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Archive for category Our Heroes

Why The West Craves Materialism & Why The East Sticks To Religion

Posted by Dr. Manzer Durrani in Our Heroes on May 17th, 2012

My generation grew up at a time when colonial hang up was at its peak. Our older generation had been slaves and had a huge inferiority complex of the British. The school I went to was similar to all elite schools in Pakistan.
Despite gaining independence, they were, and still are, producing replicas of public schoolboys rather than Pakistanis.
I read Shakespeare, which was fine, but no Allama Iqbal -the national poet of Pakistan. The class on Islamic studies was not taken seriously, and when I left school I was considered among the elite of the country because I could speak English and wore Western clothes.
Despite periodically shouting ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ in school functions, I considered my own culture backward and religion outdated. Among our group if any one talked about religion, prayed or kept a beard he was immediately branded a Mullah.
Because of the power of the Western media, our heroes were Western movie stars or pop stars. When I went to Oxford already burdened with this hang up, things didn’t get any easier. At Oxford, not just Islam, but all religions were considered anachronism.
Science had replaced religion and if something couldn’t be logically proved it did not exist. All supernatural stuff was confined to the movies. Philosophers like Darwin, who with his half-baked theory of evolution had supposedly disproved the creation of men and hence religion, were read and revered.
Moreover, European history reflected its awful experience with religion. The horrors committed by the Christian clergy during the Inquisition era had left a powerful impact on the Western mind.
To understand why the West is so keen on secularism, one should go to places like Cordoba in Spain and see the torture apparatus used during the Spanish Inquisition. Also the persecution of scientists as heretics by the clergy had convinced the Europeans that all religions are regressive.
However, the biggest factor that drove people like me away from religion was the selective Islam practiced by most of its preachers. In short, there was a huge difference between what they practiced and what they preached. Also, rather than explaining the philosophy behind the religion, there was an overemphasis on rituals.
I feel that humans are different to animals. While, the latter can be drilled, humans need to be intellectually convinced. That is why the Qur’an constantly appeals to reason. The worst, of course, was the exploitation of Islam for political gains by various individuals or groups.
Hence, it was a miracle I did not become an atheist. The only reason why I did not was the powerful religious influence my mother wielded on me since my childhood. It was not so much out of conviction but love for her that I stayed a Muslim.
However, my Islam was selective. I accepted only parts of the religion that suited me. Prayers were restricted to Eid days and occasionally on Fridays, when my father insisted on taking me to the mosque with him.
All in all I was smoothly moving to becoming a Pukka Brown Sahib. After all I had the right credentials in terms of school, university and, above all, acceptability in the English aristocracy, something that our brown sahibs would give their lives for. So what led me to do a ‘lota’ on the Brown Sahib culture and instead become a ‘desi’?
Well it did not just happen overnight. Firstly, the inferiority complex that my generation had inherited gradually went as I developed into a world-class athlete. Secondly, I was in the unique position of living between two cultures. I began to see the advantages and the disadvantages of both societies.
In Western societies, institutions were strong while they were collapsing in our country. However, there was an area where we were and still are superior, and that is our family life. I began to realize that this was the Western society’s biggest loss. In trying to free itself from the oppression of the clergy, they had removed both God and religion from their lives.
While science, no matter how much it progresses, can answer a lot of questions – two questions it will never be able to answer: One, what is the purpose of our existence and two, what happens to us when we die?
It is this vacuum that I felt created the materialistic and the hedonistic culture. If this is the only life then one must make hay while the sun shines – and in order to do so one needs money. Such a culture is bound to cause psychological problems in a human being, as there was going to be an imbalance between the body and the soul.
Consequently, in the US, which has shown the greatest materialistic progress while giving its citizens numerous rights, almost 60 percent of the population consult psychiatrists. Yet, amazingly in modern psychology, there is no study of the human soul. Sweden and Switzerland, who provide the most welfare to their citizens, also have the highest suicide rates. Hence, man is not necessarily content with material well being and needs something more.
Since all morality has it roots in religion, once religion was removed, immorality has progressively grown since the 70s. Its direct impact has been on family life. In the UK the divorce rate is 60 percent, while it is estimated that there are over 35 percent single mothers. The crime rate is rising in almost all Western societies, but the most disturbing fact is the alarming increase in racism. While science always tries to prove the inequality of man (recent survey showing the American Black to be genetically less intelligent than whites) it is only religion that preaches the equality of man.
Between 1991 and 1997, it was estimated that total immigration into Europe was around 520,000, and there were racially motivated attacks all over, especially in Britain, France and Germany. In Pakistan during the Afghan war, we had over four million refugees, and despite the people being so much poorer, there was no racial tension.
There was a sequence of events in the 80s that moved me toward God as the Qur’an says: ‘There are signs for people of understanding. ‘ One of them was cricket. As I was a student of the game, the more I understood the game, the more I began to realize that what I considered to be chance was, in fact, the will of Allah. A pattern which became clearer with time. But it was not until Salman Rushdie’s ‘Satanic Verses’ that my understanding of Islam began to develop.
People like me who were living in the Western world bore the brunt of anti-Islam prejudice that followed the Muslim reaction to the book. We were left with two choices: fight or flight. Since I felt strongly that the attacks on Islam were unfair, I decided to fight. It was then I realized that I was not equipped to do so as my knowledge of Islam was inadequate. Hence I started my research and for me a period of my greatest enlightenment. I read scholars like Ali Shariati, Muhammad Asad, Iqbal, Gai Eaton, plus of course, a study of Qur’an.
I will try to explain as concisely as is possible, what ‘discovering the truth’ meant for me. When the believers are addressed in the Qur’an, it always says ‘Those who believe and do good deeds.’ In other words, a Muslim has dual function, one toward God and the other toward fellow human beings.
The greatest impact of believing in God for me, meant that I lost all fear of human beings. The Qur’an liberates man from man when it says that life and death and respect and humiliation are God’s jurisdiction, so we do not have to bow before other human beings.
Moreover, since this is a transitory world where we prepare for the eternal one, I broke out of the self-imposed prisons, such as growing old (such a curse in the Western world, as a result of which, plastic surgeons are having a field day), materialism, ego, what people say and so on. It is important to note that one does not eliminate earthly desires. But instead of being controlled by them, one controls them.
By following the second part of believing in Islam, I have become a better human being. Rather than being self-centered and living for the self, I feel that because the Almighty gave so much to me, in turn I must use that blessing to help the less privileged. This I did by following the fundamentals of Islam rather than becoming a Kalashnikov wielding fanatic.
I have become a tolerant and a giving human being who feels compassion for the underprivileged. Instead of attributing success to myself, I know it is because of God’s will, hence I learned humility instead of arrogance.
Also, instead of the snobbish Brown Sahib attitude toward our masses, I believe in egalitarianism and strongly feel against the injustice done to the weak in our society. According to the Qur’an, ‘Oppression is worse than killing.’ In fact only now do I understand the true meaning of Islam, if you submit to the will of Allah, you have inner peace. Through my faith, I have discovered strength within me that I never knew existed and that has released my potential in life. I feel that in Pakistan we have selective Islam. Just believing in God and going through the rituals is not enough. One also has to be a good human being. I feel there are certain Western countries with far more Islamic traits than us in Pakistan, especially in the way they protect the rights of their citizens, or for that matter their justice system. In fact some of the finest individuals I know live there.
What I dislike about them is their double standards in the way they protect the rights of their citizens but consider citizens of other countries as being somehow inferior to them as human being, e.g. dumping toxic waste in the Third World, advertising cigarettes that are not allowed in the West and selling drugs that are banned in the West.
One of the problems facing Pakistan is the polarization of two reactionary groups. On the one side is the Westernized group that looks upon Islam through Western eyes and has inadequate knowledge about the subject. It reacts strongly to anyone trying to impose Islam in society and wants only a selective part of the religion. On the other extreme is the group that reacts to this Westernized elite and in trying to become a defender of the faith, takes up such intolerant and self-righteous attitudes that are repugnant to the spirit of Islam.
What needs to be done is to somehow start a dialogue between the two extreme. In order for this to happen, the group on whom the greatest proportion of our educational resources are spent in this country must study Islam properly.
Whether they become practicing Muslims or believe in God is entirely a personal choice. As the Qur’an tells us there is ‘no compulsion in religion.’ However, they must arm themselves with knowledge as a weapon to fight extremism. Just by turning up their noses at extremism the problem is not going to be solved.
The Qur’an calls Muslims ‘the middle nation’, not of extremes. The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) was told to simply give the message and not worry whether people converted or not, therefore, there is no question in Islam of forcing your opinions on anyone else.
Moreover, we are told to respect other religions, their places of worship and their prophets. It should be noted that no Muslim missionaries or armies ever went to Malaysia or Indonesia. The people converted to Islam due to the high principles and impeccable character of the Muslim traders. At the moment, the worst advertisements for Islam are the countries with their selective Islam, especially where religion is used to deprive people of their rights. In fact, a society that obeys fundamentals of Islam has to be a liberal one.
If Pakistan’s Westernized class starts to study Islam, not only will it be able to help society fight sectarianism and extremism, but it will also make them realize what a progressive religion Islam is. They will also be able to help the Western world by articulating Islamic concepts. Recently, Prince Charles accepted that the Western world can learn from Islam. But how can this happen if the group that is in the best position to project Islam gets its attitudes from the West and considers Islam backward? Islam is a universal religion and that is why our Prophet (peace be upon him) was called a Mercy for all mankind.

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Why The West Craves Materialism & Why The East Sticks To Religion ?

Posted by Dr. Manzer Durrani in Our Heroes on May 17th, 2012

 

Why The West Craves Materialism & Why The East Sticks To Religion
By Imran Khan
My generation grew up at a time when colonial hang up was at its peak. Our older generation had been slaves and had a huge inferiority complex of the British. The school I went to was similar to all elite schools in Pakistan.
Despite gaining independence, they were, and still are, producing replicas of public schoolboys rather than Pakistanis.
I read Shakespeare, which was fine, but no Allama Iqbal -the national poet of Pakistan. The class on Islamic studies was not taken seriously, and when I left school I was considered among the elite of the country because I could speak English and wore Western clothes.
Despite periodically shouting ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ in school functions, I considered my own culture backward and religion outdated. Among our group if any one talked about religion, prayed or kept a beard he was immediately branded a Mullah.
Because of the power of the Western media, our heroes were Western movie stars or pop stars. When I went to Oxford already burdened with this hang up, things didn’t get any easier. At Oxford, not just Islam, but all religions were considered anachronism.
Science had replaced religion and if something couldn’t be logically proved it did not exist. All supernatural stuff was confined to the movies. Philosophers like Darwin, who with his half-baked theory of evolution had supposedly disproved the creation of men and hence religion, were read and revered.
Moreover, European history reflected its awful experience with religion. The horrors committed by the Christian clergy during the Inquisition era had left a powerful impact on the Western mind.
To understand why the West is so keen on secularism, one should go to places like Cordoba in Spain and see the torture apparatus used during the Spanish Inquisition. Also the persecution of scientists as heretics by the clergy had convinced the Europeans that all religions are regressive.
However, the biggest factor that drove people like me away from religion was the selective Islam practiced by most of its preachers. In short, there was a huge difference between what they practiced and what they preached. Also, rather than explaining the philosophy behind the religion, there was an overemphasis on rituals.
I feel that humans are different to animals. While, the latter can be drilled, humans need to be intellectually convinced. That is why the Qur’an constantly appeals to reason. The worst, of course, was the exploitation of Islam for political gains by various individuals or groups.
Hence, it was a miracle I did not become an atheist. The only reason why I did not was the powerful religious influence my mother wielded on me since my childhood. It was not so much out of conviction but love for her that I stayed a Muslim.
However, my Islam was selective. I accepted only parts of the religion that suited me. Prayers were restricted to Eid days and occasionally on Fridays, when my father insisted on taking me to the mosque with him.
All in all I was smoothly moving to becoming a Pukka Brown Sahib. After all I had the right credentials in terms of school, university and, above all, acceptability in the English aristocracy, something that our brown sahibs would give their lives for. So what led me to do a ‘lota’ on the Brown Sahib culture and instead become a ‘desi’?
Well it did not just happen overnight. Firstly, the inferiority complex that my generation had inherited gradually went as I developed into a world-class athlete. Secondly, I was in the unique position of living between two cultures. I began to see the advantages and the disadvantages of both societies.
In Western societies, institutions were strong while they were collapsing in our country. However, there was an area where we were and still are superior, and that is our family life. I began to realize that this was the Western society’s biggest loss. In trying to free itself from the oppression of the clergy, they had removed both God and religion from their lives.
While science, no matter how much it progresses, can answer a lot of questions – two questions it will never be able to answer: One, what is the purpose of our existence and two, what happens to us when we die?
It is this vacuum that I felt created the materialistic and the hedonistic culture. If this is the only life then one must make hay while the sun shines – and in order to do so one needs money. Such a culture is bound to cause psychological problems in a human being, as there was going to be an imbalance between the body and the soul.
Consequently, in the US, which has shown the greatest materialistic progress while giving its citizens numerous rights, almost 60 percent of the population consult psychiatrists. Yet, amazingly in modern psychology, there is no study of the human soul. Sweden and Switzerland, who provide the most welfare to their citizens, also have the highest suicide rates. Hence, man is not necessarily content with material well being and needs something more.
Since all morality has it roots in religion, once religion was removed, immorality has progressively grown since the 70s. Its direct impact has been on family life. In the UK the divorce rate is 60 percent, while it is estimated that there are over 35 percent single mothers. The crime rate is rising in almost all Western societies, but the most disturbing fact is the alarming increase in racism. While science always tries to prove the inequality of man (recent survey showing the American Black to be genetically less intelligent than whites) it is only religion that preaches the equality of man.
Between 1991 and 1997, it was estimated that total immigration into Europe was around 520,000, and there were racially motivated attacks all over, especially in Britain, France and Germany. In Pakistan during the Afghan war, we had over four million refugees, and despite the people being so much poorer, there was no racial tension.
There was a sequence of events in the 80s that moved me toward God as the Qur’an says: ‘There are signs for people of understanding. ‘ One of them was cricket. As I was a student of the game, the more I understood the game, the more I began to realize that what I considered to be chance was, in fact, the will of Allah. A pattern which became clearer with time. But it was not until Salman Rushdie’s ‘Satanic Verses’ that my understanding of Islam began to develop.
People like me who were living in the Western world bore the brunt of anti-Islam prejudice that followed the Muslim reaction to the book. We were left with two choices: fight or flight. Since I felt strongly that the attacks on Islam were unfair, I decided to fight. It was then I realized that I was not equipped to do so as my knowledge of Islam was inadequate. Hence I started my research and for me a period of my greatest enlightenment. I read scholars like Ali Shariati, Muhammad Asad, Iqbal, Gai Eaton, plus of course, a study of Qur’an.
I will try to explain as concisely as is possible, what ‘discovering the truth’ meant for me. When the believers are addressed in the Qur’an, it always says ‘Those who believe and do good deeds.’ In other words, a Muslim has dual function, one toward God and the other toward fellow human beings.
The greatest impact of believing in God for me, meant that I lost all fear of human beings. The Qur’an liberates man from man when it says that life and death and respect and humiliation are God’s jurisdiction, so we do not have to bow before other human beings.
Moreover, since this is a transitory world where we prepare for the eternal one, I broke out of the self-imposed prisons, such as growing old (such a curse in the Western world, as a result of which, plastic surgeons are having a field day), materialism, ego, what people say and so on. It is important to note that one does not eliminate earthly desires. But instead of being controlled by them, one controls them.
By following the second part of believing in Islam, I have become a better human being. Rather than being self-centered and living for the self, I feel that because the Almighty gave so much to me, in turn I must use that blessing to help the less privileged. This I did by following the fundamentals of Islam rather than becoming a Kalashnikov wielding fanatic.
I have become a tolerant and a giving human being who feels compassion for the underprivileged. Instead of attributing success to myself, I know it is because of God’s will, hence I learned humility instead of arrogance.
Also, instead of the snobbish Brown Sahib attitude toward our masses, I believe in egalitarianism and strongly feel against the injustice done to the weak in our society. According to the Qur’an, ‘Oppression is worse than killing.’ In fact only now do I understand the true meaning of Islam, if you submit to the will of Allah, you have inner peace. Through my faith, I have discovered strength within me that I never knew existed and that has released my potential in life. I feel that in Pakistan we have selective Islam. Just believing in God and going through the rituals is not enough. One also has to be a good human being. I feel there are certain Western countries with far more Islamic traits than us in Pakistan, especially in the way they protect the rights of their citizens, or for that matter their justice system. In fact some of the finest individuals I know live there.
What I dislike about them is their double standards in the way they protect the rights of their citizens but consider citizens of other countries as being somehow inferior to them as human being, e.g. dumping toxic waste in the Third World, advertising cigarettes that are not allowed in the West and selling drugs that are banned in the West.
One of the problems facing Pakistan is the polarization of two reactionary groups. On the one side is the Westernized group that looks upon Islam through Western eyes and has inadequate knowledge about the subject. It reacts strongly to anyone trying to impose Islam in society and wants only a selective part of the religion. On the other extreme is the group that reacts to this Westernized elite and in trying to become a defender of the faith, takes up such intolerant and self-righteous attitudes that are repugnant to the spirit of Islam.
What needs to be done is to somehow start a dialogue between the two extreme. In order for this to happen, the group on whom the greatest proportion of our educational resources are spent in this country must study Islam properly.
Whether they become practicing Muslims or believe in God is entirely a personal choice. As the Qur’an tells us there is ‘no compulsion in religion.’ However, they must arm themselves with knowledge as a weapon to fight extremism. Just by turning up their noses at extremism the problem is not going to be solved.
The Qur’an calls Muslims ‘the middle nation’, not of extremes. The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) was told to simply give the message and not worry whether people converted or not, therefore, there is no question in Islam of forcing your opinions on anyone else.
Moreover, we are told to respect other religions, their places of worship and their prophets. It should be noted that no Muslim missionaries or armies ever went to Malaysia or Indonesia. The people converted to Islam due to the high principles and impeccable character of the Muslim traders. At the moment, the worst advertisements for Islam are the countries with their selective Islam, especially where religion is used to deprive people of their rights. In fact, a society that obeys fundamentals of Islam has to be a liberal one.
If Pakistan’s Westernized class starts to study Islam, not only will it be able to help society fight sectarianism and extremism, but it will also make them realize what a progressive religion Islam is. They will also be able to help the Western world by articulating Islamic concepts. Recently, Prince Charles accepted that the Western world can learn from Islam. But how can this happen if the group that is in the best position to project Islam gets its attitudes from the West and considers Islam backward? Islam is a universal religion and that is why our Prophet (peace be upon him) was called a Mercy for all mankind.

 

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A Kennedy for Pakistan?

Posted by Dr. Manzer Durrani in Our Heroes on May 9th, 2012

AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary

Imran Khan waves to his supporters during a rally in Lahore, Pakistan, October 30, 2011

Pakistan is almost unrecognizable from the country I knew a decade ago. In the late 1990s, hotels and religious shrines like Lahore’s Mian Mir tomb weren’t fortified by concentric rings of security, and household chores didn’t need to be planned days in advance because of electricity and gas rationing. Market-baked bread for dinner could be bought for coins instead of notes, and scenic areas like the Swat Valley were still holiday destinations rather than militant hotbeds.

Abroad, such security and economic woes are often ascribed to Pakistan’s challenging geopolitical situation: militancy fanned by the US-led war in Afghanistan, a ruinously expensive and self-damaging rivalry with India, an army tangled up in an embrace with radical jihadists seen as a buffer against external threats. But for many Pakistanis, four years after the end of Pervez Musharraf’s military government and the restoration of meaningful democracy, part of the blame also lies with a feckless civilian leadership.

The long-term problems facing Pakistan were exacerbated by misrule during the Musharraf years. Yet violence and inflation remain high and job creation low under the elected government of President Asif Zardari—whose wife, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, was assassinated in late 2007, while campaigning for the January, 2008 elections. His administration has been mired in corruption allegations (Zardari is accused of stashing $60 million in kickbacks in one Swiss bank account alone) and continuous sparring with Pakistan’s army and judiciary.

This is all the more troubling because there should reasons to be hopeful about Pakistan’s future. Democracy seems to be taking firmer root. The military’s ability to run roughshod over politicians is under challenge. Over-centralized state power is being devolved to the provinces. Trade with India is finally being liberalized. The war in neighboring Afghanistan may soon begin winding down. Yet it’s hard to find much optimism in daily life.

Young Pakistanis in particular—and two-thirds of the population are thirty or younger—are increasingly disillusioned by the political establishment. Many seem to want a sharp rupture with the status quo: an end to what they regard as the entrenched culture of incompetence and kleptocracy in Islamabad that has left them with little opportunity and dangerous insecurity.

Dozens of private television channels, a hundred million mobile phones, and increased urbanization are connecting Pakistanis as never before. On the popular, and often heated, evening talk shows that have become the country’s electronic equivalent to a vast public square, a prickly new nationalism can be seen. Commentators, including retired generals, spread conspiracy theories (for example, instinctively attributing acts of terrorism in Pakistan to “foreign hands”), and blame the US, the traditional political parties, and sometimes even the army itself.

Most likely to be cast as heroes are the media, the country’s independent-minded Supreme Court, which has recently indicted the Prime Minister on contempt of court charges (related to the corruption investigation of Zardari), and the Pakistani “people.” There is much talk of democratic ideals, but little love for the country’s current crop of politicians, and so there seems to be a yearning for a new kind of leader able to break the cycle of weakness and mediocrity.

Into this situation has surged the former cricket superstar Imran Khan, who in recent months has suddenly become the country’s most popular political figure. My first intimation that people might be taking Khan seriously as a politician came in February 2011, in Karachi, when I asked the driver of a car belonging to my publisher whom he’d vote for if elections were held today.

“Imran Khan,” he replied without hesitation.

I was surprised. Khan’s fifteen-year-old party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), or Pakistan Movement for Justice, had never managed to win more than a single seat in the country’s 272-member parliament. Yet my publisher’s driver was on to something. By October, well over 100,000 people were thronging a Khan-led PTI rally in Lahore, an event that seemed to change Pakistan’s political landscape. It had been billed as a make-or-break chance for Khan to show, finally, whether he was capable of building a true mass movement.

The size of the support it generated clearly shook Punjab’s traditional power-brokers, the brothers Nawaz and Shahbaz Sharif, leaders of the Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N). I know a university professor who went, and he said it was the largest such gathering he had ever seen. He was particularly struck by the socio-economic diversity of those present, by the large numbers of women as well as men, and by the orderliness and unforced enthusiasm of the crowd, in contrast to the rent-a-mob environment typical of big political gatherings.

In December, Khan proved his appeal was not limited to Punjab, drawing perhaps 200,000 people to a PTI rally in Karachi, a figure rivaling in size some of the biggest recent events held by Sindh’s ruling parties, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the United National Movement (MQM). Karachi is divided into communities that tend to vote on ethno-linguistic lines, and has been beset in recent years by frequent violence among different groups. Yet an artist friend of mine who attended said the crowd was ethnically mixed. Nor, she told me, was it composed solely of the middle-class citizens thought to be Khan’s core supporters; poorer Karachiites were very much in attendance. In a nation-wide poll conducted around this time, 81 percent of respondents picked Khan as the person best suited to run the country. (By contrast, only 2 percent chose Zardari, head of the PPP.)

Khan now plans to stage rallies in Quetta, capital of the conflict-ridden province of Balochistan, where some ethnic Baloch, angered by years of mistreatment, are pushing for independence and fighting an insurgency against Islamabad. He also has said he will take his movement to second-tier cities around the country. Meanwhile he is building a party machine: signing up supporters, establishing steering committees and think-tanks, poaching experienced politicians from his competitors, and launching outreach campaigns through television appearances, text messages, and also online. His stated goal is victory in the upcoming national elections, presently scheduled for early next year.

What accounts for Khan’s sudden rise? His policies, while evidently popular, offer at best only a partial explanation. The key planks of his platform are speedy ends to corruption and to terrorism. But all mainstream political parties in Pakistan say they want these things (though none have been so brazen as to offer a deadline of 90 days to achieve them, as Khan has done, though without saying much about how he would do it).

Khan further promises to reject foreign aid and US interference, saying he will require the US to treat Pakistan as an equal rather than as a client. Such rhetoric may distinguish him from President Zardari and the PPP, widely thought to be soft on America, but not from the Sharif brothers of the PML-N, who similarly call for more Pakistani independence and doing without US aid. Meanwhile, Khan’s talk of Pakistan as an “Islamic welfare state” – think Sweden, but Muslim and with nukes—is straight from the playbook of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Zardari’s father-in-law and founder of the PPP, who was the country’s leader for most of the 1970s. (As with much of what Khan proposes, the term “Islamic Welfare State” could mean just about anything: an egalitarian redistributive society to liberals, a religion-based theocracy to conservatives.)

It’s also hard to credit the PTI’s party organization for Khan’s remarkable upsurge. Khan’s team seems to be building on the back of his popularity, not the other way around. While I know several very talented people in their 30s and 40s who have joined his party, often entering competitive politics for the first time, the bulk of the electoral heavy-hitters with whom Imran is increasingly surrounded are familiar faces on the political scene, established former members of the various PMLs and the PPP. Many of them appear to be following the longstanding Pakistani tradition of switching sides to back whomever looks most likely to win.

The military, as rumored, may well be tacitly supporting Khan; his unwillingness to distance himself from the country’s coup-prone security forces or to publicly take a hard line against Pakistan’s sectarian and Taliban militants have been striking. But I have seen no direct evidence of such backing. (Then again, I wouldn’t; that’s the point of tacit support.) In any case, being backed by the military and being politically popular are by no means the same thing in Pakistan, as Musharraf discovered just a few years ago.

Instead, it seems to me, Imran Khan’s popularity is owed in very large part not to what he is saying but to the fact that he is saying it. When I asked my publisher’s driver, a Karachi Pashtun, why he supported Khan, his answer was straightforward. “He says what he means,” he told me. “He visited my neighborhood with no big entourage. No team of guards.” He added: “He’s a real man. He’s different from the others.”

Khan cuts a telegenic figure, a handsome Kennedy juxtaposed with the various Nixons of Zardari and the Sharifs. When he rails against the political establishment, crowds roar. He has not, they know, been part of that establishment. When he says that he wants to live in a Pakistan where even Presidents and Prime Ministers are pulled over for speeding, or that he wants to end “family rule” of political parties and hold internal elections for all posts in the PTI, including his own, there is thunderous applause. His fans relish these jabs at his dynastic rivals. More importantly, they believe him: unlike other politicians, they think he is speaking the truth.

I suspect Khan gets this, and seeks to use his unusual background to his advantage. Khan was born and raised in Lahore, in the heart of Punjab, to a Pashtun family. He is therefore neither entirely Pashtun, nor Punjabi, but a hybrid, which is to say he is Pakistani. Many millions of Pakistanis reside in provinces outside those in which their parents were born; tens of millions reside in provinces where the language they speak is not that spoken by the province’s majority. Nawaz Sharif may be a Punjabi to non-Punjabis. Asif Zardari may be a Sindhi to non-Sindhis. But Imran Khan’s identity is more complicated, and therefore more inclusive. Electorally, in a country riven by inter-ethnic violence, that is likely to be a powerful asset.

 

Imran Khan bowling in a cricket match

The second element in the Imran Khan story is success. Though he attended Oxford, it was on the cricket field that his achievements stood out. A player not precociously gifted (in his early years he was dogged by the sobriquet “Imran Can’t”), Khan had to work at his game. And he did, becoming one of the greatest fast bowlers of the modern era, and then, even more remarkably, an outstanding batsman. He was probably the best of a gifted international generation of all-rounders, cricketers who can both bat and bowl well, and he led the Pakistan national side to a famous victory in the 1992 World Cup.

Finally, there is Khan’s remarkable record of philanthropy, in particular his Shaukat Khanum Cancer Hospital. Set up in Lahore as a charitable organization in 1994, after years of vigorous fund-raising by Khan, the hospital is named after his mother, who died of the disease. It operates on an enormous scale, serving 150,000 patients and conducting 3 million diagnostic tests annually. In a country blighted by poor public health services, and alarmingly deficient in cutting-edge cancer care, Shaukat Khanum is inspiringly efficient and egalitarian, treating patients irrespective of their ability to pay. Plans are underway to build branches in other cities.

Khan was already a post-ethnic, world-cup-winning philanthropist at the time of the 2002 elections, yet his PTI was able to secure just a solitary parliamentary seat. (He resigned in 2007 to protest Musharraf’s running for president while still head of the army.) Since that time he has hung in there and paid his dues, and the PTI mounted an energetic relief operation after the devastating floods of 2010. But the big difference between then and now is that Pakistan itself has changed in the interim.

After a dozen years of disastrous military rule followed by corruption-riddled democracy, the economy has stalled, tens of thousands have been killed in militant violence, and the reputations of the army and the major civilian parties have plummeted to all-time lows. Young, increasingly urbanized, and interconnected as never before, Pakistanis are ready for something new. Many want what Khan is promising—however abstract his ideas are—and with television, the Internet, and above all cell phone text messages liberating him from the need to rely on intermediaries, he is appealing to them directly. He is the only major politician speaking stirringly of national greatness, rhetoric particularly attractive to a younger generation that has grown up amid the country’s apparent decline.

Pakistan is organized according to a parliamentary system, not a winner-take-all presidential one; elections are decided in constituency-by-constituency match-ups. Regardless of his personal popularity, it is by no means clear whether Khan can build a winning party, or cobble one together from pieces of other parties. Nor is it certain, if his party does become a potent electoral force, how different from the current political establishment it will then be.

Ref 

March 22, 2012, 5 p.m.

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Pakistan Air Force will destroy India in minutes Indian Channel Video Report

Posted by Dr. Manzer Durrani in Our Heroes on May 2nd, 2012

Pakistan Air Force: Display of Professional Excellence

 

PAF PARTICIPATION IN 8TH CHINA AVIATION AND AEROSPACE EXHIBITION-2010

By Raja G Mujtaba

Defence Forces of any country are the pride of the nation. During war they defend the frontiers be on land, air or sea and during peace time, they bring laurels by participating in professional competitions. It was in October this year that 35 Frontier Force Regiment participated in a competition in the UK where 80 other countries were taking part. It was a four day exercise in which the participants had to display their professional competence in the various spheres of military training. 35 FF stood first and bagged the trophy and brought honours to Pakistan.

This was followed by China Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition in which Pakistan Air Force (PAF) participated with full valour.

PAF, one of the front line air forces of the world, continues to add to its fleet, the best possible air machines in view of its requirements, and endeavors to gain par excellence. Presently it is committed to manufacturing of JF-17 Thunder aircraft, an air machine which is cost affective, easy to maintain and equipped with adequate accessories. On invitation of Government of China and PLAAF, Pakistan Air Force participated in the 8th China Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition-2010, organized at Zhuhai by the Republic of China. Zhuhai is a southern coastal city of China neighboring Macau. The exhibition continued from 16 to 21 November, 2010 and was also graced by the participation of eight heads of different air forces of the world.

PAF contingent comprising equipment and personnel, more than hundred in numbers from all ranks, participated in this show with great fervour and enthusiasm. Three JF-17 Thunder Aircraft, built in Pakistan, and ten K-8 aircraft (basic trainer), along with PAF airmen, including 5 lady officers, three of them were pilots from GD (P) and two from engineering branch were showcased.

While at Zhuhai, the contingent after organizing its equipment, displayed it at the allotted place and got settled.  The initial three days of the show were committed for seminars and conferences, where high officials of aviation related companies and firms, participated and showed greater concern over the activity. However, the last three days were dedicated for the common masses, where people belonging to different strata of society enjoyed the display of variety of air planes and equipment; including fighter and commercial air machines of different kind. There had been spectacular movements when aerobatics teams of different countries performed their feats during air display. The PAF’s JF-17 Thunder appeared in the air just after the departure of JF-10 of PLAAF. The maneouvers performed by PAF JF-17 Thunder won the whole hearted applauses of the witnessing masses. The long clapping, cheers on their faces and gestures manifested their level of happiness. Owing to the marvelous maneouvers and flying feats displayed by PAF pilots made the spectators spell bound, they continued waving their hands, chanted slogans in praise of Pakistan where the JF-17 Thunder became the Star of the Show.

The famous “SHERDIL” (Lion Hearted) team, exhibited its professionalism by performing different aerobatics, both the aircraft, JF-17 Thunder and K-8, provided great pleasure and happiness to the masses. The people at the arena were immensely pleased rather thrilled by the performance of PAF air crew as they displayed different maneuvers and flying feats. The SHERDIL formation got the biggest applause. The public at the show acclaimed PAF pilots for their flying tactics, maneuvers and handling of aircraft. Their longer clapping, waving hands and various gestures were the manifestations of their happiness. It was for the first time that PAF SHERDIL team comprising nine K-8 aircraft participated in any World Air Exhibition.

The foundation of the ‘Sherdil’ was laid way back in the 50s when in 1958, a formation of 16 F 86s Sabers performed a loop in diamond formation. This was the biggest formation of that time anywhere in the world. As a child, I was a witness of this feat that was performed before King Zahir Shah of Afghanistan.  This formation was followed by solo displays and napalm bombing to display the firepower for the visiting dignitary.

The exhibition was organized on an area spreading over 23,000 square meters that fetched over six hundred exhibitors from the world. Over 70 types of fighter and commercial aircraft were displayed in this arena which made the exhibition a marvelous specter to witness. It included participation by world famous exhibitors like Boeing, Airbus, Honeywell, Rolls-Royce etc. The air display added to the beauty manifested by the ground display.

Air Chief Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman, CAS Pakistan Air Force, attended the show on 16 November, 2010. He while talking to media men expressed that Pakistan-China joint production of JF-17 Thunder fighter jet has bright prospects in the international aviation market. It has many added features which make it much more attractive than any other fighter aircraft of its category. He also commented that it has a low price tag and much less maintenance and operational cost as compared to other planes of its kind that makes it attractive for the buyers. To a question regarding further expansion of cooperation between Pakistan Air Force and China, the PAF Air Chief, Rao Qamar Suleman replied that the two brotherly neighboring Countries had a long history of cooperation in all fields particularly the defence. He expressed the confidence that with the passage of time these bonds of friendship would further consolidate. Pakistan, having the second biggest fleet of aircraft after host China, is participating for the first time in this exhibition. As many as ten K-8 trainer aircraft and three JF-17 Thunder are taking part in the show that demonstrates the all-weather and time-tested friendship between the two countries. While talking about the aircraft, PAF Air Chief, commented that it had all state-of-the-art features. He particularly mentioned its supreme avionics essentials for a modern combat aircraft. There is likely to be big demand of this type of aircraft in the international market, as it meets all the requirements that are needed by a modern air force, at a very affordable price.

JF-17 Thunder was said to be the star of the show as during the air show, it was greatly applauded by the witnessing masses as it performed tremendous maneuvers, carried out aerobatics and flying feats which stirred the soul and thrilled the viewers. PAF pilots also earned lot of praises for their velour, zeal and zest. Their handling of aircraft and maneouverability was highly appreciated by the witnessing masses. The media monitored the response of the people which was prominent through their gestures, their waving of hands and slogans of happiness were indicators of their true happiness. They were highly impressed and paid tremendous tribute to the PAF pilots. The waiting of masses to witness PAF JF-17 Thunder air display, without any exaggeration, was a scene to be seen. The PAF JF-17 Thunder and Sherdil team while in the air filled the masses with joy and wonder by their flying skills and professionalism. The PAF pilots spell bound the spectators by their maneouvers and the PAF air display always enjoyed the great clapping and tremendous applause by the masses.

The closing ceremony was, indeed a scene that manifested a true and trust worthy Pak-China friendship as the pilots met pilots; the ground crew interacted with their counterparts and expressed their whole-hearted good wishes for each other. Their gestures were full of meaning and eloquence and made the meaning more clear. It needs a special mention of pilots form PLAAF who whole heartedly praised PAF pilots for their skills and professionalism displayed during the show.

This internationally organized air exhibition has brought the two countries further closer, the interaction and performance of PAF air and ground crew along with other supporting element has proved to be an impetus in the ever growing fraternity and friendship between China and Pakistan, specially on the Air Force front.

After the show, now Pakistan is on the threshold to become a exporter of fighter jets of affordable technology for which there is a great demand in the market.

Posted on 23. Dec, 2010

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None care if a soldier dies

Posted by Dr. Manzer Durrani in Our Heroes on April 23rd, 2012


Another day for Siachen victims yet no survivors, but who cares if a soldier dies. They callously say, this is what they are paid for. India’s close friends Asma Jahangir and Najam Sethi and their types are worried about Pakistan’s defence budget. Hamid Mir is not happy with the ISI because his master America is unhappy with this organization. Kashif Abbasi is angry why a soldier deserves a plot. Zardari-Gilani duo is busy in making Saraiki province. Nawaz Sharif is supporting Gilani to get his turn. The whole lot of ministers is busy in loot and plunder. They don’t care if a soldier dies. As if he doesn’t have family, parents, emotions and a sensitive throbbing heart. He can’t even compete with pseudo patriots who appear on TV shows and talk crap. Soldiers serving in Siachen weren’t born there. They don’t have any personal enmity with India. They are there only for you, me and our beloved Motherland. But who cares if a soldier dies. It was in this backdrop that Raja Mujtaba, a renouned defence and international affairs analyst said, “Dread the day when those who are defending the borders either refuse to defend or train their guns on those who are out to criticize them only to humiliate them. Can a single politician spend a week with these gallant soldiers on those heights or can a single politician send his son to fight as a soldier in these conditions? I bet not.

Siachen is a challenge only the brave and patriots can face. Shame on those who are out to appease and please the enemy by humiliating our gallant soldiers and officers.”

While the politicians and pseudo intellectuals hate Army and miss no opportunity to degrade its image, everyone in the country including the detractors of the Army are expectantly looking towards the Army and beseeching it to step in and save the country from ruination. The Army was pushed into the inferno of war on terror by Musharraf led regime in 2002 and subsequently the Zardari-Gilani led democratic regime pressed the Army to go full hog against the militants in FATA and Swat and itself took up a backseat leaving security entirely to the Army.

The Army was called in for rescue and relief operations after the massive earthquake in October 2005 since it was beyond the capability of civil administration to handle the situation. The Army’s services were utilized to provide succor to the affectees in the worst floods in 2007 and in 2008, and also to handle displaced persons in millions from war affected zones in FATA and Swat-Malakand region. Federal government called out the army in Gilgit since Gilgit-Baltistan government became paralytic and was clueless how to deal with sectarian strife as a result of target killings by unknown gunmen.
PPP, ANP and MQM are principally responsible for anarchic conditions in Karachi where life has become cheap because of reign of terror unleashed by target killers belonging to the three political parties in power since 2008. While the MQM desires the whole cake, other two wants their share in the political power game. The situation having gone out of control, the ANP and MQM are now demanding the Army to come in and control the anarchy. Governor Balochistan also desires Army’s intervention since the provincial government has miserably failed to provide security to the people.
For every natural and manmade calamity the rulers and the people look toward the Army and the Army always live up to their expectations. The officers and men handle the monumental tasks with utmost efficiency and at the peril of their lives. Performance of the Army remains at par excellence when it is assigned missions by the UN in troubled regions. Among the world community, Pak Army’s performance has been the best and duly acknowledged. At battalion level competitions 35 FF stood first in the orienteering exercise competition arranged by Britain. At individual level, Pak Army officers often bag sword of honor at Sandhurt or achieve distinctions in foreign institutions. Whenever the Army has been at the helm of affairs, it has proved that its performance was much better than civilian led government.
Whenever the frontiers are threatened by the adversaries of Pakistan, the armed forces are mobilized and the forces rush to the border. India’s superiority in men and material never overawed the brave hearts. It never makes excuses of resource constraints or impossibility of the mission assigned. While it clashed with five times superior Indian military in the 1948, 1965 and 1971 wars and in Rann of Katch and Kargil conflicts, it faced India’s military standoffs in 2002 and in 2009 squarely.
The army rushed to defend Siachen Glacier in June 1984 no sooner it learnt that Indian troops had surreptitiously sneaked in and illegally occupied Saltoro ridge connecting Siachen Glacier in April which was administratively under Pakistan’s control. The troops that were dashed to that area were neither acclimatized, nor trained or equipped to operate in the highest battleground on earth, 22500 feet in height. Since then countless skirmishes have taken place and each skirmish or artillery duel took lives. India controls about two-thirds of the glacier which encompasses three passes while Pakistan holds the Gyong La Pass, which overlooks Shyok and Nubra River valleys.
5472 meters above sea level, Siachen Glacier is located in Korakuram mountain range. This area had not been demarcated at the time of partition due to inaccessible terrain. July 1949 Karachi agreement established a ceasefire line which after 1972 Simla Agreement became Line of Control. Area beyond NJ9842 was not delineated due to inaccessibility. Throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, Pakistan permitted international expedition teams to visit highest peaks located along Karakorum including Siachen Glacier. In April 1984, in violation of Simla Agreement Indian Army launched an airborne operation codenamed Meghdoot and occupied key heights along Soltoro ridge.
For 28 years, troops have been serving in that inhospitable terrain and extreme weather conditions where not a blade of grass grows. Temperatures in winters fall down to minus 70 degrees Celsius. It receives 6 to 7 meters of the annual of total meters of snow in winters. Snowstorms reach the speed of 150 knots. Blizzards and snow slides are a common feature. Pak Army is comparatively advantageously placed since its road-head is only 20 km away while that of Indian Army is 80 km away. Latter’s troops are entirely dependent upon air supply.  In case of Pakistan, land supplies are possible during summers when roads are open but during winters access is by air. Helicopter flights are used to drop food supplies, fuel and equipment.
More men have died as a result of terrain and weather hazards than from enemy action. Over 8000 Indian and Pakistani soldiers have died between April 1984 and April 2012; 5000 suffered by Indian Army and 3000 by Pak Army.  Many lose limbs due to frostbite. Altitude sickness kills or disables others. Troops suffer from hearing, eyesight and memory loss. On the average, 100 casualties take place on Pakistan side and 180 on Indian side each year. Yet both sides stubbornly hold on to their positions and continue to fight and die on the roof of the world, which is the highest and costliest. No soldier in the world would have been put to such harsh test of human endurance and for so long. Pakistan spends about Rs 15 million a day to maintain a brigade group (4000) at Siachen Glacier, which makes Rs 450 a month and Rs 5.4 billion a year India spends Rs 50 million a day, Rs 1.5 billion a month and Rs 30 billion a year to maintain its seven battalions (7000 troops).
So far twelve rounds of negotiations have taken place between the officials of two archrivals starting 1985 to settle this issue but to no avail. June 17, 1989 talks had broken the ice and both sides agreed to settle this issue. India consented to demilitarize Siachen by using the term ‘relocating its forces’ instead of the word ‘withdrawing’, well away from disputed heights.  The agreement was endorsed by PMs of both countries. However, true to its habit of breaking pledges, India at the behest of Indian military backtracked on the flimsy plea that current deployment to be first authenticated by Pakistan before redeployment could be carried out. Obviously Pakistan couldn’t have obliged India since it would have meant legitimizing Indian aggression and giving reason to India to make illegal claim over it in its future negotiations. Indian military argued that without authentication, it would impel Pak Army to capture strategically important Soltoro ridge, which overlooks Karakorum Pass. Kargil conflict in 1999 further hardened the stance of India. Rather than accepting its illegal aggression it is still obstinately maintaining that line beyond NJ 9842 must be delineated before disengagement and negotiations. Recommencement of Composite Dialogue in 2004 failed to settle any of the disputes including Siachen because of India’s uncompromising attitude and intransigence.
On 7 April 2012, at about 6 a.m. on Saturday morning, an unprecedented avalanche struck an army camp located in Gayari sector near Skardu.  124 officers including commanding officer, JCOs, men and 11 civilians paid out of defence establishment belonging to Battalion HQ of 6 NLI regiment got buried under 80 feet mounds of ice, rocks, boulders, slush and snow, 1000 meters wide and over 25 meters high. Rescue efforts were quickly mobilized and launched and gradually size of resources was enlarged which included specially trained search-and-rescue teams of Army Engineers equipped with locating gadgets and 50 plants including excavators and dozers, sniffer dogs, medical staff and experts from foreign countries. Helicopters and C-130s are in operation. A 450 meters long access track has been developed to access the affected area.
Round the clock rescue operation is in progress since the day of tragic occurrence despite bad weather and poor visibility. No stone is being left unturned by more than 400 troops employed in digging and excavation works in the hope of saving some if not all. Gen Kayani spent a day on 8 April to personally supervise the ongoing efforts. 15 days have gone by but so far not a single body has been found but fervor of the rescuers has not waned. Without bothering for rest and personal harm, they are busy digging the sites both manually and with the help of machines.
Every Pakistani has felt deeply anguished and is praying for the safety of those lying buried under the avalanche. The tragedy has given an insight to the hazardous life spent by the soldiers on the highest battlefield on earth.
Wo jo burf taley dabbe hain kuch loge, Unhi main dost yaar hamare hain.
Kuch to hain masoom bachon ke baap, Aur kuch apni maa behan ke pyare hain.
Aye mere Allah, un sab ko salamat rakhna, Wo apne bhouray maa baap ke saharey hain.
It was painful to hear a few jokers shamelessly saying that soldiers are paid to die. It is surprising that some of the political leaders and segment of media like SAFMA instead of building pressure on India to vacate its illegal occupation of Soltoro ridge are pressing our government to carryout unilateral withdrawal from Siachen. They are trying to create an impression as if Pakistan was guilty of defending its territory. They must pick up moral courage to call a spade a spade. India is solely responsible for creating bad blood within whole of South Asia and is now busy creating trouble in Afghanistan and beyond. It is now also a proven fact that Siachen is melting fast because of the heavy presence of Indian military and not because of global warming. It will have catastrophic impact on both Pakistan and India.
Siachen tragedy should be an eye-opener for the leaders of India and Pakistan and a reminder to the world community to see for itself the cost paid by the forces of two neighbors chiefly because of imperialistic ambitions of Brahman rulers of India and also because of the backup support provided by the US and other world powers. Had India not illegally occupied Kashmir in October 1947, over 100,000 Kashmiris would not have died at the hands of Indian security forces and that many maimed for life. Had India not aggressed in Siachen in 1984, 8000 lives of Indian and Pakistani soldiers would not have got wasted away and the current tragedy would not have happened. The world must exert full pressure on India to vacate Siachen so that both India and Pakistan could divert the colossal amount spent on the maintenance of troops towards alleviation of poverty in the two countries.
Shaheed ki jo maut hai, wo qaum ki hayat hai.
Lahu jo hai shaheed ka, wo qaum ki zakat hai.
Barf ki safaid chadar orrh kar, khamoshi se so ja janey waley,
Soldiers ko mera aqeedat bhara salaam.

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