I have a confession to make. I had not seen a single Harry Potter movie or read a single Harry Potter book until the summer vacation this year. And that too after a gun pointed at my head, read ‘emotional blackmail’ of humongous proportions by my daughter, a diehard, totally obsessed, Harry Potter fan! Well, I must admit that I did enjoy the books, until I was reading the fifth and she just had to tell me that Sirius Black and many others would die. That was the end of my reading. You see, I do not like people dying, whether in fiction or in reality. But then I do not mind ‘evil people’ dying — both in fiction and in reality. Hakeemullah Mehsud was killed in a US drone strike last week, prompting a mixed response from the public, depending on their political leanings and moral perceptions. There is a stark division between those who think that he and his comrades were pure evil and those who have their hearts beating in unity with them. Come to think of it, if Mehsud’s heart stopped, why did not theirs? I must admit that I was moved by Imran Khan’s speech in the National Assembly this week despite the fact that he said nothing new. By now we are all too familiar with Khan’s ‘defining moment’ theory; unfortunately, by the look of things, every single moment in Pakistan could fall into this category. The debate about whether the war on terror is the US’s war or Pakistan’s war is futile, but the hard reality is that if the battles are being fought on our soil, it becomes our business. But then what of the claims by the US that the drone attacks are carried out with the consent of our government? Lauding the efforts of Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar and the decision of the All Parties Conference to start peace negotiations with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Khan listed a number of occasions when the US had actively sabotaged similar attempts. Referring to General Pervez Musharraf’s initial explanation of providing only logistical support to the US, Khan pointed out how that had led to the presence of the CIA, Blackwater and the likes of Raymond Davis amidst us. He stated that six million Pakistanis lived in the tribal areas, which were peaceful before the army was sent in under the US’s pressure. Khan questioned the rise in extremism in the past nine years in spite of military action, the droning of the ‘aman jirga’, US failure in Afghanistan, leading it to negotiate with the Taliban, the government’s stand on halting of drone attacks during negotiations and the timing of Hakeemullah Mehsud’s killing. Most Pakistanis would agree with Khan that our economy is impacted by the war on terror, which is destroying Pakistan. There is no investment because of security issues, even to the extent that no cricket team is willing to come and play in our country. Khan asked about ‘Plan B’ if the military action fails in Waziristan. He stressed unity, the need to discard the begging bowl, halting NATO supplies and approaching the UN Security Council if all else fails. I recently spoke to an ordinary man, a resident of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), and asked him about the terrorism in his area and the people’s response to the TTP and other terrorists. He told me that a couple of men from his and nearby villages had joined the TTP causing grief to the residents but they were not ‘jihadis’ or working for the ‘glory of Islam’, as most of them were criminals — absconders, proclaimed offenders, thugs and drug addicts — who got a chance to carry out their nefarious activities under the banner of the ‘imposition of Shariah’. He said that initially when without support, the people of the nearby villages had allied with the TTP out of fear, but ever since the army operation and support they had disowned them. He supported the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) government in KP, and said that his people were not gullible any more, and they knew who was worth being given a chance. The illustrious Maulana of the diesel fame has declared, “Even a dog killed by the US is a martyr.” Dogs are Allah’s creation and only He knows what status any of His creation will be awarded, but how does a person who intentionally kills others, when killed himself by the US or some other, become a ‘martyr’ in contradiction of Allah’s promise of him spending an eternity in hell? The Pakistan People’s Party, Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid and Awami National Party are crying wolf again, but have they conveniently forgotten that it was their coalition government that let in the US agencies and Blackwater? What does their five-year democratic tenure have to show other than a bitter defeat in the elections this year? Blaming the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) for drone attacks and terrorism when they were not in power is laughable, to say the least. The Punjab governor has reportedly said there should be no debate on NATO supplies, conveniently forgetting that the people have a right to know and decide matters that affect them, as they are the ones who live and die in this country. And, if there is a document executed by the previous governments that allows drone strikes on our soil, the PML-N would do well to make it public now. Lord Mountbatten was killed by an IRA bomb. The IRA and Sinn Fein wreaked havoc for years but the British government had to sit down for peace talks with them to seek an end to violence and terrorism. If our Prophet (PBUH) could hold talks with the infidels of Quraish and become a signatory to the Treaty of Hudaiybiyyah, which guaranteed 10 years of peace — not that it was upheld by the Quraish — then surely the Pakistani government can hold talks with the Taliban? Any agreement thereafter without national consensus could be rejected. At Hogwarts, Harry Potter attended Divination classes, in which he was required to learn how to read tea leaves. His teacher, Professor Trelawney, read the tea leaves in his cup (could have been any Pakistani’s cup!) and saw four things: the falcon (a deadly enemy), the club (an attack), the skull (danger in path) and the Grim (a spectral dog that is an omen of death). All predictions came true. A quick ‘google’ reveals that tea leaf reading is quite simple, or so it appears to the novice. After being quiet and relaxed, as per instructions, the subject has to identify any stubborn thought that keeps popping up in the vacant mind; this thought is the subject and focus of the reading. My stubborn recurring thought appears to be: if we want peace, do we talk to our friends or to our enemies? As no one seems to agree on an answer I am left with no option but to pour myself a cup of tea, and start reading the tea leaves! The writer is an advocate of the High Court