Zen Pakistanis

Good article

Every citizen in the west thinks his/her country is ``No. 1``.
They are proud of their nationality and cultural heritage.
They stick up for their country, be they from France or
tiny, insignificant Belgium.

People everywhere need to believe. Maybe, people in the
third world need to, more than others. UmmeeD pey Duniya
qaim hai.

We need visionaries who can think big, and pragmatic
realists who can implement their programs.

...siTarouN par DaalTey haiN jo qamanD

Well written article. I believe that the underlying reason is the irrationality either way manifesting in the 2 extremes: euphoria or down right depression.

This is something which really bothers me also. I have seen Pakistanis in the west who degrade and humiliate Pakistan 24-7. No social or otherwise gathering
would be complete without pak bashing and dooms day scenarios for Pakistan. Somehow I get the impression that they really want this to happen. Maybe they
have made it (in their own little minds) and think that they reside above those ``pathetic bunch.`` But ironically, this self grandeur is probably reflective
of the stupidity that makes the big brother contestants looking like mensa members?

And yes then there are those who are convinced that the country of Pak is really heading for greatness, if not already there. What to make of them?

In any case, why can`t moderation be practiced in that land of ours, is baffling to me.

25 Jay

This habit of Collecting hides from the various quarters have had a whole load of offenders.

1980s . (APMSO) All Pakistan Muhajir Student Organisation fought battles with PSF (People student federation) on this issue along with so many others. Hides were collected on gunpoint from some areas whereas loyalty was based for hide collection in others

1990s. And the rise of Extremists to utilise the collection of hides to facilitate their ways. Hides are sold to make leather which is then sold to purely the international market.

Now people will use this as a major issue across the board, as you would have noticed the tides and politicisation of this issue has changed from decade to decade. You should have been happy that our govt is taking action against these jihadis to gain from this. Yet you define this as a practice of genocidal tendancies and the first step to Jihad. I mean the two issues are so unrelated, it does not even make sense.

C`mon man, hate can easily be answered by more hate. Its a vicious circle that we allow ourselves to spiral into.

wajahat 21,

If you care to read dawn or jung of last two days you will note that the banned jihadis have been banned from collecting the hide from the backyard killings. This is the proof that the backyard slughter provided the psychological training and money through hide collection to the jihadists.

There are times when you have to accept the relity of pakistan however revolting it might be.

humamir #22

``The journalist asked a question regarding Kashmir problem. Sheikh Sahib`s response was this ``Kashmir will be liberated in three years``. When he uttered the word ``three`` he gestured by raising his hands with three fingers open. Upon hearing this, the hall erupted in ``takbeer, allahu akbar``. 6 years later, we seem to be handing kashmir back to india.``

Our own Romair has been confidently predicting Kashmir`s absorption into Pakistan `in three years` for longer than that, and there is no sign of his letting up on spinning about Pakistan.

Takbeer, Allahu Akbar :)

To this article, there isnt anything to argue...very well written and thoughtful...

would just say one thing....probably supplementary to huma that....our leaders lack statesmanship....our country is ruled throughout its history in a tyrannical act.

malik99 #10 - You wrote:

Bina - a very well weaved article. Being a long time believer in pessimism, I have a perfect cure to all illnesses in Pakistan. My solution is that all optimism should be banned in Pakistan. No traces of it should be let out in the media or in the speeches of our political and religious leaders. Any one found guilty of optimism should be sentenced to a year of Eisa Khailwi`s music. Any leader who wants to make an optimistic utterance should apply for an NOC (no objection certificate) from a court. That court would require a large sum of money as bond from that politician to ensure that his optimism has sound basis and would not let pakistanis down. In the (likely) event that his/her optimism lets people down, the court would take that money and put it in a fund to promote pessimism to young pakistanis.
I can assure you that this would promote `responsible` optimism.

``What goes up, comes down``
-- Battle cry of PENIS (Pessimists for an ENlightened and Intellectual Society)


That was a witty one and right on the mark. Its this kind of irresponsible optimism that we should hold politicians accountable for. Let me add to it by recalling an exchange that occured between Sheikh Rashid (the misinformation minister of Pakistan) and a journalist during Nawaz Sharif`s government. Sheikh Rashid held some cabinet position at that time as well. The journalist asked a question regarding Kashmir problem. Sheikh Sahib`s response was this ``Kashmir will be liberated in three years``. When he uttered the word ``three`` he gestured by raising his hands with three fingers open. Upon hearing this, the hall erupted in ``takbeer, allahu akbar``. 6 years later, we seem to be handing kashmir back to india.

THIS is the kind of ``irresponsible`` optimism that perhaps you are referring to.

#18 by jay on February 2, 2004 7:34am PT
It is time to listen to the eid celebrations, the bleating of animals as they are being slaughtered in pak homes, as the children are being exposed to killings and groans of death, of blood and morbidity. Ironically this is also the time to contribute to the jihadis, they come and collect the hide, it gives them access to money. The young of pakistan are trained to be zen like to the killings, that will stand them in good stead as they move to the madrassas.

In karachi alone a mil;lion animals will be killed in the pak households, the last voices from these animals achoeing through the city is the sound of celebrations, it is the sound of contributions to the jihadi organisations, it is the first lesson for the jihadis.


What a load of Bull, this is being followed up from the time of Abraham. Its purely a religious thing and does not have anything to do with the Jihadis. Jay and his ilk should be happy that they pushed the Muslims to give a fatwa to ban the qurbani of cows in India. I think the gujarat genocide project by jay and his brothers is finally bearing fruit. Obviously you have to ignore the thousands who were killed on the streets of gujarat. How come these saffron sniffing Indians started slaughtering Muslim. What is that a lesson of?

So Jay can hear the ``the last voices`` of the slaughtered animals, but cannot hear the actual screaming words of dieing men and women. Of mass genocide. But then you dont just become an RSS supporter like that do you.

Well do you Jay?????

#10 malik99
Haha. Proton Enhanced Nuclear Induction Spectroscopy (Look up John Waugh & MIT).

a tongue in cheek piece gone wayire

pak options,

There is only one good option for pakistan, that is the libiyan option, dismantle all of the bomb facilities and get rehabilitated in the world community. There is no way that the world is going to accept an islamic bomb. The proliferation initiatives by pak only confirms that it was not an pak bomb, it was an islamic bomb. Slowly, but definitely, the world will definitely remove the bomb.

It only reminds me of the indonesian effort to make an airliner. Habibi tried to advance aviation technology in indonesia by planning to make a 100 seat jet liner in collaboration with CASA of spain. The world waited and waited, after nearly 20 years, during the last financia crisis, all of what habibi did was eliminated by the IMF. The same will happen to pakistan, it willl be a slow iraquisation. A bo9ld acceptane of the libiyan option is what the general should do.

It is time to listen to the eid celebrations, the bleating of animals as they are being slaughtered in pak homes, as the children are being exposed to killings and groans of death, of blood and morbidity. Ironically this is also the time to contribute to the jihadis, they come and collect the hide, it gives them access to money. The young of pakistan are trained to be zen like to the killings, that will stand them in good stead as they move to the madrassas.

In karachi alone a mil;lion animals will be killed in the pak households, the last voices from these animals achoeing through the city is the sound of celebrations, it is the sound of contributions to the jihadi organisations, it is the first lesson for the jihadis.

Bina:

This could have been a good article if you had avoided citing incidents that went against your case (ref post # 9).

Your last paragraph made me write that in Pakistan we are at least holding people accountable for their follies. In India, when the website by the name of Tehelka showed us the level of corruption in Indian Government, it was Tehelka that was made to disappear. Moreover, Indian judicial system is playing musical chairs in favor of Joshi and Advani over Babri Mosque (an incident that resultant in deaths of thousands of innocent Hindus and Muslims) and is also playing musical chairs in favor of those fundoo Indoos arrested for killing of Muslims in a bakery in Gujrat. We should also recall that most of the 52 most wanted Iraqis were found to be educated in India, Indian chemical companies were colaborating with Iraq on chemical weapons, an Indian was caught in England dealing in arms for terrorists, etc.

In view of the above, I am eagerly looking forward to your next article titled `Zen Indians`

:-)

Bina:

Eid Greetings :) the article made a good read..but Romair #9 has raised some relevant issues..something twice the worth of Habib Bank sure is worth some celebration!! although it remains to be seen if it proves to be a financially viable investment for our poor nation..

[No doubt Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan wishes he were that mullah on the moon, as he has been dismissed from his post and put under house arrest for his role in spreading nuclear technology to other nations for monetary gain. The “Father of the Bomb” is undoubtedly realizing that from now on when they call him “Father of the Bum” it won’t merely be a mistake in pronunciation. Pretty soon people are going to start getting the message that it’s a dangerous thing to be on top in Pakistan because inevitably your fortunes will be reversed and you will find yourself taking it up the “bum” by the person who is going to supercede you. Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif can attest to this fact, although the ultimate “bum-takers” such as Zulfiqar Bhutto and Zia-ul-Haq have already gone to meet their makers and cannot add their voices to the growing multitudes in this category. ]

In a way the publicity being showered on Dr. Khan is pretty sad and disappointing.

Obviously, the muslim countries/rulers would have seeked Dr. Khan`s assistance based on what and where his expertise lied.

- Why could not these so called technologically savvy fellows come up with something to smoothen the land of Arafat and save muslim lives that are lost in stampede every damn year ? Making the process of Hajj more systematic would have served as a great process improvement! Why could not Dr. Khan or any other National/International Hero think on those lines? There have been almost 250 deaths during yesterday`s Hajj. The accident took place due to stampede. It did happen because the said Muslims were in a trance mode and lost themselves in the the heat of their prayers. They died in Minaa` while throwing stones on the pillar and cursing ``shaitan``.

- Why the hell did not any Muslim Scientist and Technologist woke up to recommend something worthwhile to the Saudis since that would have saved the lives of Muslims all over the world ? I guess since Muslims do not believe in population control, stampedes are a great way of getting rid of extras :(

Sharing nuclear secrets with nations that do not give any $hit about their natives and the rest of the fellow muslims is indeed INAPPROPRIATE.

Sharing knowledge is not criminal. Sharing knowledge for any monetary gain ain`t criminal. If that`s criminal then every knowledgeable human being is a born criminal.
Having a good taste and owning luxurious villas ain`t criminal at all, provided that was earned and not snatched by hook or by crook.

It`s not the same as fleecing the nation in the amount of 2%. It`s also not the same as taking a halwai, a barber and a cook on offical trips with a batallion of duffers representing the nation.

[The pessmists will say that’s because we’re immature and uneducated, the optimists will say that our emotionality is our greatest strength.]

I am hoping the above was part of the underlying satire since it is a simplistic and incomplete deduction.

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Bina - a very well weaved article. Being a long time believer in pessimism, I have a perfect cure to all illnesses in Pakistan. My solution is that all optimism should be banned in Pakistan. No traces of it should be let out in the media or in the speeches of our political and religious leaders. Any one found guilty of optimism should be sentenced to a year of Eisa Khailwi`s music. Any leader who wants to make an optimistic utterance should apply for an NOC (no objection certificate) from a court. That court would require a large sum of money as bond from that politician to ensure that his optimism has sound basis and would not let pakistanis down. In the (likely) event that his/her optimism lets people down, the court would take that money and put it in a fund to promote pessimism to young pakistanis.
I can assure you that this would promote `responsible` optimism.

``What goes up, comes down``
-- Battle cry of PENIS (Pessimists for an ENlightened and Intellectual Society)

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``You know your country needs some help when a new airplane being added to the national airline’s fleet is a cause for joyous celebration throughout the nation. PIA has purchased a Boeing 777 and it made its maiden flight from the UK to Pakistan today....

Unfortunately for the passengers on the plane, who thought that they were going to land in Karachi, the plane was diverted to Islamabad so that President Musharraf could inspect the plane.``

PIA is one of the biggest white elephants in the country, if not in the whole world (at least the aviation world). It is extremely mismanaged with heavily overstaffed employees, making three times what they should be making, with respect to salaries in other professions in Pakistan. It has employee unions that are so strong that they will never let it get privatized, under an elected govt. since they know they will get fired if it is owned by a Seth. And it has only now started making money, after every other international airline has stopped flying to Pakistan, after 9/11.

Having said that, the induction of the Boeing 777 is actually a major event for PIA (and for all of Pakistan). It is not one 777, but eight that have been bought by PIA. And the total cost is $1.5 billion dollars. That is almost 10% of the total market cap of the whole Karachi Stock Exchange. That is a hell of a lot of money for any business transaction in Pakistan, and I can understand why everyone was there. To get a better perspective, 51% of Habib Bank, the second largest bank in Pakistan, was sold for only $390 million dollars. So eight 777s are worth twice the total value of Habib Bank.

Considering the fact that PIA only has around 32 (non-propellor) jet aircraft, all of which are ancient in comparison to the 777, this new batch is like a major overhaul of the whole airline. And these are the first aircraft being bought by PIA in 12 years. Perhaps the Pakistani economy is finally picking up.

Was the plane really diverted to Islamabad? Or are you exxagerating to make a point./And I don`t think Musharraf was there to receive the plane (though perhaps he should have been, considering the amount of money that was being put into it). The MD of PIA and his wife did fly on the plane, after buying their own ticket. And the US Ambassador was there to receive the plane, as well. So one would have to think, it was not a diversion.

Your point on being a society of pessimists and optimists is well-taken. However, I think there is some method to the madness. At least in the case of PIA. Now, if they can only privitize the airline, get rid of over 50% of its employees, greatly lower the salaries of its overly-paid pilots and stewards etc., we may have a good private company on our hands. Otherwise, this $1.5 billion will come out of the taxpayers.

Bina, a really good article :) Made a boring Sunday afternoon not-so-boring after all.

wow, bina shah writes an article about pakistan and not india for a change

Bina Jee,

Infomative article, you have. Even your sentiments I found to be moderate and eye-opening. But what I do not understand is why you brought Zen into the picture. Zen is not about moderation, in itself. Zen is a way of living that focuses on us dwelling in the ``suchness`` (just being, existing, without verbal or tacit elucidation) of this world and perceiving it ``as it is`` (without attempting to define or describe it) directly using a spontaneity as if you`re observing these for the first time. Existence in its entirety then unfolds itself and one attains za`zen, or enlightenment.

Your article is called ``Zen Pakistanis,`` but I do not see how the essence of your subject matter bears any significance to Zen philosophy.

Take care.

Regarding, 777 divertion to Islamabad, it would not be surprising when you consider that the leaders in Pakistan, whether dictators or elected consider the country as their personal jagir. It was just like inspecting the new car.

Takling about Pakistanis being the masters at spin. Not every one is taken in by it.

Here is the latest on the spin that greedy scientist were reponsible for nuclear know how leak to other countries.

This is from latimes.

`........Greedy scientists is the explanation being offered by Pakistan`s military rulers. What`s more, they say, they weren`t aware that such sales were going on until just a few weeks ago, when Libya and Iran began spilling the beans. They`re shocked.

But that seems a bit of a stretch. After all, the weapons or the knowledge to make them would sell for billions of dollars, an amount that would have surely raised eyebrows in Islamabad, where corruption by politicians, money skimming and Swiss bank accounts are routinely investigated and published — often as a result of leaks by Pakistani intelligence.

The truth is, the military itself is a more likely culprit in the sales. The military has ruled Pakistan for most of its history, either outright or by pulling the strings of weak and often corrupt governments. The military controls the intelligence agency and its nuclear weapons program....`

Enjoyed reading this zen-like critique of a nation in turmoil where rationality gives way to irrational exuberance or manic depression with little in between. The middle way aprroach in thiking or pragatism in action is in large supply among Pakistanis who are ignored (rural Pakistan) and in short supply among those who count (urban Pakistan). Anyway, look who is here...Killer Khalsa..;))

Hmm.. So Musharraf has been involved in a few hijackings of his own now: Two PIA planes on Jan. 17 carrying parliamentarians and one brand new B-777.

Suggest Musharraf be thrown in Attock Jail for 3 years and then be sent to Jeddah :-)

Zen What?