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GENERAL RANI-THE MADAM WHO PROVIDED WOMEN FOR BHUTTO, YAHYA, AND KHAR,WHILE THEY DESTROYED UNITED PAKISTAN IN 1971

GENERAL RANI-THE MADAM WHO PROVIDED WOMEN FOR BHUTTO, YAHYA, AND KHAR,WHILE THEY DESTROYED PAKISTAN IN 1971

 

 

Night of The General

YOUNG GENERAL RANI

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once among the country’s most influential individuals, General Rani is now just a faded page in the country’s history books.

The woman was a phenomenon. Easily the most influential figure during Pakistan’s second military regime, with the slightest gesture of her bejewelled hand she could guarantee employment, ensure promotions and bring about unwelcome transfers. Yet, interestingly, few even know her real name: Akleem Akhtar. General Rani she was, and remains to all but an intimate few.
There are enough reasons for the lady’s ascension to local legend status. In her glory days she seemed omnipotent and was brazen about her exploits. And now, even while suffering from breast cancer that has led to metastasis in the liver and kidney, bedridden and in semi-seclusion, she remains spirited and outspoken.
Yet, doing a story on her was probably the most difficult assignment I have undertaken. For one thing, everyone I was certain was acquainted with her, was reluctant to even own up to the fact that they knew her. So, for starters, I made a call to her daughter, Aroosa Alam, the defence journalist for the Pakistan Observer and the news coordinator for the Middle East Broadcasting Company, and pop star Fakhre Alam’s mother.
Aroosa nipped all efforts at contact with her mother in the bud, claiming that not only was General Rani far too unwell to entertain visitors, but also, her brothers were completely against their mother appearing in the press. “My mother has been hurt sufficiently by the media already; we don’t want her private life exploited any further,” stated a stern Aroosa.
A call to Naureen and Arshad Sami, Adnan Sami Khan’s parents, proved equally unsuccessful. Although General Rani is Naureen’s maternal aunt, she politely but firmly denied even knowing the lady. There was a similar response from Zil-e-Huma, whose mother Madame Nur Jehan’s friendship with General Rani was legion. Huma completely denied any knowledge of the woman.

A journalist working for the Jang group, Maqsood Butt nearly had an apoplexy when I mentioned the story I was working on. While in the past Maqsood Butt had written extensively on this topic and is said to have close ties with the family, he has for several years, refrained from even bringing up her name in an article.
“I promised her that I would never talk about her or her family again,” he stated nervously and refused to help me in any way.
Clearly, the woman I was seeking out was no ordinary woman. As I kept running into a blind alley and became increasingly despondent, General Rani’s lawyers, S. M. Zafar and Ijaz Batalvi, Mustafa Khar, and a few journalists and government officials who wish to remain anonymous, appeared like beacons and lit my way.
A sneak visit was arranged to General Rani’s house and thereupon begins this story.
The house General Rani resides in is rather small, with little more than a handkerchief-sized lawn in front, and the main door opening into a virtually non-existent hall that leads straight to her room. There was an air of neglect about the house; the garden was unkempt and the floor unswept. General Rani was lying in bed. My first impression was one of shock. Having visualised an elegant, elderly woman, I was instead confronted by a dark, overweight woman. Her hair had obviously suffered due to heavy doses of chemotherapy, and the loss of hair accentuated the pock-marks on her face. But though visibly ill, she was in good spirits and happy to entertain visitors – a commodity I suspect, is a rare treat nowadays.
General Rani hails from a village in Gujarat. Her father was a zamindar and the family was reportedly well-to-do. Those who knew her family describe their house as one of the bigger mansions in the area, with a number of servants running around to the residents’ bidding.
From the outset, Akleem was an independent spirit. She was a tomboy, fond of outdoor sports and hunting. And though she did not even complete her matric, her sharp intelligence more than compensated for her lack of education.
At a tender age she was married to a police officer many times her senior. Though the marriage lasted for some time and she bore six children, General Rani was never happy. Her husband was a traditionalist and believed that a wife’s primary duty was to serve her husband. A woman as strong and independent as she found this hard to digest, and squabbles were common between the two. The sham their marriage was eventually reduced to, collapsed one day – right on Murree’s Mall Road.
One summer, when the family was vacationing in Murree, a burqa-clad Rani and her husband went for a stroll on the Mall. As was customary for him, he walked a step or two behind her so as to keep an eye on her. Suddenly there was a gust of wind – “a lovely breeze” says she, and quite spontaneously Rani lifted the naqab covering her face to allow the breeze to caress her cheeks.
Her husband immediately tapped her with his walking stick to reprimand her. Enraged and insulted, she threw caution to the wind and flung her naqab to the ground, and her abaya into a cracking fire. She then turned to face her husband with a defiant gleam in her eyes.
She explains her reaction in these words: “I just felt I had had enough. The anger and frustration had been building up inside me for many months, but that day, it just all came oozing out. I wanted to tear my husband’s muffler into bits, scratch his face, pull his hair out, and do all sorts of damage to him. The only thing that stopped me were the people on the Mall.”
Though this incident marked the end of her marriage, the official divorce process (if there was one) took place later. Most sources agree that Rani was only married once, but one of her closest friend states that there was a second marriage, much later in her life and of an extremely short duration. Whatever the truth of that marriage, the dramatic end of her first proved a turning point in her life and transformed Rani irrevocably. She began to thrive on her independence and her life philosophy evolved into a specific ambition. As she puts it, “I was determined to beat men at their own game. Since my husband was in the police, I had been observing men in positions of power throughout my married life and I had realised that all men in positions of power needed a vent and the vent they require the most is a bedmate provided through a reliable agency. The higher a man’s position, the greater his demand.”
In one interview, Rani stated: “I knew that dumb, pretty girls who come with no strings attached are a universal failing of men in power. After my marriage collapsed and I had to find the means to support myself and my children, I decided to become the provider of such girls to men in need.”
In yet another conversation, she talked about the understanding she gained of the workings of the government by listening to her husband’s complaints. “I realised that in this country everything worked on mutual favours and the profession that I had chosen for myself entitled me to these favours.”
This outspokenness notwithstanding, Rani maintains she personally never allowed herself to be used or even thought of as any man’s keep. She contends she maintained her dignity and saw herself as a sexless mother figure. She says she was always the woman behind the scenes, there to run the show and mop up the mess.
The gods were obviously smiling on her, because soon after she adopted this profession, the man who was soon to run the show took a shine to her. She describes her first meeting with Yahya Khan. “At that time Agha Jani was posted at Kharian and I was living in Gujarat. We met by chance at a party in Pindi club. Though I would often frequent such parties, I never joined in the drinking and dancing. Rather, I preferred sitting some distance away from the party and usually found a seat near the men’s room, well aware of the fact that the more they drank the more visits they would have to make to the toilet and hence past me.
“Agha Jani was in full swing at this party. He was completely drunk, and was continually traipsing back and forth from the men’s room. During one of these visits, he saw me and took a fancy to me. I remember asking about him and after we were formally introduced, I invited him to Gujarat.”
Thereafter Yahya Khan began making frequent journeys from Kharian to Gujarat. Somewhere along the way she earned the title of General Rani and the name stuck. While speculation about the exact nature of her relationship with Yahya Khan rages – they were said to be friends, lovers, shared a sibling relationship or one of demand and supply at various times through the course of their relationship – the general consensus among Rani’s more intimate circle is that they never had a physical relationship. Various explanations are put forth to explain this. “Yahya never desired her,” says a friend. “She was a woman of principles and from day one, she made it clear to him what her limits were,” states another.
Nonetheless, after he became the martial law adminstrator, Rani became a cornerstone in his life. Yahya’s weaknesses were drink and women and Rani masterfully catered to both. Among the women she introduced him to were film actress Taranna – film actress Andleeb’s mother – Madame Nur Jehan and Nael Kamal. She relates how Yahya’s fascination with Nur Jehan began.
“One night Agha Jani came to visit me and was somewhat agitated. The moment he entered, he inquired if I had heard the song “cheeche da chala” from the film Dhee Rani. I smiled and stated that I had no time to listen to songs. So, he called the military secretary and ordered him to have a copy of the song delivered to my house at once. It was two o’ clock in the morning and the MS had to specially have an audio shop opened up in order to obtain the album. But the command was obeyed and within an hour, Agha Jani was blissfully listening to the song.
“Observing him I smiled and stated that since he seemed to enjoy the song so immensely, I would bring the singer to his house on his birthday. This greatly pleased him and so the very next day, I took a flight to Lahore. In those days, a suite at the Intercontinental Hotel was permanently reserved for me and so from the airport, I went directly to the hotel. From there I called Nur Jehan and asked her to come and meet me. Till now, I had never been formally introduced to her; I just knew of her, as she knew of me. Well, Nur Jehan came, and we talked, and the next week she arrived in Islamabad to dance and sing for General Yahya Khan.”
Madame Nur Jehan’s relationship with General Yahya Khan subsequently came under great scrutiny. At first, Madame persistently denied that she was on friendly terms with the general, but when objectionable pictures of both of them were printed, she resorted to another defence and officially stated that General Rani, had time and, again tried to get her involved with the general. In response to this, Rani laughed and commented that Madame was hardly a suckling infant who could be coerced into doing what others wanted her to do. The Rani-Nur Jehan tussle was played up by the press, until eventually, some time before the latter’s death, the two made up. Following is an extract from an interview General Rani gave after Madame’s death.
Q: Why did you introduce Madame Nur Jehan to General Yahya Khan?
A: Some tax inspectors were bugging Madame Nur Jehan and the poor woman was in great distress. She asked me to help her out and I introduced her to Agha Jani.
Q: How would you define your relationship with Nur Jehan?
A: She was just like my sister and I often called her baji.
Q: How would you describe her character?
A: She was an exceptionally brave and confident woman, who brought up her children singlehandedly. The only flaw she had was her greed for money.
Q: It is said that Madame tried to drive a wedge between you and Yahya Khan?
A: I don’t want to say anything on this issue. If Rani catered to Agha Jani’s every whim, there is no question that she was royally compensated. During Yahya Khan’s time, General Rani prospered way beyond her wildest expectations. There are endless reports of how she would use her ‘special relationship’ with Yahya to fill her coffers. She would ask for a plot of land or a house in return for a favour and those desperate for a job or promotion would readily fulfill her demands. During this time, politicians were also eager to win her approval and among the many who curried her favour were Mustafa Khar and Z. A. Bhutto.
General Rani describes her relationship with these two men: “Both Mustafa Khar and Z. A. Bhutto would come and sit at my house for hours on end, begging me to introduce them to the General. Mustafa Khar was particularly fond of listening to the poems I used to write. In fact if you compare Yahya Khan to these two, I would say that I was closer to Bhutto and Khar and arranged more parties for them than I did for Agha Jani.”
It was a closeness that was not to endure. As soon as Bhutto came to power, General Rani was put under house arrest and her telephone connection was cancelled. Her crime in the words of an eminent lawyer was that, “she knew too much.”
Thus began General Rani’s downfall. Once the issue of house arrest was resolved (courtesy S. M. Zafar) and her subsequent jail terms ended (the most recent for drug-trafficking), General Rani never really reverted to her former glory. By now the money that had so freely flowed into her hands had also freely flowed out.
Financially wrecked, socially ostracised, dependent only on the kindness of a few whose affections for her have endured, General Rani lives largely in the past – in the memory of days of wine and roses.

 

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Sharif in Wonderland

 
 
IT may have not been difficult for Nawaz Sharif to reclaim the top position. But he certainly does not appear comfortable there. His morose demeanour portrays a man in deep agony, inspiring little confidence in the nation he is supposed to lead.
It was a rare moment in recent months when he was seen smiling in public, curiously enough, during the visit of US Secretary of State John Kerry last month.
Mr Sharif’s first 80 days in his third term in office have not been promising enough to build public confidence in his government. His much-delayed first address to the nation lacked focus and direction. His tentative approach and indecision on almost all key policy issues has reinforced the state of inertia afflicting the republic. 
Now almost at the end of the honeymoon period, the government does not have much to show for its performance. The prime minister’s dithering is proverbial. Several key diplomatic and government positions are lying vacant because he cannot make up his mind. Mr Sharif has never been known for the delegation of powers, but the situation seems to have worsened this time with him keeping several key portfolios such as foreign, defence and commerce for himself. 
The rest are the same old faces, part of the previous PML-N administration some 13 years ago, thus bringing no new vision or ideas relevant to a radically changed domestic and external environment. 
His unwillingness to induct new blood illustrates Mr Sharif’s old cliquish style of governance. The consultations on important matters are restricted to close family members and a few trusted hangers-on.
It is a government running in neutral gear. There has not been any substantive move yet to implement the party’s much-touted reform agenda. 
Take for example, the economy, said to be on top of Mr Sharif’s priority list. There seems to be no clear policy direction. Despite his comfortable majority in the National Assembly, Mr Sharif is not willing to take the tough decisions urgently needed to put the economy back on track. It is ad hocism at its worst. 
In last week’s address, the prime minister spoke at length about what had gone wrong, but nothing on what is to be done. Reforming the taxation system certainly does not seem to be Mr Sharif’s priority. That was quite apparent from what he said in an interview to London’s Telegraph last week: “I have not yet discussed this matter because … these are very initial days.” So how long will it take for Mr Sharif to think about this critical issue? 
Mr Sharif has also hinted at cutting income and corporate taxes. “We will have to lower the taxes in the country, the income tax, the corporate tax and all the taxes,” he told the Telegraph. With the tax collection now accounting for less than 9pc of GDP, one of the lowest in the world, cutting taxes for the rich, without widening the tax base, is a recipe for disaster.
Mr Sharif’s government has already agreed to a $5.3billion IMF bailout package that will give breathing space to Pakistan’s ailing economy. The programme also requires Pakistan to bring down the whopping fiscal deficit. But can this be possible without radical tax reforms? Given this situation, the government will find it extremely difficult to comply with the terms of the IMF programme.
Mr Sharif appears much more conflicted and confused on the issue of terrorism. A large part of his address last week was devoted to the human and financial cost of rising militancy. He was right when he said that political stability and economic development is not possible without eradicating the menace. But his resolve seemed to weaken when it came to the issue of taking action against those challenging the state’s authority. 
While holding out the possibility of a military option, Mr Sharif still seems to be hung up on the idea of a negotiated peace deal with the militants. What he does not realise is that such an approach has not worked in the past and there is no hope of it succeeding this time either. While the Taliban have made it very clear that they are prepared to talk only on their terms, the government seems to be hell-bent on placating them. 
The government’s desperation to appease the Taliban was evident from the comment made by Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan during a TV interview that the previous administrations were not sincere in negotiations. He ruled out the use of force against the militants saying that dialogue was the only option. 
Such remarks not only legitimise the terrorists, they may also weaken the resolve of our security forces battling them. The minister does not even want to have preconditions for the so-called peace talks. Nothing could be more defeatist than this. 
There is an increasing perception that Mr Sharif is willing to reconcile with the militants as long as they spare Punjab from terrorist attacks. The reported divide between the Punjabi Taliban and the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan over Mr Sharif”s offer for peace talks lends credence to the prevailing impression. Many believe that the prime minister has put on hold the hanging of two convicted members of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi after the threat from the Punjabi Taliban. The group threatened to target top government leaders if the men were executed. 
So, it was not surprising that the group welcomed Mr Sharif’s peace talks offer after the suspension of the execution order. Buying peace for one province at the cost of the country’s stability is certainly not going to work.
One expected that the third Sharif government may have learnt from past mistakes and would bring political stability to the strife-torn country. But the performance of the government so far does not instil much hope for the future. Mr Sharif needs to come out of his Wonderland before the situation becomes irreversible.

 

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WHEN GOOD PEOPLE DO BAD THINGS: Javed Chaudhary and Shahzeb Khanzada Off Camera Fight – Gets Physical with Each Other

 

Sura Falaq

 

(The Daybreak)

 

No. 113 (Verses 1-5)

 

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم 
(1)قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ الْفَلَقِ 
(2) مِن شَرِّ مَا خَلَقَ 
(3)وَمِن شَرِّ غَاسِقٍ إِذَا وَقَبَ 
(4) وَمِن شَرِّ النَّفَّاثَاتِ فِي الْعُقَدِ 
(5) وَمِن شَرِّ حَاسِدٍ إِذَا حَسَدَ

In The Name of Allah, The Beneficent, The Merciful

 

 

 

1. Say: I take refuge with the Lord of the dawn,

2. From the evil of what He has created,

3. And from the evil of the dark night when it comes,

4. And from the evil of those who blow on knots (practice Secret Arts),

5 And from the evil of the envious (one) when he envies.

 

 

 

 

 


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MEDIA MIR JAFARS : An Open Letter to Mubasher Lucman

An Open Letter to Mubasher Lucman
 
US, Indian, Israeli, Control of News Media in Pakistan
 
 
Pakistan had a single TV Station and some private channels.
In 2002-03 (?), persuading authorities that a free press would be necessary for a democracy to function, foreign ownership of news media was allowed.
 
The Independent Media Corporation was set up and the Jung/News Group was allowed to set up Geo TV. This later added the Channels, Express News, Samaa TV, AAG, and other channels.
 
Ownership of this media group includes Anil Ambani of India, an American group, and a part ownership of the Shakilur Rehman family.

GEO was allowed to conduct transmission of Pakistani news from Dubai and UAE.
GEO personnel were trained in the US.
 
Mir Shakilur Rehman’s son, Mir Ibrahim Rehman, was awarded the Robert F. Kennedy award for public service at Harvard University. He is the first Muslim and only the second person from South Asia to receive this coveted award. The award was given for his work in getting Pakistan an independent judiciary and for working for peace between Pakistan and India—The Aman ki Asha programme.
 
His Paper covered the idea of changing the public narrative. The question is which public was Mir Ibrahim serving? American, Israeli or Pakistani?
 
Geo TV serves Indian agendas not those of Pakistan.
 
The fact that GEO conceals its ownership and secretly takes funding and direction from India is enough evidence of treason.
 
The Chief Justice was given the Medal of Honour by Harvard. Harvard must have a weird understanding of law and justice. Would they tolerate the criminality, the treason with which he has helped to destroy the system of justice and law in Pakistan? Why does no chief justice in America act the way he does?
 
These are the Mir Jaffars of Pakistan ánd they should be called by their name.
Quaid-e-Azam, Eidhi, no one else in Pakistan has been recognised by this university.
 
The Press and Information Department has knowledge of this foreign ownership but this knowledge is kept secret from the public. PEMRA has knowledge of foreign ownership but it is kept secret. Members of parliament have knowledge of this but do not debate it.
 
Secret operations are being conducted by external powers to wage war and sabotage in Pakistan, and their functioning is kept top secret.
 
In spite of public confusion and concerns at the anti Pakistan bias and propaganda, the knowledge that this is Indian/US/Israeli owned media is kept hidden by members of Parliament, by ISI, by IB, by Media and the people who brought this into being.
 
The last government as well as the current government, that was the opposition then, have knowledge of this. There is a war going on against Pakistan but our government and media and our lawyers and judiciary have given it their full support.
 
Members of the media including key presenters, earn fabulous sums of money to carry out this treason. They know that every word, image, attitude, and stance is directed from abroad. No presenter is allowed to take a personal position on any piece of news.
 
The International Herald Tribune (IHT),the international edition of The New York Times are owned by the Sulzberberger, Jewish Zionist Family of New York, and the Pakistani newspaper The Express Tribune is in partnership with the IHT. They announce this partnership on the front page. We are given a copy of the IHT daily with The Express Tribune but people foolishly ask no questions! How can a newspaper of the quality of International Herald Tribune make, print and distribute the paper for Rs 19.00 all over Pakistan?
 
All those who are involved in this secret war against the integrity and existence of Pakistan are traitors and should be tried for treason.
 
The Murder of Karachi’s Citizens and Destruction of the City
 
Thousands of innocent people have been killed, maimed and robbed in the last 5 years in Karachi. The media calls it mafia, turf wars, bhatta wars.
 
Target killings, bomb blasts, fires, have taken place every day killing innocent people.
No steps have been taken to take suo motto notice, investigate, to arrest, to try, to punish the people or parties who are doing this. Newspapers report the deaths then forget about it as if it was a matter of course, or deaths by malaria.
 
The people of Karachi have been given no security. All police and security is given to government and party functionaries. Traffic jams are created daily on busy streets in order to rob passengers in stalled vehicles. There is no police, no security force, no Army or Rangers to keep peace in Karachi.
 
Musharraf is being tried for not providing security to Benazir Bhutto. Why is the Government not held responsible and TRIED for the killing of innocent people in Karachi, and for not providing security to its citizens?
 
Why are members of the political parties, MQM, ANP, PPP, not arrested for removing police from Karachi, for denying security and facilitating the murderers?
 
Arrest the top leadership of these party mafias and stop the killing.
 
Why has the Chief Justice and Asma Jehangir not taken notice of what has happened in Karachi, when they are so concerned about the missing persons of Baluchistan?
 
Thousands are missing in Karachi but no questions are asked. The Chief Justice makes the ISI the enemy, and targets their personnel and humiliates them, and has brought the army into disrepute in the world. Whose agent is he? Who will give him security from the very Indians who pay him?
 
Targeting the Army and ISI
 
In the last 6-8 years, the propaganda war and the media war has targeted the Pakistan Army and especially ISI and security agencies.
 
The image of the Army is constantly under attack by the media, by paid politicians, by lawyers, by the so called civil society.
 
In the last so many years, the words “CIA, Mossad, RAW” and other agencies have not appeared in our media coverage except for the one time when Raymond Davis was exposed. No questions are asked.
 
Why were Visas given in thousands to US, Indian and Afghan nationals to create turmoil in Pakistan, FATA and Baluchistan?
 
Why is ISI being targeted and not RAW? Not Mossad? Not CIA?
 
Why is this not discussed or questioned?
 
By: Zainab Ali, Washington DC.
 
 
 

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Straight Talk – The Forgotten Citizens of Pakistan.

 

 

Sixty-six years ago, there had been a “founder”, who created a nation for the Muslims of India on 14th August, 1947. They had raised their hands to Allah in gratitude for blessing them with a nation of their own, a Nation called Pakistan.

 

Thousands of innocent men, women and children had died, as riots broke out during the partition, but for those who lost their loved ones, the sacrifice was worth it, as they were now free citizens and masters of their own destiny.

 

But since then, we have been trying to find another “builder” who could build this nation and introduce a system of governance that is “of the people, for the people and by the people”. A government that would improve the quality of life of the uneducated millions, who still live below the poverty line.

 

However, we failed to do so and our politics of tragedies and errors gave the army repeated excuses to dismiss and remove governments for corruption and mismanagement and take control

of the Nation.

 

We had one PM hanged, one general-president blown up in the skies, one President and CJ, forced to resign, of which the CJ has been restored and now our current PM, whose government was dismissed twice for mismanagement and now holding office for the third time.

 

At the same time, numerous Presidents, PMs, Field Marshals and 5 Star Generals have come and gone and have tried various types and systems of governments, from basic, to tailored democracy, to dictatorships in different forms and the present one, which is a cocktail of all of these.

 

The one common factor in these explosive ‘Molotov Cocktails’ was, that they were all “in the best interest of the country” and promised us a better tomorrow and a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. And along the long journey, heroes and villains have merged and played musical chairs with the destiny of this nation.

 

In the process, we have seen our constitution mutilated and mauled, our LEAs and civic services made ineffective and nominated as the second most corrupt nation in the world, about to implode.

 

At one of Helpline Trust’s seminar, a former Chief Economist of Pakistan had stated: ‘There are only two stakeholders in Pakistan, the privileged few, about 5%, which includes the feudals, the armed forces and the rich and the famous, while the other stakeholders are the balance 95%, who are their subjects. They have no say in their own destiny or the destiny of this nation’. They are the forgotten citizens of Pakistan, like the people in T/ S. Elliot’s well known poem, ‘The Hollow Men’. 

 

‘We are the hollow men, We are the stuffed men, Leaning together, Headpiece filled with straw. Our dried voices, when we whisper together, Are quiet and meaningless. This is the way the world ends, not with a bang but a whimper.
(http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/t__s__eliot/poems/15120).

 

We may be a nuclear power with a growing economy, planning mass transit transport systems, under and over passes, etc., but unfortunately for the forgotten subjects, things have remained the same for the last 66 years and their plight is as dismal as before. Like most of Pakistan, they have been shamefully neglected and are still without electricity, safe drinking water and the basic amenities.

 

Rape and crimes against women are common all over the world, but civil society in other countries, show their disgust, by organizing protests on a National basis, demanding lawmakers to take immediate and visible action.

 

However, in Pakistan, civil society has also failed miserably, as it has never played its expected role, refusing to take a stand on important issues and demand accountability and turned a blind eye to the crimes against women, including ‘Honor Killings’ and the plight of the Forgotten People of Pakistan.

 

It took a brave, uneducated woman from a village, who was brutally raped, to shame the Nation. She demanded justice and begged the government to take notice of the plight of the women in Pakistan.

 

But the Nation turned their backs on her and she was forced to seek justice from strangers and take her case to the citizens of the world and it was the International community that recognized her courage and honored her by calling her the bravest woman in the world.

 

The Gods had woken us up from our deep slumber with a jolt, when the devastating earthquake struck the northern parts of the country, destroying homes and killing thousands of innocent citizens.

 

This was then followed by the devastating floods, which again killed thousands, destroyed crops and livestock, submerged numerous towns and swept away entire villages.  

 

The plight and suffering of these pitiful victims had been brought into our comfortable homes by our TV channels and though many citizens jumped into action to assist the victims, we failed to learn from these tragedies.

 

Seeing the gravity of the suffering of the flood victims, experts had warned the government, that if dams were not built to prevent such floods, the people of Sindh would be committing mass Hara-Kiri.

 

But as usual, the warning fell on deaf years and the government failed to learn from the tragedy and take preventative measures. Forgotten were the sufferings of these people and today we once again see the loss of life and property, caused by the devastation of floods in Sindh.

 

Even our financial Shylocks have not spared the Forgotten People of Pakistan. They have broken their already bent backs, extracting their pound of flesh from their already undernourished bodies, by constantly raising the prices of electricity, petrol and essential items.

 

Returning to real time, the Government seems to be unable to stop the drone attacks, target killings, ethnic violence and enforce the simplest of laws, while the Great Khan seems to have survived his day in court, without eating humble pie and boosting his status as a person, who is not prepared to compromise on his principals.  

 

Let us hope that the new government will review its priorities and improve the lives of the Forgotten Citizens of Pakistan and not just the privileged few. And if not, then they will be forgotten again and continue to suffer for another decade.

 

May God protect Pakistan from the hollow promises of hollow leaders.

 

Hamid Maker. (email: [email protected]).

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