Citizenship and Identity in Pakistan Re kaalchakra # 279: I saw the words ``Cabinet`` ``Mission`` and ``Plan``. Whoa. Welcome to the 21st century. I spend my days around ideas (and laws) dating from the Colonial period. My expert analysis: Brilliant, for the time. Now they`re ideas well-past their expiry date.

All of you: You can`t predict Pakistan`s future by exclusively looking into the past. Our demographics (a majority under 30, nearly 50% of the population urbanized, a poor but widespread education system and, yes, cable TV) suggest that Partition is something that belongs in the history books (sorry for stating the obvious). There`s too much stuff going on now, and the rhetoric of Partition is not suited for today`s debates.

YLH: Let me be the devil`s advocate (you know I always agree with what you think ;): Do away with the provinces. They model is outdated anyway. Keep the Districts and the Federation. In the age of the internet and mobile phones, what does the Province do anyway (other than misuse the police)? Get the idea?

Citizenship and Identity in Pakistan YLH/Manto,

Sorry I`m jumping into this a bit late in the debate.

So, you`ve figured out that Pakistan is divided on ethnic and other social lines. I`m sorry to sound sarcastic, but this is not rocket science. I`m sure the thought has crossed other minds.

Anyway, enough sarcasm. I wanted to comment on your proposal: The Third House! Why? Why have another massive institution added to the already existing post-colonial structure. The answer is in decentralization. Decentralize. Allow local government to govern themselves. Moving from one District to another should be like crossing a border of sorts. And embrace the differences. Don`t legislate them.

Ponder this. And call when you`re next in town.

R.

Darakhat Bachao, Lahore Bachao Mantolives: You are too kind.

Kulharee: No, not turbo-charged (I`m far too eco-friendly). How about solar-powered?

Please read comments No:

4 & 5: Both have this notion that ``trees are renewable.`` But planting trees to replace fallen ones is silly. A sapling takes years to take root, and many more to grow. A grown tree is a living eco system. Where were the birds, animals and insects go? I need not get into the rather obvious argument about the importance of trees as a means of preserving heritage and beauty.

Which brings me to comment No:

6: The widen-the-road-but-save-the-fruitwallas. This is indicative of a lack of knowledge of how things work in our little Islamic Republic. The fruit wallahs and bus stands temporarily restrict the Canal Road, causing bottlenecks and subsequent delays. The Canal widening project hasn`t even considered making bus bays or moving the fruitwallas to designated market places. It is responsibility of the Town Nazims to prevent encroachments, and they have the power to provide innovate alternative solutions. They could designate the green belts as fruit markets. But no. Let`s not have innovate alternatives. Let`s have a Rs. 700 million road.

7: The lets-castrate-Shaukat-Aziz-and-prohibit-car-leasing (pretty well dealt with, in my opinion, by post No. 8). I`m eco friendly, not anti-free trade. If you have the money to lease a car, lease a car. Other places with higher car-to-person ratios than Pakistan haven`t banned the purchase of cars: They`ve regulated car usage with innovate traffic management ideas.

But by post 10, things begin to look up. Until post 18 (sorry Mantolives, but if you want those overpasses, you`ll have to pay for them yourself).

I was wondering where some of the old chowk hands were. The ones that kept me on my toes. None to be seen. Ergo, poor debate.

But then I took slight at your taking slight and, well, had a better look at some of the other posts.

And

19: I can conceed some merit to the argument with respect to the number of lanes actually using the underpasses. I can`t say the same for the veiled I-live-in-NYC (but am still Lahori)-where-there-are-no-trees-so-you-should-be-thankful-for the-tree-you-do-have argument. I don`t want development in Lahore to be like development in New York, Paris or London. I want Lahore to look like Lahore. With its trees.

You clearly mention (post 29) that, to you, Lahore is the people who live in it. That`s well for someone who doesn`t live in a city being murdered by town planners and elected representatives. Please spare a thought for those who think Lahore is more than the people who live in it. It`s my home. To me Lahore is also its historic buildings, roads and (yes) trees. Felling a tree is as great a loss of my Lahore as would be (khuda na karey, but for arguments sake) the loss of one of the people you identify the city with.

And for you eucalyptus haters out there: The euclyptus is not evil. It`s a tree. While it does consume water, please take a moment to think about the type of water the eucalyptus on the Canal consumes: it`s sewer water. So even if the eucalyptus soaks up water, it`s soaking up water which no-one else needs, leave alone drinks. And before you say ``But what about water for irrigation?`` let me say: 1) the Canal feeds into the Balloki canal, which itself is a large irrigation canal; and 2) the eucalyptus doesn`t ``steal`` this water that it consumes: It`s a huge reverse photosynthesizer which transforms that H20 into clean air. So whatever the eucalyptus is taking away in terms of water, it is replacing in terms of clean air.

Darakhat Bachao, Lahore Bachao Usually, I don`t comment on the interaction board. But after over a year`s absence from Chowk, I`m surprised at the very poor quality of debate.

IT`S NOT ABOUT THE TREES!!! IT`S ABOUT LAHORE.

If people reach the stage where they feel no problem in cutting down trees in the name of development, it is death for urban planning.

If you widen the Canal Road to cater to an expanding Lahore, you`re just putting residential traffic on the Industrial Raiwind Road (I need not argue about catering for the Motorway, as they are alternate routes).

I can`t believe some people can actually complain about the traffic on the Canal when there are roads in North Lahore which are clogged for hours on end. And instead of dealing with the high denisity commericial and industrial traffic which causes jams in North Lahore (by moving industry out of the city), people just want to be able to get to the Royal Palm five minutes quicker.

The only reason why the Canal Road will not be widened in the middle term is because three questions into why the road is widened where it is leads to the irresistable conclusion that property interests in South West Lahore are bent on getting customers to their housing schemes some 10 minutes earlier. And it`ll be scandal to reveal those names.

The very idea of widening the Canal is rooted in sleaze and corruption. And we must all be on guard against falling for temporary pleasures (like getting to dinner 10 minutes earlier) when the cost of our conveniance is bad governance.

Rafay Alam

Darakhat Bachao, Lahore Bachao The Lahore Bachao Tehreek invites any and all individuals and groups to attent a Citizens` Conference at 5pm at the Ali Auditorium on Ferozepur Road today, 30 June 2006.

The Conference will provide the people of Lahore of a forum from which they can raise their concerns about the development of their city. However, the immediate agenda of the Conference will focus on the plan to widen Lahore`s Canal Road.

In light of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court`s recent suo motu notice of this matter, the Lahore Bachao Tehreek is currently engaged in generating traffic management and urban development solutions to be placed before his Lordship. The private sector and citizens finally have their opportunity to present their case.

Attend the Conference and help the Lahore Bachao Tehreek in making Lahore the city it should be.

YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

The Nylon Descent Nazar Sahib,

Wonderful story, told with your usual sparse but sharp prose.

Incidentally, the story reminds me of a headline told to me by a journalist who worked with the Frontier Post in the 80s (I collect silly headlines). It was a story about a PAF jet crashing, with the pilot managing to save himself (was it you?). The headline read: ``Plane crashes, Pilot ejaculates.`` Classic.

Regards,
Rafay Alam

Losing It Fita Feeraz,
Chowk Editors,

Some nuggets:
``There is no denying here that losing it in Karachi can be quite different from losing it in Lahore, and a hell [sic] lot different from losing it in Peshawar.``

`` ‘rishta’ referencing. . . `` (??!!)

``[T]here is only one path for a sinful girl and that is suicide.`` (shades of the MMA)

``Girls are always usually better . . .`` (Brilliant)

``By the way the name Salim is used for our neighbors understanding as this seems to be the most popular name for Muslims in Indian movies.`` (??!!, what about Bhai?)

``The girl did not care about virginity issue and had already lost it somewhere in the levels of intellect.`` (skull-%^&$#%^, that old sex technique)

It`s a pity Boris Johnson, the former Tory Shadow Minister, was recently awarded the linguistic Booby Prize (remember Donald Rumsfeld`s ``There are known knowns, and known unknowns . . . ``) for his brilliant ``I could not fail to disagree with you less.`` Feeraz sahib would have been an excellent contender for the most baffling statement of the year (my favority is ``Girls are always usually better . . .``).

Either this article was tounge in cheek, in which case it is spot on brilliant, or Feeraz sahib should reconsider his decision to inflict upon us his fractured prose.

Rafay Alam

A Woman Scorned... How interesting. For once, chowk interacts seem to be sharing the same opinion.

Sameena, you wrote:

``And what is it with the British women to let go of themselves once they file for divorce?``

Since this piece is so obviously a cunningly diguised piece of satire, I could not take offence at the generalization above (which is kind of like asking why Paki women keep on getting themselves honour killed and, since one is beating this dead horse, why African children refuse to eat properly).

Rafay Alam

The Mullah and the Munir Report YLH,

I seem to have entered into the debate a bit late. I`ve read the Munir Report (found it in a second hand store in Defence) and also think it should be compulsory reading for every Pakistani. You`ve forgotten the most moving part of the report, the last few paragraphs, where Munir says all that was needed to avoid the 1954 riots (and the first martial law in the history of Pakistan) were two SHO`s and a DSP. Also, the augaury at the end, which I forget verbatim, but in which Munir says that if this is way Pakistan is heading, the ``Allah help us all.``

For others: The riots of 1954 were the beginning of the Blasphemy laws of Pakistan.

Rafay Alam

Problems with Co-Education Hafsa,

You have quoted from several articles, which must make you quite the expert. Tell me, did the research which concluded that girls in A-level co-ed classes were less likely to concetrate on classwork do any studies with students ages 4-13? I fail to imagine how pre-pubescent students can be as affected as hormonally crazed teenagers. For the record, A-level boys are not likely to concentrate on their chemistry practicals if they are preening themselves for the benefit of others.

I am intruiged by your assertion that women tend to perform better in the humanities. Is this just statistical data or could it be an effect of the very few women admitted to science degrees and programmes? Does this conclusion take into account, at least in Pakistan, that many parents do not support higher education for girls, let alone in the sciences?

I am shocked that no-one else in chowk has challenged some of the prejudices in your article. That said, I am in total agreement with jang #21. Let`s get the kids educated before we begin to tear them apart from the hips, if the ideas in this article are thought through.

Lastly, I believe that if we keep the women in Pakistan constantly sheltered from the real world, they will never become fully functioning members of it. I refuse to accept that someone will become ``independent and self-assured`` with the opposite sex (and indeed with the rest of society) if they are kept away from the other half of it. I know. I studied at an all-male institution.

Rafay Alam

A Weapon to Wipe Out the Arts Hammad,

1. No. The Constitution can only be amended by the process prescribed in it (special vote by the National Assembly and the Senate). The Supreme Court, which is a creation of the Constitution, cannot invoke its powers to alter the Constitution, even if it is altering an amendment itself.
2. Yes. There is a record of Parilamentary procedure. At least that`s what I`ve been told. But I wouldn`t expect the record to be accurate, or even up to date.
3. No. I`m toying with the idea, though.

Regards,
Rafay Alam

The Girl from Napoli ``I spent most of the evening standing in the corner of the noisy, darkened, common room . . . elated that I could see the Italian beauty in the room, dancing away seductively . . . and, after a while I noticed my arms were around her slender waist. I could also smell the delicate fragrance of her mouth and I was very tempted to kiss her . . .``

I`ve seen this happen a thousand times. Mr. Cool spends most of the evening hanging out with the closest wall before coming on too strong to a pretty girl. Her boyfriend story was probably just a self-defence mechanism.

That said, there is something crushingly honest about this story. Which makes it endearing. But not quite enough, sadly.

Rafay Alam

Chai! Wow. Now I will never be short of answers to life`s everyday questions. Mr. Zaki, full marks on the sheer esotericism of your trivia. And thank you for sharing it with us.

Rafay Alam

That Whore Urstruly,

Good piece. It reminds me a bit of an old joke (advance apologies for any sentiments affected):

Johnie walks home after school and asks his dad what the difference between potential and reality is. His dad thinks a bit, and then asks him to run upstairs and ask his mother whether she would ever cheat on her husband. Johnnie runs upstairs and come back down again shaking his head. ``She said no, pa,`` he tells his father. Johnnie`s dad asks him to go upstairs and ask his mother whether she would cheat on her husband for a million dollars. Johnnie runs up and returns a minute later. ``She said yes, pa.`` Johnnie`s father then asks him to run upstairs and and ask his sister whether she would sleep with Brad Pitt for a million dollars. Johnnie runs upstairs and comes back down again. ``She said yes, pa.``
``Well, Johnnie,`` says Johnnie`s father in his most somber tone, ``the difference between potential and reality is this: potentially, we could be millionaires, but in reality we are living with two whores.``

End joke. Once again I apologize for any affected sentiments.

Rafay Alam

Criminals -- or Victims of an Unjust System? In re Zakkk #12:

I don`t think the government setting up an all-female law firm would be of any use. And, the private sector is too competive for a women`s only chamber. AGHS (which is an acronym for the names of Asma Jehangir, Gul Rukh, Hina Jilani and Shehla Zia - imagine if they had named it HAGS!!) remains operational as a law firm because of its narrow scope of expertise: criminal and family law. And as far as I know, this aspect of Ms. Jehangir`s workk remains unpoliticized. Ms. Jehangir and Ms. Jilani may be called politicized for their work with the HRCP or other civil society and women`s rights groups, but not because of their law.

Nonetheless, Zakk, the point is valid. An all-woman`s law firm would attract female clients if only because, given Pakistani society and it`s ``norms`` (and I`m taking a wild chouvanistic guess here), women would find it easier to communicate to other women. However, the suggestion attracts some practical problems.

First, an all woman law firm would not attract wealthy clients. The upper classes are not given to litigating their private lives. So economics is a factor, and an all-woman`s law firm would have to survive on handouts from foreign donor organizations. Second, Pakistans male-dominated society seems to have brain washed women into believing that they can`t litigate in court. This is, of course, untrue (my wife is a practicing litigator), but the ``I-can`t-do-it`` thinking amongst the already few many women lawyers persists. Thirdly, even if you had a female law firm with female litigators, they would still be arguing cases before a male judiciary. Which brings you back to square one.

Still, the suggestion is good. But better one would be to have more women in the judiciary (especially the subordinate judiciary - the civil, sessions, district courts etc). It would also be an idea to train male judges in gender sensitivity (this exercise was carried out, I am told with some success, in Nepal).

Rafay Alam

Criminals -- or Victims of an Unjust System? Ms. Sarwar,

Can`t argue with the facts. This is a good bit of reporting. I hope it is read by the right people. I think that for a previous article of yours, I had remarked about the nature of human rights rhetoric in Pakistan. If you can recall that point, allow me to continue in that vein: It would be great to read an investigative peice on Islamic interpretations towards adultery and rape. One of the Question which could be asked is whether the Hudood Ordinance in its current form comforms with Islamic law and whether Islamic law.

Keep up the good work.

Rafay Alam