Please spare us the
preciousness!
As someone who was beaten brutally by the jawans of our Army
in front of my crying mother when I was 16 for no other reason but because I
stared at them while they were patrolling my muftooha neighborhood, and I as a
urdu speaking teenager in a lower middle class neighborhood had obviously no
right to do that, there is a certain sense of poetic justice when Musharaf the
ex COA is humbled in courts as a criminal in front of ‘dirty civilians’. Those
of us who were teenagers in late 80s in karachi witnessed first hand the
torture and humiliation which is now prevalent in balochistan and ironically
some of us weave ourselves in to a pretzel defending ‘hamari fauj ka sipayh salar’ at his crimes against humanity
and I am just baffled!
I am a MQM supporter and voter and I don’t make any qualms
about that but I am truly stumped, why is that they go so out of the way to
defend Musharaf? Wasn’t it a quid pro quo? Because he gave money for the
development of Karachi? Was it charity from his own hard earned money? Do we
not earn that money as the biggest contributor in the national money-pool? So I
am expected to say ‘thank you’ when pennies are thrown my way from the loot of
my own house? I am supposed to be indebted to the symbol of my oppression
because he rapes me a little less?
I apologize but this makes little sense to me as a proud,
free human being. But this is not about me hating on the Army, who I believe is
a necessary institution and can do good if it sticks to the role it has been
given in the constitution; rather this is about making a point about rule of
law and supremacy of constitution, preferably without blood and gore. We have
enough of that already in our country and we need to find ways to move on.
We are a dichotomy galore as a nation and neither saad
rafique (who I am a fan of), or least of all Nawaz bin ziaul huq shareef can
afford to get too cute. All of us have had illicit relationship with the devil
and we will be well advised to make a point and move on. And lets make sure
that its not just musharaf either. I am all for picking the lowest hanging
fruit but even then he is not the only fruit that needs pickin’.
Just in recent past, we have had NLC scandal, royal palms,
not to mention asghar khan and hudiabya paper mills scandals. Justice is
nowhere on the horizon in these and many other cases. If we stop with musharaf
then nay Sayers would be proven right that this was never about rule of law and
was always about petty revenge. Prove them wrong Mr. prime minister and be
remembered in history as the man who changed the course for Pakistan. For some
reason I cant afford to hold my breath.
As a nation we can only have rule of law IF its across the
board. That means that you cannot free taleban prisoners without due course of
law. That means that you cannot have poor bakery salesman beat up by your thugs
and then face no repercussions because you are a shareef (ah irony). It means
that bank defaulters and tax evaders have to be duly prosecuted no matter how
influential or inqualabi they are (immi bhai you listenin? tareen airways aint
kosher and you know it). It means dons have to answer hows that they used
housing building loans on marriage ceremonies.
We have a long way to go and I know cliché’ are so 90’ but
abhi nahi tau kabhi nahi. This is it, we are all what we got and in words of
hazrat Hussein Obama ‘we are the one’ we have been waiting for. For my money,
prosecution of musharaf is a good thing but its what we do next and not this
alone, which will emancipate us.
Ye Daag Daag Ujala, ye Shab Gazeeda Seher
Wu Intizar tha Jiska, Yeh wu Seher tu Nahin
Ye Wo Seher tu Nahin Jiski Arzoo lay Kar
Chale` Tey Yaar Kay mil Jaigi Kahin Na kahin
Falak Kay Dasht Men Taron Ki Akhri Manzil
Kahin to Hoga Shabe` Sust Mowj ka Sahil
Kahin To Jake Rukega Safinae Ghume Dil
Jawan Lahoo ki Pur Israr Shahrahon Say
Chale Jo Yar Tho Daman Pe Kithnay Haath Pade`
Dayare Husn ki Bay Sabr Qwab gaaahon say
Pukarti rahi Bahen Badan Bulate` Rahay
Buhat haseen thi laykin Rukhe` Sahar Ki
Lagan
Buhat Qarren tha Haseenane Noor ka Daman
Subuk Subuk Thi Tamanna, Dabi Dabi Thi Thakan.
Suna Hai Ho Bhi Chuka Hai Firaqe` zulmat o'Noor
Suna Hai Ho Bhi Chuka Hai Wisale` Manzil o'gaam
Badal Chuka Hai Buhat Ahle'Dard Ka Dastoor
Nishate` Wasl Halal wo Azabe Hijr Haram.
Jigr ki Aag, Nazr ki Umang, Dil ki Jalan
Kisi pey Charae`-Giryan ka kuch Asr hi Nahin
Kahan Say Aii Nigare` Saba, Kidhar ko Gaii
Abhi Chiraghe` Sare` Rah Ko kuch khabar Hi
Nahin.
Abhi Giraniay Shab Men kumi Nahin Aii
Najate` Deeda wu Dil ki Ghadi Nahim Aii
Chalay Chalo-ke` Wu Manzil Abhi Nahin Aii.
Great poets always remain relevant and like faiz so is
martin niemeller:
“First they came for the
communists, and I did not speak out—
because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the socialists,
and I did not speak out—
because I was not a socialist;
Then they came for the trade
unionists, and I did not speak out—
because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I
did not speak out—
because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me—
and there
was no one left to speak out for me.”
Lets not wait till they come back
for us again and lets make this a Pakistan, where ‘they’ are subservient to the
constitution of Pakistan.
