Pakistan

I am so tired. I swear. I feel like a decathlon participant. You get off from the bicycle and you are told to go to swimming contest. Pakistan too is tired like me I guess. Whoever said in China that may you live in interesting times, had definitely not been to Pakistan because then he would have said 'give me a break will ya!' (english translation of course).

Here is what I remember. In my teens, I heard a plane had crashed killing the President of Pakistan. I still remember scenes from the funeral being televised on PTV. It was huge. Zia ul Haq went out of this world in form of atoms. He also took alongside him the 11 year old dictatorship. I remember Benazir Bhuttos welcome too - but not that clearly. I guess it is the result of media censorship that Zia had. I do remember Junejo - the PM that Zia had. I remember him because his home town was Sindhrri and I used to eat mangoes called Sindhrri. He appeared so goofy, I don't know why.

I remember Benazir Bhutto becoming the first woman prime minister of country and of muslim world. I also remember the day when she was removed on corruption charges. I was dropping relatives on a bus stand in Peshawar in morning when news broke. The ensuing 'jubilant' aerial firing was so intense that I kept worrying the car that I was driving would have holes all over and my father will kill me. I also remember Ghulam Ishaq, the would be President who would remove her for corruption charges during her first term. PTV aired the contestant's for Presidentship interviews.

I remember Nawaz Sharif for motorway. And Bayinder, the Turkish company who was to make the Motorway. They left due to corruption charges, don't know who between them was corrupt. I rememeber Nawaz Sharif trying to be 'Amir ul Momineen' (leader of the faithful) in Pakistan by introducing shariah law. I saw his men storming the Supreme Court.

I remember when India tested the nuclear device. We all wondered what would happen, whether Pakistan would carry out her own nucleur tests, whether we had the capacity. I was on a trekking tour of Nanga Parbat, the 9th highest mountain of the world. It was raining when we were trekking back walking as jeeps were not coming up due to land slides. When we reached Karakoram Highway and Raikot bridge, the traffic from Rawalpindi and from Gilgit stopped due to landslides. The men from army communications gacve us shelter and there we heard that Pakistan had carried ut 5 nucleur tests. And we were all shouting, jubilant and crying out 'Allah ho Akbar'!

We used to wonder how life in Martial Law would be. Fate said wait! and we saw General Musharraf overthrowing Nawaz Sharif and coming in to power. I saw transformation of brilliant General Musharraf to an asshole President Musharraf. I saw Zardari coming out and Benazir coming in thanks to NRO - a slap on ordinary pakistanis. BB disappeared and we wre bestowed with Zaradri as President. How unlucky a nation when you have Zaradri, the Mr. 10% of corruption as your president?

The game is still on. Zaradris Supreme Court has taken the chief ministership from PML-N. The Sharifs are again planning to take revenge. De javu. We are again witnessing the era of 90s political bickering.

The News editorial summed it well .. "It seems that we have a fatal tendency to repeat, and then repeat ad infinitum, the mistakes that have forever bedevilled us. The hope that was there a year ago has faded; tyres are burning and roads are clogged with protesters, some peaceful but others not, and the potential for significant civil disruption is lurking close by. Salmaan Taseer has been installed as Punjab chief executive and the deadly dance of Pakistani politics waltzes towards a clouded horizon. RIP, democracy. It was good while it lasted."

And I am tired.