R O N I Nammar yasir’s personal blog

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The news that Facebook confounder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg may face a death penalty by Lahore High Court didn’t come as a surprise to anyone who has been following the facebook fiasco in Pakistan. Keeping in view the recent few verdicts by LHC which ironically defied some basic laws of physics, geography and common sense; there is a major possibility that the young entrepreneur from New York gets a death penalty under Criminal Code 295-C on blasphemy laws.

Now I am not here to discuss the global pitfall of such verdict in the age of social media, nor will I defend the future of internet for those Pakistanis who make a living out of it. Because let’s face it a country experiencing crisis like energy, inflation, terrorism, corruption, starvation etc. should care less about bad publicity in an international market where its local entrepreneurs and businessmen are trying to make some name and money. Being an ideological and fundamentalists nation that we are, under no circumstances we should compromise our religious integrity and the right to protest against infidels running blasphemous sites on the World Wide Web.

But just for conversation sake, why these condemnations or speedy rulings are restricted to certain issues. We are ready to go to any extent if a non believer mocks our sacred values but if a believer in religious apparel commits a suicide attack or is guilty of sectarian violence, we conveniently shy away.

Since the “golden” period of Zia, Pakistan is home to sectarian criminals. The political progeny of the military dictator might condemn military ruling in the country but are continuing the same legacy of sectarian prejudice. Punjab Government has never denied their political coalition with the debarred organization of Sipah Sahabah. In fact sometimes I wonder who’s the real boss of Rana Sanaullah; Sharif or Ludhianvi?

FYI: the love is not one sided:

The irony doesn’t ends here as terrorists are let go on lack of evidence, while the remaining find a work around. All these facts reassure us that there will be another attack on Manawa training center, the target killing of Shias will continue as the perpetrators of the Ashoura tragedy are out there planning another attack. The Ahmadis will continue to live under the fear of getting mass murdered, again. And each attack will be followed by feeble condemnations and monotonous rhetoric’s. But all this violence shouldn’t stop LHC from sentencing the real terrorist, Mark Zuckerberg.

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A friend from the US visited Pakistan last summer, like all Pakistanis working in America he shared quite a few interesting stories related to the cumbersome visa processes every Pakistani endures in order to experience the Pakistani dream of living and working in America. One of his story sparked an interesting debate and lead me to a moment of self reflection.

The story goes like this, Candidate ‘A’ applied for the US visa. During his interview (investigation sounds more appropriate) the interviewer (let’s call him ‘Dirty Harry’ to add a little spice) while scanning through candidate A’s visa application Dirty Harry asked some questions that came as a surprise to Candidate A. It goes like this:

Dirty Harry: Do you still live in the same apartment you mentioned in this document?

Candidate A: (Gulp) Yes sir.

Dirty Harry: Isn’t it the same location, where journalist Daniel Pearl was kept hostage?

Candidate A: Really? I have no idea.

Dirty Harry: I remember it from the movie.

Candidate A: Excuse me? :S

Dirty Harry: The Daniel Pearl movie, starring Angelina Jolie. Have you seen it?

Candidate A: No!

Turns out, that Dirty Harry was a Jolie fan and had seen the movie: Mighty Heart. He didn’t like the idea that candidate ‘A’ lives in the same apartment which was once used by Al-Qaeda for a popular crime. So what? if that was a very long time ago. So what? if Candidate A had nothing to do with the crime or Al-Qaeda. So what? if there are 500 or more flats in those apartments. Who would take such a risk, eh?

Who would take such a risk? My friend directed the question to us, as he completed the narration. My immediate reaction was; candidate A should have changed the name of his apartments if he knew about such a crime. It could have save him from the embarrassment. My friend snapped:

“Would you change the name of your country for a US Visa or your name because it’s a Muslim name?”

I was too embarrassed to answer that question. As I am writing this post today; some very upsetting information is making news all over the place. Some douche from Karachi allegedly tried to blow up Time Square, New York. Now thank God he failed in his attempt or else… Ok I don’t want to imagine what it could have caused us. Who would have pictured the present situation of the world and Pakistan in particular before 9/11. Even the mentioned incident will make the life of many Pakistanis living in the US quite difficult. Forget about the students and professionals who were aiming for the US visa.

The Pakistani tragedy is that we all are scrutinized for the crimes we never committed. Statically speaking more Pakistanis are the victim of terrorism than any American for that matter. Our army has been more effective against the Taliban than US and NATO forces combine in Afghanistan. US Govt. has more power to enforce their will on the Pakistani than the voters who elected the Govt. American drones fly in Pakistani air space, bomb down Pakistani houses and land safely on Pakistani bases. Still, our seriousness is questioned, our loyalty to the cause is inquired and our fate is decided on the basis of some Hollywood movie.

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1998 was a very eventful year in the history of Pakistan. That year Pakistan became a “nuclear power”, same year Pakistani rock band Junoon was touring India. The year proved out to be doubly eventful for the rock band when a political statement from bands lead vocalist Ali Azmat got them banned in Pakistan. In his statement Ali condemned the nuclear tests by both countries and denounced the nuclear proliferation in Subcontinent.  Coming from a rock musician the statement sounded quite reasonable but Nawaz Sharifs previous administration took it quite gravely. The ministry of information of that time not only banned Junoon or popular music of any type but ensured that nobody appears on the national television wearing jeans (WTF?)

Looking back everything changed since 1998:

· Ali Azmat is bald now, Nawaz Sharif is not.

· Abdul Qadeer Khan, once our national hero is now (somewhat) controversial.

· North West Frontier Province has a new name.

· Jeans is no more the symbol of liberalism but expressing your love and admiration for the neighboring country (Hint: Aman ki *beep* Aasha) is now considered as liberal and highly fashionable. And by neighboring country I don’t mean Afghanistan here

But one thing that took the country by storm is Pakistan’s FREE mainstream media (cough *mafia* cough). Free media was General (retired) Musharraf’s only democratic gift to this country. The same gift took his beloved wardee and Government away from him (You too Hamid Brutus Meer?). Today, media is fast becoming the most powerful entity of this country. They freely exercise the power to change election results (Hint: NA 55 elections). They can take a non issue and make an elephant out of it and vice versa. But apart from the political circus, toppling of democratic or military governments, Pakistani media right now has the power to decide what is morally correct and what’s not which makes it more dangerous than it used to be back in the military days of Zia.

Back in the day, it was mandatory for any actress appearing on the national TV to wear Dopatta on her head. Apart from the Government, self appointed moral police (Jamat e Islami and other religious parties) were out there forcing their version of Sharia on very Pakistani soul. Even today, one can easily witness Taliban apologist journos and TV anchors defending terrorism by labeling it a reaction of military attack. But when it comes to commercial interests ; where is media’s moral or religious stand? For the past two and a half week every Pakistani news channel is acting like a gossip girl. Glorifying a love affair and portraying it as a matter of national security.

We all have witnessed the TV anchors crying their hearts out on how President Zardari is harboring all the Presidential powers and not sharing it with the Prime Minister as he should. How he is no different from the military dictator Musharraf when it comes to balance of power. But what happened when the amendment took place?  Sania / Malik scandal made headlines and the historic bill got minimal air time. There is no age rating on any of the the TV programs, which means that an individual of any age group can view any TV program despite from its impact on their minds.

I might sound like a right winger here but do you think that its morally okay to glamorize a scandal where a young man secretly marries than divorces a woman whom he met on the internet for a tennis star who appears more attractive than the first girl? And not only glamorizing the scandal but showcasing every dirty aspect of this crappy affair which involves abortion, betrayal, moral and ethical corruption? Has any responsible media person ever realized, that for the lust of high channel rating they are exposing young minds to moral corruption. There is not a sing quiz show or educational program on any of the popular channels. Educationists and entrepreneurs who make achievements dont make TV appearences or headlines. There is no positive news or image to follow for these young kids. The popular source of information for Pakistani teenagers are these TV channels where the only national achievement that takes maximum air time is a lousy celebrity scandal.

I wonder why Jamat e Islami or TTP didn’t say a word against this absurd media behavior, why not a  single moral fatwa was issued? Why no news channel was threatened for playing Indian movie songs in the middle of a news bulletin. Where is Jamat e Islami and their moral police? Where is Taliban when you need them?!

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I belong to that Pakistani generation who grew up embracing American culture. From John Bon Jovi to Steve Jobs; my generation listens to American music, watches American cinema and idolize American entrepreneurs and inventors. Even the two Governments have a lot of history to share. Our rulers in uniform or civil attire follow an unspoken pledge where they always keep American interest before their own country’s interest. But I always wonder how things are the other way around? Do American’s fancy our culture or respect Pakistani religious and social values?

These are the questions that every Pakistani inquires about since 9/11: an incident that didn’t involve any Pakistani but after a decade every Pakistani is paying its price. Today an average American might feel secure but an average Pakistani feels anything but secure. I don’t agree with the stance, that terrorism in the name of religion never existed in Pakistan before September 11 incident. Before 9/11 only the minority sects (Shiites in particular) were the victims of such atrocities and now terrorism has gone main stream.

The Bush-Musharraf “Do More” policy is in continuation under Obama – Zardari joint venture. The drone attacks kill more innocent than terrorists, Black Water is no longer referred to the rain aftermath on the streets of Karachi. But one can witness bits and pieces of the “CHANGE” Obama once promised during his election campaign. Those who saw Hillary Clinton’s interaction with the Pakistani main stream journalists do remember how the present  secretary of state; was bombarded with pointing questions from all side. In that TV interaction she stressed on bridging gaps and structuring new relationships. The recent visit of Ms. Farah A. Pandith (U.S. Special Representative to Muslim Communities) appears to be an attempt in that context.

Recently I along with some colleagues from the blogging community was invited by U.S. Consulate General, Karachi to meet Ms. Pundit in a dinner meeting. She appeared quite enthusiastic on her new task and talked about plans that will help rebuilding people to people association between the two countries. She emphasized on looking at the future that might bring some difference in the perception of an average Pakistani about American policies in the region. But I personally believe that these plans are very far fetched, as a lot of practical work needs to be done on ground to improve the security situation in Pakistan and create a working relationship of mutual interest and respect. We do welcome any effort that promises to bring positive change but till than America needs to do more!

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