Global Voices » Faisal Kapadia

Pakistan: Stop Dumping On Us

Faisal Kapadia — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 21:47:06 +0000

Globalization is often touted as the solve it all solution of the problems this world faces today. However there are several very highly toxic effects of globalization as well. For instance these seemingly dissipating borders means that the western world has been and even now is engaged in dumping its plastic and medical waste to third world countries. They are able to do so as there is a lack of whistle blowing as well as checks and balances in countries like Pakistan, which has been subjected to dumping for the last 30 odd years.

Skeptic life reports:

As it is, there is no systematic method of medical waste management in Pakistan. Not all medical facilities have incinerators and it is not uncommon to find possibly contaminated waste in open trash heaps. The last thing we need is hazardous waste from other countries adding to the problem, especially when this waste can be infected and cause diseases such as hepatitis and AIDS.

Untreated medical wastes are drained into the sea. Image by Raja Islam. Copyright Demotix (1/11/2010).

Uroos reports on her visit to a garbage heap in Lahore:

On my visit to Lahore two days ago I along with some other media friends of mine took a drive down to Shadran which is the scrapyard heaven in Lahore. I see crushed plastic, piles of medical waste, IV tubes and infusion bags lying on the ground in warehouse and people coming to buy them, I caught hold of one of the kids who works there, to my utter shock he tells me that local manufacturers who make plastic products even down to utensils come and buy this scrap to reuse!

Green action reports on the dumping of plastic waste in Pakistan:

At present, there are hundreds of importers and buyers in Pakistan who are trading different used plastic items and materials. Definitely these types of used items are economically cheap and very cost effective, especially for the average buyer in the Pakistani market. But, the overall hazards resulting due to the unrestrained and uncontrolled usages of these used plastic items outweigh the so-called benefits and advantages.Sipping water from a used pet bottle would not be an ideal option for any health-conscious individual living in any part of the world, but there are a number of traders in Pakistan rejoicing the economic benefits offered by the treasured rubbish, that is discarded by the more developed countries of the world

One begins to wonder, how are Pakistan’s authorities allowing this dumping of hazardous materials on our soil? The case though is a multilayered one with many of these materials being passed off and misdeclared in our customs under “plastic scrap” and other categories to be cleared and sold off by importers. What they cannot sell off they dispose, so they are hand in hand with the whole process. Many of our hospitals too are often found disposing medical waste in their own backyards or adjacent rubbish heaps, to the extent that several unborn fetuses have been routinely popping up all over Karachi in waste heaps.

Day and night news reported on just such an incident on their blog:

In a what comes across as callous disregard for public safety, around 900 kg of bio medical waste(BMW), including used syringes, blood-stained cotton gauze and bandages packed in plastic disposable bags, has been dumped in the open in the compound of the UT administration’s flagshiphospital, GMCH-32.The fact that the hospital is one of the most frequented and trusted institutes of the region only add to the culpability of those who allowed this. With this, thousands of people including the staff, patients and their attendants have been rendered vulnerable to deadly infections.

Non-degradable plastics in a garbage dump in Karachi. Image by Syed Yasir Kazmi. Copyright Demotix (15/12/2009).

Pakistan today also discussed in detail the joys of importing plastic waste borne diseases in Lahore:

In Pakistan purchasing diseases is quite an easy task. In fact if you want to purchase an infection from an operation theatre of Germany or Japan all you have to do is to go to any one of the bulk traders of post consumer hazardous plastic scrap in Shahdara market and tell him to sell you HIV, Hepatitis C or Tuberculosis. The rates vary with good infections fetching from Rs 100 to 150 per kg. You might be wondering what this is all about. Day in and day out we all talk about the lack of accountability in Pakistan. The authorities that are responsible for ensuring accountability are those working in connivance with plastic scrap traders of Lahore to ensure clearance of containers carrying thousands of tones of infection into our local market.

Although a strengthening and overhaul of customs law as well as more diligence on control of such imports will prove useful. It is of utmost importance that local communities get involved in keeping our country clean of such products. For this purpose reporting such waste piles are key, too long have we been exposed to harmful diseases due to lack of vigilance. The effort will require us to not drive past burning heaps of open air rubbish in our city and stop to ask why and who is exposing us to these hazardous materials. More can also be achieved by organizing community cleaning drives and not restricting them to beach fronts.

Only if we ourselves show care for the environment around us can we effect change in keeping it safe and livable here in Pakistan.

Pakistan: Moral Policing of Dating Couples Gets TV Show Axed

Faisal Kapadia — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 22:04:01 +0000

On January 17, 2012, a morning show was broadcast on Pakistani news network Samaa TV where its female host, Maya Khan, and a group of middle aged women were seen scouring the parks of Karachi. Their sole objective was to hold accountable couples visiting the parks in order to be on a date together without their guardians' knowledge.

During this show the group was seen chasing the couples around the park, forcing many of them to flee, cornering one and then recording them without their consent. As they repeatedly asked for the camera to be switched off, they were told it was, but the Samaa Team continued to film discreetly with sound.

During this episode couples were also asked to prove they were married to one another and produce their marriage certificates for the host Maya Khan.

Screenshot from Youtube Video. Click on image to watch.

This episode prompted strong protests from social media users in Pakistan, and many reacted like Mehreen Kasana, who said:

See, girls fall in love pretty much every single day of the week and so do boys. Sometimes they make the right decision, sometimes they make mistakes. It’s called being human. But trust me, they don’t need a team of middle aged women hounding them down public places to enlighten them about their decisions. And trust me, their mothers will handle whatever happens. No one asked you or anyone else to take the responsibility of scrutinizing them.

The uproar following the airing of this episode was by this time apparent all over Twitter and Facebook in Pakistan. Bina Shah in her piece for the Tribune remarked:

Time and again the ethics of our media have been called into question, as channels embrace sensationalism in order to achieve the highest ratings. The television channel in question will find themselves open to legal action by victims of their harassment who are being portrayed on television without their consent. Airing this segment also appeals to the worst instincts in our hypocritical society by passing moral judgment in the name of family values upon two innocent people, which makes for some of the most irresponsible broadcast journalism found in Pakistan today.

A loosely knit group of civic society activists at this juncture uploaded and started an online petition against this show called ‘STOP “Subah Saverey Maya kay Sath” vigilantism like Lal Masjid‘. Dozens of people also complained to PEMRA (Pakistan’s electronic media regulatory authority) via this online feedback form.

On January 22, lawyer Osama Siddique drafted a brief letter expressing outrage at the highly intrusive, invasive and potentially irresponsible behavior on the part of the host. This letter and a followup letter were sent by a group of citizens to Zafar Siddiqi (President CNBC Pakistan, with which Samaa TV is affiliated).

Beena Sarwar, a civil society activist deeply involved in this protest remarked on her post ‘No to vigil aunties‘:

The first time I saw a link to this show was on Jan 22, shared on a Facebook group, on Jan 21, 2012. I, and many others, began sharing the Youtube links on Facebook and Twitter. As it spread, the outrage grew.

People were shocked at the level of intrusion and vigilantism on display. From India, came comments on twitter about the Saffron vigilante brigade that has been known to drag couples into temples and force them into instant marriage. Which reminded me that the mentality we are protesting is not limited to Pakistan.

Graphic courtesy Teeth Maestro

By 23 January the online petition mentioned earlier had 4,800 signatures on it, and several articles were being written on what was wrong with this kind of broadcast journalism; this combined pressure resulted in the removal of the Maya Khan Facebook page and subsequently the taking down of YouTube links to this show.

In her show on the 23 January, Maya Khan apologized for this episode and mentioned time and again that this was not meant to hurt people. However by this time civil society activists were asking for a public and unconditional apology and the removal of this show from the airwaves. Efforts had also started to contact the sponsors of this network and more specifically this show.

Samaa TV responded to the letter sent to them by asking Maya Khan for an unconditional apology, which she refused, upon which on January 28, Zafar Siddiqi wrote back to inform that Maya Khan and her team have been terminated and her show will not longer air from the 30 January.

So today is the first day the show is off air. This is a watershed moment in Pakistan’s broadcast media history and social media as it comes to the realization that although it is allowed to push the limits set upon it, there are limits and they must be observed. In any case it is a good precedent for civil society to gear up and enforce rights like privacy and freewill to interact without public harassment in Pakistan.

Pakistan: Embracing the Google+ Circles

Faisal Kapadia — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 22:51:04 +0000

The past couple of weeks might be forever remembered as a game changer in the realm of social media in Pakistan. It was when Google rolled out its all encompassing and challenging social behemoth of a network called Google Plus.

Although in the beginning this social network was by invite only, I doubt if they could have wanted a more hyped up roll-out. Pakistan is crazy about social networking, so it is of little wonder that the launch of Google+ garnered so much reaction.

Awab Alvi at Teeth maestro wrote after his first look at Google+:

Decent attempt by G+: I think Google must realize it specializes in “Search” maybe tapping the social network may help refine its search engines but it should not dabble too extensively and hope to edge into Facebook’s turf as it already has a 700 million head start. As I don’t think Google+ will trigger a mass exodus from Facebook, but it might start something like the slow food movement amongst social network.

Cartoon by Randall Munroe, published in XKCD - A Webcomic. Used under a CC BY-NC 2.5 License.

Shoaib Taimur, one of Pakistan's now infamous Twitterati commented:

I like the idea of Google Plus though it seems a bit barren at the moment. I would love for Google to open this trial for everyone. Overall it’s not confusing as Google Wave, though it ain’t a Facebook killer.

Ammar yasir of Teabreak thought:

” it might start something like the slow food movement amongst social network..”
That's exactly how users migrated from Orkut and MySpace back in the day. As for Facebook it missed the chance to kill GMail when they were revamping their messaging service.

However, it will be interesting to witness Facebook's reaction.

Image by Flickr user Sean MacEntee. Used under a CC BY 2.0 License.

A couple of weeks have passed since the launch and everyone is now a bit more familiar with the G+ concepts of circles for friends, huddles for messenger and hangout for video chat (although that's still not operating 100 percent in Pakistan).

As people explore more and more, the debates are getting increasingly technical. Some people have come to realize that although Google promises more privacy it is in fact more open than even Twitter as anyone may add you even if you can block them on finding out.

Wasio Abbasi a freelance writer and new media professional commented:

I haven't come across any indication to know who I am “Circled” with someone, seems like something new to explore.

Dr. Kamran Iqbal, a very poignant commentator in the Pakistan blogosphere remarked on Google+:

The great thing about Google+ is that it gives considerably greater personal space and control, has less clutter, and quite diluted in space much like a spacious city, unlike Facebook which now looks like a densely crowded populace like typical urban metropolis.

Currently G+ has become open for all, i.e. no more invites needed to join it and therefore there are lots of bloggers from Pakistan now reviewing it.

Imran Jaffery at Maboot sums it up with:

At the end of the day, I guess people won’t have enough time on their hands, and they ultimately would have to choose between Facebook or Google+. And I am afraid *cough* in months ahead or in a year now on 50% of Facebook users would switch to Google+. Geeks, Tech-Savvy users and the guys who usually share the worthwhile content would be moving quickly to Google+ in my opinion as this product is more compelling for that group of people. And Facebook only will be left with Stalkers and friendship seekers.

Hammad Armghan at Gizmo Heat concludes:

For me Google Plus is a complete package with tons of exciting features. Google plus indeed (is) the strongest attempt that Google made to step into a Social Networking.

So it seems like an all out war as Google+ takes on Facebook, Skype and even Twitter with the just announced mystery bulk SMS features to come. The Internet may benefit with a one stop dashboard for social media and Google with its documents, search, maps and now Google plus social networking has the capability to provide us with this solution. What remains to be seen is how they will handle the enormous load of people coming their way in the long run.

Thumbnail image by Flickr user west.m (CC BY 2.0).

Pakistan: The Veenagate Controversy

Faisal Kapadia — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 19:17:39 +0000

Veena Malik at Lux Style Awards. Image by Arun Reginald. CC-BY-SA-3.0

When Veena Malik, an aspiring Pakistani starlet joined the cast of characters on the Indian reality show Big Boss, not many heads turned in her direction. Most did not believe that she will survive at the show beyond a couple of weeks at best. However she made it through the preliminary rounds and became a household name in India when she was finally ousted in the last round of this spectacle. Back home the hardliners were already sharpening their knives to teach her a lesson for her alleged obscene antics in the show and now she comes back to face the music. She stands outspoken and defiant though, as on a recent talk show on Express TV she was accused by Mufti Abdul Qawi (a religious scholar) of insulting Pakistan and Islam.

Ayesha at Sharp Perceptions blog lauds Veena's courage:

Kudos to Veena for standing up for herself; for giving words to the feelings of those countless people who fear to speak out in public even on real issues faced by our society.

Raza Rumi at Pak Tea House notes:

“In a nutshell, Veena Malik has challenged the middle class morality embedded in the Urdu press and, by extension, its electronic counterpart. The mere fact that a Pakistani performer is prancing around in western clothes and playing to the Indian viewers’ gallery by indulging in mock-romance with a ‘Hindu’ actor has alerted the guardians of public morality also endearingly known as the ghairat brigade. The imbecile notion of ghairat largely focuses on controlling women and regurgitating militant nationalist narratives through state and non-state actors. Anchor after anchor has prodded hostile commentary on Veena Malik and declared her short of wajib-ul-qatl. This is not too dissimilar to the public floggings of the Taliban variety.”

Sana Saleem at the Dawn blog wrote about the inequality existing in Pakistan created by the edict preachers:

“It is true, no one would have dared to speak in such a way to a man, call him names or even questioned his character or his activities on national television. Not that they should, but has anyone ever questioned Atif Aslam, Ali Zafar, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan or the numerous others who have worked in Indian films, produced music and music videos in India? Has anyone ever scrutinised their actions? We have never discussed if any of their videos merit Islam or our culture. Yet, we consider it our right to slander a woman and make her look like the sole custodian of the country’s ‘honour’. Those who believe such vehement reactions are justified need to rethink their definition of ‘honour and dignity’. Honour that gets disrupted because of a woman’s appearance on a reality show but remains unscathed when over a 1,000 infants – most of them girls – are killed or abandoned to die. This is nothing short of hypocrisy”

Rumaisa Mohani at her blog little things noted the rise of a different segment of Pakistan in the light of recent events:

“In Pakistan, there seems the rise of a new large segment in our society —> Semi-Liberals or they may be called Semi-extremists (Neither Rightists nor Leftists) .. They are coming out in the open media and expressing their concerns about their image of being Muslims & Pakistanis being manipulated and projected in the most unwarranted ways”.

Not all however even some amongst the moderate Pakistani blogsphere hold the same views on this:

Reebs at Spring Of Autumn blog thinks that the show Big Boss should be banned in Pakistan:

“Moreover, Indian also media played a wonderful tact to gain maximum profit by deciding to involve Pakistani celebrities in BIG BOSS 4. Veena Malik is the most conflicted and a disliked personality of Pakistan. She knows how to stay in the media and gets everyone’s attention. In big boss 4 too, she has committed serious crimes, if judged according to the ethics and values of the culture/religion she belongs to. As she is a Pakistani contestant, the show big boss is getting very famous in Pakistan, therefore the cable TV channels and Pakistani satellite channels ARY are broadcasting all the episodes. It is a source of corrupting the young generation as well as hurting the family values. Big boss is allegedly creating bad taste in the prime time of family.“

Speak Your Mind blog not only comments on the issue but reveals a view of Veena Malik which is less than flattering:

“We have seen Veena Malik from the good old days. She is one of those faces who never got any recognition in the industry. She is spontaneous and open about her real life, surgeries, opinions, love life and anger, I feel Veena Malik is more of an attention seeker and hypocrite.”

Currently Veena Malik faces not just public criticism on her appearances on Bigg boss but has also been charged with “Immorality” in court in Lahore as reported by Frontier India & Allvoices:

“The petitioner pleaded that actress Veena Malik committed immoral and un-islamic acts during her recent performance in an Indian reality show and the same was also reported in local press”

All the views above, whether for Veena or against her, seem to further cement the fact that Pakistan now stands divided amongst its conservative and liberal forces, both vying for power and not willing to budge an inch on their views.

Pakistan: Website Monitoring Continues

Faisal Kapadia — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 13:18:37 +0000

Image by Mikey G Ottawa. CC BY-NC-BD

On June 16th the Lahore high court in Pakistan ruled that PTA (Pakistan Telecommunications Authority) should ban nine websites for hosting blasphemous contents. However the government changed this decision later to avoid international condemnation and promised to keep a close eye on popular websites including Google, Youtube, Facebook, Hotmail which could be posting blasphemous content objectionable to Muslims. This has come in the wake of the same high court ordering a complete ban of Facebook in the month of May and then its follow-up ruling (under immense public pressure) to take back the ban on the wildly popular social networking site as it was restricting access to positive communication.

The whole flare up in this issue is rooted to the “Draw Muhammad Day” group on Facebook which caused huge uproar in nearly all Muslim dominated countries of the world and the network was condemned with some viciousness. Rallies were carried out in protest by right wing groups in Pakistan and it was totally blocked in Pakistan and Bangladesh as well. As it stands now right or wrong is not a question any longer, pandora's censure box is open and all sorts of ugly demons are coming out to restrict new media and monitor online traffic and queries.

The blog Pak Point reports:

Any web-site at URL or IP level would be blocked after proper investigation by inter-ministerial committee for the valuation of web-sites at the receipt of information or complaint from any source, as soon as information is received by the IT ministry.

Jenkin's ear points out that this is the start of something bad:

Unfortunately, this is likely to lead to more problems than it solves. After all, the Vatican's web site is probably contrary to Islam, but it is probably not blocked. Another issue is that the teachings of Islam on the subject of what is and is not acceptable in a web site are probably unclear.

Sana Saleem at Mystified Justice says:

Do we, as citizens of this country, have the right to even hold an opinion? Will we have the opportunity to engage with people without being scrutinised? Will we ever be able to truly respect the right to self-regulation as a nation? The crackdown on the internet appears to be more of a political ploy than a religious one. But like all other things, we love using the religion card to strengthen our stance and to silence opposition.

For all those bent on moral-policing the internet in the name of religion, please pay some heed to the thousands of child porn websites that are still accessible in Pakistan, none of which have been mentioned in 10,428 sites to be banned. When will we learn to prioritize?

It actually seems as if the educated of Pakistan realize that we cannot as a country really communicate and function with the outside world if we isolate ourselves from services like Hotmail, Google etc. However the masses and the leaders sought to please them do not seem to realize what and how much of an impact such a widespread censure could lead to.

In a guest post at Teeth Maestro's blog, Shaista Kazmi and Azhar Aslam writes:

As an ordinary Muslim, I may not be an authority to speak on Islam, (although Islam never limited or restricted opinion formation , to any ‘authority’), still the concept of blasphemy, as it is practiced in Pakistan at least, seems skewed, lacking commonsense and dare I say quite the opposite to what we learn as Muslims were the teachings of the prophet whose very honour we are trying to protect. Doesn’t that sound how we define the word ‘hypocrisy’?

Asif Shehzad at Taragana states that some observers noted that Pakistan had gone further than several other Muslim countries by banning Facebook, and said it showed the rise of conservative Islam in the country. Created in 1947 as a homeland for Muslims, Pakistan has swung away from moderate Sufi Islamic influences common to South Asia toward the more rigid version of the faith found in the Arab world.

To me sitting here writing this piece in Shanghai, it is already obvious what would happen if a blanket ban on Youtube, Google, Hotmail, Facebook and others is imposed just as China indulged in many such censures with horrible effect. Even though these actions may be disastrous for the foreign image there are still many ways around these bans and blocks and as we saw in May, Facebook usage did not drop too much from Pakistan in spite of the ban. This is a day and age when the flow of information has become more of a weapon then the flow of arms and I doubt if anyone can stop it totally.

The only way for Pakistan to move forward and steer towards the path of progress will be our ability to allow free speech and debate, which is mostly carried out online. Stopping that will just be a final nail in the coffin, something which we citizens cannot allow.

India, Pakistan: Sania-Shoaib Mania Rolls On

Faisal Kapadia — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 06:17:05 +0000

The Shoaib Malik and Sania mirza wedding controversy has been an awakening for people on the both sides of the India, Pakistan border. With the media blitz, it seems people of both the countries are witnessing a desi version of “papparazzi” as TV channels, print media and other agencies have hounded, gleaned and extracted any bit of information possible about this impending wedding.

Past skeletons have crept up on Shoaib in the form of his “ex wife” Ayesha Siddiqui, whom he had to officially divorce to end the controversy. The allegations and the judicial case on him in India have now been taken back by the Siddiqui family for an alleged Rs. 150 million in alimony. The twists and turns of the story have been pure mayhem for media and obviously the bloggers are not far behind. The blogsphere in India and Pakistan have literally lit up with views and debates, some think its a sign of peace to come while others cite this marriage as a source for future acrimony.

Syed Zaki Ahmed at Pak spectator thinks that the marriage and the noise is good for businesses:

Now in this situation how could businessmen lag behind. Businessmen in Pakistan have joined the party as they are getting orders for hundreds of thousands of T-shirts featuring Shoaib and Sania ahead of their wedding that is expected to take place next week on 15 April.

They call me muslim blog comments on the rationale behind the decision Sania Mirza took to marry Shoaib Malik:

What can Indian Muslims learn from Sania’s very personal decision? It is this: never be apologetic about Pakistan. Do not be needlessly cynical about that country out of fear of being dubbed a traitor. You are not.

The Hindu right wing parties, from Bajrang Dal to Shiv Sena, did make a meal of Sania’s decision. Yet, the bouncy tennis sensation took the plunge. Why? Simply because, deep in her heart, love for a Pakistani and being Indian need not necessarily be a conflicting experience.

However, Capricious thinks the marriage is going to fail:

* Sania Mirza got all the fame, popularity, wealth and iconic status in a very young age. She became a darling of India, pampered and loved by all Indians and projected by Indian and world media. [..] She is a independent girl. Unlike majority of Muslim girls of the subcontinent, she doesn’t need a husband for the bread and butter. [..] The sense of providing livelihoods to the family is some thing on which man’s character, attitude and his authority develops. It gives the typical Pakistani Muslim mediocre mindset. This mindset always demands some thing extra and undue favor from the wives. Which will be absent in the marriage. The luxury of being “husband” could not be availed by Shoaib Malik.

Whilst every day brings new news like the Pakistani PM sending a special gift for the couple, the diatribe continues elsewhere. Sunni Ulema Board, a group of religious scholars, reportedly issued a ‘fatwa' (religious edict) against Sania and Shoaib for mingling freely and living together before the marriage is solemnized. There has even been a term coined on twitter for this union with the hashtag #shoania

We have seen rumor mongering reports that the actual nikah (marriage registry) took place on the 9th of April. But nothing is over until Sania and Shoaib say it's over. It seems the media is feeding the mania and millions of people in both the country remain engrossed with all these.

Obviously this will continue till the 15th of April, as two very emotional nations watch a movie like story transforming itself in real life.

Pakistan: Operation In South Waziristan

Faisal Kapadia — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:52:22 +0000

South Waziristan. Image via Wikipedia.

Operation Rah e Nijat (path to deliverance in Urdu) is the latest attempt of Pakistan army to inflict a final blow upon the Tehrik i Taliban in Pakistan, the group which has terrorized Pakistan. The buildup for this operation started when the Pakistan army recovered the Swat Valley area from the Taliban militants back in June 2009. On 19th of June Pak army started the gathering of forces on the border of South Waziristan. After three months of blockade and minor skirmishes with the Taliban eventually the army launched a full scale ground assault on the 19th of October 2009. The Pakistan army has a total of 28000 troops and 500 special commandos on their side while the Taliban have 10 to 15,000 troops and 1500 foreign fighters. The fighting is intense and arduous and each day brings reports of the Pakistan army inching forward another few steps deep into a very difficult and dangerous terrain.

Ahsan Waheed at Pakistanpal gives credence to the difficult terrains of South Waziristan:

We could see in the distance the regions where al-Qaeda has taken refuge. It’s an almost lunar landscape of dry, trackless peaks with a sparse stubble of trees along the ridges. If you were looking for a place to hide, so rugged and inhospitable that outsiders would tremble at entering, Waziristan would be it. In the days of the Raj, maps of Waziristan were mostly blank; even the intrepid British explorers usually stayed away.

Great Satans Girlfriend gives importance to mobilizing the masses for this operation:

“The death of hope must never be allowed to cast its shadow, and that will only be prevented if the state pools all its resources to energize the masses against terrorism.”

Abdullah Saad believes that the foreign militants in the Tehrik i Taliban (TTP) have run out of places to disappear:

My take though is that there is too much at stake in Waziristan. Principally, TTP cadres may be able to trickle into settled areas to avoid a traumatic fate or to live for another day … but that luxury is not available to their “guests”. The Uzbeks, Chechens and Arabs etc will have to fight it out because if they are caught, they’ll be sent home on the first available flight and in a country like Uzbekistan, they’ll be sent straight to a firing squad.

Mustufa Qadri at Newmatilda feels that Pakistan is impossible to defend against militants:

The inconvenient truths of this narrative make for sobering reading. A spate of terrorist attacks in Lahore, Islamabad and Peshawar have reminded us that while it is very difficult to protect every square inch of a country beset by an insurgency, it is next to impossible to do so in Pakistan, where disposable young men with explosives strapped to their chest are all too readily recruited.

The above statement is all too true as fallout from operation Rahe-e-Nijat has been direct counterattacks on civil society aka suicide bombing as well as the spread of fear and panic in the whole country. This lead to the closure of all education institutes and putting in place heightened security all over the streets of this country. We wake up daily to reports of not just war on the Waziristan front but shocking details of how it is being fought out on our very streets as well.

Brig (r) Junaid Zaman at “Pakistan Spectator” writes about the futility of closing schools in Pakistan:

We need not to panic and we need not to make our children coward and fearful. We need to talk to our girls and boys, let them know about the threat, ask them to keep vigil, make them understand the danger our country is in and about the menace of terrorism. Make them strong and bold and make them learn to live in the tough times. When they will emerge from these times, they will be far ahead to face the life as compared to other kids of this world.

On Taragana Zarrar khan speaks of a part of public perception that blames other players for these attacks on civilians:

Many students did not accept that militants were responsible for the attack and instead blamed shadowy forces out to discredit Islam or weaken Pakistan — variations of conspiracy theories that are often heard here after bombings.

Glenda at Berry picker reflects on the will of a society still carrying on in spite of the terror citing an example from a concert in Islamabad:

They didn't have to stop Thursday night. For at least one hour, Arieb Azhar and his band of four asserted the power of music's universality, diversity and tolerance in a city that only four days before had once again felt the power of terror to subdue the human will to fight for what is true and beautiful in life.

Bilquis puts it all in perspective at CHUP (Changing Up Pakistan):

Many scholars and politicians, particularly Imran Khan, have argued that the people in these areas have lived in traditionally lawless societies for centuries. Given this ground reality, they say, we must respect their traditions and work within this context. I disagree. As T.S Elliot aptly noted, “A tradition without intelligence is not worth having.” These traditions ignore issues that have allowed a zealous ideology to mushroom all across Pakistan, especially in rural Punjab. Take the the young girl who was flogged by the Taliban in Swat, for example. Do we want these traditions? Do we want men/women/girls being bartered to resolve disputes? Do we want our people to see a continuously distorted narrow vision of what the world is? I certainly don’t.

So here we are, hopeful but terror stricken, our schools closed and our future uncertain but we will not give up. We have to fight not just the menace on the ground with our army but the silent infestation of the Taliban ideology among our societies. I just hope the world is behind us, because if we fail its your turn next.

Pakistan: The Kerry Lugar Bill

Faisal Kapadia — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 12:22:51 +0000

The Kerry Luger bill is essentially a non military aid package granted to Pakistan by the U.S in view of its precarious economic condition due to its indulgence in the war on terror as a front line allied state.

This bill grants Pakistan $1.5 billion annually for five years and comes along with stringent conditions on how to distribute and invest this money.

The conditions along with this bill come in the shape of military as well as economic checks which have instigated a lot of debate in this country and agitated its bloggers as well.

Shayan Khan at Pak Spectator writes an open letter to Mr. John Kerry:

Pakistan’s concerns over Kerry-Lugar bill are there for sure, but they are not that important. The chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee has backed a bill that would triple economic assistance for Pakistan, a key US ally in the fight against terrorism, to 7.5 billion dollars over five years. But it perhaps come as a surprise for the Kerry that Pakistanis don’t really think much of any aid or such things. They want US to take them as humans like themselves and to understand that the people dying from the drone Attacks are 99% Pakistanis, and only perhaps 1% are anything to do with militancy. (The) war on terror has given Pakistan the gory gifts of suicide attacks and bomb blasts and the economic life in Pakistan has come to a grinding halt.

Adil Najam talks about the trust deficit between Pakistan and the U.S.A in relation to the aid promised by this bill:

The debate we are now seeing is one more manifestation of the deep deficits of trust that have marked all US-Pakistan relations. In the absence of trust, Pakistanis - even those who might otherwise support this Bill - simply refuse to accept that America could possibly be interested in Pakistan’s interests. For the very same reasons, Americans - even those who strongly wish to see a stronger Pakistan - simply refuse to acknowledge the intensity with which Pakistan has always sought “friends, not masters.”

Hamid Abbasi at Chowrangi stresses on the general perception of this bill in Pakistan:

Being here nearly 10,000 miles away I and many like me have no real grudge with the amount, but it’s the conditionality of the bill which has really pinched every soul. For 8 years they have hijacked our national dream, have given us a war that wasn’t our originally, taken our sovereign right of existence and in the end they have repaid us in a manner which shouldn’t be strange to the realist, but of course we have for long turned into an idealist masses, linking false expectations and desires from an outside power.

After the announcement of this bill and its review by Pakistan's armed forces (perhaps the biggest power in this land), there were major reservations put forward to the political setup by them and these issues are being discussed with the U.S government.

Amjad Malik at Teeth Maestro comments on this issue pointing to the conditions put on Pakistan army:

This aid package may be doable or not but is quite indicative that civil rule is asked to do what it cannot deliver in 100 years, but may lose what it has got ‘the Govt’. In the past, President tried to be friend with India single-handedly but failed. Interior Ministry tried to bring (ISI) Inter Services Intelligence under its control, but in vain. Now committing to curb military and control its promotions is such a thorny issue which may cost the civilians its Govt and leaders their lives. We have seen what happened to Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif when they acted without consensus and consultation amongst political forces. One could not save his life and the other had to remain in exile for years.

Obviously the strong reaction from Pakistan has had its impact on the American citizen media as well, with commentators urging a rethink of dolling out aid without results.

Sheila Herrling at Huffington post talks about reworking the U.S aid program:

The Kerry-Lugar bill needs to make sure that the coherence of U.S. policies - how they either work in synergy or at cross-purposes — is evaluated and strengthened to get the biggest bang from our foreign assistance bucks.

Patricia Lee Sharpe takes it one comic step further by examining the bill as a Pakistani would on the The whirled view. She notes:

Reading in my Pakistani persona, I found myself getting more and more angry. I was in the mood to throw all 33 pages across the room—or maybe to rip them up and stomp on them. “Is nothing to be free of American meddling and dictation?” I find my Pakistani self raging. “It was fine, it was innocuous, back when the yahoos wanted to do a little project here, a little project there, a seminar, a conference, but scaled up like this! They want to take over our whole life, beginning tomorrow!”

The blog Remember Jenkin's Ear just terms the whole bill as a major pain!

On balance, I'm inclined to wonder whether Kerry-Lugar is worth it. The Pakistanis seem to be really upset, the Indians are annoyed, and if it follows in the tradition of American foreign aid generally, it will be more helpful to Americans well placed to take advantage of the bill than to foreigners. The Pakistanis who object are correct that the conditions on this aid infringe Pakistani sovereignty. I think the Indians are also correct in suggesting that we probably cannot trust the Pakistan army. So on a practical level, this aid package is a can of worms. There is also an ethical issue. It is not obvious why Pakistanis should get the aid while Indians, who aren't tolerating groups planning terrorist attacks in the US, don't get similar aid.

With a major redraft of the irritating conditions in the Kerry Lugar bill in the offing and a military initiative in Waziristan is about to begin, it still remains to be seen who's ball will roll in who's court.

Pakistan: Back Home And Starting A New Life

Faisal Kapadia — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 18:18:03 +0000

Flour delivery and distribution in an IDP Camp. Image by Olaf Kellerhoff, used under a creative commons license

After nearly two months of living in squalor in temporary camps the internally displaced people (IDPs) of the Swat region of Pakistan were allowed to go back home from July 13th. Although there were several complaints of lack of proper medical facilities on the way back and there was less focus on the available transport facilities, the whole country seemingly exhaled a sigh of relief with the hope that the suffering of these displaced people would diminish when they are back home. Some IDPs however are still reluctant to commit to this exercise, as the way back is fraught with problems and the security situation is still in flux.

At Teeth Maestro Awab Alvi interviewed a district government official in Mardan about the situation on the ground, the official has requested to remain anonymous:

“With regard to the return of IDPs, he said that he had spoken with the Naib Nazim of Buner two days ago, who insisted that the conditions in the area were not suitable for anyone to live. There had been widespread destruction in the entire district. However, people wished to leave as soon as possible. They said, even if you make us a Taj Mahal here, we will not stay.”

Pak Factor took an interview of Bakhtmal, another displaced person from Swat. It tells the same story:

“If we go back we will be living in darkness as the infrastructure has been destroyed. There is no electricity or communication facility,” he said. “My fields and my livelihood have been destroyed so there will be no way that I will be able to make a living when I go back,” he explained. “This means that we will be reliant on external aid and will probably have to live in tents as our homes have been damaged and are uninhabitable.”

Pakistan Politics evaluates the journey of these IDPs back home describing the latest situation:

The most remarkable aspect of the Malakand operation is the return of displaced people. An estimated 1.8 million refugees have returned, 80 per cent back to the division and 90 per cent in Swat, confounding the doomsday predictions of many foreign observers. This would not have happened if they did not feel reassured about their safety. Public concern about the militants will not evaporate overnight, but the return of the IDPs is an important indicator of growing normalcy. Handling the displaced persons was rightly seen as a critical test of the operation. Their swift and largely orderly repatriation marks an important accomplishment.

The Jazba blog brings pleasant news for the people of Swat, a sign of returning to normalcy:

NWFP Government on Friday decided to reopen Swat Museum while all homework has been finalized in this regard. During Rah-e-Rast Operation by the Pakistan Army, Swat Museum was closed for an indefinite period of time and all the heritage of the Museum was shifted to Peshawar to safeguard it.However after complete/successful operation of the Security Forces and safe return of all IDPs, all offices have been reopened. As law and order situation is improving in Swat, NWFP Government has decided to open Swat Museum.

The government has also been claiming that a total sum of Rs 5.75 billion in cash grants have been distributed to the IDPs returning home for their rehabilitation.

Whatever may be the case, the whole exercise of displacement and return has been a great and horrible tragedy in the history of Pakistan. There is only one lesson to come out of all this, rehabilitation is by no means an easy task for any government especially on the scale that it had to be handled in Pakistan. The good news is that with many hurdles and difficulties still to come, at least many of the displaced families are now starting a new life.

Pakistan: Sugar Crisis Turns Ramadan Bitter

Faisal Kapadia — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 14:13:52 +0000

Every year during the month of Ramadan there is usually a shortage in the food commodities market In Pakistan due to excessive demand. This year the shortfall in supply is particularly acute in the sugar market. To combat this the government plans to increase the volume of sales of sugar through utility stores (subsidized government outlets) from 40,000 tons to 100,000 tons. However just driving past any of these stores is proof enough to convince a person that sufficient supply of sugar is not available.

As per a report in The Dawn, which cites the supply condition in Karachi, the stores are getting less supplies of sugar than usual and are unable to cater the growing demands of the consumers. The sugar price in the open market rose to Rs 55-58 per kg (when available) whereas the official selling price of sugar is Rs 38 per kg.

Hassan Khan remarks on the political angle to this crises on his blog:

Pakistan has approximately 80 sugar mills. Most of them owned by investors and politicians. Level of hypocrisy is that before ramzan, they have started stocking sugar and its price from Rs 38 per kg jumped to Rs 54. It always looks bad when you switch to Pakistani news channels but worst when such crises is on its peak and a minister is briefing press that due to increase in international prices of sugar, sugar prices are increasing in the Pakistan.

Sugar Cane Production In Pakistan. Image by Flickr User Omer Wazir

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thewazir/ / CC BY-SA 2.0

Sana Saleem says that the sugar shortage is due to a reduced crop production this year:

The farmers have reportedly blamed the mill owners of not providing adequate payments. Records state that the payments to the growers were delayed for more than eight to ten months. This discouraged farmers from sowing sugar cane and (they) opt(ed) for growing wheat instead to avail attractive incentives. Now comes time for manipulations by the mill owners. Not only are the mill owners accused of delaying payments causing a decrease in supply of about 15 to 20 percent as compared to last year, they have also hoarded large amounts of supplies. These supplies have been hoarded (conveniently) in order to create an artificial shortage in the market.

Bilquis, a consultant from Lahore, provides expert analysis on this issue at CHUP:

The current year saw a natural decrease in sugar production. In general, farmers, like others, only produce crops that give them maximum profit. In 2008-09, the current government increased the wheat (purchasing) price to Rs 950 (minimum price) to encourage farmers to grow wheat. This was an attractive incentive and resulted in attracting non growers to grow wheat (as it is profitable). As a result, sugarcane farmers switched to wheat production which resulted in a drop in sugarcane production.

Moreover, over the past decade, sugar cane production has declined because of the naturally difficult/negative constitution of the sugar market. Numerous specialists state that farmers have decreased the total area under production due to water shortage, behavior of the mill’s management, late payments, increased input cost, and diseases and rodent attack. They especially blame mill owners for late and/or no payments to farmers and limited irrigation water that make the farmers reluctant to grow the crop. Hence, these two factors have naturally reduced the supply of sugar by 15 to 20 percent compared to last year.

Right now, the Pakistan government is thinking of importing sugar from abroad to meet this shortfall. However, foreign traders of sugar such as Brazil and India have also raised their prices. So the price will not be coming down anytime soon. What happens in the next few days is critical as people are ready to come out on the streets to protest the sugar crisis.

Cricket: Pakistan Hits A Snag

Faisal Kapadia — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 10:53:53 +0000

Pakistan fans after cricket win. Photo by Flickr user Acyn, used under a creative commons license http://www.flickr.com/photos/acyn/3722402256/

In last June, when Pakistan won the world Twenty20 cup championship beating Sri Lanka in the final, this cricket loving nation went berserk. Pakistan had not won any major cricket championship since the 1992 world cup, so this win could not have come at a better time. The proud Pakistanis were delighted and you could hear the echo of the joy in the blogosphere. Some Pakistani bloggers launched an e-rally in support of the Pakistan cricket team.

The Global Pakistani reacts to this feat:

Pakistanis are arguably among the most resilient people in the history of this earth. No other nation can soak up as much pressures that Pakistan has in recent years.

It is therefore no surprise that despite being deprived of top level international cricket for more than 15 months, being isolated internationally and reeling under the most harrowing incident of the game, fighting a war inside our borders and looking after three million of our brothers and sisters made homeless due to conflict, we have managed come out on top of the world in yesterday’s T20 final.

Zubair sheikh at A Students View tells what winning in cricket means to the Pakistanis:

Our Cricket Team has won the world (cup) in T20 form of the game and looks good enough to defend the title under the new captain.

All these events have given the gloomy nation a lot to cheer and think about.

However, their recent tour in Sri Lanka proved a disaster. Many fans are screaming that Pakistan hit a new low in their performance. Khansahab at Legslip says:

Pakistan lost the Test series quite humiliatingly and then they lost the ODI series too. It might have been fascinating for some individuals to see Pakistan garner some pride at the end of the ODI series, however to the routine observer, nothing new was seen from Pakistan.

Sri Lankan blogger Kaputa also wonders why Pakistan performed badly:

After their poor batting efforts in the First Two Tests, it was nice to see the front line Pakistani batsmen, bat the way we know they can. How they failed to do likewise earlier was inexplicable.

This poses a question whether Pakistan only excel at the Twenty 20 format of the cricket and fail in the other formats. The fans did not took the bad performance in Sri Lanka lightly as the players came under fire back home. Match fixing rumors are also being hard.

In my own blog I wrote about the effects of the series loss in Pakistan:

Cricket is a very cruel sport. Less than a month ago the whole nation was cheering as Yunis khan and his team won the world Twenty 20 cup, they were heralded as heroes for beating Sri Lanka in the final so clinically, however the test series they have now lost in Sri Lanka has brought out the daggers once more.

Being champions a month ago was excellent for all of us, but now the team has to prove that they are willing and worthy of that tag by displaying consistency, not miracle and dumb moments.

Pakistan: Go Green Movement

Faisal Kapadia — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 06:28:10 +0000

Do you have Pakistani friends on Face book or Twitter? If you do, chances are that they will have a display picture with the Pakistani flag as background. This is because of the “Go Green movement” pioneered by Farhan Masood and his team of volunteers from all over Pakistan, who are changing display pictures of Pakistani Twitter and Facebook users adding a Pakistan flag background. This burst of digital patriotism has been witnessed before the T20 cricket world cup as well, when Pakistani twitterers took the hashtag #Pakcricket to #4 in trending topics on Twitter using a campaign. This time they plan to do the same with #Pakistan on the 14th of August, Pakistan's Independence day.

Adil Najam on Pakistaniat comments on this movement:

I believe - and hope - that all these avatars going green are going green in the same spirit as us. A spirit of inclusive national pride. And in that spirit I welcome the trend. I look forward to a green August 14. Not just in the color tonality of our avatars, but in our hearts and in our spirits!

Dr Awab Alvi at Teeth Maestro expresses his pleasure:

Its exciting to see a very vibrant and motivated community of Pakistanis online, spreading from twitter to facebook and even the age old community on Orkut. Young energetic Pakistanis are doing their best to be the new face of Pakistan on the digital sphere

Pakfactor extols the virtues of this campaign:

Recently the tweeters had taken over Twitter when Pakistan won first T20 world cup and the enthusiastic Pakistanis all over the world tweeted with #Pakcricket and made history in trending topics. The same will be going to repeat again on this Independence Day when whole Pakistani nation will take over Social media again and spread the message of a resilient, calm and blessed Pakistan. Be positive with your attitude and comments about Pakistan and portray that image which the world is not ready to see from our side. We have to prove that we are united and we are proud Pakistanis.”

Farhan masood says that “this movement should not be restricted to Pakistanis and expat Pakistanis only, but the friends of Pakistan should also join us in celebrating our independence”. If you wish to have your display pic changed, please email it to Greenkaro@gmail.com.

Pakistan: Justice Served?

Faisal Kapadia — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 15:47:14 +0000

The judiciary of Pakistan recently took a big step. On the 31st of July, Friday, it ruled that the previous president of Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf's actions on 3rd of November, 2007, i.e. declaring an emergency and sending the entire supreme court first home and then under house arrest, are unconstitutional and illegal. By this action, the 110 judges who took oath under the PCO (Provisional Constitution Order) will now have to either return to their previous jobs or go home as the orders to appoint them have summarily been declared void. This shows that the lawyers movement which so galvanized the opinion of the people of Pakistan has at last reached its ultimate goal. Lawyers have been seen distributing sweets outside courts across the nation and some of them were seen dancing with joy.

However, many ambiguities still remain in this verdict, as far as the NRO and issues of how legal the elections were held under its premise. Regardless of that, it seems that the civil society has welcomed this verdict.

Dr Awab at Teeth Maestro concludes that Musharraf should go into hiding now:

All said – its now a forgone conclusion that we are about to have an entertaining 120 days, but we must contend with the fact that our Supreme Court has done us proud it has restored belief that What goes up, Must come down – Musharraf from his hay days of 2000 has literally been shoved to an embarrassing halt, he should now contend to remain hidden within his Edgeware Road flat in London where it might be best that he shall stay.

Kalsoom at CHUP - Changing Up Pakistan! asks some relevant questions:

Therefore, the ruling, while significant, begs the question – what now? Will the rulings of the PCO judges still stand if their appointments were deemed illegal? Is it contradictory to rule the firing of judges illegal by firing more judges?

Saesnag at Roznamcha - Bach opines the verdict is a political one:

With this order, Pakistanis get to bash Musharraf, letting off steam and officially confirming what every Pak watcher on the globe has known for almost two years. But he may well never be tried under this chief justice – who was somewhat compromised himself by his own record, having sworn in Mushy in 1999 – and the wisdom in pardoning an individual with outstanding corruption allegations against him will never be questioned either.

Umar toor talks about the historical nature of this verdict at his blog:

People are in Pakistan are saying that this verdict by Supreme Court may actually change the course of flow of its constitutional and judicial history

The months ahead will be quite eventful as the various issues in this verdict will be sorted out. Obviously this will take a lot of political wrangling as well as legal battles, but the repercussions of this order will resonate in Pakistan's halls of power for some time. A Ruling like this has no precedence in the history of Pakistan and I hope if nothing else it can be a harbinger of a future change.