The "Dirty" Khan

Ever since Imran Khan pulled the crowd to his October 30 rally, it seems that everyone is taking sides. While taking sides, his critics are trying to be critical at everything. Everything from his party to the family has come under the spotlight. His scandalous past along with his marriage and present family life is questioned. While one half of the critics criticize his aloofness with his party affairs, there is an another half which hellbent to show Khan in bad light.

Indeed, Khan has nothing but been scandalous in his youth, but is it too hard to accept that to err is human and one grows up over the years. It is about time that we separate the wheat from the chaff. Khan's frivolity during the epitome of his youth is not something that would disturb the matters of governance. It should be taken as a blessing that everything about Khan is almost black and white.

The matter that gets the most eyebrows raised is Jemima's association with Imran Khan. For this, let us travel back to 1995 when Khan married Jemima. Jemima was (and perhaps, still is) a Muslim when she married Khan. She readily moved to Pakistan and lived here for almost a decade. During her almost decade long stay in Pakistan, she tried her best to adjust into the society. In her public appearances, she was usually seen in Shalwar Kameez. She actively participated in the activities for Shaukut Khanum Memorial Hospital. Due to her efforts, Diana the Princess of Wales visited Pakistan twice. With Khan, she bore two sons: Sulaiman Isa and Kasim, both are now in London with their mother. During the 2010 floods, she took an active part in gathering funds from all over Europe. On various occasions, she has spoken against the American drone attacks. The sudden divorce in 2004 did raise some controversy, but for a woman who considers Pakistan her second home, we should all think before we speak.

With Nusrat Bhutto dies the People's Party

Nusrat Bhutto, former First Lady and mother of Benazir Bhutto, died yesterday in Dubai at the age of 82.

Like Zardari, Nusrat had to step into politics when her spouse died, but unlike him, she kept the party together. For almost a decade, she kept the legacy of Zulfikar Bhutto going in letter and spirit. Though her life with Zulfikar was not a bed of roses, she stayed behind her man and kept her appearances. She hid her emotional scars—as well as the ones she received from her abusive husband—gracefully. She held so many tears back.

After the death of Zulfikar Bhutto, she took the reins of the party and prepared it as a potent democratic power. Born in Iran, it could have been easier for her to leave but she stayed. She stayed because she knew that the ideology that her husband gave was a sacred trust for the people of his country. She feared less and strives harder. She marched along against the military dictator, General Zia-ul-Haq. She got both the leftists and rightists talking about democracy. She became a force to be reckoned with. Sadly, she got nothing but grief. In her life, she witnessed four deaths; one difficult than the other. Till this very day, the murders of her son, Murtaza and her daughter, Benazir, have not been arrested. She was almost forgotten too till the very afternoon when she died. The actual Bhutto family received the information from the television reports.

The party she handed over to her daughter was her blood, sweat, and tears. Sadly, her hard work is now going to waste. The People's Party where it stands today was not the one she aspired to be. She was known for her close relation with her workers. She used to bread bread with them. The present situation is far bleak; the party is getting distant from the good influences of her time.

Later today, her body will be flown to Larkana. She will get buried in Ghari Khuda Baksh. However, with her body, the People's Party—of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto—will also be laid to rest.

September 11: Ten Years Later

It was a usual September evening; hot and humid. My mother and sisters were getting ready to visit a book-fair, and I was going with them. Around 0530pm, I saw the ad of the New York Stock Exchange,and thought life never stops there. Rain or shine, the city of New York just continues. I wondered if I would ever see it in my lifetime unless something awful happens there like an airplane crash.

Minutes later, the BBC interupted its regular programming for a developing story. The news anchor said that an airplane crashed into the World Trade Center. My mother sat down with me to watch the news. And, our trip to the book-fair was called off. My mother did not have the heart to go. The event that unfolded before our eyes was simply dreadful.

Ten years forward, I work for a company associated with that book-fair. A lot has changed, but yet a lot is not fixed.

ZulfiLeaks: Pot, Kettle, Ghairat!

Whatever Zulfiqar Mirza said today was almost similar to something that I said to a friend who is an ardent MQM supporter, some days back. However, trusting Zulfiqar Mirza's word on this would not be a smart move.

Courtesy: pyfpakistan on YouTube

In the video, the anchor Naseem Zehra reads a excerpt from one of Zulfiqar Mirza's speech. In the excerpt, it is said:

"We wanted to break Pakistan, we were against Pakistan. ... If Mr. Asif Ali Zardari would have not chanted the slogan of Pakistan Khappay (Stays), then we would have left Naudero and would have chanted the slogan of Pakistan Na-Khappay (Stays Not)..."

Upon which Mirza replies that his quote is taken out of context, and he apologizes. This kind of reasoning is nothing new, especially for Pakistan People's Party (PPP) leaders.

ZulfiLeaks: First Peceptions

Like it or not, Zulfiqar Mirza is officially the Grinch. Thanks to him, Eid may be a horrible event.

I might shed a light on his "resignation" speech, sometime later but one thing I can see clearly that he looked provoked. Why Mirza reached to such a drastic step? One can only guess. As far I can analyze, there are three possibilities.

First, we all know how Zulfiqar Mirza clings to Lyari and considers himself to be their savior. The surgical operation around Karachi are being done on the orders of Senator Rehman Malik. Earlier this week, it was Mirza who reminded Malik that Malik was made Senator from a Sindhi seat even though he is a resident of Sialkot. This whole event unfolded before the Prime Minister's eyes. Last night, as Mirza was in Badin, Malik took the chance and conducted the operation. 80 people were arrested and torture cells were unveiled. Hence, there was a fallout on Rehman.

Second, starting this Monday, the Supreme Court of Pakistan will start hearings related to Karachi violence. It is common that there is blood on everyone's hand. However, this whole debacle will cost PPP a lot. It needed someone to save their face. Zulfiqar Mirza is the perfect candidate. The amount of revelations made in his press conference shows that the pointing game has been taken to a new level.

Third, Mirza has been in the flood-hit area of Badin last night. Badin is supposed to be his hometown, and it has been affected by a flood since the middle of the month. While his hometown was drowning, Mirza was in Karachi tongue-lashing. His last night visit to Badin might have made him see the writing on the wall. Due to mishandling of the floods by their elected representatives, people in Sindh are now looking towards newer options. Mirza's presence in Karachi rather in Badin might have hurt his followers. This might be spelling doom not only for himself but his party as well. This resignation might be an attempt to renew his losing political power in the area. Moreover, the recent strike by MQM was observed in the areas of Interior Sindh, especially in Nawabshah, the hometown of Zardari.

All in all, this will end up in more bloodshed. Good thing, I did not buy new clothes for Eid. Who wants to celebrate when your hometown is burning?

WeakyLeaks?

Scottish novelist and poet Sir Walter Scott once wrote:

Oh! what a tangled web we weave
When first we practise to deceive!

The quote may not be very appropriate for the topic I am going to write on, but somehow, I feel deceived. Last year, in November, WikiLeaks, the whistle-blowing website, revealed a hefty load of information from U.S. Diplomatic Cables – popularly known as "Cablegate." These cables hold a lot of candid information, and a considerable amount of it was quite new. This release of information made the U.S. insecure. Intellectuals around the world were amazed by this revelation. Julian Assange became a worldwide sensation. it was considered that the U.S. would be in a lot of trouble after this event, however, it seems that nothing happened.

Almost nine months after the "Cablegate," it seems that a lot of the information revealed in these cables, somehow, resulted into events. I know that I would be called a "conspiracy theorists." However, the release of information and the event afterwards seemed so coordinated at times that it does nothing but fuels the fire of curiosity and suspicion.

When the first releases were made public to the media back in November, one of the most obvious ones was about Gaddafi and his "voluptuous blonde." The world raised an eye-brow over it. In February 2011, after the fall of regimes in Egypt and Tunisia occurred, the people of Libya started a movement against thier leader, Col. Muammar Gaddafi. Due to the stubborn attitude of Gaddafi, a war broke out. In the last week of the same month, the "voluptuous blonde" named Galyna Kolotnytska left Libya and returned home. She spoke about Gaddafi in the high regards. However, till this day, I cannot decipher the reason of bring this particular women in the scene. It is common knowledge that Gaddafi has an army of 40 virgin women protecting him but why a foreign nurse had to be pulled in. Furthermore, the stress on the word "voluptuous" is more than ordinary. Maybe, it is a case of "sex sells."

Moving on, in the last week of April this year, WikiLeaks released the Gitmo Papers. It was then reported that Khalid Muhammad Skeikh, one of the detainees and a senior at al-Qaeda, said that the death of Osama bin Laden will result in a "nuclear hellstorm." Almost a week later, on May 2, the U.S. Navy Seals fly into Abbottabad, Pakistan and killed Osama bin Laden who was living in a mansion almost a kilometer away from Kakul Military Base. Readily, questions about "nuclear safety" were risen. This month, almost all of the Navy Seals involved in the mission were killed by a missile shot by a Taliban soldier. Days later, the Taliban soldier was killed by the U.S. Army. This coordination is far too amazing to be left unnoticed.

In May this year, DAWN and WikiLeaks brought out the "Pakistan Papers"; the diplomatic cables related to Pakistan. In this revelation, there is one very peculiar. Filed under the Reference ID 09KARACHI138, and titled as Sindh – Gangs of Karachi, the Counsel General Stephen Fakan wrote in 2009 about the Gangs in Karachi in which he asserts that the police is outnumbered. In his report, he gives elaborate details about the gangs. Come August, the situation becomes quite like the one he has reported. The police looks out-numbered and powerless while tackling the Karachi unrest.

The way the information is presented is somehow amazing. These cables look as if they were constructed to benefit someone. Much to my surprise, these cables have done nothing for the world. It made the whole unsafe as well as opened new war-fronts, not one real-time but also online. The assumed affected, i.e. the U.S. Government, is not affected at all. Many a time, it looks as if WikiLeaks have benefited the superpower.  I guess it might not be so leaky after all.

Let there be sobbing!

First, this video:

Courtesy: Zohaibji0 on Dailymotion

And then its response:

Courtesy: thedaxxling on YouTube

Oh! Sob, sob. "Dr." Amir "Tunni" Liaquat Ali is in controversy – again, and I rolled my eyes again. Mute the first video and see the mouth diarrhea happening. It is evident that the "Tunni" is guilty of his doings, and he claims in the second video that he did insulted certain Islamic personalities accidentally. However, there is more than that meets the eye in these videos.

Mooning Around!

Pardon my language but every year there are two occasions when it gets as embarrassing as having your pants pulled down. The two moons (no pun intended) of Ramadan and Shawal have been controversial for decades, and it seems never-ending.

Every year, in the areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan, a controversy arises that whose moon is more accurate: the one of the local Maulvi or the one sighted by the government-appointed Maulvi? The practice was less exposed in the 1990s but as the electronic media grew in the last decade, the "divide" has become more evident than ever.

One with a million!

Well well well, someone is not happy after all that posing. Pakistan's new foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar does not like to called "Fashion Icon" as reported by the Indian newspaper, The Hindu. However, she has no one to blame except herself. Ever since her nomination was announced, there have been discussions about Hina Rabbani Khar. Her credentials, though impressive, have been blown out of proportions. Time and again, it is reminded that she is a foreign graduate – a creature higher than local graduates. Her first trip after holding the office was to India, and ever since, she has landed she has been catching the eye.

Dressed in seemingly simple clothes, Khar has simply loaded her with accessories. You name it and she's got it. Limited edition bags and expensive shoes, she even owns South Sea pearl jewelry. For a safe estimate, only her shoes are almost worth a full-year salary of a daily wager in Pakistan. Who knows? These shoes are really made for walking.

Nonetheless, the argument behind it is that they are personal possession. However, let's not forget that this is no joyride. One can strut her stuff when she is on a personal trip, but this is business. She is on a state visit to India where she is representing a country which is still recovering from the floods that hit last year – one of worst natural disaster in the recorded history.

So much for her credentials – and the aura of being a foreign graduate – as she fails and fall flat on her face – with her Jimmy Choos – when it came to representing her people. I thought that foreign graduates knew how to make better impressions for their client but this is a failure. Her bad choice of accessorizing herself shows that Pakistani leadership live in a world entirely different from the one their public lives in. The aftermath of her actions are best put in a headline by The Guardian:

Pakistan foreign minister bags attention on India trip

That pretty much sums it all up. By the way Ms. Khar, are those Jimmy Choos good at tossing around?

Bilawal may (or may not)... stay tuned!

Time to toss a shoe or two as it seems that Pakistan People's Party (PPP) likes it that way. While it had been a ongoing nightmare to live in Karachi, the world's most populous city, because the law and order torpedoed as soon as "frenemies" aka MQM left the Government. Zardari gloated something about his boy wonder Bilawal:

"Bilawal is your future MNA and despite being away he is keenly monitoring developments in Lyari."

As reported by Dawn, the co-chairman of PPP Asif Ali Zardari, who happens to be the President, has asked National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) to tailor-make an "interactive program" as his name-changing son would like to "track events and developments of the area." Why cause such distress "Mr. President" when this can be done with the thugs who carry out "your orders" so effectively? How about buying you ask your little champ to read some Urdu newspapers? Bilawal cannot even survive a day in Defence, let alone in Lyari. The place is filled with gangs which are busy in their turf wars.

However, like everything PPP, a denial has to come. In response to his father's promise, Bilawal tweeted (mind you from London):

"took my first breath in lyari. special place in my heart for lyari. want so much more 4 lyari. still not running in next election."

Just like last year, when daddy dearest was out frolicking and scotching in France and United Kingdom, and promised that his son will "launch" his political career, Bilawal stepped back from the plan on the last minute and rather started a fund-raising movement for the flood victims.

It kind of shows that Bilawal might never be interested in the pie that is Pakistani politics. Never after the death of his mother, he has shown a keen interest in the country's affair. Yes, there have been a speech here, a conference there but there has never been direct interaction with the people, like the one his mother and his grandfather were famous for. A son, whose father stays near the sea and slaughters black goats for his life's longetivity, would need a lion's heart if he does the election process properly. If his father thinks that Bilawal can be jetted inside Pakistan then he should think it again. Not visible yet but very soon, we might see real competition for Zardari Jr. Young Pakistanis are now waking up to the fact that they need to play a part in their country's politics.

But then again, Lyari might not be a bad choice. With nightclubs, pubs, drugs, and sluts (male or female) available in the area, Bilawal might not notice any difference.

Time to fix Kashmir

This Monday, the Senior Legal Coordinator of my company said:

"Jo roti aj kal apko saath rupay ki milti hai, woh sub Kashmir ki wajah se hai." (The bread that you get for seven rupees these days is all because of Kashmir.)

Two days later, triple "terrorists" bombings in Mumbai killed twenty and injured several. By tomorrow morning, India will be pointing fingers on Pakistan for the trouble without any proper investigation. The accusation of "India being manhandled" would be talk of their media. However, no solid efforts would be made to reduce tensions.

Like it or not, Kashmir has been a bone of contention between the both of countries for almost six and a half decades. The countries spend exuberantly on their military forces only to keep "peace" intact. The problem has pushed both countries into wars and war-like situation, in almost every decade. Whilst the money goes to "peacekeeping", the poor of both countries are denied of their basic education and healthcare rights. India while being bigger is managing a bit better but the same could not be said for Pakistan.

An amicable solution to Kashmir will surely help both the nations. It will free up the reserves that are being used by the military forces of both the nations. It will make things better for the peoples living in both the countries. It will pave the way for better economic and cultural ties, and competition would more to better things than war. A majority of terrorism related issues will also be solved, especially for Pakistan where hardliners see Kashmir as a shortcut to heaven. A solution to Kashmir can be bring much needed peace in the region.

Here I would also like assert a point that Kashmiris (I presume that they are in their third generation) are now fighting for separation rather than being annexed to Pakistan. Furthermore, over the last decade, a lot of Pakistan have accustomed the idea of a separate Kashmir than it being a part of their country. And, a separate Kashmir would be as much beneficial as it being a part of Pakistan. Kashmir is a land-locked territory. The industries that would develop in this region would require seaports to ship there goods. The closest port for Kashmiri industries would definitely be the one in Karachi. Furthermore, a peaceful Kashmir would have the chance to get bigger investments from the neighboring China and India. The access for India to the markets in Central Asia and Afghanistan would be easier too. These might be the few apparent positive outlooks of a separate sovereign republic in Kashmir.

However, the status quo from the Indian side is a big hindrance. India needs to come of the delusion that it could benefit from Kashmir by keeping it occupied. It needs to do a little soul-searching and should give it away for the benefit of its people and the people of this region. Together, the republics in Pakistan, India and Kashmir would be far better than it being hanging in the balance between the two military.

But then again, what the military forces would do without Kashmir. Sit idle? All in all, time to rethink, reassess and fix this situation before it gets out of hand.

We do not only need better leaders.

We need better teachers as well.

Recently, I was going through a preface for one of the upcoming books. In the preface, one of the co-authors acknowledges her teachers and writes:

They believed in their students.

I wish I could quote the whole thing here but as the book is unpublished, it would be unethical. But in its essence, this one simple line says a lot. Quite unusually, it tells you about the society as well. As the time passed, good teachers faded. The quality of teaching has gone down in the country. The once supposed quality of private education is going downhill faster than ever. More and more teachers are teaching subjects that they have not specialized. Furthermore, special education is under severe neglect.

As more and more teachers are not specialized trainers in their respective subjects, they turn to teachers' manual for help. I have personal experiences where teachers have demanded for the teachers' manual as they do not have a clue about the "right answers". Quite regularly, teachers dictate or "enforce" the answer from these manuals on the students. These answers are often considered as "benchmarks" by their student which are learned by them through rote-learning. This effectively kills the creativity of the students. When teachers do not believe in their own ability to tackle problems or plan lessons, they cannot extend the privilege of "being believed in" to the students. This totally destroys the learning curve.

The fun in learning lies in the "believing in" part where a teacher allows its student to make mistakes. This trial and error exercise effectively enhances the brain power of the student, making him or her to think and analyze. When an answer is forced upon the students, their minds stop to question information, and the cognitive process comes to a halt. A country filled with such students leads to doom. Indoctrination is thrn easy and mind strays very conveniently into the hands of evil. The beauty of human mind is to think, to ponder, to inquire but current-day teachers are not helping it to function that way.

In order to fix this issue, an urgent attention is required to be given on teachers' education. Neglecting the training of a teacher is one of the sin that we are committing out of our folly and ignorance. We need to quickly and very swiftly inculcate confidence in our teachers before it gets too late. This can be effectively done during the period of annual vacations. Schools need to take initiative as the responsibility of quality education lies on their shoulders. This pressing issue needs to resolved before DOOM is spelled out for us.

Cola is cheap and dangerous!

Well. This is what happens when you drink too much soft-drinks. The caffeine gets to your head, and the sugar gives you a rush, making you end up writing or doing things that you never should. On June 16, 2011, Sharmila Farooqi's opinion article, A Look at the Budget 2011-12, was printed in Express Tribune -- not a surprise there as only Express Tribune would print such frivolous nonsense.

In her attempt to impress everyone, Ms. Farooqi writes:

When the budget for 2010-2011 was prepared, the price of oil was expected to be in the range of $70-75 per barrel but rose to $125 per barrel during the year.

Upon her statement, a person named "dextor" rightly said:

If you cannot forsee the prices of oil then you does not deserve to rule or make budget. If you cannot foresee the future requirements then how could you rule.

And, I think that person has a point. While you are governing, you cannot excuses. Governments are required to be prepared for any fall-outs. The sudden oil-price hike is not something new, and is sometime forecast-able if the Government would have kept an able financial forecasting team as well as consulted people that work on these subjects.

She does not stop there and tries to mention one supposed achievement which is "Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP)". She writes:

... The Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) has received widespread acceptance from development partners. It uses technology so that the possibilities of corruption are limited. This year, the government spent Rs35 billion for providing a monthly stipend of Rs1,000 to low-income households and next year this amount will increase to at least Rs50 billion. If additional resources are available, this amount may be increased to Rs65 billion.

ohreally? I wish Ms. Farooqi and her party should take heed from this Chinese proverb:

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.

We indeed have a very smart friends but alas, it seems that Pakistan Peoples Party is too hard-headed to take notice that. BISP is only feeding the fire of the poverty. As a student of business management, I know that a thing or two about the economy. All modern economists agree that cash handouts would never feed the country. They drain the economy unnecessarily while making people more depended on its government. The money on BISP and Sasti Roti Program (Inexpensive Bread Program) will never yield results. These program are a burden on an already sick economy. This money has better uses in the sectors of education and infrastructural development. It should be noted that HEC, the educational board that runs and regulates universities in the country, has been given Rs.10 billion less than the previous year.

In the end, Ms. Farooqi ends her article with the following lines:

It does not care about the propaganda campaign started by the PML-N, which was evident during the budget session. Rather, it believes in constructive criticism.

Clearly, Ms. Farooqi is a deluded women. She and her party has to come out of the perception that it is a "People's Government." Ever since, the PPP came into power it has not released any poverty number and neither it has released any tax numbers of the influential people that are a part of the National Assembly. Criticism of all sorts have been thrown at them and at the opposition, but it seems nobody is serious about the economy. The antics played by PML-N during the Federal budget were paid back by her party during the Punjab budget session where PML-N is in the power.

The current budget may look rosy on one side as it reduces tax and duties on certain items but it is also noteworthy that it does not talk about any solid austerity measures. It apparently looks like the government has planned the budget while keeping in mind the price hike of Ramadan. Strangely, luxury is cheaper than common commodity. In a country where bread is getting expensive, the government's priority was to make cola drinks cheaper. It cannot get more bubbly than this, perhaps.

With Neighbors Like These, Who Needs Enemies?

Pakistan and India has a hate-and-love relationship. It stays cool and then it gets cold. In seemingly the past six and a half decades, both neighbors have tried endlessly to make peace but it gets destroyed every now and then. But as of late, it is seen that India likes to jump on the wagon on every issue related to Pakistan. Be it any issue of any importance, Indian media has a lot to reveal. Recently, Mohammed Hanif, the author of the novel A Case of Exploding Mangoes, gave an interview to the Economic Times where he gave a piece of advice that India needs to take heed of. Here is an extract from the interview:

ET: What should Pakistan's neighbours do to help? 

MH: Learn to shut up at critical moments. Stop gloating ...

Indeed. The undue tongue-lashing that has been going from India, for decades, needs to be curtailed. The kind of talk that Indian government and its media does, only fuels the fire between the two countries.

Piece of Cake?

On Monday, May 2, 2011 at 0745am, President Obama annnounces the death of Osama bin Laden in his late-night speech to his nation. He said:

"Today, at my direction, the United States launched a targeted operation against that compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. A small team of Americans carried out the operation with extraordinary courage and capability. No Americans were harmed. They took care to avoid civilian casualties. After a firefight, they killed Osama bin Laden and took custody of his body."

On Tuesday, May 3 2011, DAWN which is the largest English newspaper in Pakistan, publishes a piece from Reuters about the operation that took place in Abbottabad on May 2nd 2011. The following is an extract from that report:

"'They (Pakistani officials) are expressing as great a surprise as we had when we first learned about this compound, so there is no indication at this point that the people we have talked to were aware of this, but we need to dig deeper into this,' White House counterterrorism chief John Brennan said in an interview with National Public Radio."

Rather than addressing his nation at this crucial moment, Asif Ali Zardari (not going to call him President from this day onwards) uses all of his language skills and vocabulary to write an op-ed piece for the Washington Post in which he said:

"He was not anywhere we had anticipated he would be, but now he is gone. 

"Although the events of Sunday were not a joint operation, a decade of cooperation and partnership between the United States and Pakistan led up to the elimination of Osama bin Laden as a continuing threat to the civilized world."

Furthermore, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani rushed to France for three-day official trip. During his trip, Gilani addressed a gathering of business leaders where he exclaimed:

“Certainly, we have intelligence failure of the rest of the world including the United States. There is intelligence failure of the whole world, not Pakistan alone.”

Spot on! Had I been in that gathering, I would have presented a pair of shoes to Mr. Gilani for a such statement. Maybe the cake got into his head because only a soft-headed person could have said something like this. It seems that Pakistani civil leadership has other things on the mind. The Prime Minister takes a joy ride to France and achieves nothing whereas "the President" does not find the words to talk with his people but finds the time to jot down an opinion column for Washington Post. What this situation leaves the public in confusion.

What a waste of TIME!

The TIME 100 list of Most Influential People in the World is out. This year, rather than honoring our Army Cheif Gen. Pervez Kiyani, TIME has honored the Intelligence Chief Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha. Now, that is what we call a class example of narrow-mindedness and self-serving attitude. The write-up for Pasha was written by Michael Hayden, a former CIA director. In his write-up, Hayden has portrayed Pasha as a cause of all troubles in the South Asia. The article of Hayden is also a nice example of bigotry - in his open lines, he ran Pasha down the mud and in the ending lines, anticipating him to play "nice". Having Lt. Gen. Pasha in that list is no matter of honor. It shows that the centers of influence in American cannot see anything other than their ongoing 'constipation' aka The War of Terror. Later this year, a decade would end for the war in Afghanistan but it seems that the war will never end. The war would have been won if Bush would have not meddled with Iraq. Waging two 'genocidal' wars not only destabilized the region but his act of cleansing out the evil-doers backfired. Furthermore, the war against terror has turned into the war feeding terror as the most causalities in this war have never been Americans, they have been Pakistani. Our public and government is considered 'a partner' but it never shows like that in the American media. The American media is been fairly unbiased and unfriendly in this whole blood game of war.

On the flip side, the question arises that are we producing influential leaders or not. My answer to this is "Yes" and "No". Pakistan has its share of its good influence. We have examples like Edhi who helps people not only in his country but also outside Pakistan. We have the example of Imran Khan who energized the much required relief efforts in Pakistan and prohibited to make much of an political issue out of it. We have the example of Shahid Afridi who united the country, locally and internationally, and brought the cricket team back into the semi-final against arch-nemesis India and even after losing against India, he handled defeat. Thanks to Mr. Afridi, there is more cricket on the streets and on the grounds more than ever. How about mentioning Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi along with Rohan Bopanna? Both of the guys showed a perfect example of co-existential harmony. Sadly, nobody will see these in these lights because us Pakistanis would like to talk about the good we have. Indeed, Pakistan is a troubled country but it still has the pocket of goodness. The reason of I said "No" because not a single write-up has been written by a Pakistani in the TIME 100. If music producer like B.O.B can write a appraising piece for Bruno Mars, why can't we? Surely we would have better example and TIME would not have to include Justin Bieber and Blake Lively in the list for the sake of 'influence'.

Express all you want but the News is that it never DAWNed upon you that the real name is TRIBUNE.

One year ago, Pakistani English newspaper scene became suddenly different when Express Tribune entered. The promise was good and it had weight. Coupled with the esteemed International Herald Tribune, the paper made a lot of sense. However, as the time passed, the paper just became empty content-wise. Celebrities were writing op-eds about why they should be burgers. George ka Pakistan gave all his critique but never gave any solutions. Very few of Express Tribune op-ed writers give very honest advice to solve problems. Other than that, it has opinions for the sake of having opinions.

The second week of April was the celebratory week for Express Tribune. A celebratory supplement was released and a separate section was given on the website for this very purpose. But, in all honesty, Express Tribune were not humble. Rather than reflecting on what they have achieved, they were getting a bit too full of themselves. While getting full of yourself is not a major sin but loosing track of your reality is tradegic. On their website, the section of Jobs next to Anniversary has not been updated for quite a while; as I have observed, there have been no entries since April 8th.

Drama kar kay GEO!

Just like the Fukushima nuclear plant, Pakistan is just so unstable these days. The economy is failing, the governance is bad and people die every day. Everything is such a mess and it is all government's fault because we were pious enough as we do not vote properly. And then when we thought, we had a chance in the game of cricket. We found out that they "sold" us. And to top it all, GEO Super was "closed" followed by AAG TV. Haye! Pakistan ka ab kia hoga!

Yes, two weeks ago, Pakistan suffered a mini-apocalypse of epic proportions. GEO Super was "closed" and all hell broke loose. It was as if the whole moral fiber of our society just dissolved. From humans, we have turned into animals or maybe aliens. GEO Super was the reason why we played sports. Did we? Bolo, jawab do. Give a license. Sign a petition. Kuch karo!

And if that seemed not enough, then the poor, very innocent AAG TV, the NAUJAWANO ka channel (channel for the YOUTH), was pulled off-air. Yes, it is an attack on youth empowerment. No one has the idea how much people will miss Baaji Online? Not to talk about how Indian Pakistani was with its music line-up. Haye! Bhuj gayee aag!

I want my Aleph Bay Tay

Recently, a blogger on Express Tribune wrote:

A BBC News report stated that USAID has made a grant of $20 million to Rafi Peer Theater group to create a local version of Sesame Street. The setting is a rural village and the protagonist a spirited little girl named Rani.

This report should be in the Onion or get a rotten tomato.

BBC News reported something like this:

The remake will star a puppet called Rani, the six-year-old daughter of a peasant farmer, with pigtails and a school uniform, according to Britain's Guardian newspaper.

In her blog post, the blogger complained that USD 20 million is a big price to pay for a show like Sesame Street. She retorted:

But why does one need $20 million to make a culturally specific Urdu version of a show?  These are expensive episodes and must be studded with diamonds. A cost breakdown would be intriguing to audit.

It seems that the blogger missed out on some minute (sort of crucial) detail, there was a link to Guardian's report in the BBC News report that she mentioned at the start of her blog post. If she would have clicked the link, she would have read the paragraph that I am quoting next:

The USD 20 million grant will produce the Pakistani Sesame Street for four years, with 78 episodes in Urdu and 56 in regional languages, a radio show, mobile TV vans to show the programme in remote areas and a travelling Muppet roadshow.

Now, lets do the math here. A USD 20 million grant for four years which means USD 5 million per year. The grant is not only for the TV show but it is active-literacy program. Furthermore, as an employee of a publishing company, I know that producing children content is the most expensive.

Simsim Hamara (Our Sesame) would not be just copy-paste idea. It is being developed from stratch, which means it will require a lot of new things. There would be new sets, new puppets and new people. There would be training costs involved as well as special writers would be commissioned. Developing children content is not very easy as it seems. In a world of television filled with sauce, blood and bomb, this localized Sesame Street might be the only outlet of entertainment for the children of Pakistan.

Sesame Street is not just a TV program but it has turned into education resource tool. Localized Sesame Street programs have worked all over the world. Simsimpur, the Bengali version of Sesame Street, was also commissioned by USAid in 2005. A Dhaka-based study in 2007 concluded that Simsimpur worked as children who watched the show had better socio-cultural skills than the ones who did not watch it. Galli Galli Sim Sim, the Indian version, was also financed by USAid along with the local partnership of ICICI Bank. It has been proven to help India with pre-schooling and reinforcing local traditions. Furthermore, Koche Simsim, the Afghani version which was developed in Egypt, is shown in school. It helps schools with the teaching of Dari.

I do not see where the doubt should lie when this system has helped all over the region. Furthermore, a rapid-developing country like China has also re-introduced a version of Sesame Street in order to propagate the Mandarin language. Indeed, schools with breakfast is good alternative but it does not work in a country where school buildings are used as stables or barnyard. Furthermore, food-based programming have been started numerous times but they never seemed to work due to corruption. Feeding children as a reward for going school might not be the answer for this country. Moreover, the ongoing war against terrorism has caused a lot of communities to shift. We saw the same thing when the floods came last year. Simsim Hamara would be able to address the educational needs of these children, more clearly.

For years, we have seen bombs and business coming in for our country from the US. However, the true benefits of it never reached the grass-root level. It is the first time that a very serious approach is taken for the progress of the society. Being critical is best; but not at the start of the project please.

The Gambhir Case of Shahid Afridi

Yes. Gambhir, very very Ghambir. Why? Because India is Gambhir (complex, not simple).

On April 2, 2008, hours before the Cricket World Cup Final, Indian batsman Gautam Gambhir vowed to win the cup for the Mumbai 2008 victims.

On April 5, 2008, Pakistan Captain Shahid Afridi lashed on Indian media and towards Gautam Gambhir's statement.

Minutes later, the Indian and Pakistani media went hay-wire to sell the new "controversial" story, and the honeymoon was over.

The Red We Want in Pakistan and India

It is Red. It is thick; and both sides of the people want to have it. No matter what the season is, this red liquid is popular.

Earlier today, Soumojit Basu, one of the guys that I know from India, stated on Facebook:

The best thing about the Indian summer is that its predictable for 3 months.

This status of his, started an sort of argument on the lines where Summer extends longer; India or Pakistan. Like most of the comparison topics, it was a silly argument. However to end it, I gave up by declining my intentions (not reals one) to move to Delhi.

An hour later, during my lunch time, I saw a push-cart with a banner that had glasses full of red liquid. The first thing that popped in my mind after looking at that was Rooh Afza.

Somewhere in early 1900s, Hakeem Hafiz Abdul Majeed formulated a potent potion which was as red as blood. He called it Rooh Afza where Rooh means 'Spirit' and Afza means 'Nourishment'. This syrup consists of herbal and fruit extracts. It is a popular syrup for making a variety of drinks and delicacies. Milk mixed in Rooh Afza is always appreciated on both sides of the border. Mix it with water and some lemon juice; and you get a drink which makes your heart jump for joy on a very rainy day.

As time has passed, Rooh Afza has kept its special place in our South Asian hearts. Fruit concentrates like Tang never replaced it entirely. Furthermore, a new array of fusion drinks have popped up. Rooh Afza is not just syrup for making summer drinks. The drink is being used to make Indian alcoholic drinks. Furthermore, it is used to flavor cupcake frosting as well.

The syrup was invented by a Muslim in a Hindu-majority country during the time when Muslims were not doing good. When borders were drawn in 1947 between India and Pakistan, Hakim Mohammed Said (Shaheed-e-Pakistan) crossed the borders to expand the business of Hamdard Laboratories. Meanwhile, his brother Hakim Abdul Hameed handled the Indian arm. Similar things happened when Bangladesh got its independence in 1972.

Rooh Afza is not only a product, but it is source of inspiration as well. This product shows that once you understand the heart, the mind gets nourished itself. People in all the three countries have accepted this product in their own lifestyles. Even with our major and minor differences, a common man of these three countries would love to have this red liquid. It symbolizes that an investment in the region for its people is beneficial. Hamdard is one of the largest and most recognized South Asian brand in the world.

Hence, next time if the leadership of both countries sit down to talk something, how about they do it over a glass of Rooh Afza drink. It is the shade of red that the public like.

The Arti-What?

On the April 4 2011, the Express Tribune published these lines which are a part of an op-ed:

A concise look at the history of Pakistan suggests that if Quaid-i-Azam, Muhammad Ali Jinnah was the maker of Pakistan, then Quaid-i-Awam, Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was its architect.

Yes. Wash your eyes, folks. The sentence is a masterpiece; it contains both Jinnah and Bhutto in the same sentence. This sentence arrives from the mind of Sharmila Farooqi, one of  the mouthpieces of Pakistan People's Party. Her usage of words made me run for my dictionary because my sense of vocabulary failed when I saw the word 'architect'. As I consulted the internet (you thought I would check it on a paperback) for the meaning of this word, I found out the The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language has an alternate meaning. The meaning was:

One that plans or devises.

Indeed, Mr. Bhutto was an architect. Everyone remembers what a terrible mess that he along with his PPP leadership created for Pakistan. His plan was to be in power at any cost, and he got in power by costing us Bangladesh and many precious lives.If I ever end writing the alphabets describing the Pakistan's People Party, I think B would the worst letter to deal with. Yes, I can use the word "Bhutto" but that does not sum up everything that this party is currently and has always been. The "B" that I would use would be Baloney.

مبارک ہو انڈیا!

 کرکٹ کا ورلڈ کپ مبارک ہو!

آج ذرا دو ٹوک بات ہوجائے. انڈیا جیت گیا اور ہم ہار گئے. یہ ایک سچ ہے اور اب اسکو تسلیم کرلینا چاہیے بنسبت اسکے کہ ہم اس بات کا تعین کریں کہ کس نے کسکو کتنا دیا اور آیا کہ یہ فائنل پہلے سے طے شدہ تھا یا نہی. مجھے پتہ ہے لوگ میرے جانی دشمن ہوجائیں گے جب اس بلوگ کو آگے پڑھیں گے.

دیکھئے، بات بہت چھوٹی سی ہے. دشمن ہم انڈیا کو مانتے ہیں مگر نقصان اپنا کرتے ہیں. انڈیا سے میچ ہماری ٹیم ہاری اور ہم نے اپنے ٹی وی توڑے. بجائے اسکے کہ ہم اپنی ٹیم کا دکھ سمجھتے، ہم نے نہ آؤ دیکھا نہ تاؤ شروع کر قیاس آرائی کہ حکومت نے پیسے لیے ہیں. مانا کہ حکومت اچھی نہی مگر کیا ٢٠٠٨ میں ووٹ ڈالنے گئے تھے جو اب اتنی تنفید کر رہے ہیں. بیچارے لڑکوں نے محنت کی ہے کہ ملک کا نام بہتر ہو مگر ہم تو خود اپنے دشمن ہیں. 

جی ہاں، انڈیا نے ہم سے دشمنی کر کے ہم کو فائدہ ہی دیا ہے. اگر انڈیا سے تعلقات اچھے ہوتے تو کیا ہماری فوج اتنی ترقی کرتی. بلکل نہی. سیاسی دشمنی تو انڈیا سے ہے ہماری مگر سماجی طور پی ہم خود اپنے دشمن ہیں. پاکستان دنیا کا گیارواں غریب ترین ملک ہے جہاں ٥٠ فیصد بچے ایک سطر تک نہیں پڑھ سکتے، جہاں ہر منٹ ایک بچہ انتقال کر جاتا ہے. پاکستان میں خود کوئی ذمداری نہیں لیتا. ذمہ داری سری حکومت کی ہے اور پڑھا لکھا طبقہ ووٹ ڈالنے جاۓ گا نہیں. اگر پوچھو کیوں تو جواب ملے گا سب چور ہیں. پوچھو کہ کسی ایماندار آدمی کو تلاش کرنے کی کوشش کی تو جواب ملے گا کہ نہیں. اور اگر پڑھا لکھا طبقہ یہ کرتا ہے تو جاہل طبقے چھوڑ دیں. وہ بیچارہ قسمت کا مارا، اسکو صحیح اور غلط کا کون بتائے. وہ تو وہ کرے گا جو سردار کہےگا.

انڈیا ہم سے اس معملے میں بہتر ہے. جب وہاں انتخابات کا وقت آتا ہے تو وہاں کی عوام ووٹ ڈالنے جاتی ہے اور وہاں کی حکومت کو پتہ ہے کہ وہ عوام کے نمایندے ہیں. ذرا ہیر پھیر کی اور اگلی حکومت میں انکی بری نہیں آئے گی. وہاں کا آدمی جانتا ہے کہ علم میں اسکی اور اسکے خاندان کی بہتری ہے. پندرہ سال پہلے تک انڈیا اور ہمارے مسائل ایک جیسے تھے مگر انڈین عوام نے ہمیشہ سمجھداری سے کام لیا اور موقع ملنے پر اپنے ووٹ کا صحیح استعمال کیا. آج جہاں انڈیا موجود ہے وہاں جیت اسکا مقدار ہے. یہ سب محنت کا کمال ہے اور میں یہ جانتا ہوں کہ پاکستان سے زیادہ محنتی قوم شاید ہی ہو.

اگر ہم ایک سال میں طوفان اور سیلاب کا سامنا کرکے اپنی مدد کرسکتے ہیں تو پھر تھوڑی توجہ اور ذمہ داری سی کام لے کے ہم بھی اپنے ملک کی قسمت بدل سکتے ہیں. وقت آگیا ہے کہ تنفید چھوڑی جائے اور کچھ کیا جاۓ. دو سال کے اندر نئے انتخابات ہونگے. ابھی سے چند ایک ایماندار لوگ تلاش کریں اور انکو آنے والے انتخاب میں ووٹ کریں. 

Let's cook up a conspiracy!

Very recently, a Pakistani doctor claims that our society has gone nuts. He claims that we see conspiracies everywhere. At start, I thought he was a crack-pot too but then it seems that he might be right.

Yousuf Raza Gilani ne 7 arab rupey liye hain Pakistan ki haar k liye jis mein Misbah, Umer Gul, Kamran Akmal and Younus Khan shamil hain! 

Yousuf Gilani adhay adhay ghantay tak Afridi ko convince karnay ki koshish ki match kay dawraan kay woh match harjayein par woh nahi mana baaki sab maangaye jinhon nay perform nahi kiya

Yousuf Raza Gilani ki baat na manney se jab Afridi ne inkaar kiya tu us ki family ko maarne ki dhamki di gae, is k bawajood bhi us ne kohshish ki magr nakaam ho gaya! Or phir wo apni nation se sorry karne k baad dressing room mein ja k ro parey! We are proud of you, Afridi! 

[Translation: Yousuf Raza Gilani has received 70 million rupees in return for the loss of Pakistan (author rolls eyes). Misbah, Umar Gul, Kamran Akmal and Younus Khan are all involved (author's reaction: omg! yawn!). Yousuf Raza Gilani talked with Shahid Afridi for half an hour but he plainly refused. Ones who took the offer are the players that did not perform. When Shahid Afridi refused this offer from Yousuf Raza Gilani, Afridi's family was threatened (in India, orly!). He tried his level best but he failed (RESPECT!)! And then he apologized to nation (NOTHING but RESPECT!) and when to his room and cried (He must have been scared of the thrashing he would get from the 'Jihadi' lot).]

First, whoever wrote this must have spelt in his or her school days. Furthermore, people who forwarded are jerks too. Why? Nobody saw that Pakistan was written with a small p. Writing your country's name with a small alphabet is blasphemous. It shows disrespect. 

Second, I know India is filthy rich but they are not going to spend 35 billion Indian Rupees for a stupid cricket match. Especially on a match that they could win easily. Thank God, we did not have Shoaib Mirza Malik as the captain. People would have said that the captain threw the game to make his Indian susral happy, or Sania promised to get pregnant if Pakistan loses. We might be 'oh so proud' with Afridi but lets not forget, he made mistakes too just the way Misbah, Kamran, Younus and Umar did. Afridi did not use the Power Play efficiently. He sent Umar Gul once and again, even though it was not working. Furthermore, if Afridi was offered to rig the match then he would have suspected unusual behaviors. Why didn't Afridi use the replacement wicket-keeper? Why did only Kamran's name appears in the message? Why not his brother Umar's name, who gave 30 important runs? Why did Misbah-ul-Haq stuck till the end, if he was included? Honestly, everyone should realize that they need to quit pointing fingers. Our team was not the one for this World Cup. This team was very young and quite inexperienced. Some of these guys were playing their first ODI against arch-rival India. 

Third, Afridi had the reasons to cry if he ever did. Afridi has turned out to be a great leader. He took responsibility not only for his actions, but for the entire team. He accepted failure when it was due. No excuses or anything; he just apologized. He showed great posture in front of the cameras, even after losing. He has been going under a lot of pressure and then he knew that there would be people back home talking utter non-sense about him and then team. Certainly, the man would break in his privacy.

Fourth, all the haters: FUCKING GROW UP. There is no gossip in here. Did you see any Australian television station throwing mud on their players? England has the world-renowned tabloid, News of the World; the gossip of the English side failing miserably in the World Cup would have been a great story. But did we see anything from there? No! Great nations support their teams even if they have failed. I wish I would have skipped these lines but the role that Mubashir Luqman (Dunya TV) and Rana Mubashir (News ONE) have been very irresponsible. Instead of having a sound discussion about the team's performance, their stories were to find the controversy and sell it. Furthermore, the "OMG! My Life is in Danger" Wicket-keeper Zulqurnain Haider should come clean now. That dude's intention are now looking fairly shady. If he has some evidence then he should put it on the table, rather than yapping away.

Thankfully, there have been a vast majority of people who understood why Pakistan did not win. A lot of people that I know understand that this Pakistani team was destined for good things but not great things. There was a lack of exposure and experience. However, one thing strikes out in this silly gossip-infested SMS. Our leadership has no credibility left. Whoever it gets associate with, the other party is known as corrupt too. Rather than scandalizing our cricket team, shouldn't we look at the unity and the hope it got us. No, why should we... those things are for 'versus India only'.

Cricket FTW!

First thing first, India, congratulations.
Next, Pakistan, awesome that you made this far.

Color me traitor but it does not matter if India won or we lost. In February, we all were joking about our team. We all were in doubt that they would ever come into the quarter-finals. We are all so skeptical about it. It guess it served us right for being mean. We only support them when they are winning. Furthermore, in true sense, we lost the match but we won a lot of other things. Out of one of those things that we won was hope. Yes, we hoped for the best. We looked towards a better day, and it did not stop there. We hoped and then we got united. In reality, we have never been this united unless there was tragedy. We should thank Allah for this chance that he showed that Pakistan is still a united force.

In days to come, we will hear that the match was fixed. The bookies were sleeping with our cricketers everyday and honestly, we should ignore this crap. Our team, in all fairness, was not as good as it should have been. The team was made of guys who were playing the World Cup for the first time. Furthermore, there had been seldom times when we had cricket with India in the previous three years. Most of the time when we met, it was on a neutral ground and in a 20-20 match. Furthermore, our batting line sucked. We have yet to establish a potent partnership. I am going to skip fielding. Pakistan never fields well. However, we showed that we are not talent-less. A little controversy does not result in a failure.

However, we should not be disheartened by this defeat. This match showed that we are one. Furthermore, it has given a new hope to peace in our troubled region. It was fairly nice to see that the (corrupt) leaders of both the countries were sitting there and watching the game. There were a mood of utter jubilee on both side of the borders. Even though we were competing, both the countries were happy for their own self. It showed that a healthy competition is always helpful. It puts attention towards healthier purposes. Indeed both countries have political issue to deal with but why halt the healthy stuff.

As a Pakistani, I am very proud of my nationality. Especially today, I think a big number of people have shown some sanity. There have been few who are spelling match-fixing out to cope up with their disappointment but there are others (I guess a growing majority), who thought that India won by defeating Pakistan in a nice, clean game. We still were trigger-happy when the match ended, and there were some fireworks too. The game that started as a "battle" turned out to be a display of progressive, mature Pakistani society which does not hold any grudges for its neighbor. It wants to be a well-wisher of its neighbors.

However, I am truly disappointed in India though; not the people but the leadership. When South Africans hosted FIFA 2010, they hosted it as an African event. The Cricket World Cup was hosted by three countries; India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. India, being the most developed in the region, should have stepped up and could have played a role of an elder brother. Instead, they overshadowed the whole event. If India has too progress ahead, it needs to re-think its position in the region. For example, rather than having a cheesy Bollywood track, it would have been great if India would have invited the other hosting countries in the process of making a good World-Cup song.

Last but not least, we should all remember this day and try to live like it more. Pakistan Zindabad!

Our Earth...

Past Saturday, it was Earth Hour during 0830 to 0930 in the night. Pockets of sanity in Pakistan understood the importance of this event and did not argue. They turned off the lights at the stated times. They did not turn the generators and they waited for the hour to end.

However, Pakistan will never be complete if one does not make a rant; and rant one shall

"WTF? This is PAKISTAN!!! You burger... we have [beep] loud shedding... we spend less energy than countries with a [quarter] of our population... We are 100 years away from celebrating "Earth [Hour]".
This is like a [bleep, again] cancer patient taking a break from his chemotherapy session to take part in a marathon to celebrate World [Health] Day!
Get Real and [please] spread this [message]."

Khali-afat?

Well it is that time in Pakistan when we get ourselves accustomed to newer "jargons". This is year - the word on every mouth is either Revolution or Khilafat. We learned the word 'Democracy' in 2008 but thanks to a famous interpretation by "today Zardari, tomorrow Bhutto-(sort of) Zardari", it equals to Revenge.

While there has been talk about the sexy word "Revolution" and its serious implication, there is an alternative popping up too. It is called 'Khilafat' or Caliphate. Khilafat is being termed as "the potent solution to all our problems". The people behind the call of Khilafat have been talking about Muslim unity. It seems that they have not been following the world's politics and have been living under a rock. Even though Muslims are world's second largest religious community, the Arab countries have never tried to take non-Arabic countries on board for a unity movement.

The people behind the movement retort that Democracy is moving us away from Islam. For their information, Khilafat which they are proposing is in line with Democracy. At the start of the Khilafat, the Khalifa was chosen with consensus from the elders of the tribes. These elders of the tribes were called the Shura. Exact things happen with Democracy. The Prime Minister gets elected by the Parliament. If the processes are similar, then why disagree? Democracy is a very reformed version of Khilafat.

Furthermore, Khilafat did not succeed in the long run as it turned into dynastic legacies. We all know the history pretty clearly. For power, there were wars among brothers and Muslims. Unity was thrown out of the window, and a divide emerged between the Muslims. Furthermore, if we are going to use Khilafat, whose side of Islam are we going to follow? The religion has too many interpretations and the followers of some of them are very intolerant among others. Be it Shia or Sunni, there are pockets of intolerance on both sides. Furthermore, a Khilafa is supposed to be someone of good repute. If you read your constitution clearly, the same conditions apply.

The fault with Khilafat was that the leadership extended into perpetuity and that has been the main cause where it fell and got disintegrated so badly. Earlier Khalifas were more tolerant and understanding than the ones that came under Rashiduns, Ummayyad, Abbasids, Fatimids, and Ottomans. The later Khalifas were known to be hard on his critics. It created a trend of "elite families".

Currently, if you see around the world, the most successful Muslim nations in the World are Democratic nations. Indonesia, the world's most populated Muslim country, is a democracy. The country saw a economic growth of 6% in 2010. Malaysia too, is a democracy. It has become an epicenter for research for Islamic banking and finance practices. Mahatir Mohammad, a renowned Muslim leader, belongs to this country. Surprisingly, he ruled the country for more than 3 decades but instead, he gave economic prosperity. His vision of making Malaysia one of the first developed Muslim nation will soon come true.

Calling for Khilafat is like calling for trouble. The whole affair might incline to one side of intrepretation which might not be not acceptable to a lot of people, and if there is sudden urge to have Khilafat, it would be best that these movements make a political party and contest elections. If they get the Parliament's majority, they could hold a Referendum in order to ask the public if they really want "Khilafat" or not. Rather than ruining the game for everyone, they should understand that Khilafat is not a feasible solution at this point. It might create a distorted Islamic nation, resulting in bad exposure to the religion. What we have currently is quite close and reformed interpretation of Khilafat. We should keep it this way. However, showing distrust towards your leadership in a respectful is not wrong.

Furthermore, does anyone know during Khilafat you might not be able some liberties like a very favorite past-time in Pakistan. I'll say, get some sense: reform your energies into a better idea. 

So it starts...

For almost a month and a half, there has been talk about the Facebook-clicking youth of Pakistan. The effect of the Revolution is somehow catching on. The movement that started in Tunisia has been spreading far and wide. It crossed the borders to Egypt and then spilled over the Middle East. However, not every call for revolution is justified but it should be given heed.

People are tired of their two-faced leadership. They want to enjoy more liberties and they want to be heard. They want their leaders to act like leader and not followers to their personal agendas. Countries in North Africa and Middle East, indeed, require liberties. However critics argue that Pakistan does not really need a revolution. The basis of the argument is that we are a democratic nation.

Indeed, Pakistan has liberties that certain Middle Eastern do not have but it does not mean that we should not ask for change. Three years ago, Pakistani people chose the present government to lead into better times. However, it turns out to be a revenge. In these three years, the standard of living of average Pakistani has gone down. There are more jobless young graduates out there than there were in 2007. The financial meltdown in 2008 did play its part in ruining things but our leaders should accept the fact they also have been not very wise with the economy. Furthermore, the law and order situation has gone to the dogs. Pakistanis do not only face terror attacks but they also face drone attacks -- the same attacks that our Prime Minister endorsed, claimed by WikiLeaks. It is the same leadership who was unable to give the respect to the Governor of Punjab after his death (please note, he is not my hero and neither is his killer). The same leadership that was also unable to protect its Minority Minister, even though he openly claimed that he was under threat. The same leadership could not pursue the case of public vandalism against two Sialkoti boys. The same leadership who failed to prosecute a foreigner with dubious intents. All of these situation leads to a point of frustration.

The reason why Pakistan might be very similar is to Egypt and Tunisia is that the leadership is corrupt. The whole lot which is in power is corrupt. Their credibility have been questioned far too many times, and they all have been hiding under some sort of immunity. Furthermore, it seems that a lot of them do not have the qualification that they claimed when they submitted their papers for elections. Some of them were not here when we needed them, and some of them looted Hajj pilgrims. Term it anyway you want but it all happened under the current leadership.

In the second week of February, I was invited to a event called 'Inqilaab-e-Pakistan'. They proposed a protest on the lines of the one which was done on Tahrir Square. Over the last month, they carefully picked places where they would demonstrate. They prepared a line of action and a set of demand.

Come March 23, while Pakistani cricket team was sweating in Bangladesh for World Cup glory; 200 (more or less) people gathered in the city of Karachi. Similar amounts gathered in Lahore and Islamabad. Even though, their Facebook group have nearly 60000 people; a very small fraction showed up. This shows that at one hand, it is not as easy as it looks. However, rather than telling them that they failed, we should tell them that it was a brave try. I agree that Inqilaab-e-Pakistan is not the wisest of ideas our generation could come up with but it is a start. It is a start that shows that Pakistan is now changing. It has more intellect. It has more courage.

I am sure that few of these 200 guys would have ever met each other in life but these guys have shown that it can start here as well. The call for new elections given by these guys is not something out of ordinary. Governments around the world tremble when the youth comes out on the street for a cause. If these 200 were out on a cause, it seems that there are unsolved problems. There are grievances that should be addressed. Their protest was for Pakistan. They did not represent any political party. They are concerned not about their future but also about the future of Pakistan, a country which feels more divided then ever. Their act not only showed that it can start anywhere but it also represents the unity this country has when it has a cause.

I am not in the fullest of support for these guys but I am not going to stand in their path either. I will try to facilitate them and I would advise our elders to guide us. It is time that we should think about our country. Revolution is a sexy word but it has scary implications. If we all build up concusses upon our issues, it would be good. A lot of blood would be saved but if the situation remains at status quo, I can only pray for all of us.

Shall we laugh on this?

Well, this particular video is going VIRAL on Facebook, these days. It comes from Islamabad. While a lot of us will sit and joke about this one, we should all ask ourselves some questions. Why a guy like him is on the streets? Why are we here joking?

Yes Pakistan, it is easy to joke. It is easy to make fun. It is easy to laugh off things. It is easy to blame it on "conspiracies" but then again why this guy was on the streets and why we were not there.

I saw this video from a friend. The remark from him was "HAHAHA! Agaya Inqilab! (Here Comes Inqilab!)". I am sure that my friend would have been staying inside his cool office on that Friday afternoon, continuing with his hobby of making OneNote books of 'Why Shias are not Muslims?'.

I believe it would not be wrong if I say that I am equally guilty of not coming out as well. Past Friday, I was not working. I should have been out as well, protesting.

Guess what guys?

سالا برگر جیت گیا! ممی ڈیڈی ہوتے ہوے بھی مردانگی دکھا گیا!

I am not going to translate that one line. It is not for the world to read but it is for Pakistanis to read, especially those who live in the urban centers.

This video is a mirror for a lot of us. For people like you and me, this guy shows that the courage Pakistan has. He showed that for the right cause, with the right voice, he can make a point. With all the "oddities" in his life, he is responsible for his actions. Even though, he complains about the weather and the "harsh" conditions, he is there.

There is a message for a people who will every day write how Pakistan is a mess. This guy shows it is not. Pakistan is different now; it has a different young mindset. A part of the last generation who lived in urban area has pushed the future to study. This new generation is young but it is waking up and it has logic which is louder than rants.

There is a message for the people sitting in the Parliaments. An elite kid is out on the street; something is going wrong. Quick, fix the situation or this elite kid would not support the Bilawals, Hassans and Mounises. Then again, it is kinda too late. I hope you will buy him an iPad 2 but I think he is not going to accept it.

However, there is a point which impressed me when he asks the crowd if he is lying. The crowd agrees that he is not and he is not lying, indeed. Had the Raymond Davis being caught by the Punjab Police, he would have been released in a matter of minutes. Raymond Davis was caught by the People of Pakistan and he should have not been let free that easily. The 'bloody money' smokescreen is bullshit. We do not care if the family wanted to prosecute or forgive the killer but we would like to know why Raymond Davis was carrying a 9mm Glock in Pakistan. Even if he had the gun by any chance, where did he get the ammo from. It was the responsibility of the state to do that. Furthermore, if the families have forgiven him, why the sudden urge to disappear?

I guess the Davis matter will be forgotten as time passes by. However, it would be best that we take a note of inspiration from this guy and do something.

Brain... and then... Brain Buster...

Well... 25 years ago... I was born! YAY! But 11 months before my birth, 'Brain' was born.

Of course, I am not talking about my brain but what I am talking about is something REVOLUTIONARY. Two brothers in a small town of Lahore created the world's first PC virus. They called it 'Brain'. It infected 360 kb (kilobyte) 5.25 inch floppy disks and is considered to be the world's first full-stealth virus. The virus used to copy itself in the memory and then transferred itself to other floppy disks meanwhile, it did not effect the hard disk. It changed the disk's volume label to (c)BRAIN as well.

Intentionally, Brain had no intentions of harming computers. It only slowed down the disk access or cause timeouts due to which floppy disks failed to work in some of the cases. As the virus marked its 25th year of inception, F-Secure, an computer security solutions company, went out to track the original creators and made a documentary out of it.

If you think that trailer is dramatic, then I agree too. I am not sure what was F-Secure's point behind the orchestral chanting music with half dialogs but it surely makes the virus look bad.

Indeed, with all the bad things going around in Pakistan, having the title of being home to the world's PC first virus not adds much to our glory. However, it seems that there are several points which we do not cater to look at when we talk about this. Had this been created in the West, the whole outlook would have been different.

N00bilink

Aray! Mobilink is burning... its hot... bewares bixches!

If you were in Islamabad (or in Northern Pakistan), chances are that Mobilink has gone all the famous "MaybeLink" on you. Apparently, there was a fire at the Mobilink databank at I-10 in Islamabad which kinda killed the network for all of the Northern Part of the country. Some blogs are telling that the network throughout the country is affected and they are reporting it as a second incident in this month.

During the past decade of of service, there has been a number of times when "Pakistan's favorite cellular company" turned unfavorite in seconds. Somewhere in 2002, I even remember them that under a Court ruling, they had to compensate their subscribers for incompetent service. Overcrowding and overcharging has been a practice of this company in the past as well. Furthermore, it is the same company which promises a "treasure chest" in their ongoing SMS-based promotion (for the 5th time).

Koi pregnant ho ya naho... Dhol bajay ga! (Let there be pregnancies... There would be drumming all along...)

First thing first, Meesha... Sexy lady! Congrats on starting a family. We hope that the creative genes continue in your off-springs.

Second. EXPRESS TRIBUNE! Get some fucking talent on your panel who can do fact-finding (and maybe some proofreading - there is a em-dash and hyphen together in one of their sentences). Gwen Stefani never left No Doubt. They were on a hiatus and are now planning to have a new album, later this year.

Third. Overload just off-loaded their chance to be something more than a "one-hit wonder". We all know why Meesha was fired. She got some mainstream attention when she did Coke Studio. I always had my doubts on Meesha but that girl can sing. Farhad Hamayun, the God-father of Overload earlier this week, announced that he is firing Ms. Meesha and her hubby and daddy-to-be Mahmood Rahman. Farhad and Mahmood are cousins and their family dawats will be a such a sweet affair from now. Oh the dramz!

Such...

Bilkul Such! Mobilink will never learn or maybe its employees would never learn. There has been a story out about the new Jazz Jazba logo being "not a very original idea". The logo is inspired by the logo of a company called Zagora. Check www.zagora.com.br for a look and it has been in use since 2005. However, in 2008, the original creator of the logo released a tutorial. This tutorial has been online since January 2008.

Come 2010, Mobilink Pakistan comes out with a new Youth brand called  Jazz 'Jazba'. The whole brand identity was launched and people started whispering that it looks too close to Warid's Glow idea. Earlier today when Propakistani.pk reported about the Motorola FLIPOUT coming under Jazz Jazba, a commenter commented the link of the tutorial which brings into the notice that the logo is "copied".

Veena ki Jiwani!

Chalo, we all thought we would have seen the last of her at the Bigg Boss 4 finale. Alas! The whole commotion has not stopped. She is still making headlines and like the nation we are, it is necessary for us to over-react. Veena Malik has been called everything in almost all the languages which we speak here.

Someone once told me:

Good girls go to heaven, bad girls go everywhere.

The "what?"

Aray dekho koun bola! It is Bilawal "Whats my name?" Zardari, and somehow, it feels like 2008 all over again; a recent murder followed by mourning and memorials while there is too much finger-pointing going on rather than proper investigation, and it would not stop here. There has to be a punch-line to all of this, and it came from the party (what party? new years!) chairman's mouth: "The Real Blasphemers" (after the immense success of "Democracy is the best Revenge"). Wow! A big one from the little Z (or should I say B-Z or boozy).

Sitting in a warm, cosy room in London, the chairman of the Pakistan People's Party Bilawal "Say My Name" Zardari used all of vocabulary and British accent to make a point. The speech drove every liberal wild, and PPP-followers went nuts. Oh the bravery! Oh the daringness! Oh the bullshit!

Had the people of Pakistan could see with their eyes, Mr. Taseer was abandoned by his own leadership. The president of the country and the co-chairman of his party, Asif Ali Zardari stayed in Karachi and sent his sister, Faryal Talpur instead. The reason of being which is that he was advised by his astrologer that Mr. Zardari's life is in great danger and it would be better if he stayed near the seashore. Furthermore, a statement given by his son and the chairman of the party was followed by a statement by the "nanny" of Pakistan Yousuf Raza Gilani in which that he announced that the government is not making any changes in the law. Which makes you wonder if PPP would ever be serious about anything? One minute they say "this", the second minute they say "that". This goes on for months and a quick stance is taken if their government is in danger of being toppled.

Coming back to the Bilawal "That's my name" Zardari's speech, it has no use. No matter what he does, he cannot seem to have that "name" charisma for which he altered all of his legal documents. Furthermore, he started his speech without a "Salam" or "Bismillah" and then why he was giving an awkward pause before mentioning the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him). Further on, he says, "My mother embraced martyrdom while defending our faith." What? Last I knew, in his address to a procession on August 4, 2009, he said "Salam from Shaheed Muhtarama Benazir Bhutto! From her blood which gave us freedom, from her blood which gave us democracy." Hmm. Interesting! He grew up to be just right. A very befitting leader, very close to the manifest of his party (no, David Guetta is not the DJ).

At the start, I thought that this whole father and son clan would work but sadly, it has been a disappointment. If Bilawal wishes to be an active part of this dirt we call "Pakistani politics", he has to learn the local language, he has to dwell among commoners and he has to rally up support on the streets. He may have received this party (with loads of booze) on a silver plater but not everything would be that easy especially after the circus, his father and his father's faithful friends are running in the name of democracy. Or wait, was it supposed to be a revenge?? My advice: stay in London, Bilawal.

Ulti-what?

"Look! Revolution!!"

Jan 4, 2011: “The prime minister should tell us within the next 72 hours if he can do it. If he does not tell us or says he cannot do it, then we will part ways with them in Punjab also,” Nawaz Sharif said.

Jan 4, 2011: Salmaan Taseer assassinated in Islamabad, Sharif adds 72 hours more in first deadline.

Jan 10, 2011: “I have told Mian Sahib (Nawaz Sharif) that we are positive about his demands and he replied, ‘if you are positive then we will not part ways with your party in Punjab’,” Gilani told the media after spending a hectic day calling almost all national leaders.

Jan 11, 2011:

Oh that fellow is so funny! All this commotion for what? My advice to Mr. Nawaz Sharif that he should stop consuming those "oh so cheap" naans. They are not only ruining the reserves for Punjab, which could have  been used for better purposes, but also they are messing with his brain. Or maybe, it is the hair transplant. Whatever the reason was? Mr. Sharif has been nothing but very illogical in his principles of politics. He still lives in 1999 and still quotes the prices of his era. He is obsessed with Musharraf while forgetting that he, himself, is not a pious "cow".