Following is a letter from one of the perpetrators of the incident which recently took place in Sialkot.
——————————————————————
A lot has been said and written about the ‘Sialkot Incident’. From government officials to the municipal janitors, everyone has contributed to the debate. I am an insignificant person, but I think my voice should be heard. After all, they are talking about me. They are all looking for the perpetrators, angrily, with accusatory fingers pointed in all directions. I should come out and say it now, they are looking for me. I am responsible. I sit here, in my comfortable hideout. Afraid and guilty. I was the cause of the whole affair. What scares me more is that I haven’t repented yet. I am a dangerous person. You should all do something about me.
I was there when it all happened.
When I close my eyes I can hear the voices. Harsh, loud, cruel voices. I can remember how, amidst those, a thick stick hitting a pulp of a skull makes a terrifying noise. If you have a heart, you can even hear the blood spray. I was the one who suggested that we tie them up somewhere high, for everyone to see. Its true, I have no reason to lie.
But I would be lying if I said that it was a spontaneous crime. It was planned. I had been planning it for a long time. Preparing for it, calculating every move, measuring every step, creating stories, inventing reasons. For a long time. The exciting and colorful video that you saw was the fruit of the tree I had been carefully nurturing all my life. It was a public enactment of the climax of a story that I had willfully written. I had worked hard on it.
Every time I bribed a policeman, ignored the traffic signals, sent gifts to judges, made phone-calls to those in power to seek favors, I kept this in mind. Every time I willfully weakened the justice system for my benefit, I knew what I was doing. I knew exactly what kind of crop I was sowing. Some other people did too, but I don’t want to name any names.
Those other people are acting very surprised, but don’t be fooled by this outward display of shock and anger, they were in on it the whole time. They all knew what I was doing. That I was preparing the ground for my ultimate crime. That I was gradually turning the police into a gang of hired thugs. That I was steadily converting the courts of justice into dispensaries of ineffective laws. I was very efficient.
You must know by now how this helped me in committing the crime.
I also prepared the people for this crime, but I will not tell you how, some things must be left unsaid.
However, I should tell you about something really dark and horrible now, since I’ve decided to write to you honestly. This uncensored video that you saw isn’t my worst crime, its the only one you have seen. It wasn’t the most brutal either. But now that you have seen a glimpse of human brutality, I think you are prepared to listen to the really brutal ones.
Imagine. There are one thousand dead bodies in an empty lot. In various stages of decay. Black and gray. Smelling like that dead cat that you passed once, accidentally. Only louder, and multiplied by a million. Now imagine that smell and those rotting bodies together. Keep trying till you can picture the solidified blood on their purple lips. Till you can see the dried tear stains on their dirty dead faces and popped-out eyes. Now picture a heavy bulldozer rolling over them, construction workers crowding all around, construction material suddenly being supplied. Imagine a large house is constructed over the dead bodies right before your eyes. I’m not lying, I have seen this happen. I stood by quietly. I said nothing, I did nothing.
I stood by when a butcher unjustly marched into a mosque, I stood by when entire villages were flooded to save a few palaces, I stood by when powerful people were fighting for the right to oppress, I stood by when fanatics attacked the supreme court, I stood by when my ‘representatives’ proudly displayed their votes in my assemblies before casting them – showing how their votes were bought by the most corrupt man in my country, I stood by when my parties were inciting ethnic hatred to hold my cities hostage, I stood by when they killed innocent people on the streets, I stood by when oppressors came and went – building palaces on dead bodies, one by one.
Who were these two boys and why are they so important to all of you? Just because that video shocked your fragile sensibilities? Because they managed to break a hole in the carefully constructed wall around you? Were you not aware that these things were happening everywhere?
As you read this, an old man is dying of tuberclosis somewhere. He worked like an animal all his life. He was brutally tortured everyday. Physically and psychologically. He can’t even read what I am writing about him. What is better, a quick public death or decades of bearing torture in anonymity? He will die a most painful death soon, but I wont be able to capture his lifelong suffering on camera to shock you with. And I stand by this. I do nothing, I say nothing.
I’m planning a bigger crime.
When I close my eyes I see that ground in Sialkot again. Its much larger this time. Miles and miles of human heads in all directions – 160 million of them, and in the middle, two boys are being beaten mercilessly. The leaders of the mob are in the center, and as we move outwards, the power and influence of the individuals decrease. But all 160 million are here. Some are watching, some are cheering, some are talking in hushed tones, some are busy in irrelevant conversation. Conversation about art and shoes and the weather and new products and finding jobs and going away for vacations and how the place smells awful. Deep meaningful conversations, some of them. But we all stand by this, united. We make sure that the two children are dead. Then we hang them high, for everyone to see.
I did it in Sialkot and I will do it again. I will do it on the streets of Karachi and the flooded plains of Sindh. I will do it in whole of Baluchistan and in the destroyed houses of Nowshehra. I will do it in Waziristan and in Swat. I will do it in Islamabad when I want. Stop me if you can. I am you.
Our Victims
Update: This is especially aimed at the people who can read this. i.e. The English-speaking privileged/educated class.
I would agree to the author. I would also agree that it seems to be myself writing this work as “I stood by quietly. I said nothing, I did nothing”. What I need is a leader; what I fear is when I stand up as a leader myself, ”those three men” stand up and point a finger at me saying “why are you the leader?” and the moment I invite them to become one themselves, they vanish through the breeze, I call them the hypocrites! I dont need “Taleem”, what I need is “Tarbiyat”!!!! This particular quality is only brought about through parenthood and their guidance. Then again the question arises…who will give Tarbiyat to the parents?! The moment I try to find an answer, couple more queries arrive in my mind…
Lot of people around Me mumble about Govt or Systems being at fault…well who makes them up?! Who does it all?! Its Me!!! and only Me!!!
What I see now is yet another Military takeover very soon and the moment My beloved soldiers make things right for Me, I will rise again with all my plans and shrewd behaviour to shout out “Democracy!”. Because I am ME!
In the end, I would urge everyone reading this article to join hands, FOR GOD SAKE! Its about time…to rise! “Agar abhe nai kiya to phir kabhe na hoga!”
i agree with the writer. i have not read a better account of decadence of our society in my entire life! it is being executed in karachi on the daily basis, where we have one of the biggest and oldest cantonment, a corp of army!
The perfect piece of writing to bring light to some of the problems of our society in Pakistan. Yes we all should join hands the educated elite of Pakistan to break free of oppression to save our country from anarchy and bring an end to this chaos. For that i have one question . On what Forum ? Till now all i see is all show and no go. People have their status’s crying out against such acts and newspaper articles condemning the violence but no justice brought to light. Only yesterday the kids were proven not guilty, in your opinion is that justice, to only prove them not guilty or would it be to burn the entire echelons of Sialkot for allowing such madness and barbarism. I believe that all of us are sensible enough to realize that whats happening in our country is wrong . That right out thieves are the leaders of Pakistan it literally feels like corruption is just a normal part of life now. A daily routine. If you really think about it theres nothing in this country that is right, the government and army are corrupt to the core . We have extremists jumping down our throats preaching a new radical Islam to the masses. The masses that do not include us are not educated enough to have the thought pool of realization of what is wrong and right, hell they do not even have enough resources to know whats happening in the neighboring village . Its not just one issue that caused these killings in Sialkot nor were these killings the only acts of crime and violence that happen in our country, just the only ones we witnessed. By the grace of god even if we are a minority in our own country we who call ourselves educated , it is our moral duty in every way and even religion commands us to help the masses realize right from wrong help them get to the point where we stand with a liberal and broad view of things and the world. It is us that the new leadership should come from ,men of courage and moral standings who can face problems and tackle them and not let intoxication of power and money corrupt them. Unless we take responsibilities in our own hands and change this flawed system ,tear it from its roots nothing will ever change. We will continue to surge downwards in a spiral as we have been for so many years. Quite honestly how much more can you rely on either the Tyrannic Feudal system ( A.K.A) Democracy or the Corrupt top brass of the army a.k.a Martial Law or any of the established authorities or even the ones supposedly we do not know of run a muck in this country which belongs to you , me and the general population of this country ,living in the suburbs and the villages. Its high time we stop talking start acting ,this is the first time i have ever posted my thoughts on a public forum and the last,for if we have not realized by now then there is little hope for us. Consciously all of us know what needs to be done and that we are not ready to stand together for it but its now or never. The world will move on no one really cares about Pakistan time and tide wait for no one its up to us to keep pace with the world or to remain a barbaric and savage nation torn apart for the profits of those who do not care. For the profits of those who should have been in the place of these two young boys not a lot older than me. Theres always darkness before dawn , struggle before success, 63 years ago we fought for independence our own country a separate identity. A place where we could hold our heads high and be proud to be a Muslim and a Pakistani. Quite frankly i feel there is nothing to be proud of you may feel otherwise but within ourselves in 63 years we have been able to achieve the distortion of our proud religion and a disorientation of our race. I feel its time to struggle once more purify ourselves bring stability, order, education, progress and improvement , do you still feel otherwise ? Just look over your shoulder to India we all might dislike them due to our entangled history but they are standing on top of the world and we are still serving our basic needs with the donations of other countries. A time will come soon where we will have to make the choice, to take responsibility , where we will need wrestle the reigns of this country from the hands of those who have achieved nothing compared to what we could have if from day one we bothered. Jinnah was no landlord nor a tribal leader nor an extremist nor a military man. He was just a normal highly educated moralistic visualizing man who brought about abnormal changes . If he could do it why cant we ? After all we are the heirs and the successors to the country he created .
Thank you for your time
Stop it if you can?
You’ve proved that all this ultra-violence and killing is wrong, you are a wordsmith with a gift for irony but let me ask you some hard questions, from the obvious ponderings on violence in society to plumbing the depths of free will. Is it a sin to be violent, in a violent society? What special dispensation does the State have to use violence to run a country? Is it better to choose to be bad than to be forced with coercion to be good, as defined “a” religion?
Pakistan is not some weird, future country, but something easily accepted as being, now or then – a militaristic and theocratic creation/monster by a colonial power. The vision of a State-abetted cycle of violence, from the home, to the school, to the street, to the prison, and finally back to the street again, a sociopath production system, is as disturbing now as it was in the past?
Even if we may learn to choose a better way, this is a returning to the responsibility of the individual to make society a better place. We have to trace the origin of the sociopath production system – the state, which is responsible for “manufacturing of public consent for tolerating violence” for maintaining status quo and the control over shaping the economy, psychology, and future of the masses. The state, which is controlled by the military establishment (believing in Jihad fee sabeelilah), which in tern is backed by neo-imperialist forces for their own interest. The issue of status quo can not be resolved through mere a measure of self-regulation because the issue is strictly political in nature. In addition, the partnership between the establishment and the corporate media also raises the fundamental issue of “manufacturing of public consent”, which is a separate, but a related debate. The only way forward with this issue is through a political process, which essentially challenges the status quo and involves struggle for the transfer of the state power from neo-imperialist occupation force to a sovereign nation, from military to a civilian government, followed by establishment of a secular, democratic and welfare state, which is capable of guarding itself and public interest in general.
I agree the bulk of what you have said, its all true to an extent. But to reach the point where these things are changed on the scale that you suggest – change the power dynamics of the state and the system – there is a very important prerequisite that the society needs to fulfill. I agree that all these symptoms are caused by the wider socio-economic structures of politics in our country, which are further exacerbated by foreign intervention, however, it would be impossible to target these problems unless our society reaches a critical state where we have enough individuals who make the right choices in the right direction to have the right amount of impact.
As long as the people who contribute to the problems are an overwhelming majority, people who sincerely want to contribute to the solutions will continue to face stiff resistance. And these are individual choices, I think its time we decide which side we’re on.
So, all that you have said is right in its essence, which is more or less what many others have said, but it is useless if we do not have enough people to recognize it, understand it, and to take action against it. And that requires a lot from individuals – some of the things that i tried to highlight in my post.
History is all about war between haves and have-nots. In this process, they are either liberated or they destroy each other.
In the case of Pakistan, creation of critical consciousness and critical mass to pursue class struggle and progressive change would require a long term dedicated movement by leftist and progressive parties/forces. The reality is that the left in Pakistan is severely fractured…Given this fact, I don’t foresee any positive change in the near future… I only foresee more destruction.
I am afraid that Pakistan will become Somalia and every morning we will see a new warlord ruling us in small isolated areas/towns. This has already started happening. In addition to mercenary Pak. army, we have its subsidiary warlord/networks and many more so-called independent warlords/networks under the cover of jihad…Local ruling elite have also started colluding with them for their own interests. And we also know that war means profit, particularly big profit for the US, whose economy is war-based and oil-based. This is a very tightly woven structure of state-coercion, class oppression, and neo-imperialist hegemony. On top of that, Pakistan is an ideological colony of Saudis, with a global responsibility of guarding the Saudi’s religious interests and monarchy.
Stop this machinery, if you can?
Sorry for spreading pessimism but that’s the reality!
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excellently penned.
You spoke out my thoughts, my emotions,
My rants and my realizations.
We are the murderers, we have blood on our hands
We will not be forgiven for bowing down to the Pharoahs in our lands.
Bravo!
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Excellent ……Is he harsh Truth
Absoultely a truth….a bitter truth………..
WE SHOULD ALL BE ASHAMED OF OURSELVES, THIS IS THE STORY OF EACH ONE OF US. WE FEEL N ACT OFFENDED BUT SOON WE FORGET AND CONTINUE WITH OUR LIVES.THIS FILTH IS WIDESPREAD FROM THE POOREST TO THE BILLIONAIRES OF OUR COUNTRY, THAT IS WHY WE CHOOSE OUR LEADERS ACCORDINGLY WITH THE SAME ATTRIBUTES AS OUR SELVES.WHATS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN US N THE ONE WHO RULES US,NONE WHAT SO EVER.THEY ARE THE VERMIN OF THIS EARTH N SO ARE WE ALL. TIME TO WAKE UP N CHANGE BEFORE OUR OWN HOUSE N FAMILY BECOMES A VICTIM. THIS WILL HAPPENS ONLY WHEN WE BECOME A REAL MUSLIM WHO WISH FOR HIS BROTHER THE SAME HE WISH FOR HIMSELF.
A most illuminating piece of writing, it made me realise of the evil residing inside myself…inside all of us.
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simply spectacular.
true may Allah help us
Plzz Its The Time now Dont Forget what happened by going out once and coming back home you are not done and you cant say that i have done my duty we All have to stand till the last day tell we all get the justice we need
just put or Brother or your friend in place of those Brother
i know you cant even Imagine of this
in one place of Video i Heard that
PLEASE SHOOT US ME BUT DONT HIT ME WITH THESE STICKSSS
just imagine What was he feeling at the moment
Leave both of them they Are inshAllah in a better place now just think once about there mother and family when they saw that video how would they felt
i dont know them but 1 thing i know that is
WE MUST STAND UP NOW OR NEXT IT WILL BE US
I must say, a very well written piece up there.
I have read the comments and I have been reading whatever has been written after the incident. I am glad that majority of the people take the situation very seriously and see them selves being represented in the mob which looked on that day in Sialkot. I if you guys remember such an incident isn’t new. There thieves have been burned and killed in Karachi before. The only difference this time is that the thieves killed this time we not guilty. I have to admit that when these sort of incidents took place before, no one wrote about them. No one condemned then, in contrast people were found praising the mob which took the lives of those cellphone thieves in Karachi. If only these incidents were taken action against, this very saddening and depressing incident wouldn’t have taken place.
We are not a failed country, we are a failed nation. I can’t see even a single characteristic of the nation which Iqbal dreamed of and Jinnah fought for, in our nation today. We need to stop being selfish. We need to start thinking about the people around us. We need to think if what we are doing is going to affect any one else or not. We juts need to THINK! Think about the future of this country. Who is shaping the future of this country? You? Me? Or someone who is an outsider? Are we in control?
Very well written and clever, but i knew where this was going the minute i read the title. Another in a million authors pointing out the obvious. Please do also let us murderers know what the solution is. Im sure its so very simple that you did not think it worth mentioning. Everyone knows whats wrong….tell us what to do….”stand up” or “wake up” is not a solution. I’d love to see nice article on this peaceful, magical revolution that you dream of.
Excellent!A true article!
great work!!
Simply stunning. It moved me. Truth, interest and satire was maintained through out. Agony of human nature. Sigh.
@samad
the solution s simple, whenever you are pushed into bribing, dont bribe.
whenever you feel like stealing, dont steal.
whenever you feel like asking your dad’s friend to get a job, dont ask.
whenever you want to cross a red light because you’re in a hurry, dont cross.
whenever someone takes what rightfully belongs to you, use all your energies to make sure it doesnt happen.
go to police. go to courts. organize. follow through.
you are blind if you cannot see the solution is you. dont do wrong and dont let anyone else do wrong to you.
its hard to believe that these are the same people who get angry when another car cuts them in traffic and are willing to resort to fist-fights but stay quiet when their politicians/elites steal millions from them and destroy their society in a systematic manner for their own benefit.
realize the power of the individual, its more than you imagined.
Awesome… A bitter truth!!
Harsh truth..the bitter side of us.
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There can’t be a better narration of us than this one. This is the mirror which depicts us all. You wrote an excellent post! *hats off*
Aah, what an eye opener post!!!
What the hell am I doing here???
I do not deserve to be living on this planet of earth and why if I am dead, a real dead flesh of piece???
I should wake up from my looooooonggggggg sleep or otherwise I must be buried.
Let’s all wake up.
amazingly written, no doubt this is true that many of us support injustice. i have seen many people supporting the killing of lal masjid, i have seen many people saying that so what if waziristanis are dying, we are saving whole pakistan by killing few. (an army major said this)
we must realize the blunders and mistakes we commit, we call ourselves muslim and yet we dont follow islam in our lives. only a selective rituals are performed. Come back to islam and accept it completely as we are muslims….
speechless……
v muzt be one now …excellent written by auother
Fantastic piece.
i 100% agree with the auther &really feelling very bad i dont know y the people or i must say we all r becoming feelingless moving towards un humanity.may allah help us.may allah give us patience.may allah give us rigth scence &wisdom to select rigth people for right job
No I am not you because I stopped a similar incident but I was alone in the crowd.
Though I am not you…but I agree with every single word you said…its all true about us.
Pierces through the heart.
We need to leave our houses n come on roads to bring REVOLUTION. This z the only remedy to MY insensitivity, cruelness, self subjugation.
We need to stop mocking our ownselves now n instead of jus discussing we need to do something. We need to become doErs instead of being saYers only.
WE NEED TO CHANGE OURSELVES CX WE CNT WAIT FOR LEADERSHIP TO CONVERT.
“CX LEADERS’ CHARACTER DEPICTS THE NATION’S CHARACTER.”
Well, you do write excellently I must say. Just as excellently as you take power in your own hands. But first things first, extremely well written. Too bad we’re not in for an english lesson over here. So okay, we get it. We are living in a world without rules. Where the money collected for the flood victims is half spent on the transportation costs, and the other half is eaten up. Where power does not mean authority, but freedom of doing whatever you want. We live in a country full of people who have something to prove, each and everyone of them. We get it. We are animals, dogs, vultures and hyenas. But thats not the point. The point is, where do we start to stop? Where do we draw the line? For there must be a line. Otherwise, we would end up where we started. Who in this god forsaken land is the Authority? And the answer is, according to me, Nobody. Nobody, and everybody at the same time. THAT is why we have to draw a line. So Dear Mr Anonymous killer, you were supposed to stop at the fucking line. You were not supposed to touch the rod. You took the easier way out, didnt you? The day that wooden rod of yours lands up in every hand that exists, then you will realise the monster of an ideology that you are about to create. By the way, mister Anonymous Killer, nice shalwar kameez you are wearing in the video of the killing. Must be nothing less than JJ, i suppose. After all, you are part of the branded collar black coke elite too.
Thank you mr taimour for your 2 paisas.
Also, kudos for missing an obvious point.
Criticism, to be valid, must contain solutions in 30% of its content – at least. It is never helpful without that. And unless your aim is to be helpful, you are just another useless person trying to grab undeserved attention. Nobody needs that. Please be calm. Keep your mind open to all narratives, then according to your judgement, be a part of a solution that you think might work. No need for grand steps. No need for mighty dreams. Learn to walk before you run. For you, that would mean learning to read other peoples opinions calmly, then replying politely if you differ.
The most ironic thing about your comment was, in your criticism of savagery, you forgot to be civilized.
Think in your spare time. There is no competition going on here. If you sincerely want to be a part of the solution, i’m sure everyone can learn a lot from you that only you have to offer. Unfortunately, there is only one way for that to work, and being negative is not a part of that.
Well, i did say it was well written, didnt I? What i did not say was any mention of the ‘big’ steps. The supposedly big steps are nothing but a laughing matter as far as i am concerned. But you were right to tell me that i was getting ahead of my self. Apologies.
well, honestly, well-written isnt worth crap if it isnt useful to anyone in the end. im sure you’ll agree.
from the 4-5k people who have read this, if there are at least 4-5 people who refuse to be a part of the mob of 160 million in the future as a result of this, then i’ll say that this wasnt completely useless.
I suppose you’re the one trying to find the easy way out. You’re looking to ‘get’ the answer and not ‘find’ it. Things don’t always follow a procedure in real world and for the same reason we can’t have a step by step process to correct ourselves. We can either start from where ever we please or keep whining about not knowing where to start. We will never get a God sent leader who is going to tell us what to do. Being confused is not the problem, it’s the beginning of the solution.
A great eye-opening article.
I suppose you’re the one trying to find the easy way out. You’re looking to ‘get’ the answer and not ‘find’ it. Things don’t always follow a procedure in real world and for the same reason we can’t have a step by step process to correct ourselves. We can either start from where ever we please or keep whining about not knowing where to start. We will never get a God sent leader who is going to tell us what to do. Being confused is not the problem, it’s the beginning of the solution.
A great eye-opening article.
Awesome piece of writing and so true! You are brilliant.
Well written but this doesnt change a thing about us shameless pakistani’s does it??
Only the well educated previleged class can read and understand and comment on this??wat abt the rest who actually need to understand this..those who are illiterate?we are NOT a majority of such english speaking/educated people! its a pity we are still talking about the injustice and our inhuman selves but the reality is nothings going to ever change…
The question is, will you change?
i really doubt a change..either in us or the system but i sincerely hope and pray for pakistan,its people and humanity in all…just an individuals change is not sufficient enough..we all know that..such incidents will keep jolting our spirits time and again and we will keep debating/arguing on discussion boards but this is no solution…never was never will be.
happy writing!
“just an individuals change is not sufficient enough”
.. this is the biggest myth of our time.
dont talk about ‘us’ or ‘masses’ or ‘humanity’, will YOU change, nida? if you change, the whole universe changes, and this is not some meaningless rhetoric. human history is not the history of nameless faceless masses, human history is the history of empowered individual. give me one counter-example to that and i will give up my whole world-view.
if i ask you where you learned the above statement that i quoted, you will have no answer. if i ask you which social sciences study has proven this, you will not be able to reply. because according to all studies and all examples from human history, the statement is FALSE.
this is a myth that has been systematically propogated, according to the greatest thinker of our time, the most cited author on the planet, Noam Chomsky:
“…sectors of the doctrinal system serve to divert the unwashed masses and reinforce the basic social values: passivity, submissiveness to authority, the overriding virtue of greed and personal gain, lack of concern for others, fear of real or imagined enemies, etc. The goal is to keep the bewildered herd bewildered. It’s unnecessary for them to trouble themselves with what’s happening in the world. In fact, it’s undesirable — if they see too much of reality they may set themselves to change it.”
DO NOT BE A PART OF THIS HELPLESSNESS.
if you are a human being with an ounce of dignity left, to you helplessness would mean death.
Tesseremos
I agree with human history and im not going to argue on that but im still conflicting the idea of an ‘empowered individual’ in todays age and society..
Is ur subject not talking abt humanity and the masses thats Us?? if an individuals change that is me changes the whole universe i am sure there are many standing up volunteering to bring about some change for the better but is that being heard or seen? are we making a difference? am I,being myself, being the voice, being the empowered individual making a difference??
Are YOU? by writing a blog..shaking and waking the sleeping souls of us pakistani’s…..frankly this effort of yours seems to me more of a self realization for each one of us but the sad part is even then it is temporary.
No one is helpless unless they want to be mislead into it and/or submit themselves to evil and injustice..we are not helpless we are just unfortunate.
We need to eradicate fears of submission we need to uplift morales. i think we are far too done and over with blame games and pointing fingers..and if this was about showing us our ugly self in the mirror of reality i would prefer if it portrayed more optimism then being judgemental and pessimistic..
there is a reason its written in first person.
i was hoping that u’d understand that.
you keep saying “we” need to do this,”we” need to do that, but before that you should think “I” need to do this, then you’ll see that everything will automatically fall into place.
you are pessimistic, i am not. i think every effort has a positive benefit. you do not. why?
“i am sure there are many standing up volunteering to bring about some change for the better but is that being heard or seen?”
of course it is. if you fail to see it, it does not mean its not happening. every quiet, sincere individual who is trying to be positive in this madness is producing wonderful results for the society around him/her. find an example near you, and you’ll know what i am talking about.
as Howard Zinn says:
“TO BE HOPEFUL in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness.What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places—and there are so many—where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction.And if we do act, in however small a way, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.”
i dont think that anyone can put it better. if you still don’t agree, i would really love to read the solutions that you propose…
I think now we have moved away from our topic of discussion or my point of argument…atleast i feel whatever i was thinking of while reading ur article i said it out loud..i dont mean to challenge you or any other person who is making an effort in these trying times however i have my own thought process and maybe sum other time i will come across another of your well written piece and shall definitly follow up and argue my point through:)
thank you for your contribution.
and thank you for the thought provoking sessions..
Happy writing!!:)
I have to say you did a heck of job putting all this bitterness from thoughts to words.
You talk about change, it is possible but then again we have seen the ugly end to a minority uprising.
In my opinion, I don’t think its possible for a singular entity to go against the norm – the norms being the “corrupt practices”.
An example, My cousins, his friends (all SSGs) and I were going to the beach with our lady counterparts and were stopped and asked for a bribe. They treated us with sheer insult and when it started getting really ugly, the ID were flashed at them – We all know how swift our police flips once they know they are dealing with influence.
Point is, we need to create a community, a community with rush and reach. Otherwise, singly our fates would be as feeble as those two young boys (May they rest in peace) against the tides of corruption and cruelty.
I may not have been able to convey all what I wanted but the idea is to get a lot of young blood together.
Together we stand UNITED…alas!!!
A bitter truth but on the other end, ‘All five fingers are not Same’ . You can find all kind of people in every society so its hard to blame a whole nation..
Very well written article.
Agree with one of the commentator – “Will we change?” The answer may be unpleasant truth – “not necessarily” – unless each one of us in our own humble ways start contributing and do not wait for a leader to be born and lead us.
Frankly I am sick of this self beating and self loathing, especially the type thats directed at specific classes/segments. There are lots of good Pakistanis doing good work, not just standing by and these are all kinds of Pakistanis from all classes.
I also think this piece is in bad taste and a huge and inaccurate generalisation of our country.
Not trying to sound callous here, but the number of women who are abused, burnt, thrown acid at and killed in Pakistan is a far bigger social problem, its a pity these things are not shot on video for all to see.
May God bless the souls of Mughees and Mujeeb, and give their parents strength to get through this loss.
please read it again. this is not about self loathing, nor is it limited to any one issue. thanks.
a very articulate and well written….apology from us to humanity….but the truth is we are going to need a bigger jolt than this to make us stand up and revolutionize Pakistan.
Thank you for sharing this.
You’ve made a sincere effort by writing this article and I like that its not just about one incident but about our country’s reality as a whole. I really appreciate your optimism and share it with you. I am a psychologist and life coach by profession and imparting positivity, optimism and hope by creative problem solving is what I do and teach others day in and day out. On the other hand I also agree with some of the people who have shared their negative bit of reality in the form of questions, confusion, denial, impatience and simple submission to what is happening. Let me explain my point:
I see people who are extremely hurt by the state of affairs. The most articulate ones among them have been raising their voices on all forums on web and in real life (just like you did). There should be no doubt about their good intentions. They should not be labeled as “Sayers” or “Utopians” or people who have no grasp on the ground realities. They are doing what best they can. However, something is missing! Their key message is “change is needed, change is possible”.
Then there are lots of people praying for the country; young and old alike. They sincerely pray that the country survives these times; that the conditions of the country get better; that people become God fearing; that Allah keep themselves and everyone save and restore the peace of the country. There should be no doubt about their good intentions. They should not be labeled as “people blinded by faith” or “unrealistic” or people who have no grasp on the ground realities. They are doing what best they can. However, something is missing! Their underlying message is “change is needed, change may kindly be granted”.
Then there are those who don’t “say” anything. They “do”. Believe me, these people still exist among us, though very few remain. These are the ones from among the authorities such as police and army. From among doctors, businessmen, shopkeepers, students, lawyers, social workers and general public. They already do what one could suggest them to bring a positive change: time and again they decide to be the change that they want to bring in the society. They won’t break the rules; won’t bribe; won’t steal. They will go to police, go to courts, organize, and follow through. They are doing what best they can. However, something is missing! Their bitter realization is “change is needed, change is beyond our capacity to bring”.
Read the comments on this article again and decide how many are coming from which one of the three groups. Before any more discussion, enlightenment and/or disagreement (I’d welcome that), I invite everyone who is concerned to think:
WHAT IS MISSING?
(Don’t tell me it’s me, tell me what is missing from what those three groups are doing). If we come up with an answer to that, there is still hope in the world… through you and me.
very interesting analysis. i really dont have the answer you are looking for, as in I cant specifically pinpoint on one thing and say that this particular thing is missing. a lot of things do come to mind though.
can you please write about it and explain it? i would love to read that.
we can put it up as a separate post, the comment section here is getting too flooded. let me know if thats fine with you, you can contact me at tesseremos@live.com.
There is a reason I posted here: participation by all concerned.
And there is a reason I withheld the missing piece: finding an answer to our dilemma is like re-defining the meaning of our existence; it can not be given or taught or shown on the wall, that way people would be blind to it like they have always been… it has to be earned.
A separate post is a good idea, the comments section is indeed getting flooded, but the context has to be there for anything to make any sense. Your choice.
meanwhile, speak up your mind; tell me what are the many things that come to your mind?
Im really looking forward to the points and the missing points by both of you ..i hope you both will justify your statements and pacify most of us!
Waiting for the Author and the others myself. Seems like the fleeting feeling is already fading in people.
Nida why don’t you do some brainstorming here in response to my post? That would be your contribution.
Though im looking for answers and solutions myself that being one reason i keep turning back and following the comment board and try to analyze how many of us are actually understanding the point within..as unfortunately i am also being one of the spectators and only here for a mental excercise coz i feel i am not in a position to offer anything in regard to this
current situation of our country and its ppl but that doesnt mean i am helpless…i will try to put my points or viewpoint through as you requested..
Firstly, as i went through your earlier comment i have been trying to figure out which group out of the 3 i belong to??i would be lying or denying if i chose one..coz i am all three..i believe change is possible but no one person can bring about a revolution..because as i stated earlier in my debate with the author my being the empowered individual does not change the situation in practicality.i may speak my mind and put in efforts to help in watever my capacity is but as you said “change is needed but it is beyond our capacity”..this one line crushes our morales our spirits and everytime we try to rise we are pressed down..
Theres no religion we follow other then inhumanity and brutality..religion is missing.
Theres no belief either amongst ourselves nor in our authorities..Trust is missing.
Theres no aspiration,hope,need or want of freedom of spirit..morale is missing.
There are so many things from lack of confidence to lack of resources to lack of motivation or knowledge..
i can go on and on about what is missing..but i will not agree that it is me whos missing and i dont like ppl actually submitting to the authors statement of IT IS ME without even making an effort to debate or counter argue as to why its Me/us?…maybe that is what is missing…admitting and submitting to situations/people without understanding or fighting for
themselves.
HWZ:my imagination and thoughts can go far beyond this but i guess its a point you brought up and a better understanding and explanation of this can only come through you so please do let me know what is missing and if i made any sense..
thanx
lets start a new thread for this so we can communicate clearly and focus on this. HWZ please mail me at my address given at the bottom of the page and i’ll make a post with your name,
Incredible insight! Please go on Nida. At first, my sole purpose is to stir up the thinking of people who are concerned; and in that concern for our land and its people, you and I are equal. Remember, “Main bhee Pakistan hoon, too bhee Pakistan hay”. I encourage you (and others) to reflect more and go in further detail. By doing that you will be uncovering the answer for yourself and others; and that is what I meant to do when I started my discussion.
@ tesseremos: Thank you, I’ll need some time to give it some context.
Seemingly my thread seems to have reached its limit of replies; so if anyone would like to share their ideas with me until I shape up the new separate post, this is my email address:
hwz@soshulife.com
what’s missing is leadership i believe. and with leadership comes organization. when we have leadership, the articulate ones and the sayers and the doers can all unite and be channelized.
You’re very close. I like your precision of ideas. What else can you think of?
when i say leadership is missing, what i’m really saying is that a common platform is missing. when there is leadership, or a common platform so that society as a collective unit can establish what is right and what is wrong and then go on to encourage people to do right and discourage them from doing what is wrong; furthermore, reward those who do right and punish those who do wrong. usually you have government heads for leaders and the law for distinguishing between right and wrong. but our government and law seem to be failing. so what i’m saying is not that we need a parallel administration, but a different administration.
but it’s not just leadership that is missing. leadership i believe is the first step necessary to begin building a collective conscience.
i want to be part of this separate post that is being talked about. or has the discussion gone cold?
apparently the discussion has gone cold.
maybe if there is enough enthusiasm for the next article that im working on, people might discuss this further.
I have created a facebook group called “Rethinking Pakistan” for the purposes of having a new discussion. What we really want to accomplish for our country will not be approved by those who are responsible for the current circumstances. (Trust me, you don’t want them to know you’re sincerely trying to bring a positive change in this country; as soon as a real concerted effort is made, and people start re-thinking, blunt force will be used to destroy it).
For this reason, “Rethinking Pakistan” is a closed group where only the invited members will be able to have discussions and share ideas. I have identified three persons from this post who in my opinion can contribute much to the re-think: Nida, AM, and augustine. Tesseremos, of course is also welcome (assuming you’ll be comfortable leaving your blog for a while).
A think tank need not have lots of members; however, anyone who believes they have the ability to separate reality from wishful thinking, pretended wisdom, borrowed quotations, and delusional self-righteousness are welcome to join. (Ordinarily, requests to join will not be accepted to maintain the contents’ and participants’ safety).
Group’s web address is: https://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=155327981152134
This may be your chance to do some thing concrete for our country. Care to join hands?
ive sent a request to join. ur going to be able to identify me from my initials right?
well said, this is what we all are if only we could change ourselves the world can become a better place.
i loved it.
Asalamualykum!
SubhanALLAH, whoever the author is, has done an excellent Job writing this perfect piece ….
I can not describe my feelings, but the ultimate aspect of the incident I have absorbed from this very letter is just unparalel… I mean I was long depressed at all the happening there, I kept crying & praying for deceased, the family & culprit’s punishment… I was relieved at the unity we showed as a nation… But the essence behind all this was forgotten…
Honestly, I admit, I am responsible, They are looking for me…. for I stood there & did nothing on the whole when all the injustice was being incorporated in my people, I did nothing when the hatred was growing within us….and I helped for no good reason when the worst people amongst us were elevated to the level of our Leaders….
In my life, sadly, I have done nothing… Why do I scream in pain now? Isnt it just me who is responsible for every thing happening now? From the brutality of individuals to masser through the Blasts…. Its just the whole Me, The Whole Us!!!
Inna Lillahe wa Inna Ilyhe Rajioon!
I give my sympathies to my own death as an Individual who was supposed to stand for Right!!!
May Allah let us wake up from the slumber now, or else I will exactly be responsible to another event in Sialkot.. The one with 16 million people… That dream will come true…
Oh Allah forgive us all.
Aameen!
P.S Kindly anyone who can provide the author’s profile an how can he/she be contacted anyhow.
jzakiLLAH.
you can contact me at tesseremos@live.com
that’s bravo….that’s smthing gave me a lit of hope that innocent pakistani’ still have sme humans around….best wishes for the crew to transform 160 million route into humans…..
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Bless you on writing such a marvelous piece of writing. It indeed is an eye opener! And yes I agree with you , we CAN bring a change if we all start correcting our ownself! every drop counts!
Very true, each and every one of us is responsible for this brutality. We have reached the bottom. May Allah help us.
really excellent post
i’ve quoted it in a blog i did myself and what we have in common
http://karachikhatmal.blogspot.com/2010/09/copy-pasting-copy-paste.html
i think i saw a post in tribune by you, “i should be the change i want to see”, really, to the point…
this story has too many holes.
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One of the most moving, meaningful, sane and well written articles I’ve seen in a long time. Long time. Should be written in Urdu with the same content and aesthetics and published EVERYWHERE in Pakistan.
Touching…
But I am not that “you”, of which you speak. Your work will not open eyes for those who have gone blind, but it will surely pump up the blood of a true patriotic or anyone with morals.
A piece of advise from a nobody:
“be the best at you are and do it with best of intention.”
Pakistan needs to empower to its people. What is Pakistan? We are Pakistan!
Well
Its the very first time brutality is unveiled on media rather quoting a sentence in newspaper “One dakoit is killed by public”! Has anyone thought about the basic cause behind this torturing murder ? The stem of this tree is rooted from Govt. and Law Enforcement Agencies !
Govt. is laundring money on the name of taxes and we all are silent observers (like we saw some observers in this footage) !
Police is with “The Might” and discouraging the “The Right”! Its happening everywhere in Pakistan, where one police officer is happy by having 10 rupees (12 cents) to release traffic offencers and due to these 4% of total population of country is dying due to accidents. AND we are silent observers !
In the month of ramzan when Allah bless muslims with his blessings, flood is endowed and three years before earthquake shaked the whole nation. Can’t we reconsider our deeds ? Can’t we give up hook and crook methods of living life ? Can’t we cut shortcuts of life and bypassing law enforcement agencies ? Can’t law enforcement agencies follow the proper rules laid down in judiciary ?
We can’t wakeup ! We are happy by having a bowl of pop-corns and throwing comments on Pakistani cricket players. Pakistan is weeded through media to bear the crucial events and forget. We can’t wake up !
Let me sleep again untill i get a true leader !
Lets us all be united to raise our voice and vote to bring the right person on top, choose the loyal people who have done something for the people of Pakistan. We need change >> We need NO fudal lords, NO industrialist, NO mulla, NO one imposed from world bank, NO one from Forces >>>> We need a Human Being who belong to us >> lets support people like EDHI, IMRAN KHAN, IBRAR, INSAR BERNI >> lets hold hands together to bring these people on the top. I MEAN IT this is the future of our kids !!!! help yourself.
It’s true down to the very last word. But I am a little confused. Confused about how to change. See, if I take responsibility for Sialkot, for standing by when someone snatches a purse, for looking the other way when a dhaabay wala when he slaps around his chhota for not clearing away the plates in time, and for all evil that I witness, how do I change? If next time I see a purse being snatched and snatch it back, what if I find that it belonged to the snatcher in the first place and he was just taking it back? What if when the next time I yell at a dhaabay wala for being cruel to his chhota, I find that the chhota stole a customer’s wallet? More importantly, what if while I’m yelling at the dhaabay wala, some other guy stands up and asks me to stop being evil myself?
So my point here is, how do you know what to do and how much to do? How do you know what is right and how much of it is right? For example, what if a man raped someone on the street in broad daylight? If I am passing by and I am a martial arts expert and I refuse to silently witness this evil, would I then use my martial arts on this man and become part of the very same atrocity that I wish to protest against? Or would I report his crime to the authorities that tie people’s hands and feet and pass them back to the rapist?
So where do you draw the line? Or shall I ask where may I draw the line? We need to have an answer to that. And the answer needs to be made common. Because if we don’t, reading this article may give birth to another Sialkot perpetrator.
the most truthful words ive read in a long long time !
Is it possible to get this published in all the english/urdu dailies ?
I will never be the same again.I am ashamed to be born there.
This is inhuman. I am lost & confused.I have lost my faith.
Even if i am there i dont care if any country drop a bomb on us.
we are scum.whatever happened to a country it once was.
I call it NaaaPak… isstan now.
you shouldn’t blame your country…
mind blowing !!!!!!!!!!!!! we shd wake up now as a nation
very very well written. The message ‘we are at fault’ is very nicely conveyed!
Rather waiting for outsiders to put us in fury, why don’t we take initiative to block such inhuman acts ? If we are scum, why don’t we bring capability among us to be dissolved and become a unit. Unity was there in sialkot, at least the tyrants had unity..i am talking about the unity that’s laid down by islam. “Stop unfair acts through your hands” !
bitter truth bout ma self….feeling guilty…:(….Shf!
very well written…I doubt the majority of Sialkot would be able to read any of that though…your anger and frustration over this barbaric situation is pretty human in its nature but to disect and criticize each and every negative comment made shows only that you are having trouble in dealing with your own remorse…a few counselling sessions could help alleviate that.
This world does not need a World-Wide-Web-Buddha…if it didnt work back in 500BC it probably wont work now..lets not be angry and blame…instead accept defeat to the forces of evil which govern our very existence and be happy that you are not the one taking the beating of the stick….
This article is utter shite,everyone of us will be killed like those two brothers if we sit on our bottoms and write gay articles like this one.
If you want to make a change ,get off your bloody computers and take the streets and start a movement ,pakistan needs every one of it’s citizens to come back and revolt
Against this government.
This article will not change anything and all these words are pointless
You’re right we are all guilty as charged. Some of us are still in a deep slumber & some of us are just fixing the blame. What happened on August 15th is something that has been happening here for years. Humanity is something that has always been insulted & people keep mum about it. We don’t ever protest when they kill infants just because we are afraid of the word illegitimate. We don’t care for the mentally ill or even an injured soul…It’s okay to abuse animals & if you say something about it, you’re mad. It has always been about laying the blame…as long as you do that well, everything is fine.
Anyhow, it’s a very well written piece. You can make people think. God bless!
Very nicely written.
Lets just promise one thing with each other,
“If ever we see something wrong going on around us, we will neither support it nor stay silent. We’ll stop the wrong no matter at what cost”.
Lets promise
“If we hear about any thing wrong/immoral happening anywhere, we wouldn’t waste even a single moment and will try our best to reach there and help the people who need it”.
We the youth of Pakistan should have guts and moral courage to defy our own parents and relatives if they are doing something wrong.
May Allah help me follow myself what I just said. Regards
hello,
salam in ko saza milni cheiya bohat bohat zulam kiya ha
So, Pakistanis do have a conscience!
Then why don’t they rise up in a revolt and clean up their country from corrupt politicians, terrorists, religious nuts and bigots, the inefficient and soul-less bureaucrats, the feudals, and in fact all the anti-social and unpatriotic elements in the country.
Simply crying out in anguish is not going to help. Simply praying to Allah will also not help. As Allah says, people have to help themselves. So stop whining, take control of your destiny and do something practical to improve your character and your lot.
The author has capture some very surreal moments in the incident, which is very important when narrating. In addition to the ironic narration, I would really like to think like the author that these incidents will happy again if and only if the citizens allow it to happen. Violence in the perpetrator of good deeds. Whatever those two boys did were not bad that the punishment warranted such heinous killing. If you die from natural cause or you were killed violently, it’s all the same death–Bottomline is, you are no longer on the land of the living. Ok, John Public will say there is a difference, for even he know it death is such a brutal was is inhuman. That is why hanging or torture until death are not the acceptable ways of capital punishment. We are living in some serious times: economic destablization and all the other factors that might factor into citizen behaving irrationally. We first have to remember, with even thinking that these are humans we are dealing. I know I am being preachy here but maybe we need to be brought back to the basic factor that “I am my brother’s keeper and not “Am I my brother’s keeper!”
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We should all be ashamed of ourselves, this is the story of each one of us. we feel n act offended but soon we forget and continue with our lives.this filth is widespread from the poorest to the billionaires of our country, that is why we choose our leaders accordingly with the same attributes as our selves.whats the difference between us n the one who rules us,none what so ever.they are the vermin of this earth n so are we all. time to wake up n change before our own house n family becomes a victim. this will happens only when we become a real muslim who wish for his brother the same he wish for himself.
WE all are praising the article and saying good job… but imagine the person who wrote this article has somewhat done his job by trying to wake up the dead human in us. In the same way we have to try to make a difference in our environment by not doing the things he mentioned in the article… BUT i don’t think i anything is going to change.. look closely inside anyone’s heart.. you will find an ANIMAL.. and that animal is going to get transferred into their children s and grand children s.. ITS ONLY GOING TO GET WORST!
A little late getting to this post, but at least I had the chance to read it. You (and pretty much everyone else) know/s about the visceral and compelling quality of your writing so I’ll skip elaborating on the ‘well written’ part and move on to the actual point – which is the ‘I’ factor.
I’m stuck with the change.
See, I’ve always believed that bribes are not an option, traffic lights/laws must be obeyed (even if all the cars behind you honk and make you wonder, “Am I crazy or is it the 20 people behind me who are?”), I have never believed in taking shortcuts to get stuff done (small things such as: pay someone at PTCL to get a new number in a matter of hours; pay the license office guy some cash and get that job done pronto etc etc.). To bigger things like finding that awesome tax accountant who’ll figure out ways for me to cheat on my tax returns. I’ve had friends, colleagues and relatives look at me funny and say, ‘You pay ALL your taxes?? WHO does THAT??” and I shrug and say, “Yeah, crazy huh.”
The truth is, I’m not sure if it’s because I’m trying to be sincere or lawful – sometimes I feel it’s just because I don’t have the energy (capacity?) to do all that one is required to do to cheat. The main thing being the energy it takes to deceive. Don’t get me wrong, I’m no saint. In fact, in greater probability, I’m just….not that bright?
However, coming back to the ‘stuck with the change’. Not doing any of the above has been hell. It has – to put it very simply – sucked. Briefly: At work, we didn’t cash in on big clients because I refused to play the ‘give me a cut’ game. Where, you know, I’d give the client a cut if he/she gave me business. My phone line didn’t get fixed for a month because the lineman was ticked off because I wouldn’t give him ‘extra’ cash for just doing his job. My work depends massively on the phone – and as a result – there was much disruption. All I had to do was give the lineman 200 bucks and all would be good.. But I kept chanting the “as a matter of principle” mantra.
These are tiny insignificant things, I know.
The bigger picture is worse. I (since this is about the ‘I’ and not the ‘us’ factor) am sick of giving to a system that absolutely refuses to give back on any level. I am tired. I am frustrated. And now, I’m almost out of steam. I question the ‘every drop in the ocean’ stuff and in fact, am calling that ‘crap’ quite happily now. That drop doesn’t exist. Or maybe it’s the ocean that doesn’t.
Sure, everything takes time. But if a society incessantly beats down on you; if the only quality the system and the society have is being true to being a farce then how do you beat that monster? I know I tried..maybe my parents raised me me right ..or maybe it’s just my brain..but I have always believed that the right way is usually more difficult. And I don’t mind. I’d rather take that route than a shortcut any day (could be the masochist in me..).
BUT.
But when you’ve spent decades doing that and all you see is continual decay and degradation – you really begin to question if it’s worth it. I don’t think it is. But that still won’t stop me or make me switch to the ways that do seem to work here. No. But what it does is make me feel helpless. And hopeless. I feel like I don’t have the power to change a single thing. I feel that even if there are a few hundred people with me who are trying to work with and/or to create a real, civilized system – it still won’t do anything because the monster we’re up against is far far far stronger.
But yeah, we have to start somewhere. Leadership? Really? Dream on.
My recent fear (that is becoming an opinion as each day goes by) is that we have decayed beyond the point of return. Beyond the point of healing. Beyond the point of redemption.
Not sure if what I wrote made much sense…I just wanted to say that while I feel I try (many times consciously) not to be a ‘perpetrator’ – it changes nothing…not even the insignificant around me.
Although I know that cannot be an excuse to stop trying.
Thank you for writing a piece that forces every reader to, at the very least, think.
i really totally agree with ur comment and i guess it makes alot of sense.
The question is, “Do we want another Sialkot incidence?”
If we want another incidence where 2 innocent kids are brutally tortured, then murdered in Ramadan while the police, that this very nation fed through bribes stood around and watched, then we should keep up with the corruption. I cried when I watched the video. Those poor kids. And their poor family. Those people who stood around watching threw their dead bodies on the floor like you’d throw a sack of flour on the floor. SubhanAllah this is supposedly a Muslim nation! But those weren’t Muslims. Even the punishment for murder under Shari’ah is not this harsh and these animals behaved like that.
I would want the family of these brothers, and the families of those who are treated as they were to know that Allah swt is severe in punishment, and insha’Allah if not in this life, justice will be served on the day of judgement. Thank Allah swt for that.
Allah swt doesn’t just punish the murderers, he also punishes the corrupt. Keep going. Do your bit. Next time when some police officer asks for a bribe, tell him where to go.
dear augustine,
congratulations. you sound like you are one of the very few who still have souls. but i also hear despair in your words. despair is the real sign of the decay of the soul.
i too am one of those who are “crazy”. but i am not in despair yet. maybe you have seen more of and spent more time in the big bad world? i’m not sure. maybe i’m just too young and still have stars in my eyes and still see the world through rose-coloured glasses. maybe i’m just too idealistic. i am not trying to belittle your persistent effort. you do deserve appreciation.
but i want to understand why you do it. why you choose to swim against the tide that is. i know why i do it. what’s more i’ll even tell you why i do it. i do it because i believe in a Greater Power. and because i believe what i sow in this world, i will reap in the next.
if i may presume that your reasons are the same as mine, let me continue just a little longer. the Sialkot boys’ family didn’t sink into despair. they appealed to the Greater Court of the Greater Power. but they also appealed to the supreme court of Pakistan. knowing that regardless of whether the supreme court of Pakistan manages to dispense justice or not, they will not be disappointed by the Greater Court. and i do think their plight was greater then years and years of our broken phone lines and our traffic lights and our taking the longer route.
so my message to you, dear augustine, if you believe in a Greater Power, is to STAY stuck in your change. keep doing what you do. and don’t sink into despair. the Greater Power for one and i for another will surely be proud of you. keep your fire burning, keep those stars in the eyes twinkling, keep having faith. if not in this world then in the next. for He does not disappoint.
(i don’t know what your beliefs are. but from your post it did seem like you believe in something. so if you believe in accountability in a later age for the life that we lead here, my post applies to you, regardless of what your other beliefs are)
Hey AM,
Why do I do it? Why do I swim against the tide?
For the larger part of my life, I didn’t even KNOW I was doing that. I was just going with what (in my opinion) was right. Following basic rules, complying with what I understood to be basic decency, humanity and coexistence.
Much later did I realize that hey, there aren’t too many people around who do this. Simply because it’s easier not to. Not like every ‘shortcut’ or act of not-very-high-standards was an actual crime but…those just weren’t things that made sense to me. Most of the things I do – I do because I believe in them. Whether they reap great results or throw me off a proverbial cliff – I still do those things for the simple fact that i Believe. I don’t see any other option.In my head world, there is no choice of bribes, of breaking laws, of cheating, of evading taxes and so on.
I know we will be accountable eventually and that does play a huge role in many things I do. But not all. Many are things that an individual ought to do without the fear of accountability; without the knowledge that ‘oh, I’ll have to pay for this when the Day comes’. Religion should not be the reason for being a decent individual, a basic sense of humanity should be.
That, is what I fear has eroded in this country.
Speechless…everything is just so true…we are resposnsible..not they alone
perfectLY written.
this is indeed the story of each one of us.
I m responsible and so are the rest of us. Unless we do something the next flood will take us all to the Indian Ocean. Allah does not permit injustice on HIS land for too long, especially when ppl claim and represent themselves as HIS followers. We are not even close to being Muslims. We are just animals……..with no brains who pretends to be human! Prevailing injustices in the country in all forms and shapes are the testimonials. Its time to CHANGE or become EXTINCT. May God be with us!
Dear Sir/Ma’am,
I would like to re produce and possibly translate the letter from Sialkot from your following blog post:
http://tesseremos.wordpress.com/2010/08/27/letter-from-sialkot/
at our our blog http://www.borderlinegreen.com
Please let me know if this is acceptable to you, in case you agree please note that this will reproduced with due acknowledgement of your blog.
Kind Regards
Murtaza Pracha
Sure, go ahead.
Just let me see the translation before posting if you translate. Everything else is fine with me.
Thanks.
best article i ever read .TRUE . surely true.Truth is always bitter
I am so fascinated by the author’s thinking and writing ability! This rhetoric of the awful state of affairs in Pakistan saddens me. There is no easy solution to this barbarianism that exists in the culture of our citizens, and every new generation is more hostile than the previous one! My heart bleeds for my country!
Whenever I hear such incident I think of a mother, wife, children and family member of a victim. I imagine of the agony of a mother who rare with love and ultimate care a child she never imagined would meet such a fate in street.
Imagine the agony of the wife who never imagined losing her husband to such a fate in street.
Imagine the agony of the children to see their role model and protector brutally executed in the street.
Putting myself in a position of a parent, partner and a child can I see this happen to my dear ones? To escape anything of like happening to me demands I act now before it is too late.
Advice from a perpetrator of another land
I am a perpetrator of many crimes, in my own land, but I live in a hideout, unlike you in the open brazenly. I operate alone and you have accomplices everywhere: government, organizations, institutions, law enforcement, judiciary, etc., and in masses. I fear the law and its swift retribution you enjoy the protection of the same. I have no respect and honor in the society you are respected and honored for the size of your (ill gotten) wealth and power you wield. I was once like you a very long time ago. I had friends in high and low places, and we could run a mock. Life was as good as you have now. Good old times! But then we changed. My strength began to dwindle and the forces of good began to emerge knocking systematically our structure that provided us the strength. The society was transforming and the good was replacing the transgression. It was not an easy defeat, and I was strong then put up a good fight, but then their sprit and courage along with the leadership were much stronger. What I am today is an outcast and alone, and my society is happy and prosperous. I loathe in retrospection to think they found the true leadership that destroyed me and build the society and the land for the collective betterment. The world calls us the Developed Nation, but it did not happen until my enemies set their direction right, fought the forces of evil and steadfastly moved in that direction which was right for the society and not the select few.
At least I can find solace in you whom I feel is my savior. We also need to survive, and I draw strength from you. But tell me how you could manage to take the journey in the backward direction. As a society, you had strong values, most of you were upright and honest, corrupt was easy to identify and socially disliked, religious but tolerant, poor but happy and as a whole the society was well knitted in values and culture and had all the potential to lead the way to success and prosperity. But what you did not have, or you had but eliminated was the sincere leadership. Instead you installed or gave way to either corrupt civilian leaders or Army dictators who both in connivance systematically destroyed the fabric of your society. Now you have become one of them active or silent members in any way the burden of crime is equal. You are abetting the crimes they are perpetrating by being silent or indifferent. So you are like me a “perpetrator!”
Your state is what mine was, when my nation began the change process, pathetic and hopeless, intolerable and last stage before death. Either you can rise from the rubble or be destroyed. I may be selfish, but not callous that I advise you to be destroyed. I need few perpetrators in the world for our community to survive, not the whole nation.
I advise you to start the process of change from within, individually and add your voice to all the voices that you now hear, the least you can do, so to build the momentum and rhythm of collective voice. You must not burry your heads like an ostrich but take the bull by the horns. Trust those who help themselves God will help them in the multitude. I will pray for you! God blesses your great land of Pakistan!
Salaam to All.
I think it is about time we take action, we talk too much, but no action.” Action speak Louder Than Words ” It is time to get up and do some thing, the Govt. is dead, and worthless. no Law and order. the whole Country is Corrupt. no one Love ALLAH or Fear. they think they are AZAD. US is the biggest enemy of the country. US is two Face snake. we are not going deep into their planning, we are going by the Face value!! so much can be said about it. Every thing happening is their Creation and care full planning.
MAY ALLAH GIVES STRENGTH AND PROTECT US FROM ENEMY AND ENEMY OF ISLAM AMEEN SUMA AMEEN.
what do you suggest we do?
we are so off the real topic!! people have already forgotten and moved On…sigh!!
have u read Atlas Shrugged?
I am not a big fan of Ayn Rand. Just couldnt read her other books after reading one. :/
OK now thats ENOUGH..!!!
i did’nt get a single bit of what this writer said. i mean how can u blame the whole of society for a crime that some JAAHIL and may be some PARHAY LIKHAY JAAHIL logon nay commit kia… Its the saddist piece i have ever read. its been two months now since the accident happened and i have read thousands of them articles pointing out the same insane idea of this society bieng some kind of spartans or something…!!
MAY be WE ARE..!!! but thats not the point.We have already creaded these monsters in out society,and it a tough thing to change a person. All im asking is that don’t leave this kind of litrature for our future generations…. point out what they need to do to save this country… point out y they should love this country…point out y they should work for their country…
these articles have literally started making me believe that y the fuck i love this country… im 21 and thinking to go somewhere else… PLZ STOP THIS..!!!!!
you’re 21, your thinking should be more positive than that. rather than saying “y the fuck i love this country” you could be saying “i love this country and i will improve it”
its easy, change the way you look at things and you will change everything.
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I shall not say anything but to realize to any reader though this forum that if we have no force to stop this type of incidents then wait for this fire to burn our houses.
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