Month: April 2010
-
Brain Drain – Oh Really?
It is a concern habitually voiced now & than on various platforms that because of the untoward state of the state, students (undergrads & graduates) are fleeing the country ensuing brain drain I would say, too many applicants for fewer seats obtainable in universities and consequently failure to get admission in professional institutes is actually…
-
Benazir’s Murder: The Pyre Must Burn
The assassin displayed remarkable cool. At least once, he chose to delay his fire and then moved in very close to an advantageous position with the bomber following him. The man who grappled and brought him down deserves a citation. Benazir Bhutto, the Daughter of the East is dead, buried and treacherously abandoned by her…
-
Will the Supreme Court get the parliamentarians’ degrees verified?
A dozen or so of these unworthy parliamentarians have been already disqualified on grounds of fake degrees. Many more continue to be our MNAs and MPAs. For how long shall we suffer and tolerate these unethical characters? Why must the SC not task the HEC to verify their degrees and get rid of those who…
-
Op-Ed: Flogging my Sentiments
My first Op-Ed for Express Tribune Flogging my Sentiments has been published in the Saturdays The Express Tribune, talking about the ever controversial flogging video which has already been extensively debated on my blog running into a very heated debate. In the Op-ed I again take a swing accusing the Pakistan Army and our covert…
-
Pictures of Protest in Karachi – Against Civilian Killings In Khyber
On Saturday April 10, the Pakistani army bombed villages in Tirah in the Khyber Agency and killed more than 70 civilians. While the military denied the incident, local government confirmed compensation payments for civilian deaths and injuries. “All of those killed were civilians, 100% innocent,” said Ikramullah Jan Kukikhel, a tribal elder. He further elaborates…
-
Protest at Karachi Press Club Against Civilians Killings by Army
On Saturday April 10, 2010 Pakistan Army launched an air strike in tribal area of Khyber and as a result at least 73 innocent civilians have lost their lives. Pakistan Army’s first reaction was denial and only confirmed the civil casualties after 5 days. This is not the first time that the Army has been…
-
Lahore Dentist Kidnapped and Missing in UAE
It has come as a serious shock to hear that Dr. Ayyaz Khan, the Head of Department at Sheikh Zaid Hospital’s Dental Department and a highly respected leader in Community Dentistry with a number of professional research papers to his name, has gone missing for the past few days. He was working as a consultant…
-
What’s a Meridian Jet doing in Karachi?
Last week while traveling to Islamabad for a personal visit I noticed this jet parked on the tarmac near the PAF sheds, little did I think again about the airplane until I read a blog post by Omar R Quraishi who also happened to notice this plane while he was jet-setting to Lahore for a…
-
Sick and Tired
Over the past week Pakistan has read many different news items. From the passing of the 18th amendment to the bomb blast at the US Consulate, much is happening. Some may say the stories are for the betterment of our country while others may disagree. In my mind the successful visit of the Foreign Minister…
-
Zong Inspiring Ideas for Pakistan
For many who may have not see this new ad by Zong, its worth watching, I was first alerted of this release by Abid Beli, and later watched it on TV. It without doubt puts a smile on my face, that amazing things can still help transform Pakistan for the better. Watch this Sab Keh…
-
The Express Tribune goes Online & in Print
The Express Tribune, partnered with The International Herald Tribune which is the global arm of The New York Times, is slated to finally make its debut today morning, while the online version has just been released to the public, the initial launch is limited to Karachi and many households will be treated with a fresh…
-
Shoaib and Shania: What have you unleashed!!
Am I the only one? (I hope not) Who has been disgusted by not only the overzealous coverage of the whole Shoaib Malik – Sania Mirza marriage? On the one hand it’s a brief and much needed distraction from all the pointless violence and even more pointless and unexplainable lack of governance that we have…
-
Reflections on the current crisis in Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa
I’m currently working with an international organization in Mardan, Swabi, Swat, Buner and D.I. Khan– all conflict affected areas of Khyber-Pukhtoonkhwa (KP). I’ve literally been living in these areas since January this year and have tons of stories to share but time constraints have not allowed me to write about my experiences as yet. I…
-
US are Collateral Murderers in Iraq … and they wouldn’t do that in Pakistan, will they?
Yesterday [April 5th 2010] WikiLeaks has released a classified US military video depicting the indiscriminate slaying of over a dozen people in the Iraqi suburb of New Baghdad — including two Reuters news staff. The video, shot from an Apache helicopter, clearly shows the unprovoked slaying of a wounded Reuters employee and his rescuers. Two…
-
Imran Khan’s stand on Taliban – War is not the Only Solution
This article was sent to Dawn in response to Cyril Almeida’s column Talibangate, but was not published, it has more recently been published in The News in a slightly edited version, but the actual rebuttal is reproduced here Mr Cyril Almeida in his article in Dawn on 19th March, states that Imran Khan has cried…