Let’s not forget my brothers, the men of Siachen
The sentries changed duties and the humble started preparing to bow before their Lord, oblivious of the misfortune they were about to meet. Just about the time when darkness cracked and light approached, with an intimidating thump and a spine chilling swish, thousands of tons of glistening snow descended on the 150 helpless souls, crushing and destroying all that came in its way. The entire Battalion Headquarter was gone within seconds and I, along with thousand others, lost their brothers in arms. Once again we are left to mourn and bewail the deaths of the brave sons of the soil, ...
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The politics of Kashmir killings
On May 1, the Supreme Court of India asked the Ministry of Defence to take a call on whether the six army officers accused of carrying out the “cold blooded murder” of five innocent civilians in the Pathribal village in Kashmir valley should be tried by court martial or in a regular civil court. The Pathribal incident dates back to then US President Bill Clinton’s visit to India on March 20, 2000. This was when 35 Sikhs in Chattisinghpora village of Kashmir were shot dead by unknown men carrying automatic weapons, alcohol bottles and a lust for blood. The massacre was blamed on the men ...
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Remembering my Misil
Mother’s Day is here, but June 1, 1998 will never come again. Today I am writing about my mother, my Misil, for the first time in the last 13 years. She was a simple lady. We never knew her date or year of birth. The only thing we knew was that she was born during the barsaat (monsoon season). I don’t remember an instance when she took longer than 10 minutes to get ready to go somewhere. She never wore make-up. She was even simpler in her eating habits. She would eat anything except for baingan (eggplant). While cooking, she made her ownmasalas; her biryani was pretty ...
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Motherhood: A divine institution
She is an institution; an overflowing reservoir of love. She possesses an astounding quantum of care, concern, compassion and affection. A hand that feeds, a hunger she satiates. A phenomenon, a guiding light, a beacon of hope. A lifelong crutch; an embodiment of beauty; a pristine spirit; a glowing splendour of nature. She is a mother, so I was told. Destiny has infinite wisdom. For reasons best known to itself, it sprang a heart wrenching surprise on me by plucking away my mother to the dark corners of life beyond. After just 26 months, she lost her life after ushering a new life ...
Read Full PostIndian ‘nationalism’: Why Kashmir won’t move on
Manu Joseph, a senior Delhi based journalist and the editor of Open magazine recently asked why it was obscene to accept that a historically wounded group of people is ready to move on. He was, of course, referring to the people in Kashmir, where a war has left 70,000 people dead and 8,000 victims of enforced disappearances – in short, a gruesome trail of death and destruction which has few parallels in modern history. As Mr Joseph points out, it is difficult, almost impossible to convince the highly nationalist Indians about how merciless the war in Kashmir has been. If ...
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Bhoja Air crash: We are accessories to murder
Please refrain from shedding tears or feeling remorse for the unfortunate victims of the Bhoja Air crash. As painful and heart wrenching as this episode is, I’m afraid we have no right to feel sorry or pity for the departed souls and their loved ones. This may seem harsh, but it is the truth; we are all culpable in what is brazen murder. We are the ones that are allowing these airlines to operate within our borders; we are the ones that are tolerating unethical business practices that all too frequently imply cost cutting at the expense of the public ...
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Murtaza Razvi: A former colleague remembers
As I told probably a dozen people yesterday, I met Murtaza (or ‘Sunny’ to his close friends) the day he came to Dawn – as assistant editor, from an advertising company, where he had been in a senior position. Saleem Asmi was the editor of the paper at that time and asked me if Murtaza could share my room while his was being prepared. I am glad I said ‘yes’ because the next four to five years, while we were both editorial writers at the paper, developed into a mutually cordial and respectful friendship. Murtaza, along with, the now, senior editor ...
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The phone call I wish I had never received
I don’t know whether this is the right time to write this blog or not, but I do hope that when people read it, it will help them make the right choice when faced with a situation similar to mine. Exactly 16 months ago, I was standing in line with other confused Pakistanis – the lot who ask themselves the same question day and night: should we move abroad to greener pastures? I am not trying to vindicate my actions by writing this; the truth is that it was a difficult decision for me. On the one hand, you think of your ...
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Gilgit-Baltistan: Paradise turned bloody
The bloodbath in Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) has started yet again, as a severe wave of sectarianism has revisited the landlocked, but strategically key, part of the country. It began on February 28 when masked miscreants forced passengers travelling in four buses out at gunpoint and shot dead 16 of them in Hurban area of Kohistan. Since then, the law and order situation in G-B has worsened. On the morning of April 10, violence erupted again in the tense city of Gilgit when masked men riding on a motorcycle hurled a hand grenade on Sunni activists who were trying to force shopkeepers ...
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Honouring heroes: A tribute to the men of Siachen
Disaster and tragedy struck the Siachen glacier in the early hours of the morning of April 7, 2012. More than 135 of our finest were buried under snow and suffered a painful death. This is the biggest avalanche that has struck our army men over the last 20 years and a loss that cannot be measured in words. One can hardly imagine living under such extreme conditions, leave alone suffocating under over 80 feet of snow. It is a terrible tragedy indeed. The army’s presence in Siachen is especially close to my heart as my late uncle was stationed there a few years ...
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