The Political Saas-Bahu Saaga….

The recent deteriorating Pak-US relation was the hot topic of international relations. The US allegations on Pakistan for providing safe havens to Haqqani network and continuous emphasis on Pak army to launch operations in North Waziristan and other tribal areas while adopting the do more policy was a real apprehension for Pakistan. On top of all, the US secretary of state Hillary Clinton visit to Pakistan to further normalize the relations and also to strengthen the strategic alliance with Pakistan was an event of critical attention for Pakistani media.

In a session with journalists one of the journalists entitled US as Pakistan’s mother in law to which Hillary Clinton shared a huge laugh and said that she understands the literal meaning of this title. As this incident was covered massively by the news channels, while I watched it I struck with a thought. I started imagining the whole situation considering the stakeholders reflecting the real life typical Pakistani family. And then I analyzed the scenario in my own way which I will be sharing as under.

Imagine Pakistan, a typical self-pity and devastating daughter-in-law as being portrayed by a journalist who has to tolerate the cruelty of her Mother-in-law (US in this case). U.S has been deliberately playing its typical role and always keeps intimidating Pakistan with do more policy. On the other hand India our very own not so friendly neighbor plays the role of a Husband’s sister (nand) who cannot miss the opportunity to brainwash U.S against Pakistan and also plan tactics to deteriorate the position of Pakistan in the eyes of U.S.

The next character is our possibly only savior China who can be portrayed as a husband who always plays its cards to strategically handle the situation with a little biasness towards his wife (Pakistan). Another important neighbor i.e. Afghanistan without whom this whole saga will be useless. Afghanistan is a spoiled, irritating and ill-mannered child. His behavior is disturbing for the whole family. He is the real reason that family bonding is loosened and there is tug of war between the family members. Each member is having its stake in this child and wants to pursue their interests by claiming their right on this brat. But this little devil is nowhere to be in control of anyone as it knows its worth and is not ready to compromise its individuality with anyone.

The last but not the least is the role played by Israel. Israel is a very sharp, cunning and long term planner. He is not actually a part of family but he is close enough to the family to have an influence on the family matters. His plans are properly followed by U.S who is very good friend with Isreal and considers his suggestions and action plans for handling home matters.

Other than these vital members of the family there are other relatives also which can be broadly divided into two main categories. The west or the EU can be described as a group of those relatives who are interested in family grapevines. They will never offer any constructive solution to family problems and will always try to give useless suggestions or opinions about the situation underway. The other group of relatives is the Arab world which is comparatively less concerned about the issues. They have a little soft corner for the daughter-in-law but as they have less influence in the family they are not given any chance to interfere in the family matters.

Adding up to this family tree, the final role is that of United Nations. Who else can best portray the role of poor father-in law than United Nations? Yes! Father-in-law is very much in the picture but only at the back end. UN is only a mediator or negotiator who always fails to put its best efforts to settle down the matters. But being a father-in-law, he has little say in the house and the whole family including him is under the spell of US. ;)

Life as a Freelancer

Ever wondered how life would be when you don't have to wake up early morning for a boring 9-5 routine? When you don't have any Boss to scold and humiliate you. When you don't have to compromise on your sleep and family gatherings for tiresome meetings. On the contrary life is much easier as a freelancer. It is flexible, tireless, interesting, and also can earn you a handsome amount. The biggest advantage of being a freelancer is that you make your own schedule and you are your own Boss. You equally enjoy your personal life with friends and family and you can always take out time for yourself. I started freelancing a couple of months back. I was told by one of my friends about a wonderful site which was genuine and it was offering a good opportunity for research writers. As I had interest in research writing so I thought to give it a chance. Initially I did not tell anybody about my new job not even my parents as I was not sure if I will succeed in it or not. So I started working and it took me almost a month to understand and establish my grounds in it. While I was doing freelancing without the knowledge of my parents they were quite suspicious about my online activities. Of course they would have as I used to do late night sittings, spending hours on laptop. I knew what they would have been thinking but I was waiting for the right time. Then almost after a month when my work started to pay off I decided to tell my parents. So I told them about my new passion and enlighten them of how am I working and what the whole process of freelancing is about. Thankfully they were really impressed and happy too especially when they saw my first pay checks. Honestly it was a great encouragement as my father was very welcoming to it. He appreciated me and supported me for my writing. It was a boost to my confidence and thus I pursued freelancing with more interest and excitement. Gradually people around me i.e. friends, relatives, acquaintances, started getting to know about my work. Some of them were really happy and impressed while most of them were quite critical about it. The most common criticism I received was okay you are doing freelancing but what about a professional job? What about your career? Where some of them who did not have any idea of what the hell freelancing is used to discuss internet drawbacks and the inappropriate ways of earning money online. I was also recommended some easy and quick ways of earning money online by few people to which I used to wonder if it is so easy then they should have been playing in dollars until now. Actually it is easier to advise then to follow. If I say that I was not paying any heed to these criticisms or they did not bother me at all then it would be a white lie. Actually I was literally annoyed, frustrated and exhausted. I also had doubts about my work direction. But then by the grace of Allah my work was really appreciated and respected by my clients. It was really amazing when I received wonderful reviews and ratings for my work. I thanked Allah for all this success as it would not have been possible without His helping hand. I was truly honored and blessed. I thought about the scenario that was disturbing me since I started freelancing but then I had trust and belief in me. I am confident about it as I don't do it for others but for my self satisfaction. I know what I am doing and I really enjoy it. At the end I just tell myself that "People do not accept this alteration because I am not following the crowd instead I am moving against it."

The Blame Game!!!

Nowadays Pakistan seems to be the center of criticism for some so called developed/ developing countries. It seems like Pakistan is being used as a punching bag by them and they have every right to throw any allegations towards Pakistan. First USA Government Officials criticized Pakistan for not taking actions against terrorists in North Waziristan and accused Pakistan of supporting the Haqqani network. Then our not so friendly neighbor India cashed the opportunity to blame Pakistan's ISI for supporting Taliban and backing their network. Now the American puppet President Hamid Karzai also blamed Pakistan for being involved in the planning of assassination of former Afghan President Burhanuddin Afghani.

In response to all such blames and allegations, Pakistani Government denied all these criticisms and highlighted the role that Pakistan played in this war of terrorism. Also the financial and economic loss faced by the country pushed the country far back in its struggle of development. More than a million people loss their loved ones in bomb attacks including military and police officers. The country has faced the worst situations and people have gone through the biggest traumas of their lives. Moreover the incompetent and corrupt Government has pushed the country into energy crisis which has made the lives of people miserable.

The above scenario presents the worst situation of Pakistan as it has been declared by the World as a failed state. However this situation of the country is not natural. It has been pushed into this state by the super power America. As the American forces are unable to tackle the Afghan Taliban and now all their strategies have failed to deprive Afghanistan of Taliban. So they are making Pakistan escape goat to withdraw their forces from Afghanistan. The American forces are not ready to accept their defeat as its a shame for the super power, so they are putting the blame to Pakistan. Now that they have no other strategy left so they want to put Pakistan under pressure by destroying its image in the eyes of the World. They have the support of hypocrites like India, EU, and Israel who ally with America to suppress Pakistan.

All this game is played for the sake of denuclearization of Pakistan. India being the old enemy wants to ally with America against Pakistan. Also EU and Israel are not in favor of Pakistan's nuclear program as they never wanted a Muslim country to be empowered with nuclear technology. Hence this is all a game plan to destabilize Pakistan to get its control. As Pakistan holds strategic and geographical importance in the region therefore the enemies are eager to make their dirty plans successful.

However the Pakistani nation is still strong enough to counter all the enemy attacks whether physical or psychological. It is the strength of our nation that despite so much calamities, major incidents, and a war like situation people still have hope and they are still willing to work hard for their country. This strength is nothing but their strong belief in Allah and they are still holding on to the rope of Allah. We still have people among us who choose the path of Allah and that is the reason that Allah is supporting us through our worst times. I believe that this strength of Imaan will bring our country out of crisis and we will join the path of progress and development. Ameen