How A Terrorist Is Made- A Comic

Imran Khan and Messiah Politics

It’s a tradition of humanity and not of just individual cultures, that people are always expecting a messiah to come and solve all their problems. When evil has spread everywhere and vice is holding sway, people think that the time is ripe for a messiah to come and solve all their problems.

The messiah factor has come into play repeatedly throughout various millennia. From early age, we are exposed to that messiah culture. Remember Lion King? Simba is shown to be Messianic, as he and only he is entitled to rule and bring prosperity to Pride Rock. Remember Spider Man and Super Man? When the town police just take a doughnut break and let our super-heroes save the day (so much for teaching professionalism to the kids).

In that regards let us discuss Messiah Politics. A politics in which a leader is expected to come to power and solve all the country’s problems and to rid it of all evils and rule justly and wisely. In reality, there never was and there never might be a real political messiah. Politics and Messiah-ship are just two opposite words with different meanings. And yet Political Messiahs have been expected in every country to deliver them from corruption and other evils.

Scenes that the world witnessed when Obama campaigned for the throne of Whitehouse were one of ecstasy and high hopes for a bright future. American society which, in the words of Max Blumenthal is‘permeated by apocalyptic beliefs and the yearning for messianic deliverance’, Obama’s marketing campaign was nothing short than announcing the second coming of Jesus himself. Indeed, he was called “The One” and the “Only Hope” who would bring a massive “Change” in the American society. Indeed the public was awestruck by his rallies and the scenes shown on the television, of people cheering madly and looking upon Obama with utmost reverence were astounding. The word spread out. Obama after sometime was not just seen as the messiah for USA but a Messiah for the whole world. Indeed, it was startling to me that how easily American hegemony was accepted. Where Chachu Bush had failed Obama, even before coming to power had achieved. People from all over the world asked him to solve their countries problems, in other words begging for American Intervention!! At that time in 2008, it was totally acceptable to expect Obama to come to power and begin solving world problems. And, when he ascended the throne of Washington, the scenes of jubilation and joy “around the world” were the ones to remember. Even Alqaeda and the Axis of Evil seemed to think that change was coming and talked about giving him a chance. Such was the enormity of his aura. But then 4 years, thousands of civilian deaths, massive economic earthquakes and foreign policy disasters later, this “Messiah” is fighting for his Presidency and discontent is rampant with protests against Wall Street greed and failed policies are spread across 40 different cities. As one blogger put it, messiah Politics is generally short-lived.

Now come to our very own Messiah. Kaptaan Imran Khan. Indeed the words I have mentioned above, like “ The Only Hope” , “The One” that were used in Obama’s campaign, are now resonating in Kaptaan’s campaign as well. At the time when railways and PIA are practically defunct, poverty, corruption and crimes are at an all time high, it is natural for Pakistani people to seek messianic deliverance. And deliverance they are getting in the shape of Imran Khan. As you see people from all the strata of society gather in millions to listen to Imran’s speeches, you know that change is indeed coming to Pakistan. People are really expecting that Imran Khan alone will solve all the problem good days indeed are just around the corner. Given the Kaptaan’s track record, it might be reasonable enough to expect that, but in reality, chances of massive reforms seem slim. How Imran Khan tackles reforms in education and finance when every single layer of these important institutions of the country is crippled by corruption that has spread to the roots. Until and unless the Kaptaan comes up with a detailed road map of the reforms to be introduced, he will remain just like any other failed messiah, hyped up, disappointing and finally scorned. They say that Mussolini was also seen as the Messiah of Italy’s politics endorsed by Pope Pius himself, but look what happened in the end. Defeated, tortured, shot and his corpse strung upside down in a street of Milan.

Instead of looking for the Messiah, we should find the Messiah in ourselves. Anticipate, change but let’s not leave it to certain people to bring about it. True Revolutions are brought by masses not just leaders.

Black Cats and Siri Paye

I was delightfully munching on some chapli kebabs (another dish that I have learnt after to coming to AUS), when my mom called me to ask whether I have received money that they have sent. After confirming that, we began talking about random things, just like two close friends who haven’t talked for a while, you know, the usual, the neighbors, the price of rice and sugar, whether my fiancée liked the new dress that mom had sent her, and this and that, finally I asked her about what was happening in the politics. By the way my Mom is a N League supporter, but that support is limited only to TV, not beyond that. And since there has to be somebody in the family who has to contradict her or oppose her (dad gave that up a long time ago) therefore I am an MQM supporter, though just like her my support is limited to TV viewing as well. So normally, we are arguing with each other about their respective policies. Now, on the phone she told me that there was an extremely tense war of words going on between N league and MQM. She said that the whole family was sitting enjoying the standoff (just as usual) when things got really (and I mean really) dirty. Although she didn't tell me what was said, but all she told me was that it was all very embarrassing. Naturally, it was a cue for me to do some investigation. I didn’t have to dig deep (smiles). I opened my darling YouTube, punched in MQM vs. PMLN 29 December and came across Talat Husain’s TV program clip, which showed both party's uncensored exchange of embarrassing but funny exchange of words. I swear if ever there was a depiction of ROFLMAO, then I was precisely that. Extremely entertaining and hilarious I could exactly see why muma called that embarrassing. Talk about finding sex objects in shahbaz Sharif’s cell and altaf Husain’s hidden disease (I wonder what it could be? but given the circumstances I can only assume an STD). Wow, if ever they have had a chance of embarrassing the nation, then they just made full use of that opportunity. But it’s a good thing I believe. Good, because the nation has a chance of seeing the side of their politicians that they only knew of but they hadn’t seen in real.

But, then here I want to say a BIG F^($ U, not to Altaf Bhai, not to Mian Jee, not to the fiery Haider Bhai, not to Nisar Bhai, not to Abid Sher Ali bhai and certainly not to wasim akhter bhai, no, I want to give a BIG FU to our blessed Pakistani nation. This is what you get when you vote only because somebody belongs to your biradri and somebody who happens to speak your particular language or dialect or belongs to the same sect. You know what their reality is. But still you keep on voting and voting and voting and voting for the same old crap until the army takes over, and then you start blaming the army for all the mess. I know that the army has done wrong things in the last 60 years but our politicians haven’t given them any choice. If our political base had been strong in the beginning then all this mess wouldn’t have been created. And please don’t say that since we hardly vote that's why these same old faces keep coming again and again. Tell me, when you don’t have any shred of confidence in the voting system, when you know that the political parties would even make your dead grandpa vote, when you know that your vote will be replaced by a fraud vote, when you know that one person can in actuality vote at least three hundred times on the same election day, then tell me, would you waste your time going through the tedious polling process, standing in the burning summer heat and then having to face the smelly political activists. I certainly wouldn’t. And then these political parties. MQM. Huh. 150 % of Karachi and Hyderabad knows that how they collect "chanda" from the shops and businesses. All the eidis that you have to give (my father was asked to pay 2000 but refused point blank and since he doesn’t know of any culture or decency or sophistication when it comes to taking a stand (and a close affiliation with police ;)) therefore the SIC (MQM sector in charge) had no option but to leave him alone. The show of power they demonstrated on live TV, on the fateful day of May 12 is no secret. But still, people are still afraid to fully expose their tyranny. True, they have done a good deal of work for Karachi ( hats off to Mustufa Kamal) but their overall performance plus their love for " bori band laash", bank robberies, Bhai Log culture and Kalashnikov makes them wholly inadequate to even run for even a street election. These are the people who were created by the army. The army imported a Pakistani taxi driver by the name of Altaf Hussain to set up agitation movement against the Sindhis in Sindh, and created his own party and played on the resentment held by the innocent Mohajjirs. Then, as an Asia Times article reviewing Wilson John’s book” Karachi: A terror Capital in the making" says

” Keen on dividing Sindh on ethnic lines, General Zia ul-Haq allowed the MQM to form a network of professional militant bands with a hand in the drug trade of Karachi. In 1988, the city was rocked by unprecedented violence orchestrated by the army using the MQM in order to oust Benazir Bhutto from power.

By 1992, the army wanted to contain the growing power of Altaf Hussain and engineered a split in the MQM, thereby inaugurating a bloody turf war in Karachi. Gradually, the MQM's militant wing, the Black Cats, composed of 5,000-6,000 hitmen and notorious criminals rose in stature. Carjacking, land grabbing, illegal construction etc earned them a massive annual revenue and the selfsame techniques of violence were copied by sectarian outfits to kill Shiites. The MQM's extortion coffers overflowed and abetted the party's remarkable gains in successive elections. "

How ever, much I want to quote General Aslam Beg on army's role in creating MQM I want to turn over to Muslim League N. Created by General Zia (personally) in the same way Musharaf created Muslim League Q, The Sharif brothers were Zia's obvious, choice, loyal, entrepreneurial, and having a long feud with the PPP and especially Bhutto ( their medium sized steel foundry was nationalized by ZA Bhutto, thus making ZA Bhutto a lifelong enemy to the Sharif family). The Sharif brothers played on the religious sympathies of the people and got themselves comfy seats in the national assembly. Although they now err...regret... it, but to their credit, they don’t deny their past. Corrupt to the core, the Sharif brothers have grown from small steel foundry owners to one of the richest men in Pakistan. In corruption they are only out done by the Almighty God of Corruption President Asif Ali Zardari (whose father used to be a Cinema Owner and He used to be a bookie in the Karachi racecourse). I wonder how come these people even have the guts to show their faces to the nation. I really do believe what Haider Abbas Rizvi said about Nawaz Sharif and his family and what Choudhry Nisar said about Altaf Hussain and his family. I also believe that just like the artists and TV stars are subjected to media trials and paparazzi ( since they are public property) therefore these politicians who are even more of public property then petty TV actors, should have their daily lives critically scrutinized. Believe me if there was ever a need of a leader, then this is the moment when we really need one. We really do. It is time for revolution not elections. But for the revolution you need to look for change inside yourself, not the outside. Difficult isnt it J

Alas, I was supposed to write on what I experienced in this year and write some funny things and then about the top 10 songs and movies of 2010, but ...oh well. I'll do that tomorrow.

Byee