......I'm Happy because You were wrong Sir ! (some random recollections from past 12 years.)

. . .28 May 1998 , Kohat Cantt. ,70 km SW of Peshawar: . . . Well it had been a hot day as usual, and I ,being the student of 3rd Grade and oblivious of whats going on around, was occupied by plans of upcoming "Summer Vacations".But not ignorant to the extent that I may not even notice Abbu's "changed" mood. So one thing was clear that "Every thing is not fine." Then the telephone rang breaking the silence of the room and I hurriedly ran to pick up the receiver....
"Hello. . . Asslam-u-alaikum, beta Colonal Sahab say baat krao. . .Uncle !Aap kaun? . . .Beta Kaho Rawalpindi say call hay. . . Ji acha!! " and I handed over
the receiver to Abbu.And the scene that followed,its still engraved in my memory .Abbu jubilantly said to the caller:"Sir ap ko bhi bohat mubarak ho" and then
putting the receiver back ,he literally smashed with his closed fist,on the bedside table and said to me with same jubilation"Beta agr aj Pakistan baqi hay to Dr. A.Q.KHAN ki waja say!!" and after few hours the then only Pakistani news channel PTV broke the news "Pakistan. . .now world's 7th country nuclear power.The PM will shortly address the nation". . . . .

. . . 4th Feb. 2004 : Gujrat ,120 km East of Lahore:. . . . . It was a cold evening, and then Abbu said to me:. ." .Omer beta T.V. tau lgao .Zara khabren hi dekh len....."and then as I turned it on,the first channel that showd up was again the same state-owned PTV,with its peacock-feather like logo at the bottom right of the screen which showed a feeble man,in his late sixtees in a simple,khaki coat and dull glasses.With dry lips and trembling voice ,as if being dictated by someone, he said : . . . ."O my dear country men! I seek your pardon, and I did all this in good faith. ". . . . . It was no other than Dr.Aq.Khan.

And the next day the newpapers made headlines "Not another A.Q.Khan". Ryan C.Crocker. . . .with details :"Us ambassdor to Pakistan after addressing a seminar at Serena Hotel here at Islamabad yesterday said "We are sure ,after what happend to Dr.Aq.khan,there won't be another "Khan" in future and
that, he won't be able to enjoy any further the same God-like stature among the Pakistani people,he once used to do."

. . . 5th April 2010 : The Green Benches,FMH College of Medicine and Dentistry,Lahore: . . . It was first day at college after the "Spring Vacations".Although a Physiology's test immediately followed the vacations and mine didn't go well,but that day is going to remain special due to some other reason as well.Because after the college,We planned to celebrate Dr.A.q.Khan's birthday.(And this time it wasn't "I". rather "We" ).
So on my left I can see the charismatic Ahsan, narrating Dr.Khan's message,on my right I can see Nimra slicing the cake apart(and later retaliating by "Itna Hi Men Nay Bhi Kata Tha "to those calling her "unfair " in dividng cake :D ),
right next to me ,I can see Mustafa trying to protect flickering candles figured "7" and "4" from being blown out by wind,I can see Umair,catalyzing the party in a style unique to him, I can see Sohaib socializing after almost a month,and the "gadget-guy" Hassan,as usual,trying to capture the"best-shot" . . . .
So today I am happy,I'm happy because I can see an array of my classfellows,I can see many juniors joining us as well,even some of the seniors have also showed up,and I can see all of them putting their testimonials for Dr.AqKhan on a chart depicting their love and regards for him.

I am so happy today,Mr. Ryan C.Crocker!I am happy because you were wrong ,Sir!You were wrong....

Earth Hour 2010 or An Hour of......?

Earth Hour 2010 or An Hour of......?

Today,there is no difference between my place and Burj-ul-Dubai,the Faisalabad's "Ghanta Ghar" and the London's Big Ben also stand

in the same row,the Sydney's Opera House or Lahore's AlHamra Hall ,also share something common..........that is ,the power cut off,something with which we Pakistanis are quite

familiar with (or I should say "In Pakistan a.k.a. Load Shedding,Batti Chali Gai..." ) .So as per WWF's(World Wild Life) recommendation ,this year almost 121 countries have signd

up for "Earth Hour "....a global campaign of reducing power consumption to minimum simaltaneously world wide to high-light global warming,climate change and

other such issues (which are mainly the headache of developed nations,but not a big-deal for us ,the "poor" third world people..)

But as the awarness spreads,the Earth Hour phenomenon also becomes popular with the Pakistanis,(you can see GeoNews ,calling for "Lets make a difference....

Its show time).In all this media sensationalized environment,does anyone wonder "Do we have a right to mark the earth hour?".....or one should say "In Pakistan?,well,where every hour is an earth-hour".

Blame-game is the most thing to do.You may curse Zardari,you may ridicule Water and Power Minister(for always giving a new-deadline to the end of power crisis),

or simply forwarding TXT messages bearing foul-language about WAPDA,KESC.....but is this all we can do?.Well, we cannot absolve ourselves so easily.

Just think how many major water reservoirs we built after Mangla and Tarbela?No..not a single one.Just a few small ones(like Bhasha or Manda Dam) that mainly

fill with water during Monsoon only...thanks to Mother Nature that shes still blesses us ,although we keep on wasting Her Benefits.Just say "Kala Bagh Dam bnao" and immediately

you will be entitled as "TRAITOR....You Punjabi..%#&*@!!" in Sindh or ,the response of Pashtuns of NWFP,won't be much different. and the Balochs have their own reservation about same

dam.

So in Pakistan,Earth Hour,should be an hour to ponder over ,an hour of self-analysis.No one asks you to make dams at the cost

of national-integrity..but in this hour of need,can the four of our provinces,just like four brothers,sit together and think as a "Pakistani"not as a punjabi,baloch ,sindhi or pathan!!and clarify to the Sindhis that

Punjab is not going to steal away your part of water,to Pashtuns that "No dear,your historic city,Nowshera is not going to sink down in Kala Bagh..".These are just a bunch of political clowns who make you believe so,to make their own ends meet.

So as you mark this Earth Hour 2010 in Pakistan,then do remember aswell,that our beloved founding father,M.A.Jinnah ,left a piece of advice " PAKISTAN IS DESTINED TO PLAY ITS MAGNIFICENT PART

YEAR AFTER YEAR AS WE GO ON, PROVIDED WE SERVE PAKISTAN HONESTLY, EARNESTLY, AND SELFLESSLY"

By Omer Hanif Janjua.(a student of Medicine's second year)

@ 12:25 pm PST,27th March,2010.(almost 8hrs before Earth Hour 2010)