Karachi violence: Gunshots on bus U-10
It is frightening to even think what one human can do to another. Getting late for work in the morning, on March 27, I was unaware that my city was already bleeding when I jumped onto a bus called the U-10. We were motioning slowly and gradually until we reached a spot near Tipu Sultan road. From nowhere, a man appeared in front of the bus with a gun in his hand and yelled out to all the passengers, to get off the bus. In a gust of panic, people started rushing out and the driver giving in to fake assumption motioned ...
Read Full PostLet the lawn wars begin
Come summer and all women hail the arrival of lawn — the three-piece fabric. Yes, do keep the hot weather conditions of the country in mind, but in the recent past what we have seen is the onslaught of one customer against the other, at the cash counters of great exhibits, which mostly take place in big cities of the country. This time round, things were a little different, before even winter ended in Karachi, the first lawn wars began with the adverts, with the first major exhibition by the end of January, of J Lawn by Junaid Jamshed. Come ...
Read Full PostIt’s not easy being Veena
While we may complain about there being too much coverage of Veena Malik in the news, the fact is that all of us want to read of her latest move, her latest misstep or scandal, so to speak. From her so-called topless pictures for FHM India, to her most recent episode when she is said to have ‘disappeared’, people on both sides of the border seem to want to know more and more about this controversial Pakistani actress. Some say that she is doing all these things deliberately, for PR purposes, while others say that she should be left alone to ...
Read Full PostI love my country. Do you?
This is a question that’s debated quite often these days, by both, people who have lived in this country and those who are of Pakistani origin but live overseas. Often, seen in the drawing rooms as the tea trolley moves around, the argument grows to be a heated one but the million dollar question remains, “Who loves their country Pakistan, the most — the residents or the expats?” Come to think of it, each group has a role to play inside Pakistan or outside of it. And we don’t need to love Pakistan and be patriotic because we listen to ...
Read Full PostThe cleverest trick
How often it is that we end up taking things for granted; from having a blessed existence to having a lovely home; being loved by our loved ones and the overwhelming feeling of belonging while reconnecting with family and friends on Eid. But rarely do we pause to think of the unfortunate souls who are devoid of our blessings – those who live on the streets of this megalopolis. A few days before Eid, I was walking down Gulfway Shopping Mall in Clifton, when I saw a boy, no more than 10 years of age, begging from a woman. Brushing ...
Read Full PostPNS Mehran attack: United we stand?
Does the maxim ‘United we stand, divided we fall’ hold true for us, only as a nation? It’s very evidently true for us, if we are part of the military forces. Just how can the intruders jump into the naval base and create havoc of such great magnitude. Unthinkable and unimaginable. Karachi, my city was under attack, and one feels extremely out of focus, when our armed forces, our jawans, who spend their entire life guarding our lives and our borders, evidently get attacked by people we know as Taliban. This is in reference to the recent attacks on them. But ...
Read Full PostKarachi: No longer a tourist spot?
It happened a few months ago. I was on a bus, on my way home. Just when the bus reached near Old Sabzi Mandi, no less than twenty people, all belonging to a single family, climbed in. There were many children too, causing a lot of commotion on the bus and making it look like a packed circus ring. I asked who they were and where they were from. One young lady, who said she was hosting all these people said, “They are my neighbours, have travelled all the way from Larkana to see Karachi.” Amazed, I asked, “Why Karachi?” “Oh, they hadn’t ...
Read Full PostMe and the vagabond
I befriended a vagabond. I must admit it was not a natural act, but well, I did. One late evening I was going home and saw a beggar, in dirty tatters of cloth, sitting all by himself and crying bitterly. But there was a reason to his tears. The children standing a little further down were hitting him with pebbles and stones that I could see would fall directly on his shaven head. The scene was really upsetting. It was then that I took the step. Inquired from him, about why was he crying and why the children were throwing ...
Read Full PostThe racist within us
It’s sad how we don’t want to be called racist and how callously we use the word for others, even though there lies an evident mindset that we as a nation harbour a feeling of division deep in our hearts — not only amongst ourselves on regional lines but even at a global level. It’s obviously offensive for Pakistanis to be called “brown” or to be more precise, “Pakis”. Nothing could be more offensive to us. But I could never measure it, in the true sense of the word, until the time I called an American friend of mine “Gora sahib”. ...
Read Full PostThe day I was almost mugged
On the way to work yesterday, I stopped by the bank to take some cash out owing to my empty pockets. Ready to head out to cover a story, I hopped on the F-11 which goes to Tariq Road. The bus was not exceedingly crowded, so I had nothing to fear. But what happened next, is something one can’t stop to imagine. Grouped in a number of six, were big-built women clad in colourful burqas. Next thing I knew I was shoved across one end by one of them, while my over-sized bag was pushed towards the other end. I screamed ...
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