I will comment upon the reaction of our political lords and masters to this tragedy later, but the foremost question in my mind is - will there be an accountibility?

Right now, my mind is numbed from correcting exams and after a day devoted to this chore, I do not have the courage to sit and sift through the news and comment upon it.

Musharraf has said that this is test for the nation. I am listening to his words and I am wondering, why would he frame the situation in such a manner? My first reaction was that Musharraf should not be allowed to say things, without considering the importance of his words.

If this is a test for the nation, the question which springs to mind immediately is not whether the nation will pass it, but whether the nation will learn from its experience?

It is hard to place a blame for the earthquake, but it is appropiate to ask questions questions as to why buildings which should not have been constructed, were allowed to be constructed?

I am afraid, given the past, that there will be no political accountibility and the guilty will skip away from the consequences of their misdeeds.

The fact of the matter is that Pakistani government is not prepared to deal with such situations of crisis and given the loss of life, I am not going to engage in a curlish discussion of a lack of an institutional response to the crisis from Islamabad. I just have questions, which I am confident will never be answered, but that still does not wish away the questions. The reality of not being allowed to ask them aches my tongue, with a silent burden of repressed anger that seethes with a disenchantment of the political system in Pakistan.

I cannot hush away the feeling that the loss of life could have been less had people in power actually done their jobs instead of avoiding their jobs in lieu of some financial considerations. Not in this life, but in another life someone will pay the price and will be held responsible. Tonight, I will share my thoughts with the words of Faiz and the whirring sounds of a ceiling fan and cry in the memory of Faiz’s beloved in the silence of my room.

"...in balance with this life, this death..."

Im memento mori.