My feelings about this country and what is going to become of it alters drastically from day to day. Some days I may feel as though there is some hope for us. On others I feel as though whatever we do, whatever happens nothing is going to change.
When I wrote my last article, I was accused of being naive. Of writing an ‘Utho Musilmaan, jaag utho’ (Rise Oh Muslim Soldiers) type of article. And I guess all my critics were right. I mean, who in their right minds would rise up against the Imperial forces of the US of A.
When I think about it, I feel depressed – about everything. Especially by what’s happening these days in our country. The LFO issue, the Lawyers stampeding the Supreme Court, the dress code of Musharraf.
I mean, who cares if LFO is implemented or not. Does anyone really think that things will change if the government suddenly says, “Okno more LFO”. Who cares if Pervaiz Musharraf is in uniform or not. Do you think it will really make any difference if he steps down from one of his offices? Come to think about it, do you think it will make any difference if he steps down from both of his offices? What would happen if he did? Ok, tomorrow morning we wake up and we hear Musharraf is no longer in power (you can think of the ‘how’ yourself). Now what? Jamali’s government? No? Oka new regime. Who leads it? The PML(Q)? The MMA? Not them. Look at what they’ve done in NWFP. Nawaz Sharif? Benazir Bhutto? Qazi Sahib?
There is no one! So it doesn’t matter what happens. Because anything that happens will create a void. And I guess anything is better than a voidor is it? Maybe that’s exactly what we need: a void. A void might actually produce something; but with a lot of wear and tear. Is there anyone amongst us who is willing to go through the wear and tear, the unavoidable bloodshed that will result from such a void? And what would be the result? All foreign investment will disappear. Business will dry up. Inflation will rise. Lawlessness will prevail. All this will happen until and unless someone steps forward to fill this void.
I’ve started encroaching upon the realm of naivete once again. My apologies.
Lets look at issues further afield. Look at Palestine. Who cares if a peace agreement is signed? Who cares if 10 Israeli soldiers are shot dead? The Palestinians are going to be made for each and every bullet that is shot at them no matter how many peace protests and rallies happen in Geneva.
What about Kashmir? Who cares if a bus service is started between Delhi and Lahore? Who cares if Wajpai visits us again, or if a delegation of our Parliamentarians visits India? Who cares if trade picks up between our nations? Do you think the Kashmiris care two bits about any of this?
Right now I feel as though nothing is gonna change for the better – ever. I might revise my opinion tomorrow though. Depends on tonight’s news, on tomorrow’s headlines, on whether it rains, on the price of petrol.
I’m rambling again. Once again, my sincere apologies.
