
Just thought appropriate to share the bigger picture. Bigger picture clearly shows bigger role than we might be playing thus far. Quran is the only hope. Ramadan is the best time to spend more time with Quran.
Blessed Ramadan

Going into Cricket World Cup

UGoing into World Cup:
Pakistan Cricket Team's performance in last 13 ODIs:
Won: 0
Lost: 11
No Result: 2
Only good news is that Pakistani top & middle order batsmen scored ten centuries in 17 ODIs played in 2019. Bad news is that they won only two matches out of 17 in past five months. And the reason is simple, our traditional strength, bowling is not delivering. In 17 ODIs in 2019, out of 150 wickets(less two washed out games), Pakistan only managed to take 76. So on average, bowlers are not getting more than five wickets a match. And even worst part is that spinners only got 26 wickets & fast bowlers managed 46 wickets.
Shaheen Shah Afridi 11
Usman Shinwari 10
Junaid Khan 6
Husnain 6
Hassan Ali 5
Wahab Riaz 3 (pllayed only one match)
Muhammad Amir 2
Faheem Ashraf 2
Muhammad Abbas 1
Usman Shinwari managed to get 10 wickets in 9 games againat SA & Australia & didn't make it in the side touring England, same is the case with Junaid.
There seems to be no real bite in spin department either.
Despite, Mickey's fitness regime, fielding hardly showed  any signs of improvement.
Body language of team lacked winning drive, as if they forgot the taste of win.
Captain looked helpless, though he finally made 97 hitting couple of sixes after 17 matches but his decision making has been below par & grip on team very loose.
Teams favorite for this world cup have to be in order of their ICC Rankings & recent performances. But my order of favorites starts with Englang  which have shown some invincibility about them. Australia would be second who look determined to defend the title. India is No3 for because its well balanced. SA & NZ are always knocking on the doors of world cup winners club. My favorite, for once would be England basing purely on their recent ODI cricket.
On purely cricketing terms i.e. batting, bowling, fielding & captaincy, this is one of the weaker Pakistan Team going in to World Cup. What to talk of big boys, they might struggle overcoming lesser sides like Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, West Indies & Bangladesh.
But Pakistan Cricket has never been about experts' analysis or statistical reviews. Their viewership across the cricketing world is based on their guile, flare & uncertain ways. Plus its Ramadan. Who knows?

My Best Ramadan Ever

It has been my best Ramadan ever like the ones before this. I found a place where besides offering Traveeh, Quran can be understood in a contemporary way. 

Without any qualms with those who attend Traveeh congregations, it beats the logic of Islam that we listen to the Quran but make no endeavor to understand it. And without any disregard to importance of Quranic recitation & its acoustic value, speed reading in order to 'finish Quran' in hurry has always been beyond my ken. Solely for this reason, I shifted from Hizf-e-Quran to Fahm-ul-Quran for my kids. It is practicable and workable. Just sit together with your family & discuss few Ayahs of Quran daily or few days of the week. It works like magic because this is the only way everyone would understand their role & duties to Allah & each other.

River Hills- Save Mart

The place is Al Shajr House in Bahria Town Phase 7 at 6th floor of River Hills above Save Mart. Google pin:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/CtehX9q2ALuRVbv98

Mr Ehsan & his wife Mrs Zubia Ehsan are the owner & sponsor couple of Al Shajr House. The couple holds important positions in Bahria Town. May Allah accept their efforts. 

Brother Abid Ishaq leads eightn rakahs traveeh nawafil. After Farz prayers there is a ten minutes interactive session on crux of Ayahs to be recited in next four Rakahs. It also includes collective remembrance of Duas therein. Number of Ayahs (roughly couple of Rukus) is foretold on whatsapp group of Al Shajr. Having consulted same Ayahs in own time does wonders to developing better understanding. Then a second ten minutes interactive session on Quran is followed by two cycles each (four Nawafil) in slow, understandable & clear voiced recitation of same Ayahs. Key is quality not quantity. Idea is to take away some Quranic understanding this Ramadan. Lastly, three Witr & dispersal. The activity starts sharp 2100 hrs & ends sharp 2230 hrs daily. Its open house, so everyone's welcome. Separate arrangements for ladies have been made. The activity is very subtly titled MBRE (My Best Ramadan Ever), so is this blog entry. 

Lastly, few words on Brother Abid Ishaq who was raised in UAE & moved to US at the age of sixteen. After pursuing The American Dream for some time, he was intelligent & blessed enough to understand the futility of western ways of life. By 2002, within five years, a spiritually barren person became Imam at Islamic Society of Edmond. That is some progress folks. He was destined for even better things. He moved to Pakistan & worked on good positions from Froebels School Superintendent to Regional Development Manager of Edexcel/ Pearsons. And from writing Islamic columns in Khaledj Times to running his own international educational consultancy, he made some profitable ventures. However, there are better things in life than making good money & chosen ones get to play those roles. After a very sad demise of his loving parents within seven months in 2013-14, he devoted his full time to Quranic Teachings (free of charge). 

خيركم من تعلم القرآن وعلمه. 

Coming across such effort by such people, it was an obligation to acknowledge, encourage & share the good work taking place at Al Shajr House. It is being modeled on the concept of mosque cum Islamic Center and we need many more of these. Would that, every mosque in this country turns into an Islamic Center instead of a particular sect center. Mosque is not just a prayer place, it has to be given a central role as community center & Quran the book of choice. We have to keep pace with world by keeping Islam relevant to modern thought. We have to free our next generation from inhibitions on authenticity, relevance & value of our way of life i.e. Islam. That is our only hope. 

There are other programs at Al Shajr including Sarf, Nahwa, Tajweed & advanced Quranic learnings for all ages by learned scholars in both genders. Interested can contact via text message at whatsapp on this number 0305-5559803. May Allah reward everyone involved. 

Only Allah knows the whole Truth.