Monthly Archives: February 2011

By Jalal-Uddin Rumi

Don’t grieve. Anything you lose comes round in another form.
Friends are enemies sometimes, and enemies friends.

I was a tiny bug. Now a mountain. I was left behind. Now honored at the head. You healed my wounded hunger and anger, and made me a poet who sings about joy.

If your guidance is your ego, don’t rely on luck for help. you sleep during the day and the nights are short. By the time you wake up your life may be over.

Let the beauty we love be what we do.

Let the lover be disgraceful, crazy, absent-minded. Someone sober will worry about events going badly. Let the lover be.

Let yourself be silently drawn by the stronger pull of what you really love.

Most people guard against going into the fire, and so end up in it. (more…)

By Raza Rumi

Multiple subjectivities plague any ‘objective’ measurement of anti-American sentiments in Pakistan

Since the end of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, Pakistani society has been a playground for political Islam; and today the latter drives and defines all discourse. Anti-Americanism appears to be embedded within political Islam’s extremist expression; it extends to some quasi-mainstream religio-political parties, to certain youth wings and radical preaching groups, to militants and terrorist organizations, some of which have clear linkages with Al Qaeda.

The recent murder of Governor Salmaan Taseer has exposed the inherent fault lines in Pakistani society. A simple murder has acquired ideological dimensions challenging the laws of the land as well as prospects of rule-based governance. In the wider context, pro-militancy and anti-militancy political coalitions are being painted as “pro-Islam” and “anti-Islam”, even when Muslims are involved on both sides. Political activity from public rallies and door-to-door politicking, to public and national legislation, has been hijacked by piety and sectarian Islamism, reminiscent of Zia era and something not witnessed anywhere in the Islamic world today (except for the Wahabbi Kingdom of Saudi Arabia). Again, this is a minority being trumpeted and projected as the voice of the ‘masses’, even to the ruling elite, who have been silenced by the gun of their protecting armies of security guards and policemen. (more…)

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Every day, this pain. Either you’re numb
or you don’t understand love.
I write out my love story.
You see the writing, but you don’t read it.

– Version by Coleman Barks
“Unseen Rain”
Threshold Books, 1986

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By C. CHRISTINE FAIR

LAHORE — This much is clear about the latest convulsion in U.S.-Pakistan relations: an American man, operating under the name of Raymond Davis, shot and killed two men in Lahore in the populous province of the Punjab. After the event, an “emergency vehicle,” presumably from the U.S. consulate, rushed to rescue Davis and careened into a crowd. The as yet unidentified driver of the rescue vehicle killed a third person. Davis is currently being held in Pakistani custody in Lahore. He has been added to Pakistan’s exit control list while his status is being determined in Pakistan’s courts, which precludes his exit from the country. (more…)

Huma Imitiaz has summed up the session I moderated at the KLF. Huma has been kind to me but I am just a humble student of literature and facing Intizar Saheb in this session would remain a milestone in my imagined literary journeys, yet to start…

“There are two forces that have risen in Pakistan: women and mullahs,” said writer and journalist extraordinaire Intizar Husain, at the Karachi Literature Festival. The crowd roared in approval, and Husain smiled. At his session, held on the second day, the room was nowhere near full capacity, but those in attendance were hanging on to his every word. In a one on one discussion with writer Raza Rumi, Husain talked about a variety of subjects, from writing techniques to the Lahore that once was.
(more…)

By Huma Imtiaz

When a literary festival’s headliner is author and religious thinker Karen Armstrong, one wonders whether to be amused, or descend into a cloud of depression. At the second Karachi Literature Festival (KLF), as one saw hundreds of people pour into the hall to hear Ms Armstrong speak at the inaugural session, the choice was made: depression. Armstrong stood on the dais and lectured Pakistanis on how we must be more compassionate and coiffed hairdos nodded in agreement. Even the wonderful classical dance performance set to the Sufi kalam “Aaj Rang Hai” did little to enliven one’s spirits. A renowned author remarked wryly, “We love to be told that our religion is one of peace.”

Others such as writer Mohsin Hamid, though, felt that as a writer who takes her writing “seriously,” there was nothing odd about Armstrong being the keynote speaker at a literature festival. “Literature festivals are about writing that is provocative and inventive, and Armstrong is an important thinker,” he said.

While Armstrong urged Pakistanis to adopt compassionate behaviour, citing examples from multiple religions and even Greek mythology, a few hours later it was author and journalist Ahmed Rashid who hit the nail on its head on Pakistan and its relationship with compassion by highlighting how Pakistan’s government could not find a prosecutor for the trial of Mumtaz Qadri, the assassin of the late Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer. (more…)

By Najam Sethi

his year, South Asia celebrates the centenary of Faiz Ahmad Faiz, Pakistan’s pre-eminent Urdu poet in the classical tradition of the subcontinent. Faiz was the last of the five greats – Mir Anis, Mir Taqi Mir, Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib, Allama Muhammad Iqbal and Faiz.

Writing one hundred years before Faiz, Mirza Ghalib would have recognised the former’s classical style and would have loved the new metaphor and colloquial touch of introducing common speech into the ghazal. One can imagine the great Delhi poet, who witnessed the demise of the last Mughal court and the destruction of the city’s Indo-Persian ethos, marvelling at Faiz’s metaphors – Dard aye ga dabbay paon liye surkh chiragh (and pain will come tiptoe, carrying its crimson lamp). (more…)

By Andrew Buncombe, Asia Correspondent, The Independent

Pakistan’s army suffered a damaging blow after a suicide bomber believed to be in his teens and dressed in school uniform slipped into a military base yesterday and set off an explosion, killing at least 31 soldiers and cadets.

In an incident that triggered fears of a renewed wave of attacks and highlighted the nation’s continued vulnerability to militants, the device was detonated inside a military recruitment camp as cadets were exercising on the parade ground. More than 40 people were also wounded.

As the Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack at the Punjab Regiment Centre in the city of Mardan in north-west Pakistan, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani condemned the killings. “Such cowardly attacks cannot affect the morale of the security agencies and the resolve of the nation to eradicate terrorism,” he said in a statement. (more…)

By Raza Rumi

Honour politics: More often than not, we as Pakistanis feel that we are not given the respect we deserve as a sovereign nation, and that we are not taken seriously by the international community. We feel unfairly lumped together, with a few bad apples marring our national character through their involvement in terrorism, illegal immigration, and other grave misdemeanours, whereas the vast majority of Pakistanis are peaceful, law-abiding citizens. Now, we have before us an opportunity to prove those who would judge us by our green passport dead wrong, and do the right thing, despite popular protests being whipped up for political gain.

Did US Diplomat Raymond Davis commit cold-blooded murder of two innocent, cellphone-and-gun-loving boys, or was it self-defense against blatant dacoity? The answer is worth investigating but not all that relevant. Davis ostensibly carries a Diplomatic Passport (as stated by our Interior Minister), and he was allowed to travel to Pakistan by our own Foreign Ministry. As galling as it might be to some quarters, we will have to let him go, not because we want to aid and abet murder, but rather, by respecting the long-established principle of diplomatic immunity, we show our strength and stability to the world, and show the international community that we are not a “rogue” or “terrorist” state, but rather one which respects international standards, conventions and agreements. (more…)

By Peerzada Salman

A befitting and heartfelt tribute to Faiz Ahmed Faiz ended the 2nd Karachi Literature Festival at a local hotel on Sunday. – Photo courtesy: www.karachilitfest.com

KARACHI: A befitting and heartfelt tribute to Faiz Ahmed Faiz ended the 2nd Karachi Literature Festival at a local hotel on Sunday. But the day will also be remembered for some quality literary discussions, debates and sessions, along with the fact that a reasonable number of schoolchildren trickled into the venue to attend a storytelling session for children, which is an extremely healthy sign.

The day began with a panel discussion on Promising New Writings in English . Muneeza Shamsie pointed out that the various forms of communication (the internet, the media) had now enabled the budding authors to read contemporary books. She said there was a time when you didn`t know where to place your bilingual identity. (more…)

By Ali Syed

‘Bridging divides’, as the name suggests, was about a certain disparity within the Pakistani society.

KARACHI: ‘Bridging divides’, as the name suggests, was about a certain disparity within the Pakistani society, perhaps religion vs secularism, moderation vs extremism, or even the gaps that have grown between Pakistan and India.

However, what could not be deducted for sure was what divide would be talked about. Interestingly, when the session went underway, it became clear that it was not just the audience that was faced with this mystery – each panellist chose to shed light on a divide of their choice. (more…)

Karachi Literature Festival – full programme

“The aim of the Karachi Literature Festival is to promote and project Pakistan writers and to get people reading. Independent writers are the conscience of a nation. The very fact that there are so many prominent writers in Pakistan is a wonderful sign of life, growth, and hope for society. The author, the poet, the playwright, the biographer have a great contribution to make to our society and we are organizing this Festival to honour our writers, raise their profile and bring them closer to their readers”, said Ameena Saiyid OBE, Managing Director, Oxford University Press, and Founder, Karachi Literature Festival. (more…)

By Issam Ahmed – Fri Jan 28, 6:39 am ET

Karachi, Pakistan – Liberal Pakistani lawmaker Sherry Rehman left a comfortable life researching a book in London to fight for liberty in her homeland. Now she’s under siege, confined to her Karachi home ever since the assassination of liberal icon Salman Taseer three weeks ago.

Rehman and the former governor of Punjab Province both opposed Pakistan’s blasphemy law, which makes derogatory remarks toward Islam a capital offense. Both claimed the law is used to carry out vendettas against minorities such as Christians and Ahmadi Muslims. In the eyes of Pakistan’s religious political parties, known here as the “religious right,” the fact that she attempted to even blunt the law is enough to prompt death threats. In Taseer’s case, it led to his killing. (more…)