Daily Times

A few things are becoming clear if they were not already clear. First and most importantly, it is now clear that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government at the Centre or in Punjab cannot be accused under any circumstances of ‘good’ governance. The second thing that is pretty clear is the identity of the sectarian extremists killing the Shias and other minorities, and the identity of those who protect them — and no it is not the army that is protecting them. The third thing that is also clear is that Imran Khan is losing political steam, or has he just caught the love bug, amor vincet omnia?

So, writing another 1,000 words saying what is obvious is a waste of time. But then I could always write about how bad things are for the ‘masses’ and how little any government cares about them. Would that make a difference? Of course not, so better to write about something that at least is not too depressing. Before I go there, I must admit that the ongoing ‘trial’ of the assassin of Governor Salmaan Taseer has reached a dimension that I never imagined could be reached in a superior court in Pakistan. All I can say is that perhaps it is time to make sure that many of the black coated ‘personalities’ involved in what is becoming a farce should have their credentials verified by the appropriate authority. Concerning matters like these I do have a question. If the likes of Mumtaz Qadri desire so intensely to achieve the fruits of martyrdom, why are his supporters trying to prevent him from doing just that? Should his supporters not be marching in the streets demanding an immediate dispatch to his heavenly abode?

And, sadly, another spring will pass without kites filling the sky in Lahore. I have written about this in the past and I will say it once more. Why can the government not make sure that dangerous string is neither manufactured nor sold? As far as the kites and the old city of Lahore are concerned, I do not think that there is enough vehicular traffic in those narrow lanes to be threatened by stray string. For the rest of the city, many of the large parks should be made available for kite flying. As far as traffic is concerned, the Punjab police have already restricted traffic in half the city so restricting it a little bit more during the festival of kites should not be a problem at all. But, of course, the Punjab government is already so afraid of the mullahs that it will definitely not want them on its case for something as trivial as kites. That does make me wonder if the Sharif brothers could ever fly a kite or were they always frustrated in this endeavour by a ‘kite-eating tree’?

Enough of the depressing stuff and so on to something a bit less intense and perhaps even a trifle edifying. Now, about a young man who, when he was barely 18-years-old, got caught in a web of deceit spun by a senior member of his cricket team. As a result of this ‘childish’ indiscretion he lost five years of his professional life during which he could have made a lot more money than he got for doing what he did all those years ago. After having accepted his guilt and having gone through his punishment, he should of course be allowed to pursue his career. I am sure that, from now onwards, he will undoubtedly be one of the most closely watched members of any cricket team anywhere in the world. If he can succeed under such circumstances then, indeed, more power to him. And if he does succeed that will make me very happy for him and his family, perhaps even for the entire Pakistan cricket team.

The next thing worthy of consideration is the upcoming Cricket World Cup. I have some serious doubts about how well the Pakistani team is going to do in this tournament. Clearly the powers that be, and we well know who they are, conspired against Pakistan and managed to disqualify some of the most important players just before the World Cup. As a consequence of this dastardly conspiracy, the Pakistan team being fielded is not the strongest one possible. And two defeats by the Kiwis during the run up to the tournament do not fill our hearts with any amount of assurance of prospects for a successful tournament. That said, anything can happen in cricket, though anything happening favourable to Pakistan is highly unlikely. But then many of us will be praying for the success of the Pakistan team even though we might have no interest in cricket. The reason being that just maybe the powers that be in Pakistan will keep electrical supply available during the times that the Pakistani team is playing a match. So, go team Pakistan!

Having lived in the US for more than three decades, I entirely missed the world cup Pakistan won with Imran Khan as captain. And that is perhaps the reason why I have not been able to muster up any great admiration for him. Also, until a couple of years ago, my sports loyalties belonged to New York (NY) professional teams like the NY Mets and the NY Jets. But these two teams lost so often over the last decade or so that I had little trouble switching my sports loyalty to the Pakistan cricket team. Frankly, this switch did not disappoint me at all. The Pakistan cricket team definitely matches the NY Mets baseball team in its performance. So now I can do for cricket what I used to do for baseball. I watch the first few games (matches) in a new season (or tournament/series) and, soon enough, the team is out of contention so any sadness due to a late losing streak is avoided. Collapse of exalted expectations in sports or in politics is always a bummer.

The author is a former editor of the Journal of Association of Pakistani descent Physicians
of North America (APPNA)