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binifer,

Whoah! I`m getting confused. Was this 12 headed guy harrassing anNY? Is he the same guy who made her have the accident?

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

HELP TO PREVENT WAR IN SOUTH ASIA

All who value peace and human life need to intervene and stop war in South Asia. India and Pakistan are poised to engage in such a misadventure as their respective troops and missiles (possibly nuclear) face each other on their border and on the Line of Control in Kashmir. This is happening while we in the United States are busy watching the news from neighboring Afghanistan.

People of Indian and Pakistani origin especially need to wake up to the reality of what kind of misery this conflict will produce. Our armchair warmongers of South Asian origin who now make their homes outside the region, in Europe, Canada and here in the United States need to get a large dose of reality.

Some Pakistanis are arranging a peace march at a Northern California venue (exact date and place to be decided) this week and urge all from the South Asian (aka “Desi”) Diaspora and their friends to protest against the possibility of war between India and Pakistan. I hope that Americans will join us and show solidarity with the pursuit of sanity in the region. Let us have a happy, peaceful and prosperous new year in a part of the world where the misery of poverty already rules the streets. Help us stop this looming war.

Ras H. Siddiqui

Sacramento, California

shankar #96: Answers to some of your questions:

``Dunno why, but I thought your ``native village`` was in IOK! Gee.. that part of Kashmir is really free``

My family village is in Azad Kashmir. My family lived and grew up in Srinigar. But yes, according to the Indian Constitution, and all the maps in India, my family village is officially considered a part of India, by Indians. I guess that makes me an Indian. However, India still requires me to get a visa if I want to go to India. And it does not allow me to cross over the LOC, into IOK from POK, even though on the map, India considers POK a part of India.

Makes a lot of sense, I guess.

``Gang rapes CAN & DO occur in the Army...Indian or Pakistani...Kashmir & Bangladesh are prime examples``

Yes and no. Gang rapes are occuring in Kashmir. This is well documented. And Pakistanis killed a lot of people (and I assumed raped) in Bangladesh.

However, I am not going to just blame the armies of these two countries for these actions. The true blame goes on the govts. that have sent them there. And the people who support the govts. The armymen always end up holding the bag, when govt. policies go wrong (which is what is going to happen to the Indian armymen, once Indian govt. policies in Kashmir fail).

Any soldier sent in to fight civilian populations hates it, and eventually ends up going nuts. There is far too much psychological pressure. If you do your job well, you have to kill civilians. If you don`t do your job well, you are killed by some of the civilians. It is a lose-lose situation for the soldier. I doubt too many Indian soldiers covet an assignment in Kashmir, at the moment. I am sure they would much rather particiapate in a normal war.

Vietnam, Bangladesh and Kashmir are good examples. Individually, these soldiers are to be blamed. But at a policy level, it is the govts` fault.

I don`t think any rapes are carried out in Army bases within India (i.e. Indian soldier raping a poor village girl in Jaipur or something), nor are they carried out in Army bases in Pakistan. Infact, the wars between India and Pakistan, which did not involve civilians (only fought between the militaries) were quite chivalrous, i.e. Pakistani soldiers did not bomb Indian civilians in Delhi, and Indian soldiers did not bomb Pakistani civilians in Lahore. Prisoners of War were treated quite well, also. I have this from confirmed sources.

``You seem to believe that Mushy is going to eliminate the feudal grip on the country.``

Unfortunately no. I wish he would. But he didn`t, or couldn`t. I don`t know why.

Musharraf has however sidelined the top lot. And he has put many of them behind bars. And he has decentralized their executive authority down to the local level. Kind of like kissing one`s sister, but still a hell of a lot better than what anyone else did.

``Well, if only college grads can contest elections, I guess peasants wont be able to run for elections. So, he will throw out the ``old`` bum feudals & bring in newer ones.``

Yes and no. There are reserved seats for peasants and women in the local assemblies. At the national and provincial levels, peasants have zero chance of getting elected, even if they get a Ph.D. Imran Khan cannot beat a feudal, what to talk of a peasant beating one.

The college grad requirement will get rid of the old feudal lot, but will bring in their kids. So you are correct. But something is better than nothing.

``You mentioned that there is a powerful feudal-military alliance that has been made possible through bonds of marriage. So eventhough Mushy`s family maynot have married into the feudal class, a lot of his generals are.``

This alliance is not that much of an alliance any longer. Feudals have now stopped marrying into the military. They don`t send their kids into the military, any longer either. They now marry into expatriates, and foreign trained businessman. Most of the top echelon of the military now, are basically from middle class families.

And the alliances are usually built through the top person. Ayub and Zia`s families joined this alliance, and became a part of the system, and part of the problem. Musharraf`s family has not, so far.

``Mushy has now alienated the right wing religionists (by strategic U turns), the middle class (by the bogus referendum), the intelligentsia (by undemocratic amendments to the Constitution) & now the Military-feudal nexus?!``

The first part is correct. But he has made a lot of friends in Pakistan, due to his stance against the maulvi brigade.

I don`t think the second part is correct. Most urban parties, on the whole, still support him. And I haven`t seen a single demonstration against him. Or any uprising etc. I think the people like him better than NS and Bhutto. Or the people just don`t care anymore. The main PPP and PML politicians are however against him. But I don`t think they always represent the wishes of the people.

The intelligensia of Pakistan is somewhat cynical and criticizes everyone. Being critical of the govt. in Pakistan is considered patriotic. The criteria to use here is that they dislike Musharraf less than they dislike NS and BB etc. I think, on the whole, they do realize that Pakistan now has more press freedom than ever before, and is now in a progressive mode. And even Musharraf`s harshest impartial critics have accepted that he is honest, sincere and forward looking, though undemocratic.

``So the only thing thats holding him in office is his friend Bushy & the Indians``

I don`t think this is correct. What is holding him in power is the incompotence of the status quo tried and tested politicians. People may not like Musharraf`s dictatorship, but they are sick and tired of the old politicians also. That is why, cry as they might, the PPP and PML have not been able to move too many common Pakistanis to join them in their protests.

And the fact that the international lending institutions are happy with the direction the Pakistan economy is taking (even before Sep 11).

``Are Pakistani peasants so naieve (or am I)? Why cant they vote for a non-feudal? (I guess every feudal has an opponent running for election too--or is that not so, as well?)``

Pakistani peasants aren`t naive. They are completely powerless and enslaved (in some cases literally in feudal jails) by feudals.

I don`t know much about Indian politics, but I think it cannot be compared with Pakistani feudal politics. Poverty isn`t the main problem in feudal Pakistan, politically. There are urban poor also, in Pakistan. Neither is illiteracy. Both of these are no doubt huge problems, but not the main.

The main problem is land ownership.

The feudal owns all the land that is tilled by the peasants. In that sense, he completely owns the peasants` livelihood, their villages etc. He can legally kick him/her off the land. Over decades and centuries, a system has been put into place, where the feudal (the big ones) even gives judicial judgements in conflicts. They are basically kings.

So the peasants are not only poor, they are powerless. If someone can get kicked off the land, with no skills, can get his daughter abducted, etc., how can they even think of not voting for the feudal. They could all unite, but the feudals ensure that stage never reaches. And the feudals are in the Assemblies, and make all the laws. They will make sure that their lands remain feudal (which in turn means Pakistan remains backwards). Why else do you think all these feudals want elections, and are politicians? Shouldn`t they be into agriculture and not politics?

I think the problem of illiteracy and poverty exists in rural India, but not the problem of massive absentee landlordism. So urban Indian politics can be compared to urban Pakistani politics, but rural Indian politics cannot be compared to rural Pakistani politics. And over 60% of Pakistan is still rural.

In non-feudal villages, like mine, peasants can and have become leaders and politicians. Many of their second generations are now educated.

In some feudal areas (most maybe), there is an opposition. But it is also the local opposing feudal. If you look at the rural wing of PPP and PML, it is nothing but opposing feudals. Leghari was in PPP and Khosas (opposing feudal in same area) are in PML. Abida Hussein and her husband are in PML, while Faisal Hayat (opposing feudal, and one-time candidate as Benazir`s husband) is in PPP. So on and so forth. In many cases, these guys are related (Faisal is the nephew of Abida). In some areas, like Benazir`s Larkana etc., only one feudal dominates. So he/she gets elected unopposed.

Invariably, there are two things common in these feudal areas:

1. The more powerful the feudal/tribal leader, the more backwards the area. My family village, in Kashmir, like I stated, is now decades ahead of Leghari`s feudal areas outside Dera Ghazi Khan, Benazir`s feudal areas outside Larkana, and Abida`s feudal areas outside Jhang (I have lived close to these areas, not counting Larkana, so I know first hand). Even though my family village really has no political significance. It has only sent a few senior leaders into the local Kashmiri beaurecracy. Nothing at the Pakistan level.

2. The feudal or his/her next generation (if the feudal himself is not highly educated) is in big-time Western universities, and live in the poshest areas of urban Pakistan. Leghari is Oxford. Benazir is Harvard/Oxford. Abida`s kids are in Harvard etc.

``Are you suggesting that a non-feudal doesnt even DARE to oppose a Bhutto candidate in Larkhana? Or if he does, the polls are so blatantly rigged that its a waste of time to even run an election?``

The polls are not really rigged. They don`t need to be. But a non-feudal cannot challenge a feudal. He/she will never win. Look what happen to this girl, whose little brother allegedly was seen walking with a girl from another trible. And this incident did not even involve any of the super-feudal families. Do you think, this girl`s family could ever think of voting for someone other than the powerful feudal.

The are historically hardly any cases in Pakistan, in which a fedual has been defeated by a non-feudal. As I stated even Imran Khan has zero shot of defeating local feudals in their areas. So much so, that his (our) party doesn`t even compete in those areas.

anNy #70: Waah ji, kya aqal ki baatein ki hein. Good going :)

lve

Kiran

MdBenaissa cum Aaamir

Betae, aap kee good muslim anNy might have been nice enough to not spill your beans on chowk when she wanted to (and was having conscience attacks gods help us all)- It just so happens that I had complete access to her mail box when she was in the hospital and have been through all the `anNy you are just like my chotti behna` sh1t asss mails you kept flooding her mailbox with. I am also aware of the confession mail (without any provoking of one, strangely) wherein you informed her that you were all the 12 heads and more, some 5 months ago and this was to only `fool the indians exaaaapt for nice indian shankar and eklavya`. Also, I am aware of her not exchanging mails with you and you persisting like a case of loose sh1t.

Pls be mindful of the fact that I am not even going into all the cards that u flooded her mailbox with since i was responsible for cleaning out the trash from the mailbox when she was out of action and you know, you were very annoying with 25 cards every day for one whole friggin month. And you ask that i dont have a life. Now thats what i call a choot piece. Be very careful Mr.Masood or was it Maqsood? - I am now out to screw you over

Beware of all kafirs, barbarians, false worshippers like Hindus, Shias, Buddhists, Ahmedis, Zorostrians -

An impossible marriage

Edited By Adil Salahi, Arab News Staff

http://www.arabnews.com/Article.asp?ID=11577

Q. A friend of mine, who until recently was a Hindu, embraced Islam and began, with God’s help, to attend to all his religious duties. However, he just discovered that Islam forbids marriage with one’s niece. As he is already married to his niece, he is at a loss what to do, considering that he has young children. What is the status of his marriage? If he divorces his wife, it will certainly affect his relations with his present wife and children, as they will inevitably feel that Islam is responsible for the break-up of their family. Please comment.

S. Habibullah, Riyadh

A. This man has adopted Islam because he realized that it is the truth. When one adopts a new religion on the basis of conviction, he must abide by what that religion dictates. Such dictates are part of the truth he has come to accept. It is not possible for a person to accept a religion and then say that he wants one or two of its teachings modified in order to suit his circumstances. Some people made such requests to the Prophet, but he did not accept any such conditions. It was not for him to do so, because the religion of Islam is given to us by God, and no one can alter what God makes lawful or forbidden.

This man has recognized the truth of Islam and accepted it. He then discovered that his marriage cannot be accepted by Islam. No one can alter God’s prohibition of a marriage between a man and his niece. This is a permanent prohibition which will not be relaxed in any circumstances. Therefore, he has no way other than to abide by what God has ordered and to refrain from what He has prohibited. His marriage cannot continue, because it is invalid. He must divorce his wife.

Now, when this marriage is over, relations between the man and the woman may continue as one between uncle and niece. However, because of the marriage between them, they should not stay alone in any private situation. They may make any suitable arrangements so that their children are brought up normally, cared for by both their parents, but the separation must take place. There is no way out.

anNy #70,

are you an `in the closet` bimbo ;)

cute post by the way, you make me smile sweets

http://www3.sympatico.ca/gul.khan/main1.jpg

http://www3.sympatico.ca/gul.khan/main1.jpg

anNy #70: Waah ji, kya aqal ki baatein ki hein. Good going :)

lve

Kiran

Ref Hasan bin Laed #: 94

[Learn being a good Muslim from ur friend. Ask Allah`s forgiveness for ur jahalat resulting from ur kafir background and attitude before u die. On Judgement Day it will be too late.]

Are you saving yourself for the 72 houris?

re: username

...5000 words of saying nothing...looks you`ve got something shoved up yer...

Binifer 83

U were lucky to be married to Muslim but u not left ur barbaric manners, more like Hindians than Muslim.

All u talk is ur friend`s personal life. U must have a miserable existence. See anybody else talking other peoples personal life?

Not others, U are a nut case. Learn being a good Muslim from ur friend. Ask Allah`s forgiveness for ur jahalat resulting from ur kafir background and attitude before u die. On Judgement Day it will be too late.

Imposter ID: Abusive Post

Reply anNy # 70

“WHAT, explain to me, is wrong with being a bimbo? haan?”

Nothing, nothing at all. Please don’t be cross.

And I will admit that Ms Haq’s top ten remedies for constipation were extremely useful. Happy?

Zafar

PS For future reference, male bimbos are himbos.

PPS And you didn’t answer my question about why Lahore is superior to Karachi.

EDUCATION IN PAKISTAN from dawn of today

In pakistan where (honour) killing is legitimised, it is just a matter of time all other crimes will become legal in the peoples minds. Here is what education does in pakistan, will any educated on chowk care to respond.

An occasional murder

By Hafizur Rahman

I am told that a retired federal secretary met three brash young men at a society wedding in Karachi some time ago and asked them what they did. ``We are dakoos, Uncle,`` said one of them with a straight face. He wasn`t joking and told the horrified gentleman how, being unemployed, they committed a dacoity every three months or so and had an enjoyable holiday abroad on the takings, usually in the Gulf. For day-to-day expenses they still relied or their parents.

Maybe it`s a sign of progress that more and more young people every day are taking to larceny, dacoity and an unavoidable murder as a permanent vocation. At this rate a time may soon come when families who have no son engaged in any of these activities, will have to hide themselves with shame.

It is heartening to note also that the intellectual level of persons engaged in larceny, dacoity (and the occasional murder of course) is gradually rising. It is no longer the monopoly of those rejected by society, the riff-raff and the good-for-nothing from the lower classes, who hadn`t anything better to do. Gone are the days when a man involved in these activities wore a guilty look and was avoided by the genteel and the noble, even if they were poor. He would rather have died than admitted his nefarious profession. Happily it is no longer so.

In Sindh, it was once said, half the jungle dacoits were graduates. In Punjab nothing could have done more to impart respectability to these enterprising professions than what happened some time ago in Multan, the city of saints, where apparently the saintly part of the population is all below the ground, safely dead and buried.

The police discovered that a group of four lawyers had been master-minding robberies and other such work requiring legal finesse. The four were also alleged to have killed a companion who had ratted on them, and thrown the dead body in a nearby forest. They might have been justified in doing so, for he was only a student of BA and had joined the group on false pretences, without first becoming a lawyer. Since he was not academically qualified, he had to be disposed of. It was as simple as that.

sac Reply #: 77

``Yaar why do we have to decide everything as a nation? What happened to the freedom of choice? How about first deciding as a nation whether we`ll relieve ourselves standing up or sitting down?``

Well, my friend, nobody suggested that we need to decide EVERYTHING as a nation. But there certainly are things that need to be decided at the national level. That is why we have governments whose job is to take input from us and devise a NATIONAL policy on issues, thus guiding the nation in the right direction... no doubt ``freedom of choice`` is extremely important but that doesn`t mean every Tom Dick and Harry should be allowed to do whatever the fcuk s/he wants to do. Please go back and read my post again. Hopefully, this time you`ll be able to understand what I was trying to say.

On a different note, you seem to have a flair for bringing up issues out of non-issues. In response to your first post, I tried to point out why reading TFT is important but you seemed more interested in my trials and tribulations at Freddys and Zouq. Then I attempted to bring you back to the point but this time it was, why do we have to decide EVERYTHNG as a nation? I don`t want to induldge in some sort of lengthy debate with you... my only point was/is, we need to reconsider our (in my opinion) hypocritical and paradoxical policy towards our people in general and women in particular. On one hand we have religion, morality and social barriers (which I have nuthing against btw) and on the other hand we promote ``ooohhs`` ``aaahhhs`` and ``awwwws``. I think it`s not quite working this way and we need to do something abt it. Whether you agree with me or not, it`s ok with me either way :-)

anNy Reply #: 70

``Why should all of us need to be smart and intellectual and understand what the bloody english patient is all about or why kahlil gibran did what he did...``

Well, I guess nuthing wrong with being a bimbo. But thanks god I`m not one. Don`t fit your definition of bimbohood at all. I don`t beautify the environment, am always running around with daggers to stab someone and me an idiot... yeah rOite, NO CHANCE! By the way, searched the entire library catalog but cudn`t find the novel that you mentioned in your post. One came close --- ``The English Patient`` --- but heck, he wasn`t ``bloody`` enuff. If you cud please tell me the name of the author...?