beheaded

[Guest guest]

"As an extraordinary gesture of friendship the convicted Pakistanis could

also be described as Indian Hindus.

"http://www.dawn.com/2002/09/25/op.htm#3Don't get beheadedBy Hafizur RahmanA

recent report from Riyadh informed Pakistanis that two (more) of their

compatriots had been sentenced to death by beheading in Saudi Arabia after they

were caught peddling heroin. Despite the strict laws in that country, and their

even stricter application, the hazards involved do not deter enterprising

Pakistanis from "business as usual." They are indeed a brave lot! On the other

hand, one of the most heartening stories I have read in the current debate on

President Musharraf's constitutional amendments was circulated by a

little-known news agency some time ago. It said, "The government is giving

serious thought to the restoration of Pakistan's image in foreign countries."

About time, I said to myself, that some attention was paid to restoring

Pakistan's image in the outside world. But somehow I don't seem to recollect

what the image was in olden times which has become soiled over the years and

which the government is seriously considering to revive. And why consider the

matter? Why not go ahead and do it? 'Giving thought' implies that the

government can also decide to leave the matter as it is. The establishment in

Pakistan is a great lover of the status quo. As I have just said, before

considering the ways and means, a few knowledgeable persons of advanced age

(and good memory) should be asked to sit down and recollect what the old image

was. As far as I can recall, it was not very bright. The trouble with our image

abroad is that we jumped straight from nonentity to notoriety. There was hardly

any image, say, 40 years ago. Foreigners asked, "Pakistan? where is that?" or

they said, "Ah, Pakistan. It is India, isn't it?" But we have come a long way

since then and Paki is now a household world abroad. Its ignominy all the way I

admit, mainly because of our expertise at drug trafficking. Though we bravely

try to keep up our reputation in other murky fields as well. For instance, it

is said that it was a Pakistani from Lahore's Mochi Gate who first taught the

famous London policeman what bribe meant. Maybe the government has suddenly

woken up (just as somebody told it one day about Daylight Saving Time) to the

reality of our disreputable name abroad because of what the Jamaat-e-Islami

boss Qazi Husain Ahmed once bemoaned. He had disclosed that so far some 600

Pakistanis have been awarded the death penalty by beheading in Saudi Arabia

because they were involved in the heroin trade. This was before he became

enamoured of the Taliban and began to use all his energies to keep the US out

of Afghanistan. I remember him saying that it was a bad reflection on Pakistan

that people "holding the green passport" should be treated as criminals. The

situation must be rectified. Though he didn't take the trouble of informing the

nation how this was to be done. I also remember someone else explaining (I

forget his name) that most of the Pakistanis arrested in Saudi Arabia were

innocent as they were taken there by crooked travel agents on the pretext of

providing them jobs. He didn't say so but he probably meant that since no jobs

were provided what else could these poor souls do but to take up the narcotic

business for their daily bread? So what if they lost their heads in the

bargain! No one in the political and public life of Pakistan knows how Saudi

Arabia can be asked to help, as a sincere friend and well-wisher, minimize the

disgrace falling on Pakistan because of the large number of our countrymen

getting beheaded for smuggling heroin. Maybe Mian Nawaz Sharif, who is there as

a guest, could assist his country. And perhaps as a gesture of thanks for not

taking part in the coming election General Pervez Musharraf could appoint him

ambassador there. After which one way for Mian Sahib to secure the Saudis'

cooperation in this behalf could be to urge them to refrain, for the sake of

the ummah, from disclosing the nationality of our men sentenced to death. As an

extraordinary gesture of friendship the convicted Pakistanis could also be

described as Indian Hindus. This way we would be one up on Mr Advani's

Hindutva. That would shift the calumny from us to India and bring our hostile

neighbour into disrepute in the Middle East at least, thus killing (or shall we

say beheading?) two birds with one stone. With all our sucking up to Saudi

Arabia that should not be too much to ask for and for Mian Sahib to achieve.

Coming to the actual process I wonder what the government can really do to

restore the country's image internationally, even if it is able to decide what

the image was to which we are required to go back. I do hope it does not advise

the people to give up drug smuggling. Ethics and morality apart, that would

shatter our economy and badly damage our self-confidence. For it appears that

this is the only thing we are good at. The reason why so many of us get caught

in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere is because (as someone explained so ably) our

boys are sent there for being gainfully employed, and when they are not

provided with jobs they are obliged to take up the sale of drugs as an interim

sideline. No sideliner can be really adept at this kind of work which needs

expertise, and that is why they get arrested. This needs looking into. We must

depute more experienced people for this dangerous duty. They must not lose

their heads while they are at it.Anyhow, it is not an easy task to define ways

and means to bring back our good name to whatever point it was before it began

to drop. I have never been abroad, and for all I know this bad reputation thing

may be just hearsay, simply a rumour. But whatever the government decides to do

it must rope in Qazi Husain Ahmed and other top religious leaders (who, with

the decline of the Taliban, now have nothing to do except spoil the election

for the military bosses) to give positive suggestions and not confine

themselves to merely complaining. It is Qazi Sahib who mentioned about 600

Pakistanis having been beheaded in Saudi Arabia and he must do his part of duty

towards rectifying the situation. Before he raised the issue, all of us,

including the government, were perfectly satisfied with our image. If I were

the government I would say to the people, "You are responsible for the adverse

publicity so you go and do whatever is to be done. All that the government can

do is to enable as many Pakistanis, all with proper heads on their shoulders,

to go to Saudi Arabia as we can in order to earn foreign exchange. It is up to

them not to get beheaded."

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