While you may have just started blogging a couple of years back, blogging in Pakistan has been around at least since 2001 – but your comments have just proven my point (which, again, you don’t seem to have gotten). Just because the bloggers didn’t begin blogging until a few years ago, shouldn’t mean that they are incapable of offering any substantive commentary on past events. Nothing that happens in the present occurs in isolation. The machinery of corruption and self-servitude is ingrained very, very deep in our country, and by ignoring the past, we are simply throwing matches at a lit flame.

By your standards, ‘citizen journalists’ in Pakistan are incapable of research, or analysis or providing historical context to any situation, and should obviously be relegated to nothing more than idle rants about idle events. If we, as a blogging community, want to be taken seriously, we have to offer more than just our opinions.

You certainly have a right to your opinions on the issues listed here. My point is, why don’t our bloggers air these opinions with some substance, some fact, and across a wider range of subjects than I have seen so far?

1- CJ issue – I believe its wrong, that’s my opinion, I have the right to say what I want, hence I publish it on my blog, if you like it good enough, if you don’t too bad, make your own opinion but at least you can involve yourself in a debate and hence start a democratic process

2- Class Inequities – Yes I live in an AC home, don’t you? Do I care about my servants and the poor – damn yes and I will not degrade their status here to itemize the things I do for the poor as I feel such issues are not meant to be said publicly and remain to be adjudged by the grace of Allah. But I assure you its not hot-air but more closer to reality.

3- May 12 – BB issue and Shahbaz Sharif issue: you very well know blogs came into existence only a few years back, name one incident of grave political concern that has gone unreported since then. Dont question bloggers for something in the past – question them for what has been done now. If it were not for the independent media and a small part for the free speaking blogging community a lot may have gone hidden – call it the unlucky strike but May 12 was the first moment when blogging had the opportunity to shine (lets not also forget the efforts during the 2005 earthquake as well) – more opportunities will come. some may follow your argument ‘to side with the govt’ and some may go the opposite way – that’s the democratic way. Independent bloggers cannot be forced or asked to do balanced reporting as citizen journalism is one persons analysis of an issue and you can go to read a number of first hand blog reports allowing you to decipher the reality, accept the fact that citizen journalism is NOT fair and balanced as its one persons free opinion – if you still want fair and balanced news turn to Fox News for everything but

4- Imran Khan – well to be honest he has proven himself to be a man after all, his statements on AH – were spot on, and everyone was chickenshit scared to say anything beyond the drawing room doors. Without doubt he has gone a couple of notches higher since the two days – will he be a major political entity in this coming elections – difficult, but he is now a definite voice to reckon with and no longer can be shrugged aside. Cricket days are long forgotten I and many don’t romance him as such – if its in your mind then its time you got over it as well.

As regards to Your PM – please address the Steel Mill corruption angle before you start sticking your neck out for Your PM. Sadly I like Your PM for the ‘economic boom’ he has created, the textile sector is on its knees – The real estate boom is only a fabrication of the military might wanting to mint money from their DHA plots, but the boom is now creeping and bleeding from the surge it took 2 years back – the money squarely landed in the pockets of a number of Army personnel. The only industry pitching in the high numbers is the banking sector which is making tons in the ’spread’ differential (if you don’t know this scam refer to a banking individual who may explain to you the millions being made on the spread) Another common keyword shoved in our face when defending the economy is the PSDP which is based on US AID projects/tenders which are yet again to be another massive bumper crop in this new budget as well – majority of US AID projects in reality are just pieces of paper being pushed around each year with very little cash materializing from them – and our finance minister knows this for a fact but uses it year after year to grab the headlines – Your PM has served well for all the elite of Pakistan – he played their tunes to the note – but the poor are getting poorer, while the rich get richer. Example being that the basic commodities continue to climb to astonishing prices and getting out of reach from the poor, if the economy was so up-beat then whats happening to the lower class – they are screaming there is absolutely no relief coming down to the poor — please refer back to your point 2 – I think you have no clue as to what the real problem with your servants are yet you ask bloggers to help them out (probably more so since you have no idea what to do with them) – I know as I interact with the underprivileged quite frequently when I am able to visit the large katchi abadis.

5- Politicians – the juicy bit – seriously are you calling these military dictators as politicians – how interesting, this is the same Army general who makes money as a serving general and also gets the stipend as President of Pakistan amongst other perks – you are talking about the puppet assembly o littered with PML MNA etc. to be honest I have been after these ruthless people for sometime, good to see that you have also joined my brigade – You will have to go back a few months to read one of my posts – many accuse it to be over exaggerated, read it and then I hope its enough to say that at least I tried and just not limit this long post to hot-air. Salary of a Pakistani MNA

6- Pakistan Lexicon – I cannot agree with you more on the fact that the media is free – yes it is far freer then ever before – credit to Musharraf – given. but if you want me to blog about the good things in Pakistan while my city burns underneath, is not me, I speak my heart, I speak what I see is the truth, if you want to present a ‘good’ picture to the west – go right ahead, its your democratic right to do so. You accuse me of being unpatriotic – that draws my line – since I think if you knowingly hide a crime / injustice you can actually be accused of being part of the problem itself.

Response to your comment above where you claim Musharraf has to be credited with ‘devolution of power’ !!!!! WOW are you living in Pakistan? do you know what the army is up to – for example the Education Minister is Lt. Gen. (Retd) Javed Ashraf (Civil qualifications – M.Sc. War Studies and M.Sc. Strategic Studies) – WOW do we not have a single PhD in education to head that ministry that we have to find a war studies specialist to lead this ministry? The list goes on and on showing that this country is ruled by those faithful to Musharraf quite contrary from the devolution of power that you have pictured in your mind. Devolution of Power is when when you allow qualified professional people to take up positions and then empower them to make decisions to create change – The present Pakistani bureaucracy is at present without a single person that has the guts to challenge Musharraf – otherwise he/she get thrown out – he has done that in the army to a great extent — rooting out all the probable detractors and has surrounded himself with kiss-my-@$$ variety.

Sorry for the extra long comment – you have your right to say what you feel, I support the positive Pakistan attitude but sadly not when my country burns within. Will all my ranting create positive change – I think it already has, people are speaking up and are more willing to be a part of the truth as compared to the overall perception one year back – I feel truth is far more powerful then a cover-up-the-negativity-positive-Pakistan attitude. But then again this is my opinion and you have the right to differ

As far as Musharraf’s govt. goes, the fact is that we as a nation are pathetic. We keep re-electing the same tired old hacks, self-serving, loathsome money men (and women) who care more for the depth of their pockets than anything else. However, this ‘dictator’ brought about two things essential for a stable democratic process: the devolution of power, and freedom of the press. However much everyone wants to deny it, this press is freer than it has ever been. Too bad we don’t know what to do with it.

The bigger problem is that while we are willing to forgive murderers and thieves their sins, we seem to find a military uniform unbearable. Does that make sense to you? Criticism and a strong oppsition are essential to maintain a balance of power, but our criticisms are neither balanced nor targeted at the right issues. THAT is the crux of this post.

Take a close look at the current make up of his govt. – it is no better than the previous few,