Dogs finally get their day

47 countries have troops in Afghanistan. Still want to block Nato, gentleman? AND invite even MORE sanctions?

I have kept dogs ever since I was a small boy, and realised very early on that they were one of the Almighty’s greatest creations: affectionate; loving; devoted; kind; and above all, loyal to a fault. I now have three Labradors, Mister; my beautiful Bella; and Bella’s three-year-old son Henry (named after my friend Henry Shepherd-Cross of Compton Bassett, Wiltshire), a handsome, rambunctious fellow (the four-legged Henry, that is!). The fourth, Fritz, the 10-year old energetic Dachshund who believes and acts as if he were only five, has been gifted to a favourite uncle and left for his new abode just yesterday.

None of my dogs would kill wantonly (though they do chase butterflies and the occasional cat); none of them would bite the hand that feeds them; none of them would gleefully smile as they saw one of their own being put to the knife; or axe; or Kalashnikov. They are gentle, wonderful beings and I have always disagreed with those who say heaven is only meant for humans, particularly for us Muslims.

I have also believed that if that is so, there simply has to be a dog heaven, where these good creatures would return to the bosom of their Creator after their time is up on this earth. So, you can imagine my joy, nay delight, to hear Maulana Fazlur Rehman, consummate politician and erudite son of the great Maulana Mufti Mahmood whose admirer I have been since the 70’s when he was chief minister of then NWFP, say that even dogs will become martyrs (provided the Americans killed them, of course).

While I would wish that dogs, and other animals most of which are nobler than many human beings had their own heaven to go to, the Maulana has pronounced and so it shall be. The intelligent and well-spoken Jan Achakzai can turn cartwheel upon cartwheel saying what the Maulana said was mere ‘rhetoric’, the fact is that he has said it.

Mr Munawar Hassan of the JI had just before the Maulana said that, of course, Mehsud was ‘shaheed’ and the Maulana not to be outdone said what he did. Good on him, I say again.

However, Their Eminences will have to explain to the country, and specially to the mothers and sisters and wives and children and fathers and daughters and sons and brothers of our poor murdered men in uniform, and to those of the thousands of innocent civilians of whichever faith, wantonly killed and maimed too, why they consider Hakimullah Mehsud a ‘martyr’. Being democrats, they must also explain how someone who rejected democracy, even our Constitution and state, could possibly be a ‘martyr’?

But leave the ‘shaheeds’ to those who manufacture them as a matter of political expediency, that is hardly any of our business, us lay Pakistanis who send their children to school in the morning and pray to the Almighty to return them home unharmed at the end of the day: no story about dogs is complete without recalling the loyalty of an Akita (a Japanese breed) named Hachiko who stayed with his master for barely a year and demonstrated his loyalty all his remaining life. Verbatim from Wikipedia:

“In 1924, Hidesaburõ Ueno, a professor in the agriculture department at the University of Tokyo, took in Hachikõ, a golden brown Akita, as a pet. During his owner’s life, Hachikõ greeted him at the end of each day at the nearby Shibuya Station. The pair continued their daily routine until May 1925, when Professor Ueno did not return. The professor had suffered from a cerebral hemorrhage and died, never returning to the train station where Hachikõ was waiting. Each day for the next nine years Hachikõ awaited Ueno’s return, appearing precisely when the train was due at the station.

“Hachikõ attracted the attention of other commuters. Many of the people who frequented the Shibuya train station had seen Hachikõ and Professor Ueno together each day. Initial reactions from the people, especially from those working at the station, were not necessarily friendly. However, after the first appearance of the article about him on October 4, 1932 in Asahi Shimbun, people started to bring Hachikõ treats and food to nourish him during his wait. (Hachiko died in March 1935).

“In April 1934, a bronze statue in his likeness was erected at Shibuya Station, and Hachikõ himself was present at its unveiling. The station entrance near this statue is named ‘Hachikõ-guchi’, meaning ‘The Hachikõ Entrance/Exit’, and is one of Shibuya Station’s five exits. The exact spot where Hachikõ waited in the train station is permanently marked with bronze paw-prints and text in Japanese explaining his loyalty.”

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, much gnashing of teeth and furious speech-making have been going on after the sad demise of Hakimullah Mehsud through a Pakistan sovereignty-infringing drone, and vehement shouts of stopping the Nato supplies are being raised. Could those who are demanding this please consider the following:

Minister of State for Commerce, and good man, Khurram Dastgir Khan said on November 6 that the grant of GSP + Status by the EU would give Pakistani products, especially textiles, access to additional markets. “We are expecting $700 million to $1 billion additional exports to the EU,” he said. Pakistan exports to EU countries stood at $6 billion last year by the way.

Forty-seven countries have troops in Afghanistan, most members of the EU, on a UN mandated ‘mission’. Still want to block Nato, gentlemen? AND invite even MORE sanctions? Some little sense is called for, sometimes. Truculence and contrariness never helps in dealing with other states, specially those you trade with and those who keep you supplied with lots of stuff including those lovely F-16s!.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 22^nd, 2013.

Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.