“Punjab” a five letter word with a never ending series of definitions. The history, the geography, the demography and the culture of Punjab is so deep and immense that one cannot define Punjab in a one liner statement. Punjab is an ocean of philosophy in itself which does not allow its swimmers another trip to the shores. Punjab is the land of love, emotions and affections. If we synchronize the love stories across the globe, Punjab will definitely hold the privilege of being the most abundant hub of love and romance. The charismatic culture of Punjab makes it’s sons have a golden heart but unfortunate is it’s charm. No one knows who casted an evil spell on this beautiful land but shadows of demons have always haunted it’s love stories. Almost each of it’s love stories has a sorrow fate. With eyes wet at every one of them I still find Mirza and Sahiba the most dreadful one.

The story narrates the love of a young Kharal Jat by the name of Mirza Khan and a beauty from the Khewa known as Sahiba. The two fall in love at very young age and make promises of a united future. On growing up Sahiba is engaged to Tahar Khan upon which she sends a taunting message to Mirza Khan telling him to come and decorate her hands with hina. Agitated Mirza Khan who is known to be the best of the riders and an excellent operator of the arrows, comes flying to Sial and takes Sahiba away. Furious brothers of Sahiba give them a chase. Mirza and Sahiba take a pause for some rest. at Jarranwala. This is were Sahiba expresses her fear of being caught by her brothers. Mirza calms her down and assures her that as long as he has arrows in his hand and a bow on the shoulder no one can catch them. When Mirza falls asleep Sahiba gets a glimpse of horse men approaching them from a distance. Feared by the thought that Mirza will kill her beloved brothers Sahiba breaks all the arrows and throws them a near by well. The couple is approached with Mirza bare handed. The two are caught and then killed. Till day who ever reads the story ends it with a heavy heart, wet eyes and complaining tongue. Every one of he readers inquires Sahiba that if she could not disassociate her self from her roots why did she take a ride with Mirza?

Chauhdary Nisar Ali Khan the son of late Brigadier (R) Ali Khan and the brother of late Lt. General (R) Iftakhar Ali Khan, is a seasoned politician and the current Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly. Chauhdary Nisar is known for his rich experiences in the political history of Pakistan. He has a reputation of a being a wise man and an elegant orator. His oratory skills are highly appreciated at several occasions. A glimpse of his rapid fire communication skills was seen on 23rd of December 2010 in the National Assembly. The reason for the red hot Nisar Ali Khan was the summon issued by a U.S court to the Director General of the Inter Services Intelligence and some other officials of the agency on charges of their alleged involvement in the Mumbai Terror Attacks. Speaking on the Point of Order Chauhdary Nisar Ali Khan said “Summoning of highly ranked military officials is a shameful day for Pakistan. The summons have sabotaged the sovereignty of our state. We would not allow any institution to be taken hostage by any international organization.” The ones who saw this master blaster speech can tell that Chauhdary Nisar Ali Khan was going red and blue with anger and could hardly stand on his position. Had it been possible he would have directly taken the U.S judge by collar for trying to prick a thrown in the sovereignty of Pakistan. Like an ordinary citizen of my beloved Pakistan I was highly moved by the speech of Chauhdary Nisar Ali Khan. His patriotism was visible on his face. I was just about to become a fan of our Opposition Leader when that bad habit of mine woke up. I suddenly recalled the near past.

It was January the 29th 2010 when Chauhdary Nisar Ali Khan in the very same National Assembly said “Constitution never says that the President enjoys immunity in foreign court cases.” He further elaborated his point by saying “There are many examples in the world where the heads of state faced cases in international courts. President of Sudan is facing a case in the International Court of Justice. The prime minister of Israel is also facing a trial in the court of European Union.” Opposition Leader thus squashed any chances of a constitutional cover for the President of Pakistan and insisted that the government must re initiate the trial against the President in the Swiss Courts.

After comparing these two statements by Chauhdar Nisar Ali Khan I have become a little confused. With the intellect that he holds I cannot allege him of making baseless statements. I am sure there must be some misunderstanding on my behalf. I would request the opposition leader to clear it:-

President Asif Ali Zardari is the holder of the office of the President of Islamic Republic of Pakistan. An office defined in the Constitution of Pakistan. President of Pakistan is the Head of the State, Pillar of the Parliament, Symbol of the Federation and The Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of Pakistan. If a foreign trial against him does not affect the sovereignty of Pakistan how does summoning the ISI chief who is just the holder of a governmental employee position equal to grade 21, shall harm our sovereignty?

Cases Against the President are “Money Laundering” oriented, a crime classified at number 37 in the “Crime Classification Manual” by International Association of Law Enforcement Intelligence Analysts. On the other hand charges against the ISI Chief are “Terrorism” and “Genocide” oriented, crimes which find their place at number 4 and number 1 respectively. If the President must be trialled to maintain the rule of law, why not the ISI Chief?

Cases against the President have already been through 11 years of exercise with the Chief Prosecutor of Geneva saying “I still have no evidence to bring Zardari to trial.” Thus no one across the globe demands their re initiative. where as the charges against the ISI chief have not even seen the initial of the proceedings. Furthermore he is being summoned by an international court. If the President must appear before the court to ensure the stance of justice, why not the ISI chief?

Chuahdary Nisar Ali Khan had very kindly quoted examples where head of states have faced international trials but has failed to mention the same in the case of the DG ISI. In case he finds it hard to locate such examples I will definitely be honoured to assist him:-

Tihomir Blaškić a Three Star Bosnian Army General was trialed by the International Criminal Tribunal for charges of persecutions against Muslims. He was convicted and sentenced to prison for 9 years.

Enver Hadžihasanović a One Star Bosnian Army General was trialed by the International Criminal Tribunal for Command authority over acts of murder and wanton destruction in Central Bosnia. He was convicted and sentence for 3.5 years.

Radislav Krstić a Serb Four Star General was trialed by the International Criminal Tribunal for Genocide, Crimes against humanity & Violations of the laws or customs of war. He was convicted and sentenced to prison for 46 years.

In case Chuhdary Nisar Ali Khan still does not take a yawn and move from his position I will definitely remember some very bitter facts. It was PML-N’s information secretary Ahsan Iqbal who said “Pervez Musharraf used to meet Chauhdary Nisar Ali Khan at nights when he was not the Army Chief.” Nisar subsequently faced no gallows in the tenure of Pervez Musharraf. With his love and affection for military generals It would seem like Chauhdary Nisar Ali Khan is the Sahiba of Democracy who is ridding with the democratic Mirza Khan forces but breaking their arrows at the same time, in order to assure a safe future for her brothers in KHAKI.

(Note:- One must also ask the independent media tycoons like Javeed Chaudary, Hamid Mir and Shaheen Sehbai who used to run marathons on the trial against the President and used to quote example from history, justice and Islam, on why are they having a nap.)

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