Decency and courtesy are words found in the dictionary of fools in Pakistani society .

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17.      Decency and courtesy are words found in the dictionary of fools in Pakistani society .

Once I went to a colleague’s office. I found him engaged in talking to someone over the telephone. He wore a beard and looked every inch a pious man. I waited for him to be free in his staff’s room, which was adjacent to my colleague’s room. When he was free, I asked him if his telephone call was official or private. He replied that it was private. I further asked him if his call was legitimate or Illegitimate in terms of Islamic morality . He replied that it was illegitimate . We all use official telephones to conduct private conversations . But in this case his reply was honest and I appreciate his honesty .

2. I read a story in the Reader’s Digest once . A young woman in London wanted to commit suicide by jumping in the River Thames because she had been jilted by her lover , Jim . She stood on the Embankment . She found a newspaper cutting in one of the pockets of the coat she wore . It was an advertisement from a deacon telling readers to come to him in case of need for advice . She went to him . He advised her that Jim was not only man in the world . Unfortunately , in our society there are exploitators  , charlatans and greedy men.

3. I sought advises from noted ulema karam (Islamic scholars ) in a complex religious matter through emails. My emails were not even acknowledged . Earlier a few years back , when internet was not introduced in Pakistan , I wrote a letter to a very noted religious scholar whose programmes were aired regularly by PTV. My letter was again not even acknowledged . Let us suppose that my questions were stupid . Still I deserve a reply . Again let us suppose that we are living in the times of the Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him ). He would have answered ALL questions very calmly and very patiently.

4. Years ago ,I read the Islamic Ideology Council’s Report on Insurance . That Report was written in Urdu so tedious that the common man in Pakistan must have found it difficult to follow . I wrote a letter to a member of the Council . I thought my letter would have been thrown into a waste

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paper bin . But no . I received an obscene reply . I was rebuked in the strongest possible words that I dared not write to any Islamic  scholar . If my memory serves aright, the gist of the reply was that it was not written for the common man.

5. The society in Pakistan is Muslim. But our habits and characteristics alien to Islam.. In fact , we are following the pagan rites in an Islamic society .The reason is that for two hundred years , we were ruled by the British . An English lord , Lord Maccaulay made a famous statement ‘Let us create a class of people Indian in origin and blood but English in their tastes and manners’ . In effect the Pakistan society has developed its own unwritten caste system although there is no distinction in Islam among the people on terms race, blood or wealth .The Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him ) told the believers on the occasion of his Last Sermon .

“All mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over black nor a black has any superiority over white except by piety and good action. Learn that every Muslim is a brother to every Muslim and that the Muslims constitute one brotherhood. Nothing shall be legitimate to a Muslim which belongs to a fellow Muslim unless it was given freely and willingly.

“Do not therefore do injustice to yourselves. Remember one day you will meet Allah and answer your deeds. So beware, do not astray from the path of righteousness after I am gone.”

However , there are two or three thousand holy cows in the society which tend to destroy its social fabric .

6. There was a time in the Pakistan Secretariat , the lift operator would tell the deputy secretaries and below to leave the lift whenever a joint secretary or above was around .Still one lift is reserved for ministries or secretaries . Juniors whether in the office or elsewhere dared not differ with their superiors . Again it is against the Islamic beliefs and the practice of the Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him ) . He always to consulted his companions whether older and wiser or younger than him on

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important decisions . Hazrat Salman Farsi opined on the digging of a trench before the Battle of the Trench . No wonder , Pakistan is in a state of disarray.

7. The sacrifice occupies an unique and a prominent place in Islam . But where does this practice disappears on any given Friday at midday at any crossing in Islamabad when offices and schools close in the holy month of Ramazan .

8. Years ago , I obliged a friend whose family was dire financial straits . His younger brother wanted a job very badly to tide over his family’s financial difficulties . I arranged him a job. Fortunes smiled for him . He is now a well to do man . And now when he comes to see me , he reads a newspaper in my presence while I wait for him to converse  .

9. Friends or relations promise you to come and see you at a given time . You prepare to receive him or them . They seldom come . I committed the same error once . I promised a very dear friend that I would come to his house  the following Sunday . His family waited for me all day .The next week the poor man met his Maker . I am still haunted by my guilt.

10. Seeking an information over the telephone is always tedious . The person at the other end promises you that he would provide the information at a given time . Rarely that he provides you the required information. Quietly  he would go away from his place or let the telephone bell go on ringing.

11. Whenever I visit the western world , every person you meet has a smile plastered on his or face and do their best to satisfy no matter how they feel about you . Any time the concerned person is absent from his or her seat . persons near the telephone is eager to note your message . No sooner that the concerned person is available , he rings you back. I once telephoned the Brazilian Permanent Representative in Geneva while attending a course there . He was not in his office . But barely fifteen minutes later , he called . In the same course , it so happened that two participants were placed in one room while on a study tours outside Geneva. An Indonesian Foreign office officer shared my room . We became great friends . In each city where we went , he telephoned his Embassy . He was invited by his

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Ambassador or the Embassy’s officers and staff to meals. In Warsaw shortly after my arrival there , I telephoned the First Secretary of the Pakistan Embassy . After a long interview in which I had to explain the purpose of my visit , the First Secretary apologized and told me that he was busy with the visit of the then Advisor on Shipping and that he had no time for me . We stayed in Warsaw for three days during which my fellow participant from Indonesia was a guest of the Embassy on all three days . On the third day , he told me that the First Secretary of their Embassy had also invited me .At the given time , the First Secretary and his wife drove to the hotel where we were staying and took us along . We passed a delightful evening with the couple and other Indonesian guests

12. Once I was young , I was playing in the house of a friend . He was enjoying himself with disturbing the turban on his servant’s head. I took it as great fun . The next morning , my servant and I went to a nearby shop. He was an old man and had been serving my family all his life . At the shop the servant sat smoking his bedi . At my great joy , I disturbed his turban the same way I had seen my friend do. The shopkeeper was amused but not the servant . He complained to my father . He was not too pleased with the antics of his only son.

13. Once I went to Karachi on an official trip. An old servant was there to pick up my luggage to take to my room at the Government Hostel . As habitual , the orderly began to interview me . Perchance he had worked with my grandfather when he been alive. The next morning, the orderly came to polish my shoes. I refused giving him my pair of shoes saying that he had served my grandfather and he was too old to be my grandfather . Tears came to his eyes and he told me that nobody cares for such values now.

14. Values have changed . Words which were taboo for ladies once are being used openly and freely . Even four letter words are no longer taboo .
 Evil is no longer considered an evil. The honest and decent folks are considered to be village idiots . After the Quaid e Azam’s death ,the
successive Governments in Pakistan lie .

16. The London Economist in its obituary of Mr. Common Sense lamented the loss of old values . Given below are some extracts from it .
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‘A teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband;
Churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.

Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.

Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; His wife, Discretion;
His daughter, Responsibility; And his son, Reason.

He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers;

I Know My Right. I Want It Now,
Someone Else Is To Blame, and I'm A Victim.

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.

If you still remember him, pass this on.
If not, join the majority and do nothing.’

17. My Section Officer , my junior officer  , on his promotion as a Deputy Secretary, sat in front in me smoking a cigarette and exhaling its smoke in my face , his superior and I could nothing do a thing to save me from this assault on decency . On another occasion, I gave some typing work to my PA , a cleric , at 2 PM. He entered the washroom shortly after. He came out when I had left for home .

18. In 1978 , I was in Masjid e Nabvi at dawn one day . I met the Pakistan

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Commercial Counsellor , Jeddah there . He invited me to his lodgings . He told me later that he had been escorting a trade delegation from Pakistan and everywhere the delegation, it had been warmly received . But when the time came for placing of orders , the Saudi reply invariably was that the Pakistanis liars and cheats. I got the same reply in Jeddah on the same trip.

MAHFOOZ UR RAHMAN
ISLAMABAD
June 12, 2010

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CHEATING , A SCOURGE FOR PAKISTAN

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16.                CHEATING , A SCOURGE FOR PAKISTAN

An acquaintance  promised my daughter to get her article on a topic to relating to the problems of labour published in an UN Body magazine of which he was the editor . The article was published but in his own name .

With greater freedom for the media especially the electronic media, it has been covering and displaying scenes of cheating in the examination halls on the TV . TV footage show young boys and girls merrily and unashamedly in cheating from books or slips of paper. There was a time when cheating in the examinations was looked down upon . But times have changed . The greater surprise is when the authorities show their hopelessness . But what do we expect from the young boys and girls of the blighted country when the Federal Board of education in Islamabad tried to jack the marks of the daughter of the infamous Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar . And the greater pity was the Chief Justice of the defunct Islamabad High Court .( The Islamabad High Court has been re- established ) . Similar is the case of the daughter of Mr. Justice Riaz Akhtar Chaudary of the Supreme Court of Azad Kashmir .

Many parliamentarians are in danger of losing their seats . Each day reports come of someone losing their seats in the Parliament . Even the superior courts are stepping , the more shocking news were when that joker , Jamshed Dasti , who claimed to have a degree in Islamic Education , failed to answer  elementary questions on Islam of the Supreme Court , was appointed an Adviser to the Prime Minister on Livestock . He resigned in disgrace . What message is being conveyed to the people by the Prime Minister . There is a limit to insulting the intelligence of the people of this country . Rather than feeling ashamed of what had done , he is campaigning to regain his seat in the bye- elections , and the Prime Minister is backing him up .

Cheating is not only done in exams . But it is common in every field under the sun ; be it foodstuffs or medicines particularly life saving drugs or matrimonial affairs when the families of boys and girls overdo each other through cheating . However , the relations based on falsehood end in matrimonial disputes .

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I remember in 1964 , some friends paid Rs. five only to the person who was engaged serving water to the candidates sitting in the examination hall . On the morning of the Convocation for getting BSc degree , the Head Clerk of the College was asking , rather ‘demanding’ Rs five from each boy or girl for sweet meats . When the Masters degrees were being given , the rate was multiplied by one hundred per cent i.e. Rs ten from each boy or girl . If any argued with him on the question of morality meant that he or she would not be getting degrees on that important day.

There was a time when loafers , drunk or any bad character were few and far between in any locality . The children of the locality were taught by their elders not to go near them . Now the norms have changed are in the process of changing more . Every sort of a character live side by side in posh areas in big cities .

When we were young , teachers devoted themselves to teaching . Teaching was done in schools and colleges only . There was no concept of tuition . We had very dedicated teachers and professors . In the small towns and villages , the teachers were rarely paid monthly salaries . Sometimes they were paid after six months . I cannot go on without adding some words to the dedication of the Principal , Mr. Catchpole and my teachers of the Cadet College , Hasan Abdal . The Principal and the teachers were always available to attend to the small and big needs of the cadets regardless of the time . They were like our parents . While the cadets were preparing for the Board examinations ,they would leave their beds at night and go to each individual cadet to solve any difficulty . For cadets who were weak in Mathematics , the concerned teachers used to hold special class . All efforts by the teachers were gratis .This is  for the love of the boys .  Not a single cent was charged to the cadet or his parents . The teachers of yore had the belief that they were being paid by the school or college as the case may be . Thus , there was no concept of tuition .

A young man I know is studying in a very prestigious college in Islamabad . In the evening , he goes to an academy for tuition . His parents tells us that in the academy , there are one hundred students . If his parents are being charged for his tuition , what are his teachers doing in the morning in this ‘prestigious college’ . Is not that cheating ? Are’nt his teachers paid ? Is it morally correct for his teachers at his ‘prestigious college’ or at the academy ? What sort of

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Islam is being followed ? During discussions with the teachers , most of them claim to be true followers of Islam and the Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him ) . An Islamabad college principal , I know , teaches in an academy in the evening . I know he is honest and otherwise devout . But is it morally correct for him when he is being paid by the Government ?

An eye specialist working in the Benazir Bhutto General Hospital in 1964 called me to his house when I visited him in the hospital for getting eye examined . Another one, a private one , gave me incorrect number for my glasses . After I went to the doctor for the correct number , he charged once again.

I am in the twilight of my life . My children have passed this phase . They are grown ups and educated . But still I dread the future for my grandchildren’ sake, for this country’s sake , for the nation’s sake . What sort of boys and girls are passing out from the country’s educational institutions ? What kind of doctors or engineers are we producing ? Are we ready to face the challenges of the world ? Are we ready to emulate the advancement made by the world ? We cannot do that if we cheat our way .

MAHFOOZ UR RAHMAN

ISLAMABAD

Buttering – an art form.

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  15.                                         Buttering – an art form.
Behind every big fortune , there is a crime (Balzac).
I don’t like yes men .But when I say no , I expect them to say no.
In a meeting held in Islamabad , a participant referred to the department’s newly announced policy and also to the Battle of Badr ,which was fought on 17^th Ramazan and in which the Muslims were victorious by the Grace of Allah . He said , addressing the boss ,that the Battle of Badr was fought on 17^th Ramazan and he( the boss)  announced the country’s policy on 17^th Ramazan . All the participants were dumbfounded at his audacity .
Nearing his first year in office , the people understood , barring a few diehards of the PPP, that governance of the country was not a cup of tea for President Zardari  and his motley crowd of court jesters viz. Yusuf Raza Gilani , Raja Rental , Rehman Malik , Farooq Sattar ( he has not learnt speaking the truth ), Raja Riaz ,Farooq Naik ,oh no that many .If they had learnt to speak the truth  and advised him sincerely  what the people wanted the Government to do rather than to please their Boss, their Government could have survived the Elections 2013 and saved from the embarrassment.
Hazrat Ali (May Allah be pleased with him ) was asked once as to why the affairs of the Caliphate went into disarray when he was the Caliph . He replied that he was the adviser of the first three Caliphs whereas when he became the Caliph , his advisers were incompetent people like the questioner
Like the profession which involves an exploitation of women by beasts masquerading as men , buttering came into being at about the same time . For ages ,man has been is search for support :if not God or Allah , then another man far more superior and powerful  .Inversely man is basically weak .Therefore , he needs support of his actions particularly when he enjoys wealth and power .Others exploits his weakness to their advantage .This applies especially to emperors and kings , president , prime ministers and other powerful men.
The example of Sir Philip Sidney and Edmund Spenser and his “The Fairie Queene “ came readily to mind. Edmund Spenser was a protégé of Sir Philip and the latter
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was a courtier of Queen Elizabeth I .Spenser wrote ‘The Fairie Queene’ to please the English queen- in this epic poem , we have the best example of buttering . The poem contains twelve books and the Queen had been described as the fairy queen . The book found political favour with the queen   and was consequently a success, to the extent that it became Spenser's defining work. The poem found such favour with the monarch that Spenser was granted a pension for life amounting to 50 pounds a year , a big fortune then, though there is no evidence that Elizabeth I read any of the poem.
In the Age of Discovery , explorers like Sir Francis Drake ,Sir Walter Raleigh ,Christopher Columbus and others named the lands that they discovered after the name of their sovereigns in the hope of reaping rich rewards from them . The process continued . Such names as Virginia , the Carolinas , Adelaide are examples .
The process of giving rich gifts to the undeserving goes on  in Pakistan even in this time and  age. Qudratullah Shahab’s fine book ‘Shahab Nama’ tells us a historical fact .When the first Prime Minister , Liaqat Ali Khan , was assassinated , Khwaja Nizamuddin , the then Governor General , became the Prime Minister and an ailing and paralysed Malik Ghulam Muhammad  became the Governor General . His American secretary interpreted his words for him . A mystery remains . In those days , three important figures wielded much authority : the Army C in C (later Field Marshal ) Ayub Khan , Major General Iskandar Mirza and the  senior most secretary , Ch. Muhammad Ali .   What factors prevented them to throw  the Governor General out ?
   Two illustrations may suffice to explain . When Emperor Babar invaded India , he and his men were hardy .But gradually the weather of that country made the Moghuls lazy and slothful .And when the English forces were about to enter Delhi , Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar had to helped to his carriage to lead his forces in the defence of the city .
When the English began their rule , their were aided by the Hindus, who followed an old adage that the enemy of my enemy was my friend because of the series of Muslim invasion and rulers .To please the English rulers , the Hindus brought gifts and even humiliating  themselves in the process to please their English masters and taught them to buy the Muslims off . The English gave them gifts of land after they

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bought them off viz Mir Jaffar and Mir Sadiq and many other Mir Jaffars and Mir Sadiqs. 
Nobody likes to be told ‘No’ . Through experience of ages , the people learnt of survival : they chose  the path of least resistance. History recounts the tales of Cardinal Wolsey and John Knox because they dared to say ;No’ to the King ie King Henry VIII . There were political killings  in Pakistan, too .
However ,Islam has given us many beautiful and advices for every occasion . Let me recount one incident .The Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him ) sent one of his companions ( May Allah be pleased with all of them )to a certain place to collect Zakat  . The latter gave the former all the zakat and saying that the residents also gave as gift . The Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him ) was annoyed and told the other to return the zakat he received as a gift .
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Mahfooz ur Rahman
Islamabad
June 30, 2013  

Blood Donations

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 14.                                                         Blood Donations

                                                 By Mahfooz ur-Rahman.

Before we were beset with illness to two of my children, my daughter, who died in illness two years ago after attaining the age of eighteen, and a son who still living, and both of them were the victims of a fatal disease called Thalassemmia, we thought we would never be need of someone’s blood. We had read news in the newspapers of people who sell their blood and particular those people who blood to satisfy there crave for intoxication to hospitals. Indeed, we had seen such, haggard, famished and emaciated in or around the District Headquarters Hospital, Rawalpindi and Rawalpindi General Hospital, Rawalpindi. They like virtual skeletons. The fact is that the families of the sick, particularly, who are poor, are hard hit to arrange blood for their near ones. The C.M.Hs only to give blood either through donations or in exchange i.e.. One blood group for another. The government hospitals are so untidy that one feels like vomiting at the very sight of them. By the way why can we emulate the armed forces in their attention to patients and in the cleanliness of their surroundings? The C.M.H and M.H, Rawalpindi and the P.N.S. Hafeez and the P.A.F, Hospitals both in Islamabad are cases in point.

In 1986, my youngest son was hospitalized .We were in acute need of blood. Since he was in a Government hospital, we were crowded with cadavers in the blood bank ready to meet our requirement of blood. Ultimately, I donated blood myself twice to save the life of m infant son.

Since 1991, when our daughter and son first were given blood transfusions, they have been living on others blood. Often cousins or friends donate blood to my children. But we sometimes try other sources like the Fatimid Foundation, the Edhi takes years to locate a person whose organs matches the patient’s organs.

In the past ten years or so, I have been facing a terrible ordeal in the sense that most people make all sorts of excuses if requested to donate blood .One man, I knew, went so far as to say that blood donations are “haraam”. Most of them claim that they are suffering from various illnesses . And if at all they are willing, they behave as if they have conquered Everest. While, on the other

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hand, there are some people who are very noble and whose behaviour deserves commendation. My office colleague, Dr. Shoaib and my cousins, Capt. Zabih of the PIA and his younger brother, Naeem of Abbotts are such noble souls.

Blood is required for operations, often in childbirth, in cases of Thalassemmia and hemophilia. At the Holy Quran, which says that whosoever saves the life, he saves the lives of entire humanity. But people who are otherwise healthy are reluctant to donate blood to save the live of a dying person. Why is it so? The reason, I think, is lack of awareness. People tend to believe that by giving blood they would become weak and blood, once given, would not be recouped. The government can make people aware by using the media particularly television and radio. The government can also establish blood banks at places other hospitals for screened blood particularly in the rural areas.

When my children were first diagnosed as patients of Thalassemmia in 1987, we did not know the existence of the disease. Like us nobody, apart from, knew. But thanks to good people like my dear friends Naveed Zafar, who was instrumental in introducing this disease to the PTV and Ms Amina Jilani, who regularly wrote about it, the masses are beginning to know the harmful effects of the disease.

ARE WE CIVILISED ?

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  13.                                                    ARE WE CIVILISED ?

Imagine one stops one’s car/ vehicle at a chemist’s shop to purchase life saving drugs for one’s near relations who is in a hospital in a critical condition  . That drug could save the patient’s life .  Also imagine when one turns around to find one’s way blocked by another vehicle whose driver has left the scene  for hours. Any driver has often been confronted by such incidents  . And if perchance the driver of the offending vehicle while one is foaming at the mouth comes , often he does not utter a word of remorse . Usually it ends in a quarrel .

Once my son was ‘ marooned’ for four hours because he made a mistake of parking in the District Courts , Islamabad . He was rescued when the owner of  his  car came .

And imagine one is driving in a lane meant for slow drivers . Suddenly a vehicle zooms in front from the wrong side often hurling the choicest words which could tongawalas to shame .

A landlord belonging to Southern Punjab set his dogs on a four year old for stealing onions .  Two incidents  , one related to Sindh and another from Baluchistan , came to our notice through the media in which groups of young girls were buried alive . When the media raised concerns , the all powerful landlords said that that were the customs in their areas . It is reminiscent of pagan Arabs who used to bury their daughters alive at the time of the birth of the Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) . Incidentally I have often   compared us with those pagans  regardless of the fact that we are Muslims.

I am grateful to Allah that I was born in a civilized society . I enjoyed an additional benefit that my father and before him my ancestors were educated and townspeople  .  Therefore , we did not know the existence of such horrid customs till the media them to our notice .

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Odious and ruthless customs prevail viz. Karo Kari , Sawara and Vani  in the South of the Punjab , Khyber Pathunkuwa , Sindh and Baluchistan . All these customs are man-made to benefit man at the expense of the weaker sex. Exploitation is abhorrent to Islam . Hence such customs have no place in Islam .Had we read the Last Sermon of the Holy Prophet ( Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him ) , we would have been desisting from following those wretched customs ? Similarly the beheading of our soldiers who were ambushed by the Tehrik e Taliban Pakistan is odious , inhuman and callous . Was that an Islamic act ?  No Muslim however  wicked he or she  may be can , stoop to this level .

Twice I encountered people who took the law into their own hands . The first occasion was when I was sitting with a policeman. A man was led by a group of people . The leader of the group introduced himself and explained that the unfortunate man was a thief . Thereupon every person in the police chowki took turns to beat him . I thought if Pakistan was civilized country , the man could claim for damages from the courts .

Another incident occurred when I was visiting a farm in the company of the owner . The gate of the farm was opened late . The owner flew into a rage and beat the foreman very callously and simultaneously uttering the choicest words . Believe me , my visit was ruined . Unlike the secular and the capitalist west , serfdom is still existence in the rural areas in the land of the pure . Those poor people are inhumanly treated by their masters.  

 No one can aptly describe the ordeal for obtaining justice  than the recently retired Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan  . Unlike the Islamic system for obtaining a quick justice , it is a trying affair because the legal system in Pakistan is based on the Anglo- Saxon Penal Code .

 We learn from various sources that the US President himself answers all letters addressed to him . Not only he , but all  the US Senators and Members of the House of Representative are supposed to reply to individual letters addressed to them . Once a cousin living in Canada told me to write a letter to the local MNA

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requesting him to pay attention to a specific problem which was being faced by the people of Rawalpindi . I replied that I did see his face during the elections . However , I wrote him a letter . I was never disappointed . I knew that no reply would come from him . It is not done in Pakistan howsoever lofty promises .

Not only that , colleagues and friends at one time  forget . Once or twice I wrote letters to a famous columnist whose  columns on social issues grace every Sunday’s “ The News” because I knew him from Cadet College , Hasan Abdal days my alma mater . My letters were not even acknowledged . On the contrary  people not adhering to Islam , invariably replied . Once or twice , I wrote letters to the late Mr. Ardesher Cowasjee . He always replied . I sent emails to the American hospitals or Universities for my late son , Mustafa . They replied were within hours of the despatch . Similarly the Australian Universities replied very promptly .

I am sorry for all decent  people and members of the educated civil society for writing this. . But what if any educated person behaves like a buffoon as happened in the recent past when a group began fighting in the courts  . Or on the hundred plus Pakistan TV Channels . How can explain the rowdy behavior of the guests or the anchor person . Or when the guests and the hosts talk together and audience cannot make out  what was being said  .

Mahfooz ur Rahman

Islamabad

May 07, 2014

        

An Open Letter to Imran Khan (Part II)

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11.             An Open Letter to Imran Khan (Part II)

My dear Imran,

I am glad you have recovered after a very nasty fall in Lahore. I saw the ugly scene on the idiot box sitting in comfort at my house in Islamabad while you were writhing in pain. Needless to say that my family and I were in a deep shock more so because we were unable to help our Muslim brother .

I admired you as an all rounder and as a captain . I admired you when you took a giant leap and build a cancer hospital to be followed by one in Peshawar and an University in Mianwali .On several occasions, I wrote on Facebook that we trusted you with our donations and we will be willing to trust you to manage the affairs of the state. Again on Facebook , I wrote ‘If Imran fails , we will be doomed’.

I wrote two articles in last August:-
1. Why should I vote?
2. An Open Letter to Imran Khan (Part I).

My family and I did cast our votes in the absence of an alternative. Our reasons were
A. There is no possibility of change without votes
B. If we did not vote, someone else will.

Before the elections after, the media kept on briefing us on what was happening behind the scenes far away from the madding crowd (A reference to Thomas Hardy’s novel ) particularly two columns from Shaheen Sebhai , the Group Editor of ‘The News’ and ‘Jang’ which also showed you in a poor light as naive and scores of posts on Facebook and Twitter by Zaid Hamid . While the former was writing on the interference by world powers the latter was discouraging you on the principles of Islam and the war between Islam and Capitalism particularly the interest based economic system.
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Now that you have taken a wise decision to sit in the opposition, a decision endorsed by my family and I. You will to face tough challenges viz. Remember the pitfalls are enormous.
1. Since the temptation of become a minister or an ambassador or lolling in luxuries, your support in the Assemblies ie National and the four Provincial, is likely to dwindle because of fickleness of the people and the charm of richness. Remember General Musharraf’s ‘home coming’.
2. It is not easy to forget the luxuries the grandeur and the pomp and ceremony in holding a public office especially the rest of the three Provinces will not follow your example.
If you think you could maintain your policy of not encouraging protocol in the Government of Khyber Pathunkhwa for long time, you are mistaken because of human frailty.

Islamic economic system versus interest based economy . What did you have in mind when you announced in one of the public meetings that you will introduce an Economic system on the pattern of Medina. Did you do any homework in this regard? Is your party fully equipped to introduce an Islamic Economy? Are you willing to face the world which has interest based economy? Are you ready to do battle the IMF. the World Bank , the bankers on the Wall Street ? What if you fail to honour you promise? Have you imagined the impact?

According the respected Ulema Karam who have been invited to participate on different occasions in a religious programme ‘Peyem e Subh’ , the pattern of Islamic Economy is not followed anywhere in the world nor has any Muslim country a ready made model to be borrowed by Pakistan . Take the case of ‘Riba’ for eg. It is strictly forbidden in Islam so much so that we are as Muslims told to wage a war against Riba. But the Government had obtained a stay from the courts for a period of ten years. That happened in the tenure of Mian Nawaz Sharif as the Prime Minister in 1998.

Change . What change ?

The change is already visible on the media, print and electronic, on

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Facebook and Twitter, on the quality of articles hitherto unknown in Pakistan. This change is visible on the way the people of Pakistan living in the country or abroad reacted when Altaf Hussain spoke about Karachi leaving Pakistan. This was the gift of General Musharraf . However, the moral fibre of the people, both horizontally and vertically, is what it is, you will have to think twice before meddling with it.

Judiciary
We have been following the Anglo-Saxon in Pakistan with all its failings. The alternative is the Islamic System which is cheaper and quick .Are you willing to replace the Anglo-Saxon which is cumbersome and time consuming with an Islamic System? But members of your party are lawyers.

My dear Imran Khan, we are your well wishers .We wants you to succeed. But the change what you are looking for is absent in this rotten system. For a change, you will have to overhaul the entire economic system which is based on loans which in turn is based on interest and overhaul the judiciary to bring in the Islamic pattern of social justice.

Mahfooz ur Rahman
Islamabad
May 27, 2013 

An Open Letter to Imran Khan

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12.                          An Open Letter to Imran Khan

Dear Mr. Imran Khan,

Let me introduce myself . My name will appear on my page of Facebook . However , let me state that my children , boys and girls, collected donations when you were building the Shaukat Khanum Hospital . I used to accompany them on their rounds . I don’t know , and I do not care to know , the amount that very small amount they had managed to collect . However , the Hospital and the University in Mianwali are the pride of Pakistan . Indeed , you had become a trendsetter in this field .

However , I am writing this to Imran Khan the politician and not  to Imran Khan the philanthropist. I am at the end of my life  and I have no worries which party is ruling the country or will rule in the future. I have no trust in the established parties .As a new party , you are also losing the public trust rapidly . However , I have no means of knowing   whether  your popularity graph is ascending or descending . My source is the discussions , I have . 

1.      In the mid sixties , I attended a talk given by then famous journalist , Mr. A.B.S. Jafri . One sentence was ‘ politicians tend to talk tall : not only here .But everywhere’.   While other parties prepare a manifesto , whether or  not they abide by it , your party  has  apparently no programme but to seize control of the country at the opportune time. The people of Pakistan have become aware of their problems and possible solutions . What you do plan to ameliorate of the living conditions of the people?  Pray what is the difference between other and your party .

2.      What are your plans to provide protection to life , property and honour of common people instead of a handful of sacred cows ? What are your plans to provide justice in this corrupt set up ? How would you restore ‘hope’ among the people when hope has diminished .

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3.     What are your plans to restore peace in Baluchistan , Karachi , Quetta and other places

4.     You have gathered around a motley crowd called the ‘ electables’ . You know very well those ‘electables’ are notorious for changing parties . Eg Shah Mahmood Quershi’s father was the Governor of the Punjab in General Zia ul Haq’s days . He first joined Nawaz Sharif in the Punjab Cabinet . He then joined the PPP . As a Foreign Minister , he was reputed to travel by chartered flights( news reports said that).

5.     Having lived  and traveled to the west , you must be aware that there is a shadow cabinet or a Government in waiting . Who are the members of your shadow cabinet ? The same faces Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri , Shah Mahmood Qureshi , Azam Swati ,  Sardar Asif Ali ,Pervez Khattak ? Will there be places for Asif Zardari , Khurshid Shah , Ch . Pervez Elahi , Maulana Fazal ur Rehman if they want to join it ? Will there places for old hands of the party viz Asif Alavi , Justice Wajiduddin ? I fear there will be difference between the old parties in power and your party .

6.     After two big public meetings , where is your so called  ‘tsunami ? Your so called ‘tsunami’ has proved to be damp squid .

7.     In a recent uproar of  your alleged of your wrongdoing with Zakat money of Shaukat Khanum Hospital’s .It is heartening to read rejoinder to Khwaja Asif issued by Imtiaz Hussain Hydery ,  Executive Vice Chairman, HBG, my old friend and class fellow. In the 1990s , too, there were allegations of  your fathering a child out of wedlock . I thought you were then young and many youth sow wild oats . But this is more serious . And why the Government is supporting you ?    

8.     A couple of months ago , there were news reports of allegations of land grabbing against some office bearers of your party . What action did you take against them ? Of course those reports died down a week later .

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9.     In March 2009 in the long march for the restoration of the judiciary      , it was being said that you hid yourself for fear of arrest .  

Yours sincerely

Mahfooz ur Rahman