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George ka khuda hafiz — II
Unfortunately, no one is immune to the ills that this country subjects its citizens to.
The writer is a freelance print and broadcast journalist george.fulton@tribune.com.pk
From the moment I arrived in Pakistan nine years ago, the omnipotence of the military apparatus was self-evident. Yet, as I leave, it’s apparent it will be this institution, more than any other, that will be the catalyst of this country’s eventual downfall. As Pervez Hoodbhoy recently pointed out, rather than acting as a factor for détente in the region, our acquiring the nuclear bomb in 1998 exacerbated our military arrogance. Kargil, the attack on India’s Parliament and, more recently, Mumbai have all occurred since we got the bomb — attacks that couldn’t have been carried out without some military/intelligence involvement.
And yet, ironically, the military’s regional self-importance belies our chronic servitude to the US. In addition to being the largest landowner in Pakistan, the Pakistani Army is the world’s largest mercenary army. Look at the media storm created over the Kerry-Lugar Bill for it’s supposed slight to Pakistani sovereignty. Yet it is the army’s reliance on US military aid that has made Pakistan a client state of the US. This inherent contradiction is not disseminated in the media. Instead, the established narrative for our acquiescence to the US is laid firmly at the weakness of our political class. As if it was the politicians — and not the military leadership — who somehow control Pakistan’s foreign policy.
Of course the military/religious right in Pakistan use their proxies in the media to blame the Hindus, Americans and Jews for all our sins. But those sins are mostly ours. Atiqa Odho, a friend, and someone who truly wants the best for Pakistan, sent me a text message after the detention by India customs of singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan. “Rahat Ali Khan is not a criminal, he has become a victim of corrupt trade practices in India that have singled him out to target the soft image of Pakistan… Let’s not treat a music icon who has million of fans over the world as a common criminal.” The text had it all: hyper-patriotism, paranoia, absolution of responsibility, and a shot of snobbery. Why shouldn’t he be treated as a common criminal if he was avoiding tax? The attack on the Sri Lanka cricket team wasn’t a foreign hand. It was a Pakistani hand. Salman Butt, Mohammed Asif and Mohammed Amir were not brought down by some covert Anglo/India plot, but by their own avarice. They cheated.
But the right’s hyper-nationalism is perhaps more tolerable than the liberal elite’s disengagement and insouciance. Like the right, the liberal elite believe all Pakistan’s woes belong to others. But rather than the Hindu/US/Zionist paranoia of the right, the liberals put the blame on the mullahs, the masses, the uneducated and the unwashed — anyone, but themselves. We — and I include myself here, as this was my social milieu for the past nine years — are unaware of our own hypocrisy.
My friends will condemn the cricketers, but not the society that actively encourages these lower middle-class boys to cheat. But why would they? Their families have gorged and benefitted from this society. Recently, at a coffee shop, I overheard a society Begum, decked out in designer clothes and glasses, bemoan the cricketing scandal. Her ire was primarily directed at the boys for bringing Pakistan’s ‘good’ name into disrepute — not the cheating itself. She then harked back to a time when the Pakistan cricket team spoke English well, as if good English equalled with moral rectitude. But does she question how her husband makes his money? For every Rs100 collected by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) in taxes, it misses another Rs79 due to tax evasion. The FBR estimates that the total revenue lost by the government as a result of tax evasion comes out to Rs1.27 trillion for this fiscal year and is equal to eight per cent of the GDP. According to the FBR, over 70 per cent of all taxes evaded are corporate income taxes. What’s the difference between Salman Butt screwing his country for money and the rest of us?
But the liberal elite is a misnomer. We aren’t really liberal. We want the liberal values of free speech and rule of law, without wanting to instil the economic and democratic mechanisms to ensure them. We espouse liberalism but don’t practice the egalitarian values — distribution of power and wealth — that underpin liberalism.
But then, the English liberal ‘elite’ has abdicated all responsibility to govern in the past 60 years. Despite enjoying unprecedented levels of wealth and education, we no longer believe it is our duty as the best educated and most privileged in society to contribute to its development. The English language has created a linguistic Berlin Wall between us and the rest of the country. We remain cosseted inside our bubble. Instead, we have ceded political space to a reactionary, conservative, military, feudal and religious nexus. Tolerating this because, in turn, they have left us alone. They have allowed us freedoms that the rest of the country doesn’t have.Freedom to get obscenely wealthy. Freedom to party at Rs10,000-a-ticket balls. Freedom to dress how we like. But these freedoms come at a price. A Faustian pact has been signed.
Even Pakistan’s intellectual elite has largely abandoned its responsibility. An ideological vacuum occurred after 1971, when the ‘idea of Pakistan’ and the two-state solution failed. What filled the vacuum over the succeeding decades have been a variety of parties with their own vested self-interests — Ziaul Haq, Islamists, the Saudis and the US — trying to enforce their own idea of Pakistan. Today, our intellectual elite are too compromised — suckling on the teat of donor money, scholarships and exchange programmes — to challenge the US narrative.
Unfortunately, no one is immune to the ills that this country subjects its citizens to. I have changed. Slowly, my values and morals have corroded. But I don’t want that for my one-year-old boy, Faiz. I want him to grow up in a society where guns are not an everyday occurrence and his parents can openly hold hands.
After Salmaan Taseer’s assassination, my mother-in-law — a hardworking, decent school principal, who was born in Bombay and had grown up in Dhaka before migrating to Pakistan — called me up. She had seen three of her children leave Pakistan during the past 20 years. My wife was the last one remaining. As she spoke, she sounded defeated: “George, just jao. Jao”. So now I am going. Khuda hafiz, Pakistan.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 3rd, 2011.
Reader Comments (241)
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i dont know who r u but plzz dont leave pakistanRecommend
That was music to my ears. Thank you for saying it as it is.
Too bad that most people will skip over all the valid points, and run rampant on your criticism of the Army. Actually, not the Army, the Army itself is made up of a majority of non-commissioned officers, junior officers. Its the chaps at the top that believe that they are better than everyone else, and think that they are beyond account.
A country of rampant exploiters and tax dodgers talks about sovereignty, and in the next sentence adds how America is unfair not to give us more aid, free trade agreements, nuclear power agreements, difficult visas etc etc.
Best wishes too you! Hopefully, one day in the not too distant future, things will turn out for the better and you will write how things didnt descend to as low a point that you thought it would do.Recommend
You came because your wife asked you to. You are going because your mother-in-law asked you to.
Not Pakistan’s, it’s George Ka Khuda Hafiz :-)Recommend
George, don’t just leave without providing “your” solutions. You owe this much to Pakistan, otherwise, you could have left 8 years ago and it would have been the same thing as leaving today.Recommend
The first piece was beautifully written, this second one seems rather convoluted.
I agree with most things you say here, but this piece failed to make an impact.Recommend
You came to Pakistan because your wife asked you to. You are leaving Pakistan because your mother-in-law asked you to.
It’s not Pakistan’s, it’s George Ka Khuda Hafiz :-)Recommend
Honestly george ur good man. You managed to stay in pak for 9 yrs, dats a long time. I know my brit paki friends here in UK, cant even stand 9 days of karachis hot weather!!I wish u all the best!take it easy.Recommend
George! I agree to all what you write. It gives me a lot to think and ponder. But I never expected that you will give up so early. Unfortunately it is the sad part of story.Recommend
Preventing your son from acquiring a loose moral character is a nobler cause than patriotism.
You’ve made the right decision. If at all, only Army personnel and their families have a future in Pakistan.Recommend
What a coincidence that Bhatti was assassinated today – sweet timing in a tragic sort of way. What frustrates me is the questions that are asked after a crime such as this one and the onus on the Ulema to solve the problems. That was the tone of one of the talk shows on television. How can the Ulema solve a problem that they have every reason to nurture? It seems like the moderates are waiting for a miracle.Recommend
This article, coming just hours after Bhatti’s assassination, has reduced me to tears. What a sad, sad state of affairs we have been reduced to.Recommend
Sad But True. Goodbye George!Recommend
I am sorry for george. whatever he has written reflects a bitter reality. extremists, liberal-extremists, socially active and motivated ignorants, religious ignorants, etc. they all constitute pakistan now. we need a change. really.Recommend
George the difference between you and us is that we were born on this soil and unlike you, to this soil we will return. This country was never yours to start with and never will be. I wish you the best in health and life. Farewell!Recommend
Stop acting and just go already. Pakistan army zindabadRecommend
i wish i could be like you. trying out countries and identities and religions for a change, on a trial and error basis and then leave the place i suddenly start to call home and move to another place saying the country which you hypocritically call urs, has become unbearable to live. u owe ur identity to pakistan. in these highly emotional write ups at least u should have mentioned this thing once that ur identity on a pakistani and global level is because of pakistan otherwise in britain what were u? who were you? u want tp go, just go and go now. do not stay! hear that? dont stay at all but do not throw trash on us. u have been british and christian, u can make comparisons between faiths and nationalities. we have lived all our lives here and we have no choice but to stay and in whatever minuscule proportions do it, but try to make some difference to the society. and one last thing, u are not leaving, u r fleeing.Recommend
I didn’t like ur unfair criticism on Pak army as if it is the army solely responsible for our ills in fact it is the same ruling elite that has failed us.Recommend
George tell you something you leaving because you giveup from whatever happening around but my friend there is something you can make a big difference than anyone else… The whole pakistan loves you and listen to you why dont you come with a better project like george ka pakistan.. You should educate the people and tell them whats right n whats wrong.. But i know you cant do that because you are a common man not a revolutionary but somewhere i believe you can make a big difference… You should fight for a goodness… All you can do is to make your life Beautiful by going back.. Or make other life beautiful by hitting them through your msgs.. Choice is urz..Recommend
George, trust me. We’ve seen terrorism, target killings, corrupt politicians, literally everything and the funny part is we’ve survived it. I guess we’re strong enough to face anything at all now. I see Pakistan as a country of opportunities. We Pakistanis are so “Jugaari” that if we even focus on one right thing we’ll make millions out of it but the sad part is we’re not focused right. We don’t take advantage of what we really possess. I don’t only hope my country gets better, I make little efforts too and most of the time the only one to put them down are my own closed ones, but I won’t stop.
Plus Media should improve itself now I guess, It shows what it is paid for and it doesn’t show what it is paid for even more.
Peace
Salman ParekhRecommend
This is the END of all hopes. Period
Liberals of Pakistan are systematically being eliminated one by one. No one would have courage to stand up for the oppressed now.
Those who would dare to do that, will be eliminated by the extremists.
I am sure ,if caught, the killers of Bhatti will also be showered upon with rose petals by the so called civil society of Pakistan.
I am more concerned about the response of Pakistan’s so called civil society. It has been most shocking with most of them hailing the killers as heroes.
:-(Recommend
The assassination of Minority Affairs Minister of Pakistan Shahbaz Bhatti followed by the assassination of another moderate leader Salman Tasir will prove to be the last nail in the coffin of LIBERAL Pakistan.Recommend
British!Recommend
Will miss you in Pak George!Recommend
George, Thanks for taking the punt to call this nation home, albeit for a brief while. We are an ideologically confused and now a blood thirsty people and nation. Yes, we do see conspiracies everywhere but fail to see our own evil deeds, out looting and raping the nation, our hypocritical and two faced policies and our knee jerk blaming to all for our misfortunes except self.
I am surprised at how our generals and powers that be in our establishment cant see us marching like zombies towards the edge of the cliff. They are meant to be more ‘strategic’ than the rest of the ruling class including all pollies. Yet they are the ones that are not blinking twice pushing their mad agenda on supporting the taliban and their ilk and its murderous cousins in various shapes and forms towards their own nation. They are the one that paddle conspiracy theories and myths about the ‘foreign hand’ but dont feel any shame receiving billions in loans and military aid from those ‘foreign hand’ nations.
Pakistan is well on its way to implosion. The ‘ghiarat brigade’ wont have it any other way. They would rather die and take its 180 million odd with them than act wisely and have wisdom.
Pkaistan is doomed.
Good luck in your new home.
Haris ChaudhryRecommend
All people of ethnic minority backgrounds are now in danger and should leave if they can. George, you made the right decision. You’re too good for Pakistan.
I agree with much, if not all of your sentiments. I went through the same process myself; being once in love with Pakistan as a UK born British-Pakistani, I thoroughly looked forward to seeing my family and grandparents every other year. Loved the music, the language, the culture, almost everything about the place. But I was young then, and perhaps not as perceptive as I am now. Innocent, like you were when you entered the place.
But now, it honestly shames me to admit that I’m Pakistani. Being slighly lighter skinned and having stubborn hair, thankfully many think I’m Arab. And on that topic, as embarassing as recent history has been for them, at least the Arabs are rising up; at least they’re booting their dictators out and can finally be proud of themselves again. Pakistanis on the other hand are eating themselves up. Corruption is rampant in every level of society, it’s something you don’t question. A younger cousin of mine who studies in the UK recently had an International Driving liscence made in Islamabad… whilst sitting in London. He laughed; I felt like crying. Coincidently, he, like so many other of my Pakistani friends, is convinced that the country can do no wrong; that everything is just a big fat conspiracy; that our cricketers didn’t cheat, that there’s nothing wrong with a little corruption, that India and Israel are behind everything, that we don’t have extremists; rather, it’s all MOSAD, RAW and the CIA trying to destabilise an otherwise amazing country. He also tried defending Mumtaz Qadri and I walked out of the room. He frustrates me immensely.
The only politician in the country who brings a smile out in me is Imran Khan; I feel he should pack his bags and leave too. His idealism, unfalterring commitment and incorruptibility often breaks my heart; he needs to realise that he will never get anywhere in the failed state that is Pakistan. Any nation that can elect a leader like Zardari, a glorified bank robber, and stick with him for three years, is quite frankly damned.
Forgive me people if any of you have been upset by any of my generalisations. Everything just seems so wrong right now.Recommend
George, you are spot on your analysis on all ills facing Pakistan. You have rightly concluded that number one institution will be totally responsible for eventual downfall of the country as and when it occurs. This institution is functioning with its blinkers on and spending billions of dollars in enhancing its nuclear capability and purchasing armaments to match with India not realising that India’s focus is against China’s threat perception and not Pakistan. Thus billions have been spent on this wasteful expenditure which could have been utilised to improve its failing economy. Training and supporting several militant organisations against neighboring countries has been favourite pastime of intelligence agencies a ploy, which has backfired and hit Pakistan itself but this policy of self destruction has still not been abondoned. You have rightly pointed out that the terror organisation like LeT have grown so strong that military is reluctant to take them on and preserving them for India. Operations conducted against TTP have been partially successful as this outfit can still strike at will, killing scores of people. As brought out by you that foreign policy is totally controlled by them which is anti India and pro America which gives little leverage of reconcilation with the former by the civil govt and the latter dictating terms to do more due to military aid.
The ruling govt is quite incompetent as well as corrupt and even paralysed due to blasphemy agitations, recent killings and political tussle. So, the decision taken by you to leave your beloved country is correct and timely. Wishing you a peaceful life the foreign country.Recommend
You might have your reasons to leave Pakistan but that would neither harm nor be of any good to my country. Nations have difficult phases in their lives and the potential to overcome the current turbulence exists in Pakistan. Lastly, Pakistan Army is not a mercenary army. Wishing you well.Recommend
An honest article reflecting reality…some comments that followed proved your point…it’s time to go George…..your one of the few lucky ones to figure it out..btw whats with the “intellectual elite” buzz word….how are these people defined “intellectual” and “elite” ….they should be labeled rich scum bags! ….it took you 9 years to realize it ?..jeeez….anyways..have fun..enjoy your kid and live life !!!
Once again…thanks for the reality check!..excellent article!Recommend
@Roflcopter:
Don’t be so hasty. A few good and honest people in pakistan like him might be the only thing saving us from Allah’s warth.Recommend
Dear George, Part I of this article just annoyed me, but part II in the chilling backdrop of Minorities Minister Shahbaz Bhatti’s murder is haunting. Many people would focus on the fact that you are not originally from here. So what, you speak the truth. I can understand your need to leave. Maybe you will continue to write home truths, but none of what you say is a secret and many other brilliant Pakistani’s have been saying exactly what you are saying for a long, long time. It is a bit condescending to act like you’re the very first or only person to state the obvious.
Nobody should outsource responsibility, and self critique and radical reform is the need for every thriving nation. But don’t feel too sorry for us. I was born in the UK to where I assume you return. Your other home England is not exactly the purest place on earth either. The smooth and evil machinations simply happen on a much higher and sophisticated level. Some of the BS here was not exactly helped by the great Raj. You just have more access to a higher strata of society here, because people welcomed you and shared private thoughts with you which you then share in public columns.
Hang out with the good ole govt in England, the poodles of the USA, the celebrities, the White Anglo Saxon Protestants and you may find shades of grey there too. Corruption in the UK government is much more dangerous, because of its influence upon the world. It would have been great if your simple and obvious observations, already made by many, were teamed with solutions.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqeMYjbNkaE
Much of the world is going to Hell in a handcart. We need solutions along with critique, bailing in tough times is very understandable, but then don’t profess true love. You could have announced a separation, but you declared divorce, and we all know what to say to parting lovers, who leave with words of scorn when we may already be down. Let’s hope its an amicable divorce, the civilized kind where one hopes the best for all.
Oh dear we Pakistanis are so against the West, why can’t we just get over the daily Muslim Genocide thing, very begrudging of us… don’t mention the War!Recommend
The liberals or moderates cant challenge the mullah-military alliance. Where governors and ministers get shot down in broad day light in the capital of the country for opposing a man-made law, and where killers are hailed as heros of islam, then what can an average citizen do besides commenting on blogs sitting safely behind laptops.Recommend
george, i really felt happy when u came to Pakistan and managed to lived here for so long. but you actually dont have the slightest idea of what Pakistan has gone through. blaming Pakistan army!?!? pfff. we hav been at war just after this country came into existence and even today. u said there was no foreign hand in the attack on the sri lankan team!?!? dude how the hell do u know?? if u know there wasnt any foreign hand involved then please enlighten us who was responsible!! we, the people of Pakistan hav gone through all the tough times and are still ready to face them HAPPILY. and no words frm a brit who managed to liv hear for 9 god forsaken years can make any difference. this article is ur perspective, which has an equal chance of being bollocks. u lived in Pakistan, good for you, ur going, good for u. taking out your anger by blaming Pakistan army is gonna do jack!! farewell (sorry, cant call u my friend)Recommend
@Waqas Ahmed:
Thats your opinion, but i firmly believe that the Army has had a major part to play in causing havoc in our society. Yes, a lot of Pakistani soldiers have, and will continue, to die protecting our “freedoms” and for that i will always be thankful to them, but it would also be naive to say that they haven’t been the single biggest cause of our instability, from ISI’s “government within the government” to our Generals who have repeatedly sold us for their mere personal gains! Our ill-fated foreign policy, the main reason for our economic instability, the same foreign policy which dictates our defense strategies, our exports, even how the world portrays us, IS NOT conjured in the Presidency or the Parliament as its supposed to be, but in the barracks of the GHQ. Until we rid ourselves of these Generals, who think themselves God’s gift to Pakistan and consider it their God given right to impose their ideals upon us (Ayub, Yahya, Zia, Musharraf!), we will never ever be truly free!Recommend
stop acting and just go already. Pakistan army zindabad i m agree with Mr Roflcopte.Recommend
@Freeha Shaukat:
Ever thought about writing a blog yourself? i would subscribe in an instant. Great observations and so true!!! Well done!Recommend
George, I appreciate the sentiment, I appreciate your thoughts on Pakistan. I agree some of the blame lies on the Pakistan Army. However, if you lie all the blame on the Pakistani Army, and nothing on anyone else, you are sadly mistaken. There are many “vested interests” in Pakistan as well, coupled with Pakistan’s own internal chaos. The Pakistani Army and the Intelligence are Pakistan’s best bet for survival, the politicians are absolutely useless. You forget the strategic and geopolitical challenges Pakistan faces in its neighborhood. America, Afghanistan and the Pakistani Army are responsible for the horrific situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan today.Recommend
george may have omitted the fact that some liberals are social liberals and not necessarily fiscal/economic liberals.
you can have liberal ideas about free speech and social values while being a fiscal conservative who does not believe in the redistribution of wealth.
the problem with pakistan is two-fold. one is that religion is poisoning us. the other is that the two-nation theory does not work.Recommend
I appreciate the viewpoints of people like you, Najam Sethi, Pervez Hoodbhoy; as well as the people from the extreme right, the ultraconservative. But by criticizing the army, you are looking through their rose tinted glasses and ignoring the realities of the country. I can talk about this in great depth. I can talk to you on the failures and successes of the Pakistan Army, but I can only talk about the failures of the Elite ruling parties and politicians. They need to get their act together and do something to protect Pakistan, something the Pakistan Army has done in the past and will continue to do so.Recommend
George, please tell me one thing: do you honestly think you would have the name recognition and have earned the respect of millions of Pakistanis if you chose to live in the UK and not come to Pakistan? Honestly, you are sounding like a coward and opportunistic. Everything was good with Pakistan when life for you was cushy, now that times are tough you are bailing out? Come on, George. You blame the Pakistanis (army, bureaucrats, politicians) for the ills that afflict Pakistan. How about blaming your own countrymen for the truncated country theyforced down our throat? How about blaming your government and your master, the US govt, for the guns, drugs, violence, afghan refugees, talibanisation, etc.? I agree that we cannot blame the West and other countries for all our problems, but would you at least acknowledge the major devastation caused by the West through their Afghan misadventure from the 80′s to now? Would you at least show the courage to blame your British govt and other western nations for being responsible for the mess we are in? Taali dono haath say bujti hai. We do have corrupt leaders, civil and military, But, when they accept commission from large Western multi-nationals, are not those corporations also guilty of being corrupt, of bribing? When there is violence in Pakistan or in any third world country, who supplies them with weapons? George, please go back to where you came from – of course, there is no corruption from where you came, right? There is no state-sponsored terrorism, like renditions and other violence, in which the UK govt or European nations are involved in, right? George, if you have to go, go. But at least show the decency of being a gracious guest to a generous host that showered you with love and affection.Recommend
It doesn’t fail to surprise me that a lot of people here are offended by the reality check. May be that’s just because it is coming from somebody not born in this country but nevertheless it’s still true!
Majority of us are still in the country coz we don’t have a choice. Most of us would have already left if our visas were not denied by the American or British embassy. George you are taking a good step coz Faiz like every child deserves the best.
To all those who say that we have survived through everything, well that’s bull…The current situation of the country can hardly be refered to as survival…we are at the verge of death; the country is sadly taking its last breaths. We are NOT living through it HAPPILY…We are MOURNING… there’s only so much we can tolerate. Yes may be people who are dumb and blind can face this happily. We don’t to find old examples. Just reflect on what happened this morning. Take a look at the assassination of Mr. Shahbaz Bhatti and then talk about survival.
Good bye George…I’ll miss you…best of luck for your future!!Recommend
Pakistanis will go back to their lives changing nothing.
They don’t like facts especially when what you say is NOT against hindus or Indians.
Good on you George. Escape before some explosion takes you.Recommend
George, Understand your sentiment…!
Just do us a favor please…. As you go, if you somewhere bump into this guy Obama, request him to get outa this region [alongwith his NATO, CIA etc etc] and allow us Pakistanis to live in peace.
Regards….Recommend
every nation have there good and bad but this does not mean that one should leave.lets join hands for peace.Recommend
George explored Pakistan but somehow i feel his perceptions of extremism across Pakistan and ex-Pakistan are based on facts divulged by papers and sources like Guardian, Newyork times, Washington Post etc. I wonder why he dint wrote anything that he came across people who are like millions in Pakistan convinced on the fact that terrorism in Pakistan prevails because of CIA’s interests. I dint see him write that Pakistan is being put on a simulated ride of terror, horror and blood where the world could be convinced that its not worthy of keeping nuclear arsenal and thus should be snatched away. George!! a common kid on streets can give you a comparison of TTP(Pakistani Taliban) and Afghan Talibans and would surely convince you why TTP is american baked. I am very sad to know you are leaving because your mother-in-law asked you to, please ask her from my side cant you or God forbid your child be harmed in England? I have had fights during my stay in england. Why does your mother think that the angel of death cant reach reach England if you are to die. Its a very poor practise these days in Pakistan that our Elders ask us to leave this country for protection and a better future. This country was formed after millions gave up their lives and yet few elders would say leave this country! its their (our elder’s generation) that worked hard to get a country but than failed to invest morality, ethics and honour in the 1st generation of Pakistani children. Pakistan is just in a bad time, but believe you me its scent has the most magnificent power to pull you towards it. I would give every drop of my blood for the well-being of this beautiful land we’d been blessed with.Recommend
I hate reading about Pakistan in the morning. It ruins rest of my day. I am not in Pakistan anymore but it’s an addiction. I hope my family can live through what is happening there. Most of the liberals in the country would eventually migrate just like Afghanistan. I hope for everyone’s sake that all of this reach it’s conclusion sooner than later. Crazy land and even though I was born and lived there for 24 years, I have started to hate it now. There is not a single thing about Pakistan that has helped me in this struggle of my life outside that crazy bubble. I wish we were rather living as backward indian muslims than be called terrorists.Recommend
All the best with your move.Please keep Pakistan in your prayers.I hope & pray from the depth of my heart, for the day to arrive when Pakistan is blessed with sincere leadership for the country.I hope the day comes when our nation could do justice to Muhammad Ali Jinnah & all the sacrifices made for the independence.(Amin)
Coming from a family who played an active role & sacrificed large monetary assets & valuables for the love of this land, my heart bleeds to see the country in despair.
You have a Golden heart & thank you so much for loving this country & holding it dear to you.
We will always remember you in good words & hopefully & with positive energy we will call you back in a stable land.Recommend
George. You have always come across as a good person. Leave in peace and please come back when we have re-taken our Pakistan and redeemed our misfortunes. InshAllah Pakistan will rise and rise like noone has risen before.Recommend
I have read both of your articles with some patience.
George, I need to help you with your “intellectual honesty”.
You keep giving references of India in your articles. And you keep quoting M. J. Akbar.
M. J. Akbar needs to focus more on the plight if Muslims in India and India’s illegal occupation of Kashmir.
Or perhaps M. J. Akbar is too scared of the Hindutvas too write anythign honest about his own country. Let me help him out by quoting from a recent report:
Recently, Justice Rajinder Sachar Committee report admitted that 138 Million Muslims across India are severely under-represented in government employment, including Public Sector Units. Ironically, West Bengal, a communist ruled state reported 0 (zero) percent of Muslims in higher positions in its PSUs! It has found that the share of Muslims in government jobs and in the lower judiciary in any state simply does not come anywhere close to their population share. The only place where Muslims can claim a share in proportion to their population is in prison! (Muslims convicts in India is 19.1%, while the number of under trials is 22.5%, which exceed their population ratio) . A note sent on January 9 by the army to the defence ministry in 2004 says that only 29,093 Muslims among a total of 1.1 million personnel — a ratio of 2.6 %, which compares poorly with the Muslims’ 13.8 % share in the Indian population. Officially, Indian Army don’t allow head count based on religion.
If M. J. Akbar were to report what I have, he would not last a day in India (arundhati roy can get away with it, but just barely).
And the famous actress Shabana Azmi camplained about Muslims not even being able to buy apartment in Mumbai without discrimation. I would really hate to think about what may happen to M. J . Akbar if he were to be honest about the problems of Muslims in India or even touch upon Kashmir – he would be found hanging from the nearest lamp-pole by a Hindituva mob.
I know that Pakistan has problems. But we have significnatly less poverty (in percentage and absolute terms) than India; 1/3 of India is under Maoist insurgency ; and there is the greatest male: femal ratio probem in Inida.
Do you know that India spends more on its defence than our entire budget! Why should we not have nuclear detterence?
If you want to leave Pakistan, leave. But leave with the right perspective and please don’t throw wild allegations around.Recommend
It is high time that anyone living in Pakistan start to make a stand. The successive governments of Pakistan have failed to provide any semblance of law and order, security of life, honour, property. Wouldnt no goevernment is better than this sham of government. Atleast you would be able to defend yourself with what ever your means and not waiting for the so called police / army / what ever.Recommend
A historic narrative George…I’m left speechless by your eloquent and piercing honesty and accurate observation of our hopeless psyche…
George Ka khuda Hafiz I & II shall remain historic documents on Pakistan’s woes.Recommend
@liberal fascist:
Loved every bit of your comment… totally agree with u!Recommend
You are leaving George as this is not your country, despite of all the ills its still our country and we love our country. We know our weaknesses and will contribute little to get rid of these thanks George for leaving as this decision of yours will improve the number of true countrymen.Recommend
I thought I would ask you not to leave Pakistan in your part II through my valid points. But today, even I changed my mind.
Will see you next year in the land of mighty queen hopefully.
Hope you get to the airport safely George.
It was nice having you.Recommend
Dear George,
Great article and wonderful analysis. Your column started with the Love of Pakistan, unfortunately the way this love was no different than others. My question to you ” Will you leave your wife and children when they really need you ??
Yes I am in Dallas, Texas if that is what you are thinking but reading and seeing all this in Pakistan my love is getting stronger and Inshallah I will be in Pakistan this month. Inshallah we will bring change not for us but for your Faiz and next generation. Just keep us in your blessing.Recommend
Why would you bash the military before leaving? Did you by any chance get upset for them catching your cousin Raymond Davis? Lots of Westerners are heading out of this country, I wonder if all of them hate Pakistan Army and ISI.
Whats wrong with what Atiqa Odho said (that too in a private conversation)? Rahat could have been taxed and sent home instead of being jailed for 3 days. So much for Aman ki Asha! The attack on the Sri Lankan team was purely a foreign hand, thats why the Sri Lankans didnt complain, instead treated the bus driver as a hero.
Take your son to England George, guns are not an everyday occurrence there. They only team up with the US to destroy Iraq on false account of BIG GUNS (WMDs). That and your public bashing of your alleged ex-spouse goes a long way in explaining the corrosion of your values…Recommend
Thank you George for stating the obvious, but this is all part of the curse/beauty of Pakistan from it’s onset.Recommend
the above behram khan is not me. its some other behram khan :p i agree a hundred percent with george and i would say the same to him. JAO aur apne aap ko bachao why shouldnt the military be blamed mr behram khan?Recommend
Im sorry to say…but there’s a difference between George and a real pakistani….we cant just pack up our bags and leave…..we will live here and die here…when things start to go bad…i don’t start thinking that its time to leave….instead i think how can i make things better…..because i have no choice…..im a pakistani n i’ll never leave pakistan
u hv been brought up in a different world george….i understand the difficulty in adjusting…Recommend
George,
if you had written this two years ago, it would have made me angry, and I would have come up with a laundry list of seemingly solid arguments to refute each and every point that you have made. I have lived outside of Pakistan for my entire adult life, and even though I’ve never been in favor of any of our politicians, military, certainly not the religious fanatics, I’ve always had an idealistic view of our society; I’ve always held the view that if, somehow, the corrupt fringes were expunged, Pakistan would become a great country, economically and socially.
However, now that idealism is gone; every last bit of it. In every conversation, be it with expats or non-Pakistanis, I vigorously defended Pakistan; now I find myself shying from the topic, trying hard to not be dragged into a debate. We have ceded the last bit of our moral ground.
What you said about the cricketers is spot on. We, the “educated,” English-speaking elites have been gnawing away at this country and it’s poor people for decades with reckless abandon. We installed the country’s biggest robber as president and cheered in military tyrants…but we’re shocked when a cricketer who was at the time a minor, and surrounded by unscrupulous characters as role-models, and handled by a non-existent administration, decides to have a go.Recommend
It feels as if I am looking into the mirror. You are showing us the reality of our society which the liberal elite deny. *jadoo ki jhappi aur thook wali pappiRecommend
Seriously, you wanted the whole culture of Pakistan to change for you! Pakistan Army is army of our country, by blaming all the mumbai, parliament you are no different from the conspiracy theorist of the right. Like every other country, Pakistan needs Army, like any other country, Pakistan needs Intelligence agency.
If we are American Client – then What is Britain? (http://www.sify.com/news/don-t-be-poodle-to-america-british-mps-tell-government-news-international-kd2p4dhdafb.html)
Britain has sent its soldiers to wards that were not backed by its people – but on the call of US.
I am not denying that we have issues in fact we have hell loads of them and its our fault if they have not been solved. But getting crappy with all the right vs left wont give Pakistan much. We need patriotism as much as England has. We want Police control as much as London has. We are weak but definitely not fallen. 9 years and you have your verdict- dude go back 109 years and read what British raj brought for this land.
I hope you have good life- Pakistan has people like Captain Meraj Shaheed and thousand more who are fighting the menace in real terms. Blogs and twitters are useless if they fail to bring people to street.Recommend
Pakistan ZindabadRecommend
Pakistan hamney banaya tha
Pakistan ham bacheyegey
Pakistan Zindabad
the Pakistan Military is no more Dangerous than the Military Industrial Complex in the United States.If you have any solution to pakistan,please put them forward but random criticism of Pakistan Army struggle to appease america and keep the million soliders in India on their side of the border is not easy.Pakistan Army has made mistakes,but none as big as the Iraq WarRecommend
George… It seems you have turned out to be one of those who have not found the right fit in Pakistan. can you please tell me which is the country in the world which does not have selfish politicians, violence, corruption, and prejudice including Yours. We all know what Pakistan is going through – thanks to Gora Sahib. By the way your depressing talk could inspire some people with lack of breadth of knowledge an outlook- not those who have been through the history. 70% of the nations are still paying for Western adventurism of colonialism..please go to the roots. By the way Pak Army is not mercenaries. You have been my personal favourite though, but you have diappointed. Last but not the least why dont you take your mother in law along – I mean dont you think this place is equally bad for her!!Recommend
Pakistan will rise very soon in leadership of IMRAN KHAN .George, we will then invite you to see new PAKISTAN. Despite of all odds we are still full of HOPE for a real change to make PAKISTAN a peaceful place to live. Bye for now, see you soon.Recommend
everyone here speaks of how badly we need changes in pakistan, but changes wont happen if you dont do anything yourself. I feel so helpless sitting here in london!Recommend
With all due respect George, you have given up, and as a Pakistani, you have no right to. You claim that Pakistan’s intellectual elite have abandoned all responsibility; you ARE that intellectual elite. And you are abandoning your responsibility.
I applaud you for voicing your concerns openly, but believe that you are committing the same mistakes that you are complaining of.
Allah Hafiz George, I wish you and your family the best.Recommend
see you later then.Recommend
consider reprinting the article in urdu and local languagesRecommend
Can’t understand why he can’t stop raving on about the army and stuff (“army will bring this country to it’s collapse”??? so who would save it then, ZARDARI??). So weren’t you around during Musharraf’s turnaround of the country’s economy? And as for Mumbai attacks, maybe you haven’t read about Headley being a CIA agent? And the Indian Parliament, those were local Indian Muslims, you know that right? And Kargil — who are we to judge, were we even there? Better hold off on judgement until we actually know all the facts. Maybe not aware much of Indian treatment of Kashmiris? And the Sri Lankan team — why would the army want to attack the Sri Lankan team? And as for the US/Hindu/Zionist conspiracy — what about the potential Middle-East-Pakistan-China oil pipeline, wouldn’t Hindu control of Pakistan or even just Balochistan inhibit that? Isn’t that what the West would want? Why do you think they went into Afghanistan and Iraq in the first place? Secure oil from China and Russia right? So then aren’t the theories of conspiracy against Pakistan viable?
And I can go on and on. I just can’t understand why you’ve got so much beef against the army. I mean, are you sure YOU’RE not one of the conspirators too??? Sure I have much to be critical about regarding the army as well just like anyone else, but there are a million other things to be critical about here as well, not sure why you’re so singularly obsessed with just the army. Never heard you say anything about the ongoing destruction and collapse of the country under Zardari & Co. Maybe you’d prefer, perhaps, that it be you in control instead of the army? Is that the reason for the enmity?
Some sanity though when Mr. Fulton talks about the liberal elite and their obscene wealth and absolutely no effort to try to govern and distribute the wealth to fellow human beings. This I tell you and this only is the biggest problem in this country of ours, the selfishness and arrogance of our elite. I never understand, why none of the raving talking-heads ever even dare to bring this up. It took a foreigner to do it my friends, a foreigner from a more sane, egalitarian and just world than ours. Nothing will happen, nothing, until we start treating fellow human beings as human beings, share our wealth and knowledge, actually crave a more equal society, just because we want for others what we want for ourselves, and we let go of the sickening decadence that has pervaded us — otherwise, we are surely doomed.Recommend
Where is all this venom coming from? Is it really all our fault that your life didn’t work out here? I don’t know what your expectations were from Pakistan because things were not rosy even 8 yrs back…what brought u here in the first place that u had to leave your home country? The ills you talk about were present even then so whats with the naive gora act? I am the one who is shocked, I think it was all a hoax to hoodwink a nation fascinated with goras, you took all the love, warmth, hospitality and stardom showered upon you and now you slap it all back in our face because this isn’t your cup of tea? Is it because you had a taste for a life of a second class citizen post Raymond Davis? a life that every single Pakistani faces every single day in your home land? Let’s call a spade a spade, your VVIP status just ran it’s course and now ur out. Godspeed.Recommend
excellent analysis.please stay in touch.we need eye openers like this analysis.Recommend
@behram khan:
And other Pakistanis who differ:
– Every one can present their version; and if they disagree, you can rebut, point by point.
But personalizing an argument and asking rhetorical questions, casting aspersions, is the reason why nothing is resolved and no direction emerges after 6 decades and more.Recommend
Well said George.. I wish best of luck to you. This country doesnt deserve you.Recommend
George, I really liked your article / letter. And thanks for providing the facts and figures about tax evasion in Pakistan. I give you credit for staying in Pakistan and travelling and experiencing life in Pakistan. Wish you the best.
Kamran from Toronto.Recommend
In your nine years you have managed to understand this country more than most of those born here. Do not leave and wash your hands of this sad land. Yours is a story our countryman must continue to hear. Even if they call you a traitor, continue to force them to look inwards , for the inability and unwillingness to do so is what is killing us as a society. As you leave with a heavy heart, remember that you have many who would call you their brothers………brothers like myself who also left with heavy hearts, who shed tears with every new tragedy that befalls our miserable home, and cry ever harder when we note the idiocy of our countrymen’s reaction to these events. We too would rather not have left our homes, but can’t bring ourselves to return either. We live as outsiders in foreign lands for the sake of our children’s futures, watching from afar as our beloved country bleeds slowly to death.Recommend
Well said. Sorry to see you leave.Recommend
Thanks for ur wonder full article.
There is a good demand in world for the reporters who worked in pakistan.
I mean it.Recommend
Many a commentators here write that despite all ills, Pakistan has survived …??? Friends, it is not the Pakistan which is survived. It is the Eco-system of Indus Valley which has survived. The nation fell apart in two parts in 1971 and both parts survived. God knows tomorrow the western part may also break into pieces and will survive. It is the survival of a nation? This nation which has only one binding force i.e. Islam, is losing its cohesiveness. The parts are falling apart. If that be construed as survival, yes Pakistan has survived and is surviving.
My parents migrated to India during partition of 1947. They carried with them their human values of the great land of Indus Valley. Similarly, my Muslim brothers who migrated to west with such values have preserved them even in foreign land. Those values of sufi chants, social cohesiveness and family bonds have survived, ironically away from our motherland. However, the same social fabrics of love, affection, tolerance and the spirit of giving more to society then expecting from it, are dying in Pakistan. I would have loved to see George Fulton becoming BBC’s ‘Mark Tully’, ‘Jim Corbett’ or ‘Mother Teresa’ for Pakistan a land to which my ancestry belonged.Recommend
I think you really don’t have a fair understanding of Pakistan or the resilience of her people. But then again, I’m sure your Indian born mother in law has her own take on Pakistan. Maybe your British grandparents who took over South Asia and destroyed the existing order when the dominant Muslim peoples ruled the region have their own take on Pakistan too. These views no doubt colour your view. You may have your own views but we Pakistanis are made of pretty strong stuff. Be that as it may, I wish you well in the West. We in Pakistan who love our nation will see her through.Recommend
“In addition to being the largest landowner in Pakistan, the Pakistani Army is the world’s largest mercenary army.”
George, you couldnt have put it more bluntly than this. You missed out few things. They are the biggest terrorist army, biggest land mafia, biggest welfare provider for ex army personnel, biggest business enterprise and biggest nightmare to the neighbours in particular and the world in general.
US instead of concentrating on Libya and Egypt should take the Pak army to task and free the pakistani public from their army. It will save them not only billions of dollars but also free the world from the terrorist breeding mafia. It will also cut the umbilical chord for the terrorists.Recommend
The sun rise is The brightest after the darkest night! Worry not, you are more than welcome to revisit when you are ready!Recommend
Your mention of Hoodbhoy, only shows your inclination to an ideology that is totally secular. That in its roots denies everything and worships rationality.
The prime achievement and greatness that Pakistan attained was making a nuclear bomb for itself. And you claim to hold another perspective.
Remember the day when we Pakistanis pass this exam. You will come running towards it. On that day you will remember this post.Recommend
Extremely sad to see you leave George. Being a half Pakistani myself I can understand your concerns for the future of your son. He definitely deserves a better future. The option of leaving Pakistan was put to us many many times by our friends, relative and even the Embassy here but this is something that my parents would never go for and nor would I .However I wish you and your family all the best. Allah Nigheban!!Recommend
George. I vividly remember my family meeting your family at the recent Festival of Writers and Literature at the Carlton Hotel. You remember I told you that we are happy and proud to have you as a Pakistani?
George, you could have taught us Pakistanis so much. The British sense of jurisprudence, of fair play, cleanliness, the rule of law, the British love of reading books and gaining knowledge, tolerance, traffic sense, everything!
But you are fleeing! That is sad. Very sad indeed.Recommend
As a father of two I can relate to your feelings and understand what you are going through … definitely its no more a place for kids to raise… but George just remember you are one of the many good things that has happened to this country over the time… the difference between you and us is that you become Pakistani by choice unlike all of us you accepted this country with all its ills while giving up everything that many of us could only dreamt of.. George many of us look upto u as a role model we need someone to show to our kids as a role model and tell them …’look here is a man who came all way long and accepted us while we were going through our tough times if he can look eye ball to eye ball and challenge the status quo why can’t we..’ Answer me what are you going to tell Faiz when he would grow up that his father gave up on his love and walked away like many others…how would he feel than?? Your hero, The Faiz never left this country suffered all the humiliation but nothing could stop him instead it kept him going and today we are proud of him … Send your son to your parents but stay with us to fight our way through this mess making this country a pride land for our kids as well as yours so that when they grow up they can hold their heads high and feel proud of us as fighters and not deserters ..Your strength is your words and your work ..people listen to you with passion its upto you whether your limit yourself to drawing rooms or coffe shops and get frustrated by pseudo Pakistanis or go out into the masses and tell them its Pakistan Ka GeorgeRecommend
@Salman Arshad:
I can only regret your naive thoughts. I believe you belong to “haves”, have a good life in this country and detached from reality and find it in order to blame Army for everything. Being realistic, I feel that Army shares some blame but not for all the mess, as it is politicians’ incompetence that gives army the chance to intervene. I dare not call you liberal extremist as your thoughts smack of that mentality. I suggest you read the column of Hassan Nisar which appeared in Jang yesterday. Here is the link to the page for your convenience;
http://www.jang.com.pk/jang/mar2011-daily/02-03-2011/col7.htmRecommend
The root cause of Pakistan becoming a failed state is their anti-India obsession. In trying to harm India, Pakistani Army become stronger and stronger. When Army realize that they can’t defeat India in a conventional war they start using the militants to fight against India. But they forget that harboring militants is double edged weapon, the same militants are now challenging the very existence of Pakistan. Even a die hard optimist will find it difficult to see a bright future of Pakistan in present circumstances.Recommend
Dear George,
I applaud your first piece, second one is also good, however, with all due consideration to your terms ‘hyper-patriotism and paranoia’ – I feel that you should also consider the odds such as when you make the statement about cricket boys, do you think the Australians, English and Indian dont cheat? They do too, but they dont get caught, why is it that the brunt is always borne by Pakistanis? Secondly, when you make your US comment, do you not think that they have done injustice in Iraq and Afghanistan, do you not anticipate they have the potential to do the same that they are doing through their drone attacks etc?
I am not being a devil’s advocate but there has to be some semblance to the hyper-patriotism and paranoia that we are suffering from, it is not entirely a creation of our convoluted minds.Recommend
George,I read both your articles.I agree with most of what you have written though not all of it.I would request you to please write a full article on some positive aspect of your stay here(there must be some positives or the things you liked) in the nine years you lived in Pakistan.This is for people like me,and millions of Pakistanis who still have not lost hope in our beautiful country Pakistan and we hope and pray it can again rise from the ashes.(Ameen).Recommend
George you never thought of the people living in paksitan you have the prevelige of leaving pakistan ever thought of those who can not?Recommend
This guy used to appear in a show on Geo called ‘George Ka Pakistan’ several years back. His reasons for coming to the country – are visible in this article. He has twisted everything he knows into something rotten. His observations are worthless.Recommend
another piece of criticism without solutions. SO v bade u goodbyeRecommend
just sad :-)Recommend
bye george, have a full and happy life.Recommend
A friend today gave following comments on George Fulton’s article in daily ‘Express Tribune’ of 1st Mar, 11 titled “George ka khuda hafiz — I”. http://tribune.com.pk/story/125853/george-ka-khuda-hafiz–i/
“right wing revolution in Pakistan seems likely…moderates on the run or being killed…can it still be averted?”
Following are my reactions on the issue.
Right wing can not bring a ‘revolution’ – because revolution means a radical change in prevailing situation.
Prevailing situation in Pakistan is a combination of Local Capitalist exploitation and Overseas capitalist exploitation (MNC’s, IMF/WB) cum Imposed War OF terror on Pakistani citizens and in our neighborhood (in the form of Imperialism).
But before going into this, we should first answer this question — How does one define ‘Right Wing’ ?
If one defines it as the Ruling Class in Marxist terms, then this class has ruled Pakistan since its inception, and continues to do so now also. Hence there is nothing new in it.
On the other hand, if one defines it as petty bourgeoisie and lumpen proletariat class, then these have been continuously used by the Capitalist Ruling Class, again, since 1947. Even before 1947, Muslim ruling class of Pre-partition India in the form of Salariat and Zamindar (Big Landowners) class used the above two classes in their ‘Pakistan Movement’ by drumming up ‘Anti Hindu bogey’ and frauds like ‘ Islam in danger’, ‘Muslims ho to muslim league may aaoo’ etc etc.
Since 1947, Pakistani Ruling Class (all educated, ostensibly liberal, conversant in English ) have USED the petty burgeoisie and lumpen proletariat (less educated, main medium of education & communication – Urdu) again and again to preserve and further their hegemoney and exploitation. Take the Objective Resolution, Anti Ahmedi riots in Punjab in early fifties, 1965 sneak attack on India, 1971 war on Bengalis, Military Operations on Baluchis of 1950′s , 1960′s , 1970′s and now going on since 2004 till date, Anti Qadiani laws during Bhutto regime in early 1970′s , Zia regime’s furhter strengthening them and oppressing other minorities through amendments in Blashphemy laws. All along our history, capitalist classes, who have ruled us, have mobilized petty bourgeoisie and lumpen proletariat thru use of religion, Nationalism, fears of the Other etc etc.
Hence the real enemies of majority toiling classes of Pakistan is the capitalist Ruling class – which changes its colors as the situation suits it – its uses religion when its suits it, it becomes ‘enlightened moderate’ when it suits it, and it can be both at the Same Time. Nowadays also, it takes money from imperialism to form NGOs holding seminars on ‘democracy’ and ‘anti fundamentalism’, thus cleverly trying to deflect attention from the main issues of Local capitalist exploitation and local cum foreign Imperialist war . Another faction of it, takes money from Imperialism and local capitalists to selectively support and use leadership of petty bourgeoise formations like Sipah Sahaba, Jaish e Mohd, Jammat ut dawah etc etc .
All those striving for substantial change in Pakistan must not lose sight of this fact and we must not let stray events deflect us from the way of bringing ‘real revolution’ i.e a change in the ‘relations of production’ and building a classless society. Only a movement of the exploited Working Class, Oppressed Nationalities and Youth will, in the process and journey of its collective struggle, remove these differences of Sex, Caste, Creed and Ethnicity which the Ruling class is trying to fan and exploit to divide us.
Recent Working class fighbacks in KESC, PIA, Port Qasim, Faisalabad Loom Workers, Non Teaching Staff of Schools in Sindh etc and Students’ Resistance, both boys and girls, in Punjab, Peshawar University & Islamia College Peshawar, the fearless girl students of Bahawalpur Medical College etc , to name just a few, are a testament to this fact. Ongoing Peoples’ movements in Egypt and Tunisia are also giving the world the same message – they have, through and in the course of their struggles, patched up these artificial divisions and thus managed to push both Local Capitalist Class and Imperialism on the defensive.Recommend
You’ve been very honest with us George. I can relate to your melancholy and you’re frustration with the system. Let us just hope that maybe in another 5,10 or 20 years our country is more livable for all of us.. where Faiz’s parents can openly hold hands :).
Best of luck dear friend! Your words have left an impression.Recommend
While I understand your sentiments and your need to leave the country – I am saddened by it. You represent the many others who have left the country before you, and will continue to do so after. Pakistan just cant seem to keep the people it needs.
Unlike you I did quite the opposite, I returned to Pakistan after studying for some time in the UK. I did so even though I knew times were tough and life was rough for liberals such as myself. I did this not because I wanted to be labelled a hero or a patriotic zealot, but because I just couldn’t help it. I love my country, its an addiction and I cannot and honestly don’t want to kick the habit of. Its a pity really.
The idealist in me wishes you were staying and helping the whatever little voices we have in the country to fight against this non Islamic intolerance that has suddenly been bred in a country that ought to protect its minorities. But the pragmatic in me, instilled through years of living in Pakistan, wishes you the best of luck on your future endeavours and hopes that you will come visiting us soon. Khuda Hafiz.Recommend
I appreciate your long stay for nine years in Pakistan. I can understand your position to flee the country. One can partly agree to your piece, though I seriously doubt your objectivity being a writer as I have read a couple of articles before this one. You leave Pakistan because you see it doomed. You are in a hurry to flee Pakistan and I am dying to come back to it. You are uncomfortable in Pakistan and I am feeling suffocated in the US, restlessly looking forward to returning in May–but it seems the time has paused. You said “khuda hafiz Pakistan” and I will be saying “Here I come Pakistan.” It’s the difference of perspective. It’s not Pakistan’s fault. You run from Pakistan to live and I prefer to live and die on my soil, so do millions of Pakistanis, because I [we] own it and you never belonged to it. Leaving “your Pakistan” in hard times is nothing to be proud of. We will receive you with open arms if you ever felt its livable and worth coming back. One thing more, you change your “we” from Pakistan to Britain and try to write objectively, I hope you will find your “great country” has, in fact, a big hand in ruining this country, rather the peace of the whole world.
Wish you peace and a life of your own choice!Recommend
The best article I have ever read…It is so touching..George you are spot on…You have mixed love for Pakistan with brilliant objectivity which we as natives lack…
I hope though you are leaving you still remain interested in this land..Recommend
George, You seems to be a family man, a good husband,father,son-in-law.Nations makes mistakes & makes gray & colorful histories.You have option of leaving.But Pakistan & Pakistanis don’t have this option.How many countries will you leave at times of crisis.You might be good writer, but you are a week link in the society.Please step aside and let the brave take the call.Recommend
Isn’t the marriage about being together in good times and bad, through sickness and health?Recommend
Shame on George and those people who are praising him for running away. I would have rather liked an article of a man who says that may what come..I will not leave Pakistan. Our ancestors gave their life for this country..Our ancestors did not choose to run away but rather demand for Pakistan. So shame on those who are opting to run and not fight for this country.Recommend
@Blithe:
A typical Pakistani mentality shown here by blithe….as long as india has more problems than us – we are good. Please forget about what India is going thru for a second here and concentrate what mess Pakistan is in. George is right – admit it. Stop making excuses with your numbers and stats for god sake and let people realize that we messed up and we need to make it right.Recommend
Dear George,
Thank you for believing in this Country and in us, while you did. On behalf of Pakistan i apologise for our ungratefulness.
Sadly its who we are. I remember watching your Geo show with the utmost excitement, being glued to every episode along side my mom and sister. with the sad trend of brain draining, a more populous culture amongst the educated youth with their external degrees, i was more akin to people always leaving Pakistan. But your show was a breath of fresh air and very ironically, a pleasant gush of patriotism. You were travelling our Country and even went on to embrace it. It made me believe that we still had more to show off than the terrorism labels.
your morning show was equally lovely to catch whenever possible. I wish you, your wife and Faiz well. None of you deserve the treatment that prevails at present.
i have lived in Islamabad all my life. Never left the borders of the Country. I have briefly travelled within it, because my father was always too busy being a surgeon.
my faith in this Country is of course inherited, but it has been tested repeatedly with time. However something still manages to keep me grounded. Its the things i’ve achieved and the people that have touched my life. My friends and i run a small charitable trust in Islamabad by the name Thali, we redistribute surplus food from buffet meals, catering events and hotels among the low income groups. We also teach slum children in the outskirts ans within the city. I have met unsung heroes who have made me thank the Lord for everything i have and also admire them for their efforts even when life isn’t all too fair with them. So we strive ahead, with just an all too idealistic vision, but its a direction hopefully.
i know we haven’t been fair to you and fanaticism has gripped our intellect to the point that we’ve been blinded by ignorance. But i do hope that you’d consider at some point to reconcile with your love, who will most definitely miss you. The truth is we need more individuals like you to take the blindfold off our hypnotised eyes. I hope you won’t completely turn your back on us and would surely continue to inspire us with your writings and memoirs of a time worth remembering and maybe a hopeful time to come.Recommend
Good Riddance,
Seriously dont care who he was and what he did. But he shouldnt be a crybaby.Recommend
To everyone above claiming that george is putting all thr blame on the army. Did you stop reading after one paragraph? There is just one paragraph on the army and you are all ignoring the majority of the article which has nothing to do with it!Recommend
George,when you came to Pakistan and got married and became famous,I thought you would end up being sucked into the system and join the ranks of those decorated by the GOP for being such nice poodles.Thank God your conscience was alive and has at last spoken.Every word that you feel rings true(very unfortunate,of course).This country is on a course of self destruction unless we the the meek liberals can join a social revolution like the people of Egypt,Tunisia,Libya,Yemen.The murder of Shahbaz Bhatti is a stark reminder of the inevitable end that end that nations meet when bigotry rules and good men and women join the conspiracy of silence.Do keep writing for there is a passion in writing that comes from the heart of honest people.Recommend
what a tear jerker! Just Jao George. I for one have had enough of your mindless ramblings, where you conveniently skip over the damage done by the ‘democratic’, ‘elected’ officials over the last 60 odd years.Recommend
I wonder why you people are begging a foreigner to stay in Pakistan and help us. trust yourselfRecommend
George, you spoke the truth.
Though not born in Pakistan, or because of the fact that you came from the UK, you are cleareyed and without the blinkers which Pakistanis don’t even know exist.
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You were direct. You said it like it is. You said it the way you saw it.
Family matters. A country is a family too. I have left Pakistan too.
And I am quite glad that I did. I would never have been my own person in that system.
That too is a Faustian bargain of sorts. When a whole battalion of vardiwallahs can rule every jot and routine of your life, you cease to be citizen. You become a slave.
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It speaks to your love of freedom and of your family, that you stand tall and free.
Good for you. May you prosper and grow. But then, I am sure you do and will care for Pakistan. Always. It is hard to shake off the love for ones place, or people accepting of you.
Or at least of people, who you accept as your own. How does one ever remove them, excise them from their mind? It is not possible. Is it. That is the pain that always linger.
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I am seeing my own country sink into a rabbit hole, that Alice would think a million times before jumping into. What a downward spiral this is.
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George, if you are reading this, I hope you do. Please do something back where you go to, to marshall all the resources and people you can to give Pakistan a second chance. There are good people in Pakistan. And write now they are faltering. But they need a hand to steady them. They are good people. They will land on their feet. Thank you for telling it straight.Recommend
Going through the denials,recriminations and accusations, I feel that I can not do any better than repeat what @American has said,
– Every one can present their version; and if they disagree, you can rebut, point by point.
But personalizing an argument and asking rhetorical questions, casting aspersions, is the reason why nothing is resolved and no direction emerges after 6 decades and more.
Can we please avoid the rhetorical questions and the casting of aspersions please.
@American
Thank you.Recommend
Pakistan is like a bubble gum stuck in your hair. All the ills emanate from the mad, schizophrenic, hypocritical, meaningless, ritualistic, demanding, open-ended RELIGIOSITY which is in vogue in Pakistan. 6-7 time prayers(rituals), go to school you hear it, ride the bus you read it on its body and listen it on it speakers, turn on tv you hear it, turn on radio you hear it, there is Muharam- al- Haram , there is, rabiul awal, there is Ramzan one whole month of rituals, there are Tablighis making rounds and rounding up people to make them more religious(sick) holding millions of meeting across the country on daily basis, there are ,thousands of madrassass churning millions of mullahs spreading in the length and breadth of society, the media is hijacked, nobody can and dare speak against this madness of meaningless religiosity. Every organ of the state is geared to toe the line of ‘do more religion mantra’. So what do u expect from such a society where criticism is absolutely forbidden and rather carries death sentence. With birth rate which Pakistan has millions upon millions are added every year who are totally neglected and unattended– as resources are funneled to feed the ‘mughals of army acting like a huge parasite’. So it can be rightly said PAKISTAN KA KHUDA HAFIZ because its dwellers have left no stone unturned to destroy it through madness of hypocritical religiosity. UNTILL AND ULESS RELIGION IS MADE A PRIVATE MATTER NO FORCE ON EARTH CAN MAKE PAKISTAN A BETTER PLACE!Recommend
Hi Blithe,
The last 2 line of your view point does applies to you even, so lets put something in perspective.
When Pakistan (West Pakistan + East Pakistan) was formed the Muslim elite, Muslim businessman, Muslim intellectuals, Muslim teachers…soldiers, Muslim goverment officer all left to Pakistan, and mostly the downtrodden, poor illetrate Muslim were left over in India.
With no Muslim mass leader in India at that point of time, they had to survive with odds against them.
The Sachar committe has rigthly presentd the figures….but if it had to check the number of small time business(mechanic, trader, weaver, spare part dealers or other private unorganised sector) it would find between 10 to 12 % of them would be Muslim in India.
The reason is quite simple education, they have not benefited by the education system of India as they should have been… so we find them mostly in small time trading activity, which doe not require higher school, college certificates.
The same applies to Bollywood, Sports in India so we find lot of our Muslim brethen with us in this field. (no certification required for acting or sports)
The same reason can be attributed for number of Muslim convicts in India, being uneducated they are easy prey for the anti social element in the society.
The same can be said for the suicide bombers…in Pakistan…they fall easy prey, to those anti social element.
Things are not good or rosy as required in India, but a hell better than Pakistan for sure.Recommend
Dear George
i have been a silent follower to your program since long and always admired the fact that a foreigner would seriously consider becoming a pakistani. i dont know what motivated you to come or what was the main factor that instigated feeling of dejection and loss of love for pakistan. But let me assure you that this is what pakistan does to all of us. i make us toil sweat and blood and then some more like a beloved and sometimes it takes us in its arms like a sweet grandmother. this is what pakistan is and this is what pakistan does. land of not diverse but polar dissimilarities that make us want more. i know we are all flawed (its the basic model of human being i presume :P)
but jokes apart we all are just humans that try to find reason in the unreasonable shift of events. I could never understand why pakistan is so important to the western world or the world in general we dont have oil we dont have gold what makes the world so interested in us. I know people would say pakistan is a nuclear threat but you know more than me that this is not true. There are many other countries in the world that have undeclared nuclear weapons (allegedly: israel, north and south korea to name a few).
In any case, i would really like to see you go back to england not as a british but as a pakistani. we need all the voices we can get to let people know what is pakistan how beautiful yet flawed it is. I hope …i prayRecommend
There’s a lot of truth in what you have written.
I feel compelled to repeat the comment I made for your first write up and that is, don’t put all the blame for your leaving on Pakistan. Do some introspective soul searching and come up with a balanced view. You may be Pakistan ka George but you are human after all.Recommend
Dear George,
I can not help but smile at your angered criticism of the only sane institute in Pakistan. Unlike my other emotional countrymen, i am not too bothered by the fact that you are leaving.
This piece of writing of yours clearly explains why you were there in the first place? To create a divide in the society by first making people feel you are part of them and once you win their confidence, spreading hate. It has perhaps always been the strategy of English men, “Divide & Rule”. They have been quite successful with it in the past.
Regardless, i would not allow emotions to take over my words, but buddy, it was never ‘George ka Pakistan’! Hostile attempt for a covert operation, too bad you failed :-) Hats off to the army again. Better to keep your twisted views about the PAKSITAN ARMY & the MULLAH’s to yourself, our problem is lack of education & free thinking & we will InshaAllah over come it, over a passage of time.
To conclude, i would like to say in Karachi street lingo, “George beta, chal nikal le shabash patli gali se”. I would love to see tourism flourish in my country & thank you for visiting this great country, as someone rightly mentioned above even YOUR identity or route to fame is Pakistan, so stop writing crap about this country, i don’t think we need your ENLIGHTENMENT!
Pakistan was, is & will remain InshaAllah, it is not a Failed Sate, Flawed maybe…..
PAKISTAN ZINDABAD, PAINDABADRecommend
Thanks for Pakistan Bashing, this is the same country that brought fame to you and when you lost your niche and not able to sustain that level of fame you have decided to leave ….. if Pakistan has been really that bad then why it took you so long to realize this, also just wonder if there was anything about the country or the people that you came across these years that was positive and worth highlighting ?!?! … it seems nothing as you failed to highlight them in your posts … this is where I find a major flaw in your assessment about Pakistan.
As for terrorism and other things happening in Pakistan these days, I agree there are internal issues but external forces are playing a major role in this, Raymond Davis being a case in point and if no external forces are involved then I just wonder who are financing them? ….. appreciate if you insight on this too.Recommend
A friend of mine wrote this piece a while back.. I guess this is still relevant today!
https://ayesha.wordpress.com/2008/10/07/an-open-letter-to-the-naysayers/
As Einstein once said, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”. You may leave the country Mr. George et al, but change will only come about with those who continue bulldozing forward.
Nonetheless, I wish you luck Georgie ol boy. You entertained most of us with your antics and I hope that your life continues to remain blissful :)
Cheers,
NabeelRecommend
George,
You talked about being a Pakistani and being “one of us”, however your hatred and disdain for Pakistanis was eveident in every article you wrote. Whetether that is ridiculing the Army or our culture, your hatred had no limits. The so called liberals, boot lickers and “brown sahibs” ( Pakistani’s that believe they are inferior to the white man) will no doubt miss you. However Pakistani’s with a bit of diginity, love for ther country and pride in being who they are, will not.Recommend
Please answer this question George. if one day things were to change in Pakistan for the better. if the ill’s of our society were to disappear. would you consider coming back.
Khuda HafizRecommend
Lots of things that you mention , we already know, and yes they are pretty much true. But George boy, Pakistan is home. ‘My home.’ and will always be come what may, sadly and rightfuly it is not yours so i wudnt blame you on leaving, but do not tell us u r leaving because of all the wrong that is being done to pakistan. I f someone tries to destroy ones home . one stands firm agaisnt it to defend it not just ‘ leave ‘ like u ve done. find your own home first, cos u ve been trying to find one for too long now.
Piece of advice : start defending your home and it will become yours forever.
Got it Bro! and Bye now.
p.s. and all you morons are like the Society begum George mentioned above. dont know sh..t but gotta agree with a GORA in any case. wake up people.Recommend
Pakistan army/ISI is at the root of every evel in Pakistan governance. However the people , for some mysterious reason, blame only the politicians, who just serve as a mask to collect foreign aid for the army.Recommend
George..shhh… another CIA agent… Go back to your country we do not need such truthful persons like you.Recommend
Dear George, Thussi great ho yaar! Wish you all the best, take care we will remember you as someone who thrilled us with his innocence and left us with good memories.Recommend
Good bye and good riddance! Again, why bring in Salman Taseer? Don’t give yourself airs, George. You are no Salman Taseer.Recommend
@Babloo: sho shweet :) u truly are babloo or perhaps a Politician yourself!
Your calling us hopeless doesnot really matter. I am not denying that we have problems but we never expected you to come here and fix them. West is as much as responsible for the mess happening all over the world. Nine years and you tell us we have no future. Just leave george as your mother in law said.Recommend
As painful as spot on …Recommend
sorry to see you leave, but no one’s gonna shed any tears. pakistan will prevail. too many people have given their lives for us to give up on her. as far as the pakistan army goes, please do not call it a mercenary army. your own british army has been a much larger mercenary force in the past 100 years, after poodling with the americans in killing 300000 iraqis in 7 years. good job george fulton. go home.Recommend
Pakistan has numerous ills and its going to be a long and painful ride to bring sanity back.
For every terrorirst and bigot, there are a hundred others who are working hard to bring about positivity to this country. 180 Million people do not have the luxury of packing up and leaving. Hence they will stay, suffer and hope to have a better tomorrow. You came as a tourist who overstayed and have no connection to this land. Please go but once you are back in England, head to the British Library and read history of your country. There was a time when there was civil war and anarchy in England. Little later the same nation was ruling the world.
I am disgusted by whats going on but I do see a light at the end of this very long and very dark tunnel. I would not be surprised when the light is finally here, opportunist goras like you would be packing your bags in England and writing columns called Goodbye England! Oh & btw, good luck with getting space for your columns in maybe the trash papers given free in the metros?Recommend
Majority of the posts in response to this article show why we are in such a shape! Don’t know how this country can be saved…sad indeed..Recommend
it will make a good analysis for history books as to how nations drown when ruled by military!Recommend
“Despite enjoying unprecedented levels of wealth and education, we no longer believe it is our duty as the best educated and most privileged in society to contribute to its development. The English language has created a linguistic Berlin Wall between us and the rest of the country. We remain cosseted inside our bubble.”
Thank you for this gem. This tallies with my comments in a British newspaper:
“What the western commentators need to remember is that the apparent intolerance that we see arises as a result of gross social inequalities in Pakistan. The worst kind of oppressors and tyrants have clubbed together under the title “liberals”, which is very effective in deceiving the gullible westerners into supporting the status quo. These obnoxious people, a small minority, have isolated themselves from the rest of the population and they communicate with each other in the colonial language English, which most Pakistanis do not understand. The “liberals” are shut away in their ivory towers, not bothering to step down and communicate with their fellow Pakistanis in the language that they do understand – the lingua franca Urdu, or any of the regional languages.
We may be heading for a bloody conflict. Perhaps the Pakistani nation may have to wade through blood before it is properly cleansed.”Recommend
George, if you want to leave or have to leave or you are forced to leave, in any case you dont need to give so much justifications. You should do what you feel right. It was good having you here for 9 years, I appreciate. But aisay rotay rotay nahi jatay, be a man.
I agree situation here in my country is too dark, and getting darker and darker. But there is always a hope and there will always be a hope. One day we will rise, may be in our lives or in the lives of our generations to come.
Good bye, and phir kabhi dil chahe and mother in law permission de tou zaroor chakkar lagana. :)Recommend
@Blithe. You are attacking George like an idiot and not even using your own name. I am sure one of those Khakis who lack the courage to enter open debate. We Pakistanis live and die in pakistan. i don’t give a toss what happens in India. Just want a bit of peace and quiet in my life. Yes, India may spend more than our budget on defence but i am sure they don’t as high a percentage of the GDP as we. But even then I don’t care. The army and security agencies have made a mess of Jinnah’s dream and you still seem to be saying ‘mine is bigger than yours ie India’. Well done.Recommend
@아부
Better to keep your twisted views about the PAKSITAN ARMY & the MULLAH’s to yourself, our problem is lack of education & free thinking & we will InshaAllah over come it, over a passage of time.
And how do you propose to promote ‘education and free thinking’? By killing free thinkers like ZAB,BB and Taseer, or by exiling them like Faiz.
By the way do remind me on whose watch was half the country lost, and who invited Americans to Afghanistan in the 1980s and then back in 2001.And who conceded North and then South Waziristan to TTP in the name of ‘peace treaties’?
And coming to ‘twisted views’? How about the views of ‘Mullah Radio’, perhaps ‘twist in action’. And TNSM leading to a sharia paradise in Sawat? Twisted enough? Or may be Zaliim Online declaring a section of citizens of Pakistan ‘wajibul qatal’ will come up trumps in ‘twistology’.
Brother the facts on the ground are much more twisted than any recounting of the same.Wake up.Recommend
If only Pakistani politicians and citizens could see the state of Pakistan through his eyes.Recommend
George,
Pakistanis cant blame you, but a Pakistani leaving Pakistan for all your reasons, certainly does NOT have the right to be a Pakistani. The problem with Pakistan is, that the Pakistani’s themselves do NOT take ownsership of their Pakistan, and rather treat it as a keep. Things will only change in Pakistan, the day the very Pakistani’s take responsibility of their Pakistan. No one from outside will come and clean the mess, it is only up to the people who own it, will have to clean it up.
Cheers!Recommend
u HAD to go George.Im surprised what took you so long. You can’t be blamed for fleeing(?) at a time when the country needed you the most .There are thousands if not millions in this country who wouldnt take a second to run away if they had a choice.
I must add that people should stop giving the impression that ‘this is the end’. Pakistan has survived against all odds. It will continue to do so InshaAllah. We WILL recover and get back our Pakistan because Pakistan is not of the evil. It belongs to those common Pakistanis who showered an unknown gora with so much love. It belongs to US.
Good luck with your life!Recommend
And I bet one day you would be back Pakistan but with the change mindset. Not any thing more…….Recommend
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpYeekQkAdc&feature=player_embedded#at=190Recommend
It is a miracle that Pakistan has not already hit the precipice that George has talked about in the beginning or should I say it already has! But divorce is not the solution.
I also seemingly divorced her (Pakistan), then married her again – thank God no one could put a fatwa on that!
Right now I believe it is not the precipice which Pakistan is about to hit or has already hit – the world has shrunk in an exponential way. Pakistan’s problems are India’s problem’s, India’s are those of America’s, America’s problems are those of Pakistan and so on (I just mentioned these three, as articles name them more vociferously then others) – otherwise all the countries/nations are now sitting on the same merry-go-round.
Pakistanis need to take charge themselves and others need to be mindful that everybody gets affected when such a huge number of people are failing collectively.
The good and the BAD (as there is more bad now) in Pakistan is certainly because of it’s army where a dynastic culture prevails and barring few good men most rot at the top. You would be amazed how much they have plundered both morally and materially. I don’t thinks others like politicians or bureaucrats, rich and the famous are not equally responsible, but army has been the master of the ceremony.
Pakistan is over due for a complete revamp along with the movers and shakers of the world at large!Recommend
well i am really sad over george’s departure, and all these people who are asking george to “stop acting and just go already” they are actually trying to escape from the truth he said. they don’t want to admit the mistakes of PAKISTANIS. and this is why we are in such a bad condition because we pakistanis do not want to admit that we did anything wrong, or that WE CAN BE WRONG. Good luck pakistan another good person is leaving you.Recommend
Dont go George!
i hope you will come back soon!Recommend
George Thanks for trying to show Pakistanis what patriotism and self-belief is – I apologise for the Mullah-infested minds of the masses who are looking at oblivion in what was once a great country Pakistan into what it will soon become a Mullah-Taliban-Jahil Republic!Recommend
George welcome home and bless you that u managed to be there for 9 years…Recommend
George has become Doctor of Pak Syndrome. He pointed out correctly that Armed Forces are the real monarchs of Pakistan and President and Prime Minister are no more than a show pieces. Out of total revenue of 1200 billion rupees, 550 billion rupees is a defense budget. No body can ask the monarchs how much is bare essential and how much is there for Ayyashee and to siphon out. There is no forum where defense budget can be discussed or scrutinized for public’s information.
The only Govt. that drastically reduced both external and internal debt was or Pervaiz Musharraf’s. No these debts have almost doubled in 3 years and so is there interest. After paying interest on external/internal debts hardly any money is left for development. Whatever is available is sucked by politicians, therefore development is not only halted but is on path of inverse progress or rather towards ditch.
Solution: Justice and fairness is prime. these include courts and police. Iftikhar Choudhary is so helpless because prosecution and police cannot present strong case in courts. So solution 1 is to establish independent police and courts.
Solution 2 is to cut down govt. expenses, perks, facilities and defense budget. Save money and spend this on poverty alleviation projects.
Solution 3: Dramatic changes in tax and revenue collection. Added money should be spent on infrastructure projects, such as roads, bridges, telecom, transport, school, college buildings.
Solution 4: Drastic changes in curriculum and teachers quality, four fold spending increase on health and education
Solution 5: ZAB destroyed banks and filled corrupt officers in banks. Banks and Financial Institutions should be regulated strictly so that money is only available for viable projects, all loans or defaulters properties should be sold and loans recovered.Recommend
George, another wonderful piece. You really hit the nail on the head; did not mince your words.
But, have a look at the comments- Some are saying India has more problems than Pakistan, or blaming it on India, US or Israel. You have failed to put your point accross. Its not your fault though. Years of brainwashing cannot be undone with 2 beautiful set of words.
Forget about Pakistan, drop it like a bad habit that it is.Recommend
It has made me really sad. I think it is the right decision of you to leave Pakistan as there is nothing more valuable than life. Mullahs and Military are guaranteed to take this country to the depths of hell. I am sorry George.Recommend
A trenchant analysis of how the Quaid-e-Azam’s Pakistan has suffered death by a thousand cuts at the hands of the military-mullah nexus while the English-educated elite engaged in preparing bolt-holes and despatching their progeny abroad. A few who dared to speak out against the spreading rot were systematically isolated and de-fanged or eliminated. May you and your family find peace and prosperity wherever you go. Amen.Recommend