Riding the energies of change

In many ways, it began with that stunning raid on Nine Zero in Karachi on Wednesday last week. After that, there has been this breathless sequence of developments that I am unable to explore in any detail.
An FIR was registered against Altaf Hussain, the supreme leader of MQM. So much more dramatic was the confessional video of Saulat Mirza that was released hours before he was to be executed. And the execution was halted almost at the last minute. The stuff, surely, of a movie thriller.
As far as the state of ordinary people’s mind is concerned, Pakistan’s unceremonious exit from the World Cup on Friday must have been a major spoiler. Our emotional involvement with cricket is remarkable, considering that we are not a sporting nation and our performance in international events such as the Olympics truly reflects the general paucity of excellence in our society.
With tremors felt across the political landscape, a lot has happened on the sidelines. For instance, last Sunday’s bomb attacks on two churches in Lahore stand out in a separate context. The enraged mob lynched two persons wrongly suspected of being involved in the attack, inviting a disproportionate attention because we have witnessed similar mob behaviour in less inflammatory situations.
This Friday, a suicide bomber attacked a Rangers’ mobile in Karachi, leaving two personnel killed. Also in Karachi, on the same day, two persons died in a bomb blast outside a Bohra mosque. This particular attack is very alarming.
If all this looks too ugly and gruesome, we have a scintillating affair starring a pretty young woman also billed as a ‘supermodel’. Ayaan Ali was caught at the Islamabad airport last week carrying a little over half a million dollars in cash. In any other country, this scandal would be projected in banner headlines. One might say that the Ayaan story is just the tip of an iceberg. By the way, this is what you could say for about a score of other recent developments. In terms of what they can reveal about those who had pulled the strings, Saulat Mirza and Ayaan may have equal status.
The point, simply, is that with so many tips of so many icebergs, it is hard to navigate through the storm that is visibly rising in Pakistan’s political affairs. We are on a rollercoaster. The pace is hectic. I would not call it ‘ten days that shook Pakistan’ since decisive moves are still in the offing. So much has happened in Karachi but observers are waiting to see what happens in London in the coming days.
Speaking in the National Assembly on Thursday, Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan made some remarks about the murder of MQM leader Imran Farooq in London in 2010. He referred to relevant information that could be shared with the British authorities. Chaudhry Nisar had a detailed discussion with British High Commissioner Philip Barton on the Rangers’ raid on the MQM headquarters in Karachi on March 11 and also on Imran Farooq’s murder and on Altaf Hussain’s outbursts after the raid.
There are indications that like Saulat Mirza, some more MQM activists now under custody would reveal more and become approvers in cases that have been pending for years. This only means that the plot is bound to thicken. We have been promised that these proceedings will continue and the security agencies’ resolve is certified by this week’s arrests of the alleged assassins of Zahra Shahid, a PTI leader of Karachi, and Perween Rehman, a social development expert who was working for the Orangi Pilot Project.
Since it is hard to encapsulate the many dramatic developments that have an impact on the politics of Karachi and also because it is still not easy to be very candid about what is happening, I am tempted to invoke Friday’s total solar eclipse as a metaphor. I feel excited by the relevance to Pakistan of prognoses made by astrologers. The timing of the solar eclipse is also interesting. Among other things, it has coincided with the summer equinox. Formally, Nauroz is celebrated on March 21 – Saturday – and this festival is principally celebrated in Iran and marks the country’s New Year. Nauroz symbolises the advent of spring – a time for renewal and for new beginnings. A time, essentially, of change.
In an astrological context, solar eclipses are very powerful new moons and are known to herald significant endings and beginnings. Let me quote from one document: “This is the week we’ve been talking about and building toward since the beginning of the year – arguably the most powerful week of 2015 – in astrological terms…We might call this a pivot point, a time of choosing new options and releasing the old. It is a time of breakthroughs and insights, when we can ride the energies of change into a new future”.
According to calculations, the solar eclipse began 13 hours before the summer equinox, making day and night of equal length. This conjunction is supposed to be a powerful catalyst for new beginnings and is associated with “permanent endings” and “crisis”. Friday’s total solar eclipse is to be followed by another total eclipse – total lunar eclipse on April 4. Incidentally, remember how important a date April 4 is in our history?
As for personal lives, astrologers have said that this solar eclipse is an opportunity to wash away negative aspects of yourself such as habits and activities. It is said that events that are triggered by an eclipse usually take six months to unfold. Does this mean that we will have to wait for so long for results that we are expecting during the next few days?
Usually, we resort to that cliché of the Ides of March, always expecting something big to happen in this month. March has been an eventful month in our political history. Besides, if Nauroz – meaning spring – comes Pakistan Day is not far behind. In fact, it is just round the corner. Tomorrow’s celebration is special because after a lapse of some years, a military parade is being held in Islamabad.
One should be aware of the symbolism of this parade against the backdrop of the campaign launched against terrorism and extremism. We have a comprehensive National Action Plan that demands a concerted action against all enemies of the state. The operation in Karachi was initiated in September 2013 but it has gained momentum in the present security environment when the initiative for action largely belongs to the army.
The omens seem to be propitious. In the midst of all this upheaval, we can look forward to the elimination of maladies that have afflicted us for a long, long time.
The writer is a staff member.
Email: ghazi_salahuddin@hotmail.com