Pakistan does not love her children

Pakistan does not love her children. Do what you want to do with them. They are being produced in abundance, just like broiler chicken. Take them. Beat them. Eat them. Rape them. Make their pornographic videos. Slay them, take out organs of their bodies and sell. Make them your slaves or servants. Attack their schools. Butcher them. Drown them in acid. Nobody cares. Nobody loves them. They are insignificant. They are nothing. They are not even humans. This is what is reflected from the stories emerging from around the country.

As if the attack on Army Public school Peshawar in 2014 was not enough. A massacre, among the worsts of the world in modern history. An incident so grave, which jolted the entire nation and it appeared, now this country won't allow anybody to even touch a child, but what happened next year, in 2015, in Kasur - a place which lies in the proximity of Lahore? Under the nose of Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, children as young as three and four years old, underwent such unbelievable sufferance and humiliation, which leaves you in goosebumps even on imagining. Such cruelty. Yet, the perpetrators of that heinous act remain unpunished. And the latest, are the stories of abduction of hundreds of children from Punjab, specially Lahore.

What's next? Is it never going to stop? Who is responsible for this? Are majority of children in Pakistan destined to an ill fate?

Maybe these words leave you unmoved as these children are not yours, but put your hand on your heart and ask yourself, what if they were yours? Won't it hurt? Are you heartless enough, not to feel the pain? Forget about being a parent, what if you were that child, how would you feel then?

If comparisons are made at international level, Pakistani children would definitely fall in the category of most ignored of them all. Not just underprivileged but from well off families too. Ours is a country, where ways for roads and Metros are created by demolishing schools and educational institutes.  When the life, health and education of Pakistani children are no big concerns, of what significance entertainment will be?

There is not a single TV channel dedicated to children. Once, I tried to raise this question on social media and the answers I received, simply surprised me. People said, we have cartoon network, Nick, Disney and other such channels, with dubbed programs for our children. No one was worried, it is not Urdu but Hindi that our children are being exposed to.

I consider it highly irresponsible on part of  Pakistani TV channels, airing Hindi dubbed shows for Pakistan children. Is it so difficult to add few Urdu words in already translated shows? Where is their patriotism, respect for individual identity of this country and its national language? Why celebrate 14th August at all then, when such channels, minting money from our country are not bothered about giving any respect to its roots, identity, culture or language? Thanks to such copy cats that we are not left with any culture at all. Our nation is nothing but a highly confused. Getting even more divided as Al-Bakistani, Muhajirs or westernised.

People are mocking and making fun of a demand by PTI to ban Doraemon, a Japanese cartoon. Atleast, they have shown some concern about what children are being exposed to. I personally have only one objection against this show, its dubbing in Hindi. Instead of learning good Urdu or English (which remained our official language for so long and is a great communication tool at international level) kids are using complicated words of Sanskrit, a decayed/obsolete language, which even Indians do not use as much but Pakistani children are churned with. Doraemon may have least negative influence on children, there is a lot more which probably even PTI ignored.

Once in a bakery I saw, a cake made on order for a themed birthday with a cartoon character called ''chota bheem''. I was told, the birthday boy loved the cartoons and the character. Family seemed totally unconcerned about the origin of the cartoon. Bheem is a Hindu religious character, out of Hindu epic Mahabharata. And listening, watching to his stories believed to be a form of praying for Hindus. It wouldn't have bothered me at all, if the family ordering the cake was Hindu. They were all devout Muslims.

Another show, which is currently a part of cartoon network is ''roll number 21''. The lead character is Kris, a boy with magical powers. He actually depicts the character/avatar of lord Krishna, a revered divinity worshipped by Hindus. Imagine it! Your Muslim children are not aware of characters from Islamic history or from Quran but they may narrate the entire Mahabharata or Ramayyan to you. Is it what your great grand parents shed their blood and lost their lives to get you an independent country for?

The world, along with desi liberals of our country are propagating against Muslim missionaries and Indians are already doing it peacefully, by feeding your Muslim kids, Hindu religious stories, making them love characters from Hindu history and mythology.

So many, news and entertainment channels in Pakistan but not even a single one, purely for Pakistani children? Wonder, if there are any such TV shows, like PTV produced in the past. Remarkable programs like Kalian, Alif Laila, Aenak wala jin, Kashish, etc.

 It is time that Pakistani Tv channels must have separate channels, not just airtime for Pakistani children. Take some lesson from Indians. They have even reproduced Disney shows like 'Suite life of Zack and Cody' to their own Indian version, 'Suite life of Karan and Kabir'. Their Disney channel is a completely Indianised version. Even if the show is English, Indians dub it with meaningful Hindu messages. All such things must be stopped from being aired into Pakistan.

Why can't we have one for Pakistani children, with Pakistani lifestyle and values? A channel which educate Pakistani children through entertainment. Quiz shows, game shows, creative work, dramas, music shows etc. Children must be made aware of the dangers in life, lurking around them through such channels. Why Pakistani media is ignoring this opportunity of creating an impression on their own future generation?

Give our Pakistani children, their identity and security. Show them some affection, give them some protection. Show them, their country cares for them. Bring the trouble makers to justice, who cause sufferance and pains for Pakistani children.  Give our children something of their own to own to and feel proud of. Do not oppose everything, what opposition has to say. Use your own minds also. Care for your own children, if you do not care for rest of the children of this country.

Qandeel Baloch -- A beacon of life, cruelly put out

Qandeel Baloch as an ordinary girl

Much has been discussed about Qandeel Baloch during her life and after it. Amazing was the response of those, who dubbed her 'sleazy' in her lifetime and immediately jumped to the other side after her murder and started condemning their own likes, who called her names.

The worst type of hypocrites appeared as those, who condemned her murder, yet denounced her life as a shame for her family that they were not left with any option but to kill her. I question them all, are they really so pure and sin free that they can declare another person a sinner?

I wonder, why people hated Qandeel so much? Was she any different from any other TV or cinema stars that our society loves? Wonder why sexiness of Katrina Kaif and Sunny Leone is so much loved and not judged like that of hers?  

All Bollywood actresses are glorified as sex objects in their movies. Their seductive dance moves, their sultriness, enjoyed by Pakistani men and copied by women. Why Pakistani egos hurt so much when Qandeel pouted and acted like Indian actresses? What high moral standards, great ideals and examples society had set for her? Do we have, anything of our own that we could assert as our 'culture'?  Then, why object to her style and expression? Why people watched her videos and visited her profile so much, that gave her a dramatic boost? Definitely, they enjoyed it but also unleashed their hatred by reprimanding her.

She was an aspiring young woman, an entertainer actually, who had learnt to express herself freely and discovered it to be a way to the top. The medium she selected for herself to express was different but what she was doing, was not. Many stage dancers, film actresses of Pakistani origin indulge in it. Why this hypocrisy and double standards about her then? Why do people forget, she was trying to be an entertainer, not a religious scholar.

Something truly remarkable that she did was, exposing Mufti Qawi, a wolf in a sheep's skin. A task so great that our nation should be thankful to her for. It ultimately took her life but only she had the guts and the determination to bring the evil side of this so called religious scholar to light. Have we not heard stories of evil men in holy disguises, who loot the innocents in our country?

Unfortunately, psychopaths like her own brother, who killed her,  were at the villain's side and got to put out this beacon of life. This clearly shows the power of ecclesiastics in our society. No matter, how evil they personally maybe, if they condemn anybody, that person is doomed.
 
She never revealed till just before her killing, that she hailed from an extremely backward area of South Punjab and a poor family. She had actually made it big at her own.  Is it not enough to prove her strengths? She was almost invincible, if she was not deceived by her own blood. It maybe surprising but most of the celebrated female artists of Pakistan, belong to South Punjab. She would have proved to be an even bigger sensation than Veena Malik, who also belongs to the same area of South Punjab, that Qandeel was from. Yes! If now we enjoy Veena's performance as an adorable imitator, why we were hopeless in Qandeel's case. She could revert.  People maybe unforgiving but God is all forgiving.

Whatever the reaction of men maybe, it breaks my heart, when women condemn her and appreciate her dishonourable brother. I feel, it is more of jealousy. Every woman has a Qandeel Baloch in her. Most of the women are afraid their inner Qandeel would be seen too. Where the real one was fearless, and unstoppable, they only express their disgust freely. And they should know, by doing this they are tightening the noose, not only on their own neck but around their future generations too. They never know, what their husband, brother or son may find dishonourable in them and worth taking their life.

Her murderers must not go unpunished. Even if her family forgives the culprits, government should fight for her. Mufti Qawi, must be banned from appearing on all the channels, his name must be included in the murderers, as he is fully capable of inciting, provoking her killing.

It is such a shame, in this age, in these modern times, there are still people in our country, who still kill women in the name of honour. Hard working women, put their lives into creating a niche for themselves and finally when they either make it or are about to make it to the top, they are physically, emotionally, financially, destroyed by their own, near and dear ones. Truly tragic! When would our nation learn, there is no honour in honour killing?