Pakistan hates its LGBTs but loves its LGBT porn
Pakistan hates its LGBTs but loves its LGBT porn. That was the hypothesis of Alex Park’s piece in Mother Jones magazine, “Why Is Gay Porn So Popular in Pakistan?” The story came soon after the findings of a Pew Research Centre poll on global acceptance of homosexuality were released — findings which showed only two per cent of Pakistanis feel homosexuality should be accepted by society, placing the motherland second behind Nigeria. The openly-gay British actor and journalist Stephen Fry said last year, “At least 260 species of animal have been noted exhibiting homosexual behaviour but only one species of animal ever, ...
Read Full PostChaklala Cantonment Board: Making a fool of those who pay taxes
Taxes. Everyone hates them, everybody tries to get around them, but at the end of the day, they serve an important purpose. Taxes are the only thing that keep a government afloat. Well, international aid also applies in the cases of many third world nations, but that is a different story. Pakistan has ridiculously high rates of direct tax avoidance, mostly by businesses and the upper class, but even at the lowest levels, tax-free smuggled goods and handwritten ‘kachi’ receipts deprive the state of indirect taxes. The federal board of revenue regularly comes up with tax amnesty schemes to try ...
Read Full Post‘Who did your hair and makeup?’ The mockery that was our oath-taking coverage
Oath-taking ceremonies are usually boring affairs. A bunch of men and women stand up for the national anthem, take the oath and then go home. This is not exactly amazing material for the media – especially television — which is why most outlets focus on more colourful stories. Some of these stories make sense, such as quizzing the elected members on their knowledge of the workings of a parliamentary democracy, while others are just as outrageous as the returning officers’ questions, which the same media members were so very critical of. The segments featuring male members of the various houses focused ...
Read Full PostPlease sir, encroach some more
There was once an old man. He had an estranged relationship with his children, who rarely made the effort to care for him. Maybe it was because he wasn’t rich, and they had already got everything they wanted from him. One day, a robber broke into the poor old man’s house and stole his life’s savings. The old man approached the police for help, but they couldn’t track down the robber. Years later, as the man was dying at home, unable to pay for his medical expenses, the police finally caught the robber. The old man now had a choice — ...
Read Full PostAgro farm issues: Pakistan’s very own political FarmVille
Around the world, banks, leasing agencies and recovery firms are despised for the swiftness with which they come to collect on unpaid loans or breaches of contract. People complain about how their unique circumstances were not considered by the agencies when they appeal for leniency. Yet, at the end of the day, this is what keeps those companies ticking over. Plus, ‘borrowing’ something with no intention of giving it back is a form of fraud. Fortunately, so is providing loans to people who cannot pay them off. Unfortunately, while poor borrowers get punished, predatory lenders usually get off scot free. In December, ...
Read Full PostGI Joe 2: On censorship and movies based on children’s toys
Censorship. The worst enemy of intellectual freedom. The worst enemy of creativity. The worst enemy of an egalitarian, democratic society. And the best friend of the establishment. Censorship is why people in this country don’t know the history of this land. Censorship is why any reliable information construed as critical of Pakistan’s power players will vanish from the airwaves. Censorship is why Pakistan will not see the GI Joe sequel. The upcoming movie has been banned by the Pakistani censor board for its ‘fictional’ portrayal of Pakistan as a failed state and the also fictional theft of Pakistani nuclear weapons by Cobra. Max ...
Read Full PostRaja Pervez Ashraf and the musical chairmen
The last day in office for the Raja Pervez Ashraf government brought an ‘unexpected’ amount of excitement for anyone who follows the bureaucracy. Over two dozen posts — mostly senior level — changed hands, with a few of the changes raising a hue and cry and eventually attracting the attention of the Supreme Court. One of those was a transfer order for Tahir Shahbaz, who was only appointed CDA chairman late last year. Shahbaz was ostensibly brought in to clean up the agency after years of inept management and outright corruption had reduced the formerly cash-rich agency into a poverty-stricken ...
Read Full PostWith elections looming, suddenly education is a priority!
“Democracy is when the indigent, and not the men of property, are the rulers.” – Aristotle Elections are around the corner, and the national assembly seems to have taken it upon itself to save the worst for last. The past month has seen a number of odd bills rushed through without following proper procedure. Among the examples are the eight universities — mostly in Islamabad — that have been approved during the last month. While adding to the number of education institutions available would normally be seen as a good sign, the fact that the bills were rushed through without input from ...
Read Full PostKilled and forgotten: Another ‘police encounter’
“The criminal was killed in a police encounter” This, unfortunately, is becoming an all-too common phrase among the law enforcers, especially the Punjab Police, which have become notorious for extrajudicial killings in recent years. Over 300 suspects were killed in police encounters in Punjab last year, and this month alone there have been five in Rawalpindi, including two brothers. Ghulam Sajjad and Malik Jamshaid were shot dead during a raid by a team of elite force led by two security officers at the Katarian locality, to arrest ‘some terrorists’. An elite force commando was also killed in the shoot-out. The way the ...
Read Full PostNo sympathy for men
Picture this headline, “Married woman doused with acid by ex-boyfriend”. Now think, what would follow that little news item? TV cameras and reporters would surround the victim, while NGO personnel, politicians, and every self-proclaimed human rights activist in town would be running to the cameras to show how evil the incident was and wail over the state of our society and the state of human rights. When it came to light that the police never collected physical evidence and never properly recorded the co-accused’s statements, thus eliminating any chance of a conviction, everyone would have a field day screaming about the fact ...
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