Countering the Beijing threat

As America’s war in Middle East and Central Asia draws to a close, it has started worrying about Chinese challenge. While Washington faces $14.2 trillion budget deficit and pours billions in war on terror in Iraq and Afghanistan, Beijing is flexing its military muscles in the region. US cannot allow this as it would create an imbalance in the region. A report published in New York Times in its 16^th November edition said “As US turns to Asia it sees China everywhere.” The reports also accused Chinese maritime force of targeting Philippines’s research and civilian ships. This is the how US media and the US itself is wary of China.

The fact that Washington cannot tolerate any Beijing superiority in the region is further confirmed by President Obama’s visit to Australia, showing interest in using the former US World War II base once again. This shows how desperate the Americans are to isolate the Chinese in their region. US find Australia as an alternative base because Afghanistan is a region which would take a million men and a thousand years to conquer. Secondly movements like ‘Occupy Wall Street’, if in case get successful will force the American establishment to call off the military campaign in Afghanistan as it is a burden on US economy and has caused a massive economic meltdown. Australia would be a good choice to maintain some regional superiority, although it will lose a precious and a strategic outpost like Afghanistan leaving it to the regional powers like Pakistan, India, Iran and of course Russia to contest for it, China is least interested as its interest lies in Pacific ocean trade routes because it generates US$ 5 billion a year and in mineral rich South China sea. China is now sensing the threat from US as it attempts to encircle the growing superpower. That’s what they’ve been doing, formerly with USSR. Washington desperately needs to counter the Beijing threat, Beijing on other hand is well aware of Washington’s intentions and its ‘camouflaged diplomacy’. The test flight of Chinese homemade 5^th generation stealth fighter aircraft capable of carrying nuclear warhead, which, coincidently, according to Chinese authorities, coincided with a high profile US delegation on visit to China, signaling Washington diplomatically to keep its eyes off the region or else we know how to deal with you. The US authorities are suffering from paranoia because of Beijing’s growing military and economic powers, each year the defense budget allocated is kept secret and this frightens those in Capitol Hill even more. Another variable that fits in the US-Pacific-China equation is the US’s proxy power in the region, India. US will definitely be worrying for its civil nuclear partner, as it already faces threats from Islamist Jihadis which are allegedly trained by its neighboring country’s top spy agency ISI. On the other hand it shares its huge borders with arch-rivals Pakistan and China which the New Delhi sees as a threatening alliance especially in the defense sector. That also adds worry to US as it will have to support its partner in case of any morass. Currently the US is unwilling to leave Afghanistan as it is serving as an important outpost for CIA in the region controlling any geo-political move played by any of the hostile regional power like Iran and Russia, but the Taliban has caused enough bedevil in the last 10 years.

The Chinese military and economic growth was in spurt in last couple of years and the US now want to stagnate it by any means. Washington is now playing a triple tug-a-war, one with China, second with Taliban in Afghanistan and third within the Capitol Hill. One may view the Chinese and the Taliban factor as same because if they win it will lead to ousting of the superpower from the region. This tug-a-war may trigger Cold War II.         

Lover within.

            You away from me, I feel so disconnected from myself, so incomplete, like I’ve lost a part of myself or something precious.

            It was so easy for you to leave me and walk away, but I will follow you until the end. I just realize how much I want to hold your hand and dance with you in the rain, how much I want to hold your hand and walk with you for the rest of my life. But for a while it seem I’ve lost you or perhaps forever.

            Forever is what I am afraid of; I don’t care if it’s for a while, for I will wait. You are on the other side of the world now and I on the other but I look up and close my eyes with some relief that no matter where we are at least we’re under same sky. I still remember when a smile on your face set alight the inside of me with joy, a sort of triumphant feeling, I didn’t realize what it was. I still remember when even a trace of sorrow on your face used to upset me and I couldn’t help thinking, what’s bothering you, for the whole day and I didn’t realize what it was, but I did ask myself- Why?

I still remember those winter days when we used to have loads of chat, those winter evenings when we used to text each other and the winter rain splashed on the window pane, you used to say ‘Your wish, my command.’ Today when I wish you to be with me you seem to defy your command, today when I search my inbox I do not find your name on display but I don’t give up I keep on searching and I end up in negative. But I wait another new message to be received expecting it to be yours but; No. Today the winter rain make me nostalgic and I lose myself in those memories which is the only thing left with me of yours, these are so sweet that even when they sting the pain is so sweet that I want them to sting me again. Now I realize what it was and this time I won’t ask myself- Why?

            I so much want to tell you all this now but I am afraid of losing you, something inside of me stops me from doing so. Perhaps you might have discarded all that time we spent together as past and moved on, but do you know that it’s this past on which I am living on; unconsciously and unintentionally.

Before- The Ending

       Her eyes flashed a challenge; anger and hurt alternately sparkling in them as she took in the dark room and remembered the date, 15th June.

      'I knew you'd be here.'

      'Emma, cant you just shut up, and leave me alone?' He slowly closed his eyes with forced patience.

      'I should have expected that, it was always her, even now when she's dead.'
      Irrational rage brewed within him alongside the inky tide of rising hate, and the glass in his hand flew across the room shivering to broken shards against the wall.

      'She's dead! Dead Gone! do I have no right to grieve for her? I knew her my whole life, for Christ's sake!'

      Emma looked at the broken glass and didn't answer.

      'What do you expect me to do? throw a party?' He pursed. ' She was my best friend.'
      For a moment , she looked at him in silence. 'Do you want to stop living too? We can't bring back the dead by mourning them forever.' She paused , 'its been four years.' She turned away, and when she spoke there was only the sluggish residue of anger and the dismal realisation that they were bound only in sorrow; he, to his regret and she, to her dark jealousy of a world of memories that he would never let her enter.

      'You didn't just know Jazmyn your whole life; you loved her your whole life.'

The door slammed behind her.

      He picked up a piece of broken glass, holding it up to the fading light from the window. Its sharp edge cut into his skin, and he watched blood and fallen tears mingle, reflected in the light as rubious diamonds, in a moment of detached appreciation.

      He was aware of the finality of what had happened by indulging in the pain was just easier.

******"taken from US magazine November 7th edition 2010"******

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The priceless treasure

            Sitting atop on my throne with my fellow titans, I look down upon Sparta, a place once used to be gods' battlefield, a place that witnessed the final battle between me and my father, Zeus, a place that witnessed the fall of Olympus at the hands of me, Kratos, the god of war.

            I put my crown off my head which was gifted to me by titans when I was crowned. It was beautiful; the beauty of skies, the charm of oceans, and the colours of nebula was the stuff this crown was crafted from. It shone as brightly as the light of Holy Spirit, it was as dark as black hole, it was as sweet as honey, it was as bitter as poison, it was as good as angels, it was as evil as Lucifer and his fallen angels. It was as if it contained every bit of universe, titans did a remarkable job but to me it was incomplete. I had a feeling of something being left out in the making of this wonder which the titans themselves don't know what.

            I descended upon a place in Sparta miles away from civilization where gems grow on trees, on the ground and sometimes spring out of rocks. I realise this is it that is missing but every gem hold no value to me more than a stone, I pluck out each gem but it couldn't stand my wrath, my love, my affection, my envy and my mercy, it melts and turns into ash. I march on and on and finally on my way i find one which melts with my love but do not turn into ash, its different, the feeling of triumph strikes me again as it once did when I dethroned my father, I feel like on seventh heaven. Still the crown seems to be missing a few more, I start marching on. Days after finding the first one, suddenly one day I saw something deep down on ocean bed, I dived, plunged into water with a splash and propelled towards it. I saw it was the same as the first one but it didn't melt on my love rather it cracked on my wrath but didn't shatter in pieces, another triumph. I stud it in my crown now it seems to be getting complete but still it isn't. I started my quest again this time i searched the skies and far away i saw a distant star, I approached it and to my surprise it was another gem shinning like a star, I tested it too, nothing happened to it except that my envy set it on fire but it didn't perish, ah another success. I engraved it in my crown too now it seems to be almost complete.

            I move on again hoping to find another one expecting it to be the last one to complete my crown. This time I go down the earth deep down until its core is reached, I find nothing. Disappointed, I head for oceans again and they disappoint me too as I find nothing there. I cruise for skies again, I swarm in clouds I searched the galaxies, I searched every nook and corner of universe but I was in vain. This time I was totally disappointed but still deep inside me I had a feeling that I'll find it someday. I do not stop, I move on, I climbed the tallest mountain, I searched every lake, every pond, every drop, I searched the east and the west hoping to find the best then I head for north and turn back empty handed, I go for south and find nothing. Finally I give up, frustration builds inside as I never gave up nor did I ever lose. I come back to the same place I started from and sat down under a tree laden with gems, to me, having worth not more than a stone. I looked at my crown again it was really very beautiful the other three gems reminded me of my struggle and the pain I bore to find them. Finally I decided to depart for Spartan throne with this incomplete beauty. I got up as I wished to depart, my chariot appeared, I was about aboard when suddenly I heard a crackling sound, it seemed something broken and then got fixed up. Again I heard the same crackling sound followed by an unusual voice. I turned back and followed the voice; it came from the same tree under which I saw resting. I moved closer the crackling stopped but the voice was still coming it was as if I was enchanted by the voice. The voice was neither sweet nor was it unpleasant. I never heard such sound I just couldn't stop my feet. When I was just next to the trunk I noticed that the voice was coming from within tree. I started encircling the tree in order to find the source. At last I saw something embedded in the trunk of tree as I moved closer the intensity of the voice lowered as I picked it out the voice stopped. It was a transparent stone, an ordinary one, it was as transparent as glass but i wasn't able to see through, it was foggy inside.

            For an instant it occurred to me that this is the one I am looking for and next moment it occurred that, no, this cannot be. But I tested it thinking of it being the last hope, and to my ultimate surprise my love wasn't powerful enough to melt it, neither was my wrath fearful enough to shatter it nor was my envy hateful enough to set it on fire and turn it into ash, it was different among the different. Finally I found it, so I nailed it in my crown. As I did so my crown shone so brightly that the light of sun, moon and the stars faded in front of it and in split second the light disappeared. I looked at my crown, now it was complete, it was really very beautiful. Now it defined beauty the way my heart did. I jubilantly boarded my chariot and left for my throne when I reached there I saw my fellow titans waiting for me when they saw my crown on my head with such valuables their mouths opened wide in an awe. I saw envy in their eyes while I walked past them with a feeling of satisfaction that now I am complete since my crown is complete.

Arabian Knights

The sudden stance of Arab world for the state of Palestine to have a reservation in world’s so-called peace keeping community of UN seems really surprising to me. The political geography of Arab world is changing, and it’s really eye raising that in such a time when your very own monarchies are threatened at home by revolutionaries, you are standing up for you much needed brother Muslim country which when needed you badly you abandoned it.

The Arab world never used its billions of dollars from petroleum to modernise or urbanise Palestine. They could easily used this only God-gifted resource to pressurise international community to stop Israel from building settlements in West Bank and Gaza, instead they didn’t. And here they are begging the veto powers to grant Palestine a slot in UN which, most likely, is to going to be rejected. It’s all because their monarchies are heavily dependent upon these powers, without them these monarchies would fall and that are why they are afraid of these powers. Even our beloved and respected House of Saud itself is established by the colonials when the Bedouin Hashemites were dethroned and exiled to Syria after the fall of Ottoman Empire at the end of 1^st world war, the Sauds annexed their land, modern day Saudi Arabia, with the British at their backs. So it’s simple the British installed the House of Saud so that they can have a leverage over the region and over oil market. The Europeans powers had a long history of attempts to secure an imperial stake in Middle East. With time after 2^nd world war with the shift in global power from Colonials to US and Soviets, this leverage was automatically shifted to Uncle Sam. Now the Arabs know if Uncle Sam isn’t pleased with their doings the results would be devastating like Egypt and Tunisia.

So given the defeat in July 2006 in Lebanon of Israeli forces, the Arabs sighted this an opportunity to avenge the Six day war and the 1948 Arab-Israel war. They saw this as weakening of Israel’s military strength but seem like Uncle Sam and the Londoners smelled a rat and to protect their beloved state of Israel from Arab wrath the authorities in Capitol Hill and in Windsor warned them by first dethroning their very own man Bin Ali in Tunisia and then turned to Egypt. Now it’s Libya and Bahrain slowly it’ll be Syria and finally the House of Saud, but before it comes to House of Saud, it will neutralise itself as it has been doing n past thus protecting the throne. So in order to save their monarchies they must have backing of all powers and above all that of super power. So these delegations to veto powers countries to persuade them to vote in favour of a slot for Palestine in UN, are in fact begging them to grant them a chance to prove their loyalty to their masters. If they were so concerned about the holy land of Palestine they would have liberated it from Israeli tyranny by any means necessary.

Sending delegations just for a slot in an organisation which couldn’t even grant them freedom in 63 years is like making fun of the spilled blood of thousands of innocent Palestinians since 1948.       

My city of Lights

 9 people were killed on average each day in last month of July. I wouldn't dare to go out if I am a Pushtoon; I wouldn’t dare to go out if I am a Muhajir, for I am Pakistani living in my great Quaid's city, Karachi, my city of lights.

A great conspiracy is being planned, in fact the plan has been put into action if I am not wrong. Karachi is burning; people are calling their elected, safe-behind-walls, leaders, but seems like no one can hear them. Our respected interior minister may say that security is on high alert yet the blood is shed in the streets of Karachi, the city of Lights is now the city of fights, after north it’s another new war front within Pakistan. The wedge is struck, the rift is created and now it’s widening. Pushtoon accuses Muhajir responsible of innocent blood spilled and Muhajir is accusing Pushtoon for the same.

Karachi is now more like a furnace in which our political parties are moulding their swords to fight their political wars for power, seems like no one cares. One sits far away in London, claiming to be country’s asset and not having guts to come back, delivers fiery speeches, and on other hand our beloved govt just sit back and pass statements like; “situation is under control” and “the worst is over” of course the worst is over since the worst itself will be ashamed of inflicting itself upon a nation which have lost the power to resist it. Jinnah made a worst mistake by giving up his Rs 1500/- per day job and work day and night to carve a country like this on the face of earth which merely 64 years after its birth will be on rise in world corrupt country’s list and on fall in world’s biggest economies’ list. Iqbal would call his dream a nightmare if he were here today, they both died before their times not to see their nation fall. Iqbal’s “Shaheen” youth is now a vulture, which let go of no opportunity to party on left over.

Our enemies are charging in each passing day. Foreign powers are definitely involved otherwise activities like attack on Mehran naval base wouldn’t be possible, such attack require superior intelligence and careful planning. RAW, KGB and The Institute i.e.; Mossad, with The Company (CIA) not an exception, has been hunting our nuclear arsenal the day it was built. We are already isolated; first it were Northern areas then comes Peshawar after that Lahore and now Karachi, different tactics but same purpose of proving our country a rogue state and dismantle our nuclear arsenal, an asset that claimed many, still unknown, lives, an asset that stand as only hope of Muslims of Palestine, Kashmir, Iraq, Chechnya and Bosnia.

Our neighbouring  intelligence agency is already successful in taking over our international sports, seems like its time they take on our economy  and then on our army and finally our nuclear arsenal but before that happens we need to wake up, Swat and Waziristan were early warning bells the bells again rang in Peshawar and Lahore and finally in Karachi, we should better wake up before the time when no bells are rung instead an artillery boom is heard, before the time IMF privatises every business in country, before the time when one morning we wake up with our newspapers imprinted with headlines that “Uncle Sam takes over Pakistani nuclear arsenal” or “Pakistan de-nuclearised” , before the time when we plunge into another ‘71 like situation.

Its time our intelligence agencies and army together with patriotic democratic forces takes over the invigilation of whole situation. These are dark times there is no denying but in every grey cloud there is a silver lightening, after every night there is a day, after twilight there is a breaking dawn. May Allah bless Karachi and may Allah bless Pakistan.  
******For Karachi******

The Gift

Why is it always you have to sacrifice something in order to gain something, why there isn’t any gain without any pain? Today we live in 21^st century, country miles away isn’t far away than a click of a mouse. Humans sacrificed a lot to get all these comforts of life. We lost much and after that we were able to get all this. So what if we lost nothing and get all this, why God wants HIS finest creation, we the humans, to struggle for everything even for survival?

This is the question I used to ask myself, because it isn’t difficult for HIM to grant us everything without our struggle. So why is that we have to strive on, the answer was very much around me and I didn’t realise it. HE has gifted HIS finest creation with one of the finest gift and that is freedom of choice. It is so precious that if we come to value this gift and come to know about it, our soul will be free of all ill. Between what is to be lost and what is to be gained, what is right and what is wrong one have to make a choice and how to make a correct one is how do we value this gift. We are free to make a choice, no one can force us.

For instance, in order to get to the top you have to prove it that you are worth it, you have to work hard for it, fight for it, you’ll stumble, you’ll fall right on your face, you’ll more often but in the end you’ll get there, you’ll have to give it all it take. Now the choice is entirely yours, are you ready to and strong enough to go through all this, do you really want to get to the top? If yes then go ahead, pay the price. If no then stay where you are and stop dreaming, the choice is entirely yours, no one will force you to make one. 

I got all my answers

      Sometimes you think why you came to this world, sometimes you think that 'Dude! you are a lucky chap.' Human thinking, limited thoughts, easily influenced by surroundings.

      God haven't created everyone the same, I wonder why......they say HE tests HIS creatures, I say why-?, they have no answer. Then I turn to HIM and ask why aren't we all same? ....came no answer.! I asked again but still there was a dead silence. I set out to find out. I feel betrayed, seems like someone is unjust with me, they say HE is best of all judges, I asked again how do you know and again they have no answer. I again turned to HIM and and asked how are you best of all judges because I see no justice down here, still no reply came, I ask again but it seems no one is out there. And I set out again. On my course I see night falls and day rises, on my way I see dark clouds and in between them a silver lightening. On my way I fall hard but then I get up. In the end, fed up, I ask do YOU ever existed. I don't know what happened next, I fell off the cliff, going down thinking this the end, sharp sabre tooth rocks waiting to carry out the process of separating the soul from its tool. I saw death spreading its arms ready to embrace me any moment but I saw it was unable even to touch me. Next moment everything went dark, seems like death just got its chance. I smiled at it and said you cant touch me HE is your master. The death laughs out loud at me and says I am a fool. But suddenly I see light ripped out of  death and I plunged into the water with a gigantic splash. I open my eyes and the light is still there, I hear my Mom's voice saying 'how are you son?' I don't reply, I realise I am in hospital and light above me was of florescent tube, I was safe, I just cheated death. Then I said HE is the best of all masters, they say how do you know, I said go and find out yourself and you will surely get your answer.
      Nothing in this world is for granted not even this world itself. Everything has a price tag with it and you have to pay for it.