Archive for September, 2009

Guftago – In Conversation

Another must watch podcast by a good group of friends Faisal Qureshi and his wife Reema Siddiqui along with Faisal Khan and his wife Anika Khan, sit casually in Faisal Qureshi’s den to have a 45 minute in-camera conversation. This is definitely a must watch podcast – Guftago – Pilot


The Laidback Show Episode 2

The second episode of our podcast / videocast with Faisal Kapadia and myself has been released. This comes as the second episode after our first attempt to podcasting when the unnamed NoNam show which was initially uploaded, we now have a name > The Laidback Show. Check out the Episode 2 (there is definitely room [...]


Who’s actually running Pakistan? The Americans or Pakistanis?

Ammar Faheem lashes out without mincing any words US Ambassador Patterson MUST be EXPELLED which comes in response to Anne Patterson’s statment regarding the Quetta Shura yesterday “You cannot tolerate vipers in your bosom without getting bitten our concern is whether Pakistan really controls its territory. There are people who do not threaten Pakistan but [...]


A Grave Error: Letter to the Editor in Response to ones own Obituary

On 27th September Dr. Farhat Taj in the article titled “The Taliban and Salarzais” reported that Malik Munsaib Khan had died in an attack to say “The same day they informed me on telephone that Malik Munasib Khan, the spokesman of the Salarzai lashkar, had been killed. They held the ISI responsible for his killing” [...]


Pakistani media’s corporate interests > Abdullah Saad

Abdullah Saad talks about Pakistani media’s corporate interests and our threat perceptions, discussing how the media reacted to Saad Khan’s tragic death, Annie Pattersons secret (but leaked) letter to Rehman Malik and more importantly (for me) the hot topic ie Blackwater-Xe. Abdullah Saad: LINK


Justice Rukhsana Ahmed > Renewed Faith in Judiciary

Justice Rukhsana Ahmed is one of the latest set of ten appointees to the Sindh High Court, Jehan Ara, the super-energetic President of P@SHA, wrote a detailed post about the big day she had with Justice Ms. Rukhsana Ahmed in her new chambers.


The Brouhaha over Blackwater continues

Sunday’s Dawn has a report on the presence of Blackwater in Pakistan > there seems to be an apparent blanket of denial of their presence but tell tale signs continue to emerge that something is definitely afoot Questions that must be asked of ourselves, (a) Can we trust our present leadership to tell us the [...]


While our Country starves, Senators spend Rs. 22 Million as travelling expenses in FOUR Months

Senate secretariat has spent a staggering amount of over Rs22 million in just four months, traveling / jet-setting around the world from April to July 2009 on 13 foreign trips made by senators to participate in various international events. The Chairman Senate Farooq H Naik said these expenses were incurred on air tickets, foreign exchange, [...]


The NoNam Show – Episode 1.0

The Nonam show Ver 1.0 from Nonam Show on Vimeo. Show Notes for The NoNam Show Episode 1.0 below


Poem: The Flour Deaths

Do we need? The Prime Minister House The President’s palace The great old parliament The Muppets of our bureaucracy The old feudal lords, And the thousands acres The old hands of dictators And the warmth of lies From the leaders of our present


State Department revises Pay Scale & Lodging rates for US personnel in Islamabad

With effect from 1st July 2009 the US State Department has revised the pay scale of all US personnel and contractors stationed within USG civilian compounds in Islamabad from high of a $289/day to a present low of $110/day, while the lodging rates have dropped even more significantly from $213/day to a paltry $70/day. This [...]


Blackwater Watch by Citizens of Pakistan

With all the wheeling and dealing by our country’s leaders compromising on all national issue only to ensure that their own stay in power is secured it does seem that our very own leaders elected / burecratic and military have unleashed yet another wrath unto the people of Pakistan by allowing the menacing extra-military force [...]


Guess the Minister who bought a £4.3 million flat in London?

A week back Rauf Klasra disclosed in his op-ed article in The News of a Federal Minister and a member of PPP Central Executive Committee who has recently sprung himself £4.3 million in cash to buy a six-bedroom flat adjacent to Marble Arch in London. The Minister could barely afford a small apartment during his [...]


TEDIndia Fellowship YES

It was only in June that TED.com had announced the opportunity to apply for the prestigious TEDIndia fellowship. The selection to this TED Fellows group was limited to bringing together some brilliant future leaders from this region together. I must say that had it not been due to Faisal Chohan, a TED Fellow himself, we [...]


Feudal Lord Varyam Faqir goes Free on a Compromise

DailyTimes reports that Waryam Faqir was acquitted of the murder charge of Wali Dad by Additional District and Sessions Judge, Abdul Naeem Memon. It was reported that both the sides (the complainant and the accused) submitted a compromise deed before the court requesting to dispose off the matter in view of out of court settlement [...]