Another day, another video of a killing
I saw the video of Sarfaraz Shah being shot by a Rangers official at 11am this morning. The immediate feelings that went through my mind: Fear Anger Mostly confusion Over the course of the day, I have seen the gruesome video pop up again and again and again on sites like YouTube, Twitter and Facebook (much like the Sialkot lynching video), showing Shah pleading to the Rangers to take him to the hospital after being shot twice at point blank, with no one coming to his help. His final words begging for someone to take him to the hospital continue to echo in my ...
Read Full PostPakistan needs to celebrate Mothers Day
Today is Mothers Day – a day specifically marked in the calendar around the globe to honour the women of our society who throughout their lives labour so that their children may have better lives. At first, I didn’t believe in celebrating a day created by the Hallmark Card Company to make profits off emotionally charged children. But, after reading some of the most shocking stories related to mothers in this very newspaper, I have been forced to change my thought process. Mothers Day is important for the entire world – but more so for Pakistan. While we are going through, what can ...
Read Full PostSeven children were raped today, but nobody cares
According to a report in The Express Tribune, an NGO called Sahil claimed that 2,252 children were sexually abused in Pakistan in the year 2010. This shockingly large figure shows that children are falling prey to the hunger of sick and twisted people. However, 2,252 sexually abused children is not a large enough figure for anyone to take action to stop these acts from taking place. And why would it? Clearly the goverment has more important things to spend its resources on like putting the future of the youth in jeopardy by abolishing the HEC, fighting with doctors and ending up causing ...
Read Full PostI’m sorry, but Habib Jalib who?
It was Habib Jalib’s death anniversary a few days ago, and, as expected, when I inquired from my friends if they knew who this revolutionary poet was, they said no. Why would they know Jalib anyway? I didn’t know who he was until I stumbled upon a few videos of his poetry recital when I was in college three years ago. It was then that I was exposed to a man whom I went on to respect. In fact, I made sure I learnt some of his verses, as they seemed very applicable around the year 2007, as they were when ...
Read Full PostCricket fever goes digital!
It’s finally here! What we’ve all been waiting for — the ICC World Cup 2011. The tournament has brought with it a month of cricket madness. But what happens to the dedicated cricket fan when, God forbid, you miss an important match? The world wide web may have a solution. While you wait for match highlights on TV, you can also obtain a complete low down of what went on during a match through numerous cricket websites. You can view a ball-by-ball commentary of the matches, get updates on the latest news in the world of cricket, as well as ...
Read Full PostAfridi for the win!
I am glad that Pakistan won the series. No surprise there. I am Pakistani; of course I would be happy for my country’s victory. However, there is another reason why I am glad we won today. It is because now, Shahid Afridi will most probably be retained as captain. The lack of trust that the management has shown in the captain of the national team, for me, has been confusing and somewhat frustrating as well. When Pakistan won the Test series under Misbahul Haq, I, although not entirely of the view, felt inclined towards the possibility of Misbah captaining the ...
Read Full PostIslamabad Dateline: New paper on the block
The already saturated print market is to see the launch of yet another newspaper. The editor of upcoming paper, Islamabad Dateline tells me that the paper will begin distribution early next year (they have already begun dummy runs). But, I am curious to see if a city paper will be able to compete with existing national dailies. As a new entrant into the media industry, who is perhaps not old enough to resist innovation, I think Islamabad Dateline has two points in its favour: sixteen pages of localised content and the fact that it will be published six days a ...
Read Full PostIndo-Pak rivalry: Are we sheep?
As an administrator on a newspaper website, I come across a lot of comments readers make, and while I have a lot to say on this topic, at the moment I will stick to how news items relating to Pakistan and India have the ability to instantly charge up readers on both sides of the border. Three days ago, there was news about the Indian Cyber Army hacking around 40 Pakistan government websites. What followed was an array of defensive and, more importantly, vengeful comments from the Pakistani readers and “Jai Hind” and other forms of cheering, tainted with a ...
Read Full PostVeena’s web presence: 10/10
Like other Pakistani celebrities, Veena Malik too has a website. It is veenamalik.com.pk, and not veenamalik.net, which claims to be a fansite, and certainly not veenamalik.com, which has nothing to do with the film/TV star. I thought I could write a piece about Veena Malik’s page similar to the one I wrote when I discovered Meera’s website. But after going through it, I was actually quite impressed. First of all, the website is not new. I just found it recently. Also, the vast amount of options and the information available on the page simply amazed me, not because it is done in ...
Read Full PostMore security? Yeah, right
Security was ‘beefed up’ or ‘put on high alert’ after the bombing at Abdullah Shah Ghazi’s shrine in Karachi which resulted in killing at least 10 people and left more than 60 injured. Question: Why could security not have been beefed up earlier so as to avoid the incident all together? In a country like Pakistan, where incidents of terrorism occur on a frequent basis, there really shouldn’t be any question as to when it would be the right time to put security on high alert. Right after the incident, a minister on TV said that the security at the shrine was ...
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