Nuclear Neighbourhood

With a fifth of the world's population between them, deep distrust and the never ending threats and posturing, a question on a BBC forum that caught my interest was, "Should Pakistan and India engage in dialogue?" It's a valid question especially considering that there are many who are deeply apathetic about the situation in South Asia and for varying reasons feel that talking to the neighbour has never quite yielded desirable outcomes. Personally, whatever we think of the political game play, it would be very worrying if Pakistan and India didn't speak. Why is this so? Well it's because they are nuclear powers for one.

Here's a comment left by a contributor called Vejain (at 11:56am on 17 Feb 2010) on Soutik Biswas's blog that he writes for the BBC. The comment is in relation to the stalemate between India and Pakistan:

The US is responsible for creating this morass of mind-boggling proportions. Had it not been for US's insatiable thirst for showing its might to the "commies" it would not have got involved in Vietnam and Afghanistan. After it was ignominiously defeated by the North Vietnamese with China's help, the US tried a different tack. As USSR was perceived a bigger threat to capitalism and as there is no love lost between China and USSR, why not get China on its side? Thus the policy of "engaging" China rather than isolating it. To be bedfellows with China they used Pakistan as the go-between. As a result of this 'engagement' China became the world's factory for manufactured goods - at the cost of decimating industries of the West and almost destroying their economies.

CIA and its progeny ISI did manage to drive the Russians out of Afghanistan, but in the process created the Taliban monster. Now the US is facing two self-inflicted monsters – Chinese hegemony and ISI delinquency. One has destroyed its economy and the other is thwarting its efforts in Afghanistan by inventing the so-called good Taliban and bad Taliban!!

Food for thought, I guess.

History and Future

America is history, Karzai is history, the Taliban are the future

Former ISI head Gen Hamid Gul

In the wake of the current US-led surge in Afghanistan, is the cat finally out of the bag? Is Pakistan admitting its intent? There are voices similar to Hamid Gul's, despite government policy being outwardly pro-American and many who hope that the Americans go away and leave the region alone. Pakistan, typically is self interested. When we consider the repeat blunders made by NATO allies, including those since the recent step-up in operations in Afghanistan under the banner of Operation Moshtarak, then the Taleban sympathisers in the Pakistan ISI are having it handed to them.

Yesterday's air-strike in Urūzgān is one of many, many errors by NATO. There is no such thing as collateral damage. Dead civilians whether men, women or children, are dead. They don't come back. Consider this the tip of the ice-berg:

• July 2008: Raid in Nangarhar mistakenly kills about 50 civilians at a wedding party
• Aug 2008: Up to 90 people, including 60 children, killed in Herat province, UN says
• Nov 2008: Raid on a Kandahar village destroys a housing complex leaving nearly 40 civilians dead
• May 2009: US says 26 civilians died in raid in Farah province; Afghan officials say 140 died
• Sep 2009: Up to 142 civilians die in Kunduz province when hijacked fuel tankers are bombed

Source: various reports from the BBC over the past few days

International Mother Tongue Day - پښتو ژبه

پښتو ژبه

وايي اغيار چي د دوزخ ژبە دە
Wayee aghyar chi da dozakh jaba da
The enemies say that it is the language of hell
زە بە جنت تە دە پښتو سرە ځم
Zu ba jannat ta da Pakhto sara zam
To heaven I will go with Pashto

حمزه شينواري بابا، ١٩٩٤-١٩٠٧
Hamza Shinwari Baba, 1907-1994

On another forum, as part of my MA course, the issue of English language imperialism happened to come up a couple of days ago. I'm a non-imperialist, and a supporter of the right to learn in Mother Tongue. It so happens that today is the United Nations International Mother Language Day.

Here's the link to the document that details the General Assembly's Resolution on the protection of multilingualism.

د اجمل خټک فیصله

Ajmal Khattak's Decision

Ajmal Khattak (September 1925 - February 2010) was an activist, poet, politician and close friend of Khan Abdul Wali Khan. In his youth, Ajmal Khattak was influenced by Bacha Khan's philosophy of non-violence and social work. This led him to join the Khudai Khidmatgar and later the National Awami Party. His recent death leaves a gap in moden Pashtoon political and literary thought. May Ajmal Khattak Baba rest in Allah's peace.

The poem here فیصله Faisala (Decision) is one of many works from the compilation دغیرت چغه Da Ghairat Chagha (The Cry of Valour).

Tor_Khan تور خان

فیصله

نه په ثواب نه په ګناه یمه بس
Na pa sawaab, na pa guna yama, bas
Not for blessing, not for sin am I, just
نه په ژړا نه په خندا یمه بس
Na pa jara, na pa khanda yama, bas
Not for sorrow, not for joy am I, just
اول خوستا په مخ کې هیڅ نه یمه
Awal khu sta pa makhki hiss na yama
Firstly, before you am I nothing
اوکه څه یمه نود ستا یمه بس
Aw ka sa yama no da sta yama, bas
And if I am anything, then I am yours, just.

اجمل خټک

Burj Khalifa: Photo Story

As promised, I'm sharing some photographs, some taken by me - others from stock photographs from the BBC and the Guardian newspaper. The soundtrack features an instrumental version of Time to Say Goodbye (Con Te Partirò) famously recorded in Italian by Andrea Bocelli in 1995 and later in Italian and English as a duet featuring Sarah Brightman. Several versions by both exist and the song features as part of the daily show for the dancing Dubai Fountain in Downtown Burj Khalifa. The version here is an electronic rendition of this popular tune. The slideshow was produced using Micrsoft Photostory. Enjoy.

Burj Khalifa: Top of the World

Almost exactly a month ago, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai was officially inaugarated before a worldwide audience. This week I took the 60 second ride to the public viewing gallery "at the top" of Burj Khalifa and have thus now stepped foot in and seen the world from the highest man-made point in the world. (If one takes a service lift, there are still yet higher points, but I've made a piece of history, for me, at least.)

Burj Khalifa is quite a spectacular building, and yes, you feel your ears pop as you go up and down in the lifts.

In the next posting, InshAllah, I would like to share a few pictures that I have taken and some official photographs from various sources. However, today we look back at January's opening ceremony including the firework display and the amazing dancing Dubai Fountain.

Everybody Dreams

I took this photograph a couple of weeks ago, whilst picnicing with the family, lying there on the grass, staring up at the sky and the branches of the trees.

Everybody Dreams

Children dream,
Adults dream,
Old people dream.

I dream, too.

I dream about the friends with whom I'll grow old,
I dream about the person whose hands I'll hold,
I dream about being young and in love,
I dream about loved ones, looking down from above.

I dream of the places I'll one day see,
I dream of being wild and free,
I dream of my house, high on the rocks,
I dream of the sand underneath my socks.

I dream of the people I'd love to greet,
I dream of the things I'll say when we meet,
I dream of hearing their voices sing,
I dream of being happy with everything.

I dream of travelling with a map in my hand,
I dream of never coming back to this land,
I dream of finding myself - in sense
I dream of jumping far off this fence.

I dream of any things that one day I'll know,
I dream of the freedom: a dream I won't let go,
I dream of my future and marvel at my pride
As my heart is flying and singing inside.

Twilight Whispers