ء says…

A while back David Ignatius wrote an article about a quiet deal taking place between US and Pakistan, regarding the drone attacks in Pakistani administered areas – this was on the 4th of November. Since then, we’ve seen a number of stories springing up about this ‘tacit’ understanding … All the hoopla about Pakistan’s sovereignty is gaining momentum.

As much as I hate to say it, I find it very difficult to believe that we were ever a sovereign state. Yes, maybe for the first few years after partition; but the more I find out about our history (more from people, than books – which sadly have been written with major biases), the more I wonder about the real reasons why this partition took place, and whether we were actually meant to be a sovereign state.
Secondly, given our 60 year long dependency on America, militarily and economically, this cry for sovereignty seems to be nothing but lip service to appease the (assumed) ‘uninformed’ masses of this country, and also to all those who still honestly believe that we are a sovereign state.

Ok, let’s avoid sprinkling salt on our wounds and talk about deliverables.

What’s the objective here? This War on Terror … what do we want out of it? I think we do share a common objective with the Americans/Nato: to get rid of terrorism. It is also quite clear that both, the American drone attacks and the ‘Military-cum-Tribal Lashkar’ operations are pursuing this very same goal.

Let’s consider some facts now:

The Military-cum-Tribal Lashkar operation is taking place mostly in the Bajaur area. The actors in this conflict are a) The Frontier Corps/Military, b) The Tribal Lashkars and c) The Islamist Militants (mainly Taliban). The scale of this conflict is widespread and the pursuit here is to dismantle the infrastructure set up by the Militants.

The fact however remains, that in most cases, whenever the armed forces have succeeded in dismantling the militant posts, they have done so after majority of the militants have already escaped their premises. Let’s also not forget that these are trained guerilla warriors who know how to reinvent and relocate themselves, and hence, if they are not captured/killed, their chances of rejuvenation are still pretty high.

No doubt there are militant casualties, and that they are increasing as the learning curve grows for the state-backed forces, but there is also a casualty count of the armed forces, and then a civilian casualty count also (although these figures usually tend to be underestimated, once again for the sake of lip service), and then finally, when the militants strike back, usually with a single suicide bomber, they kill on average 5-6 people, many of whom are key players/elders/leaders in the conflict. Click here for a recent example.

To summarize, the situation in Bajaur in one of civil war, where damage spreads across 3 different forces involved in the conflict, combined with civilian casualties.

Now consider, in contrast, the US/Nato backed drone attacks. These have taken place mostly around the Waziristan area, which by the way is a much stronger hold of the Militants. There is also a supposed ‘no offensive’ deal between the Pakistani State and the Baitullah Mehsud led Taliban in this region. I guess that explains why the forces (FC and Lashkar) have not been as active here as compared to Bajaur.

In the drone attack zones, the actors are only two: a) the Militants and b) the Drones. And even among these, the latter is the more active player as it usually catches the Militants by surprise. Yes, there is also the fact that in some cases, due to faulty intelligence, the casualties have mostly been innocent civilians, but generally speaking, these attacks have been quite efficient and accurate – not only in dismantling the militant posts, but also in getting rid of them.

My hunch is that the damage caused (in terms of casualties, and in terms of unwanted casualties) is much less in the case of the Drone Attacks as compared to the one taking place in Bajaur. I am calling it a hunch, because I don’t, as yet, have the exact figures to back this argument. But this is, objectively speaking, a very reasonable hunch, and I will soon be verifying it (as an add-on to this write-up) once I get hold of the figures. (If I am wrong, I will delete this post; as simple as that. But I highly doubt that will be the case)

So now I ask, what’s all this drama about? Who are we kidding here? And why are we being so unintelligent about all this?

While the drone operations seem to be far more efficient and less damaging than the State backed operations, we (and that is not just our government, but even the media and its commentators) seem to be far more concerned about a ‘sovereignty’ we have hardly ever had. We so conveniently forget that we are trying to solve a problem here, a problem we do, in all reality, share with the Americans; a problem which is much more ours (now) than it is theirs.

I am not going to get into all the discussion about ‘going the peaceful way’ and that ‘a military solution is not the best solution’. I know (and agree with) all that. I am just comparing two situations and then pin-pointing at our all so common stupidity. In trying to protect an illusion we have about ourselves, we turned the greater evil (in terms of the ‘real’, and not hypothetical, damage caused by it) into the lesser and the lesser evil into the greater.

When will we stop making fools of ourselves?

(Written: October 2007, see note below)

We have been observing a number of ‘cults’ emerging in Pakistan over the last 5 years or so. I would not call them ‘serious movements’ as yet, because I don’t see a long term ‘manifesto’ (or something on those lines) for most of them.

I can spend a whole page talking about how I intend to define the term ‘cult’ in the course of my argument, but I will give myself the leeway and work with the assumption that it starts from one and then more people join that one to make a group; and then many other ‘ones’ spring up and eventually, there are ‘many groups’, doing the same thing.
But the fact that the time-scale for this ‘doing’ is rather short, makes me consider them, at least at this stage of their existence, to be nothing more than ‘cults’.

Of course I am being subjective here!!! But let me try to get some objectivity out of it. I will highlight three such cults:

The first one, I myself have been a part of. In fact I can confidently state that I have been one of the agents for initiating this cult. It’s the 21st century commercial rock music of Pakistan. Today, it has become an identifier of Pakistani popular music, worldwide.

When it started, it was all about young urbanized people looking for an outlet for their frustrations. They were angry for sure, and they didn’t like much of what their life was about – at least sub-consciously. They embraced their lives with hate and suffocation, but also picked up their guitars and found an escape-route. Then they realized that there were too many of them. So they started performing publicly… and then many others followed.

The big companies have been catching up with this trend for the last 5-6 yeas; and today ‘rock music’ is the tag-line for some of the leading product advertisements in Pakistan.

I may sound like the typical critic of commercialism, but I am not. I am very hopeful and I foresee some major developments in Pakistani music. It is on the verge of ‘industrializing’ and, if all goes well, it will be recognized as an industry, just like way back in the 90’s the Indians gave Bollywood official industry status.

As far as musical integrity is concerned, I am afraid that has less to do with commerce and more to do with being human in the broadest of terms. If you are an integrated human being everything else falls into place, otherwise you will never find order!

Now let me talk about another ‘cult’. I am sure, people will be critical of my calling it so, but as I said, I am being subjective here. My conscience is clear from within!

This one has to do with the Earthquake that took place in 2005….

I have been living part-time in Abbottabad since 2004, i.e. just prior to the quake. And I have observed how that city changed drastically within a matter of months.

The city is flourishing now! A lot of traffic though, especially due to trucks delivering supplies to the affected areas, and it takes a good 2 hours (as against 1) to get here from the Hassanabdal entrance.
However, the ‘cult’ I want to mention is not of automobiles, but of NGO’s and philanthropic agencies.

There are about 8-10 big organizations which bring in the money and do the macro monitoring of the reconstruction/rehabilitation process. But when I called in at the office of one of these ‘big-bosses’ to ask for some directions to other offices, the operator said: ‘Sir Yahaan to Laakhon NGO’s hain! Kiss kiss ka pata bataoon?’ (Sir, there are hundreds of thousands of NGO’s here, how many can I direct you to?).

There was this one place, right in the outskirts of Mansehra, called the Ghazikot Township, built specifically after the earthquake to provide land and housing to the displaced. I was guided by the officer to visit this place as it held the bulk of the NGO offices. Right at the entrance I could see at least 50 boards directing all across the Township. The guard at the entrance told me that there are almost 150 offices in this compound. I even went in to check up on a few. More to their dismay and less to mine, I found out, in 4 of the 5 offices I visited, that their funding had exhausted and they were wrapping up their work (and offices), with a faint hope that they might just get another project.

4 out of 5 in a sample, that is an 80% rate of closure – I really hope not. But the reality is that the earthquake rehabilitation process is at a stage where all those 100,000 NGO’s are not required anymore. The big-bosses will stay as they are part of the long-term process. But those who had so enthusiastically set up colorful websites and equipped offices, for them the future seems constrained, at least in terms of financial and logistical survival.

Will they follow on with this philanthropic drive? Will they develop their own avenues instead of banking upon those provided by the big-bosses? Will this ‘cult’ die out?

I don’t really want to answer these questions. But I am, as always, the optimistic type. There are lots of cars in Abbottabad and surrounding regions – big imported 4 wheelers to be specific. There are laptops, Wi-Max, big banks and so on.

This region has woken up with the jolts of October 2005. I don’t see it falling asleep, at least not for the next few decades!

The last ‘cult’, for many is not a cult, but a long-term movement (though I hope not) nurturing itself under the title, ‘clash of civilizations’. Yes, it is militant Islam. It is global and it promises that it will stay until the end – its own or that of its opponent.

A while back I read this news that a new militant organization, by the name of ‘Al-Hizb’ has come up in Darra Adamkhel. It is monitoring the activities of the security agencies in the region. It warns of beheading those tribal leaders who spy for the ISI. It also has an ‘amir’ who will never be identified.

Seems like very familiar modus operandi, and it did make me think about the process of how a cult forms….
Just to make fiction out of facts: In Darra Adam Khel, a bunch of youngsters see a bunch of men set up a group which makes headlines world-wide in a matter of days. These youngsters have a lot of hot blood in them, they too need an outlet, and they have strong sentiments, especially ones which make them feel side-lined….

My optimism is challenged in this scenario. As a student of economics, it makes sense why cults are good for the economy: they give massive returns for a short time span, and they also have the potential to become a full-scale industry.

When I think about the future of this third ‘cult’, it shakes me from my own foundations. Just like the tremors one experiences before (or even after) big Earthquakes!

Personal Note: I must confess that I have failed! I was supposed to put up something else – the sequel to ‘Love and Revolution’. I am not a good writer and it takes me a while to finish something. I thought I would do it quick, but that hardly works when I have to plan what I write, so after struggling all night with Part 2, I gave up.! I had to put something up.. ego badly hurt, so I went through some of my old stuff… I wrote this around a year back, when large scale operations had not started in the FATA regions. In that sense, the last part is a bit outdated. Nonetheless, I find it to be a decent read. Let me know what you think

I am quite surprised at the response we got for Do Dil. It was definitely extraordinary!

I guess I have to thank God, first and foremost, for all that he has endowed us with – talent, fans, looks …. aaaah… someone mentioned that I take vanity to another level altogether … Dig this dude!

But still… that doesn’t let go off the fact that I’m awed. And, as always, as I try to understand the whys and how’s of my amazement, I do get some directions for an answer…

I think what stands out the most is that even after all these ups and downs, noori has one hell of a fan base (I am trying to look at noori as an outsider here … and this is not another show of vanity).
Some of these fans are no longer fans for me, they are friends; in fact one of them is a real close friend now. And so when my friends start acting like ‘groupies’ (and I am quoting their own words here), even I get a bit uncomfortable.
Who befriends a fan?????… now I AM being vain …

But, just to put it in short, what makes noori stand out the most is the relationship we have with our fans. I think I can proudly say that we have taken this relationship to another level altogether. And I also believe that, with time, the world will also come to appreciate this; as we will continue to develop it more and more.

What all this does for me (and Noor also) is that it makes me realize that this noori business is much bigger than my own person, and that I am only an agent in a much bigger linkage. I might be the face representing this band (just like Obama is the face representing USA – vanity again!), but the real elements are all those others who are involved – as listeners, as fans, as critics, as channels and so on and so forth. And that each of these elements has some sort of claim on this reality called noori.

The response we got from Do Dil, has clearly shown that! I guess the fact that noori re-emerged after so long was enough to create the response we’re getting.
And I couldn’t be happier!!! … and I also couldn’t feel more a sense of responsibility towards the bigger reality I mentioned above.

So, for all those who have been wondering about the fate of noori, let me assure you that as long as I am there, I will make every god damn effort to make it last and grow further!

Yes there will be ups and downs, as life is a much much bigger reality… but the determination is my own, and nothing (but myself) will stop me from being determined.
….

God bless America! Pakistan Zindabad!

P.S. I think I am finding a really creative (read fraudulent) way of using tags