Bash thy army the right way
Bashing the military is a favourite past time of the ones who feel they have been enlightened. Following this trend, an increasing number of people want to join this enlightened group, so they have taken to bashing the army too. The tool is a laptop; the location is a cosy house in Defence. The new army bashers however, in my humble view, need to know a thing or two before launching into a gallant bayonet charge. So I have decided to help them out and will now try to explain how to effectively bash the malicious military, or how to ...
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US presidential elections 2012: What are we in for?
As America marches towards the 2012 elections, the presidential debates have been at an all time boiling point. Issues on the domestic front may not be of great interest, but the candidates’ stance on foreign and military intervention, foreign aid, and their level of commitment for Israel will naturally find resonance amongst foreign readers. One can’t help but wonder what the elections have in store for the rest of the world, Pakistan in particular. I am sure all of us can recall how, back in 2008, President Obama campaigned on the noble promise of ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, dismantling Guantanamo ...
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The dilemmas of a Muslim shopper
Over the past couple of weeks my sister was in town,and along with my mother, we spent a good deal of time in shopping malls, taking advantage of discounts during a seasonal sale. Having lost a few pounds in the past couple of months, and after starting a new job in December, I had no qualms about treating myself to some new clothes, shoes, and accessories. Like many women, I find buying new items quite gratifying. This is especially so because in the past two to three years, I managed to work towards having financial freedom for the first time. ...
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Lahore from Karachi eyes
After spending seven great days in Lahore, I am convinced that Lahore, being the cultural hub of the country, is one of the most beautiful cities of Pakistan. I applaud the chief minister of Punjab, who despite having a barrage of flaws in his governance, especially with regards to health, education and law and order sectors, has successfully been able to maintain the beauty of this city. Unlike any other provincial government, the government of Punjab makes a conscious effort to give beautification the priority that it deserves by strictly adhering to a no-graffiti policy; hence we are greeted with beautiful and clean walls as seen in ...
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Aisee zameen aur aasmaan
Happy birthday, Pakistan. I hope you have good one. I hope the next 64 years of your life are completely uneventful and trust me when I say you need the rest. I thank you, I love you, I’ll get some schoolchildren to wave flags, look, what else do you expect me to say that hasn’t already been said by Ufone, Telenor, Habib Bank or Dalda oil? Well, I could sing to you instead. Singing translates to waking up at 7 am to belt out that national anthem, day in day out, all year long. It means staying back after school practising ...
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Airblue crash: The business of death and moving on
I recall the good times mostly – the funny situations and the comedy of errors that occurred the last time we met. And I remember the disagreements, the professional jealousies and the never-ending rivalry. The death of a colleague last year, in the most tragic circumstances, shook those of us who worked with him. It was surreal. We spend 80 per cent of our days in the office and not surprisingly make deep bonds with co-workers. Some end in marriage, others in life-long friendships, and many others in acquaintanceship. According to studies, workers value their jobs more if they have friends in ...
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Profiling and personal fatwas
We, Pakistanis, are an opinionated lot -that much is certain. But, when criticism turns in to censure then soon enough we see personal fatwa machines, depicting yet another poor prognostic sign for Pakistan. Muslim-Americans fume at being profiled and singled out for scrutiny at airports, but happily join the melee of labeling people based on appearances – a hijabi is purity incarnate and only the morally corrupt wear shorts, don’t you know? Prejudices are transmitted and bolstered by parents and families, and a good number of unfortunate people go through life not examining the outlandish mindset, let alone the fact that they ...
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Karachi Tips: Uniting people, bit by bit
One day, as I logged on to my Facebook account, I found something posted on my wall that made me smile in a way I hadn’t in a long time. It was a series of one-liners typed in as pictures; One of them said: “If a friend calls you and says “baat ker” it means you have to bail him out of a traffic police incident. Remember that.” I smiled and recalled all the times my friends and I did this. Another message said: “Never whole-heartedly believe your exam schedule. Strikes happen.” Yes, that has happened to me too. So, I opened the page from where ...
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The Capital Vulture: The merits of being out of love in Islamabad
When it happens, when it’s the real deal, life morphs into a crooning Ella Fitzgerald tune- walk my way and a thousand violins begin to play. Everything is mysterious and new; Islamabad, reborn, feels less confining and the colours and foliage transport the love onto some Dionysian fantasy- all perfection and pleasure’s fair game. This, the good love everyone’s mad for that makes you feel safe and unbelievably attractive (it’s all those rushing endorphins pinching the cheeks). But I’m here to tell you it’s not worth it. Keep the lovers in different cities or countries, ideally, or just stay single. A ...
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Partying with pistols
It was an ominous day for the attendees of a dance party taking place on Khayaban-e-Rahat in Karachi. I can imagine the scene: alcohol was ample, the DJ was working the crowd and amongst this unsupervised and posh array of people, a shoot out took place. Firing outside the gates of prominent parties is a common occurrence in Pakistan and not a lot of people take it seriously. In fact, in my experience, if there was a shoot out at a party, it was usually preceded by an exchange of threats and followed by a phadda or an altercation. The ...
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