In my last post, I mentioned the then breaking story that the Pakistan Telecomm Authority was in the process of blocking YouTube from the country. The "reason" given a video that was disrespectful to "An Hazrat, Maulana Mohammad, Rasul Allah", as we are wont to say in Pakistan, or "The Gentleman, Our Lord, Mohammad, Prophet of God". Of course, amongst our wonderful, patriotic Pakistanis, there were the immediate questions about whether that in itself was a rumour or documented. Well, please do take a look at one of the documents that went out from the Pakistan Telecomm Authority to the ISP's on Siliconstani's blog.
The suspicions on the part of the grapevine is that this blocking/censorship happened when it happened because of videos that were ending up on YouTube of vote rigging--both in Karachi and Lahore and elsewhere. Though the brunt of the suspicion is about videos of rigging in Karachi, and pro- the MQM.
But, wait! There's more!!! Breaking news right now is that the way the regulatory organizations for the Internet in Pakistan went about blocking YouTube has caused an outage/inaccessibility of the site globally! Check out the BBC report here:
The first thing that went through my head when I saw that story was that people like me often hear from fellow Pakistani expats that we should not discuss our home country's dirty laundry in public--you know, like raising Internet censorship at meetings where Pakistan's technology industry is being discussed. I wonder what they think of sweeping our issue under the rug till a SNAFU like this happens does for the much-maligned Image of Pakistan that our PUPPIES (Pakistani Yuppies) keep talking about.
Interesting thing is, as I was saying earlier to someone, this case illustrates beautifully the issues related to censorship. If you accept that censorship is okay in some circumstances (the one that the British set the precedent for in South Asia just happens to be hurting the sensibilities of major communities--today's Shining India also continues to ban stuff on that basis, from Rushdie to blogs), then governments will inevitably use the power either ineptly, or maliciously.
Now, I am not one to buy into American exceptionalism, and am often the one in a discussion amongst immigrants to challenge the "Milk and Honey" view of our lives in this country, but the First Amendment to the US Constitution is written the way it is for a reason: "Congress shall make NO law restricting the freedom of speech". No if's, and's and but's; it's something even the US Supreme Court has never really lived up to. There is no such thing, as someone once said, as "being a little bit pregnant". Either you're okay with censorship, or you aren't.
The right way to control harmful speech, or offensive speech is NOT governmental control. It is in society; if you're offended, use the avenues reserved for that offense. If you harmed, use the methods for restitution of that harm. In some societies, it is law suits and other legal action (used to be that was what Muslims believed in, too); in others it is duels with a choice of weapon at dawn.
I am sorry, but I have paid a personal price in my life because I refused to live in the Gulf. Both my dear mother and my father-in-law would have loved it for me to take a job there and be nearer to them. And as for Pakistan, I cannot with a straight face keep on complaining about a "Show Cause Notice" from the Zia Regime for a small, very small Christmas message I put on the Contents page of a youth magazine in 1987 and yet say it is okay to block YouTube or Facebook. My conscience won't let me. If I am okay with the latter, then I should be okay with the former.
Censorship is censorship. If you're okay with censorship, please say so. I am not.
There's an old (from our youth :p) Bollywood song that goes "Main ro'oon ya hansoon; karoon mai kyaa karoon?!" or "Should I cry or laugh; To do, what do I do?"
Users subscribing to the Internet though the PTCL (Pakistan Telecom Corporation Limited, the semi- or formerly-government-owned corporation), in particular, have been getting the following message today if they tried to access YouTube:
-------------- Dear Internet Users
Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (www.pta.gov.pk)has directed all ISPs of the country to block access to www.youtube.com web site for containing blasphemous web content/movies.
The site would remain blocked till further orders from PTA. Meanwhile, Internet users can write to youtube.com to remove the objectionable web content/movies because this removal would enable the authorities to order un-blocking of this web site.
Best Regards
Manager Technical Assistance Center Micronet Broadband Pvt. Ltd. Islamabad -------------
Program 10 of Azad Karachi Radio, the Urdu podcast I produce, is now online. The first program of 2008 has guest Mehdi Hasnain join iFaqeer and Cemendtaur to discuss the American Elections, the Pakistani situation and events with Ayesha Siddiqa in California as well as a media item.
Formally speaking, Azad Karachi Radio is produced out of Silicon Valley and is a service of Azad South Asia, a collaborative media effort initiated by yours truly and Cemendtaur. You can reach the team at iFaqeer@gmail.com or leave comments on either this blog or at Azad Karachi Radio.
Again, please leave comments, feedback, suggestions, and other input by posting comments on our blog pages or via email at iFaqeer@gmail.com.
Kabul; Britain; Putting a Face on Blogging and Civil Society in Pakistan...
Sorry I have been MIA for a bit. A couple or three things jump out from the New York Times, NPR and the 'Net this morning.
Firstly, there's an op-ed in the NYT this morning by the country director for the Institute of War and Peace Reporting providing his personal perspective about the bombing of the Serena Hotel in Kabul, a watering hole (and just a place to hole up) for expats, particularly. And there have been other stories about Afghanistan in The Times, on NPR, other places in the last few days. It seemed to hit me; is it a coincidence that the Western Media and Zeitgeist is sitting up and noticing--or should I say acknowledging, since some information has always been around--that Afghanistan is down the tubes because the Taliban, as Mr. McKenzie tells us, have now started a policy of targeting westerners?
As I have said umpteen times, until we sit up and notice that the folks who are adopting the niqaab in Britian today are not adopting the traditional ways of Muslims, but something new, we are only going to continue headlong towards the abyss as a planet. After all, does it make any sense to, on the one hand, say that the radicals are a throw-back to medieval times and that "[o]ne meets an increasing number of British Muslim[s]... who are saying … you should go back to the veil, you should go back to our traditional ways" on the one hand and then admit that, for one, the "Hizbut Tahrir's goal is to promote a global Islam, cleansed of all ethnic or cultural traditions." I mean, think about that!
As I have acknowledged before, it is good to see folks (including Muslims, especially in Britain--the US is a generation or so behind in these matters, but what can one do about that? some things just have to run their course) finally engage with the fanatical tendencies within Muslim communities in a more detailed way. But until and unless we all--both outsiders and within the community--stop framing the discussion as, how did Sylvia Poggili put it? being the discussion between people who are "secular" and those who are "devout"; between those who think Sharia is a good idea and those who are against it, we are doomed to have the "Clash of Fundamentalisms" be a self-fulfilling prophecy. Until we start to think about what parts of the Muslim Ideological landscape--like the equivalents in other faith communities and ethnic groups and so on--are the ones from which terrorism and militant, inflexible fanaticism stem and until even us Muslims stop saying this is just about Islam versus the West or that this modern neo-purist strain that is so dominant today is the same as "traditional Islam"--or, worse, The One True, Pure Islam as practised by The Prophet--we're up the wrong creek without a paddle.
And lastly, a shout-out to my peeps, so to speak. There's a clip on Google Video today of an interview with two of Pakistan's most prominent bloggers on an English-language breakfast show. Well worth watching, what with Pakistan in the news in such a big way.
Mohsin Hamid's latest op-ed is pretty good. Recommended reading for anyone who wants to know how things looked/look from the perspective of the every day life in Pakistan. You can read it here, on the Washington Post site.
I attended a talk by him at Stanford last year, and my first reaction was that what he was saying, the world view and experiences were the experiences of any Pakistani of our age and station, so to speak. (I think he's about a year older than me.) And he writes well. It's good to have him around, with his facility with English and "global" culture to bring that voice, that view of the world to the table. And given his visibility and position as a globally-best selling author, to have what he says read and noticed.
Of course, I am still very disappointed with him and others of our generation and/or background--and this even includes, to some extent, folks like Imran Khan, who made sympathetic noises--for initially supporting the military take-over in 1999. But more on that as and when I can write--or maybe some readers can comment and discuss that aspect.
Funeral Services for Benazir Bhutto...and a word on the religious tenor of the Bhuttos
Just learnt that a Ghayabana Namaaz-e-Janaza is going to be held for Benazir Bhutto after/with Friday prayers at the Masjid-e-Farooq-e-Azam in Concord, California. I am told it is off the Clayton Exit, across from the Safeway and near the BART Station and there will be a prayer meeting (Du'a) at the BART Station afterwards.
Sorry about the late notice, but I just found out.
There will most probably be services in other places around the world. Please feel free to post information in the comments section here to inform others.
For those not familiar with the concept, "Namaz-e-Janaza" is the South Asian name for the Muslim prayer said at a person's bier before he or she is interred. There is a tradition of saying the exact same prayer "ghayabana", or "in absentia", in situations like this where a lot of people not physically present at the burial want to participate (or in cases where a body is not found; but that's another story).
As a matter of clarification, I am forwarding this not because I am a fan or follower of Benazir, her father, or the PPP, but for all their faults and follies, both she and her father were in a tradition of South Asian and/or Muslim leaders going back at least to Akbar, who chose to make at least a public connection with the more folksy interpretation of their constituencies' faith(s).
In my book, she gets credit for being the only Muslim leader I have ever heard invoke Ijma, the Islamic concept of consensus as a source of community self-governance .
The discussion on KQED about Benazir's passing and it's aftermath went well and the audio archive should be available at:
Benazir Bhutto, "Daughter of Pakistan, Daughter of the Muslim World", RIP
At least a couple of people have wondered why I haven't posted anything on my blog. Folks have been asking why I haven't posted anything. Been distracted because my wife and kids were en route to Karachi. Finally had them rerouted directly to Delhi from Hong Kong, skipping Karachi for now.
I hope to write and post. For now, you can catch me on The Forum on KQED tomorrow morning.
Notes on the quote on the subject and on the photo above: The photograph above often appears on Wikipedia articles and updates about Benazir. It is an image I captured myself at Chandini Restaurant in Newark California on September 28th, 2004 and made available under GPL License through that site. (See articles on my blog here and here.) The quote is from President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan, the person she met as her last official appointment.
"Civil Society" has become the new touch phrase in Pakistani politics. And it's gotten to the point where people express the same kind of cynicism about it that is usually reserved for words like "Islamist", and "War on Terror", and, well, "Progressive Islam". A friend on one of our alumni mailing lists was getting pretty disgusted by Nawaz Sharif's piling on to the Civil Society bandwagon.
And in our own situation in Pakistan, it is important to keep people honest in their language.I think it would go go a long way towards a better society.
Geo Taken Off the Air by the UAE...but how is this surprising?
The word going around about the Dubai/UAE government forcing the Geo Television Network (or parts thereof) off the air is "shocking"...
Miriam Webster defines "shocking" as " extremely startling, distressing, or offensive".
Offensive, yes. But startling? Unless you were--and most of us were--in denial, how is this startling? Distressing, well, if your world view was built on absolute monarchies doing the right thing more often than not, than yes, I can see how it would distress you to see them do othewise.
Startled I am not. My dear mother would have loved for me to live and work in the Gulf and I always said “Pinjra pinjra ho tha hai; chahay sonay ka ho.” [A cage is a cage, even if it is made of gold.] The places are absolute monarchies and they have always had very good relations with Pakistani governments, especially absolute Pakistani governments.
You’ve seen all those creepy photos of George Bush rubbing up against Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf, the two of them grinning and giggling like they’re going to the senior prom. So it’s hard to remember that it was Hillary and Bill who brought Pervez to the dance in the first place.
To me, the point that article makes is that bad foreign policy that most often flies in the face of democratic ideals and the best interests and aspirations of the "natives"--not to mention the longer-term interests of America and its people--is a bi-partisan epidemic in the US, and we shouldn't forget that. Venting all our frustrations at placards of George W. Bush might feel good but is not going to help anybody in the medium-to-long term. What we need to do is to try and help the whole US establishment see the light...
Into the marketplace with bejewelled limbs we go...
... so said Faiz Ahmed Faiz, probably the most popular poet of revolution in the latter half of the 20th century in South Asia; Pakistan, India, and particularly on the Left.
South Asia has a very rich tradition of poetry, one which draws on both the spiritual tradition that gave the world Rumi and Khayyam, and the revolutionary spirit of the last century or two. And because of the Sufi tradition it is steeped in, allegory, depth of meaning, and multi-faceted verbiage is the norm, rather than the exception. The words "Aaj bazaar main pa-bajaolaan chalo..." are probably some of the most recognized word. The "jewels" being described are, for the uninitiated, the ball and chain of oppression. Here's the poet himself reciting the poem, with English sub-titles, followed by one of the best renditions of the poem with music, in this case with an overlay of dramatic video:
[You can read the piece by Dr. Adil Najam, where I first found this video, here.]
But wait, the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists has sent out a poster that puts these words above a poster that just needs to be seen to be believed. You couldn't, as we say, make this stuff up:
Please check in regularly at WikiPakistan's Emergency 2007 pages:
I have been away from blogging since September 19th or so, except of very short and situational pieces. I was back in Pakistan for family reasons this last week. When I left Pakistan Friday evening local time, Emergency was just a rumour. I had just attended an event the evening before with some journalists, bloggers, activits, and other members of Civil Society titled "Take Back Karachi". (Details at: http://www.t2f.biz/karachi/ -- they've added a graphic about the emergency.)
When I got off the plane at JFK, I saw a typically short report on CNN that Emergency had been imposed and immediately started Facebooking with a couple of journalists on the ground in Pakistan. Since then, it seems like Pakistanis are starting to step up to their moment of truth.
But first here's a flashback for those who missed it; it's a former head of Pakistan's much-mentioned ISI saying, the day before "Da Proclamation", that if Martial Law is proclaimed--and he points out that a constitutionally-mandated "Emergency" is not an option--civil society should step up and push back:
As Adil says, people see a picture and all they feel is shame for the 5 policemen beating up a lawyer; I feel nothing but pride, for I see one Pakistani putting his self on the line for his principle. People see a media blackout; I see journalists that a dictator has no choice but to ban.
As with the earthquake in 2005, we have started information collection at:
(By way of background, WikiPakistan is an Information Database about Pakistan, Pakistanis and the diaspora hosted by Wikia, a community destination supporting the creation and development of wiki communities and run by a lot of the same people who run the Wikipedia. The site is at http://pakistan.wikia.com/ and background information can be seen at http://pakistan.wikia.com/wiki/Pakistan:About . It is an open database that anyone can edit and is developed under a Free Document License. [Contributors should be aware that if they choose to post material there directly, they are agreeing to release it under the GNU Free Documentation License. Please see www.wikia.com and WikiPakistan for further details.] Contributors are encouraged to click on the “Create an account or log in” link in the top righthand corner of every page and create an account. You do not need to provide any personal information.)
You can read more, and find links to more, on the pages referred to above. More later.
As of 11 am Eastern, before I got on a plane to SFO all electronic media was down in Pakistan. There is talk of a Code of Conduct being put in place for media. For unvarnished updates out of Pakistan, here's where to start:
Metroblogging Karachi http://karachi.metblogs.com/ While the blog is constantly being updated about the events as they unfold, I am sure there would be concerns about law and order situation in the city.
PS, 7:10 pm Pacific/7:10 am Pakistan ST: We're all assessing what's going on. The words "Martial Law" keep being used. Technically, the government is trying to pass this off as a constitutionally-defined "Emergency". There's a difference.
For Civil Society in Pakistan--the media, the human rights activists, the lawyers, and the bloggers--this is our moment of truth and the folks on the ground need all the help, support, encouragement and recognition they can get.
The news going around in Pakistani circles is the fact that one of our own is the one of the Convening Lead Authors in the team that shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore. [And of course, the team is chaired by another South Asian; Rajendra Pachauri.]
Pakistani scientist in Nobel team -DAWN - National; October 14, 2007 http://www.dawn.com/2007/10/14... WASHINGTON, Oct 13: Pakistani professor Adil Najam, now teaching at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, US, is amongst the team of scientists and experts in the Intergovernmental ...
Over the years, I have come to know Dr. Najam rather well, and have learned from and been inspired by him:
In the idiom of South Asian sport, Well Played, Adil Bhai; Bahoth Aala, Adil Bhai!
PS: From a comment Dr. Najam posted on Pakistaniat.com:
Thank you to all for their kind wishes and congrats. I should add, however, that the Nobel was awarded to the work of the IPCC (a panel of eminent global climate change experts), so I am just one of the many experts on that Panel. I have served on the IPCC for some 8 years, the last many as a Convening Lead Author. So, yes, it does feel terrific to have one’s work and research celebrated by the Nobel Committee, but it really is an honor shared by many (including by Dr. Tariq Banuri who played a leading role in the IPCC’s evolution in the past). Some links: Dawn, Boston Globe, The Fletcher School.
Adil Najam's recent post on Pakistaniat is quite a cry of pain and a call to arms; he's not someone that jumps into political frays--least of all on a site he's invested blood, toil, tears, and sweat in building over the last year and a half as an inclusive space. Do read it.
Over the weekend, I got quite an education on the history of violence on Pakistani campuses--most specifically, the one I ended up on in the late 80s-early 90s--at an alumni convention here in Silicon Valley, and will post my thoughts on that as soon as I can. (I am trying to tone them down.)
And the point is not that I think no one has the right to hold the political, theological or social opinions the Taliban, the Jamaat, or anyone else holds. But subverting the writ of the state is not in the tradition of The Prophet of Islam. (SAW) He did not take up arms until a community elected him Head of State and he was at the head of a government.
I just heard the anchor--not a guest, the anchor--of a news show confront a member of the federal cabinet on live TV about their attitude towards the press. "Why don't you just go ahead and ban the press--put us all in jail?" he said.
And it wasn't the US of A (sorry folks!) or Western country--but it was in a Muslim country; the 2nd largest Muslim country.
And a lot of people--including Aitzaz Ahsan, the lawyer for the famous Chief Justice case--have been going around they are ashamed of their country today, and that the events in Pakistan on September 10, 2007 lower the moral standing of Muslims in this day and age. I am not.
I am very, very proud of Pakistan and Pakistanis today. And I am especially proud and honoured to have been a member of the Pakistani press; and a Muslim who works in media when I can.
You can watch Talat Hussain and the news organization he heads at:
The piece is rather well-written, isn't it? Mazaaq-hee-mazaaq-main (In jest) it actually lays out the political topography of Pakistan right now rather well: We have two flawed "democrats" and a military strongman hogging the democratic aspirations of the 2nd largest Muslim country in the world (and the 2nd largest South Asian/6th largest over-all), while the people grasp at straws and the "Great Powers" play their games, while the neo-purist revolutionaries gain ground...
Pakistan and the US; Not Just An Open Letter to the Obama Campaign
I just sent this to the Obama campaign--the point raised goes way beyond the Senator's presidential fortunes:
Re: The war we need to win
You know, the funny thing is, a major presidential candidate recently said:
"And Pakistan needs more than F-16s to combat extremism. As the Pakistani government increases investment in secular education to counter radical madrasas, my Administration will increase America's commitment. We must help Pakistan invest in the provinces along the Afghan border, so that the extremists' program of hate is met with one of hope. And we must not turn a blind eye to elections that are neither free nor fair --our goal is not simply an ally in Pakistan, it is a democratic ally."
And no one noticed.
I don't need to tell y'all that the excerpt above is from the same Obama speech that is being quoted and re-quoted today.
If one steps back a bit, it really is very, very symptomatic of the underlying disconnect between the American establishment, in particular, and the Muslim world that in the same speech, the same gentleman that said the above and also says, describes the the Iraq War as:
"a misguided invasion of a Muslim country that sparks new insurgencies, ties down our military, busts our budgets, increases the pool of terrorist recruits, alienates America, gives democracy a bad name, and prompts the American people to question our engagement in the world..."
then advocates unilateral military action within the sovereign territory of the second largest Muslim nation in the world--five or six times as populous as Iraq. If George W. Bush is not the only one who can't formulate any polcy beyond alternating between supporting dictators with military aid on the one hand and the unilateral use of military force on the other--notwithstanding what I quote Barack Obama as having said in words that sound like wonderful music to the ears of this Pakistani resident of the US--then what hope do we have for world peace?
As a flashback, please do check out this picture of better days:
and the following blog post by Prof. Adil Najam up at Tufts:
I am copying this mail to the editors at the South Asian Journalists' Association Blog and Pakistaniat.com, probably the most popular blog in the Pakistani American community. Hopefully they will consider it or inclusion/posting.
If anyone wants to discuss these issues further, do drop me a line.
Two things. First, take a look at the lawyer in the upper right hand corner of this graphic (from Dawn, the "senior" of Pakistan's two major English dailies):
This is the man who actually led the legal battle to reinstate Pakistan's Chief Justice. I don't know, just something about his gesture of thanking The Almighty says so much. And that he's quite a dapper-looking gent doesn't hurt either.
Second point: who's this Chief Justice of Pakistan? Here's the AFP report, via Dawn:
Even detractors beginning to admire Iftikhar Chaudhry
ISLAMABAD, July 20: With his rambling, legalistic speeches and his lazy eye, Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry has become an unlikely hero for opponents of President Gen Pervez Musharraf.
The 59-year-old judge, in his signature black suit, has been showered with rose petals by tens of thousands of cheering supporters on a series of road shows since President Musharraf suspended him for alleged misconduct in March.
On Friday, the Supreme Court reinstated him and overturned the charges against him, sparking jubilant celebrations outside the court.“This man has shown a lot of courage,” said political commentator Shafqat Mahmood.
“If he had any personal mistakes in the past they have been superseded by his exemplary fight back against Musharraf.”
Justice Chaudhry’s journey began on March 9, when television footage showed him being summoned to meet Gen Musharraf, in army uniform, at his residence to answer the charges against him.
It was an unprecedented moment in the country’s 60-year history and sparked outrage among the lawyers’ community.
The charge-sheet against the Chief Justice included claims that he abused his position to land a top police job for his son and get cars he was not entitled to. He was also accused of ordering intelligence agents to spy on other judges.
The judge later said he was detained for five hours and pressured to resign by top intelligence chiefs, but refused to do so. He was kept under virtual house arrest for several days.
Ironically, Mr Chaudhry was one of the judges who validated Musharraf's takeover and dismissal of the civilian government of former premier Nawaz Sharif after a bloodless coup in 1999.
President Musharraf appointed him as chief justice in 2005 and personally swore him in -- providing the only other picture of the two men together, with Mr Chaudhry in ornate ceremonial robes and judge's wig.
But his backers say Mr Chaudhry started to anger the government by breaking with precedent and taking notice on his own jurisdiction of some 6,000 cases, particularly on human rights.
One landmark decision was the overturning of a lucrative sale of the Pakistan Steel Mills to a private consortium last year, which embarrassed its brainchild, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, and sparked allegations of corruption.
Another significant development was the way the Supreme Court used its powers to delve into the forced “disappearances” of hundreds of people, taken away by the all-powerful intelligence agencies as part of the “war on terror”.
Many of the missing people were linked to a three-year insurgency by autonomy-seeking tribal militants in Balochistan, Mr Chaudhry's home province.
The Chief Justice's crusading stance raised fears that he would cause trouble for President Musharraf ahead of presidential and parliamentary elections that are due in the coming months.
President Musharraf hopes to get himself re-elected as president-in-uniform by the outgoing parliament this year, defying the Constitution which says he should quit as head of the military by the end of 2007.
Long-term friend Hadi Shakil Ahmed said Mr Chaudhry had shown the same independent streak when they were both lawyers in Balochistan, where Mr Chaudhry joined the profession in 1974.
“He is a crusader against corruption and a staunch supporter of people's rights,” Ahmed said. “He is a workaholic and totally self-made.” Even some in the government have been won over by his stand.—AFP
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In the idiom of South Asian sport, Well Played, Adil Bhai; Bahoth Aala, Adil Bhai!
PS: From a comment Dr. Najam posted on Pakistaniat.com:
Thank you to all for their kind wishes and congrats. I should add, however, that the Nobel was awarded to the work of the IPCC (a panel of eminent global climate change experts), so I am just one of the many experts on that Panel. I have served on the IPCC for some 8 years, the last many as a Convening Lead Author. So, yes, it does feel terrific to have one’s work and research celebrated by the Nobel Committee, but it really is an honor shared by many (including by Dr. Tariq Banuri who played a leading role in the IPCC’s evolution in the past).
Some links: Dawn, Boston Globe, The Fletcher School.