After Pearl, Which Journalist is Next?

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What the ``British`` did not fail in, was to convert the intellectual foundation of the education of their subjects. In judging Muslim and Hindu education as having no redeeming value, in good conscience, for the sake of conscience, because they acutally believed that they were ``saving`` their subjects, they successfully ``converted`` their subjects.

Ref Ras Siddiqui #: 22

[The British failed to teach us many things, among them respect for history and why it should be preserved.]

The British preserved those that they thought was worth preserving. The number of ruined castles in Ireland would testify to the fact that the British didn`t have the slightest hesitationto ruin their enemy`s history. The British also carted away the outer walls of a famous temple in South India to build a dam. They also destroyed countless forts in India after defeating the local rajahs. I saw at the Westminster Abbey a plaque dedicated to some British general who had fought in India in the 18th century and seems to have distinguished himself in some battle in Trichinopoly probably against Chanda Sahib. The bronze plaque shows the fort in the city of Trichy; all that stands there now is one entrance into the fortified town called the Main Guard Gate. All traces of the walls are gone and have been gone for centuries.

Most recent example of the British maintaining only certain papers is when the Secretary of the States Department in British India, Sir Conrad (?) Corfield burnt papers relating to the various princely states when he learnt that Britain was not going to maintain any relationship with them. His explanation was that these papers contained private and confidential matters that need not be brought to light, presumably by the new governments of independent India and Pakistan.

Ras Siddique #22 ``The British failed to teach us many things, among them respect for history and why it should be preserved. `` What you mean of course is that we failed to learn, and merrily rename cities and streets as if thereby we can claim that the British Raj never happened, it was all a fantasy. Easy to pick up the lingo, hard to pick up the attitudes and mindsets that explains the incredible and undeniable (despite routine denials by many people) impact that the Brits (and the anglo-saxon offshoots in n. america generally ) have had on the rest of the world over the past three centures.

From Dawn March 4, 2002

(I am presuming that this was written by Khalid Hasan...)


AJ, the forgotten filmmaker

A.J. Kardar - the A stood for Akhtar - who died in London on February
12, two years into the new millennium, in almost utter obscurity, was the only Pakistani filmmaker whose work received international recognition.

His classic story of the indomitable spirit of working people emerging triumphant despite the forces of exploitation , released over 40 years ago as Jago huva Savera remains etched to this day in the memory of those who saw it. When I told Maleeha Lodhi of AJ`s passing, she recalled the movie and said, ``It was superb, never to be surpassed, or even paralleled.`` The script was written by Faiz Ahmed Faiz, AJ`s lifelong collaborator.

AJ made innumerable documentaries, including a memorable one on Iqbal, another on Moenjodaro. They all lie somewhere in the archives of the Department of Films and Publications, yellowed by age. Perhaps, they don`t even exist any more, considering the care with which we preserve records. The British failed to teach us many things, among them respect for history and why it should be preserved.

Dr Ashiq Hussain Batalvi once said to me, ``There is not a scrap of paper that the British in India threw away. Just spend a day at the India Office Library and you will know.`` He should have known because that was always his first port of call every day.

AJ was Skipper Abdul Hafiz Kardar`s favourite cousin. A. R. Kardar, was a cousin too, if not his older brother. A.R. Kardar was one of the few Muslims in the Bombay film industry to establish his own production studio. A large number of hits flowed out of it, both before and after independence. One post-1947 movie Dard starred Surayya and Nusrat Kardar, AJ`s cousin. The superb score was by Naushad with Surayya singing one of the most beautiful na`ats ever recorded: Beech bhanwar mein. It was set in raag Darbari. After independence, both Kardar and Mehboob Khan came to Karachi, but decided to return to Bombay. Had they stayed, Pakistan may have perhaps had a movie industry after all.

AJ also made a film on the 1965 war - Qsam uss Waqt ki - to highlight the Pakistan air force`s gallantry and the heroic mission carried out over India by Squadron Leader Sarfraz Rafiqui who never returned. AJ wanted to cast Cecil Chaudhry, who was on Rafiqui`s formation, as the hero, but Cecil, the great `Chacha` F.E. Chaudhry`s son and now the principal of St. Anthony`s School in Lahore, was cut out to be a crack flier, not an actor.

AJ, in the end, settled on Tariq Aziz, later to win fame and fortune as the principal TV salesman for every substandard Pakistani product. The film bombed, which had more to do with its heavy-jowled wooden hero than the nimble director or the estimable Air Marshal Nur Khan who had put the PAF`s facilities at the unit`s disposal. Faiz wrote the lyrics for the movie but we cannot hold him responsible for the performance of the future star of `Neelam Ghar`.

AJ was a superb raconteur and of the many stories that he told me, the one about the great Mehboob Khan remains unforgettable. Mehboob came to London in 1952 to sign the British and European rights of India`s first colour film Aan with Sir Alexander Korda, the celebrated British filmmaker and showman. Mehboob, who did not speak a word of English and only heavily Gujarati-accented Urdu, took AJ as his interpreter.

AJ`s link to Mehboob was A. R. Kardar who was married to Bahar Akhtar, while Mehboob was married to her sister, the actress Sardar Akhtar. When Mehboob entered, Korda walked around his desk, stretched out his hand and said, ``I am Alexander Korda.`` Mehboob turned to AJ, ``Akhtar, iss salay ko batao ke mera naam Mehboob hai aur mein Hindustan ka Alexander Korda hoon.``

When the National Film Development Corporation or NAFDEC, whose mercy killing took place a few years ago, was formed, AJ joined it on the production side. He and Faiz also teamed up for a film that was never to see the light of day. AJ picked up a mostly unknown cast, shot the film on location in Pakistan and took it to London to be processed. NAFDEC said he had ``hijacked`` the original negative which remained its property and which should be returned.

AJ insisted that he was within his rights as director to see to the proper processing of the film. There were recriminations, while the film itself lay stuck in a London laboratory I visited with AJ a few times. The lab had not been paid and AJ could not pick up the tab. NAFDEC refused, while the lab kept pressing for payment.

It was ugly. Faiz, who was the producer, arrived in London. Back in Pakistan, given the virulent nature of the Zia regime and how it viewed Faiz, there was intense pressure on Faiz to produce the negative. At the time, Nasir Ahmed Farooki was in ample funds, the gods who preside over the gaming tables of London, having decided to smile on him.

He it was who dished out the money so that AJ could rescue his negative. AJ arranged a screening and we found the movie visually stunning, though a bit slow-paced.

To this day, it remains unreleased. AJ never returned to Pakistan and never made another film. He used to say, ``In this business, you are as good as your last work. And my last work was so long ago that it is not possible for me to find new work.`` The Zia martial law machine also instituted an inquiry into NAFDEC and, to its eternal shame, one of the people grilled - Brig. (later Maj. Gen.) Khwaja Rahat Latif of Sialkot having had that dubious distinction - was Faiz himself.

AJ wanted to make a film on the trial and execution of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Benazir, whom he met more than once in this connection, was enthusiastic but all she was prepared to give the project was her blessings. At one point, AJ found an ``angel`` in London and a flat was hired and an office set up.

Skipper Kardar had shipped out every scrap of paper relating to the trial, all of which now lies with my books in Lahore, because when it was clear that the project was a non-starter, AJ said, ``This `pulanda` is now yours.`` AJ had written the script and it was very powerful. I was one of the ``consultants`` and AJ paid me. When I protested, he said, ``As a pro, there is one thing I have learnt in this business. You pay for work done.``

In London, AJ lived off Marble Arch. There was a pub next to his flat called Monkey Puzzle where we would hang out. AJ`s film team was made up of his friends, the superb cinematographer Mervin Marshall and his colleague Peter Lloyd. Marshall had shot Jago huva Savera. AJ had worked with some great names in British cinema, including Walter Lasally. He once said to me, ``In life, as in all other things, one should follow the Chinese. And the Chinese say: Slowly, slowly catchy monkey.`` However, the monkey called NAFDEC was never caught, no matter how slowly AJ stalked it. And he stalked it for many, many years that he said bitterly were a waste. Well, with AJ, another man of genius we turned our backs on, is gone. He was not the first and, sadly, he won`t be the last.


(Sorry Anwar for taking over your board for this one)

SameerJB #15
Jang like TFT has been sticking its neck out for quite a while in some of its reportage, while I admire such journalistic courage very much for itself, I have not fully understood the display of such courage.

btw, Kamran Khan has been contributing to Washington Post reports for some time, the question is will he continue to do so.

Re Omar Sheikh, one of the hijackers who set him free through the IA hijacking is also mentioned(by the Jang and some Western newspapers)as one of the kidnappers of Daniel Pearl. Indian newspapers say the US is now seeking extradition to the US of the IA hijackers too along with Sheikh.

This was buried in a story in yesterday`s NYT...http://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/02/international/asia/02STAN.html

Editor Forced to Resign

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, March 1 (Reuters) — The editor of a leading English-language daily said today that he had resigned, citing pressure from the government after the newspaper reported a link between the prime suspect in the killing of Daniel Pearl and an attack on India`s Parliament in December.

India blamed Pakistan-based militant groups for the attack, but the Pakistani government denied any link.

The editor who resigned, Shaheen Sehbai, said that after publication of the article in his paper, The News, the owner and editor in chief, Mir Shakeel ur-Rahman, was pressed by the government to dismiss him and three other journalists.

``I was told by my editor in chief that he had been asked to sack four journalists — myself, Kamran Khan, Amir Mateen and Rauf Klasra,`` Mr. Sehabai said in an online interview. ``He did not name who had said that, but he told me to go and see the I.S.I.,`` Pakistan`s intelligence service.

The article, Mr. Rahman wrote in the letter dismissing Mr. Sehbai, ``was perceived to be damaging to our national interest and elicited severe reaction of the government.`` He also accused Mr. Sehbai of violating standard procedures.

Mr. Rahman and government officials were not immediately available for comment.

Mr. Sehbai and one of the reporters, Mr. Klasra, have recently complained of harassment by intelligence agencies, a colleague said.

While Pakistan`s news media enjoy relative freedom, some newspapers have been forced to remove staff members after complaints from the government or intelligence agencies.

Good job, Anwar. Pakistan will forever be a backward country and stuck in the muck if it does not free its press. Right or wrong, the press should be allowed to say whatever it wants to say without any fear of reprisal. Period. Freedom of speech should be the corner stone of Pakistan`s Constitution if Pakistan is to get anywhere. I wish you all the best. Keep forcing the Pakistan government to ``lay-off.``

Jaish-e-Mohammed #8: you write ``It has been shocking, to that even in the far remote villages of Pakistan people are discussing the execution over their Eid meals! Yet no one stops and asks why should we care if an Israeli citizen is killed...`` People in the ``far remote villages`` of Pakistan have more decency and a better understanding of Islam that you people do. It is you who should stop to ask why one should care if an Israeli citizen (or any human being) is killed...particularly if he is killed in the ruthless cold-blooded manner. How dare you people call yourself muslims and make references to isolated lines from the Quran when (if you had any fear of Allah or any respect for His Word in the Quran) violate and ignore the basic message of the Quran. You are a bunch of losers and two-bit criminals and you are the ones who are destined for hell in the next world. As for this ``Khalifah`` that you want to put in power, every leader of the religious political parties in Pakistan has this vision of becoming a Khalifah and imposing his will upon Pakistanis through force? Rest assured, you will never succeed in your evil aims. And prepare yourself to be sent by Allah to hell on the day you depart your useless lives on earth.

Sameer #15,Sadna:

Remember early in the game, right after 9/11 Mushrarraf came on PTV and said something to the effect of ``we have to protect our kashmir ``assets``.

perhaps, he may have meant JeM, Omar Sheikh and his mentor who both were released from Indianjail.

Jaishe Mohammad 8

``Hassan Butt AL-MUHAJIROUN Wilayah Pakistan Zilhaj 13, 1422 A.H. 27 February 2002``.

Mr Hassan Butt,the arab wannabe go fcuk yourself

and more over...Udkhul il al miqa`ad filfil al

kabeer,wa khaya ma`ali il al fam.Keef?

Sadna #10: As a regular reader of The News, I will miss investigative reporting of Kamran Khan and Amir Mateens` articles. Kamran Khan had been writing the inside stories of current regime`s running the government with gorilla warfare tactics. What surprises me the most is that Sheikh Omar Saeed was never picked up until recently with his hands in so many terrorist activities. He would have been still a free man if not for Pearl`s murder and insuing investigation by FBI. Pakistani investigation, if you recall, was not leading to him. Was it incompetence or plain protecting one of their asset?

I still would like to know: Why a British citizen granted unlimited stay in Pakistan and on what grounds?

finally, an intelligent and un-biased article on chowk.

i respect you immensely for writing this. hopefully, the murderers of Daniel Pearl will suffer the most severe punishment possible.

it`s the government`s responsibility now to eliminate such criminals from our society.

re: anwar iqbal

…..keep on writing, probing, dissecting and scrutinizing….we need journalists like you to be our collective conscious…

Jaish -e- Mohammad

re: ``It is a sad state of affairs when the whole Muslim world has an opinion of the Kuffar dying yet have nothing to say when Muslim blood is spilt, except to say “what can we do?”``

That is a patently false statement. The point of this piece was to say that journalists (regardlesss of their nationality) should be protected and respected for serving the citizen/civillian population. This principle is accepted as an international ideal in Latin American, Africa and Asia and the West.

What`s more, I doubt that you have heard or read any progressive Western media that 1. works in tandem with progressive international journalists 2. covers stories that the mainstream won`t-(in fact, I`m thinking of the story of Rita Lazar, the mother of one of the men killed in WTC. She and other women who lost loved ones in WTC went to Afghanistan to speak with and show solidarity with the Afghanis whose towns were being bombed as a protest against US bombing. Are you aware of this story? Why not?) 3. is extremely critical of US foreign policy esp. viz the Middle East and Central Asia. These sources do not make Western lives more significant than South Asian lives.

It is also extremely regrettable that you seem to think that journalists should not try to investigate events that are of grave importance; esp. when it comes to reporting on the scourge of Pakistan, the fundo groups that you have cold bloodedly excused and supported, or corrupt govts., or communal violence, etc.

Why should moderate Muslims be expected to have anything in common with these murderers? That you can find their murderous actions as a defence of Islam betrays a pathology that is THE problem in Pakistan; to use Sameer`s methaphor, Pakistan must be cured of the illness that is the fundo movement.

You speak only for yourself, Sahib.

BTW, an additional point...

On the issue of bureaucratic stodgespeke the Pakistani press seems to be wayyyyy ahead of us here in India. In fact, we seem to have the other extreme, for example in yesterday`s Economic times almost every second budget headline was an attempt at a pun (some truly pathetic). The emphasis seems to be (in India) on frothy, racy, fluidity-filled writing. Something I failed to find in the web editions of Pakistani newspapers like Friday Times. Some headlines were :``Credibility gap and threat of armed suasion``, ``Donor politics and Pakistan’s de-politicisation in practice`` ... you get the point. I tried to wade through an actual article but gave up and went back to reading tax law manuals instead :))

Am I right about my assumption? Or are there better alternatives?

Cheers,

SM