Reality Check Please!
02 December, 2005
By Ahmer Muzammil
I always wonder how much humiliation and rape will it take from the elite & ; ruling classes of Pakistan for the masses to rise and claim there God-given right of respect? I mean we are not asking for much here are we? Would it be too much for the "SUITS" to at least pretend to be sincere in this time of devastation? When they parade in disaster stricken areas with their designer attire and the GUCCI glasses and do photo ops with the already ravaged, don`t they for once realize that the hypocrisy is so obvious that it`s not even funny anymore? On one hand we see common relief workers, whether they belong to Al –Rasheed or Jamat-e-Islami or Jamatud-dawa, you can see that these workers blend in, there determination and spirit exudes from their dirty faces and un-ironed clothes. While we are on this subject of photo-ops, can the movie stars and random TV stars who can hardly lift their own egos let alone rabble also spare us their presence in that region. It`s not a museum or picnic spot for crying out loud, why do these people feel this urge to take up space in the helicopters just so they can be conveniently filmed while crying, what good does that do? What are they inspecting anyway, do they just want to make sure that this actually happened, believe you me no one is lying, there will be other opportunities where you can pretend to care, spare us this one. Let me also say that this pretentious behavior doesn`t hold true for all, people like Anwer Maqsood, Abrar, Junaid Jamshed, Imran Khan and many other celebrities are doing real work on ground to make the lives of these people easier. My hats off to all of those who are sincerely helping in this time of immense need.
Let`s move on to an event of mammoth pride and glory for our establishment, the recently held International Donor Conference. I am sorry but am I the only one who doesn`t understand the meaning of the word donor? Doesn`t the word "DONATION" imply that the receiving hand doesn`t have to payback because ahhhh "HELLOOOO" it`s a DONATION! Oh no, not only we will have to pay back the most of it but with interest. This is mind boggling, and we as a nation are suppose to be full of gratitude to these "DONORS"? I assure you that eventually people of Pakistan would have to pick up the tab in form of indirect taxes. Meanwhile, "THE MEN AT THEIR BEST, PAKISTAN ARMY" are building themselves a brand new headquarter, can the people of Pakistan ask respectfully (you have to ask respectfully because they are the ones with guns, remember!), what`s wrong with the current one? Can the money not be better spent at the rehabilitation of the poor and ravaged masses of Pakistan, or is this a matter of national security that the higher brass of Army officers get to enjoy a brand new facility? While we are asking questions, why is it that amid public pressure, president backs off from buying those F-16`s (for now anyway) that we don`t n eed and GOD knows we can`t afford, but the establishment has secretly signed a deal with Swedish government to buy early warning systems worth billions of dollars, why? The whole premise of building the nuclear arsenal was so we won`t have to compete with India in the race of conventional arms. But then if we don`t, then how will some Generals and their cronies get those millions of dollars in kick-backs and commissions? Me and my stupid quandaries!
The saddest part of this scheme is that due to the few bad apples that are at the top of the pyramid, the entire institution of Army is being maligned in the public eye, this should be a cause of concern for every patriotic and concerned Pakistani. The lower rank officers and the jawans of the Army are just as helpless and molested as the rest of the country, their dedication to their country is uncanny and their services are irreplaceable, but we as a nation has to put a stop to this empty and irrational stature of "SACRED COW" that the higher brass of armed forces have reserved for themselves. I shouldn`t automatically be a traitor just because I am asking questions; after all there salaries are being paid from our taxes.
One of the biggest reasons that the people of Pakistan and the expatriate community has not donated to the President`s relief fund by and large and instead have opted to give it to Edhi, Alamgir Trust, Jamat-e-Islami etc. is because of the demeanor of the president and people around him haven`t changed. They are still parading in lavish cars, you still see them meeting in glittery glass houses, prime minister have recently ordered custom-made Mercedes for some of the ministers, a new plane is also reported to be ordered on his behest. Should this really be happening, when you are asking the world to spare you the change?
We have heard true stories of brides donating there jewelry, kids of all ages have emptied their pocket monies, all in all middle & lower class Pakistanis all over the world have opened their hearts. Where are the Big wadayras, jagirdaars, industrialists, how come we haven`t heard any good news from that front? Where are the jataois, maliks, chaudhris, leghari`s of the world when there country actually need them? One Mr. Sultan Mehmmood of peoples party, the ex-prime minister and the current leader of the opposition of Azad Kashmir has been comfortably sitting in England ever since the incident happened, whilst the constituency is going thru the hardest time in its history. But here I blame the populous, which is us. We see who the people are on-ground that come to our rescue in time of need. We should know who will serve us better but still when its time to vote, we elect people that belong to our regional klan, we don`t care that they are corrupt, good for nothing buffoons, but as long as they share our caste, they can have our vote. That`s retarded.
Last but not least, India out of the goodness of her heart is dying to help us with milk and tents and blankets. Really? Why? They can`t find anyone in India who could use it? If they looked they really wouldn`t have to go very far. In every major city of India, there are slums, where all this charity will be very welcomed. If all of a sudden indians have this awakening and would like to help their neighbours out, how about stop killing innocent kasmiris, and would it be too much if they could stop cross-border infiltration from afghanistan? If they could just find it in their hearts to accomodate us with that, we`d be very obliged! But then again Old Habits don`t die easily.
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