The Puppet Speaks Behind the scenes, Pakistani bureaucrats and intelligence agencies are playing a marvelous game. On one hand they have been successful in making these yahoo-americans believe that Pakistan is fighting a real battle against the Talibans, and on the other hand they have given ample room for the Talibs to re-organize themselves to fight a long, hard battle that will result in America being chastened and all of (poor, land-locked) Afghanistan eventually dependant on Pakistan for it's every need. If Pakistan stops wheat shipment for a week, Afghanis in Kabul are asking for Karzai's head. Pakistan has got American, European, Indian and Afghani balls in it's hands and with one gentle squeeze, it can make sweet music.

Freedom of Expression If I am not mistaken, the author proposes that the pakistani media --which succeeded in getting under the skin of a military dictator and his coterie of self-interested robber-barons in govt-- was not really free because all they ever put out on air were: senior journalists, defense analysts, retired generals, civil-society leaders, human-right activists, intellectuals, politicians, retired judges, lawyers, op/ed men and so on and so forth.

I would say that the Pakistani media, for the last few years was a breath of fresh air, when compared to media elsewhere in the world. The media in the west is impotent and banal, to say the least. Nothing makes it to the mainstream unless it's cleared by their respective govt's. It is a sham. A farce. Before Nov. 3rd, Pakistani media was vibrant, diverse and learning fast about it's duties and responsibilities. Investigative journalism was being done all over the place and corruption was being unearthed. Was the author really watching ?.

These much celebrated, venerated and highly paid media anchors (prostitutes for their respective Govt's) in the west could learn a thing or two about truth and principles from Talat Hussain (of Aaj TV), who refuses to go on air with strings attached.

Pakistani media was the greatest before Nov. 3rd and inshallah, will be, once again.

Reflections During a US Visa Grind Excellent article. Informative, topical and illuminating. The message is bang-on target. Bravo.

A New US Vision? American politicians are turning the screws on Pakistan because their politicians have finally (and rightly) come to the conclusion that democracy is the only elixir to extremism. This recent amendment (Pressler-II) is a manifestation of America's new 'tough love' policy on Pakistan.

How can such tripe make it to the Front Page of Chowk ?. Farzana Varsey could burp and produce more substance than this extreme exercise in insulting our common sense.

India is a democracy, yet there are 22 simultaneous wars of attrition being fought with the center. Bigotry and extremism is not only a tradition, but is institutionalized and enshrined in it's religion.

US has a long and proud tradition of dictating the sort of democracies that the third world can enjoy. Millions of people have died trying to resist US puppet regimes. Palestinians voted for Hamas, but with carrot and stick, they are now being taught to make the 'right' choice.

Pakistan, india and whoever else can have clowns for presidents and a Paper/Rock/Scissor system of govt --as long as we continue to serve US interests in that region. Simple as that. Violation of human rights, democracy and proliferation of weapons are just tools for the State Dept. to use under the 'stick' part of the equation.

The answer is to circle the wagons and stand as one, united against the imperial designs. Don't do it out of fear of reprisals. Do it as a matter of principle. The bully shall be vanquished.

Life Beyond Chores Young girls today should be taught and encouraged to respect themselves and learn to say n-o, NO. While at the same time young boys should be reminded not to take the fairer sex for granted. Like a misbehaving dog, their chain should be yanked whenever they get out of line.

Desi culture not only tolerates, but on several levels celebrates the enslavement of their womenfolk. And it is not just a patriarchal thing. Older women play a big role in undermining the next generation, publicly in the name of tradition and customs, secretly out of revenge and bitterness.

It's sad.

Pakistan: A Downward Spiral? #24 Obama will have a hard time adjusting back to his job of lining trash cans at McDonalds, after Hillary steam rolls over this bimbo in the primaries.

Moral Bankruptcy of Political Leadership in Pakistan "Tale of an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing". [Shakespeare, Macbeth]

When you sit down to write a piece on politics, I suggest that you have something personal to add, something new to explore or a different slant on the subject. This, however, is the same yakkity-yak that you hear day-in and day-out. Benazir corrupt, Musharraf should go, our country sucks, blah blah. It's a rehash of the talking heads on TV and not a good one at that.

What I want from you (or any Tarzan out there who believes he is a political pundit) are the reason(s) why you think Pakistan is where it's at and how we can get to, where you think we ought to be. Of course, you run the risk of mass ridicule and charges of being a schmuck, but you will be a daring, original schmuck --and that's worth your trouble.

PS: I believe that Musharraf, with all his human failings, is doing God's work in Pakistan and he should continue as president-in-uniform for at least the next 5 years. The Chaudhry brothers can be replaced with a more suitable and coherent political 'front', in exchange for cushy minister portfolios. Benazir will probably get taken out by a suicide bomber and be replaced with a more dignified, urdu-speaking Aitezaz Ahsan.

Making a Martyr of Saddam The shias in Iraq are jubilant over Saddam`s murder. It doesnt` matter
that Saddam had shia majority in his cabinet. It doesn`t matter that a
foreign invader has their country occupied and is using them to secure
a foothold. It doesn`t matter that american soldiers are raping and killing
their countrymen en masse. The US admin is giving 10 year stay assess-
ments to Congress and has started building forts in Iraq which is going
to serve as their future colony. None of this could have been possible
without shia help.

In return, shia militias have gotten a blank check to wreak mass scale
mayhem and murder on Sunnis. Karbala ka inteqaam ?.

In 1991, when Baghdad was being pounded for days on end, I remember
a CNN reporter remarking that despite being hit so hard, the lights were
on in the city. The camera panned over to a deserted highway which
was lit up with bright lights in the middle of the night. Today, Baghdad
is lucky to get electricity for an hour/day. Aside from his dignified and
brave exit, Saddam will be remembered for building and holding a nation
together.

I hope Bush sends a lot more G.I.s to Iraq which come back and push up
daisies in Arlington cemetery. So that future generations will dare not look
towards the Muslim world as easy pickings, the shias notwithstanding.

Re-Imagining Pakistan Hoodbhoy will always remain a one-trick-pony: Pakistan cannot
be, all that it can be, while most of it`s citizens continue to practice
Islam. We cannot progress socially, economically and culturally
unless we adopt the ``Don`t Ask, Don`t Tell`` policy on religion. It`s
the religion, stupid.

He makes the most common mistake of nerds and geeks, when
they come to the west. They assign a causal relationship to the
seperation of church and progress of the state. If these morons
had studied the Quran and history of early Islam, as closely as
their textbooks, they would know that Islam is the most engaging,
tolerant and progressive of lifestyles which encourages science
and research.

Whenever Hoodbhoy has participated on a panel with Islamic
scholars and found wanting, he has been quick to affirm his
ignorance of Islam. For a man who spends so much time trashing
it, you would expect him to get acquainted with the subject first.

With time, as his repeated claims, cautions and prophecies
have come to naught and his judgment stands exposed, he
withers on the vine and will ultimately fade into nothingness
--just like his career in Physics.

What’s On Air? Gawd Almighty!
Pakistan has a measly 9 FM channels at last count. For such a large
and diverse population, that`s nothing!. You turn the radio on in the
US and you have dozens of AM/FM stations, catering to every topic
and community under the sun. You have committed Talk Radio, the
Blues, Western, Oldies, Disco, Pop, R&B, Rap, Hip-Hop, etc. They
have their own RJs, guests and community-specific topics. And it
seems to work just fine here.

Young Pak FM channels, in their eagerness to develop a base, are
trying to be everything to everybody and of course they`re looking
ugly doing it. Like FM89, each FM channel should specialize and cater
to a specific demographic, just as they have successfully done with
Cable TV channels: Khyber, Waseb, Kashish, Bolan, etc.

Lastly, your point about the dearth of language skills on-air is spot-
on. You have teeny-boppers with ``like, you know`` on one hand and
embarrassing verbosity on the other. With time and competition
one hopes this will improve. I, for one, am glad that FM89 and FM96
are sticking to their game plans. Same for FM100 and the rest of the
increasingly india-focused `urdu` channels.
I know where I have to turn the dial, when I am in the mood for the
latest English hits, Urdu sheyr O`shairi or (laholO`willah) indian music.

In dealing with radio, as with any other media, we must allow them
to find their footing and niche in the market, instead of wishing the
Govt to (God forbid) step-in and strangle creativity in favor of their
convoluted view of conformity. Heck, I`m even willing to tolerate that
DJ Carasella for a few years for that... ;)

The Great Wrong Re: # 14
Oy shava! sadi ally te chaa gai bai!. ::two thumbs up wala ikan::

The Great Wrong Punjabis comprise 2/3 of Pakistan. As Urstruly mentioned, Punjabis
have been getting just over half of their due share. You can do this
with one large province, but when you divide into three, each will be-
come more cognizant of it`s rights and as a whole, Punjab will end
up taking more than it`s getting now from the federation pool. That`s
just common sense.

So the idea that division will be a panacea is a facetious argument
forwarded by munafiqs, like S.M. Zafar, who has done more harm to
the spirit of the 1973 Constitution than any person, dead or alive.

Punjab is not a land of milk and honey. There is just as much poverty
and neglect in it`s rural areas, as any other province. Punjab`s critics
are a handful of dirty politicians/feudals in the smaller provinces, who
have been blackmailing the center for their own interests and embezz-
ling the future of their people for decades. You don`t appease them by
cutting down Punjab.

Musharraf, if he gets a second term, should follow-up on his promise
to make sure that development funds are bypassed the sardars and
nawabs, and spent on the people. That, and that alone, is the way out.

Redrawing of borders is just a bhonda mazaq.

Confessions of a She-Driver If you follow any of these `rules`, you are going to end up in
hospital, or worse. Driving on the streets of Karachi is now a
science, not an art. A test of nerves and human psychology.
And lately, it`s become a rather hostile place for gal drivers.

Let me give you an example. On my last visit, I was driving
back from Cantt Station Karachi. Near the mazaar, I saw a
middle-aged woman who had just picked her son from school,
hit the brakes upon seeing the speed-breaker, prompting the
scooter behind her to bump into her car. The guy stepped-off
his bike and walked over to the driver`s side. The two exchanged
some verbal volleys after which the guy punched the woman
in the jaw --and just like in the movies-- I saw her face flatten,
twist and sent reeling back into the headrest. She was stunned,
dazed and speechless. Like Mohammad Ali, after the Spinks
fight.

I saw her young son stepping out the other side to have a
few with the guy. Since I was on the other side and traffic
was piling up behind me, I had to move on. The most disheart-
ening thing for me, was that of all the people gathered round
(buswallahs, motorists, shopkeepers) none of them moved an
inch to save the honor of the lady driver. They all watched and
grinned, hoping for some bloodshed, I suppose. Shameful.

So, while we can laugh and joke about women being aggressive
and not looking in the rear view mirror... the samaraat (fruits)
of such a practice can be quite an eye opener (or closer).

Romancing life with a cappuccino in hand! I cannot relax until Bush is out of office and we end all these
stupid wars, where hundreds of innocents are dying everyday.
No amount of cappuccino, espresso or bacardi is going to make
me forget it.

Maybe something like EST might work... :)

The Girl on the Car Window The blessed well-off have to adopt the Republican mindset
to get through the guilt of their wasteful spending while
people are dying on the streets from cold, hunger and
disease. The most often applied is the mantra of exchanging
places with the real victim: ``We are paying taxes through
our nose, to support the lifestyle of these lazy beggers``.

This snapshot can be applied, though in varying degrees of
division, to any metropolitan city in the world today. The
Sub-Continent however, presents the most stark contrast.

Indian Muslims It`s sad, that Muslims of British India were denied appropriate
land and resources to house them all. Instead, what we got was
a (according to Jinnah) ``moth-ridden`` Pakistan for half of them.
The prescient Muslim Leaguers at the time could see the writing
on the wall, of what would become of Muslims who would have
to live with the hindus.

All of it has come to pass and then some: the institutional racism,
the cultural segregation, the frequent massacres and orgies of
everyday murder, rape and beatings. The depiction in media of
a Muslim is far worse than of blacks under slavery in the west.
The indian Muslim is paying the rent for those of us, who were
lucky to migrate to Pakistan.

The heart is heavy for our oppressed brothers and sisters in india.

But I have to credit the shameless hindu, who is killing Muslims
in the north and razing their mosques in the south, but still trying
to discredit the 2-Nation Theory!. Their brazen greed is unmatched
anywhere else on the planet.

One can only fall to his knees and thank Jinnah, Iqbal and all our
leaders, who fearlessly fought and got, Pakistan for us. Too bad,
we couldn`t get enough, for all.