Burma killings: Keep religion out of it!
If you’re active on Facebook or Twitter, you’re sure to have witnessed the ongoing outrage of a number of people over the persecution of the Rohingya Muslims in Burma at the hands of the Rakhine Buddhists. Agreed, our country is not exactly one to be proud of when it comes to basic human rights, but expressing our concern over wrongdoings, whenever they happen, isn’t hypocrisy, it is our right. However, those in the social sphere – who, in the availability of an internet connection – believe they have been blessed with knowledge of the world are always ready to share ...
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August 14: Celebrate for what?
A cricketing hero in his capacity as the brand ambassador of a mobile network company is telling the youth of this nation that, “Kion kay ajj agar hum dobara jhanday lehrana shuru kardain toh yaqeenan jhanday garna bhi shuru kerdain gay” (If we start waving our flags today then definitely we will once against start hoisting our flags every where.) An advertisement well-made indeed. Good drama that touches that ever so sensitive and emotional patriotic chord in our hearts, making us believe that just by being Pakistanis we are the greatest nation in the world. I was even tempted to buy another mobile ...
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Is the modern-day dars making us better humans?
News has it that the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) has restricted its residents from dance parties at home while allowing other events such as Quran Khwanis and dars gatherings. There is nothing wrong with this, in that the authorities of our country are free to do whatever they may please (read sarcasm) but one wonders what, if any, good will this bring to the community at large? Disclaimer: I am not going to preach or protest anything. I will merely state what I have observed and felt. Based on my personal experiences, dars events aren’t exactly the moral epitome of ...
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Say ‘no’ to foreign aid
Selective narratives or views often tend to portray a picture of things which is very detached from reality. That, I feel, was the case about a certain recent blog that I read on The Express Tribune regarding ‘foreign aid’. The respected author portrayed ‘foreign aid’ as the ultimate blessing for the destitute, corrupt and inept countries, somehow asserting that daring to refuse such aid is a crime against humanity. He went on to show that foreign aid is meant for goals such as eradication of poverty, progression of education, health facilities and other such noble goals – and for these reasons, it must ...
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The Supreme Court will now decide TV channel content too?
As if we have not had enough of moral policing from our mumanis and chachis, teachers and professors, co-workers and bosses, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry decided to take action on behalf of a letter written by former head honcho of Jamaat-e-Islami Qazi Hussain Ahmed and Justice (retd) Wajihuddin. This action is against obscenity aired on TV channels. Justice Chaudhry believes that TV channels are spreading vulgarity and called PEMRA officials to the court to admonish them. According to the news reports, the Chief Justice cited some offensive programmes and advertisements and said that one finds it difficult to watch them with family. However, I ...
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Pakistan and India do not care about Kashmiris
Ejaz Haider, in his recent opinion piece in The Express Tribune entitled ‘Some realist advice for Hafiz Saeed’ raised many a points about conflict, water, Kashmir and India–Pakistan. I am no fan of Hafiz Saeed, nor in any way do I condone his acts, but some realism was missed in Mr Ejaz’s article. “The Indus Waters Treaty has worked very well so far,” he states. Worked well for whom, dare I ask? It may be working well for India and Pakistan but can the same be said about Kashmiris, the people who had the first right of use on these waters, a right which stands deprived for ...
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Khurshid Khan’s dismissal was uncalled for
It seems that trouble just won’t stop following Khurshid Khan, till recently one of Pakistan’s top law officers. After having been issued a show-cause notice by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) for polishing shoes, sweeping floors and washing dishes outside several places of worship on a recent trip to India in a bid to promote interfaith harmony, he has now been relieved of his duties as the country’s deputy attorney general (DAG). The premier bar association’s show-cause notice had been prompted by the so-called affront that Khan’s actions had caused to Pakistan’s honour, notwithstanding the fact that what the ...
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Say ‘yes’ to foreign aid!
Colonialism has left an indelible mark on the psyche of the people of Indo-Pak subcontinent and maybe that is why anything that in some way seems anti-west scores well with the general public. Almost all the dwellers of Indo-Pak subcontinent exhibit such a mindset in one form or the other. This attitude runs in policy making as well, after all, indigenous policy making cannot avoid such influences. In 2003, Vajpayee’s government showed the door to all donor countries except for six. To every decision of such kind, there are two aspects; one is the ‘explanation’ and the other is the ‘reason’. ...
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Agha Waqar and his ‘science-less’ kit
In a telephonic interview with Agha Waqar Ahmed on July 29, 2012, for Sindh Express, most of my questions to him were about the physics, thermodynamics and chemistry behind his water kit. However, some questions regarding thermodynamics were not addressed as they should have been and I felt as though Waqar knew more about the ‘engineering’ behind his kit but not the ‘physics’ that went into it. Though it is not mandatory for an inventor to be a PhD, this age of fraudulent and quack inventions calls for every aspect of an invention to be examined thoroughly. Allow me to refresh ...
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Baba Jan’s detention may be lawful but it is not right
One should read the story of Baba Jan Hunzai, if they’re still wary of claims that public administration in Pakistan, particularly away from Punjab and urban Sindh, is colonial in nature. Baba Jan is a rights activist and leader of the Progressive Youth Front (PYF). He and two more youth activists are detained in Gilgit-Baltistan jail for almost a year now; two others were only recently released on bail. Their crime is agitation against the police for killings of a man and his son at a demonstration in August 2011. This was to demand due compensation for the affected families of ...
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