The Khyber Pass

The Khyber Pass: quite honestly the name alone did it for me. A legendary journey such people as Genghis Khan and Alexander the Great traveled. Even now, the journey from Pakistan to Afghanistan is heavy in magnitude. War, gun running, smuggling, and just about every other reason most tourists would avoid the place like the plague. For me it was the perfect place reroute through Pakistan. What's more Pakistan was in Emergency Rule, the army were everywhere, and permits were getting harder due to tribal conflicts in the area. No better time to visit. I had arrived in Peshawar city and had spent a few days exploring its incredible sights and sounds. It had tourist spots, although few, and no tourists. But for me the real charm lay in its people. An ethnic mix of Pakistani's and Afghans. The only way to travel the Khyber pass is with a permit. One only obtainable from the Office of National Affairs. You could do it by yourself, but, they were officially not handing them out anymore due to recent disturbances. It meant my friend having a little one on one conversation, and handing over a one hundred rupee 'rush' fee. A few photocopies later and we were on our way. A hired taxi drove us to our next stop, the Khyber Guards Police station. A tribal police station where a mandatory armed guard was assigned to you. We were after all about to enter a lawless land. The area between Peshawar and Afghanistan is known as the tribal lands. A place where tribal warlords ruled. Here neither the police, nor pakistani army have any jurisdiction what so ever. I often think the rest of the world does not understand it when wondering why Pakistan is often linked to trouble in this area. I would discover more later. We set off in our little yellow taxi and I was truly hyped up with the journey ahead. We passed through some local towns along a dusty road towards the Khyber Gates. The official border with the Tribal lands. It was here our armed escort really became a bit of an ass hole. He obviously did not want to be there, and took little interest in anything. Thankfully my friend at least took the time to show me around the not so exciting gate. It was no more than a meeting place for towns folk to meet. I was about to overlook the best part of this journey in lieu of high expectations based on the past. Our taxi took off again, this time passing through light rocky desert tundra. Alongside the dusty road were corrugated metal rooftop store fronts. Here it wasn't milk power nor water they sold. Here, they sold wholesale weaponry. A-K-47's by the dozen, or maybe a single pistol for a single job. Grenades, mortars, not a problem. Discounts available. Next door it was a different kind of merchandise. Hashish by the ounce, kilo, or bale. Opium for export and cocaine for retail.

We drove on along the desert road passing fort like compounds, complete with ramparts and gun slots. Some were relatively small, maybe enough to house six three bedroom houses. Others were huge, maybe over a block in some cases, and in one case several blocks. Aside from being marked with gun towers, rifle slots and bullet holes the most menacing thing about the forts were the large graveyards outside each one. Graveyards in place of gardens. "This is where the tribal wars happen," explained my friend who belong to that Area. "Fights break out between families and warlords. They fortify their houses in case of fighting. And, by the bullet holes you can see it happens quite a lot." "What do they fight over?" I asked, not realizing my ignorance. "Drugs, money, just about everything that's shipped along here." I sat back and looked out the window. The Khyber pass may have been a famous trade route hundreds of years ago and been written as such into history, but time had not changed much. Kings had been replaced by warlords, spices, camels and jewelry by drugs, cars and guns. This was a modern day trade route set on old principals. Outside we were now deep in the valley gorge. Huge trucks laden down with bags of "food" roared buy. An incredible amount of brand new sports cars tore by at an even higher speed. "Drug Lords" mentioned my friend. I looked at some of the custom number plates 'Pak007' was a white Porsche, 'Iamgrt' Lexus. It was all quite strange. I then noted the large 4x4 escorts waiting in the wings. Whenever one of the sports cars would move, the escorts would always follow. Alongside the road beggars stood or sat hands outstretched and women mined the walls of the Valley. We passed by a washed out bridge and tore down a dirt road. Coming into view alongside us was the old Khyber railway. It's brown racks camouflaging well into the high valley face surrounding us. It hadn't been operational in years. Then as the Khyber Railway tracks disappeared into the rocky mountain tunnel we reached the Khyber Rifle's look out point. Up ahead lay Afghanistan. A duo of military types from the actual look out post invited us up to their lookout point for a better view. They had rows of confiscated weapons out on display. Mortars, heavy machine guns, rifles, grenades and what I hoped were disarmed missiles. I looked down at the dusty vista that opened up before us. The start of Afghanistan was marked by a mountainous hill where an old palace was perched. Rather unusually it looked like the rectangular wing of the palace was falling down one of the sides of the hill. It turned out that this was the prison section of the palace; and it had been built like that on purpose. Doomed prisoners would be thrown down perpendicular corridors into waiting swords at the bottom.

My friend was engrossed in deep conversation with the guards. At first it was all about who I was and the how's and why's I was there. Then my friend told me why there were asking so many questions. Apparently a Turkish man had been kidnapped the day before right on the border. His driver and guards shot. The Turk was taken away into the surrounding mountains, and they are still awaiting news. I looked up at the mountains around the border. They were as good as sheer cliff faces, and I found it hard to imagine taking anyone up there as part of a rushed kidnapping. Then more news. A German had been killed in Peshawar market. This time it was not so subtle. He was a drug smuggler. Crossed the wrong person. And had been dissected in the central market as an example to others that it could happen to anyone. My journey to the Khyber Pass was not an action packed adventure. The drive itself is not so exciting. Sheer cliffs and dry monotonous sandy colors did little to inspire. But, it was what had happened in the past, and what was happening now on the legendary pass that made it so very special a place. Only a day later back in Peshawar my friend contacted me. All trips to the Khyber Pass were now off limits to travellers. It seemed we'd been the last, non locals, to make the journey, at least for now.

The happiest moment in my life

Every man in his life faces the ups and downs. Sorrows and pleasures are two parts of life. In fact, life is full of bad as well as good incidents. Some of them are forgotten with the passage of time while others leave an everlasting impression on the mind. We do not forget them for the whole of our life. We enjoy the moments of pleasure while the moments of sorrow plunge us into despair. We cherish the moments of pleasure throughout our life. Such a moment came to me last year when I learnt that I had pass my M.A examination. It was really the happiest moment. It appeared that I have won the whole world. Though I had fared well in the examination, yet I was not hopeful of getting a good grades. In fact, I was anxious for the result as some of the papers were not up to my expectation. As it was to lay the foundation of my career, it all the more added to my tension. Hence the moment I learnt about the result, I was relieved of all my tension. I was satisfied that I can give a proper direction to my career as per my wishes. I first of all thanked God for His kindness. He fulfilled my desires. I was pleased because all my friends have also ranked good marks. To celebrate our pleasure I, along with my other friends, chalked out a programme. We decided to go out for a picnic. We decided to go to Shankiyari. Next day we started for Shankiyari at 10 a.m. We reached there in three hours because there was heavy flow of traffic. The picnic spot was also crowded. As it was a sunny weekend of winter, there were lots of people who had occupied the place. We too identified the place under the chinaar tree. We laid our carpet there. We took out our snacks and other edibles, which we had brought with us. First, we enjoyed a light refreshment. We had also brought camera with us. We took snaps in different poses. We listened to music. We danced tradiontally and played also. Thus, it was a day of great pleasure. The memory of this day is as fresh in my mind as if it has happened today.

Role of fate in ones life

Destiny and fate are basically the same thing. It is what is "supposed" to be or is predetermined to happen. But please bear in mind - we are sent to this earth with all the tools to find our destiny but that is not a guarantee we will find it! We also are given free will, the power and right to choose. Now don't go thinking that if we miss our destiny that we made wrong choices! No choice is ever "wrong" as with each choice we make, even ones that seem bad, we learn so very much! And perhaps our DESTINY is to NOT fulfill our destiny! Yes I know that sounds crazy! But at times we have to fail to succeed! Think about your past. I am sure that at some point everyone has made a choice that later you looked back at and wondered what the heck you were thinking! But if you really examine that choice which you may view as a mistake, there were positives along the way! A broken marriage, even a bad one can lead to wonderful children, or experiences that you never would have had therefor never have grown from. No choice is wrong, free will is a precious gift and we have to utilize that before we worry about what our DESTINY or our FATE is "supposed" to be! Yes there is such thing as Destiny and Fate - be them one and the same - use the word you prefer, but it is the getting there that matters! Without free will and power of choice (one and the same) our lives would be so dull we would not even want to live them. We would know all is pre-determined and nothing we chose matters. Our Destiny is something we strive to achieve. Be that to be with a certain someone, to be a famous artist or to be a great parent. We all have a destiny. Most of us never tap into our own. That is sad but common. Many of us do but it is not easy to achieve! If it were then there would be no real lessons therefor our souls not enriched and we would not be able to pass onto the next stage of our soul lives . So why then does it seem some people such as the rich and famous or people like Paris Hilton do so well so easily? Really? Seriously? Look at some of those people! Most of them are very troubled and riddled with problems from addiction to simply being hated as much as loved! I would not wish that life on anyone! They are still learning their lessons and believe it or not have NOT reached their real destiny. They just knew the right people or had a talent simple as that! When you go about your life, using your free will, you are nearer and nearer to your destiny with each and every choice you make. Yes at times your choices will take you off on a tributary away from your destiny but your main path is always there for you to jump back on and it is up to you to see that you drifted off of your path and to make a change. Sometimes it is up to another person when soul mates are involved but it is up to you to acknowledge that you can not master anyone's path but your own and work through that and stay steady on your own course!

Law and order situation in Pakistan

Situation in Pakistan: With our dear country, Pakistan, mired deep in depths of depression and problems, we see pitch darkness and gloominess all around. Unfortunately, the case of Pakistan has always remained extremely complicated. We have always been in sad affairs of state. Misfortune piles upon misfortune for us. Throughout we remained trapped in quagmire of problems. This is not what we were destined to be. We contemplated our self, as a nation, at the pinnacle of glory and progress. Nevertheless, this did not prove to be the case. Past 62 years, we as a nation commenced our journey with zeal and vigor under the guidance and charismatic leadership of Quaid-e-Azam, Muhammad Ali Jinnah. His steadfastness and perseverance compelled Muslims to cling around him and struggle for the cause of an independent country. Eventually these efforts culminated in the cleavage of Subcontinent that gave birth to two independent countries Pakistan and India. After his efforts there are no remarkable efforts except by some true leaders to strengthen the most important vision of our quaid, which is democracy. We were deluded into the dreams of democracy and Peoples Government. We were fed with the dose of Islamic Socialism. True democracy was not had to be. The desires of masses were never taken care. Various untoward incidents of bomb explosions at the public places, perpetration of suicide bombings by extremist elements bathed in religion and dogmatism and firing of bullets on the innocent civilians by the miscreants bear out that volatile law and order situation is gravely affecting social, political, economic and religious fabric of Pakistan. This unwanted state of affairs has given birth to uncertainty and frustration which are acting as blight in our society. No public place is secure, no religious institution is sacrosanct and no spiritual or political congregation is safe.Talented people are leaving the Land of the Pure for good because their fate is in the doldrums due to uncertainty of jobs and insecurity to their life and property. Thus menace of Brain Drain is continuously depriving the country of the intellectuals that are the true assets of the country to resolve its intricate problems. Our tourism industry is in the doldrums due to security concerns. Despite scenic beauty of hilly areas, glistening peaks, towering mountains, gushing rivers, archeological sites, and historical monuments ,the PTDC and the Tourism Ministry have badly failed to catch the attention of the foreign tourists because no one will take risk to visit a country where indigenous population is not secure and its rulers address public gatherings behind bullet proof screens. Pakistan has a lot of investment potential which could not be fully tapped because of violent incidents. Therefore, the economy of Pakistan is in the shambles. The investors fear of sinking their investment due to unending terrorist incidents. This crisis is intensified by an economic crisis, water and energy shortage as well as drug and human

trafficking. In order to encounter and solve these complex problems the state of Pakistan must ensure rule of law particularly a well-established and independent judicial system. The worst victims of law and order as well as poor economy are always the poor. Their vulnerability to shocks is more than others. Therefore, it is imperative that any analysis of the impact of law and order on economic situation must start with the most vulnerable in the society. In other words, no study of economic situation is complete without taking account of at least three interrelated economic indicators of poverty, unemployment, and inflation, particularly food inflation. Our study has seen positive correlations between crime and major economic variables: when there are negative trends in the economy (increase in inflation, poverty, unemployment, and decline in investment) there are negative trends in law and order (increase in crime rate). Pakistan is a legally plural society where completely different and independent systems of law like the Islamic law, the state law and the traditional law exist. The state and the state law though do not acknowledge and accept the non-state laws as laws but the realityis that the dominant practiced law in Pakistan is the traditional law. Traditional law is found in a variety of forms like panchayts, jirgas, informal meetings of families, is dispensed by pirs, orchaudharys, etc. This is because people practice law according to their social structure and value system. Pakistan is a war zone facing serious threats from militants and terrorists besides a number of other problems and difficulties that urgently demand the establishment of democratic structures as well as rule of law. In the light of the current crisis, high-ranking guests from Pakistan and various German experts discussed structures and deficits of rule of law as well as the current state of affairs, parallel legal systems, the relationship between politics and judiciary and the role of political parties and society

The role of police force is vital for maintaining law and order situation in the country. Since 9/11 and the consequent US/NATO military action in Afghanistan, Pakistans troubled northwestern frontier has come under increasing pressure from militant and terrorist organizations operating in the area. Pakistans deficient and flawed law enforcement capacity in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and the adjacent North West Frontier Province (NWFP) have helped Pakistani Taliban and other terrorist groups expand their influence and strongly challenge the states writ. Outgunned and out financed, on average 400 police officers have been killed every year in terrorist attacks since 2005. Controversial and haphazard Pakistani military action in the area has led to more instability, and limited resistance in FATA has now become a growing ethnic insurgency. As is clear from the turmoil in the NWFPs Swat district, any army action

can provide no more than a breathing space to the state; only police and law enforcement actions can help the state reestablish its writ and stabilize the area. A timely police action can be more effective in quelling emergent insurgencies. Lal Masjid (Red Mosque) crisis in Islamabad, where a strong military operation led to hundreds of deaths and dozens of retaliatory suicide attacks also plays its role in current situation The police infrastructure is one of Pakistans most poorly managed organizations. It is aptly described as ill-equipped, poorly trained, deeply politicized, and chronically corrupt. It has performed well in certain operations; overall, however, that is a rare phenomenon. Arguably, the primary reason for this state of affairs is the governments persistent failure to invest in law enforcement reform and modernization. It is ironic that despite frequent internal crises since its inception in 1947, ranging from ethnic confrontations and sectarian battles to a sharp rise in criminal activity and growing insurgencies, both political and military policymakers have never given this sector top priority. Hence, poor police performance in counterterrorism and counterinsurgency is not surprising. The fact that the police successfully challenged some militant groups in Punjab and tackled an insurgency-like situation in Karachi in the late 1990s shows that they do have the potential to deliver the desired results when political support is present and resources are provided.

The Sialkot incident was yet another example of a society calling its protectors for help in the face of a sorry state of human rights and rule of law. This episode of barbaric killings was not the first of its kind. There have been quite a few attempts of similar nature in the past 12 months, especially in Karachi where the people had literally assumed the role of law enforcers as well as the judiciary. There was a need for serious action back then which, unfortunately, was never taken and which ultimately culminated in the demise of two brothers in Sialkot. However, what was most depressing at Sialkot was the silent presence of law enforcers alongside a violent crowd. It depicts not only the weakness of the Police Department, but also their indifferent attitude towards the law. In fact, their silent presence encouraged the crowd to commit the barbaric act of public killing and hanging. The police simply did not try to enforce the law and for that they ought to be punished. The Police Order 2002 which governs their duties highlights penalties that can be imposed for gross negligence that cost the lives of two young men. According to Police Order 2002, it is the duty of the police to provide protection and maintain public peace. Section 3(d) of the said order, in this respect is attention-grabbing. It enjoins upon the police to aid individuals who are in danger of physical harm. With such clearly laid down rules, it was nothing but wilful defiance on the part of the police which caused the deaths. Also, their silence in the midst of criminal activity implicates them in the crime. Section 107 of Pakistan Penal Code is directly applicable in this regard on a person who intentionally aids, by any act or illegal omission, the doing of that thing. Both the laws taken together clearly signify breach of law by the police officers.

According to Section 80 of the Police Order, function of the Provincial Public Safety and the Police Complaints Commission is to take action against the omissions committed. It is under a statutory duty to do so, on its own accord, if the case is of severe nature, and order a competent authority to probe the matter. But to the dismay of fair-minded people of the country, no action was taken, and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court had to take up the matter. A still gloomier picture appears when the incident is seen in the light of the punishment that has been prescribed for the police neglect. According to Section 155 of Police Order, if an officer is found to have breached his duty, he can be, at maximum, imprisoned with fine for no more than three years. Considering the gravity of the criminal acts, this punishment would hardly fulfil the demands of justice and in no way constitutes deterrence. More importantly, investigation is the main course to decide the fate of the guilty officer. But the slow pace of investigation, inability and ill will of the investigating officer or the team usually overshadows the proceedings that could provide an easy escape to the culprit. While the judicial inquiry into the Sialkot murders has been completed, the Police Department does not appear to show any seriousness in conducting its own inquiry. This incident highlights a signal failure of our police not only in the light of local law, but also the international code to which Pakistan subscribes. The United Nations has provided a Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials (adopted by General Assembly resolution 34/169 of December 17, 1979) which sets out the basic standards for policing agencies across the world and relates to all law enforcement officers who exercise powers of arrest and detention. It requires them to recognise the rights set out in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and other international conventions. Under its Article 5, a law enforcer is restrained from tolerating any act of torture, while discharging his duties. This grave violation brings out the need for reform in the system and revitalisation of the existing bodies established to check the police conduct such as Provincial Public Safety and Police Complaints Commission. It is necessary to establish a system which is easily accessible and neutral. In the UK, the Police Reform Act established the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) which investigates the most serious complaints and allegations of misconduct against the police in England and Wales, as well as handles appeals from people who are not satisfied with the way the police have dealt with their complaint. More importantly, IPCC is self-governing, making its decisions entirely independently of the police, government and complainants. These measures provide for a powerful legal regulatory framework making the police accountable for their actions. There is a stark need to introduce some changes on the same lines in Pakistan. Hence, the need of the hour is to introduce and implement a more coherent code for police accountability to eliminate the recurrence of such despicable acts in the future. The Sialkot act requires serious attention of the authorities and a strong reprimand of the officials whose criminal omission allowed the people to take law into their own hands. Indeed, now is the time to set an example and take appropriate steps to put an end to such

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The happiest moment of my life

I had some Good memories inspite of my early life there was sadness which made me feel alone I didn't have any strong connection with my family. My life was full of dark clouds but it was manifested in my mind from the childhood that every cloud has a sliver lining. So I never ever disappointed by life , frustration and despair was no where around me. My happiest memory was when I started searching for God. I learned to pray, and meditate read good spiritual books. One night while praying and meditating, I realized, God was with me All those years, when I was not aware of him. I new I was worthy and loved. I appreciate Life now ... That was TRUELY THE HAPPIEST Moment in my life....*