Why America won’t help with Kashmir
Media commentator Aakar Patel, who also co-owns a publishing and content outsource company in Mumbai, recently wrote for The Express Tribune about the Kashmir freedom struggle and how India gets away despite its reign of oppression and coercion in the valley. For a change, Aakar is one of the voices from the Indian mainstream who infuses fresh life into the waning secular Indianess. However, his skewed proclamations where he raises questions like “What does azadi mean? It means freedom, of course. But freedom from what? (sic)”, which are not new to the Kashmir discourse, stink of ignorance and self-righteousness, and ...
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For PTI trolls: A lesson on bashing
If you are using any social media platform, you have probably come across the PTI troll. In most cases they make emotional arguments, repeating the same things posted on the PTI website or (worse still) basing arguments on the statements of their great leader. Frankly, I am quite tired of listening to the same arguments over and over again. So to escape the same buzzwords, I decided to help them out by writing a playbook for those senselessly bashing the Sharifs. I am laying out three good arguments that can be made by anyone who hates PML-N and not look like a fool ...
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9 stupid questions you hear when you wear hijab
I wear a hijab, and contrary to popular belief, I am not sheltered. I have a thriving social life and enjoy talking to different people. However, I am always amused and sometimes irked with the looks of curiosity people direct towards me. Even though the hijab is becoming a popular fashion trend in most countries, and in some as an act of rebellion there a few people are still suspicious of it. I have come across some hilarious questions -being a polite person, I generally don’t answer as I would wish to. But if I did answer these questions the way I wanted to this is ...
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How to get your first job (hint: use the internet!)
I often get emails and calls from youngsters eagerly seeking to enter the job market. Even though most of these enquirers have MBA degrees, finding a job in this market is still challenging for them. Even though the economy is not particularly strong, one must bear in mind that companies are still hiring people, and these are many avenues for one to find a job. I strongly recommend registering on Rozee.pk which is the most enriched job search site in Pakistan. Those, however, looking for jobs in Gulf are recommended to consider the website, Byat. Getting an interview is only the first step towards ...
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Eid isn’t boring!
There are two occasions that I anticipate all year round; my birthday and Eid. This might sound pretty funny but when I was a little girl my sole purpose of gracing our relatives’ doorsteps was drinking Coke. I was addicted to it like a dipsomaniac is to alcohol. I remember sitting on the sofa, impatiently waiting to hear the sound of ice cubes clinking against the glassware. The only thing restraining me used to be my mother’s glare, without which I probably would have rushed to the kitchen to retrieve that glass of Coke myself. Thankfully, the phase passed as ...
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Do parliamentarians care about the education emergency?
The education task force set up by the prime minister has recently termed the situation in Pakistan an “education emergency”. When media walas, policy makers, development sector workers and political activists are invited to sit together, they do not seem to think this “emergency” needs to be addressed urgently. The panel from the educational task force concluded that the main hurdle in educating the nation is the lack of political will. It is ironic that this statement comes directly from co-chair of Pakistan Education Task force Shahnaz Wazir Ali who is a member of parliament and the ruling party. If not her, ...
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Ask questions, your doctor isn’t psychic
Miscommunications are part of daily routine. You order a large Coke and no fries at a restaurant and the waiter brings you extra fries and a regular Fanta. You ask a classmate for physiology notes and she photocopies the entire term’s anatomy notes and presents them to you the next day. But there’s one place miscommunication can be a serious problem. Having spent time on both sides of the physician-patient fence, I’ve started noticing how doctors often do not explain stuff adequately and patients will not ask enough questions, resulting in huge communication gaps. In a clinical setting, these gaps ...
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Taking the GMAT: Easier said than done
My university deserves credit for teaching me one great skill: passing an exam by studying just a couple of hours before the paper. However, two years after graduation, as I studied for another important exam I found that I did not have the same focus or zeal that I had in college. Unfortunately, the exam I was studying for was the GMAT. . The low down GMAT is not your run-of-the-mill exam. It cannot be attempted successfully by ratto-fying (or rote learning). If you have a good memory, you might be able to do well in one or two sections of the exam, ...
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Why Babar Awan chose to shut up
A friend of mine recently sent me this clip of Babar Awan’s interview on one of my favorite shows Point Blank hosted by Mubashir Lucman. In the show the federal law minister uses a weapon that many politicians don’t know how to use against the media -the power of silence. One of my instructors at the Connecticut School of Broadcasting used to tell the class that “silence is death of the broadcast media.” I believe that it was a slight miscalculation on Lucman’s part that gave Awan the opportunity to utilize the potent weapon of silence. Lucman put forth a few questions to Awan ...
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15 stupid questions you’ll be asked at a job interview
Yesterday, I went for an interview at a software company, as I had applied for the position of a full-time writer. I was quite happy. I was supposed to reach the place at 3pm and I arrived at 2.45pm. The interview started and went on for about twenty minutes. This was not my first interview. I have been interviewed at several places. As the panel continues to ask me moronic question after moronic question, an idea for a blog post began to form in my mind. I tried to make a list of the fifteen most stupid questions that interviewers ask you. The list ...
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