Mango Diplomacy Hey I was gonna post ..and ended up makin this silly poem ..:P no offense meant and no nasty critiques ..I ain`t no wordsworth!:) ..it is in defense of all mango haters ..like myself;)

A mango Bina said .

It`s taste it`s smell

reminded one of a fruit from hell

Blasphemy the chowk wallas said ;

Repent ..she who attacks the (The King of fruits) mango

off with her head !

`I was just being honest` Bina cried ..

`would you have prefer I had lied?`

Ras shouted `exile her my friends `

send her to america..,

where even in the harshest of heat

no fruit tastes as sweet`

One passerby muttered on the side ...next she will

speak ill of cricket I`ll bet ..

The worst was yet to come ..for

Omair also roared...(that Ghalib had once said )

`A donkey you are if the taste of a mango you hate`

I say ;Rest assured Bina I know how it feels ..for that damn fruit

I hate it is all I know of fruit hell :P ;

As for those who call our kind donkeys ..perhaps donkeys we are

yet feel secure ,as for them , in some other country where another

fruit is all ...Mango lovers..donkeys are you all ;)

The Magician and The Dreamer Hmm another one to add to your looonnng list of articles on chowk .I wanna ask you interactors ...dontcha think Zeejah deserves some permanent column like hoodbhoy ?I mean look at her list of articles ..,it`s huge ! and all fo em are immensely readable !Oh yeah great article again ..left me with this eerie feeling at the end though ..

Reforming the Armed Forces Someone said something about the difference between fighting forces and actual deployments.I would like to add to that , for example the Americans support personnel played an essential role in reducuing losses .While everbody will bandy around the figure of , 50 thousand US causlaties ..and almsot a million plus vietnamese ..the fine print is , the americans suffered some 2.2 million injuries ..they would have been higher if medical ssupprot was not available or co ordinated relief .

Pakistans army is another matter all together ,first off ..all the increases in size and expenditure have been during CIVILIAN regimes .And usually very strong ones .The largest salary increases were made recently during Nawaz Sharifs govt ..who was not exactly a weak leader..a stupid one ..but before anyone disagrees ...just imagine Benazir or someone else tryin to even THINK about removing the COAS ...the Pakistan army was nearly doubled in size in ZA Bhuttos time..odd considering we had just lost half our population?In fact Jehangir Karamat had planned for a phased reduction of the armed forces size ..again odd ..an army man doing that .

I do remember having a really intense discussion on chowk some months back ..about the Pakistani armies stucture ..cant remember the article .Heavy duty stuff..I`m sure if we put all those posts together we`d have book material!

Reforming the Armed Forces Hmm thought everyone should know ..Mushahid hussain has another article up ..this time in the Nation , dealing with the US and Pakistan .His e mail address has been given as Mushahid@nation.com.pk

To make a point , to what Ras Siddiqui said ,yes Nawaz Sharif was a nazi ..the difference being he did not have sufficient control over Pakistans resources ..due its bankruptcy or he would have done far worse ...that reminds me ..late Fazle Haq said about Nawaz Sharif , (he had stayed with him for several months ) ..that he was Zulfiqar bhutto`s `bap` and the man was an out and out fascist .Considering the harsh man Fazle Haq was ..that says a lot

Reforming the Armed Forces While not wishing to be harsh on someone , who regardless of what he supproted did suffer imprisonment .I personally believe ...let he who is without sin cast the first stone .

Your own govt`s handling of the armed forces was disgusting ..as information minister in the hey day of `the heavy ,mandate` what stopped you from releasing the Hamood ur Rehman Comission report?..Or the 1965 report ..or pass a freedom of information act which would have allowed others to have taken the initiative ?I`d also rather not get into lifafa journalism ..and the helicoper group ..of your leader?...

In fact a group of senior army officers air force also publicly supported armed forces reform ..in early `97 the govt just dropped the whole thing ..what stopped the gov from arresting mansur ul haq when he was ousted?..again ..opportunity existed ...none set the standard ..which is sadder ..considerin your journalistic career

Telecom Dreams Sold Dirt Cheap Hmm Question ..as I understand it ..PTCL has a monopoly uptill 2001 or is it 2002?The (wrong concept) behind this monopoly according to the `96 sct as I understand it was to ensure PTCL`s viability when it was privatised .Whats the concept behind allowing competition ..and that to with yourself?? They couldve broken up PTCL and allow different component to compete ..I doubt few have done anything as wierd as the ACL deal though .Competition is a must ..but thsi reeks of bureacratic ineptness .

In all of this I gotta ask ..whats the Pakistan Telecomunications authority position in all this .Bieng another fine specimen of a govt oversight reulatory authrity if it saw something it should have acted ?

The Decline and Fall of Pakistan I also heard with great sadness of the death of

Eqbal Ahmad ...whom I only recently became a fan off for his brilliant style of writing .I`m sure that his family have all our prayers in getting through this difficult period .

As far as the article ..as usual the writer has put across his usual insightful point of view ...( careful some Indian chowk walla might be reading this and you could get arrested for anti-pakistan ..remarks !)

I have a few crticisms though ...it comes across in the article that you believe that if Jinnah had survived ..Pakistan would have been a great country ..one of Jinnahs first acts as Governor General was the dismissal of the Provincial govt.she didn`t like ...he set the precedent that the gov general had all the powers ( setting the system up for Nazimuddin`s dismissal )

The language controversy was another legacy ..which was instrumental in causing the 1970 secession ..the imposition of Urdu as the national language ..is something which has effected us till this day ( despite jinnahs inability to speak more then a few words of the language )

Another serious question is about secularism ...I think the belief that secularism is agood way ..and the Pakistan way is wromg ..is not true ..look at Turkey ..the Islamist parties women members are fighting for the right to cover their heads !

About this question of identity ..it is funny that except for probably the Army there is no other instituition where ppl can ave frank discussions in Pakistan without killing each other ..Islam does not give a sense of a nation state ..since Islam transcends that concept ..after all every Pakistani doesn`t ahve to be a Muslim ..

Balkan Tragedy: A Re-enactment of the 1971 Genocide in Bangladesh TO add to the discussion ..( which I I should add

has gone fairly of track ) ..a proper understanding of the contrast is only possible

if you more precisely define the events of Kosovo and the 1971 war

the Kosovo war can be called ``The result of a linguo-Culturo - religious rivalry with a long historical aspect , it is based on the negative form of nationalism of Demographic change , as a short term goal , and the destruction of the opposing group as a final objective ``

I have not used the word ethnic here as Kosovons and Serbs are both Slavs ..the Historial aspect is the usage of the Ottoman Empire of Albanians in crushing Serbian revolts .

While the 1971 War can be better described as ``

The result of an idealogically derived state apparatus enforcing it`s writ in defence of it`s idealogical boundries ``

These terminologies may sound confusing ..but do allow a person to make the contrast .



In Criticism of Omar74`s comments about the law of the land being sarcosanct above all else and how Baluchistan joined PAksitan .etc .

First of ( and this is in contrast to Kosovo )

The Bengali`s were the original founders of the Muslim League and Bengal was the only place where the Muslim League was a real mass movement and could hold mammoth rallies ..their commitment to Pakistan was much more then any other Province ( with the exception of NWFP which voted as par a referendum ) The Bengalis provided 2 Prime Ministers to the country , the man who tables the pakistan resolution was Bengali as well ...also did you know that the Awami League was a breakaway faction of the Muslim League ( it was originally called the Awami Muslim League )



I also object to the belief that the law of the state is above all , Dictatorships have always often legalised their actions ..does that mean they were just ?...To add to your knowledge pakistan is a signator of the Universal declaration of Human rights ..last I heard at least ..and the basic fundamental rights of man and women are above any law as far as I am concerned .

Another fact is that if the West Pakistani people were not lied to about what was going on in East Pakistan ..they might have stopped it much earlier .

One of the InterAct(ors?) said Pakistan is full of contradictions ..I would add to that by saying ..that a country based on providing a home for people from Hindu discrimination for some reason , almost like a victim of abuse , has time and time again discriminated against it`s own

Balkan Tragedy: A Re-enactment of the 1971 Genocide in Bangladesh As usual I am jumping in at the fag end of the discussion ..so I shall be brief

1...As was seen by Pakistan`s experience in 1965 with Kashmir pouring weapons into a region ..doesn`t trigger an insurrection not unless they are underlying causes .

2....There is a strong element of racial and ethnic chavunism ..similair in both cases of Kosovo and East Pakistan ..it wasn`t uncommon to hear West PAkistani soldiers being quoted as saying `` we`ll remove the fight out of them forever ``

`` We will wipe out tehir genes ``

3...Interestingly India is opposed to the intervention by Nato in the conflict ..as are countries like China and Russia ...most probably because ..once you allow such a precedent ..it can be applied elsewhere ( a useful lesson for any armed intervention in Pakistan as well )

4...The history behind the kosovo war is much more complex then the East Pakistan one ..it is 500 + years old...and the alnd historically was Serbian ..but due to war and migrations ..the Albanian community became a majority .

5...On the other hand their is an important similairity ..if the East Pakistan incident had occurred now ..it would most definitely have been considered Genocide ..and many pakistani leaders would have been caught .

In Pakistans defense ..that it hasn`t apologised for the War and hasn`t paid compensation ..all assets in East Pakistan were nationalised by the Mujib govt. ..something that played a role in the economic depression that overtook West Pakistan in the `70`s ..also it is said that Z.A Bhutto apologised in 1975 on his trip to Bangladesh ( I am however uncertain about this ) another point worth mentioning ..is that over 1.5 million Bengalis live in pakistan right now ..as illegeal immigrants ..they are employed ..and have taken over teh fishing industry in Karachi ..they have excacerbated the ethnic and social problems in that area ..and send their remittances back to Bangladesh ...another reference is that in Nawaz Sharifs trip to Bangladesh ( the first one after being re elected PM ) he did clearly state that the March 1970 crackdown was wrong and that the mandate of the people should have been respected .

Why The War On Ghosts Was Lost Very nicely written Mr.Pervaiz ..I am a big fan of your writings ..as usual your shock style of writing does it`s job .I have another aspect of the education system for you ..the medical side ..

the spurt of Private Medical Colleges opened ..Pakistan Medical and Dental COuncil` cronyism and political infighting amongst the Doctors community .The govt.s opposition to Private Colleges ...and the admission system of the colleges .I mean the blatant misuse of the quota system ..the fact that only1/ 5th of the Doctors stay in Pakistan .

The story goes on and on ..a lotta material is out there for you Dr.Pervaiz ..I would recommend you write a book in english and in Urdu..as well as ensuring you have a ticket for you an your family in case of an emergency ..

On the last partn of your article ..I agree ..the writ of the state is collapsing ..the state of decay and the lack of any system of replacing the disintegrating colonial apparatus ...has unleashed the forces laid dormant by half a century of power politics.

The army is now being used to establish the govt.s writ in administrative matters ...the only thing left is for the next election to be rigged ..and then my friends ( those of you in Pakistan )

the circle will at last be complete

A Matter of Principle I have wanted to jump into this discussion for awhile now but was a bit busy ..anyways just want to throw my few cents into the ongoing debate .Their was a recent seminar about this Jang-GOP showdown arranged by Jang in here in Peshawar .Attending were numerous well known people from Peshawar ...including the Chief editor of the regional English newspaper The Frontier Post .Many people at the seminar offered their support to the Jang but complained of a very strong ethnic bias in The Jang group ..the way it`s Urdu newspapers turned on supporters of the Provinces renaming ..the lack of reprsentation of Frontier writers in the newspapers ..this and numerous other stuff had left a bitter taste in many peoples mouths .

And let us not forget that the Jang was a relatively big supporter of our much loved PM ( I`m being sarcastic here :) ) in his first stint as PM ..after he was elected in the `` free fair and transparent `` election of `90 ..we shouldn`t be surprised at NS biting the hand that fed him ..after all this is Pakistan ..we should`ve been expecting it :)

P.S Ed`s of Chowk there should be a follow on option in INTERACT as well as a line for people to put in their e mail or web site addresses if they want ..

Jinnah, My Hero I dunno ..nobody knows for sure what he really meant by Pakistan ...but no one should ever deny his place in history ( despite your belief to the contrary ) cos he changed the map of the world and effected the lives of millions ...during his time and after .I think the most damning indictment , though , about how bad things have gotten ..is that if he was alive now he`d probably have been hung as an infidel and an Israeli agent :(

India is South Asia’s Natural Hegemon ``Respect must be earned ``

I don`t remember the Southern African countries

opposing the aprtheid regime backing down from opposing the SA regime ..even though they knew

it was more powerful ?..

In the end it comes to a case of a neighbourhood bully who thinks he has a divine right to beat up everyone in the neighbourhood (and has eyes on the enxt block as well ) ..this divine right coming from his being beaten up by his Dad at sometime in his childhood ..

and as far as other countries in South Asia go ..if they dont stand for whats right ..it`ll be their turn next

Squeaky-Clean Land Loaded with sweeping generalisations as is typical

of your thinking :) ..you condemn men to an imaginary death and utter contempt in an imaginary world ..and despite how some people may think it is an apt description ..

I seriously do wonder...how you would act if the roles were reversed ?....most probably mass execution of the men ..

A Ray of Hope Whoops ! ..Ok you are the writer ..my apologies ..

still I stick to my point ..IK isn`t the answer to Pakistans problems though ..making a cancer Hospital doesn`t mean you can rule the country ..and I believe it was called SKMTH ..with T standing for trust Hospital ?..the other thing is the Cancer Hospital is not the end off it all is it?..shouldn`t he broaden his horizons ?....I know he isn`t perfect ( btw what exactly did happen between him and Edhi ..back in `95-`96 ? ) ..but at times you find one to many skeletons in his closet .

A Ray of Hope Wasn`t this the same article published by Anjum Niaz ..in the Dawn weekly edition ?..

me smells something rotten ...(then again I always smell something rotten when it comes to Imran ;-) )