Professional beggars: More greedy than needy
Allah keh naam par 10 rupay dey dey beta. (Please give me Rs10 in God’s name, son.) Roti khila dey, tujhey ek naik aur khubsurat biwi miley. (Give me bread to eat and you will find a beautiful, decent wife) How many times have we heard this and cringed from deep within? Such phrases are played like rhythmic rhetoric every time you park your car on a signal. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a feudal lord’s son who will throw acid on his wife, neither do I commute in a chauffeur driven, air-conditioned SUV. I’m a common Pakistani who walks the same streets like millions other ...
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TEDx Margalla: Pakistan’s got talent
I recently went to TEDx Margalla, where the bright minds from Islamabad and Rawalpindi sat together to discuss ideas that could help change Pakistan. The event was the brainchild of two young heroes – Ahsan Mukhtar (winner of top blogger award of Pakistan in the infotainment category) and Saad Hamid – two ordinary guys with extraordinary ideas. It was a truly fascinating experience. TED is a non-profit organisation where people from different backgrounds come together and share unique ideas for the benefit of communities. TEDx is an independently organised TED event where local communities come together to discuss problems and carve out plans to ...
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PTI and Marvi: A love story turned sour
When the PML- Q joined hands with the current PPP government, Marvi Memon took a stand (along with some other MNAs and MPAs of her party) and decided not to join the federation. She even went a step ahead and tendered her resignation from the National Assembly. This move improved her image in the public eye and people began to feel that she will take revolutionary steps in politics; that she will use her political standing for the people of her country. Political analysts and critics were of the view that Marvi Memon will join the PTI after she left her parent party. But due ...
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We expected better from you, Marvi Memon
Marvi Memon is one of the few politicians I admire. She is one of those rare leaders who are actually seen on the roads protesting for a cause that they care about instead of just arguing on television shows. Her credentials as a former MNA and the youngest female CEO in Pakistan after launching the county’s first satellite tracking fleet management service speak for themselves. But what sets Memon apart is her moral high ground. Not only did she give up her seat in the National Assembly and resign from the PML-Q because she believed it was working with a government wasn’t ...
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Yes he Khan, but he may not
To say that Imran Khan elicits mixed emotions from me is like asking me whether I like chocolate; it’s complicated. On October 30 after seeing the swarms of people collect around the Minar-e-Pakistan, I was hoping that Imran Khan would come on a white horse and sweep me off my feet; I wanted to follow him. But alas I found the content of his speech to be lacking. Despite the fact that he was able to mobilize such a large number of people, I was not ready to put the Daniyal Noorani seal of approval on him (clearly all politicians ...
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Black and white democracy
I see so many young boys and girls around who are just dying to do something for this country. Interestingly though, the idea of doing something for most of them revolves around starting a political, semi-political or quasi-political movement, bringing about a revolution, replacing the government with angels etc. I am not against any of this, in fact it is refreshing to see such great ideas and plans in our youth. But it is also depressing that there is such a dearth of other ideas. In my humble opinion, nations are not built by governments, governments are built by nations. ...
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Is Imran Khan the real deal?
In 2008, America thought electing an African-American president was the solution to all its problems. “Yes, we can” became the order of the day. More than his policies, it was the colour of Obama’s skin that grabbed people’s attention — not just in America, but the world over. Everyone figured a black man in office would “obviously” look out for the American underdog. Today, the average American sentiment towards Obama, and what the country is now terming his “failed policies”, overshadows any sympathy that may have voted him into power in the first place. Which brings me to Imran Khan. Popular ...
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The importance of voting
With the country facing major troubles from all directions, we all have an opinion and a solution to offer. However, the sine qua non of this matter is whether we are with or against the current proceedings and the administration; our opinions are only justified, or should only be justified if we vote. We live in a time where the entire country is extremely politicized. Whether we’re in our villages, homes, on the street, at work, on Facebook or on twitter, we are constantly discussing politics. This is irrespective of age, occupation or financial status. Although opinions differ significantly, I think ...
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Parenting the digital generation
It is normal now days to see very young children in Pakistan confidently operating technology, possessing cell phones and using social media. A seventh grader can multi tasking; constantly uses SMS to communicate, spending a lot of time online, staying connected with people through the social media and surfing the net and checks out brainpop.com to get homework help while simultaneously listening to his/her iPod. Many young people have blogs by the age of 13-14 years now. So, even if their essays or stories do not receive a good grade in class, or their ideas and thoughts are not entertained ...
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Facebook activism, and where it fails
Today I was invited to a Facebook event called “18 Crore People demanding Zardari’s Resign – We Hate You. Leave Pakistan”. Thinking it was just another one of those inexhaustible Facebook invitations everyone keeps getting, I ignored it until I saw how many people were attending: The number was 55,321. And from the looks of it, the figure is growing. Now I’m a strong proponent of freedom of political expression, but I feel that ensuing debates should actually be constructive. A mere expression of hatred and loathing for a leader with a gazillion ‘likes’ isn’t going to do anything to ...
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