The plight of a Pakistani fan

Pakistan has just scripted a comprehensive victory over a resurgent Australian team. Arguably one of the best performances in recent memory by Pakistan, this win should rank alongside Pakistan’s clean sweep of the top-ranked England side. Pakistani fans around the world are delighted, with even higher expectations of the team for the rest of the series.

We have just witnessed a much underrated batsman become Pakistan’s most prolific century-maker. To outdo Javed Miandad and Inzimam-ul-Haq is no easy feat; yet the lack of flamboyance and substance-over-style mentality of Younis Khan may always leave him right below Pakistan’s league of legends.

We have also just seen Pakistan’s backup spin options rise up to the occasion in the absence of their premier twirler. The fact that they bowled left arm orthodox (Zulfiqar Babar) and right arm leg-spin (Yasir Shah) so beautifully in tandem is not lost on anyone.

Also just witnessed was a flurry of centuries. Ahmed Shahzad might have come a long way from the days of carefree strokeplay, but he has proved that his more sedate approach is working. Sarfraz Ahmed might be too raw on the international scene to be termed great, but he is certainly the next best thing. Any gloveman would’ve been better than a certain Akmal, but one who scores consistently against attacks as varied as Australia and Sri Lanka is certainly more than a blessing; he might just be a miracle!

That Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq and Misbah chipped in was the cherry on top for Pakistani fans. The two pacemen, Imran Khan and Rahat Ali, did what was expected of them. This was as good a team effort as possible, much better than the England whitewash, which was more of an Ajmal-Rehman show.

What does all this mean for a Pakistani fan? While rightly jubilant in their celebrations, they are also wary; never confident in their team, yet always behind them.

The average Pakistani fan of the ‘90s expected a win in every game; the average Pakistani fan now can only hope. A team with the two W’s, the two Y’s, Inzi, Shoaib and Saqi could beat the best in the world; you can’t expect that from a team whose captain divides opinion, whose best batsman has second thoughts about continuing to play, whose spinners have a total of two caps among them and whose opening combination is as steady as a camel ride during an earthquake.

The fan is wary of Pakistan’s tendency to self-combust. The same batsmen who piled on the runs in the recently concluded game against Australia can easily be knocked over for 110-odd by the same bowling lineup on the same surface in the following game.

The fan is also wary of Pakistan’s shoddy fielding. One dropped catch against a player of Warner’s caliber can turn a match on its head, and Pakistan’s fielding is extremely capable of letting a catch, and consequently a game, slip away.

The fan is also wary of the dirty politics that is synonymous with Pakistani cricket administration. The only position that has changed hands more often than our openers has been the chairmanship of the board. The whims of the Patron in Chief constantly clash with the supposed supremacy of the courts in the land of the pure, and who knows when the next clash of the egos will take place, and what or who that clash will bring in.

The fan is also wary of the captaincy merry-go-round that has become the norm in Pakistan cricket. We have involuntarily been trained to accept whoever shows up at the toss as our captain for that game, and no more.

The fan is also wary of the sudden retirements and consequent retractions that have been the result of changes in administration, captain, coaching staff, or the state of mind of the retiree in question.

And lastly, the fan is wary of corruption, namely the next fixing scandal, constantly doubting a player’s failure, a captain’s decision. Every time Pakistan loses from a position of parity if not dominance, whispers of match-fixing start doing the rounds. Every no-ball is looked at with skepticism, every dropped catch with suspicion of malice.

This is a brief period of celebration for the Pakistani cricket fan. Expectations are high, but we have learnt from the past. We might never be able to replicate the success of our past greats, but we will keep looking forward to the emergence of a new one. We will learn to make do with what we have and hope. The typical Pakistani fan will remain optimistic, but only cautiously so!

Being un-Islamic in an Islamic Republic

There is a picture doing the rounds on social media websites among Pakistanis. It concerns one of the leading Urdu language newspapers Jang. Apparently the newspaper reported the occurrence of a press conference, held by the Qadiani community. Nothing significant, as far as news goes, with the topic of discussion in the said conference vague. 

The comments on the right of the picture have been added on by some dim-witted conspiracy theorist with access to internet and an image editing software. For those of you that do not read Urdu, this is what it says:
"News and a picture about Qadiani's press conference was published by The Daily Jang, 27th March, 2012, Page Number 12. It can be inferred that GEO and Jang are following the agenda of Jewish Lobby(ist)s. Please share"

How on earth did a picture of a news conference, whose subject is not discussed, suddenly become Jewish agenda? What else is the role of a newspaper, than to report news?? What is the Jewish agenda??? And when did anything that does not conform to the religious beliefs of the majority become a conspiracy???

I understand the general sentiment that Qadiani's do not believe in the true form of Islam. But just because I understand how people might see them differently does not mean that I agree with them. Who are we to judge, right? But the thing that irks me the most is the fact that just because someone has different beliefs than you, he/she becomes a foreign agent, or a spy, or at the very least, unpatriotic. I have friends who are devout Hindus, and die-hard Pakistanis. Decades of brainwashing, starting from the time of Dictator Zia-ul-Haq, has resulted in Pakistanis thinking that Muslim and Pakistani is the same thing, and that you cannot be a Pakistani without being a Muslim first. 

Oh how un-Islamic this Islamic Republic of ours has become!!!

Karachi - the City of Chaos (formerly known as the City of Lights)

Ah Karachi... the memories that it brings are endless!

I was reminiscing about the city the other day, and counting the resons for which I loved the city. It was vibrant, never asleep like Islamabad; multi-cultural, unlike Lahore; and I had the best group of friends and family there, always just a short, adventurous bus-ride away.

Sure Karachi has always had its share of problems. But the people were resilient, working their way through all of them. It was part of everyday life.

I remember joking with friends that I couldn't breathe in the States because the air was too clean and did not have enough diesel-engine smoke! I remember everyone from the mohalla stepping out of their homes during the continuous load-shedding. What I don't remember is anyone complaining about it! We were immune to these trivial details and knew how to live.

I remember Tariq Road on chaand raat, Urdu Bazaar for books, the oily beaches at Sea View, the snooker joints, and the cyber cafes.

I remember the rich spending their money at Zamzama, and the not-so-rich doing the same at Zainab Market.

I remember Highway karahi, Student biryani, Silver Spoon, Dhoraji gola gandas, halwa puri, paan-walas, and chai parathas.

The events of the recent past have forced me to rethink about the city that I once thought was among the best. The fact that Karachi was multi-ethnic was it's greatest asset. Everyone thrived in Karachi (or at least did better than wherever they'd come from). People from Peshawar and Quetta, from interior Sindh, to Pind (no offense), from Afghanistan to Bangladesh, were all happy to be here.

Which brings us to the question: what changed? Nothing, if you ask me. Nothing but the groups of faces have changed since partition. We, as Pakistanis, are, and have always been one of the most discriminating, prejudiced and confused people.

We, as Pakistanis, have differences among Muslims and Non-Muslims; within Muslims, as Shi'as and Sunnis; within Sunnis, as Wahabbis and Hanafis; and sometimes, within them, as Syeds and non-Syeds, or as Ahl-e-Hadees and Ahl-e-Sunnat.

We, as Pakistanis, have differences among Punjabis and Pashtuns; among them as those who speak correct Punjabi/Pashto and those who don't; among Karachiites and Sindhis (although Karachiites are technically Sindhis); within Muhajirs as Delhi-walay/Biharis etc.

These differences have been ever-present. What have we done to eliminate them? Nothing! If a milli naghma could have solved all our problems, then 'Main Bhi Pakistan Hoon' would have done it decades ago.

So the violence in Karachi is not as much a case of deteriorating law and order, as one of confused ideologies and identities. And let us start taking blame for our own problems, instead of taking the cowardly route of blaming the goras for their 'divide-and-rule' policy. We choose to be divided. And they choose to rule!

A show of force by the Police, Rangers, or the Army will not solve the root cause of the problem. It might help curb the violence on a temporary basis, but a longer-term, more permanent solution will take years, if not decades, to be implemented. Let us hope that the powers that be, for once, think about the prosperity and future of the City of Chaos, and bring it back to life... Make our city the City of Lights again!

Amen.

This post was also published by The Word Theatre at http://thewordtheatre.com/2014/08/06/karachi-the-city-of-chaos/