Allama Iqbal is well respected, if not always well understood, in Pakistan. The art of using the odd quote from Iqbal to illustrate any and every argument has been mastered to a high degree. Recently I stumbled across Iqbal’s Stray Thoughts (easily downloadable from the Internet). Some of the apercus are highly original and perceptive; others are less so. One such thought (Stray Thought number 84) says: ‘If you wish to become a public leader you ought to know how to flirt with the Dame Public. Entertain her with platitudes and, if necessary, with lies’.
Iqbal’s message of rationality, progress and unity have been ignored, but this is one insight which Pakistani politicians have not failed to take on board in their contemptuous dealing with the people of Pakistan
Saturday, November 5
Thursday, November 3
Pakistani crickters
There are no surprises in the conviction and sentencing of the Pakistani cricketers this week for corruption. The weight of evidence against the players was overwhelming, a point noted by the judge. Why, it may be asked, has this happened to Pakistani players? The answer is simple and has nothing to do with conspiracy theories. As Imran Khan said today, “the fact is that when these players see corrupt people flourishing in our society they think they can get away with anything."
That is the nub of the issue in Pakistan. Corruption is endemic, it has made people and earned them respect. Right from petty officials to the highest office, the honourable president, are mired in corruption. The amounts involved in the cricket scandal are loose change compared with the dizzying amounts stacked in foreign accounts by politicians and their families. Most politicians are at it – if it’s not direct pecuniary gain, then it’s inappropriate use of influence on behalf of close family and friends (a phenomenon more common in Azad Kashmir where funds for lucrative ‘development projects’ are more limited).
That is the nub of the issue in Pakistan. Corruption is endemic, it has made people and earned them respect. Right from petty officials to the highest office, the honourable president, are mired in corruption. The amounts involved in the cricket scandal are loose change compared with the dizzying amounts stacked in foreign accounts by politicians and their families. Most politicians are at it – if it’s not direct pecuniary gain, then it’s inappropriate use of influence on behalf of close family and friends (a phenomenon more common in Azad Kashmir where funds for lucrative ‘development projects’ are more limited).
Saturday, October 15
Bribery and corruption
Bribe taking is endemic in Pakistan. People of all levels, from petty officials to ministers and MPs, are at it. In the case of the latter, the chain is often more complicated and payment finds its way to the minister or his family via a long-winded route.
Influential MPs and Ministers often reward their supporters and close family with land. There are complicated and archaic rules about who owns the waste land that abuts land that is under active cultivation (called ‘shamlaat land’). The complicated rules, coupled with general absenteeism of lawful owners, has created an opportunity for venal politicians and their supporters. In Pakistan and Azad Kashmir, all the electorate is not equal. If someone has gone out of their way to support you, then an obligation is created to ‘help’ that person. Giving them other peoples land is one way. All the parties, without exception, play by these rules.
With petty officials, the bribe taking is more overt. You simply hand over the cash, and the work is done. I experienced this at Islamabad Airport. An official asked if I would like to have my luggage searched, or pay some ‘tea’ money and not have it searched. All this happened beneath a large sign in Urdu, which translates: ‘Both the bribe taker and bribe giver are sinners’.
Influential MPs and Ministers often reward their supporters and close family with land. There are complicated and archaic rules about who owns the waste land that abuts land that is under active cultivation (called ‘shamlaat land’). The complicated rules, coupled with general absenteeism of lawful owners, has created an opportunity for venal politicians and their supporters. In Pakistan and Azad Kashmir, all the electorate is not equal. If someone has gone out of their way to support you, then an obligation is created to ‘help’ that person. Giving them other peoples land is one way. All the parties, without exception, play by these rules.
With petty officials, the bribe taking is more overt. You simply hand over the cash, and the work is done. I experienced this at Islamabad Airport. An official asked if I would like to have my luggage searched, or pay some ‘tea’ money and not have it searched. All this happened beneath a large sign in Urdu, which translates: ‘Both the bribe taker and bribe giver are sinners’.
Thursday, September 22
An Evening with Imran Khan
Imran Khan, the former Pakistan cricket captain and now politician, came to the University of Birmingham to talk about Pakistan: A Personal History, his new book, although the talk touched all manner of subjects. Imran started by saying that Iqbal is his greatest intellectual influence, a man who understood the true spirit of Islam and its relevance for the modern world. I have not read the book, but in the talk at least Imran did not show evidence of any profound reading of Iqbal. He did, however, several times during the evening turn to Iqbal to illustrate his points. Turning overtly political fairly early in the talk, there was thunderous clapping when he lamented the fact that a crook could become the president of Pakistan.
For Imran, the Afghan war and Pakistan’s involvement in it has been an unmitigated disaster that has pitted the Pakistani army against its own people. He does not see the US winning the war and was sceptical about the very possibility of defining what success would mean. He is obviously very fond of the tribal areas and the people who live there and has much credibility among them. He is all for a political solution to the problems in Afghanistan and the tribal areas, a sort of truth and reconciliation approach. It is, he argued, the only way to isolate the extremists. Obama’s biggest mistake, according to Imran, was not to disown Bush’s wars and make a clean start.
Imran was very upbeat about the prospects for his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf, PTI. He said the party was growing fast. He likened the prospects for his party to Pakistan’s famous victory in the 1992 World Cup. Initially the odds were against Pakistan, but the ‘cornered tiger’ fought back to clinch victory. So it would be for PTI, he said. He said a large proportion of Pakistani voters were young (under 30) and that his party would enthuse them about politics. He clearly has his sights on the young vote, but I am not so sanguine about the overall prospects for PTI, although as an individual he should not find it difficult to enter Parliament.
There followed a long question and answer session. Some of the questions were barely audible. Someone asked him if he feared assassination; to which he said he had conquered the fear of death before entering politics. He said he was much inspired by Nelson Mandela, a man who defeated apartheid but did not harbour any lingering bitterness that could easily have translated into a civil war. On education, he said Pakistan has a 3 tier system, composed of high quality English education for a tiny elite, a very poor quality Urdu education for the masses and the Madrassas. He said a national emergency should be declared as far as education was concerned.
Someone asked how, if victorious, his party would be immune from corruption, given that it was so widespread in Pakistan. He said for corruption to be eradicated, the team at the top needs to be totally clean. As a miniature example of good governance, he mentioned his hospital, the Shaukat Khanum. Various governments had tried hard to find accounting irregularities but were unable to do so. He said the reason was because the top team was totally clean. He also called for the creation of an independent bureau that would investigate individuals suspected of corruption and that would not spare anyone involved , whether in government or in opposition.
On the violence in Karachi, Imran repeated what is already well-known, that criminal elements linked to the main parties in the city (MQM, ANP and PP) are behind the violence. He does not think the military should be sent in to deal with the issue. Rather, he said a professional, empowered, well equipped and totally neutral police force was needed.
A question about sectarianism, particularly in the Shia-Sunni context, elicited a refreshing and frank reply for a Pakistani politician. He said over the last few decades, Saudi Arabia and Iran had been cultivating various rival groups in Pakistan who were now responsible for much of the sectarian violence. Not many Pakistani politicians would publicly admit this, but there is truth to it.
Imran did not necessarily answer the questions he was asked. Salma Yaqoob, the very articulate local politician from Birmingham, asked him if his party had touched base with some of the social justice movements in Latin America, a question he did not answer, but talked about connecting with the people and how there was a massive gulf between the masses and the ruling elite in Pakistan, a fair point and one which probably also applies to Latin America. The theme of his party being small and irrelevant was touched on in various questions, to which he confidently said it was a growing party. He would, he said, agitate against the government when the time was right.
Although somewhat aged, Imran has lost none of his charm, the debonair and the dashing looks. Later in the evening I overheard a young lady say, only half facetiously, that she would ask him to blow her a kiss. One must admire him for persevering in the hinterland of Pakistani politics. After all, on retirement from cricket, there must have been many desirable and lucrative avenues open to him.
Much of what Imran said I could easily agree with and the regular bouts of clapping were evidence that the audience were enjoying it. Nevertheless, I must say that he did not strike me as particularly articulate, often struggling to find the right words to make his point. Time will tell whether his confident predictions about his party are justified; I hope he is right.
For Imran, the Afghan war and Pakistan’s involvement in it has been an unmitigated disaster that has pitted the Pakistani army against its own people. He does not see the US winning the war and was sceptical about the very possibility of defining what success would mean. He is obviously very fond of the tribal areas and the people who live there and has much credibility among them. He is all for a political solution to the problems in Afghanistan and the tribal areas, a sort of truth and reconciliation approach. It is, he argued, the only way to isolate the extremists. Obama’s biggest mistake, according to Imran, was not to disown Bush’s wars and make a clean start.
Imran was very upbeat about the prospects for his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf, PTI. He said the party was growing fast. He likened the prospects for his party to Pakistan’s famous victory in the 1992 World Cup. Initially the odds were against Pakistan, but the ‘cornered tiger’ fought back to clinch victory. So it would be for PTI, he said. He said a large proportion of Pakistani voters were young (under 30) and that his party would enthuse them about politics. He clearly has his sights on the young vote, but I am not so sanguine about the overall prospects for PTI, although as an individual he should not find it difficult to enter Parliament.
There followed a long question and answer session. Some of the questions were barely audible. Someone asked him if he feared assassination; to which he said he had conquered the fear of death before entering politics. He said he was much inspired by Nelson Mandela, a man who defeated apartheid but did not harbour any lingering bitterness that could easily have translated into a civil war. On education, he said Pakistan has a 3 tier system, composed of high quality English education for a tiny elite, a very poor quality Urdu education for the masses and the Madrassas. He said a national emergency should be declared as far as education was concerned.
Someone asked how, if victorious, his party would be immune from corruption, given that it was so widespread in Pakistan. He said for corruption to be eradicated, the team at the top needs to be totally clean. As a miniature example of good governance, he mentioned his hospital, the Shaukat Khanum. Various governments had tried hard to find accounting irregularities but were unable to do so. He said the reason was because the top team was totally clean. He also called for the creation of an independent bureau that would investigate individuals suspected of corruption and that would not spare anyone involved , whether in government or in opposition.
On the violence in Karachi, Imran repeated what is already well-known, that criminal elements linked to the main parties in the city (MQM, ANP and PP) are behind the violence. He does not think the military should be sent in to deal with the issue. Rather, he said a professional, empowered, well equipped and totally neutral police force was needed.
A question about sectarianism, particularly in the Shia-Sunni context, elicited a refreshing and frank reply for a Pakistani politician. He said over the last few decades, Saudi Arabia and Iran had been cultivating various rival groups in Pakistan who were now responsible for much of the sectarian violence. Not many Pakistani politicians would publicly admit this, but there is truth to it.
Imran did not necessarily answer the questions he was asked. Salma Yaqoob, the very articulate local politician from Birmingham, asked him if his party had touched base with some of the social justice movements in Latin America, a question he did not answer, but talked about connecting with the people and how there was a massive gulf between the masses and the ruling elite in Pakistan, a fair point and one which probably also applies to Latin America. The theme of his party being small and irrelevant was touched on in various questions, to which he confidently said it was a growing party. He would, he said, agitate against the government when the time was right.
Although somewhat aged, Imran has lost none of his charm, the debonair and the dashing looks. Later in the evening I overheard a young lady say, only half facetiously, that she would ask him to blow her a kiss. One must admire him for persevering in the hinterland of Pakistani politics. After all, on retirement from cricket, there must have been many desirable and lucrative avenues open to him.
Much of what Imran said I could easily agree with and the regular bouts of clapping were evidence that the audience were enjoying it. Nevertheless, I must say that he did not strike me as particularly articulate, often struggling to find the right words to make his point. Time will tell whether his confident predictions about his party are justified; I hope he is right.
Wednesday, September 14
Children and materialism
Anyone with children will connect with a recent UNICEF report that says materialism is increasingly dominating the lives of children in the UK. Busy, guilt-ridden parents, who have little quality time to spend with their families, disburden their consciences by helping their kids amass all kinds of useless items. This materialism was also an important driver behind the recent riots. So what has happened?
The issue is complex, with the media and advertising playing a big role, as well as guilt-ridden parents. We human beings are compulsive comparers. We compare ourselves not with royalty and billionaires, but with people like ourselves. If other kids in the class and friends have a new gadget, that adds an additional reason why your kid should also have that gadget. If the conscience of the parent is not prickled by the fact of other children possessing that item, then there is always pester power. Either way, whether by guilty conscience or by submission to pester power, the parent will buy the same item.
I am not sure what the solution is. Advertising and the media must play a role. Parents need to spend more time with their children. A weekly visit to the local library, for example, would be more productive than time spent playing electronic games. Ultimately, we must learn to stop being compulsive comparers. Some comparison is adaptive and a motivation for self-improvement. But taken to an extreme, it becomes maladaptive and counter-productive. We must learn to be our individual selves.
The issue is complex, with the media and advertising playing a big role, as well as guilt-ridden parents. We human beings are compulsive comparers. We compare ourselves not with royalty and billionaires, but with people like ourselves. If other kids in the class and friends have a new gadget, that adds an additional reason why your kid should also have that gadget. If the conscience of the parent is not prickled by the fact of other children possessing that item, then there is always pester power. Either way, whether by guilty conscience or by submission to pester power, the parent will buy the same item.
I am not sure what the solution is. Advertising and the media must play a role. Parents need to spend more time with their children. A weekly visit to the local library, for example, would be more productive than time spent playing electronic games. Ultimately, we must learn to stop being compulsive comparers. Some comparison is adaptive and a motivation for self-improvement. But taken to an extreme, it becomes maladaptive and counter-productive. We must learn to be our individual selves.
Thursday, September 8
Mental health in Mirpur
On my last visit to Mirpur, I was interested to discover how mental illness is handled and was unsurprised to learn that there is practically no community level mental health service. I came away with several discrete insights about mental health in Mirpur.
Rarely is mental illness diagnosed when there is a sudden onset of psychotic symptoms. Instead the person is deemed to be possessed by a spirit, or jinn, and the spiritual route to cure is taken. This involves reference to pirs, who perform various rituals. Patients with psychotic symptoms behave and speak in an uncharacteristic way. However, this is often interpreted as the behaviour and speech of the jinn. Although there is no cure, the placebo effect often means the immediate acute symptoms are relieved by the intervention of the pir.
I also noted a fascinating resemblance between mental health in Mirpur and the history of mental health in Victorian Britain, particularly in relation to women. In both cases there is an underlying social hypocrisy that creates a tension between expectations and innermost desires, a tension which manifests itself in mental symptoms. Often there is profound guilt about illicit liaisons. Young women are most affected by the prevalent hypocrisy.
Medication is also often prescribed, particularly for depression. I was able to speak to a village doctor who, though not a specialist in mental health, said he frequently prescribed anti-depressants. Life is tough in the villages, particularly for middle aged women with large families and larger still responsibilities from dawn to way past sunset. It is not difficult in such circumstances to diagnose depression.
Rarely is mental illness diagnosed when there is a sudden onset of psychotic symptoms. Instead the person is deemed to be possessed by a spirit, or jinn, and the spiritual route to cure is taken. This involves reference to pirs, who perform various rituals. Patients with psychotic symptoms behave and speak in an uncharacteristic way. However, this is often interpreted as the behaviour and speech of the jinn. Although there is no cure, the placebo effect often means the immediate acute symptoms are relieved by the intervention of the pir.
I also noted a fascinating resemblance between mental health in Mirpur and the history of mental health in Victorian Britain, particularly in relation to women. In both cases there is an underlying social hypocrisy that creates a tension between expectations and innermost desires, a tension which manifests itself in mental symptoms. Often there is profound guilt about illicit liaisons. Young women are most affected by the prevalent hypocrisy.
Medication is also often prescribed, particularly for depression. I was able to speak to a village doctor who, though not a specialist in mental health, said he frequently prescribed anti-depressants. Life is tough in the villages, particularly for middle aged women with large families and larger still responsibilities from dawn to way past sunset. It is not difficult in such circumstances to diagnose depression.
Friday, September 2
Democracy, freedom, and oil
Is the decision to support the rebels in Libya about standing up for freedom and democracy? Hardly. The rush of oil firms to obtain a foothold, including some potentially dodgy dealing (see: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8736496/Libya-the-minister-the-Tory-donor-and-a-contract-to-supply-oil.html), puts paid to that. According to that report, secret oil cells have been created to deal with the rebels.
Oil is the real reason for the war in Libya, as it was for the war in Iraq. Not much new, easily retrievable oil is being discovered. It is therefore a strategic geo-political aim of the West to secure existing oil deposits. That is why there is clamour for democracy in recalcitrant Libya and Iran, but barely a murmur against the arguably more autocratic and obscurantist but compliant Saudi Arabia and other Kingdoms.
Thursday, September 1
Happy Eids
Once again Eid-ul-Fitr was celebrated on two days in the UK. The problem is related to the fact that the Muslim calendar begins with the first sighting of the sliver-thin, crescent moon. In this age of science, it is indeed embarrassing that we are unable to decide on a single day for Eid. Why, we can ask, can we not rely on visibility calculations, which have now achieved a level of accuracy not known in earlier centuries? Why must people insist on a literalist interpretation of the sighting of the moon? Using visibility calculations will introduce a degree of certainty. If people are willing to base prayer times and times for breaking the fast on precise timing (e.g. 8:07pm for the last day this year), why are people not willing to base the decision to start fasting and to celebrate Eid on calculated times?
Thursday, August 11
English riots
Barely was the metaphoric ink dry from my blog on Monday, that news emerged of unrest in the centre of Birmingham and then in other cities, even in Gloucester. As in the case of London, it was mindless thuggery, motivated by greed. There were sickening scenes of young thugs trying on sports gear and running off with electronic gadgetry; even food items were taken. In Birmingham, several mobile phone shops were looted. Three young men were killed in Birmingham, in an incident that is being linked to the riots. This could take a sinister, racial turn in the long run, but hopefully this will not happen, especially after the moving words of the father of two of the victims.
Walking through the centre of Birmingham yesterday, I noted that many stores were protectively boarded up. The city centre is normally a vibrant place, but yesterday it resembled a high street in decline.
Who is to blame for this mindless behaviour? Certainly there is no cause, even a remote one. There is no motive other than greed and destructiveness. The permissive society can take some of the blame. A decade of New Labour created a culture of irresponsibility and a sense of undue entitlement. Parental rights to discipline and control their children were eroded. The family has been weakened; a lot of these youngsters don’t even come from families composed of two parents. Household culture makes a huge difference.
Hopefully those involved will be tracked down and punished. Their faces should be publicised – naming and shaming should be part of the punishment.
Walking through the centre of Birmingham yesterday, I noted that many stores were protectively boarded up. The city centre is normally a vibrant place, but yesterday it resembled a high street in decline.
Who is to blame for this mindless behaviour? Certainly there is no cause, even a remote one. There is no motive other than greed and destructiveness. The permissive society can take some of the blame. A decade of New Labour created a culture of irresponsibility and a sense of undue entitlement. Parental rights to discipline and control their children were eroded. The family has been weakened; a lot of these youngsters don’t even come from families composed of two parents. Household culture makes a huge difference.
Hopefully those involved will be tracked down and punished. Their faces should be publicised – naming and shaming should be part of the punishment.
Monday, August 8
London riots
It is a reflection of my age that I still remember the Handsworth riots of the late summer of 1985. The name Moledina brothers, two brothers who lost their lives during the troubles, is also vivid. This weekend’s trouble in London transported my memories back to that period. At the time, various reasons were offered for the riots, the most prominent of which referred to the bubbling racial and social tensions, poor police-community relations and general lack of opportunity. None of these reasons apply to the weekend’s trouble – it was mindless criminality pure and simple. The calm looting, and the trying on of looted attire, offers a miniature glimpse of anarchy and lawlessness.
That does not mean that social factors are irrelevant. Once all the cuts in social spending begin to bite, we may well end up in a situation similar to the 1980s. Paid for higher and further education means there will be a lot of young people who will be discouraged from studying, while the slump in the number of jobs available means there will be no ready jobs market to take them. A large number of young people with nothing to do is never a healthy sign for social stability.
That does not mean that social factors are irrelevant. Once all the cuts in social spending begin to bite, we may well end up in a situation similar to the 1980s. Paid for higher and further education means there will be a lot of young people who will be discouraged from studying, while the slump in the number of jobs available means there will be no ready jobs market to take them. A large number of young people with nothing to do is never a healthy sign for social stability.
Thursday, July 14
Door to door charity collection
Unauthorised door-to-door collections for ‘charity’ are getting out of control in some parts of Birmingham. I have a particular gripe about them because many years ago, I handed a pound over to a cold caller claiming to be collecting for a Mosque. An hour later, I saw the same person coming out of a bookmaker. Now of course it is perfectly possible that he did not mingle the charity collections with his personal money used for placing bets, but somehow I doubt it.
The point is bigger than my solitary experience of many years ago. Unauthorised door to door collections are wrong, plain and simple. And not only because they are irritating and a nuisance for people. There is no way of knowing if someone is genuine. In a sense, it is also emotional blackmail. If someone knocks your door and tells you in an emotive tone that he is collecting for a refuge for poor orphans somewhere in Pakistan (and most collectors in our area are Pakistani), what do you do?
The point is bigger than my solitary experience of many years ago. Unauthorised door to door collections are wrong, plain and simple. And not only because they are irritating and a nuisance for people. There is no way of knowing if someone is genuine. In a sense, it is also emotional blackmail. If someone knocks your door and tells you in an emotive tone that he is collecting for a refuge for poor orphans somewhere in Pakistan (and most collectors in our area are Pakistani), what do you do?
Tuesday, July 5
State-funded fatherlessness
There is an interesting story in the Daily Mail about a welfare-dependent woman who obtained free fertility treatment on the NHS and is now raising a fatherless child (all ingredients to get the Daily Mail on its high horses). Fertility ‘treatment’ has been around no doubt for as long as humans have: either in the form of concoctions that you consume or rituals that you perform to enhance fertility. Nevertheless, there is an important question: is there a human right to fertility services and is the desire of the woman to conceive the only factor worth considering? Like many things, there is no right or wrong answer. As a minimum, the state should not help bring into the world children who will be fatherless. The best environment for a child to grow up in is with both parents.
Wednesday, June 22
Dadyal politics
It is perhaps just as well that Dadyal does not register on any radar of international significance. The way its politicians have behaved does not show them, to understate the matter, in a blaze of glory. Any semblance of principle and integrity has gone out of the window. Ideology is a word not even understood by the actors; more modestly, even a vague vision of the direction the participants would like Dadyal to travel in is absent. It is all about making alliances of convenience and winning over vote banks. The protagonists have followed the principle that my enemy’s enemy is my friend; so a ridiculous game of musical chairs has played, as people move from one party to another.
To be fair, even in mature democracies ideology has been sidelined. However, it has been sidelined more in public utterances than in reality. Ten years of Labour in the UK saw massive injections of cash into the public services. That was presented as common sense, but equally it could have been presented in left-right language. In Dadyal and AJK, there are no such distinctions. There are no policy documents and manifestos. All we have to go on is the rhetoric delivered at public gatherings.
So what can we hope? I am an inveterate cynic in matters Dadyal and Mirpur. I do not believe that politicians can do much there, even given the best of intentions. That is not to say that ad hoc good things will not be done, but there will be no overall development strategy. Even if there were, it would remain on paper. However, although good deeds are difficult, good intentions notwithstanding, it is easier to do ill to people. So my advice is to vote for someone least likely to do ill; someone who can control his supporters and see beyond them. In brief, someone whose name is not used by supporters laying unmeritorious claims to Shamlat lands.
To be fair, even in mature democracies ideology has been sidelined. However, it has been sidelined more in public utterances than in reality. Ten years of Labour in the UK saw massive injections of cash into the public services. That was presented as common sense, but equally it could have been presented in left-right language. In Dadyal and AJK, there are no such distinctions. There are no policy documents and manifestos. All we have to go on is the rhetoric delivered at public gatherings.
So what can we hope? I am an inveterate cynic in matters Dadyal and Mirpur. I do not believe that politicians can do much there, even given the best of intentions. That is not to say that ad hoc good things will not be done, but there will be no overall development strategy. Even if there were, it would remain on paper. However, although good deeds are difficult, good intentions notwithstanding, it is easier to do ill to people. So my advice is to vote for someone least likely to do ill; someone who can control his supporters and see beyond them. In brief, someone whose name is not used by supporters laying unmeritorious claims to Shamlat lands.
Friday, June 3
On the Azad Kashmir election
Back to the AJK election. It seems neither the public nor the parties are fired by much enthusiasm. Barely three weeks to go and some candidates have yet to be declared. In my constituency of Dadyal, the senior MC incumbent is wavering. There is confusion about whether he will stand for re-election or hand the mantle over to someone else. Hopefuls are claiming he has promised to back their bid for the party ticket. The fact that he is a seasoned politician who no doubt understands the counter-productivity of raising hopes places a question mark over such claims. He is wavering because party loyalty is paper thin. There are few ideological candidates anywhere. Today’s liberal can be tomorrow’s conservative.
In the grand scheme of things, not much is at stake: it will not make a huge difference who wins. The land will not flow with milk and honey. What matters there is that no one should be harmed; injustice should not be done to anyone. This is not uncommon in Pakistan generally. All kinds of people surround politicians, including village level rogues who use their political links to settle scores, harass opponents and for personal gain. Land ownership disputes are also linked with politics. As a minimum, we need assertive politicians who can see beyond their immediate coterie of supporters.
In the grand scheme of things, not much is at stake: it will not make a huge difference who wins. The land will not flow with milk and honey. What matters there is that no one should be harmed; injustice should not be done to anyone. This is not uncommon in Pakistan generally. All kinds of people surround politicians, including village level rogues who use their political links to settle scores, harass opponents and for personal gain. Land ownership disputes are also linked with politics. As a minimum, we need assertive politicians who can see beyond their immediate coterie of supporters.
Thursday, June 2
PCOs vs. Mobile phones
When I went to AJK in 1999, Public Call Offices (PCOs) were everywhere. It was a booming business in an area which has sent emigrants to Europe and the Middle East. In my visit this year, I couldn’t find a single PCO, all having been supplanted by the mobile phone. It is a sign of progress that mobile phone ownership has penetrated all sections of society.
In the Sufi Shrine at Khurrie, I came across a beggar with a mobile phone in one hand. Back in Chattroh, a poor day labourer from Mardaan was negotiating a pay rate for his next job over the phone. Wide phone ownership is also reflected in the rise in the number of service providers in Pakistan. However, it is probably unfair to use Mirpur as a yardstick for progress in Pakistan as a whole. Mirpur’s deep link with the UK make it a special case.
In the Sufi Shrine at Khurrie, I came across a beggar with a mobile phone in one hand. Back in Chattroh, a poor day labourer from Mardaan was negotiating a pay rate for his next job over the phone. Wide phone ownership is also reflected in the rise in the number of service providers in Pakistan. However, it is probably unfair to use Mirpur as a yardstick for progress in Pakistan as a whole. Mirpur’s deep link with the UK make it a special case.
Thursday, May 19
Sickness and health
Public healthcare provision in AJK, like in much of Pakistan, is in a poor state. In most cases, you have to draw on your own resources.
I was quite interested in the health profile of Dadyal. Unable to find anything published on the subject, I spoke to a number of chemists to see what kind of medication they sell the most. Apparently no HIV medication is dispensed, but Hepatitis is fairly widespread. Diabetes, high blood pressure and raised cholesterol are also common.
Depression also appears to be on the rise. In the past, disparate symptoms, from vague ‘body ache’ to ‘tightness’ in the head, were rarely brought under the umbrella of depression. But now more and more medication is being dispensed for depression.
Rather alarmingly, medicines which ought only to be prescribed by a doctor can sometimes be purchased over the counter. You can buy medicines such as Omeprazole, Metronidazole and Amoxicillin, and many others, from Chattroh, without a prescription. The dangers to the individual are obvious. In the case of antibiotics, the dangers are to all of us. Unnecessary prescribing creates an opportunity for resistant bacteria to develop and spread. Resistance is spreading faster than the development of new antibiotics.
I was quite interested in the health profile of Dadyal. Unable to find anything published on the subject, I spoke to a number of chemists to see what kind of medication they sell the most. Apparently no HIV medication is dispensed, but Hepatitis is fairly widespread. Diabetes, high blood pressure and raised cholesterol are also common.
Depression also appears to be on the rise. In the past, disparate symptoms, from vague ‘body ache’ to ‘tightness’ in the head, were rarely brought under the umbrella of depression. But now more and more medication is being dispensed for depression.
Rather alarmingly, medicines which ought only to be prescribed by a doctor can sometimes be purchased over the counter. You can buy medicines such as Omeprazole, Metronidazole and Amoxicillin, and many others, from Chattroh, without a prescription. The dangers to the individual are obvious. In the case of antibiotics, the dangers are to all of us. Unnecessary prescribing creates an opportunity for resistant bacteria to develop and spread. Resistance is spreading faster than the development of new antibiotics.
Monday, May 16
Azad Kashmir election
During my visit, I did not fail to notice that the Azad Kashmir elections are due shortly. Not that there was overmuch public enthusiasm. Politics there as elsewhere is impotent. Strip away the large houses, shopping malls and the land cruisers, all private wealth remitted from overseas, and the developmental gains of politicians are very modest.
I tried to imagine the place as it would have been without contact with England. The road is in a state of disrepair. The basic public health system has barely moved on from how I remember it from the 1970s. People try to avoid state schools if they can afford to. True, the construction of an electricity grid station means electricity, when available, is powerful enough for most purposes. This is offset by the even greater frequency of load shedding. Supply cannot meet demand - it is the job of politics to fine tune supply and demand.
On a different note, I was surprised that in Dadyal at least the parties had not announced their candidates even at this relatively late hour. The reason, I suspect, is that there are so many hopefuls, egged on by enthusiastic supporters, that parties cannot depend on the continuing loyalty of those who fail to get a ticket. The longer the delay in announcing candidates, the more difficult it becomes for disappointed candidates to run as independents. There is no such thing as ideology; there as here, there is very little to choose from.
I tried to imagine the place as it would have been without contact with England. The road is in a state of disrepair. The basic public health system has barely moved on from how I remember it from the 1970s. People try to avoid state schools if they can afford to. True, the construction of an electricity grid station means electricity, when available, is powerful enough for most purposes. This is offset by the even greater frequency of load shedding. Supply cannot meet demand - it is the job of politics to fine tune supply and demand.
On a different note, I was surprised that in Dadyal at least the parties had not announced their candidates even at this relatively late hour. The reason, I suspect, is that there are so many hopefuls, egged on by enthusiastic supporters, that parties cannot depend on the continuing loyalty of those who fail to get a ticket. The longer the delay in announcing candidates, the more difficult it becomes for disappointed candidates to run as independents. There is no such thing as ideology; there as here, there is very little to choose from.
Friday, May 13
Whither went my holiday.....
Over the next few weeks, I’ll try to update my blog with insights from my recent two-week lightening visit to Pakistan.
The rant that good time flies by quickly has become a cliché, but nevertheless applies vividly in my case. It is as if the sight of the majestic snow-capped Himalayas, which greeted me every morning, were but a dream. Here, my first step out of the house is greeted by nothing more than the sight of the terrace opposite.
Much has changed since my last visit and some places were barely recognisable. There is a point off the main road which links Chattroh with other villages. In 1999, it was a quite place, with only the odd water buffalo bathing in a ditch and the traffic going to and from Chattroh. Now it is bustling with activity, with grand residences surrounded by shops and roadside cafes and everywhere the evidence of more building.
The rant that good time flies by quickly has become a cliché, but nevertheless applies vividly in my case. It is as if the sight of the majestic snow-capped Himalayas, which greeted me every morning, were but a dream. Here, my first step out of the house is greeted by nothing more than the sight of the terrace opposite.
Much has changed since my last visit and some places were barely recognisable. There is a point off the main road which links Chattroh with other villages. In 1999, it was a quite place, with only the odd water buffalo bathing in a ditch and the traffic going to and from Chattroh. Now it is bustling with activity, with grand residences surrounded by shops and roadside cafes and everywhere the evidence of more building.
Monday, March 28
Middle East and Middle England
As a (healthy) sceptic, I do not believe that the demonstrations in the Middle East are about any abstract, vaguely defined idea of freedom; as if people are fighting for the right to publish seditious books and say whatever they want to. Sure, people are fed up of the intrusive, overbearing state, especially in the form of the police. But the real reason is the economy. Young people want jobs; they want financial stability and purposeful lives.
There is a link between the demonstrations in the Middle East and the demonstrations in London on Saturday - both are related to the economy more than 'freedom'.
There is a link between the demonstrations in the Middle East and the demonstrations in London on Saturday - both are related to the economy more than 'freedom'.
Sunday, February 6
Shaping young minds
What per cent of the England and Wales population are Muslim? What per cent of prisoners in England and Wales are Muslim? That is the odd question I overhead a local imam ask at an evening class for 9 year olds. As expected, none of the kids knew and the imam gave them the answer – 3 and 12 per cent respectively. The point he was trying to drive home to the young minds was that the Muslim prison population is disproportionately high compared with the overall number of Muslims in the country. He was doing his bit for encouraging good behaviour and citizenship. He had, no doubt, done his homework. According to Ministry of Justice data, as of June 2008 (the most recent detailed data I could find) there were 83,194 prisoners in England and Wales. Of these, 9795 were Muslim. This, as the imam said, is around 12% of the prison population.
Wednesday, January 19
Straw's ‘easy meat’ comments
Jack Straw’s comments about British Pakistani men luring vulnerable white girls have caused a furore, particularly in the free Urdu ‘pot-boiler’ press. The exact words used by Straw can be read in any online newspaper.
Jack Straw is certainly not a crazy guy and he chooses his words carefully; you could even say he anticipates possible straw man arguments against him. Hence note the caveats that come with his statement – he acknowledges that Pakistani men are not the only to commit sexual offences and that the sexual offences wings of prisons are filled with white men.
I think, though, that Straw has hit the nail on the head in so far as he grasps an attitudinal trait among some Pakistani men. It’s not about statistics; most sexual offenders are not Pakistani. It is about attitudes; it’s about an attitude, shared by more than people who engage in grooming, which sees white women as immoral and available. This attitude is based purely on racism.
The ‘easy-meat’ comment is no doubt provocative, and, based purely on numbers, inaccurate. But rather than meet it with diatribe, the comment should encourage introspection. The British Pakistani community needs to look carefully at how it relates to other communities and, perchance, revise the attitude of moral superiority.
Jack Straw is certainly not a crazy guy and he chooses his words carefully; you could even say he anticipates possible straw man arguments against him. Hence note the caveats that come with his statement – he acknowledges that Pakistani men are not the only to commit sexual offences and that the sexual offences wings of prisons are filled with white men.
I think, though, that Straw has hit the nail on the head in so far as he grasps an attitudinal trait among some Pakistani men. It’s not about statistics; most sexual offenders are not Pakistani. It is about attitudes; it’s about an attitude, shared by more than people who engage in grooming, which sees white women as immoral and available. This attitude is based purely on racism.
The ‘easy-meat’ comment is no doubt provocative, and, based purely on numbers, inaccurate. But rather than meet it with diatribe, the comment should encourage introspection. The British Pakistani community needs to look carefully at how it relates to other communities and, perchance, revise the attitude of moral superiority.
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