Rozaiba’s world

I think the fast-paced access to information causes a lot of people to lose patience. Like with the judges issue - everyday people are flip-flopping between pessimism and optimism. Will Zardari scuttle everything? Will he not? What will PML-N do? Can it afford to leave the government?

Zardari’s placed himself at the center of it all - but sometimes I get the notion that’s he’s overdoing it. At best he doesn’t want to rock the boat by bring in the judges without first buffering his government from the wrath of the President by clipping the President’s powers.  At worst, he doesn’t want the judges to have the powers they previously did - suo moto hearings, making judgments against the government etc. - and is with Musharaf on this and looking to obfuscate the issue to take the rug from under the feet of the movement.

In any case, ANP, MQM, and the PML-Q are with the PPP on this and this gives the PPP room to maneuver.  However, this will prove fatal for all these parties.  One would think that with the economic disaster going on, the parties would do something like ensuring an unqualified restoration of the judges to inspire a miserable people.

Yesterday I did myself a favor and left a barat ceremony within one hour of arriving there.  People make many a million excuses to justify staying put for 6 hours, digesting delays and hunger.   It is at these wedding receptions more than anywhere else that time is made a mockery and devalued.  What joy people get overdressing and sitting around staring at walls for hours on end is difficult to comprehend.   I think with the re-imposition of the one-dish rule, there should also be a rule that any hall cannot be booked for more than two hours.  All that needs to be done at a wedding reception can occur within that time frame.  Any ceremony lasting for longer should be taxed higher by the government.  The way to change the atrocious timings of wedding ceremonies is to make them much more costly.  It is a shame that these ceremonies can last till 3am while restaurants aren’t allowed to stay open that late.

Until active government intervention occurs (just in this one case), I’ll have to either boycott the weddings or ensure that I leave these ceremonies within one hour of reaching there (even if the bride or groom haven’t arrived).

Went well, though a bit disappointing. The city has changed with a series of underpasses, under construction overpasses, and neat exits in a town still small enough to see them as a luxury. But it’s preparing for the future. There is a construction boom and cranes compete with the current scatter of tall buildings.

The city has a homely feel to it as you can go from one part to another within a few minutes. Having a map to guide me through the sectors and their quadrant division helped. If one has the sectors figured out, then the remaining streets of the city can be counted on the finger tips without killing any brain cells. I really loved the book bank at F-7’s Jinnah Super - the bookstore as I was reported by UAK, was originally based in Peshawar and expanded to ISB.

UAK and I went over to Gelatto’s cafe after an hour or so at The Nation. Discussed the various political configuration coming on and how the honeymoon period of the current government alliance as well as the feel-good aura the people had with expectations of positive change are soon to be over. The new dispensation will muscle out those we had struggled for the past year so that the limitations to power do not weigh down on the rulers.

Islamabad is the center of political intrigue and I suppose for the residents, the daily zooming entourage of the politicians from and to the enclosed sections of Constitutional Avenue - covering an area of the Presidency, Senate, Parliament, Supreme Court and the PM Secretariat - piques little interest. It’s a pretty town but one from where we often get to hear disappointments.

This was an item that disappeared from the face of the planet long ago.

However, due to the past government’s sheer incompetence in forming an energy policy, the power cuts wrecking havoc today have brought the kerosene lamp back to the life. They are available in all sorts of sizes and street vendors - particularly those at traffic stops - happily sell them without having to beg people to purchase.

Pakistan has gone back nearly a generation.

My local MPA’s college degree was challenged by his opponent only a few days before the initially scheduled elections of January 8th.  Fearing Musharaf-backed judges could potentially find a reason to dismiss the validity of the degree and thereby knock Rana Mubashir out of the PP-161 race, some of the backers, lead by Godfather, met the AG Qayyum.  Qayyum wanted 30 Lacs for subversion of justice - the AG would ‘delay’ proceedings so that the decision could be made after the elections.  However after some bargaining, Qayyum sold himself for 15 Lacs.

The elections were delayed by over a month after Benazir’s shahadat.  However, the degree was found to be legitimate.  But Qayyum isn’t expected to return the 15 Lacs.

There are two of them.  One from the Afridi tribe and another from the ‘Hasanzai’ tribe.  Latter I am told is a sub-tribe of the Yusufzais.

Have been reading alot about the Pathan tribes and their history is fascinating.  Just as it is with other books, while I was reading “The Pathans”, I came across a number of books that need to be read in addition to this to understand the topic/people.  The book that stands out - and it’s not only related to the topic of the pukhtuns - is ‘Baburnama’. The character of Emperor Babur is one of those rare figures who excel in everything and live life to the fullest - as the expression goes.  While Babur achieved much fame and success (despite his earlier failures), it contrasted with another Emperor of his dynasty who carried many of his forefather’s traits but would eventually lose in the batter for the throne, Dara Shikoh.

Anyhow, the Hasanzai guard had lost his parents and family in the 2005 earthquake.  He used to drive a taxi around in Karachi.  After the loss of family members - mostly due to the cold weather since they had to live in tents - he sold his cab, enrolled his kids in Binori madrassa and moved to Lahore to work as a guard for a security agency.  One day he hopes to start driving a cab again.  Right now, he is still in mourning.

It’s hard to pinpoint the general characteristics of the Pathan people.  For example, a former guard/house-worker we had and trusted was a Pathan.  He ran off with a hefty cash amount, and a few other household items in an openly devious manner.  It was an entirely childish thing to run off secretly whereas we’d have let him keep the cash if he’d asked.  He was from Bannu.  According to the book, “The Pathans”, the tribes of the Bannuuchis and Marwats (unlike the other tribes) are likely to be devious in nature.  So I figure perhaps that is why he couldn’t resist being childishly devious.

The Hasanzai guard is fiercely determined despite his losses.  It is this determination that I see in most all Pathans irrespective of what their ulterior motives are.

Today seeing the chief justice wave to the crowds after being released from house-arrest was a heart warming site.  PTI workers were the most numerous with their flags to welcome the release of their chief justice.  The struggle isn’t over yet - there is still some ways before the judges are restored and the mechanism to guarantee the independence of the judiciary implemented.  The new PM Gilani has done the right thing by ordering the arrested judges to be released.  This is a small first step.

But it’s a beautiful day nonetheless.  A day to be proud of Pakistan and those who struggled to bring down the old order.

Got up early, didn’t take a shower, wrote down a list of tasks for the day.  Completed them one by one beginning with the car’s oil change, tune-up, ignition check-up, followed by getting documents photocopied for the 2 week break, collecting bank statements from LSE (during which I also filled up another cc app), ordered 2 sets of passport sized photographs from Zaidi’s, getting the land paper-work requests filed at kutchehry and finally submitted the account migration docs to the local  bank (though they won’t be able to do it for sometime). In the meanwhile, also managed to request an updated car insurance copy (only to find out on getting home that I already have it). Was back home for lunch at 1. 1pm. One should be free by noon. This is really what an ideal work schedule would look like. Free at 1.
Last night, watched Aitezaz Ahsan’s interviews on Live with Talat and Javed Chaudhary’s show. Aitezaz is a living legend. A personality that has captured the imagination of a nation as well its history.

On July 14, 2007, when I joined the caravan of PTI Lahore to receive the ‘non-functional’ Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhary from Lahore Airport, the immense crowds from across the political spectrum that was awaiting him, I must admit, made me a little nervous. Usually I’ve got my video camera and am busy taking clips of pics for the website(s). I wanted to catch the CJ on tape so pressed deep into the claustrophobic crowd just outside the arrival lounge. But briefly, very briefly I did consider the possibility that someone could use the charged gathering and manage to kill dozens of people. It was a brief thought, but valid as suicide bombings had been increasing, though none had occurred in Lahore as yet.  Three days later, there was a suicide attack on the PPP lawyers rally in Islamabad who were there to greet the CJ.
Three weeks ago, there was an attack on the police personnel outside the GPO. I was 15 minutes away from there and considering joining the lawyers peaceful rally along the Mall Road - rallies I usually attend. Today, I had decided to drive to work via the motorway as I needed to make a stop at the revenue office.  While I probably would have missed the attack inside the Navy College by a good 30 minutes had I gone my normal route, the proximity of these attacks in the center of Lahore is a little unnerving.
I think more and more Pakistanis are unable to make anything of these attacks.  The sheer senselessness of them being carried out by teenage boys is incomprehensible.  Granted some may make excuses about government excesses in the tribal areas and so the targeted attacks on the state security services in the main urban centers could be a ‘justification’, but this perverted logic has thankfully begun to disappear in people’s minds as the attacks come closer to home, closer to our loved ones and ourselves.

The worst thing is that even after the tribal areas are sorted out - and there is good reason to hope they will be after the people elected a new set of representatives there (rejecting the Taliban), those who have seen the ‘value’ of these attacks will continue to use these vile methods to demand additional concessions.  This menace may take a very long time to root out.

http://www.zeitgeistmovie.com/

An effort to tackle the myths of ages and how a few hold the world hostage.  The message is prevalent with conspiracy theories.  It’s worth a look.  I particularly found the first part cool - reminded me of Prof. Weiss’ takes on Christianity.  The rest is composed of the strategies of the financial institutions to take over the world, the 9/11 inside job theory and a few more…

While the movie goes after a lot of holy cows, it’s not surprising Muslims haven’t taken this movie up and advertised it around like they did ‘Loose Change’.  Nor is GEO TV likely to dub Zeitgeist into Urdu.  Although Islam is never mentioned, and only the foundations of Christianity and Judaism come under the gun, Muslims are not getting excited because the movie is secure in its insistence that religions are myths propounded to brainwash.  Thus, despite all the good things the movie offers to Muslim conspiracy theorists to drool over, the fact is, the movie is not trying to curry any favors.  The religion angle implicitly provokes too many questions from the Islamic holy texts - ie those relating to Jesus etc. -  for comfort.