I'm amazed at the self-denial of Indians. I could understand that they never believed their country is hideously poor, with seven out of ten Indians going to bed hungry every night. But in the recent four day war India waged on Pakistan and lost, they should at least ask themselves, "If India was winning, why did it accept the cease-fire?" But no, even Indians living in the UK, despite the international media saying it was Pakistan that won, think otherwise. They've been so brainwashed that even though some Indian TV channels have apologized for airing false news, they still think India won the war. 

Indians were not always like this. There was a time when Times of India was my favorite newspaper, and it was always known for its unbiased reporting. Now, all it does is to spew out venom against Pakistan. Its readers undoubtedly believe that Karachi has been bombed beyond recognition, that Indian soldiers captured Islamabad and arrested Pakistan's army chief, and all the other fabrications that they read or heard during and after the war. They should ask why their government is banning some of their own journalists and TV channels for reporting the truth.

Indians have never accepted that they've ever been defeated by Pakistan. After their so-called "surgical strike" on Balakot in 2019, they decorated their pilot Abhinandan as a war hero for having shot down a Pakistani F-16 (even though international observers said no Pakistani plane was shot down). They conveniently ignored the fact that it was their plane that was brought down and their pilot captured. When Imran Khan released the pilot the next day, they gleefully claimed it was due to Modi's warning to destroy Pakistan that made Imran Khan let their pilot go.

In the recent conflict that lasted 87 hours, they've still not conceded that they lost six planes. Instead, they insist that it was Pakistan that lost many planes. I won't be surprised if they say that Pakistan has been practically destroyed and it will take many years for ir to recover. In fact, they've started saying that it was Chinese pilots that fought in the recent conflict. Sad to say, Imran Khan's minions abroad are saying the same thing.

The 1965 war lasted twenty two days and ended with India being forced to withdraw. The 1971 war lasted 17 days and ended with the loss of East Pakistan and substantial damage to West Pakistan. The recent conflict didn't last even for four days (87 hours only) ending with India in a panic begging the US to persuade Pakistan for a cease-fire. The question arises, why? If there's one thing we know, it's that the extremist Indian leadership would never have asked for cease-fire if India had been winning the war. So what happened?

At first I was tempted to believe that Pakistan was making preparations to go nuclear. In fact, this is what the Indian foreign minister told President Trump, that Pakistan was on the verge of using nuclear weapons to end the war. The fact, of course, is that India's air force was in no position to defend if Pakistan had decided to advance into Indian territory. The war would have ended with Pakistan gaining a few small towns across the border, but it would have given it a tremendous advantage in subsequent negotiations, which are scheduled to begin today. Of course, I'm no expert and only a military analyst knows whether that would have been good for us. But the war ended with mud on Modi's face and Pakistan and China being the winners. This should teach Indian media and extremist leaders not to be so arrogant.

 

The last time I felt happy after a war with India was in 1965, when our armed forces beat the Indians back. After the debacle in 1971, there was always this feeling that we can never defend ourselves against India. But in the present conflict, which began only four days back, India has been shocked to find that it cannot defeat Pakistan. Modi will have a hard time explaining why his army and air force failed so miserably, despite having told Indians that Pakistan is a failed state and does not have the ability to fight back. 

Just four days after India attacked Pakistan, it is asking for a cease-fire. Their analysts (who have claimed that Pakistani cities of Karachi and Lahore have been reduced to rubble) are in a state of shock. One of them, a retired military officer, must be passing sleepless nights after claiming that Baloch rebels had captured Quetta and Pakistan is on the verge of destruction. A sane Indian Analyst (Pravin Sawhney) has been banned after he confirmed that at least four Indian jets were shot down by Pakistan. An Indian TV channel (AAJ Tak) has apologized for airing fake news. But I'm sure Modi's goons will go out and claim that India has won this war. They won't be able to fool the opposition in India, where a lot of awkward questions will be asked about the failure of Rafael jets procured at enormous cost. They will also wonder why India with a defence budget nine times larger than Pakistan's (81 billion dollars compared to 9 billion), was not able to win.

Published in The News on 30th October 2000

I meet all kinds of people at wedding and valima parties. Some of them are the types who have never read a book in their lives (except to pass school examinations). There are others who have an intense aversion to reading anything, not even daily newspapers. Many over fifty-five have already had a coronary bypass operation. Some believe that a man isn't a man unless he has ten children from one wife. 

A growing number of others have been brainwashed into believing that the best way to enjoy life is to persuade others to look and live like they do. This means no TV, radio or newspapers and absolutely no shaving of facial hair. The result is that they haven't laughed or heard a joke for years and go around looking sad all the time. Mercifully, it's been ten years since I met the man who wouldn't allow his wife to answer the phone owing to his strong belief that if a woman said 'wa alaikum salaam' to a stranger on the phone, her marriage was automatically annulled. 

But I'm sure there are thousands in Pakistan who'd cheerfully shoot their wives for looking out of windows or venturing out of their houses alone. In short, most of the people I meet physically be in twenty first century, but for all practical purposes their minds are just like those of men who lived in the Stone Age. But occasionally I do come across people who read newspapers or watch CNN and BBC and even the National Geographic Channel. Sometimes it's a pleasure to find intelligent men who have definite opinions on such topics as what could have been done to avoid the 1971 debacle or why capital punishment should be abolished. Obviously, I rarely meet a man over forty-five who is computer literate. 

In fact, in the opinion of most of my friends and acquaintances, a computer is something that helps you send messages across the world and enables you to talk to someone in the US almost free of charge. In such a dismal scenario, it's natural that I should come across people who believe that the country is going to dogs and the best thing to do for all Pakistanis to migrate to the US or Canada. I came across such a person the other day. He's forty-five, highly illiterate (practically no schooling), a man who (before the age of 35) was a regular visitor to Bangkok (to visit its mosques and tombs, as he would tell his wife).

Then, suddenly, he became a convert to the currently popular philosophy of living a miserable life. The signs of prosperity (a mild heart attack and a protruding belly) had been visible on him for five years. Then, suddenly, the small shop he had inherited from his father had increased in value to twenty million, and this he had sold and remitted the amount to Canada where (he said) his money was safe and away from nosy tax inspectors. 

He intended to fly there at a moment's notice. I pointed out to him that a coronary bypass operation (which was in his stars if he didn

't give up his present sedentary lifestyle) cost ten times more in the West than it did here. I also told him that outside Pakistan the tax people were ten times more efficient, than those who were bothering him here and the penalties for tax evasion were correspondingly higher, but he was impervious to reason.

He would have to pay taxes and bills on time, he would never be able to indulge in power or gas theft, he'd have to stand in a queue for the meanest of tasks, and servants would be very expensive, so he and his wife and children would have to do the dirty work themselves. This, too, didn't have any effect on him. Some people like to learn the facts of life the hard way. 

Finally it happened. There were those who doubted that India would attack Pakistan, that all the belligerence and hype was to fool the Indian public. But we knew was that Narendra Modi killed more than 2000 Muslims and staged the so-called surgical strike in 2019 just to win elections. He knows that he needs the support of Hindu extremists to remain in power and to ensure that his party wins the next elections. But this time he must've been surprised at the abject failure of his army and air force after Pakistan downed six Indian planes last night.

There are credible reports that India told a few neutral countries to persuade Pakistan not to respond to its attack. So it must've shocked him at the swift and strong retaliation. He will have great difficulty explaining to his voters why all the money he spent on the latest Rafael jets went down the drain. Share prices of the French company manufacturing Rafael jets crashed after reports that they were easily shot down by Pakistan. It will make other countries wonder whether they should go for fighter planes manufactured by France, as Chinese fighters are more reliable, and less expensive.

Every year a couple of times I get struck by a unique virus. Many years back such a cold was called influenza (later, the flu), but this virus strikes in very hot weather as well. Many people I know are suffering, including some family members. What I don't understand is, why do I fall victim to it every year, despite being very careful, particularly in my diet (I seldom go to restaurants). Most of the water I drink is warm (or at room temperature), the single cup of tea I take is always hot, so why the hell do I have to suffer?

For the past three nights I've not been able to sleep, and last night I spent coughing out thick phlegm, with a painful chest. I don't take antibiotics unless it's unavoidable, and I know that if I go to a doctor, he'll immediately prescribe one. Instead, I drink hot milk mixed with turmeric for three or four days. The only medicine I take is Panadol for three days and the fever goes away. This time the virus has returned with a vengeance and I'm still taking Panadol even though it's five days since the virus struck. Last night it was so painful that I even thought of writing down my will!

Identity papers

THIS is with reference to the editorial ‘Land of the free’ (April 14). I was reminded of a sad incident that occurred in the early 1970s in a Middle Eastern country. A Pakistani had to rush his wife to the hospital for delivery late in the night. In doing so, he forgot to carry his identity papers, and, for that very reason, the hospital refused to admit his wife.

He made her sit on a bench outside the hospital and drove home to get the necessary documents. He was stopped by the police, and was immediately arrested because he was not carrying the residence permit at the time, and could not explain because of the language barrier that he was in the country legally.

When he was released by the police a week later, the poor man lost his mental balance once he was told that his wife had died while waiting for him.

This is the kind of thing that could well happen in the so-called ‘land of the free’. It would be advisable for all non-Americans in the US — Pakistanis, particularly — to make sure they have their identity papers with them all the time when they are outside their homes.

Shakir Lakhani

Karachi

Dawn, April 30, 2025

https://www.dawn.com/news/1907509/identity-papers

 

 

It has happened so many times in the past that it doesn't surprise anyone. India has a serious problem as it illegally occupies Kashmir, and spends billions on defence. It has seven hundred thousand soldiers there to prevent incursions of militants from Pakistan, so it cannot explain how twenty six tourists were killed three or four days back. What Indians can't understand is that the Kashmiri people don't like them. The only thing to do is to ask them whether they want to remain in India or join Pakistan, something which its founding fathers agreed to do in 1947. They know that Kashmiris being Muslims will opt for Pakistan or independence, so they cannot risk a referendum or plebiscite.

Without any proof, Indian leaders are blaming Pakistan for the latest incident. Liberal Indians are asking them why the militants have not yet been traced although thousands of innocent Kashmiri youths have been arrested for questioning. Like the bully that it is, Modi is threatening to strike inside Pakistan (like in 2019, when its plane was shot down). Yesterday, seventy one Indian trained terrorists from Afghanistan did try to enter Pakistan but were spotted and killed. I hope both sides remain cool, although it looks more and more likely that Modi will try something to provoke Pakistan. After all, he needs a war to persuade Indians to let him buy the useless F-35 fighters which Trump has asked him to do. Then again, he wants to prove that he's anti-Muslim so he can win the forthcoming elections in Bihar.

Bulls and taxes

This letter refers to the news report ‘Asia King bull becomes centre of attraction at cattle market’ (April 21, 2025). Every year, such expensive animals (costing millions) are bought and sold. Yet the FBR does not ask the purchasers whether they are taxpayers and whether their tax returns show that they have enough legal income to pay such huge amounts.

Shakir Lakhani

Karachi.

https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/1305221-bulls-and-taxes