Pushing the inhabitants of Gojal Valley into further isolation

Gojal is the largest tehsil of Gilgit-Baltistan, where the 25000 inhabitants find their lineages in various parts of Pakistan, China, Afghanistan and Tajikistan. The valley is considered to be the safest place in Pakistan, even though it has many towns connected to Afghanistan and Chinese border.

Image: Google

Literacy rate of the valley is above 90 percent, which further boosts urbanization, especially among educated youth of the area. Joblessness, rare investment opportunities, poor infrastructure, health facilities and ignored tourism sector are prime reasons for low socio-economic development of the area.

The year 2010 added another misery in shape of Attabad disaster, which completely blocked the Karakorum Highway and turned the whole valley into a complete dungeon. Those self-reliant inhabitants became dependent on various international Aids.

Now they are waiting for another nightmare, a decision which will be imposed first from federal setup then with the help of provincial (don’t know where on earth this province exists) setup of Gilgit-Baltistan.

The poor locals of the area have been demanding a separate electoral seat for the largest tehsil of the region, for so long. But the delaying tactics and lack of interest by the political setup has made it impossible for people of the area.

In 2003, Gilgit-Baltistan Council mindlessly recommended that the seat will be given to the area, but Altit and Ganish villages will also be party to it, which was categorically rejected by the people of Gojal. 

Considering the fact that the people of Gojal are victimized by the central Hunza setup for ages, such proposed ideas are preposterous in every aspect as the authorities have ignored historical and ground realities of the area.

During the election year 2009, people of Gojal valley unanimously voted for Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), believing that the Party will deem their sole demand. But it all went with the wind as other promises, which the political figure made during their election campaigns. Four years down the line and there is hardly any development on the said demand. People of the area are losing hope in their representatives.

A bad news has been floating through some backdoor channels that the decision has already been made by the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) and the deal has been hit without taking people of Gojal on-board. According to the new deal, Karimabad (Baltit) is also part of electoral seat, including Altit, Ganish and rest of Gojal. For the second electoral seat Dhorkan, Aliabad and Nasirabad will be fighting for their rights.

Who wins and loses??

For the first electoral seat Altit, Baltit, Ganish, Shishkat, some part of Khyber-Sost, Khudabad, Misgar and Raminj will stand together. Such a scenario will give a visible picture of ethnic divides based on dialects. Most Brushu speakers of these areas vote for PML (N). Until today they consider the so called Mir (of no men’s land) Ghazanfar Ali Khan as their lifetime leader.

There is a strong possibility that Amjad Ayub and Izhar Hunzai will also contest the upcoming elections, which will make the vote pretty tricky. Amjad Ayub will use the platform of PML (N) if their mighty Mir allows, but one cannot expect much difference as the old wine will be in the same old bottle.

Izhar Hunzai might use a different platform or will contest as an independent, but he will get some votes, as those inspired of Nasir Uddin Hunzai and Khan-e-Hikmat will play their part at any cost.

Whoever contests from Gojal Valley will have to face the music; there will be hardly any chance for a contestant to gain majority, as part of the votes will go to the above said personalities of Hunza, no matter based on ethnicity or certain belief.

Such divide will neither affect the vote bank of PPP in central and lower Hunza, nor will it do any personal damage to Mr. Wazir Baig; therefore, he is reluctant to take the decision in favor of Gojal Valley in his tenure. Such awful situation seems playful to Mr. Wazir Baig in coming election, but it will terribly affect social harmony in the region.

People of the area were expecting their elected candidate to deliver upon their aspirations while realizing their dire need. Sadly, Mr. Baig is now ostracizing the sole demand of the people of Gojal, which will lead to disastrous outcomes. Chief Minister of GB, Mr. Mehdi Shah, has been avoiding the issues as well, even though he promised the allocation of specific seat for the area.

If the authority manages to impose the notorious decision, it will be a beginning of ethnic discrimination, which will slowly hike towards moral, social and economic destruction of the ignored population.

Suffering with such unjust and unheeded behavior will provoke revolt in the region. Most probably the locals will march towards China as they have already roots there.

A couplet of Qabil Ajmeeri fits the scenario here.

Waqt Karta hay parwarish barsoon 

Haadssa aik dam nahi hota

Therefore, it’s high time to consider the important demand, which is an electoral seat for the people living from Ayenabad to Chipursan Gojal, with true hearts and mind.

One can read the published post on MountainTV

Your Privacy & Social Media-nude gone naked

Credit: Anonymous 

In the virtual world, there is no county, no border, and even no passport. One can roam around like a hitchhiker enjoying the good or bad. But! There are police, thieves, I mean hackers, spammers in this world.

Social media has made it more interactive more lively and even more realistic. There are plenty social media service providers, where they provide various tools and user friendly apps, which keeps you connected with people worldwide.

As the service providers vary so does the users; there are users who have been using social media streams for business purposes and there are people, out there who have been using it for socialization and fun.

Interestingly, there are users who are highly worried about their privacy on social media. It’s hilarious; isn’t it??

Just imagine you are standing on a crossroad naked; with closed eyes, hands on your face, thinking that no one is looking at you. How is it possible?????????????

Well if you can’t imagine then must find your lineage among ostriches, which believes everything is perfectly alright, head-deaden.

There are people who rarely or occasionally use social media but are terribly worried about their privacy, like a religious soul who is really concerned his illicit relation with a girl or guy. Strangely there are people out there who are addicted to and hardly care about their privacy, like a baby who roams around undressed. 

Anyhow everyone is free to their desires, but moderate use of social media streams will be a safe way out. Who cares, if there is even extreme.

At first there is nothing private and nothing safe in virtual world, even the CEO Mark Zuckerberg himself, who is the guru of social media. In a recent incident, a Palestinian white hat hacker sneaked through Zuckerberg’s account and updated his status, which was shocking for the entire Facebook team. Anyone, anytime, anywhere can sneak through your highly protected accounts, without your consent or notice. Alas! You must be worried about.

There is a new trend; I mean an increasing segment of social media users, they are toddlers-tots-children-kids-babies or whatever you name. One can notice a baby poking around in his/her diaper not their fault; as their parents are more anxious about her pictures, videos and status updates, rather their meal and upbringing.

Considering some virtual facts one must define their own limits, to what extent they want to go and for what reason. Else, it’s an ending world where one can easily lose the aim or can easily attempt-n- attempt which is not under ethical sphere.

It’s high time to stay safe and care for others and the finest rule is to not run into religiosity, political crusades and viciousness of all kind, otherwise we all know “whatever goes comes around.”

One can read the published post on MountainTV

Foreign researchers or foragers

Have you ever witnessed hyenas fighting around carcasses for a loaf? Neither me nor was much interested to see such prizefights.

Sadly I have been witnessing such scenario here in the high mountains; where the virtuous researchers from all over the world journey towards the highlands to rescue endanger language, cultural norms and dying tradition of mountain people.  Don't drag it anymore!!!!

Wait!! Pardon me; never wanted to hurt the beautiful, red, green, brown, blond, black and white blooded souls, I mean aloof angels.

Don’t you think we haven't had the right to curse or criticize?? I believe not, as far they are here to trace out the roosts of my ancestors, what they used to do in old days, why am I speaking this language, the origination of my endangered language and how should I speak and write my mother tongue in days ahead.

Are we literate klutzes or just got it in our instinct, to accept whatever comes our way, or whoever imposes whatever he/she finds stress-free to meet their research objectives???

The aloof angel visits us to render their help to dug out the roots of my ancestors, ignoring the fact that the fast paced economically fueled life has washed away the footprints of their ancestors.

The brats even don't know their life lines, no offense meant to anybody; but it’s a souring reality of civilized world.

Credit: Anonymous

There was once an interesting encounter with a brat, I mean a researcher, regarding their research findings and its benefits for the local community. All he knew was to grab his degree from a prestigious university that’s all.

The forager, sorry the brat no way!!! The researcher I mean; sometime talk pompously like a weeded gypsy who is overdosed and loses the direction to its destiny.

Their research conclusions are way obsolete or just feeding white paper sheets to amuse their MENTOS, I mean mentor; Jiski dimagh ki battee kabhi nahi jalti (A mantra of a mint candy, believes that it opens all the windows of your upper story…LOL!!). At the end they shout at you and try to prove you a disgraced race as many of the previous angles have already done.

The other tricky part is that, they come and make friends and use them as their guides, who know nothing about history, people, cultural and other practices of the area. There is not much difference between these duels, as they have been playing for their personal interests.

These self-declared guides are free and not well -literate therefore its gives cheap deal for the visiting researcher to manage it within few bucks.

Ironically the researchers do rely on the views of self-declared guides as well; which are vague, far from reality and gravely distorted.

None of them has submitted even a copy of their research work to the community library, as it would have helped new researchers to move further.

Now coming to some serious lines here! It’s time for the federal and local government to revive their visa and NOC policies for future researchers. They must be bound to specific area of their research and must pay to the locals as they give time and resources to help these holy brats.

Tourism department must take some strict measures regarding the guiding license, as well as the license of tour and travel agency to avoid information malfunctioning. It’s high time to train guides professionally for such job which will help to reduce unemployment and reduce the risk of presenting these distorted facts and figures.

Sadly our new and upcoming generation has been taking these forgeries facts as universal truth rather cross verifying such information personally.

Every researchers must be bound to submit a copy of their to the community library of respective area.

Not every researcher should be allowed; as many of them are rates under the skin of a researcher which damages the good cause; there must be scrutiny of background info. 
One can read the published post on MountainTV

Is god still an Englishman……….?????

 “Our work is righteous and it shall endure;” said Lord Curzon, the Viceroy of India, advising his Englishmen to leave behind “a sense of manliness or moral dignity, where it did not before exist.” According to the Viceroy this was “the Englishman's justification” for ruling India.

Such smugness made the great Irish playwright, George Bernard Shaw protest, almost a century ago: “The ordinary Britisher imagines that God is an Englishman.”

But here is bad news for our old pals. Didn’t get it?? Never mind! This bad news is for our white, bright Englishmen, that god is no more English he has now become a Pakistani.

Pakistani? When? Where?  ….. Oh!! Come on, wait, how???? (A Britisher might ask himself)

Hushhhhhhh!!! Don’t you know? Sadly neither do I but only rare virtuous, pious and authentic Pakistani knows.

Photo Credit: Anonymous

According to them god has grown long beard, wears Shalwar-Kamiz and turban. He carries Kalashnikov; a gift from the Russian inventor Mikhail Kalashnikov. He doesn’t like shirts, pants, coat and tie anymore. There are very few holy places where the Deity lives and has made friends with some pure souls, only a few close buddies.

According to the pure souls like Zidi Humid, Oreo Biscuit Jan, Samsar Akasi, the dying evangelist Maneuver Panday and many others,  it’s vindicated to murder regular army of this demesne and its Haram to call them Shaheed but the butchers, NO! I mean the holy-troops are true Shaheed.

According to the holy-mercenaries, the million slayed filthy social animals, is a sacred job to reach paradise. One can enjoy shots of Red, Black and Blue Labels in Paradise made for these pious dudes. Not only shots, one will get fountains of these brands, and creeks of beers, red and white wine will be flowing along their gardens.

Oo ya!! These all are Haram here in this part of the world, but according to these noble dudes, I mean child molesters are free to enjoy as far no Hoor. is available in this tedious World. During their Holy war they are allowed to take virgin warriors along and it’s not bad (according to their doctrine) if they turn pregnant without marriage.  

But dating a girlfriend is Haram and talking with her over Facebook, Skype, Viber and even ooVoo is also Haram and the punishment is stoning to death.

The other gift, one can get after heinous butcheries, I mean killing bad guys only; is beautiful Hoor of paradise, many in numbers.

Sorry to other boring, humanoid and peace loving Muslims of this land, they will be sent to hell where they will be treated like slaves and served with hot water, expired Shezan juices on special occasions.

There will be huge fire all around, round-the-clock and these boring, bad Muslims will be crying for air conditioners and Pak-Fan. They will be sweating like pigs and no one will be there to provide them Rose Petal napkins to dry their sweat but rather will be served with scotchbrite.

If George Bernard Shaw was alive, he would have said like this; “Every mad Pakistani believes that god is a Paki man” 

One can read the published post on MountainTV

Are the people of Gilgit-Baltistan living a forged independence?

Liberty is a prized gift to human being on planet earth. Some of us have inherited freedom by birth, and some of us have struggled hard to get it. But, freedom doesn’t mean one go wild, get drunk, dance with weapons or kill people in the streets, as many of us have dogmatized the phenomena in contemporary era.  The real concern is not that one is enslaved with iron fists, but that one accepts and celebrates the marvels of a freedom wrapped in slavery.

It has never happened to any nation that had overpowered a powerful army with scarce resources, agonized with hunger and harsh weather, only to get liberty.  But, ironically it has also never happened in any nation’s history, neither has any nation committed such reckless mistake: Fighting a victorious war against the Dogras to get the throne of liberty and then requesting the browns from plain to come and rein them.

Gilgit-Baltistan can be best called a “DEMESNE” (which means a possession of real property in one’s own right), rather than a province, a state, a country, a kingdom or anything else. The word is self-explanatory if we come out of our cocoons and think rationally, for a while.

You may have listened about movements of separation from states and countries; we have hundreds of examples, even the great divide of the subcontinent is not so old. But, it is astounding that there are movements of affiliation, which in my view is a rare case. The affiliation of Gilgit-Baltistan with Pakistan is one of a kind, which has been proved to be an identity disorder for the people of the area.

Undoubtedly the contributions and sacrifices of our independence heroes are incredible, inimitable and unforgettable. However, the so called independence has left people of the area adrift and with some broken identities.

The question is: “Who really benefited from the so-called freedom?”

Didar Ali Jaffrey

Are they locals of the area, who still consider themselves a flock of forced patriot or the dishonest bureaucrats, mindless politicians, the holy militia or some faithless religious bigots who have turned this beautiful land into complete dungeon.

The land of Gilgit-Baltistan is blessed with immense natural resources, which are enough for a landlocked state to run a smooth setup, yet none from the plains is ready to realize its importance and listen to the grievances of its people, not even the so-called human rights activists and commentators.

A completely insane person would expect loyalty from the imported high officials who are instinctively unfaithful to this land, the shady militia that has used the setup as money making machine, the preposterous political system that continues to remain connected back to Islamabad to decide the fate of GB and the religious extremists who have remained on payroll of their masterminds from the plains to instill terrorism and uproar on our peaceful land.

So, what steps are needed to be taken to get GB liberated from the shackles of slavery?

Giving Gilgit-Baltistan a complete provincial setup and right of decision making and political representation in the national assembly will help building trust and also support leaders of the area to take decisions considering ground realities. It has lots of hurdles in its way to materialize; including the issue of Kashmir and the UN resolution, yet when the people of GB can get their land liberated from the Dogras then struggling to get their own identity is not a distant dream. It should not be a political or media stunt to make some mouth shut, rather needs very serious consideration to bring people of the area in national loop.

Sadly, facts on the ground are even sourer and harsher than before; one can hear dogs barking on Pakistani media against GB, saying Pakistan has four provinces, brushing aside the mountain people. Not only this, if you go through books and websites stating geography of Pakistan, you will see that Gilgit-Baltistan is demarcated in same color along Kashmir and rest of Pakistan in another.

Majority of the unidirectional literates of Pakistan still consider Gilgit-Baltistan a disputed territory along Kashmir, which I consider a big curse since people of the area continue to hate the conspiracy aimed to amalgamate their identity with that of Kashmir.

Declaring Gilgit-Baltistan a “Tourist Free Zone” and boosting tourism related activities in the area will help sustain the region’s economy, improve quality of life and perk up developmental work in the area. It is a high time to take such initiatives for better future, peace and prosperity of the region and to overcome the rising extremism. Developing the agriculture sector of GB besides facilitating farmers of the area to national and international markets will help a major segment of the population to earn their livelihood in a respectful manner.

Guns have never been a solution to extremism, but education has played pivotal role to bring aimless youth into the social loop; therefore, strengthening the educational institution of GB will lead to development, prosperity, and peace. If the situation remains as it is now, then I fear people of the area are doomed.

One can read the original post on MoutainTV

Contrived gap between science and religion

Geocentric and heliocentric schools of thought have played tremendous roles in the world of science and religion. Those scientists, who believed that the Earth is center of Universe ensued geocentric school of thought. Religious dons were among them. And those who believed the Sun is the center of Universe followed heliocentric school of thought.

Paradoxically, Mr. Galileo Galilei (born in Pisa Italy-1564, died in1642, was a highly controversial, rude and ridiculously egoistic in nature,)- who continues to be our all-time favorite scientist inventor, discoverer, revolutionist, or whatever you name it-  took the whole credit for being the sole discoverer of heliocentric system. This was a completely biased approach of the so-called great scientist, never mind! History remained disloyal to those who have contributed truly and sincerely and stayed away from the limelight.

During this whole process, two scientists named Tycho Brahe and John Kepler remained in the shadows; sadly their contributions have disappeared in raped accounts of scientific history, yet their inputs have paved the road to the modern astronomy. Having religious feelings, Tycho Brahe believed in the geocentric and Aristotle’s systems, which he changed afterwards.

The man who carried further the work of Tycho Brahe was John Kepler, who wrote a book regarding structure of the Universe and motions of planets. He shared his thoughts with Galileo, which the later ignored at first and didn’t even respond to John Kepler’s work.  However, later on the so-called scientist woofed that he has already done his research and experiments on the subject matter long ago.

Sketches 

The issue provoked when Mr. Galileo endorsed Nicolaus Copernicus’s (1473-1543) assumption/experiments/theory regarding the ‘new world structure’ which he had thoroughly discussed in his book “On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres.”  Copernicus believed that the Sun is immovable center of the Universe and the Earth is a planet moving around the Sun. This was a total violation of Ptolemaic system.  Aristotle and Ptolemy were the Duo who came up with Ptolemaic system, which most of us identify as Aristotle’s Ptolemaic System- it was ratified by the religious school of thought.

The real controversy was not that Galileo endorsed or believed in Copernican system, neither any grudge with Catholic Church’s belief. But, there was a thin line that steered an outrageous controversy between the Pop Urban VIII and Mr. Galileo.

The fact is that the Pop was the one who helped Galileo, showered his kindness upon him and brought him into the limelight, which later turned a nightmare to the Pop himself.

Since there was inquisition regarding Galileo’s changing interpretations; therefore, a permanent institution within the Catholic Church had to charge eradication of heresies. The committee of consultants declared to the investigation that the Copernican proposition that the Sun is the center of the Universe was a deviation.

In 1624, Galileo was guaranteed by the Pope Urban VIII Gian Lorenzo Bernini that he could write about Copernican theory as long as he treated it as a mathematical proposition. When Galileo published his book, ‘Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems’, the scientist was called to Rome in 1633 to face the Inquiry again. The famous scientist Galileo was found guilty of deviation for his dialogue, and was sent to his home near Florence where he remained under house arrest for the rest of his life.

The Inquiry allowed Galileo to move to his home in Florence and stay closer to his doctors, until the famous scientist went sightless. In 1642, Galileo died at his home in Florence.

Interestingly, Galileo also wore the crown for being the inventor of telescope, which is not true. It was actually Holland’s (Netherland) famous scientist and philosopher Hans Lippershey who invented telescope, which later on Galileo modified to ease his experimental process.

But, the neutral critics have different opinion in this regard. According to them, the issue was not Galileo’s endorsing Copernican’s findings or deviation from the Church’s belief; It was the guilt with which Galileo couldn’t survive longer, as by nature he was arrogant and highly egoistic person.

When Mr. Galileo realized he couldn’t pay back the Pope for all the support he showered upon him, he then criticized the Pop unduly (in his book ‘Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems’), even directly attacked his personal life. This widened the gap between geocentric and heliocentric schools of thought, which we call the gap between science and religion. In the eastern world they called the gap between East and West.

Arrogance and ego of the so called scientist did a great damage and injustice to both science and religion besides increasing the sourness between the two schools of thought- considered as a beginning of disagreements, polarization among religion and science.

One can read the original post on MountainTV

My crumbling temple

I heard MY temple crumbling!!!!

I heard that, there are ant-holes in the walls and floor of my temple, which causes water seepage  

I heard that, the sparkling flowers of my temple garden have turned comatose, thorns and parasitical plants have grown tall

I heard that, the cats of my temple have left long ago and the rats are twirling everywhere

I heard that, sometimes shadows appears in the moonlight which scares the Dog, which is the only defender of my temple

Karakoram International University, Gilgit       Photo Credit: Anonymous 

I heard that, the birds have abandoned their nests and have migrated to new places, the atmosphere of my temple is saddened, and chirpings of birds are badly missing

I heard that, the curators have turned ostriches and vultures have turned curators

I heard that, the tallest tree of my temple has dried-up, because of termite which used to stand against the Sun, to protect the temple’s beautiful painted walls and doors.

I heard that, the metal road towards the temple has been crushed by huge traffic and giant vehicles, now the visitors have shunned their visits

I heard that, the new sentry is actually a bandit who has stolen some precious books and the golden pen

I heard that, there are ruffians who have been snatching prayer-beads from temple visitors  

I heard that, hyenas appear from nearby jungles; they yowl, search for carcasses and disappear

I heard that, the rats have their group and the ants have their own, so does the hyenas

I heard that, the cobweb is so thick that the visitors hardly see through the windows glass pane

I heard that, when it rains the drops seeps through the roof, which further weakens my temple

I heard that, the strong winds of winter has smashed all the candles against the walls

I heard that, the prayers, and soulful melodies have turned numb

I heard that, the temple bell is soundless as rust has snatched its blare

I heard that, the only nightingale of my temple garden slain by marauders

I heard that, It’s my temple, it’s my university, it’s the KIU which yens for me but I am frail, helpless can't get there, can’t make the hyenas run away, can't kill the rats and bring back the beautiful cats, can't fill the ant-holes to stop the seepage, as they all have grown stronger and stronger with big mouth, sharp teeth, big bellies, and huge in numbers.

I can't even give life to the lifeless flowers and trees as I am not the creator but like others visitors, I want the old days back, with true excitement, and affection. 

One can read the original post on MountainTV

The commandeered Iqbal

I have been listening and reading about Allama Muhammad Iqbal since my childhood; yet the haziness continues buzzing in my subconscious as to whether Iqbal was a philosopher, a Sufi, a Communist, a political icon, a statesman, a poet, a revolutionist or a religious bigot??? A reflection on his life will help us to understand the paradigm shifts and varying moods of his life.
Mr. Iqbal was a student of German Philosopher Professor Arnold, who was a gem in the philosophical sphere of influence. He turned into a refined diamond after completion of his doctorate philosophy, gaining deep understanding of eastern and western philosophies.
At length, gracefully and remarkably, he did analyze Muslim’s eon, but in the end when a layman would rather expect that doctor Iqbal would talk about IJTIHAAD (the use of reason to arrive at a knowledge of truth in religious or other matters), which could have been a pragmatic or futuristic way forward for the Muslims; Iqbal, instead chose to recommend obsolete, 1400 years old solutions.

Sketch of Iqbal       Credit: Anonymous 

Being Hindustani lured him too much; egging him on to come up with “Saare Jahan Say Acha, Hindustan Humara.” Years down the line, the epoch of research and experiments of Muslim scientists inspired him to an extent that he joined the Enlightenment Movement. Iqbal played active part to uphold the brighter side of Islamic ideology and practices.

On the other side, having deep knowledge of a large assortment of philosophies of the East and the West, he cherished Communism and he considered it pro-people’s system. One can witness this element in his poetical thought;

“jiss kheth say dehqaan ko muyassar na ho rozi,

Oss kheth k har khosa-e-gandum ko jala do.”

Since there is no ambiguity in communism, there is always support for underprivileged working class of the society.

Iqbal’s poetic thought “Aikhon Muslim Haram ki Pasbaani K liye, Neel K saahil say layker Ta-b-khak-e-Kashger,” reveals that he wasn’t in favor of the great divide or any bitterness among Muslim Uma.

Shadows of the so called Muslim evangelists followed him ubiquitously; therefore he failed to break the cocoons.

Normally, a poet does not care about fame or appreciation, but Iqbal’s involvement in active politics of the subcontinent kept him in the lime light, which proved to be a knock out of his philosophical ideologies. Iqbal did not sacrifice his fame of being a popular leader, nor did he stand for his true philosophical thought; being ignoramus towards philosophy shoved him out unpretentiously.

The dismayed condition of the Muslim world forced him to write “SHIKWA” (a complaint to God), but he had to face immense pressure, especially from pious, and spiritual, devout, sacred and HOLY Muslim evangelists. The power of resistance was so immense he surrendered and failed to stand his words.

Many religious free-lancers even cursed him and called him Kaafir (disbeliever), Angraizon ka Agent (British agent) – an all-time adored conspiracy theory stuffed mantra of the so-called pious Muslims. Even today, the conspiracy theory is in full practice among Muslims across the world, especially Pakistanis, but with slight change: Yahudiun ya Amrikiun Ka Agent (Jewish or American Agent).

To avoid further damage, Iqbal reluctantly engraved “Jawab-e-Shikwa” (Answer to the complaint-God) that be best described as a trick of tranquility. His damage control move worked wonders and bagged him a colossal appreciation, even from his strong critics.  They even jubilated, like a crazy gone-crazy, over his priceless words and praise.

It was a turning point in Iqbal’s life. He just went with the flow rather than resisting the misinterpretations and conflicts of thoughts. His Islamic teaching extended the gap between science and religion. During the era when there was a dire need of revival of Islamic civilization, he promulgated swordsmanship and chauvinistic beliefs.

“Khudi Ka sir-e-Nihan la-Ilaha Il-Allah” &“Shahadat hay matloob-o-maqsood-e-Momin,” such stirring poetries overshadowed the major and enlightened part of his poetical dimensions, where he debated about social changes, political revival and people.

Running between perplexed ideologies, he journeyed towards Sufism in search of internal peace. Some critics have even called it an escape attempt.  One can see impressions of Maulana Rumi’s poetical thoughts in his words; undoubtedly he did fair justice to his mystical journey.

Maneuvering in circles of Maulana Shiblee, Qasim Nanatwi (at that time he was Chief of Deoband), Salman Nadvi and many others, who were highly influential clerics among the Muslims of subcontinent. He was dreadfully baptized by these clerics, which prompted his holy journey to Egypt and Saudi Arabia. In the aftermath of his journey, he unsurprisingly became a unidirectional completely and armored himself with certain Islamic beliefs.

Ironically, he criticized Sufism (which he once cherished), considering Sufism guilty for all kind of damage to Islam and the so called Muslim Uma. Iqbal betrayed Maulana Rumi, Mansoor Hallaj and other Sufis, who he once admired and followed. He then joined the camp of Sheikh Ahmed Sirhindi, who was a key influential religious leader of the Wahhabi sect.

Apart from every controversy, I regard Iqbal as a great poet having boundless flair and styles of poetries ranging from Urdu, Persian and Arabic. Iqbal acquired and polished his poetical skills to a greater extent from his famous teacher Daagh Dehlwi, who lived and died famous.

Wo dana-e-subul, khatm-ul-Rusul, Maula-e-Kul Jiss nay

Ghubar-e-raah ko bakhsha, Faroogh-e-waadi-e-seena.

As one can witness his poetic brilliance in a couplet above, such master pieces are hard to ignore, being a rational decrier. But, if I consider him a philosopher, for me he will remain a confused soul.
Such delusional characteristic of Allama Muhammad Iqbal and its interpretations have left this nation muddled.
One can read the origional post on MountainTV

They don’t like Chinese anymore…….!!!!

After 1999 it’s my longest stay here at my beautiful hometown, Gulmit, because normally I used to visit my family for short time. It has been quite long and I can notice many changes in social circle as well as in geographical structure of my village.

Habitually I prefer to sit with old aged villagers during my socialization, out of the notion that I can get a true picture of bygone era and the contemporary one.  Past experiences and diverse history accounts are the key of locals to compare and evaluate huge changes that have enveloped the area over the years.

Currently the reconstruction of Karakorum Highway (alsoknown as Silk Route) is a hot topic among the villagers; in a fascinating encounter with some old-aged villagers I received some interesting information, which was an eye opening for me.

The previous Chinese engineers and labors were so kind, friendly, true and dedicated to their cause, their living standards were admiring, ranging from their hygiene standards to safety precautions. They took good care of nature, the locals and their norms all through the construction of the KKH, the highest paved international road in the world. 

Made in China 

The KKH project was initiated in 1959 and completed in 1979. Sadly there is an immense difference between today’s Chinese and the previous ones, complain the villagers who had also witnessed the KKH project in the 60s and 70s, referring to the Chinese workers currently working on the realignment and improvement project of the highway.

The Chinese engineers and labors working on the highway’s realignment project live like sheep & goats (Chhat-et Khoor rang), as their hygiene is so poor and their ignorant and materialistic life style, said a 70 year old man.

“The new Chinese workers are astonishingly so corrupt,” he added.

They even sell road construction supplies and use low quality materials, which earns them huge bucks. Several people fear that the corruption among the Chinese workers would translate into bad quality of the highway, which they say will result in the road’s reduced lifespan.

“Yemve kikumer mizg be kert, yashetep ska khu saar durzen khe traa-ep yundun,” said a village elder, meaning “even if the Chinese pee somewhere; they’ll take the soil along to China.” This shows the self-centeredness and ravenousness of the Chinese.

Listening to all these interesting discussions, I realized that the locals have come to a point that our kind neighbors are not benevolent to us; neither have they had soft corner for our endangered traditions and pristine, but fragile nature. 

Rumors, and even some media reports, have it that the government of Pakistan is thinking to hand over Gilgti-Baltistan to China on lease. If true, I believe it will be a bad news not only to the people, but to the nature, culture and economy of the area.

One can read the original post on MountainTV

Guns and Roses

Antigun sculpture at the UN

Don’t get me wrong!!!! I am not keen to talk about the Los Angeles based American hard rock band, Guns N’ Roses of 80’s; neither even interested to know the whole lot story about selecting this name for their group.

For me there is a sensitive issue which relates to my subject field and has immense impact on every individual’s life, directly or indirectly, and that is about Guns (weapons of all kind) and Roses (the foolish concept people being protected after holding it). Human being’s inventions have great impact on social life, bad or good depends on their type and intentions behind their usage.

Guns are human beings’ worst ever invention; it started in ninth century when Chinese people used bamboo tubes to fight against Mongol invaders.  From there it gradually ranged to Europe and then with kind support of monetarist vultures it spread all over the World, now almost every fool owns one.

It’s not one feels secure while holding a gun; it rather maximizes one’s fear which leads to a genocidal act. I have a belief that, spending on guns means confirming ones death no matter how good your intentions are. It’s not only third world countries where gun culture is on the rise but the statistics collected by the UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes) and Small Army Survey  through its annual crime, guns and drugs survey.

The UNODC has a special unit of data on firearm homicides, where one can read detail information by the size of population and compare it to other crimes. As some major countries are missing from the records- including Russia, China and Afghanistan -but the list takes in the US, UK and many other developed nations.

According to a study by the Small Arms Survey (2007), the US has the highest gun possession rate in the world, and the average is 88 per 100 people. This places the US first in the world for gun possession, but the number two country, Yemen, has considerably fewer possession rates 54.8 per 100 people.  Surprisingly the US doesn’t have the nastiest gun murder rate; this crown fits to Honduras, El Salvador and Jamaica. But the fact is, the US is stands at number 28, with a rate of 2.97 per 100,000 people

Digging further deep, Puerto Rico stands at first position the world’s table for arms murders, statistics put all killings at 94.8 percent, which is tailed by Sierra Leone in Africa and Saint Kitts and Nevis in the Caribbean.

The deep wounds of World War I & II are still fresh; if one looks back and reads unbiased account of these two ghastly acts of human being, one can easily understand that the only motive behind these two wars were, only to get superiority or to get financial gain.

Hitler and his followers carried guns for what they called their cause. Now, the world calls every German a Nazi, which is a matter of disrespect for many peace loving Germans. The French revolution has its own crying stories. If Muslims from any part of the World carry guns (whatever is the motive behind) we call them terrorists, such prejudicial approach pushes the Muslim world in further isolation.

One alarming issue in the contemporary era is the world’s unipolar state, which means power supremacy in single hand; such state is idealized to graft another world war. The biggest mistake Asian countries have done, especially Pakistan, for helping the US to push back Russians (formerly known as USSR) from Afghanistan. That mistake led this world from bipolar state to unipolar power-state.

The Pakistani establishment wore the crown after tearing down the USSR with the help of benevolent CIA. What happened after that? It’s a dismayed image; generations got brutally destroyed in Afghanistan & Pakistan, damaging the economy and infrastructures.

After the Afghan war (post 80’s) gun culture is on high rise in Pakistan; no one ever feels secure here.  Gun owners are not ashamed; rather owning a gun is a symbol of pride for them. People having passion for guns would worry more about not owning one or the new one, but not about the education of their children or the condition of their home economy.

A father (especially in the tribal area) can easily afford weapons, which normally cost more than PKR 1,00,000 but they never send their children to school, which hardly costs them few hundred rupees. And if there is anyone among them who manages to go to school or (God forbid) to college they became directional literate. This presents a pretty dangerous and grim picture of the so-called nation.

One can read the original post on Mountaintv