| LAHORE,
May 31: Does it matter that the American Consulate
in Karachi can kidnap any citizen, have him hauled
inside, beat him black and blue and than deposit
him at a police station with threats of dire consequences
if he squeals about the matter, just because his
vehicle scraped the Consulate boundary.
I hope Justice Osmani and Justice Memon realize
that Diplomatic immunity is not a licence of 007
(James Bond) to kill, kidnap, rape or harass citizens
of the country. (And while I'm at it, could the
Consulate withdraw from the land it has encroached
upon, making life miserable for the citizens of
Karachi, and instead strengthen their own walls
within their legal premises.)
Does it matter that on the date when freedom of
press is celebrated all over the world, journalists
were beaten up by the police in Islamabad and a
week or so later a renounced daily was threatened
to shut-up by withdrawing official ads.
Does it matter that a project of national importance
“Raising of the Mangla Dam” has been delayed and
nearly jeopardized just because minions fronting
for the Chief Executive of the province who through
backdoor methods seem to have acquired the leases
of most of the deposits of limestone in the vicinity
of the dam and hiked the prices so high that the
contractor nearly ran away.
Does it matter that in this land of once five flowing
rivers we have private armies that barge into factories
with guns and tractors and remove goods without
any fear of the police or concern for the stays
of the courts and are bent upon harassing foreign
investors so that no new foreign investor dare invest
a penny in the country.
Does it matter that in the world of Pakistani politics
a husband is about to cheat on a wife and a brother
is about to stab a brother so that they could wield
political power under the watchful eye of the Khaki.
Does it matter that all the political parties asking
for return of democracy are the least democratic
within their own setups. They have no elections.
Their allegiance is to a personality who is elected
Chairman for life and even if they have an election
it is pure sham.
The only people who are content to remain stagnant
in any setup, may it be corporate or political,
are those who are either very poor/weak or those
who have personal agenda of making a buck through
the position they are in. Otherwise how can the
likes of Amin Faheem, Aitzaz Ehsan, Sardar Khoso
and other men of substance just sit by and watch
the shenanigans taking place. The whole sham is
about creating personality cults and creating dynasties
for their respective families. If that be so than
why fault the incumbent, who as it is, thinks there
is no one better than him.
Does it matter that to register the purchase of
land, the lower echelon of the tehsil still takes
an amount equal to the official registration fee.
Does it matter that an area which has a river flowing
10 kms from it and a mountain with huge water reserves
of less than 3 kms away and still the womenfolk
have to go on donkeys for 5-8 kms to fetch water.
Does it matter that the steel pipes which were laid
in the 40s were removed and sold for scrap worth
millions and replaced by low quality cement pipes
which collapsed within a month of replacement and
the people are without water and no one has been
hauled up for questioning.
Does it matter that an honorable retired bureaucrat
who has achieved a status of a pious man and to
whom all and sundry flock for advice and to whom
came for advice one of his retired chaprasis who
had four daughters who were constantly harassed
by the goons of the neighborhood and who had used
all his resources of police contacts etc. All that
this pious man could advise was to sacrifice one
of the daughters?
Does it matter that Imtiaz Sheikh against whom the
Sindh Chief Minister has made allegations of corruption
galore and who is now wanted for collusion in murder
has been promoted to Senior Vice President of the
official PML. And may well become the Chief Minister
of Sindh.
Does it matter that after the bursting of the land
and stock exchange bubble and the hauling up of
the officials of DHA Lahore, no one has been booked
for any crime.
Does it matter that with all the hue and cry for
the promotion of SMEs even now the loans by banks
are being given to the haves and the right-offs
are for chronic defaulters like Ch Qasim. Try setting
up a small or medium industrial enterprise without
300 percent collateral and you would be shown the
door.
Does it matter that everyone is raising a voice
against the feudals, even the Chief of MQM lays
fault at the doors of feudalism, without once realizing
that where it has been done away with without a
proper replacement, the vacuum has been filled by
anarchism and terrorism The methods and tactics
of some ethnic and religious groups in urban areas,
and of the vacuum fillers in those rural areas where
the local landlords have been sidelined, are clear
references for study.
Does it matter that when one comes across senior
bureaucrats or members of the PMs team one is told
that what one is writing about and much more. Well
if they know and still don’t do anything about it
then what right they have to strut around like proud
peacocks.
Does it matter that all those who previously stood
for elections as MNAs and MPAs are all proudly vying
to be demoted to the district and tehsil nazim slots.
Why? Because that is where the buck stops.
Does it matter that no one in the entire country
takes out a procession against the Baglihar and
Wullar but you have a huge march against the Kalabagh.
The only people who took it on themselves as per
news item were a group of Kashmiri freedom fighters
who were on their way to blow up Baglihar but apparently
got caught by the Indians, a typical case of bad
planning and execution. Well so was Kargil anyway.
Does it matter that both our allies (referring probably
to US and China) have abandoned us and left us high
and dry and are wooing Miss India?
Does it matter that some one has advised the President
to have his illustrious mother come on screen and
voice her thoughts about her son who presently rules
the country. I had a chance to watch one of her
earlier interviews. The lady came across as an educated,
soft spoken, kind and above all elegant – an aspect
of upbringing fast eroding from our society.
I also had an opportunity to meet Mr Zardari’s mother
and found her to be a woman of strong character,
substance and immense presence. But what better
way to show love and respect to these souls than
by doing what is right … and by improving the lot
of the millions of sons of other mothers of this
country.
Does it matter that an individual who is now 50
plus and has fought the urge to make a quick buck
and accept bribe may be on the verge of breaking
his life long principle just to bring bread to the
table.
Yes it matters! It matters because one man of principles
down is a great victory for the corrupt, evil and
manipulative Holy Trinity. In this era where consumerism,
materialism, individualism is breaking the very
fiber of societies and religions and is further
being strengthened by the grip of corruption and
nepotism which has been unleashed by the media moguls
of the New World Order.
It matters that individuals who stand by values
and principles and what is right by society and
religion who are presently dispersed like straw
need to be baled and looped.
It matters because they are the hope for the millions
in this country and billions in the world who are
crawling below the line of inhumanity and poverty.
It matters because throughout history it has been
the individual fighter, Mard-e-Momin, man of faith,
man of vision who has changed the course of history
and has been the rallying factor for the downfall
of tyrants.
To all those on the verge of collapse or who are
in the grip of momentary weakness stand tall and
matter.
This article was published in Pakistan's Daily
'The Nation'. Email: Visionary_gndl@yahoo.com |
