Stray thoughts in a troubled world

In 68 years, nobody in Sindh has been able to come up with a concerted plan to build dams or reservoirs to trap flow

The most significant international event that took place two weeks ago is the accord with Iran after negotiations had been going on for the last two years. Binyamin Netanyahu described it as “a historic mistake”. The Saudis, who are allies of the Jewish state, referred to it as “a monumental disaster”. It is not clear why Netanyahu is so paranoid about the deal when under the agreement, the Iranians cannot produce any enriched uranium for 10 or 15 years and the Israelis haven’t lost a single war against the Arabs or the Egyptians who, according to the late Shaheed Suhrawardy, a former prime minister of Pakistan, were not Arabs but Copts. Besides, when you start to count the number of atomic bombs both sides possess, the tally, if one is to believe what one reads on Facebook is: Israel 200-Iran 0. The Saudis might perceive a gradual shift in US policy in the Middle East and that is a cause for concern, what with the Islamic State determined to send the Saudi royal family packing.



The second event that had a lot of Greeks in a tizzy is the bailout so they can stay in the Eurozone. It has come with a great bundle of emotional dirty laundry which was at times poignant, at times contentious and at times compelling in a way in which it just isn’t in any other country. It also had its share of comedy. First, there was Guy Verhofstadt, the Belgian who displayed a cynical philistine artiness, spewed warnings and caveats that had me in splits. And then there was Angela Merkel of Germany, a country that has always been bigger than its parts, striding across the floor like the captain of the Australian women’s hockey team and saying she will save Greece and the European Union. Nobody can save Greece except the Greek people, half of whom want to be saved while the other half do not. Anyway, Alea iacta est (the die is cast) and it remains to be seen if the drachma will one day make a reappearance. Alexis Tsipras has done what he thinks is right whatever the consequences and said he would take the blame for whatever happens. BBC World in its tickers has been predicting the bailout will fail. No matter what happens, I will always say Zeeto ee Hellas (long live Greece). May the cellars of Kourtaki always remain full, the cheese never dry up and the ring of the bouzoukis continue to echo over the Parthenon.

Of course, we must not forget the euphoria in Nasa after finally receiving data from Pluto. I remember when the Americans had sent men onto the Moon, a company called Moon Minerals had set up an office and was selling plots. For somebody who lives in Karachi, for whom every scene is a crisis or a resolution, who has spent three nights a week without electricity, suffers frequent power breakdowns, and buys his water from tankers, this news about the furthest planet in our solar system hasn’t caused any particular stir. Every year we have massive floods in Punjab and Sindh which cause tremendous devastation; and even when we don’t have floods, the water from the Indus just flows merrily into the sea. In 68 years, nobody in Sindh has been able to come up with a concerted plan to build dams or water reservoirs to trap the flow. Ex-president Pervez Musharraf tried, but since the south has always been suspicious of the centre, we never gravitate too far from Square One. So be it.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 26^th, 2015.

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