I am from Balochistan
Let me tell you a secret, I am from Balochistan – but very frankly, I am not the stereotypical Baloch that everybody has become associated with. I don’t speak Balochi, nor am I a member of the Balochistan Liberation Army, nor do I hate the Federation. I was born in Balochistan and have lived almost half of my life there, while my father lived most of his in the same place. Technically, that makes me a Baloch, or maybe it doesn’t – depends on the definition one will like to put out. However, the basic point of this blog ...
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Seraikistan is our right
Seraikis are not ‘south Punjabis’, just like Pathans aren’t ‘north Punjabis’. Stop calling them southern Punjabis; it’s in bad taste. Having one’s cultural identity reduced to a geographical variant of an alien ethnicity is unpleasant. People should realise how incredibly offensive it is when they claim that Seraiki is just a dialect of Punjabi and not a different language. Seraiki is an ancient language, rich with heritage that represents its people. Some even argue that linguistically, Punjabi may be a relatively recent relic of the Sikh invasion, while Seraiki, with its original Sanskrit script, might be significantly older. It’s ironic how a ...
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KP politics: Of name changes and one-line manifestos
Walking out from parliament is one of the oldest forms of expressing dissent or dissatisfaction with the government. However, on December 9, there was a walkout in parliament over an issue of immeasurable proportions. No, not drone strikes. No, not memogate or Ghulam Nabi Fai. No, not Zardari’s health or Imran Khan and Nawaz Sharif’s exchange of dirty laundry and certainly not pictures of Veena Malik. This was much bigger, yet it could be summarised in three letters. KPK. Apparently the ruling party of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the ANP, decided that the abbreviated use of the province’s name in ministries’ written ...
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Do we need new provinces?
The idea of creating new provinces is an old one. For years different ethnic groups have been seeking the creation of their own provinces and for years these voices were ignored. But recently this issue has popped up again – this time it feels like something might actually happen. This is because political parties now want to publicly discuss this issue and take a stand. For years the issue has been raised in drawing rooms but never on a public platform. So, do we even need new provinces? All the cool kids are doing it Contrary to popular belief provinces are created ...
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More provinces – or not?
While provincial assemblies discuss and political parties sloganeer to muster support for the formation of new provinces — I can’t help wonder what’s the point? The ethnic division, as demanded by the PPP and the PML-Q, of Punjab and the division on administrative grounds by the PML-N both seem to be recipes for disaster. Let us start by considering the division of provinces on ethnic lines. While this option will be feasible for Punjab, Balochistan and even Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, the division of Sindh on ethnic grounds could prove to be dangerous. Karachi and Hyderabad are cities where people from various ethnicities live ...
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Helping Punjab’s medical students
One needs to score at least 82 per cent marks in Intermediate exams and then pass an entry test to gain admission into any public medical college in Punjab. This ensures that those who do eventually study medicine are among the best and brightest in the province. However, the fate of some 950 such intelligent students is hanging in the balance as the Punjab government didn’t take approval from the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) before admitting these students to medical schools. Last year, four new public medical colleges – in Sialkot, Dera Ghazi Khan, Sahiwal and Gujranwala – were ...
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Small provinces have big dreams
Over the past few years people across the country have joined the debate on establishing smaller provinces. But there are constitutional, economic, ethnic and political problems with turning these dreams into realities. The ideas came to the fore after the renaming of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa started the debate about the creation of smaller provinces. The Hazara province The basis for this demand was purely ethnic as people claimed they were happy with the old name NWFP. Protests on the streets for a new Hazara province claimed seven lives. But a deep look into the social, ethnic and political set up of the Hazara Division ...
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Forget French, it’s time to learn Pushto!
Education is more than a predefined curriculum or a Grade Point Average (GPA). It can shape a society. But the education system in Pakistan has failed. The people of our country do not understand each other and have allowed issues based on culture, language and even clothes plague the future of the country. In Pakistan, diversity has turned into a burden and coexistence of culture and opinion has turned violent and bloody. All this is a result of an education model that promotes isolation and hatred. Education exchange The launch of an extensive student exchange program within the borders of Pakistan can remedy the problem of intolerance. Student exchange programs are ...
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Will privatising the existing education system work?
Recently, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has been calling on a new wave of educational reforms in an effort to privatise colleges in Punjab. The government of Punjab has decided to replace the existing system with a board of governors having power over 26 colleges in Punjab. While the privatisation of colleges is not a new concept in Pakistan, it has certainly aroused a lot of passion from a range of groups lately. Student groups and teachers’ rights associations are fervently against such a move because they argue that along with the inevitable hikes in tuition fee, professors’ rights will be severely ...
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Divided we stand
As flood devastation continues, provincial governments seem to be in a race to show which province has suffered the most. The race, of course, is to qualify for most funds for rehabilitation. I fail to understand why we are only running after funds, putting commitment to the side at this point in time when we are faced with a massive catastrophe. How long will this attitude continue? The Khyber-Pakhtukhwa government says that more than one thousand people have lost their lives in the province. This makes the province on top of the list of victims. Other provinces are citing the number ...
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