Scream

Vereesh #47: `` then ignore the other more pressing reasons for screaming in POK/Azad Kashmir? I mean, what were these ``screamers`` doing when the complete female gender, full civilisations and a variety of cultures were being wiped out``

Your sympathy for Azad Kashmiris is neither required, nor necessary. We are pretty happy with Pakistan.............There seems to be a great desire, in you, to speak for Kashmiris. Is it for the well-being? Why not let them speak for themselves.

As someone who has close ties to the place (apparently not as close as you), I cannot see any truth in your statement. Azad Kashmir would be nowhere, had it not been for Pakistan. Azad Kashmiris realize that. I would be working as a bus driver in Indian Kashmir had it not been for Pakistan. Or I would be fighting for independence in Srinagar. Or I would be dead......

I say all of this quite seriously. Pakistani Kashmir takes far more from Pakistan than it gives back, economically. At the same time, Kashmir and the areas that have been affected, have a child literacy rate of 75%. As for women, those in Azad Kashmir villages are amongst the most liberated in any village area that I have seen in Pakistan. My family village in Azad Kashmir has a girls college. Hard to find one in too many other villages in Pakistan........

I regularly look for Indian Muslims and specifically Indian Muslim Kashmiris in IT in USA. I have found a few Indian Muslims. But have yet to find a single Indian Muslim Kashmiri. Not one My own family, apprently, has more Muslim Kashmiris in IT than all of Indian Kashmir.

So rest assured, no one in Azad Kashmir has been wiped out, nor are they screaming against Pakistan. Now if you want to create that myth, it only exposes you. But it is not the truth. In fact, on occassion, I feel embarrased at some of the advantages Azad Kashmiris take, vis-a-vis affirmative action in Pakistan. Also, sometimes I feel embarrased at the amount of money expat Azad Kashmiris, from UK, spend on building huge houses in Mirpur etc., while expecting Pakistan to look after the infrastructure development in Kashmir.

If that doesn`t convince you, you may want to look at the crime statistics. Azad Kashmir is the most non-violent place in Pakistan. Perhaps in all of South Asia. It is orders of magnitude safer than the rest of Pakistan. Northern areas, barring the recent violence in Gligit, have been even safer................

It is sad to see you try to score politcal points, at the expense of this tragedy............But if you are bent upon scoring political points, please try to come up with some valid ones.......These are almost as incorrect as your chemist in Rawalpindi theory.........

Pakistanis have themselves so far collected more than FIVE BILLION RUPEES in cash ie an equivalent of 833 Million $. This does not include the aid in medecines, food and basic nessecities of life dumped on the major road heads. There are over one hundred field hospitals with surgical units. The nation is galvanised manifested in north bound long lines of trucks from Hassanabdal and Murree. They come from every corner of Pakistan and from every segment of society. Just as a case in point, the entiore demolition works in Islamabad was done by the earth moving equipment of private contracters like SKB, HAKAAS and HASNAIN.

The measure of tragedy is perhaps still underestimated. The enitre world community owes to assist and not help. Specially those who call us allies must. If Indians wish to score a few brownies while representing a narrow segment, lets not be digressed and lets move on. There is plenty of work to do.

I am surprised at the mentality of umair khans on this board. They are begging for NATO planes. Will they ask NATO planes to also arrive without crew? Why not?

It appears that begging ``Goras`` for relief is ok. If neighbourstry to help than you will start putting conditions.

Romair saheb commented what will Indian soldiers do. India has one or largest pool of medical professionals in world. Indian army para-medics could have easily been para-dropped in remote areas. They are trained to walk long distances with all their medical supplies. How many life that could have saved? But it seems that Pakistan will allow its 100,000 Kashmiris to die rather than accepting help from India.

Gentlemen and ladies,

Who gives a s.... ? about breakup of pakistan etc. There are young children, women and men dying. Is chowk doing something to help these people ?

kidbeegorilla #43: ``why don`t you just come out and say ``real pakistanis not mohajirs``.``

I have no idea what you are talking about. What does my comment have to do with Muhajirs?

Re: # 39, Ijaz, the disaster is, and no pun intended, about a Pakistan being broken.

The essay talks about screaming to bring a specific disaster to the notice of the world. Fair enough.

But should the world, which includes India, then ignore the other more pressing reasons for screaming in POK/Azad Kashmir? I mean, what were these ``screamers`` doing when the complete female gender, full civilisations and a variety of cultures were being wiped out under the earthquakes of fundamentalism and jihad camps?

Yes, there is a disaster currently causing grief in POK/Azad Kashmir. But it is not only the earthquake.

#24 Urstruly. that cartoon is positively sick. you think the citizens of USA and UK are that hard-hearted to laugh over Pakistan`s tragedy? I wonder how many of your own hard-earned tax-deductible dollars you have donated to charities in this ``alligator-tears`` way?

Ehsan Faramosh.

re: #27 Romair: While many of Pakistan Muslim friends have helped greatly, like Turkey, UAE and Saudi Arabia.

Turkey is Muslim. Says who? Try saying that to someone from that country and see what you get.

btw umair, I`m not rich enough for my scream to be heard.

it`s more effective if people with ten abbreviations after their name, or ten digits in their bank accounts, do the screaming, and not on chowk... in the WSJ/WP/NYT/CNN etc.

re Romair #12 ``It is in situations like this where one finds out who cares. And all the caring has come from the West of Pakistan, not the East.......... ``

I have no words to express my disgust. Romair, why don`t you just come out and say ``real pakistanis not mohajirs``.

(long post)

ijaz:

this is what i wrote earlier:

***

…this in itself is a scream…albeit full of anguish and pathos…and screams have a short shelf life

…i fully agree with what you say…we in the diaspora should shove this in the face of our friends, acquaintances and politicians…am not sure of the four week window…but that is a minor quibble…

…however

…if we were to learn from past history…what we euphemistically refer to as ‘the world’ will largely forget this ‘quake in a very short time like it has forgotten equal or greater tragedies in its past...

…and again if history be the teacher…the locals can with grit and determination overcome this adversity...

…it is a long haul process…and our efforts and those of others with goodwill should be directed towards the long haul…and from within our (very limited) resources…

***

to reiterate...in the months and years to come the brunt of the job has to be borne by us...we need clear and long term commitment and thinking... the task is daunting and arduous...collectively we can do it...will we? that is a question no one can answer today...

ijaz, from the diaspora screaming can only achieve so much...it can lull us into a false sense of misplaced thinking that we are doing something...that ius not enough...what we really should be doing (in addtion to some screaming) is to think long haul:

* continue collecting funds here
* channelising them to accountable groups with proven track record with the help of you and others who are there
* cut down on our excessess and flauntings ( shaadis/clebrations/hajs) and redirect the savings toward rebuilding
* start thinking in terms of helping those rebuild their lives...e.g. sewing machines for widows... and more

rgds

t

ENOUGH of this BEGGING mentality!

Pakistan should spend money on disaster preparations than millitary. Break the vaults of millions of faujis and feudals to get the black money to pay for the relief.

The west shouldn`t give a penny to any of the beggar nations.

Most of the aid ends up in the wrong hands anyways.

Ijaz Gul that someone : Veeresh/Kulharee

Thought I`d name them... they want to score their brownie points at the expense of poor earthquake victims.

Someone has cleverly detracked the discussion from disaster to a hypotheses of breaking Pakistan. Its better we get back to the subject. The hypotheses can be deliberated in a seperate essay if the author wishes to publish it.

Re: # 36

Manto, have you heard the news in camp Delta that there were 3 huge bomb explosions in Baghdad this morning near the hotels where reporters are staying? Manto, only idiots will be worried about the Unity of Pakistan at this time, Victims of this tragedy in Kashmir could give a fk about the “Unity” of Pakistan. They need tents and medical attention. Take my word for it. What the hell does Unity of Pakistan has to do with the tragedy of Kashmir? Are you for real?

Umair, excellent writing. The following analysis appeared in the Financial Times.

Political progress shaken by Pakistan`s earthquake
By Jo Johnson

That the west is failing earthquake-stricken Pakistan - and will pay a heavy price for doing so - there can be little doubt. The relentlessly mounting official death toll stood at 48,000 in Pakistan alone on Friday, with Jan Egeland, United Nations emergency relief co-ordinator, predicting the final figure could be twice as high. Many more are severely wounded:officially 67,000, but Mr Egeland sees up to three times that number. Some 3m people - six times the New Orleans population - are homeless and 500,000 have yet to receive any aid at all.

Within 48 hours of the earthquake it was clear that such a disaster would be beyond the capacity of any one country to handle. The international community`s response, however, has been glaringly deficient. The UN`s flash appeal for $312m (€261m) to fund its emergency operations has received barely a quarter of that amount. A similar appeal at the time of the Asian tsunamis, which killed more people but left many fewer injured and homeless, was fully funded within days. Some aid agencies were so deluged by donations that they turned money away.

With the Himalayan winter days off, resentment is mounting in Pakistan at the disparity in the west`s reaction to the two events. Two weeks on, aid has still not reached a fifth of villages and is inadequate in areas where it has. The UN, hindered by logistical challenges, on Thursday called for a second ``Berlin airlift``, saying it had distributed only 30,000 tents, less than 10 per cent of those needed, and that its warehouses were empty. Kofi Annan, UN secretary-general, said the spread of disease and gangrene makes a second wave of deaths more likely by the day.

Anyone who believes that this is just another earthquake in an earthquake zone, essentially the type of humanitarian tragedy that strikes vulnerable parts of the world from time to time, is mistaken. This has all the makings of a political disaster whose repercussions will be felt - not just in Kashmir and the two countries that vie for control over it - but also, in all likelihood, in western capitals that will become even more attractive targets for terrorists who believe Kashmiri Muslims were failed in their hour of need by a wealthy and heartless west.

That the peace process will end up a collateral victim of the earthquake when it could have received an important boost from it is one of the most unfortunate consequences of the inadequate relief effort. New Delhi and Islamabad have agreed small measures, such as the re-establishment of telephone links across the Line of Control and the sending over of food, blankets and medical equipment in an Indian military cargo aircraft, and more may follow. Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan`s president, has floated the idea of temporarily opening the de facto border to allow Kashmiris to visit relatives.

But on the most substantive question, that of Indian helicopter assistance, the two countries have butted heads and provided an object lesson in how to miss the bigger picture. With only 40 helicopters in theatre in the vital first week that followed the earthquake - there are now 60, with 19 more on the way - Pakistan lacked the airlift to reach millions in remote areas. Gen Musharraf at first flatly rejected the Indian offer, citing ``sensitivities``. After much criticism he said this week that he would accept them after all, but only without Indian pilots, a proposal New Delhi scotched.

The jihadi groups that oppose the peace process have taken advantage of the administrative vacuum in parts of Pakistani Kashmir, stepping into provide medical supplies, clean water and food to some of the hardest hit areas. If this, as seems plausible, generates more support for the separatist cause among Kashmiris, militants will continue to infiltrate into India and find easy refuge among the families and friends of those they have been helping the other side of the Line of Control. India will find itself unable to scale down its unpopular and intrusive military presence.

Pakistan`s military establishment has therefore abetted the jihadi groups who feared the earthquake would be a political godsend for the Indian army by allowing it to reinvent its relations with a Kashmiri population used to seeing it as an occupying force with a deplorable human rights record. The thing jihadis in Azad (Free) Kashmir, as Pakistanis call their half of the territory, feared most was to see Indian pilots dropping manna from the skies like angels of mercy and undermining deep-held prejudices about the nature of ``Hindu India``. As a result, we are all victims of 8/10.