Wasu aur Mein- Episode 8 (with English subtitles)

DISCLAIMER: The bitter truth is surely better than a convenient truth. Exchanging information and hearing criticism (with good intentions) is the responsibility of every patriotic citizen.
- Sir, how are you? - Live long!
Who should I go to if I want to speak up about the problems I have seen here?
The elder in Jafrabad is Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali.
- Who should I go to in the government?
And then we left for Quetta to meet Baluchistan's Chief Minister Mr. Raisani.
When we left Sibi for Quetta, Chakre Azam's fort came on the way.
Mir Chakar saw that...
When Wasu narrated this history with so much enthusiasm, I realized how proud the Baluch were of their history.
How much they owned their history.
Wasu and I went to the guest house upon reaching Quetta.
And I thought that while we are waiting to get an appointment with Mr. Raisani...
...I could meet with the most important pillar of Baluch society, to find out how they think progress can happen.
The Pakistani people and state forcibly took over the Baluchistan state.
Now when you throw a corpse into every house, who will come?
This state that you are talking about right now, this is also a foreign power to us.
We had gotten an appointment with Chief Minister Raisani,
Now let's see if we get the answers to our questions or not?
What do you think? Who is responsible?
All of us.
So you think that this issue of missing persons that is happening right now...
After the interview with Mr. Raisani, I had realized one thing for sure...
...that an answer is an answer, whether its real or fake!
Wasu and I
- Waja can you see that flag? Can you see that flag? - Yes.
Let's go Waja.
Hanna Lake is a very beautiful place in Quetta.
But for us, this scenery was like flowers made of paper...
...which are beautiful to look at it, but they don't have a fragrance.
The meeting the Chief Minister was a mere formality. We got no solutions.
Before coming to Hanna Lake, I met with 2 other people...
...one of whom was the Inspector General of Frontier Corps.
I thought that since the civilian government couldn't do anything for Baluchistan...
...the Inspector General Frontier Corps might have the solution to these problems.
This youth of ours, they often say that they want to speak their mind, they want to dialogue, ask questions.
Then they say that they don't have a platform to do this.
The first platform is that of the political government.
The second platform is of the leaders from civil society. They play their role. The intellectuals play their role.
Unfortunately all these institutions, all these platform are non-functional in Baluchistan.
So what do you think is the solution to this?
There is only one available platform for our youth, that lures them towards militancy.
So this basic responsibility, I would say, belongs to political figures, to the elected people from those areas.
Make them responsible for going to their respective areas and hearing the people's problems.
I just want to understand, unless the law and order situation is improved, there will be no outside investment.
People will not come from other areas. How true is this?
People say that if law and order is not restored, investment will not come and conditions will not improve.
I say first improve conditions, then law and order will be restored.
There's no electricity, water, jobs, roads, schools. You don't need law and order for these things!
Because he does not have these things, when someone comes to him and says, 'I will give you Rs. 10,000, here take this gun'...
...he is willing to take up arms!
Come forward, play their roles, work for the betterment of their people, give them jobs.
- And only the state can do this? - Yes. The state can do this and we are in a supportive role.
The FC and army currently is and will continue to offer every support it can, even in excess of our resources.
The provincial government should ensure that all the funding that it is receiving is being implemented.
There are many pilferages unfortunately.
Up until today, the common man of Baluchistan has been ignored and exploited.
All of these institutions have consistently failed Baluchistan for the last 60 years.
Now I feel that for the past few years, people are paying attention to this province.
NFC Award, Aghaz-e-Haqooq-e-Baluchistan, such big steps have been taken that were perhaps not taken in the past 50 years.
From all the people I've met and things I've seen, I feel that a person from outside [Baluchistan] who is skilled, who can teach...
...he is afraid to come here because he feels that he will be killed.
And he is killed in revenge for Baluchis being killed.
How will this be solved? Who is doing this?
And if this is only a misconception, then how will it be cleared because it is leading to a lot of resentment.
Some people say 30,000, some say 50,000, some even say that 100,000 people have migrated from this province...
Now look a barber who is cutting hair here, what is his fault for which he is killed?
A teacher who teaches in school, what is his fault?
Because this is a conspiracy. It is important to understand this.
They say that as these services are finished, the common Baluch man will feel more pressure...
...his deprivation will increase and then we will be able to exploit him.
So on a fundamental level, as Wasu said, the common man needs economic activity.
When his deprivation is finished- and there is deprivation in this province.
But the man who exploits him [common man], does so for his personal gain. He does not care about his poverty.
He says that I will use this man, I will project him in this country and internationally.
I will use him to gain political advantage, financial advantage. But his poverty will stay where it is.
But this foreign insurgency, that we hear so much about, how much truth is there in this?
Look this is the job of the foreign office to name countries.
- And you have evidence proving this too? - We have evidence too.
In all 4 areas, there is foreign support. They are being trained.
- Can't we stop this sir? - Weapons are being supplied.
So the solution to this is sealing the borders.
Where Europe is opening her borders, unfortunately in our region [the opposite is happening]
India has done this. They have wired their borders and installed lights.
Due to the issue of missing persons, they use this to push others [Baluchis] and convince them to also take up arms in revenge.
So how will this issue be handled?
But right now, the latest figures from the court say that only 46 people are still missing. The remaining issue has been resolved.
Now you tell me. Is the solution to missing persons that you kill 4 people?
That you kill innocent people? Not at all!
Last month, we checked 11 families on the border of Chaman.
They said that their husbands were in fugitive camps in Afghanistan.
So we are just going to meet them and we will be back.
Now the men who are sitting in Afghanistan's fugitive camps, neither you nor I have a record of them.
Who knows where these missing persons are?
On the issue of just 46 missing persons, we are making not only a national but also an international effort.
But I have not heard of anyone raising their voice for the death of 2000 innocent poor people.
They burnt a bus near Sibi. One man said there are women and children in there.
The others said forget about it, we have received orders. They threw petrol on the bus and set it on fire.
I didn't hear of a commission that sat on this issue or of any human rights organization that raised their voice for this.
- It should not be dealt with by force? - Not by force.
- There should be a dialogue? - Absolutely.
There should be a dialogue. People should be made to sit down and talk...
...whether the federal government takes the initiative or the provincial government.
Basically it is the responsibility of the provincial government.
After meeting the IGFC, we were able to see the other side of the coin but it made no difference.
Because in the end the solution to all of this was political.
To properly understand this problem, the second person who I met was Hamid Mir (journalist).
Did the people of Baluchistan ever want to be a part of Pakistan or not?
If you look back in history, the Khan of Kalat really supported Quaid-e-Azam in the Pakistan movement.
They were even good friends and all of that.
But the Khan of Kalat, with Quaid-e-Azam's consent, declared that Kalat state was independent.
And then Quaid-e-Azam gave them time and space so they could debate in the Kalat state assembly whether or not to join Pakistan.
So a debate was underway in the elected assembly of Kalat state but before a decision could be reached...
...Quaid-e-Azam fell sick, he moved to Ziarat and Pakistan started a military operation in Baluchistan in 1948.
Mr. Hamid I started my journey with the intention of improving conditions in Wasu's village.
I talked to the common man, the politician, the landlord, the students, intellectuals.
When we went to Inspector General FC and talked to him, he presented a completely different picture.
So I became totally confused. If you could give me the answer to this one question...
...the landlords here, who are also politicians, do they even have a say or not? Or have they just been placed as pawns?
This problem of the landlords has been created by our establishment since 1948.
And they always say that the problem in Baluchistan is due to foreign interference there. There is a foreign hand.
My question is that you do a military operation in Baluchistan in 1948, in 1958, in 1962, then in 1974 and then in 2006.
Was there always a foreign hand behind these operations? There was no foreign hand!
This is a problem of your (establishment) ego. You say might is right.
Baluchistan has always been under the control of the army.
And whenever there is an operation, they blame it on the landlord saying that he is creating problems.
People like Dr. Allah Nazar Baluch, he is not a landlord, he is not related to any Marri or Bugti tribe.
He is an ordinary M.B.B.S doctor, who became a rebel after being tortured by our intelligence agencies.
And is now heading the leading separatist movement in Baluchistan.
The current situation is that this problem is now out of the hands of the landlords.
So now they are saying that there are only 46 missing persons left. Is this true?
No. The highest number of missing persons in Pakistan are from Baluchistan.
And of the missing persons in Baluchistan, only 5-6% of them have been recovered. Remaining are still missing.
This is a genuine problem. In the name of patriotism, you kidnap people, you kill them and throw them away...
...and your violence is giving birth to more violence.
That will give birth to a terrorist. So you have established a factory (of terrorists) in Baluchistan.
But what if all these missing persons have not been kidnapped by the intelligence agencies?
What if other people are doing this to fuel the fire, then how will this be resolved?
Okay, so when these other people (foreigners) came here, picked up people and took them back...
...they didn't take them back in F-16s, did they? They took them through the border right?
Through a land route right? So were our intelligence agencies sleeping at the time?
- These are conspiracy theories to distract from the real issue. - So how can we find a solution to this?
The solution is that there must be rule of law in Pakistan.
Chief Justice of Pakistan can call the Prime Minister of Pakistan to court...
...but these unbridled intelligence agencies of our country, the Chief Justice has not been successful yet in reining them in.
The people of these intelligence agencies say that whatever we are doing, this is patriotism.
I say this is not patriotism! The solution to the problem is that there must be rule of law.
The Constitutional rights that I have should be the same for Baluch people as well.
So who will start this process?
This process should be started by a government that has political will. This current government doesn't have political will.
The don't have the guts to use the authority that has been granted to them under the Constitution.
Why don't they have the guts? Because they have skeletons in their closet.
They have weaknesses. The establishment exploits their weakness.
This NFC Award has also been given to Baluchistan. They have received this too.
NFC Award! Aghaz-e-Haqooq-e-Baluchistan! This is a joke Mr. Shehzad.
This is a joke. There is no political government there. If there is a Chief Minister there, he is merely a puppet of Islamabad.
- But they have come in by popular vote. - No! They have come in through rigged elections.
Baluchistan's nationalist forces boycotted the 2008 elections.
None of them participated in these elections. The people in power currently, some of them have been placed by MI, some by ISI.
Unless there are genuine true representatives sitting in the assembly, who have political will, the problem can't be solved.
Hold a genuine election in Baluchistan. In this genuine election, the genuine representatives of the people should come...
...and they should start a dialogue (with the separatists).
At this time, there are few people left in Baluchistan who want to remain in the mainstream (part of Pakistan)...
...like Akhtar Mengal. His political party is not against Pakistan yet.
Like Hazil Bizenjo. His party is not against Pakistan yet.
So with these people and with a genuine election, when a true representative assembly comes that has political will...
...it should start the process and Islamabad should play the role of a facilitator.
We only have the freedom to criticize politicians. When it comes to the establishment, we stay silent in the name of patriotism.
Whoever talks about these issues is instantly labelled as a traitor. They also call me a traitor.
I say you can keep calling me that. But I will keep talking on these issues...
...because my ancestors who made sacrifices to create Pakistan did not do so...
...so that when there is problem in Pakistan I should stay quiet in the name of patriotism.
I will keep talking on these issues even though they might come and kill me.
The solution to the problem is that there must be rule of law in Pakistan.
The Constitutional rights that I have should be the same for Baluch people as well.
So who will start this process?
The process should be started by a government that has political will. This current government doesn't have political will.
But this establishment (army) of ours is very patriotic. They sacrifice their lives, fight for the country.
They have good intentions and they want to do the right thing. But then is their technique wrong?
Look, that soldier of the Pakistan army who fights the enemy at the border and sacrifices his life is my hero.
I salute him. But the army is not there to control the law and order in Baluchistan.
This is not the army's job. The army's job is stop the enemy at the border, who comes and does the Abbottabad operation.
So we don't stop him. Look, you have been doing military operations since '48.
Why hasn't the problem been resolved yet? It hasn't been resolved because your approach is wrong.
So now the time has come to accept that you were wrong. And the Constitutional authority that you have usurped...
...you should return to the political forces.
So basically all the people I have met, no solution was to come out of it?
The solution to this is not violence. The solution is forgiveness. Ask them for forgiveness.
Then they will dialogue with you. The solution to this problem is dialogue and that too between genuine stakeholders.
Meaning there is only one way and that's dialogue?
Dialogue but with humility. It shouldn't be that you are holding a gun in one hand and saying that we should dialogue.
It will not work like this. This is a political problem. We can find a political solution through dialogue.
Frontier Corps and army are not the solution to this problem!
Based on the picture that Hamid Mir presented, I realized that finding a solution to this problem...
...and implementing that solution was completely beyond my capabilities.
Wasu I used to think that I am Shehzad Roy, so I could call anyone and they would meet me...
...and talk to me. And everyone met us and talked with us. But I couldn't find a solution...
...because everyone just kept blaming someone else. They would meet me and even serve me tea but a solution-
For the first time I realized that being Shehzad Roy, being famous, meeting people does not ensure a solution.
Waja, look. I knew this from the start. I have as many years of experience as your age.
But Wasu I am very sorry. I am very sad that I could not help you. Please forgive me.
I feel like this problem is much greater than me. I am really afraid that Baluchistan might finish.
Wasu I stayed at your house.
Just by staying one night- when one does something himself, he realizes how difficult it is to live in such conditions.
And forget giving hope to you, I myself was hopeful that I could improve your living conditions. Do something for you.
But I feel like this problem is much greater than me. Even though I know how painful it is to live in these conditions.
Just that one night overwhelmed me.
But I am very sorry Wasu. Please forgive me. I deeply regret not being able to help you.
- Waja look. I had been thinking for a while that I will go to Oman. - You mean leave the country?
Yes, leave the country and go. Over there I will able to provide for my children.
Wasu this is not a solution.
This...you...like I can see that maybe progress...
...like I feel that if in the 2013 election, there can be change- if people vote, this system will be removed.
So I feel like we will see hope. If people come out and vote. This can happen in the 2013 election Wasu.
I feel there can be a change.
Waja look. There will be a change. I agree with this. But Wasu is a poor man, this fact will not change.
Wasu's conditions will remain the same.
You have lost hope Wasu. I feel like you don't want to see (hope).
I am more disappointed in myself because I gave you hope and I couldn't do anything for you.
Because the problem was greater than me. But I do feel that it can be resolved. I don't have the solution.
I really want to do more but the problem is greater than me. But I know that someone out there will resolve this.
And that someone will be the government or a leader who will do this. Until we all don't vote, this problem won't be solved.
- Waja do you see the trees and the mountain? - Yes.
These green mountains and the surrounding greenery?
- There's no greenery there. - There's nothing there Waja?
Then I also can't see anything (hope) Waja.
Our journey was to end here but I thought I would make one last attempt to stop Wasu from going.
Waja why have you brought me to Ziarat?
I will show you greenery Waja. You talked about greenery earlier. I will show you that greenery.
Sounds good Waja.
The greenery that you always talk about, I will show you that greenery.
Yes, Yes. The weather is fine Waja.
Waja why did you make us sit outside?
The weather is nice. Security is not really a problem. So I thought let's sit outside Waja.
The satisfaction of seeing greenery from the outside, you don't get that sitting inside Waja.
Yes Waja, this is correct.
- We are about to reach the place where I am taking you. - Okay.
Waja were you calling this place greenery because it is Baba's (Quaid-e-Azam) house?
Yes. How do you know this is Baba's house?
I am also a Pakistani. The whole world knows, how will I not know? Why have you brought me here Waja?
- Come inside. Come inside. I'll tell you. - Okay.
- Have you seen it from the inside? - I'll see it now Waja.
- Wasu, Quaid-e-Azam would eat here. - Okay.
- I've come here before. - Okay Waja.
- This Waja, what is this thing? - They would ring this to call someone.
- Okay. - Look here at the pictures.
- Are these of the English or... - No no these are of our people.
- Quaid-e-Azam was very fond of dogs. - Of dogs?
Yes.
- This was Quaid-e-Azam's- no Wasu don't open that! - I will open it. I have to see.
- This belonged to Baba. I will see it. Okay so this was his...okay. - They tell you not to touch things Wasu.
Look, this belonged to my Baba. I will open it and see it. Why won't I see it??
I'm not supposed to touch things?
Waja! Who is this talking with Baba? Tell me this as well. Come here.
- This is Qazi Mohammad Isa. - Qazi Mohammad Ishaq.
He is the father of Mr. Faez- you know the Chief Justice of Baluchistan, this is his father.
- Whose father? - Mr Faez Isa.
- He was a Pathan? - I don't know but he was Baluchistan's Chief Justice.
I salute you!
This was the waiting room. People would wait here. Would people wait here?
Yes, this was the guest room. The guests that would come would sit here.
- Are these chairs and other things from that time? - Yes they are from that time.
You know when you go to someone's office and you have to wait outside. This is the same.
- Is this photograph of Quaid-e-Azam? Of Baba? - This is from Baba's youth.
It's from his youth! I salute you.
You accomplished so much!
They're sitting in a meeting here Waja?
Yes. Are you seeing how weak Quaid-e-Azam had become towards the end?
- Yes. - He had Tuberculosis.
He didn't have Tuberculosis. He had something else. Now where do I start...
All the people from that time, sitting with Quaid-e-Azam.
- This was his secretary's bedroom. - Okay. He would sleep here. Fine.
Wasu seeing you, I've also gotten into the habit of opening things and looking inside.
Yes of course we will look. Come here my brother. Who is this man sitting with him?
This is Khan of Kalat, Mir Ahmad Yar Khan.
You know this Mir Ahmad Yar Khan, he is Noori Naseer Khan's son.
- Yes Noori... - This is Noori Naseer Khan's son, Ahmad Yar Khan.
Yes in the Baluch song 'Dane pe Dana', they sing about Noori Naseer...
Come on, come on.
- Waja are these stairs made of wood? - Yes, this is from that time.
- This was Quaid-e-Azam's bedroom. - Oh. So he would sleep here.
Yes he would sleep here. Come this way.
This, Wasu, was Baba's doctor's bedroom. He used to be with him over here.
Waja I think he was killed by his doctor.
Don't blame others just like that. It's wrong to just accuse someone.
Waja look. Baba was sleeping there. The doctor was sleeping here.
- Why was he sleeping? Was he a guard? - No, no. This is just a room to sleep in.
You can't just accuse someone like this.
- Someone killed him right? - God knows that, I don't. What can I say?
But without knowing, you can't blame someone Wasu.
- Wasu you know why I have brought you here? - No.
I've brought you here because Baba was very ill towards the end. But he stayed here till the very end, kept working...
...but he never left the country!
Look Waja. Baba wore a nice coat, a nice tie, nice clothes. He had studied in English.
I am illiterate Waja!
He knew English, spoke English, this is why he was able to stand up to the English right?
Look Waja. I am not educated. I can't solve my own problems, how will I stand up for anyone else Waja?
If you stay here, then only can you solve problems and stand up to people. If you leave, then how will it happen?
Look Waja. You are Shehzad Roy, a singer who is famous throughout Pakistan. If you couldn't solve our problems...
...then what can us Baluch people do?
Wasu you said you wanted to see Baba's Pakistan. Take me to Bangladesh.
I took you to Bangladesh. There you would grab people and tell them to say 'I love Pakistan', 'I love Pakistan'.
And when they wouldn't say it, you would get angry.
You would ask them why they didn't speak Urdu, why they left the country, why the country was split apart.
Now you yourself are talking about leaving this country?
Look Waja. I am left with no choice but to leave.
Wasu if people like you leave, this country will not function.
Look Waja. When rich people leave, no one even points a finger at them.
When a poor man leaves the country, people say that he didn't love his country.
Waja look. Baba was also disheartened with people, that's why he came here.
He didn't come here because he was disheartened. He was very ill.
Waja, look. I am also ill. I am also disheartened. Since Baba has died, the whole world is remembering him.
When Wasu dies, who will remember him?
Wasu I don't want to give you false hope.
Look Waja. My leaving the country is a necessity. If I don't leave then my grandsons who are illiterate now...
...they will remain illiterate in the future.
So what will you do for Pakistan from abroad?
What I could do for Pakistan from here Waja, I will do from there. I can only pray for Pakistan.
May Allah grant Pakistan prosperity. May Allah grant Pakistan success.
I will pray. What else is in my hands Waja?
Wasu now what else can I say to you?
Don't say anything more Waja. I will go.
I will stop Wasu from leaving the country.
But there are many talented Wasus in remote areas whom I can not stop.
Indeed they must also, like Wasu, have a love for Quaid-e-Azam and Pakistan in their hearts.
But despair is triumphing over love.
These people will only stay in this country if they see a future for their children...
...if they see employment, if they see social justice.
When despair triumphs over love, some people leave the country and some people leave their homes.
The people who leave the country get something or the other.
But those who leave their homes find nothing except stones.
And before these stones hit our homes, learn to distribute, learn to share, learn to give.
The name of this show was not 'Wasu and Shehzad Roy'. It was 'Wasu and I'. I as in all of us.
In all our lives, at some turn, we come across a Wasu.
If he has come in your life, clasp his hand.
If he has come and gone, then find him and bring him back.
And if he hasn't come yet, then keep your eyes and ears open.
Perhaps a lot of talented people can not reach where Wasu is today.
But Wasu is an example for all those people, that if society allows, even a common man can rise to the top.
This show will end today. I could not do anything for Baluchistan.
I do not know if, through this show, our voice reached the hearts of our leaders or not.
But I certainly know that our voice has reached the hearts of the people who are watching this show today.
So bring this voice from your hearts to your lips.
And raise your voice for the people of Baluchistan and for those people from the other provinces of Pakistan...
...who have been deprived of the basic needs of life.
Only if their lives improve will Pakistan's future shine.
And if you can't fight against the cruel or stand up for the oppressed, then you can do at least one thing...
...and that is vote. But before voting, look into your heart and ask yourself-
The person who you are about to vote for, will he only bring about your betterment...
...or will he improve the lives of the millions like Wasu, who are Pakistan's true future?
Keep Wasu's voice alive in your hearts.
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