Wednesday 27 November 2019

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.

Saturday 23 November 2019

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

Monday 18 November 2019

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. 

Saturday 16 November 2019

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.

Sunday 10 November 2019

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. 

Tuesday 5 November 2019

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. 

Saturday 2 November 2019

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.