My best friend signed me up for this blog a long time ago and I have been waiting ever since for a moment of inspiration, a sign or someone to write for me...
Today, however, struck me as a good day to start because often there is just bad news, but yesterday in Pakistan a small victory and a huge loss came back to back and gave me the sign I needed to get blogging.
US-NATO forces have been breaching the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan for months and last week they even killed 3 Pakistani military personel. The Pakistani government as usual when dealing with its Western overlords did sweet nothing,until, according to word on the street, the military pressured the government into acting. Subsequently, US supply routes to bases in Afghanistan have been closed.
A small victory indeed but for ordinary Pakistanis enough hope to realis\ze that it’s still possible to show the US the middle finger when it goes too far – as indeed it has in its relationship with Pakistan since at least the 1950s.
As for the loss... there are many liberals and progressives who sit in their homes, in their elite areas and write about 'the people' and what they lack., There are very few of these activists who actually live among the people and challenge their perceptions yet remain their brothers in religion. It is with the utmost sadness that Pakistan bade farewell to one of its most dedicated sons, Dr. Farooq Khan, of Mardan, this past Saturday. I may not have agreed with all of his religio-political views, but he was someone who was not afraid to voice his progressive religious views in his homeland of Pakhtunkhwa, and most importantly, did not flee when many others did. What his assassination has once again demonstrated is that the real threat to powerful and reactionary forces in society does not come from disconnected, rootless Westoxifcated intelligentsia, but from those that speak the language – and are closer to the pulse – of the people..
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