We Pakistanis let defaulters go. They may stop our water, or they may climb our mountains and turn into rebels. Who will question them?
Our Army Chief, the true Field Marshal of the Pakistan Army, is doing his duty successfully. He is fighting with his soldiers against insurgents and Nawabs and Sardars funded by other countries. The result is that our brave and beautiful lions come back wrapped in roses—the roses red with the blood of our children. What splendour, what a precious aroma! Remember, we have millions more who are always ready to sacrifice, happily, for the solidarity and integrity of this country. But these traitors must be crushed completely, and every stone must be turned to wipe them from our sacred land. If we forgive them, then the leaders of Pakistan will be responsible, and such an act will be a betrayal of the nation’s solidarity and integrity. Allah and our fallen heroes will not forgive them. Why does our nation not accept that Pakistan is at war—against insurgents and professionals paid by foreign hands?
I am an old man, but Pakistan is older than me. My youth was not spent on radio or in front of television. I saw with my own eyes and heard with my own ears. I spent time with elders who had suffered every misery while fighting for freedom. Each man’s story was bitter, but each was a vital piece of history that should be remembered for centuries. But what can one say, when half our countrymen became so rich overnight that their grandchildren and great-grandchildren never needed to work hard again—just from one night in August 1947. Now, when young people see wealth come so easily, why would they study or work hard? Families turn to dishonest methods to secure the highest marks in education, and the same methods are used to obtain not just good but the very best jobs. Those who could not do this turned instead to adulterating goods, lowering quality just to make money. Even our food is in their hands.
The real tragedy is that since 1947, power in Pakistan has been held by those who were against independence. After more than 75 years, their children still rule. I have seen it with my own eyes: a federal minister enjoying protocol in a luxury car decorated with the Pakistani flag. When stopped, he asked his driver to remove the flag so that his elders could gain entry. General Pervez Musharraf was a true hero—he punished a Balochi Sardar who refused to raise the Pakistani flag on the highest mast, destroyed his Dera, and made him bow before the state. Why should other Sardars and landlords not be treated in the same way?
I now live in America and study its history from 300 years ago, when the American Army was created. From east to west, from south to north—they took a great decision. They spared no man, not even animals, if the American flag was absent from a house or stable. We are already 75 years late. That should have been our very first task after independence, but even now, there is still time. We should warn our neighbours: you have disturbed us enough. I ask again—if our Commander-in-Chief can be strengthened by the prayers of our Ghazis and the sacrifices of our martyrs, then why can those same Ghazis not take seats in our National and Provincial Assemblies? Only tested people can serve the country better than all. If this happens through the vote of Pakistani citizens, then our country will truly be a free and independent state. May Almighty God bless Pakistan.
Our rivers are overflowing. Yet in reality, as even American President Trump once said, the water is in India’s hands. They can dry out our country by storing everything in dams, or they can release it suddenly and drown our people, animals, and crops. Nobody inside Pakistan questions them, and nobody complains to international organisations. The Indus Waters Treaty clearly states that no country’s rivers should run dry. Yet India is not held accountable, and Pakistan’s water authorities are never asked why our rivers are empty. Journalists, too, should be questioned—how did you not feel the heat of the dry sand? As for politicians, I will not say anything, because when rivers dry, their children simply sell the land and earn enough money to win the next election. Rivers may dry, but their democracy remains wet. The army too crosses rivers in its exercises, so perhaps it finds dry rivers easier and does not complain.
As I said in my last article: we do not even have maps for river floods. We have no river walls, no emergency bridges, and no flood drills. For such systems to work, there must first be permanent water flow in our rivers.
