Our Government at its best.

What is our Government best at?

Yes, our Government is best at shutting down things, instead of taking a haul and actually get to the street level to analyze issues.

From shutting YouTube, to debating whether Geo should prevail or be banned from Pakistan--from 2012 to 2014, there is absolutely NOTHING these guys have learned.

Learning. What about it? We need to learn to not jump to hasty conclusions and premature decisions. May those begin from VoIP being demanded to block itself all over Sindh, and then exploding like a blast that it cannot be implemented in just one province. Rude as it may sound, I would not be shocked if VoIP had been blocked across the country, just to keep militants off Sindh. But never mind, I was quoting only an example. By hasty conclusions, I mean to bring to your notice the decisions about 'banning' various things.

But how would they? They need a brain, and anyone with HALF a brain would. But the question is, do they even have quarter of a brain or not?

Our Government has predominantly absconded from any and every situation that has had the need to be DEALT with. All they do is 'condemn' and well, shutting down YouTube, or Geo, for that matter, is just another form of condemnation.

All of the above, I have detested to the core. Always have, always will.

Faced with the question of what I think since I am a media person, is an interesting thought to hold onto. If media is my bread and butter, shutting down Geo would mean emanating the media.

HOWEVER, more than others, the responsibility of media persons (inclusive of myself) is greater to ensure that the media does what it is SUPPOSED to do. And even though shutting it down would mean emanating it; us, as media persons have to either stand for it or against it. Yes, we are not being selfish as our government is. We tend to widen our thoughts in the best interest of the "awam" and most importantly, Pakistan.

Therefore, for whatever Geo is doing, I stand against the channel. And yes, whatever they are showing needs to stop, but NOT the way our glorious Government is approaching it.

Ever heard of reaching the grass root level, followed by necessary action?

My friends, the media is supposed to state facts for the people, investigate, analyze and show direction; NOT form opinions or tarnish the already existing ones. Please ensure that it does, ONLY, what it is entitled to do. Question what is right as to why, and question what is not right, as to why not. And then, LET the "awam" decipher a conclusion of their own. Anyone with HALF a brain can; I am sure they have the other half too though.

I reiterate, opinion formation is the job of the awam. Let them do their job and we will do ours. While our Oscar-deserving politicians shall sit on the throne and see the country distill into a melting pot; or to my hope, are they playing any differently this time around? That is, actually getting some WORK done. Yes, that is exactly what I am talking about.

Every profession you enter, you need to ensure it doesn't become a curse (or humorously, butt of the joke) for others through causal measures. If at all media is becoming a menace, we should all unite and work towards it. We are OUR own solicitors.

Shutting a channel down doesn't help, you see? Shut down the source of what's causing it to be what it is: a menace, a disgrace and a source of abhorrence for the "awam".

Just because I feel saying this was not enough, I will say it again. Yes, my dear Government, I hereby save you the hassle of scrolling up so here you go: I would, and SHOULD be the first to stand against evil, if Geo is pulling off any, for that matter. My duty towards achieving this equilibrium, to uphold the prime motive of what the media is designed to do, is greater than anyone else.

Dear Government, you are confronted with YET another opportunity, in form of another issue to stand your ground and show us what you are capable of. Do NOT let this countenance go to waste.

Use it, do not abuse it.

We need it, and only the Lord knows how much.

Stop collecting scapegoats and smoking guns--just get to work while the metallic throne is yours. Because someone once told me, "the only helping hand you have is at the end of your own arm."

Even though opportunity for our beloved Mr. Prime Minister has knocked the third time; a sincere opportunity knocks but once.

Cure the infection that you think Geo may be causing, don't run towards amputation. Because whoever initiated Geo had some thought behind his action. Guard their sanctity and intent, dear Government. That is what you are supposed to do.

As a media person, I vow to guard, and uphold the sanctity of what I am supposed to do, in the best interest of the "awam" and my country.

My passion is my profession; my profession is my religion; my religion is my pride. Please do not suck the last drop of faith my heart is still holding onto.

Pakistan is mine, yours...ours to own. Own it, embrace it, ace it!

We either reach out for too much light, or shield ourselves from it.
We are being of extremes. 

Life: it goes on.

It was raining that day. At first it felt like it was simply raining, not because of what had happened. One of those strange days when the wind carries a smell of wet sand and the sun peaks through the dense layer of clouds! You step out of the college building and find yourself wet from tip to toe and in the next moment, you find yourself standing in bright sunlight. “They broke up”, was the chant of the day. Our little college building, once located in the centre of the busy city now found itself into the isolated town where everything was always under development. The most repeated catch phrase in this part of the town is: “What goes up must always come down!” However catchy this phrase was, it perfectly suited the situation. How can both of them break up, how can something so absolute cease to be so absolute all of a sudden. The first day, everyone on campus was talking about it. The second day, I witnessed confused faces and on the third day, there was complete blankness. In the upcoming weeks, each and every one will try putting the pieces back together. Some will slip notes under their dorm rooms, some will try making them realize as to how perfect they were. Some of us will be imaging crazy scenarios of both of them making up and some will actually try to implement those scenarios. Then there will be those optimists, people who don’t like the things as they are, people who always want their glasses full. Since both of them are single now, this kind of people will attack them like vultures, destroying every chance of them coming back together. These vultures will try to restore order through chaos, something that never quite works out! In our little college building, which is completely deserted by the people of the busy city, in a part of the town where it is always raining, where every one of us know that our lives amount to almost nothing. We live and we die, we come to this little building and we learn that whatever we learn or do will play no significant part, the wheels of life will keep turning in the same direction as they always have been. We are buried in the small cemetery besides the little building. A cemetery so small, that each grave is dug up to at least twenty times, no one even knows as to which layer of ground they will find themselves in when they stop breathing. We live in a world of meaninglessness, yet as proud romantics we look for a meaning, anything to cling on, absolutely anything to pin our hopes onto. Some sort of reassurance that the world is somehow in balance. Now that I think of it, I am absolutely certain that when I heard of them breaking up is the exact moment when it started raining that day.

Decay.
Photo Courtesy: Self.

Darkness is in fact, the absence of light.

This anecdote goes out to all those people who don't believe in God at all: the atheists, scientologists etc, I still can't understand what they base their beliefs on.

The university professor challenged his students with this question. "Did God create everything that exists?" A student bravely replied, "Yes, He did!" "God created everything?" The professor asked. Yes sir", the student replied. The professor answered, "If God created everything, then God created evil, since evil exists, and according to the principal that our works define who we are, then God is evil".

The student became quiet before such an answer. The professor, quite pleased with himself, boasted to the students that he had proven once more that the faith on God was a myth. Another student raised his hand and said, "Can I ask you a question professor?"

"Of course", replied the professor. The student stood up and asked, "Professor, does cold exist?"

"What kind of question is this? Of course it exists. Have you never been cold?" The students snickered at the young man's question.

The young man replied, "In fact sir, cold does not exist. According to the laws of physics, what we consider cold is in reality the absence of heat. Every body or object is susceptible to study when it has or transmits energy, and heat is what makes a body or matter have or transmit energy. Absolute zero (- 460 degrees F) is the total absence of heat; all matter becomes inert and incapable of reaction at that temperature. Cold does not exist. We have created this word to describe how we feel if we have no heat."

The student continued, "Professor, does darkness exist?"

The professor responded, "Of course it does."

The student replied, "Once again you are wrong sir, darkness does not exist either. Darkness is in reality the absence of light. Light we can study, but not darkness. In fact we can use Newton's prism to break white light into many colors and study the various wavelengths of each color. You cannot measure darkness. A simple ray of light can break into a world of darkness and illuminate it. How can you know how dark a certain space is? You measure the amount of light present. Isn't this correct? Darkness is a term used by man to describe what happens when there is no light present."

Finally the young man asked the professor, "Sir, does evil exist?" Now uncertain, the professor responded, "Of course as I have already said. We see it every day. It is in the daily example of man's inhumanity to man. It is in the multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world. These manifestations are nothing else but evil."

To this the student replied, "Evil does not exist sir, or at least it does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is just like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. Evil is not like faith, or love that exist just as does light and heat. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God's love present in his heart. It's like the cold that comes when there is no heat or the darkness that comes when there is no light."

The professor sat down.

The young man's name --- Albert Einstein

Condemning Condemnation

Dear Government Of Pakistan,

I would like to take you away from your daily ritual of sending out condemnation messages for just a few minutes, and highlight to you what it is about your ridiculous indifference that irks me the most.

I have seen, during the course of my life, nations go to war against entire regions because of an attack on their sovereignty and people. I have seen planes fly into buildings, train stations go up in flames and as a result, entire nations have been brought to the ground, and millions been massacred, all in the name of one thing: security.

Nations with self-respect tend to care about this term called 'security', but recently, it seems to have evaded us completely.

I wonder why that is?

Remember the phrase "Actions speak louder than words"? We are taught at a very young age not to promise what we cannot deliver. Not to speak when it doesn't mean anything. And to 'act' rather than to 'say', because in acting on your intentions lies true goodness. Words are meaningless if you do not harbor the capacity to fulfill them.

Then why is it that everytime someone fires a drone at us, or renders our Mosques Shaheed or shoots our civilians or murders our ideals, you sit back and issue a statement which either 'condemns' it, or better still "strongly" condemns it.

It seems to me as if this is all we elected you people to do: Condemn all that's wrong, and master the art of condemning it with newer methods so as to add a little bit of variety into your day to day messages.

The problem my friends, is simple: for a country like Pakistan, condemnation just isn't enough. Because it gets really old, really fast. The reason for this, is because everyday brings us a new attack, and takes away one more person who will breathe again.

How is it that nations like the USA would be (and are) willing to go to war at the drop of a hat (or oil, as is mostly the case with them), everytime they feel "threatened", but we in Pakistan are showing so much resilience to the blood thirsty enemies which devour us from within?

We are engulfed in a problem so massive, that everyone in government (and opposition) has started to imitate what I personally feel might be their favorite animal: the ostrich.

Every single time there is an attack or a blast or any other catastrophe, all I have to do is check my phone for news, and sure enough, there it is: a message from my favorite people, the PM and President, 'condemning' it. It became slightly more interesting recently when even our other prominent 'leaders' started to follow suit and tweet their "sincerest" grief and condolences on social media as well, no doubt going back to lying in bed straight after THAT formality was completed.

Why do I sound so irked by your attitude, dear Government? Let me tell you why. Because thousands of people like myself also only put ourselves out there on social media sites to express our grief and sadness at these events, and we do this because we do not have the power in our own hands to do anything more about the dire situation itself. No one gave me 170,000 votes and instilled their faith in me, and told me to go and save the country, which is why I'm not standing in that Provincial Assembly or National Assembly and doing so. But had I actually had the opportunity to do what you politicians can? I can sit here and passionately state with utmost conviction that I would be a doing a MUCH better job of it. Anyone with even half a brain would.

It isn't alright to sit back and watch as an ENTIRE ethnicity is wiped out by attacks on their places of worship and residential areas. It isn't alright to brush everything under the carpet just by stating that you "condemn" it and throw out useless rhetoric stating that you 'feel' the pain of those who have lost family and friends to these barbaric attacks. You don't understand. You can't even begin to understand. But you CAN stop it. Believe or not, that's why we elected you.

So then why? Why only just condemn? And when you, our government, shows up on the media occasionally and says "we need time", "these situations can't be resolved overnight", I want to give you the benefit of the doubt, I do. I want to genuinely believe you when you say that you are doing your best to solve what is fast becoming the country's deadliest security situation till date.

But then you go and disappoint me in the blink of an eye, by giving expensive birds as presents to foreign friends, and slapping innocent coach attendees, instead of doing your jobs.

You indulge in bringing to trial past dictators, whilst in the background, the civilians who voted you into power are having their limbs blown off.

I am not saying that one situation should be completely ignored whilst giving prominence to another. What I am saying however, is that with so much 'experience' with regards governance under your belt, should this government not have mastered the art of multitasking?

A man who was previously the leader of the opposition is now the Interior Minister of Pakistan. Should he not put his money where his mouth is and actually make good on all the criticisms he accorded the previous government with? You now have the opportunity to change things. Please..change them.

This is YOUR time to 'shine', dear government of Pakistan. What are you waiting for?

Because even though you've become equivalent to that maggot-infested plank of wood floating in the middle of the ocean, the one that no one wants to touch, you're still all we can turn to for help. And Lord only knows much we need it.

Sometimes I genuinely feel like harsh words and criticism are all that will get to you, because apple-polishing sure hasn't.

I want to live in a country where "solving" something becomes more important than merely "condemning" it.

I want to live in a country where thug-like leaders can't get away with closing down entire cities, and where condemnation isn't all you have to give to a family who has lost a loved one in a "target killing".

I want to live in a country where I will wake up in the morning and feel the need to write something positive about it, as opposed to only feeling depressed by the body count of people that we've lost that day.

Most importantly, I want to live in a country, where even ONE condemnation message seems sincere.

Where even a single person who condemns an attack, or a loss, or any type of tragic occurrence actually stops to try and feel the pain it has caused someone else.

Condemning something is all well and good, as long as you follow it up with the promise that you won't ever have to condemn the occurrence of a similar situation again.

Till then? Stop condemning, and start fixing. 

Yours patriotically,

Ad Astra