Night of The General

By Aysha

Javed Akram

• Once among the country's most influential individuals, General Rani is now just a faded page in the country's history books.

The woman was a phenomenon. Easily the most influential figure during Pakistan's second military regime, with the slightest gesture of her bejewelled hand she could guarantee employment, ensure promotions and bring about unwelcome transfers. Yet, interestingly, few even know her real name: Akleem Akhtar. General Rani she was, and remains to all but an intimate few.
There are enough reasons for the lady's ascension to local legend status. In her glory days she seemed omnipotent and was brazen about her exploits. And now, even while suffering from breast cancer that has led to metastasis in the liver and kidney, bedridden and in semi-seclusion, she remains spirited and outspoken.
Yet, doing a story on her was probably the most difficult assignment I have undertaken. For one thing, everyone I was certain was acquainted with her, was reluctant to even own up to the fact that they knew her. So, for starters, I made a call to her daughter, Aroosa Alam, the defence journalist for the Pakistan Observer and the news coordinator for the Middle East Broadcasting Company, and pop star Fakhre Alam's mother.
Aroosa nipped all efforts at contact with her mother in the bud, claiming that not only was General Rani far too unwell to entertain visitors, but also, her brothers were completely against their mother appearing in the press. "My mother has been hurt sufficiently by the media already; we don't want her private life exploited any further," stated a stern Aroosa.
A call to Naureen and Arshad Sami, Adnan Sami Khan's parents, proved equally unsuccessful. Although General Rani is Naureen's maternal aunt, she politely but firmly denied even knowing the lady. There was a similar response from Zil-e-Huma, whose mother Madame Nur Jehan's friendship with General Rani was legion. Huma completely denied any knowledge of the woman.
A journalist working for the Jang group, Maqsood Butt nearly had an apoplexy when I mentioned the story I was working on. While in the past Maqsood Butt had written extensively on this topic and is said to have close ties with the family, he has for several years, refrained from even bringing up her name in an article.
"I promised her that I would never talk about her or her family again," he stated nervously and refused to help me in any way.
Clearly, the woman I was seeking out was no ordinary woman. As I kept running into a blind alley and became increasingly despondent, General Rani's lawyers, S. M. Zafar and Ijaz Batalvi, Mustafa Khar, and a few journalists and government officials who wish to remain anonymous, appeared like beacons and lit my way.
A sneak visit was arranged to General Rani's house and thereupon begins this story.
The house General Rani resides in is rather small, with little more than a handkerchief-sized lawn in front, and the main door opening into a virtually non-existent hall that leads straight to her room. There was an air of neglect about the house; the garden was unkempt and the floor unswept. General Rani was lying in bed. My first impression was one of shock. Having visualised an elegant, elderly woman, I was instead confronted by a dark, overweight woman. Her hair had obviously suffered due to heavy doses of chemotherapy, and the loss of hair accentuated the pock-marks on her face. But though visibly ill, she was in good spirits and happy to entertain visitors - a commodity I suspect, is a rare treat nowadays.
General Rani hails from a village in Gujarat. Her father was a zamindar and the family was reportedly well-to-do. Those who knew her family describe their house as one of the bigger mansions in the area, with a number of servants running around to the residents' bidding.
From the outset, Akleem was an independent spirit. She was a tomboy, fond of outdoor sports and hunting. And though she did not even complete her matric, her sharp intelligence more than compensated for her lack of education.
At a tender age she was married to a police officer many times her senior. Though the marriage lasted for some time and she bore six children, General Rani was never happy. Her husband was a traditionalist and believed that a wife's primary duty was to serve her husband. A woman as strong and independent as she found this hard to digest, and squabbles were common between the two. The sham their marriage was eventually reduced to, collapsed one day - right on Murree's Mall Road.
One summer, when the family was vacationing in Murree, a burqa-clad Rani and her husband went for a stroll on the Mall. As was customary for him, he walked a step or two behind her so as to keep an eye on her. Suddenly there was a gust of wind - "a lovely breeze" says she, and quite spontaneously Rani lifted the naqab covering her face to allow the breeze to caress her cheeks.
Her husband immediately tapped her with his walking stick to reprimand her. Enraged and insulted, she threw caution to the wind and flung her naqab to the ground, and her abaya into a cracking fire. She then turned to face her husband with a defiant gleam in her eyes.
She explains her reaction in these words: "I just felt I had had enough. The anger and frustration had been building up inside me for many months, but that day, it just all came oozing out. I wanted to tear my husband's muffler into bits, scratch his face, pull his hair out, and do all sorts of damage to him. The only thing that stopped me were the people on the Mall."
Though this incident marked the end of her marriage, the official divorce process (if there was one) took place later. Most sources agree that Rani was only married once, but one of her closest friend states that there was a second marriage, much later in her life and of an extremely short duration. Whatever the truth of that marriage, the dramatic end of her first proved a turning point in her life and transformed Rani irrevocably. She began to thrive on her independence and her life philosophy evolved into a specific ambition. As she puts it, "I was determined to beat men at their own game. Since my husband was in the police, I had been observing men in positions of power throughout my married life and I had realised that all men in positions of power needed a vent and the vent they require the most is a bedmate provided through a reliable agency. The higher a man's position, the greater his demand."
In one interview, Rani stated: "I knew that dumb, pretty girls who come with no strings attached are a universal failing of men in power. After my marriage collapsed and I had to find the means to support myself and my children, I decided to become the provider of such girls to men in need."
In yet another conversation, she talked about the understanding she gained of the workings of the government by listening to her husband's complaints. "I realised that in this country everything worked on mutual favours and the profession that I had chosen for myself entitled me to these favours."
This outspokenness notwithstanding, Rani maintains she personally never allowed herself to be used or even thought of as any man's keep. She contends she maintained her dignity and saw herself as a sexless mother figure. She says she was always the woman behind the scenes, there to run the show and mop up the mess.
The gods were obviously smiling on her, because soon after she adopted this profession, the man who was soon to run the show took a shine to her. She describes her first meeting with Yahya Khan. "At that time Agha Jani was posted at Kharian and I was living in Gujarat. We met by chance at a party in Pindi club. Though I would often frequent such parties, I never joined in the drinking and dancing. Rather, I preferred sitting some distance away from the party and usually found a seat near the men's room, well aware of the fact that the more they drank the more visits they would have to make to the toilet and hence past me.
"Agha Jani was in full swing at this party. He was completely drunk, and was continually traipsing back and forth from the men's room. During one of these visits, he saw me and took a fancy to me. I remember asking about him and after we were formally introduced, I invited him to Gujarat."
Thereafter Yahya Khan began making frequent journeys from Kharian to Gujarat. Somewhere along the way she earned the title of General Rani and the name stuck. While speculation about the exact nature of her relationship with Yahya Khan rages - they were said to be friends, lovers, shared a sibling relationship or one of demand and supply at various times through the course of their relationship - the general consensus among Rani's more intimate circle is that they never had a physical relationship. Various explanations are put forth to explain this. "Yahya never desired her," says a friend. "She was a woman of principles and from day one, she made it clear to him what her limits were," states another.
Nonetheless, after he became the martial law adminstrator, Rani became a cornerstone in his life. Yahya's weaknesses were drink and women and Rani masterfully catered to both. Among the women she introduced him to were film actress Taranna - film actress Andleeb's mother - Madame Nur Jehan and Nael Kamal. She relates how Yahya's fascination with Nur Jehan began.
"One night Agha Jani came to visit me and was somewhat agitated. The moment he entered, he inquired if I had heard the song "cheeche da chala" from the film Dhee Rani. I smiled and stated that I had no time to listen to songs. So, he called the military secretary and ordered him to have a copy of the song delivered to my house at once. It was two o' clock in the morning and the MS had to specially have an audio shop opened up in order to obtain the album. But the command was obeyed and within an hour, Agha Jani was blissfully listening to the song.
"Observing him I smiled and stated that since he seemed to enjoy the song so immensely, I would bring the singer to his house on his birthday. This greatly pleased him and so the very next day, I took a flight to Lahore. In those days, a suite at the Intercontinental Hotel was permanently reserved for me and so from the airport, I went directly to the hotel. From there I called Nur Jehan and asked her to come and meet me. Till now, I had never been formally introduced to her; I just knew of her, as she knew of me. Well, Nur Jehan came, and we talked, and the next week she arrived in Islamabad to dance and sing for General Yahya Khan."
Madame Nur Jehan's relationship with General Yahya Khan subsequently came under great scrutiny. At first, Madame persistently denied that she was on friendly terms with the general, but when objectionable pictures of both of them were printed, she resorted to another defence and officially stated that General Rani, had time and, again tried to get her involved with the general. In response to this, Rani laughed and commented that Madame was hardly a suckling infant who could be coerced into doing what others wanted her to do. The Rani-Nur Jehan tussle was played up by the press, until eventually, some time before the latter's death, the two made up. Following is an extract from an interview General Rani gave after Madame's death.
Q: Why did you introduce Madame Nur Jehan to General Yahya Khan?
A: Some tax inspectors were bugging Madame Nur Jehan and the poor woman was in great distress. She asked me to help her out and I introduced her to Agha Jani.
Q: How would you define your relationship with Nur Jehan?
A: She was just like my sister and I often called her baji.
Q: How would you describe her character?
A: She was an exceptionally brave and confident woman, who brought up her children singlehandedly. The only flaw she had was her greed for money.
Q: It is said that Madame tried to drive a wedge between you and Yahya Khan?
A: I don't want to say anything on this issue. If Rani catered to Agha Jani's every whim, there is no question that she was royally compensated. During Yahya Khan's time, General Rani prospered way beyond her wildest expectations. There are endless reports of how she would use her 'special relationship' with Yahya to fill her coffers. She would ask for a plot of land or a house in return for a favour and those desperate for a job or promotion would readily fulfill her demands. During this time, politicians were also eager to win her approval and among the many who curried her favour were Mustafa Khar and Z. A. Bhutto.
General Rani describes her relationship with these two men: "Both Mustafa Khar and Z. A. Bhutto would come and sit at my house for hours on end, begging me to introduce them to the General. Mustafa Khar was particularly fond of listening to the poems I used to write. In fact if you compare Yahya Khan to these two, I would say that I was closer to Bhutto and Khar and arranged more parties for them than I did for Agha Jani."
It was a closeness that was not to endure. As soon as Bhutto came to power, General Rani was put under house arrest and her telephone connection was cancelled. Her crime in the words of an eminent lawyer was that, "she knew too much."
Thus began General Rani's downfall. Once the issue of house arrest was resolved (courtesy S. M. Zafar) and her subsequent jail terms ended (the most recent for drug-trafficking), General Rani never really reverted to her former glory. By now the money that had so freely flowed into her hands had also freely flowed out.
Financially wrecked, socially ostracised, dependent only on the kindness of a few whose affections for her have endured, General Rani lives largely in the past - in the memory of days of wine and roses.
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Information on Ghana by Rhoda from Ghana

Ghana: History & Culture

By: Rhoda from Accra (Capital of Ghana)

History: Medieval Ghana (4th - 13th Century): The Republic of Ghana is named after the medieval Ghana Empire of West Africa. The actual name of the Empire was Wagadugu. Ghana was the title of the kings who ruled the kingdom. It was controlled by Sundiata in 1240 AD, and absorbed into the larger Mali Empire. (Mali Empire reached its peak of success under Mansa Musa around 1307.) Geographically, the old Ghana is 500 miles north of the present Ghana, and occupied the area between Rivers Senegal and Niger. Some inhabitants of present Ghana had ancestors linked with the medieval Ghana. This can be traced down to the Mande and Voltaic people of Northern Ghana--Mamprussi, Dagomba and the Gonja. Anecdotal evidence connected the Akans to this great Empire. The evidence lies in names like Danso shared by the Akans of present Ghana and Mandikas of Senegal/Gambia who have strong links with the Empire. There is also the matrilineal connection Before March 1957 Ghana was called the Gold Coast. The Portuguese who came to Ghana in the 15th Century found so much gold between the rivers Ankobra and the Volta that they named the place Mina - meaning Mine. The Gold Coast was later adopted to by the English colonisers. Similarly, the French, equally impressed by the trinkets worn by the coastal people, named The Ivory Coast, Cote d'Ivoire. In 1482, the Portuguese built a castle in Elmina. Their aim was to trade in gold, ivory and slaves. In 1481 King John II of Portugal sent Diego d'Azambuja to build this castle. In 1598 the Dutch joined them, and built forts at Komenda and Kormantsil. In 1637 they captured the castle from the Portuguese and that of Axim in 1642 (Fort St Anthony). Other European traders joined in by the mid 18th century. These were the English, Danes and Swedes. The coastline were dotted by forts built by the Dutch, British and the Dane merchants. By the latter part of 19th century the Dutch and the British were the only traders left. And when the Dutch withdrew in 1874, Britain made the Gold Coast a crown colony. The first Britons arrived in the early 19th century as traders in Ghana. But with their close relationship with the coastal people especially the Fantes, the Ashantis became their enemies. Ghana is located on West Africa's Gulf of Guinea only a few degrees north of the Equator. Half of the country lies less than 152 meters (500 ft.) above sea level, and the highest point is 883 meters (2,900 ft.). The 537-kilometer (334-mi.) coastline is mostly a low, sandy shore backed by plains and scrub and intersected by several rivers and streams, most of which are navigable only by canoe. A tropical rain forest belt, broken by heavily forested hills and many streams and rivers, extends northward from the shore, near the Cote d'Ivoire frontier. This area, known as the "Ashanti," produces most of the country's cocoa, minerals, and timber. North of this belt, the country varies from 91 to 396 meters (300-1,300 ft.) above sea level and is covered by low bush, park like savanna, and grassy plains. The climate is tropical. The eastern coastal belt is warm and comparatively dry; the southwest corner, hot and humid; and the north, hot and dry. There are two distinct rainy seasons in the south-May-June and August-September; in the north, the rainy seasons tend to merge. A dry, northeasterly wind, the Harmattan, blows in January and February. Annual rainfall in the coastal zone averages 83 centimeters (33 in.). The manmade Volta Lake extends from the Akosombo Dam in southeastern Ghana to the town of Yapei, 520 kilometers (325 mi.) to the north. The lake generates electricity, provides inland transportation, and is a potentially valuable resource for irrigation and fish farming. There's also another man made lake in the Ashanti Region, called lake Bosomtwi, it's the biggest man made lake. Ghana has a population of about 20 million and our currency is cedis. We derived the name from how we call cowries in our local language, "Sidie". About 74.8% of our population is literate. Christianity is the major religion practised here, followed by Islam and the traditional religions. Agriculture takes about 55% of the labour force, industry comes next with about 15% Ghana is a very peaceful country even though we r not very rich. The major foreign exchange earner is cocoa and it makes the best chocolates.As I told u earlier, I live in Accra, the capital of Ghana. Accra is the home town of the Ga tribe but it's now inhabited by people from all over Ghana and many foreigners as well. It is a beautiful city with a lot of tourist attractions, there are a lot of beautiful beaches and friendly people. The major vocation of the Ga tribe is fishing but most of them have diverted but there are still some fishermen around. The President lives at the Osu Castle which is along the coast with a beautiful scenery. We have a lot of entertainment centers, restaurants, and hotels in Accra. Most of the major government and private institutions have their head offices in Accra.Ghana actually has 10 regions and the region with the richest culture is the Ashanti region. The Ashanti kingdom is one of the richest, biggest and well respected in Africa. The King is called Otumfuo Osei Tutu 11. It's a modernised kingdom but it still maintains a lot of it's culture. The language of the Ashanti's is Twi and it is the most widely spoken local language in Ghana. The current President is from the Ashanti region. The cultures vary from region to region but we do have a lot of things in common. Will tell u more about the food, music and festivals in my next mail. I have to get back to work.

The Death of Great Pakhtun Patriot.

The Death of Khan Abdul Wali Khan, a great Pakhtun patriot


The towering icon of this province, Khan Abdul Wali Khan has passed away, after years of service and devotion to this land and its people. He spent the best part of his life struggling for the Pakhtun people and nation. Like his illustrious father, the venerable Ghaffar Khan, a truly Nelson Mandela figure, many of these years were spent in painful confinement. Both son and father were ignored by fortune, but I am certain the conclusion of history will be more favorable. No doubt there will be well deserved and many glowing obituaries about Khan Wali Khan and his contributions as a rare and a great Pakhtun leader; I wish to remember him as a seer, who could peer into the future. He was personally very kind to me in my various capacities as an administrator and someone belonging to this province.
In 1982-83, as deputy commissioner, Peshawar, I had the awful and distasteful duty to place Khan Abdul Wali Khan in preventive detention during the MRD agitation against the martial law of Ziaul Haq. There existed, I felt a bond, based on respect and which lasted beyond official capacity; it was love for a person, who struggled for the rights of his people. His periodic tirades against the federation served its cause many a times; it forced the federal government to be just to NWFP in terms of funds and other matters. I intend to write today about a meeting with him in which he analyzed Pakistan’s situation in clear terms. Because what he said then is even more relevant than before.
On the morning of 3rd October 1983, I was informed by assistant commissioner Charsadda, that Begum Wali Khan had a serious medical problem and if I would have her personal physician Dr. Alif Khan rushed to Wali Bagh. This was arranged. However, fearing that more assistance may be needed, I also went to Wali Bagh. Wali Khan was also present and was plainly distressed about the medical problem of Bibi. After it was controlled, I was requested to stay back for lunch. During and after lunch Wali Khan, spoke at great length about the situation in Pakistan and what he thought was wrong with it.
I reproduce verbatim my noting of the period, which I have kept. The situation then was that there was a guerrilla war going on in Afghanistan; a secret war in which Pakistan was the conduit for provisioning the Afghan jihad with money, weapons and jihadis from all over the Muslim world, including Osama bin Laden. Internally there was a martial law, where a military dictator had been in power since 1977. The political parties had launched a movement for the restoration of democracy (MRD). There was distrust between the PPP and the NDP, similar to the one today. Political activities were banned, preventive arrests were made and in Sindh there was violence and many deaths. President Zia, cautioned that the times were delicate and sought understanding from political forces.
Wali Khan was pessimistic about the future of the country. He felt that the political problems facing it required deft political handling and intermediation of political forces to resolve the issues of various nationalities composing the state. However, the United States was not allowing that to happen, because of support for the Zia government, in order to achieve its political objectives in the war against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. Wali Khan said that the army looked for support not from its own people but from the foreign power. “It is an exchange of resources (armaments) for political backing of a military regime”, he said.
He felt that the MRD movement had become regionalized. That was its greatest weakness. The smaller provinces were fighting a political battle for getting their rights, but Punjab was happy with the continuance of the Zia regime because of the transfer of resources to it. “Until more balance was brought into the province - centre relationship, the smaller provinces would remain back ward and their development will be thwarted” Wali Khan said. He thought that “One way was to limit the powers of the federation and to confine them to the Lahore Resolution subjects of defense, foreign affairs, currency and communication”. Wali Khan spoke at length of the alienation of Sindh and suggested that its problems must be dealt with politically and not with the heavy hand of violent suppression.
Abdul Wali Khan said, “The main reason for the entry of the USSR into Afghanistan was Pakistan’s faulty foreign policy relationship with its smaller neighbor; if we had not been so callous in frequent closures of the Pak-Afghan border in the past, it would not have forced the Afghans to look to Moscow for trade and other needs. Our actions had brought Soviet influence to Afghanistan and into our back yard”.
Wali Khan felt that no military regime was capable of solving Pakistan’s political problems because, “The military was self centered and dependent not on internal democratic support but upon external help. On the other hand a political government is always dependent upon its popularity in the public; its agenda is internal. This gave the democratic process an edge in facing many difficult challenges not available to any other form of government. If the present trend of non-democratic governance continued for long, it could carry within it the seeds of incalculable danger to Pakistan’s future”.
It is indeed a sad state of affairs that the passing away of a great and a rare personality took place in circumstances, which in many ways resembles the internal and external situation confronting Pakistan in 1983. Does it mean that we have not progressed in the last 23 years? My only regret is that Khan Abdul Wali Khan could have been so much more. He had so many qualities, which would have served Pakistan well; however I believe he was not comfortable with power. The frontier has lost one of its most outstanding leader and a prominent fighter, who advocated equity and justice as the operating principles of the federation. S.M.Arif YousafzaiManaging DirectorZam Zam Tijarat PeshawarMobile Phone; 03005865516

Pitras to his son ....

Ahmed Shah "Pitras" Bokhari, the eminent Pakistani author of humorous Urdu short stories, and man of letters, wrote this to his son Haroon ("Rooney") while he was studying in England. Pitras's genius and candour was by no means limited to Urdu alone: My Dear Rooney,
I sent off a cable to you when I received your most vivid letter & the 'Presto' photograph. Didn't the Presto remind you of "fatafat foto" - it did me. Your letter was delightful & reassuring as it clearly showed that you liked being where you were & doing what you were doing. This is the best tonic you can have for life ahead of you. Do you know that between this letter of yours & your previous letters one could feel the difference of several years of maturity, as if merely by the fact of launching upon a career of your own & by being in different surroundings away from home, you had added many years of maturity to your being.
Within a week I'll be sending you a draft for 40 or 50 pounds, so that your bank account looks a little richer and you have less anxiety about possible emergencies. Luckily you have known a great deal about England from books, magazines, etc, etc & directly from persons who have lived there, including such travelers as me & uncle ZAB. I am sure therefore that you would not have had the same strange & sometimes baffling reactions about your environment that I had, for example, when I arrived at Victoria Station, London in 1926 with no one to meet me there & heard unintelligible cockney from the railway porter for practically the first time in my life -- also when I didn't know whether a taxi would or would not be beyond my means, or whether I should or should not speak to a woman. You know all that it is important to know & have seen more of life than I had seen at your age. Nevertheless parents have an incurable habit of giving good advice, in season & out of it, even when it is not needed. It arises from affection and from protective desires & from anxiety for your welfare, born of love. Let me therefore give way to this incurable habit, & if you find my advice superfluous, as I sincerely hope you will -- I am sure you will -- you can ignore it forgivingly -- that is to say without being irritated by it. I will make it as brief as I can. First of all, a very simple piece of advice -- avoid breaking the law. I don't mean resist the temptation of committing a murder or robbing a bank. Your life is not heroic enough to have such monumental desires, as you haven't had the ample opportunities that are provided by having been brought up amongst hoodlums & gangsters. But one is always liable to break laws in little things. One had better avoid that in foreign countries. It is bad manners for a foreigner to enjoy the hospitality of a country & then break a queue or traffic rules or rationing regulations or evade taxes. It is also suicidal; for you'll find that if you break a law the consequences will depress you more in a foreign country away from home than if you broke the same law in Lahore. Deep down being civilized, we are always afraid of breaking the law & it is no use surrounding ourselves with avoidable fears specially in another country where these fears are likely to be large.
Secondly, women. This is not a delicate subject. I am not going to speak about the "delicate" side of this matter. There is nothing concerning that aspect of which you do not know or which your good senses, good breeding & decent values will not guide you in. And if you do not have the good values, one or a thousand letters from me will not give them to you. All that I wish to say is that when you meet women, you are bound to show off a little -- we all tend to do so, more or less according to the amount of vanity & the amount of desire to appear good & great in addition to being good or great. But do not try to impress women or for that matter anyone with your money. This is vulgar & besides can have disastrous consequences purely from the worldly point of view. Do not transform what can be a very pleasant experience into a vulgar or an expensive hobby. It is like smoking-- it is a mildly sinful, expensive & supposedly soothing activity, but there is a difference between smoking & chain smoking; also between smoking & taking drugs like opium. The next two or three years are important in your life. On them depends how comfortable your life as an individual or as the husband of a wife or the father of children will be in years to come.
Keep these 2 or 3 years reasonably free from entanglements that may be too big for you to handle. Emotional upheavals -- no one can help or condemn, but alas they have social consequences. These latter come up against the hard facts of life. If you would like to lead a life of pure emotions, caring neither for whether you starve nor for whether you are socially acceptable -- you would be a great man, & for me to advise you would be to insult you. But till you are sure that you have their measure of greatness, you will need all the caution & forethought that mediocre, average men, which most of us are, need for ordering their pretty undistinguished lives. Thirdly, as time goes on, your letters to us will be come less & less frequent & also more & more brief. It will be a sign, not of callousness, but of an expanding horizon & a change in perspective. But two things I will still like you to do. Do write regularly to Mummy -- however brief the letters. You are more important to her than she is to you. Also with the years her need of you will grow greater, your need of hers less. Therefore be kind & considerate. Her demands will be urgent to her, but not great or difficult to fulfill.
Also keep in constant touch with Mansoor. Do not let his friendship wither away for want of feeding. If he was only your brother, he could some time or other become a nuisance in life. But luckily he is also a very good friend & a friend is never, never worth losing. Besides, you are going to work in the same firm for many years & it will be comforting to both of you to retain the bond you have. As for me, write to me when you feel, whether it is for money, for advice, for consolation or for mere fun. Your letters will always be welcome to me & I don't think I'll ever fail to understand your point of view or to sympathize with you or to love you, whatever your joys or your pains may be and however right or wrong you may be. In your work, you can only use the intelligence & the character you possess. I cannot add to them by exhortations. But as one who has been a 'boss' in one way or another for many years, let me tell you that what bosses like & have a right to demand is that their employee should be above all, reliable. Not only your bosses but your friends have the same right to demand reliability of you. Your foolishness, your inefficiency, your weaknesses can all be overlooked by your friends & even viewed with affection if they feel that for moral values you can be absolutely depended on -- that you will not let them down. Bosses expect the same thing. However big the machine, & the organization and however impersonal their relations in & with that machine, they are after all human beings. Thank God that the highest pitch of a large-scale industrialization has not yet killed that fact. Above all, do not, if you can help it, create a crisis in your life -- that's all.This letter has almost become like Polonius's speech to Laertes. I am too close to it to see whether it is full of clichés & as pompous as Polonious's string of wise sayings was. But I am not afraid of exposing my pompousness to you, if I have it in me. You & I have been friends for many years -- you have been a jolly fine companion to me & I do not mind if I reveal my worst weaknesses to you. I am sure you will forgive them, and at the worst will smile at them with understanding & affection. I am studying the Mexican system of education, on behalf of our government. A large part of the Mexican population is illiterate & backward, but since the Mexican revolution of 1910, there is a great stirring of the soul in this baffling & picturesque country & their struggle to rise and redeem their cultural soul are fascinating and inspiring. This will take me right up to the end of June. After that I'll probably go to London -- to broadcast on Pakistan on the national & international network of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation & to give a lecture or two at the McGill University at Montreal. All these are in response to invitations received. Thereafter, back home through London of course. And who knows I may steal time to look you up in Liverpool or you to look me up in London. I'll keep you fully informed of my movements & plans.Mummy asked me to send you some clothes from here. I'll be sending you money instead, as clothes rationing is off in England -- sending stuff from here is expensive and complicated. A little later you might give me a picture of how you stand financially, so that I send you a steady supply of filthy lucre according to your needs. I was going to say that I am not rich, but you know how rich or poor we are. What you may not know fully I that, nevertheless, at all times we should be not only ready but delighted to treat your needs as the most paramount in the family. Bless you and wish you the best of luck. Have a good time -- I am using good in the Greek sense. The Greeks had the word 'kalos' which meant three things at once -- the great, the good & the beautiful -- for in their great wisdom they realized that all three were inseparable.With best of love,Affectionately,
AbbaP.S. Keep your Urdu alive. Ask Mansoor to keep you supplied with an occasional book or magazine. This is important.

UN structural reform & Pakistan

PAKISTAN TIMES online edition (http://pakistantimes.net/2005/04/28/oped1.htm) 28th April 2005.

UN structural reform & Pakistan
By Amer Rizwan Khattak

THE United Nations Organization came out of the most horrible and devastating war, the humanity has ever seen. However, the geopolitical realities and the very nature of the world system has undergone a transformation since its inception in 1945. So theorists and analysts have long been demanding an overhauling of its organizational structure. Of late, a ‘High Level Panel’ under the chairmanship of former Thai Prime Minister Anand Panyarachun has submitted a report to UN Secretary General on ‘Threats, Challenges & Opportunities’. Former Executive Director of the UN Population Fund Dr Nafis Sadik represented Pakistan in the panel. Roughly speaking, on the most important point of Security Council enlargement, the panel has suggested two models: ‘Model A’ recommending the creation of new permanent seat but without veto, and “Model B’ talking about quasi-permanent seats or members who could be rotated or re-elected after two years term. Pakistan is the member of Coffee Club that opposes expansion in the permanent category, and expostulates that such important decisions are to be based on the consensus of the general membership.Pakistan’s position on the creation or addition of new permanent seats in the UNSC is based on its own geopolitical realities. Its avowed stance is: “ There should be no new centres of privilege and power in the United Nations, because these are relics of the past; these are anachronistic in character, and that such inequities should not be perpetuated”.The Government of Pakistan also expresses its hope, along with a large number of countries, “That this process should be inclusive and transparent; that the question of Security Council reform should be addressed comprehensively which means that it should also look at working methods, decision making and so on. And then whatever decisions are taken should enjoy the support of the majority of the general membership because it is going to affect their fate”.Pakistanis Foreign Ministry Spokesman expressed his optimism that the finalization of these recommendations would be inclusive and transparent, and would keep in mind the need for consensus, because that was going to affect the entire globe, and that Pakistan would play a very active role in the debate when these recommendations were submitted to the general members.In any case, Pakistan has much stakes in whether India is successful in winning UNSC seat or not. That is why the most daunting challenge for the Pakistani policy-makers is to try to foil Indian designs in this regard, because if such eventuality occurs then India would get a perpetual strategic leverage vis a vis Pakistan, particularly the tenacity of Pakistan’s position on Indian Held Kashmir would receive a serious setback. India along with Germany, Brazil and Japan has been vying for that covetous slot. It is for this reason that Pakistan has embarked on hectic diplomatic activity in order to mould international public opinion against such a move. Pakistan is the member of ‘Coffee Club having forty odd members. Of late, Pakistan’s permanent representative in the UN Munir Akram convened a meeting of the club members supporting ‘Model “B”. Besides, the members have embarked upon a flurry of diplomatic activities. Pakistan’s former foreign secretary Riaz Khokher’s recent visit of People’s Republic of China is considered as a part of the same exercise. Again, Pakistan’s official position got its true manifestation in the statement read by Mr Tariq Osman Hayder as the special envoy of the President of Pakistan in the Arab League Summit held March this year in Algiers. He said there,“the question of Security Council Expansion in terms of the UN process, and in terms of substance, should be guided by consensus as any other modality would lead to divisiveness at a time when the United Nations should be more united. There should be no arbitrary deadlines, the issue is too important.” The latest event in that direction was a meeting called ‘Uniting for Consensus’, joint initiative by Pakistan and Italy at New York on 11 April. Former Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Inamul Haq represented Pakistan in the meeting as a special envoy. Invitations were extended to all members, and response was overwhelming. Representatives of 119 States, three inter-governmental organizations, the current President of the UN General Assembly and various facilitators of UN reform process were among the participants. The United States, China and the Russian Federation, the three permanent members of the UNSC, also attended the meeting. The proponents dismissed Annan’s suggestion that they settle the question of Security Council reform by a vote in the General Assembly before world leaders meet if they cannot reach a consensus on reforming the Security Council. Pakistan’s envoy Inamul Haq said that Pakistan fully supported the UN reform agenda but reforms, particularly the expansion of the Security Council, must be made by consensus among the member States. Moving towards the same direction, Pakistan has also demanded a permanent seat for Muslim countries in the United Nations Security Council, if at all any new permanent seat was created. Talking to a private news channel, Ambassador Akram said there should be a permanent berth for Muslim states at the UNSC. The OIC countries should decide which country would represent Ummah at the forum. When Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz was in Beijing, he discussed with his Chinese counterpart Premier Wen Jiabao the issue of UN reform as well because this is an issue of mutual interest. Both China and Pakistan are active in this regard. Both sides reiterated that there should be comprehensive reform of the United Nations, and that, not just the Security Council, but other organs of the United Nations including the General Assembly and Economic and Social Council should be reformed, and the sentiments of the General membership should be taken into consideration in this exercise, and that no issue should receive undue priority in consideration of UN reform. Again, one of the items of the agenda of the President of Pakistan’s first ever visit to three Latin American countries viz Brazil, Argentine and Mexico was UN Security Council reform and expansion. It is to be kept in view that Brazil has the aspiration to be a permanent member in the reformed UNSC, and Argentine has had apprehensions to that effect. That is why, both Pakistan and Argentine vowed to forge a united front against the creation of new permanent seats in the UN Security Council. However, Pakistan’s dilemma is that it cannot afford to alienate Germany, Japan and Brazil in its diplomatic maneuovrings. Accordingly, Pakistan did display astute strokes of diplomacy in its discussions on the subject especially with Japan. When Foreign Minister was in Tokyo earlier this year, he expressed his country’s principled position on the subject. However, he hinted at not opposing Japan’s candidacy for its economy and track record implying that latter’s candidacy would be backed by his country, perhaps, for the only Asian seat that might be created.Traditionally, Pakistan’s all multilateral and bilateral arrangements in the international sphere have been determined by its relations with its arch foe-turned-competitor India. Regardless of the fact, whether or not its manoeuvrings are braced with success, one may conclude that despite sweeping changes in the world system, the contours of Pakistan’s Foreign Policy are still circumscribed by its traditional tools.●
© 2005 Amer Rizwan Khattak
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Lord Macauly on Lord Byron and William Windham on the Lord Macauly

"From the poetry of Lord Byron they drew a system of ethics compounded of misanthropy and voluptuousness,—a system in which the two great commandments were to hate your neighbour and to love your neighbour's wife"
On Moore's Life of Lord Byron. 1830.
I wish I were as sure of anything as Macaulay is of everything. William Windham (1750–1810).

DO NOT STAND AT MY GRAVE AND WEEP (Poem) By: MARY FRYE

DO NOT STAND AT MY GRAVE AND WEEP
(Poem)
By: MARY FRYE

Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am in a thousand winds that blow,
I am the softly falling snow.
I am the gentle showers of rain,
I am the fields of ripening grain.
I am in the morning hush,
I am in the graceful rush
Of beautiful birds in circling flight,
I am the starshine of the night.
I am in the flowers that bloom,
I am in a quiet room.
I am in the birds that sing,
I am in each lovely thing.
Do not stand at my grave and cry,
I am not there. I do not die.