- Joined
- Oct 2, 2004
- Runs
- 216,741
If you are doing anything now - put it on hold!
This member interview is worth all the time you can spare to read!
Many thanks to [MENTION=135038]Major[/MENTION] for sending in answers in such detail - am sure it took some effort to write and we are all grateful to him for that.
So without much ado.......
PakPassion.net: Tell us more about yourself.
Major: Well, I was born in Rawalpindi. Lived here for quite a long time. Also lived in Canada for about 7-8 years. It’s true I also lived in India for about a year as my dad was posted to New Delhi at the High Commission.
This experience of mine always had a big toll on my education. I was never able to pick up the examination education of Pakistan. In Canada the education was damn easy, we had course work and when I went to high school the examinations were worth, I think 30 percent which could be easily prepared a day before.
In Pakistan, the examination system made you study all around the year. I remember during my primary school days from grade 1 till 5, as soon as I came back to school, I would spend 6 more hours studying at a tuition centre. When I moved to Canada, I was always free.
Eventually I move back to Pakistan, get stuck in O/A Levels which has become a joke. Here I learned that instead of gaining knowledge you are made to practice how to attempt a paper. I believe we have made the O/A level system a fraud as students are coached on how to attempt papers and not worry about what they learn. I was quite bad in studies, in fact I thought I wouldn’t even get into a university. I had to really work hard in my A levels and O levels and got minimum required grades. My happiest moment in life was when I got into university.
I am currently a BBA student; it is half complete. I am really enjoying my time in university. It is course work and examination based. I have finally excelled in education for the first time in life and that’s because I have learned that tricks and traits of course work. Plus, the examination coaching classes also give me an advantage as 80% my mates are from the FSC/Matric system. But then again, my University is also not that great I suppose.
I am an introvert.
I like reading books. Especially Novels situated in Afghanistan or Pakistan. I have read all 3 books off Khalid Hosseini and have also enjoy Omar Shahid Hamid. Omar Hamid is the son of KESC MD who was killed by Saulet Mirza, his books are interesting as he exposes the doings of MQM and other agencies that were involved way back. I have also started to have a liking for books that discuss the involvement of Taliban and ISI.
I like cricket, loved playing tape ball in school. I than even played club for 2-3 year, I slowly lost the passion and also decided that it was better to focus on my education. I couldn’t become a cricketer but club cricket was quite an experience, because 90% of the fellow players belonged to poor families and I was able to see what kind of views they had and what their priorities were.
I also enjoy discussing social issues with my professors/lecturers at university. I like throwing in discussion topics in my class; these are topics like the Ahmadi issue, Shia Sunni issue or political topics. The reason for this was I often saw stupid comments being passed by university students regarding Ahmadis or us winning some wars. It was an eye opener for me as I always thought such views (hateful speech regarding Ahmadis) were held by people who lived in poor localities, but I understood that even educated people could hold such hateful views.
Discussing and presenting on such topics allows me to do research on them and I have taken quite a liking for this as it helps in increasing your own general knowledge.
PakPassion.net: What keeps you coming back to PakPassion?
Major: I enjoy reading and so much knowledge is shared by the members, whether it is cricket, political or some social problems, I love visiting the forums.
I have been coming to PakPassion from 2010. Initially when I joined was quite immature and got banned. I didn’t quiet know how one posts on forums, and had to learn the hard way, and then joined again after few years.
What I like about PakPassion is the discussion that goes on, the views that are shared. When I was living in Canada it was quite boring that I had no one to discuss cricket with. All my friends were into Canadian sports, and some didn’t want to come off as ‘Fresh Off the Boat’ types and would avoid such topics. So, for me in the early days PakPassion was a place where I could discuss or read the views regarding players and all.
I still remember back in 2009 I had to find an illegal stream to watch the World T20 final and after winning I couldn’t discuss with anyone.
PakPassion has now become my go to site for any cricket news related to Pakistan. As soon as I see a headline on Facebook I rush back to the site to confirm the news and to read people’s views about it.
In the past it was the cricket section, but after Misbah’s retirement I haven’t really followed Pakistan cricket with the same passion and mostly now find myself in the Time Pass & Sports section.
The Time Pass & Sports section has changed over the years. In the past it was very chillax place where there was always some interesting chitchat and fun threads going on. But after the election, I think more political discussion threads get made. It gives you great insight on what’s happening in the political front of Pakistan. It surprises me how posters know all most all the party ticket holders from their favourite parties. I am not lying, but I often enjoy reading this section while sipping tea.
Then the moderation of the forum. I think the moderation is the USP of PakPassion; Low quality posts or posts where posters try to get personal with you are almost immediately deleted, and the discussion stays on topic. I have been to other forums but when you see the personal attacks it really demotivates you from posting.
PakPassion.net: Why do you hold Misbah-ul-Haq in such high regard?
Major: Oh, this is going to be a long story. Here we go.
There are two reasons:
1. I take him as a role model.
2. What he has done in cricket.
When I was growing up, I always looked for an idol, someone to look up to. I wanted to emulate someone, follow someone. I used to look for a good role model. I always wanted to look up to someone who had good morals, didn’t drink alcohol or even smoke a cigarette.
I used to watch a lot of Shah Rukh Khan movies, so as a kid I tried to idolise him, but then when I saw that he smoked it really bothered me as a kid.
I have been following Pakistan cricket from 2006. I remember when Darrell Hair incident happened. I remember how Danish Kaneria would lick his fingers while in his run up.
Now as the 2007 World Cup was coming up; I was really excited. I tried to watch every match. I used to run off to the Chips wala, would buy 50 rupay ke chippas (French fries) and munch on them while watching a match.
Eventually I would witness Pakistan making a mockery out of itself.
After the World Cup ended, Pakistan had a series with Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi and I was excited about it. We ended up winning the series 2-1 and whoever I told that we won they would say to me in an aggressive tone that who cares. They made a mockery of themselves in the World Cup, they are a waste of time. My dad, my uncles or even some random guy in the mohalla, no one wanted to discuss about the Pakistan cricket team’s recent win. People would say our blind cricket team is better than these fools etc. I remember how everyone was mad with Inzamam back in the day.
I was 13 years old back then (and patriotic) and I didn’t understand how one could hate their cricket team so much.
So life goes on and then suddenly a new tournament is taking place, the World T20 2007. A new kind of format of cricket was being played but no one had expectations from this team.
Our first game is against Scotland and Afridi Sahib wins that game for us with his bowling.
Second game, against India. I think this was my first ever India vs Pakistan match. We were chasing and then suddenly we had made a mockery of the chase when we lost early wickets. What I remember was that Malik was out there and here comes this guy with broad shoulders and someone who shares a name with Inzamam-ul-Haq. (I actually do remember all this, not lying)
What I remember was the way Misbah was smacking it. The Indians had no clue what to do. In the end Misbah bought it to a tie that we would lose the tie breaker. But me, my brother, my dad, we were impressed by what this Misbah-ul-Haq had done.
Then we had matches against Sri Lanka, Australia and I think New Zealand as well and it was always this guy who would finish it. What my brother and I liked about this guy was how he never threw his wicket away. How getting him out was impossible.
Then the final came, everyone was excited. It was Ramazan I think and we all were watching the match on our small dabba wala TV. The way this team had performed everyone thought we would win it. But then they made a mockery of the chase. I still remember when Afridi got out Shah Rukh Khan was happy, and at that point I thought we had lost the match. My brother left the room, my mom as well and then I did as well. We had shut the TV. But after a minute my Dad turns it on and continues to watch the match with interest. I think it was after 10-15 minutes my dad was calling all of us to come back, Misbah and Sohail Tanvir are hitting it.
I came back and to my astonishment we were back in the match thanks to Sohail Tanvir and Misbah.
Long story short, when the ball was in the air, we all thought it was going for a six, because as I remember Misbah never played a shot that ended inside the ground. When Sreesanth held to that catch my heart was literally broken. We couldn’t believe it.
But we all had one view that it was because of Misbah we reached this far in the tournament and it was because of him that the match also went this far.
What really impressed me was just few months ago everyone hated this team, and this Misbah guy comes along and he changes everyone’s opinion about Pakistan Cricket.
People often talk about how Misbah lead Pakistan with dignity after the 2010 scandal, but what people don’t know is that he was the one who brought the Pakistan cricket fan following back.
But I had just become a fan of his batting at that time, I hadn’t made him my idol (story abhi baqee hai
)
Whenever we had a series or when he was playing in the IPL, I would make sure to watch this batting. Even back in the day it was not that easy to get Misbah out.
I used to try to emulate the scoop shot, and even spread rumours that Misbah and Inzamam are brothers.
Now fast forward to 2010. Afridi-Butt are the captains and Misbah was dropped. A news article comes out where Misbah says he feels like burning his kit after being dropped. I remember oh yaye tou mayra favourite batsmen hai yar, what has happened to the poor guy. He had a good run.
Now England series happens, players get caught in the spot-fixing scandal, no one knows who’s going to lead us in UAE against South Africa.
And out of nowhere, Misbah is asked to lead. Everyone was against this move. I was excited because he was a player I liked and wanted to see him as captain. If I remember correctly, except for Ijaz Butt, only Waseem and Geoff Lawson supported this move.
Then I saw him play against South Africa, I was impressed. The straight bat technique and all. We were a batting joke in the Asia Cup and in England but all of a sudden, we were scoring runs and we had drawn a series with the then number 2 Team South Africa.
Misbah would than go on to win us the New Zealand series. He hit a 93 and suddenly Ijaz Butt was thinking about making Misbah the captain for the World Cup.
Now I was slowly being impressed by this guy. The captaincy issue is raised before the World Cup, and this guy says no to it. He says that Afridi should lead. Then the World Cup happens and this guy anchors well and bats marvelously. What impressed me in the World Cup was how this guy was taking responsibility in every match, how he would come in and the fall of wickets would stop. From 2009 till than Pakistan’s batting was known to be a joke, everyone was a walking wicket. But when Misbah would come out to bat, everyone knew that this guy isn’t going to get out.
Then Mohali Happened.
What had happened in Mohali even left me angry with Misbah at the time. But what really sadden me was that everyone in Pakistan was abusing Misbah. Afridi’s daughter gave an interview where she uses the phrase tuk tuk and Misbah name became Tuk Tuk.
But after all that, the guy didn’t even give a reply back to anyone. He took it. And slowly after that I started to read up on him. I read how he completed his education first than took up cricket. And I was really inspired by him.
But what really got me to accept him as a role model were;
-Yousuf, Akhtar and others would insult him personally, and in response Misbah would praise them and say that it is their own view and can’t change it.
-He got insulted by everyone, even though he would be the highest scorer. But yet Misbah would continue let the bat do the talking. If you see him bat, you could see the determination he has, the self-belief that he possesses that he can win the match.
-I remember [MENTION=9]Saj[/MENTION] made a thread how Misbah was getting a deal of his life time in 2012 from an English country team. The deal was, he had to retire from international cricket for a 4-year country gig with captaincy. He was offered good amount of money, a house, a car.
If you guys remember, everyone had said that 2012 Champions Trophy would be Misbah’s last, and he will not be able to play the next World Cup as his age doesn’t support him.
Misbah’s future with Pakistan was unknown at that time and here he was getting a secure future with a county. There was a chance after Champions Trophy he would not be picked, but Misbah turned down the county offer. Reason? Because he said that he had worked this hard to play for Pakistan, not to play for county.
That just really impressed me.
-Whenever he is not playing Pakistan, he would be playing domestic cricket. In fact, he ended up playing a grade 2 tournament for Faisalabad because that was the team he started his cricket with and he didn’t want them to lose their First-Class status. He saved them twice.
When I see Misbah, it makes me have belief in God. Why? Because only God could make such stories possible. Starting cricket at 22. Being made captain after not being in the team. Being told that he will only play till 2012 but ends up playing international till 2017 and wins 2 PSL trophies. Everything that he has got was because God was on his side.
At the end I learned he has good manners, is a humble person. Someone who I want to be in my professional life.
My professor was telling our class the other day that society is influenced if there are role models and our society doesn’t have role models for people to look up to. Role models play a big part in shaping a person.
Thus, If I ever get the chance, I will make sure to write a book on this guy. I want his story to be known to everyone. If you look at the US and other country’s they write books on their legends, but there is nothing on our sportsmen.
PakPassion.net: What made Misbah-ul-Haq such a great Test captain, and why could he not emulate his Test heroics in ODIs?
Major: Misbah captained Pakistan based on conditions. He chose the squad, the team based on the conditions. UAE conditions are known to be spin friendly, and Misbah was brave enough to play 2 spinners in his very first match as captain.
The difference between other captains and Misbah was that, other Pakistani captains pick teams based upon strengths of the opposition. For example, if Pakistan defeated India with a strong pace bowling line up, then the captain would develop this self-belief that India cannot play fast bowling. Hence, play fast bowlers against India irrespective in what conditions we are playing.
I can give you the example of Inzamam. On a dead Faisalabad wicket, Inzamam used to play 3 pace bowlers, and 1 full time spinner known as Danish Kaneria. Afridi was never a Test spinner. Danish would bowl 50 overs, and Afridi would only have to bowl about 20. While Dravid on the other hand would know better and he will play 2 spinners (Kumble and Harbhajan) on the same wicket.
Plus, Misbah knew the limitations of his side. He knew how the wicket would behave, he knew the limitations of the team, hence he would make sure that the team played safe. There was no need to go 3 or 4 an over on a Test wicket when even by going 2 runs an over, it would do the job.
As for why that couldn’t be emulated in the ODIs. The reason was simply a weak batting line up that he had to work with. Mind you, we had a good bowling line up and Misbah would often do very well in defending targets of 250, but we lacked good batsmen nothing else.
We were still finding a ‘keeper who could bat, we were still playing Umar Akmal, and then we had to play Younis Khan and Afridi just for the sake of it and their reputations.
The situation in Tests was different. Afridi had retired, Younis Khan was performing, the ‘keeper was able to bat at snail pace and get runs and we didn’t need Umar Akmal as Shafiq was doing well.
Now one could say that Misbah should had dropped Afridi and Younis, which is correct. But the situation wasn’t that simple. Too many people were involved, there were officials who wanted Afridi, there were the Umar Akmal lobby(political), and then Younis Khan had his media lobby.
PakPassion.net: Who do you rate as Pakistan's best Test captains?
Major: I have seen Inzamam, Malik, Yousuf, Butt, Afridi and Misbah as captain in Tests. And based on what I saw Misbah was easily the best.
Based on stats he is the best ever with most wins.
PakPassion.net: Would a Misbah-ul-Haq and Waqar Younis combo work as Head Coach and Bowling coach for Pakistan?
Major: I think so. When Misbah was captain and Waqar was coach there weren’t any issues, the issues existed when Misbah was leading and Moin Khan, the team manager, started to decide the playing X1s. Misbah being made Head Coach has been rumoured and Waqar Younis applied for bowling coach much later on. If Waqar had an ego issue, he wouldn’t have applied.
Also, in the past when Misbah would be fighting for what he player he wanted, I rarely saw Waqar’s name being dragged, it was mostly Moin Khan, Iqbal Qasim or Zakir Khan who would have issues on player selection.
PakPassion.net: Who are your favourite players, barring Misbah-ul-Haq?
Major: I don’t really have a favourite now.
If Asif Ali is batting than I make sure to tune in. I like the way he strikes the ball. But I don’t really follow anyone.
I am a big fan of Afghanistan cricket. And I have been following their progress from 2008. I keep interest in the team selections and the domestic player stats of Afghanistan.
I even sometimes watch their World Cup or World T20 matches. I like their story. I like the inspiration these guys bring.
PakPassion.net: Is Sarfaraz Ahmed the right choice for captaincy?
Major: To be honest, Sarfaraz is not a bad captain in limited overs. He has lead us well. Problem is his batting performance. You always expect the captain to be leading from the front. Sarfaraz provides only 30 runs. Now I am ready to accept one player who averages in 30s. But with Hafeez, Sarfaraz and Imad all three scoring 30ish runs in the middle order and lower order, that makes our batting very weak.
Also, we need to remember that if Rizwan doesn’t score runs, there isn’t any other replacement ‘keeper, so Sarfaraz automatically gets the spot, hence I would say use him as captain in ODIs. But in order to keep Sarfaraz as captain (and in the team) then they have to drop Imad. We can’t have 3 players scoring 30ish runs.
Also, the poor bowling show wasn’t Sarfaraz’s fault.
As for Test, he has been very poor. But again, he can’t be dropped immediately as there is no replacement captain ready.
I believe we should continue with Sarfaraz till January. During that same time give captaincy roles of the new domestic teams to potential captains (including Sarfaraz), and assess how they lead their team as leadership is very important here and then tactics.
If Shan Masood is an option, then he should captain a domestic team, and he also needs to perform in Test matches against New Zealand and South Africa.
PakPassion.net: From your experience of interacting with Pakistani cricketers, why do so many have no idea how to conduct themselves in public and stay away from controversies and outrageous statements?
Major: I used to play in the Gul CC side, and this club is quite famous in Rawalpindi as almost all the Rawalpindi region players play in this club. 90% of the players in this club came from such backgrounds that didn’t value education. Like out of 30 players, there were only 3 who had cleared F.Sc level.
Yasir Jan, Nasir Nawaz etc., these guys had very rude behaviour. If you were ill mannered you would find it easy to deal with them, but if you were well mannered, they will try to show who’s boss.
The reason for this rude behaviour is because of the atmosphere these guys grew up in. They belong from the poor side of the society and learn from that society.
There were also uneducated cricketers who were well mannered as well.
But due to the lack of education they often behave in such weird manners. I remember if ever on the roadside a female would be standing for taxi all of these guys would run off to see what was happening. 1 or 2 of them would get their bikes ready to help give a lift to that girl, and these guys were 19-20 years of age.
Often our coach when scolding a player for not following his guideline, he would say “are we sons of kafirs? Are we Hindus? We are Muslims. So be honest with yourself.” See, that’s the mentality they have got and then it gets spread.
I also remember an instance where Naveed Malik was practising in the net and he needed someone to deposit his cheque he had received from PCB as time was short, he wanted to practice and the bank was about to close. I was practising in the other net my coach called me. My Coach and Naveed asked me to deposit the cheque in the bank which was across the road. I had his cheque; I could see his bank account number on that cheque.
That’s how simple some of them are.
Umar Amin was also from the same club and everyone knows he’s educated, and he was very humble guy. His conduct was very different compared to others.
PakPassion.net: Who are the top domestic cricketers that have never got a fair run in the Pakistan side?
Major: One name comes to mind and that is of Abdur Rauf. This guy was highly rated in the domestic circles from what I have heard. Many cricketers say that this guy was able to seam the ball until the 6th stump. That’s how good he was. If there was a talent that was wasted it was this guy. He should had been given a longer run.
In fact, the top bowlers from 2007-2008 season were not given a good debut.
The trio of Wahab Riaz, Sohail Khan and Abdur Rauf were from the 2007-2008 season, and even they were given proper runs very later in their career. I am glad, though, that near the end of his career Sohail Khan did get a proper chance.
Then there are many batsmen as well. Back in 2010 Azhar Ali was never supposed to be going to England. In fact, no one even knew him. The hype was for Naveed Yasin and Shehryar Ghani. They ended up having a trial match in the NCA where it was Azhar who got 100 in each innings and he was given the nod for selection.
Makes you wonder, had Naveed Yasin or Shehryar Ghani scored at that time who would had played and who would had not.
Then there is Naeemuddin, Saeed bin Nasir and Aamer Sajjad. Highly rated cricketers but never got the chance.
Sadaf Hussain is also another tragedy. I think after Mohammad Abbas’ selection he won’t be getting his due at international level which is a pity.
PakPassion.net: Do you watch other sports? Should Pakistan focus more on other sports than cricket?
Major: Nope, cricket is the only sport I follow because it’s the only sport in which I can offer criticism and have an opinion as I can understand the combinations and the strategies being used by teams.
I do follow NHL (Ice Hockey). But I am a seasonal fan. I follow the Senators whenever they make it to the playoffs.
As for other sports in Pakistan, we are a poor country hence we can’t fund other sports. But I think if PSL becomes a success and turns into a proper brand in the long run, this could mean good opportunity for other sports too.
If you look at IPL it led to the creation of a kabaddi league, hockey league, football league and now a table tennis league as well. What better proof of this than the fact that a boring sport like kabaddi has been made interesting.
But then again, it depends if PSL can become a strong brand that other stakeholders could than emulate its model into other sports. I think it’s the best way to promote different sports if your government doesn’t have the money to fund it.
PakPassion.net: Why do you dislike Imran Khan and the Pakistan Army so much?
Major: I don’t dislike Imran, it’s his supporters whom I dislike. Whenever you criticise PTI you get called names and tagged a Patwari by his fans. Imran has backtracked on some of his promises and has tried to curtail the freedom of speech for which he does deserve criticism.
As for my views on the Army, well let me put it this way. During the 1st semester of my Uni TLP had blocked all the roads leading to Islamabad and I had to take longer routes for few weeks. Everyone was disturbed. PMLN asked the army to intervene and they did not. In fact, they said they can’t turn against their own (*cough* PTM). In fact, they even gave out cash at the end. Imran’s government comes and a similar situation like this happens. The Army itself intervenes and cleans up the road like that. No TLP supporter was able to take any road hostage.
What I’m trying to say is our Army has uses parties like TLP for their own good, and this is very dangerous. If you look at the election results in many areas of Lahore, TLP came third position, I think they even won a few seats as well.
How do such parties come third? Well by allowing them to form on roads of course.
Then in the ‘90s how IJI was formed by these people to win against PPP. Even for that they had to rig the election.
I remember when Benazir died. I lived few meters away from the place of attack. When she was assassinated, the whole area was washed by water during the very same night.
In Pakistan, no one can pass such orders at a crime scene only very few can. But not politicians under military rule.
PakPassion.net: Why do you support PPP?
Major: Its one of the largest democratic parties of Pakistan. The only large-scale left-wing party that exists in this country. Pakistani people nowadays make jokes of the slogan ‘Bhutto Zinda hai’ (Bhutto is still alive) but they don’t realise that slogan was about Bhutto’s ideology of Democracy. It basically meant that Zia-ul-Haq and his cronies could (allegedly) kill Bhutto but they would never be able erase his democratic ideology. The whole purpose of Zia and Hameed Gul was to erase PPP but they couldn’t.
This party has sacrificed a lot for this country. If Benazir wanted, she could had taken revenge when she came into power but she did not.
It’s sad that PPP image has been tarnished by Asif Ali Zardari, and Bilawal needs to do a mutiny against him to win the support of the masses.
And in 10-15 years he will be winning an election, because after Imran there is no other leader in this country. Bilawal is a very good candidate. Maryam Nawaz, in my view, is just a wannabe Benazir.
PakPassion.net: Did you live in India ever and what are your detailed views on the country based on your experience?
Major: Yes, as mentioned above, my dad got posted as a diplomat and we lived in Delhi for less than a year.
There were many good and bad things I experienced.
The Good:
What I liked about New Delhi was that the people owned up to their culture. They were not shy of who they were. There was always something going on, especially at Connaught place.
I remember how mithai never finished at our home. Everyone would be giving out mithai, our fridge always had mithai in stock. My dad loved Haldirams Kaju Barfi. But I liked their Bahtoray. The metro train system was marvellous. They had a proper system in place. It was really funny seeing the face of the people who try to grab empty spots and feel like they had achieved something when they would get a seat.
I liked how newspaper companies used poor quality ink so that the newspaper could be sold at lower prices. Then Oxford press was being operated at a locality which didn’t seem to add extra cost. This impressed me because in Pakistan the Oxford press is located at a quite expensive place and obviously the high rent of those places is than added on the final product.
India has good number of publishing companies like Penguin, books were cheap there.
And then KARIM!!! The best food ever.
See this is why I like how India owed up too their culture. Karim is a restaurant in old Delhi. It is rumoured that the recipes that were used by Karim restaurant were passed down by the cooks who cooked for the Mughals. Their Mughlai Handis was enriched with spices and taste, and their dishes were cheap. I think it was between 100-150 rupees per dish. (don’t remember)
Because Karim restaurant was always full, you would have a stranger family sitting next to you eating their own food. Like a French diplomat and a local Indian guy would be sharing the same table and enjoying the food. That was their marketing technique.
Now we have similar restaurant like that in Rawalpindi/Islamabad known as Savour foods, they sell Murgh Pulao. But the locals here who belong to upper class make a fuss about it that it’s not clean they don’t like the atmosphere etc. etc. So, I like how Delhiites backed their culture.
I have also been to Ludhiana, Agra (Taj Mahal) and Ajmer Sharif.
I must say India does love their cricket. Whenever there was an India match going on, men and women would be glued to the TV in the marketplace. They were crazy. I was there when we lost the 2012 Asia cup match to them! They were so happy.
I was impressed by their Delhi Daredevils Marketing. They had even placed banners of their team at Indra Gandhi International airport and just showed their enthusiasm for the game.
The Bad:
But there were a lot of things that weren’t so good about India as well.
One really weird habit that I saw in the Indians were that if a female would be walking, everyone one of them would be staring at her. They used to stare in such creepy manner and even to an on looker like me it looked so bad. Like there was desperation.
Same thing happens in Pakistan also, but in Pakistan men still do it discreetly, over there it was quite ridiculous.
The standard of living was very low. Areas like Vasant Vihar, ChanakyaPuri are their posh areas, but the houses were terrible. Most of them are flat type houses. The standard of living was really pathetic. Rents were as high as 2-3 Indian Lakhs, but the houses were terrible. In Pakistan you could get a better house on rent for 35-50k.
Then what I noticed there was that in most of the poor areas, you would find Muslims living there in majority, and the Muslim men would make sure to wear their skullcap topis so they were easily identifiable.
I knew that most of the Muslims were found in the poor areas as my dad wanted to vast all the dargahs and mausoleums in Delhi and he would drag be along and we would travel to many different places around Delhi.
What I really found discriminatory was that in historical places, they would charge higher ticket price to foreigners and very low-ticket price for locals. Now if someone did the same thing with them in US, we would all be seeing their reaction.
The toilet problem is an actual problem in India. People are always peeing on the side of the road. I even saw one lunatic peeing on a flyover. There is always a strong stanch of pee in the air in some areas.
The Muslims who belonged in the middle or upper class of the society were anti-Jinnah. My dad used to tell me that they probably had to curse Jinnah to fit in in the upper class of people.
My best experience of India
The best experiences I had was I was able to visit my grandmother’s and grandfather’s village. They had migrated from India during partition. We were surprised when were able to meet our grandmothers extended family.
My grandmother had passed away many years ago, and she would often tell my mom and my dad about her village and the name of the village and the area.
The name was Saharanpur and the village was Rajanpur, or I think it was vice versa, don’t remember.
So, one day my dad decided let’s take a random road trip to that village. When we reached the village, my dad just walked up to a person who was very old age and told him the name of his grandmother (my great grandmother) and asked where he could find her house. The guy recognised the name and he led us to the house. That was such an enjoyable and good trip.
My grand dad was from Ferozepur, so it was not a village. We couldn’t find any relatives there, but we did come across a Mohalla that was said to be the area where my grand dad did live. We received a very warm welcome by the old folks in that Mohalla and they were happy to place mithais and tea for us and shared their stories of his life was when they lived there as children.
I feel lucky that I was able to visit these places.
PakPassion.net: Test XI of PP? Who would you have in the team and why?
Major:
1. [MENTION=129948]Bilal7[/MENTION] (A very composed opener who plays calculated shots and a beauty to watch)
2. [MENTION=46929]shaz619[/MENTION] (Another attacking all-rounder, who likes to open and bowls leg spin at good line and length)
3. [MENTION=53290]Markhor[/MENTION] (The prodigy. He is the highly talented young member of our team. Vice-Captain)
4. [MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION] (The batsmen with the most flawed technique but gets the job done better than anyone else.)
5. [MENTION=865]Big Mac[/MENTION] (The most experience campaigner, ready to anchor the innings and save the day. Captain)
6. [MENTION=22846]Nostalgic[/MENTION] (He is our wicket keeper, often found making jokes of the batsmen or teasing him. He is the Pakistani version of Mohammad Shahzad)
7. [MENTION=43242]Dr_Bassim[/MENTION] (The finisher. Comes at the right time and finishes the innings in style)
8. [MENTION=65183]freelance_cricketer[/MENTION] (Our office who is very consistent in his style but often bowls that doosra)
9. [MENTION=138463]Slog[/MENTION] (Our third pacer from Karachi who can also slog one out of the park from time to time_
10. [MENTION=138254]Syed1[/MENTION] (Always giving the chin music to the batsmen, never easy to face. Loves to sledge)
11. [MENTION=1269]Bewal Express[/MENTION] (Partners well with Syed, but he swings the ball and makes it difficult to play)
12. [MENTION=76058]cricketjoshila[/MENTION] We like to take him along, but we never play him. He’s the Mohammad Asghar of the team.
I will finish this interview with a Misbah quote
“Jab menay cricket shuro kee thee 22 saal ke umar mein, tou log kehtay thay kay tumaray paas sirf 2-3 saal hai. Aaj me 39 ka hogya Log abhi bhi yehi kehtay hain”
This member interview is worth all the time you can spare to read!
Many thanks to [MENTION=135038]Major[/MENTION] for sending in answers in such detail - am sure it took some effort to write and we are all grateful to him for that.
So without much ado.......
PakPassion.net: Tell us more about yourself.
Major: Well, I was born in Rawalpindi. Lived here for quite a long time. Also lived in Canada for about 7-8 years. It’s true I also lived in India for about a year as my dad was posted to New Delhi at the High Commission.
This experience of mine always had a big toll on my education. I was never able to pick up the examination education of Pakistan. In Canada the education was damn easy, we had course work and when I went to high school the examinations were worth, I think 30 percent which could be easily prepared a day before.
In Pakistan, the examination system made you study all around the year. I remember during my primary school days from grade 1 till 5, as soon as I came back to school, I would spend 6 more hours studying at a tuition centre. When I moved to Canada, I was always free.
Eventually I move back to Pakistan, get stuck in O/A Levels which has become a joke. Here I learned that instead of gaining knowledge you are made to practice how to attempt a paper. I believe we have made the O/A level system a fraud as students are coached on how to attempt papers and not worry about what they learn. I was quite bad in studies, in fact I thought I wouldn’t even get into a university. I had to really work hard in my A levels and O levels and got minimum required grades. My happiest moment in life was when I got into university.
I am currently a BBA student; it is half complete. I am really enjoying my time in university. It is course work and examination based. I have finally excelled in education for the first time in life and that’s because I have learned that tricks and traits of course work. Plus, the examination coaching classes also give me an advantage as 80% my mates are from the FSC/Matric system. But then again, my University is also not that great I suppose.
I am an introvert.
I like reading books. Especially Novels situated in Afghanistan or Pakistan. I have read all 3 books off Khalid Hosseini and have also enjoy Omar Shahid Hamid. Omar Hamid is the son of KESC MD who was killed by Saulet Mirza, his books are interesting as he exposes the doings of MQM and other agencies that were involved way back. I have also started to have a liking for books that discuss the involvement of Taliban and ISI.
I like cricket, loved playing tape ball in school. I than even played club for 2-3 year, I slowly lost the passion and also decided that it was better to focus on my education. I couldn’t become a cricketer but club cricket was quite an experience, because 90% of the fellow players belonged to poor families and I was able to see what kind of views they had and what their priorities were.
I also enjoy discussing social issues with my professors/lecturers at university. I like throwing in discussion topics in my class; these are topics like the Ahmadi issue, Shia Sunni issue or political topics. The reason for this was I often saw stupid comments being passed by university students regarding Ahmadis or us winning some wars. It was an eye opener for me as I always thought such views (hateful speech regarding Ahmadis) were held by people who lived in poor localities, but I understood that even educated people could hold such hateful views.
Discussing and presenting on such topics allows me to do research on them and I have taken quite a liking for this as it helps in increasing your own general knowledge.
PakPassion.net: What keeps you coming back to PakPassion?
Major: I enjoy reading and so much knowledge is shared by the members, whether it is cricket, political or some social problems, I love visiting the forums.
I have been coming to PakPassion from 2010. Initially when I joined was quite immature and got banned. I didn’t quiet know how one posts on forums, and had to learn the hard way, and then joined again after few years.
What I like about PakPassion is the discussion that goes on, the views that are shared. When I was living in Canada it was quite boring that I had no one to discuss cricket with. All my friends were into Canadian sports, and some didn’t want to come off as ‘Fresh Off the Boat’ types and would avoid such topics. So, for me in the early days PakPassion was a place where I could discuss or read the views regarding players and all.
I still remember back in 2009 I had to find an illegal stream to watch the World T20 final and after winning I couldn’t discuss with anyone.
PakPassion has now become my go to site for any cricket news related to Pakistan. As soon as I see a headline on Facebook I rush back to the site to confirm the news and to read people’s views about it.
In the past it was the cricket section, but after Misbah’s retirement I haven’t really followed Pakistan cricket with the same passion and mostly now find myself in the Time Pass & Sports section.
The Time Pass & Sports section has changed over the years. In the past it was very chillax place where there was always some interesting chitchat and fun threads going on. But after the election, I think more political discussion threads get made. It gives you great insight on what’s happening in the political front of Pakistan. It surprises me how posters know all most all the party ticket holders from their favourite parties. I am not lying, but I often enjoy reading this section while sipping tea.
Then the moderation of the forum. I think the moderation is the USP of PakPassion; Low quality posts or posts where posters try to get personal with you are almost immediately deleted, and the discussion stays on topic. I have been to other forums but when you see the personal attacks it really demotivates you from posting.
PakPassion.net: Why do you hold Misbah-ul-Haq in such high regard?
Major: Oh, this is going to be a long story. Here we go.
There are two reasons:
1. I take him as a role model.
2. What he has done in cricket.
When I was growing up, I always looked for an idol, someone to look up to. I wanted to emulate someone, follow someone. I used to look for a good role model. I always wanted to look up to someone who had good morals, didn’t drink alcohol or even smoke a cigarette.
I used to watch a lot of Shah Rukh Khan movies, so as a kid I tried to idolise him, but then when I saw that he smoked it really bothered me as a kid.
I have been following Pakistan cricket from 2006. I remember when Darrell Hair incident happened. I remember how Danish Kaneria would lick his fingers while in his run up.
Now as the 2007 World Cup was coming up; I was really excited. I tried to watch every match. I used to run off to the Chips wala, would buy 50 rupay ke chippas (French fries) and munch on them while watching a match.
Eventually I would witness Pakistan making a mockery out of itself.
After the World Cup ended, Pakistan had a series with Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi and I was excited about it. We ended up winning the series 2-1 and whoever I told that we won they would say to me in an aggressive tone that who cares. They made a mockery of themselves in the World Cup, they are a waste of time. My dad, my uncles or even some random guy in the mohalla, no one wanted to discuss about the Pakistan cricket team’s recent win. People would say our blind cricket team is better than these fools etc. I remember how everyone was mad with Inzamam back in the day.
I was 13 years old back then (and patriotic) and I didn’t understand how one could hate their cricket team so much.
So life goes on and then suddenly a new tournament is taking place, the World T20 2007. A new kind of format of cricket was being played but no one had expectations from this team.
Our first game is against Scotland and Afridi Sahib wins that game for us with his bowling.
Second game, against India. I think this was my first ever India vs Pakistan match. We were chasing and then suddenly we had made a mockery of the chase when we lost early wickets. What I remember was that Malik was out there and here comes this guy with broad shoulders and someone who shares a name with Inzamam-ul-Haq. (I actually do remember all this, not lying)
What I remember was the way Misbah was smacking it. The Indians had no clue what to do. In the end Misbah bought it to a tie that we would lose the tie breaker. But me, my brother, my dad, we were impressed by what this Misbah-ul-Haq had done.
Then we had matches against Sri Lanka, Australia and I think New Zealand as well and it was always this guy who would finish it. What my brother and I liked about this guy was how he never threw his wicket away. How getting him out was impossible.
Then the final came, everyone was excited. It was Ramazan I think and we all were watching the match on our small dabba wala TV. The way this team had performed everyone thought we would win it. But then they made a mockery of the chase. I still remember when Afridi got out Shah Rukh Khan was happy, and at that point I thought we had lost the match. My brother left the room, my mom as well and then I did as well. We had shut the TV. But after a minute my Dad turns it on and continues to watch the match with interest. I think it was after 10-15 minutes my dad was calling all of us to come back, Misbah and Sohail Tanvir are hitting it.
I came back and to my astonishment we were back in the match thanks to Sohail Tanvir and Misbah.
Long story short, when the ball was in the air, we all thought it was going for a six, because as I remember Misbah never played a shot that ended inside the ground. When Sreesanth held to that catch my heart was literally broken. We couldn’t believe it.
But we all had one view that it was because of Misbah we reached this far in the tournament and it was because of him that the match also went this far.
What really impressed me was just few months ago everyone hated this team, and this Misbah guy comes along and he changes everyone’s opinion about Pakistan Cricket.
People often talk about how Misbah lead Pakistan with dignity after the 2010 scandal, but what people don’t know is that he was the one who brought the Pakistan cricket fan following back.
But I had just become a fan of his batting at that time, I hadn’t made him my idol (story abhi baqee hai
)Whenever we had a series or when he was playing in the IPL, I would make sure to watch this batting. Even back in the day it was not that easy to get Misbah out.
I used to try to emulate the scoop shot, and even spread rumours that Misbah and Inzamam are brothers.
Now fast forward to 2010. Afridi-Butt are the captains and Misbah was dropped. A news article comes out where Misbah says he feels like burning his kit after being dropped. I remember oh yaye tou mayra favourite batsmen hai yar, what has happened to the poor guy. He had a good run.
Now England series happens, players get caught in the spot-fixing scandal, no one knows who’s going to lead us in UAE against South Africa.
And out of nowhere, Misbah is asked to lead. Everyone was against this move. I was excited because he was a player I liked and wanted to see him as captain. If I remember correctly, except for Ijaz Butt, only Waseem and Geoff Lawson supported this move.
Then I saw him play against South Africa, I was impressed. The straight bat technique and all. We were a batting joke in the Asia Cup and in England but all of a sudden, we were scoring runs and we had drawn a series with the then number 2 Team South Africa.
Misbah would than go on to win us the New Zealand series. He hit a 93 and suddenly Ijaz Butt was thinking about making Misbah the captain for the World Cup.
Now I was slowly being impressed by this guy. The captaincy issue is raised before the World Cup, and this guy says no to it. He says that Afridi should lead. Then the World Cup happens and this guy anchors well and bats marvelously. What impressed me in the World Cup was how this guy was taking responsibility in every match, how he would come in and the fall of wickets would stop. From 2009 till than Pakistan’s batting was known to be a joke, everyone was a walking wicket. But when Misbah would come out to bat, everyone knew that this guy isn’t going to get out.
Then Mohali Happened.
What had happened in Mohali even left me angry with Misbah at the time. But what really sadden me was that everyone in Pakistan was abusing Misbah. Afridi’s daughter gave an interview where she uses the phrase tuk tuk and Misbah name became Tuk Tuk.
But after all that, the guy didn’t even give a reply back to anyone. He took it. And slowly after that I started to read up on him. I read how he completed his education first than took up cricket. And I was really inspired by him.
But what really got me to accept him as a role model were;
-Yousuf, Akhtar and others would insult him personally, and in response Misbah would praise them and say that it is their own view and can’t change it.
-He got insulted by everyone, even though he would be the highest scorer. But yet Misbah would continue let the bat do the talking. If you see him bat, you could see the determination he has, the self-belief that he possesses that he can win the match.
-I remember [MENTION=9]Saj[/MENTION] made a thread how Misbah was getting a deal of his life time in 2012 from an English country team. The deal was, he had to retire from international cricket for a 4-year country gig with captaincy. He was offered good amount of money, a house, a car.
If you guys remember, everyone had said that 2012 Champions Trophy would be Misbah’s last, and he will not be able to play the next World Cup as his age doesn’t support him.
Misbah’s future with Pakistan was unknown at that time and here he was getting a secure future with a county. There was a chance after Champions Trophy he would not be picked, but Misbah turned down the county offer. Reason? Because he said that he had worked this hard to play for Pakistan, not to play for county.
That just really impressed me.
-Whenever he is not playing Pakistan, he would be playing domestic cricket. In fact, he ended up playing a grade 2 tournament for Faisalabad because that was the team he started his cricket with and he didn’t want them to lose their First-Class status. He saved them twice.
When I see Misbah, it makes me have belief in God. Why? Because only God could make such stories possible. Starting cricket at 22. Being made captain after not being in the team. Being told that he will only play till 2012 but ends up playing international till 2017 and wins 2 PSL trophies. Everything that he has got was because God was on his side.
At the end I learned he has good manners, is a humble person. Someone who I want to be in my professional life.
My professor was telling our class the other day that society is influenced if there are role models and our society doesn’t have role models for people to look up to. Role models play a big part in shaping a person.
Thus, If I ever get the chance, I will make sure to write a book on this guy. I want his story to be known to everyone. If you look at the US and other country’s they write books on their legends, but there is nothing on our sportsmen.
PakPassion.net: What made Misbah-ul-Haq such a great Test captain, and why could he not emulate his Test heroics in ODIs?
Major: Misbah captained Pakistan based on conditions. He chose the squad, the team based on the conditions. UAE conditions are known to be spin friendly, and Misbah was brave enough to play 2 spinners in his very first match as captain.
The difference between other captains and Misbah was that, other Pakistani captains pick teams based upon strengths of the opposition. For example, if Pakistan defeated India with a strong pace bowling line up, then the captain would develop this self-belief that India cannot play fast bowling. Hence, play fast bowlers against India irrespective in what conditions we are playing.
I can give you the example of Inzamam. On a dead Faisalabad wicket, Inzamam used to play 3 pace bowlers, and 1 full time spinner known as Danish Kaneria. Afridi was never a Test spinner. Danish would bowl 50 overs, and Afridi would only have to bowl about 20. While Dravid on the other hand would know better and he will play 2 spinners (Kumble and Harbhajan) on the same wicket.
Plus, Misbah knew the limitations of his side. He knew how the wicket would behave, he knew the limitations of the team, hence he would make sure that the team played safe. There was no need to go 3 or 4 an over on a Test wicket when even by going 2 runs an over, it would do the job.
As for why that couldn’t be emulated in the ODIs. The reason was simply a weak batting line up that he had to work with. Mind you, we had a good bowling line up and Misbah would often do very well in defending targets of 250, but we lacked good batsmen nothing else.
We were still finding a ‘keeper who could bat, we were still playing Umar Akmal, and then we had to play Younis Khan and Afridi just for the sake of it and their reputations.
The situation in Tests was different. Afridi had retired, Younis Khan was performing, the ‘keeper was able to bat at snail pace and get runs and we didn’t need Umar Akmal as Shafiq was doing well.
Now one could say that Misbah should had dropped Afridi and Younis, which is correct. But the situation wasn’t that simple. Too many people were involved, there were officials who wanted Afridi, there were the Umar Akmal lobby(political), and then Younis Khan had his media lobby.
PakPassion.net: Who do you rate as Pakistan's best Test captains?
Major: I have seen Inzamam, Malik, Yousuf, Butt, Afridi and Misbah as captain in Tests. And based on what I saw Misbah was easily the best.
Based on stats he is the best ever with most wins.
PakPassion.net: Would a Misbah-ul-Haq and Waqar Younis combo work as Head Coach and Bowling coach for Pakistan?
Major: I think so. When Misbah was captain and Waqar was coach there weren’t any issues, the issues existed when Misbah was leading and Moin Khan, the team manager, started to decide the playing X1s. Misbah being made Head Coach has been rumoured and Waqar Younis applied for bowling coach much later on. If Waqar had an ego issue, he wouldn’t have applied.
Also, in the past when Misbah would be fighting for what he player he wanted, I rarely saw Waqar’s name being dragged, it was mostly Moin Khan, Iqbal Qasim or Zakir Khan who would have issues on player selection.
PakPassion.net: Who are your favourite players, barring Misbah-ul-Haq?
Major: I don’t really have a favourite now.
If Asif Ali is batting than I make sure to tune in. I like the way he strikes the ball. But I don’t really follow anyone.
I am a big fan of Afghanistan cricket. And I have been following their progress from 2008. I keep interest in the team selections and the domestic player stats of Afghanistan.
I even sometimes watch their World Cup or World T20 matches. I like their story. I like the inspiration these guys bring.
PakPassion.net: Is Sarfaraz Ahmed the right choice for captaincy?
Major: To be honest, Sarfaraz is not a bad captain in limited overs. He has lead us well. Problem is his batting performance. You always expect the captain to be leading from the front. Sarfaraz provides only 30 runs. Now I am ready to accept one player who averages in 30s. But with Hafeez, Sarfaraz and Imad all three scoring 30ish runs in the middle order and lower order, that makes our batting very weak.
Also, we need to remember that if Rizwan doesn’t score runs, there isn’t any other replacement ‘keeper, so Sarfaraz automatically gets the spot, hence I would say use him as captain in ODIs. But in order to keep Sarfaraz as captain (and in the team) then they have to drop Imad. We can’t have 3 players scoring 30ish runs.
Also, the poor bowling show wasn’t Sarfaraz’s fault.
As for Test, he has been very poor. But again, he can’t be dropped immediately as there is no replacement captain ready.
I believe we should continue with Sarfaraz till January. During that same time give captaincy roles of the new domestic teams to potential captains (including Sarfaraz), and assess how they lead their team as leadership is very important here and then tactics.
If Shan Masood is an option, then he should captain a domestic team, and he also needs to perform in Test matches against New Zealand and South Africa.
PakPassion.net: From your experience of interacting with Pakistani cricketers, why do so many have no idea how to conduct themselves in public and stay away from controversies and outrageous statements?
Major: I used to play in the Gul CC side, and this club is quite famous in Rawalpindi as almost all the Rawalpindi region players play in this club. 90% of the players in this club came from such backgrounds that didn’t value education. Like out of 30 players, there were only 3 who had cleared F.Sc level.
Yasir Jan, Nasir Nawaz etc., these guys had very rude behaviour. If you were ill mannered you would find it easy to deal with them, but if you were well mannered, they will try to show who’s boss.
The reason for this rude behaviour is because of the atmosphere these guys grew up in. They belong from the poor side of the society and learn from that society.
There were also uneducated cricketers who were well mannered as well.
But due to the lack of education they often behave in such weird manners. I remember if ever on the roadside a female would be standing for taxi all of these guys would run off to see what was happening. 1 or 2 of them would get their bikes ready to help give a lift to that girl, and these guys were 19-20 years of age.
Often our coach when scolding a player for not following his guideline, he would say “are we sons of kafirs? Are we Hindus? We are Muslims. So be honest with yourself.” See, that’s the mentality they have got and then it gets spread.
I also remember an instance where Naveed Malik was practising in the net and he needed someone to deposit his cheque he had received from PCB as time was short, he wanted to practice and the bank was about to close. I was practising in the other net my coach called me. My Coach and Naveed asked me to deposit the cheque in the bank which was across the road. I had his cheque; I could see his bank account number on that cheque.
That’s how simple some of them are.
Umar Amin was also from the same club and everyone knows he’s educated, and he was very humble guy. His conduct was very different compared to others.
PakPassion.net: Who are the top domestic cricketers that have never got a fair run in the Pakistan side?
Major: One name comes to mind and that is of Abdur Rauf. This guy was highly rated in the domestic circles from what I have heard. Many cricketers say that this guy was able to seam the ball until the 6th stump. That’s how good he was. If there was a talent that was wasted it was this guy. He should had been given a longer run.
In fact, the top bowlers from 2007-2008 season were not given a good debut.
The trio of Wahab Riaz, Sohail Khan and Abdur Rauf were from the 2007-2008 season, and even they were given proper runs very later in their career. I am glad, though, that near the end of his career Sohail Khan did get a proper chance.
Then there are many batsmen as well. Back in 2010 Azhar Ali was never supposed to be going to England. In fact, no one even knew him. The hype was for Naveed Yasin and Shehryar Ghani. They ended up having a trial match in the NCA where it was Azhar who got 100 in each innings and he was given the nod for selection.
Makes you wonder, had Naveed Yasin or Shehryar Ghani scored at that time who would had played and who would had not.
Then there is Naeemuddin, Saeed bin Nasir and Aamer Sajjad. Highly rated cricketers but never got the chance.
Sadaf Hussain is also another tragedy. I think after Mohammad Abbas’ selection he won’t be getting his due at international level which is a pity.
PakPassion.net: Do you watch other sports? Should Pakistan focus more on other sports than cricket?
Major: Nope, cricket is the only sport I follow because it’s the only sport in which I can offer criticism and have an opinion as I can understand the combinations and the strategies being used by teams.
I do follow NHL (Ice Hockey). But I am a seasonal fan. I follow the Senators whenever they make it to the playoffs.
As for other sports in Pakistan, we are a poor country hence we can’t fund other sports. But I think if PSL becomes a success and turns into a proper brand in the long run, this could mean good opportunity for other sports too.
If you look at IPL it led to the creation of a kabaddi league, hockey league, football league and now a table tennis league as well. What better proof of this than the fact that a boring sport like kabaddi has been made interesting.
But then again, it depends if PSL can become a strong brand that other stakeholders could than emulate its model into other sports. I think it’s the best way to promote different sports if your government doesn’t have the money to fund it.
PakPassion.net: Why do you dislike Imran Khan and the Pakistan Army so much?
Major: I don’t dislike Imran, it’s his supporters whom I dislike. Whenever you criticise PTI you get called names and tagged a Patwari by his fans. Imran has backtracked on some of his promises and has tried to curtail the freedom of speech for which he does deserve criticism.
As for my views on the Army, well let me put it this way. During the 1st semester of my Uni TLP had blocked all the roads leading to Islamabad and I had to take longer routes for few weeks. Everyone was disturbed. PMLN asked the army to intervene and they did not. In fact, they said they can’t turn against their own (*cough* PTM). In fact, they even gave out cash at the end. Imran’s government comes and a similar situation like this happens. The Army itself intervenes and cleans up the road like that. No TLP supporter was able to take any road hostage.
What I’m trying to say is our Army has uses parties like TLP for their own good, and this is very dangerous. If you look at the election results in many areas of Lahore, TLP came third position, I think they even won a few seats as well.
How do such parties come third? Well by allowing them to form on roads of course.
Then in the ‘90s how IJI was formed by these people to win against PPP. Even for that they had to rig the election.
I remember when Benazir died. I lived few meters away from the place of attack. When she was assassinated, the whole area was washed by water during the very same night.
In Pakistan, no one can pass such orders at a crime scene only very few can. But not politicians under military rule.
PakPassion.net: Why do you support PPP?
Major: Its one of the largest democratic parties of Pakistan. The only large-scale left-wing party that exists in this country. Pakistani people nowadays make jokes of the slogan ‘Bhutto Zinda hai’ (Bhutto is still alive) but they don’t realise that slogan was about Bhutto’s ideology of Democracy. It basically meant that Zia-ul-Haq and his cronies could (allegedly) kill Bhutto but they would never be able erase his democratic ideology. The whole purpose of Zia and Hameed Gul was to erase PPP but they couldn’t.
This party has sacrificed a lot for this country. If Benazir wanted, she could had taken revenge when she came into power but she did not.
It’s sad that PPP image has been tarnished by Asif Ali Zardari, and Bilawal needs to do a mutiny against him to win the support of the masses.
And in 10-15 years he will be winning an election, because after Imran there is no other leader in this country. Bilawal is a very good candidate. Maryam Nawaz, in my view, is just a wannabe Benazir.
PakPassion.net: Did you live in India ever and what are your detailed views on the country based on your experience?
Major: Yes, as mentioned above, my dad got posted as a diplomat and we lived in Delhi for less than a year.
There were many good and bad things I experienced.
The Good:
What I liked about New Delhi was that the people owned up to their culture. They were not shy of who they were. There was always something going on, especially at Connaught place.
I remember how mithai never finished at our home. Everyone would be giving out mithai, our fridge always had mithai in stock. My dad loved Haldirams Kaju Barfi. But I liked their Bahtoray. The metro train system was marvellous. They had a proper system in place. It was really funny seeing the face of the people who try to grab empty spots and feel like they had achieved something when they would get a seat.
I liked how newspaper companies used poor quality ink so that the newspaper could be sold at lower prices. Then Oxford press was being operated at a locality which didn’t seem to add extra cost. This impressed me because in Pakistan the Oxford press is located at a quite expensive place and obviously the high rent of those places is than added on the final product.
India has good number of publishing companies like Penguin, books were cheap there.
And then KARIM!!! The best food ever.
See this is why I like how India owed up too their culture. Karim is a restaurant in old Delhi. It is rumoured that the recipes that were used by Karim restaurant were passed down by the cooks who cooked for the Mughals. Their Mughlai Handis was enriched with spices and taste, and their dishes were cheap. I think it was between 100-150 rupees per dish. (don’t remember)
Because Karim restaurant was always full, you would have a stranger family sitting next to you eating their own food. Like a French diplomat and a local Indian guy would be sharing the same table and enjoying the food. That was their marketing technique.
Now we have similar restaurant like that in Rawalpindi/Islamabad known as Savour foods, they sell Murgh Pulao. But the locals here who belong to upper class make a fuss about it that it’s not clean they don’t like the atmosphere etc. etc. So, I like how Delhiites backed their culture.
I have also been to Ludhiana, Agra (Taj Mahal) and Ajmer Sharif.
I must say India does love their cricket. Whenever there was an India match going on, men and women would be glued to the TV in the marketplace. They were crazy. I was there when we lost the 2012 Asia cup match to them! They were so happy.
I was impressed by their Delhi Daredevils Marketing. They had even placed banners of their team at Indra Gandhi International airport and just showed their enthusiasm for the game.
The Bad:
But there were a lot of things that weren’t so good about India as well.
One really weird habit that I saw in the Indians were that if a female would be walking, everyone one of them would be staring at her. They used to stare in such creepy manner and even to an on looker like me it looked so bad. Like there was desperation.
Same thing happens in Pakistan also, but in Pakistan men still do it discreetly, over there it was quite ridiculous.
The standard of living was very low. Areas like Vasant Vihar, ChanakyaPuri are their posh areas, but the houses were terrible. Most of them are flat type houses. The standard of living was really pathetic. Rents were as high as 2-3 Indian Lakhs, but the houses were terrible. In Pakistan you could get a better house on rent for 35-50k.
Then what I noticed there was that in most of the poor areas, you would find Muslims living there in majority, and the Muslim men would make sure to wear their skullcap topis so they were easily identifiable.
I knew that most of the Muslims were found in the poor areas as my dad wanted to vast all the dargahs and mausoleums in Delhi and he would drag be along and we would travel to many different places around Delhi.
What I really found discriminatory was that in historical places, they would charge higher ticket price to foreigners and very low-ticket price for locals. Now if someone did the same thing with them in US, we would all be seeing their reaction.
The toilet problem is an actual problem in India. People are always peeing on the side of the road. I even saw one lunatic peeing on a flyover. There is always a strong stanch of pee in the air in some areas.
The Muslims who belonged in the middle or upper class of the society were anti-Jinnah. My dad used to tell me that they probably had to curse Jinnah to fit in in the upper class of people.
My best experience of India
The best experiences I had was I was able to visit my grandmother’s and grandfather’s village. They had migrated from India during partition. We were surprised when were able to meet our grandmothers extended family.
My grandmother had passed away many years ago, and she would often tell my mom and my dad about her village and the name of the village and the area.
The name was Saharanpur and the village was Rajanpur, or I think it was vice versa, don’t remember.
So, one day my dad decided let’s take a random road trip to that village. When we reached the village, my dad just walked up to a person who was very old age and told him the name of his grandmother (my great grandmother) and asked where he could find her house. The guy recognised the name and he led us to the house. That was such an enjoyable and good trip.
My grand dad was from Ferozepur, so it was not a village. We couldn’t find any relatives there, but we did come across a Mohalla that was said to be the area where my grand dad did live. We received a very warm welcome by the old folks in that Mohalla and they were happy to place mithais and tea for us and shared their stories of his life was when they lived there as children.
I feel lucky that I was able to visit these places.
PakPassion.net: Test XI of PP? Who would you have in the team and why?
Major:
1. [MENTION=129948]Bilal7[/MENTION] (A very composed opener who plays calculated shots and a beauty to watch)
2. [MENTION=46929]shaz619[/MENTION] (Another attacking all-rounder, who likes to open and bowls leg spin at good line and length)
3. [MENTION=53290]Markhor[/MENTION] (The prodigy. He is the highly talented young member of our team. Vice-Captain)
4. [MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION] (The batsmen with the most flawed technique but gets the job done better than anyone else.)
5. [MENTION=865]Big Mac[/MENTION] (The most experience campaigner, ready to anchor the innings and save the day. Captain)
6. [MENTION=22846]Nostalgic[/MENTION] (He is our wicket keeper, often found making jokes of the batsmen or teasing him. He is the Pakistani version of Mohammad Shahzad)
7. [MENTION=43242]Dr_Bassim[/MENTION] (The finisher. Comes at the right time and finishes the innings in style)
8. [MENTION=65183]freelance_cricketer[/MENTION] (Our office who is very consistent in his style but often bowls that doosra)
9. [MENTION=138463]Slog[/MENTION] (Our third pacer from Karachi who can also slog one out of the park from time to time_
10. [MENTION=138254]Syed1[/MENTION] (Always giving the chin music to the batsmen, never easy to face. Loves to sledge)
11. [MENTION=1269]Bewal Express[/MENTION] (Partners well with Syed, but he swings the ball and makes it difficult to play)
12. [MENTION=76058]cricketjoshila[/MENTION] We like to take him along, but we never play him. He’s the Mohammad Asghar of the team.
I will finish this interview with a Misbah quote
“Jab menay cricket shuro kee thee 22 saal ke umar mein, tou log kehtay thay kay tumaray paas sirf 2-3 saal hai. Aaj me 39 ka hogya Log abhi bhi yehi kehtay hain”
