Why Negotiations?

WHY NEGOTIATIONS?

[THIS POST IS FOR ALL PAKISTAN LOVERS] - Idiots and Fanatics!!! - After government's plan of negotiations with groups of TTP, some people are sharing posts with such sentences "Nawaz Shareef, Imran Khan, Munawwar Hasan and Fazlur rehman have sold us to the swines" - Idiots & Fanatics!! They don't try to understand that whenever military operations against terrorists have been conducted, their attacks all over Pakistan have increased. Can we afford to endanger the lives of our civilians and armed forces once again? It's a complex situation and the government needs to proceed very carefully. However, negotiations should be done in quick time and without wasting much time. Negotiations are planned to be done only with those groups who are willing for dialogue, and this can help weaken the overall power of TTP by breaking the loyalty of some groups and bringing them on our side. The Armed forces cannot fight all of the groups and it is insane to assume that we can easily conquer them. Still, the government has to proceed very quickly ahead with its negotiations so that the terrorists are left with little time to re-organize themselves for potential future attacks. Eventually, they need to be crushed but it is repeated that some groups can be 'peeled off' and the strength of the enemy thus diluted! ~ Roman Ahsan.

False Ideals In Professional Studies

- FALSE IDEALS OF PROFESSIONAL STUDIES IN PAKISTAN, THE YOUTH, THEIR PARENTS AND THE 'REAL EDUCATION' THAT IS MISSING -
The parents in Pakistan today are investing heavily in their children's education in private professional institutes. The normal fees come around to be 3-4 lakh Rs. per year and the fact is that most of these universities or colleges are exploiting the public by charging unnecessary high amounts. It has almost become a rat race where parents want to show off that their child is studying in this and that institute. Also, in many cases for examples, girls are enrolled in medical institutes only because their parents want to get good 'rishtas' (matches) for them in future or they want to tell the world that they have a doctor in making in their family. A high percentage of girls do not serve the medical field after graduating according to reliable sources - they just get married and become housewives. Secondly, when it comes especially to girls, many parents do not bother to impart them lessons on how to respect or care for the other elders in the extended family. These are quite important as well besides professional education because traditionally, girls are supposed to win the hearts of their in-laws once they enter the bond of marriage. And if they are lacking in that area, then a lot of problems can arise, even divorce cases. An offspring above 20 year old, whether boy or girl, should be 'educated' & equipped with continuous lessons on moral values in the conventional way and it is folly if parents think that they are old enough to understand the world. Learning and self-improvement should never stop for all actually till death - parents are like mirror and if they themselves are not good role-models, then it is a hopeless situation for the youth! ~ A Public service message from Roman Ahsan.

4 Lessons for life

FOUR LESSONS CRUCIAL FOR LIFE:

Inspired by Jim Rohn’s The Art of Exceptional Living, just like there are 4 seasons, there are 4 lessons that are crucial to your life. By becoming aware of them, learning them, and applying them in your existence, there is no doubt that you will craft a very fulfilling life.

Handle the winters

Every year, winter comes. It always comes. We deal with it by preparing for it. Whether it’s changing our clothing or changing our way of life, we always get ready for winter, because we know it’s coming. The same applies to your life. Rough times WILL come. No life goes smoothly without a problem from beginning to end. Thus, you have to be ready for it, for when it does come, you are not stuck in the cold without a coat. Be ready to handle the winters in your own life.

Take advantage of the spring

Every year, after a long winter, comes the spring. This is a time where opportunities arise. Flowers blossom and creatures come out of their hibernation. The same thing applies within your life. After a challenging time, you will be faced with a great opportunity. It is your duty to take full advantage of the springs when they pop up. This is your moment to plant the seeds of greatness to come. You never see all the beauty that is life and nature on this planet decide not to awaken one year in the spring! It does because it is meant to do so. Hold your own existence to that same standard. Make your springs the springboard to getting where you want to go.

Protect your summer

After having planted your seeds in the spring, soon the summer will come. This is a time where you can reap the benefits of your crops. As well as being a time of joy and comfort, it is also a time to be careful. As Jim Rohn points out, “all good will be attacked”. If you are not careful, your crops will be either stolen, destroyed, or spoiled. Therefore you must do whatever it takes to protect your crops. Once you have achieved something in your life, you must defend it. You must stand up for it, and protect its value. Otherwise you may find yourself losing it.

Take responsibility in the fall

As the autumn comes, the trees change color, lose their leaves, and the weather gets cooler. As you gear up for another winter, it is the best time to take full responsibility of what happened in the previous seasons, both good and bad. This is the time where you can open yourself to learning the lessons that the previous seasons taught you and put everything into perspective. They say that the fall is the time of the year where there are more depression than any other time. This is due to people not taking such responsibilities and learning from previous successes and/or mistakes. Only by doing so can you be ready once more to handle another winter that is coming and plan for the following spring & summer.

Why Negotiations Can Still Be A Better Option

WHY NEGOTIATIONS CAN STILL BE A BETTER OPTION:

- By Syed Roman Ahsan

Pakistan is facing terrorism since 2004. People have become used to it but it does not mean they are not concerned. Nobody in Pakistan is happy in these times. It's only the elite class in Pakistan which is self-indulgent but there too many conscientious people are present. Mere emotions are not a solution for the country. Please read this post why negotiations with the terrorists can help weaken their power. This is important to understand but we are not bothered to use our mind here. According to Andleeb Abbas, senior leader PTI, (discussing without any political affiliation) whenever Army has done military operations against TTP, their attacks all over the country have increased.

WHY NEGOTIATIONS CAN STILL BE A BETTER OPTION:

Imran Khan has been one of the major supporters of negotiations with the terrorist groups in North. There are many groups in the North of Pakistan who are responsible for terrorism. The major strategy in negotiations is to break the force of the terrorists and isolate those tribal groups (who have been misled by fake Mullahs) to bring them on our side. The government does not need to fight all of them, which will make their strength multiply since many tribal people will also join them having sympathy for them. And we can't afford "increasing" bomb attacks and suicide attacks on civilian population all over Pakistan, which they might do God forbid to take their revenge against the state of Pakistan. At present seven terrorist groups are willing to negotiate and form peace deal with the government of Pakistan.

Imran Khan makes sense and he knows the tribal people more than us. They are warriors from generations and a tough breed. We don't want this turning into an endless war. CIA, Blackwater and Mossad (or other external agencies) are also very actively supporting many of those groups and negotiations cannot work with them. Government should negotiate with those groups only who condemn bomb blasts in mosques, hospitals, public places etc. and who only consider the US forces as their enemy. The tribal groups who follow Islam and Shariah should be ware of the conspiracies of Blackwater and the fake Mullahs created by them. And USA should stop interfering in the affairs of Pakistan including drone attacks.

Let's not forget also that it was Musharraff's fault as president to send the Pak Army to North in 2003 under US pressure. At that time, there were no terrorist groups in North and there was "no justification" for killing fellow Muslims by the Pak Army also. TTP (Tehrik-e-Taliban) was formed much later on, in 2007 perhaps, with external support and agenda to destabilize our country. Many tribal people have also been joining TTP because they think state of Pakistan is KAAFIR and an ally of USA. Also, survivors of drone attacks or the relatives of victims killed in drone attacks have also been joining TTP. So whom should we blame initially? It was our rulers fault for starting war on terror in Pakistan at the behest of America in the first place.

The above does not mean that we should go against Pak Army. It is our own institution which only functions on the orders of the government and hence it is the government’s fault. However, it is important to understand the background.

TTP - Solution by Imran Khan

This is also a solution on handling TTP and by Imran Khan.

TTP - Question for Tuesday, Jan21,'14

Question for Tuesday - Jan 21, 2014

Around 60 Pak Army officers martyred on Sunday (Jan 19) by TTP and again some killings on Monday (Jan 20). What do TTP deserve now? Should political parties and other groups in Pakistan still favour negotiations with them? Or is the situation too complex? But is there any hope of betterment with Fazlullah as the leader of TTP, after the death of Hakeem-ullah Masud? Mr. Zaid Hamid's assessment about TTP seems to be right to-date, even if we differ with some of his other views.

Condemning Religious Extremism

"CONDEMNING RELIGIOUS EXTREMISM - NOT THE SOLUTION"
Pakistanis have done enough condemnation of Maulvees and Religious fanatics. And let's not confuse the terrorists funded by our enemies as religious like the TTP. As for other forms of religious extremism, we cannot ignore it but we should ask ourselves also whether we are Muslims in name only? What is happening day and night on the more than 60-70 TV channels of Pakistan is outright repulsive and vulgar destroying the moral values of the youth and elders as well. Islam is a complete code of life and it provides solutions for the functioning of the state on social, economic and political basis. 

The only way to counter religious extremism or fanaticism is to equip ourselves (we, the educated segment of Pakistan) with the jewels of knowledge from Qur'an and Hadith to start with. Scholars' interpretations can greatly help also if we spare some time. We just need to maintain a balance between worldly knowledge (logical reasoning) and religious insights. Religious knowledge is primary and not secondary, and along with it of course we have to acquire secular knowledge as well which could be beneficial also in our day to day life. ~ Roman Ahsan.

"Ruling System in Pakistan"

RULING SYSTEM IN PAKISTAN & QUESTION OF ISLAM: 

We all want a good solution on the ruling system of Pakistan but when some people say "Islam does not force itself on to others. Everyone has the religious freedom" we hope they fully understand what they are saying here. Islam is neither a toy nor a buffet which leaves us with a choice to select what we like and reject what we don't like. On the other hand, we also don't want people using Islam for their own benefits. 

Islamic governance system has to be imposed at the top whether the "majority" or the masses like it or not. It is opposed to democracy. Majority of the Muslims in this world or our country unfortunately do not follow Islam or try to understand it. So does it mean we should go for the wishes of the majority and ignore the commandments of Almighty Allah & His Messenger (pbuh)?

The true Islamic governance system should not only prohibit immoral activities in the state but it should provide protection to the individual rights and religious beliefs of all citizens of the state, including the minorities. Still, the imposition of the Islamic social, economic and political systems is necessary at all levels in a Muslim State, whether majority people like it or not, since it is in their benefit at large. People would not be forced about their individual religious inclinations and practices though. However, the law of Allah should prevail in all spheres. Iqbal's "Khudi" doctrine gives great perspective also which we should subscribe to. ~ Roman Ahsan.

FB Debate: "Sheikh ul Google"

FACEBOOK DEBATE 

- Classical Scholars Vs. "Sheikh ul Google":

When the above image (click to enlarge or download) was posted on Facebook by me, a debate followed. I am certainly not a scholar and only tried to answer a few things concerning the challenges we face in these times when modern technology is at our disposal:

THE DEBATE:

Mr. A: Despite all available technologies we are still far behind from these scholars. They had more wisdom than us.

Roman: Absolutely, there is no doubt. But there are still many bona fide and wise scholars even today. The concern in the post above is more about the youth who think they know all the answers just because they have internet access...

Ms. A: Not wisdom only, but research, inventions made them world leaders.. In medicine .eye diseases/ operations .dental instruments.travelogues.astronomy ...maths .. Shipping navy.....name it 

Roman: That's true, Muslims were the pioneers in scientific advancement but the post above is about Islamic knowledge and research. It's a sensitive matter in these times when everybody can now easily access so much matter on Internet. Especially the youth and so they need to be careful.

Mr. B: Young man has every right to refute any of the statements he honestly thinks are wrong. It is entirely true that many of our scholars of old have been found to be wrong time and time again , and there are others whose works have stood ths test of time . Let our youth question knowledge which an earlier generation took for Gospel truth , and give them the opportunity of gathering knowledge by themselves, and while examining and putting to test our 'ancient ' knowledge . This is how civilization develops ,by looking forward , not backward , the ancient words can only be a guide for further investigation and development Syed Roman Ahsan, sir, never ever tell a youth to "be careful" when he is learning , dont put a handcuff on him before be begins his study .

Roman:  Excuse me but I strongly disagree with your approach because the post above is about learning Islam from Internet. A lot of information on Internet is fake or also put there by enemies of Islam. A young mind is not able to distinguish right from wrong there and also the most important thing is to "practice Islam" rather than just refuting theories of old scholars. The best way to learn Islam is in live classes or books/CDs recommended by senior people or teachers. Religion is a very serious thing, we cannot take it lightly and every care is needed. JazaakAllah.  

Mr. A: The basic problem is Knowledge vs Information. People of that era had no information technology so their intention was to get knowledge but we are living in the era of information and so many times we forget to verify the source of information, we accept it without verification.

Mr. B: Sorry, I seems to have misunderstood the basic matter of learning about Islam from internet that you were kind enough to point out . I entirely agree with you that lot o stuff on the internet , on the facebook about Islam , is first class nonsense. However,I remember an occasion when my young son could not find any information on a particular subject in the British Library, usually a very good source,two other libraries or Encyclopedia Britannica , he goggled for it on the internet and found a wealth of information. Internet is an invaluable source of information, however since personal understanding rather then the precise and correct information about Islam is presented by almost all,if we tell our youngsters the names of the scholars we believe are correct, that should help.

Mr. C: World has turned into Global village. The communication gap has been filled with technology. You may say it was possible due to research of Classical Scholars that modern world has changed so much. So I think working like "Sheikh ul Google" isn't bad. You get same amount of knowledge in couple minutes which took several days in past. It doesn't require any travel because you've access to internet and all the stuff is connected somehow.

Mr. D: Tragedy of our new Generation...

Roman: @ Mr. C: For all other knowledge and info, Internet is helpful. And for Islam also, it does help a great deal. I myself compiled a book on Islam "THE FORGOTTEN TRAIL" in 2007 with articles from Internet. However, I got the content (Qur'an and hadith references) verified from Qur'an Academy in Lahore and I was 37 years old at that time which means mature enough to see right from wrong since I have interest in Islam since youth. The danger here is when youth start acting as "KNOW-ALL" on Islam matters when they are not trying to bring Islam in their lives or to practice Islam. Only that concern has been shown in the above image. And there are many different theories and ideologies on Islam. A young mind is not able to identify the good from bad. For example, the Ahmedis sect also promotes their version of Islam, when we know that Ahmedis or Qadiyanis are not Muslims. That's why the post above is significant. Mr. B, now I hope you will understand my concern. 

 Mr. B: Roman sahab, as I have said above , I do now share your concern. So it boils down to senior members of the famly advising the youngsters who is a true " scholar" and who is not , so that they may be guided rightly .We also need to note that over the last300- 400 years of so , an important aspect of Islam, as was taught by the Prophet to his Sahabis , who then passed it down , was wiped clean, and Islam for most part become a simple ritual , and a set of conducts in social affairs .Due to which Salat , which is basically a dialogue between the banda and his Rabb, cannot take its true shape ,and at the end of the five salats per day , we are still left empty and hungry , for what , we know not .Because that is supposed to establish a connection between the banda and his Rabb, is missing .This essential missing link of Islam is Tasauuf .Add the flavor of this to your package on Islam , and your life changes and you grow spiritually to heights you could not have imagined and Namaz finally brings peace into our hearts and our lives .

Roman:  @ Mr. B: Sir, that is true. Elders in the family should advise but unfortunately most elders in today's Pakistan are drowned in media attractions without caring for Islam. Most respectfully, I am 43 years old and have been researching on Islam since 2005 but it's a life-long quest. Islam is a complete social, economic, personal and spiritual code of life and we do have the unaltered copy of Qur'an since 1400 years, so we can begin with it followed by Hadith literature (sayings of the Prophet Muhammad pbuh). And then many practicing Muslims (and Auwliya Allah) over the centuries have written books on their spiritual experiences, so they can also serve as guides and are very much there. Qur'an guides us about many other things and then it also tells us that we should pray in congregation. So we can try to go to mosque and offer our Salah (Namaaz) there. 

Sir, Tassawwuf and Sufism of today's world is mostly infiltrated with practices which have nothing to do with Islam and they have been planted by our enemies. However, I still appreciate your concern here and agree with you. Here is a very good lecture on Tassawwuf by Pakistani Scholar Prof. Ahmad Rafique Akhtar, and sharing with you here for your interest. Please do listen to it and share your views..

Base of Mysticism - part 1 (What is tasawwuf? What is Sufi?)

Complete lecture follows in part 2 and part 3 

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xg0sjd_base-of-mysticism-1_lifestyle