The Fort

I have been busy with other things lately and didn’t get a chance to either dwell into the politics of Pakistan for some time. But something happened last night which has forced me to write something down here. And the very image burns in my mind and has an unsettling effect on me. The future seems… BLEAK!

A lot has been written about it I am sure but surely I would want to add my contribution to it or rather have a catharsis over it here and now. Last night, we planned to go for a drive. So, landing on the other side of the Lyari Expressway, then towards Boat Basin, we came across The Fort. Well lit area, well built fort, luxury apartments, high walls… you know what I’m talking about… The New US Embassy in Karachi! There’s something really disturbing about it the very presence of this city within a city. It is not just a land grabbed by the US, it’s more than that. The high walls, the fort, the security measures, everything about it is a question that the government fails to answer. The ordinary people, do they even know what is going to happen when they actually start operating on a full scale?! Why is there a need to build a fort when they have an embassy in Islamabad and in Karachi too (near Frere Hall). Maybe the bombing near it was a sham so that they can get a better, much bigger place. Are they planning something on a bigger scale, I mean blackwater’s head office in Peshawar, right? Then an embassy in Islamabad (I’m sure they have a network of balckwater there too.) Then MQM’s own police in Karachi working with the blackwater network in Karachi. The target killings of Professors in Baluchistan. Universities being closed down. School children having ID cards which are to be checked at entrance. Suicide bombings one after another killing hundreds of people. Media and the Government has put on a perfect show of embedding in the minds of people that Taliban are terrorists. And a more perfect job at disillusioning the whole idea of Jihad. People have doubts about it now. Astaghfirullah!

Though my reading is very limited and my understanding way too limited… but everything that is happening around, nothing seems to be going in the right direction. Last Sunday or a Sunday before that, a person wrote in favour of Kerry Lugar Bill. And the points that he raised were soo childish, I doubted his mental condition. Here is the link to that letter to the editor. The person is a former Ambassador. I doubt his critical thinking ability. I even doubt his qualifications. I mean how can you even think these to be solid pointers to actually endorse it! OH! GOD! This country is in the hands of people who have such slavish mentality and thinking that they cannot even think for themselves, they not only use the language of the “colonials”, they even say what they feed to them. Are we back to the times when subcontinent was being colonized by the English?

How can one be so blind to all this. Or maybe the general public is soo engrossed in the day to day earning of bread and butter, but the representatives of these people seem to be so slavish that they fail to realise their responsibilities towards their nation, their people, to their own very soul. Those high officials themselves have sold themselves to the benefits of the West that they turn a blind eye to their own very soil and let it slowly bleed to death. It’s high time that we should wake up and not put our trust in those leaders who have not failed us just once but everytime they came to power. This is the limit. We cannot just let them drag us to hell, the limbo of being governed by the US. And I highly doubt that there’s any difference between Hitler and Obama or any other leader or a person who supports US policies.

 

“Kher Ho Apki”

I rang the bell and the voice that came from the inside of the house was, “Kher ho apki.” That was what my taya used to say all the time. His grandson, a three year old opened the door and I went in. He was crossing the Veranda to meet us. He came forward and I all smiles greeted him with Salam. I moved inside the house while he went towards the door to invite my hubby in. The next thing I heard was a shot fired and a scream. I still don’t know which came first. The first thing that came to my mind was someone had thrown a firecracker inside the house and my taya must have been scolding him. Next thing I remember my cousin running upto me and saying that my husband has been shot. I ran out and saw him bleeding and sitting holding his hand insturcting me to call 119. I came in and me and my cousin ran back as her son was still at the door. I then saw that my taya was in the taxi and seemed unconscious and my hubby instructed me to call 119 again and left. I closed the door and came in. There were only ladies in the house now, my tayi, my cousin and me. I called home… disconnected the line on the second ring as I knew my mum, then called my brother on his cell phone. He said ask him to go to Abbasi where my mamoon is a doctor. I yelled at him because I still didn’t know what to do.  Then I thought of calling susral. But knowing my father-in-law is a heart patient I called my brother-in-law on his cell phone.

During this time the neighbours came, family of the eldest son of taya came and my cousin ran to the hospital. The police came, the neghbours stopped them from coming inside the house. Everyone tried to calm me down not to worry, nobody knew that taya abba might have also been hit except me for I saw him sitting in the taxi.

I called my brother again.

“Taya abbu ka inteqal ho gaya.”

“Aur hubby?”

“He’s fine.”

The worst part was to dessiminate that news to people inside the house, specially my tayi. It was painfully shocking for all of us. People started coming in, neighbours came and the relatives. Stopping them from crying out loud and wailing. I actually had to be rude to some of the older relatives for making noises. I didn’t want my taya abbu to suffer. Taya’s kids living abroad were called. My father and brothers were informed. After the death of my dadi, taya abba was the only family my father had. His only brother. The brother, who was also like a father to him, as my grandfather died right after the birth of my father. The void that has been created can never be filled.  Everyone tried to reach back for the burial. My father, one of my brothers and my taya’s other son were able to catch the next flight home. Alhamdolillah.

My taya abba’s death was not purposeless. My husband says, “unhon ne apnay ghar walon k liye bohot bari qurbani di hai.”

What happened after I went inside the house: After I went inside, my taya abba recieved my husband, they hugged, and took my hubby inside the house and stepped and turned back to close the gate when one of the two guys aimed at my hubby asked for money. My Taya didn’t even gave my hubby time to turn to look who’s there, he held the hand in which he was holding the weapon and he fired which hit my taya and my husband and even when he was hit he dragged him onto the street and stopped them from entering the house.  My taya bled immensely as he was hit in the chest and was holding the dacoit back even after being hit. He saved us all with his life. He would never have allowed any unknown person come in his house and do whatever they liked. He gave his life to save ours.

It is still so hard to believe that he’s gone. That he is no more with us. He was 68 and yet more brave than the boys and men of our times. It’s so hard to believe that he is no more.  One of the duas he asked his kids to do was, “Allah kisi ka muhtaj na banaye.” and SubhanALlah he was never had to go through the phase of dependency that people in the old age sometimes have to go through. And while he was in KSA during the month of Ramadan, he gained a few kilos, and then was sad that he shouldn’t have gained weight. His son said that it’s okay, you’re totally healthy. He replied that the I don’t what to be a burden on people while they’d lower me into my grave. I don’t want to make things hard for them. He never slept on a bed. He used to sleep on a charpoey. He never used the sofa’s in his house even. He used to sit on the bamboo chairs. He led a simple life always and never in his life wanted luxuries to corrupt his soul.

“Unki ghairat ko kabhi ye baat gawara na kerti k koi ghair mard unke ghar mein dandanata phire.”

I miss my Taya but I’m happy that his death was soo meaningfull and purposeful. But sometimes I just can’t believe that he is no more.

ALlah Ta’ala unki maghfirat kare aur unke darajat buland kare. Ameen.

Life…

Sometimes it’s just soo hard to accept life as it is…

Eid Mubarak To All

” So how do you feel?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, just few days left… you feel anything?”

“Ummm.. (scratching my head) No…”

“REALLY? or are you hiding something?”

“Okay… you tell me how should I feel?”

NA, is it normal or am I abnormal?

Forget the above conversation, guys. EID MUBARAK!

Kullu aam wa antum bakhair!

Keeping It Shut

At times it is soo hard to keep ignoring irritating and stupid things being said to you all the time. And remain polite and smile all the time. Life gets weird at times.

Defence Day!

Everyone around Pakistan have been celebrating Defence Day! Friends posting messages on Facebook, and sending smses that we fought like lions and tigers and won the war with a few tanks and fewer fighter jets! True! No one can deny the bravery and the imaan of those soldiers in those days. Today, I don’t know.

The recent reports of blackwater army driving through Iraq and is reported to have been involved in smuggling of weapons, child abuse and all sorts of crimes and since the “underground terrorist US army” is not over the ground, so the crimes go unregistered, unpunished! Not only that now the Blackwater army has deeply set it’s foot inside the boundaries of our own dear homeland for “security reasons”. There are reports in the newspapers that these terrorist army men assault local people in Peshawar and there is NO ONE there who can actually stop them. They move around in their big Chevy cars without number plates. Here’s one of the reports.  If you google it, a number of links would appear… go check for yourselves! I’m serious this is DISTURBING!

Mussolini’s secret police, Hitler (the abominable, the tyrant, the most racist dictator) had a secret police. So, what’s the difference between Hitler or Bush or Obama or Zardari. Don’t they seem like synonyms?! hai na? What say you?! OMG! No, they have been elected and have something to do with democracy! DEMOCRACY! MY FOOT! ( Oh Shoot! I’m losing my temper). What Democracy? The common people of Pakistan don’t know about these things, would they agree to it. No they don’t. But then we have a right to vote, we have a right to change things, but democracy is an illusion far  greater than dictatorship. Atleast one knows that dictatorship is dictatorship. Democracy is actually hypocrisy at it’s best. Anyway, Is no one concerned?! These people have western interests, some reports even call them “crusaders”. They roam around, holding guns, are not accountable for anything, any crime, any lawlessness. They are here for “security” reasons which US doesn’t want to disclose!

So are we going to sit down and watch it from the illusion of safety that we enjoy, but we don’t actually have?! Peshawar… then Islamabad, and who knows they probably are working in Karachi, Lahore and other parts of our country. Are we a country on the edge of ruin… Allah na kare. But the situation is worst than Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine. They atleast know their enemies. We, on the other hand, know less and the very fact that the democracy is doing it’s “duty” is highly disturbing. To what limit would they take us? And today if we don’t want to come out of this illusion, I don’t think we have a right to call ourselves educated. The degrees we have now, we should burn them if we believe that whatever that is happening in Swat and the drone missiles won’t visit our homes. Because all of it is happening in our homes!

I’m just too disturbed right now! May Allah show us things as they are in themselves. Ameen. And save Pakistan from these anarchists that are roaming around and killing innocent people. Ameen. And may Allah save Pakistan from going towards these ruins. Ameen. It’s high time mothers of this nation wake up and do the duties that the mothers of the Muslim Ummah are assigned with. May Allah give us mothers like the mother of Mahmud Ghaznavi, Salahuddin Ayyubi. Ameen.

The Overwhelming

Just a few ayats of the surah:

17. Do they not look at the camels, how they are created?

18. And at the heaven, how it is raised?

19. And at the mountains, how they are rooted (and fixed firm)?

20. And at the earth, how it is outspread?

21. So remind them (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم) – you are only one who reminds.

Sûrat Al-Ghâshiyah
(The Overwhelming)

“Thakan Se Choor Ho Jana”

“Qadam hain raah-e-ulfat mein tu manzil ki hawis kaisi?
Yahan tu ain manzil hai “thakan se choor ho jana”

- Maulana Mufti Taqi Usmani Sahab

It’s a Post Modern World!

Beware! For it’s a post modern world. Everyone has the right to say anything they want to say about anyone without being ever convicted of falsehood, lying, cheating or deciet. And why am I saying this. Today, since the boundaries have been blurred, the history is not history anymore. You can never even trust a historian for that historian has broadened his horizons into fiction as well. What is history? Another man’s perspective of things?! Perhaps.

Today, the historical fiction has given the writers a license to write about the historical figures but they can make up events of their lives, add spice to it and make a warrior a thief and a thief a warrior, a good man a cheat and a murderer someone who’s an angel. One of the things that I would like to share here and I’m sure N.A. would be able to tell you better because she’s read more on it is, the fact that the religious figures of the Muslim world are a target for these kinds of writings now. The “fiction” written on Mauvlana Rumi is one of the most popular in the western world.The things that are written in the name of historical fiction might as well be characterized as blasphemous most of the time. People, in general, believe those events to be true and people write about them as a sacred duty they are doing to the world by showing the “true” picture of things. And if criticized, they call their work fiction. So they are like black shadow army of US who’ll are not accountable for the lies they write because it’s a mesh between reality and fiction.

And though internet is considered to be a source of information, containing information about anything and everything. And ANYONE can write, desseminate or publish ANYTHING and without being accountable for it. I mean everyone of us must have seen those blasphemous websites about Islam, Quran and twisted Islamic interpretation. And there’s no stopping them. Everyone has a lisence. People make fun of everything even things like religion without being accountable of it. Without even being ever known. I wonder what’s the next stage of that.

I am writing all this because most of us have left books and we rely mostly on the internet for information. The information that we seek on our laps, is most of the time is unreliable. We have information which is authentic but at the same time there’s a bombardment of information which is not! So how to access that authentic information, now that’s one hell of a job.

It’s a post modern world. The boundaried have blurred and you don’t see things in clarity. That’s one of the menace of this post-modern world. So even when one’s concerned with the news, well.. you can’t know fact from fiction most of the time. So we should always pray to Allah, “Oh Lord! Show us things as they are in themselves.” Ameen.

Desires!

” Tu bacha bacha ke na rakh isay keh ye aa’ina hai woh aa’ina
Jo shikasta ho tu azeez tar hai nigaah-e-aina-saaz mein”