Where did my Pakistan go?

[Khan15]

Firenze you wouldn't understand. Ask a Kosovar, a Bosnia or a Palestinian what it means to have your own passport and your own national identity. We my kosovar friend finally got his passport we threw this huge bash. Never seen so many people happy over something we take for granted.

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Chief Sahib,

Can you tell me which country you can actually travel to with a Pakistani passport. I suspect, none. If there is anything which is overrated then its a Pakistani passport.

On national identity, Palestinians, Kasovans and Bosniak have much stronger sense of national identity then Paks, and its much easier for them to travel about.

[Nosherwan]

Aahhh the 90s, mera bachpan, I'm Brit born but I spent a lot of my childhood in Pak...

Firenze the likes of you with your pubs/clubs were not part of my Pakistan, just as much as suicide bombers were not a part of it.

My Pakistan was not a Pakistan of inferiority complexed brown-sahibs like you, you and your culture existed but it was in your own little posh suburbs.

I'm talking about the real Pakistan, have you ever ate chana-chat from the street vendors? Wore a Sindhi shawl? Wore Peshawari chapal and pakol? Ever been to a Punjabi Mela? Ever ate sajji on a Baluchistan night or ate kebab and naan at a Peshawari Bazaar? Ever smelt the smell of pakoras and petrol fume at a lorry-adda? Ever rode on the roof or side of an overcrowded wagon/bus? Ever played volleyball/cricket with the village boys and then pray with them when the Azan is recited, ever drank tea from a chaiwala?...

..No! So STFU, the likes of you don't know what it's like to be Pakistani, the likes of you are in awe of America from the day you're born, you're inferiority complexed parents brain wash you that your countrymen are backward from a young age, you have no identity or pehchan.

May Allah destroy anyone who is trying to destroy the Pakistan I love whether it be extremists/fanatics or liberals like you.

In my Pakistan we weren't in awe of anyone, we were a proud nation who had confidence in their own values and didn't try and impress anyone with how modern we can be.

Like someone pointed out bayhayai existed but it wasn't open, atleast it was considered wrong and not something to be proud of.

My Pakistan was proud of it's culture, heritage, traditions and religion without being fanatical or extremist.

In my Pakistan girls didn't wear jeans or Arabain-hijabs, they draped duppattas over their heads in the most elegant way and they wore loose shalwar kameez...

[Nosherwan]

i'd always LOVE the 90's, my childhood and the amazing life here in lahore. things really were different.

burai and behayayi has always been there but back then it was considered BAD by majority of the people. in schools we still did talk about our Qari sahab's who came to teach us Quran pak and how our moms used to scold us about not saying our prayers regularly.

foul words were CONDEMNED... Eids were excitedly discussed and anticipated about. the televisions showed the nicest dramas, ones you could watch with your family.

Coca Cola Movie Mania showed great movies on NTM. Weekends were fun. We would always see mothers clad in full sleeves decent shalwar kameez with most of them wearing dupattas on their heads.

Wasim Akram Inzi and Imran Khan were the true heroes! :)

but children of today..

all they have seen are suicide bombings.. 'have a blast' is a literal scary sentence now i have seen little kids of 7 and 8 discussing Beyonce and Shakira. Or how they showed 'Junior' on Cartoon Network and they secretly laugh about a dad giving birth to a BABY !

Mothers no longer allow their kids to play outside as it is nOT safe anymore, hence all these little children are turning into couch potatoes watching either sick cartoons or if worse dancing to all the bollywood tunes and talking about 'dates and valentine's day' ..

cricket is mocked at. EPL is the new in thing. People are more excited about FIFA or the Premier Leagues rather than our own Cricket Tournaments !

and you say 90s were worse ?? :)

This is exactly what I mean!!

I miss PTV entertainment, nowadays the dramas don't represent real Pakistanis, just the brown-sahibs, they are so unreal.

I miss Alpha-Bravo-Charlie and Marvi, Aanch etc...

[pak-one]

Re: Where did my Pakistan go?

Nosherwan, I know what you mean. These days we find ourselves being pulled by foreign influences whether they have turned segments of our society into the Taliban or Brown Sahibs.

Sadly those times may have passed, but I sure do hope that we can come to our senses as a society and return to our Pakistani culture.

[Aussindian]

Re: Where did my Pakistan go?

Pakistan sought to bring parity by encouraging & using the Jihadi's -to counter a much larger India.
Unfortunately, the Jihadi's have become too powerful over the years and some of them want to force their form of Islam on all others.

There lies the tragedy which Pakistan is in.

[system]

Re: Where did my Pakistan go?

Like Enigmatica and Nosherwan mentioned...that is what i meant by 90s were better in my post on the first page....those who have grown up in Pakistan during 90s or before know the meaning of peaceful, colorful and full of life Pakistan which NOT an outsider can understand....all of us who are ranting about that era have lots n lots of beautiful memories to cherish from our childhood related to our country and i HOPE n wish with all my heart that things go better n we return to our values n customs once again....

[kakaballi]

^ yup we are still staying, living in the rain of bomb blasts. Care to explain me, why Pakistani nation deserve this shyt hole we are in today?

Because the able people escape the country asap?

[kakaballi]

Re: Where did my Pakistan go?

90s definitely were better than now.

[sayyma]

Re: Where did my Pakistan go?

map per to pakistan wahi hai jahn 1947 ko tha.. real question

pakistan khain nahin gaiya asal main pak ko emaandaar loog nahin mily

pak roo roo kar emaandar quaidat ko bula raha hai plz jao help karo

[firenze]

Because the able people escape the country asap?

and these able sending now the much needed foreign currency ?

[X2]

map per to pakistan wahi hai jahn 1947 ko tha.. real question

pakistan khain nahin gaiya asal main pak ko emaandaar loog nahin mily

pak roo roo kar emaandar quaidat ko bula raha hai plz jao help karo

west atleast, not east.

[kakaballi]

and these able sending now the much needed foreign currency ?

We need more able people within the country to lead us, educate us and strengthen us. Foreign investment would automatically follow.

[X2]

Re: Where did my Pakistan go?

so people currently in the country are not able enough? or not enough people who are able enough?

what are the needed skillsets and how many Pakistanis with needed skillsets live overseas? what percentage of total pakistan population are they?

[Jaanwar]

The real Pakistanis are in Pakistan doing what they do best. Praying for the country and hoping against all hope that we survive this ****ing mess we are in.

One thing I do pride myself on is us Pakistanis. We are not a soft breed. We roll with the punches and give as good as we get.

The so called liberals wrote off Pakistan as a failed state a few years ago. We Pakistanis are still here and still fighting the good fight.

So take to heart that those who believe in Pakistan are around to stay and only Allah's will will change that fact.

Firenze you wouldn't understand. Ask a Kosovar, a Bosnia or a Palestinian what it means to have your own passport and your own national identity. We my kosovar friend finally got his passport we threw this huge bash. Never seen so many people happy over something we take for granted.

You *******s in the west take it all for granted. Ones nation is ones home. If Pakistan was 1 million times worst I would still not give up on her. Too many people have given their lives in service to my nation. I will not insult their memories and their work at any point.

A Pakistani would understand that. Not an ABCD.

Lalay you are awesome.

[CM]

it's really easy to cry about Pakistan.. and blah blah.. while you ******s living in west and sitting in drawing rooms .. and cry.. OH MY GOSH.. I LOVE MY COUNTRY SO MUCH. .I WILL DIE FOR IT.. it's bullshyt.

i have my everything in Pak from Family to Business, and i have a right to criticize in anyway i like. You don't like it go sue me, when you will shift back to Pak and live like an ordinary Pakistani, i will listen to the crap you said, but right now you have no credibility !

Snookums you do not criticize. You insult everything it stands for. You question its existence, you question why we should even bother to support it. You were one of the first people after Posh Spice and M2k to call Pakistan a failed state and continuely stated that all across the PA forums.

Someone who is a nationalist does not give a damn what a white guy in Washington says if we are a failed state. This is why I call this website and half you *******s ABCDs. You rather listen to a white guy in the US than have faith in your own people to do what is necessary to save our nation.

11 years later Pakistan still stands and is moving towards inshallah a positive situation. Those people who worked hard in these past 11 years to get us to this point are to be supported and acclaimed.

Khan15 I travelled to the US, Switzerland, Norway, Uganda, UAE and Egypt on a Pakistani passport in the past 6 months. Not even a Blue or Red passport. A good old fashioned green one. I was questioned and extra information was taken. But I don't care. I am proud of being a a Pakistani and I would not change my passport for anything.

[maham87]

Re: Where did my Pakistan go?

uff pakistan :(
i grew up there in the 90's too...lived there till i was 10 years old and had to move to america :/
a day doesnt go by that i dont wish i ws back... i want nothing more than to be able to live in my country again...do something for it :(
it's traumatizing thinking about the future ... the youth of pakistan today is worse than some of the pakistani's living here - so many want to leave the country and dont think of bringing any change whatsoever - they are young/strong they should stand up to the likes of zardari and all
really wish things get better soon...i cant see pakistan like this :(

[X2]

Re: Where did my Pakistan go?

if 87 is your DOB, it makes you about 23.
stop wishing and go back, you are a grown adult now.

everyone should be doing their best to do what they believe in.

[maham87]

Re: Where did my Pakistan go?

^^ i am going back soon Inshallah, once i finish my degree :)

[Enigmatic]

^^ i am going back soon Inshallah, once i finish my degree :)

well said Maham ! :) there are a lot of people who still care about the country. they work hard enough, go abroad to gain all the degrees and then come back to serve the country.

hasn't anyone ever thought for one moment, what is it that is still driving this country? Amidst all the chaos, terrorism, darkness, evil and corrupted govt..what is still there that keeps us going

yes it's hope and that long lost deeply seated patriotism within us. and then there are people like these I mentioned above who really did come back to SERVE the country and are rightly doing so ! :)

[Safoora]

Yaar Firenze,

Trust me Europe seems to be full of illegal Pakis. I was in Romania, and kept bumping into them!!! You can get Paki food anywhere.

On the main point, I remember visiting Karachi in the 90s, and it was a hell hole. Karachi was much better in the noughties, especially the early Musharaf years. A lot of growth in consumer choice, including tv chanels. Although I must admit, all you get on TV are these dreadfull saas bahu dramas. But TV in the 90s was also really rubish, with endlessly long boring dramas with over weight aunties. I remember when I was in Karachi in 93, and my Nani got satelite. The sheer pleasure of watching the Crystal Maze!!! So it was pretty crap them, actually the 90s saw the large scale emigration of professional Pakis, and still crap. So Pakistan is unchanging.

OMG I was so addicted to that show, and NTM late night movies, Marvi, Anch such good memories-thanks for mentioning this!

Anyways, I don't have much to add except that things may get worse before they finally get better (I hope not though) but just don't give up on your home ever. The new generation is not as bad as everyone makes them out to be, they are religious and liberals, optimists and pessimists, patriots and those that are not-like every other generation and every other country. Identify with your country, be good and stay positive, and that'll help Pakistan's image a lot more than media.