Breaking the Stereotypes: An Interview with a Pakistani Hindu

Pakistan is famous for a lot of negative reasons in the world. One of the most pervasive world belief is that the country is plagued with religious intolerance where minorities such as Christians and Hindus find it hard to survive.

Here we present an interview with Dr. Rajesh Kumar, a Pakistani Hindu from Jamshoro, Sindh. He candidly replies various questions asked from him and documents his life as a Hindu in Pakistani.

Q: Could you tell us about you, where you live, a bit about your family, what you do, etc?

I am Dr. Rajesh Kumar, Youth and Minority rights activist, graduated as a Medical Doctor from Liaquat university of Medical & Health Sciences, Jamshoro, Sindh. Pursuing post graduation in the field of Psychiatric Medicine from the same insitution.

I was born in a town namely Thana Bula Khan, a Hindu Dominant town of Sindh, serving the biggest economy to the country because of most people into Business.

Half of family is into medical profession, so my father inspired me to be a medical Doctor like him. Since very begining of college days, I have been actively participatig in Youth led conferences about Interfaith Harmony, Democracy, Leadership, Peace, Climate Change and Youth empowement in Pakistan, India and United states.

Q: Are there many Hindu families in Pakistan?

In Pakistan, Hindus are living very peacefully since thousands of years around the Indus Valley. Hindus were the real owners of the land. Since ages, Hindus have a very rich background. They are business oriented, educationists, philanthropists who always believed in the message of Humanity, Interfaith Harmony, Tranquility and Peace. Currently Hindus make up around two percent of the country’s 200 million people and they mostly live in southern Sindh province.

People compare pre and post 1971 statistics and assume that the Hindu population in Pakistan has drastically reduced when it is clear that Pakistan was dismembered in 1971 and the statistics would of course be different for only the western part of what was total of east and west Pakistan then.

Q: Have you ever been in a situation where you have been asked to ‘Go to India’ because you are a Hindu?

In my case, answer would be very simple, Just because I have been born into a particular religion, no one has ever told me off that I belong to a certain country.

Infact in cities other than my birth city, I am treated like a celebrity. People are curious about the hindu customs and cultures and ask me a lot of questions. Indeed some people have come to shake hand with me only to see what a Hindu looks like.

But if one were to believe the media, then we are victims of religious extremism, Intolerance, religious discrimination and forceful religious conversion. Despite of having some basic and minor issues, We do celebrate each of our Festival including Dewali, Holi, Thadri, Raksha Bandhan with full Zeal and Zest with our fellow Countrymen.

I vividly remember very few-off situations when during a cricket match I was asked who I supported. By then, I failed to comprehend the mindset behind the question.

I personally believe that there are ignorant people on both sides of the border. Lunatic people using these ‘Go to India’ or ‘Go to Pakistan’ tags and those setting examples of “Ghar Wapsi” and “love jihad” are doing nothing but are only bringing disgrace to their communities and country.

Q: Do you think Hindus and Muslims can live peacefully?

Since I belong to Sindh, I believe in the proposition that Hindus and Muslims can live peacefully. The cultural values of Sindh are mixture of Sufi Islam & Hinduism. Many cities of Sindh are exemplary in that. At times, a number of Muslim friends ask me, if they can join me for holi celebrations and can share the joys. Similarly, I feel no hesitation in celebrating the Eid with my Pakistani brothers and sisters.

I believe that only thing which separates us from each other is the borders which we make in our mind and here I will second the Nelson Mandela that “No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite” .

Q: What are your views on the India – Pakistan hatred that has been going on for so long?

It’s the political divide. Politicians, on both sides of the border, have been harboring hatred and mistrust about each other from the last sixty-nine years for their own selfish interests. I went to India last year and was received with a lot of love. I, similarly, have witnessed my Indian friends in Pakistan being received with the same spirit. For no reason on earth should common Indians and Pakistanis hate each other. Also, for me religion is a secondary component of my identity. I am first a Pakistan then a Hindu.

Q: Do you think Pakistanis want peace or want war?

Who wants to go into war? I mean who even likes war like situations? What do wars give us? Bloodshed, loss of loved ones. All religions teach peace, mercy, and love. Religion is a very strong force in the South Asian region and has a great influence on the masses. An average Pakistan wants peace within his/her country as well as with the neighboring countries.

Beheaded Body of Kidnapped Army Personnel Found in Mohmand

MOHMAND AGENCY, June 13: Slaughtered body of a kidnapped army personnel was found early morning in Darwazgai area of Ekkaghund tehsil in Lower Mohmand of Mohmand agency here on Monday, said officials.

Unknown militants had kidnapped a soldier Hayat Khan from Shanow Ghundi area of tehsil Ekkaghund last night. He was on leave from Punjab regiment centre Mardan.

Hayat khan was busy in Isha prayers where unknown militants kidnapped him, according to local residents.

After the incident, security forces conducted a search operation in the adjoining areas but no arrest was made.

Monday morning, the body of Hayat Khan was found in Darwazgai area of Ekkaghund from where it was shifted to Shabqadar hospital and later handed over to his relatives.

Three days ago, unknown militants had kidnapped a Subedar of Khasadar force and another security personnel whose dead bodies had been found later.

Pakistan’s Internal Security Goals and Challenges

The National Action Plan, drafted in the aftermath of tragic Peshawar school carnage, surely was the right move in the right direction. It promised to bring not just an end to the widespread terrorism and terrorist outfits but also aimed at providing the concerned institutions with a mechanism to deal with this menace. The 20 points document was widely accepted and appreciated by one and all across the state. It was also the first time that the civil and military leadership were unanimously agreeing on a plan of action to rid the state and society of extremism. However today, three years onward, the objectives laid out in the document seem to have remained unattainable while the perils of terrorism in various forms appear to have engulfed the society even further.

This is not to undermine the efforts like Zarb-e-Azb, military operation in Karachi and the endeavors being carried out in Balochistan, which definitely restored the faith of a common man back into the sincerity of security forces and institutes, but in the face of recurring suicide blasts, target killings, and ever deteriorating law and order situation in Karachi, one is made to question the status and reasons for the declining internal security situation of the state.

The problem may not necessarily lie in the document itself, even if at times those who drafted it tend to argue that it was conceived in haste and hence may have lot of loopholes. But the fact is that the document is more of a “to-do” list, outlining what exactly needs to be done on immediate basis if one wants avoid Peshawar like terrorist attacks in the future. The document clearly points out “what” needed to be done but doesn’t tell “how” to go about it. Being a “Plan” it is expected that it would also contain some line of action or effective policy options for the smooth implementation of the plan. The fact that it was made in a hurry doesn’t hold much justification today after three years, which is ample enough time for any strategy to be evolved, reviewed, revised and improved intermittently.

At the same time, the operation sweep out against terrorist outfits and large scale hangings of the convicts by the military courts did prove to be an effective deterrent for the time being but could not completely snuff out the nuisance of extremism and terrorism. The need is to delve deeper at the micro level and root out the pro extremism factions from the society, who are found alarmingly in abundance among the so called moderate and liberal stratum of general public. This could only be achieved if the mindset is targeted and overhauled into believing that the security of the state and its people is what matters the most and stands supreme in the face of any ethnic or sectarian based division of the society.

Indeed such an approach will take time and the results should not be expected to be achieved over night, but so far one doesn’t see any efforts or mechanism being devised to deal with the psychological aspect of this problem. One possibility could be to establish rehabilitation centers for those people, especially the youth who readily becomes an easy target at the hands of extremist elements. Policies at providing employment opportunities could positively supplement the military operations. Crackdown against the institutions/madressah found to be involved in spreading and hatred would have been strictly dealt with, without any concessions.

Unfortunately in a recent turn of events, the PTI leadership has donated a huge amount of RS. 300 million to a privately run madressah Darul-Uloom Haqqania, which has also been notorious for having close links with Afghan Taliban. Key Taliban leaders Mullah Omer, Mullah Mansour and Jalaluddin Haqqani graduated from Darul Uloom Haqqania and so did Asim Umar, the head of al-Qaeda’s South Asia chapter. Its graduates were also allegedly involved in Benazir’s killing.

Such an action causes a direct damage to the very spirit National Action Plan, which clearly disallows the funding of any terrorist and terrorist outfit, and rather seeks for the freezing of all their assets. The sad part is that when criticized for this action, the opposition leader not only justified his motives but also tried to slap convincing arguments that it was done only in the best interest of the state, where it is being aimed at integrating such elements into the mainstream of the society. One fails to understand how can the evil of terrorism be eradicated when its supporters are sitting among the higher echelons of the state directly involved in the policy making process.

It also highlights the fact that as long as the sympathizers are allowed to provide for such organizations, there will be no hope for clean society free from such elements. Such organizations will continue to inculcate extremism among the youth. The money will only be used as a bait to attract more fragile minds which can be easily radicalized too.

How can then one even hopes to curb external security detractors who are always on a look out. The recent statement by COAS General Raheel shows a firm resolve where he whemently conveys that proxies will not be allowed on the Pakistani soil. However one is left to wonder how one can possibly disallow proxies in a society which is riddled with radicalized mindset that can be taken advantage of and may be used any time against one’s own state and citizens.

Another important area which is constantly being neglected is that there is a tendency of denial and procrastination towards the harsh reality unfolding in front of eyes. The state leadership has time and again denying the presence of ISIS in Pakistan. However they tend to forget that there is a substantial number of people who sympathies and support ISIS agenda and ideology. Only recently it was reported that 3 Daesh members were held in Lahore. Also LeJ was reportedly seeking to build affiliation with ISIS, before the chief Malik Ishaq was killed last July. However the Pakistani officials have generally denied that Islamic State has gained a foothold in the country, though there are occasional reports of arrests or killing of people affiliated with the group.

The need of the time is that more dedicated and concerted efforts should be invested not just at the state level but at the personal level too if one needs to get rid of the widespread extremism and radical elements in the society. More than anything the NAP needs to be updated to include long term objectives such as devising rehabilitation program that may help in bringing long lasting and durable stability to the internal security landscape of the state.

Time to Take Rural-Urban Disparities Seriously

Every year billions of rupees are allocated for the development of rural areas which gives a ray of hope to the rural population that it will change their fate this year. People who hardly manage to eat one meal per day expect that this year they will be able to get enough food for their families. They expect that this might be the year their government will improve the condition of local hospitals so that they will not have to go to the big cities for medical treatment. They expect that government will build roads and bridges.

The school kids expect the roofs and walls of their schools will be repaired so that they will not take a day off when it is raining. They also expect that they can finally get clean drinking water and toilet facility in their schools. Similarly girls expect that government will arrange impeccable security for their schools so that they will not study in a state of fear and uncertainty. The rural farmers expect that they will get subsidies from the government and get modern farming appliances. Common people expect that this year there will be a reduction in their sufferings, but every year all of these great expectations remain unfulfilled. It is the story of about seven decades of our history.

Neither the present nor the previous governments have ever taken the rural urban disparities into consideration. All of the successive governments have spent their development funds in urban areas. Even so, some of these projects are not even directed for the public good but only for the political gains. On one hand, some of the cities in Pakistan have a dozen fully equipped large hospitals while on the other hand even the small dispensaries in rural areas are not fully functional.

A couple of cities have metro bus service worth more than 50 billion rupees but in some rural areas people do not even have access to clean drinking water. Often animals and humans drink from the same ponds and wells. Government concentrates on urban areas because development projects in these areas are visible to everyone. Media also cover these areas which is a source of publicity for the politicians. People in rural areas are often uneducated. They do not know anything about what is going on in the country. They have no political awareness. They vote for the local landlords and influential people either due to their pressure or due to their ancestral loyalty to those families.

Pakistan’s first ever Multidim­ensional Poverty Index (MPI) was launched earlier this week in which progress regarding poverty reduction across different regions of the country was analyzed. A broader concept of poverty was used in the process in which not only income and wealth were taken into consideration but also the deprivations people experience with respect to health, education and standard of living. According to MPI there is a huge difference between Poverty level in urban and rural areas. In urban areas it is 9.3% as compared to 54.6% in rural areas. These figures should serve as a wakeup call for our leadership.

According to World Bank, 62% of population in Pakistan lives in rural areas and more than half of these people are living in extreme poverty. The aforementioned index has also pointed out the fact that over two-thirds of people in Fata (73%) and Baluchistan (71%) live in multidimensional poverty. They only manage to get one meal per day and cannot afford to send their children to schools. Poverty is directly related to literacy rate and that is the reason that literacy rate in rural areas is very low as compared to urban areas.

Low literacy rate leads to poor law and order situation which is obvious in this case. Rural urban disparities give rise to hatred and animosities between different sections of society. Foreign elements exploit this situation as it is ideal for those forces to fuel this fire and turn the underprivileged rural youth against the state.

Such a big difference of living standards between rural and urban areas have led to migration of millions of people from rural to urban areas which has given rise to congestion of the major cities. Rural people migrate to cities in search of employment opportunities and better standard of living. However, if government can provide them these facilities in their native areas they will not migrate to cities.

It is high time for the government and concerned departments to pay special attention to the development of rural areas. They need to spend at least the already allocated amount of money on development projects in these areas. Government need to provide incentives for the doctors and school teachers who are serving in remote areas. There is dire need to overhaul the condition of existing schools and hospitals. New schools and hospitals should also be constructed at the union council level.

As more than two third of rural population is dependent on agriculture so farmers should be given special attention. Vocational training institutes should be setup for the youth so that they have a fair chance in the job market. Setting aside their political interests, federal government should make the local politicians accountable for all the issues in their constituencies. In this way we can hope for some improvement in the current state of affairs.

The Endangered Urdu

I cannot recall my last “pure” Urdu conversation with someone, not even with a person who has a university degree in Urdu literature. It is very unfortunate that most of the times we struggle to find appropriate Urdu words for a situation, although we know English words for the said situation. Our conversations are a mix of Urdu, English and regional languages. The more a person uses English words in his or her conversation, the highly educated he is considered. I have also seen people get into a fit of laughter because someone used a common Urdu idiom; it was like meeting entitled tourists.

Same is the case with Urdu writing. More than two third of the young generation are not proficient in Urdu writing due to the excessive use of Roman Urdu. This generation has actively helped blur the distinction between Urdu and English in Pakistan. At first, they started sneaking in an English noun or two despite the presence of perfectly serviceable Urdu words. We went from skipping some words, to fading them out, all the way to practically revolting against the language.

English language is considered as a social status symbol in big cities. In small cities and remote areas, regional languages dominate Urdu. Whenever we meet a person from our native region we switch from Urdu to our shared regional language which means we do not feel comfortable in communicating in Urdu and always wait for a chance to switch to our mother tongue or English. It is like we do not want to communicate in Urdu unless we are forced to do so. Same is the case with our national media.

We hardly see a TV program in “pure” Urdu. Dialogues in Urdu drama are a mix of Urdu and English and the proportion of English words is increasing with time. Programs related to the promotion of Urdu literature have disappeared from TV, even from the state owned Pakistan Television. PTV was not able to build on the platform given by the likes of Zia Mohyeddin, Obaidullah Baig, Qureshpur, Ghazi Salahuddin, Mustansar Hussain Tarar, Tariq Aziz and many other renowned figures.

Our national television used to celebrate the birthdays and death anniversaries of renowned Urdu writers and poets and telecast programs related to their contribution to Urdu language. These programs were a great source of information and inspiration for our young generation but for the last decade or so we haven’t seen such programs.

Unfortunately, the younger lot failed to continue the legacy of the aforementioned legends amid commercialization and competition. We have subconsciously declared Urdu incompatible in the modern world. It has been presumed that Urdu language was meant to lose its legacy with technological revolution but in reality we created an unfavorable environment for it.

Importance of English language cannot be denied. In order to survive in an international environment, English is considered as the lifeline. Our education system is mostly based on the aforementioned notion. In schools all of the courses are taught in English except a few, which is why Pakistani students and professionals do not face any trouble in communication when they go abroad. However, this proficiency in English comes at the expense of gradual extinction of Urdu.

Previously Urdu used to be the medium of instruction in public schools and that was one of the reason parents hesitates to send their children to those schools. Reason behind this state of affairs was that education system in colleges and universities is in English. It was not an easy task for these students to survive in that English dominated environment. Secondly, our civil services structure, judicial system and corporate sector are all based on English. If one is not proficient in English, he or she cannot compete in civil service exams or other competitive examinations. Now most of the government schools have switched to English as medium of instruction and only a couple of subjects are taught in Urdu.

In short, the Urdu language is in a crisis. We have not taught properly our younger generation about our national language. We failed to inculcate an affinity for our national language in them. They are not aware of the works of Ghalib, Yusufi, Insha, or at the very least have not gone over Zia Mohiuddin’s readings. There are those who have developed an affinity towards Saadat Hussain Manto of late, thanks to Sarmad Sultan Khoosa’s movie on Manto’s life. But Manto’s popularity is because of the subject matter of his writings more than his literary style.

Specifically, it is the lack of interest in its preservation which is disturbing. We have not tried seriously to promote and develop Urdu as a language. As a consequence of all the lack of effort towards helping it grows, its progress has stagnated. Now we are at the mercy of whoever decides to write whatever they like in the language and subject the public to read it.

We are coming dangerously close to “illiteracy” in our own national language. But apart from lamenting its decline, there is, perhaps, nothing much we can do with educational authorities like ours. Like in all other cases, our priorities are misplaced here as well. There are no incentives for the writers, poets and people engaged in Urdu language promotion from the government. Students are reluctant to major in Urdu literature because they don’t see any future in this field. Some of legendary Urdu writers and poets are living miserable lives.

Urdu is the insignia of our culture. The unfortunate dilemma is that we find it ‘cool’ or trendy to dissociate ourselves from it. If we want to preserve and promote our cultural values, we need to pay due attention to the dismal state of Urdu language but if we continue as we are today, Urdu, along with our identity may eventually cease to exist.

Edhi’s Funeral Did Not Depict What He Lived For

National Stadium Karachi was surrounded by armed personnel on 9th July at Pakistan’s greatest philanthropist Abdul Sattar Edhi. Everyone had to go through several security barriers to enter the stadium. Thousands of common people, who wanted to attend this great man’s funeral were not allowed to enter the stadium. The so called reason was, VVIP protocol.

The people were barred from attending the funeral because a few national dignitaries were attending the funeral. Thus the farewell of a great person was hijacked by VVIPS. The person who dedicated his entire life to the welfare of poor people and always resisted the idea of VIP protocol, was at the mercy of the same VVIPS on his death.

Edhi always lived among the masses and never carried a guard or any other security with him. The common people should’ve been at the front rows and the VIPs at the back but it was unfortunate that VIPs pushed some of the poor back and most of them out of the stadium.

If these VIPs were adamant to attend this funeral they could have arranged a separate VIP funeral and let the common people attend the “common” funeral. But what’s done is done. Now that we have forgotten Edhi’s ideology immediately after his death, it is also a worrying factor to see whether our system will allow his heirs to carry forward his legacy? Will Edhi foundation be the same after his death? Only time will tell the answers of these questions. Let’s hope for the best.

9 Reasons Why Karachi is the Greatest City in Pakistan

Diverse cultures, countless spoken languages, brilliant architectural heritage, and full of history, Pakistan’s largest city, Karachi, is the heart of the country. What started out as a small fishing village, courtesy of an old fisher woman named Mai Kolachi, has now become the most populated and largest revenue-generating city of the country. 

From being home to different religions, languages, and cultures, to sporting a natural harbor in its south, here are a few reasons as to why ‘The City of Lights’ is, in fact, the greatest city of Pakistan.


1. Rich history

According to historians, Alexander the Great camped in Krokola (Greek name for present day Karachi) in 325BC to prepare his troops for Babylonia. This was also one of the places from where, in around 710AD, a young Umayyad general called Muhammad Bin Qasim brought his conquering army into South Asia.

A painting by Charles Le Brun depicting Alexander and Porus during the Battle of the Hydaspes near modern-day Jhelum, Punjab. Alexander the Great then moved towards Karachi, from where he deployed his troops for Babylonia.

About two centuries ago, Baloch tribesman occupied this area, and developed it into a small fishing town. After the annexation of Sindh by the British in 1843, Karachi got the status of a town, which was soon changed to that of a city. Then after partition, the city was named as the capital of Pakistan until 1960.


2. Financial Capital

Karachi is known to be the financial and commercial capital of Pakistan.


According to the Federal Board of Revenue, Karachi generates roughly 54% of the total collections of the board, a big chunk of which comprises of customs duty and sales tax on imports, mainly because of the presence of the two ports in the city, the airport being one of the busiest in Asia.

I. I. Chundrigar Road, where 60% of the entire country’s cash flows.

Khaleej Times recently reported that since 2009, the Pakistani equities delivered 26% annually for US dollar investors, allowing the Karachi Stock Exchange to be the best-performing stock exchange in the world!

In other words, Karachi is a money-making mega-city.  Bling bling.

3. Food

Pakistan, generally, is home to hearty, food lovers. Karachi is not far behind when it comes to having a wide range of food eateries. The world famous Burns Road, also known as Banns Road, is a street in the very heart of the city, neighbored by the hustling and bustling of Saddar, and is famous for its traditional food items such as Nihari, Karahi, Haleem, Katakat, all sorts of barbequed Kababs, fried fish, desserts such as Rabri, and traditional drinks such as Lassi and Gannay ka Rus.

Lahore might be called the food capital of Pakistan, but Karachi’s ability to provide its people with a wide gastronomic repertoire from Paye to pizza, Burgers to Biryani, Sajji to Steaks, and Ravioli to Rabri, makes the city stake its claim as a serious contender for the food capital throne.

4. People

Karachi is home to about 21 million people, belonging to different religions, races, and ethnicities, with majority of the population being descendants of migrants from India, post-1947. Pathans, Sindhi, Punjabi, Gilgiti, Balochi, and Afghani make up the remaining part of the population. It is this beautiful mix of diverse cultures and traditions that makes Karachi a wonderful place to live in. The neighborhoods are tightly knit together – joys and sorrows equally shared.

Plus, Karachi is the birth city of people like Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan, Abdul Sattar Edhi, Mehdi Hassan, and Anwar Maqsood. Quite a lot of legends, that!

5. Architectural diversity

Boasting one of the country’s most beautiful skylines, Karachi houses some of the oldest architectural designs, dating back to the Victorian era, and some of the tallest, modern-day architectural wonders as well.

The Merewether Clock Tower, Empress Market, and Frere Hall are brilliant architectural pieces from the British Victorian Era, while modern day architecture includes the Harbor Front, MCB Tower, Bahria Town Icon, and The Ocean Tower.

The Karachi skyline also dons the famous Habib Bank Plaza building, and the glowing mausoleum of the Quaid.

6. Altaf Bhai

Hahah , Just kidding 

The term Altaf Bhai or Bhai Loag is synonymous with the people of Karachi. Bhai created and trademarked the term ‘Hello!? Awaz aa rahi hai!?’ courtesy his telephonic speeches, long before Skype calls made it cool. He has since gone on and made occasional city shutdowns, resigning, withdrawing, resigning and withdrawing his own resigning orders again, and most recently hunger strikes, cool too.

 7. Art on Wheels

The City of Lights houses one of the largest public transport systems of Asia, with beautifully painted trucks, buses, mini-buses, rickshaws, and Tuk-Tuks spread around in the city.

8. Convenience

The best thing about Karachi is the convenience to buy absolutely everything that money can buy.

Tiny shoe laces, luxury yacht, cheap furniture, electronic gadgets, clothes, cigarettes, drugs, arms and ammunition – you can buy just about everything! There are fancy boutiques that sell luxurious designer clothing for weddings and parties, and markets that sell cheap clothes for every other occasion!

9. Beach

Finally, why is Karachi the greatest city in Pakistan? Because it has the sea, damn it!  Not a canal or a river or a dam or a fountain, but the whole friggin’ sea! For starters, we have Clifton Beach, which in all honesty isn’t that fancy. But then we have the French Beach and Gadani, which, quite frankly, would pass as beaches of high, international standards!

People from Lahore say Lahore Lahore Hai. As a Karachi wala, born and bred in the city of Altaf Bhai, I would say Lahore Lahore Hai, par jitna Lahore hai, utna Karachi mai sirf Johar hai.

Even if that statement isn’t true, which it probably isn’t, Karachi and Lahore are among the greatest cities of Pakistan in terms of history and cultural heritage.

عید

میرے بچے بہت ہی بڑے ہوگئے ہیں۔کئی سال مجھ سے پوچھتے رہے بابا آپ عید کے دن کمرے میں کیوں بند رہتے ہیں۔نئے کپڑے پڑے رہتے ہیں آپ پہنتے کیوں نہیں۔شام کو جو لوگ ملنے آتے ہیں آپ ان کے ساتھ بیٹھ کے ہنستے کیوں نہیں۔صرف پانچ منٹ رسمی سی بات چیت کر کے کیوں اٹھ جاتے ہیں۔بابا عام دنوں میں تو آپ اتنا ہنستے ہیں مگر عید کے دن آپ کا چہرہ اسپاٹ کیوں ہوتا ہے۔

کئی عیدیں گذر گئیں اب بچوں نے مجھ سے پوچھنا چھوڑ دیا ہے۔البتہ ایک روائیت ضرور برقرار ہے۔صبح وہ ایک ایک کر کے میرے کمرے میں آتے ہیں۔سلام کرتے ہیں اور میں انھیں پہلے سے بنا کر سرہانے رکھے لفافے میں سے کوئی ایک پکڑا دیتا ہوں۔مجھے معلوم ہے کہ یہ غیر مناسب رویہ ہے۔مجھے اپنے لیے نہیں تو اپنے بچوں کے لیے ضرور عید کے دن وہ سب کرنا چاہیے جو وہ کہتے ہیں۔مگر میں کیا کروں۔عید کے دن وہ بچہ کہیں سے میرے سامنے آ کے کھڑا ہوجاتا ہے اور پھر خالی خالی نظروں سے چاروں طرف وہ سب ڈھونڈتا رہتا ہے جو اب کہیں نہیں۔

ہاں وہ کلدار ایک روپے کا سکہ آج بھی میرے پاس محفوظ ہے۔ہر عید پر میں اسے الماری سے نکالتا ہوں اور دیر تک الٹتا پلٹتا رہتا ہوں اور پھر دروازے پر دستک سنتے ہی تکئیے کے نیچے چھپا دیتا ہوں۔

Be’gunaahi ki sazaa kaat raha hoon,

Be’gunaahi ki sazaa kaat raha hoon,

bas itna hi kaha tha ki wahan laash padi hai …!

يہ آئینہ ہے _______ یہ تو سچ ہی کہے گا

يہ آئینہ ہے _______ یہ تو سچ ہی کہے گا

کیوں اس کی حقیقت کو جھٹلا رہے ہو

ستینوں میں چھپا لیتی ہے خنجر دنیا.

آستینوں میں چھپا لیتی ہے خنجر دنیا.

ہمیں اک چہرے کا تاثر نہ چھپانا آیا ۔۔۔۔۔

ماضی کی کچھ باتوں کا تاوان دوگنا دینا

ماضی کی کچھ باتوں کا تاوان دوگنا دینا 

پڑتا ہے _____

ِاس لئے سنبھل کے بولا جائے

جنہیں دیکھنا بھی نہ چاہے نظر

جنہیں دیکھنا بھی نہ چاہے نظر

انہیں سے تعلق بڑھانا پڑا

پھر آج ترے دروازے پر بڑی دیر کے بعد گیا تھا مگر

پھر آج ترے دروازے پر بڑی دیر کے بعد گیا تھا مگر

اِک بات اچانک یاد آئی ۔۔۔ میں باہر ہی سے لوٹ آیا

میرے حال پہ مجھے چھوڑ دے مجھے مت بلا

میرے حال پہ مجھے چھوڑ دے، مجھے مت بلا 

،مجھے مت رلا 

دل مضطرب سے کوئی صدا ، جو اٹھی ، تو 

حشر اٹھاۓ گی 

ہر عہد کی شہریت سے محروم

ہر عہد کی شہریت سے محروم

ہر شہر میں بے وطن ہیں ۔۔۔ ہم لوگ