Hamid Mir - Embedded with the Taliban

Ok - so the fat boy Hamid Mir was caught talking with the Punjabi Taliban. The tape was put on the internet for the world to hear. The voice was clearly of Hamid Mir whose views about the glorious Jihadists were perfectly clear for everyone to hear. His hatred filled speech about Ahmaids was a signal to the Taliban and what later transpired in the form of the brutal massacre of the Ahmadi community at their two mosques in Lahore is a stark reminder of how much of this hateful ideology has penetrated the Pakistani society. The outrageous thing is that no body has come forward to link Hamid Mir's taped conversation with Taliban to the attacks on Ahmadis. The feisty media of Pakistan has been all too quiet, trying to protect one of their own. You can even find people defending the journalistic 'duty' of Hamid Mir in the cyber space but in reality what you hear on the tape is a man of profound prejudices spewing hatred and colluding with anti-state elements by giving out what can classified as "State secrets" by letting the other side know about the impending time of the Pak Army's operation in North Wazirstan.

I can only hope that this man be held responsible but clearly he has powerful forces backing him. These are the forces that need to be neutralized if Pakistan is to emerge out of this hell storm. The root of terror does not lie either in Afghanistan or FATA, but rather in the minds of the Pakistani establishment which is the God father of these Jihaidists from the Taliban to LeT. Pakistan has today become the super Market for terror groups. Until and unless this cancer is tackled and removed nothing will come of this war on Terror. Duplicity when it comes to dealing with these terrorists - picking and choosing the good and bad guys will not do.

Swat terrorists are back!

The Swat terrorists appear to be making a comeback. In the last few days. Since April 13, suspected Taliban have targeted and killed three anti-Taliban and pro-government locals. Although, the army operation was a success to the point that complete domination of the militants from Swat was eliminated, but key leaders such as Muslim Khan and Mehmood Khan arrested and wanted commanders such as Bakht Farzand, Sher Muhammad, Nisar Ahmed and Muhammad Alam killed. However, the most wanted of them all, Fazlullah, also known as ‘Mullah Radio’ is still at large. This low intensity insurgent acts of terror will continue and will spread to other parts of the country as long as the bankrupt notions of Strategic depth are pursued by the Military establishment.

PML-N playing the spoil sport

Just when things were going well in the constitutional committee, the Pakistan political scene took a twist when the leader of the Muslim league – N decided to take a U turn on the issue of the constitutional amendments. The Nawaz league’s main reservation stems from its rigid stance on changing the name of the Frontier Province from NWFP to Pukhtoonkhwa. The ANP lead government of the frontier province has made it a part of its election to manifesto to bring out about this change. For this it has the support not only of the people of the province but of other major political parties as well. But some elements from within the PML-N, belonging to the frontier province are against it. They have managed to blackmail Nawaz Sharrif, which has brought the leader from Lahore under the national spot light for all the wrong reasons. Every major media outlet has been criticizing this move by Nawaz sharrif. Although, NS himself has shown some remnants of maturity during the last two years or so, his party remains the vanguard of the Zia era. Unless and until, PML-N sheds the baggage of the right wing agenda, it will continue to be part of the problem and not the solution.

Update

I know that I have been away from the blog for a while. The chief reason was that my computer died and I am very picky about things, did not feel like using another computer live and record my secret cyber life. The update is that I did meet Mr. T and that happened as recently as last week. It was a nice date lunch at 11 am. We chose that time for obviously discretionary reasons. It was nice and polite. I am thinking about writing about that in detail. I was offered another meeting but for now I have not planned it. I need to think things through. More on that later.

His voice...

I called him up and it was such a nice conversation. His voice has this trail of huskiness to it which without sounding too dramatic about it, kind of melts my heart away. He said all the right things. Things which I have always wished my husband would say. He said how he liked the mole on my face and how radiant my face was while I talked with him. He did not ask nor did he rush into a date. We talked for a while as I sort of told him about my issues and troubles at work. We kind of stayed away from the dangerous topics like family and spouses but near the end of the conversation I did ask him about his wife. He said that she is nice but too ‘self-absorbed’. Funny, this is how I would describe husband dear as well. After I put down the phone I noticed how happy and thrilled I felt. I realized that I had not spoken like this with anyone for some time now. This is dangerous stuff that I am getting into but it is so exciting. I told him not to call me, and I would contact him. I can’t wait for it.

Risk and Pleasure

I came across him again suddenly. I remember mentioning Mr. T and my initial meeting with him. After that encounter, he sort of disappeared on me but I saw him back in my office today. He told me that he was out of the country because of business reasons and is now back. I was excited to see him and I think he could see that reaction on my face, but still I was very surprised when before leaving he dropped his business card and asked me to call him. I was taken aback by his rather bold move.

Now I am caught between pleasure and danger but don’t they complement each other in delicious ways but unfavorable consequences? Should I call him or not? Where am I going with this? What is going on here and what am I looking for exactly? All of this leaves me a bit confused….

Another Zardari About Turn

Zardari government has again buckled under the pressure to withdraw the name of the judges. This is another about turn and was brought about by the wise Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani who clearly saw no advantage in continuing down the path of confrontation with the country’s judiciary. The incompetence of the Zardari government is pretty clear so is its poor judgment. Zardari clearly needs to learn the art of picking his battles more wisely. The people running the current government are not only corrupt but foolish as well and they are being opposed politically by another buffoon in the shape of Nawaz Sharrif. The PML-N league’s record is not great when it comes to Judiciary. The last time I checked the party to physically attack the Supreme Court was none other than PML-N. I always say to those who think that PML-N’s has changed its colors – wait till they run the government. The Media and the judiciary will both be hounded. Pakistan’s political parties have matured somewhat but they still have a way to go.

I hope that given its ascent in public opinion the judiciary would stick to its job in hand and work within the framework of its jurisdiction and not encroach into executive branch’s territory. We have a system which is working. The people running it are not by any stretch of imagination the brightest of Pakistan but it is still better than any benevolent dictatorship. One can only hope for its continued success.

Newly released World Trade Center 9/11 Photos

It was a day which will live in infamy forever. A day that brought terror to the American homeland and shattered the myth of American invulnerability. The attack came not from a foreign army but a bunch of religious terrorists who at one time were America's allies in its fight against the communist Soviet Union. It was a classic case of boomerang.

September 11 changed our lives. It's impact on Pakistan was huge and the repercussions are being felt even today. History was made and I fear that historians will remember this day when the world took a turn for the worst.

These recently released classified photos show the magnitude of the attack. The pictures were taken from a police helicopter near the burning twin towers.

The French folly

The French President Mr. Sarkozi has unleashed an unnecessary debate about French identity and its relationship with the Muslim population prior to the regional elections. Muslim-bashing has been a potent vote-getter for French far-right politicians, most notably Jean-Marie Le Pen. It seems like the current government is trying to cater to the right wing members of the society by promoting hatred. The a French parliamentary panel recommends barring women who wear the burqa and the niqab from using public services, including schools, hospitals and public transportation. The Muslim head scarves have been banned from public school classrooms since 2004.

I am myself against the veil and the niqab. I don’t see it as representing the religion. It is more of a cultural off shoot in backward and closed societies such as those of Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia. But the state has no business telling its citizens what to wear. It is a matter of strict individual preference. People must be free to make these decisions for themselves, not have them imposed by governments or enforced by the police. These kind of rulings only increase Muslim phobia in Europe and serve the propaganda purposes of the extremists in the Islamic world.

For the sake of children

Parents can be such a drag especially of unhappy families. I know that i have written about this before but this is something which has impacted my life in such a massive way that i cannot help but talk about it. The after affects of my parents' marriage have reverberated all throughout my childhood into my married life. I think some people are just not meant to be together but in our society, especially of our parents generation divorce was a social taboo. So these complete opposites would stick together 'for the sake of children' and in the process play havoc with the emotional state of being of their children. I think bad marriages especially the arranged ones coupled with the social stigma of divorce create the perfect environment for emotionally damaged children. It says a lot about our society and our self-destructive social mores.

Moving off?

I have been thinking of of moving, relocating, immigrating. I know that we have a pretty comfortable and rather luxurious life here in Pakistan but the thought of restarting at a new place seems like such an exciting idea. With the way the security situation has been in Pakistan recently, even husband dear has been thinking about moving abroad. I have tried to talk to him but his arguments are the usual - "We are settled in here pretty well. What will we do if we move? And move to where... Canada? Do you know that place is a frozen depressing nightmare?" To be honest, his arguments do make some sense and i would never want to be without a sense of blogging which one gets by living in their own country. Still, I wonder and dream about how different life would be if we moved away. But for now I can think and dream about it.

Best essays of 2009

Anyone who is a news junkie like myself and especially of the opinion pieces will really like the following Best of the year essays. The post is by David Brooks the New York Times Columanist.

I really liked the piece by David Rohde where he writes about his captivity under the Taliban.

Some of the other articles are about the Health care reform, the financial crisis which brough down the entire financial sector last year and a write up about the glorious past of Central Asia.

Read and reflect!

Last night

I felt tired today. I was up last night and had to 'cater' to the desires of the husband who was in the mood for fun. It was made better by the fact that i was thinking of Mr. T while feeling the softness of the bedsheets with my feet. The guilty pleasure was great and its even fun writing about it and sharing it with you guys out in the cyber space. I don't know if there are taboos about writing in regards to martial sex but i don't see the harm in sharing about the fun. I know that i am not trying to be Nancy Friday here but i wonder why it is difficult for women to write about legitimate sex? My husband dear is a moody guy and when he is in the mood than we have quite a lot of fun even if its disproportionally biased towards his pleasure seeking. I enjoyed it and had a great night sleep, while i thought of the hairy chest of Mr. T. Oooh.

Mr. T

I have really not been feeling great. Its one of those days. Since i have started working, Monday is always the hardest. I am an extremely moody person and today typified it in the best way. I think i put some people off with my behavior today. Sometimes, I feel like i hate people or at least their presence. Maybe, i have become anti-social. I don't know.


I was in my office today and this client came in. He was in his late 30s, very good looking. He needed some assistance and we talked for a while. I could see that he was hitting on me. It was not very deliberate but the hints were there. I kept adjusting my duppatta, hopefully not too much. But he excited me. His work was done and he will need to come again. Although, he did ask for my card before leaving. Let's see if anything happens.