Gone with the wind and removed from mind

Gone with the wind is an acclaimed expression known worldwide which very much fits in to our present situation but I at my own have added myself ‘removed from mind’ not only to give it rhythm and poetic touch to it but also to make it more striking so that if luckily someone from our power corridor reads it then he / she may be moved and resultantly takes some necessary action which is a must in any case if one realizes its gravity and seriousness.

I am referring to none but to the one of the most awful tragedy of our Pakistan army history where many valiant Pakistanis which includes majority of army men and some civilians too have been stricken hard by an avalanche and buried under the mountain of snow in Siachin for quite many days now. They were living in the camp when in early hours of Saturday 7^th March, 2012 a giant glacier struck their camp at the time when most of them were asleep and hence none could get any chance to escape and flee away from the ground zero. The news was flashed as breaking news whereby not only Pakistanis but people of the world at large were taken aback to hear about such an awful and dreadful episode. None can challenge and face the wrath of nature in any case. There is no doubt about it that Pakistan has utilized all the sources and resources available with us to deal with the tragedy whereby expert teams drawn from army, civil defense and other allied organizations are using both heavy machineries and light tools and working day and night conducting rescue and relied operations so that they could lay their hands on those who are facing life and death situation. Many foreign teams too from different countries with all the necessary equipments have also flown in and they are working hand in hand with our workforce. It is an admitted fact that not only all our television channels and newspapers but also foreign media too have given full coverage of the event for initial some days to be honest.

To the best of my knowledge and belief rescue and relief operation teams have not yet succeeded in reaching to our beloved ones though they have dug it at different points and have reached much below to the top level of the snow and they are still working round the clock with same zeal and zest under the most hostile weather conditions and ground realities. I also have placed blind faith in the noble rescuers that though they have not been successful in reaching to anyone till now but still they have not abandoned their efforts either.It is very much understandable that such like rescue operations is neither so easy nor so quick rather it is a test of stamina and nerves where continual and sustainable efforts only can fetch results and not otherwise. Moreover, this is neither a regular nor an often activity from any angle whatsoever so there is some possibility even remotest of trial and error as well so we should not be so impatient to hear the good news which God willing we will hear at some point of time.

Now comes the crunch, today Monday 16^th April, 2012 I have visited official website of Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Islamabad (www.infopak.gov.pk) and found that there is no news about Siachin tragedy as it showed only 4 news on the face which are (a) President, JUI-F discuss pol--------(b) PM takes cabinet into confidence o--------(c) President administers oath the Sena-------- and (d) British Pakistani parliamentarians-------. Then out of curiosity I visited web sites of our top and notable newspapers namely Dawn, Pakistan Observer, Daily Times, Nation, Frontier Post, Tribune and News and very much shockingly none of them have shown the simplest courtesy to include Siachin tragedy into their top news. How come not one, two, three or even four but all the newspapers have ignored such an important news?

Didn’t I prove through documentary evidence that ‘Gone with the wind and removed from mind’ is not my sheer imagination but a hard fact which at least I lament the most if not you?

Iqbal Hadi Zaidi / Kuwait /