Adil Najam

This montage of headlines from Dawn need little explanation. It represents seven headlines; one each from each of the last seven days (Nov. 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14, 2009). All except one were headlines on Dawn, and one (Nov. 13, 2009) was on the back page. The fact that the killing of 17 Pakistani soldiers will not make it to the front page of a Pakistani newspaper is itself a stern reminder of the craziness that defines our polity today!

There is little ‘news value’ in this montage. But, maybe it deserves just a moment’s silence from all of us. Maybe a moment of reflection on that which is truly important.

We post this merely as a reminder to ourselves that Pakistan remains at war. Pakistanis remain under attack. Our territory remains occupied by the enemy. The relentness of the violence can nudge the routine daily ugliness into the background and the seductiveness of tiltilating conspiracies and scandals can provide ready relief even to those whose job it is to keep reminding us of that which is truly existential for all our futures.

And so, we post this as a reminder to ourselves. Pakistan remains at war. Pakistanis continue to die. Pakistan continues to cry. Lest we forget.

Owais Mughal

A fisherman is showing his catch to be sold in Larkana Fish Market. Photo Credits: Nadeem Akhter at APP

Adil Najam

Today is a good day for democracy in Pakistan. The Gilgit-Baltistan region goes to poll for the first time to elect a legislative chamber of their own. Full franchise needs to be extended to each and every Pakistani, everywhere in Pakistan. One hopes that this step will be extended soon to other parts of Pakistan that remain without direct and full adult franchise.

The political implications of this step can be far reaching both for Pakistan and even beyond Pakistan. I personally think that the designation of Gilgit-Baltistan as an autonomous region is a first step towards the inevitability of the existing four provinces being sub-divided into a larger number of provinces. That prospect alone makes the political importance of this step far-reaching.

It may be too early to predict the shape of possible implications, but it is timely to think about steps than will ensure that these implications are positive for the Gilgit-Baltistan region and for the country as a whole. What is already interesting is to watch the political dynamics unleashed by these elections. Given that new ‘electoral capital’ is being created with the creation of a new Assembly, new seats, and new regional power players, it is not surprising that established political players in the rest of the country are putting their all into these elections. The biggest names in Pakistan politics are all traveling North to make sure that their party can capture this new ‘electoral capital’ and gain the advantage in future elections. This, itself, is a good sign.

The editorial in Dawn, gets it right:

AMID the disquieting news from elsewhere in the country, there is a glimmer of hope in the form of the Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly elections scheduled for tomorrow. Twenty-three seats will be contested in the new-look assembly following the federal government’s Gilgit-Baltistan Empowerment and Self-Governance Order, and the contests have attracted an impressive array of national political leaders who have gone to the area to campaign for their local candidates. Despite the push by national parties, local politics and personalities are expected to play an influential role in the elections and therefore it is difficult to predict the results. Having said that, the PPP and the PML-N (and its rump, the PML-Q) have traditionally been the dominant players and that pattern is expected to continue. The PPP will likely be boosted by the Self-Governance Order and the usual ploy of doling out state patronage in the run-up to elections. The MQM is a new player in the area and may pick up a couple of seats on the back of enticements offered to Baltistanis living in Karachi. Many, if not most, Pakistanis will be unaware of the steadily growing influence of religious extremism in the area and one positive of the high-profile campaigning by mainstream political parties may be that the space gained by extremists will be gradually rolled back.

The elections, though, will be no panacea. The usual campaign promises have been made by candidates, but the socio-economic problems are serious. For example, Gilgit city has no sewerage system or major hospital, issues that have not drawn the attention of candidates. Meanwhile, in the Ghanche district of Baltistan, a major demand of the people is the re-opening of the Kargil-Ladakh route so that families separated by the LoC can reunite or meet again, but candidates have shied away from the issue. Additionally, the federally dominated Gilgit-Baltistan Council is expected to wield the real power and the Self-Governance Order is a halfway house between local governance and full-fledged constitutional and provincial status. Still, the elections are a start and a much-needed fillip in a country reeling from dismal news.

More details on the election, from a news report in The News:

Over 7,17,286 voters will elect members of the Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly today (Thursday). More than 250 candidates are taking part in the election being held in 23 constituencies out of 24. There would be no polling in constituency GB-19 where election was postponed due to the demise of MQM candidate Sher Bahadur Khan. According to the Election Commission, 3,32,377 female and 3,84,909 male voters would cast their votes to elect 23 members for the assembly.

The Election Commission has made elaborate arrangements to ensure smooth conduct of election. It has set up 982 polling stations in all six districts of Gilgit-Baltistan, of which 253 are reserved for women while 258 for male voters. Besides 511 mixed polling stations, the Election Commission has declared 153 polling stations sensitive and 119 stations very sensitive. An election cell and a control room have also been established to address complaints or give information about the polls. Moreover, in order to conduct the election in a smooth manner, 24 returning officers and 25 assistant returning officers have been deployed while more than 3,000 polling staff has also been assigned duties on the polling day.

Foolproof security measures have been adopted under which around 5,000 security staff is deployed at the polling stations, especially the sensitive and highly sensitive stations. Two battalions of the Army have been called and moved to different areas of the region. Army soldiers would be available on a call in case of any emergency. Meanwhile, political activities and election campaign ended at midnight on Wednesday under the election order. The Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of the area, Rahim Nawaz Khan Durrani, has directed all the district election commissioners and polling staff to ensure on time arrival at their respective stations.

Adil Najam

Legendary cricketer, motivated philanthropist and maverick politician Imran Khan had an emergency stomach surgery performed yesterday.

He is still in hospital (yes, at the very same Shaukat Khannum Hospital that is his greatest gift to Pakistan - yes, it is a gift far greater than even his World Cup cricket victory). But he is reportedly out of danger and recovering.

All Things Pakistan wishes him a speedy recovery.

Get well soon, Imran. We need you.

Here is a news story from BBC with some details:

Surgeons have performed an emergency operation on former Pakistan captain and all-rounder Imran Khan to remove an obstruction in his small intestine. The procedure was carried out on Monday at Lahore’s Shaukat Khanum Cancer Hospital after Imran, 56, complained of severe pain in his abdomen. A hospital spokesman said afterwards: “Mr Khan is now out of danger.”

Imran, who captained Pakistan to World Cup success in 1992, was a member of the national parliament for five years. He is in intensive care and has been advised to remain in the hospital for at least three days. The hospital where he is being treated is named after Imran’s mother and was established following a charity appeal launched by the ex-cricketer himself, after she died of cancer.

I have known Imran for many years, and in many capacities. I have always admired him. (Here and here).

But, like many others, I have become more and more distanced from his recent political pronouncements. But even as his political stance has sometimes become questionable, his sincerity is beyond doubt and beyond question.

We - Pakistan and Pakistani politics - need Imran. Even for those who may no longer see him as a voice of reason, he is a voice of passion and a voice of principle. We have too few such voices in our politics, and we need more.

Much more than whatever he adds to Pakistan politics is what he adds to Pakistan’s self perception: a belief that we can help ourselves and if we were only to commit ourselves to the right causes, we can rise to great heights. He has done so both with the Shaukat Khannum Hospital and with Namal College (here and here). That, beyond everything else, was what made him the cricket giant that he was - and that, beyond everything else, is what makes him the Pakistani hero that he will always be.

Get well soon, Imran. We need you.

Irum Sarfaraz

What is a discussion on contemporary Pakistani society without a discussion on the relationship of mother in laws and daughters in laws. Though this unique relationship is a bitter fruit in all cultures across the globe; regardless of race, class and ethnicity; in few other places it is as prominent as it is in Pakistan.

May be few other countries, where the concept of joint family systems still exist, can also lay claim to this eternal tussle. The MIL-DIL (mother in law-daughter in law) configuration is not only the sore of our society but also the core of the juiciest scandals in any given household.

The most hilarious part of this ‘comedy of errors’ is to note is that rarely does any unmarried girl ever believe that these stories could ever be repeated by her. After all she is educated and has the mental stamina to ignore the jahalat her married friends and female family members tell her that MILs are capable of pulling off. Above all she has the wisdom and patience to ignore the usual abhorable tactics observed by MILs to make the lives of their DILs miserable.

In my guestimate eighty percent of these newbies sign the marriage contract with an; in their opinion; unyielding resolve and uncompromising determination to make their new home,

‘the envy of all the bickering, wrangling, backbiting and squabbling two-some known as MILs and DILs’

Sadly it takes just a few months for this part of the contract to fall through. Even if they are not living in a joint family system, they lose their patience and become part of the time old crowd of women who have fought since time immemorial over one thing alone; the guy they marry.

If you are wondering about the remaining 20%, they enter the contract with gung-ho.

They are in no mood to give the MILs any kind of leg room to start exerting pressure on them and plan to capture the enemy from day one. Whether part of the optimistic 80% or the growling 20%, the end result for all is the same. The 80% just get there a little later than these 20% who are there from day one. It needs to be mentioned here that there is a breed of DILs out there who croons praises of their MILs. Upon a deeper inquiry it is however revealed that either their MILs are far, far away in other countries to be visited by these crooning dils once every two or three years or they are dead. There is no third scenario!

In the highly educated Western society, where there is no concept of joint family, the DILs are equally flabbergasted over the antics of their MILs hence proving that the joint family system cannot be deemed the primary reason for the war between the two stalwart figures in any man’s life. The cold war between Diana and the Queen was hope to millions in Pakistan. Thousands of heartbroken DILs were comforted by their counterparts with,

yar tu dil kiyoon chota kartee hai….jab Diana kee us kee sas say naheen bun saki to teri kiya banay gee…!!!.

This war is time tested and there is no reason to believe that it is going anywhere in near future or even the far future. MIL and DIL have not learnt to co-exist in any culture; our society just has a larger chunk of this bickering as part of our social setup.

The jokes on the relationship are as endless as the war itself. For instance, a man’s rich MIL was kidnapped presumably for ransom. The kidnappers called two days later and told him,

‘pay us this amount of money or we’ll send her back’.

The guy responds,

‘I’ll pay you this this amount if you’ll agree to keep her’.

Here is another classic. A guy’s mother in law dies and at the funeral his friend comes to him for condolence and says, ‘

So sorry about your mil. So what happened to the poor lady’ The guys says, ‘Well I recently got a dog and he bit her and she died’. The friend looks around carefully and then says, ‘Um…could you lend me this dog of yours for a day?’. The man says, ‘sure…just get in line’. .

So why do they fight?

The common notion is that they fight over the man that one has married and ‘taken away’ from the other. Women are known to be highly possessive and territorial. Unfortunately, the ‘territory’ in this case is the bone of contention as well so there is no peace at all. This is not a sharing problem. After all the MIL has no issues when her son spends time with his male friends before or after the marriage. The problem is when he spends time with the wife. She is the thief who has stolen her ultimate treasure. It can be assumed that it is a classic case of one woman against another woman, a form of fight that has gone on for ever and has given rise to the popular view that a woman is a woman’s worst enemy. Some DILs see their hopes in him, he belongs to them. Sure they bring the ultimate hoor-pari (fairy princess) for him to marry but that hoor-pari is to stay in the background and should make no emotional claims on him. She is to be as obedient and as meek a servant to the MIL as the son is expected to be. The moment the hoor-pari starts displaying her ‘par’, ‘let the wars begin!’.

Some DILs point out the fact that the other in law wars are quite equally dynamic and forceful but no one can argue that the real and classic in law war is the MIL vs DIL war. In many homes, the curiosity kills the peace of house, the mental health of the guy and the hair on his head. From curiosity arises interference and from interference the feeling of lack of privacy and from lack of privacy the feeling of being psychologically invaded. It works similarly for both parties. In the end they both lash out in defense. The result is a cat fight that has the neighbors glued to their walls. There have been instances where the neighbors plant their ‘moles’ in the ‘juicy’ households on the street in the form of highly paid cleaning women who spy for them and work as the daily CNN and BBCs. One DIL suggests that our society needs a special education program for the MILs and SILs (sister in laws) before their sons and brothers get married.

The party who suffers the most in this battle is the poor guy. Most of them spend their entire lives trying to keep both these very important parts of their existence assuaged and happy. But few ever really succeed. Where the wife rages on about ‘your mother’, the mother refuses the let the fight out of her hand with ‘your wife’. I am sure there are times when a lot of poor guys wished they had neither mothers nor wives! There is little they can do to help the situation for the simple reason that they are the reason for why they are fighting. I feel sorry for the husbands but again, they are the reasons for the loving MIL and DIL relationships in the first place.

Needless to say the colorful MIL and DIL relationship are one of the things that makes our society so unique. The fighting is incessant and persistent; the reasons why they fight ceaseless; the ways to make peace non-existent; the fun the onlookers get out of it immeasurable and the misery it inflicts on the son boundless. Who said Pakistani society has so little to be proud of? We Pakistanis are very proud of the cultural heritage of the mother in law….!

Amjad Islam Amjad has said:

farq hai kuch kirdaaroN meiN
baqi khel puraana hai

To conclude I must say that for humor and satire sake I may have generalized the whole MIL population into one category but in reality they are all individuals. I am very sure there are ’shafiq’ and ‘mohtaram’ MILs out there too who treat their DILs with respect and earn their own respect in return. I want to believe there is more good than evil out there.