Clarion Call - 1

In the 20^th century the key to success in business, politics, law and other professions was to dazzle everyone and smother the brightness of the opposition. It could be called the century of illusions and it has landed the world in the mess that we are faced with. In the 21^st century let us base success on sustained brilliance and only positive thinking. We have already wasted thirteen and a half years, so we have to work swiftly to make up for the lost time.

Some time ago I read a story about how five hundred participants of a seminar were asked to sign their names each on a balloon and throw them in a room; then everyone was asked to find the balloon with his name on it. Everyone rushed in and burst most of the balloons. One or two lucky ones got the right balloon.  The exercise was repeated with people going in one by one and picking up the nearest balloon and finding its owner and giving it to him. It worked and everyone got his balloon.

In real life assets and ideas do not have names of the people who deserve them written on them. But with a little commonsense we can tell whether what we have is necessarily useful to us or not. If not, it should not be too difficult to find someone who needs it. All you need to do is to post it somewhere or send emails to those who you think would be glad to receive it.

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Democracy’s Backdoor

There is news that the government of Pakistan has sought permission of the supreme court of Pakistan to re-appropriate Rs. 12.5 billion of development funds of the current budget to finance cost over-runs or accelerated expenditures of some projects. Whereas it shows the ineptness of the budget makers, it also shows the immaturity of the lawmakers.

In its judgment in December, 2013 in the case of dishing out 47 billion rupees to friends and family by the then prime minister of the other party, the SC had held that discretionary funds of the prime minister were unconstitutional and allocation and disbursement of development funds should be done in accordance with articles 80-84 of the constitution and according to established rules.

It is strange that the government of Mr. Nawaz Sharif prefers to have the supreme court do the work of the parliament. Why can’t the government introduce a supplementary bill to amend the allocations of the budget for the current year? If there is some hitch, it should move a constitutional amendment to make it possible.

It is a pity that both democratic governments and military dictators in Pakistan give the judiciary the status of a super-dictator when they need to get their own ill actions justified and then try to cut it to size.

I hope that this time the Supreme Court of Pakistan will not allow itself to be deceived and misused.

Crime and Punishment

Legislation, whether it is the word of an autocrat or the act of a parliament, is basically a manipulation of rights. A law requiring every citizen to pay ten percent of his income as tax, effectively takes away the right of each citizen to spend ten percent of his income according to his will and transfers it to government agencies. A person who is sentenced to five years imprisonment essentially loses his right of free movement and free speech for that period. The concept of democracy derived from ancient Greek literature and developed mostly in Europe concedes the unlimited authority of sovereign kings to bodies of elected lawmakers, leaving the electors just as subservient as before. And if someone commits a crime or is suspected of involvement in one, he or she immediately forfeits all his or her rights except the one to remain silent, if it is a right at all. Indeed, a total dismissal of right-manipulation would amount to social stagnation which has been obviated by the evolution of constitutional democracy which guarantees certain basic rights for individuals, subject to periodic amendments.

The Qur'an provides believers and nonbelievers alike with certain non-negotiable rights. These non-negotiable rights cannot be compared with constitutional rights as state constitutions are liable to amendment by some procedure or the other, while Qur'anic rights are permanent and inviolable in a true and absolute sense. The rulers are not permitted to legislate in contravention of these rights and if they do so they lose their mandate to rule. Even if the violation of these rights is not redressed in this world, the Qur'an promises that justice will be done on the Day of Judgment. However, in Islam also there are transient or situational rights. If a woman dies childless, her husband and brothers get shares in her legacy. But if she is succeeded by children then the brothers get nothing.

The notable non-negotiable rights which affect the social penal system are, inter alia, those relating to freedom of movement, retribution, compensation and pardon.

In Islamic jurisprudence, the State is responsible for apprehending criminals and exacting retribution or compensation on behalf of the aggrieved party or instituting punishment on behalf of God, but the right of retribution or pardon rests solely with the aggrieved party. The State is also responsible for ensuring that an innocent person is not punished or blamed. The emphasis on freedom of movement is so great that if one studies carefully the Qur'anic injunctions on crime and punishment it becomes apparent that imprisonment is not really an acceptable mode of punishment in Islam. The underlying philosophy can be summed up by saying: If people commit crimes, you may whip them, cut off their limbs, even take away their lives, but do not deprive them of their freedom. And this principle is consistently maintained in all its exhortations. These punishments, to a naïve observer may appear to be quite inhuman. But then the fact is that they were not instituted by a human at all. They were ordained by a Being that created all living beings, and has the eventual declared intention of destroying them. However, historic records indicate quite clearly that the implementation of these punitive measures invariably results in dramatic reduction of crime rate and thus the net measure of grief experienced by a community is reduced to a negligible amount. Moreover, the rules of evidence and conviction are so thorough, and the risk involved in reckless adjudication is so alarming that the possibility of irreversible damage to innocent individuals becomes minimal. Theoretically, in the Islamic system of justice it is not only the witnesses that are under oath to tell the truth, nothing but the truth; the judges are also under oath to do justice, nothing but justice. And the lawyers are also under oath to pursue facts and nothing but facts in the conduct of proceedings, and not to present false evidence or make false allegations. Perhaps, it would be a good idea if the latter oaths are also visibly and audibly taken in courtrooms at each session. Furthermore, until a minute before the administration of punishment, the culprit has the opportunity of regretting his conduct and offering compensation or begging mercy from the victim or the aggrieved party. If the criminal is arrogant enough to give a limb rather than own up a proven crime and make reparations for it then his undoing is by his own choice. Basically, every crime stems from its perpetrator having contempt for his victim and its effect can only be reversed by restoring the self-respect of the victim or the aggrieved party.

Most sociologists agree that in civilized communities, crime is not an entirely individual responsibility. In some way or the other, the whole community has to take a certain amount of blame. If only every individual in a community exercised his responsibilities to others, and took good care of those in need of attention -- physical, financial, material or psychological, then there would simply not be any crimes. Perhaps the best way of making the members of a community aware of their negligence is to subject them to the unsavory spectacle of public executions and other implementations of the ordained punishment. In this way it is not the state or government, but every member of the entire community that shares the guilt and agony of the punishment; and becomes aware or the need for action to eliminate the causes of crime. Open trial and open punishment is the ideal way to prevent the possibility of injustice or sadistic manipulation in prisons. Although it is a fact that the Qur'an allows the use of extreme forms of punishment with incisive physical and social impact, it is not necessary that these must be practiced thoughtlessly and indiscriminately or whimsically to satisfy the sadistic tendencies of certain individuals or to create political intimidation. Instead, the Qur'anic injunctions on punishment should be regarded as legislative limits; for example, the maximum punishment for theft can be the loss of a limb and not the loss of life under any circumstances. At the same time, it makes sense that in a community where police or an equivalent security arrangement does not exist, someone who catches a thief red handed would be well advised to chop off his hand if one does not want to be shot in the back as soon as the unrepentant robber gets an opportunity.

Law and morality are so closely intertwined in Islam that any attempt to separate the two strains the social fabric and produces violent reactions. Islamic logic also differs from Greek logic as it places ethical restraints on the length to which an argument can be extended. The holy Qur’an repeatedly admonishes against exceeding the limits (hudood) established by Allah e.g. killing someone for an act of theft for which the maximum punishment is the loss of a limb.

For purposes of the application of `Hudud' i.e. Qur'anic limiting punishments, guilt has to be proven by the sworn testimony of up to as many as four trustworthy eyewitnesses. The testimony of criminals or accomplices or circumstantial evidence does not suffice for conviction and someone who perjures himself may be barred from appearing as a witness for life. Moreover, even if a criminal escapes punishment, he knows exactly what he deserves, and each time he sees or hears about a public implementation of ordained punishments, his conscience is jolted. Similarly, in the Islamic system the criminal finds it extremely risky to conceal a crime by committing another, or to intimidate others by boasting about his crimes since there is no mercy after confession. The system appears to be designed to eliminate crimes and not criminals by putting everyone even slightly suspect of bad behavior into prison. Nor does it try to bring peace and tranquility to society by eliminating the victims by elaborate security arrangements for those who can afford it and ignoring the screams for help by those who can't. In psychological terms, the Qur'anic penal code and concept of divine punishment and reward lead people to associate crime with pain and humiliation both on an individual and collective scale while, at the same time, linking comfort and honor with acts of piety. The idea seems to be that initially the punishments would help to reform the society and the effect would be sustained by the promised rewards.

To tell the truth, the Islamic system of extreme punishments, in order to be effective, requires a certain amount of true Biblical heritage in the form of total commitment, strong sense of attachment, and spiritual significance of association. The underlying motivations can hardly be grasped by someone who has been educated in an insurance based culture where one turns a blind eye to the burglar so that one may buy with the insurance claim the latest model of the article being stolen. Hence, not surprisingly, many Muslim scholars regard insurance as being averse to the spirit of Islam. However, it is equally true that in communities where economic fortunes of large numbers of people are associated with the prevention and aftereffects of crime or accident, Insurance seems to be the only institution other than public representatives which has a genuine motive to check the rate of increase in crimes and accidents -- albeit only to the extent that insurance itself does not become superfluous.

The real conflict between Islamic and secular legal perceptions seems to lie in their treatment of rules of conduct. In the secular system criminal laws and rules of conduct are more or less clearly segregated; the breaking of law results in the suspension of basic rights and institution of prescribed punishment whereas a violation of rules of conduct can only be penalized by social pressures which don't seem to be effective in modern industrial cultures. In Islam, the distinctions between enforceable law and rules of conduct have become quite faint due to various scholarly edicts or "fatwa" pronounced over the centuries. Much dissent and discord has also been caused by scholarly legislation in not only Islam but also other religions. Fortunately in Islam the superior law exists in the Qur'an and rules of conduct can be formulated by popular or representative legislation. In doing so, the verses preceding and following the definitive verses should also be consulted for guidance. One example is given below:

5:38. And (as for) the man who steals and the woman who steals, cut off their hands as a punishment for what they have earned, an exemplary punishment from Allah; and Allah is Mighty, Wise.

5:39. But whoever repents after his iniquity and reforms (himself),  then surely Allah will turn to him (mercifully); surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.

5:40. Do you not know that Allah-- His is the kingdom of the heavens and the earth; He chastises whom He pleases; and forgives whom He pleases and Allah has power over all things.

The interesting question that needs to be pondered is what happens if a community of Muslims decides unanimously or by majority vote to structured punishments for crimes within the limits ordained by Allah. Surely, Allah is merciful and forgiving.

Hamid Mir's Injuries

 The recent nonlethal light pistol assault on the vehicle carrying senior journalist and TV interviewer Hamid Mir near Karachi airport seems to have raised a storm in a teacup. Thank God he suffered minor bullet wounds and is fast recovering, but it is not yet established whether Mr. Mir was the intended victim or it was a case of mistaken identity. The car in which he was travelling is a common model and color. The choice of weapon was definitely unprofessional if the intention was to kill someone in a moving vehicle. Yet there was an instant outrageous allegation suggesting that the ISI chief had attempted to have him murdered. This is bad journalism. It appears that the affairs of Geo TV are run entirely by young and impulsive announcers without any editorial review or management control. If they had suspicion of ISI men being involved in the case, Mr. Mir and Geo TV should have complained to the ISI chief and demanded action rather than committing an act that could be branded as unpatriotic.  The owners of Geo TV should start paying also attention to matters other than ad revenues.

 As for the public response to the case, it shows that the people of Pakistan are sick and tired of ‘spyocracy’ – an affliction also suffered by other democracies such as India, USA, Britain, Israel etc. due to exaggerated threat perception. The political leaders of these countries need to join heads to find ways to reduce the threat perceptions hence interference by spy agencies.

Facebook Posts

·         When will the Children of Israel grow up?

·         The Holy Qur'an is a Book of Wisdom, not a book of mantras.

·         PKR is now worth more than 1 US cent. Mr. Dar has delivered in 9 months. Congrats.

·         I am not the greatest. He is.

·         In his first term Mr. Nawaz Shareef had built a town in Punjab with donations from Muslim countries for the repatriation and housing of Biharis from Bangladesh. But when they stated arriving, trains taking them from Karachi to Punjab were stopped in interior Sindh and the Biharis were searched and killed. The plan was abandoned.

·         I recall having read somewhere that way back when the Pakistan movement was in full swing someone had suggested that a committee be formed to draft Pakistan's constitution in advance; to which Quaid-e-Azam and some other senior leaders had replied that there was no need for such an effort as The holy Quran was going to be the constitution of Pakistan. But it seems that after achieving independence the spirit was lost.

·         Artificial sweeteners do not attract ants.

·         Taqwa defined in the holy Qur'an: [2.177] It is not righteousness that you turn your faces towards the East and the West, but righteousness is this that one should believe in Allah and the last day and the angels and the Book and the prophets, and give away wealth out of love for Him to the near of kin and the orphans and the needy and the wayfarer and the beggars and for (the emancipation of) the captives, and keep up prater and pay the poor-rate; and the performers of their promise when they make promise, and the patient in distress and affliction and in times of conflict --- these are they who are true (to themselves) and these are (Muttaqeen) who guard against evil. ---Translated by M. H. Shakir.

·         What an irony. Pervez Musharraf is the latest missing person in Pakistan and the government is unable to produce him before the court.

·         Today is the first day of the rest of your life. Celebrate it!

·         Happy New Gregorian Year 2014 to all who will notice this entry. Let us resolve that this year we shall not repeat the mistakes of last year and try our best not to make new ones by trusting and consulting others before taking a decision. Let us also resolve that we shall treat everyone as a good person unless proven otherwise and keep our lines of communication open via FB and other conceivable channels for everyone.

·         I wish to thank everyone who called or sent a message on my birthday today. I am wondering about what I achieved during the last one year and what should be my targets for the next. One thing is obvious: I must do something admirable to make my next Birthday celebrations worthwhile. Since I have managed to stay alive during the last year, I should be able to do the same or even better next year. Do you agree with me?

·         Growing up means gaining control over ones emotions, actions and expressions. Children have no control and old people begin to lose it. So exercise it while you have it.

·         Allah! On this auspicious occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr, please grant lasting happiness and continued success to all my family and friends on Facebook and elsewhere.

·         I have stopped believing in prayers and wishes. Let us work together and ensure that in the coming years:
1. Nobody sleeps hungry.
2. No bullets are fired or rockets aimed at or bombs dropped on human beings.
3. No one suffers a loss due to the dishonesty of another person.
4. No truth worth knowing by people remains concealed.
5. No call for help goes unnoticed.

·         I am 66 now which looks like opening inverted commas, so the rest of my life will be a quotation ending at 99?

·         " For this reason did We prescribe to the children of Israel that whoever slays a soul, unless it be for manslaughter or for mischief in the land, it is as though he slew all men; and whoever keeps it alive, it is as though he kept alive all men; and certainly Our apostles came to them with clear arguments, but even after that many of them certainly act extravagantly in the land."
---The Holy Quran Chapter 5, Verse 32.

·         Why isn't anyone calling the Nato attack on Pakitani military post an act of war?

·         If you have nothing to do then READ. Reminds you of something?

·         "...People of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things."
---Leonardo Da Vinci

·         Why are most People right-handed? Best answer gets a reward.

·         Why are most People right-handed? Best answer gets a reward.

·         A perfect human being is one who has never hurt anyone in any way.

·         Here is a quote from a Hindu religious book:
It is improper to ever forget a kindness, But good to forget at once an injury received. The deadliest injury is effaced the moment The mind recalls a single kindness received from the injurer.
- Tirukkural 11:108-109

·         If you start playing a game with someone who does not know your game, you will only defeat yourself and feel bitter.

·         There is a verse in the Holy Qur'an that I translate as meaning  " Spouses should tailor themselves for each other."

·         Eid Mubarak. On one day in every year The Creator gives you the power to reward yourself for all your good deeds of the past year. Have you decided on what you deserve this year? I am sure you deserve the best.

·         According to an ancient belief, the world came into existence when the contraries (opposites) separated out of nothingness.

·         If you can't explain convincingly to a lay person what you are going to do, then most likely you won't do it right. That is the principle behind parliament.

·         Marriage is an agreement to be employed as a husband or wife and to take additional responsibilities as father or mother with happiness in life as wages and grandchildren as bonus.

·         Q: What is the difference between girls and women? A: Girls grow up, but women don't.

·         Thought for the day: The smell in your kitchen is the same as what you are cooking to serve to others.