tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13672769872687786062024-03-16T03:08:50.306-04:00The Blue RickshawEmadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16524967282730158938noreply@blogger.comBlogger52125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1367276987268778606.post-25534048579395528432013-04-01T22:24:00.000-04:002013-04-01T22:24:35.042-04:00Imran Khan: Pakistan’s Hybrid of Barack Obama and Michelle Bachman<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.9701914214529097" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Before I proceed writing this article, I’d like to put out a few disclaimers. The first is that though I have never liked Imran Khan the politician, I greatly respect him and what he has already done for Pakistan. The second is I know this article is the definition of drawing room politics, as I write from the comfort of my apartment in DC while most of my friends are still drying off from attending the figurative and literal ‘tsunami’ of Khan sahab’s speech last week. That being said, I have a few observations to make, feel free to agree or discard them.</span></b></div>
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.9701914214529097" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Like most of Pakistan I watched Imran Khan address a packed crowd around Minar-e-Pakistan on Pakistan Day. Actually, it was more than just Lahoris, a close friend of mine from DC went over to join the festivities. Almost everyone I know from Aitchison had either found their way onto the stage by Imran Khan since his nephews were our classmates, or were content dancing in the rain with everyone else. Salman Ahmed, with the help of the one and only DJ Butt, help lift the spirits and keep things moving (though to be quite honest, ‘Naya Pakistan’ is nothing short of garbage music). </span></b></div>
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.9701914214529097" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To get that many Pakistanis braving the elements to jump and scream with joy in the hope of a better tomorrow is really something. No matter what one thinks of Imran Khan, you have to tip your hat to the level of optimism and enthusiasm shown at a time where the electricity seems to be gone more than it is supplied, inflation has bent the back of even the most well-off families and the most corrupt government in the history of Pakistan has just completed 5 years. It is similar to the enthusiasm I saw sweep across the US when Barack Obama was running for office. George W. Bush’s tenure was finally up, and the Americans were probably as relieved to see him go as we are to see the back of Z. America was also in the midst of the greatest economic crisis since the great depression, so the campaign slogan of ‘Hope’ really galvanized the country. </span></b></div>
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.9701914214529097" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fast forward 4 years and the election was nowhere near as exciting or uplifting. Instead of voting for hope and change, people seemed to be voting for the guy who wasn’t the Mormon. Ok, maybe that’s an over-simplification, but the hype that had been built up around Obama ended up working against him. Even though the country was in better shape than when he took over, unemployment was still high, Republicans and Democrats still didn’t get along, and Guantanamo remained open. In the same way, if we fast forward 4 months, sadly Imran Khan will not be Prime Minister, corruption will still exist, and all of Pakistan will be a hot sweaty mess because load-shedding is here to stay. I’m no polling expert, but to go from the one seat PTI has ever won to 170+ in order get control of the National Assembly is a jump not even the most optimistic supporters can truly believe in. That’s not to say that Imran Khan has been wasting his time. Even his staunchest enemies concede that he is likely to get at least 20-30 seats. That would be no mean feat. In the previous near two decades of PTIs existence, they have won only one seat: IK’s seat in Mianwali. Anything over 15 seats would be a huge success, and a massive step forward. </span></b></div>
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.9701914214529097" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">On a quick, slightly irrelevant, side note, it seems that Barack Obama is quickly approaching the levels of hatred in Pakistan his predecessor enjoyed. My only question is why it took this long for people to realize Obama’s inept foreign policy initiatives. From his very first interviews as a candidate back in 2006, Obama vowed to take a dump on Pakistan by violating its sovereignty, if necessary. His expansion of the drone policy is simply fulfilling his campaign promises. </span></b></div>
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.9701914214529097" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The other American politician I see traces of in IK is a much less flattering comparison (not that the last one was meant to be flattering). Michelle Bachman, to my dear Pakistani friends not aware of her, is a crazier lesser known version of Sarah Palin. Unfortunately I don’t have time to elaborate on the dozens and dozens of examples of her wackiness, but the one thing I remember most about Bachman is her constant references to Church, and how apparently her Lord Jesus had wanted her to lead the American people. You see, to the conservative right of America, this ‘socialist left’ regime of Barack Obama is as bad as Z being in power back home, so she was God’s answer to save America. She didn’t last long. The reason I bring her up is because the actual content of Imran Khan’s speech, at least the part till DJ Butt started taking over, was quite awful. Every 3</span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 9px; vertical-align: super; white-space: pre-wrap;">rd</span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> line seemed to be some version of Surah Fateha: the first tid bit of the Quran every Muslim learns. He kept referencing Islam in the strangest way possible, clearly forcing his right wing roots to try and appeal to his base. Imran Khan is an extremely cocky man, which is fine, he did win us the World Cup after all, but in his demeanor, it would appear that he also views himself as divinely appointed to rule. Don’t get me wrong, next to Z and Nawaz Sharif, IK is as good as Ricky Ponting, Steve Waugh, Kapil Dev and Imran Khan rolled into one when it comes to leadership. However, it would be foolish to think he can part the sea and lead us to the promised land.</span></b></div>
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.9701914214529097" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Imran Khan’s constant references to religion is about as blatant a ploy as there is to appeal to the main voting block of Pakistan: conservative. This is politics after all and I can’t really fault him for that, but that doesn’t excuse the excessive references to religion. There is a better of way of bringing religion into play. For the record, I believe in Jinnah’s original idea of a Pakistan where people are free to live, irrespective of cast, religion, etc. However, that was 1947, and now we are the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the idea of a secular state is as plausible as Shiv Sena winning the next elections.. in Pakistan. </span></b></div>
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.9701914214529097" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I am a big believer of hope, and personally a believer in religion. However, religion is personal and though I don’t think it should be a big part of politics, the fact of the matter is that Islam is part of the constitution. Hope also needs to be tempered with realism. With a few adjustments, Imran Khan can avoid appearing as loony as Michelle Bachman, or as disappointing as Obama.</span></b></div>
<b id="internal-source-marker_0.9701914214529097" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the meantime, please vote and get everyone you know to vote!</span></b></div>
Shazilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15664604542592824894noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1367276987268778606.post-47677142924305960952012-11-30T06:30:00.004-05:002012-11-30T06:30:37.026-05:00A Tribute to my Father<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This past Wednesday,
on November 28<sup>th</sup>, 2012, after over 10 years of service to the Higher
Education Commission, my father was unceremoniously, and illegally, asked to
vacate his position. After failing to remove Dr. Syed Sohail Hussain Naqvi from
the HEC for the last few years, the Government decided to assign the additional
responsibility of the Executive Director of the HEC to the Secretary, Ministry
of Education and Trainings. In doing so they have, for the moment, created a
stalemate in the HEC since my father was appointed, as per law, by the full
Board of Governors of HEC (The Commission) and cannot be relieved of his duties
in this arbitrary manner. This is illegal because my father was recently given
a 4 year extension by the Commission consisting of people appointed by the Prime
Minister of Pakistan. Legally, the Prime Minister can appoint members of the
Commission, and that is where his powers end. Appointment of the Executive
Director is the prerogative of the Commission and not any other person or body,
including the Prime Minister of Pakistan.
Knowing of this restriction, the Pakistan People’s Party first tried to
declare the original appointment of my father in 2004 as Executive Director
back, as illegal. This argument is, of course, ridiculous as confirmed by no
less an authority than the best legal mind of the Pakistan People’s Party,
Aitzaz Ahsan, who stated that everything about that appointment process was absolutely
legal.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I
might be beginning to sound a bit long winded, but as the person in question is
my father, people will automatically assume that my bias will skew the facts. I
am simply trying to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the government is
100% in the wrong. Of course with the PPP in power, that’s not going to be
hard. Why don’t we start by looking at the performance of the Higher Education
Commission over the last 10 years. The quality assurance system of Pakistan is
now universally acknowledged, 6 universities in Pakistan are internationally
ranked by QS Rankings and research publications have skyrocketed. Along with
this, the number of university campuses have increased from 168 to 258, which
has led to student enrollment to increase from 330,000 to over 1,000,000. In
this expansion of students in the higher education space, there has been a
particular focus on women. The percentage of women enrolled in universities has
gone up from 36% to 46%. Balochistan and FATA have also been a focus, with over
3000 scholarships launched for residents of those generally neglected areas of
Pakistan. In the first 55 years of Pakistan’s existence, we awarded 3,281 PhDs.
Over the last 10 years, since the founding of the HEC, Pakistan has had an
additional 4,850 PhDs. The research papers published by Pakistanis in
international research journals have gone up from 816 in 2002 to 6300 in
2012.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I
have barely begun to scratch the surface. I think it is fair to say that the HEC
has had a tremendously positive impact on the country. This of course is not
down to my father alone. Everyone from Dr. Atta-ur-Rehman to the gardeners and
security guards at HEC have played their part. That is not to say that the HEC
is perfect. There is a lot of room for improvement, and no one recognizes that
more than my father. He is constantly striving to learn from his mistakes, take
on the advice of others and grow and move forward. Not too long ago, he caught
an employee, Ms. Shaheen Khan, of his stealing money. Now even the most die-hard
PPP supporters that the HEC is nothing if not clean. Money laundering expertise
is a requirement for working in a PPP government, but since the HEC is an
autonomous body, to put it eloquently: that shit don’t fly here. Of course this
woman was welcomed back with open arms by the PPP, and has been a catalyst in
the demise of the HEC. She has also since then acquired a PhD which is reputed
to be an eloquent translation in Urdu of a lowly report.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Over
the last 5 years, ever since I got my license, I have had one bone to pick with
my dad. He never lets me drive the HEC car. Never. Perhaps when I first got my
license I could understand why, but when I last went home I was (and still am)
23, I had owned my own car for over 3 years and had driven well over 50,000km.
Yet, I was still confined to that piece of junk we own; a 2001 honda city. The
reason? The only people legally allowed to drive the car are the drivers, my
dad and my mom. So I am allowed to be driven from A to B with a driver, in the
Corolla, for my own errands, but yet I’m not allowed to drive. Ah well, that’s
the law, and that’s the way my father is. I disagree with that, my view is that
the car is for his use, and for his family to use. I am not about to take his
Corolla on a road trip to Gilgit and back, but it would be nice to be able to
go get a haircut without having to worry if the ol’ Honda can make it up the
next hill. Oh and by the way, while my family is rolling around town in the
Honda City, Shaheen Khan is tearing up the roads of Islamabad in a Mercedes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Maybe
the issue is that my father is not qualified enough. I mean, integrity isn’t
going to solve our education problems alone. At the end of the day you need
someone smart to be running things. Let’s have a look then at Daddy’s LinkedIn.
In short, he graduated Hasan Abdal top of his class, graduated Purdue
University with a perfect 4.0 GPA and a PhD in refractive optics at the age of
25 , was a tenured professor at the University of New Mexico before the age of
30, helped start up a company which made cutting edge machines that measured
dimensions of nanometer sized structures, was the Dean of Electrical
Engineering at GIK Institute of Science & Technology, VP of Operations at
Enabling Technologies, and of course, Executive Director of the HEC for the
past 8 years, now internationally recognized as a model of higher education
reform in the world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I
could go on forever, I really could, of my father’s amazing qualities,
attributes, and overall dedication to his country. I could not be prouder of
what my father has achieved already, and at 50 years he is only getting
started. I have seen him pour his heart and soul into a job, and the job has
been rewarding. He has fought for every bit of funding for the students of
Pakistan, he has travelled from Gilgit to Karachi viewing institutions
everywhere and taking in advice in how to improve them. He has earned the
respect of almost everyone he has come into contact with, whether they agree
with him or not. He taught me that being patriotic does not simply mean bellowing
the national anthem at the top of your lungs, it means putting in long hours at
a job when you know you could be making more money elsewhere. After 24 years of
working, he makes less today than his first salary<a href="" name="_GoBack"></a>! It
means putting up with the crap the politics in our country brings. It means
finding ways of being optimistic when everything around you is crumbling. It
means that when your own government tries to outs you for doing the right
thing, you simply go home to help your youngest son with his homework tonight. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Regardless
of how the Supreme Court rules, nothing can take away what my dad has done for
Pakistan. I leave you all with a praise of my father that has always resonated
most with my. Arif Kiyani is definitely someone none of you have ever heard of.
He has no relation to General Kiyani, far from that actually. He first started
to work for the University Grants Commission in 1989 as a driver, and was there
when it became the HEC in 2002. He has often told me of how much he admires the
conduct of my dad, but the best thing he said was “Sahab wo insaan hai jis ne
aaj tak mujhe ‘tu’ tak nahi kaha”. Loosely translated, it means my dad is
someone who has never once in all his years working with Arif Bhai addressed
him by ‘tu’, a casual and sometimes disrespectful way of addressing someone.
Our Holy Prophet once said you can judge a person by the way the treat people
in a lesser position. Please, by all means, judge away. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Shazilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15664604542592824894noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1367276987268778606.post-33621903582259863372012-11-04T10:25:00.001-05:002012-11-04T10:25:35.423-05:00Top Ten Notes From the Friend Zone<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">For those of you who don’t know me, hi, my name
is Shazil Naqvi, and I am President, Prime Minister, Chief of Army Staff and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">King</b> of the Friend Zone. Why, do you
ask, is this relevant at all? Well, I spent a good 30 minutes on the phone with
one of the other Rickshaw writers, catching up, talking about life and running
my latest blog idea by him. I wanted to write about ‘Drawing Room Politics’ and
Imran Khan. Boring, was Umair’s response. People are sick of redundant political
articles, and who wants to hear what an American educated Pakistani is writing
about from his drawing room in Ireland. Fair enough. The conversation then progressed
to Umair’s date, and I started laughing my ass off because it was the type of
date I have been on too many times: the friend date. You have no hope with the
girl, but your wallet gets a fair bit lighter. After arguing a bit, Umair
quickly realized my expertise on the matter, and I realized rather than
writing about Mr. Khan, perhaps I should stick to my strengths and write about
the dreaded friend zone.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Disclaimer</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">:
These notes are in no way meant to help you avoid the friend zone. If I knew
how to do that, I wouldn’t be writing this damn thing. These are merely
observations of my time in the friend zone, and are meant to be enjoyed and
laughed at. I will try mixing some fiction in, so that I can try and mask some
of the identity of friends to spare them some embarrassment. It may sound like
I’m giving out advice here, but for the most part I’m just talking to myself.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">1. The
‘playa’ cousin</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">: Here I will not try in the least bit to
hide the identify of this person. My best friend in the entire world also
happens to be my cousin, who is 18 months older. Over the years, good ol’ cuz
and I have taken a, shall we say, different approach to life. We are polar
opposites, but that’s why we make such a good pair. The only reason he knows
the friend zone exists is because I live here. He himself has no problems when
it comes to women. In fact, the last time we hung out was at a wedding, and I
watched as he walked by a crowd of girls who all turned for a second glance and
then started giggling. My point here is one would think having a cousin who is
your best friend being such a ladies man would help your game, right? FALSE.
Since my cousin and I have such a fundamentally different approach to life, he
is unable to understand my failings, and therefore cannot really help me. So
instead he finds the funny side of it all as he recognizes he can’t help. This
has dire consequences, as any girl even loosely associated with him becomes out
of the question. Either he has some interest in them himself, with his “shazil
don’t ever close any doors” philosophy, or he has brought these girls in on the
joke that is shazil’s (lack of a) lovelife. Mostly it’s a case of both. In any
case, my first note from the friend zone is that having a playa cousin doesn’t
help. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">2. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">texting/iMessage/WhatsApp/gchat/fbchat/anything</b>:
So you think you’ve done the hard part, gotten a girl’s number, or added her on
facebook. Once upon a time, getting a girls number was reason to celebrate,
shout from the highest rooftop, or go yell in someone’s face “How do you like
them apples?” Not really the case anymore. If anything, getting the number is the
easy part. Once you get the number you need to decide what in God’s name you
are going to do with it. You can’t call, who does that anymore… or can you? I
mean go old fashioned, right? Nope, let’s stick to texting. Okay.. how do you
start that? Eventually you get the hang of how to text, except here is where I
still struggle. Girls are amazing at showing just enough interest to keep you
interested, but you are still doing all the heavy lifting. However, if you find
yourself sending 4 or 5 texts for every text she sends, and having to ALWAYS
initiate conversation, give up man. Here is an example of a text or chat
message I might send: “So how much do you miss me?” Ugh. Hurts to admit I have
texted that to more than one girl. Here is the response: “Haha”. Not
“hahahahaha”. Just “Haha”. Sometimes they will proceed to ask how you are
doing, you respond, and that’s the end. Too much effort just to get a “Haha”.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">3.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">
Coworkers</b>: Having only been in the workforce for just over a year, and only
having had one job, I’m still a learner in this department. Here is what I’ve
learned so far. Not a good idea. This may sound like a cliché , but I’m saying
this from personal experience, here is why. At work, you can’t really choose
your coworkers like you can choose your friends. They’re just there, and you
have to make do with them. So automatically you have to endeavor beyond a
natural amount to try and get along with them. You might luck out, like me, and
work with truly wonderful people, and develop amazing lifelong friendships from
work. Key word here being <u>friendships</u>. In any work environment, it would
be very easy to mistake a few good conversations over gchat to be sparks. I
don’t care what eharmony says, sparks don’t fly online. Also, going back to an
early point, if you initiating all these conversations, no matter how much you
enjoy them, it’s a bad sign. You’ll probably just end up wasting your time
trying to time your trips to the kitchen to coincide with hers, and most of the
time you’ll walk on by without saying a word. Every time you buy yourself a
snack, you buy her a snack, and someone else in the office too in a weak
attempt to hide what you are actually doing. If <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>you want to buy someone food, buy your guy
friends food. Everyone has that “Jughead” friend who can eat and eat and eat,
manage to stay insanely in shape, and they always appreciate being brought any
type of food. It’s a way more rewarding experience. That reminds me, I need to
send some food to a buddy in Hoboken, probably needs the ration anyway. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">4. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">There
is a league</b>: Have you ever seen the movie “She’s out of my league”? It’s
about this guy who is a 5, who happens to start dating a 10 (these are the
movies ratings, not mine, I agree with the girl being a 10 though). Of course
in the end, guy gets girl. This movie is the cruelest movie ever made. It is a
lie, and fills your heart with false hope. Again, I’m not just saying this; sadly
my observation is again based on personal experience. Senior year of college, I
ran into this girl at a party who was in my dorm freshman year. This girl was
of course stunningly gorgeous, in fact I later learned she was actually a
model, along with being a fashion designer and entrepreneur. Damn impressive
woman. Now freshman year having just arrived fresh of the boat from an all boys
boarding school in Pakistan, I had no clue what to do say, so obviously I said
nothing. Fast forward a few years and I learned what to say: “Hi my name is
Shaz” (note: not Shazil, takes forever to explain how to pronounce and the
moment will be lost). Well that was easy enough. I had a great conversation
with her, but left the party without her number. My college roommate, who God
bless his soul did his level best to get me out of the friend zone, told me to
march back in there and get her number, so I did. I felt like I had just
conquered the world. So much so that I even asked her out on a date, to grab coffee
(or so I thought, stay tuned). We had a lovely, well can’t call a date, so
let’s say a lovely rendezvous. Talked for 2 hours in my favorite little coffee
shop in Ann Arbor, Comet Coffee. Got a nice little hug at the end of the night
(if that doesn’t spell friend zone I don’t know what does) and that was it.
When I got home, that same roommate was appalled that I hadn’t set a follow up,
and demanded I call her up and ask her out for dinner. So I did. The next day I
damaged my ankle ligaments playing soccer, an old high school history, and
while I was on the X-ray table in some amount of pain, my “date” called me up
to tell me actually she had a boyfriend. At this point I just started laughing,
didn’t say much, hung up and I don’t believe ever talked to her again. I regret
that, she was amazingly cool. I am LinkedIn with her though!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">5.
</span><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Your other cousin’s friends</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">: This is how I like to view the world. Most of the
beautiful women in the world are Pakistani, at least in my eyes. And the most
beautiful Pakistanis are Lahoris. And all beautiful Lahori girls go to one
school: LGS Defense (an all girls K-12 school). Now, it may just happen that your
cousin, who is only a year younger than you went to this school. Perfect! You
have an in! You even get along with this cousin like she is your twin. This
will work out great, right? Nope, not even close.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1367276987268778606" name="13ac1d4057cd3916__GoBack"></a> What ends up happening is that almost
automatically you end up taking on the same role with these girls as you have
with your cousin: bhai (brother). You will end up driving them around during
weddings, picking and dropping from train stations, being the typical friend,
but you never really have a chance of forming a relationship after having
started off as a bhai. This of course has disastrous consequences, as your
cousin happens to be the most popular girl in Lahore. That wipes out the city
of Lahore, and if you can’t have a Lahori girlfriend, no point in having one at
all.</span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">6. <b>Swinging for the fences</b>: After years of
getting no where with your approach of wanting to get to know someone first,
one might be inclined to go swinging for the fences the next time they are
smitten. In theory this sounds like perfect, finally from the get go your going
to let a girl exactly how you feel, rather than meandering through the friend
zone. Here is the problem, you will meet someone incredibly gorgeous, and more
importantly, with an amazing personality to go with her looks. So you will let
her know exactly how highly you think of her, how your jaw drops every time you
see her, and that your heart skips a beat every time you even think of her
smiling. Of course first you do this via texting, but emboldened by your new approach
you have the gall to tell her in person of her magical smile, effortless grace,
I could go on. I mean this girl turns the most ordinary of into a charmer whose
dialogues could rival any Shakespeare love story. Problem is, no one is ever
going to take you seriously with this approach. The age of the hopeless
romantic has gone, and all of this effort is rather wasted. Well not entirely
wasted, it’s endearing, in a, you know, friendly way. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">7. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Siblings</b>:
It’s one thing to take the piss out of yourself. It’s another thing altogether
for your younger siblings to be doing this. You see, my younger sister and
brother have had no such problems with relationships, and good for them. Of
course this means that big brother becomes the target for a bit of fun. My grandmother
recently called me up in a panic about my being single, and told me to even get
an Irish girl. Can you imagine how frazzled a Pakistani grandmother must be to
encourage her eldest grandchild to get an Irish wife? This was all because my
sister, being the absolute delight that she is, had a bit of fun with poor ol’
grandma and convinced her that it is very worrying that her 26 year old
grandson has never had a girlfriend. I’m 23, and my sister is well aware of
this. She could barely control her laugher when I called her about it. On a
side note, if you find yourself pouring your heart out to your younger sister’s
even younger boyfriend about how the door may be permanently closing for the
love of your life, you got problems. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">8. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">How about a
hug instead?</b>: Regardless of how hopeless you perceive yourself to be,
everyone gets chances. Even me. Before my last year in high school in Lahore, I
spent a summer at Brown taking some summer courses. This was my first real
experience of living and interacting with girls my own age, as at the time I
was still living large at my all boys boarding school back home. I learnt a lot
that summer, and of course made it to the friend zone in record time with most
of the girls there. However, probably my high school buddies favourite part of
my stories from this summer, is when a girl asked to cuddle with me, and my
response was: “How about a hug instead?” Point here is that it on occasion will
take great effort to stay in the friend zone on your part, whether it’s avoiding
a girl who came to a summer camp especially to spend time with you, or avoiding
a girl on the dance floor who is eyeing you up. For the most part, you won’t
really regret staying in the friend zone, or no zone at all with these
advances. For the most part, that is. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">9. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Girls with
boyfriends</b>: Maybe the problem then is that you want to be in the friend
zone, it’s comfortable, safe and low risk. How do you know if you are
comfortable in the friend zone? A good indication of this is when you find a
large amount of your crushes are on girls with boyfriends. It’s the safest play
in the friend zone book. You can develop a friendship with someone you have a
genuine interest in, never have to make a move, and still go to bed with a
smile on your face thinking about her. Because she has a boyfriend, none of
your friends will push you to do anything, and you’re more than happy with the
odd cup of coffee or lunch together. You can even go Dutch on the bills. And
eventually you will just come to terms with the fact that this girl is just a
friend. Problem is I have definitely met a girl or two who would be PERFECT if
they were single. It just so happened at the time they had a boyfriend,
sometimes in England, sometimes in New York, and even if they are single later,
you got to know them when they weren’t and that’s it. One of the many drawbacks
of being in the zone. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">10. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Enjoy it!</b>:
For all my grumbling and rambling about the friend zone, I’m really only taking
the piss out of myself. I actually love the friend zone. It means I have an
abundance of friends, and who doesn’t love more friends! Most of the girls I
liked at some point have gone on to be my greatest friends. In fact I really
regret not keeping in touch with the girl I mentioned earlier who was the model
and ended up having a boyfriend. So what? She was cool, and I definitely wasn’t
going to marry her, but I could have at least had a friend who was up and
coming in the fashion industry and was wicked cool. Pretty girls have enough
guys trying to avoid the friend zone, even by being a sleaze ball. You don't need to
try and follow them. Eventually you’ll find someone who loves you after liking
you. It’s possible. In the meantime, I will continue
ruling over the friend zone till my mom/grandmoms/aunts/everyone starts getting
after my life to get married. But that’s a good few years away. Of course, in
those few years the one that really got away might get away forever. In that
case, rock out to Daler Mehndi, and rock on in life!</span></div>
</div>
Shazilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15664604542592824894noreply@blogger.com47tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1367276987268778606.post-66336009959018851052012-04-24T23:10:00.001-04:002012-04-25T00:24:23.304-04:00Pakistan's Untold Story?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Graduation
is approaching once again in Ann Arbor, a scary sight for recent alumni. It
means that I have been out of college for a full year now, while my co-drivers
at the rickshaw have been out of college for 2 years. 2 years is also about the
age of our doomed blog, as it was Emad and Umair’s departure from Ann Arbor
that prompted us to start this blog, a way to keep in touch and share our views
to the world. The idea was to be different, fresh and relevant.<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fast
forward 2 years and we are about as relevant as relevant and fresh as Margaret
Thatcher. I can’t speak for the other two dimwits who write this blog with me,
but personally the biggest challenge has been avoiding the general rhetoric
that one sees in oped pages in our newspapers. Everyone has an opinion and thinks that they are right, without quantifying it with research. In an ideal world, I
would like to write on things with a solid base of research, but having a job
tends to get in the way of that (not to mention I don't write for a newspaper!)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
What
eventually inspired me to stop procrastinating and start up the rickshaw again
was attending a panel discussion in DC about Pakistan, led by none other than
our dynamic Finance Minister Dr. Hafeez Sheikh and the new ambassador to the
US, Sherry Rehman. The title of the discussion was ‘Pakistan: The Untold
Story’. Umair happened to accompany me to this particular event, and we both
were bemused and frustrated by the level of discussion. The purpose of the
event, a small gathering held at the World Bank, was to tell people that it is
not all doom and gloom in Pakistan. I thought it was a brilliant idea, get the
academic community in DC jazzed about Pakistan, and to get them to look beyond
the negativity that surrounds the country. However, what ended up happening was
that the Pakistanis on the panel began to paint a picture of sunshine and roses
blooming back home - i.e. they took 'positive' to a whole different level.<br />
<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Let me give you a few examples. When asked “What
inspires you about Pakistan”, Dr. Sheikh started with the most generic and boring
answer under the sun (not very inspiring at all). It seemed he was doing his best to put the
audience to sleep, and he succeeded as I shit you not, the woman sitting next
to me was snoozing 10 minutes into Hafeez sahab opening his mouth. I, however,
was well aware of this tactic of the Finance Minister, and used all my training
of college to stay alert and attentive to what he was saying. It was rambling
about how the poetry of Faaiz inspires him, or some story of a trip of his to
Sindh and how that inspired him. One thing that did stick out to me was how he
mentioned the “Physics of Prof. Abdus Salaam”. Prof. Salaam of
course was the first and only Pakistani to win a Nobel Prize, but has been
shunned in history because of being an Ahmadi. It is quite sad how our greatest
ever achievement as a nation has been hidden from most of the population
because of Prof. Salam’s religious orientation. So to say Prof. Salaam inspires
him while he continues to be a part of a government that ignores crimes against
Ahmadis is strange. </span></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
Another
Pakistani on the panel, Mohsin Khan, was far more entertaining. Somehow he had
a British accent even though he grew up in Pakistan and lives in DC, but
who am I to judge. Anyway, on to more trivial things like the content of what
he was saying; Mohsin sahab is off the opinion that the economy is “booming”.
To be a little more fair to Mr. Khan’s comment, he further elaborated by saying
the “informal economy” is booming. So basically, the only part of the economy
that is booming is the part which we by definition cannot quantify. Even if the
informal economy is growing, it is doing little to affect the single most
important economic issue in Pakistan: inflation. It’s hard to imagine an economy “booming”
with the inflation levels we have. I did agree with Mr. Khan’s point though
that we should attempt to formalize the informal sector as part of a broader program of regulation, privatization and increased taxation<br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
However, my favorite performance of the Pakistani trio was Ambassador Rehman. She
started off her segment by trying to explain how because she was the least
qualified person on the panel, she should get the most time to explain her
point of view and tried to make a joke of it. No one really laughed, I think
everyone was about as confused as I was. The Ambassador then proceeded to
ramble on about so many things that I’m still scratching my head to figure out
what she exactly said. At some point she mentioned passing the Sexual Harassment
Law, which is a good achievement and worth noting. But other than that, it is
extremely hard to track what exactly she was trying to say. The question originally was again, “What inspires you”, and she made..
well.. a mess of it. She also way ran over her time, kept joking about how she
was ticking off the moderator, and kept going. The moderator had the last laugh though,
Ambassador Rehman was not given the opportunity to speak again (Thank God). <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
The
goras on the panel were a refreshing change I must say. Much better at
answering the questions at hand, and Anatol Lievin in particular was very
practical about his responses. He talked about the potential in Pakistan,
but also about the challenges that lay ahead - something the others missed completely. The one thing all goras brought
up that was echoed by our beloved Pakistani panelists was the level of
philanthropy in in the country, and how it was unrivaled anywhere in the world. I
strongly agree with this point, as Pakistanis as a people have very open
hearts, and are always willing to give to a good cause, even the middle income
folks struggling to cope with rampant inflation in the country. The problem
is a lot of this money is misdirected. If we can better utilize this trait of
Pakistani, perhaps get the nation to believe in a system where tax goes to
development rather than lining the pockets of the corrupt, we could have
something. It was nice to hear though people with experience from all over the
world, singling out the philanthropy of Pakistanis as something that inspires
them.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
At the
end of the day, things are bad in Pakistan. Talking about the poetry of Faaiz
or the informal economy is not fooling anyone. The level of discussion was poor
from the representatives of Pakistan. They were speaking as if the audience was
a bunch of rednecks who can’t separate Pakistan from Yemen. That was not the
case. The World Bank crowd is trained at identifying bullshit from corrupt
nations so that they don’t waste their funding. Hafeez Sheikh in particular
gave no reason for anyone to believe things are brighter in Pakistan. The
approach, in my view, should have been to recognize the trials facing the
country and chart out a plan to tackle them. Instead the focus was on trying to
ignore that and point out a few rosy facts about Pakistan. That is the problem
with the PPP government. Ask anybody, literally anybody, what they think about
their performance in office and without hesitation they will tell you it is
utterly awful. However, everyone in the PPP seems to think they have done a
damn good job. Sure, they did a few good things, but just about every
leadership system in Pakistan minus Zia has done something positive in 4 years of
power. If the takeaway is that they are better than Zia, then we are doomed.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
This
article is a little uncharacteristic for me, as I like optimism, especially
about Pakistan. However, the views expressed by Sherry Rehman and Hafeez Sheikh
in particular border on denial of the current state of affairs. Problems aren’t
fixed by ignoring them. Anyway, that is enough grim stuff for now, it was still
fun to get to see policy makers in action while being so far from home, and
there were a few good takeaways too. I hope this article gets us on our way,
Emad is off from class this summer and will return home so will have more time
to write, and my harassing will certainly help him get out of his rut. Umair I
see every week, so he better write soon. Those two are far better writers and
too intelligent to not have their voices heard.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>Shazilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15664604542592824894noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1367276987268778606.post-71192664511030972452012-01-23T21:32:00.001-05:002012-01-23T21:45:00.617-05:00Returning Pakistan Cricket to PakistanThe rickshaw has been stalled for quite some time. Over 9 months to be exact. And with the other two writers, who by the way are much better writers, being far busier in life then myself, the onus has fallen on me to restart it. So I’d like to blame the gas shortage for the lack of our rickshaw making the rounds, but our rickshaw runs on a different sort of fuel – usually cricket.<br /><br />Cheesy analogies aside, I couldn’t help but write something this past weekend, for something monumental has happened in the last week that simply cannot be ignored, not even by us lazy rickshaw writers. If you haven’t heard, England is paying a visit to the United Arab Emirates. After smashing the former No. 1 side in Tests, i.e. India, 4-0 at home, England took their place at the top of the perch, and were keen to show the world they can do it in Asia as well. Of course, Pakistan has been in good nick as well, though beating Bangladesh is never really anything to write home about; Sri Lanka are quickly getting worse as time goes on; and we didn’t even manage to beat the woeful West Indies outright. Still we had some form coming in, and were relishing the test. <br /><br />The fact that we managed to beat England inside 3 days by 10 wickets is beyond amazing, for many reasons. The problems of Pakistan cricket with the spot-fixing scandal are well documented. Added to the mix was a crazy captain who retired from cricket only to return months later, a mad Chairman of the Board who finally got replaced, a coach who quit because of the mad captain, and jail sentences for the Pakistani cricketer involved in the spot-fixing crisis. What you end up with then is the normal stew of Pakistan cricket: power politics, inconsistency, and wacky decision-making. It has to be said, though, that this team has been different. Misbah-ul-Haq may just manage to pull of the most incredible feat in the history of Pakistan cricket: being forgiven for losing a match against India in the World Cup. Under his leadership there is a calm and stability amongst the team that I certainly have never seen, and I doubt few have. Even in the days of Imran Khan there was an element of drama. Yet at 37 years young, Misbah has managed to do what so few Pakistani captains have done before him: get his boys to play as a team.<br /><br />Now comes the sad part. The test match was played in front of a few hundred supporters – a pity because this performance by the Pakistanis deserved a much better audience. Pakistan has been stripped of its rights to host cricket since the infamous shooting on the Sri Lanka cricket team. Cricket has always been an escape for us, and we have never needed a victory more than we do now. With corruption, inflation, gas shortage, electricity shortage and terrorism only a few of the things tearing the country apart, we really needed a lift like this. But imagine for a second, instead of the winning being runs in front of a few drunken Barmy Army supporters and the odd unemployed Pakistani in Dubai, that the match had instead been played in Lahore. Offices would be flooded with sick leave requests, school attendances would be at an all-time low, stores that open around noon normally wouldn’t even bother opening. Instead, the whole of Lahore would be making its way over to Gaddafi Stadium (which surprisingly has not been renamed after Bhutto like everything else this godforsaken government has gotten their hands on). The last time I saw a test match at Gaddafi, I had to sneak away in the trunk of my cousin’s car to get out of boarding school. This time around, I’m sure the my housemaster would have chartered buses to get the boys to the ground<br /><br />At the moment, the buzzing of Gaddafi stadium upon the return of cricket is simply a romantic notion in my head. It shouldn’t remain that way, however. Pakistan has a list of issues longer than the Nile, Ganges and Indus put together. That does not mean we should overlook the lack of international cricket on home soil. For all the shit that we go through, we certainly deserve the opportunity to be able to take a break from it all and shout at the top of our lungs for a team that for the first time in my life at least is consistently good in the Test arena. <br /><br />Wishing the return of cricket won’t make it come true. The PCB and the Government both have a role to play in ensuring that Pakistan once again hosts the greatest game there is at the international level. Bangladesh are set to tour Pakistan in April, in essence after being bribed to do so. The security for that visit needs to be far better than what it was for Sri Lanka. Speaking of which, the culprits of the Sri Lanka shootings need to be apprehended. Easier said than done, I’m sure, but it should have been of the highest priority to start off with to track down the reason behind the shootings. The domestic circuit of cricket also needs to be strengthened. Pakistan needs to be able to host domestic tournaments successfully before thinking about inviting teams other than Bangladesh or Zimbabwe. Perhaps the absence of international cricket can give the PCB an opportunity to figure out a way to get crowds to the Quaid-e-Azam trophy. These are only a few of many steps that can be taken to get us back on track to re-enter the fold of international cricket. Let’s hope that if Imran Khan is able to continue his ‘tsunami’ and gets to the top, he won’t forget about the game that got him there. In the meantime, we can all continue to enjoy the phenomenal rise of Misbah’s men!Shazilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15664604542592824894noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1367276987268778606.post-44811406310733514192011-04-08T17:06:00.005-04:002011-04-09T00:22:55.893-04:00The Dissolution of the Higher Education Commission9 years ago, 2 exceptional men moved from the Information and Technology Ministry to the newly founded Higher Education Commission, an autonomous entity that was replacing the well-meaning but largely ineffective University Grants Commission. One was, of course, Dr. Ata ur Rehman, whose reputation precedes him. I could spend this entire article raving about Dr. Ata, who got his Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Cambridge. He has won domestic and international accolades for his outstanding contributions in the field of science and academics. I refer you to his <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr_Atta-ur-Rahman">Wikipedia page</a> for a more comprehensive list of his achievements. The other person was my father, Dr. Sohail Naqvi. Over the last 9 years, I have seen first-hand how my father has poured his heart and soul into working towards the betterment of this country. It was, therefore, one of the saddest moments of my life when my mother called me a couple of weeks back to confirm the rumors the HEC was indeed being disbanded. Here is why you should be heartbroken about this as well:<div><br />Let me start by highlighting a few things HEC has done since it’s inauguration in 2002. Perhaps the most prominent stat is the incredible number of Ph.D. students that the HEC has helped produce. Between1947 to 2002, Pakistan produced roughly 3000 Ph.D. students. After the HEC was founded in 2002, Pakistan produced 3280 Ph.D. students in 8 years. That, of course, has helped research output grow six-fold since 2002. Second, while there have been accusations that HEC has over-invested in Punjab, the biggest investment by share has been in Khyberpakhtunkhwa. New universities have been set up in Bannu, Kohat, Malakand, Swat and Mardan. Balochistan has also seen an uptick in higher education, with 4 universities added to the 2 that already existed in 2002. Finally, there are currently over 7,500 HEC-funded scholars pursuing their Ph.Ds locally and abroad. All of these scholars are now in jeopardy of losing their scholarships as the governments tries to deal with the mess they have created. This is just scratching the surface of what HEC has accomplished, for a more comprehensive list of achievements please refer to this document, which has provided the basis for most of the facts in <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dGGqy6ZSbHq8G6v_7SCWMJeGN5fs2Vi-nXP_oGEF7Vk/edit?hl=en&authkey=CIPgiJIE">this article</a>.<br /><br />Moving on, let us get to the part where the government dissolves the HEC, despite opposition from almost all other major political parties including the PML-N, MQM, JI and PTI. This is being done under the direction of Raza Rabbani, the chairman of the implementation committee of the 18th Amendment. To clarify, HEC is not against devolution per se; it had, for example, already started to devolve many important tasks like faculty training to the provincial level. That, however, is only a small part of what HEC does: most tasks simply cannot be devolved efficiently. The 18th Amendment recognized this and put in place many provisions to protect the functions of HEC. An example is the following exerpt from the 18th Amendment, which highlight integral functions of the HEC:</div><div><ul><li>Fourth Schedule [Article 70(4)]: Federal Legislative List Part I</li><li>Item # 16: Federal agencies and institutes for the following purposes, that is to say, for research, for professional or technical training, or for the promotion of special studies.</li><li>Item # 17: Education as respects Pakistani students in foreign countries and foreign students in Pakistan.</li><li>Item # 32: International treaties, conventions and agreements and International arbitration.</li><li>Item # 59: Matters incidental or ancillary to any matter enumerated in this Part.</li></ul>To find a way around this, Raza Rabbani and his Committee have decided to play musical chairs with the functions of the HEC that cannot be devolved. For example, the degree verification function is being transferred from the HEC to the cabinet division. This, beyond its recent role in determining eligibility for public office, is of vital importance. In order for anyone to be able to seek work outside Pakistan, they had to get their degree verified by the HEC. This is in part because HEC has earned membership of the Asia Pacific Quality Network, as well as the Network of Quality Assurance Agencies of the World. These prestigious memberships are not transferable, so the international recognition of Pakistani degrees will be devalued once the Cabinet Ministry takes over verification duties. Despite this, under the plan to dissolve the HEC degree attestation will come under the cabinet division, and the hard work done by the HEC in establishing the credibility of a Pakistani degree will be lost. Instead, people like Rehman Malik and company will be in charge of determining validity of Pakistanis' degrees.<br /><br />As alluded to earlier, one of the many drawbacks of this dissolution plan is that the funding and studies of Pakistani scholars studying abroad through HEC programs would be in jeopardy. This is another function of HEC that is not being devolved, but simply being moved to the Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination, where Raza Rabanni himself is the minister. These programs are under jeopardy because they are being funded through loans coming from the IMF and World Bank, as the government allocated zero funding towards the HEC in the past fiscal year. The World Bank and USAID came to the rescue, giving HEC loans of US $300 million and US $250 million respectively. These loans are contingent on the assumption that HEC stays as it is, so Raza Rabanni’s recent assurance in the press that these scholars would be unaffected by this move is simply untrue.<br /><br />This is only the beginning of our defense of HEC here at the rickshaw. Hopefully we will have more literature up for you in the coming days about all aspects of the dissolution of HEC. For now, please join the movement to stop this madness on Facebook at: http://www.causes.com/causes/597948.</div>Shazilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15664604542592824894noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1367276987268778606.post-67675986417764520292011-03-31T21:20:00.004-04:002011-04-01T01:06:00.945-04:00I watched the match with 200 Indians.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifElHfjYhaGyEL3j2GQiR8Xkv_BfyXBVlMRVYlxgJqp19UkgjDen7a22sU2O04iTOAra3xf2B-bAFoW-Qhcg_QszncPZc85xm1Ax07m4HsW-__PQOxFTn1YJSkUtsrPH5itSGAX311naE/s1600/baliga.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifElHfjYhaGyEL3j2GQiR8Xkv_BfyXBVlMRVYlxgJqp19UkgjDen7a22sU2O04iTOAra3xf2B-bAFoW-Qhcg_QszncPZc85xm1Ax07m4HsW-__PQOxFTn1YJSkUtsrPH5itSGAX311naE/s320/baliga.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5590419292109201122" /></a><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><u><br /></u></span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifElHfjYhaGyEL3j2GQiR8Xkv_BfyXBVlMRVYlxgJqp19UkgjDen7a22sU2O04iTOAra3xf2B-bAFoW-Qhcg_QszncPZc85xm1Ax07m4HsW-__PQOxFTn1YJSkUtsrPH5itSGAX311naE/s1600/baliga.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a>In the lead up to what undoubtedly is the most important cricket match I have witnessed in my life I read probably over 100 articles about the epic India-Pakistan semi-final. Many of them were fascinating to read, including an article from the Times of India about the Punjabi connection this match was facilitating. However, there was one in particular I disagreed with; the ‘Dil Bolay Boom Boom’ article. To sum up, basically the Pakistani writer here says she just simply can’t watch an India cricket game with her dear Indian friend. No two nations in the world love cricket more than India and Pakistan, and fans of these two countries should be able to watch games together. I, therefore, was all too happy to confirm my involvement in a joint screening of the cricket match on campus.<br /><br />So come the day, finally, and my guess that not too many fair weather fans would show up at 4 am was way off. The Michigan Cricket Association did a brilliant job organizing the screening of the match on campus, and an hour before the match started the crowd started to trickle in. By the time of the toss there was a good 150 odd people in a room not built for more than 70, but what good would a India-Pakistan game be if we weren’t packed like a can of sardines. The noise level was incredible, with the Indians accounting for a good chunk of that. In our crowd which eventually grew close to 300, Indians outnumbered Pakistanis by, I’d say, at least 4:1. That didn’t deter us one bit, we were being heard as well. No one had a hope in hell of hearing the toss, our crowd was just too raucous.<br /><br />With such a momentous occasion it was hard not to be a bit nervous about things perhaps going south with some of the animosity that can naturally exist between the two nations. However, MCA did a brilliant job of making sure everyone was able to watch the game in the right spirit. There, of course, were a few incidents that in hindsight should have been avoided but really nothing more than a blip on the radar. For the most part the atmosphere was sublime. The Indians cheered every boundary with amazing fervor, and not two overs passed with a chant for the god of batting: ‘saaccchiiinnnnn sachin!’ Of course, we did our best, amusing the Indians with our ‘tara-rere-roro-ra’ chant. The best part was that everyone was joining in, from unknown grad students who randomly stopped by to freshmen still finding their way: no one was holding back anything. I must admit I tried to stay calm but when Wahab bhai shattered the stumps of Yuvraj Singh, I was overcome with sheer elation. I beat my chest so many times and so hard I knocked my own breath out, but thankfully no one noticed in the commotion! The Pakistanis overall were a joy to watch the match with. They were all well behaved, kept their cool and showed incredible grace as our team headed towards the exit door.<br /><br />The second innings was a much calmer affair. We shifted to a larger room and there was more segregation. People were also losing steam, as the all-nighters start to catch up and the voices slowly disappeared. However, they came roaring back on the Indian side when Kamran Akmal got caught at point for about the 10,000th time of his career. Hafeez’s dismissal brought more noise in anger from the Pakistanis than it did in joy for the Indians. The match was close enough that the Indians were nervous till the end, but the balance shifted with one magic ball. Bhajji came round the wicket with the newer ball after the mandatory change and Umar Akmal played all around a delivery that crashed into his off-stump. Pakistan may still have had a chance if we took that damn batting powerplay early. People may blame Afridi all they want, the real culprit in my eyes is Waqar Younis. As the coach, he is responsible for the poor tactical decisions made right throughout this tournament about the timing of the batting powerplays.<br /><br />Take nothing away from the Indians. They were the better team and deserved to win on the day. Sachin may have been lucky to win the man of the match, but if anyone deserves a bit of luck, it is the batting god himself. Dhoni was spot on with all of his bowling changes, and only had to use 5 bowlers. The contest was fitting for the hype, and sets a stage fit for two legends to bow out. I don’t think Sachin is about to retire but I highly doubt he is going to be around when he is 41 although you never know, but it’s a safe bet to say this is his last World Cup. The other legend who is in my eyes equally great is of course the one and only Muttiah Muralitharan, whose spelling changes as often as Razzaq’s so forgive me if I don’t have the updated version of his spelling. Where Sachin has 99 tons, Murali has over 1300 wickets. Sachin is the leading runs scorer in both firms of the game, Murali is the leading wicket taker in both forms of the game. The difference is of course Sachin is at home while Murali already has a World Cup title. Whatever the outcome at least one great will end his stellar career right on top. I am going to watch the game as a true neutral. Sri Lanka has always been my second favorite team since the days of the magical Arivinda de Silva which is why I may lean towards them. I will not however root against India, some might and that’s fine, but I have no qualms about enjoying good Indian cricket.<br /><br />But this is not about a preview of the final or a breakdown of the match. What moved me to write this article was the camaraderie between two amazing countries. Over the last four years at college, I have developed the most fantastic relationships with Indians stretching from Delhi to Bangalore and beyond. This match did not for one second jeopardize those friendships, in fact it strengthened them. When the final wicket of Misbah fell, before celebrating, Nirmit Agarwala, the president of MCA and the leading voice on the Indian side came over to the Pakistani side and congratulated and consoled each one of us. This was followed by my normal gang: Anant, Varun, Aaron, Baliga and many more. There was no taunting, no jeering, just cheering for a great victory. The experience of losing to India with 200-odd other Indians remains a shattering one, and the pain is here to stay for some time. However, as long as I have friends like these on both sides of the border, it is a pain I can live with.</div>Shazilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15664604542592824894noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1367276987268778606.post-66689077854589488822011-01-28T16:12:00.004-05:002011-01-28T16:21:06.755-05:00Top 10 Bars in Ann Arbor for Non-AlcoholicsJust some places I like hitting up over the weekend, enjoy!<br /><br />10. Red hawk: A quiet bar which normally caters to an older crowd, Red Hawk actually has a bit to offer for college students. If you are looking for a place to go chill out, play some cards and have some nice conversation, Red Hawk is the place for you!<br />X-factor: They have root beer on tap. ON TAP!<br /><br />9. Scorekeepers: An honorable mention to my past employers, Skeeps is not exactly the most upscale place in town but it can be loads of fun. Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday nights it’s the place to be if you are looking for a crazy time with lots of people.<br />X-factor: Best staff in town. Fact.<br /><br />8. Jolly Pumpkin: I really liked this place in my inaugural visit a couple of weeks back. It would be rude not to include them since they have a special section on their menu for non-alcoholic beverages. <br />X-factor: The ambiance. The lighting is simply fantastic, surprisingly rare for bars around here as Ricks and Skeeps so aptly demonstrate. <br /><br />7. Connors: No town in America would be complete without an Irish bar, there is one on every block in new york for crying out loud. Connors is good for catching a champions league games, the food is great and reasonably priced. <br />X-Factor: Bread pudding. Amazingly good and at a couple of bucks a real bargain!<br /><br />6. Bab’s: A less known bar located just behind Main Street on Ashley’s, this place was quite the discovery for me. It is underground with two layers in the bar and a unique ambiance inside. There are pool tables to chill out or at the lower level a nice social area to mingle.<br />X- factor: It actually is a cigar lounge!<br /><br />5. Heidelberg: The restaurant itself would make this place worth visiting, the bar underground just adds to the appeal. Even on slow nights the atmosphere down there is alive, I attribute that to the unique architecture. My housemate tried to explain how it had some awesome acoustic set-up, all I know is that it works!<br />X-factor: This place has the best Wiener schnitzel this side of the Huron River.<br /><br />4. Bar Loiue: if there is a straight laced honest to goodness Muslim in this world it’s my father, and I took him to Bar Loiue when he came to visit me two years ago. He loved it. The food is awesome, and their virgin pina-colada reminded me of Papasallis back home in Islamabad.<br />X-factor: Dollar burger Tuesdays. Need I say more?<br /><br />3. Charley’s: Everybody’s favorite college bar, Charley’s is the place to be. It has by God the greasiest food I have come across since Blimpy, and it is so good. The burgers just drip with deliciousness (except for the veggie burgers, please don’t try it, I did, took me weeks to get the taste out). The root beer float is nothing fancy, just IBC and ice cream but something about the atmosphere makes it taste so much better!<br />X-factor: Pizza sticks. Whether you go for the non-pork option like me or the pepperoni sticks like the rest of the world, you can’t go wrong. I should probably warn you that you might die of a heart attack eating these things, but you will die in bliss!<br /><br />2. Rush Street: No root beer. No food. No worries. If you want to get down tonight, go to rush street. It has the most insane beat going through the club. And the crowd there is high class, none of that Rick’s garbage. I used to be a shy dancer, barely busting a move. Then I went to rush street and could not help myself. <br />X-factor: Live drums on the dance floor. There is this guy playing the bongos and some other drums and the cymbals, matching up the beat to what the DJ is spinning. Insane.<br /> <br />1. Ashley’s: The best of the best, Ashley’s will always be my No. 1 bar to go to. The BBQ burger is about as good as I have ever had, the pesto fries are delicious but way better are the curry fries. The only way I can explain them really is if someone poured haleem on fries, what a bloody brilliant idea! <br />X-factor: You guessed it- root beer! The root beer from the gun is awesome, cheap and refills are free! If you are in a fancier mood as I sometimes am, root beer is also served of some brand I can’t remember. It is expensive at just over 3 bucks but wow is it worth it!Shazilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15664604542592824894noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1367276987268778606.post-89404969648406417242011-01-21T17:12:00.006-05:002011-01-25T05:38:07.602-05:00The Sports Rundown<div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia; ">So a lot of our stuff has been quite serious lately, and we have lost focus of the most important thing in the world, SPORTS! Here is the rundown of sport stories the Rickshaw has been following:</span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font-size: 16px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://www.sportsencounter.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Aamir-Butt-Asif.jpg" border="0" alt="" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></span></span></span></span></p><span class="Apple-style-span"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black">Hearings of Asif, Aamer and Butt:</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black"> After months of speculation and venting, we finally get to the point where the three musketeers were supposed to be dished out their punishment. Oh wait, the damn verdict was delayed to the 5<sup>th</sup> of February. Now I am not in favor of allowing any of these three to play in the World Cup, but this delay basically all rules them out of our World Cup Squad without any conviction which is just stupid. Zaheer Abbas called the delay ‘absurd’ and I have to agree with the master batsman. The funny thing is that during the hearings the three started to turn on each other, each of them having a different version of events and Butt seemed to come off the worse; he is now the only player to be under investigation for the Oval Test as well as the Lord’s Test. I have no idea what is going to happen, but it looks like Aamer may get off easier than the others, which a lot of people are okay with. Personally, I would like to see some remorse from him and a public apology but whatever, as long as the other two morons get put away I will be happy, especially Butt!</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black">New Zealand Tour:</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black"> In the midst of the madness of the hearings Pakistan cricket continued in traditional fashion. Martin Guptill, who no longer has to deal with his worst nightmare Aamer, put Pakistanis to the sword in the first two T20s as the kiwis easily won the series. In the last T20, though, Pakistan murdered and I mean MURDERED the kiwis. Never in all my life have I seen a scorecard like this one, the <a href="http://www.espncricinfo.com/new-zealand-v-pakistan-2010/engine/match/473920.html">first 4 batsmen had ducks</a>! Typical. Moving on, Pakistan managed to win its first test series since 2006 as Misbah has just caught fire lately. Well done Pakistan! Shame on those who say test cricket is dead, I love every second of it! Anyway that ODI’s start later today, and a strong looking Pakistan start as favorite, what do you know!</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: black; "><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font-size: 16px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://media.mlive.com/wolverines_impact/photo/denard-robinson-04jpg-6399aa0c7cd519fe_large.jpg" border="0" alt="" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></span></span></span></p><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia; "><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black">Michigan Football on the UP!</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black"> After a New Year’s mauling at the hand of Mississippi State former pizza extraordinaire and current Athletic Director Dave Brandon got rid of Rich Rod. Goodbye and good riddance. Thanks for the 3 most miserable of the 4 years I got to enjoy the Big House. At least he got Denard up here though, and he is here to stay! New coach Brady Hoke managed to convince the most dynamic guy on the planet to stay, and why wouldn’t he? He is a god amongst men on campus here. I see him often in the Union, still working up the courage to say hi, one of these days… Anyway, the most awesome thing to happen after Hoke getting hired was that somehow, almost inexplicably he recruited former Ravens defensive coordinator Greg Mattison to be the defensive coordinator here. The Ravens have consisitently had the most awesome defense in the league over the past couple of years, and his hire will help us get back on the map. Michigan is on its way back baby, watch out! I don’t know what 2012 holds in store for me, but I know that even if I have to sell my house and car and goats and camels and cows, I will in order to get to Cowboys Stadium to watch Michigan vs. Alabama. Be there!</span></span></div> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black">Rafa Slam: </span></b><span style="color: black; ">Finally our eyes turn to the Down Under where Rafael Nadal is going for the ‘Rafa Slam’. Rafa has won the last three majors and will go for an unprecedented fourth in a row, being the first guy in a lonnggggg time to hold all 4 majors at once. My personal favorite, Federer, looks a shadow of his old self, needing 5 sets to get through some no name that he already lost to twice. Things are looking good for the Spaniard!</span></span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: black; "><o:p></o:p></span></p></span><p></p>Shazilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15664604542592824894noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1367276987268778606.post-22423227332034450782011-01-21T14:10:00.006-05:002011-01-21T14:56:44.526-05:00The Pakistan I RememberIn my last post I took quite a bit of flak from a few friends for being overly optimistic and not being quite in touch with reality. In hindsight perhaps I was a bit over the top, but that was the point. One point that drew particular wrath from a friend of mine was where I said 'Our Generation' was a cause of hope for the future. Maybe I wasn't quite clear about what I meant, all I was trying to get at was that Pakistan 10 years ago was on average a better live for Pakistanis then it is today. My younger brother who is 9 years younger then me does not have all the same privileges that I did while growing up. Anyway, I recently came across this<a href="http://manalkhan.wordpress.com/2011/01/17/is-there-a-pakistan-to-go-back-to/"> wonderful piece</a> by Manal Khan, and expresses what I am trying to say a lot better. Now the direction of the article is a little different, my top 10 was about things to look forward to whereas Manal is comparing the glory of her childhood to the current state of affairs. However the part that I really enjoyed is where Manal described the Pakistan where she grew up, and it is a Pakistan that I can relate to but my younger brother can't. Enjoy!Shazilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15664604542592824894noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1367276987268778606.post-60131508549840691182011-01-19T02:59:00.018-05:002011-01-20T00:48:36.005-05:00Hearts and Minds<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span">You’ve got to hand it to the American government: they’ve got their priorities straight and hearts in the right place when it comes to renouncing extremism. It’s a quality our representatives lack, a fact that’s become even more evident in the wake of the Taseer assassination. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><u>Exhibit A</u> is a speech – <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/01/13/us/politics/201100113_OBAMA_ARIZONA.html?ref=us">a wonderful, inspiring, honest speech</a> – from Obama in remembrance of the victims of the Arizona shooting. It was a speech you wished President Zardari had the courage and temerity to give. But that, alas, is wishful thinking.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><u>Exhibit B</u> is a <a href="http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\01\16\story_16-1-2011_pg7_25">letter from Representatives Israel, Ackerman, King and McCaul,</a> addressed to Hillary Clinton, which requests that further visas “should not be issued to people (visa holders who condone the crime) and that applications for new visas from those who have endorsed this heinous crime be denied.”</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Another great gesture? Not quite. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Now I’m sure King et al. mean well but, quite frankly, the latter of these requests is one ridiculous stipulation. For multiple reasons. I am not, by any means, condoning or even tacitly supporting the Fanatic Qadri Supporters (FQS). Our stance on that is clear, obvious and appropriately sensible. What I really want to understand is how the State Department, Homeland Security and the US Government in general hope to implement this ridiculous idea and identify those who endorse the assassination.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><b>Here are reactions to a few ideas:</b></span></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-align: left;text-indent: -0.25in; "><!--[if !supportLists]--><span class="Apple-style-span"><b><span><span>(1)<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><u>Stalk Facebook</u>:</b> Never thought those seemingly pointless hours checking out that girl from LSE would count as valuable training for professional life? Think again; the US Embassy needs YOU. It wants you to sit 9-5 scouring and stalking visa applicants for any information that suggests membership of the FQS. But that itself will be tricky: sure, the vilified <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/06/pakistan-salman-taseer-assassination">Gaga/Cyrus/Qadri</a> fans will be easy enough to detect. But what if we expand the definition of FQS members and, for example, include those not actively condemning Qadri on Facebook as a signal of tacit consent, approval and surreptitious winks for the Right? Why, I bet 80% of all internet users in Pakistan would be disqualified. Who cares, though? Jobs don’t get any sweeter.</span></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align:justify"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;text-indent: -0.25in; "><!--[if !supportLists]--><span class="Apple-style-span"><span><span><b>(2)</b><span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman'; font-weight: bold; "> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b><u>Rigorous interviewing processes</u>:</b> I can imagine what this process will be like, if past experiences provide any evidence of DHS competence:</span></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align:justify"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span">“Do you support Qadri? No. What colour is your hair? Black. No, it’s dark brown. Now go into that corner until you’re ready to stop lying and renounce your extremist ways.”</span></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Alternatively, they could be smarter and pick up on common trends members of the FQS exhibit: “Identify this song: ‘Babyy-Babyy-Babyy-ooh…’” “Umm…that’s kind of a weird question but Justin Bieber?” “Aha! I knew it: trying to slip your fanaticism past me, boy?”</span></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;text-indent: -0.25in; "><!--[if !supportLists]--><span class="Apple-style-span"><span><span><b>(3)<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></b></span></span><!--[endif]--><b><u>Pinpointing petal-showering lawyers/clerics</u>:</b> That’s a pretty good starting point, right? Those lawyers deserve not being able to visit Times Square for the 2012 ball drop. In fact, I’m pretty sure they’d still be marching on the streets and garlanding Qadri even if they had the option of becoming taxi drivers on Devon Street, Chicago.</span></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-align: left;text-indent: -0.25in; "><!--[if !supportLists]--><span class="Apple-style-span"><b><span><span>(4)<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><u>Stringent screening procedures</u>:</b> I find it extremely difficult to believe that any screening process, barring those that border on the extreme, would provide sufficient evidence of FQS membership. Even if it did, it would inevitably be questionable. And again, what if you were to expand the logical grounds for FQS membership to include tacit consent? No visas for those extremist Pakistanis, I’m afraid. But I’m sure Zaid Hamid and Ahmed Quraishi would be happy with more evidence of American Zionism (!). Next conspiracy theory: they’re just trying to round us up in one place so they can finish us all off with the next HAARP-induced flood.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span">So I’m sure creating a policy that bans visa issuance to Qadri supporters is the best possible way to condemn the tragic Taseer assassination while simultaneously mitigating security threats and reversing what seems to be a growing tendency of Pakistanis to endure injustice. In fact, I really think the prospect of not meeting Lady Gaga in person will get the FQS to change its views. And <a href="http://asiancorrespondent.com/45502/rehman-malik-should-not-give-quotes-to-newspapers/">Rehman Malik</a>, too. Or is there an exception for incompetent government officials in this policy?</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">My point, condescending sarcasm aside, is that there are no reliable and reasonable metrics to ascertain support for Qadri, especially when the bounds of the definition are stretched. </span>Salman Taseer could have been remembered more appropriately, for example, by another exceptional speech; homeland security would have remained unchanged; and ‘growing extremist tendencies’ could have been addressed better by supporting and strengthening local policies. To expect stricter immigration rules to address the matter is, in truth, a bit like expecting Twitter to initiate an uprising in Libya.</span></p>Emadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16524967282730158938noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1367276987268778606.post-39727541316750903152011-01-13T00:56:00.008-05:002011-01-19T13:06:04.764-05:00Will The Political Establishment Wake Up?<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 11.6667px; line-height: 0.5px;"></span><div>Here is an <a href="http://ahraza.wordpress.com/2011/01/12/will-the-political-establishment-wake-up/">article written by Haider Raza </a>about the recent murder of the late Salman Taseer. I could not agree more about his take on how Islam is being distorted by extremists, so I though I'd share this with you. You can read more of what Haider has to say <a href="http://ahraza.wordpress.com/">here</a>.</div>Shazilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15664604542592824894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1367276987268778606.post-43841205033943082552011-01-05T18:38:00.001-05:002011-01-05T18:47:08.169-05:00RIP Salmaan TaseerDeath, as they say, has a strange way of defining legacy. In life, you have critics, detractors, even enemies. But in death, when introspection gradually turns emotions to rationality, you see a far clearer picture of what life represented.<br />
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Which is why who would have thought that Salmaan Taseer, until minutes before his death the flamboyant villain in the Sharifs' Punjabi fiefdom, would turn into a martyr for minority rights? Who would've thought that everyone from the United Nations to the United States would eulogize a man who until two years back was a peripheral figure in the country's political scene, to say the least? <br />
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The cause he championed is a critical one for Pakistan's future. But the failure of a cause is not the failure of a nation. Minority rights are a prickly issue anywhere in the world. Ask a Western European politician to speak out for Muslim immigrants and hear the silence. Even in the US, the bastion of religious freedom, the Ground Zero mosque was contentious for all and sundry (including the President, who backtracked from his initial support). This is a world enveloped in intolerance. Sadly, Pakistan ends up raising the bar from time to time.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV2ElmNl_coGkJgdr4tQuLT19yclIfB39tQ0ZjbZfPZmxQewuiwiIfGWzrBobfU4wpcAlSQxt3IrP8_99dxXxne-x5wI_AnLsANah6PmhXHVoYhV0ymti1HjV9Xi7RW2P4a1pP4YfxTu9J/s1600/taseer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV2ElmNl_coGkJgdr4tQuLT19yclIfB39tQ0ZjbZfPZmxQewuiwiIfGWzrBobfU4wpcAlSQxt3IrP8_99dxXxne-x5wI_AnLsANah6PmhXHVoYhV0ymti1HjV9Xi7RW2P4a1pP4YfxTu9J/s320/taseer.jpg" width="260" /></a></div><br />
That is where legacy comes in. Most politicians would shirk from such issues because they have deep political consequences. In violent countries like Pakistan, they have human consequences as well. So for those for whom the present trumps the future, it makes sense to acquiesce to the crowd. Many would even climb on their backs, against their principals, as we've seen happen recently. But where does that leave them when it is all said and done, and the historian picks up the pen to define them?<br />
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Clearly behind the tiny sliver who choose to take a stand, irrespective of the way the wind blows. These men and women risk it all not because of some innate goodness, but because they believe in a small thing such as hope. That standing up for what you believe might, just might, also be politically successful. Sadly, more than often it is not, and they pay for it with their lives. <br />
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Salmaan Taseer was never a great politician. Yet, his death has ignited a firestorm of opinion, some of it grotesque yes, but one that is also far and beyond the stature of the political role he had during his life. Only those who take a courageous stand and risk losing it all earn that king-sized legacy. When the emotion wears off, his killers will wonder how killing a man who raised a voice for an innocent woman implicated in a false case, was wajib-ul-qatal. When this intolerance consumes one of them, because it is only too long until there is difference of opinion on something, they will wonder why they unleashed this monster.<br />
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So, RIP Governor Sahab. They might curse you, celebrate your death, but they will never, ever forget you. No one will. That is the legacy men like you end up with.Umairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09237598102592816350noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1367276987268778606.post-38859444220755942622011-01-03T18:10:00.012-05:002011-01-05T18:44:42.340-05:00Top 10 reasons why 2011 won't be 2012 for Pakistan<div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In no particular order, here are 10 reasons why the upcoming year is not the end of the world (2012!) for Pakistan. There might by 100 better reasons, but this is what I could come up with, enjoy!</span></span><br />
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: 18px; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><strong>Mian Iftikhar</strong>: The tale of Mian Iftikhair Hussain, Information Minister for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, is one of the most heart wrenching stories of this past year. His son was mercilessly martyred by the Taliban, and in response, Mian Sahib gave a press conference with great poise and elegance where he spoke of his loss and how he will continue to fight for what he believes in. There was no time for Mian Sahib, who soon after losing his son had to deal with the catastrophe that the floods brought, but like the true patriot that he is, he was in the news every day giving updates and asking for help. As long as even one person like Mian Iftikhar Hussain is in our government, this country has more than a hope of turning things around.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: 18px; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><object height="285" width="380"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/-BLOETr8QIY?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/-BLOETr8QIY?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="380" height="285"></embed></object></span><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 18px; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><strong>Abdul Razzaq</strong>: Abdul Razzaq has had his troubles with the Pakistan team. After being inexplicably dropped from the first T20 World Cup squad, he spent time in wilderness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> While he has r</span>ecently crept back into the line-up, he hasn't been the Razzaq of old, who was once compared to the great Jacques Kallis. All that changed when, in the midst of the ongoing drama serial that is Pakistan cricket, he strolled out into the middle against South Africa in Abu Dhabi. The rest, as they say, is history. Here are the last 12 balls of that epic innings. No matter how bad it gets for Pakistan cricket, we are always in with a chance. Don’t count us out of the World Cup just yet.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 18px; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><object height="285" width="380"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/RyGT-zuq2Ls?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/RyGT-zuq2Ls?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="380" height="285"></embed></object></span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 18px; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><strong>Pakistan Army</strong>: The Army’s ill-advised forays into politics over the last 60 years have been well documented, but things this year were different. There were no explicit political statements or moves made from the GHQ, instead they were doing what they do best, helping people. International response to the floods was slow, but from the first second the heavens opened up, the army was out there airlifting supplies and doing everything else. Let's hope that continues. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Pak Fauj Zindabad!</span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 18px; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><strong>Blackberry app</strong>: A good story to highlight the potential that Pakistan has is this one. The bestselling Blackberry app is made in Lahore. Quite the achievement!</span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 18px; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><strong>Asma Jehangir</strong>: Umair already mentioned this, but like Aisam this is worth repeating. The lawyer community has been at the epicenter of change recently with Asma Jehangir being in the thick of things. She has made a few trips to jail for her troubles but her success this year serves as inspiration for all and in particular women to get out and do something!</span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 18px; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><strong>Roshaneh Zafar</strong>: <a href="http://www.blogger.com/13.%20http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/14/opinion/14kristof.html?_r=1&ref=pakistan">This story</a> caught my eye in the New York Times a while back. The story is that of a women fighting terrorism in the way it should be done. Rather than go in guns blazing, Roshaneh Zafar goes a different route. One way to tackle terrorism is to address a major root cause: poverty. But as Zafar says in the article “Charity is limited, capitalism isn’t”. In 1996 Zafar returned to Pakistan and founded Kashf, a microfinance organization which now has up till now dispersed more the $200 million to more than 300,000 families. If that’s not a reason to believe in Pakistan than I don’t know what is. </span></span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 18px; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><strong>Aisam ul haq</strong>: Again, Umair beat me to the punch by highlighting the triumph that is Aisam ul Haq Qureshi so I won’t go into much detail, but if anything belongs on this list it is Aisam’s ability to unite two countries and do his bit to remove misconceptions about Pakistan. An honorable mention is made here to the Bryan brothers, who define the sport of doubles tennis. They won the final at the US Open but were very graceful in victory and donated a share of their winnings to the Pakistani flood victims. </span></span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 18px; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><strong>Our generation</strong>: The older I get the more I realized how privileged I was. Blame Musharraf for whatever you like, during his time, at least from 1999-2006 Pakistan was a stable, progressive state. The Karachi Stock Exchange was amongst the fastest growing markets in the world. Ties with India were at an all-time high, (I even got to witness a Pakistan-India cricket game at Gadaffi stadium!). Things are different now; my little brother does not get to watch a Pakistan-Bangladesh cricket game in Pindi, let alone anything else. The generations before us had to put up with the horror of Zia’s era, but we were privileged, at least I think so. There is optimism amongst our ranks to make things right again, and better than they were. The general feeling I get from talking to my friends is that we are going to go back to Pakistan with quality education to change things for the better. Only time will tell, but I have a good feeling about us. </span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 18px; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><strong>Cowasjee:</strong> I will leave this story to the <a href="http://monsoonfrog.wordpress.com/2010/12/02/%E2%80%9Csala-tum-jaisa-bohut-dekha-hum-ne%E2%80%9D/">far superior writing ability of my uncle</a>, which actually inspired me to write this piece, but to sum up, we have seen worse and got through it. </span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: 18px; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><strong>Music</strong>: through it all, our musicians have managed to inspire and a voice for a cause for change. Nothing sums that up better than this song by Atif Aslam and Strings. A special shout out to <a href="http://www.myspace.com/talalandzoi">Talal and Zo</a>i who are making waves in the music industry. With tunes like this to lead us into the future something has to go right!</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: 18px; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><object height="285" width="380"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/BBO9MYZiWgE?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/BBO9MYZiWgE?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="380" height="285"></embed></object></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"></div>Shazilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15664604542592824894noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1367276987268778606.post-11957549694787325572010-12-27T15:24:00.000-05:002010-12-27T15:24:56.317-05:002010 in Review: Between Brilliance, Bizarrity and BuffooneryAnother year has come and gone, and surprise, surprise, Pakistan is still around! So, how did we do this year? Well, for a formal review you should go to a more serious blog/publication. For a more irreverent take, read on as we call out the brilliant, bizarre and buffoons who graced the country in 2010!<br />
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<strong><u>SPORTS:</u></strong><br />
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<strong>BRILLIANT: AISAM UL HAQ</strong><br />
2010 was the year Aisam ul Haq broke the long-standing monopoly held by Pakistan's cricketers, by becoming the country's most celebrated sportsman. More than his achievements on court (reaching two Grand Slam finals, becoming the highest-ranked Pakistani tennis player in history), what was more impressive was the manner in which he went about attaining the honors. He partnered with an Indian at a time of great anti-Indian opinion back home, then delivered a stirring, post-match speech at the US Open in New York (great symbolism), and finally topped it of by becoming a UNDP ambassador and visiting flood-affected areas long after the issue had disappeared from public memory. In a difficult year, Aisam gave everyone something to be proud of.<br />
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<strong>BIZARRE: SHAHID AFRIDI AND THE TEST RETIREMENT</strong><br />
Who takes over the country's Test captaincy, says all the right things in the run up to a critical tour, promises to be a role model to younger players, and then quits after one game? Who else but Mr. Boom Boom himself. That he won this honor over other bizarre freak shows like the Zulqarnain Haider escapade, Ijaz Butt's match fixing counter-accusation-and-then-back down, and his own ball-biting episode in Australia, is a testament to Afridi's religious adherence to eccentricity. <br />
<br />
<strong>BUFFOON: </strong><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW27q76qc8JKsk_mKros3pR1rRXEyTWVDVnOxcd0EeAgkcd0N7UmbTcUZh2Ge-6dH0lDNYw9wbJsWfI9BQL4to8WJrROccgRIB8DJPQU2CmVbX3GlQzHep8m4y6pba-1yUrRs2i5KWzbYQ/s1600/ijaz+butt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW27q76qc8JKsk_mKros3pR1rRXEyTWVDVnOxcd0EeAgkcd0N7UmbTcUZh2Ge-6dH0lDNYw9wbJsWfI9BQL4to8WJrROccgRIB8DJPQU2CmVbX3GlQzHep8m4y6pba-1yUrRs2i5KWzbYQ/s320/ijaz+butt.jpg" width="284" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Enough said.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><strong><u>POLITICS:</u></strong><br />
<br />
<strong>BRILLIANT: THE 18TH AMENDMENT</strong><br />
When it is all said and done, the current PPP government will be remembered for <a href="http://news.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/pakistan/03-18th-amendment-approved-with-majority-vote-ss-04">orchestrating the most comprehensive constitutional reform in the last 30 years</a>. That they achieved it with broad political consensus made it even more impressive. Kudos to the brilliant Raza Rabbani and the Parliamentary Committee that worked diligently to satisfy all the warring interests and doing what few people thought was possible. <br />
<br />
<strong>BIZARRE: THE ALL-PAKISTAN MUSLIM LEAGUE</strong><br />
When Pir Pagara, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed joined hands to launch this alliance, many thought the country's political landscape would change. Instead, what followed was the most bizarre sequence of events. First, the Chaudhries backed out of the proposed coalition, to be replaced by their PMLQ rebels (called the 'Like Minded Group' whatever that means). Then Zafarullah Jamali, the proposed leader of the steering committee, resigned after failing to convince Nawaz Sharif (who theoretically would be the party's main opponent) to come on board (?). To add more confusion, the party changed its name to the 'Muttahida Muslim League', and its leader claimed that Bilawal Bhutto would become its secretary. All this while, Pir Pagara's party remains a part of the government and recently said it would not be a part of any attempts to topple it. Seriously, WTF.<br />
<br />
<strong>BUFFOON: THE RIGHT TO BE CORRUPT?</strong><br />
We all know that Pakistani governments are corrupt. I mean its a given, like the color of milk is white, and the sky is blue. But which idiot actually goes out and says they 'deserve' their share in corruption? Well, this guy:<br />
<br />
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<br />
<strong><u>LAW AND JUDICIARY:</u></strong><br />
<br />
<strong>BRILLIANT: ASMA JEHANGIR</strong><br />
Despite a last-minute smear campaign by a despicably-low lobby, <a href="http://www.paktribune.com/news/index.shtml?232936">Asma Jehangir became the country's first female Supreme Court Bar Association President</a>. Even more importantly, she is the first President in recent times to live up to her job title, and not act as the Court's spokesperson. A woman of character and courage. <br />
<br />
<strong>BIZARRE: THE RAHAT FATEH ALI BLASPHEMY CASE</strong><br />
A woman <a href="http://tribune.com.pk/story/80868/petition-against-rahat-fateh-ali-khan-dismissed/">petitioned a district court in Lahore against a verse in the lyrics of one of Rahat Fateh Ali Khan's</a> brilliant songs sung in India. She accused the singer of blasphemy and hurting her 'religious sentiments and that of other Muslims'. While there were many blasphemy cases in the country this year (none of which were funny), this one takes the cake for its inanity!<br />
<br />
<strong>BUFFOONERY: THE FACEBOOK BAN</strong><br />
Justice Ijaz Chaudhry of the Lahore High Court banned Facebook in Pakistan for a week after controversial content pertaining to Prophet Muhammad appeared on the site. To be fair to him, thousands of Pakistanis also marched against Facebook and there was a user-led week long boycott of the site as well. That most of these users were secretly on Facebook (yeah, we know you turned off Chat), and would promptly return en mass to the site within a few days ensured that this fiasco left a collective egg on the face of Pakistan.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://resources0.news.com.au/images/2010/05/20/1225868/930012-facebook-ban-in-pakistan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" n4="true" src="http://resources0.news.com.au/images/2010/05/20/1225868/930012-facebook-ban-in-pakistan.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<strong><u>JOURNALISM: </u></strong><br />
<br />
<strong>BRILLIANT: CYRIL ALMEIDA</strong><br />
The addition of two major newspapers in a year has meant an almost claustrophobic wealth of English-language op-eds and opinions. Which makes Cyril Almeida's brilliant weekly column in Dawn even more impressive. Rising over the pervasive clutter with incisive and consistently on-the-mark thoughts, Almeida made Pakistani politics simpler for all of us scratching our heads. <br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.dawn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Cyril1.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" n4="true" src="http://www.dawn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Cyril1.gif" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So awesome that we ignore his weird Dawn avatar.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<strong>BIZARRE: SHAHEEN SEHBAI AND THE REKO DIK AFFAIR</strong><br />
The $200 billion corruption story was plastered across the Internet by all and sundry. In fact, it was possibly the most shared story on my Facebook feed. The sound of billions of dollars of corruption and Asif Ali Zardari had people salivating with anger. If only they had researched more. That's because the instigator of episode was Mr. Shaheen I-Hate-Zardari Sehbai, reputed for his ridiculously wild brand of journalism. Thankfully, <a href="http://cafepyala.blogspot.com/2010/11/reko-diqheads.html">Cafe Pyala was there to puncture the hype and bust Mr. Sehbai and The News' anti-government hormones</a>. <br />
<br />
<strong>BUFFOONERY: THE MUSHARRAF OP-ED BY ANSAR ABBASI</strong><br />
Read this gem of <a href="http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=7849&Cat=2&dt=12/15/2010">an op-ed by Ansar Abbasi</a>, appropriately titled <em>'Hypocrite, coward Musharraf blows hot air but will never return',</em> following the launch of Pervez Musharraf's political party. Now we know Mr. Abbasi is not the biggest Musharraf supporter, but this hate letter masquerading as analysis was something else. How this made it to the front page of one of Pakistan's leading English language newspaper is really beyond me. In fact, reading it convinced me that somewhere along the line, the author must have thought of inserting the phrase, 'F**k you Musharraf', but better sense probably prevailed. Because knowing The News' editors, it might just have made it to the papers. <br />
<br />
<strong><u>GLOBAL COVERAGE OF PAKISTAN</u></strong><br />
<br />
<strong>BRILLIANT: THE NEW YORK TIMES ON TAXES </strong><br />
Great story by Sabrina Tavernise on <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/19/world/asia/19taxes.html">how the lack of taxation is hurting Pakistan</a>.<br />
<br />
<strong>BIZARRE: PAKISTANI COMEDIANS FIGHT TALIBAN WITH HUMOR</strong><br />
<a href="http://news.ph.msn.com/regional/article.aspx?cp-documentid=3756706">Sigh</a><br />
<br />
<strong>BUFFOONERY: PAKISTAN LEADS THE WORLD IN PORN (NOT)</strong><br />
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<br />
<a href="http://tribune.com.pk/story/28284/tere-bin-pornistan/">Excellent rebuttal here.</a><br />
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<strong><u>FINALLY, PEOPLE OF THE YEAR: </u></strong><br />
<br />
In a year when a fifth of Pakistanis were affected by the worst humanitarian catastrophe in recent times, many in the country rose to fill the gargantuan hole left by ineffective government. In particular, the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/PakistanYouthAlliance#!/PakistanYouthAlliance?v=info">Pakistan Youth Alliance</a>, a group of incredible individuals, has worked tirelessly, long after both local and global coverage of the floods faded. As the winter gathers steam, the group continues to function, deliver aid to areas, and belie the notion that Pakistan's youth is aloof. Hats off to you, good sirs. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://teeth.com.pk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/pya01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="http://teeth.com.pk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/pya01.jpg" width="234" /></a></div> <br />
<strong><u>AND, BECAUSE WE CAN'T GET OVER CRICKET, THE MOMENT OF THE YEAR</u></strong>: <br />
Watch this Pakistan, and pray something like this comes up next year: <br />
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Happy New Year to all!Umairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09237598102592816350noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1367276987268778606.post-90874220915586699522010-12-14T01:57:00.014-05:002010-12-14T11:08:49.588-05:00Imran Khan: The Hypocrisy and the Greatness<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 100%; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">After a few jibes from my beloved co-authors of the rickshaw, I finally am getting around to blogging again, but - more than guilt - what got me to blog was an article I read in the paper the other day, which got my blood boiling. I simply HAD to write about it. The one and only Imran Khan the other day was reported in <a href="http://www.dawn.com/2010/12/09/we-must-wait-on-aamer-asif-imran-khan.html">Dawn News</a>, saying Pakistan should wait on hearing the verdict on Asif and Aamer to see if they would be able to participate in the upcoming World Cup. The article is fairly innocuous, and was only really an after-thought in the side of the paper, not headline news or anything. However, it caught my eye and drew my fury. Imran Khan, the supposedly ‘clean’ politician, who has built his utterly unsuccessful political career by taking the high road, is implying that we should welcome back these two bastards with open arms as, <span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black;">“without these two bowlers, our attack is not potent.”</span> </span></span><br />
<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; line-height: 150%;">To quickly re-visit the issue of spot-fixing, I can say beyond a shadow of a doubt that the 3 players currently under investigation are about as innocent as O. J. Simpson. The only thing that remains to be seen is how harsh the ICC wish to be. In a previous article, I called for jail time for all those involved, though that is unlikely bans seem a certainty at this point. And hopefully this isn’t the PCB style ban which lasts about as long as the attention span of a 2-year old. Yet despite this, Mr. Khan is willing to overlook how these two bowlers shamed the nation and went against everything Pakistani cricket should stand for so that we have a more ‘potent’ bowling attack. </span></span><br />
<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; line-height: 150%;">Of course, Imran Khan is not alone in his sentiments and even I will admit that it would be awesome to watch them bowl again. Let us not, however, forget the fact that Aamer and Asif disgraced the nation by participating in unlawful activities to indulge their own personal greed. I can’t think of anything more un-Islamic two representatives of the ‘Islamic Republic of Pakistan’ can do. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; line-height: 150%;">Now here is what really gets me. Of all the people to be guilty of this oversight, Imran Khan should be the last one. </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; line-height: 150%;">Over the last couple of years, he has become less of a politician and more of a stand-up comedian. All he can ever talk about is Zardari’s corruption. Granted, there is probably no one as corrupt and un-qualified to run a country as our current president, but harping on about it hasn’t done anyone any good. 2 years on and Mr. Zardari sits very comfortably in his home on Constitution Avenue while Imran Khan becomes even more irrelevant on the political scene. I remember one particular talk show where Imran Khan was on alongside a young representative of PPP and Mr. Khan put the simple question to the youngster of how Zardari is the second richest man in Pakistan without ever having worked a day in his life. The young man tried to reply but before he could get two words in, the arrogant ass that is contemporary Imran Khan interrupted him. He seemed so utterly overwhelmed and amused that anyone could even think to defend Zardari. Instead of allowing the guy to trip and fall on his own, Imran Khan decided to hog the limelight and his point was lost in satiating the demands of his burgeoning ego.</span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; line-height: 150%;">I’m rambling on here about my many grievances with Imran Khan but the point is: for a guy who claims to be honest and ridicules others for not being so, it is the height of hypocrisy to be suggesting that Aamer and Asif be considered for team selection. He should instead be condemning their behavior so as to discourage future generations of Pakistani cricketers from going down the same path that Salim Malik, Ata-ur-Rehman, etc. and many others have walked. </span></span><br />
<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; line-height: 150%;"><span class="Apple-style-span">The saddest part about Imran Khan is that he truly is a misguided great man. No matter how much stupidity he seems to display he will in my mind - as well as the mind of others - be remembered foremost for his contributions to Pakistan, which include winning a World Cup, building a free cancer hospital, and a university in Mianwali. He was also at the forefront of the flood relief efforts and he is one of - if not the most - trusted figures as far as charity work/philanthropy goes. If I had a million dollars to give to charity, I would give it to Imran Khan. I say all of this not as an afterthought but as a reminder of how great Imran Khan can be, and how hurtful and disheartening it is to see him spend his days doing stand-up comedy of how his dog is insulted by the comparisons to Zardari. </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"></span></div>Shazilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15664604542592824894noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1367276987268778606.post-62384526029448948082010-12-08T17:52:00.003-05:002010-12-08T17:59:45.942-05:00The Winner of the 2010 Ballon d'Or!So I was thinking who would win this year's Ballon d'Or, and I found myself in the same conundrum as many footballers playing against them: who to pick, Xavi or Iniesta? They're both World Cup winners with Spain, everything-possible-winners with Barcelona, and arguably the best midfield duo to have graced the game. Their telepathic exchanges are stuff of legends. So if I were FIFA, I'd do the honorable thing and give it to: <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ5JXDkHDpmFpwrWr5ClWy0cvJrZ5PoaBKaX2j88f7hVR81EDi0Xx0oFyqJqBBtnAC-KM31X_eIbJv5Oia2Jg6ILTslR1PIWgx3rsXPKwP4gAtsodDadMaSWLRglj00YOmOcMWw7jsG3oR/s1600/xaviniesta.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ5JXDkHDpmFpwrWr5ClWy0cvJrZ5PoaBKaX2j88f7hVR81EDi0Xx0oFyqJqBBtnAC-KM31X_eIbJv5Oia2Jg6ILTslR1PIWgx3rsXPKwP4gAtsodDadMaSWLRglj00YOmOcMWw7jsG3oR/s320/xaviniesta.jpg" width="247" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Xaviniesta?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Both.<br />
<br />
Yeah, both. This might sound silly, but choosing between these two fine men is unjust. Would Xavi be Xavi without Iniesta? Would Iniesta be Iniesta without Xavi? Would Barca or Spain win it all with just one of them? Hell, just watch this: <br />
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<br />
And that's why FIFA should make an exception this year, and give the award to both of them. Like a joint award. Just say the managers poll was tied or something. I mean they're FIFA, and based on what we saw and heard about the World Cup 2018/2022 selection process, pretty much everything is possible in football's headquarters! This time though, I'm sure the world will understand.Umairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09237598102592816350noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1367276987268778606.post-52905003638734428042010-11-18T12:45:00.017-05:002010-11-21T22:13:14.714-05:00Top 10: Ways in Which Pakistan is Still in the '90sOne of the standard narratives emerging from the 24-hour news channel era is that modern-day Pakistan is a very different country from the past. The frame of reference in this case is the 1990s, the last time the country experimented with democracy. As most political analysts will tell you<em> it is a very different country</em>. It has a lot more people to start off with. Add to that a shift in geographic, economic and cultural trends, and you cannot help but embrace the whole idea.<br />
<br />
But how much has Pakistan <em>actually </em>changed? Perhaps more importantly, how much have those who matter in Pakistan changed? A good way to check is to compare events, headlines and popular perceptions between the two eras. <b>Here's a list of 10 such things we heard most often in the 1990s</b>. We hear these today as well, albeit in different shapes and forms. It might just be me, but there is certainly a case for some irony here.<br />
<br />
To be clear, this is not a list of our opinions. It’s just what the standard narrative was back then. Now keep in mind some of the stuff you hear today, and compare how similar it sounds to the 90s. Whether this is history repeating itself, is a question we'll leave for you to answer. Without further ado, let's get into the time machine:<br />
<br />
<strong>1. The PPP is no longer the party of Bhutto </strong><br />
<br />
BB is nothing like her father. She is corrupt, inept and has sidelined all her father's closest advisors. This party is doomed and will be wiped out in 5 years max.<br />
<br />
<strong>2. The MQM is Evil</strong><br />
<br />
The MQM is an establishment-run mafia controlling Karachi via gunpoint. Their hobbies include ethnic warfare, listening to Altaf bhai's speeches and dreaming about entering Punjab.<br />
<br />
<strong>3. Nawaz Sharif is with the establishment..no with the mullahs..no with the Saudis..or US..</strong><br />
<br />
No one has a clue who Nawaz Sharif is with. It might be entirely possible that he is cahoots with all four of those actors. I mean at one point during his second reign, he handed the civilian administration to the Army, declared intentions to become the Amir-ul-Momineen and was also BFFs with Bill Clinton. All at the same time. Or perhaps different times. No one knows. Speculation is that neither does he.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoPnZgWhhXoA2yM3rVA_Gql71oIxTluvnV0B49ektoyyFWN2d3bHzWQ_RCwNiQ-fTg5miyGaXygWpXUoO1npqN_TFk2v_-liYMXERoIIDqMKV07Dgyxaku5tCINhN21Y5L0dFM8RhVm6o7/s1600/sharif.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="227" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoPnZgWhhXoA2yM3rVA_Gql71oIxTluvnV0B49ektoyyFWN2d3bHzWQ_RCwNiQ-fTg5miyGaXygWpXUoO1npqN_TFk2v_-liYMXERoIIDqMKV07Dgyxaku5tCINhN21Y5L0dFM8RhVm6o7/s320/sharif.bmp" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">OK, maybe some things have changed.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><strong>4. The Army has rebuilt its image and is back in control</strong><br />
<br />
After the disastrous decade of Zia’s dictatorship, which ended with mass protests and a yearning for democratic rule, the military retreated to the barracks. Within months though, it has not only rehabilitated its image but also grabbed control of its favorite toys, the defense and foreign ministries. For good measure, it has also brokered a conclusion to a political dispute involving the judiciary, Prime Minister and President (circa 1993). Not surprisingly, many are calling for an outright coup.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP7FVyTRfWUGBv1XKKv5g9kB52Z4oZnecgc_U8NgP5Y5aP17ZeBkKH1aUN1-aatmvRrCJvfoR_MdmZo3ySVVIlgUvMu302qmAyfffXA2hifkAFB-SWkEjfJA_sNiO_TqAe7M269olwU2o0/s1600/kayanii-pakpostny.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP7FVyTRfWUGBv1XKKv5g9kB52Z4oZnecgc_U8NgP5Y5aP17ZeBkKH1aUN1-aatmvRrCJvfoR_MdmZo3ySVVIlgUvMu302qmAyfffXA2hifkAFB-SWkEjfJA_sNiO_TqAe7M269olwU2o0/s320/kayanii-pakpostny.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sometime in the future.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><strong>5. The Judiciary is a political actor</strong><br />
<br />
It is used various times by the government, military and by the President to undermine, dismiss or even restore incumbency. The relationship between the government and the Supreme Court is uncomfortable with the constant threat of corruption charges being taken up by the apex court. Prominent examples include 1993 and 1998. <br />
<br />
<strong>6. Extremism and militancy threaten the soul of the country</strong><br />
<br />
Shias and Sunnis are killing each other. Extremist organizations are gaining strength, most enjoying the patronage of the intelligence agencies. There is an assasination attempt on the life of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The world fears what a fundamentalist-run Pakistan would look like.<br />
<br />
<strong>7. The economy is in the midst of an IMF-overseen disaster</strong><br />
<br />
The combination of the IMF's austerity plan and a clueless Finance Ministry has ensured that the economy is moving laterally, not forward or backward. There is a debt crisis on the horizon and soon the only way to get out of the IMF's grip will be to take on another IMF plan.<br />
<br />
<strong>8. Our eyes are on India but our legs are in Afghanistan</strong><br />
<br />
According to the concept of strategic depth, we must have a pliant government in Kabul to achieve the GHQ’s dream of parity with New Delhi. Except that Kabul is a quagmire and New Delhi is and will always remain a bigger, stronger entity. Crucially, no one in the GHQ is concerned about the domestic repurcussions of this policy. So while the country is awash in guns and drugs, the generals barter for more F-16s and geopolitical recognition for their role in Afghanistan.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhcZrbghuDJJRrPmMIDYWrQOPqkipvdG_02XSrKHjVJhLzzRjoGbXdA7vOrstjblWe1-g1CFx0FfbhyphenhyphenhanQxKQmGEzIbNx8DkCnqF6u4strSJsRJ4le_90JzAPT_DvdD9bE7taWgf1jVpp/s1600/D09517_2.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhcZrbghuDJJRrPmMIDYWrQOPqkipvdG_02XSrKHjVJhLzzRjoGbXdA7vOrstjblWe1-g1CFx0FfbhyphenhyphenhanQxKQmGEzIbNx8DkCnqF6u4strSJsRJ4le_90JzAPT_DvdD9bE7taWgf1jVpp/s320/D09517_2.gif" width="219" /></a></div><br />
<strong>9. The best cricketer in the land is a left-arm fast bowler with a secret power</strong><br />
<br />
Wasim Bhai is the finest left-arm fast bowler in the world. He wins a World Cup at a very young age and then proceeds to destroy England in a Test series. He also has a 'secret power’. And no, it’s not that inswinger.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9yJaObvEFWZPkByCtkyar28sGD-Hp_tz333EwqUXZYGHGTjxx7aXIua86pc7e9dDaW1nF7Lc-ayzquBzkx96HBGkbBP2EVJ3a9b1ZlnliEojA1MmP2x-b6QAuRHZVNu42FiphcwiRFL1O/s1600/Picture4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9yJaObvEFWZPkByCtkyar28sGD-Hp_tz333EwqUXZYGHGTjxx7aXIua86pc7e9dDaW1nF7Lc-ayzquBzkx96HBGkbBP2EVJ3a9b1ZlnliEojA1MmP2x-b6QAuRHZVNu42FiphcwiRFL1O/s320/Picture4.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wasim bhai and some dude who also bowls left-arm fast.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><strong>10. The Jang Group is a (insert curse word here)</strong><br />
<br />
Yeah. They always were.<br />
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<b>Postscript</b>: So yeah, some things never change. Or they do, but via design or accident, are pulled back to look like replicas from history. Next time: 10 Ways Pakistan <em>has</em> Changed from the 1990s!Umairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09237598102592816350noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1367276987268778606.post-43149782878490390092010-10-27T08:33:00.010-04:002010-10-27T09:04:56.370-04:00Change Can Happen...<div style="text-align: left;">...you just need Photoshop. Or, in the case of the esteemed Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), just Microsoft Paint.</div><div><br /></div><div>Now, in case you've grown tired of tire-burning lawyers and haven't been keeping up with developments in the legal world, let me give you the background: <a href="http://public.dawn.com/2010/10/27/polling-starts-in-scba-presidential-election.html">polling for the SCBA executive council elections are today</a>, which is particularly interesting since it pits human rights activist Asma Jehangir against the right-wing 'Professional Group.'</div><div><br /></div><div>But the elections themselves aren't as fascinating as the election poster they've put up on the website (<a href="http://www.scbap.org/">http://www.scbap.org/</a>):</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQvrx5p7ATetrkWJaLz1BVoJJE3gaRUmRvIiYnk9uOttqXTOd6AWkujupqUL4CfF4wMJzOgb1m-F1k5qiUu-ZXDz-_IuJCWKbb2IzHyXQ5vCgdYS6aC5LErvtwkB-evb8Gnj5Or5Qf5TA/s320/elecbnr.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532704898059057186" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 260px; color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; " /></div><div>Why does it look familiar? </div><div><br /></div><div>Is it:</div><div>(1) the red-and-white stripes of the American flag in the top-right corner?</div><div>(2) the all-too-familiar and hopeful message of "change"?</div><div>(3) the African-American man raising a hand to acknowledge the struggle of lawyers?</div><div>(4) The Caucasian dude pointing out the failures of the PPP government?</div><div><br /></div><div>Now let's look at another picture:</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPe8JTsTi73BHysxGtQAKVjY32Eu3IfLx0ENu7aV-OMoG0qoX2lkgwC-GXIZmb_p2tfRTyWs-EBFN2TwPkCAiXMcVTtRgzmw1LqDWZSwsOdAtTIIAYSco2xDDCIK1aq1gMqUB3cytoYDE/s320/ObamaBidenThankYou.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532706291470154050" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 260px; " /></span></div><div>Indeed, sir, change can happen.</div><div><br /></div>Emadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16524967282730158938noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1367276987268778606.post-25817224659995537952010-10-07T11:17:00.004-04:002010-11-21T21:53:35.227-05:00Help Me Help Fatima Bhutto!There was a time when a lot of people thought that Fatima Bhutto was the future of the Bhutto dynasty and, by extension, the future of Pakistan itself. After all, she was smart, articulate, popular, pretty (hey, just saying) and mercifully lacked the ego-maniacal gene of her family. Did I mention she was critical of Pervez Musharraf when most of us were in a love affair with him? That she wrote a beautiful collection of poetry about the 2005 earthquake? Clearly an ideal future leader, right? Well, not quite.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZIgW8pjAuRknlOTZnjVa2Msxv43cqbeqiF7TdQTaRZrGZRirXq2Q_aTYrv-y5NeY1oc1GkHEnytPCyvc9ux4m_8HnE4BmEtaxJlo1s42378bCgMfxp9B6J2clerOv_unQHkkHQZaVLb4J/s1600/2008021050010101.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZIgW8pjAuRknlOTZnjVa2Msxv43cqbeqiF7TdQTaRZrGZRirXq2Q_aTYrv-y5NeY1oc1GkHEnytPCyvc9ux4m_8HnE4BmEtaxJlo1s42378bCgMfxp9B6J2clerOv_unQHkkHQZaVLb4J/s320/2008021050010101.jpg" width="207" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>This story starts the day Asif Zardari became Pakistan's President and Fatima's world (and some say her brain) turned upside down. Zardari is the man she blames for her father's assasination; Mir Murtaza was tragically killed in a 'police-encounter' during Benazir Bhutto's second reign. Despite sufficient evidence, the allegations were never proven in court and as Fatima's half of the family watched in anguish, Zardari not only found himself out of bars, but then miraculously traded prison for presidential palace.<br />
<br />
Not suprisingly this did not sit well with dear ol' Fatima. But few would have imagined how her immaculate public composure would plummet. Her incisive columns in The News turned into meaningless rants against a toothless and rather new government. The fact that she did it from the platform of a staunch PPP opponent made the critique biased and ruthless. Everything from the lack of public schools to the proliferation of mosquitoes in the country was blamed on the Presidency. Interview conversation switched from her knowledge of the country's problems to her childhood trauma. Loyal followers (and there were many) grew tired, some started turning away and others (me) started complaining. <br />
<br />
So like every self-respecting journalist (which is what she calls herself) faced with an objective dilemma, she did the obvious. She decided to write a book! Now I didn't read the book myself, but based on her last few columns, I have a very strong hunch that it is more or less composed of three lines:<br />
<br />
Benazir and Zardari had my father killed.<br />
Benazir and Zardari really had my father killed. <br />
Benazir and Zardari actually had my father killed.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiVD5oddC5EL72fUlnlbeKMbqX8F8FyLEJoGXCvKeQbyACdKWuBNGc5G3aNiVJTo8LP-iKqBJPGwVRUO4P7HLLs7CTxMcM53g6a0v9FQ-40YW4YNtNmh8ekV36IWm-0rGJqtK28ZRnKsG4/s1600/asif.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiVD5oddC5EL72fUlnlbeKMbqX8F8FyLEJoGXCvKeQbyACdKWuBNGc5G3aNiVJTo8LP-iKqBJPGwVRUO4P7HLLs7CTxMcM53g6a0v9FQ-40YW4YNtNmh8ekV36IWm-0rGJqtK28ZRnKsG4/s1600/asif.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The cover of Fatima's book. Kidding!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Suffice to say, few read the book. Most domestic reviewers gave it scathing reviews. To make matters worse, the West had an opposite view, devouring it as a heroic tale. The global feting and book signings convinced Fatima of a pre-conceived conspiracy against her back home. Hence, she stopped talking to Pakistani journalists or writing in Pakistani publications altogether. The News was out, The Daily Beast was in. When that didn't sit well, she went on to claim that everyone in Pakistan criticising her was actually a PPP agent. When Declan Walsh, the Guardian's Afghanistan- Pakistan editor, joined the chorus, Fatima called him a PPP agent too. At this point, no one seemed immune from being labelled an agent of the country's largest political party. Many wondered who'd be next to receive the treatment from Fatima's famous Twitter account.<br />
<br />
Three names came to mind:<br />
<br />
1. Cafe Pyala, a blog that <a href="http://cafepyala.blogspot.com/2010/09/fatimas-faux-up.html">called out Fatima for getting her anthropology wrong</a>. They are anonymous too, a hallmark of PPP supporters and of course agents too.<br />
2. Mohammad Asif, a man who brought shame to Pakistan via his corruption. Just like another guy. Who also shares his name, starting with an A? Get it? Good.<br />
3. Five Rupees, who admitted to being on the PPP payroll, and once even <a href="http://fiverupees.blogspot.com/">put it on top of their blog</a>! Jeez. Also, switched from a popular, easy-to-access blog to an ugly, impossible-to-comment-on blog. Much like what Zardari did to the PPP.<br />
<br />
But then somewhere along the line I also feel sorry for Fatima. I mean, what <em>is</em> she supposed to do? As a journalist people question her objectivity. As an author, they question her creativity. As a politician, they question...wait what she's a politician too?! Well, she's a Bhutto so you cannot not be a politician, and despite poor Fatima's dreams of being an apolitical crusader, by her own admission she was campaigning for her mother's party when Benazir was assasinated. <br />
<br />
So readers, the question is what should Fatima do now? I don't want her to be irrelevant and a laughing stock. She's too good (and pretty) for that. Plus, the other Bhutto kids are kind of uncool, and not fun to talk about. So it really would be a tragedy if she just fell flat. I suggest a career change. On top of my head I could think of three possible ones: <br />
<br />
1. She should become a full-fledged politician ala <a href="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rls=com.microsoft%3A*&q=sassi+palejo&aq=f&aqi=g-s1g-sx4&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=">Sassi Palejo</a> or Marvi Memon. Both of them make a lot of noise, and in the grand scheme of things are rather irrelevant, but they're still important. If that makes sense.<br />
2. She should join the ISI's Zardari Defamation League. She'll have friends there too! i.e: the entire staff of her former employer, The News.<br />
3. If all else fails, she could ask Shoaib Mansoor to replace Iman Ali with herself. She looks like her, and could have pulled off Iman's hilariously bad British accent in Khuda Kay Liye better than her. Fact.<br />
<br />
There's still hope Fatima. Atleast, I'm pulling for you!Umairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09237598102592816350noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1367276987268778606.post-3151967629161509942010-10-01T10:12:00.004-04:002010-10-02T20:52:15.533-04:00The Change Pakistan Needs...Now!So while I have been lazy and not writing anything, <a href="http://ahraza.wordpress.com/">my cousin</a> has been at it and came up with this interesting article about the need for more competence in the civilian government:<br />
<div><br />
</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Segoe UI', Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Pakistan is at a very crucial junction in her short and warped history. With the annual monsoon rains wreaking havoc and the armed forces stretched thin from providing relief to citizens from floods and militants, we are at our wits end. The irony here is that the political elite ceases to wake up and smell the rotten political air that has clouded Pakistan. Bickering over whether the Army should take over or how corrupt the current crop of politicians are, seems to have become a permanent feature in our national discourse. But the real question to be asked is – how do we pick ourselves up once our political elite has pounded us into the ground?<br />
<br />
Why are 180 million held hostage to our politicians? With the National Reconciliation Ordinance hovering in the background in 2008, mixed with the unfortunate assassination of Benazir Bhutto, the PPP managed to garner enough votes to form the Federal government. They started of by installing the largest cabinet in history with tens of Federal Ministers, along with granting Minister-at-large status to many PPP stalwarts. I believe that although these Ministers carried with them a vote from the people, their appointment to some of the crucial Ministries is questionable, and detrimental.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Segoe UI', Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />
In a Parliamentary form of democracy, the Prime Minister enjoys the right to appoint any elected politician to a particular ministry. Why does our democratic system – which should epitomize transparency and accountability – not have a vetting process for those members nominated to take charge of critical ministries? Why has such a process been absent from our political discourse when appointing Federal Ministers?<br />
<br />
What needs to be condemned is the lack of professionals taking part in the political process. There are over 60 members of Parliament who enjoy the status of a Federal Minister within Pakistan today. Unfortunately, only a few are technocrats who have secured a portfolio to bring back Pakistan from the abyss. Information and Technology, Commerce, Industries & Production, Law, Education are only a few Ministries that require the need for adept candidates. These Ministries need to be taken over by qualified, skilled professionals who know the intricacies of such dense portfolios. Leaving them to be looked after by shrewd politicians will only confine us to the black hole we are stuck in today.<br />
<br />
The question then arises, how should professionals be incorporated into the political system where they match the legitimacy of those who have secured a mandate from the electorate? A few options come to the forefront. First, technocrats become part of the ballot and seek votes to become a Member of Parliament. The second option is to enhance the capabilities of the Civil Service, which has brutally been ignored over the years and is currently being left to rot. Such an institution would groom competent and proficient individuals who would have the capacity to run the affairs of Ministries that require delicate attention. The third alternative is an amendment to our Constitution that would empower the Parliamentary Committees. This would allow elected officials to thoroughly scrutinize a nominee for a Federal Minister. Such individuals could be political or apolitical, but will gain legitimacy after having being vetted by those representing the electorate. Introducing this clause can provide specialization of labor, demand for greater qualifications and increase the quality of those seeking to be Ministers.<br />
<br />
The above-mentioned solutions to our fractured Parliamentary system are farsighted but not out of reach. However, with the current state of affairs, we need to achieve a more viable resolution that would reform the current battered methodology of appointing Ministers.<br />
<br />
Pakistan is not deficient in professionals. For the fiscal year 2010, Pakistan received $8.906 billion in the form of remittances. In order to bring about a game-changing solution – by addressing issues of the middle class – the Federal government (political parties) needs to seek out professionals. The Senate could be used to elect certain professionals in order to allow them to become part of the Cabinet. Thus, political parties need to utilize their political capital and assist proficient individuals in securing votes.<br />
<br />
By bringing professionals into the arena, the Federal government can create efficiency within the Cabinet, free itself from big governance, empower the middle-class, gain public support and have a better chance of getting re-elected in the general elections. Such a move would allow elected members to devote greater time in their constituents (the reason for their election) by addressing social issues, while not having to delve on the intricacies of running critical Ministries.<br />
<br />
The practice of placing subordinates to essential Ministries – who will toe the party line and uphold the status quo – can only cause more damage to a weakened nation. Our feeble and fragile democratic system needs to be challenged, but challenged through the political system. The Army is not a solution – and those with ranks on their shoulders need to be kept at bay. It is due to the incompetence of many Ministries across the board that has increased the call for a change in government. I am not endorsing such a policy, as it would be detrimental for the country - at this point in time. What Pakistan requires is a change within the political set-up that would cater to public sentiment and give power to an evaporated middle-class.<br />
</span></div>Shazilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15664604542592824894noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1367276987268778606.post-24999349928073370642010-09-27T06:23:00.032-04:002010-09-28T06:46:20.523-04:00TBR: Last Week In Charts<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15.6px; "><div style="text-align: left; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 15px; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">So I’m trying out a new kind of post: compressing the week gone by into charts.</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; "><span style="line-height: 14px; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Why am I doing this? Maybe because it makes the three of us look smart. But mostly because it’s amusing and I admit I wanted to test out some new graphs and models before I tried them out at work.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; line-height: 14px; ">The events I chose from the past week are as follows, listed by alphabets:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div style="text-align: left; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">A. Ejaz Butt and his foot-in-mouth moment;</span></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span"><div style="text-align: left; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">B. Petrol scarcity across Pakistan;</span></span></div></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><div style="text-align: left; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">C. Violence in Karachi following the murder of Imran Farooq;</span></span></div></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><div style="text-align: left; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">D. SC -warranted arrests of Brig. Imtiaz, former head of Intelligence Bureau/OGDC MD;</span></span></div></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><div style="text-align: left; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">E. PPP reconsiders alliance with MQM;</span></span></div></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><div style="text-align: left; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">F. Pakistan’s economic ranking falls;</span></span></div></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><div style="text-align: left; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">G. PILDAT study of MNA assets and reaction from politicians;</span></span></div></span><div style="text-align: left; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">H.</span></span></span><span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman'; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> F</span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">aculties protest, shut down universities over higher ed. cuts;</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">.</span></span></span><span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman'; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Introduction of private high treason bill in NA;</span></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span"><div style="text-align: left; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">J. PAC denied information over ambiguous ISI spending;</span></span></div></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><div style="text-align: left; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">K. NATO admits to pursuing militants across Pakistan border;</span></span></div></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><div style="text-align: left; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">L. PM discusses future of Pakistan with Bilawal;</span></span></div></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><div style="text-align: left; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">M. Alliance of PML factions suggested;</span></span></div></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><div style="text-align: left; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">N. Musharraf reported to enjoy widespread support in Pakistan;</span></span></div></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><div style="text-align: left; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">O. Indian FO offers talks with Pakistan over Kashmir;</span></span></div></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><div style="text-align: left; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">P. Aafia Siddiqui sentenced to 86 years in jail;</span></span></div></span><div style="text-align: left; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Q. </span></span></span><span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman'; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">New competition bill passed;</span></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span"><div style="text-align: left; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">R. Minister Jatoi sacked for remarks on Army, CJ; and</span></span></div></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><div style="text-align: left; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">S. NRO beneficiaries reported to face axe.</span></span></div></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 18px; "></span></span></span></span></span></p><span style="line-height: 18px; "><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">-------------</span></span></span></span></p></span><p></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; "><span style="line-height: 14px; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">First, here’s </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">graph 1</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, which maps out the progression of political drama as the week went by (click image to enlarge).</span></span></span></span></p></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPju-UCwEBn6n46gp-vhDH2noFM4dwmdr-a7NpyeuJSMBBOUZ4w6IgVNsJx9mmdYnHHHAyh6cu0qcs_MQKY2_ynDzSFVgdl_zStfQ_NvBQbZwHQTHx1zp_irpkuiAnmmiyxxGq82ar4OM/s1600/Slide1.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPju-UCwEBn6n46gp-vhDH2noFM4dwmdr-a7NpyeuJSMBBOUZ4w6IgVNsJx9mmdYnHHHAyh6cu0qcs_MQKY2_ynDzSFVgdl_zStfQ_NvBQbZwHQTHx1zp_irpkuiAnmmiyxxGq82ar4OM/s320/Slide1.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521820501420157570" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 275px; " /></a><div style="text-align: left; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 15px; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">How to read the graph: The high-drama events are shown by a dark-blue bar that heads upwards. The low-drama events (the ones you would want to see hyped, debated and deliberated but weren’t) are shown by lighter-blue bars headed downwards from the top of the dark-blue bars, cutting into the total drama. The letters used in the list above correspond to the relevant bars in the graph.</span></span></span></div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "></span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">So, some interesting points to note: drama last week was at its lowest when university faculty rallied against cuts to higher education funding, shutting down university campuses across the country. At the same time during the week, the opposition introduced a rather controversial bill that, if passed, would allow citizens to initiate legal proceedings against individuals for high treason.</span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; "><span style="line-height: 14px; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The high point, on the other hand, comes at the end of the week: with news that Pakistanis now support Musharraf overwhelmingly being followed by the Afia Siddiqui verdict, Minister Jatoi’s sacking and the news that NRO beneficiaries may be headed out of the government.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; "><span style="line-height: 14px; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">At the end of it all, we see that </span></span><u><b><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">cumulative drama was +190</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">,</span></span></u><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> which shows that our politicians are drama queens and we are a willing audience.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p><span style="line-height: 18px; "><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">-------------</span></span></span></span></p></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Now let’s translate this graph into another (</span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">graph 2</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">) to see how hype corresponded with actual significance (click image to enlarge).</span></span></span></span></p></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIIXoYL7_TD2XmhgvE60-qN0RyU4i9z3Yq3ILZXxG7Reosux4fqkr-fuaV2ypIkRuM2j0ZQ9gM_rlca39TyD-jCkZlbdUlt6Nluz45O1CyPuIUxQ1hDyWcWywVimCfKWST88f6QWtJDmM/s1600/Slide2.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 275px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIIXoYL7_TD2XmhgvE60-qN0RyU4i9z3Yq3ILZXxG7Reosux4fqkr-fuaV2ypIkRuM2j0ZQ9gM_rlca39TyD-jCkZlbdUlt6Nluz45O1CyPuIUxQ1hDyWcWywVimCfKWST88f6QWtJDmM/s320/Slide2.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521821180150190466" /></a><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 15px; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">In this graph, look at quadrant IV – here are the usual suspects: higher education, the economy and changes to legal frameworks. These are all aspects that actually count and make a difference in the way the state interacts with people.</span></span></span></p><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Quadrant II has important political developments, which actually shows that about half the things causing a frenzy last week were actually important.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Then there’s quadrant I: the useless consultations with Bilawal, Ejaz Butt putting the proverbial foot in the mouth, issues of sovereignty as NATO admits to crossing over the Pakistan border (face it, it’s probably happened before) and, of course, Afia Siddiqui. These are the things that captured our imaginations but had little real significance.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal; "></span></span></span></span></span></p><span style="line-height: 115%; "><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">-------------</span></span></span></span></p></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><u><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The lesson</span></span></u><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">: I’ll leave you free to draw your conclusions. But there’s one overarching lesson – obvious but often forgotten – to be drawn from all of this: that the developments that draw the least attention in the media and the political scene are often the ones most significant.</span></span></span><o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Emadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16524967282730158938noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1367276987268778606.post-63247676142051048492010-09-09T09:33:00.004-04:002010-11-19T00:10:12.965-05:00Standing Up for the Wrong ReasonsWhile surfing the news this morning I came across two stories dominating the American news scene which were focused on the ‘radical’ perspective.<br />
<br />
First, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11243711">BBC’s headline</a> ‘Obama condemns Koran burning plan’ and in the subsequent two lines that follow the headline to draw the reader in ‘US President Barack Obama says a small church's plans to burn the Koran are a "recruitment bonanza" for al-Qaeda.’ Now while I applaud President Obama’s stance to condemn such an awful, disgusting act the take away point here is not the ‘recruitment bonanza’ the Al-Qaeda is going to have. The planned burning of the Quran is a slap in the face of every Muslim not only in America but everywhere around the world. It is wrong to do because it is insensitive, disrespectful and quite honestly appalling to even be thought of. It is also furthers the growing misconception in America of equating Islam and Muslims with terrorism.<br />
<br />
Now to be fair, the Taliban and Al-Qaeda members do claim to be Muslims but as far I or any other Muslim with half a brain are concerned, they are the farthest thing from it, and we must make a concentrated effort for people to realize that. By burning the Quran to denounce terrorism, one automatically equates the world’s 1.2 billion Muslims as terrorists. That is wrong, and that is why this pastor should be stopped, by persuasion and legal methods of course. What the international media and in particular the American media seems to be focusing on is that the pastor should be stopped so as not to add further fuel to fire that is Al-Qaeda. The impression that one gets is that the main and perhaps only reason to not burn the Qurans is so that Al-Qaeda doesn’t have more incentive to carry out attacks. The fact that American lives are at risk more because of this is an unfortunate truth, and it is not just American lives, Iraqis, Afghans and Pakistanis suffer the most casualties as far as terrorism is concerned.<br />
<br />
But that is not a reason to do anything, one point I do agree with this deranged Florida pastor on is that we cannot bend to the terrorists will. So don’t take their feelings into consideration. Don’t burn the Quran because it is wrong, not because it will cause Al-Qaeda and others to have more incentive carry out more attacks, but because you offend an entire population of 1.2 billion people. In fairness to President Obama, I do believe that was his main point, and he added the ‘recruitment bonanza’ point as a side note, but that is the point the press seemed to latch upon.<br />
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The second <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/09/nyregion/09mosque.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=imam&st=cse">piece of news</a> that I came across was in relation to the ongoing saga ‘Park 51’ or the ‘Ground Zero mosque’. Now enough has been said and written about this already but this latest piece in the New York times describes how again the Imam of the mosque says that changing of location could ‘spur radicals’. Refer to all arguments above for why the focus of any policy decision should not take the Al-Qaeda perspective into consideration. Park 51 should not be moved because the developers have every constitutional right to build a community center. It is further away from ground zero than a prayer center that already exists, and about the same proximity to ground zero as some fast food joints amongst other things.<br />
<br />
But you all have heard these arguments before, the point here is that why is the Imam talking about how Al-Qaeda will react to changing the location. If we start to thinking about what the radicals want in every step of our lives, might as well move to Mecca for the rest of our lives. Just a sidenote about the imam, described as at one point radical by various American news channel, he closed his Larry King Live interview from which the New York Times article was based on by wishing all Jews a happy Rosh Hashana. Wow, real radical stuff there Imam.<br />
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The purpose of the article is not to undermine the threat that radicals pose. President Obama and Imam Rauf are probably spot on in their thinking of how the Al-Qaeda and similar organizations will react to the burning of the Quran or moving of Park 51, but we cannot let that dictate how a policy decision should be made, one way or the other.Shazilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15664604542592824894noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1367276987268778606.post-53831863061771091452010-09-05T01:42:00.007-04:002010-09-05T08:35:38.081-04:00Top 10: Myths About Pakistan's Cricket ScandalAs Pakistan's cricketers find themselves in a hole due to spot-fixing charges, a disappointed fan base has gone from being angry, to being ashamed, and finally into downright denial about the whole episode. I'm not saying the cricketers are guilty, but there is plenty of evidence, and unfortunately most of it points in one direction. Here are ten things I've heard, all of whom portray an incorrect version of what is going on. Most of it is common sense, but then not a lot of people seem to see through that lens when it comes to cricket.<br />
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<b>10. The 'innocent until proven guilty' defense. </b><br />
<br />
How wonderfully convenient. Going by this logic, guess who else is innocent? Yeah, this guy:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Weaw2oEjScbPnEVbNvBsJ7YimSJ8X3N7NGwTNzOh1RhIDSe_BbDXcuvGUKn5q-uDqbMiCr6RZfbcnQ67y4_PyNMO3zoY0iuDWYZIx3sIBaoOS-ir-1GEGAlLCOJskT_3KpQ7OFPWjcm5/s1600/zardari.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Weaw2oEjScbPnEVbNvBsJ7YimSJ8X3N7NGwTNzOh1RhIDSe_BbDXcuvGUKn5q-uDqbMiCr6RZfbcnQ67y4_PyNMO3zoY0iuDWYZIx3sIBaoOS-ir-1GEGAlLCOJskT_3KpQ7OFPWjcm5/s320/zardari.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Also, innocent until proven guilty?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>How many of us have not taken potshots at him in the last 2.5 years? Didn't quite remember the golden ideal of law then did we? There is enough evidence against Butt & co. to guarantee an interrogation by EVERYONE - that means the media and you and me.<br />
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<b>9. This is an elaborate conspiracy to bring down Pakistan cricket.</b><br />
<br />
Unless I was sleeping all this time, Pakistan isn't the West Indian team of the 80s or the Aussies of the previous decade. In fact, this is a team that has won a grand total of 1 Test match in the last 3 years, until this summer. There does not need to be a conspiracy to bring them down. They're pretty down already.<br />
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<b>8. This ALWAYS happens to us on tours to England</b>.<br />
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For starters, we've been accused of ball-tampering in England, but never of match-fixing. In any case when something wrong does happen to us on tours to England, we've fought for it and come out on the winning side. At the Oval in 2006 Inzamam took the right stand, because he was innocent, and eventually Pakistan cricket came out with its head held high. Ditto Wasim and Waqar in 1992 and Imran vs Botham before. If Butt & co. were innocent, they would've done an Inzamam and come out with guns blazing protesting their innocence. Instead, the crisis is a good 7 days old and not yet have any of the accused come out and said three simple words: 'I am innocent'. That says alot.<br />
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<b>7. News of the World is a trashy tabloid. Don't believe in it.</b><br />
<br />
Contrary to popular opinion, Mazhar Majeed did not come on the media's radar via NotW. He came on it via good ol' Jang. In a report on July 27th, veteran journalist <a href="http://www.cricistan.com/forums/talk-cricket/3074-majid-bhatti-jang-raised-concerns-over-azhar-mazhar-july-27th.html">Abdul Majid Bhatti clearly pointed at Majeed</a> and warned that he was involved in match-fixing with the team. So the buck started at home, not NoTW. In any case, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mazher_Mahmood">Mazhar Mahmood, the reporter at NoTW</a>, who uncovered this saga, has a pretty good resume in this craft. He has helped blow the lid of British parliamentarians and the country's immigration policy amongst other things. Most of these stories proved to be true. So I wouldn't base my opinion simply around a newspaper's reputation.<br />
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<b>6. The video could have been dated after the no-balls were bowled.</b><br />
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Does it not occur to anyone that if we were smart enough to think of this point, it would also be the FIRST thing the Scotland Yard might have also looked at? Unless, you think the Yard is also part of the conspiracy, at which point you should stop reading this.<br />
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<b>5. This is a RAW conspiracy to use Indian bookies and bring down Pakistan.</b><br />
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Head, meet wall.<br />
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<b>4. </b><b>Mohammed</b><b> </b><b>Aamer</b><b> is a kid, he didn't know what he was doing.</b><br />
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My 12-year old sister thinks what Aamer did was wrong. If she can think of this, so can Aamer. Should he be banned for life? I don't think he will, because the ICC's laws take past record and a player's age into account, but for God's sake, stop pretending as if he's a little kid who did not know what he was doing. If anything his precocious talent and off-field interviews show that he's not a naive, shorts-wearing, lollipop-eating infant many in Pakistan are projecting him as.<br />
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<b>3. A lack of education and a village background is responsible for corrupting cricketers</b>.<br />
<br />
Two words: Salman Butt. The alleged ringleader of this scam is an educated, relatively affluent Lahori boy from Beaconhouse (one of Pakistan's best schools). Greed is universal, not restricted by education or income. In any case, saying that what Asif and Aamer did was because they were raised in a village is an insult to the 60% of Pakistan's population who live in rural areas, and make a living of honest means.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnFhaWZDQiYjJ2jJusIJJbaKewfUelCxs9UhdZfAaAgPa5Uovvq2-nfS144SbT1MGMicncKxtLUAUnpJS0yGXU5_IWzl5TD__aPh6B8Cq9GqzUgrU8S6H7O3XFjoNZxUKkRraaoFlMeS0a/s1600/salman+butt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnFhaWZDQiYjJ2jJusIJJbaKewfUelCxs9UhdZfAaAgPa5Uovvq2-nfS144SbT1MGMicncKxtLUAUnpJS0yGXU5_IWzl5TD__aPh6B8Cq9GqzUgrU8S6H7O3XFjoNZxUKkRraaoFlMeS0a/s320/salman+butt.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not very uneducated, or is he?</td></tr>
</tbody></table><b>2. It's just 4 or 6 guys, the rest are OK.</b><br />
<br />
If it was so easy for an 18-year old to cheat, I doubt if someone older and more experienced wouldn't dab into this once in a while. This is when you feel sorry for Butt & co. Everyone was doing it forever, it was just they who got caught.<br />
<br />
<b>1. Pakistan cricket is ruined.</b><br />
<br />
In my 15 years as a fan I have seen Pakistan cricket 'ruined' more times than I can remember (often in the space of a few months!). Each time we grew a crop of talented players, beat an England or an Australia, won a tournament or two and all was good. Rest assured, it's gonna be this way again. As the 'who-the-hell-is-she' individual in this scenario, Asif's ex-girlfriend Veena Malik, says, there is a 'Mohamamd Asif in every street of Pakistan'. She's right ( though I feel highly disturbed at the thought of agreeing with her). Point is, we lost a couple of fast bowlers, we'll get more. If we can replace Wasim and Waqar within months of their retirement, we can replace Asif and Aamer in much, much less time. Have some faith.<br />
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In the end, just to clarify, I'm not passing a judgement on the players' fate. I just feel those defending them need to be more creative (and realistic).Umairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09237598102592816350noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1367276987268778606.post-62184174738085976632010-09-01T05:13:00.006-04:002010-09-01T06:08:33.588-04:00The Case for Pakistani Authors in Op-Ed PagesAmong the aspects of the international coverage of Pakistan's catastrophic floods appears to be an increased appetite for perspective from the country's stellar cast of fiction writers. Hence, opinion pages of the New York Times, The Guardian and the Financial Times have recently featured the likes of <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/8931886.stm">Mohammed Hanif</a>, <a href="http://mohsinhamid.com/feverishandflooded.html">Mohsin Hamid</a>, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/19/opinion/19mueenuddin.html?scp=1&sq=daniyal%20mueenuddin&st=cse">Daniyal Mueenuddin</a> and<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/aug/05/pakistan-floods-failure-state"> Kamila Shamsie</a>.<br />
<br />
This makes for interesting reading, primarily because much of the conversation in the Western press usually revolves around the country's militancy problem, and is thus dictated by journalists, political scientists and policy-makers.<br />
<br />
The writers trained in those disciplines provide great insight and analysis, but are often hampered by an inability to capture the humanitarian angle. Some rely exclusively on cold, hard numbers (i.e. 20% of Pakistan is under water), others use a token quote from a randomly-selected subject. The focus is on establishing facts. The faces that make up those facts don't really figure.<br />
<br />
That makes for compelling reading for someone who goes through 12 newspapers everyday and understands the difference between North and South Waziristan. But for the vast majority who don't, such analysis is informative but disengaging, and thus ultimately ineffective.<br />
<br />
Which is why during a tragedy as vast and destructive as the floods, it is good to see fiction writers capturing the raw humanity of the crisis in thoughtful prose. It might be fluff for those who formulate policy, but for the rest of the world it is eye-opening and often underpins donor aid, based on the sheer emotion it elicits.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-iBQZm9AE4gT25c7PY9aN-kHfy1o8O-hx9Umiq7xcffZwbHQewy19Cx0SFAFZ39G4A57CM0C6ZlA8CGq7Z-WXKDLW7L9WVXjCvosOcepuTNI9UjGHoEhcwqxY1dR3bGetmYuh9rwgQGFP/s1600/New-wave-of-English-writers_1252.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-iBQZm9AE4gT25c7PY9aN-kHfy1o8O-hx9Umiq7xcffZwbHQewy19Cx0SFAFZ39G4A57CM0C6ZlA8CGq7Z-WXKDLW7L9WVXjCvosOcepuTNI9UjGHoEhcwqxY1dR3bGetmYuh9rwgQGFP/s320/New-wave-of-English-writers_1252.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Of course, not everyone agrees. <a href="http://cafepyala.blogspot.com/2010/08/not-so-reluctant-editorialists.html">Cafe Pyala recently featured an argument</a> against the exclusivity (a valid claim but one that I feel has more to do with the international reputation of the authors rather than a bias against others) and naivety of fiction writers on opinion pages. The core of this argument was:<br />
<blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">The more insidious problem is that some of these writers end up believing their own hype and think they actually have it all figured out, going beyond humanizing stories with anecdotes and observation to presenting solutions. So we have </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">Shamsie</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"> blaming these floods on the timber mafia, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">Hanif</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"> trying to make a point against the Taliban scare by claiming that there is no indigenous word for terrorism in Sindhi or </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">Seraiki</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">, and </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">Mueenuddin</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"> raising the specter of the radicalization of and revolution by the displaced and hungry to explain why those people should be helped out.</span></blockquote>In a way Pyala is correct. Those solutions are not backed by facts or meticulous analysis. They are simplistic, and often, miss the point altogether.<br />
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What they do though, is broaden the narrative about Pakistan for those in the West who don't have an interest in its complexities. Let's put it this way: say you're a casual reader who comes across an op-ed about Lithuania written by an economist. He describes in detail the bond spreads, balance of payments and industrial productivity of the country. Assuming you don't have a sound grip over economics,how much of this would you take away at the end of the article?<br />
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Hence, when <a href="http://mohsinhamid.com/feverishandflooded.html">Hamid says that the tax net should be broadened</a>, an economist might nitpick at the simplicity of his statement (like I do), but I don't believe it is wrong, either. If anything, I believe the average reader might pay more attention to it if it comes on the back of his vivid observation of inequality, rather than a purely economic argument I might make.<br />
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A further example of this comes during an anecdote in Ali Sethi's<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/26/opinion/26sethi.html?scp=1&sq=ali%20sethi&st=cse"> journey in a flood-ravaged part</a> of the country, published last week in the New York Times. He writes:<br />
<blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">In one place our car ran into the flood. It was swallowing the road. There was another way out — a six-hour drive west to the city of </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">Quetta</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">. Unfortunately, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">Baluch</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"> separatists had struck: they were stopping vehicles, pulling out Punjabi passengers and shooting them. Most of the men in our crew weren’t </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">Punjabis</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">, and they took that route. But I am a Punjabi, as are two of the reporters, and we had to find another way.</span></blockquote>This identifies a problem of critical importance, ethnic disconnect, contextualized in a manner that embeds it into the current conversation about the floods. As a result, it also introduces the issue into the wider discourse on Pakistan, specifically amongst the uninformed, but also amongst those who might have lost sight of it in lieu of the more pressing issue.<br />
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Perhaps such a matter could have been explained better by a historian or a political scientist. 9 out of 10 times it probably would have been entrusted to them. But in the backdrop of a human tragedy, and with Pakistan's sympathy deficit as it is, let's just say I'd rather have Mohammed Hanif on the op-ed pages than Ayesha Siddiqa.Umairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09237598102592816350noreply@blogger.com6