The Litmus Test

i see the frustrations of living in an undemorcratic country showing in your words. quite uncompelling comments and boringly humorous. i hope writing is not your day job.

i totally agree with you on how the ruling elite in this country are having a rollicking time at the expense of 95% of the population

Dear mr. Shakir Husain:

Did you say you are a columnist for the The FridayTimes? I liked to read that on-line paper . Nowadays one has to pay!

Anyway, I tried to count the number of $1000 dollar suits worn bt Prime Minister Aziz and President General Moo-Sharf from pictures that appear on papers. I lost count. Have you noticed that General Moo-Sharaf wears a Pakistan Flag on the lapel of his suit?

BTW, how do they travel on overseas trips? Do they use commercial airlines or use special Pakistani jetaircrafts? I am told it can be very expensive!

Kamath

Why is this obsession with the image ? How about improving reality for a change ?

now what do you expect from these ignorant Keaton Kops morons catching some `` home grown terrorists`` taking Ganja Oath for Al Kayda on a raggedy Bible --

their crime: ``those blacks don`t like their own country``.....!

Shakir,
What makes u conclude it was any better prior to Short-Cut Aziz? Disappointing article with little value to add, playing on populist sentiment prevailing in Pakistan and the muslim world in general. Seems the writer has little contact with Pakistani journalists leave alone western press, had he been reading current event he wud have understood his compatriots perpetual very explicit hatred directed against the west thus the special treatment.

I grew up in Peshawar during the 80s, at a time when Pakistan was Afghanistan`s best buddy. It was also a time when a lot of bombs exploded in Peshawar, almost every week there would be a blast. As a result the Afghanis our best buddies were THOROUGHLY searched where ever they went; parks, markets, bus stops, even in the middle of busrides or rickshaw rides were some made to get off and were searched. I still recall my elders like most Peshawaris as being very supportive of these searches. What surprises me now is the disgust of most Peshawaris with the security measures adopted in America after 9/11.

The west`s paranoia cannot be cured by Musharaf`s panting or Shaukat`s purring, the cure for that paranoia is to call a cull on the clergy; as long as you have the Qazis and the Fazal ur Rehmans spewing hatred, you are bound to put through searches.

Like seriously do u expect the west to ignore the throngs of Quran weilding Maulvis chanting death to America, and believe Musharaf who explains the ``enlightened moderation`` of the ``silent majority`` with a glass of wine in his hand?

So Mr. columnist point your finger at the source of the problem. And for a real ``Quantitative Truth`` you can come to Peshawar and count the number of defaced billboards. Musharaf aur Shaukat tu anay janay wali cheezain hain bhai ;) kya samjhay?

If Husair Sr looks serious, Husain Jr looks smiling. It also refelcts the way they write. Husain Jr would be a good company for an outing.

This one is an old subject but Husian Jr made it readable.

Image is what it was than what it was made to be look like. Instead of wrrying about image issue they better do something substantial to improve the fundamentals of Pakistan.

It`s like a woman past her menopause worrying about her sex appeal.

A Pakistani has the same position and status for a European or an American when he is in their country as an afghani has in Pakistan . They look at Pakistanis as illegal economic migrants from a third world extremist fundamentalist country, who are in their country in search of money and an opportunity to commit crime. They believe that a Pakistani will harm them in one way or another, may that be crime or terrorism, whenever they get an opportunity.
Instead of blaming them or Pakistan`s political leadership, Pakistanis should try to change themselves. They always talk against extremism and then they vote for the extremists in the next election.