The World "Under Construction"

2009-11-23T13:36:00.001+03:00

Pakistan - the land of the "pure"

I write this with numerous apologies to those who might think I am exaggerating.

August 14, 1947 was supposed to be the dawn of happiness and joy for millions of Muslims of the Sub-continent, when their struggle met a logical end in the form of a new state, which they so-proudly named PAKISTAN or "land of the pure".

But over the years, this land has become so impure and dirty that the stench it emanates is far awful than that of the decomposed body of an orphan who has died on the streets for quite a while, but insensitive passers-by still keep throwing money at him thinking he is alive and just acting to get a penny or two.

I still remember the words I read of an American lawyer in the Aimal Kansi case, who stood tall in a US court and said with a snub that "Pakistanis would sell their mothers for 20 dollars". Furious as it may make seem, those words fit so well today on us Pakistanis, but we don't seem to be learning from our ignominious mistakes.

Handing over our own countrymen to outsiders for a couple of thousands of dollars and earning millions out of the trade (like the "enlightened" general Pervez Musharraf said in his autobiography) is one thing, but giving away our sisters, daughters and mothers to infidels so they can satiate their barbarism is something that should throw us deep down the abyss of shame and humiliation.

One such sister in case is Dr Afia Siddiqui or prisoner No 650, previously held in a US-run prison in Bagram, Afghanistan, for over five years. She has gone through every form of torture and cruelty that a sick and sadist mind can invent. But to our utter disgust, no Pakistani leader – secular, liberal or religious – has yet taken up her issue, while people in the British parliament can feel Dr Siddiqui's pain from thousands of miles away. That is the humanity that they have and we lack.

We as a nation have failed badly and as a state have flopped to the extent of surpassing all yardsticks of the meaning of the word. What is the use of a country when it cannot protect your dignity; when it cannot feed your family; where you can be kidnapped by your own intelligence agencies and traded for money to foreigners? And once you are in their hands, you can be sure no one will have the spine to speak for you. You will be lucky enough only if you are a British, American or Australian citizen. Otherwise, yours will be the only voice you will be hearing for a long, long time.

Pakistan has from day one been treated as a shooting range for many outside forces – the British, Arabs, Americans and the Chinese. Everyone has tested their strengths here, but victims of our own hospitable culture, we have never let them feel that they were fighting their war. We always owned those adventures as our own even if it was our blood they were so mercilessly spilling; our leaders telling their foreign masters that it is "as much our fight as it is theirs".

Time is surely an excellent judge and today I am sorry to say that perhaps the making of Pakistan wasn't as fruitful as it should have been; though it might be too early for such emotional statements, and I hope I am proved wrong.

But for now, it seems the huge sacrifices and numerous murders and rapes of the Muslims of the Sub-continent, who wanted a glimpse of this "promised land", have all gone in vain. Pakistan has turned into the "land of the impure". I just hope we wake up before we reach the edge of the cliff.

2008-01-21T15:32:00.010+03:00

Unpegging for the better

The US President, George W Bush, came with much fanfare to the Middle East but left as if he hadn’t been here in the first place. The only traces of his visit are the papers of those days – no one talks of him anymore.

He had come to sow seeds of dissent between the Arabs and the Iranians, but no longer had he left, member states were quick to rub off any misconception about their ties with Iran.
Whole cities had to be closed for him. Dubai lost more than $1 billion in business due to his visit, and the following rains.

But one would be naïve to think that Iran was the only thing on Mr Bush's agenda. It was more to do with economics. US Presidential hopeful Clinton put it right when she accused Bush of "begging" for cuts in oil prices from Gulf leaders.

The US economy is witnessing a severe recession due to bad sub-prime loans, high oil prices and plunging stocks, skyrocketing inflation. Just how bad the situation is can be imagined by Mr Bush's announcement this Saturday of a $145-billion package to support the receding economy.

However, the US is not the only country to witness problems. The "contagious recession disease" has crossed borders and might become a global epidemic if not controlled; the reason being that the world had become very much dependent on the seemingly infallible dollar.

Inflation is also on the rise in the Gulf and is worrying governments, with figures reaching over 15-year highs in Saudi Arabia, UAE and Oman; inflation in Qatar hit 13.73 per cent in September just below record while Bahrain has come under mounting pressure to tackle inflation caused by rising food and property prices. To add to woes, real estate prices are expected to rise up to 20 per cent this year.

But member states still don’t seem to be ready to unpeg from the dollar or even revalue their currencies.

Speculators say that decision might soon be reversed if the dollar continues to further weaken. An eight per cent revaluation is already on the cards for the UAE dirham and the Saudi riyal before April.

It should have been done by now, but powers that be seem to have an upper hand in forcing these economies to stay loyal to the dollar. In a way they are bailing out the US economy. But this will certainly have a strong affect on the common man in the region.

While the oil boom continues to bloat national coffers, it is giving a hard time to the man below the economical ladder. And even though governments don't admit, prices of commodities have risen as have the prices of real estate soared; draining the purchasing power from the peoples' once boasted "tax-free" salaries.

It also adversely affects the import of human resources especially skilled labour, from Asian countries such as India, which itself is relishing its piece of the global "economic boom pie".
If this continues, it may be impossible to stop the flight of unskilled labour too, which these countries are so heavily dependent on. Any mass exodus of labour could bring these economies to a standstill.

In these biting circumstances, it would be prudent to think long-term. A few points for consideration could be:

The rewards from the oil boom must be passed on to the working class – locals and expatriates – at once in the form of rise in salaries.
Unpeg currencies from the dollar and use a basket of currencies instead
Apply a strict rental ceiling to rise in prices of rent and property.
Decrease dependence on oil and construct more technology-based industries, which can substitute oil and support the economies in times of adversity.
Invest more rigorously in the skill-upgradation of local populations.
Build more universities and institutions teaching modern sciences and technology.
Invest in nuclear, wind and other forms of energies for power generation as substitutes to oil.
Make more direct investments in emerging economies like India, China and others in Asia and Africa.

2008-01-01T04:11:00.000+03:00

Rushing into 2008

I did not expect that 2008 would arrive so early especially when I had a lot to do in and expect from 2007.

I wish I could go back in time to fix some things; to say things which I wanted to say; to do things I wanted to do; to meet people I wanted to meet; or even wake up early in the morning and go to the park for a stroll.

Call me foolish or innocent, but that's what I feel like doing just now. Alas! That will now forever remain an unachievable dream with the dawn of this New Year.

Looking back at the past year, I feel no person with a heart in his chest will be happy to see how humanity failed to achieve its most-desired objective – one of a peaceful and just world.

Man killed and robbed his own fellow brother for things that in way he could have taken with him farther than his deathbed. Yet, he seems adamant not to learn and continue with more ferocity what he failed to do in the past 12 months.

Oh, what plans I wonder these evil mortals will be laying out for the coming days. The horrific scenes of war and poverty we got to see in 2007 leave no room for further imagination.

While a couple will be starting a new happily-married life; while someone will be planning on adding a new degree to his qualification; while a retiree will be planning on building or buying a new abode so his coming generation doesn’t go homeless; while the poor peasant will be hoping for a better crop to feed his family; while a child will be starting school with dreams of becoming a useful part of society; while the sick will be on the road to recovery – this mentally-sick brute will be out there standing in the way of each of these to snatch their dreams right out of their eyes.

Oh, how I wish this doesn’t happen and he has a change of heart, and considers the rest as part of his family.

There may be lot of gloom in these lines but a critical analysis of the past 365 days and invigorated hope for a better world will guide us toward a better 2008.

One with little more happiness for the sad, with more security for the insecure, with more food for the hungry, with more healthcare for the sick; and with more power for the powerless.

A happy New Year to all!