It is an informed opinion piece that happens to quote facts, not fiction. You have already made up your mind that fact is fiction, and that fiction is fact. The writer is a known person, has a name, a face, a place of work, a career, a track record, and a reputation. What does an anonymous account have? In any case, feel free to bring facts and develop a case to rebutt his fact-based opinion piece.
Every opinion piece is "informed", but can all 'opinion' pieces be devoid of self interests, individual or collective? The author has shared facts, however what do we do when the very foundation of these 'facts' is challenged? I mean the census result can be considered factual, right? But is it not being challenged? Is it being accepted? And please do not go into the argument of having a face, a name and a career just for the sake of argument, do you have how much we have lost, how much we have suffered because of these 'op-eds'? I mean, by that logic, Hussain Haqqani's opinions are also 'factual' as they are all based on facts, he has a face and has served a career higher than most of us.
This sentence does not inspire confidence in your abilities to explain something.
It does, once you realize that there is a typing error in there. You may omit the 'not' and it becomes perfectly clear.
I guess we Punjabis need to bacially die away, just to make likes of you happy. Sorry, we are not gonna do that bro.
That is a sad interpretation of my post; what you, my brother Punjabi's can do is to ensure that there is justice served to the minorities. With greater power comes greater responsibility and much larger accountability. We can all live happily and a lot better than how we are living today. We can all be content when there is equality, when we become Pakistani instead of what we are today. Look at any of the first world countries, they all recognize themselves as their nationality and not on ethnicity.
Conspiracy theory #1
Conspiracy theory #2
Conspiracy Theory #3 (It does have a lot of substance though)
Is the above meant as an argument or lack thereof?
P.S. How can a conspiracy theory have a 'lot of substance'??
So was NS, so was ZA Bhutto. Now how many of MQM supporters complained during Musharraf's time when it had very strong backing from him? I do recall him giving MQM favors like demarcation, official protection, freedom to kill police officers, and various other sundry benefits. Nobody from MQM had any problem with any of that. I am not calling you an MQM supporter by the way. I am just pointing out that when MQM was the favorite child, nobody complained from Karachi about the unfair treatment. So I do not see a particular reason or rationale to complain about Establishment when it comes to Karachi.
Why would MQM or Karachi complain when we get what we deserve? When have we complained under the rule of MQM? Karachi has always been much much better of under MQM control and any argument against it is based on propaganda and bigotry. Musharraf was very smart, he always intended on serving the country to the best of his abilities and thus made sure he gave people what they wanted. We love Musharraf, we think of him as a hero.
I am a supporter of my city and I would vote for anyone who serves my city, I would vote for NS, IK, hell I would vote for Zardari if he served Karachi's interests. We get all that and more under MQM Governments as funds are actually utilized for development of the city as opposed to on corruption during other Governments. We have a mayor from MQM and a deputy Mayor and they don't have enough funds to pay every months salary, this is the state of affairs of Karachi. This is reality, we do not have water, as there is a massive mafia working on ensuring that we pay for tankers in every part of this city........do you know who is at the helm of that water tanker mafia? Let's just say it is the power that has an iron grip on the resources of the city.
I can not say much about purported Jinnahpur. But I do think that your imagination is fooling you. There was absolutely no appetite for MQM in Punjab, anywhere.
MQM was still growing, it was a political force of educated middle class people whose appeal would have swept other middle class families tired of land lords and feudals. The common thinking on the ground is that MQM invited an operation against itself the day it decided to become Muttahida Quami Movement from Mohajir Quomi Movement as the powers had always envisioned it to stay curtailed to Karachi and Hyderabad.
Unparalleled support from Mushy also, and carte blanc to kill as well. I hope you remember what happened in Karachi on 12th May. How many outsiders live in Liyari? Do you call the Baloch people outsiders, when in fact they have lived there for generations? What other outsiders? Pashtuns? If MQM unit and sector incharges run extortion rackets, it is all halal and kosher, huh? When that Malika-e-Bartania ka ghulam mota beyghairat rolls in money, that is all halal and kosher, huh? When MQM's Namaloom Afrad shut down Pakistan's financial and business hub at the will of their psycho leader, it is all halal and kosher, hun? When Establishment favored MQM, it was all halal and kosher, huh? You see none of that, do you? All you see is that outsiders are the source of Karachi's problems? I guess agreeing to a definition of 'outsiders' would be a tad bit problematic, since everyone would have a unique one of their own. So then, what is special about your definition of 'outsiders'? I told you that Karachi's problems came about due to parochial ethnic concerns, and I was right. You just proved it.
On May 12, MQM was following a script which was prepared somewhere else. MQM was the biggest casualty of May 12. Consider the period between 2003 and 2007, other than a May 12, the city was at absolute peace. We had to contend with muggings, mobile snatching and other similar street crimes but that is expected in a city so massive and with such a wide ranging demography of wealth. That period was beautiful. And than came an outsider, Zulfiqar Mirza, who had 1 aim and 1 purpose only, to eliminate MQM in particular and to wreak havoc on the Urdu speaking in general. He unleashed a reign of terror by arming Liyari Gang members with some of the most sophisticated weapons, weapons which have actually been used against Police and Rangers. The PAC (People's Aman Committee) unleashed wave after wave of terror under the patronage of LEA's and Home Minister Zulfiqar Mirza. Karachi had not seen such bloodshed since the operation of 90's. What I mean is, it is the outside interference in Karachi that causes problems for the city.
There are not many outsiders in Liyari, Liyariites have lived in Karachi longer than anyone else I guess.
So you are a property agent now? How about the fact that Karachi is bounded by its advantage of being a port? It can not grow into the sea. It has to grow into desert. Lahore is not exactly bounded. It can grow in all directions, and it has done that. If Lahore has grown faster than Karachi, then its not a coincidence or a conspiracy. Lahore's town planning and urban amenities have grown along with the population and size, thus attracting even more people. Lahore's Pashtun population has increased a lot, and we love them like our own. We do not begrudge their ethic of hard work and their sense of honor. We do not blame them for any problems, either.
When we take all the above into account we reach the conclusion that Karachi limits have extended beyond the Steel Mill and beyond the highway toll plaza, which has subsequently shifted to mark the transition. Karachi is expanding on all directions, the phenomenon of expansion is not limited to Lahore alone. On top of that, Karachi is not only expanding horizontally, it is expanding vertically. There are thousands of apartment complexes in Karachi and they cater to the larger population as opposed to Lahore. And Karachi still attracts more people from across Pakistan than all the other cities combined.
P.S. I recall you love for the Pashtun from when the first military operation started and how Punjab closed its border to ensure that the influx of refugees from the operation areas did not enter Punjab. We hosted them with open arms, Karachi did. Karachi has a heart bigger than the rest of Pakistan, we expect the same from our brothers in other provinces.
One word: Musharraf. Now multiply that with 9 years and hundreds of murders committed by MQM.
Now, is that meant to make sense? Do you mean to imply that Musharraf was the worst thing to happen to Karachi?
Nothing too drastic will likely happen. There is a cadre of committed bureaucrats and party machinery that ensures that work gets done in Lahore. CM Punjab would not be able to do anything for Karachi, because the local administration and LEAs are stuffed with PPP & MQM party minions. The inertia would be too much. When there is a pervasive victim mind-set, then nothing positive can ever happen. This has to change for things to turn around in Karachi. Accepting reality could be a beginning. Supporting a Center-based party could also help.
That is why I said 3 years, because CM Punjab would be able to change the provincial bureaucracy by then thus setting wheels in motion for betterment. Karachi has accepted center based parties on and off through MQM, the result has not been in our favor. We are always left at the mercy of PPP regardless of who is at the center.
Read other posts in this thread.
I did, intentions are the same.[/QUOTE]