Art of life..

I have only spent just under 24 years of life on this planet, and probably out of those 24 only about 10-15 years have been with some form of consciousness. However, I am amazed on how many changes I’ve seen in this very short span.

Rise and fall of some great personnel, world-conquering teams, feeble humans standing against the might of nature; plans coming together and things going absolutely perfectly and then a single moment breaking the years of build-up behind it. Personally, I’ve craved for so many things, spent hours giving my level best to achieve some results, and confoundingly when I achieved them, they meant nothing!

It is a very odd thing, the moment once you achieve something. It’s probably like climbing a very high mountain, you spent days doing so. You fight with the blistering winds, rough barren landscape, aching body, sleepless nights and God knows what other hurdles in your way just to reach the summit.

However, once you get there you forget everything that happened on the way, you feel elated, fulfilled, the sudden euphoria of feeling good about yourself.

Yet it doesn’t last; the feeling of containment lasts as long as you turn around and see that there is another peak in front of you that remains unclimbed. You immediately loose the sense of proportion to what you have achieved compared to the unbeaten challenge that lies ahead.

I remember my first flying experience. As a kid, I loved it when we all used to go to the airport regularly to drop my dad when he took flights around the country for his work. I remember we used to wait outside the airport at Quetta where we could see the planes taking off. There were no mobile phones, so we watched the runway side in anticipation as to when the plane will take off. We used to drive off only when it left the ground for air. Yet I kept my eyes fixed over the horizon to see the white gleaming bird disappearing in the distant skies.

But when I took my own first flight, somehow it left me amazed. Is that it? You take off with a thud, spend few hours constrained in a metal box, served something to eat from air hosts who are there doing their ‘job’ and you land back? I asked myself, is that the ‘charming’ plane travel that I was craving to do?

Then the story of army, it’s true I never actually wanted to join army – but when I first went to the selection centre and saw that more than 60,000 other youngsters are applying for Pakistan Military Academy, the sudden sense of competitiveness struck me. I felt that it would be a dent on my ‘pride’ if I failed to achieve this. I put in all the hard work I could have, running miles for building stamina, reading experiences of all previous applicants, getting advice from successful applicants and all that.

Yet as soon as I entered the gates of Pakistan Military Academy in Kakool, the curse of ‘un-fulfilment’ struck me. When everyone around me was proud of making it to the Academy out of 60,000 other candidates, I was thinking ‘ok, what now? I did get what I wanted, but what now?’

It’s not that I am driven by ‘desires’ to achieve more and more, rather contrary to that in every major review of my performance I’ve had with my managers, platoon commanders or personally with my friends – I’ve always been apprehended as having a ‘lack of ambition’. How many times I’ve heard people telling me that ‘you are not ambitious enough, look at all what you’ve got, you could achieve a hell lot more than what you have ’

Which always makes me think about what life really is? Isn’t it obvious that we keep chasing so many dreams in our life, so many objectives – but as soon as we achieve them, they loose all meaning! At the end of it, there is always something bigger to dream about, there is always something further to achieve.

Think about moving to a new city or house. When you move in, there is always that distinct, unique feeling of happiness; an odd sensation of ‘change’ that you can never describe in words. It feels amazing with new rooms, new neighbours and everything. However, slowly after the first few weeks that feeling evaporates. Everything again becomes a part of that ‘routine’; no matter how hard you try to conserve that feeling you can never have that sensation back again about the same very house that felt ‘new and brilliant’ some time ago.

It goes same for your new mobile, your new car, any new toy or gadget. You crave for something for ages, work hard towards it, probably save money for buying it, and make plans about using it. But as soon you ‘get’ there it often means nothing!

I wondered why is that? I started examining all my achievements, all my losses, the moments of pride and shame, the accounts of greatness and the tales of sadness, the feelings of love and the stories of hate. Frantically trying to make sense of it all, trying to find the missing piece to this jigsaw, clues to the solution, answer to the query!

And as again the answer was always out there!

Autumn, the answer was in the beautiful falling leaves. The yellowish-orange tinted leaves scattered around on roads and in parks at this time of the year.

I was standing beneath probably a few centuries old oak tree in the early morning haze in Oxford the other day when I saw this one leaf breaking from the branch and majestically making its way down to the ground.

It looked like an old warrior finally making his final journey. The yellow colour in the middle showing the signs of the hectic life it had lived. The green of the stem displaying the youth it once had. Beautiful plant patterns running across the face of it narrating the untold stories of love, hardships, friends and God knows what else he witnessed through his life.

The centuries old oak tree made a strange hissing sound due to the gentle breeze of morning, it felt like it was saying good-bye to one of its falling comrades. The other leaves on the tree were vibrating heavily with the wind as to waving their good byes to one of their own. It was truly nostalgic!

Nevertheless, it taught me the very thing I was searching for!

Life is after all just a journey.

A journey through things, people, feelings, achievements, losses, moments of joy, moments of sorrow, distances, travels, places, houses, loved ones, technologies, mobiles, laptops, lies, horrors, springs, devastations, hotels, restaurants, toys, landscapes, blizzards, storms, cuisines, sweets, clouds, and each and everything else. They are just parts of this journey, not the journey itself!

The reason why we feel unfulfilled after achieving everything is that we forget our journey and start focusing on the ‘things’ in that journey.

Shakespeare once said that the world is a stage and we all actors, but I think the reality is that the world is just an ‘act’. We are the audience, if we let our minds consumed by the act; we end up forgetting what is real.

The true art of life is the one of that leaf; it never forgets that it is in a constant journey. It grows after its birth; blossoms when its spring, reaches a refreshing green at the top of its life. However, as it reaches the top it starts turning yellow realising that as soon as the spring will be over it will have to leave the tree forever.

We are born without much apprehension; grow with each passing day in size and consciousness. We should blossom when its spring, but at the top of our strengths we should realise our journey and start planning for the 'final destination'.

If at any stage we loose focus of our journey, we will end up just as a rotten leaf!

Who is Muhammad (Peace be upon him)?

Muhammad (P.B.U.H) is the last in the line of many Prophets including Moses (P.B.U.H), Abraham (P.B.U.H), Jacob (P.B.U.H), Ishmael (P.B.U.H), Joseph (P.B.U.H) and Jesus (P.B.U.H) sent by the God on this earth for the purpose of guiding the mankind.

Similar to all other Prophets, Muhammad (P.B.U.H) reminded the world of the message of God which included:

• There is no deity worthy of worship except the one who created this whole life on the planet
• Human life on this planet is not an accident, but a carefully planned and executed exercise by God and for this reason the current life is connected to its aftermath where people will receive their reward and punishment accordingly
• With the understanding that every human will  be held responsible for all their actions in this world, it is important that they lead a life which is beneficial for them in this and the following world of reward and punishment
• For getting the best reward for your efforts in this world, there are few rules and regulations setup for you to test you in your efforts and qualify your actions for the different levels of rewards and punishments
• Follow the guidelines set for you and you will end up in the best of rewards and if not, then as every action has a reaction, you will receive the punishment of your deeds

This very simple message is the one which was propagated by all other Prophets before Muhammad (P.B.U.H) and the Last Prophet again reminded the humans about it. 

The uniqueness of Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) was that he not only propagated a divine message based on monotheism, concept of day of judgement and Prophethood, but he also devised and implemented a unique social system in his local society which branched out further to provide the world with a completely new civilisation. 

A system based on the values of peace, honesty, brotherhood, respect for women, modesty, financial equality and diversity. This gift of a practical human society was the biggest achievement of Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) which still guides Muslims all over the world

But didn’t Muhammad (P.B.U.H) fought many wars and introduced the concept of ‘holy war’?

Yes, but not for the purpose of violence or bloodshed. In fact for all accounts it is accepted that he personally rarely harmed any of his enemies. The idea of any struggle by Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) was to ensure that the ‘values’ on which a new society was created in the state of Medina (his homeland) is protected against all elements who want to destroy it and bring back the inhumane practices of the past.

Thus any wars fought in that era were either to protect the new beginnings of that society or to expand the system to other areas in order to liberate humans of the wrong practices that were prevalent. Some examples of which are:

• Before the time of Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) Arabs used to bury their young girls in order to save themselves of the ‘shame’ of having a girl. Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) abolished that practice by law, even giving the happy tidings to fathers saying
  
  ‘Those who raise two daughters with respect, teach them the best education and marry them honourably is bound to be rewarded with heaven and live next to me’

• During those ages, slavery was a common thing and slaves were often suspect to inhuman treatment and hardships. Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) devised the rule of equality in human society, in fact one of his most closest associated was Belal, an Ethiopian slave by background, and Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) honoured him beyond anyone else. He once commented ‘Belal, I hear the sound of your feet ahead of me in heaven on the day of judgement’. The equality established in Muslim society by Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) resulted in a complete abolishment of the ‘class’ system that was firmly established before him in the tribal Arab region

• Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) established a unique wealth distribution system in the society where the top earners were made liable to look after the less privileged members of the society. In our current banking crisis, we have realised the importance of fair distribution of wealth, with wealthy people getting wealthier and the poor ones finding it increasingly difficult to make ends meet. This was the key aspect which Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) took on to correct and formulated an economic model which made sure that all members of the society remain equal in monetary levels. While equally maintaining open trade links with neighbouring countries and states. By modern methods it is not difficult to estimate that the annual growth rate of Medina was far superior to any of the current financial superpowers

Now these new measures taken by Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) faced strong opposition from the followers of existing systems who benefited by them making money on the expense of women, slaves and the poorer members of the society. And for the implementation of this system Prophet (P.B.U.H) even had to engage in battles to abolish the old tribal chiefs in Arab and kings outside the Arabian Peninsula

But why Muslims cannot accept any comments regarding Prophet (P.B.U.H), is not ‘freedom of speech’ exactly the kind of thing which Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) stood for?

Yes, freedom of speech is exactly the kind of social value that Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) established in the society of Muslims and propagated, in fact Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) said ‘Saying the truth in-front of a tyrant ruler is the highest order of struggle in the way of God’

But for Muslims and Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) human sentiments, honour and respect are far important values than freedom of speech. Everyone has the right to say what they believe is right, but if it infringes someone else’s privacy, their respect and botches their honour then that should not be accounted in the freedom of speech. As you should not abuse anyone because of their race, their colour or any deformity in their body, similarly no one should have the right to ridicule, insult and make fun of anyone else’s ‘beliefs’

For Muslims, Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) is not only a personality whom they love and admire, but he is part of their belief, forming the very fabric of Islam which Muslims have chosen as their pathway for life. 

Once any film, cartoon or caricature ridicules the personality of Prophet (P.B.U.H) in anyway or form, they are not just making fun of any person, but a person who is the source of faith and belief for nearly 1 billion humans on this planet. This makes the act of any ridicule towards Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) a much severe act against humanity.

We all humans are equal in our emotions, most often we can hear any insults towards ourselves and our physical appearance, but as soon as anyone utters a word against our loved ones we lose our temperament. May it be our parents, our family, our friends or our country; any insult directed towards someone or something we love hurts us more than even any physical injury.

And the love of Muslims for our Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) is nothing compared to any of our existing relationships. It’s a sacred relationship, a love based on devotion, faith, belief and thankfulness for that one personality which provided the guidance for millions of souls to follow him towards the righteous path.

We cannot comprehend what would have happened if Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) would not have revolutionised the human race. Maybe we would still have half the population on this plant as slaves, may be young girls would still be buried alive in hot deserts for the shame they brought, maybe we would still be ruled by kings who would kill anyone saying a word against them, maybe these 1 billion people of this planet would still be lost in worshipping false Gods and ending up in severe punishments

Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H.) guided us humans with love, patience, affection and relentlessly struggled against anyone who wanted to impose a system of cruelty on humans. He taught us the values of respect for women, the respect of parents, the right of neighbours, love for poor, equality of humans and above all self-respect as individuals.

This and only this is the reason why Muslims so ferociously protest against any single thing aimed at our Prophet (P.B.U.H). The anger in Muslims for such a thing to happen is matchless; I have seen 90 year old people weeping in anguish as to why they don’t have the strength in their bodies to protect the honour of Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) I have seen the willingness to break even the Mount Everest in the eyes of youngsters if it stands in the way of protecting the honour of their beloved Prophet (P.B.U.H)

The hurt feelings, the shattered hopes, the weary faces of Muslims from the plains of US to the deserts of Arabia and beyond in the mountains of Himalaya represent the extraordinary pain these one billion humans are suffering from such an act of heinous crime against their beloved!

And thus it is the responsibility of me, you; Muslim or not, but as humans to support the campaign to ban anyone from committing such an act in the future. If we don’t take a stand for the hurt feelings of our fellow humans then this will transcend into breaking the very social fabric which makes us ‘human’. It will be a loss not for Muslims, but for humanity!

Which we in this world should not allow to happen!

The case of anarchy, chaos and fear…

''Someone asked Christopher that question yesterday, and he said he didn't intentionally think of anything political in the development of the story. So I think the politics here, if there are any, is like art or beauty, it's largely in the eye of the beholder''

Only Morgan Freeman could have put it in such an eloquent manner when asked about the underlying political themes in the Batman series directed by Christopher Nolan.

I must admit, I’ve always felt there was a very deep political motive in the modern Batman series throughout. And now reading the storyline for the third one, I have to say that these three movies present a very interesting study on the everlasting struggle between good and bad in human societies.

Somewhat the underlying similarities between the ideologies of ‘The League of Shadows’ and the modern ‘Al Qaeda’ phenomena of ‘correcting a society with extreme measures’ are undeniable, the oddly attractive concept of ‘breaking it’ to make it better.

Ras Al Ghul (brilliantly played by Liam Neeson) has a distinctive vision on how a broken society can be mended – if it’s beyond repair the only way to get it sorted is to destroy it and start again. Name it revolution, uprising, revolt or anarchy. If you need a change for the system, then that system has to be uprooted in its entirety; probably taking a good chunk of everything including ‘human lives’ with it.  (Do we know a society which is beyond repair??)

Then the second part contains the brilliant ‘joker’, the epitome of ‘chaos’! Where you don’t know who is who and what is what. The ‘two faced’ nature of different forces in society, good becomes evil and evil veils as good.

Why the joker is the prime example of chaos? Apart from his most famous ‘why so serious’ line – I think the conversation between Alfred and Bruce Wayne says a lot about him:

‘With respect Master Wayne, perhaps this is a man that *you* don't fully understand, either. A long time ago, I was in Burma. My friends and I were working for the local government. They were trying to buy the loyalty of tribal leaders by bribing them with precious stones. But their caravans were being raided in a forest north of Rangoon by a bandit. So, we went looking for the stones. But in six months, we never met anybody who traded with him. One day, I saw a child playing with a ruby the size of a tangerine. The bandit had been throwing them away.

So why steal them?

Well, because he thought it was good sport. Because some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn’

This is the character that has befallen many societies; Temujin, Atilla, Hitler, Stalin, Mladic. They are the ‘Gotham jokers’ of our real world - they never had any logic, any ideology, any objective –   they just wanted to see the world burn!

And now comes the last part – the final and by far the worst destroyer of modern human society. ‘Fear’ – arguably Bane is more about brute force wearing a mask which pumps anaesthetics in his body all the time. But more than his force it is the ‘fear’ which gives him the unchallenged control over the whole city.

Potentially ‘Fear’ is far more destructive for a human society than anarchy or chaos. Because fear doesn’t physically damage the society; it makes it mentally dead.

Unable to think clearly, unable to breathe openly, unable to express freely. It’s fear that annihilates the very fabric of human nature that allows us to differentiate ourselves from animals by living with each other in peace and harmony. It might not limit social interaction but it takes out the love in that interaction. It preys on human thoughts, ideas, creativity and slowly consumes the whole ‘soul’ of societies leaving them nothing other than a mechanically manufactured structure void of emotions and feelings.

What all is left behind is a soul-less framework of human droids who only want to survive for themselves. Their existence is limited to earning a livelihood and then consuming it for their own selves.

The prime example? Nothing other than my own birthplace! The city I’ve cherished throughout my life, the place where I learned to dream, the glowing coast where I found the beauty of nature, the place where moon-soons brought a new meaning to joy for me after the tantalising heat. My childhood retreat, my summer holiday destination, the city which spread colours in my eids, the streets which gave a new meaning to ‘playgrounds’ , the ‘bride’ of cities, the city of lights, joys, memories, delicious foods, bustling bazaars. The city like no other city in the world…Karachi!

Fear, fear of MQM, Altaf and his band of killers has destroyed my city! Yet it is all lost now!

Though Gotham is just a fictional place, but look closely and you will see the similarities between the famous Hollywood town with the city of Karachi. Corrupt officials, disillusioned elite, fractious neighbourhoods, gangs and local ‘warlords’ and then to add on it the ‘fearful’ ordinary humans.

A mentally ill man who is sitting hundreds of miles away gives a call for a strike in the city and there is not a single shop open throughout the number of malls and bazaars. He has the power to appear on every single media channel for 5 consecutive hours without any commercial break, thousands gather like cattle sheep on his single call for a ‘rally’. Every single member of his so-called political party cannot even utter a word anywhere without first mentioning his name and thanking him for 5-10 times continuously. Parks, roads, highways are named in his honour, on the name of his mother, family, relatives and there is no one who can say a word against it. He has the power to order killing of anyone, the power to have a foreign national become a governor of his province for more than 10 years, he can get journalists killed, businessmen held on ransom, appear on TV channels whenever he likes and sing/dance/tell stories of his liking to a crowd of human robots who clap absent-mindedly on his every move. Chant slogans of his name after every pause, thanks him for everything in their lives more than they even might be thankful to their creator.

Why is that all?? Just because of ‘fear’ – people of Karachi right from the first day of MQM’s creation in 1980’s have stumbled against this fear; gradually losing their senses, feelings, emotions, thoughts and finally ‘souls’ to this monster.  

Now they are numbed, completely senseless and limited to their own existence. People in Karachi are now slaves of their own fear. They endure strikes, target killings, bhatta, ghunda gardi, loss of peace and harmony but don’t make a single noise, don’t take a single action and continue living a cursed life.

The fear of MQM has taken the better of them!

How will this change?? Anarchy?? Chaos?? Or become the fear of their fears??

Are they happy with the compromise they have made with their fears or they want to rise again and be the Karachi that it once was??

The choice is in their own hands…

‘Took quite a fall, didn't we, Master Bruce?
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And why do we fall, Bruce?

So we can learn to pick ourselves up’

Jasarat Front Page...

My eyes are flooded with tears today. Sitting on the 20^th floor of Sky Bella hotel with a beautiful view of Copenhagen from the windows and the daily jasarat newspaper in front of me on my laptop, I am nearly lost for all words and feelings.

The top headline is of a person claiming to have paid huge sums in bribery to the different elite class individuals of my beloved country. Favours, sleaze, corruption, laundering, cheating, visits to Monte Carlo, treason by a top diplomat, MQM walking out of senate on the basis of bad law order in Karachi, PML – N dishing dirt on PPP, others taking their own dig at their opponents, 2500 million rupees corruption in defence contracts, lawyers protesting in favour of judiciary, the apex court hearing petitions in a soap opera manner, William Hague meeting the ‘President’ of Pakistan Zardari, Dr Arslan Iftikhar walking in the court like a conqueror or a sovereign of the country.

And just beside all that, a big captioned image of Malik Riaz holding the holiest book on the human planet ‘The Quran’!

This is the state of the country which was established by people who sacrificed their lives, their love, their properties, inheritances, bungalows, families, relatives and God knows what else for a single purpose. The purpose of distinguishing themselves from the rest of the nations around them on a single point of difference – the difference of their beliefs!

They believed that those who believe in the unity of Allah almighty and the Prophet hood of Muhammad (P.B.U.H) live differently and independently from those who do not believe in this.  The simple term referred to as the ‘Two Nation Theory’ was in fact the combination of dreams, aspirations, wishes, feelings, spirits, hopes and desires of hundreds and hundreds of individuals who were only on a single platform due to the only one thing that was common amongst them all – their religion!

But woe on us all! This is how we the following generations have paid the debt of their efforts. These European countries which fought for more years and decades with each other are now on a single platform just because their race/region is in close proximity to each to other, and now they are reaping the benefits of that by taking long strides in every field of life. Law and order, environment, technologies, transportation, quality of life, architecture, social stability and all benefits that Allah has promised to all those who follow the basic human system of life (irrespective of their religious or social beliefs).

And we ‘Muslims’, the only land on this plant which was created for Muslims, the only land where 

the masses made a choice of following the ‘Islamic System’ are plunging in the depths of religious and human mire.

Our teenagers are becoming increasingly suicidal with every following day brining in news of teenage suicides, our social values are hitting new lows and we as complete idiots are accepting this in the name of ‘modernisation’. Our politicians are playing a musical chair with us fools singing loudly to provide with the music, the apex court of the country is busy snatching their own share of the media limelight with a ‘lucky Irani circus’ of corruption cases without any final acts to ensure that the audience remain engaged in the ‘show’, the religious fraction of the society loudly pronounces every un-religious act by saying ‘Astaghfirullah Tauba Tauba Kaisa Zamana aa gaya hai’ turn their heads around and get busy with their own lives. 

I think Musharraf made a joke few years ago that if you don’t like the nudity on the TV then just close your eyes and we so loyal a nation to our leaders have taken it religiously and regularly close eyes in-front of TVs, in streets, in markets and everywhere else whenever we see something which is against our beliefs, values or traditions.

One of my friends recently told me that he was walking through the main sadder area in Karachi when he saw a guy snatching a mobile from an old lady in-front of him on a gunpoint and the lady started shouting for help.

I asked him what did you do?? His reply probably defined the attitude of our whole nation:

‘Kuch nhn yaar, I instantly checked my pocket – my mobile was there, I said ‘Alhamdulillah’ and walked away’

In here, I can’t stop wishing; praying, hoping – that one day, some day – my country will be as beautiful and peaceful as they have made it. These people here only focus on building a society, a country which lasts until one is alive – without any sense or belief of life after here. But we, we Muslims, we the nation of Muslims, we the land of pure, we the ummah of rahmatulil alameen (P.B.U.H) have the knowledge, the guidance, the pathway to build a country, a society, a human culture which can give the world most happy and prosperous model of a country and society catering for life not only within this world, but also for all the worlds to follow!

The sooner we realise this the better it will be!

Just another number?

135 of our Army men are caught up in the avalanche, I can’t help but think about the very odd conversation I had few months ago!

''Ending up discussing religion with a Cambridge educated atheist on a dinner in a quite Scottish restaurant was the last thing I would have thought of after a tiring day at the conference. But some things are just bound to happen.

He was our host for the night, so there was no getting away as well. The conversation started at my refusal of taking his offer of the finest Scottish whisky that he had specially ordered for us from some historic brewery down in Glasgow.

‘You sure Mr Shams? I can assure you won’t find this bottle anywhere else even after spending a major chunk of your monthly pay’

‘I am fine Sir, I don’t drink’

‘Ah! Is that because of your religious beliefs if you don’t mind me asking?’

‘Indeed, I am a Muslim. So I don’t drink’

‘Fair enough, though my brother in law is also Muslim and trust me he won’t pass even a pint of ordinary beer so to say’

‘Ha! Well everyone has the right to do what they believe in I think, he’s not here so I can’t say much’

He smiled quietly and carried on pouring a glass for my colleagues. Half way through our first course and after some airy fairy discussions around business, he picked the topic again:

‘So Mr Shams, can you tell us why Muslims are not allowed to drink? I don’t think a bright man like you only avoid drinking because his parents have told him not to do so from childhood?’

‘Well, it’s a religious obligation, we Muslims are not allowed to drink by the creator of everything, Allah almighty’

‘Hmm! Agreed young man, but why you think your God didn’t allowed you to drink? When in your words he created everything in the first place? That sounds very illogical, like our company makes machines for the oil and gas industry, would it make sense to first make it and then tell the operators that please don’t use it???’ He clearly had his questions ready.

‘And what if the creator himself tells you that the thing I have created is not good for you, rather it is a test to see if you have the strength in you to stay away from few things in this world’. I was more interested in the risotto in front of me than getting tangled in a debate over religion at that time, and started staring at my plate, somewhat to pretend that I wanted to drop the topic.

‘One more thing, we as Muslims believe that Islam is a lot different from other religions. We believe that Islam is a complete ‘way of life’. Which provides you with guidance in every field of human life, politics, economy, government, prayers, marriages and eating or drinking; Islam provides a Muslim with a complete set of parameters in which one can live a good life and be rewarded by Allah almighty for leading that life’

I added a bit more with a sense of finality, I thought to myself that this should be enough for him and he won’t ask any more questions.

He shook his head slightly, his fork was stuffed with food but he didn’t raise it to his mouth, rather he was staring at me with a very blank expression.

I was pretty certain by that point that he is not going to let me have my dinner that night, so I tried my best to speed up and eat as much as I can before it starts again.

‘Rohan, you know what, I studied Islam for nearly 10 years. I’ll be honest with you; there is no better ‘way of life’ as you called it then the one described by Islam. But why do you see Muslims as living their lives in the worst possible way then? Nearly two thirds of Muslim populations live below the poverty lines, those who have money in Middle East treat humans as insects and you are from Pakistan, look at what is happening in there? How many people have died in your country in the last five years? Is that your ‘way of life’?

‘You are mixing theory with practice I suppose. If Muslims are not living good lives, it is in no certain terms a proof that there is a fault in Islam. It’s more of a fact that Muslims are only living so badly in this world because they haven’t actually followed the ‘way of life’ they are given. And Pakistan yeah the number is around 30-35 thousand I suppose, but it’s an unwanted war we are a part of, the sooner our ruling elite realises this, better it will be for our country. Besides contrary to the Western world we have a very good birth rate, we have laid 35 thousand lives, but we will have a stronger nation again in a few years’ time ’

I chuckled slightly at the looks I was getting from my colleagues who were plain bored of it, but just couldn’t resist getting my thoughts across and thought I’ll be able to shift the topic somehow with the mention of birth rates in Europe.

But what he said next completely surprised me. It was kind of a short sermon but we all just sat there and listened to him for the next 10 minutes and somehow I think it was worth it; I am blessed to have a good memory and the first thing I am doing after coming back from the dinner to my hotel room is writing down his words.

’30-35 thousand, just a number for you Rohan I suppose? But do you know what lies behind this number? Rohan each and every one of those 30-35 thousand human beings had a separate story to them. Do you know their stories? They all had something called a heart; which is my friend this life’s most beautiful creation. A human heart; you know what a human heart is made of?

Doctors might tell you it’s a pump which supplies blood all across the body. But if you look closely you will find something else, something very extraordinary!

A human heart Rohan; is born when the love of a man and women breaks the boundaries, that love is the first ingredient of its existence. Than it is nurtured by the extraordinary tenderness of a mother’s womb, she suffers all the hardships in the external world to keep this heart beating in a safe environment.

It comes in this physical world completely empty and clean as a mirror, where it is tendered by the touch of parents. That is the first feeling it feels. The feeling of unselfish love!

With open eyes the young baby starts to see everything and his heart wonders what it is? He doesn’t know any difference between food and mud, you very often see babies eating the dirt in gardens. The big quest of the unknown fills this human heart with innocence of not knowing anything! Which is another part of its structure.

It passes from the toddler years into early childhood. Where each and every toy brought to it by parents, family and grandparents fills it with joy and happiness of life. Yes the heart is now filled with happiness! A key ingredient to fight the gloomy days of coming life.

Our teen years, Rohan that is the time when our hearts start feeling the love of other hearts, we develop crushes on pretty faces, we explore the characters around us and try to find the love in material, but the pure heart is only inspired by extraordinary, sometimes sci-fi type abilities of others around it and we feel attracted to different people, places and concepts – our hearts are filled with inspirations. Inspirations to be like Superman, Batman, sport star or singer.

Then comes our youth, when the heart is filled with ambitions and desires of life! We make plans for our careers, brighter futures, perfect soul mates and God knows what else. Our heart is filled with desires to achieve everything we want and some amongst us find love in their passions, in their religions or their objectives of life! That all combines to teach our heart ambitions and dreams. Dreams which are another prominent feature of human hearts.

And then Rohan, those who are blessed amongst us have children of their own, you don’t know this yet. But the pride your heart is filled with once you first hold your own son or daughter in your hands is speechless!

At that point you feel that you have completed the journey of your heart, you have the kindness of your parents, innocence of your earlier years, joy of your childhood, inspirations from your beliefs, love of your life-partner, ambitions and dreams about your future and the pride of your offspring! Your heart feels completed, fulfilled!

That Rohan is a human heart behind all of these 35 thousand lives, children, teenagers, youth, husbands, fathers, brothers! They all might have been at different stages of the journey of heart; some might have loving parents whose kindness was taken away from them in a bomb blast. Some might have been in the middle their childhood, filling their hearts with joy which was abruptly changed into tears! Think of the love taken away from young wives, the pride taken away from children. And the desires, ambitions and dreams taken away from your youngsters!

Rohan you so easily say it now as ‘just a number’ but believe me my friend each number has a life and a heart behind it. Which cannot be replaced by just another number!’’

So 135 more….another very ordinary number for us which we all will soon forget!

وہی جوان ہے قبیلے کی آنکھ کا تارا ---------- شباب جس کا ھے بے داغ، ضرب ہے کاری

ہماری زندگیوں میں کئی ایسے لوگ آتے ھیں جن سے شاید ہماری ملاقات کچھ دنوں تک محدود ہوتی ہے، مگر ان کا احساس تمام زندگی ہمارے ساتھ رہ جاتا ہے۔ انسان رب کریم کی سب سے خوبصورت مخلوق ہے، مگر ان انسانوں میں چند ایسے ہوتے ہیں جو اپنی کشش سے ہمیں اپنے سحر میں مبتلا کر دیتے ہیں۔ جان پہچان نہ ہونے کے باوجود ان سے ایک ایسی نسبت ہوتی ہے کے زندگی کے کسے مرحلے پر وہ بھلائے نہیں بھولتے۔ اور شاید ایسے خوبصورت لوگوں کا اصل مقام اللہ عزوجل نے جنت ہی رکھا ہے،کے اکژر ایسے وجود بہت جلد ہم سے بچھڑ جاتے ہیں اور اپنی نزر پوری کر کے فردوس بریں کو اپنا ٹھکانا بنا لیتے ہیں۔

جہانگیر، میرا ہنستا مسکراتا، شرمیلا اور خاموش طبع دوست۔ شاید بہت کم لوگوں کو معلوم ہو کے میرا اور جہانگیر کا رشتہ صرف پاکستان ملٹری اکیڈمی کے دو پلٹون میٹس کا نہیں تھا، بلکہ میرا اور جہانگیر کا اس سے بڑھ کر ایک ایسا مظبوط بندھن تھا کے جس کی اساس کسی دنیاوی رشتہ ناتے سے کئی گنا بڑھ کر طاقت ور تھی۔

میں اور جہانگیر اس رشتے میں جڑے ہوئے تھے جس کی بنیاد کلمہ طیبہ اور جس کا 'نصب العین اللہ تعلیٰ اور اس کے رسول صلی اللہ و علیہ و اسلم کے بتائے ہوئے اصولوں کے مطابق انسانی زندگی کی تعمیر کے ذریعے رضائے الٰہی کا حصول تھا'۔ ہم دونوں اس ہی تنطیم کے راہی تھے جو برس ہا برس سے نوجوانان پاکستان کے کردار کی تشکیل اور اخلاق کے نکھار کے لیئے سر گرم عمل ہے۔

مجھے آج بھی زیارت کی خوبصورت وادی کے وہ روشن دن یاد ہیں جب میری اور جہانگیر کی پہلی ملاقات ہوئی تھی۔ اسلامی جمیعت طلبہ کی صوبائی تربیت گاہ زیارت کے ایک ریسٹ ہاوس میں منعقد کی گئی تھی اور میں اس وقت کے ناظم اعلیٰ  کو کوئٹہ سے لے کر زیارت پہنچھا تھا۔ ہماری تنظیم میں ناظم اعلیٰ کی آمد ایک جذباتی منظر ہوتا ہے، اپنے قائد کی ایک جھلک دیکھ کر کارکنان کا جوش و جذبہ عروج پر ہوتا ہے۔ میرے دماغ میں آج بھی وہ فلک شگاف نعرے تازہ ہیں جو ناطم اعلیٰ کو دیکھتے ہی اس ریسٹ ہاوس سے بلند ہوئےتھے اور میرے خیال میں پورے زیارت میں کوئی ایسا ذی روح نہ ہوگا جس تک ان نعروں کی گونج نہ پہنچ گئی ہو۔

ان تمام نعروں اور نوجوانوں کے ہجوم میں جہانگیر کچھ الگ سے ھی نمایاں تھا۔ اس کا سنت رسول سے مزین روشن چہرہ اپنے کردار کی پاکیزگی اور اپنے مقصد حیات سے مکمل آگہی کا آئینہ دار تھا۔ اور اس پر اس کی معصوم شرمیلی سی مسکراہٹ اور ذہین آنکھیں تمام لوگوں میں ممتاز کر رہی تھیں۔ سلام دعا اورتعارف کے بعد پتہ چلا کہ جہانگیر بھائی کئ سو میل کا سفر طے کرکے کوہلو سے آئے تھے۔ میں اور میرے بڑے بھائی چونکہ پروگرام شروع ہونے کے دوسرے دن ناظم اعٰلی کے ہمراہ پہنچھے تھے، اس لیے ہمارے ساتھ بھی مکمل مہمانوں والا سلوک کیا جا رہاتھا۔ شاید جہانگیر بھائی کی اس روز مطبخ (کچن) کی ذمہ داری تھی، اس لیئے ہر تھوڑی دیر میں وہ انتہای انہماک کے ساتھ ہمارے لیےکھانے، گرم گرم روٹیاں اور میٹھا لے کر پہنچ جاتے تھے. ہم کھا کھا کر تھک چکے تھے مگر ان کا اصرار رہتا کے آپ لوگ مزید کھائیں، ان کے خلوص اور محبت نے شاید واپسی تک میرا وزن چار سے پانچ کلو ضرور بڑھا دیا ہوگا۔

وقت کا پہیہ گھومتا رہا اور آخر کار وہ دن بھی آیا جب ہم دونوں کئی مراحل سے گزرتے ہوئے کاکول ایبٹ آباد کی ٹھنڈی فضاؤں میں تھرڈ پاکستان بٹالین کی حضرت عبیدہ بن جراح (ر۔ض)  کے نام سے موسوم عبیدہ پلٹون میں پھر ایک دوسرے کے ساتھ ہو گئے۔ پاکستان ملٹری اکیڈمی میں تمام کیڈٹس افسری کے کئی خواب لے کر داخل ہوتے ہیں، لیکن جس طرح سے شروع کے چند دنوں میں وہ خواب پامال ہوتے ہیں ان کی روداد کے لیے ایک الگ ہی کتاب درکار ہے۔

خیر مختصر یہ کے شروع کے چند دنوں میں کیڈٹس کی سب سے بڑی خواہش شاید صرف پیٹ بھر کر کھانا اور جی بھر کر سونا ہی ہوتی ہے۔ خوش قسمتی سے میرا کمرا جہانگیر کے کمرے سے متصل تھا، اور مجھے وہ دن اچھی طرح سے یاد ہیں جب اگر کبھی کچھ کھانے پینے کو جہانگیر بھائی کے پاس کہیں سے آتا تھا تو وہ سیدھا میرے کمرے میں پہنچ جاتے اور اپنے سے زیادہ بڑھ کر مجھے کھلانے کی کوشش کرتے۔ خاص طور پار جہانگیر بھائی کو دودھ سے بڑی رغبت تھی، اور وہ کئی ڈبے منگوا کر کمرے میں رکھ لیتے تھے اور پھر تقریباً روزانہ رات کو ایک ڈبہ سب سے چھپا کر میرے کمرے میں ‘سمگل‘ کردیا کرتے تھے۔ خدا کا کرنا ایسا ہوا کہ دوران ٹرینینگ میری گردن پر زوردار چوٹ آئی اور میں قریباً قریباً تمام ٹرینینگ میں بے انتہا مشکلات کا شکار ہو گیا۔ اس ہی دوران ہمیں ایک فیلڈ ایکسرسائز پر اکیڈمی سے باہر جانا پڑا۔ اس ایکسرسائز کے آخری حصے میں ہمیں کئی میل کا فاصلہ پیدل طے کرنا تھا۔ میں اس زمانے  میں شاید تھوڑا جذباتی زیادہ تھا تو میں نے اس پیدل مارچ  میں اپنے کاندھوں پر لائٹ مشین گن سوار کرنے کی ذمہ داری لے لی۔ آغاز تو ٹھیک رہا لیکن جب ایل ایم جی کے وزن کا اثر میری گردن پر پڑا تو ٹوٹی گردن میں میرے صحیح معنوں میں اوسان خطا ہو گئے۔ چونکہ اس مارچ میں سب اپنی قوت و طاقت کے مطابق چلتے رہتے ہیں اس لیئے میں اپنے باقی ساتھیوں سے جدا ہو کر کچھ دور نکل آیا تھا اور اب اس ایل ایم جی کو مجھے اکیلے ہی لے کر چلنا تھا۔ میری رفتار بالکل ٹوٹ چکی تھی اور قریب تھا کے میں مکمل زمیں بوس ہی ہو جاتا کاے مجھے کسی کے تیز تیز قدموں کی آواز آئی، اور پھر دور سے مجھے جہانگیر بھائی کا مانوس چہرا نظر آیا۔ جہانگیر بھائی نے تیزی سے بڑھ کار ایل ایم جی مجھ سے لی، میرا کمر پر لدھا بیگ پیک اپنے کندھے پر رکھا اور اپنے ہاتھ سے پیالہ بنا کرجلدی جلدی مجھے پانی پلایا۔ جہانگیر بھائی کے الفاط ‘‘روحان میری جان آپ کو کس نے کہا تھا کہ یہ آپ لے کر چلو، آپ کو میں نطر نہیں آیا کہیں کہ یہ بیس کلو کی بندوق آپ مجھ کو دیتے، ابھی آپ نے آئندہ میرے ہوتے ہوئے ایسا کیا تو آپ سے بات چیت بند‘ مجھے آج بھی اچھی طرح یاد ہیں۔ اور پھر باقی پورا راستہ وہ میرا وزن اٹھائے میرے ساتھ ساتھ چلتے رہے۔


زندگی کے ادوار بدلتے رہتے ہیں۔ میں پی ایم اے سے نکل کر لندن آ گیا اور جہانگیر اپنے کندھوں پر پھول سجائے آرمی آفیسر بن گئے۔ یقیناً اللہ کے عظیم بندے بہت جلد اپنی منزل پا لیتے ہیں، میں نے اور جہانگیر نے ایک ہی نصب العین کو اپنی زندگی کا مشن بنایا، ایک ہی جذبے کے ساتھ ایمان تقویٰ اور جہاد فی سبیل اللہ کا موٹو رکھنے والی فوج کا حصہ بنے اور شہادت کی خواہش دل میں رکھتے ہوئے اپنی پریکٹکل زندگی کا آغاز کیا۔۔لیکن اس کا جذبہ عظیم ترتھا، 10جولائی 2009 کا دن وہ دن تھا جب جہانگیر اس جہان فانی سے چھٹکارا حاصل کر کے حیات جاوداں پا گیا۔ بے شک ہم سب کو ایک نہ ایک دن اس دنیا سے چلے جانا ہے، پر کس قدر عظیم ہیں وہ لوگ جن کو رب کریم نے اور اس کے رسول امین نے ہمیشہ کی زندگی کی نوید سنائی، وہ مقام کے جس کے پانے والے پکار اٹھتے ہیں کہ ‘فزت بربک الکعبہ‘ رب کعبہ کی قسم میں کامیاب ہو گیا کم ہی لوگوں کے لیے مخصوص ہوتا ہے۔ جو اپنی قیمتی ترین چیز، اپنی جان اپنے رب کی راہ میں لٹا دیتے ہیں وہ ہم جیسے عام انسان نہیں ہوتے۔ بے شک میرے رب نے سچ کہا کے ‘جو لوگ خدا کی راہ میں مارے جائیں انہیں مردہ نہ کہو، وہ تہ زندہ ہیں اور اپنے رب کے پاس عزت والا رزق پاتے ہیں‘۔

جہانگیر میرے دوست، میرے رفیق، میرے بھائی تم کو تمہاری ہمیشگی مبارک ہو، میرا اور تمہارا وعدہ اپنے رب سے ایک ہی تھا، لیکن تم اپنے وعدہ کی پاسداری میں ہم سے زیادہ پکے نکلے۔ میری دعا ہے کہ میرا رب مجھے بھی تمہارے نقش قدم پر چلنے کی ہمت، قوت اور توفیق دے اور جس طرح اس دنیا میں خدا نے ہم دونوں کو ساتھ رکھا،  مجھے امید ہے کہ قیامت کے دن بھی میرا رب مجھے تم سے دور نہ رکھے گا

تم جس طرح اِس دنیا میں ہم سب کے لیے ایک روشن مثال تھے، اس ہی طرح اس دنیا میں بھی تم نے اپنی مثال ہم سے پہلے ہی قائم کردی ہے۔ تمہارا جذبہ ایمانی اور شوق شہادت تمہیں ہم سب پہ بازی دلا گیا۔ کوہلو کے شہید تم اپنے والدین عزیز و اقارب اور قبیلے کے لیئے ہی نہیں بلکہ ہر اس شخص کے لیئے جس نے تمہارے ساتھ تھوڑا بہت بھی وقت گزارا تھا باعث فخر ہو۔شاید تم جیسے جوانوں کے لیئے ہی حکیم الامت نے کہا تھا کہ

وہی جواں ہے قبیلے کی آنکھ کا تارا
شباب جس کا ھے بے داغ ضرب ھے کاری

اگر ہو جنگ تو شیرانِ غاب سے بڑھ کر
اگر ہو صلح تو رعنا غزالِ تاتاری

عجب نہیں ہے اگر اس کا سوز ھے ہمہ سوز
کہ نیستاں کے لیئے بس ھے ایک چنگاری

خدا نے اس کو دیا ہے شکوہِ سلطانی
کہ اس کے فقر میں ہے حیدری و کرّاری

نگاہ کم سے نہ دیکھ اس کی بے کلاہی کو
یہ بے کلاہ ھے سرمایہ کلہ داری

The Beauty and Love..

Living in London is not the easiest thing to do. Life in London whizzes pass at a breath-taking pace, especially if you are working somewhere in the central zones and have to travel daily via the train or tube network, you realise how fast life in London is.

I used to travel daily via Paddington and Circle Line down to South Kensington, and then after our office move, to Victoria. Nearly spent 13 months doing so, about 1-1.5 hours of daily commute from my house. Having spent my childhood and youth in a very quiet town of Pakistan, this daily commute was an extraordinary personal experience for me. I grew up normally walking or cycling to my school and college early in the mornings in a quiet and serene backdrop of high mountains and chilly breeze. At most the noise was of occasional car horns or me humming to myself, but here in London there were hundreds and hundreds of people going around with me at each station. All sorts of different characters, men in expensive sleek suits, women with loads of bags, tourists running around with maps and God know who else. Each one just walking around, waiting, reading or listening to music as such in a state of trans or something.

There were few regular commuters who struck up 'sort of friendships' with other regular commuters on their routes, whenever they saw each other they passed each other the iconic 'London Smile' which is normally nothing else than flexion of face muscles and even if a conversation took place up after months of smiling at each other, it always sounded highly 'manufactured' and focused around the journey, weather and front page news of the famous 'Metro'.

I was really blessed to have fabulous colleagues at my work, although I have never been the best person to spark conversations and jokes when I am at work, but the happy presence of many of my colleagues just kept me going through the ordeal of journey into work. The end was always the brightest part of my day when I can just forget about the past hour for the next 7-8 hours and enjoy the work and people around me. Gradually I got used to it and often found myself passing those empty smiles and chatting about the weather with people travelling with me, but I never for one day 'enjoyed' that 2 hours of time when I was moving around London with zillion of human souls around me.

And that is what just strikes me the most about the personality of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Isn't this thing plain extraordinary that there are nearly 1.6 Billion peopling in this world who loves him more than anyone else on this planet? Regardless of the religious beliefs or what fanatics have turned his teachings into, on simple human level isn't this remarkable that even after 1400 years of his death, many humans weep in love at a mere mention of his name?

As I said during my journeys I must have seen hundreds thousands of faces, and frankly some very beautiful ones, but none came close to be loved. Vice versa numbers must have seen me every day, but why is that a single Human being who died 1400 years ago, who wasn't ever captured on a picture frame neither was his voice recorded on a mp3 is still loved by nearly quarter of the whole population of humans on this land?

Hours of deliberation has leaded me to believe in one and only one thing. It was the beauty of that man, his personality, his character, his humbleness, his kindness and his relentless love for each and everyone around him that converted his fiercest foes into his strongest friends. We humans are incomplete without love, we want to be loved, and oddly enough readily give away everything for someone who treats us with love, kindness and care.

I am pretty dead certain that even only if I would have loudly shouted 'Good Morning' to everyone on every train/tube I took through those 13 months, today there would be people who would silently look forward to seeing me each morning. There will be people who will spark up with smiles by just watching me on the station (although few will be sniggering behind my back) but people start 'loving' only those who show love for others. This is natural human phenomenon.

That is why I believe that the beautiful Prophet (peace be upon him) loved each and every one of us more than anyone else as humans. Not muslims, but as humans because only the purest love for human kind has the strength in it to last decades and centuries to come. Only his love for humans regardless of race, culture, social status, nationality or gender converted him from a simple human being like me and you to the nucleus of a whole belief that draws millions of people just to visit the place where he once lived.

You may ask me why I don't I feel the same love from him? The answer is simple you don’t' find something if you don't look for it. Read his words, read any book about him, see a documentary about him, search Google about his life, search how he lived as a loving husband, as a caring father, as a closes friend, as a teacher to his students, as an economist for his society, as a judge for different cases and above all as a human amongst other humans. And then you will realise the beauty, the care, the kindness and above all the love he had for everyone around him and the millions who will follow him.

What Imran can learn from Misbah - and India!

We often take the five day cricket as just a form of entertainment, but the truth is that playing a sport consisting of more than 40 hours of match time says volumes about each and every personality on the field, and with my fascination of humans around me, there is always a chance to learn from everyone everywhere.

It requires blood, sweat and tears
to succed at any level

Bob Willis may not be a popular person in Pakistan right now, but his one comment today really struck a chord with me. Comparing the English and Pakistani players, he said that apart from Saeed Ajmal and Younis Khan there are no other players in this team who can be said as glitzy stars of cricket. Even barring Ajmal none will feature in a world eleven. But as a combined package, they are head and shoulders above the current world number one.

This is one key lesson that the political superstar Niazi of nowadays can learn from the level headed humble Niazi of cricket. The recipe for success is not about the glamour and glitz of your own personality and individual team members, in fact completely contrary to that, it is in the humbleness, dedication and unity of your companions.

For Misbah and Co, the one enduring feeling that has given them the grit to grind out from the toughest scenarios of cricket is the pain of loss. Not only on field losses to many teams throughout the previous years, but the loss of a captain, a future star, a genius of a bowler and more importantly the loss of respect. Of all the pains a person can endure, the pain of losing credibility and self-respect is the hardest to swallow.

I frankly am not much of a fan of Umar Akmal, but the lasting image of him sitting on the pavilion balcony in Dubai last year with teary eyes after nearly steering Pakistan to victory against Sri Lanka says a lot about this current crop of players. They understand and feel the 'pain of loss' and thus do whatever is possible in their capacity to avoid it.

And it’s not so surprising that Pakistan as a nation also has endured the pain of loss more than any other nation in this world. We've lost 35,000 human lives, our peace, our sense of security, our economic stability, our right to host international teams and above all our respect as a nation in the world. People who have travelled abroad will understand it much better than anyone else that what level of respect is shown to the 'green passport holders'. Imran has promised to turn the tide, but the question is; can he do this with his current party attitude?

Imran Khan needs to learn from his Nazi neighbour. If he wants to really change the fortunes of this nation as Misbah has done for the cricket team, he need to realise that it is only possible with a unique blend of reassuring seniors and talented youngsters. Imran has taken on the path of collecting old 'Political Superstars' in the name of creating an election winning party, but the fact is a galactica of superstars can never achieve anything substantial. The best example is of the megastars of Indian team, currently on a losing streak not matched by many in the recent years, the only reason is the fact that they still are relying on the array of ‘Old Superstars’ who are well past their prime. 

So Mr Khan, please realise that in their hardest times nations can only rise with humbleness, dedication and unity. Not with any ‘glamorous political performances’ or loud singing and cheering, its blood sweat and tears that differentiates winners from losers. Each and every political ‘gaddi nasheen’ of Pakistan may end up joining you at some stage; you may even win a two third majority in the coming elections via the aid of these heavyweights. But if you really want to deliver anything for this country, please build personalities around you - not just persona and glamour.

Political Legharis, Qureshis and Tareens are no better than cricketing
Tendulkars, Dravids and Laxmans