Mumbai drama - Part 1

Watching the firing event live at late night I was confused about what was happening. Then I clicked open BBC channel and it was being reported via some Indian channel (not accessible in my home) that firing squads have appeared at Taj Mahal Hotel and Nairam House and that shootings have taken place at railway as well. I slept over it as high-profile, rich customers were pouring out of the iconic hotel along with white clothed staff members. Something was dreadfully wrong with India, I told myself.

Next morning it was apparent that Mumbai was facing some real terror which was not only improvised but appeared to be a handiwork of an organization with intricate knowledge of not only the hotel but overall security apparatus.

It was game on.

In Karachi, everyone was talking about RAW being behind the attacks. And if you go by the record, many BJP inspired men have killed Muslims. The burning of train from Pakistan is one good example. Therefore, bloggers or no bloggers, it is commonly believed here that this work is being carried out to further malign Pakistanis and Muslims of India. That would allow security setup in the country to reject even more visas to Pakistanis; it would allow unconditional checking of Muslims within India on spurious charges (a la USA); it would divert media attention from Indian Occupied Kashmir where Muslims are being killed daily by Indian Special Forces. And so on.

And in any case, Pakistanis don’t really believe what Indian media tells the world. No one, for instance, believes Indians that a terrorist has claimed that he is from Pakistan. No one really buys your side of argument.

But we feel some of the rage which a common Indian might be feeling. But get it right. In Pakistan we face such problems on daily basis and how many Indians really feel our issues? Maybe a few. So in reality many Pakistanis are really not feeling any rage at all. Maybe Zardari and maybe Gilani. But not much.

This blog entry was specially written for my Indian friend, Mayank Singh (Delhi walla).

Earn fast, loose fast - A case of KSE

KSE or Karachi Stock Exchange is a place not to be now a days. It is in bad waters and its members are edgy with depression. Some stock-going men have already committed suicide, people who've been unable to generate funds to return to their creditors.

Today, I came to know that KSE's iconic face, Mr. Akeel Kareem Dady (also called AKD), is set to loose around Rs.40 crore if KSE's limit is raised tomorrow or if it is not closed down for some time till funds are recd. from International donors like IMF and World Bank. I also came to know that members of KSE, people who were once worth at least Rs.8 crore and now are worth Rs.1.45 crore, have already paid Mr. Zardari, President of Pakistan, Rs.30 crore in bribery so that he may toe their line. The actual amount may be much more but this figure comes from an insider.

I have also come to know that KSE, if not stopped from further fall using artificial money, will crash so badly that no one will ever buy stocks from it for at least a year or till Zardari is thrown out from the country.

Now, all eyes are set on a board members' meeting with Government. It is the same stock exchange which was making waves across the globe and which had, few months back, touched a high mark of 15000 points at index table. Now, it stands miserably below 10,000 and that too artificially. Unlock it and you will see that it will fall 1000 points per day, which will take perhaps 9 trading sessions to close this business once and for all. (And for good!)

KSE is a very good example of people who have made hell lot of money in such a short time that they now stand among the richest men in this land. People who used to live in down towns have shifted to posh localities like Defence and PECHS. But twist of fate and murder of BB has caused so much loss to the nation - and add horrible number of banks going bankrupt in USA and Europe - that people who just last year shifted to their spanking new designer homes are set once again to return to their down towns, or in rare cases, commit suicide.

But what will people like AKD do who have not only his money on table for fry but the finance of gangsters like Dawood Ibrahim and Shakeel Chota, people who are wanted in India for multiple bombings in Bombay (now Mumbai). It is estimated that around 40 Billion Pak Rs. is at stake today and if nothing is done to reverse the trend, and that could happen only when economy is once again on the track, this mostly illegal money (earned from extortion, murder, kidnappings, interest rates, etc) will go down the drain drowning not only fat cats like AKD (and his financers like Dawood and Shakeel) but all the small investors who recklessly, for greed of easy money, went into the business and are now out on streets crying.

My idea is that Pakistan Govt. must either completely ban all Stock Exchanges from the country or implement international trading laws strictly. Pakistanis, it appears, are very greedy and can go to any length to achieve money with whatever means available without ever thinking of any consequences for themselves or their country.