The great ghairat debate
In the past week, two articles have appeared in this very newspaper on the subject of ghairat. The first, penned by nuclear physicist and prominent progressive Dr. Parvez Hoodbhoy and the second by a journalist, Miss Maria Waqar. Dr Hoodbhoy is of the view that ghairat (honour) and “fake nationalism” (the one that can be witnessed by our chest-thumping TV anchors and Baloongras on Twitter) was one of the cornerstones of fascist societies like Nazi Germany and that as societies moved from tribalism to modernism and now post-modernism, the notions of “ghairat” are anachronistic and will not do us much ...
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Veena Malik: Scorned for being different
Is a woman simply labeled a whore or a saint, a mother or a prostitute in Pakistan? It seems that having more than one dimension to her description is just not acceptable – it is a sad country for an an independent woman. People complain about feudalism and a system that favours patriarchal dominance, and yet today I see everyone around me acting like a feudal trying to force an opinion on a single woman again and again till she submits. Veena Malik is controversy’s favourite child, or so it seems. You either hate her, or love her, but nobody ever lets ...
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Islamabad vs Karachi: When I came to the ‘dead city’
“It’s a dead city.” “In fact, it’s not even a city.” If Karachiites who go to Islamabad (moving or otherwise) don’t utter these clichéd dialogues about the place, then they probably are not sane or aren’t Karachiites to the heart. The above is exactly what I said when I moved to Islamabad five years ago with my family. “It’s a blue-blooded lifeless place.” “It’s not worth living in. Why did abba have to get a job here?” would be the discussion my sister and I would have time and again. Our dislike for Islamabad was so extreme we wanted to take the first available ...
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10 tips for surviving a riot in Pakistan
Earlier this month, Zulfiqar Mirza went on live television to irresponsibly air an opinion about the legitimacy of a leader. While Shahi Syed made attempts to pull him back from the microphone, Karachi erupted in flames once again. My friends, on their way back from the airport, saw cars turning back from Shahrah-e-Faisal, and people driving back towards the terminal for safety. The main road was overrun with protesters and so was the road leading towards Askari-IV and Gulistan-e-Johar. To the occupants of a Honda Civic – who had to ask my friends to lead them to safety, jostled and bumping ...
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Military goes bang, bang
With apologies to the munchkins from the Wizard of Oz, it’s astonishing to see the extent to which civilians will go to defame the armed forces and paramilitary units. First they blame the army for Abbottabad, then the navy for PNS Mehran. Then the accusations of ISI support for our strategic ally, the Taliban, Raymond Davis’s exit, and a host of other problems. Don’t they realise that khaki knows best? The brouhaha over the shooting of a civilian in Karachi is an embarrassment. Can they not see that the dangerous civilian was about to overpower the five Rangers men? Can ...
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Bin Laden killing: Whither objective journalism?
I remember the general reaction in the newsroom the day the news of the operation that killed Osama bin Laden broke. There was relief, felicitations of ‘Mubarak ho!’ and the excitement of covering what was perhaps one of the biggest stories of the year. Throughout the day, and the days following the incident, I noted people’s reactions. While some openly celebrated the news, others quietly welcomed the news with relief, adding however that it was against their principles to celebrate death. Sure, there was shock and anger against the political and military leadership and condemnation about the violation of Pakistan’s ...
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Speak now or there will never be peace
In Pakistan it takes a great deal of commitment and training to not have a black or white opinion on any given issue – on any given day. Some call me naive but I have always believed in the millions of shades of grey in the world and the people around us. As a journalist, I always felt the need to keep my perspective on situations, and personal opinion about people, guarded and especially never allow them to influence my work. In doing so over the years, the practice became a habit, allowing me to avoid many unpleasant situations. But it ...
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Pak Tea House vs Let Us Build Pakistan: Just another talk show?
A debate recently ensued between Pak Tea House (PTH) and Let Us Rebuild Pakistan (LUBP), two eminent blogzines of the Pakistani blogosphere. It started when the former criticised Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) over its handling of the disciplinary violation of party regulations by Sherry Rehman. LUBP accused PTH authors of wrongly exaggerating the facts and giving PPP a bad name without a valid reason. Hot words were exchanged and name-calling was indulged in from both sides, making it quite a spectacle for the readers. Eventually, after a number of fierce posts, from both ends, the matter came to end ...
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A case for elitism: We make the world a better place
A few days ago I read an opinion piece written by Sadaf Khan about the desi-elite bubble that she so eloquently was trying to burst. Sorry to say, but the effort was in vain because it made my foreign degree holding, excessive partying ‘elite’ bubble harder to burst and left me itching to voice my opinion. I do respect the fact that her blog had an opinion, which by reading most of the comments I noticed, was appreciated by several like-minded individuals. Since she already knows how we elitists have an opinion on each and every thing, it is only ...
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Do you even have an opinion?
I knew a kid in college. Average looks, squinty eyes, admirably tall and a mop of unruly hair. He had an unusual gait which he blamed on Roger Fedrerer for some reason I could never understand. But it wasn’t the gait nor the unruly hair which made him unique to me. It was the fact that he agreed with everyone about everything which helped him stand out from the crowd. I know I might sound a little weird when I say this. You must be wondering what’s unique about that? But I firmly believe that he was. He agreed about anything and everything. He’s nod his ...
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