Thursday, October 18, 2007

Meanwhile, in Pakistan ...

WHY is a woman who has been charged with numerous cases of corruption suddenly the best hope for democracy in Pakistan?

WHAT does anyone achieve by killing innocent men, women and children?

WHEN will this madness desist from Muslim countries?

HOW does a bunch of terrorists get the label of an "Islamist" party?

WHO will the fundamentalists blame here? The Jews? The US? The ...

WHERE can I find some solace to numb the anger that I now feel ... the anger that comes from watching the scenes of dead and dying and hurt people, knowing the people who did this, did this without remorse and if, given the chance, will do it again? Can people be truly so monstrous?
Verily, We created man of the best stature (mould),
Then We reduced him to the lowest of the low.
- Surah Tin, 4-5.

9 comments:

Jibonjatri said...

It never crossed my mind that it was going to be such a risky game for Bhutto to be coming back.
I was literally speechless at the news. And then I felt nauseous when I saw pictures of human bodies... dead bodies, in simple white "panjabi/kameez" (whatever they call it in Pakistan), old men, helpless HUMAN beings, still... lifeless.. dead.. with blood all over the place. I had to close the window. I couldn't look at it anymore.
SubhanAllah and I still don't know, neither do I understand... no reason, no rhyme!
May Allah guide us all.

rashed said...

Mezba I pondered through the same questions today. I can't understand why Benazir was allowed to go back - a good gesture from the more able Parvez Musharref? About people carrying out these attacks on their own contrymen, that is totally senseless and ridiculous. I also wonder what sort of people would actually sit and wait the entire night to see Benazir Bhutto. I wouldn't even do that if it was Andelina Jolie to be honest. Seriously, I wonder how many of us know of acquaintances who take part in political rallies/protests/etc. In Bangladesh, I once had a good look at a procession to see what type of people screamed their lungs out - other than the very front row the rest were all people who had been driven into dhaka from their villages in buses. So, countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh should pay a lot of emphasis on education especially in the rural areas - so that people can think clearly and take wise decisions. If people had day jobs they wouldn't bother joining such crowds.

rashed said...

So adding to my previous post, I feel really sorry for the people who died yesterday. A majority of them must have been poor and needy people who were probably paid by musharref's opposition parties to attend (u never know - thts what happens in Bangladesh) and had the most horrible death. May Allah bless them.

mezba said...

Furfura: I think Bhutto herself was dazed; don't think she calculated how the rules of the game has been changed. Her brother, father, uncle had all died horrible deaths; I wonder if she is re-evaluating her moves now. Those who do this sort of barbaric acts must rot in a special type of hell.

Rashed: I can't understand this whole loyalty to the leader mentality in desiland too. People are ready to die to Hasina, Gandhi Jr, Khaleda just because they come from famous families (to be honest, similar mentalities exist here for Trudae, Kennedy).

rashed said...

I dont understand what point she wants to make by going back to Pakistan. Pak's situation reminds me of ours. Tarek Zia and Khaleda Zia are synonymous to Asif Zardari and Benazir Butto except that I think the amount of money the Pak counterparts have siphoned out are at a much larger scale. Also obviously it seems Benazir has run out of money. It took her only 9 years to spend 700 million pounds.

About loyality, I am not sure about Pak., but in Bangladesh parties lure people by giving them Sarees or Tin sheets. If you notice, tonnes of sarees and tin sheets were recovered from the houses of the ministers who got caught. Elections were around the corner, and most ministers were getting ready. There is a terrible economic imbalance in our country, such that a vote can bought off for the price of a Saree (max. 200 taka). Education, I strongly believe, is partly to be blamed for. Sheikh Mujib ordered all universities to stop lecturing in English (our moms would prolly remember this) after Bangladesh became indepedent. This produced a generation of graduates who didn't have the english skills unlike their predecessors.

Speaking of loyality again, people in Bangladesh just ran out of choice. They had to choose between the corrupted party and the very corrupted party. Lastly, I saw Hasina getting interviewed on Al Jazeera recently (when she was in London). With that calibre, she shouldn't be running a country which now has a nobel prize winner.

Suroor said...

Yes humans can be that low. Real 'kameenay'!

AKA said...

I'd be kidding myself if I said I knew anything about politics in Pakistan. I remember Bhutto being exiled and when Musharref overthrew Nawaz Sharif. But nothing of what anyone knows can justify this or make us understand anything.

Just mere days after we celebrated the end of Ramadan we're having to mourn the loss of so many innocent lives lost in such a gruesome way. I don't think there's anywhere that we can find solace for our anger and frustration. Even if the people who did this were caught and put on trial, there's no way to take back what's happened.

May Allah swt guide us all down the right path.

Anonymous said...

Don't leave it on such a low note!
What about the next verse of the surah:

"Except such as believe and do righteous deeds: For they shall have a reward unfailing."
(Surah Tin 95, verse 6)

mezba said...

Rashed: I think it's just power. She now knows she can get back into power and its allure is too strong to resist.

About Hasina and Khaleda, they give all ammunition to people who claim that women should not be leaders.

Suroor: bilkul!

AKA: I know it seems tragedy is never behind joy in Pakistan.

Anon: Thank you for that! I was waiting to see if some1 would bring that up.