Exhale!

“Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in!”

Al-Pacino said that to Andy Garcia in The Godfather III (1990). Then the heart attack. Then that scene – ultimate acting – when his daughter gets shot.

Her last word: “Dad?” Not a statement. A question mark. What if she hadn’t even said that?

The silent scream in extreme grief is one of the most iconic and heart-wrenching scenes in the history of cinema. Yet, Al-Pacino didn’t win an Oscar for the Godfather. Marlon Brando gets one. Robert Di Nero gets too. But Al Pacino, nah!

Fathers don’t win like that.

It was 2 years later, in 1992, that Al Pacino wins an Oscar. A blind colonel, like any colonel in Pakistan. Hoo-ah! “Remember son, when in doubt, fuck.”

Oh! By the way, thank you for missing me. Not. Likewise. It was pleasure not meeting you. Yeah, yeah!

There are two parallel worlds. On one side is a father. Since the divorce, he is going in and out of courts. Adopting all the sane, peaceful, and legal means to get connected to her daughter. It helped for some time, but then the other party had better ways to follow. The illegal and corrupt ways.

It’s been 9 years since the father saw his daughter. In these 9 years, there are over 900 doucheags who said, “you will meet her soon. Sooner than soon. There is always that someone up in the sky…”

Hoo-ah! When in doubt…

The courts, which rarely are able to provide justice, provided injustice swiftly. The mother was able to get a passport for the minor, without the consent or the knowledge of the father. And flew abroad.

How beautiful is that? Like any Greek tragedy!

And honestly, meeting someone or not meeting someone – does that matter? Not really. The time passes and you finally hug death in eternity. How much such stories were in 250 BC? 500 AD? 750 AD? 12 century? Middle ages? Renaissance? Enlightenment? Industrial Revolution? Victorian Era? Romanticism? Any of those painful tragedies alive now. No. All dead. Dismissed.

Pains come with deadlines. You die; they die. Handle them with love. Nurture them. They stay loyal. They never leave. They never cheat.

Deep down you all know that the people who are corrupt are better. There is no other way apparently. They instill fear. They rule by fear. They know how to use the fear to kill your demons.

Consciousness and conscientiousness are nothing more than disadvantages with a good PR. The foresight on which you cherish is exactly the point where you lose the game of life.

The law of the land is based on lies and corruption. Here, you can either go to courts or keep on going to courts for justice – resulting in injustice. Or you can bribe the system. Lie. Cheat. And become the owner of things you don’t own.

But does it matter? Not really. You do what you can do. And the rest is absolute waste of neurons.

Just like any relation. Any word. Any promise. Any stare. Any hug. Any kiss. Absolute waste.

How many times do you wonder about the un-responded insults? How you wish, how cleanly and cruelly could you answer all the ugly words thrown at you? And how well do you know the answers? With examples? With words?

جواب حضرت نصیح کو ہم بھی کچھ دیتے

جو گفتگو کے طریقے سے گفتگو کرتے

But then, it ain’t worth it. Because the person on the other side of aisle ain’t worth it. At least not anymore.

So, let him / her die a hero. Afterall, it was an unpublished story. Let the villain be a hero and let the hero be a villain – or let all be the villains and antagonists so that the one – who doesn’t matter – may live in euphoria.

Remember, there are preferences. Some always want to be like “I left him / her.” Some wants to be like “I was deceived.” Some want to remember themselves miserable. Some want to believe they were cheated on. Some want to live in denial. And then some simply ctrl + z.

If a glimpse conclusions could have been seen at the beginning – or a mere sight of epilogue at the prologue – catastrophe of emotions among human affairs could have been avoided. But then, life is misery and without misery we don’t die. We must suffer before we are shown the hellfire. It’s a tragic comedy of existence.  

For example, a glimpse of divorce at marriage. Both marriage and divorce are legal / halal. So, no. Let the orchestra be played in entirety. Let the filth be spread from the bedroom to the house to the relatives to the court. Let there be some fun for the rest of the jerking crap of the world.

Come to the more passionate, more natural, more promising, and more emotional side of the two humans. Yes, the haram side, which is actually more honest and natural.

Into each other. In love and in songs. In drives and in arms. Over time, the true poison seeped through sweats, getting mixed with the expensive scents and bringing up the true stink. The true beginning of the affair. 

Only coming to know that the perfect other for the last two or three or four or even five years was a piece of crap. A waste. Years and emotions are not wasted as we grew with them, but they are definitely wasted on the wrong person. The one not deserving of it at all.

You ain’t deserving it either. You are part of the crap. Don’t imagine yourself a hero. Or heroine. Or ice.

It’s a two-way sword. If she’s stinky, so are you. If he’s ugly, so are you. If one is incompatible; well, both are. And realistically, no one’s compatible. There are compromises and transactional affairs. Give some, take some. Leave some.  

All decaying organic matter as every other reptile. Same compost heap. All singing, all dancing, crap of the world.

The charming, the beautiful – but it’s the ending that matters the most. It’s the one that haunts you or relieves you. Let the other party throw all the trash over you. Let them die a hero. Let them be the better half. Let them be. Be.

Let it all vomit on your face.

Let all the accusations land on your lap.

Let all the stink be yours.

Let your stars carry all the faults.

Let you be the ugly one.

Let it be “okay”.

Don’t hit back. Let the insults land. Let the spit dry. Let the stink wash away. And snap. Gone. You feel nothing. Not even hate. Okay, a little hate maybe, but it shall die too. At least with you.

You don’t need to win every battle. You don’t need to argue every time. You don’t need to respond all the time. You don’t need to give a fuck about everything. Your fucks are limited. And important. Save them for worthy spreads ahead.

You may now kiss the bribe. Bride.

Now you may kiss the arse. Fucktards.

Lahore, Monsoon & Short Stories

Every day has been a new short story in Lahore’s monsoon. July has been blessed and seduced to an extent that it has been wet for over two weeks now.

It’s evening in noon. Again. Other times, it’s dark days and thundering nights. Last night’s drive in the rain was scary to hell, but it was too seducing to be spent at home.

Imagine a short story in a dark day.

Stuck on a flooded road and there’s this small woman in a small car. Smiling and talking to herself – a little confused but unable to leave Lahore on its own. Short curly hair. Large eyeglasses with a thin frame. Thin lips. Fairly fair. And then you don’t mind being stuck.

In fact, you carry the short story slowly without being annoyed anymore of being late for something very, very… unimportant. Then, at one most significant moment of the monsoon day in Lahore, she looks at you, smiles, and gestures as if to say “We’re stuck”.

“Yes, we are,” he smirks and thinks and then he thinks to be stuck for a little longer.

Nothing seems important after that unknown woman. And your day goes on beautifully – without a future, promise, conflict, judgement, or separation.

A complete short story is the incomplete one.  

I know. Frustrating. The narrator is ignorant and blasphemous. Fine.

Imagine the monsoon in Lahore again. The whole season being spent with the one. In one’s arm. Hand in hand, waiting for the rain to fall so they can hug without this city’s judgement. Driving in the rain toward unknown destinations. Hand in hand.

The first rain and the first gesture.

Another one with a hug.

Another one with a kiss.

Another rain, another love, still with the same one.

Then comes frustration.

What’s more? How to get more? Possession!

Then comes the conflict – another rain, and the first argument.

Then the first fight with no contact for the three rainless days when the city tried to took a break, though the sun didn’t shine either.

Then what? More rains and more fights.

More arguments.

Both wanting more from each other. Hence, frustration.

And then, before the last spell of the monsoon… it ends. The novel ended before the season did. The divorce lasted longer than the marriage. In fact, the divorce came without a marriage.

Such a shame.

Come back to the short story. The girl with a curly hair, no dragon tattoo, one small gesture, a wide thin smile, and that was that – the end. Perverts.  

Like this rain ended without an epilogue in Lahore.

For another rain to fall.

For another short story to be written.

For another eternity to be marked.

Whatever. Lahore is a whore even without the monsoon. This city is that whore of Manto that cannot be ignored and that cannot be left ever.  

Deaths Without Notice

Remember Bret Easton Ellis’s ‘America Psycho’? A novel written in 1991 and a movie made in 2002 with the same name starring Christian Bale. Patrick Bateman, the protagonist who was actually an antagonist, was into murders and executions – not mergers and acquisitions alone – and talked about killing a colleague but no one believed him.

Everyone was busy. Nobody cared. And city lives on even if some of the residents are missing all of a sudden. Nobody notices.

Two cases in recent times. Both from the media industry in Karachi, and both women.

An elderly woman dies in her apartment. Her body was found only after neighbors complained about the foul odor. Nobody checked on her in over a week. No friend. No relatives. No one panicked for her.

In the second case, a 32-year-old girl dies in her apartment. And she remained there for months. At least 6 months. Nobody checked on her. No one panicked for her. With over 700k followers on Instagram, she was as alone as a lone star in a moonless night with no one looking in the sky.

People have already talked about her cold-hearted family but what about others? Not a single friend? No one? Literally no one missed her. No one noticed that she wasn’t there anymore.

It is as if we are living in a post-apocalyptic era with zombies running around the city in the day. Yes, there is a war of views and likes, reels and images, wealth and material; but ultimately, we are all humans, and we all are vulnerable at least once a day. Yet, no one felt vulnerable for her. No one missed her.

Even if she was murdered or if there was any foul play of some sort – no one actually missed her presence anywhere. Not on social media. Not on some set. Not anywhere.

A friend of mine – an arsehole by definition – was out of contact last year for 24-hours. It was General Elections day in Feb 2024. Networks were off. Internet was not working. But I, with another friend of mine, panicked for that arsehole. We decided to check on to him at 1 am – with all the wild imaginations – only to find him alive.

By the way, how good was the landlord here. Sent multiple notices. Went to the court. Came to the apartment with the bailiff. Didn’t break into the apartment in all these months. Too nice to be…

Ayesha Khan was 77. Humaira Asghar was 32. One had children and one had parents – yet both didn’t matter for them. Both had a life in front of camera and limelight – yet their absence wasn’t noticed.

We all think as Bulleh Shah said, “I won’t die – someone else lies in the grave.”

Yes. For now. We feel sad for the gone ones once they are gone without realizing that they are switched-off, done and dusted from this world. It is us who are left to witness our death. Some of us will die exactly like that. Without making a ripple. And some will die in uglier circumstances. Terminal illness. Stuff like that.

Notice. Has been served.

Time Travelling, Book of Walli, Marla & Love

I am interested in time. Not because it is the most valuable gift you can offer to someone or anyone, but also because it is a mystery in itself. It passes through you and leaves the same instant. Leaving behind some scent, some touch, some memories, and nostalgia.

Since Walli’s character in the book struggles with time too (not a time traveler kinda book though), I am always interested in time movies.

Following are some movies with definite spoilers:

In the movie ‘The Butterfly Effect’, Ashton Kutcher goes back again and again to get something right in past – particularly to be with the girl he loved, but he couldn’t. because every time he moved back to the present, the changes would have been messed up. He never got the love of his life even with the power over time. His final solution to back in time kills himself in his mother’s womb.

In ‘About Time’ Domhnall Gleeson had to make choices or else he could lose a loved one (his father, sister, wife, and children). He was unable to save the marriage of his sister with time traveling or cancer of his father. And a little movement between present and past could change even the face of his children – he actually lost a son because when he came back, there was a different son with different face and personality playing in his home. He had the power, but he was in the losing side of finding happiness.

Then we have Keanu Reeve’s and Sandra Bullock’s ‘The Lake House’. Two people fell in love through letters in their mailbox – same mailbox for each, as the two were living in a different time but in the same lake house. Well, these two connect and find love but with a wait of 2 years without meeting or talking – just writing. And yes, Reeve’s had to dodge death just like he dodged bullets.

In ‘Time Traveler’s Wife’ Rachel McAdams had to oversee Eric Bana, who time travelled unwillingly. He gets the love of his life through time travel, but he had to die early only to meet through time travelling later. Overall, both suffered in their quest for love with time throwing them apart and putting them together involuntarily.

In ‘Predestination’ (one of the finest ones with fine background music) Ethan Hawke travels so much in time that he becomes all of his relatives. His own mother. His own father. And his own assassin. This is a remarkable time travel movie. And the lesson is same, even time in your control is not in your control.

In ‘Source Code’ of Jake Gyllenhaal, he falls in love during the time travel. Every time, he had roughly 8 minutes to stop a bomb and to win love that he had just met and to save her too. It’s a good movie. Could have been one of the best if ending could have been relevant with the present time.

Jake Gyllenhaal has another finest movie, ‘Donnie Darko’. He had to sacrifice himself to save others and his love Jena Malone. Otherwise, she had to die. So, one of them had to die because love was destined to die.

In ‘Looper’, Joseph Gordon, who is a hitman, had to go in future to kill himself. Emily Blunt comes in and there’s a secondary love story. Ends in tragedy though. Hence, even going to future does not answer all the questions.

‘Mr. Nobody’ of Jared Leto is a remarkable movie. As long as you don’t choose, every possibility is possible. Three girls, three marriages, three lives… in parallel. Everything was hypothetical. And there was no peace or love.

In ‘Triangle’, Mellisa George gets trapped in time loop in a ship. I don’t know why but I liked that movie. Its script and execution were different and kept you on toes.

Then there is ‘Click’ of Adam Sandler. He chose to fast forward his life parts which he thought were boring. That included sex with his wife. It’s a funny movie so it had its loopholes.

Tom Cruise did two movies in this genre of time traveling, ‘Minority Report’ and ‘Edge of Tomorrow’. Edge of Tomorrow is somewhat like Source Code where a certain time period had to be played multiple times until the target is achieved.

In ‘Minority Report’, crimes were stopped before they were actually committed through time related technology. But then, there were flaws in the system. This movie was ahead of its time as it was released in 2002.

Lastly, there’s ‘Dorian Gray’ based on the book of Oscar Walide. A beautiful man stays eternally young as time stopped for him, yet the rest of the world moved as usual with time. This corrupted him and his love which ended in tragedy. The evil within grows and he becomes a slave to pleasure and sin. Eternal youth become a curse for himself, as well as society.

Now coming to the book; and our very own: Walli. Our protagonist for years without the complete story. Without the beginning. Without the perfect tragedy to end.

There won’t be time travelling in the main plot. Nothing like that. But there would be ‘snapped’. I hope the book will explain this indirectly and you will get the crux. You know, you should write that book that you always wanted to read. The perfect book of yours.

In all this time-travel movies and scripts, I am unable to manage time. Days are gone without writing a word, and then a good day comes with free flow of words. Still, target is to end it before the summer ends.

Lastly, we started this from ‘love’, which actually doesn’t exist. It’s a subjective concept. Pretty selfish. With obsessive compulsions. Lying and cheating. And zero patience.

Imagine, a Marla comes in your life. Sparked. Connected. Hence, love. Now what? Obsession? Complete control of the other? Slavery? Contract? Never-ending chemistry? How messed up this concept of love is. It’s gagging. It gets you by the neck, chokes you, suffocates you, you can’t even breathe properly, yet you can’t die.

Just pray, no one meets Marla in the straight time flow we have. Else, you have to go back in time to kill your own self. Or you have to go in the future to murder your ego and self-respect. Because Marla will choke you if you won’t succumb to her control, obsession, and selfishness. She wants all in all. every bit of you and every second of your time.

If that’s love, it’s worth avoiding. Worth burying.

After War

War has made both sides bonkers. It’s not as clean for your side as you think. And it’s not as ugly for the other side as you mock. But yes, it ended with Pakistan on top. And that’s how you rhyme in war.

I was reading Mehdi Hasan’s “Win Every Argument” when the war broke out. Honestly, we are nothing short of loud comedians ourselves.

Let’s start with Piers Morgan Show. Yes, the host has always been biased. He’s someone who thinks Ronaldo is better than Messi. His credibility goes down the gutter therein. What happened after his famous interview with Ronaldo before the FIFA World Cup 2022? And what happened afterwards? Messi.

So, what were you expecting? A host supporting you? All the settings in your favor? Then how could it have been a debate?

A real debater is the one who wins the arguments in a hostile environment. That environment was not even completely hostile. Yes, the other side had two idiots to represent India but what did we do?

First, let’s make an answer for one of the hardest questions for every future Pakistani debater on international platforms.

As Piers Morgan and Barkha Dutt asked Hina Rabbani Khar (and Mehdi Hasan asked her exactly the same question in 2015 and she deflected):

“Do you recognize certain outfits as terror organization?”

Hina Rabbani didn’t answer. She knew she had been asked this question before. She knew she would be asked again. And she is a politician, associated with foreign affairs. And she had 9 years to prepare an answer. Yet, she deflected.

Here’s an answer:

“Yes, we do recognize and ban organizations involved in terrorism. Pakistan has consistently acted against such groups – JeM and LeT were banned in 2002, Al-Qaeda in 2003, and TTP in 2008. We have conducted extensive counterterrorism operations, fulfilling our obligations under UN, and our efforts have been acknowledged by the FATF. Pakistan’s commitment to combating terrorism is firm and ongoing. We have paid the price with over 70,000 casualties. Do you think we are not serious? We believe that all countries must hold extremist actors accountable, and we urge others to demonstrate the same commitment – without exception.”

Now, if an Indian happens to be there in the debate – like in the Piers Morgan show – the answer would continue as:

“Having said that, what has India done? There was the Gujarat massacre in 2002, the Ajmer Dargah bombing in 2007, the Malegaon and Modasa blasts in 2008, the Odisha Assembly attack in 2001, and the Lakhimpur Kheri violence in 2021. Over 2,000 people have lost their lives in Babri Masjid demolition. Countless incidents of mob lynching and cow vigilantism have plagued India. Even sexual violence has been weaponized, as seen in the horrific Bilkis Bano case. These incidents are linked to individuals and groups affiliated with the RSS and BJP. And what has been India’s response? They elevated the Butcher of Gujarat to the office of Prime Minister – and then choose to question Pakistan.”  

But no. We had zero preparation.

Imagine knowing the exact question that will appear on the exam and still leaving it blank. That was Miss Hina Rabbani. Don’t praise the debaters just because you happen to be their countrymate.

Imagine Shashi Tharoor there instead of Barkha Dutt. Things would have been catastrophic.

Shehzad Ghias started low. The OBL response took him off guard. That’s fine. His comeback in the last five minutes was exceptionally good with cherry on top, with the last two words. Those last 5 minutes were the victorious part of the show for Pakistan. Only.

Still, we were lucky to escape that debate with their poorest presenters sent to fight the war. Just like they did in the dogfight, perhaps.

We mock their mainstream media accurately. But our own mainstream media is as pathetic, except we don’t shout like Arnab Goswami. We maintain a decorum of hypocrisy. We keep our one eye closed.

For example, exactly during the war days, people were killed in FATA. Who killed them? Why were they killed? Something? Anything? Nothing on mainstream media. In fact, social media filtered them out too because nobody wanted to see their backyard in jubilations. Why stink your media or timeline?

For us, the eastern border is everything and the western border is nothing. On one side, we cry about civilian casualties and on the other side we pile up dead bodies.

In the ugly Indian mainstream media, there were panelists who sat and analyzed their weaknesses. They talked about their losses. They criticized their government and military harshly. Did we see anything like that? No.

This jingoism has cost us a lot internally. A stupid enemy – yes, India – has hurt itself by poking the animal who got wounded by attacking its own tribe for decades. These war dramatics have covered up all our mess and the real perpetrators have gotten another blank cheque to perform at will.

YouTube can be your source of current affairs and documentaries, but it cannot be a source of learning. For that, you need to leave these podcasters, these shows, and these jokers. They all sell content even when they say “I am not asking you to subscribe” just make themselves a niche content creator. They are there for view and likes and subscribers.

Right now, they are all onto targeting each other with all the logical fallacies at display. But since the audience of herd likes it, everyone is in love with every YouTuber. In the comments section, praises are kept, and it looks like they are all loved even in insulting each other.

In her 1,000-page book “My Seditious Heart”, Arundhati Roy had written some in-depth and long articles. Those articles cover 2001 Parliament attack, the 2002 burning of the Sabarmati Express, and the 2007 bombing of the Samjhauta Express, the government of India announced that it has ‘clear and incontrovertible proof’ that the LeT did that. She proved with timelines, objective information, police record, and court hearings that none of them were proved as the Indian Government claimed.

She wrote: “In its judgment, the court acknowledged that there was no proof that Mohammad Afzal belonged to any terrorist group but went on to say, ‘The collective conscience of the society will only be satisfied if capital punishment is awarded to the offender.’ Even today we don’t really know who the terrorists that attacked the Indian Parliament were and who they worked for.”

But since no one reads anymore and everyone is up to YouTubers who pretend to read twenty books a week – which is humanly impossible. Hence, no one in any debate or podcast quoted Roy. Or the wording of Indian Courts. Or something else. Everything has become all about instant rebuttals, personal attacks, one-liner-insults, and reactions.

Don’t get consumed. If you want to, then watch the opposing narratives too. And then analyze your own with open mind. [I too get consumed by tapping X or YouTube and then when you realize, half an hour is wasted already.]

Lastly, to the viral of mother of an Indian soldier tells everything. Her eyes had grief of an entire generation in a single stare. She did her job. Walked to the coffin. Touched the flowers. Pictured. But her son was tightly boxed and flag wrapped over it. Her son was never going to come and greet her ever again.

A mother here or a mother there; is a mother anywhere.

A widow here or a widow there is a widow.

A child who lost his father – in Pakistan or in India – is going to be fatherless for the rest of his/her life.

If these pains are not going to humanize us, nothing else will.

As Arundhati Roy said, “flags are bits of colored cloth that governments use first to shrink-wrap people’s brains and then as ceremonial shrouds to bury the dead.”

This whole war and its aftereffects are getting tiring day by day. Save your mind and your eyes and avoid this as it is becoming overconsumed junk now. Don’t trash yourself and make yourself busy doing what you were supposed to be actually doing.

And ‘speak the truth, even if your voice shakes’.

Post Pehalgam

Truth lies beneath.

Truth. Lies. Oxymoron.

A billion-dollar industry thrives on both sides, selling the same story to their poor, hungry, illiterate, stunted, malnourished, thirsty, diseased taxpayers.

The story of more weapons, more military, more missiles, more tanks, more fighter jets, more martyrs, more blood… and more budget.

Budget. More.

Behind the smokescreen stand the same ugly profiteers of war. Poor will suffer. Poor will die. Poor will make the news. And the rich war capitalists will grow richer from the starved-nations’ budget – without firing a bullet or standing in the war zone.

This is business. It has always been business.

In history, wars were for the ego of a man, a couple of men, a family, or a dynasty.

Today, wars are fought for those whose names and faces are hidden behind songs and war advertisements. They remain hidden – but they make profit from every single drop of blood, spilled or forgotten.

Cholistan Canal Project

Before Cholistan Canal Project, there was a book about such business ventures. Things deteriorated though with the nosediving economy and business environment, but one business industry – a diversified conglomerate – has flourished. Military Business i.e., MilBus.

When Ayesha Siddiqa originally published “Military Inc.” in 2007, she was ridiculed not only by the state but by the patriotic people of Pakistan too without even being read. The data, numbers, graphs, and words in her book were extraordinary. An objective book on a subjective topic at least till then.

In 2007, the estimated total value of MilBus in Pakistan was $20 billion. How much would that be today? $50-$60 billion? Perhaps. You can’t audit. You can’t know.

Anyway, let’s come to Cholistan Canals Project. Civilians are leading and civilians are fighting over it, and civilians are debating it, and civilians are funding it; yet it is an uncivil project. The directive to get it done comes from the ‘real’ Islamabad. And it’s an order.

There are six canals in total. Two are the real canals. Four are to confuse you with their ill intentions. “No, no, see, it is for Balochistan and Sindh too…”. Umm, no.

The Sutlej and Ravi rivers are almost dead. The Ravi has been tapped off officially. The Sutlej received huge water flows two years back only because there were severe floods in India. Otherwise, it’s also a dead river. The Sutlej could have been a source for this project had it been alive, as it passes through Bahawalnagar, Vehari, and Bahawalpur before merging with the Chenab near Uch Sharif.​

In the western rivers (Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab), the inflow of water is gradually depleting. Glaciers in the northern mountains are melting faster – which increase the inflow of water in the rivers temporarily. Then we have rain / flood water too but that is only in a particular season and cannot be considered a reliable source for the entire year. Or corporate farming.

Here are some lies and myths of this project.

Sindh alone will not suffer. Both Punjab and Sindh will suffer. The landless farmers, the poor, middle, and lower-middle-class individuals, and those without influence in Islamabad and Rawalpindi will also suffer. Lands will be grabbed. Remember the Okara farmers? That land grabbing is going to expand massively. Also, when water is diverted from central Punjab to the southeastern side, a giant cultivated region will be deprived.

Then there is another lie of surplus water. There is no additional water. The current reservoirs are already shrinking. Punjab’s aquifer is on a substantial risk already with unaccounted pumping all across the province. Homes, car-wash centers, construction sites, factories, and mills, etc. are all sucking water out of the land and there is no bureaucracy to halt this as it halts files, development, and social services.

The feasibility study of this project is compromised. Perhaps done by some incompetents hired and managed by the bureaucracy to give it a legitimate light.

Environmental impact considerations are bogus. That has not even been considered – not a concern for them, honestly. Just like the cement factories in the Chakwal region, which had a severe negative impact on the environment. Underground water reservoirs were used so mercilessly that the whole region’s water levels fell immensely.

And there is no additional water. There is no water surplus. It’s a business for the sake of business. Not for the country or its civil residents.

Sindh will suffer. So will Punjab. It’s a dictatorial venture.

PPP was going to nod and sign on it had it been conceived well. Things went out of their hands, so Bilawal had to make some ‘democratic noise’.

PMLN has this mandate because of the ones who are entering corporate farming. Else, they didn’t even get enough mandate to had a healthy opposition. So, they will do whatever they can for their masters.

With Shehbaz Sharif as the PM, Ahsan Iqbal as the Federal Minister for Planning & Development, and an entire bureaucracy of following the orders as received; this project will see the light of the day. Maybe with a little amendment, but this will happen.

Not long ago, similar businessmen identified a big chunk of land right at the center of Lahore. The land that initially received migrants and their mutilated dead bodies from across the border after Partition of 1947. The land that has thousands of graves underneath, but time bulldozed them.

Government and Punjab Cabinet were taken on board. Even with petitions by citizens against the venture, the plan was made, and it has been executed against the environment and wellbeing of the city.

The land was then marked and cleaned. Sold for pennies to different investors. Pretty much the same businessmen that have their eyes on Cholistan.

That land is Walton. It even made headlines as ‘Waltongate Scandal’. Dawn reported on it consistently.

Walton Airport – the oldest airport of Pakistan was removed and relocated. The idea of Babe-e-Pakistan Bagh was shrunk to minimum size.

Central Business Development (CBD) was established. Infrastructure of roads has been laid. Walton Road has been made in the light of business ventures. Tall buildings are being constructed in CBD. The new road ‘Route 47’ will be inaugurated in 2 days.

From migrants of 47 to Route 47.

It could and should have been the Central Park of Lahore on New York’s design. It could and should have been the breathing gardens of Lahore.

But no. This entire country is a business.

Balochistan is not livable. Not tolerable. Not good enough for tourism too. But yes, it’s a perfect land for minerals, mining, trade, smuggling, CEPC, and wealth.

Cholistan is a desert. Only the stupidest of the stupid country would try to transform a desert into a farm with the present water risks and scarcity.

But when you have already taken big chunks of lands in cities and villages, only deserts are left now. Then it’s time for Desert Rose and you shall get your due and undue share of thorns and thirst.

With that, Jumma Mubarik.

The Movie ‘Chhaava’, Marathas, Mughals & Sub-Continent

After Ranjit Singh’s empire, I have always been fascinated by Maratha and Mysore. But making a movie like “Chaava” is an absolute disgrace to history as well as cinema.

In 1526, Babar won the First Battle of Panipat against Ibrahim Lodhi and established the Mughal Empire in India: ending Delhi Sultanate’s rule. But was that India as of India today? Or even as India-Pakistan-Bangladesh together as one unified empire? Ever?

No. It never even existed as a concept. British India made this map of India. Before that, it never even was a concept.

Consider ‘India-Pakistan-Bangladesh’ as ‘Sub-Continent’ from now on in this piece.

Over 2,000 years ago, it was Indus Valley Civilization. In scattered parts of Punjab, Sindh and KP of today’s Pakistan.

The oldest civilization in Sub-Continent was Mehrgarh of Balochistan which was founded 7,000 BC i.e., 9,000 years ago. I wrote on Mehrgarh some time back which you can find on the page. Ironically, we have tried our best to keep Balochistan as it was 9,000 years ago. Quite remarkable.

Maurya Empire (322 to 185 BC) can be called the closest to unified Sub-Continent but even that didn’t cover entire South India (Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu) as well as East India (Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland, Assam, and Meghalaya). Here goes 9 states of modern India altogether.

But Maurya Empire had Afghanistan and certain parts of Iran (Persia) too. Is that part of Indian myth too?

There were other empires like Gupta, Chola, etc. but none was as big as Maurya. After Maurya, it was only Mughal Empire from which you can forcibly extract the concept of unified Sub-Continent. In AD times – not CE or BC – it was only Mughal Empire that can give the modern saffron Indians the logic of grand unified region. Ideally speaking, Mughals should have been the heroes of Modi and BJP.

There is another myth of Ghauri and Ghaznavi as being ‘outsiders’ who came and looted and killed India. Well, that’s neither entirely true nor entirely false. You don’t need to take side of anyone in history. Just present it as it was.

First of all, there were no insiders or outsiders at that time. If Afghanistan was part of Maurya Empire, then both Ghauri and Ghaznavi were insiders. That would be enough of an argument for myopic idiots who just cherry-pick an idea with an already established bias of theirs.

After Asoka of Mauryan Empire, teachings of Buddha were prevalent as much in Afghanistan as they were in Northern Pakistan and India.

But yes, both Ghauri and Ghaznavi came for wealth in modern day Pakistan and India, which they did with wars and bloodshed. The demolition of Temple of Somnath was the ugliest action of Ghaznavi, and no one should defend or glorify that.

But also remember that long before Ghauri and Ghaznavi, Maryan Rulers attacked Afghanistan for wealth too. Asoka extended his empire to Afghanistan. Kanishka also included large parts of Afghanistan in his empire.

Again, no need to take side. You don’t need to defend anyone.

By the way, ever wondered why Alexander The Great came to India and almost reached Lahore? Yes, he wanted to teach philosophy of his teacher Aristotle to the people of India, but Raja Porus was too uneducated to understand the philosophy of life.

Alexander The Great was The Great. Ghauri and Ghaznavi were not. Well, none of them were. They were warrior kings and rulers.

Anyway, back to the topic. India was never a unified Sub-Continent ever in history. Until the British Raj arrived in the land of hundreds of princely states – all fighting each other. Cake for East India Company. Just like it was for Mamluks to establish Delhi Sultanate in 1206.

It was Delhi Sultanate from 1206 (Qutbuddin Aibak) to 1526 (Ibrahim Lodhi) that not only saved the region from the mighty power of Mongols but also established a system of governance. There were definitely flaws and issues but those were modern times of India in comparison to the rest of the world.

That Delhi Sultanate – which is also being wrongly portrayed in modern cinema – made Delhi the capital of the region for the first time. Delhi of Delhi Sultanate made Delhi as we know it today. That bad too?

The first female ruler of the Sub-Continent was Raziya Sultana (1236 to 1240). A small but significant rule.

By the way, which region ever had a dynasty named after slaves?

Currency was created. Coins were introduced. Trade flourished. Region was consolidated. Mostly liberal and secular social values. Sub-Continent became the richest region of the world. Roads were made. Shelters were established. Security was gradually enhanced. Infrastructures were raised.

Reminds me of another movie “Padmaavat” where Alauddin Khilji was ridiculed. Yes, he was not particularly noble or righteous ruler, but he did stop mighty Mongols from invading the Sub-Continent. He raised a big military and reorganized it. He branded his cavalry. Trade, market, and economy were reformed under his rule. That was all ignored obviously. Historians do not write him off as he was portrayed in that blockbuster movie. He holds a significant value among historians.

Come to the First Battle of Panipat of 1526 again. Yes, an outsider Babar (a Mongol to establish Mughal Empire) captured Delhi. Died in 1530. Humayun ruled from 1530-56 (excluding 5 years of Sher Shah Suri from 1540-45). Then Akbar from 1556-1605. After Akbar, all Mughal rulers had Indian mothers’ generation after generation. Yet, they remain outsiders for idiots.

The movie “Chhaava” mentioned traitors on both Mughal and Maratha sides but kept on ridiculing one side more than the other. Even ridiculing a certain bloodline.

Then the guerilla actions were too funny. A whole troop was decimated by a small guerilla army of Marathas swinging with ropes through trees. Another troop was killed by guerilla jumping out of river to impossible heights. Another guerilla army was waiting underground. No, not in the underground bunkers but just underneath the earth (without oxygen) of a village which was already attacked and destroyed by the Mughals. Only after the village was burnt down, they jumped out of the earth to decimate the Mughals.

History isn’t a comedy like that.

Founder of Maratha Empire – Shivaji Maharaj – had a Treaty of Purandar (1665) with Mughals. Aurangzeb Alamgir treated him honorably and his Darbar referred to him as ‘Raja’. Shivaji was a progressive and brave ruler but no he wasn’t born in direct defiance of Mughals. He wanted to establish his own Maratha Rule, and he wanted his sons to take-over after him. It wasn’t ‘Sawaraj’ as depicted in the movie.

Marathas under Shivaji attacked Mughals first in 1650s. After Mughals defeated them, the above-mentioned treaty was signed. In 1666, he came to meet Aurangzeb who treated him not according to Shivaji’s expectations. He showed his anger by publicly protesting. Hence, the king ordered him to be placed under house arrest.

Could have been killed instantly along with his son by Aurangzeb as the later was portrayed overly ruthless in every scene of the movie. No?

Son of Shivaji, Sambhaji (later on Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj Vicky Kaushal) once defected from his father to the Mughals in 1667. He joined Mughals and left Marathas for a brief time. However, he went to join Marathas again later on. Did the movie provide the audience with even a minor hint of that?

According to certain historians – not entirely credible – in the Battle of Bhupargarh (1679), Sambhaji was fighting with the Mughal army against the Marathas. Again, this needs to be verified diligently as internet has so much varying information on this topic. Wikipedia claims it to be true, but Wikipedia is not always reliable.

Moreover, history is also divided on who Shivaji wanted to succeed him as the ruler of the Maratha Empire. It wasn’t Sambhaji as a clear successor, as depicted in the movie, and there were bloody rebellions against him.

Such a ridiculous movie.

Note: I wrote a post on ‘1799’ about a year ago. Can be found easily on the website of the page. Do read that too because that year holds a lot of significance in human history from America to Europe to South Asia. Other than the year 1453.

PMS & PAS

In private companies and multinationals, The higher you go in the hierarchy, the more you see people who know more. Experts. Doers. Even in negative sense, like those who deal in litigations, know how to drag a case for decades.

These people rarely change their industry or field of expertise. So, they keep on growing and becoming genius. By that, I don’t mean they’re righteous too.

In government services, things are different. The higher you see in the hierarchy, you will get to see people who know less. They are mostly dumb and clueless, yet absolutely confident in their own world.

A Secretary is more confused than Special Secretary who knows less than the Additional Secretary who doesn’t know the relevant Deputy Secretary who doesn’t know where the Section Officer is. Just like that. But then, a Secretary doesn’t like to talk to Section Officer directly – who happens to know comparatively more than them. So, they get annoyed.

For example, a Secretary will forward a WhatsApp message to Special Secretary who will forward the same to Additional Secretary who will forward it to… getting it? This is frustrating. So, they need someone to hit with insults and shouts.

Before going further, let me elaborate on different species of civil disservice. There are CSPs, inducted through the CSS exam at the federal level. They have different groups, of which top are PAS followed by PSP, FSP, etc. By the bottom end, there are CSS groups who are nothing more than regularized clerks happened to have cleared the exam.

Then comes PMS – a PAS kinda service but at provincial level.

PMS Officers are usually there to get the spit of PAS Officers. They are human punching bags. Help in defusing the tension. And that’s their core responsibility.

You will identify a PMS from PAS instantly. A dumb PAS will look confident, but a dumb PMS will look dumb. One is a hypocrite; the other one is a plain idiot.

“You may ask: why do they choose to accept such ugly jobs? Well, what else could the do? Who else would hire them? A private organization or MNC? One has to make a living, be it based on spit from higher hierarchy. Also, even if the pay is less, perks are enormous.

They get good cars. Free petrol. Big houses. Managed electricity bills. Opportunity to study abroad after induction. Interest free loans in millions. PRs. Fruits and vegetables in bulk. Party invitations. Almost daily gifts. Drivers and maids. Under the table salary. Over the table salary. Behind the curtain salary.

You get your salary, and it goes to rent, maid, kitchen, petrol, bills, car maintenance, etc. and then you have some to spend at will. They get everything and then comes salary.

You can’t even comprehend that. Leave it.

The point is, PASs and PMSs officers are nurtured by the state. Till death. And even then, they deceive, belittle and hurt this country whenever they can and wherever they can.

Anyway. Dragged it a lot. Just wanted to tell you that PMS had a clearly defined job responsibility.