Cricket! And other things

It seems that Pakistan is in the headlines for all sorts of things these days. First its the judiciary, then its the disaapointing performance of our team in the World Cup (I mean losing to Ireland...really? Not even a Test Nation...sad sad sad) and then to cap it off the bizarre circumstances surrounding Coach Woolmer's death/murder! It seems we are destined to be in the news. And the cricket hype continues though the World Cup has lost its shine for us with our team out of the tournament. I'm voting New Zealand cause they're so solid and its high time they got it.

In other news, speak of one's preconceived notions...In the midst of militant burkha-clad women taking over libraries and kidnapping policemen, I was busy working on a proposal to open a new health clinic in our working region and went to meet some experts to get their advice and lo and behold, my counterpart at the Family Planning Association of Pakistan was a bearded anthropologist! Its always nice to see religion in such a gentle light rather than the intolerant face that is often put up to the world.

But mostly these days, I find myself disturbed by the way in which this country is progressing. The Taliban-ist elements used to be primarily the 'other' in this country, having little power in mainstream Pakistan but it seems that is changing. After all when a bunch of women hijack a library to safeguard an illegally built mosque (what a premise to start a holy building on) and then go scot-free what does iit say about a nation. Are we so willing to look the other way? What has happened to our psyche, our sense of self, our patriotism? I worry that soon I will be living in a regimented state where my dress, my social life, my life itself will be curtailed. And contrary to popular belief this is not the norm for Pakistan, we have historically been a pretty laid-back people. Where does this militancy, this intolerance stem from? Is it some deep-rooted discontent? And if so, how is this the answer? Where will it get us? I see such actions as driving away any prosperous future, if there are travel warnings now, will there be a total ban next? I find myself becoming increasingly cynical about the state of the nation on this level. Corruption one can handle, this intrinsic social set-up is an entirely different ballgame.

I often find a silver lining in my pessimistic wanderings but this I can't seem to resolve and I apologise for the pessimistic outlook but it can't be helped sometimes.

Exciting things are on the horizon with the chief justice hearings on schedule and an upcoming trip to Bangladesh for me. I look forward to the trip which is an exposure trip about microfinance to the ultra poor, your non-traditional microfinance clients. In the meantime, Karachi gets hotter by the day and the power shuts off regularly throughout the day!