دوغلا پن یا منافقت ؟ Dualism or Hypocrisy ?

قدیر احمد رانا نے ایک طالبہء علم کا نظریہ تحریر کیا ہے کہ لڑکیوں کا نماز پڑھنا۔ سر کو ڈھانپنا۔ جینز نہ پہننا وغیرہ "ملّا" نام کی ایک بیماری ہے جس کا علاج ماہر نفسیات۔ معافی چاہتا ہوں۔ ماہر نفسیات نہیں بلکہ دماغی امراض کے ماہر سے کروانا پڑتا ہے لفظ سائیکاٹرسٹ لکھا ہے۔ ملاحظہ ہو اقتباس :

یار میں تو آج کل بہت پریشان ہوں اپنی چھوٹی بہن کی وجہ سے ۔۔۔ میری بہن تو بہت خراب ہوتی جا رہی ہے ۔۔۔ کہیں پکنک پر جائیں تو وہ ہمارے ساتھ نہیں جاتی ، کہتی ہے کہ میری نماز رہ جائے گی ہر وقت سر پر دوپٹہ سا اوڑھے رہتی ہے ۔۔۔ اور تو اور اب اس نے جینز پہننی بھی چھوڑ دی ہے ۔۔۔ ہمیں تو ڈر ہے کہ کہیں وہ بھی " مُلا نہ بن جائے ۔۔۔ ہم نے ایک سائیکاٹرسٹ سے کنسلٹ کیا ہے اور اب ہم اس کا پراپرلی علاج کرا رہے ہیں۔

کیا آپ مندرجہ بالا باتیں کہنے والی لڑکی کو مسلمان کہیں گے ؟ آج کی دنیا میں قدریں بدل چکی ہیں۔ کوئی وقت تھا جب کہا جاتا تھا ۔۔۔ سیرت کے ہم غلام ہیں صورت ہوئی تو کیا ۔۔ سرخ و سفید مٹی کی مورت ہوئی تو کیا۔۔۔ لیکن مادیّت اور دکھاوے نے آدمی کو اتنا گھیر لیا ہے کہ قدریں مٹ چکی ہیں یا خلط ملط ہو کے رہ گئی ہیں۔ آج قابلیت سے زیادہ سندوں کی قیمت ہے اور اس سے بھی زیادہ بے ڈنگ فیشن اور اثر و رسوخ کی۔ آدمی دوغلا پن یا منافقت کا شکار ہو چکا ہے۔ آدمی یہ بھول چکا ہے کہ اس کی پیدائش کیسے ہوئی اور وہ کسی کے آکے جواب دہ بھی ہے۔ اب ذرا پڑھئے میرے چشم دید واقعات۔ فی الحال صرف دو۔

کئی سال پہلے ایک محلہ دار کے ہاں سے میری بیوی کو دعوت ملی کہ بیٹے کی شادی سے ایک دن پہلے قرآن خوانی کرنا ہے اس لئے آپ بھی آئیں۔ میری بیوی چلی گئی۔ میری بیوی منہ پھلائے گھر واپس آئی تو وجہ پوچھی۔ کہنے لگی۔ قرآن خوانی کے اختتام پر چائے کیک مٹھائی وغیرہ سے تواضع شروع ہوئی اور ساتھ ہی اونچی آواز می پاپ موسیقی لگا دی گئی۔ میں تو ایک دم چلی آئی ہوں۔

ایک محترمہ اپنی عزیز خواتین کے ہمرا ایک کھاتے پیتے تعلیم یافتہ گھرانہ میں اپنے بیٹے کے لئے رشتہ لینے گئیں اور لڑکی کی ماں سے مخاطب ہوئیں۔" ہم مذہبی لوگوں کو پسند کرتے ہیں۔ آپ کا کسی نے بتایا کہ آپ نیک لوگ ہیں۔ آپ کی بیٹی جسم اور سر اچھی طرح ڈھانپ کے رکھتی ہے۔ بہت اچھی بات ہے لیکن دیکھیں نا۔ میرا بیٹا آفیسر ہے۔ اس نے دوستوں سے ملنا اور پارٹیوں میں جانا ہوتا ہے۔ ہائی سوسائٹی میں تو پھر ان کے مطابق ہی کپڑے پہننا ہوتے ہیں نا۔"

ہمارا آج کا معاشرہ اللہ سبحانہ و تعالی کا نام لینے والوں کو جاہل اور گنوار کا لقب دیتا ہے۔ مگر کامیاب وہی ہے جو اللہ سبحانہ و تعالی سے محبت کرتا ہے اور اسی سے ڈرتا ہے۔ میں ان لوگوں کی حمائت نہیں کرتا جو بظاہر تو مذہبی ہوتے ہیں نماز روزہ بھی کر لیتے ہیں مگر باقی معاملات میں اللہ سبحانہ تعالی کے احکام کی پیروی نہیں کرتے۔

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نظر آتے نہیں بے پردہ حقائق ان کو
آنکھ جن کی ہوئی محکومی و تقلید سے کور
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گلستاں میں نہیں حد سے گذرنا اچھا
ناز بھی کر تو باندازہء رعنائی کر
پہلے خود دار تو مانند سکندر ہو لے
پھر جہاں میں ہوس شوکت دلدائی کر
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فروغ مغربیان خیرہ کر رہا ہے تجھے
تری نظر کا نگہباں ہو صاحب مازاغ
وہ بزم عیش ہے مہمان یک نفس دو نفس
چمک رہے ہیں مثال ستارہ جس کے ایاغ
کیا تجھ کو کتابوں نے کور ذوق اتنا
صبا سے بھی نہ ملا تجھ کو بوئےگل کا سراغ

Human rights and hypocrisy

Writes an eminent journalist, Irfan Husain:

SHORTLY after 9/11, I was flooded with e-mails from Americans who suddenly wanted to learn more about foreign perceptions of their country.The question “Why do they hate us?” kept cropping up in letter after letter. I explained that over the years, successive US administrations had acted in ways that would have shocked the average American had he known what was being done in his name. But Americans tend to be largely insular, and ignore international events.Now, in these lawless post-9/11 days, the Bush administration can literally get away with murder. The recent revelations from Bagram in Afghanistan are part of the overall picture of a latter-day Gulag stretching from Guantanamo Bay to Abu Ghraib to Afghanistan.Whenever the Americans have conducted an internal inquiry into prisoner abuse, we have been told those responsible were untrained in interrogation techniques. How much training does it need for decent people to know they are inflicting agony on their prisoners?Irene Khan, director of Amnesty International the organization, has lambasted the American military for running what she calls the ‘gulag for our times’.

Of course American abuse of prisoners must be condemned by all of us. But at the same time, we need to take a hard look at what’s happening in our prisons. In its annual report for 2004, this is what Amnesty International says about Pakistan’s track record: “Torture and ill-treatment by the police and prison officers remained routine and the perpetrators were rarely held to account. Several people died in custody.” The report does not mention the role of our intelligence agencies in torturing suspects. However, from time to time, their hand is exposed. A few months ago, a British TV channel ran an investigative documentary in which a mysterious American executive jet was shown taking off from American and European airports and flying prisoners to remote destinations in the Middle East. The programme interviewed a Canadian Muslim who had been flown from the United States to his native Syria and tortured for months. This is not to suggest that the Muslim world has a monopoly on torture. Far from it. But human rights abuses flourish most brutally in the absence of democracy, and unfortunately, the record of Muslim countries in political freedom is pretty dismal.

So why this outrage over the excesses committed by Americans in Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib and Bagram? Because the Americans have set themselves higher standards, and their entire legal system prohibits the abuse of prisoners.

America has often been criticized for double standards, but never has the chasm between words and actions been as wide. Now when the US government chides some dictator for mistreating his citizens, he will turn around and quote Amnesty on American treatment of prisoners.In Abu Ghraib, those responsible for the abuse of prisoners defended themselves by saying they were “only having fun”, and claimed they were acting under orders. Clearly, if America wishes to win back its moral authority, it will have to look into the actions of senior civilian and military officers in the chain of command. But the fact that Rumsfeld has been retained as defence secretary in Bush’s second administration is an indication that it is business as usual in Washington. (For complete story please click on the title above)

Disorder in the Court (will make you at least smile)

These are from a book called Disorder in the Court. These are things people actually said in court, word for word, taken down and now published by court reporters
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Q: What is your date of birth?
Ans: July fifteenth.
Q: What year?
Ans: Every year.
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Q: How old is your son, the one living with you?
Ans: Thirty-eight or thirty-five, I can't remember which.
Q: How long has he lived with you?
Ans: Forty-five years.
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Q: What was the first thing your husband said to you when he woke up that morning?
Ans: He said, "Where am I, Cathy?"
Q: And why did that upset you?
Ans: My name is Susan.
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Q: Now doctor, isn't it true that when a person dies in his sleep, he doesn't know about it until the next morning?
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Q: Were you present when your picture was taken?
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Q: She had three children, right?
Ans: Yes.
Q: How many were boys?
Ans: None.
Q: Were there any girls?
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Q: Can you describe the individual?
Ans: He was about medium height and had a beard.
Q: Was this a male, or a female?
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Q: Doctor, how many autopsies have you performed on dead people?
Ans: All my autopsies are performed on dead people.
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Q: All your responses must be oral, OK? What school did you go to?
Ans: Oral.
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Q: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?
Ans: No.
Q: Did you check for blood pressure?
Ans: No.
Q: Did you check for breathing?
Ans: No.
Q: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?
Ans: No.
Q: How can you be so sure, Doctor?
Ans: Because his brain was picked up from the scene and put on my desk in a jar.
Q: But could the patient have still been alive, never the less?
Ans: Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law somewhere, asking people questions like those you just asked me now.

NOTE: More stuff to your delight will keep on be coming.

Are the Kashmiris free Indian Citizens or Terrified Slaves ?

May 25, 2005: Writes Khalid Hassan, a Washington (USA) Journalist:

There isn’t a sadder city than Srinagar.

The last time I was there was in 1983. Another 22 years were to pass before my stars would take me there again. It is less than three weeks as I write this since I was there and though I have spoken about what I saw of it and what I experienced, this is the first time I am trying to write about it.

One of the most eerie experiences I have ever had was being driven in a car through the streets of the city at around 10.30 at night and finding them utterly deserted. Srinagar had turned into a ghost town. The city shuts its doors soon after nightfall.

The inside lights of the car had been kept on, that being the regulation laid down by the Indian security forces that patrol the streets night and day. A darkened car runs the risk of being fired on. There was no sound at all except the noise the tyres made on the metalled road and the dogs which barked dementedly.

When I went to Srinagar in 1983, which was six years before the uprising, even then the city was practically crawling with Indian soldiers. There were bunker-like structures everywhere. You couldn’t walk a hundred yards without running into Indian military presence.

This alone, it occurred to me then, was enough to debunk the myth that the Kashmiris had reconciled themselves to living under Indian rule or being an integral part of India.

It is not true, as India maintains, that but for Pakistani interference, the Kashmiris would be happily living as happy Indian citizens. Srinagar is a ravaged city. It is also one of the most dusty cities that I have been to, which makes no sense because it is a city that lies beside one of the world’s most beautiful lakes and on either side of the meandering Jhelum river. But the city has crumbled. Fifty-seven years of conflict have taken their toll.

What is sold on the streets of a city tells you a great deal about that city and its people. In Srinagar I found seller after seller of second-hand clothing, their none-too-attractive wares placed on the footpath. Most people you see on the street look harried, ill-at-ease and tense.
There are few signs of prosperity. Unemployment, especially among the educated, is said to be high. The shops are poorly stocked and what they stock is of poor quality. The two main bookshops of the city have more old books than new.

The old houses, of which Srinagar is full, look as if they are about to fall. Anywhere else they would have been pronounced unfit for human habitation. The once picturesque bridges over Jhelum look ramshackle. Srinagar no longer is a city of gardens. The trees of Wazir Bagh and Gol Bagh have made way for urban ugliness. The Nagin Lake, one of the world’s most beautiful, is a cesspool.

The grand maples of Nasim Bagh still stand but there used to be far more of them than there are today.

Kashmiris are deeply suspicious of the India-Pakistan peace process. They are not sure where it will leave them. They feel that some kind of an understanding or arrangement has been made between the two countries over their heads and, once again, as in their long and sad history, they are going to be bartered away without being asked.

The alienation with India is total. No Kashmiri sees himself as an Indian. When I say Kashmiri, I mean the Muslims of the Valley. Nor do they want union with Pakistan as they once did. There is great disillusionment with the policies followed by Pakistan at their expense.

As you stand on the streets of what was once a paradise on earth, you wonder if that would ever come to pass. The reality of Kashmir today is the graveyard of the martyrs where almost all graves are those of young men cut down in the first flower of their youth. It is a shattering experience. (To read the full story please click on the title)

مسخرا اور بھانڈ وغیرہ منافق نہیں ہوتے Clown and Jokers are not Hypocrite

آج کے زمانہ میں لوگ ترقی تو بہت کر گئے ہیں اور دولتمند بھی ہو گئے ہیں مگر چہروں سے بشاشت غائب ہو گـئی ہے۔ اس دور میں مسخرے اور بھانڈ کی شائد زیادہ ضرورت ہے مگر اب کم از کم شہروں میں تو نظر نہیں آتے۔ ہماری نوجوان نسل نے تو شايد انہیں دیکھا بھی نہیں ہو گا۔ کیا مہارت ہوتی تھی ان میں۔ محفل میں کتنا ہی افسردہ شخص کیوں نہ ہنسے بغیر نہ رہ سکتا تھا۔ مسخرے اور بھانڈ کی شخصیت بھی عجیب ہوتی ہے۔ بظاہر خوش اور لاپرواہ مگر اندر سے بعض اوقات غم کے مارے ہوئے۔ مسخرے اور بھانڈ منافق نہیں ہوتے وہ تو اپنے بول اپنی حرکات اور چہرہ بھی صرف دوسروں کو خوش کرنے کے لئے بدلتے ہیں۔ پرانی بات ہے ایک مسخرے سے پوچھا کہ اس نے یہ پیشہ کیوں اختیار کریا ؟ بولا " اپنے غم تو دوسروں کو دے نہیں سکتا۔ لوگوں کو ہنسا کر مجھے اپنے غم بھول جاتے ہیں "۔

These days, people have advanced in many directions and have also collected wealth but happy faces have considerably reduced in number. Clowns and jokers are needed more these days than before. Somehow this institution is heading towards closure. At least in the cities one can not think of them. Perhaps, our young generation may not have seen even one of them. What skills these people had ! Even the most worried and the most pessimistic person used to laugh heartily on the acts of Clown / joker. Clown and jokers have a strange personality, apparently, happy and careless but, sometimes, a gravely worried person. Clowns and jokers are not hypocrites. They act what they are not only to please others. Long ago, I asked a clown why he had adopted to be a clown. He said, “I can not give my worries to others. I feel a relief in my pain when I see others laughing.”

Four senators decline pay rise

Report by Asim Yasin, published in “The News” on May 20, 2005

ISLAMABAD: Four senators in the 100-member House have declined to accept the pay raise and continue to draw salary according to pre-November, 2003 scales.

Among them, 3 belong to the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) including Prof Khurshid Ahmad, Prof Muhammad Ibrahim and Prof Ghafoor Ahmed while the fourth one is Pakistan People’s Party’s Farhatullah Babar.

Last month the government approved a 15 per cent pay raise for the MPs. This was the second raise in pay and perks for the present graduate parliament whose members were elected with a pledge by General Musharraf to cleanse politics of corruption and self-seeking individuals.

The first pay raise of nearly one hundred percent was announced in November 2003 while the parliament was witnessing rowdy scenes of "go Musharraf go" and "no Musharraf no". Before the November 2003 pay raise, a parliamentarian was paid a gross monthly salary of about Rs 24,000 including daily and conveyance allowances. This was raised to nearly Rs 50,000 gross emoluments in November 2003.

Initially, the MMA senators informed the Senate Secretariat that they had decided not to accept the raise temporarily and would take a decision in due course of time in the light of how parliament proceeded in its work.

However, within weeks these senators decided to accept the pay raise, with most of them saying that instead of abandoning the additional benefits to the government for spending it in questionable ways they would like to draw it from the exchequer and themselves donate it for charitable causes.

Farhatullah Babar in his letter said he had publicly opposed the pay raise, as the parliament remained dysfunctional, its members were unable to perform their duties and conditions of poverty and unemployment were pathetic. "It is not possible for me to accept the pay raise and denounce it at the same time".

Interesting Label Instructions

When you buy some thing, do you read the instructions on the package before opening it ? Here are some of those stupid instructions.

On Sears hairdryer: "Do not use while sleeping"

On a bag of Fritos: "You could be winner! No purchase necessary. Details inside".

On a bar of Dial soap: "Directions: Use like regular soap."

On some Swanson frozen dinners: "Serving suggestions: "Defrost."

On Tesco's Tiramisu dessert (printed on bottom of box): "Do not turn upside down".

On Marks & Spencer Bread Pudding: "Product will be hot after heating".

On packaging for a Rowenta iron: "Do not iron clothes on body

On Boot's Children's Cough Medicine: "Do not drive a car or operate machinery after taking this medication".

On Nytol Sleep Aid: "Warning: May cause drowsiness".

On most brands of Christmas lights: "For indoor or outdoor use only".
On a Japanese food processor: "Not to be used for the other use".

On Sainsbury's peanuts: "Warning: Contains nuts". On an American Airlines packet of nuts: "Instructions: Open packet, eat nuts."

It is NOT about hypocrisy but Golden Rules

We take for granted the things that we should be giving thanks for.
Do what you can, for whom you can, with what you have, and where you are.
The real measure of a man's wealth is what he has invested in eternity.
God always gives His best to those who leave the choice with Him.

Everyone has beauty but not everyone sees it.
Man looks at outward appearance but the Lord looks within.

Happiness is enhanced by others but does not depend upon others.
All people smile in the same language. Laughter is God's sunshine.
Take time to laugh, for it is the music of the soul.
Thank God for what you have and TRUST GOD for what you need.

بظاہر منافق مگر حقیقت میں ہمدردSame Definition but not Hypocrite

ویسے تو سچائی یا اصل کو چھپانے والا یا غلط بیانی کرنے والا عام طور پر منافق ہوتا ہے لیکن ایک ایسا شخص ہے جو کسی دوسرے انسان کی جائز بہتری کے لئے یعنی اس کی جان بچانے کے لئے یا دو آدمیوں میں صلح کرانے کے لئے اصل بات کو چھپا جاتا ہے اور اس سے کسی کا کوئی نقصان نہیں ہوتا تو یہ عمل منافقت میں شامل نہیں ہوتا مگر اس میں بہتری کے سوائے کسی قسم کا لالچ نہ ہو۔ سب سے اہم میاں بیوی کی مثال ہے۔ اگر میاں بیوی کسی وجہ سے جو کہ بڑا گناہ نہ ہو ناراض ہو جائیں اور علیحدگی کا خدشہ ہو یا کوئی اور بڑا نقصان ہو سکتا ہو اور ایک آدمی ان میں صلح کرانے کے لئے ایک یا دونوں سے کوئي ایسی بات کہے جو حقیقت نہ ہو مگر ایسا کرنے سے ان میں صلح ہو سکتی ہو تو یہ منافقت نہیں بلکہ کار ثواب ہے۔ اسی طرح اگر ایک بے قصور آدمی کے مارے جانے کا خدشہ ہے اور اس کی جان بچانے کے لئے اصل بات چھپائی جائے تو یہ بھی منافقت نہیں۔
Ordinarily, hiding facts or narrating something which is not factual is a trait of a Hypocrite but a person who, for deserved betterment of another person, for example, for saving a human life or removing misunderstandings between two persons so that they become friends again, hides some facts provided that it is not done for any personal benefit and this act does not have any adverse effect on anybody, it will not be called hypocrisy but a praiseworthy act.
An important example would be that due to some trivial issue the spouses get involved in grave misunderstanding and there is chance of divorce or some other damage to both or one of them. A person, knowing the truth, hides facts and that brings the spouses together and they start living happily or there is danger to the life of an innocent person and his / her life can be saved by hiding some facts. All such cases do not come under Hypocrisy.

The Osama Tapes (translated)

These audio tapes were retrieved by courageous HT journalists from a remote palace in Saudi Arabia. Analysts surmise that, like Richard Nixon, Osama had his conversations recorded for historic purposes or perhaps for his memoirs.

Tape ObL36045

Unidentified Minion: Boss, the Satanic US has warned its subjects that we may soon attack their electrical infrastructure or water supply through hacking their computers. Is this true?

Osama: I hadn't thought of it, but it's a good idea.

But Boss, we have no computer expertese. Only bomb-making and guerrilla training.

Idiot! I'm filthy rich. I can hire the expertese.

But Boss, the hacker's code... where can you find an un-American hacker?

You talk like an arrogant American... there are genius computer hackers all over the world—China, Korea, Malasia... The Russians would love to pull the tail of the Lion.

Boss, the Lion was the symbol of the British Empire. The US Empire has no such symbol.

All right, then "tug on Superman's cape".

Oh, Boss, who says you have no sense of humor.

Enough. Put out the RFB (request for bid).
[the rest of the tape is mostly minor administrative matters involving funds transfers, executive orders, posthumous commendations for martyrs.]

For reading script of more tapes click on the title above

معاملہ فہمی یا منافقت ؟ Ingenuity or Hypocrisy

علامہ اقبال ایک فلسفی تھا۔ اس نے ستّر برس پہلے جو تحریر کیا۔ یوں لگتا ہے کہ آج کے لئے لکھا تھا۔علامہ اقبال کو منافقت پسند نہ تھی۔ ان وقتوں میں تو شاید اتنی منافقت نہ تھی مگر آج تو دنیا کا تقریبا سارا کارو بار ہی ( نجی ہو یا اجتمائی) منافقت کے دوش پروان چڑھ رہا ہے۔ غربت کو ختم کرنے کے نام پر غریب کو ختم کیا جا رہا ہے۔ دہشت گردی ختم کرنے کے بہانے کھلے عام اصول پرستوں کا قتل عام کیا جا رہا ہے۔ پنجابی کی ایک ضرب المثل ہے " روندی یاراں نوں۔ ناں لے کے بھراواں دے "

یار لوگوں نے منافقت کا بہروپ ہی بدل دیا ہے۔ اب اس کا نام "معاملہ فہمی"۔ "حکمت عملی"۔ فراست"۔ "چھریرا پن"۔ "ذہانت" وغیرہ رکھ دیا ہے۔ اور جو کوئی منافقت نہ کرے اسے "بے وقوف" کا خطاب دیا جاتا ہے۔ حال بایں جا رسید کہ دفتر ہو تو منافق کامیاب اور جلد ترقیاں پانے والا۔ سیاست ہو تو سب سے بڑا منافق سب سے زیادہ ووٹ حاصل کرتا ہے۔ کچھ استثناء تو بہر حال ہوتا ہی ہے۔
Allama Iqbal was a philosopher. What he wrote seventy years back appears to be fresh even to-day. Allama Iqbal was against hypocrisy and wrote against it in commonly understandable language. In those days, perhaps, hypocrisy had not spread to such an extent as it is today. These days, all the business / dealings (individual or collective) are flourishing by clever use of hypocrisy. Poor are being eliminated in the name of poverty alleviation. On the pretext of alleviation of terrorism, the men-of-principle, who are weak, are being openly mass-murdered.

My good friends have devised new terminology. They have renamed “Hypocrisy” as skillful handling, alertness, ingenuity, etc. And a person who stays away from hypocrisy, is labeled as “Stupid”. We are living in a world where, in employment, mostly hypocrites are successful and bag maximum upgrading, and, in politics, generally the greatest hypocrite bags the maximum of votes.

I t is not about Hypocrisy but something to laugh

A friend sent me the following joke I hope, you will enjoy it.

80 years old Arab American man, living close to New York City for more than 50 years, loves potatoes and wants to plant potatoes in his garden, but he is alone, old and weak. His only son is working in Paris, so the old man sends him an e-mail. He explains the problem:

"My beloved son, I am very sad because I can't plant potatoes in my garden. I am sure, if only you were here, you would have helped me and dug up the garden for me. I love you: Your father."

The following day, the old man receives a response e-mail from his son:

"My beloved father, please don't touch the garden. It's there that I have hidden 'THE THING'.
I love you too-- Ahmed."

At 4 pm same day the US Army, the Marines, the FBI and the CIA visit the house of the old man, take the whole garden apart, search every inch, but can't find anything. Disappointed, they apologize and leave the house.

The next day, the old man receives another e-mail from his son:
"My beloved father, I hope the garden is dug up by now and you can plant your potatoes. That's all I could do for you from here on such short notice.I love you--Ahmed."

US Military Freedom - Is that Freedom ?

Military criminal organizations in 2004 received 1,700 reports of alleged cases of sexual assault, which includes rape, nonconsensual sodomy, indecent assault as well as attempts to commit those offenses. (This does not include the sexual cases that take place with mutual consent)

In 1,275 of the reported cases, service members were alleged victims -- an increase of 25 percent over the number determined by a Pentagon task force in 2003, and 41 percent over the 2002 figure. The overall 2004 figure also included 425 cases in which service members allegedly assaulted or attempted to assault civilians -- a category not included in earlier years' totals.

"Our concern is that sexual assault within the military continues to escalate," said Christine Hansen, executive director of the Miles Foundation Inc., a private, nonprofit organization that offers assistance to victims. At the same time, she said, "victims continue to be concerned about their privacy and confidentiality, as well as repercussions that they may face, either through charges of fraternization and adultery or drinking."

"Sexual assault is probably the most underreported crime," said Lt. Col. Joe Richard, a Pentagon spokesman.

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Jounalism - A Profession of Hypocrites

THE ground has changed. So perhaps have the unwritten rules. In Pakistan today it is no longer government which chiefly influences or controls the press. The new censorship is altogether different and it comes in the form of special interests, big money and — dare one say it? — journalistic incompetence.Indeed, open denunciation of the president, of government and government policies has lost both charm and novelty. The word dictatorship has lost its sting. In fact, coming across the usual criticism, I suspect the reader is tempted to turn the page.This is not to say all is for the best, for in place of the old curbs and restrictions have arisen new ones, some more insidious than the controls we were familiar with.Advertising is the media’s oxygen. Regulating its supply, turning it up or down, is the new tool of control in the era of globalization. In this new environment, it is easier to criticize Musharraf or even the ISI, less easy to take on McDonald’s or KFC.I’ve often wondered why when five-star hotel managers greet important guests, the resulting pictures get splashed in even the better newspapers. Goes to show the clout these hotels have.Of American journalism in the first quarter of the last century the incomparable H. L. Mencken had this to say: “Most of the ills that continue to beset American journalism today, in truth, are not due to the rascality of owners nor even to the Kiwanian bombast of business managers, but simply and solely to the stupidity, cowardice and Philistinism of working newspaper men...There are reporters by the thousand who could not pass the entrance examination for Harvard or Tuskegee, or even Yale. It is this vast and militant ignorance, this widespread and fathomless prejudice against intelligence, that makes American journalism so pathetically feeble and vulgar, and so generally disreputable.”With minor amendments this judgment is equally applicable to Pakistani journalism.

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Bridging the gender gap – A Show Piece

Writes Shamshad Ahmad, a former foreign secretary. (To read complete article click on the title above)

Instead of organizing activities or events perceived as “culturally inappropriate”, we should be applying our energies and resources to plugging the gender gap in education, health and employment.

The administration of justice is another crucial area where gender-based discrimination manifests itself for the women in Pakistan.

In recent years, no doubt, there has been a conspicuous increase in the number of women in our political institutions, but merely showcasing the presence of a few privileged females in our legislative chambers is neither gender-mainstreaming nor empowering women.

Successive governments in Pakistan have only paid politically motivated lip-service to the cause of women. . . Instead of indulging in diversionary antics, which at times may be inconsistent with our religious and eastern value system, we need to focus more on coherent and concrete legal reforms

Laws that discriminate against women remain in the books and are actively enforced while discriminatory access to government resources and services continues unchecked.

Our misplaced priorities and cultural barriers have kept the ratio of girls’ enrolment in schools among the lowest in the world.

Is that not Hypocrisy ?

Hypocrisy of Pervez Musharraf and Kashmiri struggle

Writes Khalid Hasan from Washington DC
The Kashmiris are disillusioned with the road the Musharraf government has taken. They were never consulted and their feeling is that Pakistan has thrown in the towel.

The UN Security Council resolutions, the bedrock of Pakistan’s case on Kashmir, have been abandoned by Gen Pervez Musharraf. He may be thinking “out of the box” and showing “flexibility”, but India has continued to maintain its old, hardline position.

The Kashmiris are an extremely intelligent and well-informed people and they can clearly see the direction in which things are moving.

I am astounded by Mr Bhandara’s adoption of the Indian argument that “any sudden change in Kashmir’s status is likely to hit Muslims in India.”

“If the proven and well-demonstrated loyalty of Indian Muslims since independence does not guarantee their security or well-being in India, how will the coerced allegiance of the Kashmiri Muslims do that ?”

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Feminism a Hypocrisy or Fashion ?

Sadaf Alam from Karachi (Pakiastan) writes:
Ms Quratulain Hyder’s own remarks about Mr Ahmed were not so flattering. She is quoted as having said that Mr Ahmed’s essay did not require refutation, because that is what one could expect from a “triple M” (middle class Muslim male). When a member of the audience remarked that Ms Quratulain Hyder’s statement was a sweeping generalization, he was quickly silenced by the organizers, and thus the atmosphere of “liberation” and “freedom” suddenly seemed stifling.There were further glaring contradictions in what was being said and what was actually happening. I will give only one, but significant, example. Ms Fehmida Riaz, early in the programme, mentioned how feminists and women’s organizations were looked upon as being agents of the West. She herself asked why people thought that NGOs were foreign funded and working for the interests of the West.

So it came as a big surprise when towards the end of the programme, Mr Charlie Walker, director of the British Council, Karachi, showed up and was proudly introduced before the audience as “our sponsor”. It was mentioned during the workshop that hypocrisy has taken root in our society, where people’s words do not match their actions.

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Military operation in Waziristan

Words and deeds of government of USA and Pakistan prove them being Hypocrite. Here are a few lines from an appraisal written by Amir Usman, a former ambassador of Pakistan. For reading the article click on the title above.
امریکہ اور پاکستان کی حکومتوں کا کردار اور گفتار ان کی منافقت ثابت کرتے ہیں۔ پاکستان کے ایک سابق سفیرکے تجزیہ سے کچھ سطور نقل کر رہا ہوں۔ پورا مضموں پڑھنے کے لئے عنوان پر کلک کیجئے۔

Lieutenant-General David Barno, the commander of the US forces in Afghanistan, recently declared at a press conference in Islamabad that “We (Pakistan and the US) collectively feel that there is need to undertake a military operation in North Waziristan to keep pressure on the terrorists net- works.”Brutal killing of Nek Mohammad and other tribal elders is also linked to the same general. In the same press conference, General Barno also said that his area of responsibility included Pakistan and that Pakistani liaison officers were working at the coalition forces headquarters in Kabul.Whichever way you view General Barno’s recent statement, it is an irresponsible utterance violating Pakistan’s sovereignty and independence.
Speaking to a grand tribal jirga on April 17, 1948, at Government House, Peshawar, Mr Jinnah said, “I am fully aware of the part that you have already played in the establishment of Pakistan, and I am thankful to you for all the sympathy and support you gave me in my struggle and fight for the establishment of Pakistan. Keeping in view your loyalty, help, assurances and declarations we ordered the withdrawal of troops from Waziristan as a concrete and definite gesture on our part that we treat you with absolute confidence and trust.”
Compare this with what is happening now or was until recently in Waziristan. This is how we have honoured the Quaid’s pledge to these loyal and brave people.Currently, the government is boasting of unprecedented economic activity in the area.

There has been an assassination attempt on the political agent. A good beginning was made recently by the corps commander, Peshawar, Lieutenant-General Safdar Hussain, who admitted to past mistakes at a press conference, saying that there were no terrorist networks in Waziristan and that he would achieve his objectives by not firing a single bullet.

کچھ پڑھا لکھا پنجاب کے بارے میں About Literate Punjab

Read "Picture of Neglect" Ediditorial in Dawn of May 02, 2005.
Picture of neglectYESTERDAY’S issue of this newspaper carried a forlorn picture of a primary school in a Sialkot village. The caption said the school lacked basic facilities such as electricity and water. This is a picture replicated in every village and small town throughout the country. Even in the bigger cities, we have seen and heard of the neglected state of government schools. This neglect of infrastructural provisions is in addition to the deplorable standards of teaching. Reports continue to come in of lack of trained teachers or of missing teachers. In Punjab at one time, there was a great deal of uproar over “ghost” schools, schools that existed only on paper or whose buildings had been requisitioned by landlords for their own purposes. Such “ghost” schools or ghostly schools, with no teachers or teaching, continue to exist — of this there can be little doubt. The situation is particularly grim in areas that once used to be called the mofussil.Since everything — the government, the media, NGOs — is based in the bigger urban centres, no one gets to hear much of what is happening in the rural hinterland, and few care. The new, actually now almost four years old, local government system has been unable, apart from its many other failures, to mobilize a community effort in the rural affairs that could make up for official apathy in the fields of education, health and social welfare. Unless a most determined effort is made to reverse the trend of planning for development from the top, there can be little hope of an improvement in villages, tehsils and district towns. NGOs could have supplemented government efforts in this respect, but the government establishment has made up its mind that it will not work with the NGOs because they are liberal, they champion human and civil rights and speak up for democracy. It is time somebody thought seriously about all this. For a start, coming back to our picture from Sialkot, perhaps we should set up a lower education commission.

Education System in Pakistan پاکستان کا تعلیمی نظام ۔

میں نے اسی بلاگ پر 22 دسمبر کو اپنے پیارے ملک کے نظام تعلیم کا مختصر ذکر کیا تھا اور خلاف توقوع کسی نے تبصرہ نہ کیا مگر اب کسی اور حوالے سے ہمارے نظام تعلیم کا ذکر چھڑ گیا ہے تو پرانے حوالہ کا اعیادہ بےجا نہ ہو گا۔ پہلا ذار انگریزی میں تھا۔

ہمارے ہاں (بالخصوص اسلام آباد میں) کچھ والدین اپنے بچوں کو انتہائی مہنگے مدرسوں میں داخل کرانا ضروری سمجھتے ہیں اور پھر مختلف محفلوں ذکر کرنا نہیں بھولتے کہ ان کے بچے فلاں مدرسہ میں پڑھتے ہیں۔ ان مدرسوں میں تعلیم کا معیار ان کے اخراجات کے مقابلہ میں بہت کم ہے۔ پچھلے نتائج کے مطابق ان مدرسوں کے طلبا یا طالبات بورڈ یا یونیورسٹی میں کوئی زیادہ نمایاں حیثیئت حاصل نہیں کر سکے ۔ نمایاں حیثئت عام مدرسوں کے طلبا و طالبات ہی کی آتی ہیں ۔ اس سے سوال سے بچنے کے لئے ان مدرسوں نے او لیول اور اے لیول شروع کر دیا ہے۔ میں نے کچھ والدین سے اتنی زیادہ فیس ادا کرنے کی وجہ پوچھی تو کوئی خاطر خواہ جواب نہ ملا۔ میرا ذاتی مشاہدہ یہ ہے کہ ایسے مدرسوں میں پڑھنے والے بچوں کے والدین روزانہ اپنے بچوں کو پڑھاتے اور ان کا ہوم ورک کراتے ہیں۔

مسئلہ یہ نہیں جن لگوں کے پاس وافر دولت ہے وہ جہاں چاہیں بچوں ک پرذائیں لیکن میرے جیسے لوگ اپنے بچوں کو مہگے مدرسوں میں داخل کرا کے کیوں اپنے آپ کو مصیبت میں ڈالتے ہیں۔
Is it not an other form of Hypocrisy ?