Discussion with Muhammad

Ameer: asalam u alikum
how is life in USA

any better

Muhammad: it is good

University will open from Monday

Ameer: well it is good here as well except for zardari

Muhammad: ha ha ha

Ameer: mush is gone

Muhammad: Zardari has lost all of his credibility

Ameer: but he expects something better

Muhammad: I am surprised. He is the one who will put the PPP to its natural death

Ameer: for one mushi expects the coalition to break down

and kyaini to either take over

or make mushi the king again

but for the hundreds of Baluchis he cannot possibly come

Muhammad: this is hilarious

did mush say that?

Ameer: he did not

but lot of analysts think that way

or else mush is going to go abroad

though he wants to stay here

amid security

his son is in USA
and keeps away from media

Muhammad: I think he should allow to stay in Pakistan

that is a much better punishment

Anyway, I have heard that Zardari is going to be a president.

Ameer: he is

for sure

and no one is stopping him

USA wants the most corrupt person on tip

top

and they can't find any besides him

even Chaudrys look paler

Muhammad: Apparently, he is pursuing mush policies even better.

Ameer: yes

and the militants are ready to trounce

it appears that militants only want to kill military and police and spread choas

they never touch any PPP office

Muhammad: I have a feeling that if he continued that way he might get murdered in a year or two.

Ameer: how is that

???

and they don't wish to kill Zardari

Muhammad: may be by ISI itself

Ameer: maybe India and Afghanistan have told Mehsud, agent of CIA and FBI not to touch our men

it is ISI but most of it is RAW

for sure

i have no doubt

India wants to break pakistan within 2 years

that's my guess

and it certainly wants Sindh and Punjab

atleast Punjab to end Kashmir struggle and let loose Sikh men to rape Muslim women once and for all

I am sure Punjabis wont mind that

after all they are the ones who created this mess

Muhammad: I have watched an interview by Stephen Cohen. He was saying that India wants to weaken the Pakistan as much as possible, but donot want its disintegeration.

Ameer: India would be stupid to think that they can weaken Pakistan but not break it

they want to

Muhammad: so you think that at present Taliban, say Pakistani Taliban, are playing in the hands of RAW.

Ameer: there is no such thing as Pakistani Taliban

they are a bunch of frustrated guys, sexullay and morally, and they want to do something

so they are bombing everything they can

and RAW is clearly enjoying this

after all we supported Kashmiris since 1988

and helped kill lot of Indian soldiers and common Hindus

now it is time to die

you just think on these lines:

schools are bombed daily

Muhammad: You have told me that there are numerious suicide bombers waiting for their turn

Ameer: all important bridges, roads and offices are bombed

Karachi is to be attacked during and after ramazan

dont be surprised if your friends die on Eid Day

that is their plan

there are around 500 of them according to one of my contractors whose house is in Waziristan

ISI knows it

but cant do anything

no orders from the top

they have also blown away SUI gas main pipeline

what the hell

Muhammad: It seems there is no way out at the moment

Ameer: Zardari wishes to take revenge from everyone

so he will help further destruction

at any cost

even at the cost of the country

Muhammad: military action can only yield short term results

Ameer: MQM supports Zardari so that he does not kill them

but he will order mass killings of MQM within 6 months

and USA is playing double policy

they will support MQM with weapons

and they will give PPP weapone

Muhammad: I thought USA is backing MQM

Ameer: and everyone kill everyone else

they are backing both sides

equally

and MQM says we want Pushoons out

Muhammad: I remember this is the plan you told me about a year ago

Ameer: why???

yes now it is time for final implementation India has beefed up security across its borders

Pakistan and Bangladesh and have sent extra army to Kashmir war is on

Muhammad: somebody has said that freedom movement againt sparked in the kashmir itself. That is ISI didn't play any role for this

Ameer: yes, this time ISI really did not do anything in fact, the stupidity of Indian hardliner Hindus did this let me tell you this India is playing the policy of Israel pushed Muslims so much that Muslims got economicall and socially downgraded as citizens of Israel India will follow the same policy to the letter in coming 10 years; and will kill Muslims across; loot their properties, kidnap their most cherished men, rape their women, and would do to make lot of Muslims dis-appear

Muhammad: but this will result in the rise of muslim extremism with in India itself

Ameer: A Muslim writer, Jawed Akhter, could not buy a home in Mumbai and he clearly told media that was because he is a Muslim Indian wants to raise Islamic militancy in India

Muhammad: however, he declare himself non-muslim

Ameer: to get free weapons from USA and Europe

Muhammad: interesting

Ameer: to kill Islamic Facsists as they would then be called

Muhammad: they are perhaps commiting a suicide. In the sense that things do not always work according to your plan. There are so numerious a parameters.what if this extremism become uncontrolled.

Ameer: they think they will kill most muslims and force many others to migrate to what would be left of Pakistan or Bangladesh see their name: HINDUS TAN

well that is a very clear agenda

Muhammad: again this is a too simplistic thought. In India there have been movements like this in the past. Like Shuddi tehreek, sanghattan movements it is the re-emergence of these movements

Ameer: I am not sure but India wishes to act like Americans and Israelis and killing Muslims seems to be the easiest route

Muhammad: that is for sure. Moreover it didn't want to share its region with any of the US or Israel

Muhammad: I guess then that Army has no choice except to launch a major attack on Mehsud or Fazl-Ullah. But they are well trained with gorilla wars which is almost impossible to win, if they also enjoy support from tribesmen

Ameer: they have almost no support from tribesmen because of the army operation in fact ISI can train tribesmen and get these bastards killed

Muhammad: but then they will have to deal with the tribesmen later

Ameer: now that is a problem which can be solved by opening roads and making education common and also by having a stricter control over border with afghanistan

there was a report in DAWN 2 days back that around 6000 afghan men are in Pakistan to fight

Muhammad: this what they should have done when Soviet quits

they are silly people. They should have thought in the entire world their only supporter is Pakistani people. There is a simple rule in the goriall was that you don't let your base camp in trouble. But as we know stupidity knows no bound. Perhaps they are being over-confident.

Ameer: i am not sure what they are thinking

but hearing all those comments from people like Imran Khan and others I feel that all tribesmen think that they are just not beatable

and they imagine that the mountains would save them

they are living in times when that was the case

they need to get out and see the world

Muhammad: This is not much untrue.
Gorilla wars aryou have the support from the people in whicnless you have the support from the people in which you are operating

yes, once Imran Khan said that solution is that make tribesmen your allies. Give them task and support. they will do your jobs. A solution which is very similar to you just told me.

Ameer: what I understand is that lot of tribesmen have nothing to do all day

so they like having guest

fighting over smaller things

enjoying kewa or chai

and keeping their women shut

or producing children

or learning Quran without understanding any thing

so the best way to deal with these rough tough people is to get them doing something all day long

so that they have no time for stupidities

Muhammad: this is our fault too we continued the Bristish policies rather then integerating them to the Pakistani society.

Ameer: we have lot to answer to ourselves and to the people who;ve suffered due to us

Memories of my grandparents…

14th August is just round the corner and we’ve decided to have some of the wonderful memories of partition related here by the authors and commentators. Stories which you have been fed by your grandparents or your parents, who migrated from across the border to begin a new life here in the country made for democracy and equal rights for ALL citizens. Stories my grandparents tell me often, follow:

My grandparents (father side) lived in Bahunagar and then Bombay. My grandfather used to have a tea stall which he used to run along with his elder brother, Ahmed. British army was their regular customer and when they came they came in droves and all the war chat would take place there, albeit in English, a language my grandfather never really understood except for the morsels. He also tells me, whenever in good mood, that Hindu banyas were also his prized customers and they would be very rich and very tidy in their manners and style.

Then they came to Karachi, Pakistan.

Unlike many migrants pouring from India by train or walk or by mules, which was always a dangerous thing to do in those bad times, he and his wife arrived by ship. In those old days, ships b/w Karachi and Bombay were very common and lot of people used to rely on them for trade. Thankfully, it wasn’t disconnected after partition. If I can recall it rightly, it took around 7 days for the ship to reach Karachi and vice versa, and the journey was, as they remember, quite emotional but un-eventful. They off loaded in a city which was far cleaner, more managed, having wonderful, big roads and with lot of joggis around for people pouring in. Karachi was then a port city and it was just that. Further, he tells me with a shine in his eyes that the major thoroughfares would be daily washed clean on the orders of Mr. Jinnah, founder of Pakistan and the resident of this city.

I am also told that Karachi had no fear. People were loving and good-natured; Hindus and Parsis were the major businessmen. They had lots of properties and some really wonderful buildings to their credit. Khojas and Memons were also there but in lower number. As migration forced it way, that number eventually rose (that of Gujerati speaking groups) and lots of Hindus fled Karachi fearing for their lives, just as Muslims were doing from across the border.

I am also told that wide roads, (almost) zero pollution and a sense of new found destiny improved public imagination, which in turn helped people in re-building their lives from the scratch.

As more stories come to mind or are related they shall be uploaded here as comments here. Readers are requested to add their own treasures here.

Vanishing heritage of Karachi

British left too many structures in our city. The main reason is that they loved Karachi for its wide sea and no-nonsense attitude towards life. Already, they’d converted it into a large shipping base for their goods to arrive. Unfortunately, we’ve not been able to preserve lot of those wonderful buildings. And to top it all, corrupt politicians and land mafia has been very busy these days chopping good old buildings.

It is very clear that a nation which needs to understand its past needs to preserve the artifacts and structures from that past. If those are not preserved, there is no way of educating young people about the shared heritage. As a result, today lot of Karachi wallas are simply unaware of their rich heritage. They, at best, know something about KMC head office or maybe Quaid’s house at Kharadar.

Discuss below the ways in which common citizens may help preserve these beautiful and enduring heritage.

Saving the last Mangroves of Karachi

Mangroves are a wonderful being of ALLAH. They are species of plants which thrive in saline waters. Their roots grow best under fertile land and maybe found at places where deltas are formed due to discharge of river (sweet) water into sea waters (saline). They are important for survival of countless land and sea species and hundreds of thousands of men earn their livelihood through them (fishing, cutting trees, making homes, hunting, etc). Therefore, it is imperative that such wonderful and unique species are preserved for the betterment of people and environment. That’s not happening. From the lead organization:

http://casestudies.lead.org/index.php?cscid=143

“In Pakistan, mangroves are found along the southern borders of the country along the coast of Sindh and Balochistan. The Indus Delta extends to an area of approximately 600,000 hectares of which 160,000 consists of mangrove forests. These are unique in the sense that they are considered to be the largest area of arid climate mangroves in the world”.

And, further:

“In the Karachi area, 135,000 people depend on the mangroves for their livelihood. For villages surrounding the forests, the mangroves provide food, fodder and fuel-wood. There are approximately 100,000 people who take a total of 18,000 tonnes of fuel-wood each year from the mangroves (Davis, 1993). In addition, 3,200 buffaloes and 6,000 camels also consume some 67 million kilograms of leaves and 19.5 million kilograms of grass (Qureshi, 1992). Much of Pakistan’s fishing industry relies on the fish found in the mangroves, notably shrimp, which are the principal fisheries export of Pakistan. Of the US$ 100 million that Pakistan earns in fisheries foreign exchange, shrimp accounts for 68 percent (Davis, 1993). Mangroves are also important for recreation purposes with high potential for eco-tourism. The Indus Delta is an important migratory route for millions of waterfowl that need to feed and breed during the winter months. Some 80 species of birds, such as pelicans, flamingoes and herons may be found in the Indus Delta mangroves (IUCN, 1999). Mangrove forests also provide protection to the coastal areas from strong winds and ocean currents. Their vegetation also helps in reducing coastline erosion because the roots collect sediments that flow into the sea from the river.

“Over the past 13 years, the degradation of Pakistan’s mangroves has occurred at the rate of 6 percent per annum. As a result, only 16 percent of Pakistan’s mangroves are thought to be healthy (Qureshi, 1992). The most harmful environmental stress that the mangroves face today derives largely from human activity. The steady growth of a major industrial city within the vicinity, the untreated sewage and industrial discharge, the increase in the demand for fuel wood, overgrazing and over-exploitation of resources are just a few of the strains on the mangrove’s ecosystem. Steel mills, refineries and power stations are some of the large polluting industries found in the area. Tanneries are perhaps the worst. Their untreated effluents, massively loaded with heavy metals, are being disposed daily into the sea, thereby contaminating the food chain. High concentrations of heavy metal such as lead, zinc, copper, nickel, cadmium, mercury and cobalt have recently been recorded in marine biota and sediments (Davis, 1993). They are hazardous and poisonous for all forms of life.”

Is Karachi ready for Osama bin Laden?

Hello folks. Oh sorry. Asalam u Alikum Ya Taliban & Ya Osama bhai and other Jihadis.

MQM chiefs have reportedly informed govt. of Pakistan (aka PPP and lots of coalition partners) that the threat of Talibanization to Karachi looks imminent. Mildly put, it means that we will all be Taliban sporting lot of things you see at National Geographic programs which are on Afghanistan. You will also like to blow up school girls, like Mama Parsi, and other brilliant places of education; you would also like to keep doctors away from your wives (one won’t do); you would also like to throw away your camera as photography is not much appreciated by them (never mind Osama bhai always gives video interviews). You would, if in case we have MQM replaced with Talibans and Al-Qaeda, also have to replace Bhai Altaf’s photographs, posters, and 90 from Karachi. In place of them we would need lots of Osama shots: Osama praying, Osama marrying yet another woman, Osama praying again, Osama tapping suicide bombers, and Osama doing everything else. Lot of printing jobs would be offered, but to those having flourishing beards, amamas (Arabic term for turban), and wives in tow (I think Jamatias will take away all the jobs!)

So, do we need Taliban / Osama bin Laden in Karachi?

One major change which Karachi is likely to see, if that happens, is the destruction of roads. Taliban don’t need much roads. They are hardy mountain people and Osama, an Arab, has now gotten used to tough terrains as well. So, the crazy-ness which our young, happy Nazim shows about building and re-building roads would be gone. As I stated earlier, so would the posters of Altaf bhai pastered with pan peek and niswar decorations. We would also not hear much about road-side muwalis (caste-aways) and charsees (drug addicts); and the wholesale business of Heroin at various Tombs would also go down. Various liquor shops around Karachi, especially at Shahra-e-Faisal and Defence areas, which are really very visible, would also need to shift their business elsewhere, maybe to Lahore. We would also see an end to prostitution which happens openly at Lea Market, Tariq Road and Defence (all phases). We might also see an end to expensive ad campaigns and the stars of Ad agencies and GEO Bhago network would be preaching in masjids called GEO masjids. We might as well see our 25th December replaced with the birth anniversary of Osama’s 33rd child. All in all, it would be fun for some and no fun for many others.

But Osama is not a happy man. He and his Taliban friends like to destroy historical sites (destruction of Bahmian Buddhas built over 100 years and which stood there for over 2000 years), does not like to have Americans and other investors around; he and his Taliban friends also apparently hate games (the execution of prisoners during Taliban time took place in football stadium, Kabul). Osama bhai also does not appear to be a great fan of beaches either. So no night parties anymore.

Oh yes, 90 will surely become 9/11!