Afghanistan I saw in June/July 1977 (Second Part)

 

I felt great roaming the streets till late night and enjoying local delicacies. There were many Indian Tata busses plying on the local city routes, an unusual site for me. Many Russians were also using strange looking cars that I wasn’t familiar with. I noticed 2 peculiarities among most Russian men the first being that they were shabbily dressed and then wore a pot belly that now I know can be called Beer Belly. Most westerners were backpackers or probably hippies. Local women were wearing from most conservative to the most western and revealing dresses

 

Next day was a Friday (weekly holiday) and my friends had planned a trip to the lovely Paghman area where much of Kabul spends its weekends picnicking with families.

 

A minivan took us out of Kabul crossing many educational institutions in the outskirts of the city on the way. I still remember seeing a university and a medical college with many hostels. I was told that atheistic Russians who were enemies of Islam had built them and by spreading education they were taking the God fearing Afghans away from their beloved Islam. Along with my hosts I also cursed the communist Russians for their evil designs. Being anti communists was an integral part of our Islam, part of the fabulous work by the CIA.

 

Paghman was all orchards around a small stream where numerous families were enjoying their weekend in the shades of fruit trees. Kabul was hot in the sun but shades were fine with nice breeze.  People were friendly and kind. Ladies were mostly wearing modest dresses with confidence and composure freely interacting with men. Western clad ladies were also there carrying themselves equally comfortably and no one seemed to be bothered by other’s attires. Although we had packed food still were feasted by the neighboring families too. I loved the home cooked Kabuli food; once again meat.

The Lahori friends went to watch more Indian movies but I preferred to walk the streets.

 

I utilized the opportunity roaming in the chic part of Kabul enjoying the attention I was getting from the girls. It was nice to know that someone other than my mom thought I was attractive.  

 

A pretty, tall and slim girl with slight oriental features was having the bright red carrot juice from the same stall. She had straight hair dropping on her shoulders. A red shirt with a black skirt was looking nice on her. Despite her good height she was wearing high heel court shoes making her look taller. Somehow I felt that I was being noticed too closely, it wasn’t a very uncommon thing at that age and I started enjoying the experience. After finishing the glass I paid for two and she thanked me in Persian while offering to pay which I naturally refused. She tried to talk in Persian but I didn’t understand. I offered her a cup of tea which she accepted and we entered a fancy restaurant close by. After a bit of exchange of niceties mostly consisting of smiles because her English was as good as my Persian, the waiter came for the order. The lady probably familiar with the place started ordering generously. The computer in my mind was working fast and I realized I will never be able to pay this bill and go back home in one piece.

 

Ultimately I also ordered a few dishes and enjoyed the food. A bit later I excused myself and quietly went out and took a taxi to the hotel. I still feel guilty of this less than dignified act of mine. I have never been so unkind with women the way I had disappointed this lovely lady. If by chance she gets a chance to read these lines I apologize and owe her a dozen dinners. I hope she accepts it, nothing wrong in being over optimistic.

 

Nervous of running away I got my stuff from the hotel and went to the other part of city, the famous Shahr I Nau. With my western dress and carrying a rucksack salesmen or touts outside of different hotels welcomed me and I selected one. It had dormitories with 4 independent beds and I settled in one of them. Now came time for registration of passports and they were disappointed seeing the green Pakistani passport I was carrying. They told that this hotel was for Europeans and not Pakistanis but after a long discussion among themselves and my insistence they graciously allowed me to stay.   

 

The hotel was built like a typical upper middle class Pakistani bungalow with a lawn in front. Ahead of the lawn there was a temporary shade built with many chairs and tables beneath it.

 

There were quite a few rooms, or shall I say dormitories with 3-4 beds which were all occupied by different tourists. My 3 room mates here were from continental Europe in their early twenties. One of them was a German getting some technical training and had taken a year off to roam the world.

The one thing that I found strange, rather different in these roommates was that they would change their clothes openly infront of others without a hint of embarrassment. I got used to it but couldn’t do it myself.

 

In the evening nearly 20 of us sat under the lighted shade in the lawn and shared stories. Luckily most could communicate in English but other European languages were also used occasionally. Nearly half of the participants were young European girls and a few local Afghans, probably workers of the hotel. One of the girls brought an old glass bottle of wine with a hole in its bottom where a long hollow wooden piece was placed. She lighted the outer end and the transparent bottle was full of smoke and everyone celebrated it. A typical annoying smell spread around that I had smelled many times in Peshawar and I soon realized it was hashish.

 

I had forced myself by then to smoke tobacco in Hassanabdal as it was the manly thing to do and I had to prove to myself and others that I have grown up. I never liked it because it always caused cough and could never imagine that I could get hooked to it but hooked I did and it took 30 years and lots of coughing before I finally quit. A few years more of smoking and I would have been forced by a doctor to quit anyway.  Coming back to the story, the girl lighting the bottle had a few coughs but a happy satisfied look on her face and she gave it to the person sitting next.

 

This way the bottle with hash kept circulating till late night. Everyone was happy or maybe delighted but some were definitely ecstatic. There was loud singing and dancing. It was a new experience for me. Girls were as confident behaving naturally as men were. Some of us ordered food and openly ate without offering others, another anomaly for me. However I enjoyed the evening finding new things, rather a new and different world and went to sleep as early morning I had to visit a place I had dreamed of for a great hero of mine was buried there, Ghazni.

 

Since early childhood like most Pakistanis I had admired Mahmood of Ghazni who as I was told was a great Muslim and conqueror. Had heard of an Urdu verse,

Phir Somnath har soo tamer ho rahe hain

Ab muntazir hai alam Mahmood butshikan ka

 

His greatness lay in invading India 17 times and destroying temples and idols. The simple fact puzzled me that he went thousands of miles to Somnath for destroying idols but didn’t do anything about the huge Bamiyan statues in his neighborhood. The tragedy of 1947 was merely 30 years old and Hindu/Muslim competition was in the mind of the 18 years old. Interestingly it was the British who humiliated, looted and impoverished the subcontinent for 200 years but the Brits were not my enemy, the Hindus were. Being anti Hindu was part of patriotism of a Pakistani and Mahmood of Ghazni symbolized all this and then some extra macho.

 

At the bus station I saw many beautiful Mercedes Benz busses with German written on them. I figured out that Afghans import used MB busses from Germany at a big discount and enjoy the luxury cheaply. Always fascinated by automobiles I was excited to travel in them.

 

I got in a bus to Kandahar which would drop me at Ghazni 150 kms away. Pakistan was still using miles and metrics annoyed me, so it was 90 miles that would take 2-3 hours. The buss was plush but not air-conditioned and windows didn’t open either. There was a certain stink and I felt suffocated until the bus started moving and 2-3 vents on the roof brought fresh air. It was highly inadequate but made things tolerable. The bus was full of men and a few women with children. Women were all in a particular kind of veil, which we call “tent burqas” in Pakistan, and I had seen in certain remote areas of southern Punjab.

 

We reached the main highway and simultaneously all the men in bus took out small tins of naswar (chewing tobacco). My seat fellow also put some naswar between his gums and then saw himself in the mirror attached to the tin feeling gratified. He was a typical hospitable pashtun inviting me to have naswar and insisting on my refusal. There were small used cans of powdered milk below the seats and the passengers took them out and spit in them. So I found the main source of typical horrible smell in the bus.

 

There terrible stench of naswar and sweat made the bus ride a bit uncomfortable initially but luckily after some time this disgusting odor vanished, probably a bit like the horrific smell of the dissection hall which stopped bothering the students later.

 

 

I found the road strange without potholes; all Pakistani roads were full of then, but this road was made of concrete and not bitumen giving it a grey color. Then it had kind of concrete blocks attached to each other with a slight void creating a kind of a train like sound whenever the tires crossed them but without giving a jerk. I was told these were all made by the Russians and concrete roads cost a bit more but last much longer. In Pakistan I saw use of concrete in roads much later and that also only on vulnerable roads.

 

 

Luckily within a few hours we reached a kind of oasis with road having trees and then we crossed a familiar structure that I knew was the tomb of my hero Mahmood. A few kilometers further we were at the Ghazni stop and had to walk to the city.

Afghanistan I saw in 1977 (First part)

 Dr. Umar Khan

khanmomar@hotmail.com

Dr. Khan belongs to a Lahore based Think Tank.

25-9-21

 

 

Afghanistan I saw in June/July 1977

The First Prime Minister of United India, Barkatullah commented about the Imperialists in 1915.

”They (British) have been sea-wolves, living on the pillage of the world.

The difference in modern times was their refinement of hypocrisy which sharpens the edge of brutality.”

Afghanistan reporting confirms this hypocrisy has been further refined

 

 

Summer of 1977 was as scorching in Lahore as it always is but the political turmoil and social cleavage had made it worse. A year earlier, I had come from hostel life in CCH (Cadet College Hassanabdal) after appearing for FSC examinations. I got good results and was admitted in the premier medical college in Pakistan, KEMC where due to old backlogs the classes didn’t start till February.

 

I was very excited when classes started in mid February as we were meeting old friends and hoping to make new ones. Then the attraction of wearing an overall and carrying a stethoscope was too overwhelming for a would-be young medico. And then the most important new thing coming in our lives were the 30 gorgeous lady class fellows, this point can only be appreciated by those who have spent 5 growing years totally secluded from the ordinary society in a hostel without sighting a female while there is a deluge of hormones inside.

 

But this happiness didn’t last and the government closed all educational institutions for the elections after only a week, and they stayed closed for over 4 months.

 

Pakistan in those days was different as was the rest of the world. ZA Bhutto was the prime minister and a bunch of right wing religious parties had gotten together but didn’t seem to be offering any serious challenge to the popular left leaning ZAB.

 

Vietnam War had recently ended, bringing many changes in the society. Liberalism was high and materialism was looked down upon. Pakistan was an integral part of the world located on the famous hippie trail.

 

Lahore in 1977 was full of western tourists.  They consisted mostly of the budget traveler types but there were also many who appeared prosperous traveling in VW minivans and other land transports. Pakistan was an important stopover for the hippies on their way to Katmandu, their most coveted place. Many of the hippie movement visitors would stay in Pakistan seeing the easy availability of their requirements, mostly cannabis products.

 

Interestingly my medical school was located in the downtown of the city, close to the historic shopping district, Anarkali, the verandas of which were home to many Europeans youngsters for months. We became familiar with each other occasionally sharing stories.

 

Despite many extracurricular activities including swimming, squash and then volunteer blood collection for patients, closing of the schools was still too stressful for youngsters like me used to active lives with hardly anything to do now. That summer I read many books including Hoor and ZaibunNisas of a friend’s sister. I then got hold of Mustansar Tarrar’s travelogue, “Nikley teri talash mein” and that stuck.

 

Bored of a dull and uninteresting life something had to be done, and I decided to visit Afghanistan. The word Afghanistan holds a special meaning for all living in the Indian subcontinent and particularly to those who call themselves Pathans and I was no exception.

 

 

I was 18, recently stretched to over 6’ in height, all skin and bones but convinced of my exceptional confidence and abilities to handle any kind of situation. Friends who wanted to join me in the trip all backed out and I decided to go alone, come what may.

 

After good intermediate results I was lavishly rewarded by relatives and I amassed Rs.700, which at that time amounted to $70. (It was Rs.10 for 1 $ then). That was lot of money and expenses of the trip were already arranged.

 

I got the passport/visa arranged and took a train to Peshawar. Settled in a hotel on the GT Road just across the bus station called GTS (Government Transport Service) and got a ticket for Kabul for the next day. I could hardly sleep all night dreaming of going back through centuries of history. That night I dreamt of Babur, Ghauri, Ghaznavi and other greats whose land I was to visit.

 

Early morning I reached the bus station. It was a silver colored FIAT bus which was labeled Deluxe because it had some kind of head rests attached. Unfortunately due to the rough roads with potholes these headrests made it even more uncomfortable, so they were useless. Interestingly in those days air-conditioning was unheard of in busses or even cars and this Fiat didn’t have it either.

 

The bus was fully booked and left in time. I got a seat among the latter half, but it wasn’t bad. At that age nothing feels bad or uncomfortable.

 

The first stop was Torkham which was at a distance of hardly 55 kms and the bus had taken more than an hour.

 

We went through all the procedures of customs/immigration in Pakistan and then in the Afghan part of the border too. Language changed, traffic changed the track and even the faces changed getting a tinge of oriental features. Later I was informed about Uzbeks and Turkmans.

 

During these bureaucratic procedures I got time to observe the 50 or so passengers with me. There were around 2/3^rd girls traveling in the bus. There were many Afghan students going back for summer vacations from Pakistan and many from India.

Some were working in India and returning home.

 

The second largest group in the bus was of Lahoris visiting Kabul to watch Indian movies on large screen. Indian TV had started showing movies by then and VCRs had also arrived but most people couldn’t afford them. Bollywood was popular and people were willing to cross frontiers to watch them.

 

And then there were many European male and female back packers voraciously reading paperbacks.

 

Finally the bus left, driving on the other side of the road.

 

The road conditions were the same but the terrain had changed. It seemed like a barren plateau with little vegetation. There was hardly any traffic with only an occasional strange looking Russian car crossing.

 

After over an hour’s drive of 80kms we reached Jalalabad and stopped for lunch. I found Jalalabad like some rural town of Pakistani then-NWFP province. There were 2 stroke rickshaws emitting terrible smoke, tongas and the ubiquitous aroma of barbequed beef. People were wearing the same attire that people in then-NWFP wore. They were speaking Pashto and using Pak rupees. I saw women shopping in the bazaar fully confident, wearing the same burqa or chaddar as I had seen in rural NWFP.

 

I felt at home although the familiarity was a bit disappointing. I had Tikka lunch and loved it.

After lunch the bus was ready to go with passengers freshened after lunch and socializing started.

Most of the Europeans were young although a bit older than me and were planning an extended stay in the Shahr I Nau part of Kabul before returning home.

 

I met two Pakistani businessmen from the famous Branderath road of Lahore. They weren’t highly educated but were well informed, aware and interesting. They would visit Afghanistan every summer because it was more interesting and cheaper than visiting Murree. Additional advantages for them were the opportunity to watch Indian films on the big screen and buying imported cloth and other stuff which was sold much cheaper than in Pakistan. They were friendly and welcoming and I decided to stay with them initially. During my stay in medical school we stayed in touch and would meet occasionally. I wonder how and where they might be although I don’t remember their names.

 

After traveling half way the road entered a gorge with hairpin turns and climb. The bus stopped at a small stall among fruit trees selling fresh fruit. Plums and apricots were delicious as was the cool fresh water and breeze.

During this small stay I saw 2 Afghans riding a Honda 175 twin with typical leaking rusted exhausts stop for drinks and then left. Then there was a Sikh family in a beautiful yellowish brand new Mercedes Benz, the kind I had never seen. It was a trendsetting legendary MB 123 that changed the auto industry for ever and is still considered an icon. I felt jealous of both of them and these stuck in the mind of the impressionable 18 years old and I later bought both of them. It is interesting to note how nature and experiences make us and how we overrate ourselves as deciding for ourselves.

 

 

We reached Kabul in late afternoon. It was my first time crossing the border and that also alone and all of a sudden had a bout of nervousness and black out. I felt like rushing back home but fortunately this phase just lasted a few seconds and I was fine. I still get this feeling occasionally when I even forget my name.

 

My Lahori friends knew the city well and we settled in a cheap hotel. The room was modern with amenities and we got it at reasonable price. We settled down and decided to explore the city.

 

We left the hotel and started walking around Kabul. It was nice and clean and the weather made it even better. There was a cosmopolitan touch with people of different nationalities and features freely moving around. Women were wearing all types of dresses and speaking different languages. There were girls wearing skirts and burqas walking on the same streets. I saw a lot of oriental features and many Russians were also common as were the Russian cars. Then I saw strange noisy machines extracting lovely red carrot juice everywhere, a novelty for me.

 

I liked the weather of Kabul and the optimistic feel that I was being noticed by the girls.

In Pakistan jeans were rare then and only expensive imported ones were available in the top outlets. I was wearing a cotton trousers that I had got stitched from my favorite tailor at Raja Sahib on the Mall Road after buying cloth from Neela Gumbat.

 

After a long stroll and much of street food we came back and slept.

 

Next morning my partners took me to a market where jeans, which were still a novelty in Pakistan, were being sold but I couldn’t buy them due to my limited budget.

 

On the way we crossed a bridge over a small stream looking like a sewer and was told it was river Kabul. After watching tourist posters with a full blue river it was more than disappointing. 

 

Around afternoon the friends took us to a shopping mall, probably the first I had ever seen. It was owned by Sikhs they knew and they bought unstitched cloth for their families. There were cinemas in the mall and one of them was showing a famous movie Hawas with a lovely song, “Teri galyon mein na rakhen ge kadam aaj ke baad”. I liked the song and specially, Usha Khanna the composer, but always found watching Bollywood challenging. The Lahori friends wanted to watch the movie but I decided to keep on exploring streets of Kabul.

 

FM Manekshaw and Gen AAK Niazi

 

Important characters of 16^th December 1971, FM Manekshaw and Gen AAK Niazi

 

 

“It is important to honor the patriotic heroes but equally important to censure the traitors in whatever form and shape they come.”

 

Manekshaw and Niazi fighting in the north eastern part of Indian subcontinent weren’t new to the area or combat there. On 15 December 1944, 27 years and a day earlier Lord Wavell, Viceroy of India, flew to Imphal and after honoring British soldiers chose to decorate only two British India Army officers at that ceremony— one was Lt. Niazi and the other was Major Sam Manekshaw. Both of them had fought valiantly for the British who were occupying their country brutally against the Japanese and Indian National Army of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose fighting for freedom and deliverance of India.

 

Indian subcontinent went through a great trauma during 1757-1947 and the following picture explains its suffering and routine humiliations thoroughly.

 

Detailed history of India in one picture 1757-1947

 

During this period India that was the world’s richest country became one of the poorest, most backward and wretched. Racism was institutionalized against the populace who were routinely disgraced and abused in their own land with the help of its own people serving the subjugating occupiers. Tens of millions perished in routine famines and the rest barely clinged to life. Locals were called “Niggers” and “Natives” very derogatively and probably considered subhumans or something between an evolved white man and a beast of burden. It was so bad that some historians call it the Indian holocaust.

 

In addition to all these sufferings probably the worst with most detrimental effects was the absolute butchering of the national self esteem and planting of self hate. Ultimately after going through centuries of abuse and humiliations the locals were convinced of their inferiority more than the Gora sahibs certain of their superiority. They started hating their skin color, language and nearly everything. Acting like the foreign rulers became a status symbol and its remnants are still visible although lessened.

 

But how could a small and poor nation like Britain could overwhelm, subjugate and abuse a rich, developed and massive nation like India makes and interesting study. The reasons can be multiple, but two main reasons were their effective use of divide and rule policy by creating and encouraging cleavages in the society (a reminder, there were massive divisions in Britain too and Scotland had just been included) and then availability of men willing to fight for anyone as long as they were paid. It is the second group these two stars of 16^th December belong to.

 

Fighting for the enemy against one’s own people in humiliating conditions for money is called traitorous collaboration; one of the most disgraceful things one could do. Doing it with valor would be even worse, something both of these men did.

 

But why were they doing it? Following picture might explain,

 

Posture enticing Indians to join the British Indian Army asking “Who will get this money, gun and uniform? Then it answers itself, “Whoever will join the army.”

 

Niazi and Manekshaw wanted money and authority over locals and they got it at a great expense to their nation. Their shortsightedness and blatant selfishness brought great pains and humiliation to their South Asian brethren for centuries. These ill effects weren’t restricted to India but the Empire subjugated many self respecting foreign nations with the help of their power. British also sold drugs with the force of their gun earning the dubious distinction of being the only country in the history of manking officially and institutionally involved in dope pushing. These collaborators also share the burden and guilt of suffering this drug trade must have caused, probably the single biggest crime ever made. All this was done for small personal gains as they were still treated as niggers and “natives”.

 

Understandably both of them developed contempt for the “natives” and considered themselves some superior beings, kind of British ruling the Indians. That can be the only reason for Manekshaw routinely made derogatory comments about the political leadership which allowed his opponents to label him as unpatriotic, and he was charged with sedition. Niazi was worse encouraging rape of E Pakistani women, their own. Sounds like the occupational army he was commissioned in.

 

They were fighting Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and the Indian National Army composed of all segments and religious groups of the subcontinent.

 

Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose with the Indian National Army

 

These were the dignified men who joined the imperial army who had learnt the fighting techniques but jumped ships at the first opportunity to fight against their tormentors. Netaji, a man of exceptional abilities, could have taken any of the lucrative posts available to the “natives” but he realized the indignity associated with it and chose the tough path instead.

 

He fought his nation’s subjugators as long as he could, leading a tough life and left this world as a dignified human and Indian. He suffered personally along with his family while the collaborators were enjoying the fruits of their delinquency. Unfortunately he lost militarily after the British were again able to summon their big brother, the USA otherwise the horrors of the Empire might have been properly found out and disclosed.

 

After the defeat of Indian National Army due to the valor and efforts of Manekshaw and Niazi the Indian freedom fighters were arrested and brought back. They were tried openly in the Red Fort as British wanted to make an example out of them as they didn’t appear to be in a mood to let their most prized possession go. Probably British were planning to blast them tied to the mouth of canons as they had done earlier.

 

In the first phase three officers were tried for treason (how about that?). Gen Shah Nawaz, Col Prem Kumar Sahgal and Col Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon were selected to be made an example and open court martial was held in the Red Fort. British did succeed in making a spectacle out of it but it became of the other type.

 

Now that Netaji had sown the seeds of independence revolts broke out in the navy in Bombay and army in Jabbalpore along with visible lack of subservience of the local soldiers. Indian subjugation and pathetic condition was dependant on these people willing to fight their own for a paltry sum of money and finally the viceroy Wavell who had enjoyed tremendous aura had to acknowledge that he was losing control fast. Without support of the local collaborators the aura and power of the subjugators was finished and they left. Ultimately India was free but massive damages had been caused.

 

British while leaving created many long lasting divisions but the natives who swore to be loyal to them stayed back and retained sufficient power.

 

History can be read but not altered. Still we must be honest about ourselves and our history correctly identifying our heroes and villains. We must categorize who fought for the foreigners against their own people. Those who fired in Jalianwala cant be heroes like the soldiers firing in Qissa khwanni bazaar killing hundreds. Unfortunately no one in Peshwar knows about Hawaldar Major Chander Singh Garhwal, a poor man who sacrificed his career and material benefits for not firing at the protestors. He deserves to rated a hero and not the decorated collaborators.

Veer Chandra Singh, a Garhwali Hindu who refused to fire at unarmed Muslim Pathans and went to jail.

 

Its 73 years since independence and time to get out of the subjugate mindset and call spade a spade. We should reassess our history and stop glamorizing the collaborators whether its Ayub Khan or Yahya Khan or anyone else. The kindest we can be to them would be to rate them as mercenaries, someone who fights for money and not political or other concerns. As mercenaries are not considered respectable anywhere in the world let’s call them what they are and give them what they deserve. In addition let’s stop our military regiments and civil institutions taking pride in committing horrible crimes like fighting Tipu Sultan or aiding British selling drugs across the world.

 

           

           

General Shahnawaz Janjua    Col. Gurbaksh Singh Dillon     Col. Prem Kumar Sahgal

 

We must also honor and glamorize the forgotten undisputed heroes like Netaji, Hawaldar Chander Singh Garhwal, Shah Nawaz, Prem Kumar, Dhillon and many others. Or lets start with Provisional government of free India of 1915 formed by President Mahindra Pratab Singh and PM Maulana Barkatullah in Kabul. Knowing the imperial racist mind I am much in agreement with Dr. Ambedkar where he writes that Indian independence from the British is more due to them rather than non violence of Gandhi/Nehru. This will address and correct many of the apprehensions and misconceptions so carefully planted by the subjugators among the South Asians.

 

We and our generations owe it to them and to ourselves.

Dr. Umar Khan

khanmomar@hotmail.com

Dr. Khan belongs to a Lahore based Think Tank.

1-6-18

 

Military, binding force of a nation?

“The summary of the advice of all prophets is this; Find yourself a mirror”. Shams Tabraizi

It has become a routine among Pakistani writers and opinion makers to call the army as the greatest binding force of the nation. In his recent controversial book Gen Durrani also thought that it’s the military holding Pakistan together. This way of thinking has reached abroad and we see senior American diplomats including John Kerry while admiring Pakistan army calling it a major binding force of the nation. It has nearly become an established fact which no one challenges but what does it construe? Unfortunately it means that Pakistan is not a nation but a group of people put together with the force of a gun; a very wrong and extremely insulting thought. With a slight twist of tongue a loved national army is made into an occupational force. As a nation we should reject this narration, it is humiliating.

We the 210 million Pakistanis live together because we want to. We are multicultural and multilingual but have more in common than different, as compared to many other nations. Important factors that create national cohesion are favorable like we have a common language, culture, dress, religion and continuity of land.

Travelling across the country I experienced only love and warmth whether I was in Punjab, KPK, Sind or Balochistan, which was probably the most welcoming. Siting with Baloch and Sindhi friends just could not imagine that these wonderful Pakistanis can even think of working against Pakistan or even a Punjabi like me. On my last trip to Balochistan I found young Khuzdari gentlemen more caring for the old Punjabi than even my real family. Then why this narrative?

There is no denying that we do have problems and foreign powers are exploiting them. It is our weaknesses that allow others to take advantage of.

We created Pakistan for the people but somehow that state couldn’t deliver. State functionaries took the positions of the colonial masters and behaved like them, and we got snobbery without their dignity. Herman Hesse says, "We kill at every step, not only in wars, riots, and executions. We kill when we close our eyes to poverty, suffering, and shame. In the same way all disrespect for life, all hard-heartedness, all indifference, all contempt is nothing else than killing. With just a little witty skepticism we can kill a good deal of the future in a young person."

And the state machinery we inherited from the colonial rulers did a lot of that, more so in the poorer and more vulnerable places like Balochistan and Sindh..

Ever since the creation of Pakistan we showed special interest in getting involved in others wars usually for some petty benefits of our rulers. We got involved in the cold war, Afghan wars and even wars in Central Asia and Bosnia. Naturally a nation fighting wars abroad expects others to respond too and we became the battle ground of different far off wars. Now starting from India, Afghanistan, US, Iran and many other countries are directly involved in our matters and many of them planting, encouraging and funding our local separatists. Had our national cohesion not been that strong the mess we created could have been worse.

In our checkered political history constitution wasn’t always respected and we had many illegitimate rulers who used, bred and nurtured separatists for their political benefits damaging the cohesion of the state with the help and resources of the state. Wali Khan and his party was convicted of sedition and antistate activities by the court of law but rehabilitated by Gen Zia and used for its anti PPP fervor. He also fully supported the Sindhi separatist GM Syed and planted Altaf Hussain with all his violence to counter the political power of the party he had ousted illegally. These few examples should make the case sufficiently although books can be written about how this separatism was planted by the state functionaries. Later during Musharraf’s time again the weak MQM was revived and allowed to run havoc with the province and its people.

When systems break mafias and corruption rules, and that is something we did. Corruption crept in all corners of society and the common man suffered, those living farther away suffered more becoming easy targets for many foreign powers who recruited them for their motives. It is known in our bureaucracy that postings in Balochistan particularly are lucrative because it is the most corrupt, at the expense of a common man naturally.

What we have done to many parts of our country that even a person like me is forced to think why aren’t these people demanding separation. The only answer is that it is the love for Pakistan that these people still endure hoping to improve things in future.

Pakistani army like any other army of the world is a product of the society and its values. Nation provides it manpower by giving its children and nurtures it with its resources. Its like a son, loved and cared with  high expectations. Its successes are successes of the nation and so are its failures. It isn’t correct or desirable to portray the military as something different from the nation whether in a positive sense or otherwise.

It is true that military plays a role in keeping Pakistan together but that role is marginal. We live and stay together because we want to. Staying together in our interest and the interest of our future generations. I haven’t met many Pathans who want to be part of Afghanistan or Punjabis who want to join Khalistan or Baloch or Sindhis having such ideas although a small number might have been recruited by some foreign elements. Such exceptions are found everywhere in the world.

Having said that there are things we should do to counter this negative impression. After addressing the genuine grievances of our people it might be useful for our national army to drop its connections with the colonial past like priding in killing Tipu for East India Company. It might be a part of history but certainly not the part worth remembering or bragging. It was a dark chapter as mercenaries are not respected anywhere. In addition while celebrating our military heroes like Maj Aziz Bhatti and Col Sher Khan lets vilify the villains like Zia and Yahya.

Then we must build and strengthen its institutions and make state machinery subservient to the people working for their welfare. Quoting Mark Twain, "The Government is merely a servant - merely a temporary servant; it cannot be its prerogative to determine what is right and what is wrong, and decide who is a patriot and who isn't. Its function is to obey orders, not originate them."

We are Pakistanis and proud of it. We are not put together by force like a herd of animals. We know we have problems but we are determined to solve them. Among the poor third world Pakistanis are the only immigrants who voluntarily return home from the west just for the sake of love of their country. The only place where force is used to keep people together is called a jail and Pakistan is certainly not that.

khanmomar@hotmail.com

One man demolition squad.

Dr. Umar Khan

khanmomar@hotmail.com

Dr. Khan belongs to a Lahore based Think Tank.

15-5-18

 

Nawaz Sharif; One man demolition squad

Elevation of one wrong man to the position of authority can cause more harm than loss of a hundred wise men. (Persian proverb)

A shy young Nawaz Sharif entered the political scene of Pakistan in 1981, as is the routine with the help of soldiers in power. He lacked charisma, public speaking ability and other social graces considered important for political scene so lacked confidence which was too obvious. No one could have predicted that this man will become the most successful and effective politician in the history of Pakistan, more than Bhutto or even Quaid i Azam. His phenomenal rise has practically changed the fabric of our society and nearly created a new society with his mark on most aspects, but unfortunately most of these changes have been harmful rather detrimental to the nation and society. Counting MNSs negative influence on Pakistani society needs a complete book and can hardly be summed up in a small article, however we proceed.

MNS started as a member of Gen Zia’s handpicked majlis i shura and then became a provincial minister able to solve his own and family’s financial problems. His first move was giving generous gifts and grafts to journalists and opinion makers ensuring regular exposure and favorable news. Then he became the CM of the biggest province a few years before becoming the PM. After some hiccups he got elected as the 2/3^rd majority PM before being dislodged and exiled. Still he came back to power for the third time with a thumping majority. He has been frequently in power for the last 37years which is much more than ZA Bhutto or the 1.1 years of the poor Quaid I Azam.

After becoming the CM of Punjab by bribing generals he changed his style of politics. Well aware of his limited abilities he snatched rights of people and made them privileges only he could oblige with. Government services, postings and even residential plots became the most sought after privileges. He obliged nearly everyone who approached him and promised personal loyalty and this way most of the police, bureaucracy and government servants became his beneficiaries and loyalists. CMs discretionary quotas were made limitless and even philanthropists like Imran Khan had to be obliged by him personally. Over time he gained control of the state machinery and most senior government servants were indebted to him.

After controlling the bureaucracy it was time for the politicians. Apart from jobs and postings he devised a strategy to bribe them and actually kept then under check by directly making payments in cash or plots. This gave us the shameful operation Changa Manga and Murree changing the political scene forever. Huntington says money becomes evil not when it is used to buy goods but when it is used to buy power...and Nawaz bought lots of power.

Now it was time for the general population which wasn’t easy to influence by personal bribery. Here MNS really showed some genius and announced a strange yellow cab scheme where he encouraged people to get imported new cars tax free financed by nationalized banks without sufficient guarantees. This created havoc with the economy and banks but imparted the impression he used in his favor that ”Nawaz khata hai par khilata bhi hai” a very strange argument that though he is corrupt he shares the spoils.

This generosity at the expense of national coffers was abetted with a large stick he carried for the incompliant. State machinery was frequently unleashed against those who resisted until they subdued and joined him. Rana Sana, Parvez Rasheed and many other examples can be seen. He was generous with new comers, with national coffers off course.

“Jo panah maang le us ki baksh de khata” Jaalib.

After winning a few rigged elections he maneuvered enough to become a popular political leader who knew the tricks to attain power and in 1997 he won fair and square. In 2008/2013 elections despite some unnecessary over doings he would have won anyway.

During this astonishing rise the following happened,

His unscrupulous tactics made politics an indecent dirty game. He started with absolutely indecent attacks on BB where he ridiculed her anatomy and indulged in photoshopping to malign her mother too. Religion was also used with fatwas against women’s rule. He even resuscitated the weak violent MQM of Altaf Hussain in 1997 to curtail the influence of PPP in Sind like his mentor Zia did earlier. As CM of Punjab he preached provincialism and confronted the federal government. He is the only politician who arrested the federal government employees and blatantly destroyed their development schemes. Politics became way too expensive for anyone with modest means to contemplate joining it. Ultimately politics became a way of making money for the mafia and the unscrupulous.

Violence in politics was taken to an extreme. Shooting 100 opponents in Model town at close range and getting away with it speaks volumes about his brutality and stranglehold on the system.

Our society became transactional. Whether anyone wanted a transfer, job, votes or whatever it had to be paid for.

Society got corrupted to the extent that the term corruption lost the menace and guilt associated with it. It became a fully acceptable, rather desirable to be corrupt. Our society where earlier the corrupt used to feel embarrassed hiding their ill-gotten wealth became thing of the past and vulgar display became the norm.

Waye Nakami! Mataa-e-Karwan Jata Raha
Karwan Ke Dil Se Ehsas-e-Ziyan Jata Raha

How disappointing! The caravan’s wealth is gone
The feeling of loss from caravan’s heart is gone

“When plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men in a society, over the course of time they create for themselves a legal system that authorizes it and a moral code that glorifies it.”  Frederic Bastiat

MNS controlling the resources for so long made sure that others get corrupted and hence pliable. That was why he never trusted or supported a non-corrupt individual and we see many decent people getting in this trap. Corruption and nepotism is the hall mark of his politics and way of planting loyalty. Pakistan’s who is who went along; it is still supporting him for its own sake.

It got so bad that now even the PPP elected members of the ZAB times started appearing as dervishes.

Squandering of national resources and uncouth lavish consumption of state coffers became a status symbol. Mughal style Punjab houses, private jets and other wasteful expenditures for him became a norm. We still see MNS and his ilk travelling in motorcades of expensive cars bought from the taxes of the poor and no one questions.

Many state institutions and its functionaries became loyal to him instead of the state because loyalty to his person was a prerequisite for success in his tenure. He would humiliate bureaucrats and after their absolute submission to his person he would load them with favors. There are many examples that I won’t quote because he crushed many self-respecting people into his toadies begging for his favors. Spread over decades he overcame most resistance with his peculiar strategy.

Media went into his pocket through opinion makers and particular newspaper/TV owners although a few resisted initially. Ultimately prominent journalists shared the spoils of power and wealth while the ordinary fared even worse than before.

Courts and judiciary were his special targets and he enjoyed strange unheard of judgments in his favor. Starting with his manipulation in Justice Fazal Kareem commission to Naseem Hassan Shah restoring his government to the Quetta bench judgment against their own Chief, MNSs maneuvering has been unbelievably successful and effective. When judicial compliance couldn’t be managed he resorted to blatant attack on the highest judiciary, a bit like the Pakistani version of Escobar. Caught red-handed bullying judges by dictating judgments in Justice Qayyum’s case he again got away for some unknown reason when a respected judge couldn’t find any evidence against him. Somehow all technicalities and strange logics always appear to be favoring him in the court of law. Quite a few fortunes were made in the process which I am sure might have been a coincidence.

After pocketing the political scene and other institutions it was military’s turn. The COAS was called and ingeniously offered a bribe by MNSs father appearing as a dignified social gesture but it didn’t work. He kept on trying to buy generals so that no one is left in Pakistan with the ability to challenge his absolute power. He came very close to overpowering the military in Jehangir Karamats time but couldn’t establish his absolute personal authority. He has still not given up and is trying all sorts of techniques including the Ahmadi labels.

Some argue that Pakistan’s main problem is not economy or roads or anything but it’s the moral collapse we are experiencing prompting foreigners to taunt us. Economy needs rule of law, trained manpower and moral/social capital; all that he studiously destroyed along with the national self-esteem.

In the last 37 years all his efforts can be summed up as increasing his personal wealth and power at the expense of Pakistan and the self-esteem of the Pakistanis. Though not completely successful, he certainly gained substantial mileage.

The most interesting but painful part of this tragic story is that he routinely got away with all this, unbelievable. He had changed the society to his advantage using his hold on media ruthlessly. He had hushed up the opinion makers and the whistle blowers by doling favors.

It shouldn’t be unexpected to see Nawaz Sharif’s ascend coincide with descend of Pakistan, kind of inversely proportional. His mantra of development after destroying the education in Pakistan is like the British government in India where after 200 years of rule lot was done but at the end of the day Britain prospered while India languished. Here, Nawaz’s and his cronies got rich while the nation became near bankrupt.

We have to accept that Nawaz Sharif is not a person but a phenomenon, he has singlehandedly changed and corrupted the society despite his very limited abilities and intellect. Societies stand on their morality and institutions and MNS destroyed all. He has totally dominated rather crafted the system for his advantage and neutralizing him won’t be easy or painless. Miraculously he has been caught red-handed and is fighting hard to survive politically and protect his stolen wealth. His history suggests that he would resist unscrupulously and shamelessly jeopardizing everything, even his country. This is nothing unexpected as pygmy megalomaniacs honestly consider themselves the center of the universe, around whom the earth rotates. However it has to be done irrespective of the pain it causes because not removing his ill effects could be disastrous. If he survived this situation where he is caught red-handed by the international institutions there would be no stopping him and we might see a Pakistani version of Saddam Hussain with the powers he tried to get in the proposed 15^th amendment, more than a monarch’s.

He is the last of the three deadly legacies of Gen Zia along with jehadis and Altaf Hussain. For the sake of our country and future generation we just can’t afford to let MNS get away with his unexplained billions as Plutarch warned us a few millennia ago, “The abuse of buying and selling votes crept in and money began to play an important part in determining elections. Later on, this process of corruption spread to the law courts. And then to the army, and finally the Republic was subjected to the rule of emperors"

Once we ensure that the law prevails and the crooks get punished we must identify and hold accountable the people who forced such a man through the throats of this nation, whether it is Gen Zia, Jillani, Beg……

khanmomar@hotmail.com

Dr. Umar Khan

khanmomar@hotmail.com

Dr. Khan belongs to a Lahore based Think Tank.

13-4-18

 

Trump’s tweet, victim of his own success

"I think the greatest single enemy is the misuse of information, the perversion of truth in the hands of terribly skillful people.”  John le Carré 

In the early hours of first January 2018 after a lavish new year party US President Donald Trump tweeted,

“The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies and deceit, thinking our leaders as fools. They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!”

He has been conducting foreign policy through Tweets for quite some time but this was unique in his peculiar ways too. Although American officials have been criticizing and blaming Pakistan for the setbacks in the Afghan war this was a very hard worded message diplomatically that also coming from the very top, from the person sitting on the most lethal arsenal world has ever known.

This Tweet naturally caused commotions in Pakistan and tumults in the US establishment too.

This message conveys three messages,

1. US has paid a lot to Pakistan.
2. Pakistan has cheated and harmed the US interests.
3. US state apparatus is simple to the extent of naiveté falling into the Pakistani trap.

This appears to be the prevalent narrative in the US carefully built up by the enormous media power it controls but it is far from truth and reality. Such propagandas are for the consumption of ordinary people while those at the helm of affairs are well aware of the reality but the nonpolitical background and superficial knowledge of Trump made him believe it and fall in the pit his men dug.

Let’s see the complete picture of Pakistan and USs transactional relations since its creation,

Immediately after independence a tirade against communists was launched and leftists like Sahir Ludhianvi were harassed to the extent that they left the country. It was done on American pressure.

In the fifties Pakistan joined SEATO and CENTO against Soviet Union on American advise.

Pakistan gave bases to US and earned the wrath of the second superpower the USSR which caused its dismemberment a decade later.

Pakistan helped build Sino US relations in early seventies, a major diplomatic victory for US that put its rival USSR under tremendous pressure.

In eighties Pakistan played a major role in the Afghan war which helped end the cold war with US becoming the sole superpower. World saw a miracle where a war between superpowers was won without a single casualty of the victor costing less than $ 6 Billion.

After 2001 Pakistan gave bases to US, allowed it to use its infra-structure and fought with people fighting the occupation.

The cost of this lackeyism shown by Pakistan has been enormous. It has affected financial, social and political fabric of the country. Let’s enumerate a few,

From the very beginning Pakistan became a target for the USSR and Premier Khrushchev categorically said that he has marked it with red.

It became center of undercover activities of different intelligence agencies.

Democracy got derailed and Pakistan suffered repeated martial laws, all supported by US.

A peaceful country became hotbed of extremism.

Arms and ammunitions reached in large numbers.

Narcotics and drugs entered the society and Pakistan had one of the highest numbers of addicts.

Tolerance in society became a casualty and violence prevailed.

More than 85000 people died in these wars.

As no economy can flourish in war and uncertainty, Pakistan suffered badly economically. While the world was focusing on economy and growth we were discussing wars.

According to most economists Pakistan’s economic loss has been of over $100 Billion for supporting the US in its latest war in Afghanistan not to mention the previous ventures.

In return what has US done for Pakistan?

According to Pres. Trump it paid 33 Billion in the last 15 years. Since creation of Pakistan it received $ 67 Billion in today’s terms which for the immense services is not only a good deal for US but a steal deal; a fabulous bargain at the expense of hapless Pakistanis. Considering that US has spent over 700 B in Afghan war and over 2 Trillion in the banking crises, that amount starts appearing as peanuts especially when you consider the cost incurred on Pakistan.

Media has attained the status in international power politics what armies had enjoyed earlier and the near monopoly of US on opinion can be a major cause of national delusions. Premier Khrushchev once told Pres. Kennedy that US has nothing to worry while it has Hollywood, referring to the power of media and American dominance. Although apparently the media is independent but actually very tightly controlled through different subtle means. False rhetoric repeated enough becomes reality. According to Gore Vidal, "The corporate grip on opinion in the United States is one of the wonders of the Western world. No First World country has ever managed to eliminate so entirely from its media all objectivity - much less dissent." Only a misguided thankless President could blame Pakistan for ingratitude.

It was this power over the narrative that created the world’s most callous storyline over nuclear bombings, “US saved lives by dropping nuclear bombs”. If dropping nuclear bombs over civilians was a crime this explanation was also one.

One side of story is always unfair and with the hold on media only American side of story is known making look Americans meek and simpletons. It is this euphemistic narrative that apart from fooling the common man has fooled even the President who gave this statement while fully using Pakistan’s meager resources viciously.

The reality is that the US has always used Pakistan ruthlessly for a pittance and later dumped it shamelessly forcing it to deal with its complications. Pakistan was expected to deal with the violent forces created by US alone after 1990, something whole world with enormous resources is finding challenging.

It’s not all America’s fault as they always get accomplices who for the privilege of getting in power can harm their own country. Despite availability of criminal collaborators US can’t shed all blame because leaving a door open might be foolish but still doesn’t justify a break-in. 

US has taken unfair and callous advantage of Pakistan for too long and it is time it accepts reality and starts correcting the problems bred by its actions. Fortunately there are decent people in US who openly acknowledge it but somehow get sidelined.

Let’s stop calling these transactions as aid and call them what they are, Pakistan’s fee for help and make them reasonable.

Finally let’s stop aids and encourage trade which creates a much healthier and productive society whereas mostly aids create cheats in third world who take the money back to donor countries.

History has shown that whenever a superpower is unable to get the desired results in a war it looks for scapegoats. Brutal bombings of Cambodia and Laos are testament to the ruthlessness world powers are capable of. Let’s hope it’s not Pakistan this time.

I would like to end it with a piece of advice by Harold Pinter in his Nobel lecture of 2005,

"The crimes of the United States have been systematic, constant, vicious, remorseless, but very few people have actually talked about them. You have to hand it to America. It has exercised a quite clinical manipulation of power worldwide while masquerading as a force for universal good. It's a brilliant, even witty, highly successful act of hypnosis." 

khanmomar@hotmail.com

Nawaz Sharif on unprecedented offensive

Dr. Umar Khan

khanmomar@hotmail.com

Dr. Khan belongs to a Lahore based Think Tank.

March 27, 2018

 

Nawaz on unprecedented offensive

“All confrontation is based on deception. Paul Watson”

After the July 28 judgment disqualifying him as Prime Minister, Mian Nawaz Sharif has been relentlessly on the offensive. He is proud of his confrontational skills and honestly believes that his incredible political rise was due to them. This time it is a bit different, he is ruthlessly and brutally charging state institutions, military and judiciary in particular, he has immensely benefitted from in the past, along with his opponents. He cannot be oblivious to the effects this apparently suicidal tirade might bring as no state in the world can afford to let the accused dictate judgments, but he goes on. There must be some method to this apparent madness and a focused look reveals a very well planned but dangerous strategy.

Case against Nawaz Sharif, 3 times PM of Pakistan is simple; he has expensive properties abroad that he can’t justify how he bought while being in power. Due to strange international happenings these got exposed, something everyone knew of but he and his family vehemently denied. At different fora he and his family tried different strategies justifying legitimacy of his sources of income but appeared childish or foolish, to put it mildly, landing him in deeper trouble specially the bungled up Calibri font and the dubious Qatari letter. A court case of having property beyond means now also has perjury and document tampering charges attached too.

In the last two years one thing has been established that Nawaz and family cannot show the sources of income to buy this expensive property clearly suggesting illegitimate means. The timing of purchase suggests commission in mega projects, probably of Pakistan’s first motorway.     

Now that an established politician in power for much of last 37 years with a following is caught red-handed and is out of excuses what can he do? Logically the only options were either to accept mistakes like the Japanese and show repentance, but this is Pakistan and Nawaz did what was expected of him and he went on the offensive against those what he perceived had the power to hold him accountable.

He started with making the judiciary controversial making unending allegations against the judiciary in general and the persona of specific judges in particular. Then as judiciary needs force to implement its judgments, he attacked the greatest force of the state, the armed forces. He effectively imparted a narrative which converted a simple case of politician caught in corruption into a democracy vs  dictatorship calling himself a rebel fighting for the common man. He portrays himself as a victim and a rebel while enjoying the complete hold on power at the provincial and federal levels.

With the help of cleverly planted opinion makers he has substantially succeeded in selling him narrative in Punjab for sure.

We the Punjabis, 60% of Pakistan are an interesting bunch. We label Pakistanis from other provinces traitors and turncoats pretty quickly but respond differently if one of ours does even worse. Somebody defying the state and its law enforcement agencies while enjoying privileges and getting away with it hold a special reverence in our culture, our movies are full of such heroes. It can make an interesting study how Punjab would have reacted had a Mohajir, Sindi or Baloch attacked the state and its institutions the way Nawaz has been doing.

Nawaz Sharif’s main attraction derives from his uncanny ability to attain power. After attaining power he has shown extreme generosity (at public expense) to those loyal to him and harshness for those showing even a trace of disobedience. With long stints in power he has certainly managed a following. So now he is acting like a rebel while audaciously displaying all the privileges of power. He rides in large convoys of expensive cars ostentatiously displaying his wealth and power. Wherever he goes he enjoys something we call in Pakistan as security or protocol but actually a brazen display of state power with many security personal at his service. Even his court attendances are most prodigal full of unnecessary pomp and show instead of expected sobriety. Setting new records of uncouth display of power and wealth he even arranged aerial dropping of flowers on his extravagant motorcades on way to address the downtrodden. Being in opposition while enjoying absolute power is one of his inventions.

By this defiance Nawaz appears to be aiming for,

• A nervous mistake by the establishment or the state apparatus mistake in the corruption case and he takes advantage of. Conviction on a lesser charge like contempt would be his success whereas reactionary military takeover an absolute bonanza.
• Workup international pressure to force establishment bow down and let him go.
• Scare the state of his street power and negotiate some sort of compromise and win an NRO.

There is nothing irrational about Nawaz hoping to get away again this time as he has done many times earlier. He has gotten away with judgments of judiciary bordering on ridiculous including some not very long ago.

Despite rationality and cleverness his luck seems to be abandoning him this time, after 37 years of exceptional support. Establishment didn’t take his bait and called his bluff. He has kept his party and support intact by going on the offensive but can’t prolong it forever. He did manage to convince many that he is still relevant and his support would bring benefits but that seems to be ending, along with his support after he finally loses his grip on power, something that seems inevitable.

Nawaz has gotten into a quagmire, going further down the much he struggles. He is fast losing the enormous influence he had carefully cultivated and accumulated in media, bureaucracy, judiciary and many other places over the decades.

The state apparatus has refused to react to his provocations and Nawaz’s future appears doomed. Criminal cases against him are proceeding and he should soon be convicted. His confrontational tone has started changing but appears too little too late. The much noise he created leaves him no options but to prevail absolutely or otherwise, as no one can steamroll the judiciary and the establishment. His old popular clichés like, I was always a front foot player, all my achievements are due to my confrontational abilities and the “either I will stay or he will” have stopped working.

The only practical option Nawaz has is to accept reality and stop manipulation attempts. It is about time he gets honest with people putting the record straight clearly stating what he has been doing for the last 37 years and how he accumulated billions while being in power. He owes it to 210M people to expose how corruption works and ways to curb it in future, who can know these dynamics better than Nawaz. Exposing the dynamics of power and the state functionaries he bribed during his rise would also be helpful.

Pakistanis are very forgiving and magnanimous people and might not only forgive him but embrace him. He is already 70 yrs old with medical conditions and his personal needs won’t be affected by his confessions.

This is the minimum he owes to the 200M who gave him so much honor and love.

However if he insists on his way hoping to get away with everything, we know where he is heading.

khanmomar@hotmail.com